Associations between spatial access to physical activity facilities and frequency of physical activity; how do home and workplace neighbourhoods in West Central Scotland compare?

Background: Over a third of the Scottish population do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations, with a greater proportion of those from disadvantaged areas not meeting recommended levels. There is a great need for detailed understanding of why some people are active while others are not. It has been established that features within home neighbourhoods are important for promoting PA, and although around 60% of time spent in exercise daily is undertaken outside the residential environment, relatively little research includes both home and workplace neighbourhood contexts. This study utilised an existing west central Scotland survey and spatial data on PA facilities to examine whether, for working adults, there are links between access to facilities, within home and workplace neighbourhoods, and frequency of PA, and whether such associations difer by socio-economic group. Methods: Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), home and workplace postcodes of a sub-sample of ‘Transport, Health and Well-being’ 2010 study respondents (n=513) were mapped, along with public (i.e. publicsector funded) and private (i.e. private-sector funded) PA facilities (e.g. sports halls, gyms, pools etc.) within 800 m and 1600 m path/street network bufers of home and workplace postcodes. Using Analysis of Variance, associations between spatial access to PA facilities (i.e. facility counts within bufers) and self-reported PA (i.e. days being physically active in past month) were analysed. Models were run separately for access to any, public, private, and home, workplace, and home/workplace facilities. Associations were examined for all respondents, and stratifed by age and income deprivation. Results: Respondents’ PA frequency was associated with spatial access to specifc types of facilities near home and near home or workplace (combined). In general, PA frequency was higher where individuals lived/worked in closer proximity to private facilities and frequency lower where individuals lived/worked nearby to public facilities. Results varied by age and income deprivation sub-groups. Conclusion: This research contributes to methods exploring neighbourhood contextual infuences on PA behaviour; it goes beyond a focus upon home neighbourhoods and incorporates access to workplace neighbourhood facilities. Results demonstrate the importance of examining both neighbourhood types, and such fndings may feed into planning for behaviour-change interventions within both spaces

Existence Advertising, Price Competition, and Asymmetric Market Structure

We examine a two stage duopoly game in which firms advertise their existence to consumers in stage 1 and compete in prices in stage 2. Whenever the advertising technology generates positive overlap in customer bases the equilib- rium for the stage 1 game is asymmetric in that one firm chooses to remain small in comparison to its competitor. For a specific random advertising technology we show that one firm will always be half as large as the other. No equilibrium in pure price strategies exists in the stage 2 game and as long as there is some overlap in customer bases the mixed strategy equilibrium is far from the Bertrand equilibrium.Existence advertising; price dispersion; Bertrand paradox; information; duopoly

Going Strong: The Role of Physical Strength among the Scots of Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton

Drawing on the disciplines of social history and folklore, this article examines a much-neglected dimension of local story lore—feats of strength stories—among the immigrant Scots and their descendants in Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. Fieldwork conducted in both Gaelic and English, as well as print sources, document the rich prevalence of stories about exceptional physical strength and stamina, which once served as vital expressions of identity and community. These stories still form a vigorous component of the regional folktale corpus and represent a favourite genre among tradition bearers.Cet article, qui s’inspire de données propres au folklore et à l’histoire sociale, examine une dimension trop longtemps négligée des traditions locales—les exploits de personnes fortes—parmi les immigrants écossais, ainsi que leurs descendants dans l’est de la Nouvelle-Écosse et au Cap Breton. Des interviews menées tant en gaélique qu’en anglais, de même que des recherches dans des sources imprimées, révèlent une abondante collection d’histoires au sujet d’individus possédant une force physique exceptionelle; de plus, ces récits servirent à cette époque à exprimer leur identité et leur sens communautaire. Ces histoires font toujours partie du recueil de contes populaires dans la région et représentent un genre très apprécié de ceux et celles qui transmettent cette tradition orale

Do ‘environmental bads’ such as alcohol, fast food, tobacco, and gambling outlets cluster and co-locate in more deprived areas in Glasgow City, Scotland?

This study utilised an innovative application of spatial cluster analysis to examine the socio-spatial patterning of outlets selling potentially health-damaging goods/services, such as alcohol, fast food, tobacco and gambling, within Glasgow City, Scotland. For all categories of outlets combined, numbers of clusters increased linearly from the least to the most income deprived areas (i.e. one cluster within the least deprived quintile to ten within the most deprived quintile). Co-location of individual types of outlets (alcohol, fast food, tobacco and gambling) within similar geographical areas was also evident. This type of research could influence interventions to tackle the co-occurrence of unhealthy behaviours and contribute to policies tackling higher numbers of ‘environmental bads’ within deprived areas

Female Veterans: Satisfying Patterns of Daily Activities as Defined by the Life Balance Model

This phenomenological case study explored the occupational needs and life satisfaction of one female veteran upon reintegration into civilian life. One female veteran, with 23 years of military service, participated in a semi-structured telephone interview. Results demonstrated that military service negatively impacted the participant’s social interactions, physical and mental wellbeing, and ability to cope with stressors, indicating military service posed difficulties for the participant to engage in meaningful occupations upon reintegration. Recommendations included development of occupation-based interventions using the Person Environment and Occupation framework, and further research to identify appropriate services to facilitate successful reintegration into society for female veterans