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 campaigns’ 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 don’t people do what’s good for them? : an examination of the value(s) which affect physical activity.

One of the 21st Century’s 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 mid‐ 1980s and retain a range of gender, age, social‐economic and ethnic participation inequalities. Research has indicated that, when compared to men, women are more likely to: lead sedentary lifestyles (Hausenblas and Symons‐Downs, 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 women’s 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 ‘hard‐to‐reach’ 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 value‐in‐use rather than from the traditional price‐based perspective that tends to focus on the trade off of costs against benefits

Quantum imaging of spin states in optical lattices

We investigate imaging of the spatial spin distribution of atoms in optical lattices using non-resonant light scattering. We demonstrate how scattering spatially correlated light from the atoms can result in spin state images with enhanced spatial resolution. Furthermore, we show how using spatially correlated light can lead to direct measurement of the spatial correlations of the atomic spin distribution

The Use of Social Learning Theory and Communities of Practice in the Exploration of Social Interaction Between Hearing and Deaf Employees in the Workplace

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act has brought attention on disparities that focus on physical aspects of discrimination, there is a scarcity of research on the deaf employee\u27s day to day experiences in a hearing work environment. Due to the differences in communication styles between deaf and hearing individuals, deaf employees face obstacles in social interaction and participation in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to explore how the deaf employee\u27s social interaction and participation is impacted by their experiences with hearing and deaf employees in the workplace. A narrative inquiry qualitative design was used to gain understanding of the experiences of six deaf employees. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews. Three themes resonated through the data. The first theme is, Incompatible Forms of Communication: Isolation and Alienation . Thedeaf employees all described how differences in communication between them and hearing employees made them feel as if they were not a part of the workplace. The second theme is, I\u27m Deaf, but I\u27m Capable . The deaf employees described workplace experiences that left them feeling less than capable of performing job-related tasks. The third theme is, Suppression:Reluctance to Speak Out . Many of the participants recalled instances in which they were denied sign language interpreters for important meetings, but were afraid to express their anger or disappointment of being left out. This reluctance to speak out perpetuates feelings of isolation from other employees. Drawing upon the narratives of the partiicpants\u27 experiences with hearing coworkers and hearing supervisors, Wenger\u27s model of Communities of Practice was used in evaluating the workplace dynamics of the participants\u27 workplace environments. Based on the 14 characteristics of the Communities of Practice Model, the findings of this research show there is a need for improved communication between deaf and hearing employees to achieve a work environment conducive to learning and sharing of ideas

Application of semiconductor industry cleaning technologies for Genesis sample collectors

Genesis array collectors recovered after the sub-nominal landing have been exposed to particulate and molecular contamination. In this study, semiconductor industry based cleaning technologies are being evaluated for their efficacy in contaminant removal

The Knudsen temperature jump and the Navier-Stokes hydrodynamics of granular gases driven by thermal walls

Thermal wall is a convenient idealization of a rapidly vibrating plate used for vibrofluidization of granular materials. The objective of this work is to incorporate the Knudsen temperature jump at thermal wall in the Navier-Stokes hydrodynamic modeling of dilute granular gases of monodisperse particles that collide nearly elastically. The Knudsen temperature jump manifests itself as an additional term, proportional to the temperature gradient, in the boundary condition for the temperature. Up to a numerical pre-factor of order unity, this term is known from kinetic theory of elastic gases. We determine the previously unknown numerical pre-factor by measuring, in a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, steady-state temperature profiles of a gas of elastically colliding hard disks, confined between two thermal walls kept at different temperatures, and comparing the results with the predictions of a hydrodynamic calculation employing the modified boundary condition. The modified boundary condition is then applied, without any adjustable parameters, to a hydrodynamic calculation of the temperature profile of a gas of inelastic hard disks driven by a thermal wall. We find the hydrodynamic prediction to be in very good agreement with MD simulations of the same system. The results of this work pave the way to a more accurate hydrodynamic modeling of driven granular gases.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Improved signal analysis and time-synchronous reconstruction in waveform interpolation coding

This paper presents a waveform-matched waveform interpolation (WMWI) technique which enables improved speech analysis over existing WI coders. In WMWI, an accurate representation of speech evolution is produced by extracting critically-sampled pitch periods of a time-warped, constant pitch residual. The technique also offers waveform-matching capabilities by using an inverse warping process to near-perfectly reconstruct the residual. Here, a pitch track optimisation technique is described which ensures the speech residual can be effectively decomposed and quantised. Also, the pitch parameters required to efficiently quantise and recreate the pitch track, on a period-by-period basis, are identified. This allows time-synchrony between the original and decoded signals to be preserved

EBSD mapping of herringbone domain structures in tetragonal piezoelectrics

Herringbone domain structures have been mapped using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in two tetragonal piezoelectrics, lead zirconate titanate, [Pb(Zr,Ti)O<sub>3</sub>] and bismuth ferrite – lead titanate, [(PbTi)<sub>0.5</sub>(BiFe)<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>3</sub>]. Analysis of the domain misorientations across the band junctions shows that the structures correspond very well to crystallographic models. High resolution mapping with a 20 nm step size allowed the crystal rotation across one of these band junctions in lead zirconate titanate to be studied in detail and allowed an improved estimation of the peak strain at the junction, of 0.56 GPa. The significance of this for crack nucleation and propagation in such materials is discussed

Theory of Bose-Einstein condensation for trapped atoms

We outline the general features of the conventional mean-field theory for the description of Bose-Einstein condensates at near zero temperatures. This approach, based on a phenomenological model, appears to give excellent agreement with experimental data. We argue, however, that such an approach is not rigorous and cannot contain the full effect of collisional dynamics due to the presence of the mean-field. We thus discuss an alternative microscopic approach and explain, within our new formalism, the physical origin of these effects. Furthermore, we discuss the potential formulation of a consistent finite-temperature mean-field theory, which we claim necessiates an analysis beyond the conventional treatment.Comment: 12 pages. To appear in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 355 (1997