Search Results (188)

Background: During childhood and adolescence, personality development is continuous. Younger people—defined in this study as high-school students aged 14 to 18—are particularly receptive to change. The health behaviors formed during this period can significantly influence health in later life. Therefore, families and schools play a crucial role in promoting a healthy lifestyle. In our research, we examined the relationship between psychosocial resources (social support and school resources) and the regularity and intensity of physical activity. Methods: In this study, “appropriate physical activity” refers to the level and intensity of activity recommended by the World Health Organization—namely, at least 60 min per day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for adolescents. We conducted our cross-sectional research in Hungary, Western Transdanubia, using convenience sampling among high-school students (n = 331). Data collected with a self-edited and standardized questionnaire (MSPSS, HBSC school resources and school social support) were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics 22 program with a t-test, ANOVA and χ² test (p < 0.05). Results: In the case of the time spent on physical activities per week, boys (p < 0.05) and younger people (p < 0.05) showed a much more favorable picture. Examining the intensity of regular physical activity among students who belonged to the appropriate range, the average values of family social support were significantly higher (p < 0.05), but this association was not observed for social support from friends or significant others (p > 0.05). The amount of movement was not differentiated by support from others (p > 0.05). The level of attitude towards their school was higher among students who performed physical activity of the appropriate quality and quantity (p < 0.05). Teachers’ assessment of school performance and the quality of the relationship with teachers showed a correlation with physical activity performed at the appropriate intensity (p < 0.05). Conclusions: We found a positive effect of family and school resources on the regularity and intensity of physical activity, which draws attention to strengthening the partnership between family and school, improving the school atmosphere and social support within the school, increasing students’ attachment to their institution. The combination of these resources can help children lead a more active and healthier life, which has a beneficial long-term impact on their physical and mental well-being. The cooperation between parents and schools is crucial in supporting young people in adopting a healthy lifestyle. Full article

Dietitian-led grocery store tours (GSTs) educate consumers about nutrition. Virtual GSTs could increase access to nutrition education. A feasibility study was conducted to determine participant acceptability and their physiological responses to a virtual GST using immersive virtual reality (IVR), a desktop monitor (PC), or a tablet. Participants were asked to report to the laboratory on three occasions to view a virtual GST. Physiological measurements were collected, and participants completed questionnaires about their feelings of presence, nausea, mood, and enjoyment during the virtual GST. Participants experienced a greater sense of presence (IVR = 5.8, PC = 2.6, tablet = 2.6; p < 0.05) with a greater feeling of nausea (IVR = 1.7, PC = 0.4, tablet = 0.4; p < 0.05) in the IVR treatment. Participants enjoyed the IVR GST more than the tablet GST (IVR = 5.3, PC = 4.6, tablet = 4.1; p < 0.05). There were marginal effects of treatment on heart rate (p < 0.05) but not on other physiological measures. There were no differences in the participants’ willingness to recommend a virtual GST given the use of different technologies to a friend or in the participants’ reported mood. Virtual GSTs, using different technologies, may be a feasible approach to provide nutrition education Full article

Next point-of-interest (POI) recommendation aims to predict users’ future visitation intentions based on historical check-in trajectories. However, this task faces significant challenges, including coarse-grained user interest representation, insufficient social modeling, sparse check-in data, and the insufficient learning of contextual patterns. To address this, we propose a model that combines check-in trajectory information with user friendship relationships and uses a Transformer architecture for prediction (TraFriendFormer). Our approach begins with the construction of trajectory flow graphs using graph convolutional networks (GCNs) to globally capture POI correlations across both spatial and temporal dimensions. In parallel, we design an integrated social graph that combines explicit friendships with implicit interaction patterns, in which GraphSAGE aggregates neighborhood information to generate enriched user embeddings. Finally, we fuse the POI embeddings, user embeddings, timestamp embeddings, and category embeddings and input them into the Transformer architecture. Through the self-attention mechanism, the model captures the complex temporal relationships in the check-in sequence. We validate the effectiveness of TraFriendFormer on two real-world datasets (FourSquare and Gowalla). The experimental results show that TraFriendFormer achieves an average improvement of 10.3% to 37.2% in metrics such as Acc@k and MRR compared to the selected state-of-the-art baselines. Full article

Background and Objectives: Self-medication includes the use of drugs or herbal preparations based on one’s own discretion or the recommendation of another person, often a family member, friend, neighbor, or even a pharmacist, without prior examination and consultation with a doctor. The goal of this study was to determine respondents’ reasons for using self-medication, determine the frequency of self-medication, and analyze differences in respondents’ attitudes about self-medication in relation to several factors. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional observational study. The respondents were patients seeking medical examination at the Health Center in Jagodina who had used over-the-counter medications during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 175 respondents participated in the study. The study design provided answers to questions about the respondents’ self-medication habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: More than half of the respondents (53.71%) bought medicines without a prescription, with most cases involving analgesics (52.83%). Almost three-quarters of the respondents were completely vaccinated (74.29%) against COVID-19. Additionally, 39.62% of participants used vitamins as part of their self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the vitamins, respondents most commonly used a combination of vitamins C and D (20.75%), vitamin D (5.66%), vitamin C (5.66%), and vitamin A (1.89%). Conclusions: Self-medication for the treatment of coronavirus is more often used by younger respondents, who are not yet married, do not have their own income, and rarely visit a doctor. As for supplements, respondents used zinc, and as for vitamins, respondents mostly used a combination of vitamins C and D. Full article

Friend link prediction is an important issue in recommendation systems and social network analysis. In Location-Based Social Networks (LBSNs), predicting potential friend relationships faces significant challenges due to the diversity of user behaviors, along with the high dimensionality, sparsity, and complex noise in the data. To address these issues, this paper proposes a Heterogeneous Graph Attention Network (GEVEHGAN) model based on Lite Gate Recurrent Unit (Lite-GRU) embedding and Variational Autoencoder (VAE) enhancement. The model constructs a heterogeneous graph with two types of nodes and three types of edges; combines Skip-Gram and Lite-GRU to learn Point of Interest (POI) and user node embeddings; introduces VAE for dimensionality reduction and denoising of the embeddings; and employs edge-level attention mechanisms to enhance information propagation and feature aggregation. Experiments are conducted on the publicly available Foursquare dataset. The results show that the GEVEHGAN model outperforms other comparative models in evaluation metrics such as AUC, AP, and Top@K accuracy, demonstrating its superior performance in the friend link prediction task. Full article

In the digital era, user-generated online reviews serve as a valuable resource for understanding visitor experiences in cultural institutions. This study analyses sentiments and thematic trends in TripAdvisor reviews of mountain museums, using Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modelling and sentiment analysis. A dataset of 2157 reviews from ten museums was classified into local and non-local perspectives, revealing significant differences in visitor expectations. Findings indicate that local visitors prioritize historical authenticity and educational value, whereas non-local visitors emphasize aesthetic appeal, interactivity, and cultural immersion. Sentiment analysis highlights generally positive perceptions, with business travellers and groups of friends reporting the highest satisfaction levels. Comparative analysis across visitor types reveals distinct engagement patterns, with families valuing child-friendly exhibits, couples seeking cultural enrichment, and solo travellers focusing on intellectual depth. These insights inform strategic recommendations for museum management, including multilingual content, interactive elements, and guided tours dedicated to specific visitor profiles. Despite limitations related to lack of real-time feedback, this research demonstrates the potential of sentiment analysis in enhancing museum experiences. Future studies should integrate multimodal analysis and real-time tracking to further refine visitor experience evaluation. Full article

Prenatal and postnatal health guidance, along with women’s individual experiences, greatly influences mothers’ breastfeeding decisions and duration. To understand this better, a methodology combining quantitative and qualitative data is essential. Objective: To map the scientific production on the promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding developed from mixed methods research. Method: A scoping review that followed the JBI and PRISMA-ScR methodology. The search was carried out in the following databases: Medline/PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, BVS, CINAHL, Web of Science, and BDTD. The guiding question was: Which studies on the promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding were developed using mixed methods? The research took place from December 2023 to June 2024. Results: Of the 3569 studies found, 36 studies using mixed methods were included, with a prevalence of explanatory sequential approaches. Breastfeeding rates in the selected studies remain lower than global recommendations. The barriers to breastfeeding reported by mothers include biological; emotional; cultural; unfavorable social and hospital environment; difficulties in clinical management; lack of support from family, friends, health professionals, and employers; and skepticism about the benefits of breastfeeding. On the other hand, the main facilitators of breastfeeding reported were education and counseling during prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum periods; women’s intention to breastfeed; support from family, employer, spouse, and health professionals. Conclusions: The studies highlighted various issues related to breastfeeding rates, barriers, and facilitators across different contexts and cultures worldwide. The findings demonstrate that employing mixed methods enables a comprehensive and nuanced assessment of breastfeeding practices and the evaluation of relevant interventions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Friends and family members of people who are discharged from hospital after a fracture often take on caring roles, since these patients have reduced independence during recovery. Previous literature suggests that these individuals are rarely supported in their adoption of these roles. No studies have previously explored the use of carer training interventions to support friends/family members by health professionals in this setting. This survey study aimed to address this. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among health professionals who treat people in hospital following fractures. Respondents were asked about the use of care training for friends/family members of people discharged from hospital after fracture, and whether a clinical trial would be useful to test such carer training interventions. Results: A total of 114 health professionals accessed the survey. Fifty respondents (44%) reported that carer training was not offered in their practice. When it was offered, respondents reported this was not consistently provided. Less than 12% of respondents reported offering carer training to most of their patients following a fracture. What was offered in these instances was largely based on education provision (69%), practical skills in exercise prescription (55%) and manual handling (51%). Ninety-eight percent of respondents reported that a clinical trial would be, or would potentially be, valuable to aid a change in practice to include carer training in routine clinical care. Conclusions: Carer training programmes are not routinely provided in clinical practice for people following a fracture. The results indicate that health professionals see a potential value in these programmes, but further research is recommended to provide an evidence base for these interventions. Full article

Background: Afterschool programs (ASPs) funded under the 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) Act were designed to provide a safe environment for students to engage in extracurricular programming. COVID-19 disrupted the school environment leading to numerous negative outcomes for students and parents, as well as teachers and school administration. The effects of COVID-19 continue to be felt as educational disparities persist, creating opportunities for afterschool programming to help lessen the gaps. Methods: Based on the lasting impact of COVID-19 and the lack of literature on ASPs, the purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of a 21st CCLC ASP from spring 2019 to spring 2020 to account for the initial effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Our aims were to (1) examine the differences in student ratings of various ASP outcomes the semester before and semester during which COVID-19 began, and (2) determine if student grade level impacts ratings of various ASP outcomes. Findings: Results showed that family involvement significantly increased from before to during COVID-19 and that early adolescents had significantly worse outcomes related to family, friends, grades, and overall opinions of the ASP during the pandemic than those in younger grades. Conclusions and Implications: Recommendations for ways to increase engagement in ASPs for both families and youth transitioning to higher grade levels are discussed. Full article

The aim of this study is to examine the factors that drive Saudi Arabian Generation Z’s intention to use voice assistants (VAs) in banking. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was extended by incorporating three additional constructs: subjective norms, which capture the social influence of close relationships, including family and friends; personal innovativeness, which reflects the openness to new technologies that is characteristic of Generation Z; and perceived trust, which addresses concerns related to security and reliability that are critical in financial contexts, thereby enhancing our understanding of this phenomenon among Generation Z. A survey of 292 Generation Z respondents was collected and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis. The findings of the study reveal that factors such as perceived usefulness, attitude, subjective norms, personal innovativeness, and perceived trust all have a significantly positive impact on Generation Z’s intention to use AI-enabled VAs in banking. Additionally, the results indicate that perceived usefulness is influenced by ease of use, while attitude is affected by ease of use, perceived usefulness, personal innovativeness, and trust. Despite the Saudi government’s support and initiatives for the development of the AI-fintech industry, there is still a lack of understanding about consumer behavioral intention toward AI-enabled VAs in Saudi Arabia and, particularly among Generation Z. This study contributes to the existing literature and provides valuable recommendations for policymakers and fintech service providers seeking to implement effective AI-enabled VAs that enrich consumers’ engagement and experience. Full article

Background: Physical activity helps cancer survivors ameliorate physiological and psychosocial effects of disease and treatments. However, few cancer survivors meet physical activity recommendations, with many facing barriers such as limited interest, enjoyment, and social support. It is critical to develop enjoyable and supportive physical activity programs to improve well-being among the growing population of cancer survivors. Pickleball is increasingly popular due to its unique combination of physical activity, friendly competition, and social interaction, making it a promising strategy to increase and sustain physical activity in cancer survivorship. Objective: We examined feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes in a single-arm pilot study of Project Rally, a YMCA-based pickleball program for adult cancer survivors. Results: Twenty-one cancer survivors and seven family or friend partners enrolled in Project Rally with a targeted program duration of 3–7 months. All programming and study assessments occurred at a single YMCA with coaching and supervision from a YMCA exercise trainer and certified pickleball coach. Feasibility and acceptability were strong and met a priori targets for recruitment, retention, intervention adherence, and ratings of program aspects. Participants demonstrated significant increases in physical activity and improvements in aspects of fitness, physical functioning, and social support. Conclusion: These results will inform further development of the Project Rally program to increase physical activity and improve cancer survivorship outcomes, including efforts to expand the program’s scale and reach more survivors via community-based delivery. Full article

Understanding the global trade network in the printing industry is crucial for promoting sustainable development and cultural exchange and knowledge dissemination. However, the extant literature does not reveal the contours of the global cultural printed material trade network. This paper uses a social network analysis and QAP analysis to explore the global printing industry trade network pattern. The aim of this paper is to discern the core and emerging nodes and explore the evolutional characteristics on the network spatial linkage and country role. The results show the following: ① The printing industry’s global trade network is growing increasingly intricate, with trade links between nations (regions) becoming closer, the network’s connectivity steadily improving, and the hierarchical structure becoming more apparent. ② Germany, France, and Belgium are important intermediary bridges. The “circle of friends” in the trade of cultural products has a growing effect, and China can more easily establish close ties with Southeast Asia, Northern Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. ③ The industrial chain and geographical proximity are the primary factors in the formation of the trade network. Economic proximity and political proximity significantly and positively contribute to the formation of the trade network, while institutional stability gradually plays a weaker role. As for cultural proximity, a common language and colonial relationship will positively contribute to the formation of a network, while immigrants have no obvious impact. Digital technology is becoming an “emerging force”. Additionally, this paper extends sustainable policies and recommendations for the global cultural trade. Full article

As a core and long-established part of urban blue–green infrastructure (BGI), public parks play a significant role in the sustainable development of cities. In particular, they make a major contribution to maintaining healthy ecosystems and providing multiple benefits that support human health and quality of life as a kind of nature-based solution (NBS). Still, planning, design, and management of public parks mostly rely on official standards and technical guidelines, whereas societal perspectives and the use of the ecosystem services (ES) approach (and cultural ecosystem services (CES) in particular) remain inadequately integrated. By assessing CES offered by Gorky Park in Moscow (Russia), the paper aims to bridge this gap and investigate the flow of CES and its relation to park infrastructure and the visitors’ needs. For this purpose, non-participant observation, field notes, and photographs were used in different functional park zones. By investigating visitor activities and factors affecting them, a variety of CES provided by the park have been detected. As aligned with its original idea, the park was mostly used for recreation, leisure, sports, and socializing. Moreover, the CES related to aesthetic, educational, and cultural heritage values were also partially utilized. The park was mostly attractive to the younger generation (the highest number of visitors), whereas visitors over 60 years old were hardly represented. Notably, men were more interested in sports (especially, team sports), whereas women mostly preferred walking (alone, with family, and with friends), relaxation, playing and spending time with children, picnicking, etc., which indicated certain preferences for CES among the park visitors. An interdependent relationship between the CES supply and the park infrastructure was found: the more infrastructural components were identified, the greater variety of park activities and corresponding CES were detected at certain observation points, which could ultimately lead to overcrowding and overutilization of the ES capacity. Given that the Moscow government claims integrating ES into the planning and management of urban BGI as one of the priorities in the city’s environmental policies, the related recommendations are provided. They address the recent challenges of creating integrated BGI, increasing demand for multifunctionality, and the conflicting interests of different visitor groups to maximize the benefits and diversity of CES delivered by the park. Full article

Mediterranean diet adherence has been decreasing during the last few decades, and non-appropriate snacking habits have also been identified among Mediterranean children and adolescents. To co-create new snacks and to explore children’s interests and preferences, a multi-method approach was used in the present study, including some qualitative and quantitative research phases. Conducted in collaboration with schools in Lebanon, Egypt, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, different snack prototypes were designed and tested in a Mediterranean cross-cultural context. The results showed significant differences among countries in snacking preferences and general food-related attitudes. Italian children exhibited higher levels of neophobia, resulting in lower acceptance of all proposed snacks. Some sensory and contextual insights were collected, such as Egyptian children favoring sweet and crunchy textures and “At school”, “With my friends”, and “As a morning/afternoon snack” being identified as linked to snack acceptance in some countries. The present study underscores the value of co-creation processes involving children to address non-recommended dietary patterns, highlighting the critical role of sensory properties, cultural differences, and contextual factors in designing healthy snacks that meet the Mediterranean diet’s principles but are highly appreciated by the young segment of the population. Full article

Citizen or community science (CS) projects in the marine environment rarely consider carbon footprint and sustainability. In this case study, we assessed the effectiveness of ten CS methods used by tourists in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) and Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP) who participated in the 2023 Citizen Science of the Great Barrier Reef expedition and the carbon footprint associated with these field methods. We also assessed the baseline coral reef knowledge of the tourists, observations of marine species, and the communication of our results to the public. Specifically, the tourists utilised up to ten methods: iNaturalist, CoralWatch, Great Barrier Reef Census, Eye on the Reef (EoR), environmental DNA (eDNA) testing kits, photogrammetry, social surveys, and Red Map, as well as marine debris and marine vegetation collections. A total of 10,421 data points were collected across 14 days, including 5390 records (52% of the total) uploaded to iNaturalist, comprising 640 plant and animal species. Public awareness of the CS expedition reached over 700,000 people based on estimates from advertising, media, social media, family and friends, and conference presentations. We estimated the total carbon footprint for the expedition as 268.7 tonnes of CO₂ or 4.47 tonnes of CO₂ per person, equivalent to AUD 112 needed to offset this input. Based on these results, our recommendations to leverage CS methods include governmental review strategies, temporal replication to allow for the measurement of changes through time, integrating sustainability into CS ecotourism platforms, and encouraging broad participation. Full article