In the present study, golfers walked with a relatively low intensity (about half of maximal oxygen consumption) for 15 to 20 km per week, and significant benefits were seen for body composition. Measurements of skin fold thickness suggested that the weight loss seen in the golfing group was due to loss of fat tissue.
A summary of the positive effect of regular low-intensity exercise, especially for those looking to gradually decrease their fat levels.
Current recommendations are for exercise that consumes about 3 to 5 METs (4.5 to 6.5 kcal/min, depending on age and fitness). In the present study, the energy expenditure of golf was about 4 METs. This led to the favorable effects on body composition and was sufficient to improve aerobic endurance and HDL cholesterol levels among healthy sedentary middle-aged men.
This is a good piece of information, giving context to the findings of the study. The information here may be out of date with the study being published in 2000.
Figure 2Percentage changes in the body composition of the 51 golfers and 52 controls who completed the 20-week study in whom measurements of body composition were available.
This seems to be the most valuable portion of the study to confirm the hypothesis that golfing twice a week reduces body fat and improves fitness.
to count the number of steps they took, and, based on stride length, to estimate the distance walked.
This portion of the study would have been much easier to do today with smart watches.
the golfers were instructed to play an 18-hole round of golf twice a week and to walk rather than ride a cart,
This is a very important distinction to have any positive physical effects from playing golf. Riding around on a cart is fun, but is certainly much less healthy of an activity.
To study the effects of regular walking during a golf game on various health and fitness indicators in middle-aged men.
Showing that golf is an effective sport for exercise in middle-aged men is important for my project proposal in recruiting volunteers. I would prefer the most diverse group of people possible for my volunteers, but it is most likely that the majority will be middle-aged men.
general improvement in concentration scores when the test is administered several times
This could be mediated if there is a known rate of improvement with this test among their peers done in a controlled environment over the same timespan.
within a multidisciplinary approach this study investigated the effects of staying in different urban green spaces during breaks on the wellbeing and cognitive performance of adolescents. We hypothesized that short-term stays in green spaces with different degrees of naturalness have different effects on wellbeing (hypothesis 1) and cognitive performance (hypothesis 2).
The two hypotheses for this study. Simply testing the effect green spaces have on adolescents in regard to wellbeing and cognitive performance.
data shows that only the forest provided/evoked sustained effects in some wellbeing variables, measured after the pupils had completed the concentration test in the classroom.
Well noted here. While there are obvious benefits of the greenspace during their stay it is important to see lasting effects.
The improvement might be either due to the study break itself, the move to the study site, the green environment, or a combination of possible causes.
This is an important note regarding the limitations of their study, on what other factors may be at play here.
Mean and 95% confidence intervals of the stanine values of tension/relaxation (Nitsch scale) at the four time points and three locations
Note the lasting effect that the large urban forested parks had on the participants, even after leaving the park and in the classroom.
Mean and 95% confidence intervals of the stanine values of state of mood (Nitsch scale) at the four time points and three locations.
Again the state of mood of the participants at the forested park seems to be improved. The confidence intervals on these data points do seem rather large, though.
(prior to leaving school, on arrival at the allocated site, prior to leaving the green space, and at school after completing a cognitive test)
This is a list of the different times the cognitive test was applied during the course of the school day.
(inner urban small and heavily used park with a few trees and surrounded by heavily used streets and dense residential areas, a larger park with some tree clumps, or a larger broadleaved forest with some scattered meadows and low visitor numbers)
This is a summary of the different environments that the participants were placed in during their "green space" time.
regular breaks from classroom work. However, it is unclear which settings during such breaks provide the best environment to restore cognitive performance and promote wellbeing of adolescent pupils
The study was conducted during the course of the normal school year, and the greenspaces were provided as a break from class. This is not the situation that will be associated with my project, but other life-stressors may be reduced nonetheless.
Vienna
The study was conducted in Austria. This may result in a limited amount of relatability to adolescents in the United States.
These are the Attention Restoration Theory [3] and the Stress Reduction Theory
The two main theories associated with this article.
the challenge for smaller nonprofits is to ensure that sufficient financial and human resources are available to reap the benefits of greater social media usage
Another good point. Usually small NPOs struggle to hold on to volunteers and thus have difficulty maintaining a consistent presence on social media.
the effect of each social media factor on fundraising success is not mediated by an organization’s budget size. That is, whether small, medium, or large, a nonprofit can expect a similar return from increasing its Facebook network size, activity, and audience engagement.
This is an important point to make. Even though they may not receive the overall donation value per post of a large organization, small NPO should still strive to be as engaged as possible in order to drive in donations. This is not limited to Facebook, and could be extrapolated to whatever social media platform is currently in vogue.
This may reflect higher levels of trust and therefore contributions to these organizations
The findings support that it is difficult to obtain donations as a new organization, and one that is participating in a large event like this for the first time.
the association between a nonprofit’s social media network size, activity and audience engagement, and its fundraising performance during an online Giving Day.
This is a great summation of the findings of the article.
which posit a positive relationship between the organization age and the level and number of charitable donations and donors
If I'm not mistaken, the regression coefficient here is .007. That technically is positive, but very weak. Perhaps, with this statistical method, every year gains a .007% advantage. So not a large difference between a 50 and 52 y.o. organization, but said 52 year org would be (.007 x 52) = 36% "better" at receiving donations when compared to an organization that is new.
total donations captures the total dollar amount of charitable donations raised by an organization during Omaha Gives 2015; total donors captures the total number of unique donors giving to a nonprofit organization during the event.
The dependent variables of the study.
Older organizations will receive more in charitable donations than younger organizations
Interesting hypothesis.
Omaha Gives is a 24-hr giving event organized by Omaha Community Foundation (OCF) to grow philanthropy in the Omaha Metro area.
https://giveguide.org/big-give-days This seems to be the Portland equivalent.
these platforms have “permanently disrupted the traditional donor engagement process” by acting as a “vortex” which strengthens and expands “by the influence of others but as it grows it becomes greater source of influence on others.”
This is a good analogy of the effect of a viral campaign on an organization.
704 nonprofits participating in Omaha Gives 2015
A good, large data pool
Within the past decade, the number of Giving Days in the United States has increased to nearly 60 and raised over US$1 billion in donations for nonprofit organizations
This seems like a great program to at least raise awareness for local NPOs
These campaigns and others like them offer productive examples of how social media can be utilized to engage stakeholders and their networks, and increase a nonprofit’s base of potential donors and donations
This is true, but the examples used are viral marketing campaigns. These are the holy grails of the modern marketing industry, but without a ton of capital and a great idea one shouldn't expect that level of success. They could even be considered statistical outliers.
How impactful are attempts by these organizations to utilize social media to support fundraising activities associated with online Giving Days?
This is an important question to answer for any non-profit organization. Effective marketing can be even more crucial for non-profit organizations that are just starting out.
It would seem obvious to recommend that BBBS programs keep tutoring activities to a minimum. However, we believe that this would not do justice to certain parents who hope that mentors will help their child academically.
There is also a point to be made here that perhaps non-profit tutoring programs could benefit from more / easier access to recreation in order to help build the relationship quality.
Our results clearly indicate that the practice of activities—predominantly recreational and relational—by mentors and mentees are positively associated with the mentee's perceptions of the mentor's support and the development of MRQ.
This study has a clear connection to any recreational mentoring organization. There should be activities available to all duos that appeal to the mentee.
indicated that the practice of recreational activities positively moderated the association between perceptions of received support and MRQ, when MRQ was assessed by the mentee.
This is not extremely surprising, but it does confirm one of the core components of any organization looking to foster community relationships between mentors and mentees in a recreational setting.
the need for youth enrolled in BBBS programs to socialize, feel secure, be listened to, and be validated by an adult other than their parents
This is a very important aspect of the Big Brother / Sister program. Many children have single parent families, or simply not enough validation from adults.
almost half the dyads in our sample practiced almost no tutoring activities
The first hypothesis is not proven to be false.
Of the activity variables, the scores on both recreational (ß = .22, p < .001) and relational and skill (ß = .17, p < .05) activities made a significant contribution. Higher frequency of recreational and relational and skill activities for girls predicted higher MRQ reported by parents.
The same two most impactful activities from the mentees, recreational and relational / skill activities, were also reported as significant from the parent's perspective.
Of the activity variables, the score for recreational activities made the most significant contribution, ß = .23, p < .01. Higher frequency of recreational activities predicted higher MRQ.
This supports the idea that the golfing program could be used in conjunction with a more traditional program with tutoring. The experience of completing recreational activities with a mentor will positively effect the quality of the relationship.
Recreational .175
Predictor of the effect of recreational activities on the mentor relationship quality.
Mentees were asked to rate the frequency of each activity on a 3-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never or hardly ever) to 3 (often)
It is most likely the best method to use such a simple Likert scale when designing questionnaires for children.
55% lived in families with annual income at or below $30,000, and 31% of the families reported that they were receiving social assistance. Of the parents, 32% reported not completing postsecondary education.
This would be a similar demographic that would benefit most from the theoretical program in this class.
a) describe the frequency of relational, recreational, and tutoring activities practiced by mentor–mentee dyads under Canadian BBBS programs; (b) examine the associations between the frequency of these activities, the mentees’ perceptions of received support, and MRQ; and (c) explore the potential moderating effect of the frequency of these activities on the association between perceptions of received support and subsequent MRQ.
The overall thesis of the study, and the specific areas that are to be explored.
the present study is innovative in that it integrates the perspectives of the mentees and their parents
This will be in interesting aspect of the study, and it is valuable to have the accounts of the mentees.
usually that of the mentor
An important note here. It is difficult to assess actually relationship change when the perspective is from one side. Although in an adult / child relationship the adult can usually have a decent idea of progress in this area.
developmental style, which is not necessarily opposed to an instrumental style, would manifest at the beginning of the relationship through mostly relational and recreational activities centered on the moment, along with an increasing degree of collaboration as the relationship progresses
A developmental relationship definition. Not necessarily contradictory to the instrumental style
The instrumental style may be characterized at the beginning of the relationship by interactions that are mostly goal-oriented and focused on the future or on program expectations, but with an increasing degree of collaboration as the relationship progresses
Definition of an instrumental relationship style
1 and 4 hours a week
This is the same amount of time as a full round of golf, or two 9-hole rounds. Perhaps the program could be tied to the local boys and girls clubs who are seeking events for the youths and volunteers to attend.
Research has suggested that variations in program effectiveness are closely tied to variations in the mentoring relationship quality (MRQ), such that a deeper understanding of the determinants of MRQ has become a research priority
This supports previous studies' assertions that the program effectiveness is heavily linked to the quality of the relationships between the youths and mentors.
non-profit organizations in Denmark
This article was published using data collected in Denmark. May (again) have limited transferable usefulness.
A Marketing Strategy for Recruiting andRetaining Volunteers
This will be useful information in order to develop a plan to recruit volunteers when beginning a non-profit organization.
two years
Important note that the linchpin of the study is the intention to remain at the organization after two years, not some indefinite period. This would mark good turnover for a volunteer organization.
leaders of non-profit organizations, particularly those with a transformational leadership style, predict the intention of volunteers to stay while influencing their level of satisfaction
If nothing else, the study did make a very good argument to this end.
The fact that an organization's management takes into account volunteers' concerns results in greater satisfaction among volunteers and a strengthening of their commitment to the organization.
It will be important to have a structure within the organization to empower volunteers, and allow them to make suggestions that lead to positive change.
volunteers' role identity
It is important in a volunteer organization that each person has a clearly defined role.
These results coincide with the forecast of the three-stage model of volunteers' duration of service ([13]) and, as argued by [58], the best predictor of intention to remain long-term (two years) is role identity.
The researchers are pointing at a cascading effect of beneficial outcomes as a result of the organization having a transformational leader.
The direct effect of transformational leadership on volunteers' intention to remain is partially mediated by satisfaction
In organizations with many part-time volunteers, or high turnover rates, satisfaction may be just as important as having a transformational leader.
The results confirm H1, that transformational leadership has a significant predictive effect on volunteers' intention to remain.
This does seem to be a valid conclusion based on the decent sample size and statistical methods used.
Table 1
Not shown in this screen. The table can be seen in the .pdf version (which wasn't compatible with hypothes.is).
sports (8%)
Only 8%, or 33 (417 x 0.08), volunteers were from sport organizations. Though I believe the effectiveness of leadership is translatable across disciplines in this context.
Transformational leaders are highly inspiring and motivating for followers, helping them to meet higher performance targets. Moreover, transformational leaders serve as change agents who articulate an organization's vision, create employee awareness of problems within organizations, challenge the status quo, and inspire and motivate followers to be innovative in achieving their enormous potential
Definition of transformational leadership. This is a difficult type of leadership style to maintain, with commitment to the organization a key component. The implementation of change and the ability to motivate are also both core functions of this type of leadership.
Leadership is one of the most influential organizational factors in employees' intention to remain, absenteeism, turnover intention, satisfaction and organizational commitmen
The ability of a person to believe they are making a difference within an organization can be reinforced by the behavior of leadership. Poor leadership is often found to be a strong de-motivator (especially when considering volunteers are unpaid).
Volunteering is a planned behavior. In accordance with the Theory of Planned Behavior ([27]), many studies have shown that intention to remain is the best predictor of actual retention in both employees
An important baseline to be established in this context. The study will use 'intention to remain' as the key variable in each hypothesis.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
This was conducted in Madrid, Spain. Due to cultural differences, there may be limited effect in translating the study to the United States.
Specifically, there should be a focus on the qualitiesand roles of the program staff, opportunities for peer and familyinteractions, focus on the structure of the program, provision ofvaluable resources, fun and challenging in nature and a focus onproviding something positive for youth to do during discretionarytime, such as after school or during the summer months. If programleaders utilize these strategies, the findings of this study suggest thatoutcomes will emerge at the individual, parent, family and commu-nity level.
This is a good point to make. The effectiveness of a program such as this is only as good as the mentoring / teaching staff. The focus of the activities needs to be positive and fun, yet remain challenging.
Clearly this is still a limitationbecause gaining the perspective of a greater number of diverseparents would add to the richness of the data.
This is a good, honest look at the limitation of their study. I think a small qualitative study such as this is a great starting point for further research. This opens up more hypotheses that can be discussed going forward.
Peace of Mind Due To Child Involvement 10 63• Parent can be worry-free 7 21• Relief of parent responsibilities 7 12• Financial relief 7 12
This supports the assertion that a summer program such as this provides relief to parents whose children are on break.
Axial coding
Relating the groups of information together.
Thenfocused coding was used to narrow down open codes representingprogram impacts by combining codes with similar properties anddimensions
The researchers were categorizing interview responses into broad groups, then into sub-groups.
A semi-structured, as well as piloted
Not all interview questions were planned in advance. Piloted meaning that the questions were first tested in a pilot interview before being used for the study.
we were able to conduct 10 interviews.
10 interviews from a pool of 57 eligible parents. Parents were given a gift card for participation.
www.osulifesports.org.
Website for the program.
The context studied here isthe summer sports-based PYD program, LiFE Sports Summer Camp,which is central to the entire broad initiative. The majority of LiFESports Camp participants are African American youth from lowincome families (Anderson-Butcher et al., 2010). The program runsfrom 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily for nineteen days during the summermonths, and is free for participants. Youth are provided bustransportation to and from the program from locations throughoutthe city; and receive breakfast and a hot lunch. At the beginning of theprogram, each participant is placed in a group with a counselor andapproximately twenty youth his/her own age. During the program,participants have the opportunity to engage with their groupcounselors, as well as recreation and education leaders. The sport-based PYD program staff is comprised of teachers and otherindividuals from the community, as well as university students andstudent-athletes. All program staff participate in a one day stafftraining prior to the first day of camp, which focuses on safety,curriculum, and positive youth development principles
An overview of the context for the study. This seems to be an extensive program. Tying the program to the university offers a good pool of leaders / counselors and volunteers through the teacher and student pools.
grounded theory approach.
Hypotheses were determined in the process of data collection, rather than proposed beforehand.
Parents whostruggle to provide the necessary supervision and monitoring because ofjob requirements and a lack of resources to pay for other sources ofchildcare may find relief in these programs during out-of-school time
This is one of the most important aspects of these programs. Parents who work full time with low income cannot afford to pay to have their children watched during the summer break. If nothing else, the golf program would provide relief to families in this situation.
qualitativemethodologies
An important point of emphasis is that the data for this study is qualitative. I will need to also read similar studies with some quantitative data.
Severalstudies suggest these programs make meaningful contributions topositive youth outcomes such as enhanced life and social skills, moraldevelopment, goal-related skills, and personal values
These will be the most important outcomes sought with the term project. This study should provide some qualitative insight to how effective a program such as this can be.
(i) reducing the ability to take part in crime; (ii) meeting a need for excite-ment; (iii) improving physical fitness; (iv) increasing self-esteem and sense of controlover one’s life; (v) the development of cognitive competencies; (vi) the importance ofrole models; and (vii) the importance of employment.
Points i and iii would not be achieved through a golf program. points v through vii have the potential for increased viability.
self confidence, developing good relationships with adult
These two in particular can be an important component of the program.
He noted that several partici-pants, as a result of their involvement, had obtained qualifications ranging fromjunior team managers awards to qualifications in photography and places on othercourses at local colleges. Two of the participants were subsequently employed on acasual basis in the community sports programme itself.
One of the chief benefits of a sport program is the alternate path of focus. This probably cannot be achieved with the majority of participants.
Indeed, such close one-to-one relationships with the project leader are particularlydifficult to establish on large-scale schemes; they are also particularly difficult toachieve on those schemes that are short-term and which have a high turnover of bothproject staff and volunteers as well as the young people themselves
This could be a great opportunity for golf in this context. One volunteer 'leader' per group would lead to better connections with the kids over the course of the round.
; rather it is said to be ‘a relationshipstrategy’ in which these various activities are ‘used to establish relationships with . . .socially marginalized young people who are alienated from officialdom and “auth-ority” figures such as teachers, probation officers and even parents’ (Home Office,2003:
This is a fantastic viewpoint on the potential benefit of a summer sport program.
That is, they emphasize the Puri-tanical aspects of sporting culture while largely ignoring the Dionysian/Epicureanaspects
A classical view on the dynamic of sport activities. Certainly more engrained in English and American football culture where drinking is encouraged. This is an important point to make, though.
‘sport in the community schemes’ – as vehicles of social policy targeted atreducing levels of crime, delinquency and drug ‘abuse’ among young people
This thesis is an important 'selling point' when applying for grants and seeking out donors for a non-profit community-based summer sport program.
UK
Journal is located in the United Kingdom. Societal differences my limit how translatable this is to my topic.