Cyber-Security Policy Decisions in Small Businesses

Cyber-attacks against small businesses are on the rise yet small business owners often lack effective strategies to avoid these attacks. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies small business owners use to make cyber-security decisions. Bertalanffy\u27s general systems theory provided the conceptual framework for this study. A purposive sample of 10 small business owners participated in the interview process and shared their decision-making methodologies and influencers. The small business owners were vetted to ensure their strategies were effective through a series of qualification questions. The intent of the research question and corresponding interview questions was to identify strategies that successful small business owners use to make cyber-security decisions. Data analysis consisted of coding keywords, phrases, and sentences from semi structured interviews as well as document analysis. The following themes emerged: government requirements, peer influence, budgetary constraints, commercial standards, and lack of employee involvement. According to the participants, budgetary constraints and peer influence were the most influential factors when making decisions regarding cyber-security strategies. Through exposing small business owners to proven strategies, the implications for social change include a reduction of their small business operating costs and assistance with compliance activities

SHOULD ATHLETES USE THEIR STRONGER LEG ON THE FRONT BLOCK DURING THE SPRINT START?

The aim of this study was to understand force production differences Men alternating feet on the starting blocks. The hypothesis was that the dynamically stronger leg should be on the front. Utilising force plates, eight male athletes performed starts alternating the front foot on the block, as well as single leg vertical countermovement jumps to test dynamic strength. In total, 121 starts were analysed. At the group level, there were no statistically significant differences in any of the force variables between dynamically stronger and weaker leg. The results raised some doubts to the theory that the stronger leg should be on the front block during the sprint start. Consequently, the advice for coaches training developing athletes is to allow athletes to use the block settings they feel comfortable with, rather than trying to overanalyse which leg should be on the front or rear block

Paediatric nurses’ attitudes towards the promotion of healthy eating in children and their families.

Background Obesity is a significant public health issue causing many ill-effects. Arguably nurses should be advocates and role models for healthy eating promotion as part of obesity prevention. However, there is limited research available relating specifically to paediatric nurses as health promoters, their promotion of healthy eating or their attitudes towards being role models for health behaviours. Objectives To investigate paediatric nurses’ attitudes towards the promotion of healthy eating in children and their families. To investigate whether personal health factors (in this case body weight) of paediatric nurses has any influence on their attitudes towards the promotion of healthy eating in children and their families. Method A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted across the paediatric wards and departments at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The questionnaire assessed participants’ attitudes towards paediatric nurses being role models for health promotion and towards the promotion of healthy eating to children and families, including their self-efficacy as a factor within this. Findings The main findings of this study were that participants’ attitudes towards healthy eating promotion and paediatric nurses as role models were not always consistent with their actions. Self-efficacy and a disagreement regarding whose responsibility health promotion was were further factors affecting participants’ attitudes. Although many participants felt that they could improve their health promotional practices, their knowledge of healthy eating, and their own health behaviours need to be significantly improved first. Conclusions A qualitative study would allow for further exploration of paediatric nurses’ attitudes towards the promotion of healthy eating in children and their families. Furthermore, with more time and resources, a study could be carried out in multiple centres so as to gain a wider understanding of attitudes, as well as producing results that can be better generalised to paediatric nurses as a whole population

Should athletes use their stronger leg on the front block during the sprint start

The aim of this study was to understand force production differences Men alternating feet on the starting blocks. The hypothesis was that the dynamically stronger leg should be on the front. Utilising force plates, eight male athletes performed starts alternating the front foot on the block, as well as single leg vertical countermovement jumps to test dynamic strength. In total, 121 starts were analysed. At the group level, there were no statistically significant differences in any of the force variables between dynamically stronger and weaker leg. The results raised some doubts to the theory that the stronger leg should be on the front block during the sprint start. Consequently, the advice for coaches training developing athletes is to allow athletes to use the block settings they feel comfortable with, rather than trying to overanalyse which leg should be on the front or rear block

Behavioral Attributes Of Turbine Entrainment Risk for Adult Resident Fish Revealed By Acoustic Telemetry and State-Space Modeling

Background Fish entrainment through turbine intakes is one of the major issues for operators of hydropower facilities because it causes injury and/or mortality and adversely affects population abundance. Entrainment reduction strategies have been developed based on the behavior of downstream migrating fishes, particularly diadromous species. However, knowledge of the behavior of migratory fishes has very limited application for reducing the entrainment of resident fishes, including several species that represent important recreational and aboriginal fishery resources in reservoirs. In this study, we used fine-scale acoustic telemetry and state-space modeling to investigate behavioral attributes associated with entrainment risk of resident adult bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in a large hydropower reservoir in British Columbia, Canada. Results We found that adult bull trout resided longer in the vicinity of the powerhouse and moved closer to the turbine intakes in the fall and particularly in the winter. Bull trout were more likely to engage in exploratory behavior (characteristic of foraging or reduced activity) during periods when their body temperature was lower or higher than 6°C. We also detected diel changes in behavioral attributes, with bull trout distance to intakes and probability of exploratory behavior slightly increasing at night. Conclusions We hypothesize that the exploratory behavior in the forebay is associated with foraging for kokanee (nonanadromous form of Oncorhynchus nerka), which have been shown to congregate near the dams of hydropower reservoirs in the winter. Our study findings should be applicable to bull trout populations residing in other reservoirs and indicate that entrainment mitigation (for example, use of deterrent devices) should be focused on the fall and winter. This work also provides a framework for combining acoustic telemetry and state-space models to understand and categorize movement behavior of fish in reservoirs and, more generally, in any environment with fluctuating water levels

Examination of the comfort and pain experienced with blood flow restriction training during post-surgery rehabilitation of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction patients: A UK National Health Service trial.

Examine the comfort and pain experienced with blow flow restriction resistance training (BFR-RT) compared to standard care heavy load resistance training (HL-RT) during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) patient rehabilitation. Randomised controlled trial. United Kingdom National Health Service. Twenty eight patients undergoing unilateral ACLR surgery with hamstring autograft were recruited. Following surgery participants were block randomised to either HL-RT at 70% repetition maximum (1RM) (n = 14) or BFR-RT (n = 14) at 30% 1RM and completed 8 weeks of twice weekly unilateral leg press training on both limbs. Perceived knee pain, muscle pain and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed using Borg's (1998) RPE and pain scales during training. Knee pain was also assessed 24 h post-training. There were no adverse events. Knee pain was lower with BFR-RT during (p  0.05) for both BFR-RT and HL-RT. ACLR patients experienced less knee joint pain and reported similar ratings of perceived exertion during and following leg press exercise with BFR-RT compared to traditional HL-RT. BFR-RT may be more advantageous during the early phases of post-surgery ACLR rehabilitation. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Physical activity in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: prevalence of inactivity and perceived barriers

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of physical inactivity and perceived barriers to physical activity among individuals with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and to determine potential demographic, clinical and health-related factors influencing likelihood of meeting physical activity guidelines.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of consecutive patients (n=198) with HCM attending a specialist HCM centre from July 2014 to November 2015. The primary outcome measure was physical activity (minutes per day), as measured by self-report (International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)) and objective means (ActiGraph accelerometer). For both, participants were classified as meeting guidelines if they did at least 150 min per week of physical activity. Quality of life (Short Form-36 V.2, SF-36v2), barriers to exercise and clinical–demographic data were also collected.Results: In total, 54.8% of participants did not meet physical activity recommendations based on IPAQ, and 12.7% did not meet guidelines based on accelerometer data. The most commonly identified barriers to exercise were ‘pain interferes with my exercise’ (33%) and ‘I have an injury/disability that stops me’ (29%). Independent factors associated with meeting guidelines included older age (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.85, p=0.002), higher education level (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.08 to 4.93, p=0.03), better physical quality of life (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.09, p=0.05) and more reported barriers (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.91, p=0.01).Conclusions: More than half of the patients with HCM did not meet minimum physical activity recommendations. Several barriers to exercise among individuals with HCM exist, and provide the basis for targeted interventions to promote physical activity and improve overall health in patients with HCM