Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between physical activity and physiological health (e.g., Burke et al., 2006; Irwin, 2004). Less attention has been paid to the contribution of physical activity on psychological well-being (Fox et al., 2000), and more specifically eudaimonic well-being, which reflects optimal psychological functioning and development at ones maximum potential (Ryff, 1989, 1995). This study investigated the role that health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA; any form of physical activity that benefits health and functional capacity; Miilunpalo et al., 2000) plays in eudaimonic well-being, which Ryff conceptualizes in terms of six dimensions: (1) Autonomy (i.e., being self-determined and independent); (2) Environmental Mastery (i.e., having a sense of mastery and competence in managing the environment); (3) Personal Growth (i.e., having a feeling of continued development); (4) Positive Relations with Others (i.e., having warm, satisfying, and trusting relationships with others); (5) Purpose in Life (i.e., having goals and a sense of direction in life); and, (6) Self-acceptance (i.e., possessing a positive attitude toward the self).<p> Employing Ryffs (1989, 1995) perspective of eudaimonic well-being, this study explored whether or not experiencing eudaimonia during HEPA moderates the relationship between HEPA and eudaimonic well-being. Additionally, it explored whether or not the relationship between experiencing eudaimonia during HEPA and eudaimonic well-being is mediated by basic need satisfaction. Undergraduate university students (N = 524; Mage = 20.7 years) completed an online survey including the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995), the Short Questionnaire to Assess Health-enhancing Physical Activity (Wendel-Vos et al., 2003), the Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activity scale (Huta & Ryan, 2008), and the Psychological Need Satisfaction in Exercise Scale (Wilson, Rogers, et al., 2006). While level of HEPA was not significantly related to eudaimonic well-being (r = .05, p = .24), experiencing hedonia during HEPA (i.e., enjoying oneself, experiencing pleasure; r = .40, p < .01), experiencing eudaimonia during HEPA (r = .37, p < .01), and basic need satisfaction (r = .46, p < .01) were significantly related to eudaimonic well-being. Although experiencing eudaimonia during HEPA did not moderate the relationship between HEPA and eudaimonic well-being, experiencing eudaimonia during HEPA accounted for a significant 2.2% unique variance in eudaimonic well-being beyond HEPA and experiencing hedonia during HEPA (the full model accounted for a significant 18.2% of the variance in eudaimonic well-being).<p> Furthermore, the data were consistent with a model of partial mediation in that basic need satisfaction partially accounted for the relationship between experiencing eudaimonia during HEPA and eudaimonic well-being, supporting the proposition put forth by Ryan et al. (2008) that positive psychological well-being is a result of eudaimonic living that facilitates the satisfaction of our basic psychological needs. Findings from this study suggest that what appears to be significant in the relationship between HEPA and eudaimonic well-being is not the level of activity, but rather what is experienced during the activity. Future research may explore the directionality of the relationship by examining the extent to which eudaimonic well-being influences what is experienced during activity.

School physical education (PE) programs are often viewed as one of the best and most effective ways to encourage children and youth to be physically active as they provide an environment ideal for the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Due to the potentially powerful role that PE can play in the health of youth, attention needs to be given to ensure that these programs are as effective as possible. In Canada, recommendations have been made for daily physical education for students from kindergarten through grade 12 yet most high schools are not meeting this goal. At the high school level, physical education is frequently provided for students through one of two scheduling systems: (a) semestered physical education (PE class every day for half of the school year), and (b) non-semestered physical education (PE class every second day for the entire school year). To date, no research exists that investigates the influence of the scheduling of PE on the physical activity levels, participation rates, and experiences of high school students. Using a mixed methods research design, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect that the scheduling of PE programs has on the subsequent physical activity levels and experiences of the students involved. This study was conducted in two phases. In phase one, Grade 9 students enrolled in two schools (n = 245), with one school offering semestered PE and one school offering non-semestered PE, completed an activity recall questionnaire. This questionnaire was administered three times (October, February, and May) throughout the school year. At the baseline data collection in October, the students in the two schools had comparable total physical activity levels. The most notable difference could be seen in May where students enrolled in non-semestered PE had significantly higher physical activity levels than baseline (p>.05) while students enrolled in the semestered PE program showed a trend of decreasing physical activity levels. It was also found that students enrolled in the non-semestered PE program showed significantly higher levels of participation in structured physical activity (p>.05), activities that had to be signed up or registered for, at school and away from the school. In the second phase of the study, students were organized into focus groups based on their gender and activity level. The focus group discussions explored the experiences of students in both types of PE programs. Common themes from the focus groups included the role that non-semestered PE played in the promotion of physical activity throughout the year. It was found that the non-semestered schedule fostered a continued interest in PE but that it interfered with the scheduling of other academic classes. Semestered PE appealed to those students who preferred to get PE over with and/or appreciated the familiar routine of the one-term class. Key decision-makers were also interviewed with many of the same themes emanating. Non-semestered physical education was seen as advantageous for encouraging physical activity levels in students, but being logistically difficult to schedule. Students and key decision-makers agreed that while semestered PE was more convenient for administration, non-semestered PE would encourage PA levels, enrollment in elective PE, and participation in intramural activities and school sports teams. In conclusion, this study provides support for the investigation into the effects of PE scheduling on the physical activity levels of students. The non-semestered PE program appeared to encourage students to be more involved in structured physical activities and was supported by most students and key decision-makers with the chief objection being the logistical inconveniences. However, with youth inactivity still a major problem in Canada, and changes being desperately needed, mere inconveniences should not discourage the implementation of possible physical activity-improving initiatives like non-semestered physical education.

Abstract Two purposes guided this study. First, the researcher explored in-service teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and barriers physical activity had on students with exceptionalities in school-based activities. Second, the researcher explored in-service teachers’ perceptions of physical activity and how their attitudes affected student’s learning. One hundred and fifty eight in-service, postgraduate (teachers taking courses in Education) and graduate teachers (teachers taking graduate level courses) volunteered to participate in this study. In-service teachers teaching in Kindergarten to grade 12 classrooms were either employed with a rural school division in Central Saskatchewan or a rural school division in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. Data was collected using adapted versions the Physical Educators’ Attitude Toward Teaching Individual with Disabilities-III (PEATID-III) (Rizzo, 1993) and the Physical Educators’ Judgement about Inclusion (PEJI) (Hodge, Murata, & Kozub, 2002) in this study. Volunteered participants completed the amalgamated adapted survey titled, Physical Educators’ Judgments and Attitude Towards Teaching Individuals with Exceptionalities. Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between teacher characteristics (e.g., gender, age, whether participants had taught physical education, participants ratings of fitness) and the six survey subscales (e.g., outcomes of teaching students with exceptionalities, effects on student learning, need for more academic preparation, judgement about inclusion, judgement about acceptance of students with exceptionalities, and judgement about perceived training needs) to investigate if there were any statistically significant relationships. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to examine potential differences between teachers’ attitudes toward instructing students with exceptionalities and the teacher characteristics (number of special education courses taken, years of teaching experience with exceptionalities, and number of adapted PE courses taken). All six subscales were examined compared with teacher characteristics to find potential differences between teachers’ attitudes toward instructing students with exceptionalities and varying levels of experience and pre-service training. Results showed years of teaching experience and academic preparation influenced teachers’ attitudes towards instructing students with exceptionalities. Physical education teachers who had more additional training had higher self-reported ratings of their ability to teach physical education to all students than physical education teachers with less additional training. Results also indicated the older teachers were, the more negative attitudes they had toward wanting students with exceptionalities in their classrooms. These results support the body of evidence that shows there is a need to promote positive attitudes in the schools toward teaching individuals with exceptionalities physical activity.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of implementation intentions on physical activity in older adults with stronger and weaker executive control resources (ECRs). Methods: One hundred and ten community dwelling older adults (Mage=74.42) were randomly assigned to receive either a physical activity implementation intention intervention, a control intervention, or no-treatment. Three ECR facets (inhibition, task-switching, working memory), baseline behaviour and baseline intentions were assessed during the initial laboratory session. During 4 weekly follow-up telephone interviews, participants reported physical activity behaviour for the previous week, and refreshed implementation intentions for each upcoming week. Results: A main effect of treatment condition on 1-month self-reported physical activity was observed, with those in the experimental group reporting significantly higher physical activity than those in the control or no-treatment conditions. In addition, a significant 2-way (intention strength by treatment condition) interaction emerged, with the experimental group showing higher intention-behaviour correspondence than the control and no-treatment groups. A marginal 2-way interaction of intention and behavioural inhibition was also detected; those with stronger behavioural inhibition had higher intention-behaviour correspondence relative to those with weaker behavioural inhibition across all three treatment conditions. Conclusions: Implementation intentions are effective in facilitating physical activity in healthy older adults. The findings also indicate that behavioural inhibition may be important for the moderation of intention-behaviour relationships in the context of physical activity, regardless of goal setting strategy.

Background and Purpose: Governments and policy makers continue to look to entrepreneurship as a vehicle to economic development. This is informed by the perception shared by governments and policy makers that entrepreneurship is a good thing and we ought to have more of it. Thus a wave of policies has emerged in the UK and elsewhere which advocates for an increase in the level of enterprise activity. Our understanding of how and when governments intervene to assist entrepreneurs, and indeed which, if any, specific entrepreneurs should receive assistance in some shape or form, still has substantial knowledge gaps. The review aims to contribute to the building of this knowledge. Methodology: The systematic review methodology was followed to examine the entrepreneurship literature. Quantitatively, the data was examined using basic descriptive statistics and content analysis. Qualitatively, the data was analyzed based on an inductive approach in order to identify emerging, frequent, dominant or significant themes that dominate in understanding entrepreneurship. Findings: This review has identified factors which affect entrepreneurial performance, the market failure that result as well as the policy instruments defined in literature that aim to rectify the perceived market failure. Different typologies were identified which illustrate how the different policy instruments are categorised. Further, this review highlights the complex nature of public policy and entrepreneurship and raises the importance of adopting a more coherent “holistic” approach when advocating for intervention in entrepreneurship and public policy.

Background: Hypertension is synonymous with high blood pressure, where blood exerts a great force on the arterial walls. Smoking cigarettes is known to cause negative health outcomes, specifically increase blood pressure. Adversely, physical activity is known to provide many health benefits, including the reduction of blood pressure. This study examines the impact of physical activity on the association between smoking and hypertension. Methods: Using secondary data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2008, demographics of the population were described via descriptive statistics. Regressions were run using different models, controlling for various variables (age, ethnicity, sex, poverty to income ratio (PIR), body mass index (BMI), and interaction (smoking x physical activity)) to determine the association between smoking and hypertension. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to determine statistical significance throughout all the analyses performed. Results: In total, 10,149 cases were included in the study analysis. 10.9% of the cases were smokers, 48.1% were physically activity, and 28.6% were hypertensive. OR’s for the various models observing smoking and hypertension were 1.48 (1.29, 1.69), 1.42 (1.22, 1.65), 1.37 (1.12, 1.67), and 1.36 (1.10, 1.68). In the final model which controlled for all variables including the interaction term, the OR was 1.12 (0.47, 2.67). Conclusions: Smokers had significantly higher rates of hypertension in all the models. The final model which observed smokers who were physical active found that the relationship between smoking and hypertension was no longer significant. This study suggests physical activity as a mode of intervention to reduce blood pressure in smokers.

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area faces numerous transportation challenges now and in the future: congestion, population growth, and an inadequate public transit network. The metropolitan region has also changed in form in past decades, shifting from a monocentric to a polycentric region, further compounding the challenges. Currently, the public transit service is delivered by 9 different agencies comprised of 6 municipal providers, 2 sub-regional providers, and 1 regional provider. A region possessing a multiplicity of agencies suggests an overabundance of jurisdictional borders - borders that can potentially restrict travel across them. This thesis seeks to determine the impact of the presence or the omission of jurisdictional borders on transit patrons. A comparative approach is employed to investigate the benefits and costs to patrons and agencies through greater integration of specific origin-destination (OD) pairs. The chosen methods selects OD pairs that are known to be transit competitive, possess a high travel demand, and cross a transit-jurisdictional border. The relationship between transportation and land-use is relied upon to select clusters of dense employment or population, called activity centres, where public transit is known to compete well with the private auto. The travel demand between these centres is obtained using the 2006 Transportation Tomorrow Survey and the current optimal transit routing is determined using Google Trip Planner. Three OD pairs are selected that possess the most onerous transfers, a proxy for poor integration. Another three OD pairs are selected that possess seamless or no transfers using a variety of modes. In both cases, the existing transit routing is compared to an alternate routing to understand the benefits achieved through inter-jurisdictional integration; the first compares existing trips to improved inter-jurisdictional routes while the second compares existing trips to exclusively intra-jurisdictional routes. Through identification of 40 employment and 29 population activity centres in the region, and the acquiring of travel demand between them, the six case study OD pairs are selected. The three OD pairs investigated, with onerous transfers, are comprised of trips between Brampton-Mississauga, Hamilton-Burlington, and Brampton-Toronto. The remaining inter-jurisdictional case study OD pairs are made up of three different modes: conventional bus, express bus, and regional rail. They comprise trips between Toronto-York Region, Brampton-Mississauga, and Mississauga-Toronto respectively. This study finds that in all cases, the routes with greater integration reduce total travel time and the generalized cost to patrons. Additionally, the penalty due to transferring is reduced through integration implying a current barrier existing at some jurisdictional borders. For the agencies, the cost of delivering the suggested inter-jurisdictional service varies dramatically. The costs are translated into a quantity of additional patrons necessary to justify the operation investment while maintaining the current revenue/cost ratio. These findings provide insight into the current transit network. Promoting integration throughout the network will help attract new riders as the generalized cost of travel is reduced. Also, when inter-jurisdictional connections are made, such as in the case of the Brampton-Mississauga Zum service, the beneficiaries of that service are widespread and not limited to the corridor in which the service operates.

We analyze videos in which a hand interacts with a basketball. In this work, we present a computational system which detects and classifies hand-ball events, given the trajectories of a hand and ball. Our approach is to determine non-gravitational parts of the ball's motion using only the motion of the hand as a reliable cue for hand-ball events. This thesis makes three contributions. First, we show that hand motion can be segmented using piecewise fifth-order polynomials inspired by work in motor control. We make the remarkable experimental observation that hand-ball events have a phenomenal correspondence to the segmentation breakpoints. Second, by fitting a context-dependent gravitational model to the ball over an adaptive window, we can isolate places where the hand is causing non-gravitational motion of the ball. Finally, given a precise segmentation, we use the measured velocity steps (force impulses) on the ball to detect and classify various event types.

Information technology is playing a vital role in our every field of life. The most common use of information is in the field of education. Use of information technology in libraries is very important. People from differents works of life extract information from these libraries. In this paper, we have tried to identify how can we facilitate the Umeå university library users for better interaction with the information? We have used different methods for collection of data to identify the Umeå university libray problems and then we analysed the whole library system with the help of Engeström Activity theory, to find out which factors are effeting the interaction between users and library and creating main problems. In the end we have given some suggestions for the improvement of interaction between users and Umeå library to facilitate them for accessing information.

Rooting and exploring are two behaviours pigs in the wild spend considerable time doing. When kept in pens with limited access to bedding materials stress can originate and often lead to undesired behaviours. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether environmental enrichment in terms of ropes and an activity ball containing piglet food, can provide an outlet for their natural behaviours and thus reduce undesired behaviours. In total, 141 pigs were used and divided into three groups, control-, activity ball- and rope groups. The observation methods used were 1/0 recording and instantaneous recording with 15 second intervals. In the rope group a significant difference was seen in the interaction with enrichment, as it was higher on day 1. Between the three groups, a decrease in ear-, tail- and equipment biting was seen in the two enriched groups on day 1. On day 3 these difference could only be seen between the control group and the other two groups in equipment biting. However, few data ware collected and so we cannot confirm our hypotheses, concerning whether the environmental enrichments decreased the undesirable behaviours or not. However, most of our findings are in compliance with earlier studies as we among other things found that the rope worked better than the activity ball and that the interest of the enrichments decreased with time.