2,454 research outputs found

    Antecedents of independent directors on joint venture boards

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    Making a HIIT: High-intensity interval training interventions in educational settings

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    High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is gaining interest in the school setting due to various factors, such as research associating higher intensity physical activity with lower cardiometabolic risk, its similarity children’s intermittent patterns of physical activity, and its time-efficient protocols. The aim of this thesis was to explore the effectiveness and feasibility of HIIT in schools. The first study was a published systematic review and meta-analysis on school-based HIIT (Chapter Two). It determined that compared to a control group, the group completing HIIT had significant improvements to cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and blood biomarkers. However, it identified that current studies had limited involvement of end-users, minimal integration within school practice, and poorly documented evaluations of their intervention implementation. The second study of this thesis, Making a HIIT, aimed to address these limitations. It was guided by self-determination theory and the theory of expanded, extended, and enhanced opportunities. Chapter Three provides its published protocol. In phase one, HIIT workouts were co-designed with students and teachers within the Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum. In phase two, these workouts were incorporated into HPE lessons for an 8-week intervention that was completed by students involved in the co-design process and additional students. A control group continued normal HPE lessons. Chapter Four presents the co-design process used in five classes at three schools (121 students, aged 12 – 14 years) to design 33 HIIT workouts. This included: 1) identifying barriers and facilitators to exercise to create evaluation criteria for the HIIT workouts; 2) using heart rate monitors and engaging in pre-made HIIT workouts; 3) defining HIIT parameters (intensity and interval length); 4) creating HIIT workouts using the parameters and evaluation criteria; 5) trialling and modifying the HIIT workouts based on class feedback and intensity data. Analysis of teacher interviews and student discussions determined the methodology was feasible within the HPE curriculum and supported educative outcomes. A comprehensive process evaluation of the Making a HIIT intervention is presented in Chapter Five. This was guided by the Framework for Effective Implementation. Three schools and 15 classes participated in phase two of Making a HIIT. Overall, 79% of eligible students (n = 308, mean age: 13.0 ± 0.6 years, 148 girls) provided consent. The average number of HIIT workouts provided by teachers and attended by students was 10 ± 3 and 6 ± 2, respectively. During HIIT workouts, the percentage of time students spent at ≥ 80% of heart rate maximum was 55% (interquartile range: 29% - 76%). On average, students rated their enjoyment of HIIT workouts as neutral to positive. Teachers found the workouts simple to implement but provided insights into the time implications of integrating the workouts into their lessons; elements that helped facilitate the HIIT workouts; and the use of HIIT within the classroom. This chapter identified areas for future focus, including methods for maximising dosage delivered, while providing promising insight into the satisfaction of HIIT expressed by students and teachers. Chapter Six expanded on the fidelity of Making a HIIT as discussion on the quantification of heart rate data in the current literature was warranted. It presented evidence of variation in the heart rate data within-students, between-students, and over time. Further, it discussed considerations for fidelity measurement in the school setting and presented rating of perceived exertion (RPE) as an additional option for achieving this. The within-person correlation between heart rate and RPE data (r = 0.39; p < 0.001) suggests RPE is a suitable option when HR is unavailable. Chapter Seven and Chapter Eight evaluated the effects of the HIIT intervention and the possible moderator role of the co-design process. The results of Chapter Seven indicate that the co-design process did not affect students’ initial levels of enjoyment, autonomous motivation, self-efficacy, perceived competence, relatedness, or autonomy during HIIT. Similarly, there were no differences in the groups over time, which could be due to the use of workouts that were designed to: be engaging; modifiable for different abilities; and encourage social interactions. Chapter Eight demonstrated that students completing HIIT had significant improvements over time in cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular power, and inhibition, but that these were not significantly different from the control group. This could be as: 1) the control group was still completing high-intensity physical activity during their HPE lessons; 2) the intervention, which occurred in ‘real-world’ context, was not as effective as previous controlled studies; and 3) the dosage of HIIT was too low for additional improvements in the intervention group to occur. This thesis makes significant and novel contributions to the literature on school-based HIIT through co-designing HIIT workouts, integrating Making a HIIT within the curriculum, and conducting an in-depth process evaluation. Combined, these enhance our understanding of school-based HIIT in an ecologically valid manner. Finally, this thesis identifies challenges that stem from ‘real-world’ implementation of HIIT interventions that warrant future investigation

    Multimorbidity of cardiometabolic diseases and effectiveness of integrated healthcare system response in sub-Saharan Africa

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    This thesis aims to strengthen the responsiveness of healthcare systems to the management of cardiometabolic multimorbidity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). More specifically, four main issues on cardiometabolic multimorbidity in SSA were investigated: the burden of cardiometabolic multimorbidity, chronic care models, the readiness of healthcare facilities to provide integrated care, and the effect of multimorbidity on self-care interventions. A latent class analysis and hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis in part one show that cardiometabolic diseases occur in distinct clusters of concordant and discordant multimorbidity. These clusters are significant predictors of outpatient visits, hospitalisation, functional disability and quality of life. Multimorbidity is disproportionately highest among persons of high socioeconomic status, women, the middle and old-aged, and those with sedentary lifestyles and obesity. A systematic review and meta-analysis in part two shows that integrated care versus standard care improved systolic blood pressure control in people with multimorbidity. In part three, a national facility assessment survey in Kenya shows that only one in every four healthcare facilities (at all levels) was ready to provide integrated care for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. The clinical integration barriers included vertical and unresponsive healthcare services. In part four, a quasi-experimental study of patients with hypertension undergoing a home-based self-care program in Kenya shows that multimorbidity attenuated the effectiveness of patient support groups for hypertension. Overall, the findings of this thesis provide crucial evidence for multimorbidity risk stratification and underscore the importance of tailoring patient-centered care interventions to match the needs of people with cardiometabolic multimorbidity in SSA

    Reading Greek and Hellenistic-Roman Spolia:Objects, Appropriation and Cultural Change

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    Plundering and taking home precious objects from a defeated enemy was a widespread activity in the Greek and Hellenistic-Roman world. In this volume literary critics, historians and archaeologists join forces in investigating this phenomenon in terms of appropriation and cultural change. In-depth interpretations of famous ancient spoliations, like that of the Greeks after Plataea or the Romans after the capture of Jerusalem, reveal a fascinating paradox: while the material record shows an eager incorporation of new objects, the texts display abhorrence of the negative effects they were thought to bring along. As this volume demonstrates, both reactions testify to the crucial innovative impact objects from abroad may have

    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum

    Effects of municipal smoke-free ordinances on secondhand smoke exposure in the Republic of Korea

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    ObjectiveTo reduce premature deaths due to secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among non-smokers, the Republic of Korea (ROK) adopted changes to the National Health Promotion Act, which allowed local governments to enact municipal ordinances to strengthen their authority to designate smoke-free areas and levy penalty fines. In this study, we examined national trends in SHS exposure after the introduction of these municipal ordinances at the city level in 2010.MethodsWe used interrupted time series analysis to assess whether the trends of SHS exposure in the workplace and at home, and the primary cigarette smoking rate changed following the policy adjustment in the national legislation in ROK. Population-standardized data for selected variables were retrieved from a nationally representative survey dataset and used to study the policy action’s effectiveness.ResultsFollowing the change in the legislation, SHS exposure in the workplace reversed course from an increasing (18% per year) trend prior to the introduction of these smoke-free ordinances to a decreasing (−10% per year) trend after adoption and enforcement of these laws (β2 = 0.18, p-value = 0.07; β3 = −0.10, p-value = 0.02). SHS exposure at home (β2 = 0.10, p-value = 0.09; β3 = −0.03, p-value = 0.14) and the primary cigarette smoking rate (β2 = 0.03, p-value = 0.10; β3 = 0.008, p-value = 0.15) showed no significant changes in the sampled period. Although analyses stratified by sex showed that the allowance of municipal ordinances resulted in reduced SHS exposure in the workplace for both males and females, they did not affect the primary cigarette smoking rate as much, especially among females.ConclusionStrengthening the role of local governments by giving them the authority to enact and enforce penalties on SHS exposure violation helped ROK to reduce SHS exposure in the workplace. However, smoking behaviors and related activities seemed to shift to less restrictive areas such as on the streets and in apartment hallways, negating some of the effects due to these ordinances. Future studies should investigate how smoke-free policies beyond public places can further reduce the SHS exposure in ROK

    The Long Lives of Old Lutes: The Cultural and Material History of the Veneration of Old Musical Instruments

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    This study examines the object biographies of musical instruments and the function of age in the cultural and material history of the lute. It follows the central question of why old instruments were valued more greatly than new ones and what measures had to be executed to adapt the objects to the ever-changing musical style. It traces the lute in its several cultural functions from the 17th to the 19th century: as a musical instrument, as a symbol, as a commodity, and as an object that had to be adapted, repaired, and altered by several generations of lute makers. This interdisciplinary approach uses a broad spectrum of sources from treatises, lute manuals, forewords in printed lute music, and depictions of lutes in literature, poetry, and visual arts to construct a narrative of the appreciation of old musical instruments. It investigates the material changes that were necessary to ensure their continued use by a profound study of more than 100 instruments in public and private collections. The different business models and prices in the trade of lutes are compared and connected to the common knowledge about old instruments and their brand characteristics among lute players. This study employs methods from musicology, organology, material culture studies, acoustics, economics, art history, technology, and digital humanities. This multivalent approach enhances the understanding of the general dynamics of commodities as status symbols, object biographies, and functional objects and connects them to the material and cultural history of objects using the lute as a case study.Die Studie untersucht die Objektbiografien von Musikinstrumenten und die Funktion des Alters für die kulturelle und materielle Geschichte von Lauteninstrumenten. Sie geht der zentralen Frage nach, warum alte Instrumente höher geschätzt wurden als neue und welche Maßnahmen ergriffen werden mussten, um die Objekte an den sich ständig verändernden Musikstil anzupassen. Sie verfolgt die Laute in ihren verschiedenen kulturellen Funktionen vom 17. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert: als Musikinstrument, als Symbol, als Gebrauchsgegenstand und als Objekt, das von mehreren Generationen von Lautenbauern angepasst, repariert und verändert werden musste. Der interdisziplinäre Ansatz nutzt ein breites Spektrum von Quellen wie Traktate, Lautenhandbücher, Vorworte in gedruckter Lautenmusik und Darstellungen von Lauten in Literatur, Poesie und bildender Kunst, um die Geschichte der Wertschätzung alter Musikinstrumente nachzuverfolgen. Anhand einer eingehenden Untersuchung von mehr als 100 Instrumenten in öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen werden die Eingriffe untersucht, die notwendig waren, um ihre weitere Nutzung zu gewährleisten. Die unterschiedlichen Geschäftsmodelle und Preise im Handel mit Lauten werden verglichen und mit dem Wissensvorrat unter Lautenisten über alte Instrumente und deren Markencharakteristiken in Verbindung gebracht. Die Studie verwendet Methoden aus der Musikwissenschaft, der Organologie, der materiellen Kulturwissenschaft, der Akustik, der Ökonomie, der Kunstgeschichte, der Instrumentenbautechnologie und der Digital Humanities. Der multivalente Ansatz verbessert das Verständnis der allgemeinen Dynamik von Waren als Statussymbole, von Objektbiografien funktionaler Objekte und verbindet sie mit der materiellen und kulturellen Geschichte der Objekte am Beispiel der Laute

    Our good friends: Community refugee sponsorship in Australia

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    Community sponsorship of refugees is an important mechanism to give refugees access to durable solutions through resettlement and ‘complementary pathways’. Around the world, states are following the pioneering model of sponsorship that has operated in Canada for over 40 years. They have made commitments in the 2016 New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the 2018 Global Compact on Refugees towards implementing programs to enhance refugees’ access to durable solutions, including through community sponsorship. Despite an emerging international practice on community sponsorship, greater clarity is needed to understand how it works in different contexts and the barriers and enablers to success. Australia is unique amongst the countries with existing community sponsorship programs, owing to its long involvement in resettlement and previous attempts of community sponsorship dating back to the 1970s. It has much to learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions and vice versa, much to offer. This thesis undertakes a thorough socio-legal examination of Australia’s experience with community sponsorship spanning 1979 to 2022, consisting of three separate programs. This thesis examines whether the current parameters for community sponsorship are adequate to achieve the objectives of enhancing access to durable solutions for refugees, what lessons Australian policy makers can learn from historical experience, and what principles should guide future policy development in this area. It argues that the current policy parameters are inadequate to allow community sponsorship to meet its objectives, in part because policy makers have paid insufficient attention to historical perspectives. Drawing upon evaluations of Australia’s past and present programs ­— the Community Refugee Settlement Scheme, Community Proposal Pilot and the Community Support Program — the thesis presents a set of overarching principles to underpin future reform, including: the need to foster public-private partnerships; the need for clarity in policy framing around community sponsorship; and the need to engage and sustain widespread community involvement
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