The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions : results of the international body project 1

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across highsocioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

Continuous product innovation : learning behaviours and knowledge management

The research reported in this paper considers Product Innovation from a broader perspective than that of the isolated NPD (New Product Development) project commonly discussed in the literature. In this perspective, Product Innovation is a continuous and cross-functional process involving the sharing and transfer of knowledge within the many steps of the innovation process, and the integration of a growing number of different competencies inside and outside the organisational boundaries. This paper examines two in-depth case studies that were carried out to establish if and how learning occurred within companies developing new products. Based on a model developed as part of a joint Euro-Australian research project, the way in which the selected companies share and transfer knowledge and learning experiences during their product innovation processes have been examined and analysed. This model uses a number of interrelated variables including performance, behaviours and levers to stimulate improvement, contingencies, and learning/innovation capabilities to describe the learning and knowledge transfer in product innovation processes within the case studies. This paper discusses some of the skills the research has identified that managers need to enable their companies to gain a competitive advantage through improved product innovation. The ongoing research has developed, tested and disseminated a computer-based methodology to assess organisational knowledge capture and transfer in the new product development process. The research is part of the Euro-Australian co-operation project known as CIMA (Continuous Improvement and Product Innovation Management).

Body image and body change strategies among Tongan adolescents in Tonga and New Zealand

Aim : The aim of this study was to evaluate the body image and body change strategies of adolescents from Tonga, and Tongans who are resident New Zealand.

Method : In total, 598 Tongans from Tonga and 388 Tongans from New Zealand completed measures of body image, body change strategies and messages about their body.

Results : Tongans in Tonga were more likely to receive positive messages about a larger body from adults at school, church and the media, and losing weight from the media. They were also more likely to adopt strategies to lose weight, increase weight and increase muscles.

Conclusion : The large body ideal appears to be still valued in Tonga, whereas Tongans also want to lose weight because of media messages to achieve a healthy body weight.

Social comparisons, appearance related comments, contingent self-esteem and their relationships with body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance among women

This study examined social comparisons, appearance related comments and contingent self-esteem, and their relationships with body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance in young adult women. Importantly, the role of both positive and negative appearance related comments, and upward and downward comparisons, were investigated. A self-report questionnaire assessing each of these variables was completed by one hundred and ninety-six women aged 18–35. A higher frequency of negative comments and contingent self-esteem were associated with higher upward comparisons, and more positive comments were associated with higher downward comparisons. Overall, social comparisons were shown to be more important than verbal commentary and contingent self-esteem. More upward comparisons and less downward comparisons uniquely predicted higher body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance. In addition, negative appearance comments were found to be more salient than positive comments. Negative comments and contingent self-esteem uniquely predicted more eating disturbance but positive comments were not a predictor of body dissatisfaction or eating disturbance. Longitudinal studies are now required to establish the direction of these relationships and to more fully examine the interplay among the factors. In addition, given that our study only assessed self-reported social comparisons, our findings need to be validated against experimental methods.

An empirical investigation of hybrid corporate governance systems in large firms: Evidence from India

The heightened pace of corporate governance reforms has focused attention on country-specific
governance models. Considerable debate has ensured as to whether the outsider Anglo-Saxon system
or the insider Continental system is most applicable to India. This paper reports the results of a study
of Indian governance which used a primary qualitative approach of twelve interviews of key executives
of five large firms in 2008 as well as publicly available documents. A literature review establishes six
key characteristics that distinguish the two major systems. The governance characteristics of the
Indian firms are classified in terms of the two systems with a view to assessing the extent and nature of
hybridization. The findings endorse the hybrid corporate governance system of India, clearly
identifying similarities and differences to the two major governance models. In drawing on rich
interview data, the paper delves into the national characteristics of India that have influenced the
hybrid model such as stewardship, corporate social responsibility and partnerships between the
corporate and community sectors. The evolution of the governance practices and the rationale for their
existence are also examined. The paper demonstrates that the hybrid governance system has emanated
from country-specific culture including values and ideologies, and political orientation of socialism.
The scope of this study was limited to large listed companies and business groups. Future research
should use a larger and more diverse sample including private and unaffiliated firms for outcomes that
can be generalized.

A pilot program of physical activity promotion among clients receiving home and community care

Three Victorian local governments cooperated in a pilot study of physical activity promotion as part of home and community care (HACC) service delivery. Thirty-one people receiving HACC volunteered to participate, including completing the Transtheoretical Stages of Change Exercise Questionnaire and the short-form Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) just before and at 3 months and 6 months after starting regular self-selected physical activity. Twenty-one participants returned questionnaires at 3 months, and 17 participants returned questionnaires at 6 months. Data were analysed using paired t tests and effect sizes were calculated as mean differences. At 3 months, mean improvements were identified on 6 of the 8 HAQDI (disability index) subscales, and in the overall HAQ-DI score. Improvement in dressing and grooming was preserved at 6 months. At either 3 or 6 months, improvements in dressing and grooming, reach, hygiene, and daily activities, and overall HAQ-DI score exceeded the minimum clinically important difference. No improvements were statistically significant, as is likely in a pilot study with a small sample, however, these results suggest that even very small increases in physical activity may afford clinically meaningful improvements in some areas of physical function required for independent living.

A good lives model of clinical and community rehabilitation

Aims of the paper. The aim of this paper was to introduce the Good Lives Model, originally developed for offender rehabilitation, to the clinical rehabilitation community. We argue that this model has considerable promise, both as a ‘thinking tool’ and as an integrative framework emphasizing the centrality of the person in clinical and community rehabilitation for complex and chronic health conditions.

Key findings and implications. The essential features of a good rehabilitation theory are first outlined. These are the general principles and assumptions that underpin a theory, the aetiological assumptions and the intervention implications. The Good Lives Model for clinical rehabilitation is then described in terms of these three components of a good rehabilitation theory.

Conclusions and recommendations. The Good Lives Model has considerable promise as a tool for integrating many diverse aspects of current best practice in rehabilitation while maintaining the individual client as the central focus. At the same time it is provisional and further theoretical development and empirical support is required.

Body image and self-concept in adolescent girls [R]

Anorexia Nervosa has been recently recognized as one of the most common chronic illnesses that affects the female adolescent population today. Although there has been an abundance of research into eating disorders in a variety of fields, significant limitations within the research still exist. Since very early descriptions of the disorder, self-concept and body image have been identified as core components of the anorexia nervosa. However, research has been somewhat limited in that there have not been any consistent theoretical underpinnings for self-concept and body image within the eating disorders field. Furthermore, researchers have tended to adopt traditional inferential statistics and multivariate methods to assess the role of self-concept and body image. As a result there has been very little consistency in research results. The current paper summarizes the significant findings from a doctoral thesis that attempted to address current limitations in self-concept and body image literature within the field of eating disorders.

Assessing body condition and energy budget components by scoring abdominal profiles in free-ranging pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus

An abdominal profile index (API) was developed for pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus as a measure of body condition. On basis of carcass analysis of 56 adult geese with known API prior to collection, we found significant linear relationships between API against body mass, abdominal fat and total energy content. Hence, changes in API reflect net energy intake rates. As an example of the applicability of the calibration, we compared APIs of individually marked geese before and after long migration episodes and estimated the cost of flight at 8.9 kJ/km. In addition we estimated gain rates at three major staging sites along the spring flyway indicating an increase in fueling rates with latitude. Calibration of APIs and energy contents offers new opportunities for field studies of waterfowl energetics.