351 research outputs found
iBoccia: a framework to monitor the Boccia gameplay in elderly
The increase of the elderly population has an enormous effect on the health
care system of a country, as the rise of this population sets the mood to an exponential
growth in assistance and care. Indeed, the inherent costs of this populational
class are higher when comparing to the younger classes. Today paradigm focuses
on the reduction of these costs by promoting a healthier lifestyle on all classes of
the populations. Thus, the concern of a more active lifestyle is present in the elderly
population, which has proven to reduce, for example, the risk of coronary problems.
The stimulus on physical activity is now higher and it is possible to get several
monitoring devices to keep track on the activity that was performed. Following this
trend, the present paper presents a hybrid approach that employs the use of wearable
devices, the Mio Fuse band and the pandlet, and a non-wearable device, the Kinect
camera, to monitor elderly people during a Boccia game scenario. Preliminary tests
were performed in laboratory. The results include data collected concerning a main
movement that is used during a Boccia gameplay.This article is a result of the project Deus ex machina: NORTE-01-0145-
FEDER-000026, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020),
under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Boccia court analysis for promoting elderly physical activity
Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for global mortality. Older adults, in particular, are more probable to suffer the consequences of physical inactivity, since it is one of the most sedentary age groups. On the other hand, engaging physical activity can have various benefits for the prevention of several diseases and functional loss prevention, therefore, it is critical to encourage its regular practice amongst the elderly. Boccia is a simple precision ball sport that is easily adaptable for individuals with physical limitations, which makes it a perfectly good game for this circumstance. The present paper proposes a ball-detection based system for monitoring the Boccia court, compute the current game score and display it on a user interface. The future goal of such system will be to motivate the elders to participate more frequently in the Boccia game and make the overall game experience more enjoyable. The proposed system was tested with twenty video recordings of different simulated game situations. Overall, the obtained results were encouraging, having only one incorrect game score being computed by the developed algorithm.This article is a result of the project Deus ex Machina: NORTE01-0145-FEDER-000026, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through
the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Evaluation of the generations together programme: learning so far. Research report DFE-RR082
"This report presents the findings from the evaluation of the Generations Together Demonstrator programme. This study was undertaken by York Consulting LLP on behalf of the then Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF); this is now the Department for Education (DfE)... The overarching aims of the evaluation were to: undertake a robust assessment of the effectiveness of intergenerational practice in improving individual’s attitudes and behaviours towards other generations;
provide a greater understanding of the key challenges and critical success factors for the effective implementation and delivery of intergenerational practice, particularly in terms of partnership working; undertake a cost effectiveness assessment of each of the projects." - Page i
Dementia and meaningful activity
Aim: This thesis presents nine of my published papers based around a common theme of meaningful activity in dementia. The papers and the accompanying text will explore the concept of meaningful activity and whether it is relevant to dementia; the use of meaningful activities for people living with dementia in various settings; and the experiences of people with dementia participating in such activities.
Background: An overview of the published literature regarding four areas of meaningful activity is presented in Chapter 2. These areas, which reflect topics of the included papers, comprise: access to the outdoors; exercise and other group activities; dementia and the arts; and involving people with dementia in mindful design.
Chapter 3 is a critical discussion of the concept of meaningful activity. Meaningful activity is a concept with considerable limitations but remains useful in psychosocial research and practice in dementia.
Methods: The methods of each study are described in each of the nine included papers but the overall methodological approach is summarised in Chapter 4. In general, the approach is exploratory and qualitative, and places a strong emphasis on the voices and experiences of people living with dementia.
Results: As with the methods, the detailed results are included in each study. Chapter 5 provides an overall summary of the results, and combines results from those papers with similar methods. Altogether, over 100 people living with dementia have contributed to the data, either as study participants or in the process of co-design.
The nine papers included appear in Chapter 6, with the abstract as published and a commentary on each one. The full texts of the papers are reproduced in Appendices 2 to 10. The nine papers fall into four broad groups: Paper 1 is about outdoor access; Papers 2 to 5 concern exercise and other group activities; Paper 6 to 8 are studies of arts interventions; and Paper 9 is about design for and with people living with the dementia.
The individual papers are as follows:
Paper 1 is an invited editorial that argues for improved access to outdoor space for all people with dementia, whether resident in their own homes or in care homes. This argument is based upon a human rights perspective.
Paper 2 reports a qualitative study of a community based sports and exercise group for men with young onset dementia. Four main themes were identified, with enjoyment, anticipation and the creation of a ‘dementia-free’ environment, set alongside less positive themes of loss and lack of other appropriate resources.
Paper 3 is a qualitative study of using multisensory boxes as the basis for a storytelling group intervention for care home residents with dementia. The themes generated in our analysis included engagement, curiosity about the contents of the boxes, and the opportunity for self-expression.
Paper 4 describes a qualitative study of a Boccia (modified indoor bowls) group for people with dementia. Four main themes were identified, three of them positive: the family nature of the group, the characteristics of Boccia as a sport, and the sense of equality and freedom from dementia in the group.
Paper 5, another qualitative study, investigated a weekly swimming group for people with dementia. Themes included the impact of dementia, the pleasure of swimming, and how the group created a sense of equality or being ‘all in the same boat’.
Paper 6 reports two case studies of arts interventions for care home residents that were provided as part of a larger arts project. The case studies explored the perceptions of the artists and care home staff and draws attention to the crucial role of care home activity co-ordinators.
Paper 7 includes more than one individual study (focus groups and case study) that were used to create a taxonomy of arts interventions in dementia. The paper presents a striking visual model with twelve descriptive dimensions, thus providing a common language for description and future research.
Paper 8 is a single case study of a person with advanced dementia and her interaction with a visual art installation in an exhibition, using video analysis. The study was an exploration of capturing the in the moment experience of the participant but also as to whether a person with profound disability could engage with visual art.
Paper 9 is a report on a European programme of work around mindful design with and for people with dementia, which provides a background to the work, a description of the models and the approach to co-design that were used, and concludes with a series of design guidelines for different stakeholder groups.
Discussion and Conclusions: The main findings and the contribution of the work as a whole are presented and discussed in the final chapter of the thesis. Collectively, the papers present several positive findings. Participation in groups providing exercise or stimulating activities is enjoyed and valued by those taking part. Under the right circumstances, such activities have powerful effects, such as levelling things up for people with dementia, creating equality between group members, and reducing the sense of ‘us and them’ (that is, people with and without dementia). These effects act to enhance the dignity and confidence of participants and reduce the stigma of dementia.
In addition, establishing meaningful collaboration with people with lived experience of dementia requires attention to several elements: how and why people are approached initially; how the invitation to participate is framed; observing relevant rights, permissions and consent; creating an equitable and inclusive working environment; and accessible communication and participatory activities that include everyone. There is much common ground across the nine papers, which may be described as an overriding theme of rights, empowerment, liberty and activity, all of which aim at enjoyment and social interaction.
The studies included in this thesis have certain strengths, which include the exploratory nature of the studies, the collection of data in naturalistic surroundings, and the emphasis on recording the experiences of the participants with dementia. Possible limitations include the relatively small sample sizes and lack of quantitative data, though it is argued that these are not really required in exploratory studies looking at people’s personal experiences.
As a body of work, the nine papers in this thesis make a significant contribution to research and scholarship in the area of meaningful activity in dementia. Future research will need to explore the mechanisms by which interventions ‘work’ and to continue exploration of studying in the moment experiences. Involvement of people living with dementia is essential in order to design products or activities that they may value, and in order to ascertain that allegedly meaningful activities actually do have personal significance
Realising the transition to bioenergy: Integrating entrepreneurial business models into the biogas socio-technical system in Uganda
This study assesses the entrepreneurial potential and feasibility of developing a mobile system for purifying and bottling biogas in portable cylinders for wider society consumption and benefit. Our findings reveal that existing research has neglected the entrepreneurial potential in biogas energy that could increase energy supply and access in developing countries. Therefore, using a multimethod approach, the paper provides a comprehensive analysis of how an entrepreneurial business model could be developed and integrated into the biogas socio-technical system in Uganda. The analysis from the transitional model canvas shows that current biogas users have a relatively high satisfaction rate (50%) and with the adoption of the entrepreneurial business model this satisfaction could be captured on a wider social spectrum. Results from the feasibility study indicate that by sourcing materials locally, system builders (entrepreneurs) achieve a marginal cost reduction of 64% compared to when they are imported. Both findings from the transitional model canvas and the feasibility study indicate a high probability of not only reducing the supply gap but also a reliable energy source for developing countries and a potential for income generation and employment for the wider society.publishedVersio
Conflict and consensus within the paralympic field: a sociological investigation of an elite disability sport competition
This research provides a sociological investigation of an elite disability sport
competition known as the Paralympic Games. A quadrennial multi-sport
competition for individuals with specific impairments, the Paralympic Games,
is explored in this thesis through the method of semi-structured interviews.
Individuals interviewed included current and former Paralympians, active and
retired disability sport administrators as well as social researchers of disability
and disability sport. A number of themes surface in this research which
identifies and begins to explore the relationships between the core
constituents which influence the Paralympic Games. Assertions about which
bodies have a legitimate claim to be involved in Paralympic sport, alongside
how impaired bodies are used to create an elite disability sport spectacle,
such as the Paralympic Games, remain contested by members and
organisations that influence, through consensus and conflict, the
development of the Paralympic Movement. The Paralympic Games, of
course, has not developed in isolation, but in the context of wider
developments across sport. In relation to this the positive and negative
influences of the International Olympic Committee upon the Paralympic
Games are considered. At the core of the thesis, critical analysis has been
generated through the use of the social theory of Pierre Bourdieu. In
particular Bourdieu’s related concepts of habitus, capital and field, in
conjunction with previous research into the Paralympic Movement and the
extant literature in the field of disability studies, are used to illuminate the
existence of a Paralympic field. The possible manifestation of a Paralympic
field is explored through the empirical data collected. As a result this thesis
highlights the nexus between the sociology of sport and disability studies.
Through the fusion of these fields, and by grounding them in a robust
theoretical framework, it is hoped that this research will add positively to the
literature in this emerging specialism of the sociology of disability sport
Sports for learners with physical disabilities in ordinary schools in the Western Cape
Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio)The aim of this study was to determine the types of sport that are available for the learner with a physical disability in ordinary schools in the Western Cape and what prevents and facilitates participation in sport.South Afric
Expressions of masculine identity through sports-based reminiscence: an ethnographic study with community dwelling men with dementia
Background Despite increasing numbers of men living in isolation with dementia in the community, uptake of supportive interventions remains low. This may be because of limited availability of activities suited to men’s interests. One organisation reporting higher attendance from men is Sporting Memories, offering inclusive sports-based reminiscence and physical activities for men living with dementia. This study aimed to explore the impact of Sporting Memories intervention on men living with dementia. Method This study was an ethnography employing techniques of participant observation, informal conversations and semi-structured interviews with group participants. Data were woven into a series of narratives using creative non-fiction, to bring life to the first-hand accounts of participants and experiences within a typical group setting. Findings The groups provided an environment for men with dementia to explore, reflect upon and reinforce their masculine identities through the subject of sport. Physical activities further facilitated this embodied demonstration for some, although this was not a feature of all sessions. Conclusions The content of Sporting Memories group sessions provides a vehicle for men to retain an important aspect of personhood. They also hold the potential to present opportunities for men to feel a sense of value by contributing to sessions in varied ways. Facilitators and volunteers require support and training to ensure this benefit is maintained
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