Physical activity and sedentary behavior: a population-based study of barriers, enjoyment, and preference

The associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior with barriers, enjoyment, and preferences were examined in a population-based mail survey of 1,332 adults. Respondents reporting high enjoyment and preference for physical activity were more likely to report high levels of activity. Those reporting cost, the weather, and personal barriers to physical activity were less likely to be physically active. Preference for sedentary behavior was associated with the decreased likelihood of being physically active, and the weather as a barrier to physical activity was associated with the increased likelihood of sedentary behavior. These constructs can be used to examine individual and environmental influences on physical activity and sedentary behavior in specific populations and could inform the development of targeted interventions.

Number preference in Australian stocks

Stock price rallies/declines often terminate at price levels that are interpreted by many as areas of psychological resistance or support, while an alternative interpretation is that they coincide with price clusters. Some of these price levels tend to repeat with a regularity that is inconsistent with mere chance. In this paper, the existence of price clusters and psychological barriers is tested on a sample of 20 Australian stocks. We consider two number sequences, both derived from a base number of 100, as well as integer price levels. It is shown that Australian stock price data are not uniformly distributed and that for the majority of the stocks, price swing highs and lows are associated with certain recurring price levels. Some of the implications for trading and investing are considered.

Price exhaustion and number preference : time and price confluence in Australian stock prices

Confluence occurs when different trading filters generate signals that point to the same directional move. Using regression analysis, this paper investigates confluence trading signals associated with number preference and price exhaustion, for a sample of Australian stocks. The results show that certain price levels tend to act as psychological barriers, and that price exhaustion signals are a real phenomenon in the Australian stock market. It is shown also that confluence exists in the Australian stock market. Importantly, confluence is associated with price retracements that are of economic and statistical significance, offering profitable trading opportunities. The results suggest that Australian stocks do not follow a random walk.

An incremental FP-growth web content mining and its application in preference identification

This paper presents a real application of Web-content mining using an incremental FP-Growth approach. We firstly restructure the semi-structured data retrieved from the web pages of Chinese car market to fit into the local database, and then employ an incremental algorithm to discover the association rules for the identification of car preference. To find more general regularities, a method of attribute-oriented induction is also utilized to find customer’s consumption preferences. Experimental results show some interesting consumption preference patterns that may be beneficial for the government in making policy to encourage and guide car consumption.

Spam filtering based on preference ranking

When the average number of spam messages received is continually increasing exponentially, both the Internet service provider and the end user suffer. The lack of an efficient solution may threaten the usability of the email as a communication means. In this paper we present a filtering mechanism applying the idea of preference ranking. This filtering mechanism will distinguish spam emails from other email on the Internet. The preference ranking gives the similarity values for nominated emails and spam emails specified by users, so that the ISP/end users can deal with spam emails at filtering points. We designed three filtering points to classify nominated emails into spam email, unsure email and legitimate email. This filtering mechanism can be applied on both middleware and at the client-side. The experiments show that high precision, recall and TCR (total cost ratio) of spam emails can be predicted for the preference based filtering mechanisms.

Multi-attribute preference modelling and regional land-use planning

Forest management policy decisions are complex due to the multiple-use nature of goods and services from forests, difficulty in monetary valuation of ecological services and the involvement of a large number of stakeholders. Multi-attribute decision techniques can be used to synthesise stakeholder preferences related to regional forest planning because it can accommodate conflicting, multidimensional, incommensurable and incomparable objectives. The objective of this paper is to examine how the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) can be used to incorporate stakeholder preferences in determining optimal forest land-use choices. The Australian Regional Forest Agreement Programme is taken as an illustrative case for the analysis. The results show that the AHP can formalise public participation in decision making and increase the transparency and the credibility of the process.

The influence of leisure preference, life priority and making time on regular participation in leisure time physical activity

Using an attitude-behaviour theory approach this study examined the direct and indirect influence of preference, life priority and time allocation on regular participation in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). The crosssectional study used self-report questionnaires to collect data from a random sample of 250 people aged 19 to 87 years living in an Australian city. The findings suggest that people’s regular participation in LTPA is not directly influenced by their preference for it. Rather, making LTPA a high life priority and allocating time for LTPA are intervening factors that explain the relationship. The outcomes emphasise the importance of encouraging the formation of a preference for physical activity in young children. They suggest all levels of government and the leisure profession emphasise work/life balance by prioritising LTPA, educating people about time management and helping them to develop time management skills.

Effects of sublethal fenitrothion ingestion on cholinesterase inhibition, standard metabolism, thermal preference, and prey-capture ability in the Australian central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps, Agamidae)

The central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) is a medium-sized lizard that is common in semiarid habitats in Australia and that potentially is at risk of fenitrothion exposure from use of the chemical in plague locust control. We examined the effects of single sublethal doses of this organophosphate (OP; low dose = 2.0 mg/kg; high dose = 20 mg/kg; control = vehicle alone) on lizard thermal preference, standard metabolic rate, and prey-capture ability. We also measured activities of plasma total cholinesterase (ChE) and acetylcholinesterase before and at 0, 2, 8, 24, 120, and 504 h after OP dosing. Predose plasma total ChE activity differed significantly between sexes and averaged 0.66 ± 0.06 and 0.45 ± 0.06 μmol/min/ml for males and females, respectively. Approximately 75% of total ChE activity was attributable to butyrylcholinesterase. Peak ChE inhibition reached 19% 2 h after OP ingestion in the low-dose group, and 68% 8 h after ingestion in high-dose animals. Neither OP doses significantly affected diurnal body temperature, standard metabolic rate, or feeding rate. Plasma total ChE levels remained substantially depressed up to 21 d after dosing in the high-dose group, making this species a useful long-term biomonitor of OP exposure in its habitat.

Fruit consumption of boys (8–11 years) is related to preference for sour taste

The present study investigated whether the most preferred balance between sweet and sour taste of children (n=50, 9.2±0.9 yrs of age) are related to their consumption of fruit. Taste preferences were measured with a rank-by-elimination procedure with seven sweet orangeades that differed in added citric acid (i.e. 0.009−0.065 M). Fruit consumption was assessed with a questionnaire that was completed by the children's parents. Results showed that boys' but not girls' most preferred balance between sweet and sour taste was positively correlated with their consumption of fruit: that is, the more added citric acid was preferred the more fruit was consumed. We conclude that preference for high concentrations of citric acid in a sweet context may be associated with the consumption of fruit in boys. In girls, the optimal balance between sweet and sour taste seems to be of less importance; their consumption of fruit may be more influenced by their parents, availability and health related motives.

Differences within and between travel preference, planned travel and choice behavior of Australians traveling to Asian and oversea destinations

This study seeks to examine differences in travel preference, travel intention and destination choice behavior of an aggregated set of Australian travelers. Additionally the study seeks to relate income, age, gender, life cycle and life style of Australians to the preference, planning and choice of Asian and overseas destinations. A large representative sample of 49,000 Australian respondents is utilized. Binomial regression is used to profile travelers to Asia and overseas in general. Specific significant variables and differences are highlighted. There are consistent relationships between travel preference, planning and choice and the set of independent variables of income, life cycle and life style. Age nor gender are not consistently related to travel planning or travel choice. It is apparent that a combination of demographics, e.g. age, income and life cycle, combined with life style will provide a more valuable basis for segmentation of Asian and overseas travel markets. The study aims to profile potential Australian tourists thereby making a contribution to tourism knowledge and market segmentation practice.

Investigating women's preference for sildenafil or tadalafil use by their partners with erectile dysfunction : the partners' preference study.

Introduction: Several preference studies comparing a short-acting with a longer-acting phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor have been conducted in men. Most men in those studies preferred tadalafil rather than sildenafil, and recent post hoc analysis of one study described several factors associated with men’s treatment preference. No prospective studies have investigated the woman partners’ preferences.

Aim: To investigate the treatment preference of women who were partners of men using oral medications for erectile dysfunction (ED) in a single-center open-label crossover study.

Methods: One hundred heterosexual couples in stable relationships, with male partners having ED based on the erectile function subscale of the International Index of Erectile Function, were randomly assigned to receive sildenafil or  tadalafil for a 12-week phase, followed by another 12-week period using the alternate drug. Male and female participants completed sexual event diaries during both study phases, and the female participants were interviewed at  baseline, midpoint, and end of study.

Main Outcome Measures: Primary outcome data were the women’s final  interviews during which they were asked which drug they preferred and their reasons for that preference.

Results: A total of 79.2% of the women preferred their partners’ use of tadalafil, while 15.6% preferred sildenafil. Preference was not affected by age or treatment order randomization. Women preferring tadalafil reported feeling more relaxed, experiencing less pressure, and enjoying a more natural or spontaneous sexual experience as reasons for their choice. Mean number of tablets used, events recorded, events per week, and days between events were not significantly different during each study phase.

Conclusion: Women’s preferences were similar to men when using these two drugs. While the women’s reasons for preferring tadalafil emphasized relaxed, satisfying, longer-lasting sexual experiences, those preferring sildenafil focused on satisfaction and drug effectiveness for their partner.

Ornament colour selection, visual contrast and the shape of colour preference functions in great bowerbirds, Chlamydera nuchalis

A male bowerbird visual signal includes his own plumage, a structure he  constructs out of plant material and coloured objects (ornaments) he places on or near the structure to make up the bower. Plumage and bower together are used to attract females for mating. Ornaments are known to contrast with plumage, bower structure and visual backgrounds in seven Australian bowerbird species (Endler et al. 2005, Evolution, 50, 1795-1818). We estimated the colour preferences in a wild population of great bowerbirds using artificially coloured objects widely spaced in bird colour space. We found that these birds prefer colours that contrast with their own plumage, the bower structure and the visual backgrounds adjacent to the bower, and that they have very strong dislikes for colours that are similar to their own plumage and to the visual backgrounds. The range of disliked colour hues was much narrower than the range of preferred hues, suggesting that the word 'preference' may be misleading. Preferences for colour are inherently multidimensional and should be studied in the context of their function.

Effect of erectile dysfunction medications on coexsisting dysfunctions in couples : Partner's Preference Study

There is sparse information on how treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED) affects couples. This study investigated the effects of ED treatments on 100 heterosexual couples' sexual functioning and whether function achieved using a short-acting versus a long-acting ED medication differed significantly. Couples were randomized to use tadalafil or sildenafil for each of two 12-week study phases; they completed questionnaires (International Index of Sexual Function and Female Sexual Function Index) and kept sexual event diaries. All participants experienced significant improvements over baseline sexual functioning, while the men used short- or long-acting ED medications with no significant differences related to the duration of drug action recorded for either the men or women. Despite this lack of difference in efficacy there was a strong preference by women (79%) and their partners (16%) for the longer-acting medication. The reasons for this warrant further investigation. Understanding the effects on couples of the use of ED medications is a necessary aspect of ensuring ongoing sexual satisfaction in couples treated for ED.