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This introductory course is designed to examine in detail the relationship between exercise and health. The relationships will be investigated in i) sedentary adults, ii) patients with chronic diseases, iii) athletes and iv) other specific populations (e.g., elderly people). The epidemic of inactivity in the Western world will be discussed with health outcomes as a consequence. Social and economic barriers to physical activity, motivation for exercise and behavioural models for lifestyle change will be developed, with examples of how exercise should be promoted. Potentially positive and negative aspects of exercise will be probed in terms of immune function. Course Co-ordinator: Dr Stuart Gray (ext. 8026) s.r.gray@abdn.ac.uk & Dr Michael Scholz (ext. 8022) m.e.scholz@abdn.ac.uk
The specific objectives of SR2501 are to:
- examine the relationship between fitness and health
- understand the effect of exercise on health outcomes in disease
- understand the behavioural factors which limit exercise participation and adherence to programmes
- explore the health promoting effect of exercise in different groups of the population
- examine the relationship between exercise & immune function.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTH
1. Exercise and health/ introduction – Dr S Gray
An introductory lecture into the obesity “epidemic” and how this relates to changes in energy expenditure.
2. Physical activity recommendations – Dr S Gray
Looking at the evidence supporting the current physical activity recommendations.
3. Acute responses to physical activity – Dr S Gray
Changes in health related factors, such as lipoproteins, after a single bout of exercise.
4. Exercise and appetite – Dr S Gray
Looking at how appetite is controlled by exercise, with special focus on leptin and ghrelin.
5. Physical activity and genetics – Dr S Gray
Various alterations in our genes have been suggested to account for the prevalence of obesity/inactivity. We will investigate some of these factors.
EXERCISE IN MEDICAL CONDITIONS
6. Cancer and exercise – Dr M Scholz
Direct and indirect interactions, association between inactivity and increased overall cancer risk. Importance of exercise for prevention and recovery in cancer diseases.
7. Exercise and COPD – Dr M Scholz
Skeletal muscle abnormalities in patients with COPD. Exercise as a key ingredient in physiological rehabilitation.
8-9. Type 2 diabetes and exercise – Dr A Lionikas
An introduction to the condition of type 2 diabetes and how exercise may serve to reduce its incidence.
10-11. Physical activity and cardiovascular function – Dr S Gray
Role of regular physical activity in the prevention of chronic cardiovascular diseases.
12-13. Exercise and ageing – Dr H Wackerhage
Evidence of health benefits of exercise in elderly people, particularly reducing the incidence of sarcopenia.
EXERCISE AND IMMUNE FUNCTION
14. Introduction to the immune system – Dr C Bolger
Details of the various cells of the immune system and their role when stimulated.
15. Acute exercise and immune function – Dr C Bolger
How both the innate and acquired immune system responds to a single bout of exercise.
16. Exercise and infection risk – Dr C Bolger
How variations in exercise intensity may improve or disrupt the immune system.
17. Acute exercise and the cytokine response – Dr S Gray
Exercise can lead to increase in many cytokines which are normally associated with inflammatory diseases.
18. Physical activity and inflammation – Dr S Gray
Regular physical activity may reduce the incidence of chronic diseases through a reduction in inflammatory cytokines.
19. Immune responses to intensive training – Dr S Gray
During a period of intensive exercise overtraining can develop, possibly due to changes in immune function.
EXERCISE AND BONE HEALTH
20. Mechanical properties of bone – Dr A Lionikas
Mechanical properties of bone, assessment of bone mineral density and biochemical markers of bone turnover.
21. Growing a healthy skeleton – Dr A Lionikas
The importance of mechanical loading in skeletal development.
22. Osteoporosis and exercise – Dr A Lionikas
Introduction to the disease, its epidemiology and the role of exercise.
HEALTH PROMOTION, PSYCHOLOGY AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
23. Health Promotion – Dr F Douglas
Proven methods for helping people change from inactive living.
24. Psychological benefits of exercise – Dr L Mahady
Assessing the impact of participation in exercise on clinical and non-clinical groups within society.
25-26. Motivation for exercise: a psychological perspective – Dr L Mahady
Motivators, demotivators and other factors that affect participation in exercise programmes.
27. Exercise consultations: limits – Dr L Mahady
Prescribing effective exercise programmes for individuals.
28. Adherence to exercise programmes - Dr L Mahady
Main factors which play a role in the consultation or cessation of participation in exercise.
Practical Work
Students are expected to attend all practical and lab classes to obtain a class certificate. A practical seminar will be based at the Zoology Building during week 43. Students will go through the full process of running an Exercise Consultation. For this practical, students will be split in two sub-groups. Group A will attend from 3.00 to 4.30pm and group B will attend from 4.30 to 6.00pm.
Laboratory Work
Lab will be based at the Zoology Building. Attendance will be taken at all lab classes. Students will need to bring along a notebook, writing materials and a calculator to each lab session to take appropriate notes.
During the first practical (Thursday 18th February), a basic pedometer will be provided to the students against a £5 deposit. On the same day they will learn how to use the pedometer. They will then be asked to record the number of steps they take each day during one week. On Thursday 18th March they will need to answer some questions on the data they have collected and to do some statistical analysis. They will hand in a full report. It will be marked and will be worth 15% of the overall mark for this course.
During the second practical (Thursday 22nd April) students will measure a variety of health related factors. They will then have to hand in a brief report (10th May) comparing these measurements. A troubleshooting ssession (29th April) will be available for those needing guidance. The report will be marked and be worth 15% of the overall mark for this course.
Case Studies
Two case studies will released on WebCT on the 11th February and the 11th March. You will then have two weeks to study the case study and answer the questions under exam conditions (25th February and 25th March). These each count for 5% of the final mark.
Multiple Choice Exams
Two multiple choice exams (50 questions each) will be carried out on the 4th March and the 5th May. These will each be worth 30% of the final mark for the module.
There is a regular programme of seminars given throughout the academic year by invited specialists from within the broad field of biomedical research.
These are usually held on Thursdays from 12noon -1pm in the IMS Building at Foresterhill (check the School or IMS websites for specific locations of seminars).
As you are studying within research-driven disciplines, we strongly feel that you should attend these whenever possible, with a view to broadening your appreciation of medical sciences. You will also be directed to attend any other relevant seminars when they arise.
General Reading List
Recommended Text: Exercise Physiology: energy, nutrition & human performance, WD McArdle, FI Katch, VL Katch, Sixth Edition, 2007. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Physical activity and health, C.Bouchard, S.N. Blair, W.L. Haskell, 2007. Human Kinetics.
The University has strict regulations on plagiarism. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism read the University guide on plagiarism at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/writing
Copying or plagiarising another persons work, either from other students or published material in books or papers and submitted as your own for assessment is considered a form of cheating. This is considered by the University to be a serious offence and will be penalised according to the extent involved and whether it is decided there was an attempt at deliberate deception, or whether bad practice was involved. If you do use information or ideas obtained from textbooks or other published material you must give a precise reference to the source both at the appropriate point in your narrative and in a list of references at the end of your work. Direct quotations from published material should be indicated by quotation marks and referenced in the text as above.
Students are expected to attend all lectures, laboratory classes, and tutorials, and to complete all class exercises by stated deadlines. The minimum performance acceptable is attendance at 75% of the lectures, seminars, practical classes, and presentation of all set course work, written and oral.
Common assessment scale (CAS) grade: The overall performance of the student is expressed as a grade awarded on the common spine marking scale.
Dr Claire Bolger
Dr Stuart Gray
Dr Arimantas Lionikas
Dr Laura Mahady
Dr Alexandra Mavroeidi
Dr Michael Scholz
Dr Henning Wackerhage
University Sport and Exercise Team Dr Alexandra Mavroeidi (AM), Biomedical Sciences Faye Webster (FW), Sport & Recreation Services Dr Clare Lamb, Anatomy
If students have difficulties with any part of the course that they cannot cope with alone they should notify someone immediately. If the problem relates to the subject matter you may be best advised to contact the member of staff who is teaching that part of the course. Students with registered disabilities should contact either the IMS based School Office, room 2:62:3 (Miss Lyndsay McEwan l.mcewan@abdn.ac.uk) or the Zoology Teaching Laboratories, Old Aberdeen (Mrs Sheila Jones, s.jones@abdn.ac.uk) to ensure that the appropriate facilities have been made available. Otherwise, you are strongly encouraged to contact any of the following as you see appropriate:
Course student representatives.
Course co-ordinator. Dr Stuart Gray
Convenor of the BMS student-staff liaison committee, Dr Gordon McEwan
Adviser of studies.
School Disabilities Co-ordinator, Dr Derryck Shewan).
Staffs are based at Foresterhill & Old Aberdeen and we strongly encourage the use of email or telephone the SMS office. You may be wasting your time to travel to Foresterhill only to find staff unavailable.
Support Available to Students
The University is keen to help you successfully complete your studies. If at any time you feel you need assistance, there is a range of support services available to help you. These include support to assist with unexpected and/or exceptional financial difficulty, support for disabled students and academic learning support through the Student Learning Service. Further details about all these services area available at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/studenthelpguide/.
We value students’ opinions in regard to enhancing the quality of teaching and its delivery; therefore in conjunction with the Students’ Association we support the operation of a Class Representative system.
The students within each course, year, or programme elect representatives by the end of the fourth week of teaching within each half-session. In this school we operate a system of course representatives. Any student registered within a course that wishes to represent a given group of students can stand for election as a class representative. You will be informed when the elections for class representative will take place.
What will it involve?
It will involve speaking to your fellow students about the course you represent. This can include any comments that they may have. You will attend a Staff-Student Liaison Committee and you should represent the views and concerns of the students within this meeting. As a representative you will also be able to contribute to the agenda. You will then feedback to the students after this meeting with any actions that are being taken.
Training
Training for class representatives will be run by the Students Association. Training will take place in the fourth or fifth week of teaching each half-session. For more information about the Class representative system visit www.ausa.org.uk or email the VP Education & Employability vped@abdn.ac.uk. Class representatives are also eligible to undertake the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) Award, further information about the co-curricular award is available at: www.abdn.ac.uk/careers.
The University operates a system for monitoring students' progress to identify students who may be experiencing difficulties in a particular course and who may be at risk of losing their class certificate. If the Course Co-ordinator has concerns about your attendance and/or performance, the Registry will be informed. The Registry will then write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to ask you to contact their office in the first instance. Depending on your reason for absence the Registry will either deal directly with your case or will refer you to your Adviser of Studies or a relevant support service. This system is operated to provide support for students who may be experiencing difficulties with their studies. Students are required to attend such meetings with their Adviser of Studies in accordance with General Regulation 8.
Set criteria are used to determine when a student should be reported in the monitoring system. You will be asked to meet your Adviser if any of the following criteria apply for this course:-
either (i) if you are absent for a continuous period of two weeks or 25% of the course (whichever is less) without good cause being reported;
or (ii) if you are absent from two small group teaching sessions e.g. (laboratory/tutorial classes) without good cause;
or (iii) if you fail to submit a piece of summative or a substantial piece of formative in-course assessment by the stated deadline
If you fail to respond within the prescribed timescale (as set out in the e-mail or letter) you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course concerned and will accordingly be ineligible to take the end of course assessment or to enter for the resit. The Registry will write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to inform you of this decision. If you wish consideration to be given to reinstating you in the course you will be required to meet the Convener of the Students' Progress Committee.
Students who attend and complete the work required for a course are considered to have been awarded a ‘Class Certificate’. Being in possession of a valid Class Certificate for a course entitles a student to sit degree examinations for that course. From 2010/11 class certificates will be valid for two years and permit a total of three attempts at the required assessment within that two year period i.e. the first attempt plus up to two resits.
You will receive a University e-mail account when you register with the University Computing Centre. The University will normally use e-mail to communicate with you during term-time. These e-mails will be sent to your University e-mail account, which you can access using Eudora or SquirrelMail.
It is your responsibility to check your e-mail on a regular (at least weekly) basis and to tidy the contents of your e-mail inbox to ensure that it does not go over quota (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/email/mailquota.hti for guidance on managing your e-mail quota). It is recommended that you use your University e-mail account to read and respond to University communications. If you already have a non-University e-mail account that you use for personal correspondence, it is possible to set up automatic forwarding of messages from your University e-mail account to your personal e-mail address (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/local/mail.forward/) but, should you do so, it is your responsibility to ensure that this is done correctly. The University takes no responsibility for delivery of e-mails to non-University accounts.
You should note that failure to check your e-mail or failure to receive e-mail due to being over quota or due to non-delivery of an e-mail forwarded to a non-University e-mail account would not be accepted as a ground for appeal (for further information on appeals procedures, please refer to http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x17.hti).
TurnitinUK
TurnitinUK is an online service which compares student assignments with online sources including web pages, databases of reference material, and content previously submitted by other users across the UK. The software makes no decision as to whether plagiarism has occurred; it is simply a tool which highlights sections of text that have been found in other sources thereby helping academic staff decide whether plagiarism has occurred.
As of Academic Year 2011/12, TurnitinUK will be accessed directly through MyAberdeen. Advice about avoiding plagiarism, the University’s Definition of Plagiarism, a Checklist for Students, Referencing and Citing guidance, and instructions for TurnitinUK, can be found in the following area of the Student Learning Service website www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism/.
Absence from Classes on Medical Grounds
Candidates who wish to establish that their academic performance has been adversely affected by their health are required to secure medical certificates relating to the relevant periods of ill health (see General Regulation 17.3).
The University’s policy on requiring certification for absence on medical grounds or other good cause can be accessed at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x5.pdf
You are strongly advised to make yourself fully aware of your responsibilities if you are absent due to illness or other good cause. In particular, you are asked to note that self-certification of absence for periods of absence up to and including eleven weekdays is permissible. However, where absence has prevented attendance at an examination or where it may have affected your performance in an element of assessment or where you have been unable to attend a specified teaching session, you are strongly advised to provide medical certification (see section 3 of the Policy on Certification of Absence for Medical Reasons or Other Good Cause).
Feedback Framework
Feedback on assessment:
The University recognises that the provision of timely and appropriate feedback on assessment plays a key part in students learning and teaching. The guiding principles for the provision of feedback within the University are detailed in the Institutional Framework for the Provision of Feedback on Assessment available at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x8.pdf
Enhancing Feedback:
The University recognises both the importance of providing timely and appropriate feedback on assessments to students, and of enabling students to voice views on their learning experience through channels such as Student Course Evaluation Forms and Class Representatives. FAQs, guidance and resources about feedback can be found on the University’s ‘Enhancing Feedback’ website at: www.abdn.ac.uk/clt/feedback
Appeals and Complaints
The University’s appeals and complaints procedures provide students with a framework through which to formalise their concerns about aspects of their academic experience or to complain when they feel that standards of non-academic service have fallen short of that which they expected.
The process has been designed to make the appeals and complaints process as accessible and simple as possible and to provide a robust, fair mechanism through which to ensure that all appeals and complaints are considered in the appropriate way at the appropriate level.
A major feature of the process is the emphasis it places on early or informal resolution. All students should note that there is an expectation that they will take responsibility for seeking resolution of their academic or non-academic concerns by raising and discussing them at the earliest possible stage with the relevant individuals in an academic School or administrative Service.
Further details of the processes for making an appeal or complaint, including where to find further help and support in the process, is given at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/appeals
Transcripts at Graduation
It is anticipated that students who commenced their studies in, or after, 2009/10, will receive a more detailed transcript of their studies on graduation. The increased details will include a record of all examination results attained. For students graduating in 2012/13 transcripts will show details of all CAS marks awarded, including marks which are fails. Where a resit has been required as a result of medical circumstances or other good cause (MC/GC) this will not be shown, but all other circumstances (i.e. No Paper ‘NP’) will be included.
My Aberdeen (the University of Aberdeen’s Virtual Learning Environment)
MyAberdeen replaces WebCT as students’ virtual learning environment. This is where you will find learning materials and resources associated with the courses you are studying.
MyAberdeen also provides direct access to TurnitinUK, the online originality checking service, through which you may be asked to submit completed assignments.
You can log in to MyAberdeen by going to www.abdn.ac.uk/myaberdeen and entering your University username and password (which you use to access the University network).
Further information on MyAberdeen including Quick Guides and video tutorials, along with information about TurnitinUK, can be found at: www.abdn.ac.uk/students/myaberdeen.php.
Information about academic writing and how to avoid plagiarism can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism.
Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
Graduate Attributes are a wide-ranging set of qualities which students will develop during their time at Aberdeen in preparation for employment, further study and citizenship.
There are four main areas of the Graduate Attributes:
• Academic excellence
• Critical thinking and communication
• Learning and personal development
• Active citizenship
Students have many opportunities to develop and achieve these attributes. These include learning experiences on credit-bearing courses and co-curricular activities such as work placements, study abroad and volunteering. In accordance with the University’s commitment to Equality and Diversity, students can request support with any aspect of the Graduate Attributes framework.
The ACHIEVE website offers resources that enable students to assess and reflect upon their present skills and development needs. The website also contains resources to help students to improve their skills and links to a range of university services such as the Careers Service and the Student Learning Service. Students can access ACHIEVE from their MyAberdeen site in the ‘My Organisations’ section. More information about Aberdeen Graduate Attributes and ACHIEVE can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/graduateattributes.
The Co-curriculum
The co-curriculum enhances a student’s employability and provides opportunities to develop and achieve Aberdeen Graduate Attributes. Co-curricular activities complement a student’s degree programme and include: work placements, study abroad, enterprise and entrepreneurship activities, the BP Student Tutoring Scheme, career mentoring and the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) Award initiative. Below are examples of credit-bearing co-curricular activities. It is anticipated that these types of activity will be included on an enhanced transcript for students graduating in, or after, 2012/13
ERASMUS is an exchange programme funded by the European Commission which enables students to study or work in another European country as part of their degree programme. Eligible students will receive a grant to help with extra costs while abroad and a number of our partner institutions teach through English. For more information, visit www.abdn.ac.uk/erasmus/. The University also has opportunities for students to study in a non-European country as part of their degree through the International Exchange Programme. International partners include universities and colleges in North America, Hong Kong and Japan (www.abdn.ac.uk/undergraduate/international-exchange.php). The University aims to ensure full academic recognition for study periods abroad, therefore the credits gained from study abroad will count towards the Aberdeen degree programme for students participating in both ERASMUS and the International Exchange Programme.
Work placements can also form an integral part of a degree programme and attract academic credit. Placements are available locally, nationally and internationally, lasting from a few weeks to a full year and are generally paid. Visit the Careers Service website for further placement information and to find available work placements.
Further information about the co-curriculum is available at:www.abdn.ac.uk/careers
Personal Developmental Planning
Level 1 and 2 students are encouraged to develop a Personal Development Plan (PDP) to help them learn more effectively, make the most of their University time and plan for their future. Further details on PDP can be accessed from the School website at www.abdn.ac.uk/sms - click on "Undergraduate Teaching".
School of Medical Sciences - Guide to Citing and Referencing
This guide should be used to assist you when completing any work for disciplines in the School of Medical Sciences. All work should include citations at appropriate places in the text, with a complete reference list at the end of the assignment. If diagrams/ graphs/ tables are copied or adapted from other publications/ websites, the sources must also be cited in the legend for that item, and included in your reference list.
Good citing and referencing not only improves the quality of your work, but it gives credit to the authors of original work, and makes it less likely that you can be accused of plagiarism. Further guidance on writing and plagiarism may be found at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/writing/ . When you submit work for marking, you are declaring that YOU are the author, that you have not copied it or plagiarised any material from other sources, AND that all sources of information have been acknowledged in your text. Students may be penalised by the University if found guilty of plagiarism.
Students are warned to be careful if using websites as sources of information. These may be inaccurate and are often not peer-reviewed. You are strongly encouraged to use advanced textbooks, peer-reviewed papers or reviews as the sources of your information in your work. Students are also advised to avoid quoting chunks of text in their work. Just because you put quotation marks around some text does not mean that you have not plagiarised it. Try and explain ideas and concepts in your own words.
The referencing style used here is Harvard, similar to that recommended by the University Library (see their factsheet for further information on referencing). Students must use this style of citing and referencing for all work. Other styles are not acceptable. Marks may be deducted if students do not cite or reference properly (see specific marking schemes for details).
Citing references within the text
You must provide citations in the text at the appropriate places by putting the author’s surname and year of publication in round brackets immediately after the relevant text (author, date method).
Author, date method
Jones et al. (1999) has argued that….
Studies have produced conflicting results…..(Bloggs, 2000; MacDuff et al., 1993)
Smith stated (1990)…..and then later work confirmed this (2003)…..
Bloggs (2001) investigated…..
One author (Bloggs, 2000)
Two authors (Smith & Jones, 1982)
Three or more authors (Chesterfield et al., 1995)
If the same author(s) wrote two or more papers in the same year Thwaites et al. stated (1990a)…..and then provided further evidence (1990b)…..
N.B. “et al.” should be in italics, as should all other Latin words/phrases in your text (e.g. in vitro). There is also a full stop after “et al.”, since it is an abbreviation of “et alia” (“and others”).
Listing your references at the end of your work
Your list of references must place the surnames of the first authors in alphabetical order. List all authors of a piece of work unless there are a large number.
Format of references at the end of your work
Book - whole Rang, H.P., Dale, M.M., Ritter, J.M. & Flower, R.J. (2007) Pharmacology. 6th Ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Book – article or chapter within Johnson, D. & Smart, J.S. (1983) Advanced techniques in measuring athletic performance. In: S. Roberts, ed., Sports Science in the Laboratory. London: Macmillan, pp. 3-28.
Journal – article within Furchgott, R.F., Zawadzki, J.V. (1980) The obligatory role of endothelial cells in the relaxation of arterial smooth muscle by acetylcholine. Nature. 288(5789), 373-6.
Website Department for Education and Employment (2000). Student loans: guidance on terms and conditions from April 2000. [online]. Available from: http://www.dfee.gov.uk/loan2000/index.html [Accessed 23rd March 2006]
