Inter-participant variability in daily physical activity and sedentary time among male youth sport footballers: independent associations with indicators of adiposity and cardiorespiratory fitness

Participation in youth sport is assumed to promote and contribute towards more physically active lifestyles among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine inter-participant variability in objectively measured habitual physical activity (PA) behaviours and sedentary time among youth sport participants and their implications for health. One-hundred-and-eighteen male youth sport footballers (Mean ± s = 11.72 ± 1.60) wore a GT3X accelerometer for 7 days. Average daily PA [min · day^?1, in light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA) and combined moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA)] and sedentary time were calculated. Participants’ body mass index adjusted for age and sex (BMI–standard deviation score), per cent body fat (BF%), waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness were assessed. Results revealed that variability in daily PA behaviours and sedentary time (min · day^?1) was associated with BMI–standard deviation score [VPA (?), MVPA (?)], BF% [sedentary time (+), VPA (?), MVPA (?)], waist circumference [sedentary time (+), LPA (?)] and cardiorespiratory fitness [sedentary time (?), MPA (+), VPA (+), MVPA (+)]. Whilst sedentary time and MVPA were not related to health outcomes independent of one another, associations with markers of adiposity and cardiorespiratory fitness were stronger for sedentary time. Sedentary time was also significantly positively related to waist circumference independent of VPA. Results demonstrate inter-participant variability in habitual PA and sedentary time among youth sport participants which holds implications for their health. Thus, promoting PA and, in particular, reducing sedentary time may contribute towards the prevention of adverse health consequences associated with a physically inactive lifestyle for children and adolescents active in the youth sport context.     

Accelerometer data requirements for reliable estimation of habitual physical activity and sedentary time of children during the early years - a worked example following a stepped approach

This study presents a worked example of a stepped process to reliably estimate the habitual physical activity and sedentary time of a sample of young children. A total of 299 children (2.9 ± 0.6 years) were recruited. Outcome variables were daily minutes of total physical activity, sedentary time, moderate to vigorous physical activity and proportional values of each variable. In total, 282 (94%) provided 3 h of accelerometer data on ≥1 day and were included in a 6-step process: Step-1: determine minimum wear-time; Step-2: process 7-day-data; Step-3: determine the inclusion of a weekend day; Step-4: examine day-to-day variability; Step-5: calculate single day intraclass correlation (ICC) (2,1); Step-6: calculate number of days required to reach reliability. Following the process the results were, Step-1: 6 h was estimated as minimum wear-time of a standard day. Step-2: 98 (32%) children had ≥6 h wear on 7 days. Step-3: no differences were found between weekdays and weekend days (P ≥ 0.05). Step-4: no differences were found between day-to-day variability (P ≥ 0.05). Step-5: single day ICC’s (2,1) ranged from 0.48 (total physical activity and sedentary time) to 0.53 (proportion of moderate to vigorous physical activity). Step-6: to reach reliability (ICC = 0.7), 3 days were required for all outcomes. In conclusion following a 7 day wear protocol, ≥6 h on any 3 days was found to have acceptable reliability. The stepped-process offers researchers a method to derive sample-specific wear-time criterion.     

Record Values and Surviving Glacial Moraines

Estimating the number of glacial advances from surviving glacial debris can, amazingly enough, be cast as a records problem for which there is a substantial statistical literature. As a result, instructors may illustrate method of moments and maximum‐likelihood estimation techniques with an interesting problem in the physical sciences.     

Enhancing nursing home care for seniors: impact of a living classroom on nursing assistant’s education

ABSTRACT

Nursing Assistants (NAs) are the largest workforce in nursing homes, but often lack adequate preparation for their role. The Living Classroom (LC) is an integrated learning approach, whereby a NA program is delivered in a nursing home (NH) in collaboration with a community college. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of the LC. Mixed methods were used to gather data from 48 NA students, 5 faculty, and 42 NH staff over 30 weeks. Students, faculty, and nursing home staff described the LC as a positive learning experience. Students’ gerontological knowledge increased over time (p = .0012). Students reported very positive relationships with program mentors and NH residents. The LC provides a unique approach to prepare NAs to work in nursing homes. This model could expand to other educational programs with a gerontology focus.     

Genetic and environmental influences on rapid naming and reading ability: A twin study

The present study assesses the genetic and environmental etiologies of reading, rapid naming (RN), and their covariation by fitting multivariate structural equation models to data from 587 twin pairs in which at least one member of the pair exhibited reading difficulties (low-range) and from 360 control (normal-range) twin pairs who were tested in the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center. Results from a bivariate phenotypic analysis with two hypothesized latent factors, READ and RN, indicated that the correlation between reading and rapid naming performance for the low-range sample was significantly higher than that of the normal-range sample. When this model was partitioned to include estimates of genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental influences, resulting heritability estimates did not differ significantly for the low-range and normal-range samples for either READ or RN. However, similar to the phenotypic correlation, the genetic correlation between the READ and RN latent factors could not be equated for the two groups. Thus, the etiology of the relationship between reading performance and rapid naming may differ for children with reading difficulties and normally-achieving readers. Moreover, these results support previous findings that the best predictors of reading skills may differ for samples of children with normal reading levels and those with reading difficulties.     

Girls in science — An evaluation of one school's approach to the gender bias in science

Conclusions As the pilot project has only been in operation for one semester there are no profound statements that can be made. What we have at present is the base information for comparison of all data over the duration of the project. Cross tabulation of the data to date has begun. However it should be re-iterated here that there appears to be a lack of understanding by the parents' as to the reason for the all-girls classes at the school and that this situation may be due to the fact that in this school community we have the typical sex-stereotyping roles and attitudes existing. The big question is, Will this intervention strategy of single-sex science classes be effective in altering the girls views about what is appropriate for them to study or follow as a career?     

Academic Follow-Up Data on Two Cohorts of High-Risk Transfer Children

Two cohorts of children from inner-city elementary schools were provided a tutoring intervention to help in their transition to new schools. Participants were third, fourth, and fifth grade children who were identified as having low-income status, evidencing lags on achievement tests, and experiencing stressful life events. The intervention involved an orientation program with twice weekly paraprofessional tutoring. Two and three year academic and sociometric follow-up data were collected. Those provided the intervention evidenced some improvements over time, and these changes were most prominent in the area of reading grades. Fewer significant findings were found on sociometric indices.     

Assessing a Holistic Trait and Factor Approach to Career Development of College Students

To assess the impact of a holistic career and life planning course on college students, the authors asked 209 students in treatment and control groups to complete measures of career development. Results indicate that the course significantly increases vocational identity and career decision‐making self‐efficacy and decreases career indecision.     

Improving the Acquisition of Novel Vocabulary Through the Use of Imagery Interventions

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of imagery interventions on the vocabulary acquisition abilities of second grade students. A total of 15 students were randomly assigned to three different intervention conditions: Word Only, which involves the simple verbal presentation of a vocabulary word; Dual Coding, in which a picture was paired with the vocabulary word, and Image Creation, in which students were told to create a mental picture of the vocabulary word in their mind and draw it on paper. These students were taught a total of 21 vocabulary words: seven animal and habitat words, seven musical instrument terms, and seven science terms. A Latin square design was used, in which each group of students rotated through each of the interventions, being exposed to a different treatment condition for each category of words. Participants were measured on the number of words they were successfully able to acquire through the use of experimenter designed comprehension measures. While no statistical significance was shown between the interventions across the word categories, a significant difference was found between the Image Creation and Word Only interventions within the science terms category. Students also reported that the imagery interventions facilitated the ease with which they learned the words. The findings have implications for increasing the success of classroom instruction, specifically for presenting novel vocabulary words to early elementary learners using imagery methods.