Something that has recently come to my attention is the news of the obesity epidemic spreading to Mexico. I did a little bit of research on it and have found a significant amount of articles describing the increasing number of obese people in Mexico as well as the increasing number of Mexican children with type II diabetes. There are a couple of things that I think of with regard to this information. First- originally the hypothesis for this project has been that Mexican children will show an increased amount of core stability when compared to American children. This stems from the assumption that Mexican children are more active than American children because they lack the advanced technological sources of entertainment (tv, videogames, internet surfing/chatting etc) and because their culture requires more activity (walking to school or other places, engaging in manual labor at an earlier age, participation in sport- mostly soccer, which they are known for.) It seems however, that some of the same couch-potato habits may exist in Mexico at this moment. The kids and adults are getting fatter, at least in the bigger cities. The article, Bryan, L, & McLaughlin, H. J. (2005). Teaching and learning in rural mexico: a portrait of student responsibility in everyday school life. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(1), 33-48. describes the transition from the more aboriginal lifestyle to the more American lifestyle explaining that with this transition comes the resulting poor health that has been increasing in the United States. So, some more thoughts come to my mind. First, will the rural villages outside of Irapuato be experiencing the increasing obesity trends? If so, why? What activities are they not doing and what are they doing to cause this? I feel that it is likely that the children are in a rural enough part of Mexico still with heavy traces of "aboriginal" culture and activities. But who knows- I will see when I get there. Nonetheless, I will still need to be sure to rephrase my hypothesis to emphasize more the type of physical activity that is being done and that correlates with decreased or increased stability and posture. So the hypothesis should read more like this "Higher levels of physical activity and longer durations, lead to increased core stability."
Well, this leads me to realize that I need to rethink my thesis a little bit better. Instead of saying that Mexican children will hav
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
A little bit of the same
So I still haven't been able to get to a lot of the research that I needed to. I was able to find some older studies on microfiche that might fill in some holes in my research. One study in particular was a cross cultural study between Americans and Puerto Ricans and spinal positioning etc. I'm hoping that the study will be similar to the research that I am planning and so I will be able to more validly draw the hypothesis that I am going toward (namely that low activity as seen in American culture (sitting in from of the tv etc) will correlate to poorer core stability and posture and more activity, like that in more rural areas (Mexico) leads to greater core stability etc.)
So hopefully this study will be more informative for me.
With that said- so far I feel like I have gone through a lot of articles and studies that have given me a lot of information but the information needs to be more organized so that I can look a little better at the big picture. This weekend I am planning to spend quite a bit of time just organizing the articles that I have so far and seeing if any of them fill in the gaps that I discussed in my literature review. Then hopefully I'll know exactly what I still need to look for and what information is sufficient for right now. I really feel like I need to get better organized before I continue doing more searches for other kinds of information.
So hopefully this study will be more informative for me.
With that said- so far I feel like I have gone through a lot of articles and studies that have given me a lot of information but the information needs to be more organized so that I can look a little better at the big picture. This weekend I am planning to spend quite a bit of time just organizing the articles that I have so far and seeing if any of them fill in the gaps that I discussed in my literature review. Then hopefully I'll know exactly what I still need to look for and what information is sufficient for right now. I really feel like I need to get better organized before I continue doing more searches for other kinds of information.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
25 jan 2011
I haven't been able to do much because I have a fat physics test tomorrow. I read the half incomprehensible article that we will talk about tomorrow. Hopefully discussion will shed a bit more light on exactly what I was supposed to get out of it.
Anyway- some things that I have been thinking that I should do once my physics test is done with- look through some of the checklists that I have made myself thus far in order to prioritize the things that I need to do. I also want to email Dr. Mitchell and get an appointment with her to report a little more on the project- what I have done and will do next as well as get some more direction from her on what I should be looking for in my research.
Those are all my thoughts for the moment. Bonne nuit!
Anyway- some things that I have been thinking that I should do once my physics test is done with- look through some of the checklists that I have made myself thus far in order to prioritize the things that I need to do. I also want to email Dr. Mitchell and get an appointment with her to report a little more on the project- what I have done and will do next as well as get some more direction from her on what I should be looking for in my research.
Those are all my thoughts for the moment. Bonne nuit!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Prioritizing
This weekend I was able to look at several different studies for the annotated bibliographies. I was able to find a lot of different studies that have a little bit in common with my study, but they weren't quite the same as what I'm doing. Really I felt like while a lot of it was useful in helping come up with small questions or ideas of what my study will be like, there wasn't a lot that I could use for my actual proposal that I will be writing soon. But running through these studies has helped me see what types of information I need for my study and what I don't need so much. My thoughts are as such: I need actual obesity and activity level statistics for Mexico, I need to find out more about SOFFIT, I need to be able to describe a little better the use of pedometers and accelerometers in my study, I also want to be able to explain the negative affects of poor posture and muscle development and have specific support that goes with it. In addition, while I wanted to understand a bit more about muscle development myself, I feel that for my later proposal and post-study write ups it will suffice to give a brief explanation of the use and disuse theories of muscle development. The audience I will be writing too will either already be fairly aware of the science behind it or they will be a layman who doesn't really need a super in depth explanation of the muscle development.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
More Research- Activity levels in Mexican Children
Interestingly enough I was able to find an article on a study conducted in Mexico City through the school systems. The Study tried to asses the activity levels of the children in order to determine whether they were sufficient for healthy development. This population is a kind of hybrid between the kids that I will study in Mexico and the kids in the United States- to which I will compare the results of my study. Mexico city is a more urban and well-developed area of Mexico and as such is more similar to the United States than to the rural towns surrounding Irapuato, Mexico. As well, the children that live in Mexico City will share a lot of the culture and similar activities that the kids in Irapuato engage in. As such it is interesting to find a study in which one might expect this sort of "middle ground." With that said, within the article is was stated that 26% of Mexican children are considered overweight. --- I briefly looked for the same statistic for American kids, but I didn't have a lot of time to really find what I needed.
In addition, this study used a technique called SOFIT, "System for observing fitness instruction time." This is apparently a common tool used to quantify the quality of Physical Education classes. So of course I looked up the SOFIT methods in order to understand a little more about what the scientific community requires or at least recommends in order to conduct valid and acceptable observations of physical activity. One of the main points of SOFIT, however, is to evaluate the instruction given to the students concerning physical activity.
Considering my project and the population that I am going to be studying, I don't even know if they will have a "PE" class like the ones that are used in Mexico City. In addition I am not worried about what is taught in the schools, but more- what kinds of activities the students engage in which increase of decrease their core stability. With that said, within the procedures for the SOFIT technique were several ideas and variables that I sould take care of or at least take into account before going their. For instance, they observe students for 10s intervals and describe their activity during that time- whether they are laying down, sitting, standing, walking or more acitive. I think that this could be an effective way for me to collect the data that I need.
I also, feel that this won't quite be efficient enough for the goals of the my project. However, I can certainly adopt some of the techniques. My study will require more than just obeservation of schools activity level, but levels that ocurr at any and all times. in addition, I am by no means evaluating the effective of the PE instruction in the classroom.
Another question that I need to take into consideration is how much I can vary the thechniques that I use in this project with those that amy used in the project before. I want to be able to use all of the data that she collected, but if I collect mine in a different way from hers, it could render the projects incompatible. With that said, I may not even want to use the SOFIT method. We'll see.
In addition, this study used a technique called SOFIT, "System for observing fitness instruction time." This is apparently a common tool used to quantify the quality of Physical Education classes. So of course I looked up the SOFIT methods in order to understand a little more about what the scientific community requires or at least recommends in order to conduct valid and acceptable observations of physical activity. One of the main points of SOFIT, however, is to evaluate the instruction given to the students concerning physical activity.
Considering my project and the population that I am going to be studying, I don't even know if they will have a "PE" class like the ones that are used in Mexico City. In addition I am not worried about what is taught in the schools, but more- what kinds of activities the students engage in which increase of decrease their core stability. With that said, within the procedures for the SOFIT technique were several ideas and variables that I sould take care of or at least take into account before going their. For instance, they observe students for 10s intervals and describe their activity during that time- whether they are laying down, sitting, standing, walking or more acitive. I think that this could be an effective way for me to collect the data that I need.
I also, feel that this won't quite be efficient enough for the goals of the my project. However, I can certainly adopt some of the techniques. My study will require more than just obeservation of schools activity level, but levels that ocurr at any and all times. in addition, I am by no means evaluating the effective of the PE instruction in the classroom.
Another question that I need to take into consideration is how much I can vary the thechniques that I use in this project with those that amy used in the project before. I want to be able to use all of the data that she collected, but if I collect mine in a different way from hers, it could render the projects incompatible. With that said, I may not even want to use the SOFIT method. We'll see.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Thoughts from previous projects
I was able to look up Amy Nagle's research proposal for her study of the same project in Ghana. It was very helpful. First, she brought up a lot of points that I hadn't even thought about. For instance, I need to find more statistics and reports on physical activities and obesity relating to Mexico. She has some for Ghana and is able to compare them to the United States, thus giving supporting evidence that there is indeed a difference in activity and health between the two countries showing the reviewer that the project is indeed well planned and useful.
In addition, Amy talks specifically about gaining rapport with the adults in the community so that she can then ask them to allow their children to participate in the study. One very specific way in which she plans to do this is through "prayer time." From what I understood in the project, it is a social gathering held ever night where she can meet people. Is there something like this in Mexico. I imagine that there is. I went to a "fiesta" the other night that primarily consisted of Peruvians. They were dancing and eating and talking. Anyway, it was very normal for them and I imagine that in other Latin cultures like Mexico there are also activities like this.
-Even while writing this I have been thinking that I should look up the holidays that will occur in Mexico while I am there. As well, those at the fiesta were dancing a ton and seemed to be very familiar with each of the different types of dancing etc. - Is this something that children are taught in schools or is it that they just do it a lot and so they know how? do they do it enough to affect their core stability?
Going back to y previous thoughts about how to gain rapport with the adults- I am wondering what types of things will I need to do in order to meet people to work with. Are there daily or weekly social gatherings? Do I just need to go knock on doors? I was planning to meet the kids through the schools- are there opportunities at the schools to also meet their parents?
Also, Amy talked about sharing information with the people so as to give back or develop a reciprocating relationship with them. I'm not really quite sure what she means or what she did. I think that the idea of "giving back" will help me gain more trust with the people there. What kinds of information do I have access to that the Mexican's would be interested in? Also, what could I prepare beforehand as a type of "compensation" for those that participate in the study- a small gift of some sort? Amy also did this in her project. It is common in the Ghanaian culture to give gifts as compensation. Is this the same practice in Mexico?
A lot of these questions, I feel could be answered most effectively by talking to someone who has been to Mexico or is from there. I will have to make some more friends.
In addition, Amy talks specifically about gaining rapport with the adults in the community so that she can then ask them to allow their children to participate in the study. One very specific way in which she plans to do this is through "prayer time." From what I understood in the project, it is a social gathering held ever night where she can meet people. Is there something like this in Mexico. I imagine that there is. I went to a "fiesta" the other night that primarily consisted of Peruvians. They were dancing and eating and talking. Anyway, it was very normal for them and I imagine that in other Latin cultures like Mexico there are also activities like this.
-Even while writing this I have been thinking that I should look up the holidays that will occur in Mexico while I am there. As well, those at the fiesta were dancing a ton and seemed to be very familiar with each of the different types of dancing etc. - Is this something that children are taught in schools or is it that they just do it a lot and so they know how? do they do it enough to affect their core stability?
Going back to y previous thoughts about how to gain rapport with the adults- I am wondering what types of things will I need to do in order to meet people to work with. Are there daily or weekly social gatherings? Do I just need to go knock on doors? I was planning to meet the kids through the schools- are there opportunities at the schools to also meet their parents?
Also, Amy talked about sharing information with the people so as to give back or develop a reciprocating relationship with them. I'm not really quite sure what she means or what she did. I think that the idea of "giving back" will help me gain more trust with the people there. What kinds of information do I have access to that the Mexican's would be interested in? Also, what could I prepare beforehand as a type of "compensation" for those that participate in the study- a small gift of some sort? Amy also did this in her project. It is common in the Ghanaian culture to give gifts as compensation. Is this the same practice in Mexico?
A lot of these questions, I feel could be answered most effectively by talking to someone who has been to Mexico or is from there. I will have to make some more friends.
Friday, January 14, 2011
I was able to spend some time searching for more information on my project yesterday but I haven't found anything too insightful right now. I have continued to research the culture a little to try and get an idea of what to expect when i get there. I have also been trying to research a little bit muscular and vertebral development of children. You wouldn't think that it would be so hard to find, but I seem to get a lot of articles about cerebral palsy which isn't really what I'm looking for. The articles that come up in the library searches are too specific, I think I just need to get a hold of a text book and that will be more helpful. So I don't really have much to report on. But my idea is that I need to understand more fully why postural development is important and the kinds of activities that could potentially affect it, so that when I get to Mexico I know what I should be looking for.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Proposal Question
What activities and cultural practices affect core stability and endurance for children ages 10-12 in rural Mexico?
Schools in rural Mexico
The life is completely different in rural Mexico than in most cities in the United States. This means that the school systems are adapted to the culture and way of life that the school children experience. In the article I researched (Bryan, L, & McLaughlin, H. J. (2005). Teaching and learning in rural mexico: a portrait of student responsibility in everyday school life. Teaching and Teaher Education , 21(1), 33-48) the researchers conducted a field study within the rural town of El Bosque, Veracruz, Mexico. In this small village, there is one teacher who is responsible for all grade levels. All of the students are taught in the same room at the same time. They usually attend school for four hours a day. The article discussed many different ways in which the Maestro taught the students in order to balance the age groups and culture of the classroom. Most of the results of the study found that the students had to practice self discipline and were expected to be responsible for themselves (behaviorally as well as academically.) In addition, the students were given responsibilities that students in the United States do not usually encounter- i.e. they were expected to help the younger students with their homework and they were given chores to do around the classroom such as clear out and clean the bathrooms.
These practices in El Bosque are likely to be similar in Irapauto. I hope to be able to work well with the schools in my rancho and the surrounding ones. This article first gave me insight into how the school systems are set up. It might be that I only have four hours out of the day to work with the kids and make observations in the schools. This concentrated observation will be much more helpful and easier for me than trying to observe only a few children at a time in their homes. In addition, the article noted that the students move more freely within the classroom. This is different than schools in the United States in which students sit most of the day for several hours. There have been findings that show that students in the United States find it difficult to sit up straight because they do not have the muscular stability to do so. This brings to light a couple questions, first- if needed would Mexican children be able to sit up straight for several hours?, second- if they cannot or even if it is not necessary, do they come across other problems due to their movement and activities within the classroom? third- what types of activities could be implemented in the United States in order to help the lack of trunk stability that is increasing within the schools?
These practices in El Bosque are likely to be similar in Irapauto. I hope to be able to work well with the schools in my rancho and the surrounding ones. This article first gave me insight into how the school systems are set up. It might be that I only have four hours out of the day to work with the kids and make observations in the schools. This concentrated observation will be much more helpful and easier for me than trying to observe only a few children at a time in their homes. In addition, the article noted that the students move more freely within the classroom. This is different than schools in the United States in which students sit most of the day for several hours. There have been findings that show that students in the United States find it difficult to sit up straight because they do not have the muscular stability to do so. This brings to light a couple questions, first- if needed would Mexican children be able to sit up straight for several hours?, second- if they cannot or even if it is not necessary, do they come across other problems due to their movement and activities within the classroom? third- what types of activities could be implemented in the United States in order to help the lack of trunk stability that is increasing within the schools?
Monday, January 10, 2011
25 Questions
25 questions:
What kinds of research has already been done related to this topic?
How will the people react to my research?
Will their reactions skew the results?
How much should I explain my project to them? Will that change the results?
While my project is primarily "qunatitative" what kinds of "qualitative" data should I be collecting?
How will the culture of Mexico differ from that of Ghana and Provo- where this study has already been conducted?
How will I gain the "trust" of the people?
How will they react to me as an American/ a girl/ a research student?
What is my main question for this project? or am I trying to answer mulitple questions?
Why is this project important? What is the potential impact of the research?
How will I find subjects for the project?
Are things like "parent-child" relationships affect the data?
How will I be able to observe that?
Where will I collect the data?
What will my time-line be like?
When will I transistion from pure observation to actually collecting the data? or Will I collect quantitative data as I go?
What types of barriers will I find?
- Will the people coorperate with me? the children?
- Will I be able to communicate affectively to the people?
- What types of cultural misunderstandings will occur and how can I try to prevent that?
- How will my own personality react to the culture of the people as well as the demands of the project?
- How can I prevent falling ill?
How can I find ways to "simulate" as much as possible the methods of the research before I leave?
Is it important to note the differences between their culture/activities and the United States or should I focus on describing only without comparing?
What types of groups will I be observing? How will that affect the results of the study?
Is the purpose of this project to describe, explore, or explain?
-I think a little of all three is involved in this project- but is there one I should emphasize?- probably explain- How do I make sure that it is well emphasized? How can I phrase my questions so that they are focussed toward explanation?
What kinds of research has already been done related to this topic?
How will the people react to my research?
Will their reactions skew the results?
How much should I explain my project to them? Will that change the results?
While my project is primarily "qunatitative" what kinds of "qualitative" data should I be collecting?
How will the culture of Mexico differ from that of Ghana and Provo- where this study has already been conducted?
How will I gain the "trust" of the people?
How will they react to me as an American/ a girl/ a research student?
What is my main question for this project? or am I trying to answer mulitple questions?
Why is this project important? What is the potential impact of the research?
How will I find subjects for the project?
Are things like "parent-child" relationships affect the data?
How will I be able to observe that?
Where will I collect the data?
What will my time-line be like?
When will I transistion from pure observation to actually collecting the data? or Will I collect quantitative data as I go?
What types of barriers will I find?
- Will the people coorperate with me? the children?
- Will I be able to communicate affectively to the people?
- What types of cultural misunderstandings will occur and how can I try to prevent that?
- How will my own personality react to the culture of the people as well as the demands of the project?
- How can I prevent falling ill?
How can I find ways to "simulate" as much as possible the methods of the research before I leave?
Is it important to note the differences between their culture/activities and the United States or should I focus on describing only without comparing?
What types of groups will I be observing? How will that affect the results of the study?
Is the purpose of this project to describe, explore, or explain?
-I think a little of all three is involved in this project- but is there one I should emphasize?- probably explain- How do I make sure that it is well emphasized? How can I phrase my questions so that they are focussed toward explanation?
Sunday, January 9, 2011
To do List:
Sometimes taking on projects like this can seem overwhelming and impossible. It's like what my biology teacher used to say "How do you eat and elephant?" . . . "One bite at a time." So I figure I better start figuring out what my "bites" are going to be for this project.
Here is a list just from the top of my head:
Read up on Mexican culture and the crazy awesome stuff they do and what life is like
How the heck am I going to find subjects/ volunteers?
I need to figure out how to conduct the study.
Translate the questionnaire to Spanish
course contracts- sociology and anthropology
flights
passport whatnot
scholarship applications- ISP, grants, BYU
that's all I want to write about today but before I end I'll make a couple goals for this week
Here is a list just from the top of my head:
Read up on Mexican culture and the crazy awesome stuff they do and what life is like
How the heck am I going to find subjects/ volunteers?
- in the schools
- in my host family
- go door to door
- put up flyers
- offer some sort of compensation- what? tamales?
- ?????
I need to figure out how to conduct the study.
- Talk to Dr. Mitchell to get a more in depth understanding of how to take the measurements.
- Email Amy- the girl that conducted the study in Ghana.
- Talk to the PTs in my internship.
- Find other articles related to my study
- On my nieces/nephews
- find kids- neighbors
- also figure out how to explain it to adults so they know what is going on
- what are the main points?
- How can I simplify it to explain it in spanish and also to uneducated rural mexicans?
- Start with the vocab- 2 new Spanish words a day relating to my project.
- Practice it on people- first Americans then Spanish speakers
- Get my friend from Spain to help me- and maybe those coordinators
Translate the questionnaire to Spanish
- get help with that!
- Institute in Spanish (on going)
- Talking with Sylvia (on going)
- Cultural email from Natalie- pick an activity
- Go to a Mexican restaurant/tienda speak with the natives
- Two new Spanish vocab words a day (on going)
- Etc etc etc
course contracts- sociology and anthropology
flights
passport whatnot
scholarship applications- ISP, grants, BYU
that's all I want to write about today but before I end I'll make a couple goals for this week
- pick a Spanish service activity to participate in
- email Amy
- research Mexico
- find other articles related to my study
Thursday, January 6, 2011
How it all Started
What college student doesn't want to go to exciting and new destinations to explore cultures and languages and people? What college student has the means or time or reasons to go do so? For me, Barbara Simmons, a senior studying Exercise Science at Brigham Young University, I have a thirst for adventure as well as a level head. I knew I wanted to go somewhere that I had never been and but I also new I needed to make it count for more than just personal satisfaction. I needed a project that would apply to my field as well as have a positive impact on others.
So with a lot of searching I discovered the Field Studies program at BYU. I won't go into detail to explain what a field study is but I will briefly introduce my project.
The purpose of my project is to study to cultural impact on activity levels and components of physical fitness- especially with regard to posture and trunk stability in children ages 10-12. It is a project that has already been done by a student at BYU in Ghana and Provo. I will be taking the project to Mexico this summer. Ideally, other students will take this project to other areas of the world. With the results we can compare the data to find out which types of activities are most beneficial for higher fitness regarding trunk stability and other physical capacities.
It is my goal to publish this project in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and present it at a physical therapy conference. That means that I have a lot of work to do. This semester I will be preparing myself and my project so that when I get to Mexico I have somewhat of an idea of what I'm supposed to do there.
It's gonna be great! - But I have tons to do before then.
So with a lot of searching I discovered the Field Studies program at BYU. I won't go into detail to explain what a field study is but I will briefly introduce my project.
The purpose of my project is to study to cultural impact on activity levels and components of physical fitness- especially with regard to posture and trunk stability in children ages 10-12. It is a project that has already been done by a student at BYU in Ghana and Provo. I will be taking the project to Mexico this summer. Ideally, other students will take this project to other areas of the world. With the results we can compare the data to find out which types of activities are most beneficial for higher fitness regarding trunk stability and other physical capacities.
It is my goal to publish this project in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and present it at a physical therapy conference. That means that I have a lot of work to do. This semester I will be preparing myself and my project so that when I get to Mexico I have somewhat of an idea of what I'm supposed to do there.
It's gonna be great! - But I have tons to do before then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)