“I have to stay inside …”: Experiences of air pollution for people with asthma

Asthma, characterized by airway inflammation, sensitization and constriction, and leading to symptoms including cough and dyspnoea, affects millions of people globally. Air pollution is a known asthma trigger, yet how it is experienced is understudied and how individuals with asthma interact with air quality information and manage exacerbation risks is unclear. This study aimed to explore how people living with asthma in Scotland, UK, experienced and managed their asthma in relation to air pollution. We explored these issues with 36 participants using semi-structured interviews. We found that self-protection measures were influenced by place and sense of control (with the home being a “safe space”), and that the perception of clean(er) air had a liberating effect on outdoor activities. We discuss how these insights could shape air quality-related health advice in future

Fostering teacher agency in school-based climate change education in England, UK

Drawing on conceptualisations of teacher agency through the ecological approach, and in the context of recent policy activity, we explored primary and secondary school teachers' experiences of agency in relation to climate change education in England. Data collection occurred over two distinct but related phases. Firstly, we completed a series of interviews with the same three secondary geography teachers at the outset of their careers (15 interviews during 2020–2022) which included 1 year of Initial Teacher Education and 2 years as Early Career Teachers (ECTs). Secondly, we captured the experiences of further 24 in-service science and geography teachers (with expertise beyond the ECT period) through two online workshops held in November 2022, the first for primary teachers (n = 10) and the second for secondary teachers (n = 10). Interviews were held with four teachers (two primary and two secondary) who could not attend the workshops (n = 4). Our findings underline the importance of structures (e.g. school leadership) and culture (e.g. ideas and values) in fostering teacher agency. Teachers across primary and secondary phases and at different career stages highlighted the value of curricular and extra-curricular spaces for climate change education. If all children and young people are to access effective climate change education, researchers and policy makers will need to further consider ways to ensure teachers can achieve agency, including through access to transformative professional learning which fosters agency in relation to climate change education

Do board monitoring and audit committee quality help risky firms reduce CSR controversies?

This study focuses on potential inhibiting and driving factors of corporate social responsibility (CSR) controversies including board monitoring intensity and audit committee quality with a particular focus on risky firms. We draw on agency, resource dependence, and slack financial resources theories to explain this association. Using an international sample between 2002-2019 and executing fixed-effects regression and Hayes’s moderation analysis methodology, we find that risky firms tend to commit more CSR controversies. Furthermore, CSR performance, firm complexity, and indebtedness exacerbate CSR controversies, whereas larger boards mitigate them. Moreover, while board monitoring intensity and audit committee quality do not prevent committing CSR controversies in absolute terms, they alleviate risky firms' CSR controversies tendency. The findings confirm agency theory and the monitoring function of the board in mitigating CSR controversies. In line with the resource dependence theory, audit committees’ independent members and members with different skills and expertise provide critical resources that help prevent CSR controversies.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

Effectiveness of web-based personalised feedback interventions for reducing alcohol consumption among university students: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Issues: Meta-analysis was conducted to examine standalone web-based persona-lised feedback interventions (PFI) delivered in non-structured settings for reducing university students' alcohol consumption. Subgroup analyses by gender-focus, type-of-content and accessibility were conducted. Characteristics of the sample, the intervention and study quality were examined as moderators. Approach: Ten databases were searched from 2000 to 2023. Eligible articles involved only randomised controlled trials. Random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to calculate the effect size on weekly alcohol consumption comparing web-PFIs and non-active controls. Meta-regressions were applied to explore effect moderators. Key Findings: Thirty-one studies were included in the narrative synthesis, 25 of which were meta-analysed. Results found significant effect size differences on weekly alcohol consumption in favour of the intervention group in the short-(SMD = 0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.06, 0.15) and long-term period (SMD = 0.09, 95% CI 0.02, 0.15). Subgroup analyses identified that interventions which were gender-specific, multicomponent and had unlimited access had higher and significant effect sizes, although they were very similar with respect to comparative groups. Moderator analyses showed that times feedback was accessed significantly contributed to the effectiveness of the intervention. Effects diminished over time, although they remained significant. Implications: The meta-analysis evidences the effectiveness of web-PFI for addressing university students' alcohol use, decreasing by 1.65 and 1.54 drinks consumed per week in the short-and long-term, respectively. Conclusions: The results offer empirical evidence that supports the significant, although small, effect of web-PFI delivered remotely in universities. Futur

Duty of Care in Esports: Organizational Support for Esports Players’ Mental Wellbeing and Physical Health

This paper examines the perspectives of esports players on organizational support for enhancing their mental wellbeing and physical health throughout their esports careers. Drawing on one of the most extensive datasets in the field, to the author’s knowledge, a total of 33 participants – professional (n = 21), semi-professional (n = 6), amateur (n = 4), and retired players (n = 2) – were recruited for the study. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was conducted, identifying three key themes: (a) Limited organizational support available, (b) Demand for psychological and mental support, and (c) Importance of maintaining fitness and addressing physical health issues. The results indicate that organizational support was limited, necessitating further attention from stakeholders to establish structured support systems for players. The findings also highlight the significance of providing support to enhance esports players’ performance and overall wellbeing, emphasizing the promotion of mental wellbeing and physical health

UK funding agency launches digital health hubs: a new catalyst for change?

First paragraph: In 2021, the UK government’s life sciences set out an ambitious strategy and vision for investment, innovation, and collaborative practice1 to respond to the growing “silent pandemics” facing the UK, such as diabetes, obesity, and dementia. Underpinning that vision and aligned to recently launched workforce plans2 in England is the recognition that health systems must embrace new “ways of working,” which include the scaled adoption of digital technologies, AI, and a preventative approach to healthcare

Gratuitous risk: danger and recklessness perception of adventure sports participants

Since the 1970’s there has been a major increase in adventure sports participation but it seems that engagement in such sports comes with a stigma: adventure sports participants are often regarded as reckless ‘daredevils’. We approach the questions about people’s perception of risk and recklessness in adventure sports by combining empirical research with philosophical analysis. First, we provide empirical evidence that suggests that laypeople tend to assess the danger of adventure sports as greater than more mundane sports and judge adventure sports participants as more reckless than participants in non-adventure sports. We contextualise these findings within existing psychological risk perception paradigms and outline new philosophical explanations of the identified pattern in laypeople’s risk perception

South African Media and Politics: Is the Three Models Approach Still Valid After Two Decades?

When Hallin and Mancini (2004) produced their watershed Three Models theory, South Africa was a new democracy barely a decade old. Even then, along with other countries of the Global South, the experience of a young democracy posed certain critical challenges to Hallin and Mancini's understanding of the way that media and politics interrelate. Two decades later, South Africa has continued to change. There has been increased diversity in media ownership, rapid growth in community and social media, digital disruption, and significant challenges to media freedom. How does the Three Models theory stack up now? This paper reviews scholarly critiques of Hallin and Mancini's model, including their follow-up work, Beyond the Western World (2012), and assesses to what extent the Three Models is still a valid approach to understanding the connection between media and politics in the Global South. The paper concludes by evaluating Hadland’s (2012) Africanisation of the model in light of the complex postcolonial trajectories of South Africa, suggesting that this, along with Hallin, Mellado, and Mancini’s (2021) expanded hybridisation model, still offers a better set of variables with which to understand how the media and political systems intertwine in the postcolony

Cost-effectiveness of two models of pessary care for pelvic organ prolapse: Findings from the TOPSY randomised controlled trial.

Objectives Pelvic organ prolapse is the descent of one or more reproductive organs from their normal position, causing associated negative symptoms. One conservative treatment option is pessary management. The aim of this study was to investigate the cost-effectiveness of pessary self-management (SM) when compared to clinic-based care (CBC). A decision-analytic model was developed to extend the economic evaluation. Methods A randomised controlled trial with health economic evaluation. The SM group received: 30-minute self-management teaching session; information leaflet; 2-week follow-up call; and a local helpline number. The CBC group received routine outpatient pessary appointments, determined by usual practice. The primary outcome for the cost-effectiveness analysis was incremental cost per QALY, 18 months post-randomisation. Uncertainty was handled using nonparametric bootstrap analysis. In addition, a simple decision analytic model was developed using the trial data to extend the analysis over a 5-year period. Results There was no significant difference in the mean number of QALYs gained between SM and CBC (1.241 vs 1.221) but mean cost was lower for SM (£578 vs £728). The incremental net benefit estimated at a willingness to pay of £20,000 per QALY gained was £564, with an 80.8% probability of cost-effectiveness. The modelling results were consistent with the trial analysis: the incremental net benefit was estimated as £4,221 and the probability of SM being cost-effective at 5 years was 69.7%. Conclusions Results suggest that pessary self-management is likely to be cost-effective. The decision analytic model suggests this result is likely to persist over longer durations.Additional author; Ranee Thaka

How can agent-based modelling provide new insights into the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland?

In recent years we have gained insight into the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP)-a legal floor price below which a given volume of alcohol cannot be sold-on population-level reductions in alcohol sales, consumption and harm. However, several questions remain unanswered including how individual-level purchasing changes impact the local economy (e.g., balance between on-licence and off-licence outlets), lead to long-term population-level trends (e.g., youth drinking) and social harms (e.g., violence). Agent-based modelling captures heterogeneity, emergence, feedback loops and adaptive and dynamic features, which provides an opportunity to understand the nuanced effects of MUP. Agent-based models (ABM) simulate heterogeneous agents (e.g., individuals, organisations) often situated in space and time that interact with other agents and/or with their environment, allowing us to identify the mechanisms underlying social phenomena. ABMs are particularly useful for theory development, and testing and simulating the impacts of policies and interventions. We illustrate how ABMs could be applied to generate novel insights and provide best estimates of social network effects, and changes in purchasing behaviour and social harms, due to the implementation of MUP. ABMs like other modelling approaches can simulate alternative implementations of MUP (e.g., policy intensity [£0.50, £0.60] or spatial scales [local, national]) but can also provide an understanding of the potential impact of MUP on different population groups (e.g., alcohol exposure of young people who are not yet drinking). Using ABMs to understand the impact of MUP would provide new insights to complement those from traditional epidemiological and other modelling methods.Funding information Chief Scientist Office, Grant/Award Number: SPHSU20; Medical Research Council, Grant/Award Number: MC_UU_00022/5