Information dissemination during public health emergencies: analysing the international flow of COVID-19-related news.

A large-scale exchange of information between media across national borders is frequently observed when a worldwide public health emergency occurs. This study investigated the global news citation network in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic by analysing the network structure at different levels to identify important nodes and the relationships among news organisations. The results show that COVID-19-related international news flow had a complex and unequal pattern, with a few countries and media outlets occupying a prominent place in the network and three media groups played key but different roles in disseminating the news. It was jointly influenced by national traits, the relatedness between countries, and the pandemic emergency with public health risks. From a global perspective, the media of the United States, mainland China, and the United Kingdom played the most important parts in collaboration within the world media system in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementation of Brain Breaks® in the Classroom and Its Effects on Attitudes towards Physical Activity in a Chinese School Setting.

This study aimed to examine the effects of three-months of classroom-based Brain Breaks Physical Activity Solution (Brain Breaks®) on attitudes toward physical activity levels of primary school children in Henan Province, China. The participants were 704 children enrolled in grades 3-5 who were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The experimental group participated in Brain Breaks® video intervention for 3-5 min daily, at low-to-moderate intensity for three consecutive months. The control group resumed their normal routine. The children's attitudes in both groups towards physical activity (PA) were evaluated using the self-reported Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (APAS), before and after the intervention. The effects of the intervention on APAS scores were analyzed using mixed model analysis of variance with Time as within-subject, and Group as between-subject factors. The analysis revealed evidence in support of the positive effect of classroom video interventions such as Brain Break on children's attitudes toward importance, fun, and trying to do their personal best in physical activity. Also revealed was the important role the teacher plays in this process.