title: The effectiveness of a 17-week lifestyle intervention on health behaviors among airline pilots during COVID-19

authors: Wilson, Daniel

subjects: COVID-19

abstract: PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 17-week, 3-component lifestyle intervention for enhancing health behaviors during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 
METHODS: A parallel-group (intervention and control) study was conducted amongst 79 airline pilots over a 17-week period during the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention group (n = 38) received a personalized sleep, dietary, and physical activity (PA) program. The control group (n = 41) received no intervention. Outcome measures for sleep, fruit and vegetable intake, PA, and subjective health were measured though an online survey before and after the 17-week period. The changes in outcome measures were used to determine the efficacy of the intervention. 
RESULTS: Significant main effects for Time × Group were found for International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Walk (p = 0.02) and for all other outcome measures (p < 0.01). The intervention group significantly improved in sleep duration (p < 0.01; d = 1.02), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score (p < 0.01; d = -1.01), moderate-to-vigorous PA (p < 0.01; d = 1.32), fruit and vegetable intake (p < 0.01; d = 3.11), Short-Form-12v2 physical score (p < 0.01; d = 1.84), and Short-Form-12v2 mental score (p < 0.01; d = 2.69). The control group showed significant negative change for sleep duration (p < 0.01; d = -0.47), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score (p < 0.01; d = 0.28), and Short-Form-12v2 mental score (p < 0.01; d = -0.64). 
CONCLUSION: Results provide preliminary evidence that a 3-component healthy sleep, eating and PA intervention elicit improvements in health behaviors and perceived subjective health in pilots and may improve quality of life during an unprecedented global pandemic.

text: The effectiveness of a 17-week lifestyle intervention on health behaviors among airline pilots during COVID-19 PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 17-week, 3-component lifestyle intervention for enhancing health behaviors during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 
METHODS: A parallel-group (intervention and control) study was conducted amongst 79 airline pilots over a 17-week period during the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention group (n = 38) received a personalized sleep, dietary, and physical activity (PA) program. The control group (n = 41) received no intervention. Outcome measures for sleep, fruit and vegetable intake, PA, and subjective health were measured though an online survey before and after the 17-week period. The changes in outcome measures were used to determine the efficacy of the intervention. 
RESULTS: Significant main effects for Time × Group were found for International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Walk (p = 0.02) and for all other outcome measures (p < 0.01). The intervention group significantly improved in sleep duration (p < 0.01; d = 1.02), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score (p < 0.01; d = -1.01), moderate-to-vigorous PA (p < 0.01; d = 1.32), fruit and vegetable intake (p < 0.01; d = 3.11), Short-Form-12v2 physical score (p < 0.01; d = 1.84), and Short-Form-12v2 mental score (p < 0.01; d = 2.69). The control group showed significant negative change for sleep duration (p < 0.01; d = -0.47), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score (p < 0.01; d = 0.28), and Short-Form-12v2 mental score (p < 0.01; d = -0.64). 
CONCLUSION: Results provide preliminary evidence that a 3-component healthy sleep, eating and PA intervention elicit improvements in health behaviors and perceived subjective health in pilots and may improve quality of life during an unprecedented global pandemic.

year: 2020

title: Uptake, experiences and barriers to cervical screening for trans and non‐binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Carroll, Rona

abstract: Background: Little is known about experiences and barriers for trans and non- binary (TGNB) people eligible for cervical screening in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Aims: To identify uptake, barriers and reasons for delaying cervical cancer screen-ing among TGNB people in Aotearoa.
Materials and Methods: The 2018 Counting Ourselves data on TGNB people as-signed female at birth aged 20– 69 years who had ever had sex, were analysed to report on experiences of those who were eligible for cervical screening (n = 318). Participants answered questions about whether they had taken part in cervical screening and reasons behind any delays in receiving the test.
Results: Trans men were more likely than non- binary participants to report that they did not require cervical screening or were unsure if they needed it. For those who had delayed cervical screening, 30% did so due to feeling worried about how they would be treated as a trans or non- binary person and 35% due to another reason. Other reasons for delay related to general and gender- related discomfort, previous traumatic experiences, anxiety or fear of the test and pain. Material bar-riers to access included cost and lack of information.
Conclusions: The current cervical screening program in Aotearoa does not con-sider the needs of TGNB people, leading to delayed and reduced uptake of cervical screening. Health providers require education on the reasons TGNB people delay or avoid cervical screening in order to provide appropriate information and affirm-ative healthcare environments. The human papillomavirus self- swab may address some of the existing barriers.

text: Uptake, experiences and barriers to cervical screening for trans and non‐binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand Background: Little is known about experiences and barriers for trans and non- binary (TGNB) people eligible for cervical screening in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Aims: To identify uptake, barriers and reasons for delaying cervical cancer screen-ing among TGNB people in Aotearoa.
Materials and Methods: The 2018 Counting Ourselves data on TGNB people as-signed female at birth aged 20– 69 years who had ever had sex, were analysed to report on experiences of those who were eligible for cervical screening (n = 318). Participants answered questions about whether they had taken part in cervical screening and reasons behind any delays in receiving the test.
Results: Trans men were more likely than non- binary participants to report that they did not require cervical screening or were unsure if they needed it. For those who had delayed cervical screening, 30% did so due to feeling worried about how they would be treated as a trans or non- binary person and 35% due to another reason. Other reasons for delay related to general and gender- related discomfort, previous traumatic experiences, anxiety or fear of the test and pain. Material bar-riers to access included cost and lack of information.
Conclusions: The current cervical screening program in Aotearoa does not con-sider the needs of TGNB people, leading to delayed and reduced uptake of cervical screening. Health providers require education on the reasons TGNB people delay or avoid cervical screening in order to provide appropriate information and affirm-ative healthcare environments. The human papillomavirus self- swab may address some of the existing barriers.

year: 2023

title: Diacritic Restoration and the Development of a Part-of-Speech Tagset for the Māori Language

authors: Cocks, John

subjects: Māori

abstract: This thesis investigates two fundamental problems in natural language processing: diacritic restoration and part-of-speech tagging. Over the past three decades, statistical approaches to diacritic restoration and part-of-speech tagging have grown in interest as a consequence of the increasing availability of manually annotated training data in major languages such as English and French. However, these approaches are not practical for most minority languages, where appropriate training data is either non-existent or not publically available. Furthermore, before developing a part-of-speech tagging system, a suitable tagset is required for that language. In this thesis, we make the following contributions to bridge this gap:

Firstly, we propose a method for diacritic restoration based on naive Bayes classifiers that act at word-level. Classifications are based on a rich set of features, extracted automatically from training data in the form of diacritically marked text. This method requires no additional resources, which makes it language independent. The algorithm was evaluated on one language, namely Māori, and an accuracy exceeding 99% was observed.

Secondly, we present our work on creating one of the necessary resources for the development of a part-of-speech tagging system in Māori, that of a suitable tagset. The tagset described was developed in accordance with the EAGLES guidelines for morphosyntactic annotation of corpora, and was the result of in-depth analysis of the Māori grammar.

text: Diacritic Restoration and the Development of a Part-of-Speech Tagset for the Māori Language This thesis investigates two fundamental problems in natural language processing: diacritic restoration and part-of-speech tagging. Over the past three decades, statistical approaches to diacritic restoration and part-of-speech tagging have grown in interest as a consequence of the increasing availability of manually annotated training data in major languages such as English and French. However, these approaches are not practical for most minority languages, where appropriate training data is either non-existent or not publically available. Furthermore, before developing a part-of-speech tagging system, a suitable tagset is required for that language. In this thesis, we make the following contributions to bridge this gap:

Firstly, we propose a method for diacritic restoration based on naive Bayes classifiers that act at word-level. Classifications are based on a rich set of features, extracted automatically from training data in the form of diacritically marked text. This method requires no additional resources, which makes it language independent. The algorithm was evaluated on one language, namely Māori, and an accuracy exceeding 99% was observed.

Secondly, we present our work on creating one of the necessary resources for the development of a part-of-speech tagging system in Māori, that of a suitable tagset. The tagset described was developed in accordance with the EAGLES guidelines for morphosyntactic annotation of corpora, and was the result of in-depth analysis of the Māori grammar.

year: 2012