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- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Description
Pitchers are a vital part of the game of baseball and may account for up to two-thirds of the variance in win percentage. As they rise through the ranks of competition, physical skill set becomes less of a factor when compared to mentality. Pitchers are the “first line of defense” for keeping opponents from having an opportunity to score, as well as for holding onto their own team’s lead. Baseball pitchers not only face pressure to perform, but also experience stress from factors such as low pay, adjusting to higher levels of competition, and internal team competition for a limited number of spots. Athletes are often resistant to seeking aid from sport psychologists and often turn to unfavorable means to cope (i.e. drugs/alcohol, excessive exercise) with stress instead. Meditation has been shown to have beneficial effects on psychological factors associated with performance including emotional regulation, anxiety, confidence, focus, and mindfulness. Mobile applications have become a popular means of delivering mindfulness. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of delivering a mindful meditation intervention using a mobile meditation application to improve psychological factors associated with performance (i.e. emotional regulation, anxiety (somatic and cognitive), confidence, focus, mindfulness) to minor league baseball pitchers. Pitchers in instructional league (Phase one) and off season (Phase two) were asked to meditate daily for 10-minutes each day for three weeks (Phase one) and eight weeks (Phase two). Pitchers were asked to complete self-report questionnaires and satisfaction surveys at pre- and post-intervention. Pitchers in phase one reported enjoying meditation, had improvements in self-confidence and sport confidence, and reported moderate decreases in cognitive anxiety and concentration disruption. Pitchers in phase two also enjoyed meditating (94.7%) and had improvements in self-confidence and moderate decreases in somatic anxiety. Low adherence due to timing (off-season) of intervention may have been a contributing factor to fewer outcomes. Future research should explore the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing meditation during the baseball season.
ContributorsDowling, Tiffany (Author) / Huberty, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Ransdell, Lynda (Committee member) / Buman, Matthew (Committee member) / Michel, Jesse (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Informed by Behavioral Ecological Model (BEM), Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, and Model for Learning With Digital Video, this project assessed: (a) the effects of mobile application (App) technology on students’ skill and game play development during a badminton sport education season and (b) a physical education teacher and students’ perceptions about the use of the App technology. Two eighth grade classes participated in the study (the teacher only used the App in Class A; students used the App in Class B). The Poole forehand overhead clear shot skill test, game performance assessment instrument (GPAI), and opportunity to respond (OTR) observation tool were used to measure skill development and game improvement in the first study. Students’ practices and game play performance were recorded. Critical incident sheets, the teacher’s daily reflections, and interviews with the teacher were used in second study. In the first study, students in both intervention classes, regardless of the App use condition (i.e., teacher vs students), improved in the clear shot skill, tactical dimensions of their game performance (i.e., skill execution, decision-making, and base position), and opportunities to respond rates (i.e., success and acceptability). In the second study, there was evidence that a physical education teacher can effectively integrate the use of a motion analysis App and complement his instructional skills during regular instruction in a middle school badminton context. Also, it was evident that the App provided students with active learning opportunities through instant feedback on skill and game performance. Further research on the use of such App technologies should focus on: (a) how the App technology can be innovative to foster student learning in game play in Physical Education settings and (b) how teachers understand the use of technology along with their pedagogical skills.
ContributorsYu, Hyeonho (Author) / Van Der Mars, Hans (Thesis advisor) / Kulinna, Pamela H (Committee member) / Hastie, Peter A (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Parkinson's disease, the most prevalent movement disorder of the central nervous system, is a chronic condition that affects more than 1000,000 U.S. residents and about 3% of the population over the age of 65. The characteristic symptoms include tremors, bradykinesia, rigidity and impaired postural stability. Current therapy based on augmentation or replacement of dopamine is designed to improve patients' motor performance but often leads to levodopa-induced complications, such as dyskinesia and motor fluctuation. With the disease progress, clinicians must closely monitor patients' progress in order to identify any complications or decline in motor function as soon as possible in PD management. Unfortunately, current clinical assessment for Parkinson's is subjective and mostly influenced by brief observations during patient visits. Thus improvement or decline in patients' motor function in between visits is extremely difficult to assess. This may hamper clinicians while making informed decisions about the course of therapy for Parkinson's patients and could negatively impact clinical care. In this study we explored new approaches for PD assessment that aim to provide home-based PD assessment and monitoring. By extending the disease assessment to home, the healthcare burden on patients and their family can be reduced, and the disease progress can be more closely monitored by physicians. To achieve these aims, two novel approaches have been designed, developed and validated. The first approach is a questionnaire based self-evaluation metric, which estimate the PD severity through using self-evaluation score on pre-designed questions. Based on the results of the first approach, a smart phone based approach was invented. The approach takes advantage of the mobile computing technology and clinical decision support approach to evaluate the motor performance of patient daily activity and provide the longitudinal disease assessment and monitoring. Both approaches have been validated on recruited PD patients at the movement disorder program of Barrow Neurological Clinic (BNC) at St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. The results of validation tests showed favorable accuracy on detecting and assessing critical symptoms of PD, and shed light on promising future of implementing mobile platform based PD evaluation and monitoring tools to facilitate PD management.
ContributorsPan, Di (Author) / Petitti, Diana (Thesis advisor) / Greenes, Robert (Committee member) / Johnson, William (Committee member) / Dhall, Rohit (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013