Taking the Stairs instead: The impact of workplace design standards on health promotion strategies

Background: Comprehensive health promotion in Western Australia has been conducted from the point of views of policy development, promotion, education and service delivery. Much of this recent work has been focused on supporting workplaces – but there has yet to be any real focus on the design of the actual physical workplace environment from a health promotion perspective. Aims: This paper is aimed at highlighting the gap in health promotion knowledge by addressing how the disciplines of architecture and health promotion can work together to challenge the regulations that dictate design practice and ultimately bridge that gap for long-term change. The overarching aim is to undertake further evidenced-based research that will inform best practice in the planning and design of workplaces to reduce sedentary behaviour and increase opportunities for physical activity. Method: Within this wide objective this paper focuses in particular on the idea of stairs-versus-lift movement strategies within office buildings. By examining building design guidelines from a health promotion perspective we expose a central dichotomy, where health promotion posters say “Take the stairs instead” whereas the language of building design suggests that the lift is best.Results: From a design point of view, the National Codes of Construction (NCC), formally known as the Building Codes of Australia (BCA), the essential technical regulation for all building design and construction, primarily addresses the concepts of ‘egress’ and ‘travel distance’ for escape in the event of fire, and building access in terms of universal access. Additionally, The Property Council of Australia’s Guide to Office Building Quality prioritises lift performance criteria along with the quality and experience of lift use as a major grading factor. There is no provision in either set of standards for staircase quality and experience. Conclusion: The stairs, despite being promoted as better life choice for better health, is not promoted through these building codes nor, consequently, through the building design in actuality. It is proposed that health promotion strategies could be coupled with design-led movement strategies in workplace design so that the promotional language, such as “take the stairs instead”, is balanced by the design language of the building

Whose land is it anyway? Contesting urban fringe nature-based tourism and recreation in Western Australia

Urban fringe natural areas on public land are important resources for tourism and recreation use. However these contested areas are also in demand for a range of other land uses. How the land is managed can strongly influence opportunities for nature based tourism and recreation, and the benefits that these bring to participants and host communities. This paper examines the case of tourism and recreation access to the forested urban fringe of Perth, Western Australia (WA) using a typology of land occupancy and management priorities originally devised for private land use. A review of legislation and policy relating to tourism and recreation access to land in WA was conducted. Tourism and recreation groups and land managers associated with access to the Perth urban fringe natural areas were interviewed regarding their perceptions of land access management. Most land in the WA study area is publically owned and is therefore technically accessible to the public. In regions dominated by multiple private land owners such as Europe and the UK, varying approaches to land use management may be classified according to a predictable land occupancy typology that tends to be consistently applied. By contrast, the single public land holder in this area of WA, the State Government, lacks consistency in its approach to recreational and tourist access to land. This creates both public and governmental uncertainty and confusion regarding where and how land may be accessed on the Perth urban fringe

Exploring the perceived effectiveness of a life skills development program for high-performance athletes

The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes towards, experiences of, and perceived effectiveness of a life-skills programme for high-performance young athletes from multiple perspectives, including the athletes, coaches, parents, programme facilitators, and sport administrators. Six focus groups were conducted with 54 high-performance athletes from six sports: squash, softball, baseball, netball, triathlon, and surfing. Three focus groups were conducted with parents (n = 8) of athletes and a further eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with coaches (n = 4) and lead facilitators (n = 4) of the life-skills programme. Four semi-structured interviews were also held with representatives from State Sporting Associations (SSAs) from the sports involved. Thematic content analysis revealed seven main themes: achieving balance and managing stress, time management, goal setting, confidence and control, information overload and repetition, credible role-models, coach reinforcement and follow-up. The programme was perceived to be moderately successful in developing adaptive behaviours and motives including better engagement in training and in adopting time management and planning skills in contexts outside of sport such as homework and academic study. The programme also fostered the development of skills, attitudes, and motives important for sport success such as goal setting and having confidence to succeed. To improve the effectiveness of such programmes, more emphasis should be placed on the practice of, and engagement with, applied techniques to develop skills with less emphasis on information giving and theory. Facilitators of programmes should also be more pro-active in involving parents and coaches as a way to improve continuity and provide post-program reinforcement and support

Measuring, Mapping, Creating: A mixed method approach to sedentary behaviours and work-place design

This paper reports on the formation and success of an innovative interdisciplinary research team formed to tackle a current critical challenge in our social, cultural and built environments. The challenge—that of sedentary behaviour and its relationship to workplace design—is somewhat familiar to researchers in health promotion but is less so to architectural researchers. The research team has been especially choreographed to include a diverse membership with different skills and expertise ranging from highly scientific to highly creative practices. The team consists of experienced researchers from the fields of architecture, health promotion and recreation and includes early career researchers, doctoral and undergraduate students. The mixed methods employed in this study reinforce the value of engaging critical creative practices with scientific analyses. The success of the partnership is demonstrated by being awarded the first ‘Healthway’ grant to an area outside of Health Sciences at Curtin University. In undertaking the research and engaging in interdisciplinary practices it was found that all parties built understandings and capacities in unexpected and enriching ways. Tackling a real world challenge, such as this, through the full spectrum of scientific, critical and creative means results in multifaceted creative solutions and outputs with wide dissemination opportunities

Bostonia: 1998-1999, no. 1, 3-4

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Application of the Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire (OSPAQ) to office based workers

Background The workplace is a setting where sedentary behaviour is highly prevalent. Accurately measuring physical activity and sedentary behaviour is crucial to assess the impact of behavioural change interventions. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and criterion validity of the Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire (OSPAQ) and compare with data collected by accelerometers. Methods A test-retest study was undertaken on 99 participants using the OSPAQ. Data were then compared to accelerometer records of 41 participants. Reliability was assessed by paired t-test and intra-class correlations (ICC) via a two-way mixed model based on absolute agreement. Difference and agreement were measured by comparison of mean self-reported data with accelerometer data using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman plots. Results The ICCs for minutes spent sitting (0.66), standing (0.83) and walking (0.77) showed moderate to strong test-retest reliability. No significant differences were found between the repeated measurements taken seven days apart. Correlations with the accelerometer readings were moderate. The Bland-Altman plots showed moderate agreement for standing time and walking time but systematic variation for sedentary time. Conclusion The OSPAQ appears to have acceptable reliability and validity measurement properties for application in the office workplace setting

Social Sustainability and Volunteering: Broader Contextual Understandings of the Challenges and Solutions

Advocating for socially inclusive perspectives of volunteering, the United Nations Volunteering Report called for broader understandings to inform the field’s limited theoretical notions of volunteerism. In Australia, awareness of the inadequacy of organizational management perspectives of volunteering to respond to the diverse policy needs of the context is also strong. Volunteering in Australia, particularly the sport sector has played a critical role in the establishment and survival of communities, especially rural and remote parts of the nation. There is however, a paucity of research that captures the broader issues underpinning volunteering within the community sport sector, particularly the social sustainability implications. Undertaking broader research parameters, this formative qualitative study draws on volunteer narratives gained from six community sports contexts spanning diverse socio-economic and geographic contexts in Western Australia (WA). A key revelation is that the issues are context based and more innovative policy solutions that go beyond organizational management perspectives are vital to promote the social sustainability of the community sport sector

Unintended Socio-economic Consequences of Reduced Supply of Active Open Spaces in the Perth Outer Metropolitan Growth Areas: A review of informing literature.

The implication for communities that don’t have access to active playing fields is that they will be more likely to miss out on the specific social and economic benefits attributable to such spaces and, in particular, the activities they support. Combining the three key factors of supply of active open space, demand for active open space and socio-economic vulnerability, the local governments in the outer metropolitan areas of Perth are significantly worse off than the middle and inner suburbs