published_or_final_version / Sports Science / Master / Master of Science in Sports Science

published_or_final_version / abstract / Human Performance / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

3 pp. / Promoting the health and well-being of families during difficult times.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between health-related fitness levels and academic achievement in elementary school children. A sample of 105 elementary students in grades four and five were tested. The study consisted of 64 males and 41 females in both grades. California Achievement Test scores of reading, language, and math were selected to reflect the academic achievement variables. The AAHPERD Physical Best Test was used to measure physical fitness. Test items included body composition (sum of the tricep and calf skinfolds), one-mile walk/run, sit-ups, and sit and reach. A SAS Canonical Correlation Analysis was used to examine the relationship between health-related physical fitness and academic achievement. Means and standard deviations were calculated for both genders, and females and males alone. Results indicated that there was no significant relationship (R > .05) between health-related physical fitness levels and academic achievement in fourth- and fifth-grade students. / School of Physical Education

The problem of this study was the determination of the relationship between four selected programs of physical education and (a) physical fitness, and (b) attitude toward physical education among low-physically-fit freshman and sophomore male college students.

The first purpose of this study was to determine whether the physical education programs of Texas high schools met the recommended minimum requirements of the Texas Education Agency in the following areas: 1. Appraisal of fitness 2. Body mechanics 3. Conditioning exercises 4. Gymnastics 5. Weight training (modified for girls) 6. Rhythms 7. Minimum of two team sports 8. Minimum of two individual-dual activities 9. Track and field. The second purpose of this study was to determine whether the small high schools in Texas were meeting the recommended minimum requirements of the Texas Education Agency to the same degree as large Texas schools. The third purpose of this study was to determine whether the boys' physical education program in Texas high schools were meeting the recommended minimum requirements of the Texas Education Agency to the same degree as girls' programs.

The problem of this study was to determine the effects of (1) a conditioning program designed to develop cardiovascular-respiratory efficiency and (2) a conditioning program designed to develop strength and agility on the improvement of parameters of physical fitness as measured "by the AAHPER Youth Fitness Test, basal heart rate, and physical work capacity determined by a progressive work test on the bicycle ergometer.

Although much effort has been placed into the reduction of risks associated with manual materials handling, risk of musculoskeletal disorder development remains high. This may be due to the additional muscle activity necessary for the maintenance of postural equilibrium during work tasks. This research proposes that postural control and subsequent additional muscle activity is influenced by the magnitude of the external load and the degree of body movement. The objective of this research was to identify whether performing tasks with increased external load and with a greater degree of trunk motion places additional strain on the musculoskeletal system in excess of that imposed by task demands. Twenty-four male and twenty-four female subjects performed four load manipulation tasks under three loading conditions (0.8kg, 1.6kg, and 4kg). Each task comprised of a static and dynamic condition. For the static condition, subjects maintained a stipulated posture for ten seconds. The dynamic condition required subjects to move and replace a box once every three seconds, such that a complete lift and lower cycle was performed in six seconds. Throughout task completion, muscle activity of six pairs of trunk muscles were analysed using surface electromyography. This was accompanied by data regarding ground reaction forces obtained through the use of a force platform. After the completion of each condition subjects were required to identify and rate body discomfort. Differential analysis was used to isolate the muscle activity and ground reaction forces attributed to increased external load and increased trunk movement. It was found that the heaviest loading conditions (4kg) resulted in significantly greater (p<0.05) muscle activation in the majority of muscles during all tasks investigated. The trend of muscle activity attributed to load was similar in all significantly altered muscles and activation was greatest in the heaviest loading condition. A degree of movement efficiency occurred in some muscles when manipulating loads of 0.8kg and 1.6kg. At greater loads, this did not occur suggesting that heavier loading conditions result in additional strain on the body in excess of that imposed by task demands. In manipulated data, trend of vertical ground reaction forces increased with increased load in all tasks. Sagittal movement of the centre of pressure attributed to load was significantly affected in manipulated data in the second movement phase of the “hip shoulder” task and the second movement phase of the “hip twist” task. The “hip reach” task was most affected by increased load magnitude as muscle activity attributed to load was significantly different (p<0.05) under increased loading conditions in both movement phases in all muscles. Further, a significant interactional effect (p<0.05) between condition and data point was found in all muscles with the exception of the right and left lumbar erector spinae during the second movement phase of the “hip reach” task. Muscle activity associated with increased trunk motion resulted in additional strain on the trunk muscles in the “hip shoulder” and “hip reach” tasks as muscle activity associated with the static component of each of the above tasks was greater than that of the dynamic tasks. Trend of ground reaction forces attributed to increased trunk motion generally increased under increased loading conditions. Additionally, a significant interactional effect (p<0.05) between load and muscle activity pattern was found in all muscles during all tasks, with the exception of the right rectus abdominis in the first movement phase of the “hip shoulder’ task, the left rectus abdominis in the second movement phase of the “hip knee” task and the right latissimus dorsi during the first movement phase of the “hip twist” task. This was accompanied by a significant interactional effect (p<0.05) between load and sagittal centre of pressure movement attributed to load, in both movement phases of all tasks investigated. From this research it can be proposed that guidelines may underestimate risk and subsequently under predict the strain in tasks performed with greater external loads as well as tasks which require a greater degree of trunk motion. Therefore, this study illustrates the importance of the consideration of the muscle activity necessary to maintain postural equilibrium in overall load analyses.