181 research outputs found
Sul “pensiero performativo”
No full textSpeech on the RTH 10-year anniversary meeting, 8 May 2023, Ispf-Cnr Library Hall. The Author analyses the Evolving Philosophy section of the scientific journal RTH. This section is intended as a space for reflection on the most sensitive philosophical and ethical-political issues of our time, always investigated in a dialogical relationship with authors and theoretical perspectives of the past. The section also intends to solicit research on the transposition of Humanities into the languages of the arts, understood as a tool for a broader dissemination of cultural content functional to the promotion of a “critical citizenship”.Intervento in occasione dell’incontro per il decennale di RTH, 8 maggio 2023, Sala della Biblioteca Ispf-Cnr. L'Autore analizza la sezione Evolving Philosophy della rivista scientifica RTH. Questa sezione vuole essere uno spazio di riflessione sulle questioni filosofiche ed etico-politiche più sensibili del nostro tempo, sempre indagate in un rapporto dialogico con autori e prospettive teoriche del passato. La sezione intende inoltre sollecitare ricerche sulla trasposizione delle scienze umane nei linguaggi delle arti, intese come strumento per una più ampia diffusione di contenuti culturali funzionali alla promozione di una “cittadinanza critica”
Le riviste scientifiche come spazio di incontro e di confronto
No full textSpeech on the RTH 10-year anniversary meeting, 8 May 2023, Ispf-Cnr Library Hall. The Author observes that in the panorama of psycho-pedagogical journals Research Trends in Humanities stands in a very peculiar region. It does not openly belong to Societies in the pedagogical field, but rather stands as a meeting place for the Humanities. The two study dimensions of Education and Philosophy find in this journal a natural, cultural and transdisciplinary meeting place.Intervento in occasione dell’incontro per il decennale di RTH, 8 maggio 2023, Sala della Biblioteca Ispf-Cnr. L’Autore osserva che nel panorama delle riviste di ambito psico-pedagogico Research Trends in Humanities si pone in una regione davvero peculiare. Non appartiene dichiaratamente a Società di settore pedagogico, ma piuttosto si pone come luogo di incontro di Scienze Umane. Le due dimensioni di studio dell’Educazione e della Filosofia trovano in questa rivista un luogo di incontro naturale, culturale e transdisciplinare
Optimal design of experiments with simulation models of nearly saturated queues
No full textexperimental design;simulation models;queueing network;regression analysis
Co-develop physical activity intervention with community-dwelling older adults : a community-based participatory research approach
No full textThis thesis aims to develop a social-ecological based physical activity (PA) intervention model that connects community-dwelling older adults, social service agent and the freely accessible built environment resources in Hong Kong for disease prevention and health promotion. Using the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to develop the intervention, older adults of the community collaborated with the author and social worker and became active contributors in disease prevention and health promotion in their community. The new intervention model encourages older adults to make the best use of resources in their immediate home and neighbourhood environment to perform PA that complies to the World Health Organization PA guideline for older adults.
The first study explored older adults’ PA experiences in “Elderly fitness corners” (EFCs) in parks by interviews and observations. Findings of the first study demonstrated that EFCs are not merely a space for physical exercise, but a place that connects older adults to their peers and nature. Data revealed that older adults performed freestyle and unstructured PA routines at the EFCs without much concept in the frequency, intensity, type and, duration of PA that can achieve health benefits. This provides ground for the need of health education on PA.
The second study applied community-based participatory methodologies (i.e. qualitative GIS and photovoice) to explore community-dwelling older adults’ active locations, awareness and, perceptions of EFCs in a low-income neighbourhood in Hong Kong. Key findings revealed that older adults were aware of EFCs, yet most of them did not use it. Older adults perceive positively on EFCs. However, at the same time, they thought the space is crowded, far, unsafe, and affected by weather conditions. Also, in terms of usage, some expressed that although there is instruction available, they have poor vision and do not have adequate literacy to understand the instruction board. Some expressed that they were afraid of injury; they thought the exercise is monotonous, and there is inadequate promotion on the facility.
The main study is the development of the social-ecological based PA intervention using the CBPR approach and the evaluation of it using mixed-methods. The author, community-dwelling older adults, and social worker collaborated and formed a working group and gone through ten sessions of meetings to decide the delivery methods and the content of the PA intervention. As a result, a 5-week PA educational intervention, and a neighbourhood-tailored PA manual was developed. All the parties delivered the intervention together in the community. A mixed-methods evaluation of the intervention revealed that the PA intervention effectively changed a significant portion of participants from not complying to WHO PA guideline for older adults to the compliance of the guideline. The PA behavioural change was maintained at six months follow up. There were also significant changes in exercise attitudes, blood pressure level, and balance ability. Qualitative data validated quantitative data and complemented quantitative data by showing the intervention increased social connectedness and successfully increased participants’ usage and knowledge of PA facility and equipped participants to better utilize PA facilities in the neighbourhood.published_or_final_versionSocial Work and Social AdministrationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Self-compassion and bio-psychosocial well-being : the application of mindful self-compassion training on cancer survivors in Hong Kong
No full textBackground: Cancer has profound bio-psycho-social impacts on cancer survivors. There is imminent need for psychosocial program that might address the multi-faceted challenges of cancer survivorship. Although self-compassion training has received increasing attention in the West, little is known about its clinical application.
Objectives: Study 1 explores the psychometric properties of the Chinese adaptation of the Self-Compassion Scale and its short-form. Study 2 and 3 aim to assess the potential benefits of the Mindful Self-Compassion program as a psychosocial support program for Chinese cancer survivors of mixed cancer and of colorectal cancer respectively.
Methods: Study 1 adopted a survey study design. A community sample of 455 adults were surveyed, and a subset of 287 were surveyed in the test-retest administration. An independent sample of 292 healthy adults were surveyed for cross-validation and short-form validation. Confirmatory Factor Analysis, regression analyses, and correlation analyses were conducted to assess the psychometric properties, validity, and reliability of the scale in Chinese.
Study 2 adopted a non-blind, randomized controlled study design with wait-list control. A total of 37 Chinese cancer survivors were surveyed on their level of self-compassion, mindfulness qualities, psychological well-being, quality of sleep, cancer-related symptomatology, and emotional regulation indicated by heart rate variability.
While Study 3 adopted a non-blind, randomized controlled study design with qualitative data from in-depth interviews. A total of 37 Chinese colorectal cancer survivors were surveyed. Repeated measure ANCOVA and Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons were conducted to assess the effectiveness Mindful Self-Compassion program; and themes were identified from the in-depth interviews to obtain fined-grained information regarding the potential effectiveness of the program.
Results: Study 1 suggested that self-compassion could be conceptualized by the 6-factor model proposed by its original author, or by the culturally relevant 2 second-order factors model. Findings demonstrated that the scale in Chinese and its short-form are valid and reliable instruments for use in research and clinical practice.
Study 2 showed statistical significant improvements on self-soothing attitude, mindfulness qualities, depressive symptoms, positive affect, cancer-related psychological symptoms, and emotional regulation as indexed by heart rate variability. Findings also pointed to potential benefits of self-compassion in reducing anxiety and negative affect, as well as in improving sleep and cancer symptoms.
Study 3 showed statistical significant improvement on self-soothing attitude among colorectal cancer survivors. Although not statistically significant, findings also suggested patterns of improvement on measures of psychological well-being, emotional regulation, and cancer-related symptoms. Nevertheless, qualitative data showed that participants of the Mindful Self-Compassion program reported enhanced self-awareness, better sleep, and the ability to response to daily life adversity with acceptance and non-reactivity.
Conclusion and discussion: The scale validation study offered a robust, and psychometrically sound measurement of self-compassion in Chinese. Results of the randomized controlled trials showed that self-compassion can be cultivated through training; they also yielded preliminary evidence to potential benefits of self-compassion on biopsychosocial well-being of cancer survivors. Further research is necessary to yield further support the application of Mindful Self-Compassion program in cancer care, and to further our understanding in the underlying mechanisms of how self-compassion works.published_or_final_versionSocial Work and Social AdministrationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Heat losses in ATES systems: The impact of processes, storage geometry and temperature
No full textThe technical and economic success of an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) system depends strongly on its thermal recovery efficiency, i.e. the ratio of the amount of energy that is recovered to the energy that was injected. Typically, conduction most strongly determines the thermal recovery efficiency of ATES systems at low storage temperatures (<25 °C), while the impact of buoyancy-driven flow can lead to high additional heat losses at high storage temperatures (>50 °C). To date, however, it is unclear how the relative contribution of these processes and mechanical dispersion to heat losses across a broad temperature range is affected by their interaction for the wide range of storage conditions that can be encountered in practice. Since such process-based insights are important to predict ATES performance and support the design phase, numerical thermo-hydraulic ATES simulations were conducted for a wide range of realistic operational storage conditions ([15–90 °C], [50,000–1,000,000 m3/year]) and hydrogeological conditions (aquifer thickness, horizontal hydraulic conductivity, anisotropy). The simulated heat loss fractions of all scenarios were evaluated with respect to analytical solutions to assess the contribution of the individual heat loss processes. Results show that the wide range of heat losses (10–80 % in the 5th year) is the result of varying contributions of conduction, dispersion and buoyancy-driven flow, which are largely determined by the geometry of the storage volume (ratio of screen length / thermal radius, L/Rth) and the potential for buoyancy-driven flow (q0) as affected by the storage temperature and hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer. For ATES systems where conduction dominates the heat losses, a L/Rth ratio of 2 minimizes the thermal area over volume ratio (A/V) and resulting heat losses for a given storage volume. In contrast however, the impact of dispersion decreases with L/Rth and particularly for ATES systems with a high potential for buoyancy-driven flow (q0 > 0.05 m/d), increasingly smaller L/Rth ratios (<1) strongly reduce the heat losses due to tilting. Overall, the results of this study support the assessment of thermal recovery efficiencies for particular aquifer and storage conditions, thereby aiding the optimization of initial ATES designs.Geo-engineeringWater Resource
Cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients: Factor mixture models with continuous non-normal distributions
No full textpostprin
Regaining control of emotional expression: dance movement therapy for childhood sexual abuse survivors
No full textlink_to_subscribed_fulltex
Investigating the effectiveness of Dance Movement Therapy Program on childhood sexual abuse survivors
No full textWhole-body angular momentum during stair ascent and descent in individuals with and without knee osteoarthritis
No full textGiven the higher fall risk and the fatal sequelae of falls on stairs, it is worthwhile to investigate the mechanism of dynamic balance control in individuals with knee osteoarthritis during stair negotiation. Whole-body angular momentum () is widely used as a surrogate to reflect dynamic balance and failure to constrain may increase the fall risk. This study aimed to compare the range of between people with and without knee osteoarthritis during stair ascent and descent. Seven participants with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and eight asymptomatic controls were instructed to ascend and descend an instrumented staircase at a fixed cadence. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected and range of in sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes were computed. The knee osteoarthritis group exhibited greater in the sagittal plane during both stair ascent (P = 0.005, Cohen’s d = 1.7) and descent (P = 0.020, Cohen’s d = 1.3) as well as in the transverse plane during stair descent (P = 0.015, Cohen’s d = 1.3), than the control group. These observations may be explained by greater hip flexion (P 1.12) and reduced knee flexion moment (P P = 0.038, Cohen’s d=-1.2) during stair descent, in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. No significant difference in frontal plane was found between the two groups (P > 0.05). Individuals with knee osteoarthritis exhibited greater whole-body angular momentum during stair negotiation when compared to asymptomatic controls. Our findings may provide mechanistic rationale for a greater fall risk among people with knee osteoarthritis.This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors
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