Foundations of Kinesiology: A Modern Integrated Approach

Explore your career options and sharpen your professional skills with Murray/Eldridge/Kohl's FOUNDATIONS OF KINESIOLOGY: A MODERN INTEGRATED APPROACH. Combining digital and traditional delivery methods so you can learn the way that works best for you, the text focuses on physical activity as the center of the Kinesiology universe. It emphasizes the evolving and ever-changing career opportunities available working with individuals and populations across the lifespan--children, adolescents, adults and older adults--and in a variety of settings, including work, leisure, transportation, home, schools, sport, fitness facilities and rehabilitation centers. It equips you with a solid foundation in basic Kinesiology and helps you develop the skills you need for a career in personal training, occupational and physical therapy, athletic training, sports psychology or sports management.

Dr. Tinker Murray is a former professor (1984-2018) in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Texas State University. He served as Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center where he was twice recognized for his exceptional performance. At Southwest Texas and Texas State University, he served as Director of Employee Wellness from 1984 to 1988 and Director of the Exercise Performance Laboratory from 1984 to 2000. From 1985 to 1988, Dr. Murray was a subcommittee member for the Governor's Commission on Physical Fitness that developed the Fit Youth Today program. He was a lecturer and examiner for the USA Track and Field Level II Coaching Certification program for 20 years and served as Vice Chair of Gov. Ann Richards' Commission for Physical Fitness in Texas from 1993 to 1994. He served as a voluntary assistant cross country and track coach that helped win four conference titles from 1985 – 1987. A fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a certified ACSM Program Director, Dr. Murray was a former two-time president of the Texas regional chapter of ACSM, as well as a former member on the national ACSM Board of Trustees. He also served on a five-year study intervention (2005-2010) funded by the National Institutes of Health to prevent Type-2 diabetes in middle school minority students. Dr. Murray worked with the Professional Development Cooperative in coordination with the Texas High School Coaches Association for 10 years to promote continuing education experiences for coaches. Since 2007, Dr. Murray has educated and encouraged thousands of Kinesiology professionals to promote physical activity and public health. He has authored or coauthored several books, refereed journal articles, edited articles and published abstracts.

Dr. James A. Eldridge is the chair and a professor of Kinesiology at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) in Odessa, Texas. He earned bachelor’s of arts degrees in both physical education and biology from Texas Lutheran University in 1986. He earned his master of arts degree in physical education from Southwest Texas State University in 1989, and completed his Ed.D. in physical education and human performance from the University of Houston in 1996. Dr. Eldridge served as a Biostatistician and Assistant Epidemiologist at M.D. Anderson cancer center from 1990 to 1995, where he worked on the largest funded NCI grant studying worksite behaviors and cancer risks. He then spent two years employed with Southwest Texas State University as the research associate for the Vice President of Student Affairs. He has worked at UTPB since 1997 and served as the Director of Exercise Physiology Labs from 1997 to 2010 and chairperson of the Kinesiology Department 2010 to present. Dr. Eldridge is a member of the Texas chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (TACSM) and served on the board of directors for the organization from 2005 to 2008. He also served as president of the organization in 2007. Dr. Eldridge research interests include worksite injury reduction, rodeo injury occurrence, and school-based and clinical-based youth physical activity interventions for the prevention of obesity and diabetes and personal fitness. He has worked since 1989 with his colleagues to conduct and publish research and textbooks related to in- jury prevention and diagnosis, physical activity measurement, and health-related issues in medicine and nursing.

Dr. Harold W. "Bill" Kohl, III, is Professor of Epidemiology and Kinesiology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health and at The University of Texas at Austin. At UTHealth School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, Dr. Kohl also serves as Associate Regional Dean for Academic Affairs and International Health Affairs. He previously served as Lead Epidemiologist and Team Leader in the Physical Activity and Health Branch of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Dr. Kohl has worked since 1984 in physical activity and health--conducting research, developing and evaluating intervention programs for adults and children and developing and advising on policy issues. His other areas of specialization are Biostatistics and Health Promotion. His research interests include current focuses on physical activity, exercise, fitness and health and sports medicine surveillance systems for musculoskeletal injuries. He initiated Active Texas 2020, a state physical activity plan. A fellow of both the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Academy of Kinesiology, Dr. Kohl is the founder and a past president of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health. He has served in an editorial capacity for several scientific journals and is currently Editor Emeritus of the JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTH. He has published more than 200 papers, chapters and monographs and is a past chair of the Science Board of the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. He earned his doctorate in Epidemiology and Community Health Studies from UTHealth School of Public Health and a master's in Public Health from the University of South Carolina.