The restoration of the ancient Silk Road intends to reconnect China with Africa, the Middle East, and Europe through a railway network, airports, roads, seaports, and an optical fiber system. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has three components. One Belt, One Road (OBOR) is based upon two parts of the BRI; the maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road economic belt. OBOR is based upon six economic corridors. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the smartest corridor under OBOR, which passes only through Pakistan, and after completion, will provide a safe and cheap route for China to import oil and energy. CPEC is a multidimensional project under which much infrastructure development initiative has been started to improve the infrastructure and economic development of Pakistan. Infrastructure development is an essential requirement in economic growth, one which further leads to industrialization and is helpful in economic development. The present study was conducted in Pakistan and explored how infrastructure development under the CPEC is useful for the sustainable development of Pakistan, as well as which kind of infrastructure development projects have been included in the CPEC to improve the socio-economic paradigm of Pakistan. A sample of 500 respondents was selected through a multistage sampling technique from the two-node cities. A questionnaire survey was used to collect primary data. The results of the study show that the CPEC is a catalyst for Pakistan to improve its socio-economic conditions and to achieve sustainable development. The participants of the survey agreed that CPEC will improve the socio-economic paradigm of Pakistan and will be helpful in the achievement of sustainable development goals.
BackgroundCOVID-19 break out has created panic and fear in society. A strict kind of lockdown was imposed in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. During home confinement due to lockdown, people face multidimensional issues. The present study explored the psychological impacts of COVID-19 home confinement during the lockdown period and Wuhan’s residents’ attitude toward physical activity.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted to collect the primary data according to the study objectives. The population was Wuhan residents (+ 18 years) who were in home confinement. A total of 2280 participant’s reply to the online questionnaire survey and collected data after quantifying the data, about 2200 (96.49%); about (49.8%) female, about (49.4%) male, others about (0.2%), and about (0.6%) were not disclosed their gender participants responses were used for analysis. The collected data were analyzed through appropriate statistical techniques.ResultsAccording to results, H1 is supported with β = −40.793, t = 57.835, p = 0.000, which claimed a negative association between COVID-19 lockdown policy and behavior and attitude. Results for H2 reveals that the COVID-19 lockdown policy have negative influence on emotional control with β = −0.769, t = 46.766, p = 0.000 and it is supported. H3 documented a significant positive relationship between COVID-19 lockdown policy and lockdown period psychological impact, which means lockdown policy, is the main reason to increase the lockdown psychological impact. Further, COVID-19 lockdown policy have negative influence on physical activity (H4) and self-belief (H5) with β = −0.657, t = 32.766, p = 0.000 and β = −0.620, t = −6.766, p = 0.000 respectively. H6 stated that there is a positive impact of behavior and attitude toward physical activity. The results for H6, behavior, and attitude affecting the physical activity with β = 0.401, t = 10, p = 0.000, which is supported.ConclusionCOVID-19 home confinement created various psychological impacts, negatively affecting the emotional state due to depression and anxiety. Physical activity is the best strategy to manage human nature’s psychological issues, and people’s attitudes were positive toward physical activity during home confinement. However, the lockdown policy also affects physical activity participation negatively, and a sedentary lifestyle prevailed during home confinement.
Background: Highly infectious respiratory disease COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China, and spread worldwide. Different measures have been adopted worldwide to contain the COVID-19, and these measures have various impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (CP) and lockdown policy on physical health (PH)–psychological health (PsH), physical activity (PA), and overall well-being (OW) in the context of HRQoL, exploring the mediating role of emotional regulation (ER).Method: The current study was conducted in two provincial cities of China. An online survey was conducted in both the cities to collect the data. After quantifying the data, a total of 2,200 respondents data were analyzed through appropriate statistical techniques.Results: The study results indicate that CP was found significantly and negatively related to PH (β = −0.157, t = 9.444, p < 0.001). A significant relationship was found between CP and PsH (β = 0.779, t = 45.013, p < 0.001). The third prediction revealed a significant negative relationship between the CP and OW (β = −0.080, t = 5.261, p < 0.001). The CP and PA had a significant negative relationship (β = −0.047, t = 3.351, p < 0.001).Conclusion: The PH, PsH, and OW of the Chinese people were affected due to the CP and lockdown measures. It is suggested that ER intervention reduces the negative psychological impacts for improving quality of life. ER can function one's sentiments in their social environment effectively for quality of life.
Sport has been recognized as an essential tool for the implementation of the SDGs by The Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. The Chinese government has launched a Healthy China 2030 plan in response to the health-related SDGs. The Chinese government has introduced different kinds of measures under Healthy China 2030 plan to achieve health-related SDGs through sport and physical activity. The Healthy China program is compatible with SDGs regarding health, sport, and physical activity. After introducing the program with sustainable built environment intervention for sport and physical activity, the elderly population of China is participating in sport and physical activity to improve the national fitness level and prevent NCDs. Sport is playing a vital role in preventing NCDs in the shape of increasing physical activity among the Chinese people. Sports and physical activity play a crucial role in the implementation of health-related SDGs and further help in the achievement of "Healthy China" 2030 goal. China's localization policies for the realization of SDGs have a global impact through glocalization in the BRI participant's countries and supporting them to make their public health system secure and promoting global health governance.
Background A modifiable risk factor for many diseases is physical inactivity. In this modern era, physical activity is acknowledged as a vital strategy to promote good health. According to the WHO, regular physical activity has various benefits for psycho-physical health. Decreased physical inactivity is happening in China due to the increased participation of the Chinese population in physical activity. The human body needs a specific level of physical activity to maintain good health. Objective The main aim of the present study was to assess the Chinese people’s understanding of physical activity and participation in physical activity as a preventive measure against different diseases. Methods The present study was exploratory and conducted in the Kunshan county-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. A well-designed questionnaire was used to collect the data from the survey participants. A total of 3390 residents were selected from 1300 households through a simple random sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS software. Both univariate and bivariate analysis were performed. Results The survey results showed that the majority of women are participating in physical activity. Most of the Kunshan people participate in physical activity one time or more than one time per week. They perform 30–60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity to improve physical fitness, recreation, and disease prevention. Fitness walking is the most common type of physical activity among Kunshan people, and most of them participate in physical activity at night. Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that post-test ranks are statistically higher than pre-test ranks (P<0.0039, 0.0039, 0.0039, 0.0020, 0.0001, 0.0156, 0.0313). Conclusion The study results showed that physical activity plays a catalyst role in improving human health on a natural path. It reduces the risk factor of non-communicable diseases and promotes general wellbeing. These findings show that physical activity level increases in Chinese society as more people participate in physical activity for health-being.
BackgroundPhysical activity is an essential need of the human body that helps improve the physical fitness of an individual and creates a positive impact on overall wellbeing. Smartphone applications play an essential role in providing several benefits to consumers by offering various capabilities in terms of health and fitness.COVID-19 preventive measures shut down public places, and people cannot go to the gym and parks for physical activity. Smart applications for physical activity are an effective way to keep active while staying at home.ObjectiveThe objective of the present study was to assess the mediating role of the e-platforms physical activity among the Chinese people in China during the COVID-19 lockdown.MethodThe participants in this study were Chinese citizens living in home isolation during the early stages of the epidemic in China. The primary data was collected via an online survey using a convenience sample strategy in accordance with the study purpose. The collected data were cleaned by using the SPSS-25 statistical software. SmartPLS 3.0 software was used to investigate the suggested study framework utilizing the structural equation modeling technique.ResultsDescriptive statistics shows that the ratio of gender includes 49% (n = 2,626) male and 51% females in the entire sample. SEM results show that all hypotheses (H1: β = 0.497, T = 43.068, P = <0.001; H2: β = 0.498, T = 41.078, P = <0.001; H3: β = 0.498, T = 41.078, P = <0.001; H4: β = 0.471, T = 39.103, P = <0.001; H5: β = 0.468, T = 42.633, P = <0.001; H6: β = 0.251, T = 11.212, P = <0.001; H7: β = 0.367, T = 16.032, P = <0.001; H8: β = 0.170, T = 13.750, P = <0.001; H9: β = 0.125, T = 10.604, P = <0.001; H10: β = 0.173, T = 14.842, P = <0.001) were statistically confirmed.ConclusionIn COVID-19, when there are limited physical activity resources, smart applications play an essential role as an alternative to gyms and change people's perspective regarding the adoption of health and fitness. Smart applications have made exercise and physical activity accessible and convenient to adopt.
Risk management is an essential way for farmers to reduce uncertainty. In this research, a stratified random sampling method was used to survey 350 maize farmers in four different agro-ecological regions in Bangladesh. Using the multivariate probit model, this study explored the possible correlation between farmers’ perceptions of catastrophic risks and their attitudes towards risk sources—as well as the possible correlation between contract farming, diversification and precautionary savings as risk management strategies. The results confirm the relevance of risk management adoption decisions and reveal that the use of one risk management tool may simultaneously influence the use of another risk management tool. In addition, the research results also show that age, education level, extension experience, monthly household income, farming areas, land ownership and risk aversion nature are the most important factors that affect the adoption of risk management strategies. The research results provide further explanation and information and provide a platform for decision-makers to predict appropriate risk management strategies.
Background Virtual reality applications are made for various objectives such as business, entertainment, education, and healthcare. Anxiety, phobias, distress, disordered eating, drug addiction, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression, and autism spectrum disorders may benefit from virtual reality-based approaches. The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the way we live, enjoy, study, sport, and socialize significantly. Virtual reality fitness technology gained much attention during the COVID-19 preventive measures time. Objective The present study explores the role of virtual reality fitness in improving overall wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic home isolation period in terms of physical-psychological health and physical activity. Methods A total of 2300 individuals were recruited using the snowball sampling technique to participate in the study. The primary data were collected using an anonymous web-based survey. SPSS-23 and Smart-PLS 3.2.9 software were used to analyze the data. Results The direct path coefficient analysis of the study constructs show that virtual reality fitness has (preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness -> overall wellbeing, preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness -> physical exercise, and preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness -> physical health) profound effects on the research participants’ mental and physical wellbeing of the study participants while indirect mediation analysis shows that virtual reality fitness has (preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness ->overall wellbeing, preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness -> physical exercise, preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness ->physical health) significant impacts. Conclusion Our study results concluded that house exercises through virtual reality fitness are a good substitute for public gyms and private group fitness programs during the first pandemic wave for physical-psychological and overall wellbeing. Virtual reality fitness technology can alleviate many of the challenges brought on by the epidemic, resulting in increased utilization.
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