Plymouth Marjon University Repository
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Evaluation of a tactic to engage hard-to-reach patients during the exercise referral process: a longitudinal qualitative study
No full textObjectives
General practitioners (GPs) have been reluctant to promote physical activity with overweight and obese patients, due to concerns about damaging the GP patient relationship. A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted to evaluate a small group of health professionals (HPs) and their patients’ perspectives of the referral process for exercise in a Primary Care setting.
Methods
12 patients aged 55-74 and their 6 referring HPs, including 5 GPs and 1 Practice Nurse. Semi-structured interviews took place on two occasions over an 8 month period in a Primary Care Health Centre. Transcripts of recorded interviews were coded and thematically analysed using a grounded theory approach.
Results
HPs and patients identified difficulties associated with broaching the subject of obesity. HPs identified that tensions could arise when discussing weight management and exercise. Patients identified disliking the way that their HP had introduced the subject of obesity and the need for physical activity. The patients later acknowledged that the consultation where a direct approach was used (shock tactic), was the motivation necessary to engage them with the exercise referral scheme.
Conclusion
Shock tactics by HPs can be an effective method of engaging hard-to-reach patients with a physical activity intervention. NHS service commissioners should consider training HPs to identify and engage patients that would benefit from such an approach
A Lesson Learned in Time: Advice Shared by experienced Sport Psychologists
Get PDFThrough experience, sport psychologists will learn countless valuable lessons. Some lessons, however, are likely to stand out vividly to a psychologist because they made a valuable difference to how they practise. The present project focuses on these outstanding lessons. In essence, sport psychologists who had been practising for between 11 and 28 years (mean ± SD = 19 ± 5) were asked to share their most valuable advice about any aspect of sport psychology client work with other sport psychologists. This publication presents participants' full responses
A review of the impact of kinesiology tape on fascial chains and flexibility
No full textKinesiology tape (K-tape) has been increasingly applied to both amateur and elite athletes since its rise to popularity at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. K-tape has been reported to enhance muscular flexibility, through mechanisms which are not well understood, but are thought to be due to fascial manipulation. This article discusses the current research and ideas about flexibility and how K-tape might enhance it
Developing students’ energy literacy in higher education
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This paper aims to investigate students’ energy literacy at a UK university, and recommends ways in which it can be enhanced using a behaviour change model. Developing students’ energy literacy is a key part of the “greening” agenda, yet little is known about how students develop their ideas about energy use and energy saving at a university.
Design/methodology/approach
The research utilised a mixed-methods approach including an online survey (with 1,136 responses) and focus groups.
Findings
The research identified strengths and weaknesses in students’ energy literacy, and noted the relative influence of formal and informal curricula. The potential for aligning these curricula is highlighted through the 4Es model of enable, engage, exemplify and encourage.
Research limitations/implications
The research involved a single instrumental case-study site. The wider applicability of the findings should therefore be tested further in other institutions.
Practical implications
The research suggests ways in which universities might better support their students in making more sustainable energy-related behaviour choices, and it indicates the importance of knowledge as well as attitudes.
Social implications
The research may have implications for the energy-saving behaviours of individuals in the wider society.
Originality/value
Attempts to reduce energy use in higher education are widely seen in campus operations. This research provides an indication of the potential for enhancing energy-saving through different forms of curricula
The Flow and Pressure Relationships in Different Tubes Commonly Used for Semi-occluded Vocal Tract Exercises
Get PDFThis experimental study investigated the back pressure (pback) versus flow (U) relationship for 10 different tubes commonly used for semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTE), i.e., 8 straws of different lengths and diameters, a resonance tube and a silicone tube similar to a Lax Vox tube. All tubes were assessed with the free end in air. The resonance tube and silicone tube were further assessed with the free end under water at the depths from 1 to 7 cm in steps of 1 cm. The results showed that relative changes in the diameter of straws affect pback considerably more compared to the same amount of relative change in length. Additionally, once tubes are submerged into water, pback needs to overcome the pressure generated by the water depth before flow can start. Under this condition, only a small increase in pback was observed as the flow was increased. Therefore, the wider tubes submerged into water produced an almost constant pback determined by the water depth, while the thinner straws in air produced relatively large changes to pback as flow was changed. These differences may be taken advantage of when customizing exercises for different users and diagnoses and optimizing the therapy outcome
Theorizing Relational Privacy: Embodied Perspectives to Support Ethical Professional Pedagogies
No full textNavigating grounded theory: a critical and reflective response to the challenges of using grounded theory in an education PhD
Get PDFThis paper offers a critical reflection upon the use of a grounded theory approach within a doctoral study. As well as providing an outline of grounded theory, it begins by noting the existence of some powerful critiques of a grounded theory approach, in particular around the key concepts of ‘theory’, ‘discovery’ and ‘ground’. It is argued that, in some cases, grounded theory struggles to counter these challenges, especially in its ‘purist’ forms. However, with reference to research carried out as part of a PhD study of sharing education in Northern Ireland which employed a grounded theory approach, a case is made for an open and critical grounded theory based upon three principles: pragmatism; research as practice; and reflexivity. It is concluded that a reasonable case can be
made for grounded theory where: grounded theory researchers maintain a balance between belonging to
and critique of the grounded theory community; where there is an emphasis upon theorizing rather than the discovery of theory; and where the strengths of grounded theory as 'practice' and 'craft' are maximised
Sustainability: what the entrepreneurship educators think
Get PDFPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the understanding and presence of sustainability within entrepreneurship education. The extant literature on sustainability within the entrepreneurship discipline remains extremely limited. Previously, sustainability within an entrepreneurship context has related to economic viability as opposed to sustainability in its broadest sense. This study explores, through a survey of entrepreneurship educators, three key research questions, namely, how entrepreneurship educators believe that entrepreneurs can contribute to solving sustainability problems. Second, to what extent education about sustainability is integrated within existing entrepreneurship curricula. Finally, what considerations are being made to include sustainabilitywithin future programmes.
Design/methodology/approach – This study represented part of a larger university project exploring the associations between the sustainability and entrepreneurship disciplines. This part of the study involved a web-based survey from entrepreneurship academics drawn from Australia, New Zealand, UK, and the USA which provided 54 completed questionnaires.
Findings – The study uncovered much good practice led by “champions” within the entrepreneurship discipline. However, embedded sustainability practice was typically limited and it was more typically regarded as an “add-on” to traditional entrepreneurial teaching.
Practical implications – The study proposes three ways in which sustainability might be more meaningfully integrated into entrepreneurship programmes. First, the QAA (2012) guidelines for enterprise and entrepreneurship need to be reconsidered to encapsulate the sustainability agenda. Second, for entrepreneurship educators to reconsider their pedagogical approaches to encapsulate systems thinking as more holistic educational perspective. Finally, the authors call for entrepreneurship educators to revise their programmes to embed the core facets of social, environmental, economic, and more recently ethical sustainability.
Originality/value – The study offers a novel insight into entrepreneurship educators attitudes to sustainability and their approach to it within their curricula. This study provides an initial benchmark regarding the levels ofsustainability provision within entrepreneurship curricula which will be ofinterest to the entrepreneurship academic community, the sustainability community, and policy makers
Learning Theories in Childhood
No full textFocusing on the early philosophies of learning and key behavioural, cognitive, and social theorists, including Locke, Rousseau, Montessori, Piaget, Vygotsky, Bandura, Bronfenbrenner & Bruner, this popular book provides a comprehensive overview of children's learning. The authors highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each theoretical perspective, and encourage reflection on how different approaches impact on the learning environment. The discussion finishes with an exploration of the new sociology of childhood