Why place matters: imaginative geography and international student mobility

This paper develops and extends the recent work on international student mobility by expanding beyond the traditional push–pull factors of migration to show that students are influenced by more than the economic in their decision of where to study. It uses original data collected through interviews and focus groups with 38 higher education international students at three UK universities located in Aberdeen, Belfast and Nottingham to show that when students choose to study overseas they are influenced by diverse perceptions of place that they have constructed over long periods of time. These imaginative geographies are the direct result of exposure to a range of different media, as well as stories relayed to them from members of their social networks. This paper demonstrates that students studying in Scotland and Northern Ireland appear to have highly developed imaginative geographies in relation to their chosen study sites. By contrast, international students studying in England tended to have little conception of their chosen place of study. In this case the powerful imaginative geographies that had been instilled within them focused on London, overshadowing their understanding of their chosen study site

An iPad app for recording movement paths and associated spatial behaviors

This paper describes an iPad App, known as iPfad (‘Pfad’ means ‘path’ in German) created specifically for the real-time recording of wayfinding behaviors in buildings and outdoor environments. The first part of the paper reviews other spatial-temporal behavioral recording programs and compares their features to the iPfad App, which is introduced in the next section of the paper. The third section presents a pilot study in which the App was tested and discusses the resultant user feedback. It concludes that the iPad is a particularly useful device for behavioral observations in the field, but that further development, particularly of adding additional post-hoc data-analysis, could be beneficial for future versions of the iPfad App

Weight status and meeting the physical activity, sleep, and screen-time guidelines among Texas children: results from a population based, cross-sectional analysis

Abstract Background Evidence suggests that the interactive effects of physical activity, screen-time and sleep are stronger than independent effects of these behaviors on pediatric obesity. However, this hypothesis has not been fully examined among samples of young school-aged children. The aim of this study is to determine the association of weight status with meeting the physical activity, screen-time, and sleep guidelines, independently and concurrently, among 2nd grade children. Methods The Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition Project collected parent-reported physical activity, screen-time, and sleep, and measured body height and weight on a statewide representative weighted sample (n = 320,005) of children. Weighted multivariable logistic regressions were used to assess associations of weight status (classified using age- and sex-specific body weight [kg]/height [m]2, based on International Obesity Task Force cutoffs) with meeting the physical activity, screen-time, and sleep guidelines, while controlling for relevant covariates (age, sex, race/ethnicity, comorbidities etc.). Results A greater proportion of healthy weight children (9.9%) met the physical activity, screen-time, and sleep guidelines concurrently compared to children who are thin (3.3%), or children with overweight (5.7%), obese (3.5%), and morbid obesity (1.0%). Children who were thin (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]:0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.10, 1.50), overweight (aOR = 0.75, CI: 0.33, 1.70), obese (aOR = 0.53, CI: 0.15, 1.81), and morbidly obese (aOR = 0.10, CI: 0.02, 0.28) had lower odds of concurrently meeting the guidelines compared to children with healthy weight. Conclusions Among this representative sample of Texas children, weight status was associated with meeting physical activity, screen-time, and sleep guidelines. Future studies should aim to evaluate causal relations between these behaviors and weight status

Foot-based audit of streets adjacent to new light rail stations in Houston, Texas: measurement of health-related characteristics of the built environment for physical activity research

Abstract Background Active travel to and from a transit station may provide significant amounts of physical activity and improve health. The ease with which people can traverse the distance to the transit station may impede or support active travel. Therefore, transit stations that have features that are supportive of utilitarian physical activity would be desirable. This study aimed to characterize the built environment surrounding new light rail transit (LRT) stations in the City of Houston, Texas. Methods In 2014, we used a series of systematic protocols and a standardized environmental audit instrument, the Analytic Audit Tool, to collect data on segments (streets) that surround 22 LRT stations that were being newly built. Using Geographic Information System (GIS), we assembled all the segments that intersect a 0.25-mile circular buffer around each station for the audit exercise. Several 3- to 4-member teams of trained auditors completed the audit exercise on a subset of these identified segments. Our analysis were descriptive in nature. We provided the frequency distributions of audited features across the study area. We also followed an original algorithm to produce several composite index scores for our study area. The composite index score is indicative of the prevalence of physical activity friendly/unfriendly features in the study area. Results In all, we audited a total of 590 segments covering a total of 218 US Census blocks, and eight City of Houston super neighborhoods. Findings suggest the environment around the new LRT stations may not be supportive of physical activity. In general, the audited segments lacked land use integration; had abandoned buildings, had uneven sidewalks; were not bike-friendly, had minimal presence of public-recreational facilities that would support physical activity; and had significant physical disorder. Notably, certain attractive and comfort features were frequently to usually available. Conclusions Current findings, which will be compared to follow-up audit data, can be useful for future researchers and practitioners interested in the built environment around LRT stations