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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to adopt the perspective of personal construct theory to conceptualise employability. The study explores differences in the implicit employability theories of those involved in developing employability (educators) and those selecting and recruiting higher education (HE) students and graduates (employers).Design/methodology/approachA repertory grid technique (RGT) was employed to uncover the implicit theories of 22 employers and 14 educators across the UK.FindingsA total of 717 constructs were elicited. A differential analysis of data gathered demonstrated several areas of consensus among employers and educators (including emotional management, confidence, professionalism), as well as divergence in representations of commitment, proactivity, interpersonal competencies and vision to the conceptualisation of employability.Practical implicationsFindings from this analysis indicate a need to integrate group process assessments within undergraduate programmes and recruitment procedures.Originality/valueThis study represents a personal construct approach to employability, utilising the unique value of RGT to further inform our understanding of employability within an HE context. This study contributes to an understanding of employability as a continually re-constructed concept. This study provides insights to its nature via two information rich cases that have extensive knowledge on the topic.

This project examined the lifestyle, health habits and risk factors of young adults at Qatar University. It explored the clustering and differences in dietary habits, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) amongst male and female students, both Qatari and non-Qatari. Seven hundred thirty two students aged 18–25 years completed a self-reported questionnaire and an objective measure of BMI. Males and females had a high prevalence of being overweight and obesity and low levels of PA, according to well-established international standards. Three clusters were identified based on the students’ lifestyle and dietary habits. Cluster 1 (high risk factors) included those who engaged the least in healthy dietary practices and consumed the most unhealthy foods, participated in less PA and had the highest BMI. Cluster 2 (moderate risk factors) included those with considerably more habits falling into the moderate category, engagement in the most PA, the least TV and computer viewing time and had the lowest BMI. Cluster 3 (low risk factors) included those who engaged the most with the four healthy dietary practices, the least with the four unhealthy dietary practices and participated in moderate PA per week. This project provides valuable data that could be used by policy makers to address issues concerning student’s health. This research was supported by an Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) grant (14–125–5–030) from the Qatar National Research fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation).

The indoor tanning industry poses a long-term public health risk. Despite the adverse health effects, indoor tanning seems to be gaining considerable popularity. The study examined indoor tanning intentions and behaviour within UK young adults using an extended theory of planned behaviour model, which included variables on “appearance reasons to tan,” “perceived susceptibility to damaging appearance,” “perceived susceptibility to health consequences,” and “tanning knowledge.” The model was successful in predicting indoor tanning intentions and behaviour (explained 17% and 71%, resp.). An interesting outcome was the magnitude of the variable “appearance reasons to tan.” A current tanned appearance therefore seemed to outweigh any adverse future appearance or health consequences caused by indoor tanning. Appearance-focused interventions to reduce such behaviour may now prove to be efficacious within a UK sample.

Purpose. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is associated with adverse health effects. Although the immediate appearance values of tanning seem to outweigh the long-term health consequences, interventions emphasising the negative effects of UV exposure on appearance may be effective in modifying such behaviour. Method. A systematic review assessing the efficacy of appearance-focused interventions in modifying UV exposure and/or protection. Relevant publications were identified from a comprehensive search strategy of 16 electronic bibliographic databases from inception to March 2009, hand searches of six subject relevant journals and references lists of identified articles. Results. Data were extracted from 12 studies that were found to be eligible. Significant effects were found for UV protection behaviour in favour of the interventions. Though the interventions only had moderate success in modifying UV exposure behaviour, plausible explanations were provided. There was no clear pattern to suggest that q...

Unhealthy diet is a primary risk factor for noncommunicable diseases. University student populations are known to engage in health risking lifestyle behaviours including risky eating behaviours. The purpose of this study was to examine eating behaviour patterns in a population of British university students using a two-step cluster analysis. Consumption prevalence of snack, convenience, and fast foods in addition to fruit and vegetables was measured using a self-report “Student Eating Behaviours” questionnaire on 345 undergraduate university students. Four clusters were identified: “risky eating behaviours,” “mixed eating behaviours,” “moderate eating behaviours,” and “favourable eating behaviours.” Nineteen percent of students were categorised as having “favourable eating behaviours” whilst just under a third of students were categorised within the two most risky clusters. Riskier eating behaviour patterns were associated with living on campus and Christian faith. The findings of this study highlight the importance of university microenvironments on eating behaviours in university student populations. Religion as a mediator of eating behaviours is a novel finding.

Objectives: Obesity is a leading risk factor for global mortality, promoted by poor dietary habits and sedentary behaviour. This study explores the clustering and differences in dietary habits, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) amongst youth from United Kingdom (UK) and Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods: 2290 males and females aged 15 - 17 years completed a self-report questionnaire and an objective measure of BMI. Results: Youth from SA had a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity and lower levels of PA than youth from the UK. Males were more physically active than females across both countries. Three clusters were identified: a “high risk” cluster with least healthy dietary habits, low PA and high BMI; a “moderate cluster” with moderate healthy dietary habits, PA and BMI; a “low risk” cluster with healthiest dietary habits, greatest PA and the lowest BMI compared to the other clusters. There were more SA youth in the high and moderate risk clusters compared to UK youth. Conclusions: Exploring cross-cultural and demographic characteristics of youth enables the identification of similarities and differences that might lead to the development of universal intervention strategies.

Objective: Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours have been identified as a problem amongst students. This present study investigated the prevalence and clustering of five lifestyle risk factors within a UK Higher Education (HE) institution during the period of April - May in 2008. Method: In a cross-sectional design, 410 students completed a 'health and lifestyle' survey. Data was collected on psychological stress, physical activity (PA), fruit and vegetable intake, binge drinking, smoking, and demographic factors. Results: Three subgroups emerged from the cluster analysis: 'unhealthy/high risk', 'moderately healthy/moderate risk' and 'healthy/low risk' group. The groups were cross-tabulated by demographics and the resulting clusters provided an insightful indication of how behaviours interact. Data on the whole sample revealed that the prevalence of three lifestyle risk factors were high; 70% did not meet the recommended guidelines of PA, 66% ate less than the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables per day, and 56% reported binge drinking at least once in a seven-day period. Psychological stress was also high amongst the sample, with females experiencing greater psychological stress than males. Conclusion: Students' health lifestyles are of concern. The tendency for specific health lifestyle factors to aggregate in clusters has important implications for health promotion within this environment. Language: en