Background: Over 80% of people who experience stroke survive, but for half, their level of activity drops significantly. Even survivors with mild disability become disengaged. Research Question: Based on an ecological model, what perceived facilitators and barriers do stroke survivors encounter in their choice of everyday activities 1 to 6 years after stroke? Methods: Situational analysis grounded theory. Results: Disability changed participants social position regarding their ability to control their own situation to dependence on other people to facilitate choice. Re-negotiating identity and position in society was an iterative process of scaffolding small tasks into activities through bargaining for access to practical support and inclusion into social situations. Conclusions: Stroke survivors who experienced inclusion in their communities resumed some level of meaningful activities more successfully. However, some with mild disability had difficulty resuming activities as they were expected to system navigate and adapt on their own.

No description available.

The Sport Commitment model (SCM) is a well-known theoretical framework to illustrate how the psychological state of commitment to sport has been influenced and studied in able-bodied persons. Considering the characteristics and lived experiences of people with disabilities, additional antecedents of sport commitment were added in the structure of the SCM. In order to extend the application of this revised SCM to persons with disabilities, the concept of three levels (personal, social, and environmental) of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model was employed to differentiate the impacts of nine antecedents to sport commitment. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the revised SCM in terms of the magnitude of contribution of nine antecedents (enjoyment, personal investment, involvement opportunities, social constraints, involvement alternatives, self-efficacy, negative consequence of sport participation, social support, and accessibility of sport facilities and settings) on sport commitment to athletes with disabilities. The second purpose of this study was to investigate the superiority between original and alternative sport commitment models (mediation and direct/indirect model). A total of 157 adult athletes (Mean age= 34.87, SD = 11.78) with physical disabilities from team and individual sports across the United States, Europe, and Asia completed an online survey of 60 items across the nine antecedents hypothesized to influence sport commitment in athlete with disabilities. Results indicated involvement opportunities, followed by personal investment, were the strongest predictors of sport commitment (R2 = 65). In contrast, enjoyment, social constraints, involvement alternatives, self-efficacy, negative consequence of sport participation, social support, and accessibility of sport facilities and settings had no significant prediction on sport commitment. Chi-square difference test showed the direct/indirect model (χ2 (211) = 318.41; RMSEA = .05; CFI = .97; SRMR = .06) had better goodness-of-fit indices than the mediation model (χ2 (215) = 390.55; RMSEA = .06; CFI = .95; SRMR = .11). Based on the principle of parsimony, the original model (χ2 (215) = 384.95; RMSEA = .07; CFI = .95; SRMR = .06) was deemed a better model to understand the mechanism of sport commitment than the direct/indirect model. The SCM was an effective theoretical framework for adult athletes with disabilities. However, it still requires more studies to understand its effectiveness to other developmental ages and stages of athletes with disabilities.

This dissertation is comprised of two studies, which taken together aim to enhance healthy lifestyle habits of young children. In the first study, early childhood professionals (N = 39) identified their beliefs and values regarding the role of physical activity and sleep in child development, and their role in assisting children with establishing healthy behaviors. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine if early childhood professionals’ beliefs and values were associated with an array of demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, and ethnicity) and/or the early care professional’s perceived personal health and body mass index. Descriptive analyses revealed that early care professionals believe physical activity and sleep are important contributors to the healthy development of young children, yet place less value on their role in assisting children with establishing healthy habits. Demographic and health variables of the early childhood professional were not associated with their beliefs and values. Using the results from Study 1 to address gaps in professional development on healthy habits in early childhood, Study 2 involved the development, implementation, and evaluation of two, 3-hour professional development trainings each focused on a contributor to the obesity epidemic (i.e., physical activity and sleep). Both trainings included an overview of the state of the science on the topic as it relates to early childhood and the area, recommendations for obesity prevention in the classroom, specific, hands-on examples of the early care professionals’ role (i.e., behavioral and environmental) in establishing healthy habits. Pre- and post-surveys were used to assess the effectiveness of the training on knowledge of physical activity and/or sleep as it relates to early childhood. Additionally, two researchers conducted classroom observations prior to and following (M = 4.5 weeks) the training to assess potential behavior change within the classroom. Paired-samples t tests indicated that early care professionals improved their general knowledge of physical activity and sleep in child development. Results indicated minimal behavioral and environmental changes in the classroom following the professional development.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention composed of (a) one-on-one teacher-student interaction, (b) teacher provided process praise, and (c) family-teacher good news phone calls on problem behavior among students in elementary school. A single-subject multiple baseline design was utilized to examine the functional relation between the intervention and student outcomes. Participants were two teachers and three students with high levels of problem behavior as well as low quality relationships with their teachers. Students met individually with teachers one time per week to develop and discuss student centered goals. Teachers provided students with specific process praise and made weekly good news phone calls to the students' families. These components were predicted to improve student levels of academic engagement and reduce disruptive behavior through increasing relationship quality. Results suggested the intervention shows promise in decreasing disruptive behavior. No relationship was found between the intervention and academic engagement. Teacher reports provided descriptions of their perceptions of increased relationship quality and social validity.

No description available.

This study refers to developed ecological model abroad, and established the seagrass model with MATLAB compiler. I also took the seagrass meadows in south Taiwan-Nanwan for my studying case, and simulated the dynamic effect of seagrass and epiphyte biomass, as well as nutrient, and attempted to go on probing into the cause with northeast monsoon and typhoon. The simulating site of this study was Nanwan, which is located at Hengchun Peninsula, the southern tip of Taiwan. The dominant species in this area is Thalassia hemprichii. South Taiwan is situated at a tropical climate, and the variation of air temperature is small. Additionally, Kurshio embranchment cause the variation of water temperature smaller, about 24 (¢J) to 30 (¢J).The northeastern monsoonal winds, formed downhill winds, are extremely forceful from October to April, so the wind speed is greater during this period than the rest of the year. In South Taiwan, dry-wet season is clearly. The dry season is from November to April, and the wet season is from May to October. The main rainfall comes from southwest monsoon, especially summer typhoon (June to September). The wind speed is raised abruptly by typhoon and makes water agitate, which not only cause the mortality raising but also the sediment turbulence. By Lin¡¦s research (2005), the growing area of seagrass meadow in Nanwan is a half-closed tidal pool where human makes huge effect and there is a lot of drainage of house and inn sewage. Furthermore, these seagrasses in Nanwan would be exposed to air during the period of poor tide and the emerged period is the longest of these three areas -Nanwan, Dakwan and Wanliton. The seasonal dynamic of seagrass, which is located in the high site of intertidal zone, is obvious, and the biomass is larger in summer than in winter; but that is not obvious in the low site and tidal pool. By the seasonal condition and some specially climate condition mentioned above, the analysis of simulate cases would be go on. Comparing of the modeling result and real measurement, the seasonal changing situation mostly match up. No matter high site (emerged and dried) or low site, there is the maximum of seagrass biomass (including above ground, below ground, or shoot density) in summer, and the minimum in winter. Typhoon causes the biomass losing abruptly in summer. R/S ratio (below-ground biomass division above-ground biomass) is bigger in winter than in summer. On one hand the inside nitrogen redistribution is larger in summer, because the larger growth rate occurs in summer, and the more nutrient is supplied from roots, on the other the redistribution is smaller in winter cause the less nutrient is supplied from roots. Epiphyte biomass has the maximum in summer, when the nutrient concentration of water is larger. In the section of the difference between low and high site seagrass, it is apparent that the high site seagrass would be exposed to air and dried by northeast monsoon. Although typhoon comes up, its influence is not so strong as northeast monsoon at high site. The maximum biomass still occurs in summer, and it is presumed that the living environment of high site seagrass is with more pressure by nature. The above-ground biomass of high site seagrass is smaller than low site, but the below-ground biomass is much lager at high site. Besides, shoot density is larger at high site. The biomass of epiphyte is larger at low site just opposite to shoot density. It is supposed that high site seagrass is emerged to air and limited by environment factors so above-ground biomass would be reduced and store up the sustenance to below-ground biomass. It is conjectured that the main factor with shoot density is affected by light density and below-ground biomass. In shallow water, the seagrass at high site could accept more light energy, moreover the below-ground biomass is sufficient and the recruitment rate is large, thus there are more shoots at high site. Epiphytes are also limited by water depth and wind, and the biomass of epiphyte at high site is smaller than at low site.

The purpose of this study is to qualitatively explore how physical activity engagement is initiated and maintained in adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD). The rising number of aging ACHD patients means they could need more healthcare resources for lifelong treatments to maintain their health. One cost-efficient and natural way to maintain the health of ACHD patients is through physical activity participation. Unfortunately, though, ACHD patients tend to be sedentary, and research has yet to adequately explore the factors influencing physical activity behaviour within this population. To gain a better understanding on this topic, this study combines the transtheoretical model and social ecological model to uncover factors influencing physical activity behaviour in ACHD patients who are at different levels of motivation. This study utilizes a qualitative research design: over six months, 27 participants took part in three individual semi-structured interviews for a total of 78 interviews (three participants did not complete all three interviews). The study revealed that several factors influenced physical activity behaviour in ACHD patients at different stages of motivation. In addition, findings on the characteristics of participants in each stage, meanings of physical activity and strategies for promoting physical activity for ACHD patients are also presented, as well as practical findings (i.e., physical activity program for ACHD patients). This thesis is important for healthcare professionals as it could facilitate the development of stage-specific interventions designed to increase physical activity behaviour in ACHD patients.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Zululand, 2018 / This study investigated the resilience among Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in KwaZulu-Natal schools. It identified OVC challenges and developed a psychosocial model of intervention. The Social Ecological Model was adopted as a framework for the study. The study adopted the mixed method research design. The population for the study was the OVC, caregivers and teachers from Kwazulu-Natal schools, specifically Amajuba and Zululand Districts. Random selection was done for OVC from mainstream schools. Purposive sampling method was used to select OVC from special schools, schools near the orphanage, home of safety and a Full Service school. The sample which participated during quantitative data collection consisted of 303 OVC from 12 to 20 years old who were selected from 7 school in Amajuba and Zululand Districts.The sample which participated in qualitative data collection consisted of 4 focus groups and those were 6 caregivers, 6 teachers and 12 OVC. OVC were selected from 303 OVC who filled the questionnaires and CYRM-28. This made a total of 24 participants for focus groups. The total of participants for the whole study was 315. Three instruments were used to collect data for this study, namely; the Child and Youth Resilience Scale-28 (CYRM-28), the self-constructed psychosocial questionnaire and the interview schedule. The CYRM-28 was used to measure the extent of OVC resilience with the self-constructed questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Frequencies were created for descriptive data and the Chi-Square statistical technique was used to test the null hypothesis. Then the thematic content analysis was used to identify themes from the focus group interviews. The results of descriptive statistics indicated that 79% of all participants reported high availability of resources that enabled resilience. Fewer resources were reported for children who had experienced abuse, followed by those with disabilities and more resources were reported for orphans. The main challenges of OVC identified were lack of support from teachers and neighbours/ communities. Other challenges included maltreatment by caregiver, OVC behavioural problems, unavailability of documents for social grant applications. Child Headed Household was identified as lacking all resources. The findings of inferential statistics indicated that there is a significant relationship between the age, gender and custody of OVC and their availability of resources. OVC and caregivers encountered various problems which were risk factors for the resilience of OVC. Availability of resources to a majority of OVC who participated in the study was a protective factor. Participants recommended that more resources which promote resilience of OVC be made available to communities, for examples, old age homes, and entrepreneurship skills, continuous counselling services for caregivers and OVC and recreational facilities for communities. Lastly, the psychosocial model of intervention was developed based on the literature and findings of the study. / Natonal Research Foundation National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS)

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a comprehensive construct including physical and psychosocial health functioning. Despite significant health benefits of regular physical activity (PA), over 40% of female college students do not meet recommended PA guidelines to improve their health. This study investigated the influences of individual, social, and physical environmental factors on students’ PA and HRQOL. Participants were 235 female university students who completed validated surveys assessing their perceptions of PA, HRQOL, and social ecological factors. Three hierarchical regressions revealed individual and physical environmental factors as predictors of PA and HRQOL. These findings indicated health professionals need to consider students’ individual factors and physical environmental factors to promote female students’ PA and HRQOL.