Introduction to Kinesiology: Studying Physical Activity - 2nd Ed

Introduction to Kinesiology, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive, reader-friendly overview of kinesiology, laying a solid foundation for future learning and for working as a professional in any field relating to physical activity.

This new edition is significantly updated and revamped, featuring these additions:

-Expanded information and advice on careers relating to the field of kinesiology, including short- and long-term employment opportunities, allowing students to benefit from an inclusive and accurate job outlook early in their college careers

-New schematics and visual effects to help students better understand the content, including more relevant photos to illustrate text points and new artwork to help clarify important conceptual connections

-New profiles featuring significant scholars in the field

-New and improved sidebars, interactive items, and key points to engage students more deeply and to acquaint them with relevant issues and problems
Introduction to Kinesiology, Second Edition, contains updated research, statistics, and discussion focusing on practical applications in the field and offering advice about each profession in kinesiology. These features will help students identify and work toward attaining their career goals. The text uses a visually appealing pedagogical approach, including key points and interactive items as well as opening scenarios of real-world dilemmas encountered by professionals in the field, objectives, summaries, key terms, and a glossary. The new edition reinforces readers' learning through both text and graphic features.

Part I, Experiencing Physical Activity, provides an extensively rewritten introduction to the field of kinesiology and goes into greater detail on exercise and skilled movement. It also delves into physical activity participation patterns, updated information on the relevance of physical activity to daily living, and how various professionals in the field incorporate physical activity into their educational, developmental, and treatment programs.

Part II, Scholarly Study of Physical Activity, with chapters on subdisciplines, has been reorganized and simplified, making those topics easier to comprehend. It includes greater coverage of physical education as a career pursuit and features chapters from several new collaborators, adding to the richness of the text's perspective and insight.

Part III, Practicing a Profession in Physical Activity, includes a new chapter on careers in coaching and sport instruction and an updated chapter on therapeutic exercise, with information on careers in physical and occupational therapy.

This new edition improves on the already-solid foundation of learning laid in the first edition. Its superior content and reasonable price make this text an ideal choice for undergraduate kinesiology courses.

Shirl J. Hoffman, EdD, is a professor of exercise and sport science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he was head of the department for 10 years. He has served at all levels of higher education, from research university to liberal arts college. Hoffman has published extensively on a variety of topics, including sport philosophy and ethics, sociology of sport, and motor learning and performance. He also has been a frequent commentator on problems in kinesiology and higher education. He is former editor of Quest and associate editor of the Chronicle for Physical Education in Higher Education.

Hoffman is a member of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education and the National Association for Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education; he was named Distinguished Scholar 2001 by the latter organization. He gave the Dudley Sargent Lecture to the National Association for Physical Education in Higher Education in 1998.

Hoffman and his wife, Claude, reside in Greensboro, North Carolina. He enjoys walking, swimming, golfing, and traveling.