Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The transformations that have marked the rural areas reflected in a new era productive. What once used to empirical methods to produce, he won a differentiated performance with the arising of industrial Brazil. So the producers went through to the technological moment and the field became targeted as a place to generate income and working hours, until then been seen often as subsistence and housing. However, these changes that emerged over the course of nearly four decades and is recognized as the New Rural Brazilian period, also generated problems such as rural exodus by the exclusion of small producers that did not fit to productive manner and as soon as the city became be attractive by offering jobs generated by the urbanization of the country. Parallel to this phenomenon, the state's sheep industry, which contributed to the historical formation of the southern fields with meat supply to the resorts and the commercialization of wool that yielded profits for the maintenance of property, passed her time of crisis with the entry of synthetic wool in the domestic market, which led producers to direcionarem its production profile of sheep meat and the improvement of lambs for sale. Thus, while Brazil urbanizava up and acquired technology, gaucho producers lost property to the city and properties in short, give up the sheep production. However, what we see is that even after the implementation of management techniques and the profit motive, there are still properties that keeps the same sheep flock without commercial purposes. This paradigm we tried to unravel along this research in order to characterize the producers of São Sepe-RS and determine the purpose of production in profit or pleasure, since it distinguishes the choices in producing for the sale of lambs and production to only consumption of the property. Thus, one can determine the production methodology dedicated to entertainment and a way to produce historical review on sheep. However, what one sees is the lack or poor characterization of this way of thinking in rural areas as opposed to leisure is only seen the what is done in off hours and on rare occasions given Beheerder an emotional bond itself the history of every human being. / As transformações que marcaram o meio rural refletiram-se em uma nova era produtiva. O que antes utilizava-se de métodos empíricos para produzir, ganhou uma performance diferenciada com a advinda do Brasil industrial. Assim, os produtores atravessaram para o momento tecnológico e o campo passou a ser direcionado como um local de geração de renda e jornada de trabalho, até então sido encarado muitas vezes como de subsistência e moradia. No entanto, estas modificações que surgiram com o decorrer de aproximadamente quatro décadas e reconhecido como o período de Novo Rural Brasileiro, também gerou problemas como o êxodo rural pela exclusão de pequenos produtores que não se adaptavam aos moldes produtivos e tão logo a cidade tornou-se atrativa pela oferta de empregos gerados pela urbanização do país. Paralelo a este fenômeno, a ovinocultura gaúcha, que contribuiu para a formação histórica dos campos sulinos com o abastecimento de carne para as estâncias e a comercialização da lã que rendeu lucros para a mantença das propriedades, passava pelo seu momento de crise com a entrada da fibra sintética no mercado nacional, o que levou os produtores a direcionarem sua produção para ovelhas de perfil de carne e o aprimoramento da produção de cordeiros para a venda. Assim, ao passo que o Brasil urbanizava-se e adquiria tecnologia, as propriedades gaúchas perdiam produtores para a cidade e as propriedades em suma, desistiam da produção ovina. No entanto, o que se percebe é que mesmo após a implantação de técnicas administrativas e a busca pelo lucro, ainda assim há propriedades que mantem o rebanho ovino mesmo sem fins comerciais. Este paradigma procurou-se desvendar ao longo desta pesquisa afim de caracterizar os produtores do município de São Sepé-RS e determinar o objetivo da produção em lucro ou lazer, uma vez que distingue-se às escolhas em produzir para a venda de cordeiros e a produção para apenas o consumo da propriedade. Sendo assim, pode-se determinar uma metodologia de produção voltada ao lazer e uma forma de resgate histórico em produzir ovinos. No entanto, o que percebe-se é a falta ou pouca caracterização desta forma de pensamento no meio rural, em contraponto que o lazer é apenas visto como o que se faz em horas de folga e em raras situações determinado como um vínculo emocional a própria história de cada ser humano.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-08-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:46:36Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 zanetti_mc_dr_rcla.pdf: 1225577 bytes, checksum: 879914c6b1cfa3e1d4a3b2636d48ea8f (MD5) / Atualmente, não há como negar a entrada maciça das tecnologias em nossas vidas. Tecnologias essas, que muitas vezes acabam por alterar e redefinir nossas vidas e relações para com o mundo e/ou com outras pessoas. Pensando nisso, realizamos uma pesquisa que teve como objetivos centrais: identificar os principais motivos apontados por usuários do jogo Second Life® (SL) para participar do mesmo e compreender as possíveis influências da utilização desse jogo sobre a vida real (RL) desses participantes. Para que pudéssemos atender aos objetivos propostos, optamos pelo emprego de um estudo etnográfico, de cunho qualitativo no mundo virtual através da observação participante. O estudo foi realizado entre os meses de julho e agosto de 2012 e contou com a investigação de 10 (dez) avatares, sendo 5 (cinco) representados por corpos femininos e 5 (cinco) masculinos, residentes no jogo SL. Como instrumentos, utilizamos uma entrevista semi estruturada por meio do chatbox do jogo, além do registro fotográfico de todos os participantes, obtidos por meio de um recurso disponível dentro do próprio ambiente. A pesquisa também foi aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa em Seres Humanos do Instituto de Biociências da UNESP, campus de Rio Claro e obedeceu todos os padrões éticos exigidos pela Resolução 196/96 do Conselho Nacional de Saúde. Na análise e interpretação dos dados empregamos 2 (duas) diferentes técnicas: (1) Análise de conteúdo, que foi utilizada na interpretação das falas consideradas importantes das entrevistas semi estruturadas e também na compilação dos dados das entrevistas na forma de quadros. Esta técnica também nos permitiu melhor compreensão e posterior categorização dos dados pelo sistema de ―milha‖, ou seja, durante a trajetória de análise, que resultou no encontro de 3 (três) diferentes... / There is currently no way to deny the massive influx of technology in our lives. These technologies often end up changing and redefining our lives and relationships with the world and/or with other people. Considering this, we conducted a study with the aim to identify the principal motives cited by Second Life® (SL) users about why they participate in the game and to understand how playing this game influences their real life (RL). In order to meet the proposed objectives, we chose to conduct a qualitative ethnographic study carried out in the virtual world through participant observation. The study was carried out in July and August 2012 and investigated 10 (ten) resident avatars of SL, 5 (five) represented by female bodies and 5 (five) represented by male bodies. Research instruments included a semi-structured interview conducted in the SL chatbox and a photographic record of all study participants obtained through a resource available within the environment itself. The research was also approved by the Ethics Committee on Human Research of the Institute of Biosciences of UNESP, Rio Claro and obeyed all ethical standards required by Resolution 196/96 of the National Health Council. We employed 2 (two) different techniques to analyze and interpret data: (1) Content analysis, used to interpret important speech samples drawn from the semi-structured interviews and to compile interview data in tables. This technique also allowed us to better understand and subsequently categorize data by mile system, i.e., during the course of analysis, resulting in the identification of the following 3 (three) different categories: Category I: Principal motives for participating in the game of SL; Category II: Dynamics adopted by SL users; and Category III: Influences of game use on the RL of these users; (2) Image analysis, used to interpret collected... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-04-08Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:46:24Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 kawaguti_cn_dr_rcla.pdf: 434201 bytes, checksum: d31c2041b2cdc7a12caf0747d23b8401 (MD5) / O governo eletrônico (e-gov) representa um sistema de disseminação de informações e outros serviços, com o intuito de manter a transparência das ações ministeriais em curso, o qual pode ocorrer internamente, entre os ministérios e com a população em geral. Entretanto, para que este sistema seja eficiente, tornam-se necessárias iniciativas capazes de alimentar e gerir novas informações. Sendo assim, o objetivo do estudo foi promover um balanço dos projetos financiados pela Rede de Centros de Desenvolvimento de Esporte Recreativo e de Lazer (Rede CEDES), da Secretaria Nacional de Desenvolvimento do Esporte e do Lazer do Ministério do Esporte, evidenciando suas principais características, bem como, verificar a disponibilização dos dados referentes a esses projetos no site Ministerial, com o intuito de contribuir para a ampliação das possibilidades de disseminação de informações sobre o lazer no e-gov. O estudo constou de uma análise documental dos projetos apoiados pela Rede CEDES, associada a uma pesquisa exploratória, realizada com os projetos financiados pela Rede CEDES, cujos dados foram disponibilizados nos site do Ministério do Esporte. Os dados foram analisados descritivamente, por meio da Técnica de Análise de Conteúdo Temático e indicam o crescimento das ações da Rede CEDES, desde 2003 até o presente, estreitando as relações com e entre as Universidades e a inserção de novos centros produtores do conhecimento de todas as regiões. As abordagens dos projetos puderam ser divididas em 9 eixos temáticos, conforme o objetivo de cada pesquisa e a disseminação das informações nos sites do Ministério apresentam ainda algumas lacunas pendentes, haja vista que as informações postadas pelo Ministério do Esporte em seu site são ainda incongruentes, ao serem comparadas aos... / Electronic government (e-gov) represents a system of information dissemination and other services, in order to maintain the transparency of ministerial actions in progress, which can occur internally, between ministries and with the general population. However, for this system to be effective, initiatives to nurture and manage new information are necessary. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide an overview of the projects sponsored by Rede CEDES, at the National Secretariat for Development of Sport and Leisure from Sport Ministry, highlighting their main characteristics, as well as checking the availability of data inserted on Ministerial site, in order to contribute to expanding the possibilities of disseminating information about leisure at the e-gov. The study consisted of a documental research of the projects supported by Rede CEDES associated with an exploratory research conducted with projects funded by Rede CEDES, whose data were available on the website of the Ministry of Sports. Data were descriptively analyzed by Thematic Content Analysis Technic and indicate the growth of the Rede CEDES actions, since 2003 until the present, strengthening links between Universities and with the inclusion of new productive centers of knowledge of all regions. The approaches of the projects could be divided into nine thematic areas, as the goal of every research, and the dissemination of information on the websites of the Ministry still have some outstanding gaps, as noticed that the information posted by the Sports Ministry on its website are still inconsistent, if compared to documents researched. Different adjustments in the form of information dissemination on recreational sports and leisure at the official sites... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

What kind of rock culture would grow out of an exam-oriented educational system? In the western rock world, self-learning has been characterized as most popular musicians’ principal learning pattern, closely intertwined with the “DIY” ethos and the counter school culture. This research aims to present a different case, that of the “schooled” rock music in Taiwan. Over the last three decades, rock music in Taiwan has grown in popularity, while Taipei has gradually earned the reputation of being the “Mandarin pop/indie capital.” In its developmental process, a few characteristics are worthy of the attention of both the Sociology of Education and youth cultural studies. Firstly, learning rock instruments in regular high school is the main route for teenagers to gain access to rock culture. Secondly, where elite students tend to devote more time to rock music activities than other students, their musical repertoire is characterized by producing covers of heavy metal tunes instead of song-writing. This thesis will probe the rationale behind this phenomenon by answering the following questions: What can best explain the appeal of heavy rock to Taiwanese elite high school students? Why do they not write their own songs? Drawing upon data collected through a school ethnography, it is revealed that the ways Taiwanese elite high school students participate in musical activities can be best understood to be part of a subcultural milieu marked by the collective pursuit of “dual excellence in both study and play”. In this symbolic space, the demanding technical requirements for acquiring several playing techniques allow rock to become a rankable sphere of activity in which elite students struggle for subcultural superiority according to measurable musical standards. The emphasis on instrumental virtuosity conforms to students’ competitive disposition manufactured through academic exams. With these features, rock music becomes a particular form of subcultural activity which allows elite students to not only resist educational control, but also exert symbolic violence over peers of lower-ranked high schools by showing technical superiority. This thesis extends the CCCS’s subcultural solution to the analysis of “subcultural distinction”. In distinction to the “internal perspective” of Sarah Thornton’s conception of subcultural capital (1995), a more holistic framework is developed to explore the relationship between the wider patterns of social division, young people’s subcultural participation, and the shaping of the value hierarchy both within and outside the subcultural sphere. Further, the thesis explores the educational system’s active role in shaping youth subcultures. I demonstrate how education in Taiwan is institutionally mediated by the exam regime to be a powerful logic of social differentiation, and the ways young people’s subcultural choices are constrained by their educational career advance from high school to university. The study also has important implications for the educational policy making in Taiwan. By looking at how students “play,” I propose a new exploratory route to illuminate the widespread impact of the exam-oriented educational system on students’ creativity and identity formation.

Submitted by Daniele Mendonça (daniele.mendonca@ucsal.br) on 2018-06-06T13:10:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOJOSESILVA.pdf: 1540622 bytes, checksum: c20918bd9a11e5e0442860866101a8e1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rosemary Magalhães (rosemary.magalhaes@ucsal.br) on 2018-06-06T13:12:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOJOSESILVA.pdf: 1540622 bytes, checksum: c20918bd9a11e5e0442860866101a8e1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-06T13:12:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOJOSESILVA.pdf: 1540622 bytes, checksum: c20918bd9a11e5e0442860866101a8e1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-27 / Esta dissertação compõe o conjunto de estudos realizados na Universidade Católica do Salvador, no Mestrado em Políticas Sociais e Cidadania, na Linha de Pesquisa - Políticas Sociais Universais, Institucionalização e Controle. Tem como objeto de estudo o desenvolvimento de gestão participativa do Programa de Esporte e Lazer da Cidade (PELC), enquanto política pública social de governo considerando uma análise das Diretrizes de 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, e 2016. Problematiza os desafios e contradições que são identificadas na proposta das Diretrizes que tratam de gestão participativa do Programa de Esporte e Lazer da Cidade (PELC), enquanto política social. Responde uma pergunta científica específica que diz respeito aos fundamentos do PELC, segundo os documentos oficiais, para identificar os limites na sua implementação gestora. As fontes foram os documentos oficiais das Diretrizes do PELC nos anos de 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 e 2016 do Ministério do Esporte. Quanto ao método de pesquisa foram realizadas análise de conteúdo dos documentos. Na análise foram destacados os fundamentos referentes às relações sociais estabelecidas - que orientam a gestão e participação dos envolvidos com o PELC. Os dados foram expostos de forma descritiva através de quadros. A discussão dos dados analisados nos possibilitou apresentar contradições que existem no que está escrito nos documentos. Para analisar as determinações e explicar as contradições e limites nos valemos da teoria que explica o que são políticas públicas e como as relações são estabelecidas em uma sociedade dividida em classes sociais como é o caso do Brasil. Concluímos que, apesar de ser anunciado um programa democrático, participativo, universalizante, para elevar o padrão cultural esportivo da população, existem limites estruturais, contradições e que inviabilizam muitas iniciativas de participação e expansão, enquanto política social. Isto decorre destas políticas estarem determinadas pela organização econômica neoliberal que privilegia políticas assistencialistas, focais, compensatórias e não políticas verdadeiramente democráticas e universais. / This dissertation compiles the set of studies carried out at the Universidade Católica do Salvador, in the Master in Social Policies and Citizenship, in the Research Line - Universal Social Policies, Institutionalization and Control. The objective of this study is the development of participatory management of the City Sport and Leisure Program (PELC), as a public social policy of government considering an analysis of the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016 Guidelines. It challenges the challenges and contradictions which are identified in the proposal of the Guidelines that deal with participatory management of the City Sport and Leisure Program (PELC), as a social policy. It answers a specific scientific question that concerns the foundations of the PELC, according to the official documents, to identify the limits in its management implementation. The sources were the official documents of the PELC Guidelines in the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016 of the Ministry of Sports. As for the research method, the document content analysis was performed. In the analysis, the foundations for established social relations - which guide the management and participation of those involved with the PELC - were highlighted. The data were described descriptively through tables. The discussion of the analyzed data allowed us to present contradictions that exist in what is written in the documents. To analyze the determinations and to explain the contradictions and limits we use the theory that explains what public policies are and how the relations are established in a society divided in social classes as is the case of Brazil. We conclude that, despite the announcement of a democratic, participative and universalizing program to raise the sports cultural pattern of the population, there are structural limits, contradictions and that make many initiatives of participation and expansion unfeasible as a social policy. This stems from these policies being determined by the neoliberal economic organization that favors genuinely democratic and universal welfare, focal, compensatory and non-political policies.

Sociable folk dancing in the UK is an organised group activity in which a significant number of people take part, often practising folk styles which have their origins in other countries. These groups are generally not run for profit, operate under the radar of media attention, and consequentially their activities remain largely hidden from view. This thesis addresses the fact that there have been no in-depth studies of these groups. It reports on the findings of a detailed ethnographic research project, to offer in-sights into the practices and motivations of participants in social dance. The thesis answers the key question: ‘What is the meaning and significance of participation in these folk music and social dance styles to those taking part?’. An interdisciplinary and ethnographic research approach was adopted to investigate two such folk styles: Cajun and Zydeco, and Scandinavian. This approach allowed research participants to make a significant contribution to the focus of the research, and to inform the subsidiary questions: ‘What are the concerns and interests of those involved in social folk dance?’, ‘What is it that makes involvement in these dance practices so appealing?’, and ‘What are the overall benefits of being involved?’ The research produced an interpretive account of these practices, through investigating sites of participation in these dance styles in the UK, which were explored by means of immersive involvement in their dance practices. This gave an insight into the way in which participation was organised and managed, and allowed for introductions to be made which were followed up with thirty in-depth interviews. The study revealed that despite the stylistic differences between the two dance styles and how they are practised, both nevertheless benefitted participants in similar ways. That dance events are organised on a not-for-profit basis was particularly important to participants, and encouraged loyalty and cooperation, promoting feelings of empowerment and ownership. An atmosphere of supportive inclusion was also built in to the loose organisation of events and activities, which allowed a consensus to develop where social attitudes and ideas could be negotiated, cultivated, and shared. This created a sense of belonging to an unboundaried, and fluid community or social network, a safe environment in which participants were able to experience dance as a communicative and expressive dialogue between individuals and within the group. This thesis argues that participants found their involvement in these dance styles socially and personally satisfying, and that this made a considerable contribution to their individual wellbeing. The research found that sociable folk dancing served as a vehicle for community, improving participants’ sense of self-worth, supporting creativity, and well-being. These findings complement clinical research that champions dance, and social dance in particular, as a healthy and worthwhile leisure activity. This thesis supports the results of such scientific studies into the benefits of dance by providing supporting evidence from within a social setting. This has implications for further research, and for policy and practice, whether dance activities are pursued formally or informally and whatever their aim.

Childhood obesity is becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK and globally. Over the last 10 years, there has been a rise in prevalence of risk factors for health and a decline in physical activity. Obesity is major health risk factor for a number of other chronic diseases, some of which are prevalent in children. Regular physical activity is associated with reduced adiposity, healthier metabolic status lower risk factors of diabetes and CHD and enhanced bone mineral accrual and protection against osteoporosis. Recent literature suggests that children may not be meeting the recommended daily guideline for physical activity of 60 min per day (Riddoch et al., 2007), while others suggest this guideline is insufficient to protect against risk factors in children. Assessment of programmes promoting physical activity, with robust health related outcome measures are therefore warranted Initially, sixty-one children were recruited for a 9-week exploratory trial. The trial assessed the effect of a structured high impact exercise (STEX) and a lifestyle intervention (PASS). Changes in dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) derived body composition and bone mineral were compared to age matched controls (CaNT). The STEX intervention resulted in an additional mean increase in total body BMC of 63.3 g (P= 0.019) and an additional increase of 0.011 g.cm-2 (P= 0.018) for BMD over changes observed in controls. Neither intervention stimulated significant increases in BMC or BMD at the femoral neck or lumbar spine (P > 0.05) compared with the controls. No significant changes were found in fat mass index (P > 0.05), lean mass index (P > 0.05) or percent body fat (p = 0.09) in any groups. Structured impact exercise promoted significant and clinically relevant increases in bone measures, without significant changes to body composition. The exploratory finding therefore supported the need for a larger, definitive randomised trial to confirm the results. Following this, a large cohort of Liverpool school children (n=152) was recruited for cross-sectional analysis. Measures included 3-day physical activity using a uniaxial accelerometer, maturity status, cardia-respiratory fitness and skin-fold measurements in addition to body composition, bone mineral content and density. Analysis of variance was used to uncover any sex differences, partial correlation analysis was performed to investigate relationships between health-related variables and physical activity, with maturity offset as the controlling variable. Regression analysis was performed to find the best predictor of BMC and BMD (primary outcome variable), using LM, FM, Mass, and maturity offset as predictor variables. The results showed that children participated in the recommended amount of activity. However, body fat measures indicated that the children fell between the 85th-95% percentile for overweight. Further more BMD status of both sexes also fell below reference values. The dose-response relationship was highlighted as children who participated in < 60 mln.oay" recommendation were less physically fit (P=0.001) and fatter (P < 0.001) than children achieving this guideline. Children participating in over >90 min.day" had significantly lower percent body fat (P=0.005) and fat mass (P=0.04) than children who participated in < 60 min.day" and significantly lower percent body fat (P=0.02)than all children who participated in < 90 min.day". The findings highlight the importance of the high volume ( > 90 rnin.day") and high-intensity physical activity (over 10 min.day") as a precursor to low body fat and high bone mineral in children. The one hundred and fifty-two children from the baseline cohort were allocated to 1 of 4 groups over a 12 month period. Three groups received a different physical activity intervention; a high-intensity programme ('HIPA'), a skill development programme ('FMS') or a lifestyle-based programme ('PASS'). The 'HIPA' and 'FMS' groups participated in an after-school club (2x60 min.week"), the 'PASS' group attended weekly classroom sessions (1 x week) delivered by a lifestyle coach during the school day. The control group ('CaNT') received health information. All baseline measures were repeated at 9 and 12 months (during and after) intervention. All interventions minimised fat mass accumulation, with the 'HIPA' intervention being most effective (P=0.03), implying that the high-intensity nature of the activity sessions was more effective at minimising body fat accumulation. The greatest magnitude of change in femoral neck BMC (P < 0.001) and BMD (P < 0.001) and cardiorespiratory fitness (P=0.023) was also reported by the 'HIPA' group which is likely to be attributable to the intensity of the weight-bearing activities included in the 'HIPA' programme. The findings suggested that the 'HIPA' intervention was most beneficial for health outcomes, but all interventions had significant effect on increasing time spent in physical activity. The studies within this thesis have provided a unique insight in to the current bone health status, body composition and physical activity of 9-11 year old Liverpool school children. Further data were also generated on the effect of different physical activity interventions on bone health, body composition and physical activity. The findings from this thesis conclude that a proportion of 9- 11 year old children were overweight despite meeting physical activity recommendations of 60 min.day". The high-intensity physical activity intervention had the most beneficial impact on bone health, body composition and cardio-respiratory fitness when compared to the controls. The quantity of physical activity and the time spent in high intensity activity warrants further investigation to quantify an optimal dose.

The promotion of physical activity is a public health priority, and school Physical Education (PE) has been highlighted as an influential setting that can engage young people in physical activity. PE has a number of aims which include striving to produce physically educated and active youth (i.e., the 'PE product'), which can be described in terms of young people who engage in recommended levels of habitual physical activity, and who have competent levels of physical activity ability, knowledge, and understanding. The overall aim of this thesis was therefore to establish how PE influences the outcomes representing the `PE product. ' Key objectives were to: a) develop and test a scale to assess students' Perceived PE Worth and Perceived PE Ability, to explore how these two constructs are related, and to investigate age and sex differences (Study 1); b) investigate which secondary school PE factors most strongly correlate with outcomes representing the 'PE product, ' (Study 2) and; c) qualitatively explore the views of PE students to help understand the development of physically educated and active young people, and clarify the results from the second study (Study 3). Study 1 developed and tested the Physical Education Predisposition Scale (PEPS). Predisposing items including perceptions of competence, self-efficacy, enjoyment and attitude in relation to PE were incorporated into the PEPS. Initially Year 8 and 9 students from four schools in the North West of England were invited to participate. Three hundred and fifteen completed PEPS were returned, students then completed the PEPS 14 days later to enable the assessment of test-retest reliability. The PEPS included 11 of the original items,six Perceived PE Worth items and five Perceived PE Ability items and demonstrated an acceptable level of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Consequently, the PEPS has potential as a concise and straightforward measurement tool for teachers and researchers to use in the PE setting. Results demonstrated that there was a strong positive association between Perceived PE Worth and Perceived PE Ability (r = 0.69). Furthermore, boys reported significantly higher values on both variables, than girls, and Year 8 students scored significantly higher than their Year 9 counterparts. Within Study 2,146 schools were initially invited to participate in the study and the Heads of each PE department were sent a PE environment audit. The response rate was 27.4%, with 17 schools demonstrating a willingness to take further part in the research. The main outcome variables from the PE environment audit were then used as the basis of school selection, with-three schools being chosen. All Year 8 and 9 students from these schools were invited to participate in the research; the response rate was 28.9% (90 boys, 209 girls). Predictor variables representing predisposing (e. g., Perceived PE Worth and PE Ability), enabling (school PE environment), and personal demographic factors (e. g., socio-economic status), as described in Welk's (1999) Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (YPAPM) were measured. Outcome variables involved physical activity (assessed by accelerometry and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children), knowledge and understanding of health-related exercise, and PE ability (teachers' ratings). A number of factors including, sex, year group, BMI, deprivation score, Perceived PE Ability, Perceived PE Worth, number of students on roll, and number of indoor spaces, most strongly correlated with outcomes relating to the 'PE product. ' The final study involved a sub-sample of students from Study 2. These were selected to take part in focus group interviews based on their teachers' normative ratings of their PE ability. Focus groups topics were developed based on Welk's (1999) YPAPM and results from Study 2. The detailed focus group data suggest that girls' negative perception's of PE Worth and PE Ability, learned helplessness beliefs, sex issues in PE, and perceived barriers to physical activity, may partly explain the observed sex differences in physical activity. The students highlighted numerous sources of Perceived PE Ability and PE Worth that could also potentially clarify the relationship between perceptions of competence, enjoyment and physical activity. The enhanced Health Related Exercise (HRE) messages from female PE teachers may account for girls' superior knowledge and understanding of HRE and students who perceive PE to be fun and enjoyable may be positively engaged and more motivated to learn and exert effort. Finally, both students' perceptions of progression in PE over time and PE teachers' positive feedback clarifies why teachers' rating of their students improves with increasing year group. The overall findings of this thesis suggest that PE teachers should provide students with enjoyable, successful experiences, positive feedback, choice and as much variety as is feasible. In addition, a classroom climate that fosters learning and improvement, rather than competition and winning is required. This study highlighted the need for interventions targeting girls and their perceptions of barriers to physical activity. Finally, a number of physical activity issues and themes were raised in this study, and reinforcing variables of parents, family and peers were highlighted as central to the students' physical activity interests and participation (Welk, 1999). Therefore, future work is needed to unravel the complex interrelationships of reinforcing factors on students' thoughts and feelings on school PE.

Low childhood physical activity levels, and high paediatric overweight and obesity levels, carry a considerable burden to health including cardiometabolic disease, low fitness, and reduced psychosocial well-being. Numerous school- based physical activity interventions have been conducted with varied success. This thesis therefore aimed to develop and investigate the effectiveness of the Children's Health, Activity and Nutrition: Get Educated! (CHANGE!) project, which was a school-based curriculum intervention to promote healthy lifestyles using an educational focus on physical activity and healthy eating. The purpose of the formative study (Study 1) was to elicit subjective views of children, their parents, and teachers about physical activity to inform the design of the CHANGE! intervention programme. Analyses revealed that families have a powerful and important role in promoting health-enhancing behaviours. Involvement of parents and the whole family is a strategy that could be significant to ~ncrease children's physical activity levels. There is large variation in the cut-points used to define moderate physical activity (MPA), vigorous physical activity (VPA) and sedentary time, which impacts on accurate estimation of physical activity levels. The purpose of Study 2 was to test a field-based protocol using intermittent activities representative of children's physical activity behaviours, to generate behaviourally valid, population-specific cut-points for sedentary behaviour, MPA and VPA. These cut-points were subsequently applied to CHANGE! to investigate changes in physical activity (Study 3). The CHANGE! intervention resulted in positive changes to body size and VPA outcomes after follow-up. The effects were strongest among those sociodemographic groups at greatest risk of poor health status. Further work is required to test the sustained effectiveness of this approach in the medium and long-term. Further, the development of an inexpensive and replicable field- based protocol to generate behaviourally valid and population-specific accelerometer cut-points may improve classification of physical activity levels in children, which could enhance subsequent intervention and observational studies.

The role of outdoor adventure programmes as a recognised approach for the effective treatment of psychological issues has, in recent years, reflected the growing interest in the development of adventure therapy. Although there has been an increased awareness of the possibilities of such a therapeutic approach there is limited practice, and thus very little instruction for how to implement such approaches, especially from a UK perspective. The aim of this study was to develop adventure therapy practice in the UK by specifically developing an intervention for women with eating disorders. Given that this specific approach for working with eating disorders didn't exist at the time of this study, this thesis is based on the principles of action research -a key aspect of the research process was the development of adventure therapy practice itself. Given the gender considerations of working in an outdoor adventure setting and the fact that eating disorders are largely a female phenomenon this study also took a feminist approach to ensure that disordered eating was in fact not reinforced by any adventure therapy approach developed. The thesis itself describes in detail the processes of developing the adventure therapy intervention and the associated experience of the six women who were recruited and took part in the intervention. The dilemmas and decisions made with regard to a number of issues in implementing an adventure therapy approach are examined, for example, facilitating therapeutic processes in an outdoor setting, identifying issues related to eating disorders that might arise in an outdoor adventure context, and examining feminist principles in action (e. g. reflexivity). As well as the six women's experiences of the different aspects of the adventure therapy intervention, the overall impact of the intervention for each woman is also examined. Data collected from a range of tools completed by the women, including personal information sheets, the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI), personal journals, individual interviews and a final focus group indicate changes in most, but not all of the women. The results suggests that for the women with less chronic eating disorder symptoms positive change across a range of clinical symptoms were evident, including reduced troubled eating behaviours, improved body image, and motivation for change, albeit to different degrees for each woman. And for the one woman with the most chronic symptoms, although the intervention was a positive experience there was no evidence to suggest the intervention had any sustained impact. Although, the results from this study are not representative of a large clinical population of women, there is an indication that the intervention did initiate therapeutic change for some of the women and thus suggests that adventure therapy has the potential to be an effective therapeutic treatment for eating disorders and is, therefore, worthy of further investigation. Inevitably, in continuing to develop work in this area many questions and issues are raised as result of the action research process and the thesis concludes with a consideration of some of the needs of developing future adventure therapy research and practice in the UK.