IMPACT OF LEISURE ACTIVITIES ON WELL-BEING IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC SITUATION, A CROSS SECTIONAL SURVEY

Aims Of Study: During COVID-19 people were forced to stay home and this increased the risk of limiting their PA and adaptation of sedentary behaviour hence our objective is to measure the impact of leisure activities on well-being during COVID-19. Methodology: 366 participants were selected, using Non-probability convenient sampling from UOL and PGC. PA and well-being were assessed using IPAQ-short form and WHO-5 well-being questionnaire. Results: IPAQ-short form with well-being Pearson Chi square was 638.012, Spearman correlation was 0.956 and p-value Asymptotic significance (2 sided) was .000 which means there is positive strong correlation between variables. Limitations and Future Implication: Adults having ages 18-40yrs volunteered due to short time period and since our study limited to only 2 settings so to generalize our outcomes for mass population was not feasible. During lockdown gaining past medical history in data collection was impacted, it is suggested to include the role of Physiotherapist in improving health status by PA, create awareness among common population about role of PA and their relation with well-being also including diversity in age groups, ethnicity and localities is suggested. Originality: Strong positive correlation between PA and well-being. Conclusion: This study shows that during Covid-19 pandemic, those individuals who remained physically active had good impact on their health. Being physically active not only improves an individual’s physical fitness level but also helps to cope with psychological problems degrading one’s mental health so our study found out direct relation between physical activity levels and health status.

Present and Prospective Role of Electronic Media in the Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies Among Farmers of the Punjab, Pakistan

In this age of information technology revolution, extension can empower the farming community with latest knowledge through electronic media for the development of agricultural sector. In Pakistan, this important sector has been facing various challenges like increasing population, declining trend in terms of GDP, fluctuated agricultural growth, globalization, weaker dimensions of agricultural extension. Obviously, the impediments of physical distance and logistic problem cannot be overcome only through personal contacts. In this context, strengthening extension services with effective use of electronic media seems indispensable. Thus, the research was conducted to get the real picture of the farmers’ perceptions regarding present and prospective role of electronic media for dissemination of agri. technologies among farmers. The research was conducted in Faisalabad district of the Punjab province, Pakistan. Multistage random sampling technique was used. The total sample size comprised 330 respondents. The collected data through a validated and reliable interview schedule were analyzed through computer software SPSS. Percentages, mean, standard deviation and scores were obtained. Kendall''s tau_b correlation were computed to find out the relationship between independent and dependent variables. The results showed a trend change from radio towards TV and from telephone towards mobile phone as far as the general use of electronic media was concerned. As a whole the awareness of various electronic media based programmes and contacts was very low. Further, the use of electronic media for getting agri. information was not encouraging. The range of using electronic media specifically obtaining agri. information was from very low to low levels. Three extreme cases of not using electronic media for agri. information were audio cassettes/CDs, video cassettes/CDs and internet. Lack of awareness and lack of interest appeared as common impediments hampering the agri. technology transfer through electronic media. In the present scenario, as a whole, electronic media did not show a healthy picture in all the areas both in sense of extent of agri. information as well as respondents’ perceived effectiveness thereof. Concerning various positive aspects of agri. information obtained through electronic media, TV was at the top in each aspect with total score value. Mobile phone occupied the 2 nd position, radio was at 3rd position. Telephone and agri. helpline were perceived to be at the bottom. Concerning relationship between the demographic characteristics and use of electronic media for getting agri. information, there existed highly significant positive relationship between farming experience and use of radio. There also existed a positive significant correlation between age and use of radio. However, significant negative correlation was found in case of landholding and farmers’ annual income with radio. In case of TV, highly negative relationship was found with age and farming experience. In case of mobile phone, highly significant positive correlation was found with education. Similarly, significant positive relationship was also seen between the use of mobile phone and farming experience. Concerning the preference for obtaining agri. information in future, TV was rated at the top. The other subsequent electronic media were mobile phone, radio, agri. helpline and telephone. However, level of preference was reduced in cases of audio cassettes/CDs, video cassettes/CDs and internet.