RESEARCH QUESTION: Does Online "Working Out Work" as a Treatment and Prevention for Depression in Older Adults? An Analysis of a Prescribed and Monitored Exercise Program Administered via the Internet for Senior Adults with Depression.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate and access the effectiveness of an online prescribed and monitored exercise program for the treatment of depression in Older Adults. The Dependent Variable for the study is Depression. The Independent Variable for the study is the Effects of Exercise administered via the Internet and the population is geriatric adults defined as senior adults aged 50 and older. Depression is defined by Princeton University Scholars (Wordnet, 2006) as a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity.
METHODS: The presence and severity of depression will be assessed by using The Merck Manual of Geriatrics (GDS-15) Geriatric Depression Scale. Assessments will be performed at baseline, before and after the treatment is concluded. The subjects will complete the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) prior to participating in an exercise program three times per week.
LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH: The limitations of this study are: 1) There is a small sample size limited to Senior Adults aged 50 - 80, and 2) there is no control group with structured activity or placebo, therefore researcher is unable to evaluate if the marked improvement was due to a non-specific therapeutic effect associated with taking part in a social activity (group online exercise program). Further research could compare and analyze the positive effects of a muscular strength training exercise program verses a cardiovascular training exercise program.

College-aged women are getting surgical and non-invasive cosmetic alterations at rates higher than ever before. Noticeably, many of these women are in sororities. No prior research has identified a definitive relationship between sorority women and cosmetic enhancements. The purpose of this research was to investigate why sorority women are increasingly getting cosmetic work done, particularly examining the influences behind those procedures. Research questions include: Is there a physical standard of beauty in sororities? If so, does this physical standard of beauty influence sorority women’s decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures? Possible benefits of this study include helping to educate people about how Greek life might play a role in influencing beauty standards among college-aged women, as well as providing insights to clinics about their marketing to college-aged women. An anonymous digital survey evaluating cosmetic procedures and physical standards of beauty was sent to every sorority at Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University to share with its members. In total, 15 chapters chose to participate, resulting in multiple-choice and text responses from 74 sorority women. Additionally, several interviews with sorority women and a local psychologist took place. The results revealed a clear demand and interest for cosmetic alterations, with almost half of respondents having already undergone at least one cosmetic procedure, yet it’s not so clear whether or not Greek life is really to blame for sorority women increasingly going under the knife. The study’s results were compiled into a report and a long-form, narrative reporting journalism article.