Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

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    Barriers and facilitators to implementation of healthy food and drink policies in public sector workplaces: a systematic literature review.
    (19/06/2023) Rosin M; Mackay S; Gerritsen S; Te Morenga L; Terry G; Ni Mhurchu C
    CONTEXT: Many countries and institutions have adopted policies to promote healthier food and drink availability in various settings, including public sector workplaces. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to systematically synthesize evidence on barriers and facilitators to implementation of and compliance with healthy food and drink policies aimed at the general adult population in public sector workplaces. DATA SOURCES: Nine scientific databases, 9 grey literature sources, and government websites in key English-speaking countries along with reference lists. DATA EXTRACTION: All identified records (N = 8559) were assessed for eligibility. Studies reporting on barriers and facilitators were included irrespective of study design and methods used but were excluded if they were published before 2000 or in a non-English language. DATA ANALYSIS: Forty-one studies were eligible for inclusion, mainly from Australia, the United States, and Canada. The most common workplace settings were healthcare facilities, sports and recreation centers, and government agencies. Interviews and surveys were the predominant methods of data collection. Methodological aspects were assessed with the Critical Appraisal Skills Program Qualitative Studies Checklist. Generally, there was poor reporting of data collection and analysis methods. Thematic synthesis identified 4 themes: (1) a ratified policy as the foundation of a successful implementation plan; (2) food providers' acceptance of implementation is rooted in positive stakeholder relationships, recognizing opportunities, and taking ownership; (3) creating customer demand for healthier options may relieve tension between policy objectives and business goals; and (4) food supply may limit the ability of food providers to implement the policy. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that although vendors encounter challenges, there are also factors that support healthy food and drink policy implementation in public sector workplaces. Understanding barriers and facilitators to successful policy implementation will significantly benefit stakeholders interested or engaging in healthy food and drink policy development and implementation. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42021246340.
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    Transformation and time-out: The role of alcohol in identity construction among Scottish women in early midlife
    (Elsevier, 2015) Emslie C; Hunt K; Lyons AC
    Despite the increase in drinking by women in early midlife, little alcohol research has focused on this group. We explore how alcohol is associated with the construction of gender identities among women aged 30-50 years in the west of Scotland, United Kingdom. We draw on qualitative data from 11 focus groups (five all-female, six mixed-sex) with pre-existing groups of friends and work colleagues in which women and men discuss their drinking behaviours. Analysis demonstrated how alcohol represented a time and space away from paid and unpaid work for women in a range of domestic circumstances, allowing them to relax and unwind. While women used alcohol to construct a range of identities, traditional notions of femininity remained salient (e.g. attention to appearance, drinking 'girly' drinks). Drinking enabled women to assert their identity beyond the roles and responsibilities often associated with being a woman in early midlife. For example, some respondents with young children described the transformative effects of excessive drinking which allowed them to return temporarily to a younger, carefree version of themselves. Thus, our data suggest that women's drinking in early midlife revolves around notions of 'idealised' femininity but simultaneously represents a way of achieving 'time out' from traditional female responsibilities such as caring for others. We consider these findings within a broader social and cultural context including alcohol marketing, domestic roles and motherhood and their implications for health promotion.
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    Engagement in Vice Food and Beverage Consumption: The Role of Perceived Lack of Control
    (Wiley, 2022) Lunardo R; Jaud D; Jaspers E
    Prior research has established a link between lacking control over one's life, the resulting stress, and the maladaptive outcome of eating disorders. However, such research has left unexamined the exact link among perceptions of control, stress, and unhealthy food choices. This study aims to fill this gap by identifying the exact sequence linking these variables and explaining why stress induced by low control leads to engagement in vice food consumption. Based on self-licensing theory, we predict that a perceived lack of control indirectly prompts people to engage in vice food and beverage consumption, because a lack of control leads to higher personal stress and, consequently, a need to escape through self-indulgence. Across one survey-based study in France and two experiments (in the United States and the United Kingdom), we find consistent support for our hypothesis. The results support the prediction that a perceived lack of control increases the consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages. Specifically, when consumers feel a lack of control over their life, they experience stress, seek an escape from this stress, and end up self-indulging through the consumption of vice food and beverages. For public policy-makers and brand managers, the results suggest that having people perceive more control over their life is of particular importance to staying healthy.
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    Genomic signatures of cooperation and conflict in the social amoeba
    (1/01/2015) Ostrowski EA; Shen Y; Tian X; Sucgang R; Jiang H; Qu J; Katoh-Kurasawa M; Brock DA; Dinh C; Lara-Garduno F; Lee SL; Kovar CL; Dinh HH; Korchina V; Jackson LR; Patil S; Han Y; Chaboub L; Shaulsky G; Muzny DM; Worley KC; Gibbs RA; Richards S; Kuspa A; Strassmann JE; Queller DC
    © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Summary Cooperative systems are susceptible to invasion by selfish individuals that profit from receiving the social benefits but fail to contribute. These so-called "cheaters" can have a fitness advantage in the laboratory, but it is unclear whether cheating provides an important selective advantage in nature. We used a population genomic approach to examine the history of genes involved in cheating behaviors in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, testing whether these genes experience rapid evolutionary change as a result of conflict over spore-stalk fate. Candidate genes and surrounding regions showed elevated polymorphism, unusual patterns of linkage disequilibrium, and lower levels of population differentiation, but they did not show greater between-species divergence. The signatures were most consistent with frequency-dependent selection acting to maintain multiple alleles, suggesting that conflict may lead to stalemate rather than an escalating arms race. Our results reveal the evolutionary dynamics of cooperation and cheating and underscore how sequence-based approaches can be used to elucidate the history of conflicts that are difficult to observe directly.