1,721,081 research outputs found
Exploration of the Physical Activity Guidelines for People with Multiple Sclerosis
Full text linkBackground
Despite the numerous benefits of exercise and the publication of the physical activity guidelines (PAG) in 2013, most people with multiple sclerosis (PWMS) remain physically inactive. Appropriately supported opportunities to engage in physical activity in the community remain scarce, so the extent to which the PAGs inform practice is unclear. The overarching aim of the thesis was to explore what helps PWMS engage in exercise in the community, using
the physical activity guidelines as a guide. To achieve this, the thesis explored the exercise experiences, preferences, and support needs of PWMS.
Methods
The research programme included four connected studies using a range of methodologies. Study 1 (Chapter 3) adopted a qualitative approach to explore the thoughts of people with high MS disability. Study 2 (chapter 4) was a mixed-methods feasibility study to explore high-intensity interval training in PWMS. Study 3 (chapter 6) was a qualitative study exploring the opinions of healthcare professionals and PWMS. Study 4 (chapter 8) was a mixed-methods evaluation of a community-based exercise intervention. Additionally, the
thesis includes a scoping review (chapter 5) and a systematic intervention development process using the behaviour change wheel (chapter 7). A pragmatic theoretical perspective underpins the research programme as findings were pursued that are applicable in practice and the
community.
Key Findings
The PAGs for PWMS lack inclusivity and provide little detail of exercise prescription and application. High-intensity exercise was safe and feasible for PWMS but with limited long-term appeal. For PWMS and some healthcare professionals, there is a need to change their perception of exercise professionals' competence in working with PWMS. Additionally, healthcare professionals state that discussing exercise with their patients is not a priority. Within the community, interventions are primarily aimed at people with mild MS. Also, PAGs and behaviour change theory are used sporadically in community interventions. Encouragingly,
a community-based intervention underpinned by BCT and structured using the PAGs was well attended by participants, improved constructs of the COM-B model, and may improve physical activity levels, fatigue, quality of life, self-efficacy, and physical function.
Conclusions
The PAGs exist to help support PWMS to exercise in the community. The deep understanding of the exercise experiences, preferences, and needs of PWMS gleaned through
this body of work suggests that the PAGs are currently ineffective, as the infrastructure is not in place for PWMS to enact the behaviour. Theory-informed community-based interventions show promise and need to be used to create an ecosystem where PWMS feel capable, and have the opportunities, and motivation to engage in exercise
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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