<p> The Ironman Triathlon is an epic endurance event consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run. There is paucity in the literature relating to how athletes learn how to negotiate this event. This qualitative study was conducted over a 9 month period, to align with the 2013 Ironman training and racing season. Seven athletes were selected for participation in the study. Utilizing a case study approach, the Ironman athletes' learning pathways were examined through in-depth interviews and audio and video content personally captured by the participants. </p><p> The learning pathways revealed the athletes initially learned through cognitive means, i.e. social interaction, reading, Internet sources, and the observation of others. As athletes traversed the learning pathway, they subsequently operationalized the knowledge they learned and constructively made it meaningful to their respective personal training and racing situations. At the terminal end of the learning pathway, the athletes operationalized the learned content in an experiential learning cycle. During the entire learning pathway, the athletes practiced the learned content, which is best characterized as behavioral learning. The audio and video content provided by the athletes empirically validated the interviews. </p><p> The interviews with the athletes were coded. Some unifying themes emerged from the data independent of cognitive, constructivist, behavioral, or experiential learning theories; e.g. the importance of mental toughness, the understanding of pain during the training and racing process, how success is measured, the importance of training with a power meter, and motivating factors.</p>

<p> Throughout human history, music has served as a coping mechanism when people have endured extreme hardships in life. Music and songs in prisons have been written and sung to express the pain of the incarceration. Research has suggested that songwriting is a powerful educational and therapeutic catalyst, and that songwriting may facilitate the processing of difficult emotions. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the emotions expressed in the songs of incarcerated men, and how songwriting as an outlet for emotional expression influenced the writers. Data collected for this study included 47 songs written by 17 incarcerated men, written observations and reflections by participants and three facilitators, transcriptions of four workshop sessions, and sound recordings/transcriptions of 16 spoken introductions and 13 songwriter-performed pieces. An additional 32 songs were collected from a case-study participant for examination. All data were collected using ethnographic methods. Modified grounded theory techniques, including initial coding, focused coding, and memo writing were used to analyze the data. </p><p> Findings revealed that although the lyric themes categorized expressed more happy than sad emotions, the most frequently expressed emotion was desperation, and desperation was usually expressed in songs with a context of incarceration. In addition, songs that expressed humor were often a way to cope with incarceration, and songwriting was also a way express the pain of addiction. Examining the songs of the case-study participant revealed that his writing changed over time. His most frequently expressed emotion in 2008 was fear, and song concepts usually involved sinister, otherworldly figures. In 2011, his most frequently expressed emotion was closeness, and song concepts focused on determination to build a better life. </p><p> Throughout the workshop sessions, the men experienced feelings of psychological comfort in routines established over time. Data analyses indicated that group interactions and opportunities to perform were primary motivators in participants' decisions to participate in the Songwriters' Workshop. For most men, group response processes generated new ideas for songs, and greater song quality. Some of the men further stated that participating in the Songwriters' Workshop helped them to foster better relationships, and re-envision their futures. Difficulties that occasionally arose were both pedagogical and social in nature. </p><p> Based upon these findings, I suggest that aspects of Cohen's Theory of Interactional Choral Singing Pedagogy pertains to songwriting contexts. I propose a theory of the expressive community, in which the community influences individuals, and individuals influence the community. I further suggest collective-actualization, in which individuals in a group realize their collective potentials, capabilities, and talents, and seek the achievement of these potentialities.</p>

<p> The academic achievement gap between African American and Caucasian students continues to be a major concern for policymakers and educators. This gap started to shrink in the 1970s and 1980s with integration, but the 1990s showed the achievement gap was on the rise again. The characteristics of the neighborhoods where children live and attend school have a great impact on their academic performances. This research study examined the relationship between poverty, community violence and the academic performance of elementary school age children, especially African American students. Seventy-eight public elementary schools were randomly chosen in Los Angeles County that had at least 10% African American students who completed the reading achievement test in each primary grade level (2-5 grade levels) in April 2012. The results showed that poverty and community violence had a significant negative impact on reading achievement test scores for African American students. Furthermore, the impact of community violence was twice that of poverty on academic performance. On the other hand, Caucasian students&rsquo; test scores were significantly impacted by poverty and not community violence. One explanation for this difference was that African American students experienced twice as much community violence in their neighborhoods as compared to Caucasian students. Since educators cannot change neighborhood characteristics, they need to focus on developing educational models that mitigate the impact of community violence and trauma on African American students.</p>

Interventions created to alter challenging behaviour should be preceded by a thorough investigation into the purpose of the behaviour. Functional Assessment is a framework created to investigate the purpose, or function, of behaviour viewed as a problem. Careful analysis of the behaviour through interviews, questionnaires, rating scales and direct observations, are combined to form hypotheses pertaining to the reasons why a particular behaviour might be of value to the individual.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1990. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-07, Section: B, page: 3612. Chair: Karl J. Mueller.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1990. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-10, Section: B, page: 5030.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1993. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-04, Section: B, page: 2206.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1993. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: A, page: 4388.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Kinesiology, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: A, page: 3781. Adviser: Donetta Cothran. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 24, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: A, page: 3729. Adviser: Jack Cummings. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 8, 2008).