Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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Understanding sport expertise through a motivational perspective
No full textThe present study investigated sport expertise development and maintenance throng the framework of self-determination theory (SDT). In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten elite athletes who had represented their respective nations in major international events. Data were analyzed deductively according to the principles of SDT. Results indicated that sport expertise development and maintenance was facilitated by both autonomous motivation factors (e.g., becoming better and reaching full potential, love ofsport) and controlled motivation factors (e.g., wanting to do their best for others, Olympic aspirations), as well as basic psychological needs support from various social agents. Support for SDT\u27s universality hypothesis was found as basic psychological needs support was determined to be an integral part of elite athletes\u27 development across various ages, sports, and cultures. Collectively, our findings indicate that a combination of motivation types and basic needs support is conducive to sport expertise, as elite athletes can draw on various sources to develop and sustain their high level of engagement and performance
Physical Education Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions About Preparation for Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs
No full textPurpose: Physical educators may be the responsible people for implementing comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) in schools. However, it is unclear whether physical education teacher education (PETE) programs provide the relevant learning opportunities to preservice teachers for CSPAP implementation. The purpose of this study was to understand preservice teachers’ perspectives and experiences of CSPAP preparation in their PETE programs. Method: Fourteen PETE students from 6 different universities participated and shared their experiences in PETE programs. Data were collected through a short survey, 1 formal interview, field images, document gathering, and an additional survey to follow up the interview. Descriptive statistics, constant comparison, and analytic induction techniques were used to analyze the data. Results: Participants’ familiarity with CSPAPs was related to positive opinions about the role of physical educators in CSPAPs. Three common themes were revealed: (a) introducing CSPAP via courses, (b) the lack of programwide hands-on experiences for CSPAP, and (c) limited preparation for social skills with stakeholders. Participants’ perceptions of the role of physical educators as physical activity leaders had been expanded during their training. Conclusion: The participating PETE programs integrated CSPAP components in the existing courses to introduce CSPAP, while there was a lack of sufficient practical opportunities to learn how to implement (aspects of) a CSPAP. Participants felt they were insufficiently prepared to promote and implement expanded physical activity programming beyond physical education classes in schools. The majority of the PETE preservice teachers wanted more practical CSPAP experiences in their programs
Preparing globally competent educators through critically engaging in service-learning
No full textAs teacher-preparation programs educate and evaluate candidates to become globally competent instructional leaders, special attention should be given to international service-learning. Immersing teacher candidates in real-world experiences beyond their comfort zone is a cornerstone of this theoretical inquiry, including self-reflection strategies grounded on Paulo Freire\u27s liberatory pedagogy for social justice. The research team reviews self- and cultural-awareness experiences, dispositions, and profiles of university teacher candidates, during a semester of curriculum studies affording opportunities to engage in local, local to global, and/or global/international service-learning. The discoveries will inform teacher educators as they develop and strengthen critical inquiry and service-learning components of their own courses
Validity of BMI-based body fat equations in men and women: A 4-compartment model comparison
No full textValidity of BMI-based body fat equations in men and women: A 4-compartment model comparison. J Strength Cond Res 32(1): 121-129, 2018-The purpose of this study was to compare body mass index (BMI)-based body fat percentage (BF%) equations and skinfolds with a 4-compartment (4C) model in men and women. One hundred thirty adults (63 women and 67 men) volunteered to participate (age = 23 ± 5 years). BMI was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height squared (m2). BF% was predicted with the BMI-based equations of Jackson et al. (BMIJA), Deurenberg et al. (BMIDE), Gallagher et al. (BMIGA), Zanovec et al. (BMIZA), Womersley and Durnin (BMIWO), and from 7-site skinfolds using the generalized skinfold equation of Jackson et al. (SF7JP). The 4C model BF% was the criterion and derived from underwater weighing for body volume, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for bone mineral content, and bioimpedance spectroscopy for total body water. The constant error (CE) was not significantly different for BMIZA compared with the 4C model (p = 0.74, CE = 20.2%). However, BMIJA, BMIDE, BMIGA, and BMIWO produced significantly higher mean values than the 4C model (all p \u3c 0.001, CEs = 1.8-3.2%), whereas SF7JP was significantly lower (p \u3c 0.001, CE = 24.8%). The standard error of estimate ranged from 3.4 (SF7JP) to 6.4% (BMIJA) while the total error varied from 6.0 (SF7JP) to 7.3% (BMIJA). The 95% limits of agreement were the smallest for SF7JP (67.2%) and widest for BMIJA (613.5%). Although the BMI-based equations produced similar group mean values as the 4C model, SF7JP produced the smallest individual errors. Therefore, SF7JP is recommended over the BMIbased equations, but practitioners should consider the associated CE
Is Fraud Contagious? Coworker Influence on Misconduct by Financial Advisors
No full textUsing a novel data set of U.S. financial advisors that includes individuals\u27 employment histories and misconduct records, we show that coworkers influence an individual\u27s propensity to commit financial misconduct. We identify coworkers\u27 effect on misconduct using changes in coworkers caused by mergers of financial advisory firms. The tests include merger-firm fixed effects to exploit the variation in changes to coworkers across branches of the same firm. The probability of an advisor committing misconduct increases if his new coworkers, encountered in the merger, have a history of misconduct. This effect is stronger between demographically similar coworkers
The role of teacher educators in developing and disseminating global citizenship education strategies in and beyond US learning environments
No full textCurrent global concerns over refugees, immigration, conflicts, and violent extremism would suggest we still have work to do when it comes to the promotion of understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial and religious groups. The inclusion of (a) Global Citizenship Education (GCED) targets and (b) official indicators (UNESCO 2017) for measuring progress towards the mainstreaming of GCED into teacher education represents a collective response for addressing these global concerns. While GCED is present in the curriculum of many countries, researchers (UNESCO 2017) report it is less likely to be included in teacher education. This absence may explain, in part, why the United Nations (2012) identified a lack of teacher capacity as a major barrier to progress towards the mainstreaming of GCED. Unless GCED capacity building becomes part of a teacher education core-curriculum, these global concerns will continue. The authors provide the reader with an overview of preliminary inquiries into piloting of GCED capacity building activities with teacher education candidates. The analysis of these activities serves as a contribution to the existing literature on strategies teacher educators can use to develop pre-service teachers to nurture core cognitive dimensions of GCED and disseminate these strategies for use by their P-12 colleagues
Procesos, prácticas y actores de comunicación alternativa digital en el contexto mexicano
No full textEl objetivo de este trabajo es identificar las características de la producción, organización y gestión de la comunicación alternativa entre seis casos de estudio del contexto mexicano: Las EnREDadas; Hij@s de la tierra; Somos el Medio; las abejas de Acteal; Radio Zapote y RompeViento. Cada uno de ellos, integrado por jóvenes de contextos diferentes y con ámbitos de intereses muy diversos.La metodología empleada fue de corte cualitativo y se emplearon tres instrumentos de recolección de información: 1) análisis de contenido cualitativo; 2) entrevistas semi-estructuradas en profundidad y 3) la observación participante interna y externa.A través de un análisis por categorías, los principales hallazgos que plantea este trabajo giran en torno a la redefinición de algunas de las categorías básicas de la comunicación alternativa, a partir de su ejercicio en los entornos digitales: la interacción, participación, comunicación horizontal, mensaje contrahegemónico y praxis de transformación social. En su conjunto, esta aportación permite ver los cambios y continuidades del ejercicio de los medios de comunicación alternativa en un contexto de múltiples incertidumbres en los entornos digitales
Just A Paper Moon: A Naturalist Reading of a Streetcar Named Desire
Get PDFTennessee Williams’ work A Streetcar Named Desire presents a complicated but rich text that does not fit in smoothly to any category of literature. I argue that while this complexity and difficulty of placement is true, the text is best seen through the lens of Naturalism due to the determined lives of the main characters, their attempts to escape these determined lives, and the tragic endings of these characters because of said attempts. This theory is explored in this thesis primarily through an analysis of the main characters of Blanche DuBois, Harold Mitch Mitchell, Stanley Kowalski, and Stella Kowalski. This thesis also explores the connection Williams’ own life had to the text for the sake of showing a deeper connection to the theme of Naturalism with Williams himself attempting to break from the self-believed determined life he was living
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining Accident in Newspapers in Chile, Mexico and Spain
Get PDFThis study examines media events from the perspective of geo-cultural markets by analyzing the media frames used during print media coverage of the Chilean mining disaster of 2010 in newspapers from Chile, Mexico and Spain. The paper assesses the narratives, dynamics and perspectives in two main frames- love and heroes-To further our understanding of framing strategies in the Hispanic geo-cultural market by addressing how geo-cultural markets can reinforce, localize or transcend frameworks or differ internally. The aim is to problematize the apparent standardization of geo-cultural markets and to analyze their differential occurrence in framing, identifying correlations and dissimilarities among representations of the mining accident in the three nations. In addition, the research highlights the variables within each frame and their association with cultural features of the Global South, rendering the concept of framing more adaptable and flexible. Finally, the paper demonstrates that frames of affection and emotion were highly influential in turning the Chilean mining disaster into a medium event
Three Essays on Pricing and the Price Discovery Process of Sovereign Credit Default Swaps
Get PDFIn the first essay, author undertakes a comprehensive study of eight emerging sovereign entities in order to determine the nature of long-run dynamic interaction between two highly related financial markets on which same, respective, sovereign credit/ default risk is traded. Thus, eight pairs of individual sovereign credit risk prices are independently analyzed using daily time series data during the time period 2006-2016 to determine which market more quickly impounds new information in efficiently pricing the credit risk. These related markets are sovereign credit default swap (CDS) and bond markets. Country level analysis suggests that prices in both markets move in tandem with each other and the sovereign CDS market dominates the price discovery process during tranquil periods, contributing more than 70% to the overall price discovery process, a finding attributed to its greater relative liquidity. However, during the crisis, a common stochastic trend is missing between CDS and bond spreads, suggesting that during times of extreme distress, these markets price credit risk differently. These results have implications for emerging market investors and asset managers who engage in arbitrage between the two markets as well as financial stakeholders who monitor sovereign credit spreads to gauge the level of political and/or default risk in emerging markets. The second and third essays are closely related as they attempt to establish the notion that socioeconomic variables are key predictors of sovereign CDS prices. Existing literature focuses overwhelmingly on global financial and country specific macroeconomic variables as determinants of CDS spread. Using the data from 66 countries over the period of 2007-2015, significant support is reported for the hypothesis in the second essay that state fragility, a socioeconomic construct borrowed from foreign policy literature, positively affects the CDS pricing. This support is robust across different regression models with varying specifications. Two way fixed effect model reports that after controlling for global and country specific macroeconomic variables a 1% increase in state fragility, ceteris paribus, causes an increase in CDS premium by 1.60%. Using the data from 2015 for 52 countries, essay three reports that one percentage point increase in social capital of a country causes credit derivative prices to decrease by 1.19%