Current Search:  Veterans (x) » veteran (x)

View All Items

  • CSV Spreadsheet
(1 - 4 of 4)
Persistence of Physical Activity Among Veterans
Title
Persistence of Physical Activity Among Veterans.
Creator
Davis, Jean, Edwards, Joellen, Loerzel, Victoria, Weiss, Josie, Kehinde, Julius, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The global burden of disease is staggering in terms of financial costs and human suffering. The general public is aware that physical activity is healthy, although the fact that physical activity can treat and reverse diseases, reduce the risk of cancers, prevent many chronic diseases, stave off cognitive decline, and contribute to quality longevity is less well known. Healthcare practitioners and policymakers are impeded in efforts to support physical activity due to the lack of knowledge of...
Show moreThe global burden of disease is staggering in terms of financial costs and human suffering. The general public is aware that physical activity is healthy, although the fact that physical activity can treat and reverse diseases, reduce the risk of cancers, prevent many chronic diseases, stave off cognitive decline, and contribute to quality longevity is less well known. Healthcare practitioners and policymakers are impeded in efforts to support physical activity due to the lack of knowledge of factors associated with physical activity persistence. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine these factors and identify which predict persistent physical activity among veterans to inform future programs and policies to support physical activity for health. The theorized influence of physical activity habit is addressed in the initial dissertation manuscript. Habits being more difficult to lapse from than to continue made them suitable for investigation to address the knowledge gap identified when no reports of long-term physical activity habits were found. Veterans provided an ideal population to study long-term physical activity habits with, as research indicates that veterans likely formed physical activity habits through recurrent physical activity required to meet the fitness requirements of active duty service. This led to the research reported in the second manuscript. The research was based on theory, literature review, and input from veterans. The integrated theory of health behavior change informed the predictor variables investigated. The explanatory and predictive cross-sectional study of community-dwelling veterans used the web survey method to answer questions of which factors were associated with sufficient or insufficient physical activity among veterans, and which factors were predictive. Recruitment of veterans occurred through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk(&)#174;) and linked veterans to the survey on Qualtrics(&)#174;. Findings revealed direct associations of exercise self-regulation, social support for exercise, and some service-related and other demographic factors with sufficient or insufficient physical activity. Qualtrics(&)#174; allowed for the presentation of survey questions in a variety of formats. To determine the best format for survey items, a state of the knowledge review was conducted. This review is presented in the final dissertation manuscript. Implications for future research, health education, clinical practice, and health policy are identified. It is expected that the knowledge gained in this study will inform future Veterans Affairs programs, provider practices, public health initiatives, and health care policies to support physical activity practices for healthy longevity.
Show less
Date Issued
2019
Identifier
CFE0007886, ucf:52783
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007886
Escape Artist
Title
Escape Artist.
Creator
Mujica, Alejandro, Rushin, Patrick, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Neal, Mary, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
My thesis, Escape Artist, is a composite novel written as a fictitious memoir, similar in style to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, that describes my experiences between the years 2001 and 2011. During that time I went through Marine Corps Boot Camp, became a military police officer, patrolled Yuma, AZ, was sent to Iraq for a seven-month tour as a security detail just before the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and made it back home four years later. The novel also looks into my...
Show moreMy thesis, Escape Artist, is a composite novel written as a fictitious memoir, similar in style to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, that describes my experiences between the years 2001 and 2011. During that time I went through Marine Corps Boot Camp, became a military police officer, patrolled Yuma, AZ, was sent to Iraq for a seven-month tour as a security detail just before the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and made it back home four years later. The novel also looks into my struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, how they affected the people around me, and what I've been trying to do to remedy them (or ignore them).
Show less
Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004788, ucf:49732
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004788
Stuffmobile
Title
Stuffmobile.
Creator
Greenberg, Ted, Rushin, Patrick, Hubbard, Susan, Neal, Mary, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The leitmotif of Stuffmobile, a modern day Florida-based novella, is that of relational healing: a son with his father, ex-lovers with one another, and, even more challenging perhaps, a son making peace with his dead mother. New beginnings are explored, both as resurrection of long dead feelings and as starting afresh after loss. A husband finds distraction in a covert project after his wife's death, so much so that his preoccupied isolation worries his two adult children. The son comes to...
Show moreThe leitmotif of Stuffmobile, a modern day Florida-based novella, is that of relational healing: a son with his father, ex-lovers with one another, and, even more challenging perhaps, a son making peace with his dead mother. New beginnings are explored, both as resurrection of long dead feelings and as starting afresh after loss. A husband finds distraction in a covert project after his wife's death, so much so that his preoccupied isolation worries his two adult children. The son comes to investigate, and his malfunctioning car leads to the beginnings of reconciliation. The characters here struggle to understand and be understood, to avoid hurting others and avoid being hurt, all while searching for respect and love: just another normal day of the human experience.
Show less
Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004189, ucf:49001
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004189
A comparison of final grade outcomes of veterans enrolled in English I through online and face-to-face instructional modalities at a public four-year college
Title
A comparison of final grade outcomes of veterans enrolled in English I through online and face-to-face instructional modalities at a public four-year college.
Creator
Hoke, Thomas, Taylor, Rosemarye, Cox, Dr. Thomas, Baldwin, Lee, Marshall, Nancy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Since the passing of the first GI Bill in 1945, the community college, now two-and-four-year college, has provided access to veterans in pursuit of postsecondary education. As the college system has grown and expanded during the second half of the 20th Century, online learning has become increasingly important to the development of four-year colleges. Research into online learning has yet to reach an agreement on its effectiveness compared to traditional face-to-face instruction. Additionally...
Show moreSince the passing of the first GI Bill in 1945, the community college, now two-and-four-year college, has provided access to veterans in pursuit of postsecondary education. As the college system has grown and expanded during the second half of the 20th Century, online learning has become increasingly important to the development of four-year colleges. Research into online learning has yet to reach an agreement on its effectiveness compared to traditional face-to-face instruction. Additionally, little research into the academic outcomes of veterans taking courses through use of the online instructional modality has been conducted. To address this gap, the current study used the Theory of Student Integration (Tinto, 1975) and three research questions to explore these gaps. A quasi-experimental design was applied to investigate three research questions: (a) how do the academic outcomes of veterans, as measured by final grades, of veterans enrolled in an online version of English I (ENC 1101), compare with veterans enrolled in a face-to-face version of the same course with and without consideration of gender? (b) How do the academic outcomes, as measured by final grades, of veterans compare to nonveterans in both online and face-to-face versions of the course English I (ENC 1101) with and without consideration of gender? (c) What ability, if any, do instructional modality, veteran status, and age have in predicting final grade outcomes in the course English I (ENC 1101)? Archival data were gathered from a public, four-year state college in Florida of final grade outcomes and student demographics for course ENC 1101 for academic years 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015. Demographic data included: (a) age, (b) veteran status, (c) gender, and (d) instructional modality. Participants examined for this study were veteran and nonveterans enrolled in the course English I (ENC 1101) in two instructional modalities: online (n = 2,080) and face-to-face (n = 17,415). Additionally, participants were examined as groups of veterans (n = 544) and nonveterans (n = 18,951). Quantitative analysis utilizing independent samples t-tests of the archival data revealed that veterans earned statistically significant different final grade outcomes between the two instructional modalities t(55.65) = 2.18, p = .03. Veterans enrolled in the face-to-face version of ENC 1101 performed significantly better (M = 2.44, SD = 1.48) compared to veterans in the online version (M = 1.90, SD = 1.67). No significant differences were found when comparing final grade outcomes within gender across instructional modalities. Independent samples t-tests of the data revealed no statistically significant differences between the final grade outcomes of veterans and nonveterans within the face-to-face, t(17,413) = 0.25, p = .80, or online instructional modality, t(2.078) = 0.94, p = 0.35. Statistically significant differences were found between male veterans and nonveterans within the face-to-face modality, t(8,086) = -2.56, p = .01. Male veterans in the face-to-face instructional modality had statistically significant higher final grade outcomes (M = 2.48, SD = 1.47) compared to male nonveterans (M = 2.28, SD = 1.48). Additionally, statistically significant differences between female veterans and nonveterans within the face-to-face instructional modality were found, t(9,138) = 2.16, p = .03. The final grade outcomes of female nonveterans were significantly higher (M = 2.60, SD = 1.46) than those of female veterans (M = 2.30, SD = 1.50) in the face-to-face modality. No statistically significant differences were comparing the final grade outcomes from the online modality of veterans and nonveterans by gender.Multiple linear regressions were used to determine what relationship age, veteran status, and instructional modality had on final grade outcome. Analysis revealed that age and instructional modality were statistically significant in predicting final grade outcome, while veteran status was not, F(3, 19,491) = 85.07, p (<) .001. The model predicts that older students will earn higher final grade outcomes than younger student in the face-to-face instructional modality regardless of veteran status.Throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries, the four-year college has continued to grow in both number and program offerings. This growth has helped the four-year college to remain a leading source of postsecondary educational opportunities for veterans. With the development of online learning technology in the late 20th Century, four-year colleges have utilized this new technology to provide opportunities to larger groups of students than they had previously been able to reach. However, the effectiveness of this instructional modality has yet to be fully ascertained when compared to face-to-face instruction, especially for veterans, a population that has demonstrated at-risk characteristics (Kasworm, 2005). The findings of this study provide implications for four-year college administrators, instructors, and educational researchers to continue working to support veterans as they enter higher education.
Show less
Date Issued
2017
Identifier
CFE0006602, ucf:51280
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006602