An Updated Review of Interventions that Include Promotion of Physical Activity for Adult Men

The marked disparity in life expectancy between men and women suggests men are a vulnerable group requiring targeted health promotion programs. As such, there is an increasing need for health promotion strategies that effectively engage men with their health and/or illness management. Programs that promote physical activity could significantly improve the health of men. Although George et al. (Sports Med 42(3):281, 30) reviewed physical activity programs involving adult males published between 1990 and 2010, developments in men’s health have prompted the emergence of new sex- and gender-specific approaches targeting men. The purpose of this review was to: (1) extend and update the review undertaken by George et al. (Sports Med 42(3):281, 30) concerning the effectiveness of physical activity programs in males, and (2) evaluate the integration of gender-specific influences in the content, design, and delivery of men’s health promotion programs. A search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and the SPORTDiscus databases for articles published between January 2010 and August 2014 was conducted. In total, 35 studies, involving evaluations of 31 programs, were identified. Findings revealed that a variety of techniques and modes of delivery could effectively promote physical activity among men. Though the majority of programs were offered exclusively to men, 12 programs explicitly integrated gender-related influences in male-specific programs in ways that recognized men’s interests and preferences. Innovations in male-only programs that focus on masculine ideals and gender influences to engage men in increasing their physical activity hold potential for informing strategies to promote other areas of men’s health

A Stakeholder Analysis for the Adaptive Reuse Assessment of Architectural Heritage: Towards an Integrated Approach

The adaptive reuse of heritage buildings is a complex decision problem because of the coexistence of different objectives and constraints, such as the preservation of the tangible and intangible value of the building, the limited number of resources, the needs of the community and the interests of private investors. According to the New Urban Agenda, the safeguard of cultural heritage sites and inclusive urbanization are key actions in the global commitment for sustainable urban development. The aim of this study is to identify an interdisciplinary methodology to address adaptive reuse in the earliest planning phases by combining several techniques, such as situation analysis, stakeholder mapping, value assessment and multi-criteria decision-making. Our model has been tested on an Italian case study in Arezzo, an industrial building listed as a national heritage site. With the deindustrialization of the area, its industrial operations ceased and it was later abandoned under threat of demolition. After years of unsustainable redevelopment driven by economic factors, this study is the first attempt to evaluate the adaptability of the building for new uses while negotiating the interests of the stakeholders. This approach makes it possible to effectively compare different scenarios and identify the most satisfactory use of historic buildings. After mapping stakeholder demands, this research proposes a sensitivity analysis which explores the influence of stakeholders on the multi-criteria decision-making method. The results confirm the importance of including many stakeholders in the process and prove the potential of the methodology in managing the adaptive reuse of historic buildings