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The primary goal of this longitudinal study was to examine whether technology use predicts substance use and/or whether substance use predicts technology use during adolescence.

The sample included 1,031 10th and 11th grade students from the Mid-Atlantic United States. The students completed surveys in school in the spring of 2007 and 2008.

Gender differences in technology use were observed with girls texting, e-mailing/instant messaging, and working on the computer more than boys, and boys playing video games more than girls. Technology use also predicted later substance use for boys and girls. Importantly, technology use was observed to have both negative and positive effects on youth. Substance use also predicted later technology use for girls.

The sample only included adolescents from the Mid-Atlantic United States. In addition, the measures were based on self-reports. Nevertheless, results from this study highlight the importance of considering both negative and positive effects of technology on adolescents. Of note, social types of technology (texting and e-mailing) predicted more substance use for both boys and girls. As such, substance use prevention programs should target these types of technology.

Findings from this study underscore the importance of examining both directions of influence between technology use and adolescent adjustment.

The purpose of this chapter is to review and synthesise the available evidence for the health benefits of walking. It follows a non-systematic evidence review and finds that the evidence base for the health benefits of walking is growing. Increasingly we are finding strong evidence for the beneficial effects of walking for both individuals and populations. More evidence is required on how to better understand the health outcomes associated with walking and how to promote long term increases in walking behaviour. Systematic reviews of specific health benefits remain rare. Walking should be promoted in all population groups regardless of age or sex. There are currently few existing integrative syntheses of the physical and mental health outcomes associated with walking and this chapter aims to help fill that gap.

Despite preventive efforts from some companies to offer some sport and physical activity (SPA) to their employees, French participation rates remain very low, which limit impacts in terms of health and economic benefits. The aim of this study was to better understand the factors influencing SPA participation in the workplace.

A cross-sectional study was conducted based on an electronic questionnaire survey disseminated to 24 companies based in France that offered SPA to their employees. An independent sample t-test was conducted to explore the differences between the most common facilitating and constraining factors, in relation to “being a sporty person” self-perception, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) level and demographic information. Predictors of SPA in the workplace were determined using a binomial logistic regression.

A total of 1,318 employees completed the survey, of which 60% were women, mostly highly educated and white collar. “Being a sporty person,” self-perception has been a predictor of SPA participation in the workplace.

More multicomponent work-based interventions, including incidental physical activity, might be necessary to increase participation and overcome time constraint.

Although SPA participation in the workplace is considered to promote numerous positive organizational and individual consequences, this is the first study to assess the associations between facilitating and constraining factors of SPA participation in the workplace setting and physical self-perception.

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of theory‐based poster messages on stair‐climbing behaviour in a work environment. The highest‐rated poster developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada's stairway to health program was used as a comparison condition.

Naturalistic observation of stair traffic was conducted in order to measure the effectiveness of poster prompts on stair‐climbing behaviour. Over a period of three years, three separate studies were conducted aimed at increasing stair‐use via experimentally manipulated and theory‐based poster messages.

Results suggest that messages derived from a norm‐based framework are more persuasive than generic information‐based posters when attempting to increase stair‐climbing behaviour.

Small increases in health‐related behaviours at work have important consequences for both individuals and organizations. Using poster messages derived from social psychological theory could prove advantageous for practitioners attempting to increase healthy behaviours at work.

This research provides the first evidence for the use of norm‐based health‐related messages targeted at increasing healthy behaviours. The study makes a theoretical contribution to the creation and application of norm‐based appeals using both simple and complex message framing. Prior to this study, there was no available research on the effectiveness of such appeals on health‐related behaviour.

Increasing physical activity (PA) is an international public health priority. This study aims to assess the impact of an environmental stair‐use intervention using “point of decision” prompts with varying messages in an NHS workplace in the UK.

Observational data were collected using a covert method (infra‐red sensors) in an interrupted time‐series design over an eight‐week period. Intervention consisted of posters displaying encouraging messages in the entrance to two stairways of an acute NHS hospital. The hospital site is a public building accessible to patients, staff (n=∼7,000), students and the general public. Questionnaires (n=221) assessed employee self‐reports of and attitudes towards stair‐use.

Following 24‐hour observational counts (n=143,514) no statistically significant differences were seen in either stair climbing or descent on either stairway through the introduction and removal of promotional posters. A number of determinants and barriers to stair‐use were identified. Posters were reported as “seen” by a low proportion of respondents (7‐25 per cent) and only a small number felt encouraged to use the stairs as a result of the prompts (25‐37 per cent of those who “saw” them, 3‐18 per cent of total sample).

The study evaluates the impact of a stair‐use intervention in a public hospital building, a setting within which research investigations have to date been limited. More research is needed to further investigate determinants and barriers to stair‐use and the impact of different message types and locations of “point‐of‐decision” prompts in a hospital setting.

Environmental interventions to increase stair‐use in this setting may be best placed within a comprehensive workplace programme including health education and multi‐component interventions.

“Point of decision” prompts are inexpensive as a long‐term intervention. As part of a large‐scale workplace health campaign, encouraging even a small percentage of employees to use the stairs in organisations of this size is of significance to workplace health promoters.

Explores what people contemplating exercise (exercise contemplators) described, using the five processes of change that are considered by those who adhere to the Transtheoretical Model of Change, as most important for changing exercise behaviour. Also examines four delay tactics. Analysis of structured interviews with eight exercise contemplators identified three main findings, which show that the existing conceptualisations of the processes of change lack relevance to everyday accounts of trying to become more active. Further, in practice the processes were not readily differentiated by people, although process questionnaires require people to make these differentiations. Individuals reflected their optimism for change using two dimensions. How often an individual process was used seemed less important than the personal significance of experiences or events, especially the negative actions of significant others. The findings may help to explain why “process of change” questionnaires fail to predict change for exercise. The complex mix of the ways that processes and delay tactics are used, and how they are described, illustrates how challenging it may be for these people to change without help. These issues also affect counsellors who wish to develop stage‐matched counselling based on these elements of change.

The purpose of this paper is to exemplify how the bioecological model (BM) may be used as a systems approach framework to address workplace well-being in a holistic, meaningful and practical way.

This conceptual paper is structured according to the design of Bronfenbrenner’s (1999) BM. As such, the different layers of the model are described and then examples from the recent international and interdisciplinary literature and current policy from Australia are provided to support the argument. These selected examples represent some key themes in the field of workplace health and well-being management.

The BM is ideal in holistically analysing workplace health promotion and management. This finding supports future research using this model. The limitations of the model are that it can lend itself to research projects that are unfocused. It is suggested that determining the research aims and objectives and then using the model to respond to this agenda would use the model effectively.

This paper proposes the applicability of a specific model to a research agenda suggesting that interested parties could design a project around this model to investigate workplace health and well-being management.

The model gives weight to the lived experiences of employees and suggests that business owners and policy makers hold power in controlling aspects that influence employee well-being. This model could be used to inform policy makers about the holistic nature of employee well-being urging inclusive policies that support positive well-being practices.

This paper provides a unique contribution to the field by offering a topic-specific model useful to those concerned with workplace health and well-being management.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of an exercise education intervention on exercise behavior, depression and fatigue status of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.

This was a pilot study using an exercise education program as an intervention for CKD patients. The authors used the transtheoretical model (TTM) to design the exercise education programs. A total of 94 subjects diagnosed with CKD at a medical center in Taiwan participated in this quasi‐experimental study. Subjects were randomly divided into the experimental group (n=45) and the control group (n=49). The education program included written materials and teaching activities designed to encourage participants to initiate and continue regular exercise. Both groups took the pre‐test and post‐test containing a depression inventory, a fatigue scale and an exercise behavior inventory.

The findings indicated that changes in the exercise behavior, depression and fatigue status of the experimental group were statistically significant after the exercise education intervention compared with the control group.

The paper demonstrates that exercise education intervention can be administered by nursing staff, or a health educator, to encourage patients to exercise in order to enhance their quality of care.

A health learning program relying on the scientific method was designed to promote reducing the intake of foods high in sugar, sodium and saturated fat in a group of school-aged children.

The scientific method was a core approach for creating intervention activities. We conducted mixed-methods research consisting of a quasi-experimental study and supplemented with a qualitative study.

After the intervention, mean scores of knowledge (F = 16.052, p < 0.05) and intrinsic motivation of the intervention group (IG) were significantly increased (t = 4.277, p < 0.05). Although basic science process skills before and after intervention were not significantly different, it found positive correlations with intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and dietary behavior.

The selected sample size is relatively small. The intervention program should be repeated with larger and more diverse students to ensure the effectiveness of this program.

This intervention program relying on the scientific method evokes the knowledge of grade 5–6 students about good diet and nutrition, emphasizing reducing the intake of foods high in sugar, sodium and saturated fat. Teachers should also observe and encourage students to steadily drive healthy food consumption behaviors according to the theoretical behavior change stage at least during their time at school.

The developed program could be a feasible option for teachers to integrate into the lessons in the classroom. This program also motivates students’ healthy food consumption.

This paper aims to investigate the use of blind marking to increase the ability of criterion-referenced marking to discriminate students’ varied levels of knowledge and skill mastery in a business communication skills course.

The business communication course in this study involved more than 10 teachers and 350 students each semester. Data were collected from four semesters of assignment grades to compare the distribution of grades in semesters that used blind marking and in the one that did not (the control group). The standard deviations of marks for each assignment were calculated and compared.

Findings show that blind marking contributed to a wider spread of marks. The study concludes that blind marking, when implemented together with criterion-referenced marking rubrics, can improve the ability of qualitative assessments to discriminate student achievement levels.

Research in the use of criterion-referenced marking rubrics has revealed that assessing with marking rubrics resulted in a wider range of marks awarded because assessors felt that the rubrics helped them make more objective judgments of students’ work (Kuisma, 1999). By this token, it could be argued that because blind marking allows more objective judgment of students’ work (by reducing rater bias), it seems to reason that marks might be awarded on a wider range of the marking scale. However, current literature on blind marking and grade/mark dispersion has yet to reveal a study on whether blind marking is able to increase the spread of marks, and therefore, indicate that an assessment instrument is effective is discriminating a range of student achievement levels. This paper should add to the current research on higher quality of educational assessments.