8,221 research outputs found
Towards developing understanding of the drivers, constraints from the consumption values underpinning participation in physical activity.
Overall participation rates in physical activity across the UK have remained relatively static since the mid 1980s, with attendant causes for concern about the inequality of participation rates amongst various target groups that may be worthy of specific investigation. Behaviour change models from the fields of leisure studies, consumer behaviour and social psychology offer conceptualisation of a notion of exchange underpinning the expectancy-value process, noting that, in order to facilitate a voluntary exchange there needs to be a value proposition that induces action and/or motivates effort from the consumer. It is therefore reasonable to assume that such value expectations will also influence health behaviour intentions.
This paper therefore aims to offer a more developing understanding of the drivers, constraints and experiential consumption values underpinning participation in physical activity. Results suggest that, rather than focusing on the social and altruistic values of behavioural changes, and given that the functional value of participation is already well-known (if not always acted upon) through social marketing campaignsâ educational efforts and through the media, it may be worth policymakers and leisure service providers focusing more on highlighting the emotional benefits to be gained, especially when targeting women to increase their participation in physical activit
Why donât people do whatâs good for them? : an examination of the value(s) which affect physical activity.
One of the 21st Centuryâs major public health issues is physical inactivity. Therefore one of the greatest public policy challenges is to find new ways of conferring to an inactive population the health related benefits that arise from being physically active in a way that not only leads to knowledge acquisition, but which also leads to increased levels of participation in physical activity. Participation rates in physical activity across the UK have remained stubbornly static since the midâ 1980s and retain a range of gender, age, socialâeconomic and ethnic participation inequalities.
Research has indicated that, when compared to men, women are more likely to: lead sedentary lifestyles (Hausenblas and SymonsâDowns, 2005), experience poor health (Bertakis et al., 2000), and feel more uncomfortable about their body image (Liechty et al., 2006), factors which impact on and/or result in lower participation levels, suggesting that social marketing campaigns to date have been largely ineffective. A central tenet of social marketing is to achieve a voluntary, not forced or coerced behaviour change by emphasising a value proposition that induces action from the consumer. Set in the context of publicly funded leisure facilities this paper offers empirical insights regarding the drivers, constraints and consumption values underpinning womenâs participation in physical activity. Our results suggest that value perceptions regarding the costs, benefits and enjoyment of exercise do not differ with gender. However, statistically significant differences exist between the genders regarding: the physical environment within which exercise occurs; the quality of service experience; and intrinsic factors such as social and altruistic value.
Insights gained from this research may be able to inform policymakers and leisure services providers regarding more effective methods of engaging âhardâtoâreachâ groups, such as women. Specifically, our findings suggest that exercise adoption is likely to be increased with targeted social marketing campaigns which focus on emphasising the experiential aspects of consuming physical activity viewed from the perspective of valueâinâuse rather than from the traditional priceâbased perspective that tends to focus on the trade off of costs against benefits
Dynamics of the BCS-BEC crossover in a degenerate Fermi gas
We study the short-time dynamics of a degenerate Fermi gas positioned near a
Feshbach resonance following an abrupt jump in the atomic interaction resulting
from a change of external magnetic field. We investigate the dynamics of the
condensate order parameter and pair wavefunction for a range of field
strengths. When the abrupt jump is sufficient to span the BCS to BEC crossover,
we show that the rigidity of the momentum distribution precludes any
atom-molecule oscillations in the entrance channel dominated resonances
observed in the 40K and 6Li. Focusing on material parameters tailored to the
40K Feshbach resonance system at 202.1 gauss, we comment on the integrity of
the fast sweet projection technique as a vehicle to explore the condensed phase
in the crossover regionComment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Characterisation of the dynamical quantum state of a zero temperature Bose-Einstein condensate
We describe the quantum state of a Bose-Einstein condensate at zero
temperature. By evaluating the Q-function we show that the ground state of
Bose-Einstein condensate under the Hartree approximation is squeezed. We find
that multimode Schroedinger cat states are generated as the condensate evolves
in a ballistic expansion.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
Application of the C++ standard library to problems in pattern recognition and reconstruction
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