Carer Supports in Reading-Writing for Children with Learning Difficulties: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Pilot Survey

When carers are involved in the reading-writing activities of their children at home, their academic performance shows improvement. In this study, a descriptive exploratory survey research design is used to evaluate the nature, type, length, quality, quantity, extensity, and intensity of such carer supports. Following a six-step tool development process, including a review of the relevant tools, and expert validation, an investigator-designed 10-item unstructured questionnaire was administered through open-ended interviews with a random sample of 143 carers of 120 students (comprised of 60 boys and 60 girls in the age group of 6-15 years) suspected of academic difficulties. The derived data in the form of yes/no responses and descriptive narrations by carers was recorded, content-analyzed, coded, scored, and collaboratively evaluated as frequency counts, percentages, and inferential non-parametric statistics. The results were analysed for key parameters like (i) place of study; (ii) time of study; (iii) study materials; (iv) initiation to study; (v) availability of support; (vi) timetable or curriculum; (vii) supervision; (viii) extracurricular activities; (ix) gadget use; and, (x) future goals. The findings are profiled, discussed, and highlighted along with recommended remedies in light of their implications or utility for reading-writing in such affected children. Keywords: Parents, home settings, study habits, gadget use DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-24-05 Publication date:August 31st 202

Pranic energy sensations experienced by Indian adolescents: A cross-sectional study

502-508Prana is the universal principle of energy or life-force, essential for survival. This vital energy can be felt by almost anybody with guidance and training. Objectives: The present study seeks to assess the extent of sensations during perceiving the pranic energy between hands. The sample consists of 237 National Cadets Corps (NCC) students from northern, southern, eastern and western states of India, with a mean age of 18.0 years. Cross-sectional research design was used in this study. The experiment on prana involves experiencing the prana between the hands. After the experiment on prana, participants were instructed to measure the extent of sensations experienced by them and mark on the centimetres level given against each sensation in the questionnaire. The results were analysed using Pearson chi-square and contingency coefficient analysis. There were significant differences observed between participant’s ratings on each pranic energy sensation ranges from 0 to 30 cm. Participants rated their sensations on cm given, in which the majority of the ratings concentrated more in 1-10 cm and least rating found in 30 cm or more. Participants from different states, irrespective of their region, found alike in perceiving the extent of pranic energy sensations. Experiencing the prana between the hands led the participants to feel and quantify the pranic energy through felt sensations. This study provides the fundamentals of a scientific foundation for understanding the vital energy more concretely. Further theoretical and experimental research is needed to refine and standardize the measurements of life energy

Pranic energy sensations experienced by Indian adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Prana is the universal principle of energy or life-force, essential for survival. This vital energy can be felt by almost anybody with guidance and training. Objectives: The present study seeks to assess the extent of sensations during perceiving the pranic energy between hands. The sample consists of 237 National Cadets Corps (NCC) students from northern, southern, eastern and western states of India, with a mean age of 18.0 years. Cross-sectional research design was used in this study. The experiment on prana involves experiencing the prana between the hands. After the experiment on prana, participants were instructed to measure the extent of sensations experienced by them and mark on the centimetres level given against each sensation in the questionnaire. The results were analysed using Pearson chi-square and contingency coefficient analysis. There were significant differences observed between participant’s ratings on each pranic energy sensation ranges from 0 to 30 cm. Participants rated their sensations on cm given, in which the majority of the ratings concentrated more in 1-10 cm and least rating found in 30 cm or more. Participants from different states, irrespective of their region, found alike in perceiving the extent of pranic energy sensations. Experiencing the prana between the hands led the participants to feel and quantify the pranic energy through felt sensations. This study provides the fundamentals of a scientific foundation for understanding the vital energy more concretely. Further theoretical and experimental research is needed to refine and standardize the measurements of life energy

Amelioration of quality of life and lung function of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by pranic healing as adjuvant therapy

AimsTo study the effects of Pranic Healing (PH), as a complementary therapy to improve lung function, physiological condition and quality of life of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients.MethodsRandomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot study. 21 males with a mean age of 61.6 years and COPD stage II were randomly allocated to PH and control groups. The PH group received PH sessions thrice weekly during the study. The control group received Sham PH. Data was collected during baseline and four scheduled visits of the participants during six months. The primary outcome of the study was to access the reduction in COPD symptoms and to increase participation in physical and social activities by evaluating Spirometry, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD).ResultsSignificant improvement for PH group in Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (p=0.02), SGRQ domains of Activity (p=0.006), Impact (p=0.002), Total (p=0.000), and non-significant change in Symptom domain (p=0.44). PH group showed a positive tendency in 6 MWT and HRSD scores with insignificant difference between the groups. No serious adverse events occurred during the study.ConclusionPH as an adjunct to conventional treatment can improve lung function and quality of life of COPD subjects

Country indicators moderating the relationship between phubbing and psychological distress: A study in 20 countries

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Frontiers Media. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.588174Problematic mobile phone use can be related to negative mental states. Some studies indicate that behavioural dependency is related to variables associated with the country of origin. The aim of our study was to investigate if country indicators moderated the relationship between phubbing and psychological distress. Our sample consisted of 7,315 individuals from 20 countries, who completed the Phubbing Scale and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). The analyses also included country indicators: the Gender Gap Index (GGI), the Human Development Index (HDI), the Social Progress Index (SPI), Hofstede’s dimensions of culture, and the World Happiness Index (WHI). Our results showed that psychological distress was related to at least one dimension of phubbing (i.e., to communication disturbance or phone obsession) in all countries, which means this relationship is culturally universal. The results of the study demonstrate the importance of testing measurement invariance to determine what type of analysis and what type of conclusion are valid in a given study or comparison. Moreover, the increasing or decreasing correlation between phubbing and distress is related to some culture-level indices.This study was financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant no. NCN UMO-2017/26/M/HS6/00779. In Brazil, the data collection was partly funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) under the grant number 424802/2016-3.Published onlin

Effectiveness of systematic desensitization and cognitive behaviour therapy in reduction of depression among obsessive compulsive disorder patients-a comparative study

In this paper we focused on effectiveness of two treatment techniques-cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and systematic desensitization imagination (SDI) on one of the high level co morbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to mean depression among of Iranian OCD patients. A total of 38 participants was selected and then randomly assigned to two groups, where the first group received systematic desensitization imagination and the latter one cognitive behavior therapy. Both the groups were administered Beck‘s depression scale before and after the interventions. To find out the effectiveness of treatment techniques, repeated measure analysis of variance was used to compare the mean scores of the subjects in pre-post treatment. Results indicated CBT was found to be more effective than systematic desensitization technique in reducing depression. Only in behaviour domain, equal effectiveness was observed among the two selected therapy groups in reducing the depression

Effectiveness of systematic desensitization and cognitive behaviour therapy in reduction of depression among obsessive compulsive disorder patients-a comparative study

In this paper we focused on effectiveness of two treatment techniques-cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and systematic desensitization imagination (SDI) on one of the high level co morbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to mean depression among of Iranian OCD patients. A total of 38 participants was selected and then randomly assigned to two groups, where the first group received systematic desensitization imagination and the latter one cognitive behavior therapy. Both the groups were administered Beck‘s depression scale before and after the interventions. To find out the effectiveness of treatment techniques, repeated measure analysis of variance was used to compare the mean scores of the subjects in pre-post treatment. Results indicated CBT was found to be more effective than systematic desensitization technique in reducing depression. Only in behaviour domain, equal effectiveness was observed among the two selected therapy groups in reducing the depression

Effectiveness of rational emotive therapy on shyness: Influence of gender

The present study is designed to find out the effectiveness of REBT on shyness among male and female adolescents in India. A total of 96 participants who had high levels of shyness (having scores more than 72) were selected for the intervention of the study, 48 students as experimental group and 48 as control group. The experimental group underwent REBT intervention for ten sessions. A post test was given to both groups after two weeks. Repeated measure ANOVA was applied to see the effectiveness of REBT on reducing shyness. The findings displayed a significant decrease in the total shyness scores from pre to post test situation irrespective of the groups. Further, gender-wise comparison revealed that male adolescents had significantly reduced shyness than female adolescents. Lastly, male adolescents in experimental group reduced more shyness than any other groups

Effectiveness of Morita Therapy on Reduction of Shyness among adolescents

This study examined the effectiveness of Morita Therapy on shyness among adolescents in Gachsaran (Iran). The sample included 83 students who were selected through the multi-stage random sampling and were assigned into experimental and control groups. They were administered D’Souza’s Shyness Assessment Test (SAT). Shyness of the adolescents was measured through 3domains - cognitive/affective, physiological and action oriented. After initial scrutiny, those with high levels of shyness were selected and divided into experimental and control groups. For the experimental group Morita therapy was applied in 4 sessions for time duration of 4-6 weeks. Again a post test was conducted for both the groups to see the effectiveness of Morita therapy in reducing shyness. Paired samples t tests were applied to see the effectiveness of Morita therapy. The results showed that Morita therapy decreased shyness significantly among adolescents of experimental group in all the domains including total shyness, than the control grou

The effectiveness of Superbrain Yoga on concentration, memory and confidence in school students

741-744Superbrain Yoga (SBY) is based on the principle of ear acupuncture and subtle energy movement in the body. SBY enhances the qualitative and quantitative pranic energy in the brain. The present study aims to improve the concentration, memory, and confidence of students by practicing SBY. The study consists of 1,945 school students from Mysore district, India. SBY was introduced to the students through the teachers for a period of 3 months. After three months, responses from the students were collected using a questionnaire centered on concentration, memory, and confidence facing examinations of students. Attributes harvested from the questionnaire were collected and analyzed with contingency coefficient and Chi-square tests. 86 % of the students reported that by practicing SBY has helped them to face examinations more confidently. Students also reported that their memory has improved by 75.9 % and concentration by 70.5 %. Thus, SBY has improved the overall performance of students in the school