This thesis represents the first study ever performed in the state of Tennessee on the usage of ecological sustainability strategies in the local parks and an analysis of the existing barriers preventing their implementation. A survey was e-mailed to all of the 105 Tennessee Recreation Park Association park directors requesting this data. As a result of this analysis, a list of 34 environmentally friendly sustainability strategies has been identified that should be considered for implementation in the local parks by their directors. The most common perceptions the directors listed as barriers to their implementation of sustainability strategies included staff knowledge, budget constraints and the number of staff. This thesis should serve as a catalysis for further study and should the basis for a concerted effort to develop comprehensive sustainability action plans with measurable objectives for the local parks throughout the entire state of Tennessee. Oregon is the only state that has such an operational action plan for its parks in existence. The Oregon state legislature through state law has required the state and local parks to achieve their sustainability goals by 2014.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the role of maternal (i.e., age, education, stress, depression, and self-efficacy) and toddler characteristics (i.e., temperament, dysregulation, and competence) on literacy activities and resources employed in the home. The current study was a secondary data analysis of a larger study assessing the role of infant/toddler, care, and family characteristics on preschoolers’ school readiness. Ninety-five mothers of toddlers (28 --- 31 months old) completed mailed questionnaires that assessed maternal depression, parenting stress, maternal self-efficacy, toddler self-regulation and temperament, and literacy activities. Instruments completed by mothers included the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Parental Stress Index --- Short Form (PSI/SF), Infant and Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA), Self-Efficacy Parenting Task Index-Toddler Scale (SEPTI-TS), and questionnaires assessing interaction, literacy, and creativity activities. In a follow-up phone interview, mothers completed the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) and provided demographic information. Bivariate correlations and hierarchical regression revealed gender differences in the factors related to literacy activities and resources for male and female toddlers. For boys, elevated levels of physiological dysregulation significantly predicted activities and resources. For girls, mothers’ age and self-efficacy, significantly predicted the amount of book reading materials and reading frequency to female toddlers compared to mothers of male toddlers.

This study involved the development and psychometric validation ofthe Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ). The MTQ is an 18-item questionnaire designed to evaluate an individual's competitive desire, focus, self-confidence, and resiliency. The responses of 117 varsity male and female athletes at a Division I-A university and Division II college were analyzed using a principal component factor analysis. The mean mental toughness score for males was significantly different from than the mean mental toughness score for females (M=2.07, SD=.54) and indicated that males self-reported being more mentally tough than females (t[115] = -3.29, p < .001). The mean mental toughness score for athletes in Division I-A (M=2.03, SD= .51) was significantly different from that for athletes in Division II (M=I.69, SD=.37) and indicated that the Division II athletes self-reported being more mentally tough than Division I-A athletes (t[115] = 3.28, p < .001). The mean mental toughness score on the Final MTQ was also significantly different between the eight different sports, F(7,116) = 2.87, p = .009. Post hoc analyses revealed that athletes in the sport of men's baseball self-reported being more mentally tough than athletes in the sport ofwomen's swimming

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the Cosmed Fitmate (FM) in predicting maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), compared to the Douglas bag (DB) method. In addition, this study examined whether measuring submaximal VO2, rather than predicting it, can improve upon the prediction of VO2max. Thirty-two males and sixteen females (Mean ± SD: age 31 ± 10 yr, body mass 72.9 ± 13.0 kg, height 1.75 ± 0.09 m, BMI 23.4 ± 3 kg·m-2) volunteered to participate in the study. Each participant completed a submaximal and a maximal treadmill test using the Bruce protocol on two separate occasions. During the submaximal test, VO2max was predicted using the FM, while during the maximal test VO2max was measured using the DB method. The Cosmed Fitmate predicts VO2max by extrapolating the linear regression relating heart rate and measured VO2 to age-predicted maximum heart rate (HR = 220-age). This study also examined the validity of predicting VO2max by using the ACSM metabolic equations to estimate submaximal VO2. VO2max values from the FM, the DB method, and ACSM prediction equations were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and linear regression analyses. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05 for all statistical analyses. There was no significant difference between VO2max predicted by the FM (45.6 ml·kg-1·min-1, SD 8.8) and measured by the DB method (46.5 ml·kg-1·min-1, SD 8.8) (p = 0.152). The results of this study showed that a strong positive correlation (r = 0.897) existed between VO2max predicted by the FM and VO2max measured by the DB method, with a standard error of the estimate (SEE) = 3.97 ml·kg-1·min-1. There was a significant difference in VO2max predicted by the ACSM metabolic equations (51.1 ml·kg-1·min-1, SD 7.98) and VO2max measured by the DB method (p = 0.01). The correlation between these variables was r = 0.758 (SEE = 5.26 ml·kg-1·min-1). These findings suggest that the Fitmate is a small, portable, and easy-to-use metabolic system that provides reasonably good estimates of VO2max, and that measuring submaximal VO2, rather than predicting it from the ACSM metabolic equations, improves the prediction of 2max.

Skeletal muscle is a major active mechanism of impact force attenuation in human movement. During the landing phase impact attenuation is achieved through eccentric contraction of the muscles of the lower extremity. However, few studies have investigated the effects of knee strength, especially eccentric strength, on impact attenuation during landing. Therefore the relationship was assessed in fourteen healthy, male volunteers. Seven NCAA Division I College football players (TRAINED) and seven recreationally active university students with limited sport training or competitive sport background (REC) participated in two testing sessions. Isokinetic testing of the knee extensor and flexor muscles was performed concentrically at 60 and 180 degree·sec- 1, and eccentrically at 60 degree·sec-1. 3D kinematic and ground reaction force (GRF) data were collected during drop landings from heights of 40, 60cm and 100% of each individuals maximum jump height. The TRAINED had greater concentric strength, vertical jump height, but no significant differences existed in the eccentric strength (336 vs 340 N.m/kg) between the groups. The TRAINED had marginally greater peak GRFs (2.7 & 3.5 BW vs 2.0 & 2.7 BW for 40 and 60 cm, p=0.051) and significantly less time to the peak (0.048 & 0.043 s vs 0.060 & 0.053) compared to the REC in drop landing. The TRAINED used less but non-significant knee flexion range of motion (-60.7 & -54.1 degree vs -62.7 & -69.6 degree) during drop landing than the REC. There were high, positive and significant correlations between the peak eccentric knee extensor torque and time to the first and second peak GRF. Despite all their training the results did not find any significant differences in eccentric strength of the TRAINED subjects in comparison to their REC counterparts. The TRAINED subjects adopted a stiffer landing strategy to deal effectively with high impact loading during landing. Future research is warranted in investigating impact attenuation in landing of participants with significantly different eccentric strength. KEY WORDS. Eccentric strength, dynamometer, drop landing, training

Father involvement in child care and household routines has been associated with a number of positive maternal, child, and family outcomes, but largely for families of typically developing children. This contrasts sharply with the father involvement literature that pertains to families of young children with disabilities. Up until the mid 1990s, the extant research with families of typical children relied almost exclusively on maternal reports to assess the effects of father involvement on family members. It has only been in the last 15 years or so that fathers have been given opportunities to assess their involvement in child care and household routines. Studies of father involvement in this research area have focused almost exclusively on the involvement of fathers in early intervention and public school programs. The present study attempted to address each of these limitations by examining father involvement in child care and household routines in families of young children with special needs from the perspective of both mothers and fathers. A sample of 134 couples that currently or recently received services from Tennessee’s Early Intervention System participated in the Study. Mothers completed a rating scale comprised of different ways fathers provided assistance and support in the home. Fathers completed a different rating scale comprised of child care and household routines as well as child play activities. Each parent also indicated (yes/no) whether their child with special needs showed interest in adults using a number of different literacy materials as well as showing a direct interest in these same materials at least one time per week. The findings showed that the mother and father measures of father involvement were highly correlated and that mothers and fathers generally agreed on the occurrence of both literacy behaviors. Both father involvement measures significantly predicted the two literacy outcomes. Maternal education level did not affect the strength of the relationships between father reports of their involvement and the literacy outcomes but the level of family income did. Implications of the findings for future research and limitations of the study are discussed.

College Gameday is important and well-watched. It invents the perception of college football. It frames college football using four dominant themes—nostalgia, masculine identity, militarism and sports-as-corporation. All of these lead to its popularity and the reinforcement of ideas about college football. This study analyzes six episodes of ESPN’s College Gameday, which originally aired in the fall of 2006. The research questions are 1) based on Nauright’s work, how does College Gameday frame football in terms of nostalgia, national identity and masculine identity; 2) are there frames present that have not been identified by Nauright. College Gameday frames college football in terms of nostalgia by placing special emphasis on school rivalries, traditions, and general atmosphere. The traits of national identity are militarism and corporate capitalism, as defined in this research. Therefore, College Gameday frames college football in terms of militarism by using “sports-as-war” references. These include words such as trenches, bomb, attack and invade. Sports-as-corporation, a new frame identified in this analysis, is used to shape perception of football by comparing the game to the business world. Players are compared to stocks, references are made to business deals, and the job specialization of players and coaches are emphasized. This new frame is significant because it provides an avenue for future research. Further framing analysis should be conducted to confirm and advance this “sports-as-corporation” frame. The masculine identity frame is most often utilized. Players are labeled “heroes.” Their achievements are emphasized, and they are attributed with having ideal traits in character and physical aptitude. Players and coaches are criticized when their performance is deemed poor or when behavior in regard to character becomes an issue. The research questions are based on Nauright’s (1996) review article, which examines sports history books along with academic literature in an effort to determine football’s historical cultural significance. His findings identify several themes which include nostalgia, community identity, national consciousness and masculinity.

Using Boyer’s six principles of community as a conceptual framework, this study examined perceptions of community among student affairs educators (SAEs). Additionally, this research inspected the extent to which perceptions of community influence policy, programming, and practice. Using one-on-one in-depth interviews and qualitative theme analysis, ten SAEs offered their perceptions of community and their applicability to professional practices. Results indicated general consistency in defining “community” as a concept. However, when asked about campus community, SAEs described factors that could either inhibit or enhance campus community. Eight factors emerged as being of concern to SAEs in this study: impact of globalization on campus community as a result of technology; importance of negative experiences to the development of campus community; the student affairs professional sense of community; impact of size on quality of campus community; impact of fragmentation on campus community; relationship between campus community and surrounding community; conflict between individuality and community; and importance of social interaction within campus community. Finally, SAEs in this study reported that perceptions and understandings of community only modestly impacted their day-to-day work as administrators.

The Swedish population has the world’s largest percentage of shareholders either by direct or indirect owning. Due to the increasing interest of equity capital markets, private as well as institutional investors rely on forecasts from financial analysts. The reason for this is due to the lack of expertise among investors in this area. Due to the fact that analysts influence the Swedish stock market immensely, it’s of great interest to explore whether an analyst can be seen as a rational participant. At the same time, we would like to see what impact psychological factors have on the analysts in their work and which these psychological factors are. To battle these questions, we have chosen to take a qualitative approach in our research, basing it on interviews. In our opinion, interviewing a person gives a more balanced picture as the respondents have the possibility to have a dialog/discussion with the interviewer. The selection of interviewees was not random, instead we chose to interview nine different financial analysts working for big popular firms in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Our research presents the psychological factors which affect financial analysts. We are convinced to have found strong enough indications to draw general conclusions for financial analysts, active on the Nordic stock market. The study has shown a given relation between experience and psychological effects. The awareness of the psychological impact on the stock market exists among all financial analysts. But we have found that it’s more likely for an inexperienced financial analyst to be affected by these. The factors that have the largest effect on analysts are mostly trends, herding, overreaction and noise. Finally our research shows a psychological position of dependence for the companies the analyst value. These are the providers of information for analysts, in practice a sale recommendation can lead to less information being shared with him or her. Further on, it’s generally seen to be more commercial correct publishing a buy recommendation as these generate more incomes and business connection for the analyst’s employer. The conclusions points out that an analyst often adopts over-optimism when analysing companies.

The Surgeon Generals Conference on Childrens Mental Health held in 2000 brought attention to the fact that children and adolescents with mental health and substance abuse problems are an underserved population. Rates of psychiatric disorders are high among this population, yet very few adolescents who need help actually receive it. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken to examine various aspects of adolescent health, including rates of mental health and substance abuse as well as treatment and mental health service utilization among this population. Barriers to care are discussed, with emphasis on gender, ethnicity, psychiatric diagnosis, treatment setting, and parental influences. In the past, the specialty mental health care sector has been relied on to provide treatment for adolescents. This thesis examines school-based mental health services, and Student Assistance Programs in particular, as alternatives to treatment for the adolescent population. School-based clinics have the potential to reduce some barriers to care, hence increasing rates of care for adolescents with mental health and substance abuse problems. Other recommendations to reduce barriers to care and increase rates of treatment are presented. Mental health and substance abuse have a significant impact on the health of the nation. These disorders cause or exacerbate numerous health problems, including cancer and heart disease. In 1996, mental health problems cost the United States $150 billion in direct and indirect costs (USDHHS, 2000). The relevance of public health in this thesis is exemplified by the potential of public health to decrease the health consequences associated with these disorders by working to increase rates of treatment.