Assessing NGDOs’ Targeting Performance and Characteristics of Households Participating in Child Development Programmes in Rural Eastern Kenya

Targeting beneficiaries of development interventions in the context of poverty alleviation remains a challenge to most development agencies and policy-makers. Due to limited resources and the small scale of operations, most non governmental development organisations’ (NGDOs) practice targeting in order to limit themselves to interventions that only select a group of individuals considered to be most in need. This paper analyses the targeting performance of two child-safety net programmes operating in rural Kenya and examines the factors influencing it. In addition, an econometric model is developed to identify the characteristics of the households participating in these programmes. Data for this paper was collected through a household survey of 120 randomly selected households, stratified equally into participants and non-participants. The targeting performance of the studied NGDOs’ interventions was found to be poor due to reliance on local social structures that led to under-representation of the poorest group of households in programme activities. The paper further shows that although the case study NGDOs and their child programmes could be supporting households with characteristics that indicate that they are not among the well-off in the society, such households do not necessarily belong to the poorest group of community members in relative terms

Participation in sport and physical activity: Associations with socio-economic status and geographical remoteness

BACKGROUND: Many factors influence participation in sport and Physical Activity (PA). It is well established that socio-economic status (SES) is a critical factor. There is also growing evidence that there are differences in participation patterns according to residential location. However, little is known more specifically about the relationship of PA participation and frequency of participation in particular contexts, to SES and residential location. This study investigated the relationship of participation, and frequency and context of participation, to SES and location. METHODS: Three aspects of participation were investigated from data collected in the Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) 2010 of persons aged 15+ years: any participation (yes, no), regular participation (<12 times per year, ≥ 12 times per year) and level of organisation of participation setting (non-organised, organised non-club setting, club setting). RESULTS: The rates of both any and regular PA participation increased as SES increased and decreased as remoteness increased. However, participation in PA was SES- or remoteness-prohibitive for only a few types of PA. As remoteness increased and SES decreased, participation in many team sports actually increased. For both SES and remoteness, there were more significant associations with overall participation, than with regular participation or participation in more organised contexts. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the complexity of the associations between SES and location across different contexts of participation. Nevertheless, it seems that once initial engagement in PA is established, SES and remoteness are not critical determinants of the depth of engagement

Population levels of sport participation: implications for sport policy

Abstract Background Participation in sport can contribute to health-enhancing levels of leisure-time physical activity. There are recent reports that participation in sport in Australia is decreasing. However, these studies are limited to ages 15 years and over. Methods This study integrates sports club membership data from five popular team sports and investigates sport participation across the lifespan (4–100 years) by sex and region (metropolitan/non-metropolitan). Results Overall participant numbers per annum increased from 414,167 in 2010 to 465,403 in 2012 corresponding to a rise in the proportion of Victorian’s participating in these sports from 7.5 % in 2010 to 8.3 % in 2012. The highest proportion of participants was in the 10–14 year age range, with participation rates of 36 % in 2010 and 40 % in 2012. There was a considerably lower participation rate in the 15–19 year age group compared to the 10–14 age group, in all three years studied, and the decline continued progressively with increasing age. Male and female age profiles of participation were generally similar in shape, but the female peak at age 10–14 was sharper than for the males, and conversely there were very few 4 year old female participants. Participation rates were generally higher in non-metropolitan than metropolitan areas; the difference increased with increasing age from 4 to 34 years, then steadily declined, reaching parity at around 60 years of age. Conclusions It is a positive sign that participation in these popular sports increased by over 50,000 participants from 2010 to 2012. Large proportions of the population aged 5–14 participate in club based sport. Participation rates decline sharply in late adolescence, particularly for females, and while this may not be a concern from a broad health perspective so long as they transition into other forms of physical activity, it is certainly a matter of concern for the sport sector. It is recommended that sport policy places a higher priority on grass-roots participation and that sporting organisations are supported to prioritise the retention issues occurring during adolescence, particularly for females so as to maximise the potential for sport to maintain its positive contribution to population wellbeing

A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport

Background: There are specific guidelines regarding the level of physical activity (PA) required to provide health benefits. However, the research underpinning these PA guidelines does not address the element of social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by children and adolescents. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model.Methods: A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included.Results: A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 30 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being improved self-esteem, social interaction followed by fewer depressive symptoms. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health above and beyond improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, team sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the fact that the majority of studies identified (n=21) were cross-sectional.Conclusion: It is recommended that community sport participation is advocated as a form of leisure time PA for children and adolescents, in an effort to not only improve physical health in relation to such matters as the obesity crisis, but also to enhance psychological and social health outcomes. It is also recommended that the causal link between participation in sport and psychosocial health be further investigated and the conceptual model of Health through Sport tested. © 2013 Eime et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.C

Performance Modelling of Consolidated Virtual Machines

With rapid and flexible resource provisioning of virtualization in data centers, problems of determining optimal virtual machine (VM) placements and dealing with virtualization overheads have emerged due to workload fluctuations and changing needs. These challenges have impacts on system performance.In this work, a performance model based on queuing theory, statistical methods and basic theories on system performance is proposed in which the researcher models the response time distribution of an application performance metric conditioned on variables that can be measured or controlled, such as system resource utilization and allocation metrics. The research also examined the relationships between virtualized CPU allocation, CPU contention, and application response time to identify the influence of CPU allocation and how it affects system performance.Comparing estimated values with measured values, empirical result shows that the proposed model validated for all the CPU allocations in the experiments conducted. The response time increases as workload increases; it is also observed from the analysis that the response time increases with low CPU. Thus by varying the CPU allocation base on business needs, am optimal point can be reached such that the CPU can be efficiently managed

Knowledge Sharing Attitudes of Library and Information Science Professionals in Nigeria

Knowledge sharing in an organization nowadays has been a strong force toward attaining organizational goals. Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals are at the forefront of information gathering and dissemination, and at such, knowledge sharing among such professionals needs to be investigated.  The study examined the attitudes of LIS professionals in Nigeria toward knowledge sharing; and they comprised the population of the study in this research. The responses were collated through online survey using Google forms; the link was posted on Nigerian Library Association online platform and WhatsApp groups of all the library professionals in Nigeria, given a timeframe of two weeks for data collection.  Descriptive statistics was employed for data analysis. Ninety-four responses were recorded within a space of two weeks.  The results revealed that the attitudes of LIS professionals to knowledge sharing with a grand mean score of 4.5, which indicated positive attitudes. The avenue for knowledge sharing varies significantly from Conferences, Seminars, Face-to-face with social media platforms. Also, years of work experience was found to have significant influence on intrinsic motivational factors to sustain knowledge sharing attitudes of the professionals in library and information science specialty in Nigeria. The second hypothesis was also rejected for the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis that states that extrinsic motivation has significant influence on knowledge sharing attitudes of library and information science professionals in Nigeria. Therefore, the study recommends, among, others that a mentoring programme be established for peer-to-peer and promotion of knowledge sharing should further be strengthened. Keywords: Extrinsic motivation, Intrinsic motivational factors, Knowledge sharing attitudes, Knowledge sharing, Library and Information Science Professionals, Nigeria. DOI: 10.7176/IKM/11-1-01 Publication date: January 31st 202

A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for adults: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport

Background: The definition of health incorporates the physical, social and mental domains, however the Physical Activity (PA) guidelines do not address social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by adults. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model of Health through Sport. Methods: A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included. Results: A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 11 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being wellbeing and reduced distress and stress. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health in addition to improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, club-based or team-based sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. Notwithstanding this, individuals who prefer to participate in sport by themselves can still derive mental health benefits which can enhance the development of true-self-awareness and personal growth which is essential for social health. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the cross-sectional nature of studies to date. Conclusion: It is recommended that participation in sport is advocated as a form of leisure-time PA for adults which can produce a range of health benefits. It is also recommended that the causal link between participation in sport and psycho-social health be further investigated and the conceptual model of Health through Sport tested. © 2013 Eime et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Developing Metacognitive Instructors through a Guided Journal

Metacognitive instructors incorporate awareness and timely self-regulation in their teaching practice to support their current students’ learning. This exploratory study, using mixed methods, gathered empirical data to extend the work on student metacognition by documenting teacher experiences with metacognitive instruction, the impact of instructor use of a guided journal on the development of metacognitive instruction practices, and students’ perceptions of instructor responsiveness to their learning and engagement. Journal Intervention (N = 40) and Control (N = 33) instructors from five institutions and their students (N = 796) responded to multiple questionnaires throughout a semester. Data revealed significantly more baseline familiarity with and engagement in reflective teaching than metacognitive instruction for both groups. Within the Intervention group, qualitative data consistently suggested a positive impact from engagement with the journal, especially with respect to an increased focus on learning objectives and student engagement (rather than on content coverage) in pre-lesson planning, and on being aware of how students were achieving the learning objectives. Significant positive correlations were found between instructor use of the journal and student ratings of instructor responsiveness to their learning and engagement, and instructor use of effective instructional practices. Although instructors were enthusiastic overall about using the journal and incorporating metacognitive instruction, they did report barriers including time, existing habits, and uncertainty about alternate instructional practices. Based on our findings, we share strategies for using our journal prompts as a tool to facilitate faculty development of metacognitive instruction

Instilling Normal Saline with Suctioning: Beneficial or Harmful?

Use of normal saline in suctioning has been an established practice in health care professions for decades. Researchers have found that this practice can cause infection; however, use of normal saline remains common practice among health care providers. The purpose of this EBP project is to compare the effects on respiratory infection rates of normal saline lavage and not using normal saline during suctioning of patients with tracheostomies or endotracheal tubes. A literature review was conducted searching the following databases: CINHAL, Cochrane Library, and JBI CONNECT. Key words searched included tracheostomy, intubation, normal saline, nursing, respiration, and suctioning. Limitors included: English language, research, peer reviewed, and journals. The publications we researched focused on normal saline use in suctioning in patients with endotracheal tubes or tracheostomies. Samples included patients with pulmonary infection who were intubated and mechanically ventilated. Study designs included randomized experimental, controlled trial, blinded outcome, non-experimental survey, post-test only, and retrospective chart review. Overwhelming evidence supports that instillation of normal saline during suctioning may be harmful. Implementing a policy prohibiting the use of saline during suctioning was proposed. Adherence to the policy and nosocomial infection rates of patients requiring suctioning will be monitored for evaluation over six months