Perceived Constraints and Social Support for Active Leisure Among Mothers With Young Children

Evidence suggests that women who are mothers of young children have lower levels of physical activity than women of similar age who do not have children (Brown, Lee, Mishra, & Bauman, 2000). The purposes of this study were to explore the factors that constrain mothers of young children from being more physically active, and the relationship between physical activity and levels of social support available to the women. The empirical basis for this examination was provided through a study of activity levels and barriers to physical activity experienced by a sample of 543 mothers of young children from differing socioeconomic backgrounds. The data indicate that: (a) more than two-thirds of the mothers were inadequately active in their leisure time for health benefit; (b) while the vast majority of mothers expressed a desire to be more active, they were inhibited in their ability to act out their leisure preferences by a combination of structural (e.g., lack of time, money, energy) and ideological influences (e.g., sense of commitment to others); (c) access to social support (from partners, family, and friends) was seen to place some women in a better position than others to negotiate constraints that inhibit leisure participation; and (d) within groups of varying socioeconomic status (SES) there was wide variation in the amount of time spent each week in active leisure.     

New development: Fast track to Birmingham

Despite government hesitation, high speed rail lines can offer cohesive solutions to some of the UK's current major challenges: climate change and the environment, sustainable economic development and congestion. The article demonstrates this for the London–Birmingham corridor.     

Visitors' Motivation for Attending the South Beach Wine and Food Festival,Miami Beach,Florida

The objective of this study was to identify the major factors that motivated visitors to attend the South Beach Wine and Food Festival in Miami Beach, Florida, and determine whether these factors varied among the visitors from the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia. A survey of 475 visitors to South Florida was conducted in February 2006. Forty‐four motivational items were factor analyzed. The seven factors that motivated first‐time visitors to the festival were the desire to taste new wine and food, enjoy the event, enhance social status, escape from routine life, meet new people, spend time with family, and get to know the celebrity chefs and wine experts. A significant difference in motivation among the five national groups of visitors was found in the area of family influence. Implications of the study results are discussed.     

New development: Decentralizing governance in England—transport's key role

Transport holds the key to effective decentralization of responsibilities in England. But transport cannot be considered in isolation from other functions. It has close links with spatial planning and other environmental, economic and social activities and they must function together. Decentralization must take this on board for England as a whole. There should be combined authorities established throughout England that are viable and accountable to the areas they serve.     

Social class differentials in the store selection process of single black professional women

Black single professional women form a growing and little researched market. This study hypothesized that there are significant social class differences in prepurchase store screening and in actual store choice process. Findings indicated that there were significant differences among groups in preplanning the number of garments, using catalogues, and seeking information from sales clerks. There were no significant differences in types of stores patronized, and store loyalty appeared low overall. It was concluded, both in prepurchase screening and during purchases, that social class played almost no significant role in store selection. However it appeared that single black professional women, unlike other nonblack samples studied, tended to rely on store characteristics and features more than on informational search and process or an all-out store search. If additional comparative studies substantiate this finding, there are strong implications for retailing strategies.     

Optimal prediction designs in finite discrete spectrum linear regression models

In the paper, we solve the n-point optimal prediction design problem for the simplest nontrivial finite discrete spectrum linear regression models with correlated observations. We show that for all the models in consideration, there exists an optimal prediction design supported on at most three distinct points, which can be computed using one-dimensional optimization. In some cases, an optimal prediction design can be found explicitly.     

Social class differences in the apparel purchase behavior of single,professional black women

Single professional black women are becoming a separate and powerful segment in the total apparel market. This study explores whether or not there are significant social class differences in their apparel purchase behavior in regard to social classes. Apparel purchase behavior has been analyzed in terms of three-areas: purchase planning, method of payment and social influence. In most cases, class differences were not found to be statistically significant with the exception of social influence. It was found that social classes respond quite differently to social influences in their clothing selection.