Purpose - Focusing on management training, this study aimed to establish whether identical elements in a training program (i.e. aspects resembling participants' work situation) can improve training transfer and whether they do so beyond the contribution of two well-established predictors -- motivation to learn and expected utility. In an effort to establish mechanisms connecting identical elements with training transfer, we proposed and tested motivation to transfer as a mediator. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected online from 595 general managers who participated in a management training program. Structural equations modeling was used to test the model. Findings - Identical elements, expected utility and motivation to learn each had a unique contribution to the prediction of training transfer. Whereas motivation to learn partly mediated these relationships, identical elements and expected utility also showed direct associations with training transfer. Research limitations/implications - Identical elements represent a relevant predictor of training transfer. In future research, a longitudinal analysis from different perspectives would be useful to better understand the process of training transfer. Practical implications - Participants may profit more from management training programs when the training better resembles participants' work situation. Organisations and trainers should therefore apply the concept of identical elements in their trainings, in order to increase its value and impact. Originality/value - This study contributes to the training literature by showing the relevance of identical elements for transfer, over and above established predictors.
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The authors of this article offered training aimed at strengthening the ethical agency of 15 social workers of three Dutch welfare organisations. At the same time, we conducted research into the ethical impact of the training, making use of an adaptation of the Most Significant Change approach (MSC). The participants wrote stories about the most significant change they experienced as a result of the training which we subsequently discussed with care recipients, care providers, and operational care managers. The MSC-stories revealed that the training was significant for the participants, especially to (re)connect with themselves, and with others, as well as to slow down and engage in collective ethics work. At the same time, the learning processes and the learning outcomes diverged, due to individual differences in professional motivation and working conditions. Most MSC-stories show that the training was significant because it helped the social workers to deal ethically with a specific working condition that they experienced somehow as problematic, mostly because it was at odds with their professional motivation. The stakeholders preferred MSC-stories that focus on the impact on professionals as employees, on their relation with service users or on the actual delivered care.
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This paper reports on the EU-project 'Professionally Networking Education and Teacher Training' (PRONETT). The key objective of the PRONETT project (2001-2004) is to develop a regional and cross national learning community of pre- and in-service teachers and teacher educators supported by webbased resources and tools to collaborate and to construct shared understandings of teaching and learning in a networked classroom. The reasons for the initiative and the design principles of the PRONETT portal offering a virtual infrastructure for the collaboration of participating students and teachers at www.PRONETT.org are presented. The initial pilots carried out by the project partners are described, highlighting the co-ordinating partners activities targeted at contributing to the local realisation of ICT-rich, competence based Teacher Education Provision. Results are reported of the evaluation and implementation efforts aimed at validating the original portal design and collecting information to inspire further project development and implementation strategies. We conclude by summarising the lessons learned and providing recommendations for improved and extended use and further dissemination of the project results and facilities.
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Research suggests that muscle power is a more critical determinant of physical functioning in older adults than muscle strength. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature on the effect of power training compared to strength training in older adults on tests for muscle power, two groups of activity-based tests under controlled conditions: generic tests and tests with an emphasis on movement speed, and finally, physical activity level in daily life. A systematic search for randomized controlled trials comparing effects of power training to strength training in older adults was performed in PubMed, Embase, Ebsco/CINAHL, Ebsco/SPORTDiscus, Wiley/Cochrane Library and Scopus. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Tool, and quality of evidence was evaluated using GRADEpro Guideline Development Tool. Standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for outcomes separately using a random effects model.
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Care for older people with multiple chronic conditions and complex care require different disciplines which are often simultaneously involved. Interprofessional collaboration between professionals from medical and social care in the community is necessary to enhance quality of life and support of older people. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeroen-dikken-phd-rn-83230765/
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Athlete development depends on many factors that need to be balanced by the coach. The amount of data collected grows with the development of sensor technology. To make data-informed decisions for training prescription of their athletes, coaches could be supported by feedback through a coach dashboard. The aim of this paper is to describe the design of a coach dashboard based on scientific knowledge, user requirements, and (sensor) data to support decision making of coaches for athlete development in cyclic sports. The design process involved collaboration with coaches, embedded scientists, researchers, and IT professionals. A classic design thinking process was used to structure the research activities in five phases: empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and test phases. To understand the user requirements of coaches, a survey (n = 38), interviews (n = 8) and focus-group sessions (n = 4) were held. Design principles were adopted into mock-ups, prototypes, and the final coach dashboard. Designing a coach dashboard using the co-operative research design helped to gain deep insights into the specific user requirements of coaches in their daily training practice. Integrating these requirements, scientific knowledge, and functionalities in the final coach dashboard allows the coach to make data-informed decisions on training prescription and optimise athlete development.
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Background/Objectives: Homecare staff often take over activities instead of “doing activities with” clients, thereby hampering clients from remaining active in daily life. Training and supporting staff to integrate reablement into their working practices may reduce clients' sedentary behavior and improve their independence. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the “Stay Active at Home” (SAaH) reablement training program for homecare staff on older homecare clients' sedentary behavior. Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial (c-RCT). Setting: Dutch homecare (10 nursing teams comprising a total of 313 staff members). Participants: 264 clients (aged ≥65 years). Intervention: SAaH seeks to equip staff with knowledge, attitude, and skills on reablement, and to provide social and organizational support to implement reablement in homecare practice. SAaH consists of program meetings, practical assignments, and weekly newsletters over a 9-month period. The control group received no additional training and delivered care as usual. Measurements: Sedentary behavior (primary outcome) was measured using tri-axial wrist-worn accelerometers. Secondary outcomes included daily functioning (GARS), physical functioning (SPPB), psychological functioning (PHQ-9), and falls. Data were collected at baseline and at 12 months; data on falls were also collected at 6 months. Intention-to-treat analyses using mixed-effects linear and logistic regression were performed. Results: We found no statistically significant differences between the study groups for sedentary time expressed as daily minutes (adjusted mean difference: β 18.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.4, 59.3), p = 0.374) and as proportion of wake/wear time (β 0.6 [95% CI 1.5, 2.6], p = 0.589) or for most secondary outcomes. Conclusion: Our c-RCT showed no evidence for the effectiveness of SAaH for all client outcomes. Refining SAaH, by adding components that intervene directly on homecare clients, may optimize the program and require further research. Additional research should explore the effectiveness of SAaH on behavioral determinants of clients and staff and cost-effectiveness.
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Previous research shows that power training can increase power output in older adults and may also improve physical performance, physical functioning, and independence. However, power training interventions have not been optimized for older adults. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a power training program called Powerful Ageing in older adults. A total of 28 older adults participated in a 12-week power training intervention at an intensity of 20-30% 1RM. The primary outcome, feasibility, was assessed through intervention retention, adherence (attendance and compliance), and safety. Secondary outcomes were measured in health domains of the ICF. In the function domain, muscle power and anaerobic power were assessed using a weighted squat and Wingate test, respectively. In the activities domain, physical performance was measured using the 6-minute walk test, and in the participation domain, physical activity in daily life and health status were evaluated using an accelerometer and the SF-36 questionnaire, respectively.
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Among runners, there is a high drop-out rate due to injuries and loss of motivation. These runners often lack personalized guidance and support. While there is much potential for sports apps to act as (e-)coaches to help these runners to avoid injuries, set goals, and maintain good intentions, most available running apps primarily focus on persuasive design features like monitoring, they offer few or no features that support personalized guidance (e.g., personalized training schemes). Therefore, we give a detailed description of the working mechanism of Inspirun e-Coach app and on how this app uses a personalized coaching approach with automatic adaptation of training schemes based on biofeedback and GPS-data. We also share insights into how end-users experience this working mechanism. The primary conclusion of this study is that the working mechanism (if provided with accurate data) automatically adapts training sessions to the runners’ physical workload and stimulates runners’ goal perception, motivation, and experienced personalization. With this mechanism, we attempted to make optimal use of the potential of wearable technology to support the large group of novice or less experienced runners and that by providing insight in our working mechanisms, it can be applied in other technologies, wearables, and types of sports.
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More and more people suffer from age-related eye conditions, e.g. Macular Degeneration. One of the problems experienced by these people is navigation. A strategy shown by many juvenile visually impaired persons (VIPs) is using auditory information for navigation. Therefore, it is important to train age-related VIPs to use auditory information for navigation. Hence the serious game HearHere was developed to train the focused auditory attention of age-related VIPs enhancing the use of auditory information for navigation, available as an application for tablets. Players of the game are instructed to navigate virtually as quickly as possible to a specific sound, requiring focused auditory attention. In an experimental study, the effectiveness of the game on improving focused auditory attention was examined. Forty participants were included, all students of the University of Groningen with normal or corrected-to-normal vision. By including sighted participants, we could investigate whether someone who was used to rely on its vision could improve its focused auditory attention after playing HearHere. As a control, participants played a digital version of Sudoku. The order of playing the games was counterbalanced. Participants were asked to perform a dichotic listening task before playing any game, after playing the first game and after playing the second game. It was found that participants improved significantly more in their performance on the dichotic listening task after having played HearHere (p<.001) than after playing Sudoku (p=.040). This means the game indeed improves focused auditory attention, a skill necessary to navigate on sounds. In conclusion, we recommend the game to become part of the orientation and mobility program, offering age-related VIPs the opportunity to practice the use of auditory information for navigation. Currently, we are working on a version that is suitable for actual use.
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