Promoting a team ball game (Lifeball) to older people : who does this game attract and who continues?

Issue addressed: To describe the demographic and health-related characteristics (physical activity, self-reported health status, quality of life and falls history) of older people who enroll in a team-based game, Lifeball, and examine associations between continuation and participant characteristics. Reasons for stopping, participants' perceptions of the game and changes in health-related characteristics over 12 months were examined.

Methods: Telephone surveys were conducted with a cohort of Lifeball players at: baseline, soon after commencing playing and 12 months later.

Results: At baseline, participants were aged 40 to 96 years (mean 67). Most were female (84%), in good to excellent health (86%) and reported being sufficiently (>150 minutes per week) physically active (69%). Almost half (43%) were still playing 12 months later (continuers). Continuers were more likely to perceive Lifeball had helped them to: feel fitter and healthier (91%); improve their social life (73%); and be more active (53%). No significant changes in continuers' physical activity, self-reported health status and quality of life measures were reported. The main reason for stopping playing was illness/injury unrelated to Lifeball.

Conclusions: Lifeball mainly appealed to healthy, active older people.

Placing parks on the tourism agenda : promoting Melbournes' metropolitan parks to metropolitan and regional Victorian visitors

This study establishes a strategy aimed at raising interest in visiting Melbourne’s metropolitan parks based upon interviews and focus group responses in both regional Victoria and Melbourne. As the majority of regional visitors planning a short-break collect their information prior to departure, park information needs to be available before they embark. Whilst visiting Melbourne, regional visitors agreed that they would utilise local knowledge of their host to fill any of their limited spare time. Melbournians should be seen as a potential prime source of information for visitors, but this study found that many Melburnians were often unaware of local attractions. Consequently, part of the strategy to raise interest in visiting Melbourne’s parks must be targeted at Melburnians. This leads to the conclusion that a well informed host is the key to increased visitation
to metropolitan parks.

A deliberative approach to the Tibet autonomy issue : promoting mutual trust through dialogue

This paper reviews and compares three deliberative approaches to conflict, and applies the deliberative approach to the Tibet issue. It examines the case of a deliberative workshop, its achievements and limits. Deliberative dialogue appears to have improved knowledge and mutual understanding, enhanced mutual trust and deliberative capacities, and produced moderating effects.

Aiming for world peace by promoting 'violence' in education

In order to contribute towards UNESCO’s goal of pursuing world peace, aims of education must transcend the limited scope of national self-interest which has dominated schooling systems in the West for the last two centuries and further back when the survival of each polis in Ancient Greece was of paramount importance. Aims must therefore become different and the environment that is thought best for this to occur is a democratic one. The case is made that such a democratic environment should involve opportunities to evaluate the value of current aims of education and to explore others in light of the pressing need to pursue peace on a global scale. In order to promote such a democratic environment of discussion and debate the notion of ‘violence’ is considered as a potential framework for such a re-evaluation. The sort of ‘violence’ that is called for is in reference to its use by Emmanual Levinas who employed it emotively to misinterpret Kierkegaard. The use of this misapplied term ‘violence’ may nevertheless be of use in initiating the sort of inquiry of a Deweyean type regarded here to be necessary to improve aims of education democratically in order to pursue world peace.

Promoting human goods and reducing risk

Rehabilitation should be concerned with equipping offenders with the capabilities and values to live prosocial and personally meaningful lives. is depends on the acquisition of accurate knowledge of the social and physical world, development of a robust understanding of their own values and standards, the ability to pursue their own personal good in specific environments, and being able to utilise the resources they require to overcome routine obstacles in the pursuit of that good. ese two sets of capacities are embedded in a narrative identity that reflects peoples’ commitments, personal projects or goals, and subsequent activities. Narratives are stories of past experience and sets of expectations about future experiences and lives. ey both guide the actions of individuals and shape their experiences and lives (Kekes, 1993; Ward & Stewart, 2003). A person’s sense of who he is emerges from his personal projects and activities in the world.

Promoting children's social and emotional wellbeing in childcare centers within low socioeconomic areas: strategies, facilitators and challenges

Althought childcare centres have a vital role to play in the social and emotional development of children, the strategies used to promote children’s wellbeing in such settings are not well researched. This study aimed to identify the strategies, facilitators and key challenges for promoting children’s social and emotional wellbeing as reported by childcare directors and workers during semi-structured interviews. They reported mainly informal strategies with few formalised policies, curricula or strategies. Staff reported frequent difficulties communicating with parents and/or children due to many families speaking little or no English. Lack of staff training and inadequate resources for activities were other key challenges they identified. Perceived facilitators included staff having strong relationships with each other and sharing a common philosophy, as well as having an open door policy for parents. Systematic development of skills to promote children’s social and emotional wellbeing could help leverage childcare staff’s potential to promote children’s wellbeing during a crucial stage of child development.

Reducing psychological distress and obesity in Australian farmers by promoting physical activity

Background: Studies have confirmed that the rate of mental illness is no higher in rural Australians than that of urban Australians. However, the rate of poor mental health outcomes, and in particular suicide, is significantly raised in rural populations. This is thought to be due to lack of early diagnosis, health service access, the distance-decay effect, poor physical health determinants and access to firearms. Research conducted by the National Centre for Farmer Health between 2004 and 2009 reveals that there is a correlation between obesity and psychological distress among the farming community where suicide rates are recognised as high. Chronic stress overstimulates the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis that is associated with abdominal obesity. Increasing physical activity may block negative thoughts, increase social contact, positively influence brain chemistry and improve both physical and mental health. This paper describes the design of the Farming Fit study that aims to identify the effect of physical activity on psychological distress, obesity and health behaviours such as diet patterns and smoking in farm men and women.
Methods/Design: For this quasi-experimental (convenience sample) control-intervention study, overweight (Body Mass Index ≥25 kg/m2) farm men and women will be recruited from Sustainable Farm Families™ (SFF) programs held across Victoria, Australia. Baseline demographic data, health data, depression anxiety stress scale (DASS) scores, dietary information, physical activity data, anthropometric data, blood pressure and biochemical analysis of plasma and salivary cortisol levels will be collected. The intervention group will receive an exercise program and regular phone coaching in order to increase their physical activity. Analysis will evaluate the impact of the intervention by longitudinal data (baseline and post intervention) comparison of intervention and control groups.
Discussion: This study is designed to examine the effect of physical activity on psychological health and other comorbidities such as obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, hypertension and dyslipidaemia within a high-risk cohort. The outcomes of this research will be relevant to further research and service delivery programs, in particular those tailored to rural communities.