Exercise, Service and Support: Client Experiences of Physical Activity Referral Schemes(PARS)

Physical activity referral schemes (PARS) represent one of the most prevalent interventions in the fight against chronic illness such as coronary heart disease and obesity. Despite this, issues surrounding low retention and adherence continue to hinder the potential effectiveness of such schemes on public health. This article reports on the second stage of a larger investigation into client experiences of PARS focusing specifically on findings from five client-based focus groups and interviews with five Scheme Organisers. The resulting analysis reveals three main factors impacting participant perceptions of the quality of service and support received: the organisation of PARS provision, client engagement with the PARS community and the nature and extent of client support networks. The article demonstrates that staff have a considerable role to play in engaging clients in the PARS system and that Scheme Organisers should give serious thought to ensuring that clients have valuable and sustainable networks of support. Furthermore, it is suggested that Scheme Organisers need to facilitate a system in which staff are genuinely engaged with the needs of clients and are able to provide individualised programmes of physical activity

Learners' perceptions of their successes and failures in foreign language learning

This is a postprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in the Language Learning Journal © 2004 Copyright Taylor & Francis; Language Learning Journal is available online at http://www.informaworld.comResearch into learners’ attributions for their successes and failures has received considerable attention. However very little has been carried out in the area of learning foreign languages. This study is timely in view of the current interest by the government in promoting foreign languages. The aims of the study were (1) to investigate secondary students’ attributions for their success and failures in learning foreign languages (2) to examine the ways in which these vary according to age, gender, perceived success and specific language studied. The sample consisted of 285 students between the ages of 11 and 16 studying French, German and Spanish in five secondary schools in the UK. A simple open questionnaire was administered by language teachers, consisting of a personal evaluation by students of their perceived level of success as learners of specific foreign languages and their attributions for success and failure in those domains. The resulting responses were analysed by means of a grounded theory approach allowing categories to emerge from the data. The resultant categories were then tabulated according to student age, gender, and language learnt, together with level of perceived success. Over one thousand attributional statements gave rise to 21 attributional categories for doing well and 16 categories for not doing well at language learning. A far wider range of attributions were identified than is generally shown in the research literature, six of which were most commonly called upon as reasons for both success and failure. Clear differences emerged between boys and girls, year groups, perceived success and language studied. These results and, in particular, the lack of clarity in the learners’ comments about strategy use and the lack of focus on metacognitive strategies, have important implications for policy makers and for teachers of foreign languages in UK schools. In addition there are important implications for future research in this area

A qualitative exploration of nurses leaving nursing practice in China

AIM: This paper reports a theoretical understanding of nurses leaving nursing practice by exploring the processes of decision‐making by registered nurses in China on exiting clinical care. BACKGROUND: The loss of nurses through their voluntarily leaving nursing practice has not attracted much attention in China. There is a lack of an effective way to understand and communicate nursing workforce mobility in China and worldwide. DESIGN: This qualitative study draws on the constant comparative method following a grounded theory approach. METHOD: In‐depth interviews with 19 nurses who had left nursing practice were theoretically sampled from one provincial capital city in China during August 2009–March 2010. RESULTS: The core category ‘Mismatching Expectations: Individual vs. Organizational’ emerged from leavers’ accounts of their leaving. By illuminating the interrelationship between the core category and the main category ‘Individual Perception of Power,’ four nursing behaviour patterns were identified: (1) Voluntary leaving; (2) Passive staying; (3) Adaptive staying and (4) Active staying

Immunomodulatory tetracyclines ameliorate DNBS-colitis : impact on microRNA expression and microbiota composition

Objective: The use of immunomodulatory antibiotics to simultaneously target different factors involved in intestinal inflammatory conditions is an interesting but understudied pharmacological strategy. A great therapeutic potential has been obtained with minocycline and doxycycline in experimental colitis. Therefore, understanding the contribution of the different activities of immunomodulatory tetracyclines is crucial for the improvement and translation of their use into clinic. Design: A comparative pharmacological study including tetracyclines and other antibiotic or immunomodulatory drugs was performed in 2,4-dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS)-induced colitis in mice. The correlation between the therapeutic efficacy of each drug and changes in the gut microbiota composition, markers of barrier integrity, inflammatory mediators, microRNAs and TLRs was analysed to identify the main mechanisms of action. Results: Tetracyclines counteracted most of the markers found altered in DNBS-colitis, which differed from effects of corticosteroid treatment. Of note, administration of tetracyclines led to increased mucosal protection, associated with up-regulated expression of CCL2, miR-142 and miR-375. All drugs with antibiotic activity ameliorated the progression of inflammation and reduced neutrophil-related genes, such as miR-223, despite their effects were not associated with restored intestinal dysbiosis. However, reduced bacterial richness was correlated with increased expression of TLR2 and TLR9 in antibiotic-treated groups and TLR6 was also up-regulated by the immunomodulatory tetracyclines with higher efficacy (doxycycline, minocycline and tigecycline). Conclusion: The anti-inflammatory effect of tetracyclines involves specific modifications in TLR and microRNA expression leading to an improved microbial-derived signalling and mucosal protection. These results support the potential of immunomodulatory tetracyclines to prevent inflammation-associated tissue damage in acute intestinal inflammation

Petroleum potential of the Falkland Islands offshore area

Rocks of Precambrian, Palaeozoic and Early Mesozoic ages are present on the Falkland Islands. The islands are surrounded by extensive Mesozoic-Cenozoic basins that developed as failed rift systems during the initial stages of Gondwana separation. Large tracts of acreage in three of these basins (the Falkland Plateau Basin, South Falkland Basin and North Falkland Basin) were opened for licensing for the first time in October, 1995. The area has undergone little exploration other than the acquisition of regional seismic data, and interpretations of stratigraphy and basin history are therefore somewhat conjectural. The basins are believed to contain Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous syn-rift sediments. Probable marine and lacustrine source rocks, and reservoir rocks eroded from clean Palaeozoic quartzites, are predicted to occur within this syn-rift succession. Thick argillaceous intervals probably accumulated during a post-Valanginian thermal sag phase. This sag phase was interrupted by regional uplift, particularly during the Early Cenozoic. A variety of “play” concepts can be established within each basin, and potentially large structural targets can be defined on the reconnaissance seismic data available from the area. The region is considered to be one of the World's last true “frontier” exploration areas, where large, deep, Mesozoic failed-rift basins remain to be drilled and explored