Tuesday, 12 December 2017
JCU Cairns BNSc student nurse awarded Paige Breheny Memorial Award 2017
Soon to graduate, Natasha Day, JCU Cairns 3rd year student nurse, has been awarded the Paige Breheny memorial award 2017 from the Cairns and Hinterland Health and Hospital Service for compassion, integrity and professionalism. Congratulations to Natasha.
PhD Thesis: An investigation into the use and effectiveness of post-exercise recovery protocols for team sport
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/51634/
Abstract
A variety of post-exercise recovery strategies are used by team sport athletes. However, little research has investigated the use of recovery strategies by team sport athletes across a range of competition levels. Furthermore, equivocal evidence exists to support the use of one recovery strategy over another. The aim of this thesis was therefore to investigate recovery usage by team sport athletes across a range of competition levels in various sports, and the effects of differing recovery strategies after single and multiple bouts of simulated team sport match-play exercise.
A systematic review of the literature revealed CWI, CWT and ACT produced mostly equivocal effects in comparison to CONT for performance and perceptual recovery. Cold water immersion and CWT also improved performance and perceptual recovery in a number of instances, CWI also decreased performance in a small number of instances. No differences were indicated between ACT and CONT for performance recovery and mostly for perceptual recovery, with a small number of decreases after ACT in comparison to CONT for perceptual recovery. Current evidence was therefore not conclusive on the effectiveness of these recovery strategies.
Three original studies are subsequently presented in this thesis that aim to address the current unclear evidence on recovery strategies. The aim of the first study (Chapter 3) was to identify via survey which recovery strategies are currently used by Australian male and female team sport athletes of varying competition levels. Three hundred and thirty-one athletes were surveyed across fourteen team sports and five levels of competition; 57% of whom reported utilising one or more recovery strategies. All international athletes reported using massage for recovery. Athletes of all other competition levels utilised stretching (STR) the most (98% national, 79% state, 87% regional and 77% local athletes). Water immersion strategies were most often used by national and international athletes. Stretching was self-rated the most effective recovery strategy (4.4/5; where 5 = very effective) with active, land-based (ALB) considered the least effective by its users (3.6/5). Laziness and time constraints were the main self-reported reasons provided by those who did not undertake a specific recovery strategy. Water immersion strategies were considered effective or ineffective largely due to psychological reasons. In contrast STR and ALB were considered to be effective or ineffective mainly due to physical reasons. Results from Chapter 3 indicate that the perceptions of athletes on recovery strategy effectiveness did not always align with scientific evidence. The availability of particular recovery strategies may also affect recovery strategy selection. It is recommended that athletes and coaching staff are provided with up-to-date information on the effects of different recovery strategies to ensure informed decisions are made regarding recovery strategy selection.
The aim of the second study (Chapter 4), a randomised controlled trial (RCT; N = 34), was to compare the effectiveness of CWI, CWT, ACT, a combination of cold water immersion and active recovery (COMB) and a control (CONT) condition after a single bout of simulated team-game circuit exercise (55 min). Performance and perceptual recovery indices were assessed over a 48 hr time period. Results suggest that CWI and COMB produced detrimental jump power performance at 1 hr compared to CONT and ACT, and thus should not be selected for short term recovery. It is likely that 1 hr was not sufficient time for muscles to rewarm after CWI and COMB resulting in decreased jump performance at this time. Findings also suggest CWT should be elected for short-term perceptual recovery after a team sport game. The heat component of CWT may have contributed to feelings of relaxation and accordingly enhanced perceptions of recovery. No between recovery differences were found at 24 and 48 hr post the simulated team-game circuit exercise.
The aim of the third study (Chapter 5; N = 14) was to examine the use of CWI, CWT, ACT, COMB and CONT recovery across repeated small-sided games simulating acute tournament match-play (three 15 min efforts, 3 hr apart, with recovery after bouts 1 and 2) upon performance, perceptual and physiological indices of recovery over an 8 hr time period. Results indicated that CWT was superior to ACT for performance, and COMB was superior to ACT and CONT for perceptual recovery during the simulated tournament day. The ACT recovery was detrimental to performance and perceptual recovery and thus a similar ACT recovery protocol should not be elected for use in a team sport multiple-game tournament day. The mechanisms most likely associated with the beneficial CWT findings compared to ACT include a combination of the negative effects of ACT such as no rest and increased energy consumption and the positive effects of CWT such as the alternation between vasoconstriction and vasodilation. During a COMB recovery the actions of hydrostatic pressure and leg movement may assist with blood flow and enhanced perceptions of recovery. The ACT recovery is most likely detrimental during a tournament day due to the extra metres covered, adding to the experienced soreness and fatigue.
The results of the RCTs question the high anecdotal use of CWI by national and international athletes as reported in the survey, with CWI found to have no positive effect upon performance or perception after a single bout of a simulated team sport or during a simulated tournament day.
In conclusion, the current research has highlighted the need for athlete and coach education on the effects of recovery strategies, noting the limitations associated with the inconclusive nature of evidence regarding the use of specific recovery strategies. Contrast water therapy is recommended to be used for short term perceptual recovery after a single team sport event. A COMB recovery should be elected for superior perceptual recovery over a team sport tournament day. The research presented in this thesis has significantly contributed to post-exercise recovery research by providing an overview of recovery strategy use by Australian-based team sport athletes and by providing evidence-based recommendations from trials that compare the effectiveness of various recovery strategies used by team sport athletes. These findings provide athletes and coaches with up-to-date information to assist with informed decision making about their recovery choices in particular sports and contexts. Recommendations for future research have also been identified, including investigation into whether performance or perceptual recovery is more important and whether individualised recovery is required for optimum team performance.
Wednesday, 6 December 2017
A psychology degree from JCU can take you almost anywhere
A psychology degree from JCU can take you almost anywhere, but Travis Bain has stretched his further than most, carving out a gleefully gruesome career in film making.
From his early low-budget, DIY-fake-blood beginnings, Travis has been attracting bigger names, better budgets, and more sophisticated fake blood for each successive film.
He recently presented the world premiere of Landfall at this year’s Monster Fest, and will host a special screening in Cairns on Friday December 8th.
Details, and the official trailer, here: http://www.sapphirepictures.com.au/
Reproduced from https://www.jcu.edu.au/@jcu/a-monstrous-success
Publication: Mental health in Australian (North Queensland) tertiary students
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/51567/
Abstract
This paper summarises three studies undertaken by James Cook University psychology students investigating mental health in tertiary students. Study one found that students (N=547) reported greater levels of psychological distress than found for the general population and that scores for depression and anxiety were significantly higher among school leaver students than mature age students. The second study of 372 students found that 34.4% reported clinical levels of anxiety, 55.1% reported clinical levels of depression and there were no major differences between rural and urban students. The third study considered whether exposure to educational videos and a facilitated discussion might positively affect student attitudes towards people experiencing depression. Improved knowledge scores followed video exposure, but attitudes towards depression remained stubbornly unchanged, stereotypical and negative. Difficulties obtaining ethics approval are described as symptomatic of the stigma and institutional reluctance to face up to mental health issues that inhibits progress in the field.
JCU Physio graduate named as a future leader in Indigenous allied health
The award recognises her leadership skills and commitment to study, and acknowledges her as an inspirational role model for other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Michale will graduate with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy in December 2017.
Reproduced from https://www.jcu.edu.au/@jcu/jcu-graduate-named-as-afuture-leader-in-indigenous-allied-health
Sunday, 3 December 2017
New Library Books - November 2017
NEW LIBRARY BOOKS NOVEMBER
2017
This
is a list of new books which have recently been added to the JCU Library
collection. Books may be borrowed from the displays in the Eddie Koiki Mabo
Library and the Cairns Campus Library, unless they are in non-borrowable
collections such as Reference. Click on the title links to see more details in
Tropicat and to access eBooks online.
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ONLINE
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ONLINE
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ONLINE
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ONLINE
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610.730994
CON 2017
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ONLINE
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614.59398
IMP
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616.855
MAN 2010
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Publication: Dual degree destinations: Nursing or Midwifery?
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/51474/
Abstract
Midwifery bodies have expressed concern that the competing ideologies of nursing science, which is closer to a medical model of care, and of midwifery can be confusing for students and counterproductive to their education as effective midwives. Proponents of dual nursing and midwifery degrees, however, argue that there is a need in rural and regional areas of Australia for graduate nurses and midwives who understand both of these ideologies and ways of working and are able to apply them both, in context, to practice in rural and regional areas. Until midwifery led model of care options become more readily accessible in rural areas, this dual nursing/midwifery qualification serves these areas well. Anecdotally, students enrolled in this dual degree appear to be focussed on careers as midwives.
This study is uses a cross-sectional survey design to survey students enrolled in years one and four of two different four year dual nursing and midwifery degrees to ascertain preferences for practice area at these two stages of the course and graduates of the program at 12-36 months post-graduation to ascertain place/field of employment at this time frame. Cross sectional survey design allows data to be collected from different cohorts at varying times on the student and graduate trajectory at the same time. HREC approval is in place.
Data will be downloaded and subjected to simple descriptive analyses using SPSS. Responses from each cohort will be compared to ascertain differences between proposed career trajectories of each of the student cohorts against actual positions of the graduate cohort.
This study aims to provide a better understanding of students' motivations and intentions in studying a Bachelor of Nursing Science/Bachelor of Midwifery dual degree. This information is useful when considering implications for the nursing and midwifery workforces, particularly in relation to the issue of maldistribution.
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