It was hypothesized that children with physical disabilities would show a deficit in procedural and declarative knowledge of ball catching compared to age-matched non-disabled children. The first group of children consisted of sixteen children with physical disabilities, three girls and thirteen boys, aged from 6 years and 5 months to 12 years and 6 months. Sixteen children, five girls and eleven boys, comprised the second group. Their age range was from 6 years and 4 months to 12 years and 2 months. All children were tested individually. / Procedural knowledge of ball catching was measured by a 15-task ball-catching hierarchy. The difficulty of the tasks ranged from easy, static tasks to more difficult ones which required some expertise. Non-disabled children demonstrated higher scores in procedural knowledge than children with physical disabilities. Higher scores in procedural knowledge of ball catching were also shown by older non-disabled children compared to their younger non-disabled peers, as well as by ambulatory children with physical disabilities compared to their non-ambulatory peers. / Declarative knowledge of ball catching was assessed by a 14-item multiple choice questionnaire. The two groups exhibited very similar declarative knowledge. Moreover, no differences regarding declarative knowledge were found between older and younger non-disabled children or between ambulatory and non-ambulatory children with physical disabilities. Further investigation revealed that the association between procedural and declarative knowledge of ball catching was only moderate. / It was suggested that procedural and declarative knowledge do not develop at the same rate and a deficit in procedural knowledge does not necessarily lead to a deficit in declarative knowledge. The relationship between the two types of knowledge may be more complex than initially hypothesized. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Netball, a popular team sport in New Zealand, has seven on-court players per team who individually occupy positions with specific roles and boundaries. V-ball is a modified netball game in which five on-court players per team gain experience in three varying roles due to the implementation of positional rotation. This study investigates players’ perceptions of self-satisfaction and team cohesion in netball, a modified netball game (V-ball) or both games. Self-satisfaction has been viewed in terms of individuals’ basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS). Team cohesion has been considered in light of youths’ perceptions of task and social cohesion as identified in previous research. In the current study a mixed methodology was implemented and a process of purposive sampling was used to recruit 63, 11-12 year old participants from Whangarei, New Zealand. Participants had varying degrees of experience in either sport, which determined their placement in one of three groups; netball, V-ball or both games. All participants completed a quantitative questionnaire, results of which were analysed using a one-way ANOVA. A total of 12 questionnaire participants, representative of each group, then took part in a one-on-one semi-structured qualitative interview. Interview data was transcribed verbatim and analysed through a manual coding process. Three key findings have emerged: the extent of game structure was found to affect the fun experienced by youth participants, the presence of external regulation (from significant others) was identified to contribute to orientations of extrinsic motivation and winning orientations were found to have a negative effect on participants’ perceptions of team cohesion. These findings provide new information regarding players’ perceptions as a result of participation in netball and V-ball in New Zealand. These findings also contribute to those of previous research on the perceptions of youth as a result of participation in traditional and modified games.

The purpose of the study was to examine the status of and perceived barriers to physical activity of Ball State University students. Using a cross-sectional survey design, participants (N = 858) completed a self-report, 27-item questionnaire. Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analyses.The results indicated that the participants of this study have exceeded the Healthy People 2010 physical activity objectives for leisure-time physical activity and vigorous physical activity as well as the Health Campus 2010 objective for moderate and vigorous physical activity combined. Commonly reported barriers to physical activity were other priorities, lack of time, too tired, the weather, and other barriers. Being male, living in university housing, being an athlete, and being enrolled in a health-related academic major were all positively associated with participants' vigorous physical activity. Being female, living in university housing, commuting to Muncie, and being a full-time student were all positively associated with participants' increased barriers to physical activity. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

This is an auto-ethnographic study of international students at Ball State University, a medium-sized, state-supported institution in the Midwestern United States. I drew on my own personal experience, in-depth interviews with fifteen other international students, and participant observations carried out over a period of one year to understand how international students experienced life at this university. I used Social Identity Theory and the Rejection-Identification Model to explain why international students formed a tight-knit community, despite coming from a wide array of cultural backgrounds. Participants’ narratives illustrated international students’ experiences of rejection by American students, faculty, and staff; their feelings of devaluation, expressed as self-doubt and a tendency to overreact to life pressures; and the existence of a strong international student minority group identity. In view of the University’s strategic goal to substantially increase international enrollments, I offer recommendations on how this institution can promote a more welcoming, multicultural campus environment. / Department of Communication Studies

This creative project details the process involved in the creation of the Ball State Jazz Media Archive. This archive will contain oral histories collected from individuals involved with the Ball State jazz program, photographs that are otherwise unavailable for study and other historical materials relevant to jazz at Ball State University. The historical significance and academic uses of such an archive have been described as well as a thorough overview of other major jazz media archives in the United States and other academic projects involving oral history. This project also includes the plans for future collection and population of the archive through the efforts of Sigma Alpha Iota, an international fraternity for women in music. / Department of Telecommunications

The research was designed to determine the outdoor recreation: activities of 73311 State University students and the reasons influencing their selection. Differences in outdoor recreation activities and the reasons for their selection between male and female students, among freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate students, and according to sex and year of attendance in college were investigated.The sample for the study consisted of 625 Ball State University students living in on-campus housing during the Winter Quarter 1976-77. These students were selected using a proportional random sampling design method. An. outdoor recreation activities questionnaire was mailed to each of the students selected and 69% were returned.The findings of the survey revealed that swimming was the favorite outdoor recreation activity for 85% of Ball State University students. The reason for selecting outdoor recreation activities having the most influence for 87% of Ball State University students was "for satisfaction and enjoyment."Data from the study revealed that outdoor recreation activities selected by Ball State University students are those that require a minimum amount of money, require few special skills, require little time, and require few special facilities for participation. / Department of Natural Resources

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between person-environment fit (P-E fit) and occupational stress in Ball State University employees. A randomly-selected stratified sample of 400 employees from four different employee categories were invited to participate in this study anonymously. Participants completed a demographic information sheet and three questionnaires: the Work Environment Scale, Ideal (WES-I) and Real (WES-R) versions, and the Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI). Two hundred and thirty one subjects returned test packets. One hundred and sixty and one hundred and forty seven participants, respectively, had complete sets of information for the actual discrepancy and perceived discrepancy which could be used for data analysis. Canonical correlation was used to examine the number and nature of mutually independent relationships between occupational stress and person environment fit (three subscales on the OSI and three subscales on the WES). The results showed no significant canonical correlation for perceived discrepancy. The significant canonical correlation indicates that the occupational roles subscale of the OSI is strongly correlated with the P-E fit system maintenance and change and less strongly related to the P-E fit relationships subscale of the WES. This study has implications for worksite stress management interventions. It is recommended that organizational interventions be emphasized more than individual interventions. These results also provide empirical support for an ecological model of health promotion and a systemic or organismic view of the world. Further study is recommended. / Institute for Wellness

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The specific purposes of the study were to secure from selected Indiana public school administrators who are alumni of Ball State University evaluation of and suggestions for more effective administrative course work, alumni service programs, and placement services.

The purpose of the study was to compile, measure, and then compare the judgments of four groups--undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and administrators--on the goals of Ball State University. This work investigated the groups' judgments, as to what the University's goals "are" presently (perceived goals) and also what the University's goals "should be" (preferred goals). In order to examine these judgments, three related hypotheses were constructed. These hypotheses were designed to test for the amount. of agreement on goals between these four groups. The method used in proving the hypotheses was a statistical technique, analysis of variance, which computed the differences between squares of means.The null forms of the hypotheses are stated below:Hypothesis I. There will be no significant difference in how undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and administrators perceive the priority given to 20 goals by the University presently. (Is scores)Hypothesis II. There will be no significant difference in how undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and administrators perceive what goals the University ought to emphasize. (Should Be scores)Hypothesis III. There will be no significant difference in how undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and administrators perceive what priority now is given to certain goals and what they think ought to be given. (Should Be-Is Discrepancy)The study's population of 60 undergraduate students, 33 graduate students, 40 faculty, and 14 administrators was randomly selected. The groups responded to the Institutional Goals Inventory (IGI), a questionnaire prepared by the Educational Testing Service.The data were obtained from a sample of 147 questionnaires. The IGI had 90 goal statements. Each of these goal statements was rated on a 5 point scale from 1 to 5, five being of extremely high importance and 1 of no importance or not applicable. Ten goal statements were ungrouped; the remaining 80 were grouped in 20 goal areas comprising 4 goal statements each. Then, means of the responses in each goal area were computed for each of the 4 responding groups, "Is" and "Should Be" means were derived from the entire population, Next, the "Is" means were subtracted from the "Should Be" means, providing discrepancy scores.An F-ratio of 2.68 was used as the point for significant difference between the "Is" means, the "Should Be" means, and for the difference between these two means for each of the 4 responding groups. The F -ratio was computed at the .05 level using these factors; (1) the difference between and within the means of the four groups, (2) sum of squares, (3) a degree of freedom of 3/143, and (4) mean squares. The statistical analysis was done by the computer.Null Hypothesis I, II, and III were supported or rejected separately for each of the study's 20 goal areas. These 20 goals were broken into two categories; Output and Process goals. Output goalswere the substantive objectives, such as intellectual development, vocational preparation, or public service programs. Process goals were the objectives that related for the most part to educational process and campus climate.The research did not provide a clear-cut answer to Hypothesis I. In 11 cases Hypothesis I held true; in 9 cases it did not. In 6 out of 13 output goals the hypothesis proved correct and in 3 out of 7 process goals the same results obtained.There were significant differences among the groups' perception of the importance to the University of the selected goals. The administrators judged all of the 20 goals to be more important to the University than the remaining 3 groups did. The faculty judged 4 out of 20 goals to be more important to the University than did the undergraduate and graduate students. The graduate students judged 3 out of 20 goals to be more important to the University than did the undergraduates. The undergraduate students judged 17 out of the 20 goals to be more important to the University than the faculty. The administrators and the undergraduate students perceived the University as assigning more importance to goal areas than did faculty or graduate students.The research did not provide a clear-cut answer to Hypothesis II. In 11 cases Hypothesis II held true; in 9 cases it did not. In .5-out of 13 output goals the hypothesis proved incorrect and in out of the 7 process goals the same result obtained.There were significant differences among the groups' judgments concerning what importance "Should Be" assigned to selected goals. The graduate students judged 12 out of the 20 "Should Be" goal areas to be more important than the remaining 3 groups. The administrators judged 7 out of the 20 "Should Be" goals areas to be more important than the 2 remaining groups. The undergraduate students judged 1 out of the 20 "Should Be" goal areas to be more important than did the other 3 groups. The faculty judged none of the 20 "Should Be" goal areas to be more important than the other 3 groups.The research most nearly supported Hypothesis III. In 14 cases Hypothesis III held true; in 6 cases it did not. In 3 out of the process goals the hypothesis proved incorrect and in 3 out of the 7 process goals the same result obtained.There were significant discrepancies among the groups' judgments as to the current importance of goals at Ball State University, compared to what they judged "Should Be" their importance. In all 20 goal areas there was always a gap between a lower "Is" score, reflecting perceptions of the present situation, and a higher "Should Be" score, reflecting hopes for another situation. This meant the discrepancy was always a positive one. The graduate students' scores revealed the greatest amount of discrepancy in 14 of 20 goal areas between what they thought the University's goals were and what they wished them to be. The faculty and undergraduate students were basically in agreement about the size of the discrepancy between what they believed the goals to be and what they thought the goals should be, with only 3 out of 20 goal areas higher in discrepancy than the other groups. The administrators had no discrepancy factor higher than any of the other groups. The graduate students saw the University as different from what they wished it to be by a considerable margin, while the administrators perceived the priorities of the University to be much closer to what their own would be.