If movement control is afforded through the advance planning, or preprogramming, of upcoming actions, then one of the behavioral outcomes should be an increase in reaction time (RT) as the movement becomes more complex. In some situations, however, RT does not increase across levels of complexity, rather it remains invariant. In these cases, on-line preparation is typically inferred. That is, the sequence is said to be prepared in parts throughout the movement, as opposed to entirely beforehand. Given that there is some planning occurring during the sequence, then evidence of this process should be apparent within the movement itself. Three such dependent variables appear to provide such evidence. Specifically, the number of times the underlying accelerations cross the zero line within the movement, the number of "significant deviations" within the acceleration trace, and the length of time for which the muscles are active (as measured by EMG) in relation to the duration of the movement. In the present experiment, then, these variables were measured in addition to the time required to prepare and initiate a movement performed under conditions conducive to either preprogramming or on-line preparation. Specifically, the movements were either completed as fast as possible, or at a considerably slower, more controlled speed. Each of the dependent variables displayed evidence of preprogramming in the movements completed at the fast velocity, and on-line preparation in the slower paced movements. Thus, in the slow condition, subjects appeared to rely more heavily on on-line prepared adjustments to produce an accurate outcome. The convergence attained between the various dependent measures lends power to the conclusions regarding hypothesized modes of control within the different speeds of movement. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This thesis examines an approach to movement education that I call Move into Life. This praxis is interrogated here through a set of ecological principles and tools. I discuss how this approach opens up our normative attachment to a fixed sense of self. My research question enquires whether an ecological approach to movement training can release a fixed and deterministic notion of self by engaging with the changing body/soma as part of a changing environment? A kinaesthetic awareness of context and environment are fundamental to this approach. It challenges the acculturated experience of ‘myself’ as both in control of, and fundamentally separate from, the cyclical life of the surrounding environment. The cultivation of environmental awareness through movement is shown to serve as a way of being simultaneously involved and self-reflexive within the presently changing moment. At the outset of this thesis, I identify movement as primary to human expression. Movement precedes and underpins cognition, language and creative art. The thesis then identifies four key movement dynamics: active and passive, proportion, transition/position and point, line and angle. These dynamics inform all movement and all analysis of movement. I proceed to investigate these dynamics through three practical research projects: facilitating a workshop, co-directing a performance and creating and performing my own piece. Subsequently, each project is analysed through the ecological lenses of niche, pattern and emergence. These lenses serve to reveal how an embodied sense of self as an impermanent dynamic system is an intrinsic part of a complex and shifting dance of multiple social, cultural and environmental systems. . The research projects are discussed in relation to seven traditions which have informed my critical reflections: Amerta Movement, (Suprapto Suryodarmo), Satipatthāna, (the Buddha’s Way of Mindfulness), Gregory Bateson’s understanding of pattern, James Gibson’s work on ecological perception, Tim Ingold’s research in the field of social anthropology, Paul Connerton’s notion of ‘inscription’ and ‘incorporation’, and theories of developmental movement. The relevance of ecological movement to intercultural communication and performance is explored through research as practice and in the context of relevant theories from cultural anthropology. By introducing a practical discourse of embodiment, movement and awareness into the ecological debate, this thesis intends to stimulate creative responses to the on-going environmental degradation that is here seen to result in part from a sense of body as object and of ourselves as separate from our surrounding environment. The practice of ecological movement is shown to offer a foundation in environmental embodiment for performers, teachers and arts therapists. It is also shown to contribute to our understanding and appreciation of cultural difference through the body and the way we move, as well as helping us to assess the cultural aspects of other-than- verbal communication and the body’s cultural memory and lineage.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Liberty University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 116 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-69).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-177). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2007. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 46-03, page: . Adviser: Carrie Nordlund.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rowan University, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this project is to develop a research-founded semiotically-based, holistic philosophy for utilizing quality, child-tested music, movement and drama resources in an integrated learning format and to provide workable activities within an accessible, understandable structure for use by the teacher in kindergarten through third grade classroom situations. Since children are "meaning makers," it is logical to create an approach for classroom teachers to use which builds on what children need most to help them make learning connections: an integrated format which helps children understand how learning fits together or makes sense. This project organizes music, movement and drama activities thematically in content areas which are ordered from simple to complex to accommodate the age range to which the project is directed.

For coaches to qualitatively analyze the performance of sport skills as executed by their students, they must possess an internal image of the desired skill against which to make comparisons (Hoffman, 1983; Pinheiro & Simon, 1992). Leas and Chi (1993) have indicated that there are differences between novice and expert swimming coaches in the internal image of the freestyle stroke. They further reported group differences in their ability to diagnose errors in movement form. Study 1 extended that investigation to include a beginning and advanced skill in downhill snow skiing. Two groups of downhill ski instructors (n=8) certified at Level II (n=4) and Examiner status (n=4) were compared on their knowledge of the prototypical versions of the wedge and open parallel turns. They were subsequently tested on their ability to diagnose errors in incorrectly performed videotape versions of those turns. Two Level H instructors internalized the skill similarly to the level of the Examiners on their knowledge of the prototypical skills, while the other two instructors did not appear to have constructed the same type of prototypical model. On the wedge turn diagnostic task, Level II instructors misdiagnosed 50% of the primary errors in student performance compared to a perfect performance by Examiners. On the open parallel diagnostic task, performance across groups was similar for the primary error. It was suggested that the open parallel level of skiing is similar to the skiing ability of Level II instructors, which may have enhanced their ability to better diagnose the errors associated with that skill compared to the wedge turn. In Study 2, participants prescribed exercises for the errors identified in Study 1. Results indicated that exercises primarily addressed errors in the same order as they were prioritized. The lesson plans of Level II participants, however, attempted to address 35% more errors than Examiners. The use of part-task teaching methods, used by seven of eight participants, was subsequently addressed and theoretical implications were discussed. A possible theory of expertise explaining group differences was described. / Graduation date: 1999