Understanding Physical Inactivity: Prediction of Four Sedentary Leisure Behaviors

An understanding of the motives underlying sedentary leisure behavior may guide interventions to decrease these behaviors. The purpose of this study was to apply the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the motives underlying four common sedentary leisure activities: television viewing, computer use, reading/music, and socializing. A cross-sectional community sample of 206 adults and 174 undergraduate students completed measures of the TPB of these four leisure behaviors and self-reported behavior. Results using ordinary least squares regression provided evidence that sedentary behaviors may be intentional and planned with a primary attitude base but not related to perceived behavioral control. The findings provide information about sedentary behavior motivation and support the validity of the TPB for the prediction of these behaviors.     

Factors affecting the attitude of tourism-destination local authorities towards sustainable planning tools in a networking context: the Balearic Sustainability Network

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, and Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, are two islands in Southeast Asia that face several developmental challenges associated with the rapid growth of tourism. Both islands are part of a marine park, are small in size and have several natural resources that need protection. They both face burgeoning tourist numbers that have increased tourism infrastructure development and are leading to environmental degradation. These islands have discussed ways to incorporate sustainability into their management and marketing practices, and they have looked to tourists as a support for change. This study examines the motivations, profiles and perceptions of tourists in island destinations, their level of awareness of environmental issues there, the extent to which they feel responsible about preserving or protecting their natural resources and the role they may be willing to take in their management, including their willingness to pay for environmental protection. The findings showed that the majority of the tourists to both islands were young, had relatively high levels of income and were from English-speaking nations. Tourists in both islands stated that they were willing to pay for sustainability practices, but there were differences around who they felt should be primarily responsible for implementing sustainability measures.     

Perceptions of representatives of public,private, and community sector institutions of the barriers and enablers for physically active transport

Active transport bridges many shared concerns in the public health and transport sectors. To positively affect opportunities for active transport, public health and transport professionals are engaging with other sectors, including urban planning, housing, recreation, retail, education, and employer groups. A first step in such inter-sectoral collaboration is to understand the perceptions of key players in all of these sectors. This paper describes the results of structured interviews with senior and middle-level administrators from public, private, and community groups in a rapidly developing region in Queensland, Australia, to assess the perceived barriers and enablers to active transport. Key themes emerged relating to infrastructure delivery, public transport services, walk- and cycle-friendly community attributes, political leadership and government coordination, and societal travel norms and culture. There were also themes relating to limits due to resources and limited relevant technical expertise, institutional and practitioner cultures, and agencies not identifying with their roles in active transport. Policies and cross-government initiatives were seen to hold promise, including economic incentives and built environment guidelines, campaigns targeting public attitudes and opinions, and community participation in policy-making. These elements are potential keys to positively promoting comprehensive active transport initiatives among gatekeepers and leaders across different sectors.     

Matching Learning Style Preferences with Suitable Delivery Methods on Textile Design Programmes

Textile design is a subject that encompasses both design and technology; aesthetically pleasing patterns and forms must be set within technical parameters to create successful fabrics. When considering education methods in design programmes, identifying the most relevant learning approach is key to creating future successes. Yet are the most suitable teaching methods being utilised? This paper discusses the learning styles of textile and fashion design students at The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University and identifies their overall learning style biases. It then goes on to compare these two institutional approaches and examines whether the teaching methods used suitably match student learning biases.     

Innovation and Productivity Across Four European Countries

This paper compares the role innovation plays in productivityacross four European countries, France, Germany, Spain, andthe UK, using firm-level data from the internationally harmonizedCommunity Innovation Surveys (CIS3). Despite a considerablenumber of national firm-level studies analysing this relationship,cross-country comparisons using micro data are still rare. Weapply a structural model that describes the link between R&Dexpenditure, innovation output, and productivity (CDM model).Our econometric results suggest that overall the systems drivinginnovation and productivity are remarkably similar across thesefour countries, although we also find interesting differences,particularly in the variation in productivity that is associatedwith more or less innovative activities. Footnotes ¹ E-mail addresses: rgriffith{at}ifs.org.uk; ehuergo{at}ccee.ucm.es;jacques.mairesse{at}ensae.fr; b.peters{at}zew.de