Biokinetics, Exercise and Leisure Sciences
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Browsing Biokinetics, Exercise and Leisure Sciences by Author "Andrews, Barry Craig."
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Item Attitudes towards physical education in KwaZulu-Natal.(1996) Thomson, Janet Elizabeth.; Andrews, Barry Craig.This study investigated the attitudes towards Physical Education in KwaZulu and the determinants of those attitudes. The focus was on the teaching of the subject in schools and colleges of education in the KwaZulu Department of Education and Culture. The purpose of the study was to establish whether Physical Education was being limited by a lack of resources and/or the perceived low status of Physical Education. Questionnaires were developed for four different groups, namely, teachers, principals, college lecturers and the pupils and students themselves. The analysis of the responses indicated that all four groups held strong beliefs about the benefits of the subject. The benefits which the pupils regarded as the most positive were in the areas of physical fitness and social development. In contrast to their western counterparts, pupils and students did not view Physical Education as a "light relief' subject nor did they regard enjoyment as a requisite. Negative determinants of attitude were found to be related primarily to the lack of facilities and the consequent lack of diversity in the Physical Education curriculum. Respondents from the teachers' and principals' groups revealed that the teaching of Physical Education in KwaZulu was important but severely inhibited by a combination of factors. Allocation of resources in the form of physical facilities and equipment was found to be deficient. There was an absence of qualified staff, which resulted in the subject either being omitted from the curriculum or being taught by teachers with no knowledge of its objectives nor of the correct teaching methods. In some cases the subject was confused with sport and coaching school teams and in most cases the subject played a subservient role to that of examination subjects. The promotion prospects of the Physical Education teachers were not perceived to be limited compared to their academic counterparts because all of them were teaching academic subjects. Those with specialised training in Physical Education were not in evidence because they were not teaching Physical Education. College lecturers were specialist trained and indicated a much greater degree of success in the implementation of Physical Education programmes. Colleges had superior facilities and equipment although insufficient use of funds was apparent. College lecturers did not feel that they successfully achieved the educational objectives of the subject. In agreement with their western counterparts, they perceived their promotion prospects to be limited. The failure to implement successful programmes of Physical Education in the schools led to the recommendation that preservice specialised training was vitally important but not sufficient and that in-service courses in the form of practical workshops for staff and principals were essential in order to support the preservice initiatives.Item The effects of exercise and diet on selected physiological and biochemical parameters in a sedentary Indian male cohort.(1995) Coopoo, Yoganathan.; Andrews, Barry Craig.In common with other expatriate Indian Populations, the Indian community of South Africa has a high incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). Little information is available on the effects of exercise and diet on risk factors in this group. The present study is directed at the functional changes occurring as a result of a moderate aerobic physical activity programme, comprising 30 minutes of supervised exercise, three times per week for 15 weeks. Healthy male volunteers were recruited from the staff of the University of Durban-Westville, who were not on any lipid lowering medication and were not involved in any programme of physical activity for at least 12 weeks before the start of the project. The 41 subjects were assigned into one of three groups: exercise only (E) (15 subjects); exercise and diet (ED) (14 subjects) and a control (C) (12 subjects) group on no intervention. Besides laboratory investigations all participants were subjected to standardized fitness and anthropomorphological evaluation, a brief family history for coronary artery disease and a detailed dietary history was compiled. Baseline lipid results indicate that only 7 of the 41 subjects had normal lipid profiles using as cut-off points 5.2 mmol/l for cholesterol, 1.5 mml!l for triglyceride and 0.9 mmol/l for HDL-C. Obesity was moderately prevalent before intervention, with a mean decrease of 25% in body fat in both E and BD groups(p~0.05). The experimental subjects became leaner. After the intervention programme an average 20 percent increase was evident in physical working capacity as measured by peak V~ in both experimental groups (p~0.01). The controls showed little variation over the 15 weeks. The indices of muscular endurance and flexibility showed statistically significant changes (P~ 0.05) in both experimental groups after intervention. This certainly indicates elevated levels of fitness after the intervention. The lipid profiles show little alteration in total cholesterol, with a 7.3% decrease in triglyceride levels in the E group (which was not statistically significant) compared with a 14.7% increase in the controls. HDL-C showed an increase in both experimental groups (p~0.01). The total cholesterol to HDL-C ratio had an average fall of 11.9% in the experimental groups (P~0.05) compared with a 5.6% decrease in the control group. These data support the claim that regular, moderate exercise reduces the risk of heart disease through its effects on coronary risk factors in a high risk South African population.Item Perceived psychological benefits of participation in leisure activities.(1992) Hudgson, Norma May.; Butler-Adam, Joann Camille Ellis.; Andrews, Barry Craig.