Popular Activity Research Articles

Informal adult learning and training sessions: playing modern board games in the digital age

ABSTRACT Board gaming is a popular activity, growing despite all the pressures of digitalization. People are gathering to play socially. Besides this ludic movement, modern board games can be used directly or adapted to achieve other goals beyond entertainment, approaching serious game methods as a modding exercise. This paper describes a process where a facilitator selected a sequence of modern board games (mostly party games) and played them with the employees of an enterprise (design and marketing) during an informal meeting. The games were played in a restaurant, in an environment, testing whether participants could recognize learning and training utility. The game facilitator observed the game dynamics and collected participants’ comments during gameplay and debriefing. Participants recognized the activity as a pleasant learning and training informal session. The author argues that these informal playable learning spaces can be beneficial for institutions that wish to foster them because participants would train, learn, and strengthen social bonds.

Evaluation of Community Recreational Sports Activities at the Jambi City Governor's Office: Improving Quality and Participation

Purpose of the study: The main objective of this research is to identify the perceptions, preferences and experiences of the community in participating in recreational sports activities around the Jambi City governor's office.
 Methodology: This research uses a descriptive quantitative approach. The sampling technique uses simple random sampling. The data collection instrument uses a structured questionnaire about people's perceptions, preferences and experiences in participating in recreational sports activities in the city center. The data analysis technique uses descriptive statistics.
 Main Findings: The results of this research reveal that people's perceptions, preferences and experiences regarding recreational sports activities in Jambi city center show dominance in the good category, with around 50% of people seeing it as having a positive impact on them. Cycling, jogging/running and gymnastics are the most popular activities, especially on Saturdays and Sundays in the morning and afternoon. Important factors influencing the choice of recreation area include affordable prices, adequate facilities, and variety of activities.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: This research offers an in-depth understanding of people's perceptions, preferences and experiences regarding recreational sports activities in Jambi city center, as well as identifying activities of interest and preferred times of participation. The results have the potential to be an important basis for policy makers to design recreational facilities that suit community needs.

How To Integrate and Apply Chinese Traditional Cultural Elements in Campus Cheerleading Routines

In today’s campus culture, cheerleading has become a popular sporting activity. It not only exercises students’ bodies but also cultivates their spirit of teamwork. As a creative and energetic team sport, the choreography of cheerleading is crucial for its expressiveness and appeal. However, as cheerleading becomes more widespread, many routines begin to lack innovation and cultural depth, leading to audience aesthetic fatigue. To address this issue, inspiration can be drawn from China’s rich traditional culture, combining traditional cultural elements with modern cheerleading choreography to create distinctive performances. With its long history, Chinese traditional culture encompasses various domains such as clothing, music, dance, and art. These elements can provide unique aesthetics and profound cultural depth to cheerleading choreography. In summary, the integration and application of Chinese traditional cultural elements can inject new vitality into campus cheerleading, enhancing its artistic expressiveness and cultural value. By merging traditional cultural elements with modern aesthetic concepts, students’ interest in and identification with traditional culture can be cultivated, while promoting innovation and development in campus cheerleading.

The relevance for the institute of mediation in modern Russia

The article considers the problem of the relevance for the institute of mediation in Russia. Statistical data for the country concerning 2020 are presented and data for the Rostov region to the same period are analyzed. A comparative analysis is made with data for the same period in the Sverdlovsk region. The information and empirical base of the study consists of materials from: the website of the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation; the Association of Mediators of the Rostov region “Reconciliation”; “Reconciliation Rooms” in the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk region. The methods of content analysis, statistical analysis, in-depth interviews, and a mass survey conducted among the employed population of the Rostov region aged 21 to 30 years were used. The study revealed: low awareness of respondents about the possibilities of using the mediation procedure, its structure and features; low level of modern mediation practice in the country. It is shown that in Russia today the courts are inundated with lawsuits, while mediation could well constructively solve many social problems. The necessity of creating favorable conditions for the development of mediation activity and its popularization is substantiated. The main reasons preventing the institution of mediation from becoming a popular activity among the population are identified: a low culture of conflict resolution, which in some cases leads to the avoidance of disputants from finding a suitable way to resolve it; a factor of insufficient confidence in the possibility of resolvinga dispute involving a third party. It is concluded that the lack of trust is primarily due to insufficient awareness of the population about the essence of the mediation procedure, about the legal status of the mediation agreement, which in the case of notarization has the force of an executive document. The wider use of all types of media, the increase in online platforms with the location of mediation webinars conducted by experienced specialists in this field will help spread the practice of mediation and will contribute to its early institutionalization.

Optimizing extracurricular activities assignment and related logistical deployment cost between collaborating schools

AbstractIn contemporary urban societies, where both parents are working full‐time, a significant number of schoolchildren engage in extra‐curricular activities after school. These activities can be organized by the school itself and take place in the school. However, sometimes few schoolchildren are interested in an activity organized by the school, or the schoolchildren's preferences do not match the school's offering at all, while on other occasions the school has limited availability for a popular activity. To expand the number of activities offered to their schoolchildren, some schools form a collaborating network, sharing their extracurricular activities and making them accessible to all schoolchildren. Thus, schoolchildren from any school may attend activities organized by other schools in the network. In this case, however, transport of the children between schools must also be organized. This problem can be framed as a school bus routing problem with some special features. A mixed‐integer linear optimization model is proposed for the integrated assignment of extracurricular activities and cost‐effective vehicle routing. The objective of the model is to minimize unmet demand for extracurricular activities while taking into account the constraints related to the facilities and transport. This model has been tested on a set of instances to analyze its performance, with the goal of deploying it for the projected levels of demand in a city of about 100,000 inhabitants. The results are compared with the current situation and the clustering of the set of schools.

Using Computer Vision to Collect Information on Cycling and Hiking Trails Users

Hiking and cycling have become popular activities for promoting well-being and physical activity. Portugal has been investing in hiking and cycling trail infrastructures to boost sustainable tourism. However, the lack of reliable data on the use of these trails means that the times of greatest affluence or the type of user who makes the most use of them are not recorded. These data are of the utmost importance to the managing bodies, with which they can adjust their actions to improve the management, maintenance, promotion, and use of the infrastructures for which they are responsible. The aim of this work is to present a review study on projects, techniques, and methods that can be used to identify and count the different types of users on these trails. The most promising computer vision techniques are identified and described: YOLOv3-Tiny, MobileNet-SSD V2, and FasterRCNN with ResNet-50. Their performance is evaluated and compared. The results observed can be very useful for proposing future prototypes. The challenges, future directions, and research opportunities are also discussed.

Impact of using virtual avatars in educational videos on user experience

Popularization of knowledge is of considerable importance and necessity, and traditional knowledge popularization activities suffer from high cost and low acceptance, which affect their effectiveness and coverage. Applying virtual avatars to educational videos may be an effective way to solve the problem. This study investigates the impact of applying virtual avatars to educational videos on user experience. Constructed a model of the impact of user experience on educational videos with virtual avatars, collected data from the target population, and analyzed it empirically. The video quality and virtual avatar expressiveness dimensions of the influencing factors have a significant positive effect on the learning effect, emotional experience and user engagement dimensions of user experience; the content quality dimension of the influencing factors has a significant negative effect on the three dimensions of user experience. The video quality and virtual avatar expressiveness dimensions of the influencing factors have a significant positive effect on the learning effect, emotional experience and user engagement dimensions of user experience; the content quality dimension of the influencing factors has a significant negative effect on the three dimensions of user experience.

Preference-based jogging route selection in downtown Tokyo

ABSTRACT Jogging has become a popular urban outdoor recreational activity because it is inexpensive and easy. Although there are positive responses to leisure-route planning from many regions, the routes with features preferred by joggers are not commonly considered in urban planning. This article explores and evaluates methods for determining optimal urban jogging routes while considering joggers’ preferences. This study combines information about road width, green space, riverbank scenery, and various points of interest with jogging heat map data and uses a decision tree analysis to study joggers’ preferences. Next, routes with high potential considering three different patterns of points of interest and road width are selected using the vehicle routing problem analysis in ArcGIS. This method for preference-based route selection can be used to identify which links in urban road networks are attractive to runners and provide policymakers with useful information for designing built environments.

Perceptions of Students in the Field of Education towards the Freedom of Learning Independent Campus Policy

Higher education in Indonesia has experienced significant developments in recent years, one of the latest efforts is the MBKM policy. Although MBKM brings hope for improving the quality of education and student independence, there are varying perceptions and reactions among students, especially in the education sector. The aim of the research is to explain the perceptions and understanding of education students regarding MBKM policies. This research uses a quantitative approach with a descriptive research design, to achieve the research objectives. The respondents in this study were 164 students. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive analysis using percentages to get an overview of student perceptions, with the help of the SPSS program. The research results show that the majority of students have a good understanding of the MBKM policy, the MBKM Teaching Assistance activity in the Education Unit is the most familiar and most popular activity, and students have several concerns when they take part in the MBKM program. This research contributes both theoretically and practically.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of medication and its influencing factors among residents in western China: a large-scale cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to understand the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of drug use among residents in western China and its influencing factors for accurately designing the knowledge, contents, and methods of popular science activities for safe drug use among residents to provide a reference for conducting rational drug use educational activities and improving residents' level of safe drug use. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the KAP of medication among western China residents and its influencing factors from March to April 2023. Each question option was assigned a score according to logic, and the risk factors for resident medication safety KAP were explored through univariate and logistic regression analyses. A total of 7,557 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective recovery rate of 96.7%. The average scores of KAP were 72.77 ± 22.91, 32.89 ± 10.64, and 71.27 ± 19.09, respectively. In the evaluation criteria of the questionnaire, the score of medication knowledge reached "good," and the score of attitude and practice was "average." Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that male sex and low education level were significant factors affecting the lack of drug knowledge among residents. Old age and low education level were the factors of poor attitude toward medication. The low condition of medical security was a factor in residents' irregular drug use behavior. The overall level of rational drug use among residents in western China is good, but there are still some inconsistencies. Rational drug use education should be conducted according to the risk points of residents in drug safety KAP to further improve the level of rational drug use of residents.

Video Game Addiction Among Adolescents

In recent years, the field of video games has developed at an overwhelmingly rapid rate. Worldwide, it has managed to attract more than two billion users, of which the most important percentage was represented by teenagers.
 While video gaming is one of the most popular leisure activities, it has been proven that it poses some potential threats to the physical and mental health.
 This study aims to identify the positive and negative effects associated with the excessive playing of video games.
 It has been found that there are many misconceptions about the impact of video games on health. Research focused on the negative effects found serious consequences such as: reduced physical activity, vision problems, reduced patience, decreased concentration, depression, anxiety, aggression and sleep disturbances. However, recent studies have also recognized the potential benefits. These include: developing social skills, boosting mood, increasing self-confidence, developing problem-solving skills and spatial imagination.
 In conclusion it is important continuing the research and collaboration among professionals in the field to improve the outcomes and treatment for those affected.

The effectiveness of customised 3D-printed insoles on perceived pain, comfort, and completion time among frequent Park Runners: Study protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial (The ZOLES RCT)

BackgroundRunning, a popular recreational activity, often leads to the experience of pain and discomfort among participants impacting performance and participation longevity. The ZOLES trial evaluates customised 3D-printed insoles for reducing pain in frequent parkrunners aged 35 and over. An innovative process of foot-scanning and responses to questions relating to size, pain, discomfort, and previous medical conditions are combined leading to the production of personalised 3D-printed orthotics. MethodsThe ZOLES trial is a pragmatic, outcome assessor blinded, randomised, controlled, superiority trial involving 200 recreational runners, randomised to receive either customised 3D-printed insoles (ZOLES) or to a "do-as-usual" control group. The study follows a robust protocol, ensuring adherence to established guidelines for clinical trials, and is based at St Mary's University, Twickenham, London. The primary outcome is change in running-related pain over a 10-week period, assessed using an 11-point Numeric Rating Scale. Secondary outcomes include overall pain and discomfort, running-related comfort, 5k-completion time, time-loss due to injuries, running exposure, and adherence to the intervention. A balanced-block randomisation process is stratified by sex and parkrun location, and an intention-to-treat analyses will be employed on all outcomes in the primary trial report. The trial includes a 52-week post-market surveillance to assess long-term effects of the customised insoles. DiscussionThe ZOLES trial aims to provide insights into real-world applicability and effectiveness of customised 3D-printed insoles in reducing running-related pain and enhancing overall running experience. Despite the limitation of a subjective primary outcome measure without participant blinding, the methodological rigor, including external outcome assessment and data handling, we anticipate results that are academically credible and applicable in real-world settings The results of this trial may have important implications for runners, clinicians, and the sports footwear industry, as evidence for the use of individualised insoles to improve running experience and prevention of pain may become evident. Trial registrationThe trial was pre-registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with the trial identifier NCT06034210 on September 4, 2023, and publicly posted on September 13, 2023 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06034210). Protocol versionVersion 1, September 27, 2023.

Grill and Chill: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of Private Household Barbecuing in Germany

Rising environmental consciousness has prompted increased scrutiny of the environmental impact of everyday activities, such as barbecuing—a popular summertime activity in Germany. This study aimed to explore the environmental impacts of three grilling techniques, charcoal (including reusable types such as swivel, round, and kettle grills, as well as disposable charcoal grills), gas, and electric grills, utilizing a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach including the manufacturing of grills, consumption of energy sources and grilling ingredients, as well as the end-of-life of the grills. Five impact categories were considered: global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), abiotic depletion potential fossil (ADP), and land use (LU) according to the CML2016 and ReCiPe 2016 methodology. This study found that a barbeque event for four people results in GWP, AP, EP, ADP, and LU values ranging from 18 to 20 kg CO2-eq., 174 to 179 g SO2-eq., 166 to 167 g PO4-eq., 102 to 138 MJ, and 36 to 38 m2 annual crop-eq., respectively, across different types of grills. Furthermore, the ingredients proved to be the most significant contributor, surpassing 70% in all impact categories. Among the three types of grills, the electric grill emerged as the most environmentally friendly, while the disposable grill had the greatest environmental impact across the majority of categories. Lastly, the environmental impacts of varying consumer behaviors were evaluated to potentially assist consumers in adopting more sustainable grilling practices.

Leisure Activity Pattern among Tribal Paramedical Female College Students of Tripura

The present research study aimed to investigate the varieties of leisure activities chosen by the female paramedical tribal students of Tripura. The study found that, BMI value is within normal range which indicates good health status of the participants and also good impact of leisure activities on health. Most popular leisure activity was found to be internet surfing, followed by dancing, singing, cooking, gardening, physical activities and reading books. No health issues had been reported by the participants.

Moving beyond western methods: a methodological toolbox for family entrepreneurship research in tourism by including children's voices

Recently, tourism scholars turned their attention to families, specifically children's experiences. Yet, research illustrating children's voices in tourism family entrepreneurship is missing. Social researchers are encouraged to include children's voices to reveal their lived experiences rather than considering them too vulnerable to be interviewed. This qualitative study, underpinned by constructivist epistemology, explored how families are embedded within lifestyle migration and the tourism entrepreneurial process on Hainan Island in China. A combination of methods was adopted to create a toolbox suitable for family research, including children's voices through whole-family interviews and LEGO® Serious Play® workshops. Playing LEGO® seriously ensures that the researcher does not drive participants' thoughts, and children can freely express their opinions in playful, metaphorical, and meaningful ways. Moving beyond Western-centered methods, data was collected at Old Dad Teahouses (or Lao Ba Cha 老爸茶 in Chinese) to create a friendly environment. Old Dad Teahouses are a Hainanese cultural ritual where locals gather to enjoy tea along with local savory snacks. Historically, the name Old Dad Tea refers to predominantly male customers over 50 years of age who regularly attended tea houses in the afternoon as part of their leisure. Nowadays, people who go to Old Dad Tea are more diverse in age and gender, and spending time there represents a popular leisure activity among families living in Hainan. We emphasize that our methodological toolbox allows us to explore how individuals construct their understanding through their own belief systems and culture. The methodological toolbox allowed us to understand the scholarship on family tourism entrepreneurship from a Chinese cultural perspective by providing insight into the experiences of 15 children from eight entrepreneurial families, providing agency to the children. This study aims to enrich the definition of family entrepreneurship by identifying how children as family members can influence migration and entrepreneurial behaviors and exploring the experiences gained by children through the entrepreneurial process. Children's voices are usually filled by adults within the family business unit. However, children are also rights holders and social agents. This study supports the right of children to participate and have their voices heard.

First Real-Life Data on the Diving Response in Healthy Children.

Swimming and diving are popular recreational activities, representing an effective option in maintaining and improving cardiovascular fitness in healthy people. To date, only little is known about the cardiovascular adaption to submersion in children. This study was conducted to improve an understanding thereof. We used a stepwise apnea protocol with apnea at rest, apnea with facial immersion, and at last apnea during whole body submersion. Continuous measurement of heart rate, oxygen saturation, and peripheral resistance index was done. Physiologic data and analysis of influencing factors on heart rate, oxygen saturation, and peripheral vascular tone response are reported. The current study presents the first data of physiologic diving response in children. Data showed that facial or whole body submersion leads to a major drop in heart rate, and increase of peripheral resistance, while the oxygen saturation seems to be unaffected by static apnea in most children, with apnea times of up to 75s without change in oxygen saturation.

Unveiling Experiential Learning: Saudi Female Undergraduates' Perceptions and Challenges in the Marshmallow Challenge within OB Class

The Marshmallow Challenge, a popular activity in classrooms and team-building exercises in offices promotes teamwork, communication, and collaboration. Despite its widespread use, its application within the Saudi educational context remains underexplored. Therefore, this research delves into the experiences and perceptions of 43 Saudi female undergraduate students participating in the Marshmallow Challenge in Organizational Behaviour (OB) class at the University of Hail, Saudi Arabia. Utilizing semi-structured interviews, the study aims to understand the nuances of this experiential learning activity, focusing on teamwork, communication, leadership, collaboration, and related responses. The findings reveal a spectrum of reactions from initial apprehension and nervousness to subsequent collaborative problem-solving and reflection. Ultimately, this research paper contributes to the broader literature on experiential learning in OB education, offering educators actionable insights to optimize student engagement, collaboration, and skill learning.

Sex-specific analysis of hiking accidents in the Austrian Alps: a follow-up from 2015 to 2021.

Hiking is one of the most popular leisure sport activities practiced in the Alps during the summer season, but bears the risk of mountain emergencies, accidents, and fatalities. This paper provides an updated analysis of hiking accidents for the years 2015 to 2021 in the Austrian Alps, thereby outlining fatal and non-fatal accident characteristics. For this retrospective analysis, mountain hiking accidents documented by the Austrian Alpine Police during a 7-year period were screened for potential exclusion criteria. The final sample size consisted of 7368 accidents and 7552 victims. The outcome measures were mainly specified by sex, age, injury degree, injury location, pathophysiological characteristics, and cause of injury. The overall annual number of accidents showed a continuous increase from 428 in 2015 to 544 in 2021. In total, 7.1% of the total victims died during the 7-year period, with male hikers being significantly more affected than female hikers (m: 80.8%, f: 19.2%; p ≤ 0.001). The sex specific distribution for non-fatal hiking accidents was 55.9% in women and 44.1% in men. Male victims showed significantly more frequent cardiovascular events (m: 78.5%, f: 21.5%), multiple injuries (m: 60.2%, f: 39.8%), and wounds/blood loss (m: 57.4%, f: 42.6%) than female victims, whereas women showed more fractures (m: 31.5%, f: 68.5%) than men (p ≤ 0.001). Additionally, men were more likely to injure their abdomen/chest (3.7%), head (14.1%), and multiple body parts (26.5%), whereas women were more likely to injure their ankle or foot (42.3%). Finally, men were more likely to have an accident during the ascent (24.1%), whereas women during the descent (69.0%) (p ≤ 0.001). This paper provides the latest data and a deeper insight into sex-specific characteristics of mountain hiking accidents in the Austrian Alps.

Hypoallergenic animals: A promise of hope for allergic patients?

Furry pets are beloved companion animals; horse riding is a popular leisure activity. So-called hypoallergenic animals have gained high interest as sensitization to animal dander and allergy to furry animals are widespread. Allergen immunotherapy to furry animals is still limited, and allergen avoidance in addition to symptomatic pharmaceutical treatment is often the only available option. Patients with an existing allergy to furry animals or with an atopic background are seeking for a hypoallergenic alternative. This review summarizes current knowledge and discusses future strategies.

Current khat (Catha edulis F.) use among Ethiopian women and its association with anemia and underweight: A cross-sectional analysis from Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey.

Chewing fresh leaves of Catha edulis (khat) is a popular pastime activity among Ethiopians where 12% women chew it. Reports show that khat use has been associated with poor nutritional status. This study aimed to determine whether khat chewing is linked to underweight and anemia. We analyzed data from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). The EDHS used two stage stratified cluster sampling to collected data from 16,650 households. We used data from a total of 15,683 respondents and 1904 respondents who chewed ever chewed khat in their lives. We used Pearson's chi-square, and logistic regression while stratifying by residence (urban vs rural) to control for confounders. Our results indicated 10.7% (95%CI: 10.92,11.26) of women chewed khat for an average of 16.5 days in the previous month. A woman's current khat chewing status was significantly associated with age, educational level, region, religion, wealth group, and marital status. Women aged 40-44 were significantly more likely to chew (AOR = 2.89,) compared to those aged 15-19. Compared with Protestant women, Muslim women were 210 times more likely (AOR = 210, 95% CI 102,435.7) to chew and women in the poorest wealth quintile had 73% higher odds (AOR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.22,2.44) of chewing khat when compared with the richest. Anemia was not associated with a woman's chewing status, whereas rural women who chewed khat for more than 26 days in a month had a 78% increased risk (OR = 1.78) of being underweight when compared to non-chewers. Khat chewing is associated with sociodemographic factors and current khat use is associated with a higher risk of underweight among women living in rural areas. Implementing targeted awareness campaigns for women about the risks of khat chewing is recommended.