Doctoral candidate Maya Hamilton recently presented at a University of Minnesota-Rochester CONNECTS event. Her talk, “Ethical Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics,” explored examples and consequences of unethical conduct in college sports. Hamilton is advised by Dr. Nicole LaVoi, teaching faculty in the School of Kinesiology and associate director of the Tucker Center and Dr. Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, associate professor of kinesiology.
Olympic prospects affording valuable research
The Human and Sport Performance Lab (HSPL) in the School of Kinesiology has given researchers the opportunity to understand movement and development in respect to exercise. The lab is open to the public and currently includes participation from some extraordinary athletes, including Jessie Diggins (Nordic Skier) and Steven Hartman (speed skating).
Diggins, a native of Afton, Minn., has dreamt of being part of the United States Olympic team her whole life. Her inspiring story was described in a recent Star Tribune article, “For Olympic-hopeful skier Diggins, it’s about the journey.”
Hartman, a senior at Cretin-Derham High school in Roseville, Minn., is making a name in speed skating. He plans to participate in the 2018 Olympic Games and was also featured in the Star Tribune this month, in a piece titled, “Falcon Heights skater Steven Hartman loves the thrill of ice and speed.” Dr. Stacy Ingraham, lecturer in the School Kinesiology and director of HSPL, is mentioned in this article, praising Hartman for his skill and work ethic.
Diggins and Hatman aren’t the only competitive and exceptional athletes that come to the School of Kinesiology’s labs; other members of the Olympic speed skating team have been tested at HSPL. More information about the Human Sport and Performance Laboratory can be found here, including information about performance testing and consultation services.
Graduate students to present at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference
Several graduate students from the Human and Sport Performance Lab (HSPL) have had research accepted and will present at the upcoming American College of Sports Medicine Conference held in Indianapolis this May. Presenters Scott Brown, John Fitzgerald, Sam Johnson, Chris Lundstrom, Benjamin Peterson, Greg Rhodes, Eric Statt, and Patrick Wilson are all advised by Dr. Stacy Ingraham, lecturer in the School Kinesiology and director of HSPL.
Stoffregen accepts invitation on Editorial Board
Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, has accepted an invitation to join the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Movement Science and Sport Psychology. Frontiers is an online, open access journal that seeks to research various facets within the psychological movement sciences.
Gao publishes two papers on youth and physical activity
Dr. Zan Gao, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology, recently published two pieces related to youth and physical activity in the International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport, and Dance Journal of Research. He is the second author on both publications.
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Stoffregen gives presentation at local elementary school on NASA experience
Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, gave a presentation to a class of sixth-grade students at Brimhall Elementary School, in Roseville, MN. In his talk, “Going to work in space,” he described his experiences and research at the Kennedy Spaceflight Center where he has worked in Launch Control during the development of the space shuttle.
He also has experience at both the Goddard Spaceflight Center and the Johnson Space Center. While at Goddard, he was key in helping design the International Space Station, and he worked with astronauts on problems of human perceptual-motor control in weightlessness while at the Johnson Space Center.
Konczak to publish in Journal of Neuroscience on brain research
Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and director of the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory, is co-author on a recent report on brain changes associated with postural training in patients with cerebellar degeneration. The project is part of an ongoing collaboration with a group of German neurologists from the University Medical Center in Essen and Kiel that investigates how well patients with damage to the cerebellum can restore function and respond to behavioral therapies. The report will be published in The Journal of Neuroscience, a highly ranked publication in the field.
Buysse celebrates 20 years of media guide research
Dr. Jo Ann Buysse, sport management undergraduate coordinator and lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, along with Dr. Sarah Wolter, visiting assistant professor at Gustavus Adolphus College, have had their research published in The Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics. Their research, “Gender representation in 2010 NCAA Division I media guides: The battle for equity was only temporarily won,” is the fourth study in a longitudinal project that began with a doctoral dissertation by Dr. Buysse, marking the 20th anniversary of this research.
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McCue and colleagues have research published
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Ph.D student in the School of Kinesiology, Meghan McCue, was the lead author in an article published in The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. McCue, along with co-authors Ph.D student Kara Marlatt and associate professor of kinesiology, Don Dengel, Ph.D., tracked food intake, amount of exercise, and weight in youth during their summer break to identify differences from the academic year. The article was titled, “Examination of Changes in Youth Diet and Phsyical Activity Over the Summer Vacation Period,” and was published in the January 2013 issue.
Stoffregen’s work referenced in Scientific American
Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, was referenced in an article in the January 2013 issue of Scientific American. The article, “The Multisensory Revolution: Why Your Brain is a Sensory Smoothie,” describes how different senses, such as hearing and seeing, can relay similar perceptions to the brain. Stoffregen’s work has enforced the idea that the brain is a multisensory organ, while exemplifying how the brain and human senses work.
Parkinson’s disease and the processing of haptic information
In an international collaboration with colleagues from the Italian Institute of Technology and the Department of Neurology at the University of Genoa, Italy we investigated how Parkinson’s disease alters haptic perception. Our research suggests that the disease accelerates age-related decline in haptic perception by altering somatosensory integration – a neural mechanism that combines sensory information from the many receptors of the skin and muscles. That is, perception as well as movement is affected by the disease. The results of the study appear in the journal Brain.
Gao recieves Young Scholar Award
Dr. Zan Gao, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology, recently received the National Association for Sport and Physical Education Helen M. Heitmann Curriculum and Instruction Young Scholar Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize an outstanding professional for his/her exceptional contributions to research in the field of curriculum and instruction. He will deliver a 20-minute research talk at the National Association for Sport and Physical Education Curriculum & Instruction Academy Forum in Charlotte, N.C., in April.
Ingraham gives cold weather tips to summer sport fans
Dr. Stacy Ingraham, lecturer in the School Kinesiology, provides winter options for warm weather athletes in an article in the Star Tribune. In the piece, “Winter ice breakers for fans of summer sports,” Ingraham suggests that warm weather athletes like golfers select indoor activities that target the key muscle groups associated with their sport. For example, golfers can spend time in the weight room, strengthening their backs.
Ingraham also warns summer sport participants that they may need to lower their expectations in the winter months since motivation is affected by the lack of daylight. She suggests winter workouts can help create a baseline for future goals. “At least you have a starting point when spring comes,” she said.
Konczak gives invited presentation to neurologists in Germany
Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and director of the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory, gave a lecture at the University of Essen Medical Center, Germany, to a group of neurologists, fellows, and medical students. He presented and discussed research on how body awareness and haptic perception (i.e., recognizing objects through touch) changes in patients with Parkinson’s disease and how these changes do affect the patient’s motor behavior. His talk was titled, “Somatosensory dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease.”
KIN undergraduate student awarded UROP for Spring 2013
Joe Wentzel joins Amy Malsh, Jennifer Webeler, and Hannah Walsh as an award recipient under the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. Joe will conduct research in the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory and work with Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D. He will be involved in a project that measures arm position sense in healthy children.
Learn about the School of Kinesiology other UROP recipients here.
Lewis recommends exercise to manage seasonal depression
Dr. Beth Lewis, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, discusses using exercise to combat seasonal depression in a recent Star Tribune article. Lewis suggests even 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity (e.g., walking the dog) can provide “significant health benefits” and reminds readers that it’s OK to start small. “Getting out of the house for 10 minutes is something,” said Lewis.
Read more tips on dealing with seasonal affective disorder and seasonal depression here.
LaVoi discusses media impact on girls’ self esteem in Star Tribune
Dr. Nicole LaVoi, lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and associate director of the Tucker Center, discusses the impact of media images on tween girls’ self esteem in a recent piece in the Star Tribune.
In the article, “How parents can help tween girls develop healthy self-esteem,” LaVoi notes, “As girls are leading up to adolescence, they experience a loss of voice. They feel less confident and experience a loss of self-esteem. It’s troubling because they can be confronted with hundreds of images every day in print, broadcast and social media on the importance of looking a certain way, rather than on being smart or skilled.”
LaVoi also suggests that parents can mitigate the effects of media imagery by focusing on their daughters’ effort and persistence, instead of their looks.
Kihl and Schull published in Gender & Society
Dr. Lisa Kihl, associate professor of kinesiology, and doctoral candidate Vicki Schull have co-authored an article to be published in the top-ranked women’s studies journal, Gender & Society. The manuscript is titled, “‘If a woman came in … she would have been eaten up alive’: Analyzing gendered political processes in the search for an athletic director.”
Kihl and Schull, along with former Tucker Center visiting scholar Dr. Sally Shaw (University of Otago, New Zealand), critique the gendered political processes in the search for an athletic director following a merger between men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletic departments. Their research contributes to the understanding of the complexity of gender relations and provides further insight into the gendered political processes that inform leadership searches.
Gender & Society is also the seventh-best sociology journal.
Kane, LaVoi publish groundbreaking article on media representations in women’s sport in the journal “Communication and Sport”
Dr. Mary Jo Kane and Dr. Nicole LaVoi, along with co-author Dr. Janet Fink from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, have an article in press in the research journal Communication and Sport. The article, “Exploring elite female athletes’ interpretations of sport media images: A window into the construction of social identity and ‘selling sex’ in women’s sports,” brings together powerful theoretical frameworks and methodological tactics in an effective and precise analysis. The study on which the article is based is touted by the journal editor as “a landmark study at the nexus of media and sport research.” Communication and Sport is a peer-reviewed journal aimed at scholars and educators in mass communication, journalism, and sport media. The article is now published in Sage Journals’ OnlineFirst Web site.
High school students tour School of Kinesiology’s labs and facilities
The School of Kinesiology hosted 50 students from Minneapolis Southwest High School on Wednesday, December 12. The visiting students are part of the Sports, Exercise, and Health Science International Baccalaureate course at Southwest. The visit to the School of Kinesiology’s labs and facilities provides these students with hands-on experience in world-class research labs—and allows them to see how their curriculum’s content is utilized to benefit society and how research is put to action. The students visited the Human and Sport Performance Lab and the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab. They also toured TCF Bank Stadium with former Gopher Athletic Director and current adjunct instructor in the School of Kinesiology, Joel Maturi.