Physical activity counselling during pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD : a randomised controlled trial

Background Pulmonary rehabilitation programs only modestly enhance daily physical activity levels in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This randomised controlled trial investigates the additional effect of an individual activity counselling program during pulmonary rehabilitation on physical activity levels in patients with moderate to very severe COPD. Methods Eighty patients (66 +/- 7 years, 81% male, forced expiratory volume in 1 second 45 +/- 16% of predicted) referred for a six-month multidisciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation program were randomised. The intervention group was offered an additional eight-session activity counselling program. The primary outcomes were daily walking time and time spent in at least moderate intense activities. Results Baseline daily walking time was similar in the intervention and control group (median 33 [interquartile range 16-47] vs 29 [17-44]) whereas daily time spent in at least moderate intensity was somewhat higher in the intervention group (17[4-50] vs 12[2-26] min). No significant intervention*time interaction effects were observed in daily physical activity levels. In the whole group, daily walking time and time spent in at least moderate intense activities did not significantly change over time. Conclusions The present study identified no additional effect of eight individual activity counselling sessions during pulmonary rehabilitation to enhance physical activity levels in patients with COPD

Considering Teaching Excellence in Higher Education: 2007-2013: A Literature Review Since the CHERI Report 2007

No abstract available

Development and evaluation of the coach-athlete relationship enhancement intervention

An expanding body of sport psychology theory and research has highlighted the central role of the coach-athlete relationship (CAR) in the performance, satisfaction and well-being of coaches as well as athletes. Models have been developed that identify the key dimensions of CAR quality and the interpersonal behaviour that maintains it, but there remains a need for interventions that support coaches and athletes to optimise their interpersonal skills. This can be done by harnessing recent advances in personality theory which emphasise a more holistic and developmental view of the person and provide a basis for greater mutual understanding and adaptive interpersonal behaviour change in the CAR. The aims of this study were to develop the Coach-Athlete Relationship Enhancement (CARE) intervention through an integration of the Enneagram personality typology with current models of the CAR, and then to evaluate the impact of the CARE intervention on CAR quality. Sixty-two university-level athletes and their nine coaches participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate that the CARE intervention significantly enhanced CAR quality, including direct and meta-perceptions of closeness, commitment and complementarity, as well as co-orientation. Intervention outcomes included enhanced mutual understanding in the CAR, enhanced self-awareness, enhanced team relationships, and adaptive interpersonal behaviour change. These outcomes were associated with a shared awareness between coaches and athletes of their Enneagram personality type traits and motivations. Coach-athlete relationship quality was further enhanced by re-constructing coaches’ and athletes’ personal narratives based on self-descriptions of Enneagram type strengths, and a redefinition of individuals’ core motivations to incorporate adaptive interpersonal behaviour change

Evaluations of clinical tobacco cessation interventions in Arab populations: A systematic review

Background and aims: Tobacco smoking is prevalent among Arab smokers. Interventions to support smoking cessation may differ in effectiveness in this population from Western populations usually studied. This review assessed evidence of effectiveness of clinical smoking interventions in Arab smokers. // Methods: A systematic search for comparative trials evaluating tobacco cessation interventions in Arab populations was conducted in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PyschINFO, CINHAL and Web of Science databases. Behavioural, pharmacological and combined interventions were included. Reference lists of included studies were hand searched. The outcome measure was self- reported tobacco abstinence at the final follow-up, with biochemical verification where available. Assessment of evidence for effectiveness was undertaken using Bayes Factors. // Results: A total of 659 titles and abstracts were identified. Five studies met the inclusion criteria. Four of these were randomized controlled trials and one was a non-randomized comparative trial. Differences between study features precluded meaningful aggregation for a meta-analysis. The four randomized trials all yielded Bayes Factors 1000), supporting the hypothesis of effectiveness; however, the study was judged to have a high risk of bias. // Conclusions: As yet, there is no convincing direct evidence that clinical smoking cessation interventions, which are found to be effective in Western populations, are also effective for Arab smokers. There is an urgent need for high quality randomized trials evaluating interventions in this population

Factors that Influence the use of Mobile Banking in Lebanon: Integration of UTAUT2 and 3M Model

The current study proposed a conceptual model that explains what influence the use of mobile banking in Lebanon from customer perspective. The basis for this framework is the integration of the 3M model of motivation and personality and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology two (UTAUT2). Results obtained demonstrated a link between personality traits, motivational factors and behaviour as proposed by the 3M model. Empirically, use behaviour of mobile banking by Lebanese individuals was significantly influenced by effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, need for cognition, need for structure, need for affiliation, proactive personality, neuroticism, and agreeableness. However performance expectancy, social influence, general self-efficacy, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience did not have a significant influence over use behaviour. Thus this study extends the theoretical model of UTAUT2 by incorporating personality constructs. More in particular, it highlights the importance of psychological aspects in predicting technology acceptance behaviour

The semiotic and modern hermeneutic review of the online Covid-19 public service advertisement texts

The Indonesian government works closely with other agencies to intensely campaign for the movement against the virus corona in various ways, one of which is through Public Service Advertisements (PSAs). PSAs have verbal and non-verbal elements that contain meanings, both explicit and implicit meanings. This article aims to analyze three samples of PSAs concerning Covid-19 retrieved from three online website media, namely (1) the website of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia; (2) Republika online; and (3) Kompas.com. This research was conducted using qualitative descriptive methods referring to the semiotic theory developed by Roland Barthes and Charles Sanders Peirce, and the modern hermeneutics theory developed by Paul Ricoeur. The analysis of the PSAs in this study was focused on verbal texts, while non-verbal texts were not analyzed deeply. From the three PSAs analyzed, the study found that the explicit meanings lying in the PSAs were to fight the coronavirus by complying with health protocols. Meanwhile, implicitly, the PSAs imply that the Indonesian people are under threat of death, the coronavirus is not a lie, nor is it a conspiracy