Jessica Strubel and Trent A. Petrie
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how dimensions of body image relate to product involvement among gay men.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how dimensions of body image relate to product involvement among gay men.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey consisting of body image and product involvement measures was administered to 147 self-identified gay men. Multiple regression was used to examine the relations of the significant body image variables to each of the consumer behavior outcomes in separate analyses.
Findings
The more the men were behaviorally invested in their appearance predicted a higher frequency of shopping each month for apparel and grooming-related products. The stronger the men’s psychological drive to have a lean body and the more they focused on their appearance and invested in their looks, the more likely they were to view apparel as important to them. The more psychologically and behaviorally involved the gay men reported being with their appearance, the more importance they gave to grooming-related products.
Research limitations/implications
The sample was drawn primarily from a college population, limiting findings to this age cohort.
Practical implications
The findings of the current research demonstrate the importance of appearance management products to the gay market, where commodities are often used to enhance or maintain a perceived self-image. Retailers can use this information to establish appropriate service options and effective marketing initiatives.
Originality/value
This study replicated others that have investigated gay men’s involvement in consumer products. However, the current study looked at the relationship between involvement and body image.
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Lindsay Evett, Steven Battersby, Allan Ridley and David Brown
Accessible games, both for serious and for entertainment purposes, would allow inclusion and participation for those with disabilities. Research into the development of accessible…
Abstract
Accessible games, both for serious and for entertainment purposes, would allow inclusion and participation for those with disabilities. Research into the development of accessible games, and accessible virtual environments, is discussed. Research into accessible Virtual Environments has demonstrated great potential for allowing people who are blind to explore new spaces, reduce their reliance on guides and aid development of more efficient spatial maps and strategies. Importantly, Lahav and Mioduser (2005, 2008) have demonstrated that, when exploring virtual spaces, people who are blind use more and different strategies than when exploring real physical spaces, and develop relatively accurate spatial representations of them. The present paper describes the design, development and evaluation of a system in which a virtual environment may be explored by people who are blind using Nintendo Wii devices, with auditory and haptic feedback. The nature of the various types of feedback is considered, with the aim of creating an intuitive and usable system. Using Wii technology has many advantages: it is mainstream, readily available and cheap. The potential of the system for exploration and navigation is demonstrated. Results strongly support the possibilities of the system for facilitating and supporting the construction of cognitive maps and spatial strategies. Intelligent support is discussed. Systems such as the present one will facilitate the development of accessible games, and thus enable Universal Design and accessible interactive technology to become more accepted and widespread.
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Current government policy places great emphasis on increased collaboration between disciplines and professions within health care, as in public services across the board. To date…
Abstract
Current government policy places great emphasis on increased collaboration between disciplines and professions within health care, as in public services across the board. To date, analyses of doctor‐manager relations have tended to focus on equipping doctors with management skills, once they have reached consultant level. In contrast, this paper evaluates a new management development initiative, designed to involve doctors and managers at an earlier career stage, and on an inter‐disciplinary basis. Interview and questionnaire responses indicate that specialist registrars and young managers share common values; however, they also acknowledge a high degree of mutual ignorance. Evaluation suggests that inter‐disciplinary programmes can provide a starting‐point for closer collaboration in practice; in conclusion, some options for sustaining this in the long term are identified.
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Daniella Bendo, Christine Goodwin-De Faria and Stefania Maggi
In 2020, UNICEF Canada released Report Card 16 revealing that Canada ranks in the bottom tier compared to other wealthy countries in terms of child and youth well-being. The…
Abstract
In 2020, UNICEF Canada released Report Card 16 revealing that Canada ranks in the bottom tier compared to other wealthy countries in terms of child and youth well-being. The Report Card highlights that promoting participation is required to improve this ranking. Recognising the connection between child well-being and participation, this chapter explores youth-serving institutions in Canada to understand how participation materialises in these settings. Through interviews with provincial and territorial Canadian child and youth advocates, this chapter first explores advocate offices that serve young people facing challenges. These are the only group of child and youth advocates in Canada that have formal legal mandates to implement children's rights at the provincial and territorial level. Comparatively, through interviews with justice-involved youth we analyse the youth justice system. By adjusting the setup of the court space and attempting to minimise power imbalances, we discuss how Canada's first and only Aboriginal Youth Court (AYC), promotes participation and engagement. Through a comparative case analysis, this chapter explores where barriers exist in terms of conceptualising and implementing participation rights, and where opportunities and best practices may be leveraged across child and youth serving institutions in Canada.
The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act…
Abstract
The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:
Clare Elizabeth Gartland and Christine Smith
Vocational courses in England support the progression to higher education (HE) of large numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, yet there is little research…
Abstract
Purpose
Vocational courses in England support the progression to higher education (HE) of large numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, yet there is little research exploring the college experiences of these young people prior to entering university. The purpose of this paper is to consider the experiences of young people on Level 3 Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) vocational courses in their progression to HE from differently positioned post-16 colleges in England.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study was undertaken into the experiences of students on BTEC courses in four subject clusters (science, technology, engineering and maths, arts and humanities, social sciences and health) at both a Further Education College and a Sixth Form College in an area of multiple deprivation and low HE participation. Young people’s experiences of BTEC courses and the support and guidance they receive are explored through the conceptual lens of “possible selves” and using Bourdieu’s ideas of capital, habitus and field.
Findings
Pedagogies and practices on BTEC courses are found to support the development of relevant social and cultural capital and help young people formulate well-articulated “possible selves” as university students, even amongst students who previously had not considered university as an option. The findings illustrate how differently positioned colleges support students’ progression and identify challenges presented by an increasingly stratified and marketised system.
Originality/value
The study highlights the transformative potential of BTEC courses and their role in supporting progression to HE amongst young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The current emphasis on standardisation and rigour as mechanisms to better equip students for HE neglects the unique contribution BTEC pedagogies and practices make to encouraging HE participation. A Bourdieusian and “possible selves” theoretical framework has provided new insights into these valuable learning processes.
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THE idea of a dual analysis in finite elements of a given structure was put forward in Ref. 4. The first analysis should be of the displacement type, using conforming displacement…
Abstract
THE idea of a dual analysis in finite elements of a given structure was put forward in Ref. 4. The first analysis should be of the displacement type, using conforming displacement models of the finite elements. This results in a continuous, piecewise differcntiable displacement field in the whole structure, for which linear elasticity theory predicts lower bounds to the local static influence coefficients. The second analysis should be based on equilibrium models of the finite elements. The stress field within the structure is then continuously transmitted across the interfaces and satisfies detailed equilibrium conditions in the interior of each element. This property furnishes upper bounds to the influence coefficients.
OUR next number will contain our impressions and those of others of the Blackpool conference. Any anticipations made now will be obsolete by the middle of June. All that need be…
Abstract
OUR next number will contain our impressions and those of others of the Blackpool conference. Any anticipations made now will be obsolete by the middle of June. All that need be said here is that we hope no drastic change will have been suggested in the examination syllabus; all other matters are, in our view, legitimate matters for debate in general meetings, but where the syllabus is concerned only Fellows have the necessary qualifications to vote upon it. This we have expressed sufficiently perhaps in the past; there is, however, no harm in repeating it.
The objective of this study was to describe the informationrequirements and beliefs of hospital doctors working in out‐patientdepartments at the point where a decision to…
Abstract
The objective of this study was to describe the information requirements and beliefs of hospital doctors working in out‐patient departments at the point where a decision to discharge or retain a patient is made. A preliminary assessment of clinical vignettes was followed by discussions using a nominal group technique with doctors working within out‐patient clinics. Nine consultant rheumatologists, seven consultant vascular surgeons and seven senior house officers, on a rotational training scheme in general medicine, took part. Their ranked opinions were the principal outcome measures. In each of the three settings, hospital clinicians affirmed that clinical considerations were the overriding factors involved in the decision to discharge or retain patients. These were mainly expressed as beliefs that the patient should be fully investigated or that the clinical management required skills only available within the speciality out‐patient clinic setting. The senior house officers believed that informal guidelines existed in each of their clinics. Guidelines were usually transmitted by more senior doctors working in the clinic but were, at times, inconsistent so that uncertainty existed for individual discharge decisions. The information requirements and beliefs of senior house officers did not change during the six months between assessments. Consultants working in out‐patient clinics are consistent in their information‐gathering and belief systems. That is to say, consultants in the specialties studied agreed with one another in the discussion groups. They may fail to communicate this fully to their junior staff. Explicit guidelines for junior staff based on diagnostic and disease severity data would be of value in making discharge decisions more consistent.
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Geoff Hayward, Eugenia Katartzi, Hubert Ertl and Michael Hoelscher