How acceptable do older adults find the concept of being physically active? A systematic review and meta-synthesis

Despite the significant health benefits of regular physical activity for older adults, only a minority achieve recommended levels. To develop effective interventions, the reasons for the low levels of physical activity in this population must be understood. The present review identifies and synthesizes qualitative studies concerning the acceptability of physical activity to community dwelling older adults. A systematic search of four electronic databases identified 10 studies meeting inclusion criteria. These were appraised, and findings were combined and compared using thematic synthesis. Older adults construed physical activity as a by-product of other activities, rather than as a purposeful activity within itself. This seemed to be linked to their self-perception as an ageing member of society, with physical activity considered irrelevant, and competing roles and responsibilities (e.g., family) taking precedence. Additionally, older adults appeared to experience conflict between maintaining their autonomy and accepting the physical and social vulnerabilities associated with ageing. As older adults do not see physical activity as purposeful within itself, interventions promoting moderate or vigorous physical activity are likely to have limited success. As even small increases in physical activity benefit older adults, future interventions may wish to target the reduction of sedentary behaviour in this population.     

A rural virtual health sciences library project: research findings with implications for next generation library services

PURPOSE: The Shared Hospital Electronic Library of Southern Indiana (SHELSI) research project was designed to determine whether access to a virtual health sciences library and training in its use would support medical decision making in rural southern Indiana and achieve the same level of impact seen by targeted information services provided by health sciences librarians in urban hospitals. METHODS: Based on the results of a needs assessment, a virtual medical library was created; various levels of training were provided. Virtual library users were asked to complete a Likert-type survey, which included questions on intent of use and impact of use. At the conclusion of the project period, structured interviews were conducted. RESULTS: Impact of the virtual health sciences library showed a strong correlation with the impact of information provided by health sciences librarians. Both interventions resulted in avoidance of adverse health events. Data collected from the structured interviews confirmed the perceived value of the virtual library. CONCLUSION: While librarians continue to hold a strong position in supporting information access for health care providers, their roles in the information age must begin to move away from providing information toward selecting and organizing knowledge resources and instruction in their use.     

Health information outreach: the land-grant mission

Service to the state is one of the core principles of the land-grant mission. This concept of service is also fundamental to a significant number of outreach activities in academic health sciences libraries, particularly those libraries affiliated with the public land-grant universities. The Dana Medical Library at the University of Vermont has a lengthy tradition of outreach to health care providers and health care consumers of the State of Vermont. Building on the foundation of the land-grant institution-which grew out of federal legislation introduced in the mid nineteenth century by Justin Morrill, Vermont's congressional representative--the Dana Medical Library has based its outreach activities on its dedication of service to the state in the promotion of healthy citizens through information dissemination in support of health care delivery. Reengineering library services designed to meet the specific information needs of its diverse clientele, partnering with disparate health care organizations, and relying on fees for service to expand its outreach activities, the Dana Medical Library has redefined the concept of health information outreach for the new millennium.     

Public policy and literary culture: Publishing subsidies in Scotland

Public subsidies of publishing have a number of goals, including the extension of both international cultural activities and national cultural enterprise. The Scottish publishing industry is described and its recent history is reviewed. The activities of the publishing subsidy program of the Scottish Arts Council are enumerated. Finally, the impact of subsidies on Scottish authors and publishers is evaluated.     

First-Year Faculty of Color: Narratives about Entering the Academy

The experiences of first-year, tenure-track faculty have been missing in the literature about new or junior faculty. Furthermore, the extant literature about new faculty does not offer a critical outlook on how oppressive institutional structures shape how first-year faculty of color approach faculty work. Drawing from analytical narratives, the authors reframe how doctoral student socialization and new-faculty support systems are discussed, especially pertaining to first-year faculty of color. In doing so, and utilizing narrative inquiry as a methodological framework, the authors draw out the distinct voices of new faculty of color. The implications offered are important for scholars who study faculty experiences and for faculty advisors to doctoral students interested in the professoriate.     

Elite sprint swimming performance is enhanced by completion of additional warm-up activities

This study investigated the effect of completing additional warm-up strategies in the transition phase between the pool warm up and the start of a race on elite sprint swimming performance. Twenty-five elite swimmers (12 men, 20 ± 3 years; 13 women, 20 ± 2 years, performance standard ~807 FINA2014 points) completed a standardised pool warm up followed by a 30-min transition phase and a 100-m freestyle time trial. During the transition phase, swimmers wore a tracksuit jacket with integrated heating elements and performed a dry land-based exercise routine (Combo), or a conventional tracksuit and remained seated (Control). Start (1.5% ± 1.0%, P = 0.02; mean ± 90% confidence limits) and 100-m time trial (0.8% ± 0.4%, P < 0.01) performances were improved in Combo. Core temperature declined less (?0.2°C ± 0.1°C versus ?0.5°C ± 0.1°C, P = 0.02) during the transition phase and total local (trapezius) haemoglobin concentration was greater before the time trial in Combo (81 µM ± 25 µM versus 30 µM ± 18 µM, P < 0.01; mean ± standard deviation) than in Control. Combining swimmers traditional pool warm up with passive heating via heated jackets and completion of dry land-based exercises in the transition phase improves elite sprint swimming performance by ~0.8%.     

Problem Knowledge Couplers: reengineering evidence-based medicine through interdisciplinary development, decision support, and research.

The rapid growth of medical knowledge is creating a demand for new ways of providing information in support of evidence-based medical practice. Problem Knowledge Couplers are a clinical decision support software tool that offer a new approach to this growing problem. Couplers are developed through a collaboration among clinicians, informaticians, and librarians. They recognize that functionality must be predicated upon combining unique patient information, gleaned through relevant structured question sets, with the appropriate knowledge found in the world's peer-reviewed medical literature. Two pilot studies indicate that couplers can meet the gold standards of decision making within both a primary care and a specialty practice. Issues remain about how to best integrate Problem Knowledge Couplers into clinical practice and whether large-scale outcomes research will support the findings of pilot studies. However, Problem Knowledge Couplers represent a promising approach that might portend a new model for health care delivery in the next millennium.     

Marking out the pitch: a historiography and taxonomy of football fiction

Football, or soccer as it is more commonly referred to in Australia and the US, is arguably the world’s most popular sport. It generates a proportionate volume of related writing. Within this landscape, works of novel-length fiction are seemingly rare. This paper establishes and maps a substantial body of football fiction works, explores elements and qualities exhibited individually and collectively. In bringing together current, limited surveys of the field, it presents the first rigorous definition of football fiction and captures the first historiography of the corpus. Drawing on distant reading methods developed in conjunction with closer textual analyses, the historiography and subsequent taxonomy represent the first articulation of relationships across the body of work, identify growth areas and establish a number of movements and trends. In advancing the understanding of football fiction as a collective body, the paper lays foundations for further research and consideration of the works in generic terms.