Welcome to Open University Business School’s Festival of Social Science. The Festival of Social Science is a national event organised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and took place from 7 to 21 March 2010, consisitng of three separate sections:
- Should alcohol advertising be banned? How effective are marketing techniques in encouraging young people to exercise more and feel healthier?
- What role can Buddhism play in global economics?
- What research do we do?
While voting and taking part in the surveys has now closed, feel free to browse and comment on the content.
OU's Dr Andrew Morris turns the tables on Select Committee
“In the end I think that it possibly the most valuable thing I could have got from the day," he said.
It is not every day you are summoned to appear before members of a House of Commons Select Committee – and you ask the questions! Dr Andrew Morris of The Open University Department of Physical Sciences found himself seated in the Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House on Wednesday, March 14, with Coalition Government Universities and Science Minister David Willetts, ...
MP proposes move to limit alcohol marketing
Open University Professor of Social Marketing Gerard Hastings, also director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Centre for Tobacco Control Research at Stirling University, has welcomed the move by MP Dr Sarah Wollaston to put forward a private members bill to limit the advertising exposure of alcohol to children.
“There’s now a steady stream of evidence showing that the increasing consumption of alcohol advertising is associated with a greater number of people drinking from a young age," said Gerard.
“Recent research has painted a powerful picture of young people being inundated with messages that depict drinking as normal, fun and something we should be doing all the time, which is an unhelpful norm.
“But this is not a proposed ban on alcohol advertising; it’s simply aiming to reduce vast swathes of it to protect children and young people, and also to make it more factual so that consumers can make informed decisions.
“We know there are serious health issues attached to drinking so we want to change behaviour in society. People should be able to choose not to drink without being made to feel as though they have to excuse themselves.”
Useful links
- BBC News online report
- A report authored by two OU academics calls for a total ban on alcohol advertising
Open University Professor of Social Marketing Gerard Hastings, also director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Centre for Tobacco Control Research at Stirling University, has welcomed the move by MP Dr Sarah Wollaston to put forward a private members bill to limit the advertising exposure of alcohol to children. “There’s now a steady stream of evidence showing that the ...
National No Smoking Day 2011
To mark national No Smoking Day (9 March), we bring to you the following abridged version of an interview conducted in Sesame in 2009 with Gerard Hastings, Professor of Social Marketing and founder/director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Centre for Tobacco Control Research at Stirling and The Open University.
Tell us about your interest in the subject of tobacco...
Well, my interest is actually broader than tobacco, looking at health behaviours generally and the impact that marketing can have on these. Tobacco comes into the picture because it is so lethal: one in two smokers who do not manage to quit die early as a result. No one concerned with health behaviour can ignore it. ISM’s initial interest dates back to the mid-1980s with a focus on advertising and its impact on young people. Cancer Research UK funded us to do a series of studies on the links between tobacco promotion and teen smoking and this contributed to an evidence base that compelled the new Labour government to introduce a comprehensive ad ban in 2005.
Is the reduction in passive smoking the only significant issue to do with the introduction of smoke-free public places in Britain?
Passive smoking is a serious problem and did push the government to take action. Before our pubs went smoke free it was estimated that one UK bar worker a week was dying from secondhand smoke, and this among a work force that is non-unionised, poorly paid and disempowered. If such levels of toxin had emerged from ceiling tiles or poorly cooked food, Trading Standards would have simply closed the offending establishments down. Instead, a special Act of Parliament was needed.
Our research shows that, while a small number of old fashioned, male-dominated ‘wet houses’ have suffered, modern family and food-oriented ones have flourished. Pubs are having a hard time at present but this is driven by other factors – in particular the advent of dysfunctional pubcos and deep discounting by supermarkets – not the move to healthy, clean environments. From a public health perspective smoke free’s greatest contribution is as a symbol of the UK’s move away from tobacco. Thanks to smoke free and a raft of other initiatives that give us one of the world’s most comprehensive and radical tobacco control agendas, it is now being predicted that smoking will disappear altogether within the next couple of decades.
It’s often discussed how much a burden tobacco-related illness is on the NHS. What is the reality?
The economics of tobacco are both very complex and very simple. The complex version has to take into account the immense health costs, employment (a relatively minor issue because tobacco production is so highly mechanised), superannuation savings (few smokers live to collect their pensions) and tobacco taxation. The answer is reassuring: complex modelling, by the World Bank among others, has concluded that the disappearance of tobacco is as good for the economy as it is for public health.
Are there lessons that can be taken from issues related to junk food, and the fight against obesity, and alcoholism?
Tobacco is unique in that it kills even when used as recommended by the manufacturer, and brings no compensatory benefits. The only sensible outcome is to avoid smoking altogether. In one sense, however, the issues are identical: public health has to take on the might of corporate bodies who will push their shareholders’ interests over that of public welfare.
Isn’t there a simple problem to do with tobacco companies in that they exist to make a profit – it’s not as if they can diversify into similar markets, unlike energy companies (i.e. renewable energy), so will fight aggressively to survive?
Yes. Public health will be under threat as long as tobacco companies remain in business. One of the paradoxes of modern life is that we know that tobacco is appallingly dangerous and addictive, we understand that it is a profoundly undesirable behaviour to which children are drawn and by which adults are trapped, and we enact policies to protect and help the vulnerable. And yet we continue to license powerful multinational corporations to enrich themselves by pushing in the opposite direction. It is like fighting malaria whilst breeding mosquitoes.
What are the obstacles in implementing a UK ban on tobacco products, and could you see it being successful?
Banning tobacco is not the answer – though banning tobacco companies probably is. There have been enormous successes in weaning the British off tobacco, and smoking rates are a quarter what they were a generation ago. Nonetheless around 10 million people still smoke and nicotine is powerfully addictive: simply cutting off their supply would be as impractical as it would be unethical. Instead we should think very seriously about how to take the profit motive out of the market. As long as companies can profit from tobacco so they will subvert and evade public health controls.
Smoking is often shorthand for ‘cool’ or ‘sexy’ when depicted in movies and to a lesser extent in TV. Do you think that iconography (think Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca) will ever erode?
Smoking in films and other media is extensive – much more extensive than it now is in real life – and this does increase the appeal of smoking to the young. Screenwriters and directors need to recognise that they have power here and exercise it with responsibility. As other marketing channels are choked off there is a real danger that films and TV become one of the tobacco industry’s last remaining routes to young hearts and minds – and lungs.
Read Gerard's thoughts on the proposals to ban packaging of tobacco products.
Gerard is also Director of Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Tobacco Control Research. Through his research and the application of social marketing, his findings have had a significant influence on policies relating to alcohol, tobacco and the impact of advertising on dietary behaviour. In 2009 he was awarded an OBE for services to healthcare.
Useful links
- OU course Marketing and society (B324)
- A profile of Gerard at Cancer Research UK
- See Gerard interviewed by BBC journalist Jon Sopel
To mark national No Smoking Day (9 March), we bring to you the following abridged version of an interview conducted in Sesame in 2009 with Gerard Hastings, Professor of Social Marketing and founder/director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Centre for Tobacco Control Research at Stirling and The Open University. Tell us about your interest in the subject of ...
How to put your heart into exercise
He´s heard all the excuses; now it´s time to get on and get exercising says fitness expert Stefan Spalice
Have you ever suffered from a heart condition or undergone heart surgery? If so, has your GP or cardiac nurse suggested that you should take some form of regular exercise? Are you contemplating starting an exercise regime but are unsure as to the type of exercise that you should be doing? If you have answered yes to the previous questions, do read on as the rest of this blog will provide you with some useful information on how to join two different types of cardiac rehabilitation programmes, which are in my opinion the safest way to improve your health and longevity.
Choosing not to exercise
For the majority of people, the thought of starting exercise is not a comfortable one. Let´s look at some of the most common reasons why heart patients choose not to exercise:
• Exercise could make my condition worse - Before starting an exercise regime, it is very important that you consult with your GP or cardiac nurse to ensure that it is safe for you to start exercising. If you are suitable to start exercise your GP or cardiac nurse will provide you with written medical clearance and you will need to discuss this information with the exercise instructor before you start exercising. Further information can be found at http://www.bacreducation.co.uk/information_for_health_professionals.html
• I can´t afford to exercise - People believe that in order to do exercise of any benefit, they need to buy expensive exercise equipment, hire a personal trainer, or take out a membership at a Health Club or Leisure Centre. None of this is true but people continue to believe this to be the case.
• I don´t have enough time to do any exercise - The majority of people find it very difficult to find time to do exercise. This is because of family and work commitments; however, try not to make these excuses not to exercise. Exercise doesn´t need to be time consuming and most of us can find a little bit of time each week to set aside.
• I just can´t be bothered to exercise - Some of us are just lazy by nature. Even if we have spare time, we would rather spend it at home watching TV, surfing the net, or socialising with friends. People think that exercise has to be vigorous (bad experiences with exercise at School haven´t helped people´s perception of exercise) and just hearing the word ‘exercise’ makes them feel tired. Others just feel that exercise is just boring.
If you hear yourself in any of the statements above, perhaps you might benefit from spending time with one of the fantastic community groups mentioned below. Over the years I’ve seen how these groups have changed the lives of people in my community in Birmingham, not just in terms of their physical health, but also their mental health and social lives. Why not give them a try?
Community based phase IV cardiac rehabilitation
Community cardiac Phase IV cardiac rehabilitation services are run by Local Authorities and or Primary Care Trusts. This service is usually free, although is limited to a set amount of sessions. People can be referred to the service by their G.P or cardiac nurse. Community Phase IV programmes are an extension of hospital based rehabilitation programmes and they offer gym based and or group exercise sessions.
Exercise sessions are conveniently located for local people and usually take place in nearby Health Centres or Leisure Centres. All exercise sessions are led by fully qualified British Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation Phase IV qualified instructors such as myself.
For more information on finding your nearest community based Phase IV Cardiac Rehabilitation programme, click on this link www.cardiac-rehabilitation.net
Heart support groups
They are usually voluntary organisations that are affiliated to the British Heart Foundation. This service is provided by people who have suffered from a heart condition and who understand how it feels to be dealing with the anxieties that sometimes come with learning to live with heart problems. The benefit of this type of programme is that your membership can be renewed annually and it isn´t restricted to a set amount of sessions. You may have to pay a small annual subscription and there is normally a charge to cover the cost of the exercise sessions. They work very closely with community and hospital based cardiac rehabilitation programmes and people can be referred to the heart support group by their GP or cardiac nurse.
The heart support group offers on-going help and advice as well as the opportunity to meet other people, attend social events and take part in exercise classes. Meetings are usually held in community buildings such as Leisure Centres, Health Clubs, and Church Halls, and exercise sessions are taken by a fully qualified British Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation (BACR) Phase IV Instructor.
For more information please click on the links below:
I hope you´ve found this blog useful but if you have any queries regarding its content or you require further information please feel free to contact: stefan.spalice@tiscali.co.uk
Stefan Spalice has worked in the Health & Fitness Industry for over 16 years. During this time he has trained with organisations such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and British Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation (BACR). Stefan has gained qualifications in Fitness Instruction, Personal Training, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Sports Massage Therapy. A member of the Register of Exercise Professionals at Level 4, since its conception in 2002, to date, Stefan has worked for a number of UK´s largest and most prestigious health and fitness clubs namely Livingwell, Racquets & Healthtrack and David Lloyd Leisure. For the past 7 years, he´s been a Cardiac Rehabilitation Instructor for the Heartlanders Heart Support Group which is based at Saltley Community Leisure Centre in Birmingham.
He´s heard all the excuses; now it´s time to get on and get exercising says fitness expert Stefan Spalice Have you ever suffered from a heart condition or undergone heart surgery? If so, has your GP or cardiac nurse suggested that you should take some form of regular exercise? Are you contemplating starting an exercise regime but ...
Turning a back on the Big Mac
Chuck those chips! Bin those biscuits! There are plenty of ways to get your kids to eat healthy snacks. Writer Martha Worthington sets out her suggestions for success
"Your kids are such healthy eaters; you’re so lucky,” some people remark. Lucky? There’s no luck here, I always think, just persistence, creativity and the occasional trickery and bribery. Let’s face it: kids naturally prefer sugary, fatty foods, and mine are no different; they’d live on sweets and crisps if given the chance.
When snack time rolls around, being a busy parent can mean that you’re tempted to give them a quick option: a biscuit, a bit of cake etc. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s how I’m winning the game.
10 Top Tips
- Buy only healthy snacks and healthy snack ingredients. Keep nuts, seeds and veggies as well as fresh, tinned and dried fruit on hand at all times. Remember: if you don’t buy junk food, they can’t eat it!
- At snack time, give your kids a choice of two or three healthy options. That way, they enjoy exercising a certain degree of choice, while learning to accept that unhealthy options simply ‘aren’t on the menu’.
- Establish a regular snack time (say, between 2:30 and 3:30). This makes it easier to stick to regular mealtimes, as well as avoiding under-eating (or over-eating) at suppertime.
- Offering your children healthy snacks, especially fruit and vegetables, means that they’ll get more of the nutrients they need each day. (It can be hard to squeeze all the required nutrients into the main courses, after all!)
- Change snacks regularly, or try serving an old favourite with a new twist – variety will help push their taste boundaries.
- Be firm and be consistent – let your kids know where you stand. Don’t send your kids the message that you will cave into their demands for junk food if they pester you enough.
- You can try reserving one particular day of the week for a less-healthy snack. For example, Wednesday could be pudding day or chocolate day, and then give your child one normal portion. Let them know beforehand that they will get that and nothing more. This cuts out the daily battles.
- If you do have any unhealthy treats in the house, store them out of sight and certainly out of reach. Even the most honest child can be tempted to sneak treats when you’re not looking.
- Instead of giving a junk snack as a reward for good behaviour, offer a toy or a privilege instead.
- Be a good role model. Let children see you eating healthy snacks yourself.
Martha Worthington hails from America, land of the Big Mac, supersize soft drink and double order of fries, and as such has had plenty of opportunity to witness first-hand the ill effects of a poor diet. Accordingly, she’s proud to be passing on good eating habits to her two children, Tess (age 6½) and Katie (nearly 5). As well as being a busy mum, she works as a part-time freelance writer/subeditor/copyeditor
Read more blogs on this theme
- The no-sweat route to all round fitness, according to Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington
- Working for yourself could lead to better health
- Making healthy choices includes knowing which NHS service you really need
- My journey began with food, says Great Britain handball player Bobby White
- Rugby´s not just for men, it´s for everyone, says former England captain
- Healthier lives at the click of a button?
- Banging on about healthy lifestyles won´t change our attitude, claims food writer Prue Leith, but education and excitement just might
- Mealtime magic - some tips for healthy meals
To find out more visit the Change4Life website
Chuck those chips! Bin those biscuits! There are plenty of ways to get your kids to eat healthy snacks. Writer Martha Worthington sets out her suggestions for success "Your kids are such healthy eaters; you’re so lucky,” some people remark. Lucky? There’s no luck here, I always think, just persistence, ...
Mealtime magic - tips for healthy meals
Expert in child obseity and GP Rachel Pryke offers her menu for changing children´s eating habits.
Lots of parents worry that their children will turn up their noses at healthy food, but we all get used to things if they keep appearing. And we don’t miss favourite foods if we weren’t expecting them, particularly if we know they will appear on treat days.
Appetite and fullness
We have a natural eating control mechanism, if we tune in to it. Most people were brought up to ‘clear the plate’ but today that can mean eating too much because our portion sizes are often dictated by others – pre-packaged items, ready meals or even over-generous parents!
• Encourage children to stop eating once they feel full rather than to clear the plate, otherwise they’ll eat to please others rather than out of need.
• Involve children in choosing portions: a portion means roughly a handful, little hands mean little portions.
• Slow down the speed of eating and size of mouthfuls – so fullness signals have time to indicate when to stop eating.
Varying the diet
With so much confusing nutritional information how can we get the balance right? The key is variety.
• Eating lots of different types of foods means all the nutritional basics will appear somewhere.
• Focus more on putting the good things in – such as at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day – rather than cutting things out.
• The Eatwell Plate shows the proportions of each food group in a healthy diet – fruit and vegetables should make up a third of each day’s mouthfuls!
Developing a taste for new foods
Children grow to like familiar foods but will develop a strong dislike of anything forced on them.
• Eating together gives children chance to learn to like family foods.
• Serve the same family foods time and again – but avoid fussing or forcing if not initially successful. It might take 20 appearances for something to seem familiar and normal.
• Making food look tempting and mealtime games can encourage young children to try new foods, so they have a chance to get to like them.
You can find more information about childhood eating behaviours in Weight Matters for Children, by Rachel Pryke, Radcliffe Publishing.
If you would like more information about brief interventions for obesity prevention for use in primary care then please get in touch: rachelgpryke@btinternet.com
Rachel Pryke is a part-time GP and trainer in Redditch, Worcestershire, with particular interests in child obesity, adolescent health and women’s health. She has written two books – Weight Matters for Children and Weight Matters for Young People, Radcliffe Publishing 2006 and co-authored the obesity modules of the e-Learning for Health Adolescent Health Project. She is a member of the RCGP Adolescent Primary Care Society and a member of the Worcestershire Obesity Strategy Group. She has completed research, in conjunction with Warwick University, examining the practicalities of offering a child obesity prevention intervention in primary care.
References
1. Inglis N, Docherty A, Pryke R. Evaluation of the ‘Mealtime Magic’ Brief Leaflet-based Intervention in General Practice. Primary Health Care Research and Development; 1-14 doi:10.1017/S1463423609990326 http://journals.cambridge.org/repo_A694ENbB
2. Pryke R. Weight Matters for Children. Radcliffe Publishing 2005. www.radcliffe-oxford.com/books/bookdetail.aspx?ISBN=1857757718
3. Pryke R. Weight Matters for Young People. Radcliffe Publishing 2006. www.radcliffe-oxford.com/books/bookdetail.aspx?ISBN=1857757726
picture of food animal by maureen crosbie
- The no-sweat route to all round fitness, according to Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington
- Working for yourself could lead to better health
- Making healthy choices includes knowing which NHS service you really need
- My journey began with food, says Great Britain handball player Bobby White
- Rugby´s not just for men, it´s for everyone, says former England captain
- Healthier lives at the click of a button?
- Banging on about healthy lifestyles won´t change our attitude, claims food writer Prue Leith, but education and excitement just might
Expert in child obseity and GP Rachel Pryke offers her menu for changing children´s eating habits. Lots of parents worry that their children will turn up their noses at healthy food, but we all get used to things if they keep appearing. And we don’t miss favourite foods if we weren’t expecting them, particularly if we know they ...
Helping us feel good about food
Prue Leith doesn’t think people will adopt healthier lifestyles just because the powers that be ´keeping banging on about it´. Education and time is what’s required, she says…
Reports about poor nutrition causing obesity, heart attacks, diabetes, stroke, early death, etc are not media-invented scare stories. But I don’t think banging on about them is the way to get the nation to change its lifestyle.
What we need to promote is the benefits of healthy lifestyles rather than the dire consequences of stuffing our faces with chips and chocolate or pigging out in front of the telly. We need a bit more about how good it feels to get to the top of the stairs without puffing or to do a twirl in front of the mirror without wincing.
interest
But most of all we need to interest people in food. Ever since the 1960s, when the ´white heat of technology´ was going to solve all our problems, we have downgraded the importance of good food and cooking. I remember a Tomorrow’s World about how we’d be able to swallow a few pills to provide all our nutrients and thus free women from the slavery of shopping, cooking and washing up. Thanks a lot, I thought, that’s my job gone!
We need to put food back to where it once was: one of the most important, if not the most important, thing in our lives. And to do that we have to start with school children. Yes, parents, toddlers, pregnant mums, all matter, but school children are easier to get to, and they are easily influenced.
We’ve come a long way in three years. Schools now have to provide healthy lunches, and are judged on how many children eat them. Junk is banned. Water, milk and juice are provided instead of fizzy pop. All children can now learn to cook at school. But all this good work could be easily reversed if we are not vigilant.
If good food in schools slips as a priority, then the manufacturers will win the battle for the taste buds of the nation. Selling fat, sugar, and salt to children is a walk in the park for them. Junk may be banned in schools, but schools are surrounded by corner shops, chippy vans, fast food outlets and ice-cream vendors. We need children to LIKE healthy food. And that takes education and time.
Prue Leith is a food writer, novelist and honorary graduate of the OU. She has just stepped down as chair of the School Food Trust
- The no-sweat route to all round fitness, according to Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington
- Working for yourself could lead to better health
- Making healthy choices includes knowing which NHS service you really need
- My journey began with food, says Great Britain handball player Bobby White
- Rugby´s not just for men, it´s for everyone, says former England captain
- Healthier lives at the click of a button?
- Mealtime magic - some tips for healthy meals
Prue Leith doesn’t think people will adopt healthier lifestyles just because the powers that be ´keeping banging on about it´. Education and time is what’s required, she says… Reports about poor nutrition causing obesity, heart attacks, diabetes, stroke, early death, etc are not media-invented scare stories. But I ...
Healthier lives at the click of a button?
With their combination of articles, forums and interactivity, websites may have a big role to play in supporting people to live healthier lives, says Netmums founder Cathy Court
Netmums is one of the largest parenting websites in the UK with over 1.2 million unique visitors each month and 700,000 registered members, mainly mums with young children. Our mission is to provide information and support to parents in the UK, empowering them to raise happier, healthier families with confidence.
Netmums has a large, popular section on family food and healthy eating including easy recipes, fussy eating advice and eating on a budget and aims to get more families cooking meals from scratch. In addition Netmums has campaigned for better family food since 2003 and has successfully expressed the views of parents on issues such as front of pack labeling, food additives and schools meals.
We have has previously been successful in encouraging behaviour change in areas important to parents, initially in the ‘Making mums happy’ course and more recently in the Relationships course. Both programmes created a supportive environment by offering a combination of email messaging and a dedicated course forum. This same format, it was felt, could be to help motivate and encourage parents to take steps towards healthier diets for their families.
The course
The ‘Healthy Happy Family Eating’ course, aimed to improve the diets and the enjoyment of family eating for a large number of families using simple e-mailed challenges in conjunction with appropriate web based content and a dedicated discussion forum.
Firstly, Netmums members interested in the course signed up online. Regular emails were then sent to the course participants over four weeks. These emails included challenges and suggestions all based around the following six course principles:
- enjoy good food
- get the balance right
- get organised and get cooking
- swap bad food for good
- eat breakfast, and
- keep hydrated.
Where appropriate, emails linked to relevant information and tools within the Netmums food section and to the dedicated discussion forum.
We used an online quiz linked from the first and last email to assess the success of the course. Statistical analysis of quiz responses showed that participation in the programme had a significant and positive effect on their attitude to the subjects covered by the quiz statements, in particular:
• Organisation and planning of family eating and meal times
• Inspiration of new recipes and food ideas
• A reduction in the concern felt by parents about feeding their families unhealthy diets.
The results infer that a course in this format, using small, daily challenges together with the supportive online environment can make improvements to family eating. By using an integrated, multifaceted approach it may possible to reach and engage with large numbers of families at a relatively low cost. Promotion for future courses is planned through co-operative working with Health visitors, Primary Care Trusts, Doctors and Sure Start Children’s Centres.
Cathy Court is a director and co-founder of the parenting website Netmums - http://www.netmums.com/home
She set up Netmums in 2000 with two friends from Harrow and it is now one of the most popular parenting websites in the country with over 1.2 million unique users each month, mainly mums with young children.
- The no-sweat route to all round fitness, according to Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington
- Working for yourself could lead to better health
- Making healthy choices includes knowing which NHS service you really need
- My journey began with food, says Great Britain handball player Bobby White
- Rugby´s not just for men, it´s for everyone, says former England captain
- Banging on about healthy lifestyles won´t change our attitude, claims food writer Prue Leith, but education and excitement just might
- Mealtime magic - some tips for healthy meals
With their combination of articles, forums and interactivity, websites may have a big role to play in supporting people to live healthier lives, says Netmums founder Cathy Court Netmums is one of the largest parenting websites in the UK with over 1.2 million unique visitors each month and 700,000 registered members, mainly mums with ...
My journey began with food
Bobby White is currently a goal keeper for the Great Britain Handball Team and for the last two years has been training full time for the 2012 Olympic Games in London...
My journey began with food. I have always been an active individual, playing as a football goal keeper for many years, among other sports. I took the opportunity to study Sport and Exercise Science at university where I learned a great deal about the body and how it adapts to exercise and what happens when you don’t.
One day in our health class, I was shocked to find out that when we recorded our body fat percentage (total percentage of fat stored in the body) mine was higher than I ever anticipated scoring, in the ‘bad’ range. I couldn’t understand why it was so high when I was such an active individual.
I was 19-years-old, living on my own and living the typical university experience so it didn’t take long for me to figure it out. I wasn’t supplying my body with the right food and nutrition; I drank too much alcohol, ate the wrong things and had irregular meal times and sleep patterns, despite being active six days a week. I didn’t like being in this unhealthy state and that I was not anywhere near a ‘good’ range for the fat percentage test, so I decided to do something about it.
I believe education is the key, and understanding more about food and my body was a turning point for me. If you know how to prepare the right foods, when to eat, and what physical training you need, you’re more likely be inclined to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I took steps to educate myself and succeeded in changing my lifestyle.
Five years down the line and I was in a position to seize a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to represent Great Britain as a handball goal keeper. I had kept myself in good shape; my eating habits had transformed and I kept drinking alcohol to a minimum. Had I not made those key lifestyle changes then maybe I wouldn’t have made it through four tough selection phases and two years of intense training and be two-and-a-half years from competing at the biggest sporting spectacle in the world.
Today I am privileged to have the support of some of the best nutrition and lifestyle coaching in the country as part of our training programme, but it all started with me. Body fat percentage testing is available at your local gym.
Bobby White´s story is an interesting one as he has only been playing Handball since January 2008. Along with seven of his team mates, Bobby was selected from over 2,500 athletes that applied for the 2007 Sporting Giants Talent Identification Programme (TID) which was led by UK Sport and the English Institute for Sport...
Read more blogs on this theme
- The no-sweat route to all round fitness, according to Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington
- Working for yourself could lead to better health
- Making healthy choices includes knowing which NHS service you really need
- Rugby´s not just for men, it´s for everyone, says former England captain
- Healthier lives at the click of a button?
- Banging on about healthy lifestyles won´t change our attitude, claims food writer Prue Leith, but education and excitement just might
- Mealtime magic - some tips for healthy meals
Bobby White is currently a goal keeper for the Great Britain Handball Team and for the last two years has been training full time for the 2012 Olympic Games in London... My journey began with food. I have always been an active individual, playing as a football goal keeper for many years, among other sports. I took the opportunity to study Sport and ...
Using social marketing to improve emergency services
Understanding patients´ attitudes is the key to helping them access the right NHS service for their needs, says Michaela Firth
Why do people turn up at Accident & Emergency (A&E) when they’ve not been in an accident or an emergency situation? Do people understand what ‘an emergency´ is? What would make a mother take a child to A&E for something that could be promptly dealt with at a pharmacy or by advice given over the phone?
That was the question the NHS organisations in the South Central region of England wanted answering. We needed to better understand our patients, to gain insight into why and when people do what they do, and what they know about the NHS services available, so we could more effectively support them, helping them make the most appropriate decisions about their own health.
Social marketing techniques were employed to gain a rich insight into patient behaviours. A comprehensive social marketing programme was undertaken which provided us with evidence for some of the ‘anecdotes’ the NHS felt it knew, but more importantly gave the local NHS insight into how best to communicate, and how to ensure clinicians and staff could better support the public.
people who use services ´because they are there´
The behavioural types which were uncovered were fascinating. They included ‘convenience users’: people who use services ‘because they are there’, with little understanding of alternatives or the best place for them in a given situation. Others were ‘worried users’ who may have been better supported by advice and information from the local pharmacy or by calling NHS Direct 0845 4647 who provide information on local services, can give advice on handling symptoms at home and can guide people through the often complex NHS. But the real value of the research was to enable the local NHS to devise interventions to better inform and support the public it serves.
It is my ambition to instil the knowledge that consumer organisations have about their products into the culture of the NHS, and to ensure all staff can share accurate and up-to-date information about the services available locally. We found that messages from health professionals are better received than those of ‘faceless’ managers. Quite simply, we need to make it easier for patients. It is our intention to ensure patients receive the care they need at the right place and the right time. However there is also a need for the public to consider how and when they access services. It is a partnership.
first know your options
So PLEASE: access A&E if you need it, but if you are not sure call NHS Direct, check the NHS Choices website, call your GP, or your ‘out of hours’ service for advice and information. The intention is not to stop people accessing A&E, but to make sure appropriate alternatives are also available locally and are known to the public.
I hope that you and your family do not need to access an ‘accident & emergency’ department, but if you do, you should expect to receive prompt, efficient and safe services – and to know of the alternatives when you need them.
Michaela Firth is a Strategic Programme Lead for the PCTs, the NHS organisations which buy services for patients, in South Central. Her role is to ensure patients´ views are fed into decisions of what is purchased on their behalf.
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Understanding patients´ attitudes is the key to helping them access the right NHS service for their needs, says Michaela Firth Why do people turn up at Accident & Emergency (A&E) when they’ve not been in an accident or an emergency situation? Do people understand what ‘an emergency´ is? What would make a ...
Mums are reaping the benefits of setting up their own businesses
Working for yourself may lead to better health as well as greater fulfilment, suggests Marylyn Carrigan...
In February this year a review of working hours by the Cochrane Library identified that those people who choose their own working hours enjoy better physical and mental health. Employees who have control of their hours may experience better blood pressure and heart rates, and flexible working is also suggested to impact positively on mental health.
Mums to entrepreneurs
This comes as no surprise, as my co-researcher Dr Jo Duberley of the University of Birmingham and I have uncovered similar findings about quality of life and wellbeing among women entrepreneurs. We have been studying mothers who have started their own business, as part of a British Academy funded project examining work-life balance. The women we have spoken to have all taken the plunge and set up their own business, many of them working from their homes.
Juggling the demands of family and work is a constant nightmare for any parent. How do you cope with school holidays? A sick child or elderly relative? Time off to see the school play? These are all familiar scenarios for women who today face intensifying pressure to be both ‘good mothers’ raising well-balanced children, and ‘good employees’ who contribute to the economic wellbeing of society. While starting your own business is not an option for every woman, one of the benefits of being self-employed, it would appear, is that you can manage the business around the family’s needs, removing some of the pressure that comes from there being only 24 hours in each day!
Long hours, but more happiness
It was apparent from the discussions we have had with female entrepreneurs that they work extremely long hours: answering email in their pyjamas before the kids wake up; managing the school run, meals, cleaning, after school clubs, as well as ‘quality time’ with the children are all fitted around heavy work demands. Once the kids are in bed, many return to their desk to carry on where they left off earlier in the day.
Despite working these ‘second shifts’ nearly all the women reported feeling much happier, more fulfilled and more motivated to work than they had been in their previous jobs. Partly this was explained by the fact they were now able to call the shots about when and how they worked without having to justify their fragmented work patterns to a grudging employer, or feel guilty about taking time out for the school assembly.
flexibility ´a mixed blessing´
However, a note of caution should be sounded. While the autonomy of self-employment does bring with it freedom and control over their lives, it is also clear that flexibility is a mixed blessing for many women – as it appears they inevitably find themselves taking on greater responsibility for child care and domestic chores. Working for yourself can also bring greater job insecurity, lack of pension and low wages, which can take its toll upon wellbeing and quality of life.
Even so, despite the financial and emotional risks involved, it would appear the freedom that comes from taking control over your working hours has the potential to deliver a significant health benefit for those ‘mompreneurs’ who reinvent their working lives.
Read more about the scope of our research project Managing the interface between home and work in family businesses: the experience of copreneurs and entrepreneurs
Dr Marylyn Carrigan is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at The Open University Business School, and Deputy Director of ISM-Open
- The no-sweat route to all round fitness, according to Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington
Making healthy choices includes knowing which NHS service you really need - My journey began with food, says Great Britain handball player Bobby White
- Rugby´s not just for men, it´s for everyone, says former England captain
- Healthier lives at the click of a button?
- Banging on about healthy lifestyles won´t change our attitude, claims food writer Prue Leith, but education and excitement just might
- Mealtime magic - some tips for healthy meals
Working for yourself may lead to better health as well as greater fulfilment, suggests Marylyn Carrigan... In February this year a review of working hours by the Cochrane Library identified that those people who choose their own working hours enjoy better physical and mental health. Employees who have control of their hours may experience better blood ...
I survived the cold turkey
Kicking the habit can be a bit of a drag to start with, but once the cravings subside there are only positives, promises Richard Bateman...
Cough, cough. Ah, I have your attention. Not too long ago my coughs were not aimed at grabbing attention, but were brought on by the effects of smoking. And not just smoking a few, but up to 15 to 20 a day.??I have always had a strange relationship with cigarettes. I think it stems from my time as a young man listening to hard rock and looking up to my idols who were fronting these popular bands. Let´s face it, it just looked damn cool seeing a singer in a long-haired rock ‘n’ roll band posing with a cigarette. However I managed to avoid falling into the trap of "trying to be" and settled for the sheer enjoyment and smoke-free excitement of simply letting the music do its thing.?
Unexplained urge?
Then about two years ago, I fancied a smoke. There was no reason for this sudden urge, I just felt like having a cigarette with my coffee. I sometimes look back on this and think, was I just looking for additional breaks at work, or was I simply just bored? I guess it´s like going to a restaurant and for once just saying to yourself, you know what, I fancy something different. Something I haven´t ever tried before.??Problem is, that fine meal, the fresh fish, the great wine and tasty cheesecake won´t attack your lungs. It may after a while attack your waistline if you´re not careful, but it won´t attack the two things you really do need. Not only that, it will leave your pockets feeling light. ??I became addicted. It may have been the habit of regular breaks, or the excuse to go outside and move away from the computer at work. But it became a habit.
The money in my pocket was soon replaced with these little white sticks and suddenly I was spending up to £30 a month.?
Walking ashtray?
I met my fiancée in the summer last year and it was perfect. However, my time was being stolen by these nicotine fiends. And it wasn´t just time that was a problem, but the odour that lingered on me from day to day. It´s only now, as a non-smoker, that I can understand the phrase "a walking ashtray". The smell on clothes is not a good one, especially if you´re trying to impress "the one".??So I stopped. Just like that. Sounds easy right? Of course it´s not. It´s actually very hard but if you really think about the benefits of quitting then it´s a choice in which you stand by and stick with. Sometimes it will be fine. Other times it’s a real drag, if you´ll excuse the pun.?
Free in four weeks?
I opted out of using nicotine pads. The thought of being taped up didn´t appeal. Each person is different and I guess it depends on how long each person has been smoking for. I had only a year or two of smoking to get out of my system. I’d been told that after four weeks cold turkey the cravings would subside and, almost to the day, they did.??Whether or not you choose a pad, patch, stick or going cold turkey, it´s the outcome that stays the same; the goal and the achievement. Sure, I felt glad, and so much better for it. But the real winner here is my health and those around me who I care for. There are too many positives not to give up.??Now the only cough I have is the one I use to signify to a distracted other half that it´s her roll of the dice when playing a board game. Giving up smoking? It´s your Get Out of Jail Free card.
Richard Bateman is 29 and a former smoker from Milton Keynes.
Read more blogs on this theme
- Dead cool, then dead. Why do so many people continue to damage their health by smoking?
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- It´s still a free country - and it´s getting freer
Kicking the habit can be a bit of a drag to start with, but once the cravings subside there are only positives, promises Richard Bateman... Cough, cough. Ah, I have your attention. Not too long ago my coughs were not aimed at grabbing attention, but were brought on by the effects of smoking. And not just smoking a few, but up to 15 to 20 a day.??I have ...
It's still a free country - and getting freer
The Kings Head and its clientele are enjoying a new lease of life as a community hub. It just shows what can happen when people get a taste of smoke free-dom, says Gerard Hastings
It’s nearly two years since the smoke left the King’s Head, but Charlie is still on cloud nine. He’d had to stop going for his customary pint when his chest tightened with late onset asthma, but now he is back in there with the best – joking, arguing, slagging off the pies and loving the beer – and breathing. Romance has even reared its beguiling head; Alice, his next door neighbour but one, has started accompanying him to the King’s. She enjoys a snowball or two and they share a delight in reminiscing.
Mike behind the bar is also doing well in the world of lurv. He is in his final year now – almost a nurse – and pulling pints has kept the financial wolf from the door. No more unwanted airborne toxins, no more concerns about his chest. His footy hasn’t improved though: the disappearing tobacco smoke has uncovered his real sporting problem – he just can’t kick a ball straight. But who cares – his goal famine on the pitch is more than compensated for by his scoring with Trudy. The relationship has blossomed and she pops in most nights he is working just so they can be close.
Breath of fresh air
Come the weekend they are often to be found walking the local moor, along with half a dozen other regulars. They got together to form a rambling club – they were all enjoying the fresh air in the pub so much it seem like a natural progression. The driving force is Fred who gave up the fags when the pub went smoke free. Never thought he could do it, and succeeding has given him a real boost. He is now planning a King’s Head charity walk in aid of the local hospice: from cynical bar fly to optimistic do-gooder in one fell, smoke-free swoop.
Things are changing behind the bar as well. An espresso machine has been installed and daytime trade has trebled as folk have realised there is an alternative to the clichéd corporate coffee shop. The landlady, Helen, spotted the opportunity and has begun to encourage community groups to hold their meetings at the King’s. There is good money to made out of being a caring community hub.
Power to the people
Meanwhile, Charlie and Alice are doing their own caring. And their reminiscing is telling them that the King’s has rediscovered an old truth: life gets better when ordinary people have the power to make it so. The bigwigs might have cleared out the smoke, but it’s the little folk who are making the real difference – it’s just a matter of letting them see the ball.
Gerard Hastings is Director of the Institute for Social Marketing at Stirling University, Professor of Social Marketing at Stirling and The Open University, and Director of the Cancer Research UK Centre for Tobacco Control Research.
- Dead cool, then dead. Why do so many people continue to damage their health by smoking?
- Smoking is bad for you. But how do we know that?
- Kicking the habit´s a drag to start with but there are only benefits in doing so, says one quitter
The Kings Head and its clientele are enjoying a new lease of life as a community hub. It just shows what can happen when people get a taste of smoke free-dom, says Gerard Hastings It’s nearly two years since the smoke left the King’s Head, but Charlie is still on cloud nine. He’d had to stop going for his customary pint when his ...
Smoking is bad for you - how do we know that?
There’s nothing new about the idea that smoking is bad for you, but it took decades of scientific research before it was widely accepted. Kevin McConway (pictured right) explains
Back in 1604, King James I of England wrote: “Smoking is a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs.” However, this sort of writing didn’t have much impact. By the end of the Second World War, in Britain about 80 per cent of men were regular smokers, and most smoked cigarettes.
During the first half of the twentieth century, lung cancer had risen from a relatively rare disease to a major cause of death. This had occurred alongside the rise in popularity of cigarettes, leading some experts to suggest that cigarette smoke was a cause of lung cancer. However, there were several other current theories on the causes of lung cancer, including the rise of motor transport. A few scientific studies had found some evidence of a link between smoking and lung cancer, but generally their results had little impact. After all, the pattern of cause and effect isn’t entirely clear. Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer.
pioneers Doll and Hill
The beginning of a major worldwide change in attitude goes back to 1950, when five studies were published giving clearer evidence of a link between smoking and lung cancer. One was carried out by Richard Doll and Austin Bradford Hill. They found individuals with lung cancer from four hospitals in the UK, and other individuals who were patients admitted to the hospitals for different reasons. They asked about their smoking habits. Unsurprisingly, given how common smoking was at the time, a large majority of the individuals in both groups were smokers; but this proportion was much larger in the group who had lung cancer.
Doll and Hill believed that the reason was that smoking caused lung cancer. However, other scientists pointed out that such findings were consistent with other explanations, for example that some other factor (such as air pollution) caused people to smoke, and, independently, also caused them to have lung cancer.
the 40,000 doctor study
Despite the doubts, these studies provided a spur to further, more persuasive, work. The researchers followed up groups of people over years, recording their smoking habits and their health. In one such study, again by Doll and Hill, the group followed up were British doctors, over 40,000 of them. Such a study takes time, because the effects of smoking on lung cancer take time. But even after two and a half years this study had demonstrated large differences in lung cancer death rates between smokers and non-smokers. It found, further, that smokers were more likely to die of heart disease. An even larger American study followed up 190,000 men and provided similar findings.
Again the results were criticised. People did not dispute that the studies had shown an association between smoking and lung cancer, but tried to point out that this association might not be one of cause and effect. However, further research of different kinds eventually dismissed such objections. Gradually the hypothesis that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer became more widely accepted.
tipping public opinion
Two major reports summarising the evidence, by the Royal College of Physicians of London (1962) and the US Surgeon General (1964), strongly took the line that smoking causes lung cancer. Arguably it was these reports that swung medical, and eventually public, opinion behind the view that smoking is seriously harmful to health.
Research on smoking and health has continued since the 1960s. Although many of the deaths linked to smoking are due to lung cancer, many more of them are not. Evidence for a link between smoking and heart disease is now very strong. It is generally accepted nowadays that smoking increases one’s chances of contracting something like 50 different diseases.
The effect of life-long smoking on health is now known to be considerably more severe than the early studies indicated. However, it still took well over a decade after the publication of the first major studies, and much more research, before it was widely accepted that smoking is really bad for you.
Kevin McConway is a Professor of Applied Statistics at The Open University.
- Dead cool, then dead. Why do so many people continue to damage their health by smoking?
- It´s still a free country - and it´s getting freer
- Kicking the habit´s a drag to start with but there are only benefits in doing so, says one quitter
There’s nothing new about the idea that smoking is bad for you, but it took decades of scientific research before it was widely accepted. Kevin McConway (pictured right) explains Back in 1604, King James I of England wrote: “Smoking is a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the ...
Dead cool – then dead
Why do so many people continue to damage their health by smoking? Most smokers start before the age of 18, when they don´t fully appreciate the risks, says Abraham Brown (pictured right)
Cigarette smoking is the single largest preventable cause of premature death and illness in the UK. About 106,000 people in the UK die each year due to smoking. Tobacco is smoked to obtain nicotine, mainly to relieve symptoms of nicotine cravings and withdrawal. Apart from the fact that nicotine is addictive, the smoker exposes themselves to serious harm from approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarettes, hundreds of which are toxic. These toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke cause wide-ranging damage, for instance to the blood cells and immune system and may increase the risk of respiratory and circulatory diseases as well as various cancers.
Why smoke?
The majority of smokers start smoking before the age of eighteen. At such tender age they don´t really think about the health risks of smoking and certainly do not realise how addictive smoking can be. Basically, young people smoke because:
- Their friends smoke. Those children may live in an environment where their parents, grandparents and older siblings smoke, and so they smoke in order to look and act like them.
- They believe wrongly that smoking will help reduce their stress and make them look ‘cool’ instead of insecure and dependent on nicotine.
- Teenagers may even think that because smoking is an adult thing to do, they will actually become more mature by acquiring the habit.
- For females who smoke as much as males the desire to look confident is an important cause of smoking.
Never too late to quit
Stopping smoking can make a big difference to your health and lifestyle. No matter what age you give up, you reduce your risk of getting serious disease such as heart disease, cancers, and other conditions such as erection and fertility problems. But the sooner you stop, the greater the reduction in your risk. Remember that help is available if you find it difficult to stop smoking.
Combating the glamour
In spite of the health risks of smoking, the tobacco industry continues to glamorize smoking in things like packaging and in movies, making it look ‘cool’ and socially acceptable, primarily to attract young people to smoke. To prevent young people from taking up smoking and to encourage quitting the habit, health campaigns and regulations can help inform them about the dangers of smoking, de-glamorize smoking practises, and reduce the likelihood of smoking in social settings. For more information about health campaigns, and how to stop smoking please contact: a.k.brown@stir.ac.uk.
Dr Abraham Brown is a research assistant at the Institute for Social Marketing, University of Stirling, and a member of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project.
- Smoking is bad for you. But how do we know that?
- It´s still a free country - and it´s getting freer
- Kicking the habit´s a drag to start with but there are only benefits in doing so, says one quitter
Why do so many people continue to damage their health by smoking? Most smokers start before the age of 18, when they don´t fully appreciate the risks, says Abraham Brown (pictured right) Cigarette smoking is the single largest preventable cause of premature death and illness in the UK. About 106,000 people in the UK die each year due to ...
Be seen and not hurt
Research shows it may take a little more imagination to get us to change our behaviour - especially when it comes to road safety. The OU´s Tom Farrell takes a lesson in staying safe on the roads
Last week I took my teenage daughter on a driving lesson for the very first time. Apart from the stress of teaching anything to a family member, I was struck by how much we take traffic safety for granted and how different the driving experience was for both of us. It seems the longer you have been a driver, the less you are aware of actually driving. I drive mostly on autopilot, my mind and body just know what to do and get on with. My daughter on the other hand was driving with heightened awareness and a sensory overload: oncoming traffic, how to work the pedals, when to change gear, all whilst putting up with my increasingly panicky and frank driving instructions. I suddenly realised just how dangerous driving actually is when you think about it.
These differences between my learned unawareness and her novice hyperawareness of driving, reminded me of a very interesting recent traffic safety advert. The advertising campaign was commissioned by Transport for London, set out to address the many deaths and injuries suffered by cyclists each year, simply because they weren’t seen by motorists.
Patronise
As marketer and researcher, I was interested in how the advertising agency tried to change motorist behaviour rather than simply tell drivers that ‘cyclists weren’t being seen and were being killed’. They brought the message home in a much more intriguing way, as you will see shortly.
Most advertisers would use a fear appeal, opting for some shocking images of a cyclist crashing through a car windscreen with lots of blood. However, such advertising tactics might stop people cycling altogether (no good for the planet either). Equally the advert did not patronise car drivers by blaming them for deaths and injuries and turning them off too.
To get the ‘cycling safety’ message across the creatives tried a novel approach using an “Awareness Test’ that enabled viewers to experience how easy it could be to ‘look, but not see’. The advert demonstrates the concept of ´change blindness´ - whereby only a tiny fraction of all the information going into the brain enters our consciousness. I won’t give away the punch line but take the test yourself. Look at the advert now using the following link and come back for more information below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4
Blindness
The advertising concept is based on a research experiment at Harvard University where a passer-by asks for directions, as the respondent talks to the interviewer, two workmen walk between them carrying a door. In a flash the passer-by switches places with one of the workmen, and you are left giving directions to a different person. Over 50 per cent failed to spot the change. When we concentrate on something, we can become blind to other events that you would normally notice. This "inattention blindness" is possibly the reason why motorists collide with cyclists. They look but do not actually see them.
The award winning advert was very effective with over 13 million people viewing it on TV and online. It is credited with reducing cycling deaths in London by a third. This is an example how social marketing interventions can use research to affect life enhancing behaviours.
Thinking of life enhancing behaviours, I find that since the driving lesson with my daughter, I am more aware of my driving focus particularly at junctions. You need to look out for the invisible brown bears too. And more importantly if you are a cyclist never assume that a car driver can see you even when you are right in front of their eyes.
For more information visit : http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/roadsandpublicspaces/7599.aspx
Tom Farrell is a research student in the Open University Business School.
Read more blogs on this theme
Research shows it may take a little more imagination to get us to change our behaviour - especially when it comes to road safety. The OU´s Tom Farrell takes a lesson in staying safe on the roads Last week I took my teenage daughter on a driving lesson for the very first time. Apart from the stress of teaching anything to a family member, I was struck by ...
Podcast: Economics and accounting of the future?
Economics and accounting of the future?
Alan Shipman and Dr Mike Lucas of the Open University discuss the problems of adopting new business models in a world where accounting and business education are still dominated by profit-maximising ‘shareholder value’, and the challenges ahead for those pursuing a Buddhist Economics alternative.
Economics and accounting of the future? Alan Shipman and Dr Mike Lucas of the Open University discuss the problems of adopting new business models in a world where accounting and business education are still dominated by profit-maximising ‘shareholder value’, and the challenges ahead for those pursuing a Buddhist Economics ...
Podcast: How would conventional accounting change?
How would conventional accounting change?
Dr Mike Lucas assesses the changes to conventional accounting methods, and management teaching, that would be needed to establish a new business model based on Buddhist Economics.
How would conventional accounting change? Dr Mike Lucas assesses the changes to conventional accounting methods, and management teaching, that would be needed to establish a new business model based on Buddhist Economics. Read a transcript of the podcast here
Podcast: Successful alternatives
Successful alternatives
Alan Shipman highlights the range of partnership, family, mutual and cooperative enterprises which have successfully resisted pressures to become a ‘public limited company’, and whose market leadership adds to the pressure to reform the shareholder model.
Successful alternatives Alan Shipman highlights the range of partnership, family, mutual and cooperative enterprises which have successfully resisted pressures to become a ‘public limited company’, and whose market leadership adds to the pressure to reform the shareholder model. Read a transcript of the podcast here
Podcast: The implications of the Eightfold path
The implications of the Eightfold path
Dr Mike Lucas explains the implications of a new business model based on Buddhist Economics, and how it could promote a new governance structure re-connecting the corporation with the community.
Read a transcript of the podcast here
Once you´ve listened to the podcast, please give it a rating using the five stars below, and leave us a comment. Then move on to hear and rate the other podcasts in this section.
The implications of the Eightfold path Dr Mike Lucas explains the implications of a new business model based on Buddhist Economics, and how it could promote a new governance structure re-connecting the corporation with the community. Read a transcript of the podcast here Once you´ve listened to the podcast, please give it a ...
