<p>The Juvenile Diabetes Empowerment Center is a business located in the city of Los Angeles, Ca that focuses on educating children diagnosed with diabetes mellitus about their condition. The company offers a place where children can spend an entire day learning and connecting with other children who share the same condition. Education is offered by means of formal lecture, small group discussion involving therapeutic communication, and educational video games developed using BrainPoP software. The goal of the company is to empower children living with diabetes through teaching them how to independently manage their condition effectively. The business plan gives an in-depth description of how the Juvenile Diabetes Empowerment Center operates and discusses the company?s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and regulatory issues. Furthermore, financial assumptions are explained in detail and an excel spreadsheet is attached displaying the company?s increasing cash valuation trend during the first three years of operation. The financial development of the Juvenile Diabetes Empowerment Center will allow the company to help empower children with diabetes both physically and emotionally while continuing to grow and offer a valuable service to the community.

Abstract not available.

This study incorporated the perspectives of twelve experienced physical education (PE) teachers to better understand the ways they learn, and what influences their choices regarding professional learning. By providing a Canadian perspective on a topic that has primarily been researched in the UK, this study addresses a current gap in the experienced PE teacher learning literature (Armour & Yelling, 2007; O'Sullivan, 2006). Using Illeris' (2007) workplace learning theory, the study provides a holistic understanding of teacher professional learning by equally acknowledging the individual and the environment. The data collected from three focus groups and twelve individual interviews indicated that the PE teachers learned in a variety of formal, nonformal and informal ways (Coombs, 1974). Moreover, the individual and the work environment influenced each teacher's professional learning. Finally, the participants continually engaged in informal learning to augment their formal and nonformal learning opportunities and they credited professional learning with helping them to develop as effective teachers.

In patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), physical activity has a positive impact on physiological and psychological health. Despite the clear benefits of regular physical activity (PA) on recovery from CAD and overall health, only a small proportion of cardiac patients are active enough to derive any health benefits. While some cardiac patients might attain adequate levels of PA without assistance, research suggests that most inactive people will remain sedentary without intervention. Unfortunately, of patients who participate in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programs, 25% to 50% withdraw within the first six months (Oldridge, 1988, 1991; Oldridge, Dormer, & Buck, 1983; Radtke, 1989) and less than 25% of the dropouts continue an activity program sufficient to maintain or improve cardiorespiratory fitness (Radtke, 1989). This suggests that many individuals who engage in organized exercise programs are not motivated to self-regulate their PA behaviour. To promote adherence to regular PA in the cardiac patient population, an understanding of the factors, both interpersonal and interpersonal, underlying the regulation of PA behaviours is required. Theoretical frameworks are needed to link these factors and to identify change agents and targets suitable for intervention in this population. The purpose of the present thesis was to test a motivational model of physical activity regulation in patients with CAD. The Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985a, 2000a), a theory of human motivation found to be useful in explaining regulation of health behaviors, was used to relate the various model components. The model links intra- and inter-personal antecedents and consequences of self-determined and non-self-determined motivation (regulatory styles) to predict physical activity regulation directly and indirectly through mediator variables. The present thesis is comprised of two studies designed to test the hypothesized model and verify the overarching role of motivational style in the successful regulation of physical activity behaviours. In the first study physical activity intentions were modelled using a correlational design. Participants diagnosed with CAD completed a one-time questionnaire at the time of admission into hospital or while participating in a hospital-based rehabilitation program. The second study employed a prospective, longitudinal design to predict physical activity behaviour in CAD patients six months after admission to hospital for a CAD diagnosis. Baseline information was collected at time of recruitment, and follow-up data was collected at 2 and 6 months after study intake. Structural equation modeling was used to test the models. Results of the two studies showed that the motivational model reliably predicted self-regulation of PA behavior. That is, the model, consisting of intra- and inter-personal variables, explained a relevant amount of variance in both physical activity intentions and behaviour. In particular, self-determined modes of motivation, at both the general and contextual levels, were found to be pivotal in the successful regulation of physical activity behaviour. The implications of the findings of this thesis research are discussed in relation to the SDT, as well as the design and implementation of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programs to facilitate long-term adherence to regular physical activity in the cardiac patient population.

The purpose of the research presented herein was to gain a better understanding of male body image-related behaviors through a multi-phase mixed method approach. With research revealing a noted increase in muscularity in media representations of the male physique in the latter part of the twentieth century, context to the present day ideal male physique was first provided via the examination of sculptures and paintings from ancient Greece to the latter part of the 19th century (phase I). The ideal male physique was further examined in the qualitative phase of the research (phase II) where semi-structured interviews with 11 males were conducted. Data obtained from the interviews also aided in the construction of the Male Body Image Behavior Questionnaire (MBIBQ). The structure and length of the MBIBQ as well as its psychometric properties were next examined with a total of 550 participants in phases III and IV respectively. The examination of art representations of the male physique revealed varied depictions of a muscular ideal with interceding portrayals of thin or nonrealistic interpretations. A number of themes emerged from the qualitative data including the ideal physique and attributes, influences, psychosocial consequences, motivations, and behaviors. An interesting finding was that a few of the males expressed a preference for a female interviewer suggesting that cross-gender interviewing should be considered when examining body image in males. The results from the exploratory principal components and confirmatory factor analyses conducted in phase III revealed that the MBIBQ is comprised of four subscales; weight gain, weight loss, avoidance, and appearance. The more extreme behaviors on the preliminary version of the MBIBQ did not meet the criteria for item inclusion and were thus deleted, suggesting that although males may indicate knowledge of more extreme behaviors, their actual utilization may be limited. Phase IV of the research, conducted with 253 participants, showed preliminary evidence of convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity as well as test-retest validity for the MBIBQ. The MBIBQ is the first of its kind to address several dimensions of body image behaviors in males. The educational implications of the findings for school-based programs are discussed.

Education for professional practice is a complex process. In recent years, increasing attention has focused on the importance of reflection as a significant component of preparation for practice. However, empirical evidence shedding light on the process of learning to reflect on practice is comparatively sparse. Practice-based attempts to systematically describe essential aspects of the process as it occurs in nursing students during early experiences with clients have been Virtually nonexistent. This exploratory study was undertaken to investigate reflection on practice by first year nursing students during early patient care experiences. Reflection, for purposes of the study, was considered a multi-step process consisting of three phases: awareness, critical analysis, and synthesis (emergence of changed perspectives). Constructivism, a theoretical position which focuses attention on the creation or construction of knowledge by the learner, provided the theoretical framework for the research. Particular attention was directed to describing aspects of the situation on which student reflections focused, how the reflection process changed over time, and ways of facilitating related learning. Twenty-five students enrolled in the first year of a college-based nursing program, located in the downtown core of a large metropolitan area, volunteered to participate in this research. Data were collected during clinical conferences, focus groups, and individual interviews as participants reflected on practice in the course of a ten week block of early experiences with adult clients in acute care settings. Reflection was found to be a frequently occurring, fundamentally important activity among this group of participants. Principal foci of reflections were care-giving activities at the bedside, and the process of learning a professional role. Basic changes were noted in two major aspects of the reflecting process: participant input, and patterns of interaction during group sessions. Factors which were found to facilitate or impede reflection exerted their influence either directly by impacting reflecting activities while conferences, focus groups, and interviews were in progress, or indirectly by effecting the quality and quantity of practice-related information brought by participants to these sessions. Findings underlined the potential significance of a number of factors in enhancing participant reflecting skills: growing ability to attend to, attach meaning to, interpret, and verbally describe essential aspects of patient care situations; ongoing opportunities to reflect and receive pertinent feedback; increased understanding of clinical expectations; and concurrent attendance at classes presenting relevant theoretical material. Questions about whether these factors are, in fact responsible for the changes noted, the extent of their relative importance, and the possible presence of other significant influences in these situations suggest fertile territory for further research.

No

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.