Benjamin Chase, Timothy Brusseau, Ryan Burns, James Hannon, Hester Henderson and Brian Kehoe
The purpose of this study is to examine the association between components of metabolic syndrome with health-related fitness (HRF) and perceived stress in a sample of law…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the association between components of metabolic syndrome with health-related fitness (HRF) and perceived stress in a sample of law enforcement officers.
Design/methodology/approach
Law enforcement officers (N = 28) from the Mountain West region of the US reported their HRF scores (1.5 mile run, push-up, and sit-ups), had their blood drawn (glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)) and had their waist circumference and blood pressure measured in a fasted state. Officers also completed a short questionnaire to assess health-enhancing physical activity (SQUASH) and both the Organizational and Operational Police Stress Questionnaires (PSQ-Org, PSQ-Op).
Findings
Linear regression models revealed a positive linear relationship between glucose levels and 1.5 mile run times (beta = 0.560, p = 0.021, R2 = 0.24). A bivariate positive linear relationship between waist circumference and 1.5 mile run times was found to be significant (R2 = 0.17, p = 0.041). For every minute increase in 1.5-mile run times, PSQ-Org scores significantly increased by 0.543 standard deviations (p = 0.022) with 25% of the variance explained (R2 = 0.25). There were no statistically significant parameter estimates from the logistic regression equations when dependent variables were treated on the categorical measurement scale using recommended cut-points.
Research limitations/implications
In conclusion, those who performed better on the 1.5 mile run were more likely to have lower fasting glucose levels, experience less stress and have a smaller waist circumference.
Practical implications
Therefore, according to these findings, it is imperative for those in law enforcement to improve their cardiorespiratory endurance to minimize stress and reduce their risk of metabolic syndrome.
Originality/value
This research is novel according to a recent PubMed search using the keywords “law enforcement,” “Metabolic Syndrome” and “fitness testing.”
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Jonathan ‘Yotti’ Kingsley, Rebecca Phillips, Mardie Townsend and Claire Henderson‐Wilson
This article focuses on the qualitative methodologies employed in a research project developed in collaboration with Aboriginal advisors and gaining an in‐depth understanding of…
Abstract
This article focuses on the qualitative methodologies employed in a research project developed in collaboration with Aboriginal advisors and gaining an in‐depth understanding of Aboriginal Victorian peoples’1 connection to their ancestral lands. It outlines why qualitative methodologies were used and highlights the ethical dimensions of working with Aboriginal Victorian communities. A research partnership was developed between Aboriginal Victorian communities and the non‐Aboriginal researcher and this process was emphasised because in the past Australian Indigenous people have been grossly exploited in health research. The methods of semi‐structured interviews and focus groups were used to gain a better understanding of this topic. The novel point of this article is that it provides an honest reflection of the benefits and limitations of this qualitative research process from the perspectives of a non‐Aboriginal researcher and an Aboriginal participant, when emphasis is placed on a collaborative approach. The paper outlines what a successful qualitative research project looks like in Victorian Aboriginal communities. This can be used as a blueprint not only for working with Aboriginal Victorian communities, who have been marginalised within Australian society, but may also be relevant to other culturally diverse communities throughout the world.
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M. K. Ward, Stefan Volk and William J. Becker
This chapter overviews organizational neuroscience (ON), covering the past, present, and future of this growing field of inquiry. First, we define ON and clarify the boundaries of…
Abstract
This chapter overviews organizational neuroscience (ON), covering the past, present, and future of this growing field of inquiry. First, we define ON and clarify the boundaries of the field. Second, we describe the evolution of ON by starting with early papers that tended to discuss the potential of ON to benefit both research and practice. Throughout its development, debates have abounded about the value of ON. Such debates are often related to challenges in collecting, integrating, interpreting, and using information from the brain-level of analysis. It is time for the field to move beyond these debates to focus on applying neuroscience to further theory development and reveal more comprehensive answers to research questions of importance to both academics and practitioners. Third, we propose and describe future research directions for ON. The research directions that we propose are merely a sample of the many paths along which ON inquiry can move forward. Fourth, we outline potential practical implications of ON, including: training and development, job design, high-performance assessment, motivating communications, and conflict prevention. Finally, we draw conclusions about ON as it stands today, address challenges in developing ON, and point out opportunities. We conclude with takeaways and highlight the importance of ON for both academics and practitioners.
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In this chapter I employ a hybrid critical framework that draws on feminist media studies, feminist critiques of post-feminism, theories of intersectionality, and genre theory to…
Abstract
In this chapter I employ a hybrid critical framework that draws on feminist media studies, feminist critiques of post-feminism, theories of intersectionality, and genre theory to consider a range of domestic violence stories on screen. The chapter begins with a summary of prototypical patterns of narrative and character in contemporary Hollywood films about abuse and subsequently explores two recent media representations that, while conforming to certain of these patterns, also introduce alternative perspectives: the 2017/2019 Home Box Office miniseries Big Little Lies and French director Xavier Legrand's 2018 film Custody (Jusqu’à la garde). I argue that both of these media texts draw on familiar genres that engage audiences not simply to generate sympathy for the abused woman-turned-heroine, but to challenge persistent myths about domestic violence such as that abusers are monsters who never show love towards their partners; that abused women are weak, passive, and the victims of their own bad judgment; that the effects and repercussions of abuse end with the departure of the abuser; that, ultimately, the problem of abuse must be “solved” by the individual; that the “solution” is as simple as leaving; and that there is little as a community or a society that we can do. I conclude that, in different ways and to different degrees, each of these media texts succeeds in making small but significant interventions into the predictable formulas of mainstream Hollywood domestic violence films through narratives that foreground the complexities, contradictions, and dilemmas of abuse.
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This article argues for the introduction of patient‐held health care records for people with learning disabilities. The evidence reviewed demonstrates that people with learning…
Abstract
This article argues for the introduction of patient‐held health care records for people with learning disabilities. The evidence reviewed demonstrates that people with learning disabilities have more health care needs than other adults in society but receive less health care than others. The rationale for implementing hand‐held records is considered from three perspectives: a consumer point of view, an analysis of how personal health profiles can help to overcome existing barriers to health care and the existing evidence. The initial experiences of introducing personal health records are described.
John Tsiantis, Marjorie Smith, Thalia Dragonas and Antony Cox
The paper presents results from the implementation and evaluation of a EU/WHO multi‐centre programme on the promotion of children's psychosocial development through primary health…
Abstract
The paper presents results from the implementation and evaluation of a EU/WHO multi‐centre programme on the promotion of children's psychosocial development through primary health care services. The aims of the study were to develop methods for use by primary health care workers in their contact with families on issues pertaining to healthy psychosocial development in the first two years of life, to develop a training programme for primary health care workers to implement in their contact with the families, to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and to promote the implementation of the developed intervention techniques through the network of primary health care services.
The purpose of this paper is to read a selection of Dixon's library collection in conjunction with his published work in an effort to make his book collection and research speak…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to read a selection of Dixon's library collection in conjunction with his published work in an effort to make his book collection and research speak to contemporary scholars who should be exposed to Dixon's writings.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a viewpoint approach.
Findings
A case is made that Dixon's work is characterised by a concern with the historical sedimentation and structuration of marketing theory and practice.
Originality/value
Calls attention to Dixon's work for scholars who might otherwise have bypassed it by linking it with contemporary interpretive and critical marketing approaches.
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This paper describes the piloting of an approach to social services inspection using a range of objective research evidence as part of the Social Services Inspectorate's…
Abstract
This paper describes the piloting of an approach to social services inspection using a range of objective research evidence as part of the Social Services Inspectorate's inspection process in 1997, in eight local authorities in England. The Welsh Centre for Learning Disabilities Applied Research Unit worked with the Social Services Inspectorate to collect details on residential and day services in advance of the inspection process. The paper repeats the findings of this Report and of the collaboration.