What factors are associated with adolescents' school break time physical activity and sedentary time?

Purpose Adolescents' physical activity levels during school break time are low and understanding correlates of physical activity and sedentary time in this context is important. This study investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between a range of individual, behavioural, social and policy/organisational correlates and objectively measured school break time physical activity and sedentary time.

Methods In 2006, 146 adolescents (50% males; mean age = 14.1±0.6 years) completed a questionnaire and wore an accelerometer for ≥3 school days. Time spent engaged in sedentary, light (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school break times (recess and lunchtime) were calculated using existing cut-points. Measures were repeated in 2008 among 111 adolescents. Multilevel models examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations.

Results Bringing in equipment was cross-sectionally associated with 3.2% more MVPA during break times. Females engaged in 5.1% more sedentary time than males, whilst older adolescents engaged in less MVPA than younger adolescents. Few longitudinal associations were observed. Adolescents who brought sports equipment to school engaged in 7.2% less LPA during break times two years later compared to those who did not bring equipment to school.

Conclusion These data suggest that providing equipment and reducing restrictions on bringing in sports equipment to school may promote physical activity during school recess. Strategies targeting females' and older adolescents', in particular, are warranted.

Diferentes contextos de socialización de los niños y niñas de Puyo

35 p.

Módulo Activo Recreo Activo -MARA: una estrategia para incrementar la actividad física en niños y niñas de 5º grado en Bogotá.

Objetivo: Evaluar la efectividad de MARA (Modulo Activo Recreo Activo), sobre el tiempo de actividad física moderada vigorosa (AFMV) y de comportamiento sedentario de niños y niñas de 5º grado en 2 instituciones educativas oficiales de la ciudad de Bogotá. Materiales y métodos: Los participantes fueron 128 niños entre 10 y 12 años de edad, de 5to grado que asisten a dos colegios públicos en la localidad de San Cristóbal en Bogotá. La actividad física de los niños fue medida con acelerómetro GT3X+, durante 7 días entre julio y octubre de 2013. Uno de los colegios fue seleccionado aleatoriamente para ser intervenido por Muévete Escolar y su Módulo Activo Recreo Activo (MARA), (CIM) y otro colegio fue el grupo control (CC). El tiempo gastado en actividad física durante el día y en el momento de recreo fue medido antes y en la semana 10 después de la intervención: sedentario ( SED), actividad física leve ( AFL), actividad física moderada(AFM), actividad física vigorosa(AFV) y actividad física moderada a vigorosa (AFMV). Resultados: Posterior al análisis estadístico a través de modelos mixtos multinivel para ajustar por el efecto de conglomerado, se observó diferencia significativa entre CIM y CC (p < 0.0049) representado por incremento en los minutos de AFMV en CIM. Después de la intervención, los CMI disminuyeron los minutos de comportamiento sedentario (p= 0.0029), comparativamente con los CC. Conclusiones: El presente estudio contribuye a investigar sobre los efectos a corto plazo de modificar el momento del recreo, mediante la implementación de actividades guiadas, supervisadas y con el uso de materiales y equipos de juego. Los resultados del estudio sugieren que los efectos de la intervención con MARA fueron significativos especialmente en promover la práctica de AF diaria logrando incrementar los minutos de AFMV diaria, y así mismo disminuyendo comportamiento sedentario en el día. .

Agreement between activPAL and ActiGraph for assessing children's sedentary time

Background
Accelerometers have been used to determine the amount of time that children spend sedentary. However, as time spent sitting may be detrimental to health, research is needed to examine whether accelerometer sedentary cut-points reflect the amount of time children spend sitting. The aim of this study was to: a) examine agreement between ActiGraph (AG) cut-points for sedentary time and objectively-assessed periods of free-living sitting and sitting plus standing time using the activPAL (aP); and b) identify cut-points to determine time spent sitting and sitting plus standing.

Methods
Forty-eight children (54% boys) aged 8–12 years wore a waist-mounted AG and thigh-mounted aP for two consecutive school days (9–3:30 pm). AG data were analyzed using 17 cut-points between 50–850 counts·min−1 in 50 counts·min−1 increments to determine sedentary time during class-time, break time and school hours. Sitting and sitting plus standing time were obtained from the aP for these periods. Limits of agreement were computed to evaluate bias between AG50 to AG850 sedentary time and sitting and sitting plus standing time. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analyses identified AG cutpoints that maximized sensitivity and specificity for sitting and sitting plus standing time.

Results
The smallest mean bias between aP sitting time and AG sedentary time was AG150 for class time (3.8 minutes), AG50 for break time (−0.8 minutes), and AG100 for school hours (−5.2 minutes). For sitting plus standing time, the smallest bias was observed for AG850. ROC analyses revealed an optimal cut-point of 96 counts·min−1 (AUC = 0.75) for sitting time, which had acceptable sensitivity (71.7%) and specificity (67.8%). No optimal cut-point was obtained for sitting plus standing (AUC = 0.51).

Conclusions
Estimates of free-living sitting time in children during school hours can be obtained using an AG cut-point of 100 counts·min−1. Higher sedentary cut-points may capture both sitting and standing time.

Indoor Air Quality in Naturally Ventilated Italian Classrooms

Characterization of indoor air quality in school classrooms is crucial to children’s health and performance. The present study was undertaken to characterize the indoor air quality in six naturally ventilated classrooms of three schools in Cassino (Italy). Indoor particle number, mass, black carbon, CO2 and radon concentrations, as well as outdoor particle number were measured within school hours during the winter and spring season. The study found the concentrations of indoor particle number were influenced by the concentrations in the outdoors; highest BC values were detected in classrooms during peak traffic time. The effect of different seasons’ airing mode on the indoor air quality was also detected. The ratio between indoor and outdoor particles was of 0.85 ± 0.10 in winter, under airing conditions of short opening window periods, and 1.00 ± 0.15 in spring when the windows were opened for longer periods. This was associated to a higher degree of penetration of outdoor particles due to longer period of window opening. Lower CO2 levels were found in classrooms in spring (908 ppm) than in winter (2206 ppm). Additionally, a greater reduction in radon concentrations was found in spring. In addition, high PM10 levels were found in classrooms during break time due to re-suspension of coarse particles. Keywords: classroom; Ni/Nout ratio; airing by opening windows; particle number

The dynamics of individual teacher autonomy: A case study of teachers' work in a Queensland secondary school

The emphasis on collegiality and collaboration in the literature on teachers' work and school reform has tended to underplay the significance of teacher autonomy. This thesis explores the dynamics of teachers' understandings and experiences of individual teacher autonomy (as contrasted with collective autonomy) in an independent school in Queensland which promoted itself as a 'teachers' school' with a strong commitment to individual teacher autonomy. The research was a case study which drew on methodological signposts from critical, feminist and traditional ethnography. Intensive fieldwork in the school over five months incorporated the ethnographic techniques of observation, interviews and document analysis. Teachers at Thornton College understood their experience of individual autonomy at three interrelated levels--in terms of their work in the classroom, their working life in the school, and their voice in the decision-making processes of the school. They felt that they experienced a great deal of individual autonomy at each of these three levels. These understandings and experiences of autonomy were encumbered or enabled by a range of internal and external stakeholder groups. There were also a number of structural influences (community perceptions, market forces, school size, time and bureaucracy) emerging from the economic, social and political structures in Australian society which influenced the experience of autonomy by teachers. The experience of individual teacher autonomy was constantly shifting, but there were some emergent patterns. Consensus on educational goals and vision, and strong expressions of trust and respect between teachers and stakeholders in the school, characterised the contexts in which teachers felt they experienced high levels of autonomy in their work. The demand for accountability and desire for relatedness motivated stakeholders and structural forces to influence teacher autonomy. Some significant gaps emerged between the rhetoric of a commitment to individual teacher autonomy and decision-making practices in the school, that gave ultimate power to the co-principals. Despite the rhetoric and promotion of non-hierarchical structures and collaborative decision-making processes, many teachers perceived that their experience of individual autonomy remained subject to the exercise of 'partial democracy' by school leaders.

Euskararen erabilera haur hezkuntzako gela batean: joerak eta aldagaiak

[eus] Azken urteetan euskararen ezagutza handiagotzen ari bada ere, erabilera gero eta murritzagoa da bai gizartean, bai eskolan. Lan honetan, D ereduko eskola bateko Haur Hezkuntzako 5 urteko gelako hizkuntza-erabilera ikertu da eta erabilera horretan eragin ditzaketen aldagaiak aztertu dira. Horretarako, ikasleei, irakasleari eta haurren familiei ARRUE proiektuan oinarrituriko zenbait galdetegi pasatu zaizkie. Horrez gain, haurren hizkuntza-erabilera neurtzeko behaketak ere egin dira egoera ezberdinetan (gela barruan eta gelatik kanpo irakasleekin, gela barruan ikaskideekin lanak burutzen, gela barruan ikaskideekin jolas librean eta jolastorduan ikaskideekin), informazio horiez baliatuz euskararen erabilera handitzeko neurriak hartu daitezen.

Investigating active transportation to and from school : identification of predictors and health benefits

Funding support for this doctoral thesis has been provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Public Health Agency of Canada, QICSS matching grant, and la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales-Université de Montréal.

School day segmented physical activity patterns of high and low active children

Background

Variability exists in children's activity patterns due to the association with environmental, social, demographic, and inter-individual factors. This study described accelerometer assessed physical activity patterns of high and low active children during segmented school week days whilst controlling for potential correlates.
Methods

Two hundred and twenty-three children (mean age: 10.7 +/- 0.3 yrs, 55.6% girls, 18.9% overweight/obese) from 8 north-west England primary schools wore ActiGraph GT1M accelerometers for 7 consecutive days during autumn of 2009. ActiGraph counts were converted to minutes of moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA) and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) physical activity. Children were classified as high active (HIGH) or low active (LOW) depending on the percentage of week days they accumulated at least 60 minutes of MVPA. Minutes spent in MPA and VPA were calculated for school time and non-school time and for five discrete school day segments (before-school, class time, recess, lunchtime, and after-school). Data were analysed using multi-level modelling.
Results

The HIGH group spent significantly longer in MPA and/or VPA before-school, during class time, lunchtime, and after-school (P < .05), independent of child and school level factors. The greatest differences occurred after-school (MPA = 5.5 minutes, VPA = 3.8 minutes, P < 0.001). MPA and VPA were also associated with gender, BMI z-score, number of enrolled children, playground area per student, and temperature, depending on the segment analysed. The additive effect of the segment differences was that the HIGH group accumulated 12.5 minutes per day more MVPA than the LOW group.
Conclusions

HIGH active children achieved significantly more MPA and VPA than LOW active during four of the five segments of the school day when analyses were adjusted for potential correlates. Physical activity promotion strategies targeting low active children during discretionary physical activity segments of the day, and particularly via structured after-school physical activity programs may be beneficial.

First-time offender, productive offender, offender with dependents: why the profile of offenders (sometimes) matters in sentencing

Should a single mother of four young children who commits theft be sentenced to a lesser sanction than a woman who commits the same crime but has no dependents? Should a billionaire philanthropist be sentenced to a lesser penalty than the average citizen for assaulting a random bystander? Should a first-time thief receive a lighter sanction than a career thief for the same theft? The relevance of an offender’s profile to sentencing is unclear and is one of the most under-researched and least coherent areas of sentencing law. Intuitively, there is some appeal in treating offenders without a criminal record, those who have made a positive contribution to society, or who have dependents more leniently than other offenders. However, to allow these considerations to mitigate penalty potentially licenses offenders to commit crime and decouples the sanction from the severity of the offense, thereby undermining the proportionality principle. This article analyzes the relevance that an offender’s profile should have in sentencing. We conclude that a lack of prior convictions should generally reduce penalty because the empirical data shows that, in relation to most offenses, first-time offenders are less likely to reoffend than recidivist offenders. The situation is more complex in relation to offenders who have made worthy social contributions. They should not be given sentencing credit for past achievements given that past good acts have no relevance to the proper objectives of sentencing and it is normally not tenable, even in a crude sense, to make an informed assessment of an individual’s overall societal contribution. However, offenders should be accorded a sentencing reduction if they have financial or physical dependents and if imprisoning them is likely to cause harm to their dependents. Conferring asentencing discount to first-time offenders and those withdependents does not license them to commit crime or unjustifiablyencroach on the proportionality principle. Rather, it recognizes thedifferent layers of the legal system and the reality that sentencinglaw should not reflexively overwhelm broader maxims of justice,including the principle that innocent people should not suffer. Thisarticle argues that fundamental legislative reform is necessary toproperly reflect the role that the profile of offenders should have inthe sentencing regime.

Cost effectiveness of an elementary school active physical education policy

INTRODUCTION: Many American children do not meet recommendations for moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Although school-based physical education (PE) provides children with opportunities for MVPA, less than half of PE minutes are typically active. The purpose of this study is to estimate the cost effectiveness of a state "active PE" policy implemented nationally requiring that at least 50% of elementary school PE time is spent in MVPA. METHODS: A cohort model was used to simulate the impact of an active PE policy on physical activity, BMI, and healthcare costs over 10 years for a simulated cohort of the 2015 U.S. population aged 6-11 years. Data were analyzed in 2014. RESULTS: An elementary school active PE policy would increase MVPA per 30-minute PE class by 1.87 minutes (95% uncertainty interval [UI]=1.23, 2.51) and cost $70.7 million (95% UI=$51.1, $95.9 million) in the first year to implement nationally. Physical activity gains would cost $0.34 per MET-hour/day (95% UI=$0.15, $2.15), and BMI could be reduced after 2 years at a cost of $401 per BMI unit (95% UI=$148, $3,100). From 2015 to 2025, the policy would cost $235 million (95% UI=$170 million, $319 million) and reduce healthcare costs by $60.5 million (95% UI=$7.93 million, $153 million). CONCLUSIONS: Implementing an active PE policy at the elementary school level could have a small impact on physical activity levels in the population and potentially lead to reductions in BMI and obesity-related healthcare expenditures over 10 years.

Acidentes infantis: relatos de diretores e professores de ensino fundamental e análise do material didático

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

Conference time for teachers & parents; a teachers' guide to successful conference reporting.

"In cooperation with Association of Classroom Teachers."

Red Time is Me-Time: Advertising, Ambivalence, and Women's Magazines

This study explores the concept of self for women in consumer culture, as it is played out in an experiential advertising campaign for a U.K. women's magazine called Red. The study qualitatively explores the tensions and ambivalences experienced by female participants in response to a campaign using the notion of self-indulgence and "me time" as they experience it in the context of their everyday lives. It shows how women attempt to reconcile the mixed emotions that the Red campaign evokes in them.