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Don’ t take this news sitting down
A half-hour at the gym doesn’ t cut it if you’ re sedentary the rest of the day, researcher says.
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University of the Sunshine Coast student is urging her colleagues to get up off their seats for the good of their own health. Gym workouts or playing sport might not be enough to offset the negative health effects of generally sedentary student behaviour, she says.
Casey Sutherland, a master of science student at USC, has begun development of a program encouraging students to move around during the day, rather than exercising only in isolated bursts.
Her work follows previous research such as one study by Medibank Private in 2009 that found about 77 per cent of workers spent their workday sitting. The same study found that a high proportion of
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workers also spent much of their leisure time sedentary and that many respondents believed they did more physical activity than they were.
The Department of Health defines sedentary behaviour as“ sitting and lying down for long periods”, and links to it the development of Type 2 diabetes and other illnesses.
In response to the growing problem of sedentary behaviour, researchers such as Sutherland have recently increased their focus on developing programs aimed at getting office workers – and others who spend long periods of time sedentary – more physically active.
“ I hope to develop an intervention that we could trial at USC first that encourages
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people to stand up during lectures, or if they’ re working on a computer in the library perhaps an alarm to remind them to stand up,” Sutherland said.“ Computer workstations where people stand up are better for your health than sitting down. USC does have some of those spaces for staff at the moment. If more people understood the benefits and would use them, perhaps we should look at getting more.”
Sutherland said despite university students’ active participation in sport or gym exercise, many were still sedentary for long sections of their day. This would probably lead to students developing illnesses later in life whilst thinking they were being healthy. n
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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is a government-funded tertiary institution in Hong Kong. It offers programmes at various levels including Doctorate, Master’ s and Bachelor’ s degrees. It has a full-time academic staff strength of around 1,200. The total consolidated expenditure budget of the University is close to HK $ 5.5 billion( US $ 705 million) per year.
DEPARTMENT OF LAND SURVEYING AND GEO-INFORMATICS
The Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics( LSGI) is widely considered as a centre of excellence in both education and research in Geomatics and related fields. The Department offers a range of academic programmes to both local and overseas students, including Higher Diploma in Geomatics, Bachelor of Science( Honours) in Geomatics( with three specialized streams: Land Surveying, Geo-Information Technology, and Utility Management and Surveying), Master of Science in Geomatics, Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy. LSGI has a very strong research programme that encompasses research activities in the areas of geographical information science, satellite positioning, ubiquitous positioning, remote sensing, geodynamics, environmental monitoring, geo-hazards studies, intelligent transport systems, digital city modeling, sustainable urbanization, utility system management, location based services, geographical social science, and land information system and management. There are currently 21 academic staff and 12 supporting members in the Department. LSGI has a number of well-equipped research and teaching laboratories. Please visit the website at http:// www. lsgi. polyu. edu. hk for more information about the Department.
Assistant Professor in Geographic Information Science / Remote Sensing / Land Surveying / Utility Surveying( two posts) The Department is seeking highly motivated individuals with a PhD degree either in( i) Land Surveying,( ii) Geo-Information Technology or( iii) Utility Surveying.
The appointees will be required to( a) conduct researches that lead to high-quality publications and awards of external research grants;( b) undertake teaching duties in relevant subject areas at undergraduate and postgraduate levels;( c) supervise student projects and theses; and( d) undertake relevant administrative duties.
Applicants should( a) have a doctoral degree in a relevant area;( b) have the relevant research experience( as supported by evidence of research projects and outputs), with relevant teaching experience at tertiary level being an advantage; and( c) demonstrate potential for establishing significant externally funded research programmes.
Remuneration and Conditions of Service A highly competitive remuneration package will be offered. Initial appointments will be on a fixed-term gratuity-bearing contract. Re-engagement thereafter is subject to mutual agreement. Applicants should state their current and expected salary in the application.
Application Please submit application form via email to hrstaff @ polyu. edu. hk; by fax at( 852) 2764 3374; or by mail to Human Resources Office, 13 / F, Li Ka Shing Tower, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. If you would like to provide a separate curriculum vitae, please still complete the application form which will help speed up the recruitment process. Application forms can be obtained via the above channels or downloaded from http:// www. polyu. edu. hk / hro / job / en / guide _ forms / forms. php. Recruitment will continue until the positions are filled. Details of the University’ s Personal Information Collection Statement for recruitment can be found at http:// www. polyu. edu. hk / hro / job / en / guide _ forms / pics. php.
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