Hotaka Maeda

Acceptability and effects of a seated active workstation during sedentary work

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the user acceptability (Phase 1) and effects (Phase 2) of completing sedentary work while using a seated active workstation. Design/methodology/approach – In Phase 1, 45 sedentary employees completed an acceptability questionnaire immediately after performing sedentary work tasks (typing, mousing) while using the seated active workstation for 30 minutes. In Phase 2, the paper tested the differential effects of completing sedentary work tasks at two different workstations (sedentary workstation vs seated active workstation) on physiological (energy expenditure, muscle activity, heart rate, blood pressure), cognitive (learning, memory, attention) and work performance (typing and mousing ability) outcomes among 18 sedentary employees. Findings – In Phase 1, 96 percent of participants reported they would use the seated active workstation “daily” if provided access in their office. In Phase 2, working while using the seated active workstation increased energy expe...

Prompts to disrupt sitting time and increase physical activity at work, 2011-2012.

Introduction The objective of this study was to assess change in sitting and physical activity behavior in response to a workplace intervention to disrupt prolonged sitting time. Methods Sixty office workers were randomized to either a Stand group (n = 29), which received hourly prompts (computer-based and wrist-worn) to stand up, or a Step group (n = 31), which received the same hourly prompts and an additional prompt to walk 100 steps or more upon standing. An ActivPAL monitor was used to assess sitting and physical activity behavior on the same 3 consecutive workdays during baseline and intervention periods. Mixed-effect models with random intercepts and random slopes for time were performed to assess change between groups and across time. Results Both groups significantly reduced duration of average sitting bouts (Stand group, by 16%; Step group, by 19%) and the number of sitting bouts of 60 minutes or more (Step group, by 36%; Stand group, by 54%). The Stand group significantly reduced total sitting time (by 6.6%), duration of the longest sitting bout (by 29%), and number of sitting bouts of 30 minutes or more (by 13%) and increased the number of sit-to-stand transitions (by 15%) and standing time (by 23%). Stepping time significantly increased in the Stand (by 14%) and Step (by 29%) groups, but only the Step group significantly increased (by 35%) the number of steps per workday. Differences in changes from baseline to intervention between groups were not significant for any outcome. Conclusion Interventions that focus on disrupting sitting time only in the workplace may result in less sitting. When sitting time disruptions are paired with a physical activity prompt, people may be more likely to increase their workday physical activity, but the effect on sitting time may be attenuated.

Response option configuration of online administered Likert scales

Likert scales are used to make relative and absolute judgments about measures of attitude. Despite its ubiquitous use, only few studies have investigated the effects of altering the configurations of the response options. The purpose of this experiment was to explore the effects of response option orientation and directionality in Likert scales administered online on internal consistency reliability, factorial validity, measured score, completion time, and mouse click counts. A positively stemmed 15-item 5-point Likert scale was administered to 1693 adults. Six independent groups were constructed (2 × 3 design). The response options were configured (a) vertically or horizontally and (b) unidirectional-ascending (strongly disagree to strongly agree), unidirectional-descending (strongly agree to strongly disagree), or bidirectional (mixed). Results indicated that vertically unidirectional response options should be used when absolute judgments are being made using online-administered Likert scales. When relative judgments are being made, horizontally unidirectional response options should be used.

Feasibility of Retrofitting a University Library with Active Workstations to Reduce Sedentary Behavior

BACKGROUND Libraries are an inherently sedentary environment, but are an understudied setting for sedentary behavior interventions. PURPOSE To investigate the feasibility of incorporating portable pedal machines in a university library to reduce sedentary behaviors. METHODS The 11-week intervention targeted students at a university library. Thirteen portable pedal machines were placed in the library. Four forms of prompts (e-mail, library website, advertisement monitors, and poster) encouraging pedal machine use were employed during the first 4 weeks. Pedal machine use was measured via automatic timers on each machine and momentary time sampling. Daily library visits were measured using a gate counter. Individualized data were measured by survey. Data were collected in fall 2012 and analyzed in 2013. RESULTS Mean (SD) cumulative pedal time per day was 95.5 (66.1) minutes. One or more pedal machines were observed being used 15% of the time (N=589). Pedal machines were used at least once by 7% of students (n=527). Controlled for gate count, no linear change of pedal machine use across days was found (b=-0.1 minutes, p=0.75) and the presence of the prompts did not change daily pedal time (p=0.63). Seven of eight items that assessed attitudes toward the intervention supported intervention feasibility (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The unique non-individualized approach of retrofitting a library with pedal machines to reduce sedentary behavior seems feasible, but improvement of its effectiveness is needed. This study could inform future studies aimed at reshaping traditionally sedentary settings to improve public health.

EFFECTS OF LISTENING TO PREFERENTIAL MUSIC ON SEX DIFFERENCES IN ENDURANCE RUNNING PERFORMANCE.

Music is a common accompaniment to exercise, but some running environments do not allow for personalized control over the music stimulus. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of listening to preferred versus non-preferred music on sex differences in running performance. The sample consisted of 20 women and 15 men (M = 20.7 yr., SD = 2.3) who reported running at least once per week over the previous year. The participants completed three 12-min. Cooper Tests (i.e., aerobic fitness test) accompanied by preferred, non-preferred, or no music in randomized order. A 2 × 2 repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the effect of music preference and sex on endurance running performance while controlling for the distance run with no music. Women ran further in the preferred music condition. However, music selection did not significantly change running performance for men. Listening to preferred instead of non-preferred music had a larger effect on the endurance running performance of women than men.

Efficacy of an Individually Tailored, Internet-Mediated Physical Activity Intervention in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial:

Objective: This study determined the effectiveness of an individually tailored, Internet-mediated physical activity (PA) intervention for increasing walking behavior in inactive older adults. Method: This 12-week randomly controlled intervention divided participants (N = 170) into three groups: control (CON, n = 51), pedometer only (PED, n = 62), and an individually tailored, Internet-mediated pedometer (TI-PED, n = 57) group. The PED group was instructed to increase weekly step count by 10% until 10,000 steps per day was achieved. The TI-PED group was given the same goal and received tailored feedback via an online platform. Changes in average step count pre-to-post were assessed. Results: Total retention rate at postintervention was 75.3%. PED (p < .001) and TI-PED (p < .001) increased step count pre-to-post, which was higher than the CON group at 12 weeks (PED, p < .001; TI-PED, p < .001). The TI-PED group had a higher step count at 12 weeks than the PED group (p < .001). Discussion: Individually tailored, Internet-mediated PA interventions are an effective way to significantly increase PA in older adults.

Midlife Work and Psychological Well-Being

In the present study, we examined the centrality of work in midlife adults and how it relates to their psychological well-being. Using the psychology of working theory (PWT), we tested a portion of the outcome of PWT in a sample of 1,888 midlife adults, finding good overall model data fit. Of the three needs work provides, survival, relatedness, and self-determination were each found to explain unique predictive variance. This suggests that adults who are most psychologically healthy have their survival needs met through their work, feel connected with people at work, and meet their self-determination needs through the experience of being engaged in activities at work. Implications of these findings for future research and career counseling are considered.

Development and evaluation of the Internalized Racism in Asian Americans Scale (IRAAS).

This article presents the development and psychometric evaluation of the Internalized Racism in Asian Americans Scale (IRAAS), which was designed to measure the degree to which Asian Americans internalized hostile attitudes and negative messages targeted toward their racial identity. Items were developed on basis of prior literature, vetted through expert feedback and cognitive interviews, and administered to 655 Asian American participants through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Exploratory factor analysis with a random subsample (n = 324) yielded a psychometrically robust preliminary measurement model consisting of 3 factors: Self-Negativity, Weakness Stereotypes, and Appearance Bias. Confirmatory factor analysis with a separate subsample (n = 331) indicated that the proposed correlated factors model was strongly consistent with the observed data. Factor determinacies were high and demonstrated that the specified items adequately measured their intended factors. Bifactor modeling further indicated that this multidimensionality could be univocally represented for the purpose of measurement, including the use of a mean total score representing a single continuum of internalized racism on which individuals vary. The IRAAS statistically predicted depressive symptoms, and demonstrated statistically significant correlations in theoretically expected directions with four dimensions of collective self-esteem. These results provide initial validity evidence supporting the use of the IRAAS to measure aspects of internalized racism in this population. Limitations and research implications are discussed.

Increasing the Energy Expenditure of Seated Activities in Older Adults with a Portable Elliptical Device.

BACKGROUND The ill-health effects of sedentary behavior are becoming well-documented, yet older adults spend 70-80% of waking hours sedentary. PURPOSE To determine if a portable elliptical device increases energy expenditure (EE) while performing popular seated activities. METHODS Twenty older adults (68.1 ± 1.4 years) participated to compare the measured EE between seated rest and three randomized seated pedaling activities: computer use, reading, TV viewing. Each pedaling activity included 5-min of self-selected paced/no resistance (SSP) and externally paced/added resistance pedaling (Paced). RESULTS A significant increase in EE existed during SSP (+1.44 ± 0.12 kcal/min) and Paced (+2.19 ± 0.09 kcal/min) pedaling relative to Seated Rest (p < .001). EE during the Paced activities was significantly greater than all SSP activities (p <.01). CONCLUSION Extrapolating these results, pedaling at a SSP for an hour while performing seated activities is equivalent to the net EE of walking 1.6 miles. Future home-based effectiveness and feasibility should be explored.

An Algorithm to Improve Test Answer Copying Detection Using the Omega Statistic

The omega (ω) statistic is reputed to be one of the best indices for detecting answer copying on multiple choice tests, but its performance relies on the accurate estimation of copier ability, which is challenging because responses from the copiers may have been contaminated. We propose an algorithm that aims to identify and delete the suspected copied responses through probability sampling and bootstrapping. In doing so, the bias in copier ability estimation will be determined and used to update the ability estimate for calculating the modified omega (ωm), a new statistic based on the ω. The performance of ωm and ω were compared in a Monte Carlo simulation study under 40 typical testing conditions (2 test lengths x 4 sample sizes x 5 levels of copying). In almost all conditions, the ωm had the same or better controlled Type I error and higher power than ω. The increase in power was particularly eminent when the sources estimated ability was higher than the copier and when 20% or 30% of items were copied. These findings support the use of the ωm as a replacement of ω to detect answer copying in multiple choice exams.