Body Shame, Body Compassion and Physical Activity

Participation in physical activity in the population and especially in young people has been frequently highlighted as a concern, given the increased risk of serious health issues in people who are insufficiently active. Body image concerns and body shame have been suggested as reasons not to engage in physical activity for young people (especially girls). Self-compassion has been shown to be a useful tool in reducing body shame and dissatisfaction, similarly body compassion or body self-compassion have been suggested to be associated with exercise behaviour and body image. The present research aimed to explore the roles of body image and shame on physical activity and the potential for self-compassion and in particular compassion directed to one’s own body (body compassion) on explaining the association. First the associations between body image and physical activity in previous research findings are summarised in a scoping review. Previous research suggests an association between body image and physical activity, which appears to vary by gender, age, disability and ethnicity or race. The roles of body-related self-conscious emotions (e.g. body shame and pride) and of self-determined motives for physical activity are also suggested. The roles of body shame and pride and self-determination are described in a narrative review that suggests a role of self-compassion in predicting self-determined motives for physical activity and in reducing shame. The importance of body specific self-compassion in reducing body shame and increasing body pride is also discussed. Studies 1-3 describe the development and validation of a new measure of body compassion; the Body Compassion and Criticism Scale (BoCCS). In a sample of 728 participants aged 16-76, the factor structure of the BoCCS was examined through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The BoCCS was shown to have 4 subscales: (1) Body Kindness (2) Common Humanity (3) Motivated Action and (4) Body Criticism. These were shown to incorporate key elements of compassion and self-compassion. The factor structure was confirmed to be a bifactor model, whereby total score or subscales can be used. The BoCCS was also shown to have good internal consistency, construct validity and test-retest reliability (with 198 of the original participants). Differences in body compassion and its subscales were shown to differ by sex and BMI. Validation with behaviour was also demonstrated through comparison with spontaneous expressions of body compassion in a sample of 27 female undergraduates (study 2) and word use in body image writing in a sample of 45 female undergraduates (study 3). Study 4 evaluated models to predict the six self-determined motivation for physical activity regulation styles: amotivation, external, introjected, identified, integrated and intrinsic regulation. A sample of 310 participants, aged 16-76 were used to test these models. Body compassion was shown to predict these, mediated by pride shame in relation to one’s current body size as well as that anticipated if one were to gain weight. Study 5 prospectively tested three models to predict elements of physical activity behaviour: aerobic/moderate-vigorous physical activity, strength activities and adherence to overall physical activity guidelines (as recommended by the NHS). A sample of 80 participants from study 4 completed an additional measure of physical activity four-weeks after initial participation. This showed that body pride/shame in relation to one’s current body and pride/shame anticipated if one were to gain weight predicted physical activity behaviour mediated by self-determined motives for physical activity. Finally study 6 tested a brief body compassionate writing intervention to improve physical activity behaviour in young people (aged 16-25; baseline N = 103; follow-up N = 76). Four groups were examined: body image writing; body image writing plus forming of implementation intentions (II); body compassionate writing; and body compassionate writing plus II. The body compassionate writing group was shown to significantly increase their physical activity, while the other groups did not. Additionally, those who wrote about body image and formed IIs increased in body criticism and showed reduced body compassion. In conclusion body compassion has been demonstrated to be a useful tool in predicting health behaviours such as physical activity and can be implemented into an intervention to improve physical activity. Recommendations for how to build on the research shown in this thesis is discussed as well as further applications for body compassion and policy changes that would help to reduce the need for individual body compassion. A model describing the roles of body compassion, body pride/shame and motives for physical activity in predicting physical activity is developed

Managerial Work in a Practice-Embodying Institution - The role of calling, the virtue of constancy

What can be learned from a small scale study of managerial work in a highly marginal and under-researched working community? This paper uses the ‘goods-virtues-practices-institutions’ framework to examine the managerial work of owner-directors of traditional circuses. Inspired by MacIntyre’s arguments for the necessity of a narrative understanding of the virtues, interviews explored how British and Irish circus directors accounted for their working lives. A purposive sample was used to select subjects who had owned and managed traditional touring circuses for at least 15 years, a period in which the economic and reputational fortunes of traditional circuses have suffered badly. This sample enabled the research to examine the self-understanding of people who had, at least on the face of it, exhibited the virtue of constancy. The research contributes to our understanding of the role of the virtues in organizations by presenting evidence of an intimate relationship between the virtue of constancy and a ‘calling’ work orientation. This enhances our understanding of the virtues that are required if management is exercised as a domain-related practice

Time series prediction via aggregation : an oracle bound including numerical cost

We address the problem of forecasting a time series meeting the Causal Bernoulli Shift model, using a parametric set of predictors. The aggregation technique provides a predictor with well established and quite satisfying theoretical properties expressed by an oracle inequality for the prediction risk. The numerical computation of the aggregated predictor usually relies on a Markov chain Monte Carlo method whose convergence should be evaluated. In particular, it is crucial to bound the number of simulations needed to achieve a numerical precision of the same order as the prediction risk. In this direction we present a fairly general result which can be seen as an oracle inequality including the numerical cost of the predictor computation. The numerical cost appears by letting the oracle inequality depend on the number of simulations required in the Monte Carlo approximation. Some numerical experiments are then carried out to support our findings

Plug-in Plan Tool v3.0.3.1

The role of PLUTO (Plug-in Port UTilization Officer) and the growth of the International Space Station (ISS) have exceeded the capabilities of the current tool PiP (Plug-in Plan). Its users (crew and flight controllers) have expressed an interest in a new, easy-to-use tool with a higher level of interactivity and functionality that is not bound by the limitations of Excel. The PiP Tool assists crewmembers and ground controllers in making real-time decisions concerning the safety and compatibility of hardware plugged into the UOPs (Utility Outlet Panels) onboard the ISS. The PiP Tool also provides a reference to the current configuration of the hardware plugged in to the UOPs, and enables the PLUTO and crew to test Plug-in locations for constraint violations (such as cable connector mismatches or amp limit violations), to see the amps and volts for an end item, to see whether or not the end item uses 1553 data, and the cable length between the outlet and the end item. As new equipment is flown or returned, the database can be updated appropriately as needed. The current tool is a macroheavy Excel spreadsheet with its own database and reporting functionality. The new tool captures the capabilities of the original tool, ports them to new software, defines a new dataset, and compensates for ever-growing unique constraints associated with the Plug-in Plan. New constraints were designed into the tool, and updates to existing constraints were added to provide more flexibility and customizability. In addition, there is an option to associate a "Flag" with each device that will let the user know there is a unique constraint associated with it when they use it. This helps improve the safety and efficiency of real-time calls by limiting the amount of "corporate knowledge" overhead that has to be trained and learned through use. The tool helps save time by automating previous manual processes, such as calculating connector types and deciding which cables are required and in what order

Outcomes and costs of skilled support for people with severe or profound intellectual disability and complex needs

Background: With increasing reductions in funding for social care across many countries, the need to ensure that resources are used to best effect is becoming increasingly important, in particular for those with severe and complex needs. Methods: In order to explore the outcomes and costs of skilled support for this group of people, quality of life was assessed for 110 people in 35 services in England. Information on costs was also collected. Results: People who received consistently good active support experienced better outcomes in terms of several quality of life domains. Good support did not require significantly more staff time and there was no evidence of higher total costs for those receiving good support. Conclusions: The inclusion of active support in government guidance and local commissioning practices related to people with severe intellectual disabilities is likely to improve user outcomes. Observation should be an important element in measuring service quality