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1 – 10 of over 1000
Book part
Publication date: 24 September 2018

Gabija Didžiokaitė, Paula Saukko and Christian Greiffenhagen

The existing literature on fatness has critically discussed meanings and morals associated with body weight and explored people’s experiences of weight loss attempts. However…

Abstract

The existing literature on fatness has critically discussed meanings and morals associated with body weight and explored people’s experiences of weight loss attempts. However, little attention has been paid to the practices of dieting – how it is ‘done’. Based on an interview study involving 31 participants, who shared their self-tracking experience of using the MyFitnessPal calorie counting app, we focus on the practices of ‘doing’ calories. First, we discuss the practices of temporality of logging food, showing that the use of MyFitnessPal not only has to be fitted into daily routines but can also transform them. Then, we look at the practices of precision or users’ various ways of turning the ‘messiness’ of food into precise numbers. Lastly, we explore users’ practices of adjustments – their attitudes to adherence to their daily calorie goal and ways of dealing with going above it. Based on our findings we suggest calorie counting is not a straightforward data collection, but one that involves constant practical strategies and negotiations, and can both influence and be influenced by other everyday practices.

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Steven M. Suranovic and Robert S. Goldfarb

This paper presents a behavioral economics model with bounded rationality to describe an individual's food consumption choices that lead to weight gain and dieting. Using a…

Abstract

This paper presents a behavioral economics model with bounded rationality to describe an individual's food consumption choices that lead to weight gain and dieting. Using a physiological relationship determining calories needed to maintain weight, we simulate the food consumption choices of a representative female over a 30-year period. Results show an individual will periodically choose to diet, but that diet will reduce weight only temporarily. Recurrence of weight gain leads to cyclical dieting, which reduces the trend rate of weight increase. Dieting frequency is shown to depend on decision period length, dieting costs, and habit persistence.

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The Economics of Obesity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-482-9

Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2015

Patrick A. Grant and Nia A. Grant

The treatment and care of persons with a disability should and must be all encompassing. With the expansion of the knowledge that proper dieting can make a difference in the…

Abstract

The treatment and care of persons with a disability should and must be all encompassing. With the expansion of the knowledge that proper dieting can make a difference in the individual’s development and quality of life, attention must be focused on using proper food intake to remediate the negative impact of a disability. Food is related to proper healthcare; therefore, we must include proper nutrition in working with learners with exceptionalities. We must add to the list of treatments not only educational intervention, social interaction, and independent living, but also food intake. This chapter looks at the dietary needs of several disabling conditions, and addresses how particular dietary food selections help in their development and their ability to learn integration, playing skills with others, and working independently when called on to do so. Therefore, for the purposes of this chapter, we focus on exceptionalities such as cognitive disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Down syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), muscular dystrophy, and cystic fibrosis.

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Interdisciplinary Connections to Special Education: Key Related Professionals Involved
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-663-8

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Book part
Publication date: 22 July 2014

Kelly Moore and Matthew C. Hoffmann

Field theory is waxing in the sociology of science, and Pierre Bourdieu’s work is especially influential. His characterization of field structure and dynamics has been especially…

Abstract

Field theory is waxing in the sociology of science, and Pierre Bourdieu’s work is especially influential. His characterization of field structure and dynamics has been especially valuable in drawing attention to hierarchical and center-periphery relations in science and technology, and to the stability and reproduction of science and technology practices. What field theory does less well, however, is to capture the existence of multiple (including marginal) logics around a given sociotechnical object. Nor does it capture the dynamics of a specific logic of neoliberal capitalism in the US: the cultural and economic value of entrepreneurship that emphasizes the continual reconfiguration of social relations, which has its roots in a longer US history of progress-through-reinvention, and is abetted by new technologies designed to continually “update” and remix. Much better at capturing these qualities, we argue, is an institutionalist theory in which dynamism, not stasis, is foregrounded, and there is room for multiple, contradictory, and non-cognitive logics to co-exist. Using the expansion of “alternative nutrition” in the US, we show that its formation took place via the conjunction of parallel streams of social action that encompassed diverse logics and encouraged creativity and hybridity. More generally, variability in field stability and qualities, not static fields, deserve analytic attention.

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Fields of Knowledge: Science, Politics and Publics in the Neoliberal Age
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-668-2

Book part
Publication date: 15 December 2016

Giuseppe Delmestri and Elizabeth Goodrick

While there has been increased attention to emotions and institutions, the role of denial and repression of emotions has been overlooked. We argue that not only the expression and…

Abstract

While there has been increased attention to emotions and institutions, the role of denial and repression of emotions has been overlooked. We argue that not only the expression and the feeling of emotions, but also their control through denial contribute to stabilize institutional orders. The role denial plays is that of avoiding the emergence of disruptive emotions that might motivate a challenge to the status quo. Reflecting on the example of the livestock industry, we propose a theoretical model that identifies seeds for change in denied emotional contradictions in an integration of the cultural-relational and issue-based conceptions of organizational fields.

Book part
Publication date: 10 October 2017

Hans Mikkelsen and Jens O. Riis

This chapter addresses issues of what should be done and when. Structuring of the project task into a number of activities is key to planning a course of action for a project. It…

Abstract

This chapter addresses issues of what should be done and when. Structuring of the project task into a number of activities is key to planning a course of action for a project. It involves combining two dimensions: when (the time) and what (relevant subject areas or work paths). Several examples will illustrate the issue.

The five-by-five model will be used to identify five parallel processes of a project: (1) task-oriented processes concerned with development of a solution, (2) organisational change processes focusing on understanding and accepting the change, (3) application and operational processes concerned with application and use of the project’s results, (4) environmental processes focusing on the interplay between the project and its environment including stakeholders, and (5) management processes dealing with activities in the middle box of the five-by-five model.

A number of models of the project’s course of action will be presented and discussed, e.g., a waterfall model, a parallel stream model based on the four perspectives introduced in Chapter 1, the course of actions as decisions and as a change process. Finally, we shall discuss Agile and Lean project management.

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Project Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-830-7

Book part
Publication date: 10 October 2011

Stephen B. Adams and Paul J. Miranti

Purpose — This study assesses the effectiveness of initiatives by expatriate employees of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T, popularly referred to as the ‘Bell…

Abstract

Purpose — This study assesses the effectiveness of initiatives by expatriate employees of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T, popularly referred to as the ‘Bell System’11The use of the term ‘Bell System’ as a synonym for AT&T reflected the firm's initial dependency on the exploitation of the telephone patents of Alexander Graham Bell. The Bell System consisted of AT&T, a holding company, and its affiliates including The Bell Telephone Laboratories (research), Western Electric (manufacturing) and 13 regional telephone operating subsidiaries.) in the revival of the Japan's telecommunications system and allied industries after World War II.

Methodology — Our primary methodology involves historical analysis of archival resources for AT&T and the Civil Communications Section (CCS) of the Supreme Command Allied Powers (SCAP), the American occupation government agency responsible for advising Japanese government and industry during the period 1945–1950.

Findings — Before the war, the Bell System maintained strong direct connections in Japan. AT&T's influence during the occupation, however, was indirect: knowledge dissemination through the activities of the CCS, which had several employees on loan from the Bell System.

Research limitations/implications — While our sample of organisations seems narrow and the duration of time relatively brief, the Bell System's people made a tremendous impact: transforming the Japanese telecommunications system. This suggests that guidance and tutelage by expatriate experts may enable host countries to master best practices rapidly without incurring high costs of evolutionary development.

Social implications — Local social mores and differences in workforce educational attainment may temporarily impede the acceptance of new foreign approaches to management and administration.

Value of the chapter — This chapter demonstrates how firm-specific and proprietary knowledge built up over decades at one firm could, through the agency of expatriates, revolutionise in just a few years the basic approaches followed in another country's telecommunications industry.

Abstract

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The Digital Pill: What Everyone Should Know about the Future of Our Healthcare System
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-675-0

Book part
Publication date: 16 January 2012

Haixiao Pan

Purpose – The objective of this chapter is to draw the attention of policy makers in the fields of urban planning and transport in China to the importance of developing more…

Abstract

Purpose – The objective of this chapter is to draw the attention of policy makers in the fields of urban planning and transport in China to the importance of developing more balanced multi-modal transport systems and the corresponding land-use patterns to support transport systems, particularly walking and cycling in order to address the issues arising from the dense, highly mixed land-use pattern in many Chinese cities. This will help to reverse current planning practices which give car-oriented development top priority and less consideration of walking and cycling.

Methodology – Statistical methods have been applied to analyse modal split in some cities in Japan, Beijing and Shanghai using travel surveys, plus analysis of the experience of policies in various cities around the world, especially in terms of the relationship between the modal shares for public transport and car. Door-to-door travel times have been analysed for Shanghai to understand the potential of cycle or e-bicycle in a dense urban environment.

Findings – The change in travel modal split in Beijing in recent years suggests that simply encouraging public transport cannot control use of car. The data from Japan also shows that normal bus services cannot compete with the car, but it is clear that people will travel less by car if there is a high non-motorized share in the city. Because of the low density of the metro network, the door-to-door travel speed by metro is not as fast as is often imagined, due to the long off-metro time. The people who use metro are often not the people who live very close to metro stations, but some distance away, so improving the connection to the station by cycle or e-bicycle could greatly reduce the total travel time by metro.

Research limitations and implications – More analyses should be conducted in medium-size and small-size cities in China, where the local capacity is low and there is great potential to travel by walking and cycling, but only after clear guidance and policy instruments have been provided by higher authorities.

Practical and social implications – There is still a relatively high share of non-motorized travel in China. Many cities still have extensive cycle infrastructure established under the State Code of Urban Road Transport Planning issued in 1995. Encouraging non-motorized transport systems is not only possible, but also good for the environment, and contributes to travel efficiency and social inclusion.

Originality – This chapter is the summary of several original research studies using primary survey data, encouraging public transport in China. This is the first research to show the great potential of non-motorized mode for controlling car use and improving urban mobility in China. It is also the first chapter to point out the integration of multi-modal transport systems with the corresponding built environment in China.

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Sustainable Transport for Chinese Cities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-476-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 October 2012

Zoë Meleo-Erwin

Purpose – This chapter explores how discourses of obesity as addiction are taken up by weight loss surgery patients and medical and scientific professionals.Methodology/approach …

Abstract

Purpose – This chapter explores how discourses of obesity as addiction are taken up by weight loss surgery patients and medical and scientific professionals.

Methodology/approach – Based on 14 semistructured interviews, I discuss the ways in which bariatric patients partially account for their presurgical bodies and contemporary struggles with weight loss and regain by referencing food addiction. This work is part of a larger project involving 35 interviews and participant-observation work and therefore these results should thus be considered preliminary.

Findings – I argue that bariatric patients and bariatric professionals portray weight loss surgery as an extraordinary tool that allows the “out of control” to become controllable. However, bariatric patients also emphasize the hard work that is entailed in both losing weight and maintaining a weight loss even after surgery.

Social implications – I suggest that this portrayal, in addition to being an accurate assessment of the potential for regain following weight loss surgery, is a technology of stigma management.

Originality/value – This work contributes to the sociology of the body and medical sociology literatures by illustrating that, within a neoliberal and anti-fat social context, highlighting the hard work involved in weight loss and weight maintenance allows bariatric patients to demonstrate proper subjectivity and thereby reclaim “proper selves” as they work toward a “proper bodies.”

Details

Critical Perspectives on Addiction
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-930-1

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