Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--La Crosse, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Texas State University, San Marcos, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-57). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-47). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Texas State University, San Marcos, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-57).

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-47).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 258-268).

Thesis (M.S.)--Springfield College, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.S.)--Springfield College, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

People with an intellectual disability have high levels of sedentary behaviour (Temple, Frey, & Stanish, 2006) and health conditions associated with inactivity such as cardiovascular disease (Draheim, 2006) and obesity (Rimmer & Yamaki, 2006). Physical activity has been identified as one of the most successful strategies used to decrease these health risks. Four participants with an intellectual disability were recruited from the Special Olympics Athletic Club and participated in a 9-week strength and aerobic exercise program which consisted of a face-to-face program and an at-home component. During the face-to-face program participants took part in an aerobic warm up, strength training using exercise bands, skill development, and games. The strength skills were introduced progressively over the 9-weeks and were analyzed for mastery at the end of each face-to-face session using a procedural task analysis check list. Mastery was reached if participants completed a skill three consecutive times with no prompting. However, once a skill was completed with no more then visual prompting it was added to the at-home component of the program. At the end of each face-to-face session participants planned two additional days per week to exercise in their homes. The at-home component included an interactive exercise DVD that mirrored the strength and aerobics exercises introduced at the face-to-face program. Completion of the planned exercises was confirmed by self-report in log books and conversation with the researcher during prompting telephone calls. Pre and post tests for self-efficacy and a program satisfaction questionnaire were also conducted. Three participants reached mastery for biceps curls and one participant reached mastery for triceps extensions and back leg raises. Three participants completed all six strength exercises and one participant completed four exercise skills with no more than visual prompting. Participants required less prompting as the weeks progressed even with an increase in the number of skill components being tested. Adherence to the at-home component of the program for each participant was: 100%, 94%, 94%, and 28%. A dependent t-test revealed that self-efficacy toward exercise did not significantly increase from pre-test (M = 12.1) to post-test (M = 13.3) t (3) = 2.03, p = .14. These findings suggest that adults with an intellectual disability can acquire exercise band strength skills in a relatively short period of time and some participants are able to utilize these skills consistently at home. Participants in the current study failed to improve their self-efficacy toward exercise; however pre-test self-efficacy scores were quite high.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that caffeine ingestion (mostly in the forms of coffee and tea consumption) is prevalent amongst firefighters and yet there is no data on whether this behaviour should be identified, measured, or monitored. PURPOSE: The purpose of this experiment was to determine the physiological and psychophysical effects of caffeine ingestion during repeated bouts of simulated firefighter work. In a randomized, double blind, crossover design, ten healthy males (age 36 ± 9.8 yr, body mass 88.3 ± 5.7 kg, height 182.78 ± 3.9 cm, approximate caffeine use 492.8 ± 318.2 mg/day) completed three 10 min work bouts (WB) at an intensity one work load below ventilatory threshold wearing full Firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) and breathing through a self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) on two different occasions. One hour before exercise each subject ingested either a 6 mg•kg-1 of caffeine (CAFF) or dextrose placebo (PLA), as well as, 500 ml of water. During the work trials, expired gases were sampled for oxygen consumption ( O2), carbon dioxide production ( CO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), minute ventilation ( E), respiratory rate (RR), tidal volume (Vt), and total air consumed (AcVE). Core temperature (Tc), heart rate (HR), oxyhemoglobin saturation (% O2 sat), capillarized blood lactate (BLa), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) (10pt Borg), perceived thermal distress (PTD), and sweat loss were also measured. Physiological strain index (PSI) was calculated from HR and Tc values. Tc was significantly higher in all CAFF WB compared to PLA (37.83 ± 0.08 oC vs. 37.61 ±0.12 oC) (p ≤ 0.05). E and Vt were also significantly increased in CAFF whereas, RPE was significantly decreased (p ≤ 0.05). The elevated Tc values caused an increase in calculated PSI in the CAFF condition during exercise (p ≤ 0.01). CAFF increases in E and Vt also increased AcVE. In conclusion, a caffeine induced elevation in Tc caused increased strain as indicated by calculated PSI during repeated work bouts during exercise below ventilatory threshold wearing full PPE and breathing through an SCBA. Elevated Tc in the CAFF condition likely caused increases in E, Vt and AcVE. Thus, caffeine ingestion may have to be monitored in firefighters during work days.