Technology as tool to overcome barriers of using fitness facilities: A health behavioural perspective

Underlying health conditions have been highlighted throughout the literature preventing several populations from engaging in physical activity. There have been little to no attempts made in addressing these populations directly in fitness facilities or indirectly using information technology (IT). The current research aimed at exploring current barriers and practices regarding IT and technological support in a fitness facility environment, using health behaviour theories (HBT) to explain member experiences. The sample was composed of 66 participants selected from 5 fitness facilities in Manchester, UK, of which there were 60.6% males and 39.4% females aged from 18-59. The instrument used was a survey. Health motives were reported by 71.2% of the participants, while ‘injury’ (reported by 70.2%), ‘lack of knowledge about exercise and health’ (reported by 42.4%), and ‘illness’ (reported by 28.1%) as main barriers to use the facilities. The main support mechanisms provided by the facilities management were staff support (59%), with online and technological support only accounting for 38.6% of facility support. The use of personal IT within the facilities were utilised by over half the participants (50.2%). The study revealed the need of additional IT support by fitness facilities in the form of applications and digital platforms. The findings are discussed with HBT as the theoretical underpinnings and suggestions are made for future research regarding IT advancements as support mechanisms

e-Agriculture revisited: A systematic Literature Review of Theories, Concept, practices, methods, and future trends.

Agriculture is one of the dominant fields that shape the socioeconomic development of any country. Technological advancements and innovations served as tools to share knowledge and practices of agricultural activities and make better lives for farmers, traders, policy makers, and the overall society. It is evident that Knowledge has become a very important factor in production, food security, education, poverty alleviation, and other millennium development goals. This paper, points out the a gap on how the existing body of knowledge about e-agriculture is built in terms of research policies, theorization, methodological tools, success/failure, and future trends. Aiming to fill this gap, our paper offers a systematic review of the e-agriculture literature based on Heeks (2006) that help understanding the linkages between the needs assessment, adoption of ICT in agricultural value chains, outreach/limitations of ICT in agricultural, diffusion of e-agricultural applications, and the impact of these technological innovations on the society

The role of chatterbots in enhancing tourism: a case study of Penang tourism spots

Chatterbots have been widely used as a tool for conversational booking assistance mainly for hotels such as the Expedia. This paper extends the use of chatterbot beyond booking by presenting the proof of concept of a chatterbot expert system called the VIZARD. The proposed VIZARD is developed using an expert system shell called verbot. The core of Vertbot 5 is the natural language processing (NLP) engine based on pattern matching. The core Verbot 5 engine is responsible for finding matches to a given user input string and firing the appropriate rule. The findings from the user acceptance test concluded that majority of the respondents agreed that the VIZARD expert system stands at an unbiased state while being more aligned on supporting the usefulness of the system

Social Media

In this chapter you will: 1) understand the dynamics of social media-based communities, their composition and behaviours 2) learn to conduct a social media audit including competitor analysis 3) recognise the importance of a blog as a centre of digital presence development 4) use amplification strategies to develop brand presence explore the concept of social capital and its relationship to brand engagement activities 5) develop tactics for measuring social media based, their quality and quantity

The Effects of Low Level 660nm Laser Irradiation on Pain and Teeth Hypersensitivity after Periodontal Surgery

INTRODUCTION: Tooth pain and sensitization are the two main causes of discomfort after periodontal flap surgery. Effects of low level laser therapy for reducing pain have already been established; these kinds of lasers have been used for tooth desensitization as well. This controlled blind study sought to compare tooth pain and sensitization after 660nm laser irradiation in a split mouth and also in a control group after periodontal flap surgery.METHODS: Forty patients were enrolled in this study. In these entire patients periodontal flap surgery was done in the upper anterior segment. In the test group, by tossing of a coin the left or right side was determined for laser irradiation, so central incisor, lateral incisor and canine were irradiated by swiping motion of 660nm laser (AZOR, Russia) 25mW, 4.5 J, and 3 min every other day starting one day after surgery; and in collateral segment a placebo probe was put to blind the patients. In the control group, dressing was used after surgery. One, 3, 5 and 7 days after surgery for both groups visual analog score (VAS) for tooth pain and sensitization were recorded for both sides in each patient.RESULTS: In the laser group, both sides had lower VAS for pain than the control group (P< 0.05) after the first day. There was no statistical difference in the laser group between laser irradiated, or non-irradiated segment and for sensitization between groups.CONCLUSION: Pain can be reduced after periodontal surgery by using low level 660nm laser therapy. Lower pain in both sides in the laser group may be the result of the spread of mediators and neurotransmitters secreted after laser irradiation, or may be because of scattered radiation in the collateral part

The Administrative Challenges Facing Charity Organizations and Methods of Confronting Them: A Study on a Sample of Omani Charity Organizations

The aim of this study is to identify administrative challenges that negatively affect the proper functioning of charity organizations in Oman. The study also seeks to suggest some general methods which can be used to confront these challenges. The study is conducted on a sample of charity organizations’ staff consisting of 209 workers, in addition to 15 managers in eight organizations working in five governorates: Muscat, Batinah North, Al-Sharqia North, Al-Dakhelia, and Dhofar. The study identified the following challenges which charity organizations in Oman face in varying degrees: administrative planning, organization, staffing, supervision, records and reporting, budgeting and financing, coordination, leadership, decision making and organizations’ environment. The study shows that between 15–25% of the respondents in the selected charity organizations think that there are no real challenges facing the charity organizations they work for. The study proposes some recommendations that can help in facing such challenges. These include a suggestion that there should be organized efforts made by the charity organizations themselves and also by educational and social institutions

Assessment of Interleukin 1-β in Controlled and Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Background: Type 2 diabetes has been identified as an immune-mediated disease characterised by poor insulin signaling and selective death of insulin-producing cells, with cytokines playing a key role. Disturbance of the antiinflammatory response could be a key component of the type 2 diabetes-causing chronic inflammation. The cytokine family interleukin 1 (IL-1) plays a key function in endocrinology and the regulation of inflammatory stress responses.Objective: The aim of this work is to assess the role of interleukin 1β, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (controlled and uncontrolled) compared to healthy individuals.Patients and Methods: A case control study was conducted on 80 adults, ranging from 25-60 year old, attending the endocrine or internal medicine clinic in Ain Shams University Hospital. They were divided into 3 groups :Group (1): 30 controlled type 2 diabetic patients on oral hypoglycemic. Group (2): 30 recently uncontrolled type 2 diabetic patients over the last 6 months, on oral hypoglycemic. Group (3): 20 healthy individuals.Results: Serum IL-1β was significantly increased in recently uncontrolled diabetics than controlled diabetics and normal subjects. Serum IL-1β was positively correlated with fasting blood sugar (FBS), 2 hours post prandial (2 hrs PP), glycosylated Hemoglobin (HBA1C), triglycerides (TG) and HOMA IR and there was a negative correlation with high density lipoproteins (HDL). Conclusion: The significant difference in the level of interleukin 1β among the studied groups highlights an implication of interleukin 1β in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetic patients