Allan Hewitt

Walk2Build: a GPS game for mobile exergaming with city visualization

In recent years public health has become of great concern, in particular the personal and national economic burden resulting from increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Sedentary lifestyles are particularly serious for young people who are badly affected by obesity problems that impact on their current and future lives. In an effort to tackle this problem games designers are designing games aimed at motivating people to take part in physical activities and have coined the term exergaming. This poster presents a mobile exergaming application developed in Android Java and HTML 5 targeting under-active teenagers and young adults. The objective is to encourage users to increase walking by an incremental number of steps each week. This is visualized as an isometric virtual town on a web browser (with rewards for achieving targets) and published on Facebook to exploit social networking in supporting users. This poster will examine the motivation behind our game, design decisions, our prototype and concludes with future plans.

Teachers' personal construct models of pupil individuality and their influence in the music classroom

This paper reports on an investigation into the belief patterns of music teachers with regard to the nature and significance of factors of individual difference and in the context of secondary school classroom music teaching. Belief patterns were collected in the form of Personal Construct models, drawing on Kellys Theory of Personal Constructs. The study explored both music teachers’ Personal Construct models of pupil individuality and the reported significance of those models of pupil individuality for the participants’ teaching approaches. The investigation of Personal Construct models concentrated on how each participant grouped the pupils they teach according to perceptions of individual difference. The belief patterns of participants were also compared. The study involved eight secondary school music teachers working in the west of Scotland. Participants’ construct models were elicited using Repertory Grid technique, where pupils were the grid elements, and factors of individual difference, the constructs. The influence of models of individual difference on classroom practice was then investigated using semi-structured interviews. Three main findings from the study are discussed. First, there was considerable variation among participants in the choice of factors of individual difference believed to be significant for teaching in music, and therefore in their Personal Construct models. Second, there were notable similarities in how participants appeared to group sets of pupils within those models, even though the models themselves varied widely. Finally, Personal Construct models and specific belief patterns relating to individual differences appear to be important influences on the structure and nature of teaching in music.

Advanced youth music ensembles: Experiences of, and reasons for, participation

The experiences of 72 adolescent musicians who had been members of an advanced youth symphony orchestra or concert band were investigated. An online survey explored previous participation and the importance of past experiences when making future decisions about participation. Previous experience was very positive. Enjoyment of public performances, a sense of musical satisfaction from participating, and opportunities to meet new people and spend time with other musicians were highly rated. First-time decisions to participate were primarily influenced by positive feedback from friends and peers while ongoing participation tended to be based on the positive experience of the musical and social aspects of participation rather than contextual aspects such as location or the input of significant others such as instrumental teachers or parents.

Stride Rate and Walking Intensity in Healthy Older Adults

PURPOSE The study investigated (a) walking intensity (stride rate and energy expenditure) under three speed instructions; (b) associations between stride rate, age, height, and walking intensity; and (c) synchronization between stride rate and music tempo during overground walking in a population of healthy older adults. METHODS Twenty-nine participants completed 3 treadmill-walking trials and 3 overground-walking trials at 3 self-selected speeds. Treadmill VO2 was measured using indirect calorimetry. Stride rate and music tempo were recorded during overground-walking trials. RESULTS Mean stride rate exceeded minimum thresholds for moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) under slow (111.41 ± 11.93), medium (118.17 ± 11.43), and fast (123.79 ± 11.61) instructions. A multilevel model showed that stride rate, age, and height have a significant effect (p < .01) on walking intensity. CONCLUSIONS Healthy older adults achieve MVPA with stride rates that fall below published minima for MVPA. Stride rate, age, and height are significant predictors of energy expenditure in this population. Music can be a useful way to guide walking cadence.

A Systematic and Integrated Review of Mobile-Based Technology to Promote Active Lifestyles in People With Type 2 Diabetes.

Aim: The aim was to review studies examining the effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of mobile-based technology for promoting active lifestyles in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Background: Benefits of leading an active lifestyle following a diagnosis of T2D, including improved glycemic control, have been reported. Studies examining the specific use of mobile-based technologies to promote an active lifestyle in T2D have not previously been reviewed. Methods: Research studies examining effectiveness, feasibility or acceptability of mobile-based technology for active lifestyle promotion for T2D management were included (n = 9). The databases searched included PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, and ACM Digital Library (January 2005 to October 2015). Studies were categorized as (1) informing, (2) monitoring, (3) provoking, or (4) sustaining behavior change. Results: Technologies used included smartphone or tablet apps, diabetes personal digital assistant, continuous glucose monitor and accelerometer, pedometer, and a website delivered by a smartphone. No articles examined the effectiveness of mobile-based technology in monitoring health behaviors and behavior change. Four of the studies found mobile-based technology to be motivational and supportive for behavior change. The visual reinforcement was identified as motivational. The feasibility and acceptability of using mobile-based technology to provide sustained lifestyle change and the effectiveness of mobile-based technology in monitoring health behaviors and behavior change have not been investigated. No studies examined all 3 of the outcomes or focused decreasing the participants’ sedentary behavior. Conclusions: Limited research has examined the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of mobile-based technology to promote active lifestyles and subsequently good diabetes management in people with T2D.

Musical styles as communities of practice : challenges for learning, teaching and assessment of music in higher education

The last three decades have been marked by significant expansion of music education within higher education, the outcomes of which can be seen in the increased numbers of students studying music and in the diversity of activity and purpose within music courses. This article interrogates the relationship between stylistic diversity and music provision, specifically in relation to teaching and assessment, and considers music styles as examples of ‘communities of practice’ into which students may be inducted through formal and informal means.

A Q study of music teachers’ attitudes towards the significance of individual differences for teaching and learning in music

Classroom teachers’ beliefs and attitudes regarding the role and significance of individual differences have received relatively little attention in the literature to date, notwithstanding the well-documented importance both of teachers’ beliefs and factors of individual difference for the learning and teaching process. The purpose of this study was to explore the belief patterns of a small group (N = 8) of Scottish secondary school classroom music teachers in relation to the significance of 10 factors of individual difference among pupils for learning and teaching in music within the curriculum. Participants completed two Q-sorts, one relating to teaching approaches in music and one to attainment in musical tasks. Both sorts used an identical set of items. Results suggest that a small number of ‘typical’ belief patterns could be identified in each of the two contexts, and that the focus of study makes future development of this investigation appropriate. It appears that some music teachers may focus more on perceived strengths amongst their pupils while others concentrate instead on areas of weaknesses. The implications for practice in music education of these positions are discussed.

Using degraded music quality to encourage a health improving walking pace: BeatClearWalker

Meeting the target of 8000 steps/day, as recommended by many national governments and health authorities, can provide considerable physical and mental health benefits and is seen as a key target for reducing obesity levels and improving public health. However, to optimize the health benefits, walking should be performed at a “moderate” intensity. While there are numerous mobile fitness applications that monitor distance walked, none directly support walking at this cadence nor has there been any research into live feedback for walking cadence. We present a smartphone fitness application to help users learn how to walk at a moderate cadence and maintain that cadence. We apply real-time audio effects that diminish the audio quality of music when the target walking cadence is not being reached. This provides an immersive and intuitive application that can easily be integrated into everyday life as allows users to walk while listening to their own music and encourages eyes-free interaction. In this paper, we introduce our approach, design, initial lab evaluation and a controlled outdoor study. Results show that using music degradation decreases the number of below-cadence steps, that users felt they worked harder with our player and would use it while exercise walking.

Levels of significance attributed to musical and non-musical factors of individual difference by classroom music teachers

This study explores the relative significance attached to musical and non-musical factors of individual difference when rated by a group of secondary school music teachers in the contexts of teaching approaches and attainment outcomes. Participants completed two Q-sorts in which 20 statements reflecting both high and low characteristics on ten factors of individual difference were rated according to perceived significance. Results suggest that music teachers may believe non-musical factors to be of greater significance, both in terms of influencing their teaching approaches and in determining the outcomes of teaching, than musical factors.

The associations of sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with 24-hour glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of accelerometer-assessed sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with 24-h events and duration of hypoglycaemia (<3.9 mmol/l), euglycaemia (3.9–7.8 mmol/l), hyperglycaemia (>7.8 mmol/l) and above target glucose (>9 mmol/l). Thirty-seven participants with type 2 diabetes (age, 62.8 ± 10.5 years; body mass index, 29.6 ± 6.8 kg/m2) in Glasgow, United Kingdom were enrolled between February 2016 and February 2017. Participants wore an activity monitor (activPAL3) recording the time and pattern of sedentary behaviour and a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM, Abbott FreeStyle Libre) for up to 14 days. Linear regression analyses were used to investigate the associations. Participants spent 3.7%, 64.7%, 32.1% and 19.2% of recording h/day in hypoglycaemia, euglycaemia, hyperglycaemia and above target, respectively. There was a negative association between sedentary time and time in euglycaemia (β = −0.44, 95% CI −0.86; −0.03, p = 0.04). There was a trend towards a positive association between sedentary time and time in hyperglycaemia (β = 0.36, 95% CI −0.05; 0.78, p = 0.08). Breaks in sedentary time was associated with higher time in euglycaemia (β = 0.38, 95% CI 0.00; 0.75, p = 0.04). To conclude, in individuals with type 2 diabetes, more time spent in unbroken and continuous sedentary behaviour was associated with poorer glucose control. Conversely, interrupting sedentary time with frequent breaks appears to improve glycaemic control. Therefore, this should be considered as a simple adjunct therapy to improve clinical outcomes in type 2 diabetes.