4095 research outputs found
Sort by
The Felt-Sense as a pathway to Nature relatedness: an exploratory mixed-method study with university students
Full text linkBackground: A connection to nature is known to enhance wellbeing and promote psychological restoration. Pathways to nature connectedness, such as sensory engagement,
emotional bonding, appreciating beauty, meaningful contact, and compassion for nature –
have been widely studied, the embodied ways through which we experience nature remain
underexplored. The “felt-sense” – an embodied awareness of internal sensations – has emerged as a potential but underexplored pathway to nature connectedness. This exploratory mixed-methods study investigates this gap within the current literature by exploring whether a short felt-sense intervention in natural settings can foster wellbeing and strengthen nature connectedness among university students.
Methods: The study employed a concurrent embedded mixed-methods design. Participants
(Mean age = 26.3, SD = 12.2) included 16 females, 5 males, and 2 non-binary individuals.
Quantitative measures were collected pre- and post-intervention using validated scales for
nature relatedness, wellbeing, and motivation for future nature engagement. Qualitative data
was gathered through reflective expressions, including written accounts, poetry, and art,
following a seven-day felt-sense intervention conducted in outdoor natural settings.
Findings: Qualitative thematic analysis identified five key themes: enhanced wellbeing,
deeper connection with nature, self and relational insights, behavioural transformation, and
characteristics of the intervention. Participants reported relaxation, emotional processing,
and a heightened sense of belonging to the natural world. Quantitative results revealed
significant improvements in the Nature Relatedness-Self (NR-Self ) subscale, indicating a
strengthened personal connection to nature. Other measures showed positive trends, though not statistically significant.
Conclusions: The felt-sense appears to be a promising pathway for fostering nature
relatedness and enhancing wellbeing. Future research should examine its long-term
impacts, potential applications in mental health rehabilitation, and its role in promoting
sustainable behaviours. Integrating the felt-sense into nature-based interventions could
provide an accessible, cost-effective strategy for improving mental health and environmental engagement. With its flexibility, the felt-sense pathway could also be utilised as a day-to-day coping strategy to foster stronger wellbeing through engagement with nature
Effects of acute high-intensity aerobic exercise on cognition: the potential roles of motivation and perceived energy levels
Full text linkHigh-intensity exercise is theoretically proposed to enhance hippocampal-related cognition and impair prefrontal cortex (PFC)-related cognition when assessed immediately following exercise. However, empirical evidence has not consistently supported these effects. This study was designed to address this discrepancy between theoretical predictions and empirical findings while accounting for the potential influences of psychological factors (i.e., motivation, perceived energy availability, and perceived energy cost) on cognitive outcomes (i.e., n-back and mnemonic similarity tasks) immediately following high-intensity exercise. Fifty-five young healthy adults participated in a within-subject experiment comprising four separate visits. Each visit involved a 20-minute session of either high-intensity exercise or standing on a treadmill (no exercise), followed by tasks assessing either PFC- or hippocampal-related cognition. Subsequently, a 20-minute delayed cognitive assessment for the same cognitive domain was conducted to evaluate both immediate and delayed cognitive performance. Assessments of each psychological construct were conducted after the exercise/rest condition and before the initial cognitive task. Results indicated that acute high-intensity exercise did not significantly influence performance on either PFC- or hippocampal-related cognitive task. However, additional analyses revealed that higher task-related motivation was positively associated with PFC-related performance immediately following exercise. Although participants reported greater perceived mental energy after exercise than rest, this change was not accompanied by cognitive improvements. These findings suggest that psychological factors, particularly state motivation, may play a limited yet meaningful role in shaping cognitive responses to acute high-intensity exercise
Exploring virtual reality based executive function training for primary-aged students with executive dysfunction: a mixed methods case series
No full textExecutive dysfunction (EDF) is associated with poorer academic outcomes, increased social and emotional difficulties and decreased wellbeing (Diamond & Ling, 2019), and therefore understanding how children with EDF can be effectively supported is of vital importance. VR-based executive function training offers one solution, however, there is currently little evidence as to how children with EDF respond to training, specifically with regard to presence and agency. This study adopted a case series approach and explored children’s experiences of VR-based EF training. 4 participants were recruited, all of whom were identified as experiencing EDF. VR training consisted of 12 fifteen-minute sessions over 4 weeks and was delivered using the EF training game Koji’s Quest. Participants completed EF tests before and after the training and gave qualitative feedback at the end of each session. Changes in executive function, mindset and motivation were compared to a previously assessed sample of neurotypical children, and these results then provided context for a qualitative analysis. This exploratory study suggests that presence and agency may play distinct roles in creating a learning environment for children with EDF, and further research is recommended in order to understand their impact more fully
Ashwagandha root extract stabilises physiological stress responses in male and female team sports athletes during pre-season training
Full text linkObjectives: This study investigates the effects of 600 mg/day Ashwagandha root extract on physiological stress biomarkers, perception of recovery, muscle strength and aerobic capacity in team sports athletes during pre-season training, a period associated with elevated cortisol and accumulated training stress. Methods: Fifty-six athletes (26.8 ± 4.4 years, 1.74 ± 0.10 m, 79.4 ± 17.3 kg, 11.0 ± 7.1 career years) across rugby, water polo and football were randomly assigned to an Ashwagandha (ASH; n = 28, 14 males and 14 females) or placebo (PLA; n = 28, 14 males and 14 females) group for 42 days. Salivary biomarkers were assessed after training, muscle strength and aerobic capacity were measured during training, and perception of recovery was evaluated with Hooper Index (HI) the following day. Mixed ANOVA was used to determine group × time interactions and Bonferroni post hoc analyses were conducted for multiple pairwise comparisons. Results: In female athletes, salivary cortisol increased significantly in PLA (p = 0.001), while recovery parameters such as the overall HI score (p = 0.001), Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) (p = 0.008) and perception of fatigue (p = 0.026) scores improved significantly in ASH. In males, salivary cortisone increased significantly in PLA (p = 0.022), while Countermovement Jump (CMJ) improved significantly in ASH (p = 0.018). Pull-up performance increased in both PLA (p = 0.004) and ASH (p < 0.0001) in males. Conclusions: Supplementation with 600 mg/day of Ashwagandha root extract for 42 days may stabilise stress biomarkers, improve perception of recovery and enhance muscle strength in team sports athletes during pre-season training. The trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with the ID NCT07041853
Stakeholder engagement, disruptive technology and governance of population health screening programmes: a UK perspective
No full textThis chapter offers a regional perspective from the UK, examining the contemporary governance of population health screening programmes, the role of stakeholder engagement and the challenges presented by new genomic technology. It draws upon the workings of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) in two interconnected areas.
First, it examines the role and impact of public dialogue and stakeholder engagement in decision-making, the formation of recommendations and governance of public health screening programmes. Here, building trust and confidence are seen as important and justifying features for appropriate stakeholder consultation, collaboration and communication. In this context, we highlight the ongoing public dialogue initiated by Genomics England and UK NSC about the possible future use of whole-genome sequencing in newborn screening.
Secondly, the chapter examines the UK NSC Ethical Framework for Screening. This introduces four high-level and transparent ethical principles that aim to help guide decision-making by the UK NSC: (1) improve health and wellbeing; (2) treat people with respect; (3) promote equality and inclusion; and (4) use public resources fairly and proportionately. The decision to adopt this framework raises some obvious questions about the practical translation of these principles across screening practices and as a legitimate response to technological disruption. The explicit commitment by UK NSC that all the principles are ‘equally as important as each other’ may not only prove difficult to apply in practice in multi-stakeholder environments but ethically contentious, if and when those principles come into conflict.
The UK NSC's commitment to greater transparency and accountability appears to be a positive step for its future governance. Similarly, the adoption of an ethical framework suggests that the NSC recognises the burden that they have to provide ethical justification for their decision-making. However, there remain some important questions about their role and legitimacy as a body explicitly tasked with providing advice to the Executive and the NHS. For example, does the UK NSC have the appropriate set of principles, mechanisms of stakeholder engagement and processes to accommodate pluralistic viewpoints across the scientific and wider community; whilst simultaneously navigating the complex boundary between the public health rationale(s) for screening and the need for ethical medical practice in response to technological disruption
Co-designing narrative resources for implementation in lower limb amputation rehabilitation
Full text linkNarratives help people to make sense of illness and trauma experiences. Exposure to a breadth of narratives is proposed to offer validation, reassurance and support well-being. Previous research constructed five narratives from people with major lower limb amputation (MLLA). However, efforts to bridge the research-practice gap, and meet clinical priorities by translating the narratives into resources, remained. This study aimed to illustrate an immersive co-design process and develop narrative resources for healthcare professionals working within, and people undergoing MLLA rehabilitation. Commissioned by a National Health Service (NHS) MLLA rehabilitation centre, a 27-month rigorous co-design process was undertaken. An immersive, iterative three-stage process involving multiple end-user groups (e.g. patients, therapists, managers) and co-design activities (e.g. immersion, workshops) was used. Two co-design workstreams were undertaken, one to develop resources for people with MLLA and one for new allied healthcare professionals (AHPs). Outcomes included perceptions of the narratives (e.g. authentic, awareness raising), content and format priorities (e.g. visual, novel), and factors likely to influence implementation and engagement (e.g. readiness, existing knowledge). Two narrative resource packages were co-designed for use in MLLA rehabilitation. The importance of context, and the dilemmas of sharing regressive narratives in clinical practice are discussed
My coach says: The effects of accelerated eccentric and landing cues to elicit change in countermovement jump propulsive and landing performance
No full textThe study aimed to determine if an accelerated eccentric (AE) cue during a countermovement jump (CMJ) produces distinct kinetic outputs. Eighteen strength-trained males (mean ± standard deviation ±SD: age = 25.9 ± 4.5 years; body mass = 87.1 ± 12.2 kg; stature = 181.7 ± 6.2 cm) completed a jump cue ("jump as high and fast as possible" (NORM) or AE ("fast downward, max braking, and jump as high and fast as possible") with two types of landing cues: deceleration eccentric (DC) ("decelerate as fast as possible once landed") and dissipating eccentric (DP) ("stop in your own time"). The Hawkin Dynamics Cloud system was used for jump analysis, including additional landing metrics. Participants performed 4 repetitions of AEDC, AEDP, NORMDC, and NORMDP in a randomized order on two separate occasions. When compared to the NORM conditions, the AE conditions had significantly greater peak and mean braking velocity (effect size (ES) = -0.77 to -0.89 and -0.60 to -0.83, respectively), mean braking power (ES =-0.56 to -0.59, mean braking force (ES = 0.40 to 0.46), braking impulse (ES = 0.35 to 0.41), force at minimal displacement (ES = 0.26 to 0.32), and peak propulsion force (ES = 0.24 to 0.26), with a reduced braking phase time (ES = 0.59 to 1.14). Only landing impulse showed acceptable reliability for landing metrics, with no significant differences between groups. Findings highlight AE's enhance braking (eccentric) metrics and overall CMJ performance. Future research should explore AE in strength-based exercises and further investigate CMJ landing phase metrics
The impact of gender diversity on expression - the language of sexuality - how early childhood studies students understand the semantics of gender dysphoria
Full text linkGender diversity is a current and much debated topic. Students are entering university with contemporary meanings and beliefs around the use of language in the discussion of gender that can challenge traditional value systems surrounding biological determination. This qualitative research was carried out with Early Childhood Studies students by means of self-directed focus groups. The aims were to investigate students’ views on the language of gender diversity, gender differences, and the extent to which language can reflect and create gender identity. The research finding provides deeper understanding about how a group of traditional and non-traditional students interpret, use, and understand the language of gender. Keywords: Gender dysphoria, gender inclusive language, discourse, semantics, identit
Investigation of types of subjective mixed emotion experiences for self or other in early childhood
No full textAim: Children, adolescents and adults demonstrate the experience of opposite valence emotions at the same time when using a visual graph. We applied an Analogue Emotion Scale (AES) showing intensity and duration of mixed emotion experiences, and an exhaustive coding scheme to assess whether children in early childhood understand and graph known patterns and additional types of mixed emotional experiences. Methods: 112 children (59 girls) aged 5 - 7 years forming 2 age groups in the UK mainstream system (Year 1 n= 56, Year =2, n=56) were recruited across the UK allocated on the basis of alternation by gender on class lists to one of two conditions hearing vignettes describing mixed emotion events in an age and gender matched protagonist or themselves (other, n = 57 and self, n = 55). Findings: Graphs of new types of flexuous, vertical and other experiences were identified alongside sequential, prevalent, highly simultaneous and inverse types of experiences identified in older populations. Limitations: Real events may impact different mixed emotional response than a vignette approach and could form the basis for future study. Conclusions: The AES uncovered more simultaneous mixed emotional types than previously identified in early childhood. The utility of the findings in emotion assessments is discussed
Experiences of individuals living with dementia, caregivers, and service providers regarding independence-enhancing technologies: focus group insights
No full textThis study explored the views and opinions of individuals living with dementia, caregivers, and healthcare professionals on assistive technologies that facilitate independent living. Using a qualitative approach, the researchers conducted focus groups with 35 participants in England. Findings revealed both the benefits and limitations of technologies like medication management devices, activities of daily living aids, GPS tracking, and smart home systems. While participants recognized the potential to enhance independence and safety, they highlighted usability, reliability, and technological failure as significant challenges. The complexity of digital interfaces and the cognitive demands of online interactions emerged as key barriers. Participants expressed a strong desire for more adaptive, user-friendly, and responsive technologies. The study underscores the importance of user-centered design and collaboration between developers, caregivers, and people living with dementia. By addressing the identified issues, future assistive technologies can improve quality of life for individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. These insights can guide the development of more effective, accessible, and ethical assistive technologies in dementia care