Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Lifestyles'

The objectives of this research are twofold; firstly, to provide a more complete appraisal of leisure participation than hitherto available, and secondly, to see whether or not leisure lifestyles can be identified on the basis of people's behaviour. Leisure life styles of individuals are poorly understood. Research to date has concentrated on specific activities or the use of facilities. It has been almost wholly descriptive in nature. This thesis aims to examine individual leisure behaviour with particular reference to the neglected sphere of informal and home based leisure.

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between participation in leisure activities and the self-esteem and life satisfaction of retired New Zealanders. A mail questionnaire and interviews were used to gather information from 100 retirees in Christchurch, New Zealand. The issues examined were: the individual's perceived self-esteem and life-satisfaction levels, their pre- and post-retirement leisure activities and their own personal characteristics that may be related to the types of leisure activities in which they participate. A number of hypotheses were proposed. Results from this research supported the proposed hypotheses at a 95% confidence level. There were no significant differences between catagories of retirees, classified according to such things as their leisure activities, life satisfaction and self-esteem. Results showed that although there was no relationship at such a high confidence level, there were relationships at a lower confidence level. Those retirees who participated in the questionnaire and interviews appeared to be well adjusted to retirement, and involved in a wide range of leisure activities. Overall, there was an increase in the number of activities regularly participated in after retirement. The majority rated themselves as being in very good or excellent health. Not only do those who are married and live with others participate in all types of activities, but so do those who are widowed, never married and live alone. For those who live alone, their leisure participation provides the opportunity for social interaction and skill development. "Just as the ancient Greeks believed the life of leisure required extensive preparation, so too does retirement" (Godby, 1985:179). My research suggests that those with a wide range of recreation and leisure skills adapt best to retirement. There is a need for leisure activity to be a part of pre-retirement planning. Those with limited leisure interests may need to rekindle old interests or develop new leisure pursuits so that, in retirement, they will enjoy some continuity of lifestyle.

Despite the increase of urban populations resulting in people living in close proximity to each other, society continues to operate with a focus on individual desire and hyper-consumption, at the expense of the earth’s ecologies and all that encompasses it. How can we begin to cultivate an alternative consumption model that not only focuses on the conservation of ecologies but also begins to break away from ways in which “habits, routines, social norms and cultural values lock us into unsustainable behaviours”? (Botsman, R., Rogers, R. 2010). Collaboration, through its many forms, be it ‘commons’ or modern-day ‘sharing economy’, continues to be a topic of discussion as a favourable solution to environmental, social and economic issues. This paper and design project explores the everyday practice of collaboration and its potential for activating a network in urban neighbourhoods, specifically in high-density housing. The project explores: how we can share, where we can share, and what we can share, using the sharing of household items as a seed for sustainable development. The resulting project presents methods and guidelines for cultivating collaboration in the form of a multipurpose toolkit. The toolkit “Collaboration is Cultivation” enables individuals to become activists and implement collaborative practices in their own neighbourhood. Through designerly research and a design project I shed light on the potential of the coming-together of neighbors through collaborative lifestyles that can incrementally transform neighborhoods into one’s that are socially and environmentally, sustainable, resilient and thriving.

With over half of the world’s population living in urban settlements and an ongoing urbanization, cities today offer a unique opportunity to tackle climate change. Emissions of greenhouse gases derive from all products and services used, and in Sweden the average inhabitant emit 7 tons of greenhouse gases in carbon dioxide equivalents every year from privately acquired products and services, calculated from a consumption perspective. Long-term climate goals, and international climate agreements sets a limit of 1-2 tons. Lifestyle changes are important to achieve sustainable development, but planning practices today generally do not try to influence citizens’ consumption, and is presumed cannot affect inhabitants’ consumption of food, clothes, electronics, furniture, etc.  This thesis investigates how planning and the built environment can practically encourage more sustainable consumption patterns, and which of these practices would be suitable to implement in the current sustainability project of Norra Kymlinge. The study concludes that sustainable consumption patterns could be encouraged in Norra Kymlinge through: collaborative living, sharing infrastructure, green leases, food production, personal measurement, and semi self-built apartments. For future research, more quantitative studies on the topic are suggested.

Australia, like most contemporary 'western' nations, has a large and growing movement of people into alternative lifestyles. In this thesis I firstly explore the history of utopian social movements, both in the broad context of western cultural history and within the more limited sphere of Australia. I conducted a nationwide survey of alternative lifestyle participants and undertook several years of participant observation study in order to elucidate the different types of contemporary alternative lifestyles, and to describe the social characteristics of participants. In general, participants are older and much better educated then was previously assumed. A number of myths, such as the central role of 'the dole' in the contemporary alternative lifestyle movement, were found wanting. I identify three main theoretical issues in alternative lifestyles: recruitment, socialisation and commitment. Recruitment is a problem both for groups looking for new members and for individuals seeking to join a group. Alternative lifestyle publications are employed by many groups as a means of recruiting new members. These same publications are also central in the process of anticipatory and adult socialisation. I explore the images of 'alternative lifestyles' presented by national publications such as Grass Roots and Earth Garden, and reach two conclusions: Firstly the 'alternative reality' is far more prosaic than one might have assumed, and secondly the range of alternative lifestyle publications provides a choice of socialisation patterns. This latter feature ensures that recruits can select a socialisation pattern which will challenge their pre-conceived notions as little as possible while still facilitating a myth of radical social change...
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Australian Environmental Studies
Full Text

This thesis examines how young people identify and affliate with particular club scenes and how these practices and processes relate to their transitions, identities and lifestyles. It aims to give a sense of the processes and the resources that are required to 'become' a clubber over time. The thesis engages with the recent attempts to reconcile the conceptual and empirical divisions between the two main approaches in the sociology of youth. It suggests that the work ofSchutz serves as a heuristic framework to conceptualise data, and when synthesised with other sympathetic conceptual frameworks, links disparate literature to allow for a better understanding of the role of knowledge in the transitions, identities and lifestyles of young people. This focus influenced my choice of method: the ethnographic techniques of participant observation and in-depth interviewing were employed to access participants' experiences and knowledge of becoming a c1ubber. The findings suggest that the process of becoming a clubber is a gendered, dialectical and transformational process: informed by the social heritage and locally situated experiences of clubbing participants. It is a process that manifests itself through embodied practices involving cultural knowledge and taste. Participants place one another on the basis of their participation in and identification with a clubbing lifestyle. These placements appear embedded in the social order: they call not only on old social markers but also on the increasing hierarchies of difference within and across social groups. Social competence, cultural knowledge and consumer activities are all implicated in the placement of others, and the construction of boundaries that clubbing collectives engage in. These are young people who can afford materially and socially to extend both their structural and cultural transitions. The social confidence and adept skills of exchange that 'proper' clubbers develop are resources that help them develop and create social and cultural capital of their own. Becoming a clubber requires competency, skills and dispositions: it is a process that transmits privilege and disadvantage.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Operations Research Center, 2018.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-69).
In this thesis, we present algorithms to model and identify shared patterns in human activity with respect to three applications. First, we propose a novel model to characterize the bursty dynamics found in human activity. This model couples excitation from past events with weekly periodicity and circadian rhythms, giving the first descriptive understanding of mechanisms underlying human behavior. The proposed model infers directly from event sequences both the transition rates between tasks as well as nonhomogeneous rates depending on daily and weekly cycles. We focus on credit card transactions to test the model, and find it performs well in prediction and is a good statistical fit for individuals. Second, using credit card transactions, we identify lifestyles in urban regions and add temporal context to behavioral patterns. We find that these lifestyles not only correspond to demographics, but also have a clear signal with one's social network. Third, we analyze household load profiles for segmentation based on energy consumption, focusing on capturing peak times and overall magnitude of consumption. We propose novel metrics to measure the representative accuracy of centroids, and propose a method that outperforms standard and state of the art baselines with respect to these metrics. In addition, we show that this method is able to separate consumers well based on their solar PV and storage needs, thus helping consumers understand their needs and assisting utilities in making good recommendations.
by Sharon Xu.
S.M.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2008.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-83).
In a globalized world, people are becoming more transient, and the turnover in cities continues to increase. For the white-collar labor force, the difference between residing and staying is becoming less defined. Hotel and apartment developers in Boston's Seaport District are specifically targeting this mobile sub-population. The Seaport's proximity to Logan Airport and the Financial District makes it an apt site for this group to temporarily land. Furthermore, they form a significant economic engine for a neighborhood that is largely underdeveloped. Using the Seaport as a site, the thesis argues that architecture has not yet adapted to transient lifestyles. Developers have cultivated an entire lifestyle around the notion that hotel and home can be one in the same if accompanied by a standard set of amenities. The thesis takes this idea further; it proposes a model for circulation that integrates amenities with itinerant living space.
by Meghan Elizabeth Webster.
M.Arch.

Health promotion is a prioritary topic in health psychology. It refers to the development and improvement of behaviors and life styles leading to achieve a healthy life. There is a clear relationship between people's hehavior and general health state. Life style and life quality determines how is the person in terms of health. Definitely there are habits acquired by the urban life style, that are harmful for health both physically and psychologically. In the present study, healthy life are studied based on scientific findings.
La promoción de la salud es un tema prioritario en la Psicología de la salud,  y se refiere al desarrollo y fortalecimiento de aquellas conductas y estilos de vida que conducen a lograr un estado de vida saludable. Existe una clara relación entre la conducta de las personas y su estado general de salud, el estilo y calidad de vida determina cómo se siente la persona en términos de salud. Definitivamente existen hábitos, producidos por la forma de vida de las urbes, que son nocivos para la salud, tanto física como psicológica. En el presente trabajo se aborda el tema de la promoción de estilos de vida saludables, el cual es deseable y probable, respaldados por los hallazgos de la investigación científica en el área.

This study utilized a qualitative/phenomenological research methodology to study the development of child molestation. Five volunteer male juvenile perpetrators of child molestation and their consenting family members participated in three one-on-one in-depth interviews. The juveniles were referred by juvenile justice departments in Texas. The investigation was pursued along three paths: (1) what factors in the perpetrators' life experiences may have influenced the formation of molesting thought and behavior patterns? (2) how did the perpetrators construe social relationships? (3) in developing sexual preference, what process did the perpetrators utilize to achieve the degree of sexual arousal needed to motivate the act of molestation? During analysis, 16 categories and 9 subcategories were developed from the data; these were evaluated in order to address the lines of inquiry listed above. Factors contributing toward deviancy were identified: these included general environmental factors and relationship issues with both parents and peers. The data also elucidated the perpetrators' characteristic ways of viewing themselves and other people, as well as the strategies that they relied upon to cope with their lives. These same strategies were subsequently used in their molesting. The results revealed that the answers to the investigational questions posed above were synthesized by the individual across the lifespan, with origins in childhood when the concepts of self, others, social convention and interpersonal relationships were forming. It is likely that the typical interest in sexual expression that occurs at the onset of puberty was a catalyst that facilitated molesting behavior. The lack of ability to interact successfully with age mates appeared to influence the perpetrators' selection of children as targets. Recommendations were presented for consideration by the mental health and criminal justice communities based on the findings. Also, preventative measures for the public sector were offered.

Reducing environmental impacts at the level of the individual or household is a key feature of sustainability debates, and there is interest in transitions toward more sustainable lifestyles. The implications of this for disability equality, however, have not yet been fully explored. This thesis examines disabled people’s experiences regarding sustainable lifestyles and uses these to bring a disability studies perspective to various sustainability literatures, such as environmental citizenship, which have so far neglected disability issues. Policy discourses around sustainability and disability equality are also explored and their implications examined. Methods included qualitative interviews and focus groups with disabled participants living in one local authority area, enabling participants’ experiences to be situated in the context of local sustainability- and disability-focused strategies. The findings indicate significantly more complex and diverse engagements with sustainable lifestyles than has been shown in previous research. Although many participants’ experiences could be conceptualised as issues of environmental (in)justice, they tended to favour perspectives based on responsibility rather than rights. Many participants could be identified as environmental citizens, demonstrating that disabled people can play an active role in environmental protection. Taking a social practice approach to the data also indicates a potentially valuable way to more fully conceptualise accessibility in relation to sustainable lifestyles. This research has important implications for transitions towards sustainable lifestyles. Current policy contexts are significantly constrained by the wider neoliberal economic context, so change may need to begin outside the policy arena – such as the environmental movement. The movement itself, however, also needs to incorporate disability equality as a concern. Disability equality can be conceptualised as a feature of sustainability, meaning sustainability will not be achieved without the inclusion of disabled people. Considering environmentalism as facilitated by external factors rather than internal values may be a potential way forward.

Despite increased access to care and interventions aimed to change health behavior, socioeconomic health disparities have remained unchanged, even for preventable illness and disease. Health behavior theories and interventions heavily rely on perceptions of control over one's fate and thus ignore populations with low perceptions of personal control. Poverty is associated with an external locus of control (LOC), while both poverty and external LOC are associated with less health protective behavior. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the role of LOC as an adaptive response to poverty and to discover the risks and benefits to physical and psychological health associated with LOC orientation. Using cross-sectional survey methodology, 136 adult participants from the United States were recruited through snowball sampling to anonymously complete measures of the Multidimensional Locus of Control (MLOC), the Health Promoting Lifestyles II (LPII), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (KP10), and a demographic questionnaire. Hierarchical regression and bivariate analyses were used to test the hypotheses. According to the study findings, chance LOC mediated the relationship between socioeconomics and health lifestyles, while external-chance was associated with less healthy lifestyle choices than external-powerful others. Internality did not offer any psychological protections from anxiety and depression for low socioeconomic populations. Implications for social change are to further the understanding of the role of perceived control on health beliefs, behavior and psychological well-being for marginalized populations to promote the development of appropriately targeted, culturally sensitive health interventions.

A number of lifestyle merchandising and advertising strategies are being used in the home furnishings industry. However, there is limited research regarding the effectiveness of these strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore consumers' attitudes toward the lifestyle concept. Analyses of several consumer behavior variables and descriptors offered noteworthy findings for the home furnishings industry. This study found that although lifestyle orientation is a valuable tool for delineating consumer markets, these segmentations were not significant determinates of consumers' preference for elements of the lifestyle construct. Retailers and manufacturers are not simply creating home furnishing collections that target the needs of specific psychographic segment, but rather creating lifestyles being aspired to obtain. Although respondents scored the attitude variables neutral, the current market environment offers many examples of successfully home furnishing implementations of the lifestyle concept. These success stories coupled with additional findings indicate consumers' positive response to lifestyle merchandising.

[eng] Introduction: The Mediterranean diet was proved to be beneficial in the prevention and prognosis of chronic diseases. Older adults are the age group with the highest incidence of chronic disease. The study was conducted in Spain and Lebanon. Research content: In Mallorca, the nutritional content of the food consumed by 211 older adults was researched using two non-consecutive recall diets. The mean daily intake of polyphenols was 332.7 mg/d. Polyphenol intake was highest among alcohol drinkers, high educational level, high income, and physically active people Flavonoids were the highest ingested polyphenols. Alcoholic beverages were the major contributors to the total polyphenol intake, mainly red wine. Mean daily intake of lipids was 68.6 g/day. Sex, age and educational level influenced fat intake. MUFA was the highest ingested fatty acid, and “oils & seeds” was the food group with highest contribution to lipid intake; both were in accordance with the Mediterranean diet pattern. However, the fatty acid intake did not abide by the recommendations in Mediterranean older adults. Calcium, copper, magnesium and iron were consumed in quantities lower than DRI. Female sex and an income ≥900euros were associated respectively with an increased and decreased probability of compliance with the DRI on a 5points scale. The intake of minerals should be adjusted to abide by the recommendations. Along with the nutritional content of food, the correlation between age, body composition and biomarker variables on one hand and the physical fitness variables on the other hand were researched. Many physical fitness measurement variables correlated negatively with predictors of cardiovascular disease. Physical fitness might be essential in healthy aging. Overall, 36.8%, 24.5% and 0.3% of participants had low maximum 8-f TUG score, low maximum HGS and sarcopenia, respectively. Prevalence of these low values varies according to sociodemographic and body composition variables. In Lebanon, adherence to Mediterranean diet was assessed in 525 university students and 125 older adults using MEDAS. Among university students, the mean Mediterranean score estimated was 7.96. Men had a slightly higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet than women. Nonsmokers had higher score than those who smoke. 59.05% of the sample had a score lower than adequate adherence but this did not affect their will to participate in research to ameliorate their health. 0.7% of the willingness to change diet depended on the score of adherence to Mediterranean diet and 28.58% of the participants were primarily worried about their health. Stratification of the questionnaire revealed a relatively high spread of olive oil usage in cooking (86.3%) although only 50.3% consume more than 4 teaspoons per day. The percentage of participants consuming food according to the Mediterranean diet standards was higher than 50% except for wine and fish. Positive correlations were found between the different components of MEDAS, in addition the percentage of participants who had an adequate score was higher in non-smokers. Among older adults, mean Mediterranean score estimated was 8.48. Men had a slightly higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet than women. Those who work had a higher adherence to Mediterranean diet than those who don’t. 52% of the sample had a higher score than adequate adherence and the highest percentage of participants who had adequate score were primarily worried about their health and were willing to engage in physical activity, diet and research for a better health. The percentage of participants consuming food according to the Mediterranean diet standards was higher than 50% except for wine and fish. Conclusion: More studies must be conducted to compare between Lebanon and Spain and develop strategies to increase adherence to Mediterranean diet in Lebanon for a better health.
[spa] Introducción: Se ha demostrado que la dieta mediterránea es beneficiosa para la prevención y el pronóstico de las enfermedades crónicas. Los adultos mayores son el grupo de edad con mayor incidencia de enfermedades crónicas. Este estudio se realizó en España y Líbano. Contenido de la investigación: En Mallorca, la composición nutricional de los alimentos consumidos por 211 adultos mayores se investigó utilizando dos recordatorios de 24h en días no consecutivos. La ingesta diaria media de polifenoles fué de 332.7 mg/d. La ingesta de polifenoles fué más alta entre los bebedores de alcohol, alto nivel educativo, altos ingresos y personas físicamente activas. Los flavonoides fueron los polifenoles que se ingirieron en más cantidad. Las bebidas alcohólicas fueron las principales contribuyentes a la ingesta total de polifenoles, principalmente el vino tinto. La ingesta diaria media de lípidos fué de 68.6 g/día. El sexo, la edad y el nivel educativo influyeron en la ingesta de grasas. MUFA fueron el tipo de ácido graso más altamente ingerido, y "aceites y semillas" fué el grupo de alimentos con mayor contribución a la ingesta de lípidos. La ingesta de ácidos grasos no cumplió con las recomendaciones en adultos mayores. El calcio, el cobre, el magnesio y el hierro se consumieron en cantidades inferiores a las IDR. La ingesta de minerales debe ajustarse para cumplir con las recomendaciones. Muchas variables de medición de la aptitud física se correlacionaron negativamente con los predictores de enfermedad cardiovascular. La aptitud física podría ser esencial para un envejecimiento saludable. Se evaluó la condición física y su asociación con los hábitos sociodemográficos, la composición corporal y el estilo de vida. 36.8%, el 24.5% y el 0.3% de los participantes tenían una puntuación TUG máxima inferior a 8-f, un HGS máximo bajo y sarcopenia, respectivamente. En Líbano, se evaluó la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea en 525 estudiantes universitarios y en 125 adultos mayores usando el MEDAS. Entre los estudiantes universitarios, la puntuación media estimada de adherencia a la dieta mediterránea fué 7.96. Los hombres tuvieron una adherencia ligeramente mayor a la dieta mediterránea que las mujeres. Los no fumadores tenían una puntuación más alta que aquellos que fuman. El 59,05% de la muestra tenía una puntuación inferior a la adecuada. El 0.7% de la voluntad de cambiar la dieta dependía del grado de adherencia a la dieta mediterránea y el 28.58% de los participantes estaban preocupados principalmente por su salud. La estratificación del cuestionario reveló una difusión relativamente alta del uso de aceite de oliva en la cocina, aunque solo el 50.3% consumía más de 4 cucharaditas por día. El porcentaje de participantes que consumían alimentos de acuerdo con los estándares de la dieta mediterránea era superior al 50% a excepción del vino y el pescado. Se encontraron correlaciones positivas entre los diferentes componentes de MEDAS. Entre los adultos mayores, la puntuación promedio estimada de adherencia a una dieta mediterránea fué de 8.48. Los hombres tenían una adherencia ligeramente mayor a la dieta mediterránea que las mujeres. El 52% de la muestra tenía una puntuación en adherencia superior a la adecuada y la mayor parte de participantes que tenían una puntuación adecuada estaban preocupados principalmente por su salud y estaban dispuestos a participar en intervención para mejorar la salud. El porcentaje de participantes que consumían alimentos de acuerdo con los estándares de la dieta mediterránea fué superior al 50% a excepción del vino y el pescado. Conclusión: Se deben realizar más estudios en el futuro para comparar Líbano y España, así como desarrollar estrategias para aumentar la adherencia a un patrón de dieta mediterránea en Líbano, con el fin de mejorar la salud de la población.
[cat] Introducció: S'ha demostrat que la dieta mediterrània és beneficiosa en la prevenció i prognòstic de malalties cròniques. Els adults majors són el grup d'edat amb major incidència de malalties cròniques. L'estudi s’ha portat a terme a Espanya i el Líban, dos països mediterranis. Continguts de recerca: A Mallorca, s’ha investigat la composició nutricional dels aliments consumits per 211 adults majors utilitzant dos recordatoris de 24h de dies no consecutius. La ingesta mitjana diària de polifenols va ser de 332.7 mg/d. La ingesta de polifenols va ser més elevada entre els bevedors d'alcohol, nivell educatiu elevat, ingressos elevats i persones físicament actives. Els flavonoides van ser els polifenols més ingerits. Les begudes alcohòliques van ser els principals contribuents a la ingesta total de polifenols, principalment el vi negre. La mitjana de consum diari de lípids va ser de 68.6 g/dia. El sexe, l'edat i el nivell educatiu van influir en la ingesta de lípids. MUFA van ser el tipus d’àcid gras més consumit, i "olis i llavors" va ser el grup alimentari amb major contribució a la ingesta de lípids. No obstant això, la ingesta d'àcids grassos no va complir amb les recomanacions per adults majors mediterranis. El calci, el coure, el magnesi i el ferro es van consumir en quantitats inferiors a les IDR. La ingesta de minerals s'hauria d'ajustar per complir amb les recomanacions. Moltes variables de mesura d'aptitud física es van correlacionar negativament amb els predictors de malaltia cardiovascular. L'aptitud física pot ser essencial en l'envelliment saludable. En total, el 36.8%, el 24.5% i el 0.3% dels participants tenien una puntuació màxima de TUG inferior a 8-f, HGS màxim baix i sarcopenia, respectivament. La prevalença d'aquests valors baixos varia segons les variables sociodemogràfiques i de composició corporal. Al Líban, l'adhesió a la dieta mediterrània es va avaluar en 525 estudiants universitaris i 125 adults majors utilitzant MEDAS. Entre els estudiants universitaris, la mitjana de la puntuació d’adherència a un patró de dieta mediterrània va ser de 7.96. Els homes tenien un grau d’adherència a la dieta mediterrània lleugerament superior a les dones. Els no fumadors tenien una puntuació més alta que els fumadors. El 59.05% de la mostra tenia una puntuació inferior a l'adherència adequada. El 0.7% de la voluntat de canviar de dieta depenia de la puntuació d'adhesió a la dieta mediterrània i el 28.58% dels participants es preocupaven principalment per la seva salut. L'estratificació del qüestionari va revelar una distribució relativament alta de l'ús de l'oli d'oliva en la cuina tot i que només el 50.3% consumia més de 4 culleradetes diàries. El percentatge de participants que consumien aliments d’acord amb un patró de dieta mediterrània era superior al 50%, excepte pel vi i el peix. Es van trobar correlacions positives entre els diferents components de MEDAS. A més, el percentatge de participants que tenien una puntuació adequada era major en els no fumadors. Entre els adults majors, la puntuació d’adhesió mitjana a un patró de dieta mediterrània va ser de 8.48. Els homes tenien una adherència lleugerament superior a la dieta mediterrània que les dones. Els que treballaven tenien una major adhesió a la dieta mediterrània que els que no treballaven. El 52% de la mostra tenia una puntuació per sobre de l'adherència adequada. El percentatge de participants que consumien aliments d’acord amb un patró de dieta mediterrània era superior al 50%, excepte pel vi i el peix. Conclusió: Cal fer més estudis en el futur per comparar el Líban amb Espanya i desenvolupar estratègies per augmentar l'adhesió a la dieta mediterrània al Líban per a una millor salut.

A simulation game was designed to examine the impact of a guaranteed annual income (GAI). The sample of 158 player-objects included factory and clerical workers, high school dropouts, single mothers, and CEGEP and university social work students. To establish the validity of the game, the working and spending behaviour of players was compared with results reported for the New Jersey negative income tax experiment, and found to be similar in a number of respects. The game also simulated two features not present in the New Jersey experiment: (a) variable labour-market conditions, and (b) comparison of a partial, time-limited GAI with a permanent, universal plan. For players on a GAI, working hours were significantly lower when fellow-players were not on a GAI than when they were. Results suggest that work effort may be related to comparisions with a reference group on visible consumer goods.

The point of concentration for this study was to estimate the extent to which health-promoting habits might predict medication-compliant practices among older adults. The purpose was to recognize potentially non-adhering persons, identify attitudes leading to healthy habits, and signal any practices contributing to non-compliant behaviors. Selected were patients who ranged in age from minimum 62, lived independently, self-administered medication regimes, had a chronic ailment that had persisted for at least 12 months, and regularly attended a geriatric clinic sited in the midwestern United States. A non-probability convenience sample (n = 100) was analyzed by a descriptive correlational approach to test self-proclaimed relations between health habits and compliant practices. The instrument used to measure health habits that would enrich life was the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II created and promoted by Walker, Sechrist, and Pender (1995). The tool used to decide levels of medication adherence was a compliance profile created specifically for this study. Demographic information was collected for age, race, marital status, gender, and education. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each variable and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was utilized to decide what, if any, real and measurable interrelationships exist between the health-promoting habits and medication-compliant practices among an older population. The t-test was utilized in determining differences in both healthpromoting lifestyle habits and medication-compliant practices between older males and females. The significance level used to evaluate every theory was p < .05. Discovery gave no statistically critical relationship between overall health-promoting lifestyle habits and medication-compliant practices among the constituents of an older populace. Findings gave no significant variance between men and women in either lifestyle habits or compliance practices as a whole, but the HPLP II categories of Interpersonal Relations and Nutrition did mirror a significant difference between genders.
Department of Physiology and Health Science

The impact of unsustainable human actions has grown to become the most significant underlying factor of current environmental problems, which stresses the need for a large-scale transformative change in our modern ways of living. Sustainable development has emerged to become the primary framework to reduce climate impact, and sustainable neighbourhoods have become a highly sought out and desirable policy goal. However, there exists a concern that contemporary spatial planning policies and strategies appear to be inadequate to achieve the transformative lifestyle change needed due to their primary adoption of an ecological modernisation agenda. With this notion and by examining the ongoing urban development project Täby Park in Täby municipality is the aim of this thesis to investigate to what extent and how a more environmentally sustainable way of living can be met through (supporting) contemporary spatial planning and design policies, strategies, and its physical manifestation in the built environment. For this has a theoretical framework rooted in social and behavioural science been adopted to understand the relationship between sustainable lifestyles and influencing factors. The empirical material is based on conducted interviews with residents, public and private actors, a questionnaire, and a site visit.  The findings of this study show that the development of Täby Park is primarily rooted in an approach of behavioural-economics, which in large has translated to an ecological modernisation agenda. Overall, it can be concluded that a more environmentally sustainable way of living can to a certain extent be met through the applied policies and strategies in Täby Park. Although the residents perceive that factors rooted in rational reasoning hold the most significant impact on their adoption of more environmentally sustainable actions in their everyday life, do the findings illustrate that the residents generally deviate from rational reasoning of decision-making. This illustrates that the desired sustainability vision cannot be modelled after generic assumptions of behavioural-economics.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether a required wellness course affected a change in the behaviors of college students. A post-course evaluation, which examined the relation between attitude, knowledge, and behavior, was conducted six months following the completion of the course. A secondary purpose of the research was to solicit information from participating students concerning which portions of the course they felt benefited them and those that did not. This was done to identify potential problems within the course in order to make improvements on content and structure. A survey was mailed six months after the completion of the course to 110 students who were enrolled in Health 200 Wellness Lifestyles in the 1997 spring semester at Radford University. Forty-five responses were returned for a return rate of 41%. An analysis of self-reported data discloses that student behaviors improved from before taking Health 200 to six months after completing the course in all behavior categories with the exception of alcohol consumption. A paired t test, which was conducted to compare knowledge between the end of the semester and the post-test, indicated a significant loss of knowledge at a p level of <.05. Results from a simple linear regression analysis revealed that 17.46% of the variability in behavior was attributed to attitude. Information gathered from the survey helped identify strengths and weaknesses of the course, which became instrumental in proposing recommendations for making course improvements.
Ed. D.

This study is an exploration of how we construct, understand and organise time and how this is reflected in the tools which we use to manage and record it. It examines the changing relationship between work, time and these tools, and looks at how the emergence of complex, 'high-speed' lifestyles-characterised by multiple interconnected responsibilities and roles-has led to pressure on the individual to be able to switch attention effortlessly between their different roles, for example, as worker, colleague, parent and friend. This study aims to better understand this area by an analysis of complex lifestyles, through a series of interviews with non-traditional workers. It concludes by putting forward suggestions for the design of a tool to support these workers

Obesity and overweight are complex, multifactorial conditions that originate from the reciprocal interactions between genetic, metabolic, social, behavioral, psychological and cultural factors (Kolotkin, Meter, & Williams, 2001). In children and adolescents, obesity and overweight have several adverse effects on physical and psychological health and well-being in the short, medium and long term. Moreover, the prevalence of obesity and overweight has tripled among adolescents over the past two decades in many countries (e.g., Lobstein, Baur, Uauy, & IASO International Obesity Task Force, 2004), underlying the need to identify effective obesity prevention strategies. Thus, understanding individual, environmental, behavioral and relational factors influencing obesity and overweight in adolescence, may support the development of more effective preventive interventions and policies for adolescents and their families. The present thesis is based on data from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey of the Veneto Region of Italy, and it is composed of three different studies. HBSC is a cross-national survey carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe to provide data and increase understanding concerning young people's health, well-being and their social context. The aims of the first study of this work were to assess the validity of self-reported height and weight through a comparison between self-reported and measured height and weight in a broad sample of adolescents aged 11 13 and 15 years and to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents from the Veneto region from 2000 to 2006. The purpose of the second study was to examine the association between Body Mass Index (BMI) status (normal weight, overweight and obesity) and dietary patterns, physical activity and food-related lifestyle variables (e.g., television viewing behaviors). Finally, the main aim of the third study was to study the association between adolescents’ body mass, body image, family food-related lifestyles (e.g., frequency of meals with parents), restrictive parenting practices and family functioning (communication with parents and perceived family social support) on adolescents’ body dissatisfaction. The findings underlined significant differences between self-reported and objective height and weight. After the adjustment of bias in self-reported anthropometric values an increasing prevalence of obesity from 2000 to 2006 was found among adolescents from Veneto Region. Moreover, after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, results showed that dietary patterns, low levels of physical activity and several food-related lifestyles were associated with obesity and overweight. Finally, the results of the third study underlined the importance of family factors, across different domains, in influencing adolescents’ body dissatisfaction. Family food-related lifestyles and parenting practices were positively associated with adolescents’ weight mass, while higher perceived family social support and communication with father were negatively associated with poor body image and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, we found that higher body mass and poor body image were positively associated with body dissatisfaction among adolescents. In conclusion, this work underlined that excess of weight problems are common and are increasing among adolescents from Veneto Region. Obesity and overweight are part of a complex configuration of unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles in which both familial and individual factors play an important role. These findings suggest that prevention programs, targeting adolescents’ obesity and overweight, which frequently are concerned with dietary behaviors and/or physical activity, should also be focused on food-related lifestyle behaviors. Moreover, families should be educated about the importance of food-related family lifestyles and trained to adopt not too strict restrictive food-rules with adolescents. Improving the relationships between parents and adolescents, in terms of social support and communication, especially with fathers, might be able to contribute to improving adolescents’ body dissatisfaction. Finally, preventive programs should be focused on, not only body weight, but also on the image and the dissatisfaction that adolescents experience regarding their body.
L’obesità e il sovrappeso sono problematiche multifattoriali la cui origine è influenzata dall’interazione di molteplici fattori di tipo genetico, metabolico, sociale, comportamentale, psicologico e culturale (Kolotkin, Meter, & Williams, 2001). In infanzia e in adolescenza obesità e sovrappeso sono collegate a numerose conseguenze negative che si ripercuotono sul piano della salute e del benessere sia fisico sia psicosociale a breve, medio e lungo termine. Inoltre, negli ultimi vent’anni la prevalenza di questi fenomeni è circa triplicata in numerose nazioni (Lobstein, Baur, Uauy, & IASO International Obesity Task Force, 2004), sottolineando la necessità di identificare strategie preventive efficaci a riguardo. Per queste ragioni, lo studio dei fattori individuali, contestuali, comportamentali e relazionali associati all’obesità e al sovrappeso in età adolescenziale può supportare lo sviluppo di interventi preventivi e politiche più efficaci rivolte agli adolescenti e alle loro famiglie. Il presente lavoro si basa sui dati della ricerca HBSC (Health Behavior in School-Aged Children) condotta nella regione Veneto ed è suddiviso in tre studi. HBSC è una ricerca trans-nazionale svolta in collaborazione con l’ufficio europeo dell’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità con l’obiettivo di incrementare le conoscenze relative alla salute, al benessere e ai contesti sociali in cui vivono gli adolescenti. Gli obiettivi principali del primo studio di questo lavoro consistevano nel valutare la validità delle misure auto-riferite di peso e altezza da parte degli adolescenti attraverso un confronto tra valori auto-riferiti e misurati di peso e altezza in un ampio campione di adolescenti di 11, 13 e 15 anni, e determinare la prevalenza di obesità e sovrappeso negli adolescenti della regione Veneto dal 2000 al 2006. Il secondo studio, invece, aveva come obiettivo l’analisi dell’associazione tra indice di massa corporea (categorizzato in normopeso, sovrappeso e obesità) e comportamenti alimentari, svolgimento di attività fisica e stili di vita legati all’alimentazione (es., tempo trascorso guardando la televisione). Infine, l’obiettivo principale del terzo studio era determinare l’associazione tra massa corporea, immagine corporea, stili di vita familiari legati all’alimentazione (es., frequenza dei pasti svolti con i genitori), regole parentali restrittive rispetto all’alimentazione e funzionamento familiare (dialogo con i genitori e sostegno sociale familiare percepito) rispetto all’insoddisfazione corporea degli adolescenti. I risultati evidenziano differenze significative tra valori auto-riferiti e misurati di peso e altezza all’interno del nostro campione. È stato rilevato un aumento della prevalenza del fenomeno dell’obesità tra gli adolescenti della regione Veneto dal 2000 al 2006, dopo aver corretto statisticamente le distorsioni relative ai valori antropometrici auto-riferiti. Inoltre, controllando l’effetto delle caratteristiche socio-demografiche, è stata evidenziata un’associazione tra comportamenti alimentari, bassi livelli di attività fisica e stili di vita legati all’alimentazione in relazione all’obesità e al sovrappeso. Infine, i risultati del terzo studio sottolineano l’importanza dei diversi fattori familiari considerati in relazione all’insoddisfazione corporea adolescenziale. Gli stili di vita familiari e le pratiche parentali restrittive relative all’alimentazione, risultano positivamente associate all’indice di massa corporea, mentre la percezione di sostegno sociale da parte della famiglia e la comunicazione con la figura paterna risultano negativamente associate all’insoddisfazione per il proprio corpo e ad un’immagine corporea più negativa. Inoltre, massa corporea e immagine corporea negativa risultano positivamente associate con l’insoddisfazione per il proprio corpo tra gli adolescenti. In conclusione, il presente lavoro sottolinea che i problemi legati all’eccesso ponderale sono diffusi ed in aumento tra gli adolescenti della regione Veneto. L’obesità e il sovrappeso risultano parte di una complessa configurazione di comportamenti e di stili di vita non salutari in cui, sia fattori di tipo individuale, sia fattori di tipo familiare, hanno un importante ruolo. Dai risultati emerge come i programmi di prevenzione per l’obesità e il sovrappeso in età adolescenziale frequentemente centrati sui comportamenti alimentari e/o sull’attività fisica dovrebbero tenere in considerazione anche il ruolo degli stili di vita legati all’alimentazione. Inoltre, le famiglie dovrebbero essere formate relativamente all’importanza degli stili di vita familiari e sull’adozione di regole parentali non troppo restrittive con gli adolescenti. Il miglioramento della relazione tra genitori ed adolescenti, in termini di sostegno sociale e di comunicazione, soprattutto con la figura paterna, risultano importanti fattori protettivi da considerare per il miglioramento dell’insoddisfazione corporea in adolescenza. Infine, i programmi preventivi dovrebbero focalizzarsi non solo sul peso corporeo, ma anche sull’immagine e l’insoddisfazione che gli adolescenti esperiscono verso il proprio corpo.

To fully acknowledge the complexity of the climate change, responses to climate change needs to be redefined, taking into consideration social aspects.  In this study, I explored the social aspect of ontological security defined as a lens to understand high emission lifestyles. The aim of this study was to explore how ontological security helps to explain high emission lifestyles and explore what ontological security suggest in terms of policies addressing climate change emissions directed at high emission lifestyles. The study was conducted as a case study with a qualitative method where eight interviewees living in a high emission lifestyle region were selected from a combination of convenience and snowball sampling. The interviews were then analyzed based on the ontological security lens that was created before the interviews. The findings illustrate that being ontologically secure for people with high emission lifestyles could mean being attached to a lifestyle that is threatening the climate and that this attachment makes it hard to move away from unsustainable behaviours since that would risk reducing their ontological security. This indicates that their behavior is a cultural trait and ontological security show that the required change on individual level requires more than them just changing by individual choice. Based on the findings of the study, I argue that ontological security provides valuable insights within the social field of climate change and valuable insights in policy development.

L’Obesitat (OB) és un dels principals determinants de mortalitat evitable. L’objectiu és avaluar els efectes del programa escolar EdAl que promou estils saludables de vida, inclouen recomanacions dietètiques i d’activitat física (AF) en la prevalença d’OB, en nens de 7-8 anys, durant 28 mesos i dos anys després de la seva finalització. La intervenció del programa es basa en 8 objectius d’estil de vida desenvolupats en 4 activitats/any durant 3 anys (12 activitats; 1h/activitat) realitzat per estudiants universitaris en qualitat d’Agent Promotor de la Salut (APS). Les dades recollides inclouen nom, gènere, any i lloc de naixement, pes, alçada, Índex de Massa Corporal (IMC) i perímetre de cintura, cada any de seguiment i un qüestionari sobre hàbits d’alimentació i d’Activitat Física (AF) contestat pels pares/tutors. Després de 28 mesos d’intervenció, la prevalença d’OB en els nens intervenció va disminuir 4,39% (p<0.05) en comparació amb els nens control, i van tenir una reducció efectiva de -0,24 unitats en el canvi d’IMC z-score, en comparació amb els controls (p=0,02), però les nenes no; el 5,1% dels escolars del grup intervenció feien >5h/setmana d’AF extraescolar al final de la intervenció comparat amb el grup control (p=0,02). Després de 2 anys de finalitzar el programa, el grup intervenció va canviar el seu IMC z-score amb una efectiva reducció dels dos gèneres. Un 16% més dels escolars practiquen ≥4h/setmana AF extraescolar en el grup intervenció (p<0,01). El programa EDAL proporciona 12 activitats desenvolupades per APS, centrades en els conceptes d'estil saludables de vida que es poden aconseguir mitjançant la millora de la dieta i la pràctica d'AF; és una eina fàcil per ser implementat per APS com a part del currículum universitari per reduir la prevalença d’OB i incrementar l’AF en nens/es mantenint aquests beneficis durant 2 anys després de la seva finalització.
La obesidad (OB) es un determinante de mortalidad evitable. El objetivo es evaluar los efectos del programa escolar EdAl que promueve estilos saludables de vida, incluyendo recomendaciones dietéticas y de actividad física (AF) en prevalencia de OB, en niños de 7-8 años, durante 28 meses y dos años después de su finalización. La intervención del programa se basa en 8 objetivos de estilo de vida desarrollados en 4 actividades/año durante 3 años (12 actividades; 1h/actividad) realizado por estudiantes universitarios como Agentes Promotores de Salud (APS). Los datos recogidos incluyen nombre, género, año y lugar de nacimiento, peso, altura, índice de masa corporal (IMC) y perímetro de cintura, cada año de seguimiento y un cuestionario sobre hábitos de alimentación y de Actividad Física (AF) contestado por los padres/tutores. Después de 28 meses de intervención, la prevalencia de OB en los niños intervención disminuyó 4,39% (p<0,05) en comparación con los niños control, y tuvieron una reducción efectiva de -0,24 unidades en el cambio de IMC z- score, en comparación con los controles (p=0,02), pero las niñas no; el 5,1 % de los escolares del grupo intervención hacían >5h/semana de AF extraescolar al final de la intervención comparado con el control (p=0,02). Después de 2 años de finalizar el programa, el grupo intervención cambió su IMC z-score con una efectiva reducción de los dos géneros. Un 16 % más de los escolares practican ≥4h/semana AF extraescolar en el grupo intervención (p< 0,01). El programa EdAl proporciona 12 actividades desarrolladas por APS, centradas en estilos saludables de vida alcanzables mejorando la dieta y la práctica de AF; es una herramienta fácil para ser implementada por APS como parte del currículum universitario para reducir la prevalencia de OB e incrementar la AF en niños/as manteniendo estos beneficios 2 años después de su finalización.
Obesity (OB) is one of the main determinants of avoidable disease burden. The objective is to evaluate the effects of the EdAl primary-school-based program that promotes healthy lifestyle, including dietary and Physical Activity (PA recommendations on OB prevalence, in childhood aged 7-8-year-old, over 28 months, and 2-year post-cessation EdAl program. The intervention program is based on 8 lifestyles topics that are developed in 4 educational activities/year for 3 years (12 activities; 1 h/activity) performed by university students acting as Health Promoter Agent (HPA). Data collected include name, gender, date and place of birth, weight, height, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, each year of follow-up. Questionnaires on eating and PA habits are filled-in by the parents or guardians each year of follow-up. After 28-months of EdAl program, OB prevalence in intervention boys was decreased 4.39% (p<0.05) compared with control boys, but not in girls. The intervention boys had an effective reduction of −0.24 units in the change of BMI z-score, compared to control; 5.1% more intervention pupils undertook PA >5 hours/week than control pupils (p=0.02). Two-year follow-up, OB prevalence of intervention group was reduced (-5.5%; p<0.01) and BMI z-score (-0.25; p<0.01) in both genders; 16% higher scholars practice ≥4 after-school PA h/week in intervention group (51.7% vs. 34.9%; p<0.01). The design of EdAl program provided 12 activities developed by HPA and are designed to be entertaining but as well informative, and are focused on healthy lifestyle concepts that can be achieved by improving diet and PA practice. A regular, systematic, educational intervention that promotes healthy lifestyle, including dietary and PA recommendations is an easy tool implemented by HPA as part of their university curriculum to reduce the prevalence of OB and increase after-school PA practice in children and these benefits achieved are sustained at 2-year post-cessation intervention.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Apr. 25, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Public Health Epidemiology." Discipline: Epidemiology; Department/School: Public Health.

The study of victimization among the elderly crosses multiple disciplines. A large body of research focuses on identifying the nature of and risk factors for elder abuse, while theory has remained relatively underdeveloped in the elder abuse literature. In comparison, the criminological literature is characterized by a plethora of theoretically-driven studies that explore the causes of crime and victimization. Criminology, however, is heavily focused on crimes committed by and against younger individuals. The current study filled a gap in both bodies of work by using the lifestyles/routine activities theoretical (L/RAT) framework, a widely-used criminological perspective, to understand victimization risk among a sample of 1,257 younger and older adults. Using multivariate logistic regression models, it was found that age was a significant predictor of victimization risk. Consistent with findings from the criminological literature, victimization risk generally declines with age. Findings also suggested that the effects of L/RAT variables vary across offense type, as well as across the lifecourse. Implications for theoretical development, policy, and practice are discussed, as well as directions for future research.

In Canada, West Coast Style has come to be associated with domestic architecture and a relaxed, modern lifestyle characteristic of the region's exceptional geography and climate. My thesis is a study of how this cultural formation has been figured and refigured since the Second World War through a historical and discursive analysis of West Coast Style. This cultural study focuses on how the term West Coast Style circulates and shifts meaning in relationship to a variety of domestic architectures such as the suburban single-family dwelling and more urban types like the coop, condominium and high rise. In addition, I consider how West Coast Style has been configured in debates about architectural modernism and postmodernism, Canadian cultural nationalism, and in newly emerging civic, global, and transnational geo-political, economic and cultural networks.

Traditionally, studies of popular music have focused on young people and youth cultures. This thesis builds on previous sociological research by exploring the salience, meaning and long-term social uses of popular music for people aged over thirty. The study employs an ethnographic approach to investigate the experiences of 'older' fans in northern and rare soul, rock, and electronic dance music 'scenes'. Methodologically, the research draws on participant observation, face-to-face and electronic interviews with over seventy fans, Web 2.0 data, and secondary sources. The thesis shows that using the internet in qualitative research can produce in-depth and rich data. The study demonstrates that music tastes are typically formed during a person's youth and then remain relatively stable through the life course. A central argument of this thesis is that long-term popular music consumption, and participation in scenes, is best understood as a thread of involvement. The thread of music involvement stresses the fluidity of cultural participation since popular music weaves through the life course with shifting meaning, engagement and experience. Moreover, the research illustrates a number of socia-cultural experiences of older fans such as: the importance of belonging, community, and friendship networks; gaining status and distinction through long-term involvement in popular music scenes; the changing nature of recreational drug-use during adulthood; the role of nostalgia; intergenerational transference of taste in the family; and the gendered nature of popular music consumption, which age adds particular significance to, as older women are often marginalised in popular music scenes. This thesis contributes to previous research by highlighting the significance of popular music for people aged over thirty. Case-studies of older fans of northern and rare soul, rock, and EDM demonstrate that popular music does not necessarily wane in importance as people grow older and that long-term involvement in popular music scenes can be a highly meaningful and salient feature of adult lives. In contrast to existing work, this thesis argues that leisure practices and popular music tastes that began during youth can be extended and re-worked in adulthood.