Matching Items (6)
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Description
Background: Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health concerns in the United States and has been associated with low levels of physical activity. Schools are ideal physical activity promotion sites but school physical activity opportunities have decreased due the increased focus on academic performance. Before-school programs provide a good opportunity for children to engage in physical activity as well as improve their readiness to learn. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a before-school running/walking club on children's physical activity and on-task behavior. Methods: Participants were third and fourth grade children from two schools in the Southwestern United States who participated in a before-school running/walking club that met two times each week. The study employed a two-phase experimental design with an initial baseline phase and an alternating treatments phase. Physical activity was monitored using pedometers and on-task behavior was assessed through systematic observation. Data analysis included visual analysis, descriptive statistics, as well as multilevel modeling. Results: Children accumulated substantial amounts of physical activity within the before-school program (School A: 1731 steps, 10:02 MVPA minutes; School B: 1502 steps, 8:30 MVPA minutes) and, on average, did not compensate by decreasing their physical activity during the rest of the school day. Further, on-task behavior was significantly higher on days the children attended the before-school program than on days they did not (School A=15.78%, pseudo-R2=.34 [strong effect]; School B=14.26%, pseudo-R2=.22 [moderate effect]). Discussion: Results provide evidence for the positive impact of before-school programs on children's physical activity and on-task behavior. Such programs do not take time away from academics and may be an attractive option for schools.
ContributorsStylianou, Michalis (Author) / Kulinna, Pamela H. (Thesis advisor) / Van Der Mars, Hans (Committee member) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Adams, Marc (Committee member) / Mahar, Matthew T. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
A converging operations approach using response time distribution modeling was adopted to better characterize the cognitive control dynamics underlying ongoing task cost and cue detection in event based prospective memory (PM). In Experiment 1, individual differences analyses revealed that working memory capacity uniquely predicted nonfocal cue detection, while proactive control and inhibition predicted variation in ongoing task cost of the ex-Gaussian parameter associated with continuous monitoring strategies (mu). In Experiments 2A and 2B, quasi-experimental techniques aimed at identifying the role of proactive control abilities in PM monitoring and cue detection suggested that low ability participants may have PM deficits during demanding tasks due to inefficient monitoring strategies, but that emphasizing importance of the intention can increase reliance on more efficacious monitoring strategies that boosts performance (Experiment 2A). Furthermore, high proactive control ability participants are able to efficiently regulate their monitoring strategies under scenarios that do not require costly monitoring for successful cue detection (Experiment 2B). In Experiments 3A and 3B, it was found that proactive control benefited cue detection in interference-rich environments, but the neural correlates of cue detection or intention execution did not differ when engaged in proactive versus reactive control. The results from the current set of studies highlight the importance of response time distribution modeling in understanding PM cost. Additionally, these results have important implications for extant theories of PM and have considerable applied ramifications concerning the cognitive control processes that should be targeted to improve PM abilities.
ContributorsBall, Brett Hunter (Author) / Brewer, Gene A. (Thesis advisor) / Goldinger, Stephen (Committee member) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The goal of this study was to look at touch and dance from different views to gain a better perspective on the benefits of touch, mainly when used in dance and also perhaps in broader contexts. Part of this investigation also looked at the stigmatized view of touch in the American culture and in turn the lack of knowledge about, and comfort with touch in our society. A personal research component involved the creation of a solo reflecting about the question of why I connect with touch so intensely. The bulk of the study involved facilitating touch experiences in two introductory level dance classes for high school students. Daily journal entries were collected from each of the eighty students that focused on their personal experiences with touch in a series of six movement sessions. The study shows that bringing touch to the dance classroom has multiple benefits, including promoting a greater understanding and acceptance of the sense of touch, a positive impact on students' views about dance, and a break down of preconceived notions about the mind and the body.
ContributorsSteinken, Brigitte Rose (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Dance (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The action of running is difficult to measure, but well worth it to receive valuable information about one of our most basic evolutionary functions. In the context of modern day, recreational runners typically listen to music while running, and so the purpose of this experiment is to analyze the influence of music on running from a more dynamical approach. The first experiment was a running task involving running without a metronome and running with one while setting one's own preferred running tempo. The second experiment sought to manipulate the participant's preferred running tempo by having them listen to the metronome set at their preferred tempo, 20% above their preferred tempo, or 20% below. The purpose of this study is to analyze whether or not rhythmic perturbations different to one's preferred running tempo would interfere with one's preferred running tempo and cause a change in the variability of one's running patterns as well as a change in one's running performance along the measures of step rate, stride length, and stride pace. The evidence suggests that participants naturally entrained to the metronome tempo which influenced them to run faster or slower as a function of metronome tempo. However, this change was also accompanied by a shift in the variability of one's step rate and stride length.
ContributorsZavala, Andrew Geovanni (Author) / Amazeen, Eric (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Polemnia (Committee member) / Vedeler, Dankert (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Variability is inherent in human movement, and poses a challenge to researchers attempting to measure balance. Human movement variability was analyzed using two methods: standard deviation and largest Lyapunov exponent. The experiment was a sit-to-stand task with physical and cognitive perturbations. The physical perturbation consisted of stable and unstable platform conditions, while the cognitive perturbation consisted of a counting task. The data were collected from 24 healthy young adults. The purpose of this study was to compare the standard deviation and largest Lyapunov exponent as measures of stability, and to determine the Lyapunov exponent's sensitivity to cognitive perturbation. Evidence suggests that the Lyapunov exponent serves as a more accurate indicator of stability than standard deviation, and that it lacks sensitivity to the counting task.
ContributorsJohnson, Jennifer Jeanne (Author) / Amazeen, Polemnia (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Stone, Gregory (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Impermanence is constant within the world humans live in; the physical environment is ever-changing, parallel with human evolution. Although the moment of a human lifespan is fleeting in comparison to their surrounding landscapes, the evidence of movement that lapses through time and space in relation to body and place reveals a hidden dance that soars across the history of humankind. This document explores the relationship between moving bodies and various environments, specifically how an individual’s perception of place influences the way people dance. Given the author’s background as a choreographer, performer, and filmmaker, the goal and method of this document is to understand the author’s and his ensemble of dancers’ perceived senses within a given geographic environment and to merge personal dialect in an artistic product. Ultimately, what was found was translating into an evening-length, movement-centered presentation.
The author's curiosity with foreign landscapes and his exploratory spirit are the driving forces for this project. Before arriving at the thesis topic, the author knew that environmental exploration and dance would be at the forefront of the research. Similar to a museum exhibition context, this document yearns for variety, and studies the environments through an event that encapsulates it all. This document explores the author’s multiple artistic interests in photography, film, and live performance, all of which were presented in a single event.
The author's curiosity with foreign landscapes and his exploratory spirit are the driving forces for this project. Before arriving at the thesis topic, the author knew that environmental exploration and dance would be at the forefront of the research. Similar to a museum exhibition context, this document yearns for variety, and studies the environments through an event that encapsulates it all. This document explores the author’s multiple artistic interests in photography, film, and live performance, all of which were presented in a single event.
ContributorsFung, Lawrence (Author) / White, Marcus (Thesis advisor) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020