The effectiveness of a conceptually-based health and wellness course in developing health related factors, exercise self-efficacy and knowledge of health issues and exercise performance among diverse college students

The purpose of the study was to investigate the physiological and psychological benefits provided by a self-selected health and wellness course on a racially and ethnically diverse student population. It was designed to determine if students from a 2-year Hispanic serving institution (HIS) from a large metropolitan area would enhance their capacity to perform physical activities, increase their knowledge of health topics and raise their exercise self-efficacy after completing a course that included educational and activity components for a period of 16 weeks. A total of 185 students voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. An experimental group was selected from six sections of a health and wellness course, and a comparison group from students in a student life skills course. All participants were given anthropometric tests of physical fitness, a knowledge test, and an exercise self-efficacy scale was given at the beginning and at the conclusion of the semester. An ANCOVA analyses with the pretest scores being the covariate and the dependent variable being the difference score, indicated a significant improvement of the experimental group in five of the seven anthropometric tests over the comparison group. In addition, the experimental group increased in two of the three sections of the exercise self-efficacy scale indicating greater confidence to participate in physical activities in spite of barriers over the comparison group. The experimental group also increased in knowledge of health related topics over the comparison group at the .05 significance level. Results indicated beneficial outcomes gained by students enrolled in a 16-week health and wellness course. The study has several implications for practitioners, faculty members, educational policy makers and researchers in terms of implementation of strategies to promote healthy behaviors in college students and, to encourage them to engage in regular physical activities throughout their college years.

Cognitive Performance May be Impaired by Exercise in a Hot, Humid Environment: A Preliminary Investigation

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute active dehydration by exercise in a hot, humid environment on cognitive performance. Our findings were inconclusive compared to previous studies that reported decreased cognitive performance in manual laborers and military personnel working in extreme environmental conditions.

Appraising Work Group Performance: New Productivity Opportunities in Hospitality Management

In - Appraising Work Group Performance: New Productivity Opportunities in Hospitality Management – a discussion by Mark R. Edwards, Associate Professor, College of Engineering, Arizona State University and Leslie Edwards Cummings, Assistant Professor, College of Hotel Administration University of Nevada, Las Vegas; the authors initially provide: “Employee group performance variation accounts for a significant portion of the degree of productivity in the hotel, motel, and food service sectors of the hospitality industry. The authors discuss TEAMSG, a microcomputer based approach to appraising and interpreting group performance. TEAMSG appraisal allows an organization to profile and to evaluate groups, facilitating the targeting of training and development decisions and interventions, as well as the more equitable distribution of organizational rewards.” “The caliber of employee group performance is a major determinant in an organization's productivity and success within the hotel and food service industries,” Edwards and Cummings say. “Gaining accurate information about the quality of performance of such groups as organizational divisions, individual functional departments, or work groups can be as enlightening...” the authors further reveal. This perspective is especially important not only for strategic human resources planning purposes, but also for diagnosing development needs and for differentially distributing organizational rewards.” The authors will have you know, employee requirements in an unpredictable environment, which is what the hospitality industry largely is, are difficult to quantify. In an effort to measure elements of performance Edwards and Cummings look to TEAMSG, which is an acronym for Team Evaluation and Management System for Groups. They develop the concept. In discussing background for employees, Edwards and Cummings point-out that employees - at the individual level - must often possess and exercise varied skills. In group circumstances employees often work at locations outside of, or move from corporate unit-to-unit, as in the case of a project team. Being able to transcend individual-to-group mentality is imperative. “A solution which addresses the frustration and lack of motivation on the part of the employee is to coach, develop, appraise, and reward employees on the basis of group achievement,” say the authors. “An appraisal, effectively developed and interpreted, has at least three functions,” Edwards and Cummings suggest, and go on to define them. The authors do place a great emphasis on rewards and interventions to bolster the assertion set forth in their thesis statement. Edwards and Cummings warn that individual agendas can threaten, erode, and undermine group performance; there is no - I - in TEAM.

Does core strength training influence kinetic efficiency, lower extremity stability, and 5000m performance in runners?

Context: Core strength training (CST) has been popular in the fitness industry for a decade. Although strong core muscles are believed to enhance athletic performance, only few scientific studies have been conducted to identify the effectiveness of CST on improving athletic performance. Objective: Identify the effects of a 6-wk CST on running kinetics, lower extremity stability, and running performance in recreational and competitive runners. Design and Setting: A test-retest, randomized control design was used to assess the effect of CST and no CST on ground reaction force (GRF), lower extremity stability scores, and running performance. Participants: Twenty-eight healthy adults (age, 36.9+9.4yrs, height, 168.4+9.6cm, mass, 70.1+15.3kg) were recruited and randomly divided into two groups. Main outcome Measures: GRF was determined by calculating peak impact vertical GRF (vGRF), peak active vGRF, duration of the breaking or horizontal GRF (hGRF), and duration of the propulsive hGRF as measured while running across a force plate. Lower extremity stability in three directions (anterior, posterior, lateral) was assessed using the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT). Running performance was determined by 5000 meter run measured on selected outdoor tracks. Six 2 (time) X 2 (condition) mixed-design ANOVA were used to determine if CST influences on each dependent variable, p < .05. Results: No significant interactions were found for any kinetic variables and SEBT score, p>.05. But 5000m run time showed significant interaction, p < .05. SEBT scores improved in both groups, but more in the experimental group. Conclusion: CST did not significantly influence kinetic efficiency and lower extremity stability, but did influence running performance.

Effect of Performance Feedback on Perceived Knowledge and Likelihood to Pursue Continuing Education

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of performance feedback on Athletic Trainers’ (ATs) perceived knowledge (PK) and likelihood to pursue continuing education (CE). The investigation was grounded in the theories of “the definition of the situation” (Thomas & Thomas, 1928) and the “illusion of knowing,” (Glenberg, Wilkinson, & Epstein, 1982) suggesting that PK drives behavior. This investigation measured the degree to which knowledge gap predicted CE seeking behavior by providing performance feedback designed to change PK. A pre-test post-test control-group design was used to measure PK and likelihood to pursue CE before and after assessing actual knowledge. ATs (n=103) were randomly sampled and assigned to two groups, with and without performance feedback. Two independent samples t-tests were used to compare groups on the difference scores of the dependent variables. Likelihood to pursue CE was predicted by three variables using multiple linear regression: perceived knowledge, pre-test likelihood to pursue CE, and knowledge gap. There was a 68.4% significant difference (t101= 2.72, p=0.01, ES=0.45) between groups in the change scores for likelihood to pursue CE because of the performance feedback (Experimental group=13.7% increase; Control group= 4.3% increase). The strongest relationship among the dependent variables was between pre-test and post-test measures of likelihood to pursue CE (F2,102=56.80, p<0.01, r=0.73, R2=0.53). The pre- and post-test predictive relationship was enhanced when group was included in the model. In this model [YCEpost=0.76XCEpre-0.34 Xgroup+2.24+E], group accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in predicting CE while the pre-test likelihood to pursue CE variable was held constant (F3,102=40.28, p<0.01,: r=0.74, R2=0.55). Pre-test knowledge gap, regardless of group allocation, was a linear predictor of the likelihood to pursue CE (F1,102=10.90, p=.01, r=.31, R2=.10). In this investigation, performance feedback significantly increased participants’ likelihood to pursue CE. Pre-test knowledge gap was a significant predictor of likelihood to pursue CE, regardless if performance feedback was provided. ATs may have self-assessed and engaged in internal feedback as a result of their test-taking experience. These findings indicate that feedback, both internal and external, may be necessary to trigger CE seeking behavior.