Family food environments as determinants of children's eating : implications for obesity prevention

The prevalence of childhood obesity is escalating rapidly and it considered to be a major public health problem. Diet is a recognised precursor of fatness, and current evidence supports the premise that in Westernised countries, the dietary intakes of children are likely to be important in obesity genesis. However, we have a relatively poor understanding of the environments in which a child’s eating is learnt and maintained. Much of the existing work in this area is based on small-scale or experimental studies, or has been derived from homogeneous populations within the USA. Despite these limitations, there is evidence that aspects of the child’s family environment are likely to be important in determining obesity risk in children. This thesis examines the impact of the family food environment on a child’s eating through two related studies. The first study, titled the Children and Family Eating (CAFÉ) study comprised three phases. Phase one involved qualitative interviews with 17 parents of 5-6 year-old children to explore parental perceptions regarding those factors in a child’s environment believed to influence the development of their child’s eating habits. These interviews were used to inform the development of quantitative measures of the family food environment. The second phase involved the development of a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) to assess dietary intake in 5-6 year-olds. The FFQ was informed by analysis of 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey data. In the final phase the relationships between dietary intakes of 5-6 year-old children, and potential predictors of dietary intake were examined in a cross-sectional study of 560 families. Predictors included measures of: parental perceptions of the adequacy of their child’s diet; food availability and accessibility; child-feeding; the opportunities for parental modelling of food intake; a child’s television exposure; maternal Body Mass Index; and maternal education. Analysis of the CAFÉ data provides unique information regarding the relationships between a child’s family food environment and their food consumption. Models developed for a range of dietary outcomes considered to be predictive of increased risk for obesity, including total energy and fat intakes, vegetable variety, vegetable consumption, and high-energy (non-dairy) fluid consumption, explained between 11 and 20 percent of the variance in dietary intake. Two aspects of the family food environment, parental perception of a child’s dietary adequacy, and the total minutes of television viewed per day, were frequently found to be predictive of dietary outcomes likely to promote fatness in these children. The second study, titled the Parent Education and Support (PEAS) Feeding Intervention Study, was a prospective pre/post non-randomised intervention trial that assessed the impact of a feeding intervention to 240 first-time mothers of one-year-old children. This intervention focused on one aspect of the family food environment, child-feeding, which has been proposed as influential in the development of obesogenic eating behaviours. In this study, Maternal and Child Health Nurses (MCHNs), using a ‘Division of Responsibility’ model of feeding, taught parents to provide nutritious food at regular intervals and to let children decide if to eat and how much to eat. Thus parents were encourages to food their child without exerting pressure, or employing coercion or rewards (controlling behaviours). The aim was to influence parental attitudes and beliefs regarding child-feeding. Through the use of these feeding techniques, this intervention also aimed to increase the variety of fruits and vegetables a child consumed by teaching parents to persist with offering these foods, over the year of the intervention, in non-emotive environments. Fruits and vegetables were chosen in this intervention because they are likely to be protective in the development of obesity. Analysis of the PEAS data suggests that this low-level feeding intervention, delivered through existing Maternal and Child Health services, was modestly effective in changing parental attitudes and beliefs regarding the feeding of young children. Further, the validity of fruits offered to intervention group children increased. This thesis expands the existing knowledge base by providing a comprehensive analysis of the relative impact of aspects of the family environment on dietary intakes of 5-6 year-olds. Further, the analysis of a feeding intervention in first-time parents provides important insights regarding the potential to influence child-feeding and the impact this may have on the promotion of eating behaviours protective against obesity.

Influence of an adventure learning program, using group adventure initiative tasks, on participant self-esteem

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of an adventure learning program, based on participation in group adventure initiative tasks (GAITs), on participant self-esteem and, further, to examine any associated gender differences in the dependent variable. The study took place within the framework of the 'Group Dynamics in Action' unit offered at the University of South Australia, Underdale Campus, in semester 2, 1994. The course included participation in group adventure initiative tasks, the identification and examination of group dynamic processes, the investigation of individual roles within the small group and the review of these processes in the group setting. The program also included an experience on a high ropes course. Both quantitative and qualitative data was gathered to gain insight into gender differences and their relationship to the dependent variable and also to provide insight into any discrepancy in outcomes between males and females with regard to participation in group adventure initiative tasks. The sample set of participants was drawn from undergraduate students studying at the University of South Australia in the Bachelor of Teaching (Primary), Bachelor of Education (Secondary Physical Education Teaching) and Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science) courses. Subjects were assigned to either experimental or control conditions and the experimental group were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Sixty one (N = 61) male and female subjects were tested pre and post-treatment period. Psychological tests included the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory (Coopersmith 1981) and an adaptation of Coopersmith's Behaviour Rating Form (Coopersmith 1967). Qualitative data was gathered using Kuhn's Twenty Statements Test (Kuhn and McPartland 1954), a self-esteem questionnaire, observations made by the researcher and other staff about subjects interactions and from weekly journals kept by subjects throughout the treatment. The duration of the treatment period was 14 weeks consisting of 14, 2 hour seminars.

Investigation into the interactive multimedia production processes of novice multimedia designer /producers in a constructivist environment

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the instructional interactive multimedia (IMI) production processes of adult novice multimedia production course. The study aimed at discovering whether a constructivistic teacher-learning environment facilitated these multimedia novice designer / producers to further develop metacognitivestates of higher-order thinking like schema formation, problem-solving and cognitive construction when producing their interactive multimedia project. To achieve this study examined the facilitative and limiting activities in planning, design and development that have assisted or hindered the NMDPs during their multimedia production work This research utilises a qualitative paradigm and makes extensive use of multiple data sources such as the participants’ proposals, planning aids, logs and final projects for single as well as cross-case analyses and discussion. Three cases were selected for in-depth analysis in the study because they provided interviews and more complete documentation and "thick descriptions" of their multimedia production activities. Findings about the NMDPs multimedia production endeavours showed that they learnt best about multimedia technology for teacing and learning by producing an interactive multimedia project themselves. Factors that enabled some of the NMDPs to flourish in a constructivistic environment included their ability to utilise their new and extended schemata to problem solve, their self regulation and a creative and positive attitude to demanding multimedia work NMDPs who utilised facilitative planning aids and design strategies produced impressive work. The study further indicates that the NMDPs’ holistic multimedia production experience made them aware of the levels of complexity involved and boosted their confidence about multimedia production for educational purposes. Suggestions for further research include examining the production styles of adult multimedia novices and young novices and investigating the implications of designing multimedia for large audience presentation rather than for single or small group learner usage.

Platform for reliable computing on clusters using group communications

Shared clusters represent an excellent platform for the execution of parallel applications given their low price/performance ratio and the presence of cluster infrastructure in many organisations. The focus of recent research efforts are on parallelism management, transport and efficient access to resources, and making clusters easy to use. In this thesis, we examine reliable parallel computing on clusters. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing an operating system facility providing transport fault tolerance using existing, enhanced and newly built operating system services for supporting parallel applications. In particular, we use existing process duplication and process migration services, and synthesise a group communications facility for use in a transparent checkpointing facility. This research is carried out using the methods of experimental computer science. To provide a foundation for the synthesis of the group communications and checkpointing facilities, we survey and review related work in both fields. For group communications, we examine the V Distributed System, the x-kernel and Psync, the ISIS Toolkit, and Horus. We identify a need for services that consider the placement of processes on computers in the cluster. For Checkpointing, we examine Manetho, KeyKOS, libckpt, and Diskless Checkpointing. We observe the use of remote computer memories for storing checkpoints, and the use of copy-on-write mechanisms to reduce the time to create a checkpoint of a process. We propose a group communications facility providing two sets of services: user-oriented services and system-oriented services. User-oriented services provide transparency and target application. System-oriented services supplement the user-oriented services for supporting other operating systems services and do not provide transparency. Additional flexibility is achieved by providing delivery and ordering semantics independently. An operating system facility providing transparent checkpointing is synthesised using coordinated checkpointing. To ensure a consistent set of checkpoints are generated by the facility, instead of blindly blocking the processes of a parallel application, only non-deterministic events are blocked. This allows the processes of the parallel application to continue execution during the checkpoint operation. Checkpoints are created by adapting process duplication mechanisms, and checkpoint data is transferred to remote computer memories and disk for storage using the mechanisms of process migration. The services of the group communications facility are used to coordinate the checkpoint operation, and to transport checkpoint data to remote computer memories and disk. Both the group communications facility and the checkpointing facility have been implemented in the GENESIS cluster operating system and provide proof-of-concept. GENESIS uses a microkernel and client-server based operating system architecture, and is demonstrated to provide an appropriate environment for the development of these facilities. We design a number of experiments to test the performance of both the group communications facility and checkpointing facility, and to provide proof-of-performance. We present our approach to testing, the challenges raised in testing the facilities, and how we overcome them. For group communications, we examine the performance of a number of delivery semantics. Good speed-ups are observed and system-oriented group communication services are shown to provide significant performance advantages over user-oriented semantics in the presence of packet loss. For checkpointing, we examine the scalability of the facility given different levels of resource usage and a variable number of computers. Low overheads are observed for checkpointing a parallel application. It is made clear by this research that the microkernel and client-server based cluster operating system provide an ideal environment for the development of a high performance group communications facility and a transparent checkpointing facility for generating a platform for reliable parallel computing on clusters.

Cross-cultural adaptation of a tobacco questionnaire for Punjabi, Cantonese, Urdu and Sylheti speakers: qualitative research for better clinical practice, cessation services and research.Â

Objective : To develop cross‐culturally valid and comparable questionnaires for use in clinical practice, tobacco cessation services and multiethnic surveys on tobacco use.
Methods : Key questions in Urdu, Cantonese, Punjabi and Sylheti on tobacco use were compiled from the best existing surveys. Additional items were translated by bilingual coworkers. In one‐to‐one and group consultations, lay members of the Pakistani, Chinese, Indian Sikh and Bangladeshi communities assessed the appropriateness of questions. Questionnaires were developed and field tested. Cross‐cultural comparability was judged in a discussion between the researchers and coworkers, and questionnaires were finalised. Questionnaires in Cantonese (written and verbal forms differ) and Sylheti (no script in contemporary use) were written as spoken to avoid spot translations by interviewers.
Results : The Chinese did not use bidis, hookahs or smokeless tobacco, so these topics were excluded for them. It was unacceptable for Punjabi Sikhs to use tobacco. For the Urdu speakers and Sylheti speakers there was no outright taboo, particularly for men, but it was not encouraged. Use of paan was common among women and men. Many changes to existing questions were necessary to enhance cultural and linguistic appropriateness—for example, using less formal language, or rephrasing to clarify meaning. Questions were modified to ensure comparability across languages, including English.
Conclusion : Using theoretically recommended approaches, a tobacco‐related questionnaire with face and content validity was constructed for Urdu, Punjabi, Cantonese and Sylheti speakers, paving the way for practitioners to collect more valid data to underpin services, for sounder research and ultimately better tobacco control. The methods and lessons are applicable internationally.

Sustainable living environment for urban low-income households in Malaysia : key factors for maintenance

Urbanisation is predicted to continuously increase every year. Demand for urban shelter will rise and hence this will force governments to act, within their capability, to provide affordable housing in order to maintain social and economic stability. Some industrialized countries have demonstrated full state support from planning and implementation through to continuing maintenance in order to create and sustain a healthy living environment for urban low-in-come households. For developing countries, this might be more difficult. Ensuring adequate maintenance to provide housing quality over the long term is proving even more problematic than simply providing housing. The question is how housing in developing countries can be made sustainable in order to provide a better living environment in the long term. This study focuses on key issues of residential living environments for urban low-cost housing in Malaysia in relation to housing maintenance management. Drawing from extensive primary research and a series of interviews, this exploratory study identifies factors that must be considered by policy makers in order to provide a decent and sustainable living environment for the urban lower-income group. The outcome suggests that current systems of maintenance management - offsetting maintenance to developers or the housing communities themselves, is not working well. The government may need to continue to support low cost housing through maintenance in order to prevent deterioration of accommodation that could become future slums.

Using large group methods to develop effective quality cultures

It has become evident that higher education institutions in the Sultanate of Oman are currently experiencing change, in particular when it involves implementing quality management systems. The underlying principles of quality management are participatory decision making. Our methods for conducting improvements in quality management, strategic planning and other topics model this principle. Large group methods or interventions involve gathering an entire organization to talk about, influence or invent needed changes (Bunker & Alban, 2002). Change is a result of purposeful social construction by organizational members. It involves a goal (approach/plan), implementation (deployment/act/so), evaluation (results/check) and modification (improvement). This paper explores the different large group methods being used in the field today and it proposes that large group methods allow a forum to overcome some of the hurdles and challenges that are being faced in Oman such as; How do you encourage sharing information in a fiercely competitive environment? And how do you establish an informal network of peers? We were witness to some of these challenges being over come when we used large group methods during various strategic planning workshops with members of staff from the different colleges in Oman. Results from the evaluations of the workshops highlighted that participants enjoyed the opportunity to network and share ideas with their peers as well as being involved in group discussions and brainstorming ideas. The paper will also propose that large group methods can be used effectively in Omani culture strengthening goals towards Omanisation.

Collaboration in the online e-learning environment

Based on the fundamental elements of computer Supported Collaborative Learning, the Online Collaboration Model was developed to improve teaching and learning outcomes for students and staff. This model now stands as a framework that can support further exploration and inquiry into issues related to collaboration in the online e-learning environment.

Evidence-informed process to identify policies that will promote a healthy food environment in the Pacific Islands

Objective: To implement a systematic evidence-informed process to enable Fiji and Tonga to identify the most feasible and targeted policy interventions which would have most impact on diet-related non-communicable diseases.

Design: A multisectoral stakeholder group of policy advisers was formed in each country. They used participatory approaches to identify the problem policies and gaps contributing to an unhealthy food environment. Potential solutions to these problems were then identified, and were assessed by them for feasibility, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and side-effects. Data were gathered on the food and policy environment to support the assessments. A shortlist of preferred policy interventions for action was then developed.

Results: Sixty to eighty policy problems were identified in each country, affecting areas such as trade, agriculture, fisheries and pricing. Up to 100 specific potential policy solutions were then developed in each country. Assessment of the policies highlighted relevant problem areas including poor feasibility, limited effectiveness or cost-effectiveness and serious side-effects. A shortlist of twenty to twenty-three preferred new policy options for action in each country was identified.

Conclusions: Policy environments in these two countries were not conducive to supporting healthy eating. Substantial areas of potential action are possible, but some represent better choices. It is important for countries to consider the impact of non-health policies on diets.

M-learning in an off-campus environment : using iPods in accounting education

The widening availability of the internet and the popularity of handheld devices such as Apple’s iPod are creating a generation of tech-savvy students who are becoming more demanding for innovative ways of accessing information. In this study thirty iPods were distributed to students studying an exclusively online graduate level accounting program at a mid-sized Australian university. The students were required to use their iPods as part of the course’s online learning environment. At the end of the semester students were given two questionnaires: (1) to illicit their opinions on the usefulness of the iPod as a learning tool, and (2) to establish their learning styles (using a VARK© questionnaire). The findings indicate that flexibility the perceived benefit of using iPods allowing more efficient and effective study time. In particular the mobility (m-learning) that allowed students to take advantage of what would otherwise be down-time such as travelling on public transport. Disadvantages related to the difficulty in reading text on a small screen and the ability to move to particular parts of a recorded lecture with precision. These comments were consistent for all demographics however students with a more visual learning style rated the iPod more important to their learning than other students. This study involved a small sample but the generally positive response to the use of iPods indicates that there would be value in further studies with larger groups.

Individual, social and environmental correlates of physical activity among women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods

Women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods are at heightened risk for physical inactivity, but little is known about the correlates of physical activity among this group. Using a social-ecological framework, this study aimed to determine the individual, social and neighbourhood environmental correlates of physical activity amongst women living in such neighbourhoods. During 2007–2008 women (n = 4108) aged 18–45 years randomly selected from urban and rural neighbourhoods of low socioeconomic status in Victoria, Australia completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (long). They reported on individual (self-efficacy, enjoyment, intentions, outcome expectancies, skills), social (childcare, social support from family and friends/colleagues, dog ownership) and neighbourhood environmental (neighbourhood cohesion, aesthetics, personal safety, ‘walking environment’) factors. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the odds of increasing categories of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and transport-related physical activity (TRPA) for each individual, social and environmental factor. In partially adjusted analyses, all individual, social and environmental variables were positively associated with LTPA, while all individual factors, family and friend support and the walking environment were positively associated with TRPA. In fully adjusted multivariable models, all individual and social factors remained significantly associated with LTPA, while self-efficacy, enjoyment, intentions, social support, and neighbourhood ‘walking environment’ variables remained significantly associated with TRPA. In conclusion, individual and social factors were most important for LTPA, while individual, social and neighbourhood environmental factors were all associated with TRPA. Acknowledging the cross-sectional design, the findings highlight the importance of different levels of potential influence on physical activity in different domains, which should be considered when developing strategies to promote physical activity amongst women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Understanding children's sedentary behaviour : a qualitative study of the family home environment

Electronic media (EM) (television, electronic games and computer) use has been associated with overweight and obesity among children. Little is known about the time spent in sedentary behaviour (SB) among children within the family context. The aim of this study was to explore how the family home environment may influence children's electronic-based SB. Focus groups and family interviews were conducted with 11- to 12-year old children (n = 54) and their parents (n = 38) using a semi-structured discussion guide. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic content approach. A brief self-completed questionnaire was also used to measure leisure behaviour and electronic devices at home. Children incorporated both sedentary and physical activities into their weekly routine. Factors influencing children's EM use included parent and sibling modelling and reinforcement, personal cognitions, the physical home environment and household EM use rules and restrictions. Participants were not concerned about the excessive time children spent with EM. This under-recognition emerged as a personal influencing factor and was viewed as a major barrier to modifying children's electronic-based SB. Efforts to reduce SB in children should focus on the influencing factors that reciprocally interact within the family home. An emphasis on increasing awareness about the risks associated with spending excessive time in screen-based activities should be a priority when developing intervention strategies aimed at modifying the time children spend in SB.

Reflections on the mentoring process with academics entering a 'new' educational experience

Purpose – Increasingly, academics new to higher education find themselves in a “publish or perish” environment, with little if any formal or informal support structures. This is a situation that many academics have faced and lamented. The discussion in this paper emanates from the objective of seeking to change this environment. The mentoring provided an opportunity to work collaboratively with accounting academics who are new to the higher education sector, and focuses on developing and/or enhancing a scholarly approach to teaching and learning.

Design/methodology/approach – The reflective practitioner model provides the theoretical framework that underpins this mentoring process. The discussion in this research paper provides an opportunity to explore this mentoring process, primarily aimed at developing and encouraging a scholarly approach to teaching and learning by academics new to the environment. Data on the process were collected using a survey questionnaire and as a result of informal discussions during the mentoring process.

Findings – The findings indicate an overall positive response to the process for both the mentor and the mentee and the achievement of the planned research outcomes.

Originality/value – The discussion in this paper outlines a framework and process that others may follow when mentoring academics entering a “new” educational experience.

Exploring multidimensional person-environment fit

The current study examines the validity of a multidimensional Person-Environment (PE) fit model proposed by Jansen and Kristof-Brown (2006). The overall aim of the paper is to test the model’s factor structure and influences upon outcome measures. A panel of organisational employees from a wide range of companies and locations were asked to complete a survey (n = 1875) measuring five discrete multidimensional facets of PE fit (Person-Organisation, Person-People, Person-Job, Person-Group and Person-Vocation) and three outcomes; organisational commitment, intention to leave and job satisfaction. The first sequence of analysis tested the proposed model using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) statistical approaches. Model comparisons showed that Jansen and Kristof-Brown’s original model in which the five facets of fit coalesce into a multidimensional variable was a poor fit with the data, but that a model in which the five facets of fit operate independently was a good fitting one. The second sequence of analysis found that the model without the multidimensional variable strongly predicted the outcomes of commitment, job satisfaction and intention to leave. This paper discusses the implication of this research in relation to the PE fit literature.