Depressive symptoms among college students have major implications for higher education institutions across the country. First-year college students are particularly susceptible to the various impacts that the college experience may produce during the transitional first year of college. The effects of depressive symptoms among college students in…

Background: To promote regular physical activity (PA) among children and adolescents, authors recommend that physical education (PE) teachers offer their students programmes that would allow them to be physically active outside PE classes. However, such programmes are rarely rigorously assessed and it is recommended that further studies be…

Self-management of a disease is defined as "having or being able to obtain, the skills and resources necessary to best accommodate to the chronic disease and its consequences" (Holman & Lorig, 1992, p. 309). Self-management has been used in the management of several chronic conditions and this model may be useful in the management of weight loss.…

Health education interventions can be tailored toward stages of change. This strategy is based on theories that predict at which stage which variables are indicative of subsequent behavior change processes. For example, planning is regarded as being effective in intenders. However, rather few studies have tested whether matched interventions are…

This article presents the author's forty-fourth Amy Morris Homans commemorative lecture. In the lecture, the author offers her thoughts about the future of physical education profession and the role that this organization plays in moving educators from good to great. The conference theme draws from a book called "Good to Great" that examined why…

Story problems are a part of most mathematics curricula and are sometimes used as writing exercises in mathematics classrooms. Such writing exercises may include requiring students to rewrite story problems in their own words, using language that is familiar to them, or rewriting story problems using simpler number facts. The current emphasis on…

This study investigated the extent to which a psychoeducational intervention supports family-centered care by influencing health risk and self-care behaviors of caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (N = 325). Moreover, this study investigated the extent to which changes in self-efficacy explained changes in health risk and self-care…

Today, advances in wireless sensor networks are making it possible to capture large amounts of information about a person and their interaction within their home environment. However, what is missing is how to ensure the security of the collected data and its use to alter human behavior for positive benefit. In this research, exploration was…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether university students' smoking behaviour is associated with higher levels of stress and depression directly, or indirectly, via the mediation of coping, personal beliefs and social support. Design/methodology/approach: The study design involves a cross-sectional survey. Structural equation…

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of smoking amongst university students in Brisbane, Australia and associated risk factors. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional design was used for the study. A sample of 2,414 university students aged 18-30 was examined to estimate the prevalence of tobacco use. Smoking was measured by…

Objective: This study evaluated changes in self-efficacy in non-physically active adolescent girls (13-19 years old) who participated in a six-month, empowerment-based exercise intervention programme (EIP). Design: The study used a pre- and post-test randomized group design and included one pre- and one post-test (at six months) and non-physically…

"Study aim": To determine muscle strength variables in elite judoists and wrestlers since thigh muscle strength and bilaterally balanced flexor-to-extensor ratio minimise injury risk and are desirable for achieving sport successes. "Material and methods": Judoists, wrestlers and untrained subjects, 10 each, were subjected to isokinetic strength…

Purpose: To examine the application of known muscle training principles to tongue strengthening exercises and to answer the following research questions: (a) Did lingual strength increase following 9 weeks of training? (b) Did training conducted using an exercise moving the tongue in one direction result in strength changes for tongue movements in…

Background: Lack of physical activity has been noted in breast cancer survivors and been attributed to decreased physical function. Purpose: This study assessed the effects of a moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise program on body fat percentage, maximal oxygen consumption (VO[subscript 2] max), body mass index, and bone mineral density (BMD) of…

An epidemic such as diabetes is an extremely complex public health, economic and social problem that is difficult to solve through medical expertise alone. Evidence-based models for improving healthcare delivery systems advocate educating patients to become more active participants in their own care. This shift demands preparing chronically ill…