The Lonely Reason Impeding Compliance with COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines

To reduce transmission of the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19), the US Center for Disease Control recommends that all individuals follow a series of prevention guidelines (e.g., wearing a mask, physical distancing, and vigilant handwashing). However, some individuals have been unwilling to comply with them. In this research, we use reciprocal altruism theory to investigate the role of loneliness in compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines. Specifically, we find that lonely (vs. non-lonely) consumers report less willingness to comply with these guidelines. Process evidence demonstrates that this occurs because lonely individuals experience a lower sense of obligation to reciprocate. Importantly, the negative impact of loneliness on compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines can be offset through advertising messaging strategies when information about COVID-19 is framed using an agentic (vs. communal) advertising messaging. Thus, marketers may want to consider the important role of loneliness when tailoring messaging appeals that encourage compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines

When Not Belonging Means Bad News for the Planet: How a Low Sense of Belonging Diminishes the Value of Sustainable Products

Consumers increasingly report feeling disconnected from others. They live farther from family, belong to fewer social groups and are more likely to live alone than ever before (Pew Research Center 2015). A low sense of belonging is an aversive state for consumers, since relationships provide access to survival benefits such as resources and protection (Buss 1990). Consumers often use sustainable products to help them experience belonging since these products are typically more expensive than non-sustainable products and can signal that one is a good, cooperative group member who is willing to incur individual costs to maintain a group resource (e.g., the environment) (Griskevicius et al. 2010). However, we suggest that sustainable products lose their value when individuals feel like they do not belong, as these individuals cannot extract social benefits from the group such as elevated group status and increased access to resources within groups. Four experiments test this assertion while providing process evidence and boundary conditions for the proposed effect. Experiment 1 demonstrates that individuals lower in their sense of belonging evaluate sustainable products less favorably than those higher in their sense of belonging. Experiment 2 provides process evidence to show that this effect occurs as a low sense of belonging triggers a focus away from others and leads to less concern for social acceptance when making sustainable purchases. Experiments 3 and 4 find that the negative impact of low belonging on sustainable products is eliminated when the social aspect of the product is removed. These results suggest that marketers must account for consumers’ willingness to incur the costs of participating in sustainable behaviors, especially among consumers low in belonging

The dissemination and implementation of national asthma guidelines in south africa: the use of outcome mapping

Asthma is an important chronic inflammatory disorder with significant morbidity and mortality in South Africa. The development of national asthma guidelines by the South African Thoracic Society and National Asthma Education Programme has been one approach to try and improve the quality of care. The impact of previous guidelines has been limited and therefore it is hoped that the newly revised 2007 guidelines will have a more effective approach to dissemination, implementation and evaluation. Outcome mapping (OM) is one approach to integrated planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects that intend to contribute to change in complex systems. It has a structured, systematic and logical approach that focuses on changes in behaviour, actions or relationships in the people or organizations that the project is working with. OM has three stages - intentional design, outcome/performance monitoring and evaluation - which are described in this article and illustrated with reference to the Asthma Guideline Implementation Project (AGIP). In the intentional design stage the AGIP created a vision and mission statement to guide the project and then identified seven boundary partners. For each boundary partner the AGIP defined the project's outcome challenge and a series of progress markers to monitor achievement of the outcome. Following this the AGIP conceptualized the strategies and organizational practices that will be engaged with to realize the outcomes. In the monitoring stage the AGIP will regularly document and reflect on the progress markers, strategies and organizational practices using pre-determined structured journals. In the evaluation stage there is the opportunity to plan the evaluation of key aspects of the project in more depth. In the AGIP project the team engaged with the development of a doctoral research project to evaluate the process of implementation in private and public primary care settings in the Cape Town metropole. This article describes the methodology of Outcome Mapping and illustrates this in relation to the Asthma Guidelines Implementation Project. The methodology has the potential to be applied in many other development projects and is also congruent with action research. It is hoped that the readers will find this approach useful in their own settings

Optimization of the fixed-flexion knee radiograph

SummaryPurposeTo develop a user-friendly method of achieving optimal radiographs for measurement of joint space width of the knee with minimal radiation exposure. In order to accomplish this the X-ray technologist must (1) be able to identify the anterior and posterior rims of the tibial plateau at a variety of X-ray head angles and (2) be able to choose the direction to adjust the head angle to get a better view based on the criteria for acceptable radiographs.MethodsWe have developed a training manual and materials to instruct investigators and radiology technologists in a method that uses a commercially available Plexiglas positioning frame (Synaflexer™) and standard X-ray equipment to achieve optimal X-rays with regard to tibial plateau alignment of the knee. This should be accomplished with four or fewer radiographs.ResultsOptimized radiographs for joint space width measurements are achieved without the need for fluoroscopy or foot maps.ConclusionsThis method is readily understood and instituted by radiology technologists in the field

The effect of intermittent hypoxic training on performance

This study aimed to verify whether the “live low, train high” approach is beneficial for endurance and/or anaerobic cycling performance. Sixteen well-trained athletes completed 90 min of endurance training (60-70% of heart rate reserve) followed by two 30-s all-out sprints (Wingate test), daily for 10 consecutive days. Nine subjects (IHT group) trained with an F₁O₂ set to produce arterial oxygen saturations of ~88% to ~82%, while 7 subjects (placebo group) trained while breathing a normal gas mixture (F₁O₂ = 0.21). Four performance tests were conducted at sea-level including a familiarisation and baseline trial, followed by repeat trials at 2 and 9 days post-intervention. Relative to the placebo group mean power during the 30-s Wingate test increased by 3.0% (95% Confidence Limits, CL ± 3.5%) 2 days, and 1.7% (± 3.8%) 9 days post-IHT. Changes in other performance variables (30-s peak power, 20-km mean power, 20-km oxygen cost) were unclear. During the time trial the IHT participants‟ blood lactate concentration, RER and SpO₂ relative to the placebo group, was substantially increased at 2 days post-intervention. The addition of IHT into the normal training programme of well-trained athletes produced worthwhile gains in 30-s sprint performance possibly through enhanced glycolysis.Lincoln University Research Fund, Sport and Recreation New Zealan

Duration of disease does not equally influence all aspects of quality of life in Parkinson’s disease

Health related quality of life (HRQoL) is negatively impacted in patients suffering from Parkinsons disease (PD). For the specific components that comprise HRQoL, the relationship between clinical variables, such as disease duration, is not fully characterized. In this cross-sectional study (n=302), self-reported HRQoL on the Parkinsons Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) was evaluated as a global construct as well as individual subscale scores. HRQoL was compared in three groups: those within 5years of diagnosis, those within 6-10years of diagnosis, and those greater than 11years since diagnosis. Non-parametric analyses revealed lower HRQoL with increasing disease duration when assessed as a global construct. However, when subscales were evaluated, difficulties with bodily discomfort and cognitive complaints were comparable in individuals in the 1-5years and 6-10year duration groups. Exploratory regression analyses suggested disease duration does explain unique variance in some subscales, even after controlling for Hoehn and Yahr stage and neuropsychiatric features. Our findings show that HRQoL domains in PD patients are affected differentially across the duration of the disease. Clinicians and researchers may need to tailor interventions intended to improve HRQoL at different domains as the disease progresses

What is the source level of pile-driving noise in water?

To meet the growing demand for carbon-free energy sources, the European Union (EU) has ambitious plans to increase its capacity for generation of offshore wind power. The United Kingdom and The Netherlands, for example, plan to increase their offshore power-generating capacity to 33 and 6 GW, respectively, by the year 2020. Assuming that this power is generated entirely by wind and that a single wind turbine can generate up to 10 MW, at least 3,900 offshore turbines would be required by these two states alone to achieve this goal. A popular turbine construction method known as “pile driving” involves the use of hammering a steel cylinder (a “monopile”) into the seabed. A concern has arisen for the possible effect on mammals (Southall et al. 2007) and fish (Popper and Hastings 2009) of the sound produced by the succession of hammer impacts required to sink the pile to its required depth (tens of meters)