Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leave 83-94).

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / O desenvolvimento psicomotor à caracterizado por um processo progressivo e continuo onde se dà a evoluÃÃo da cogniÃÃo, da afetividade, da motricidade, da comunicaÃÃo e da sociabilidade, de forma global, simultÃnea e integrada. O estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos da prÃtica da capoeira no desenvolvimento psicomotor na infÃncia. A amostra foi constituÃda por 54 alunos do segundo ano do ensino fundamental da rede municipal de ensino de Fortaleza, com idades de 6 a 12 anos, divididos em dois grupos: grupo experimental (14 do sexo masculino - 15 do sexo feminino) e grupo de controle (12 sexo masculino â 13 sexo feminino). As crianÃas do grupo experimental foram submetidas à prÃtica da capoeira duas vezes por semana, durante 32 semanas, com 45 minutos cada sessÃo, enquanto o grupo de controle nÃo participou das aulas de capoeira. A BPM (Bateria Psicomotora) foi utilizada para avaliar o desenvolvimento psicomotor. A ferramenta estatÃstica utilizada foi o Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), versÃo 20.0. O nÃvel de significÃncia foi estabelecido em p &#8804; 0,05. As principais conclusÃes deste estudo relativamente ao desenvolvimento psicomotor das crianÃas foram as seguintes: a) o sexo feminino obteve melhores resultados em quase todos os testes aplicados, no prÃ-teste e no pÃs-teste, com diferenÃas estatisticamente significativas para praxia fina, no grupo experimental, durante prÃ-teste, e para noÃÃo de corpo, nos dois grupos, no pÃs-teste; b) no pÃs teste, o grupo experimental apresentou melhor desempenho em ambos os sexos nos sete fatores avaliados; c) o grupo experimental demonstrou melhorias no desempenho, do primeiro para o segundo momento de avaliaÃÃo, com diferenÃas estatisticamente significativas em todos os testes aplicados para avaliaÃÃo do desenvolvimento psicomotor: tonicidade (p < 0,01); equilibraÃÃo (p < 0,00); lateralizaÃÃo (p < 0,00); noÃÃo de corpo (p < 0,00); estruturaÃÃo espaciotemporal (p < 0,00); praxia global (p < 0,00) e praxia fina (p < 0,00). Este exprimento sugere que a prÃtica da capoeira pode contribuir para potencializar o desenvolvimento psicomotor em crianÃas. / Psychomotor development is characterized by a progressive and continuous process which takes the evolution of cognition, affectivity, motor skills, communication and sociability, as a whole, simultaneous and integrated. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of the practice of capoeira psychomotor development in infancy. The sample consisted of 54 students of the second year of the municipal elementary education schools in Fortaleza, aged 6-12 years divided into two groups: experimental group (14 male - 15 female) and group control (12 male - 13 female). Children in the experimental group were subjected to the practice of capoeira twice a week for 32 weeks, with 45 minutes each session, while the control group did not participate in capoeira classes. The BPM (Psychomotor Battery) was used to assess psychomotor development. The statistical tool used was the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The level of significance was set at p &#8804; 0.05. The main conclusions of this study regarding the psychomotor development of the children were as follows: a) females had better results in almost all tests, the pre-test and post-test, with statistically significant differences for thin praxis, the group trial during pre-test, and the notion of the body, in both groups at post-test; b) the post-test, the experimental group performed better in both sexes in the seven factors evaluated; c) the experimental group showed improvements in performance from the first to the second assessment, with statistically significant differences in all tests for evaluation of psychomotor development: tone (p <0.01); equilibration (p <0.00); lateralization (p <0.00); notion of the body (p <0.00); spatiotemporal structure (p <0.00); global praxis (p <0.00) and thin praxis (p <0.00). From the results obtained in this study, we conclude that the practice of capoeira, when well targeted, delivers significant improvements in psychomotor development of children.

Orientador: Monica Rodrigues Perracini / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T16:56:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ramos_JulianedeLemosArmada_M.pdf: 90007552 bytes, checksum: 7cf7dca133f49a8f8d5a13aa1989e1c9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Objetivo: Explorar a associação entre o alto custo de uma tarefa cognitiva adicionada à tarefa motora e variáveis sociodemográficas, clínicas, cognitivas e físico funcionais e propor um modelo explicativo para o alto custo da dupla tarefa em idosos da comunidade. Métodos: Estudo transversal, de base populacional com uma amostra de 308 idosos homens e mulheres, com 65 anos ou mais, residentes na comunidade derivada do Estudo Rede FIBRA (Perfis de Fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros). Foram coletados dados relativos a variáveis sociodemográficas, clínicas, cognitivas e físico funcionais. A variável desfecho foi o custo (DTC) gerado ao se adicionar a tarefa cognitiva de evocar os dias da semana de trás para frente ao realizar o Timed Up and Go Test (TUG). O DTC para cada participante foi calculado e dividido em quartis. Os idosos do primeiro quartil (baixo custo) foram comparados aos idosos do quarto quartil (alto custo) (n=154) por meio da análise de regressão univariada em relação às variáveis de interesse. As razões de chance (odds ratio) de apresentar um alto DTC foram investigadas por meio da análise de regressão logística multivariada. Resultados: A amostra foi constituída de 64% de mulheres, sendo 69,4% da amostra independentes na realização das Atividades Instrumentais de Vida Diária (AIVD), com idade média de 71,0 (±5,5) anos. O custo médio da dupla tarefa (DTC) foi de 55,9%. O modelo final derivado das análises de regressão multivariada apontou que os idosos com comprometimento na praxia construtiva (OR=3,79; IC=1.7-8.2; p<0.001), com idades entre 70-74 anos (OR=4.25; IC=1.7- 10.4; p=0,002) e 75-79 anos (OR=4,59; IC=1.5-13.9; p=0,007) e com diagnóstico de artrite ou reumatismo (OR=3,5; IC=1.3-9.2; p=0,01) apresentaram maior chance de pertencer ao grupo de alto custo. Aqueles idosos com melhor desempenho no teste de Fluência Verbal (OR=0.8; IC=0.8-0.9; p=0,009) tiveram menor chance de apresentar um alto DTC. A área sob a curva ROC mostrou que o modelo foi capaz de estimar 78% dos casos de idosos com alto DTC. Conclusão: Sugere-se que um alto custo na realização de dupla tarefa pode ser um bom modelo para identificar idosos comunitários com baixa reserva funcional cognitivo-motora e que esta está particularmente associada ao baixo desempenho em testes de função executiva, idade e artrite. Estes resultados apontam que a escolha de exercícios que exijam a execução de tarefas motoras mais complexas, envolvendo percepção espacial, memória, planejamento de movimentos a partir da modificação das condições da própria tarefa e ou do ambiente pode ser útil no desenvolvimento de programas de exercícios preventivos em idosos comunitários / Abstract: Objective: To explore the association between the high cost of a cognitive task added to the motor task and sociodemographic, clinical, cognitive, physical function variables and to propose an explanatory model for the high cost of dual task in the elderly. Methods: Cross-sectional, population-based sample of 308 elderly men and women, aged 65 and older living in the community derived from FIBRA (Profiles of Frailty in Elderly Brazilians). We collected data on sociodemographic, clinical, cognitive and physical functional variables. The outcome variable was the cost (DTC) generated by adding the cognitive task of evoking the days of the week backwards to perform the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG). The DTC for each participant was calculated and divided into quartiles. The elderly of the first quartile (low cost) were compared to the fourth quartile seniors (high cost) (n = 154) by univariate regression analysis regarding the variables of interest. The odds ratios of having a high DTC were investigated by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: The sample consisted of 64% women, 69.4% of the sample being independent in the performance of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), with a mean age of 71.0 (± 5.5) years. The average cost of dual task (DTC) was 55.9%. The final model derived from multivariate regression analyzes showed that older people with compromised constructive praxis (OR = 3.79, CI = 1.7-8.2, p <0.001), aged 70-74 years (OR = 4.25, CI = 1.7-10.4, p = 0.002) and 75-79 years (OR = 4.59, CI = 1.5-13.9, p = 0.007) and diagnosed with arthritis or rheumatism (OR = 3.5, CI = 1.3-9.2; p = 0.01) were more likely to belong to the group of high cost. Those seniors with better performance on Verbal Fluency test (OR = 0.8, CI = 0.8-0.9, p = 0.009) were less likely to have a high DTC. The area under the ROC curve showed that the model was able to estimate 78% of cases of elderly patients with high DTC. Conclusion: It is suggested that a high cost in performing dual tasks can be a good model to identify elderly community with low functional cognitive-motor reserve and it is particularly associated with poor performance on tests of executive function, age and arthritis. These results indicate that the choice of exercises that require the execution of more complex motor tasks, involving spatial perception, memory, planning movements from the changing conditions of the task or the environment itself may be useful in developing preventive exercise programs in elderly community / Mestrado / Gerontologia / Mestra em Gerontologia

Orientador: Gislene de Campos Oliveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T16:42:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SantiMaria_ThalissaLaraCrispim_M.pdf: 3010120 bytes, checksum: 24b5e7e0227d52278928887568c6c485 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O objetivo da presente pesquisa foi verificar a idade motora de crianças, por meio do diagnóstico das habilidades psicomotoras, no último trimestre da educação infantil. Participaram do estudo 40 crianças de uma escola pública da rede Municipal da cidade de Vinhedo. Como se tratava de quatro turmas de fase II na unidade escolar foram selecionadas 10 crianças de cada sala, sendo cinco meninos e cinco meninas. O diagnóstico foi realizado individualmente por meio de uma avaliação psicomotora, que verifica as habilidades no que se refere à coordenação e equilíbrio, esquema corporal, lateralidade, organização e estruturação espacial e organização e estruturação temporal. Os dados referentes à avaliação psicomotora (Oliveira, 2010b) foram analisados e comparados a partir dos fundamentos teóricos da Psicomotricidade, tendo como referência o nível de desenvolvimento psicomotor compatível com a faixa-etária avaliada. A análise dos dados se deu de forma qualitativa (descrição e discussão do desenvolvimento psicomotor apresentado pelos alunos da escola analisada); descritiva (análise das principais variáveis do banco de dados total); comparativa (discussão das variáveis entre os gêneros através dos testes qui-quadrado de Pearson e exato de Fisher) e gráfica (apresentação dos principais dados encontrados). Os resultados encontrados revelam que um número elevado de crianças apresentou dificuldade nas provas de Lateralidade e Orientação Temporal. Ao comparar os gêneros, o estudo constatou não haver diferença significativa entre os meninos e as meninas para nenhuma das variáveis avaliadas, apenas uma leve tendência de um melhor desempenho das meninas para Orientação Espacial e Orientação Temporal. / Abstract: The objective of this research was to verify the motor age of children, by means of diagnosis of psychomotor skills, in the last three months of child education. Study participants were 40 children in a public school of the city of Vinhedo. As it was fou classes of phase II in school unit were selected 10 children in each room, five boys and five girls. The diagnosis was made individually by means of a psychomotor evaluation, which checks the abilities with regard to the coordination and balance, body scheme, laterality, space organization and structure and time organization and structuring. The data relating to the psychomotor evaluation (Oliveira, 2010b) were analyzed and compared from the theoretical foundations of Psychomotricity, in relation to the level of psychomotor development compatible with the age group assessed. The data analysis was done in a qualitative way (description and discussion of psychomotor development presented by the students of examined school); descriptive (analysis of the main variables of the total database); Comparative (discussion of variables between genders by Person's qui-quadrado test and Fisher's exato) and graphic (presentation of the main data found). The results show that a large number of children had a lot of difficulty in laterality and Temporal Orientation evidence. When compare the genus the study found no significant difference between the boys and girls for any of the variables assessed, only a slight tendency for a better performance of the girls for spatial orientation and Temporal Orientation. / Mestrado / Psicologia Educacional / Mestre em Educação

No description available.

The construct of mood (defined as a transient feeling state) has been shown in numerous studies to have a great effect on our daily lives. The purpose of the present study was twofold: (1) to investigate the effects of mood on psychomotor test performance, and (2) to examine the conceptualization of mood more closely. An experiment was conducted investigating the effects of positive (happy, elated) and negative (sad, depressed) mood on a newly developed Air Force selection battery. In addition, self-efficacy, perceived performance, and causal attributions were measured as potential contributors to the mood-performance relationship. Subjects consisted of Air Force Recruits at Lackland Air Force Base. Mood was manipulated by showing emotionally laden film clips before administering the test battery. The selection battery consisted of psychomotor tests, which measure reaction time and hand-eye coordination. The mood and performance model was tested through the structural equation modeling technique, LISREL. Results indicated that mood did not have an effect on any of the variables in the model. However, this null result was likely due to a relatively weak mood induction. Self-efficacy was found to predict both performance and perceived performance, and performance was found to predict perceived performance. Post-hoc analyses revealed that performance predicted mood such that subjects who performed well were in a better mood than subjects who performed poorly. What is still in question is whether mood, in turn, influences performance. The conceptualization of mood was examined by addressing the counter-intuitive theory by Watson, Clark, and Tellegen (1988) that positive and negative mood are two independent factors. This theory was examined by comparing factor structures from two different mood scales. On a more traditional scale in which only extremely worded mood items are included, positive and negative mood factors were not found to correlate. However, on a newly constructed mood scale entitled the Composite Mood Checklist (CMC), the mood factors were found to significantly correlate in a negative direction. This finding lends evidence to Spector et al.'s (1995) argument that positive and negative mood independence is an illusion created by artifactual mood scales. / Ph. D.

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPI's) are considered to be a public health problem of global importance by the World Health Organization. The present epidemiologic survey study investigated the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of pathogenic IPI's on the growth, nutrition and psychomotor development of 244 Ecuadorian children aged 0.2-14 years. The study was conducted in five rural hamlets located in a tropical rainforest area in northwest Ecuador. The study data were obtained by means of a structured questionnaire, a developmental screening examination, anthropometry, and lab analysis of blood and fecal samples. Data analysis was conducted using appropriate bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. The study results revealed that 90% of the child subjects were infected with at least one pathogenic IPI species. Fifty-one percent were identified with helminthic infections, 37.6% with protozoal infections, and 21.4% were infected with both. The most common intestinal parasites detected were Ascaris lumbricoides (39.7%), Giardia intestinalis (25.2%), Trichuris trichiura (19.7%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (18.5%), Blastocystis hominis (13.3%), and Ancylostoma duodenale (1.7%). The prevalence of growth stunting (40%) and iron-deficiency anemia (26%) also was high. Children infected with Giardia exhibited a risk for stunted growth that was twice that of their non-infected counterparts (51.7% vs. 33.1%; OR=2.16, 95% C.I.= 1.13-4.15; p= 0.01). They also had significantly reduced mean blood hemoglobin levels compared to non-infected children 11.8 + 1.5.g/dL vs. 12.2 + 1.4g/dL; p= 0.023) but the proportion with iron-deficiency anemia was slightly but not significantly increased (29.4% vs. 24.3%). The characteristic most consistently associated with risk for pathogenic protozoal IPI's was a high density of domestic animals living in and around the home. Children who lived in such households had a risk for infection that was 2-5 times greater than others. This suggests that domestic animals were important reservoirs for IPI infection in the child group studied. Contrary to the a priori hypothesis, no gender, ethnic, nor age differences in infection risk were identified except for Trichuris infection, which was reduced in younger children contrary to expectations. Mass or targeted chemotherapy combined with health education and promotion are needed to reduce the cycle of infection and re-infection and the negative impact of these on child growth and iron status. Health education and promotion messages can be incorporated into other types of programs already in place in local schools and by the Ecuadorian Ministries of Public Health, Education, and Social Welfare and other agencies. / Master of Science

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters’ Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Background: Motor learning theories indicate that training improves motor performance by reducing variability and increasing task control. Elastic tubing and tyre resistance training methods may allow for the development of control over the dynamics of spinal manipulation. This study thus aimed to determine whether training with elastic tubing and tyre resistance, in conjunction with the standard manipulative training at the Durban University of Technology, resulted in the development of control of the dynamics of manipulation compared to training with the standard training alone. Methods: A quantitative, prospective, experimental cohort design was used. Fifty-three participants were randomly allocated into tyre or elastic tubing resistance training intervention groups, or the control group. All groups continued with the standard manipulative training at the Durban University of Technology. The dynamics of manipulation were measured with the Dynadjust pre-, mid- and post-training. The SPSS was utilised to compute the parametric and non-parametric analyses. Results: The results showed no statistically significant differences over time for any of the measured dynamics of manipulation. None of the groups (excluding the control group for S-I manipulation) developed control of the relationships between the dynamics. Overall, there was no difference between the groups with regards to development of control of the dynamics. Conclusion: The results suggest that the additional training methods, should be carefully considered when employed over a short term. Study limitations include the sample size and the effect of outliers, therefore any firm conclusions drawn from this study are required to be interpreted with caution.

BACKGROUND: Descending kerbs during locomotion involves the regulation of appropriate foot placement before the kerb-edge and foot clearance over it. It also involves the modulation of gait output to ensure the body-mass is safely and smoothly lowered to the new level. Previous research has shown that vision is used in such adaptive gait tasks for feedforward planning, with vision from the lower visual field (lvf) used for online updating. The present study determined when lvf information is used to control/update locomotion when stepping from a kerb. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 12 young adults stepped down a kerb during ongoing gait. Force sensitive resistors (attached to participants' feet) interfaced with an high-speed PDLC 'smart glass' sheet, allowed the lvf to be unpredictably occluded at either heel-contact of the penultimate or final step before the kerb-edge up to contact with the lower level. Analysis focussed on determining changes in foot placement distance before the kerb-edge, clearance over it, and in kinematic measures of the step down. Lvf occlusion from the instant of final step contact had no significant effect on any dependant variable (p>0.09). Occlusion of the lvf from the instant of penultimate step contact had a significant effect on foot clearance and on several kinematic measures, with findings consistent with participants becoming uncertain regarding relative horizontal location of the kerb-edge. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest concurrent feedback of the lower limb, kerb-edge, and/or floor area immediately in front/below the kerb is not used when stepping from a kerb during ongoing gait. Instead heel-clearance and pre-landing-kinematic parameters are determined/planned using lvf information acquired in the penultimate step during the approach to the kerb-edge, with information related to foot placement before the kerb-edge being the most salient.

The purpose of this study was to compare muscle strength and psychomotor performance measures in healthy (n = 18) and frail (n = 21) groups of elderly women utilizing movements requiring various amounts of strength and ballistic action. Subjects were community-dwelling females ranging in age from 66-92 years. Evaluations of functional assessment of motor skills and grip strength occurred. Psychomotor performance was measured through production of aiming movements on a Digitizing Tablet. RT, MT, and movement kinematics (e.g., peak velocity, deceleration, movement adjustments) were evaluated. Differences between groups were apparent in quantity and quality of movement. Healthy subjects were stronger and faster than frail subjects, producing smoother movements with fewer adjustments. Strength appears to differentially affect healthy and frail samples and merits further exploration.