Designing interventions to change eating behaviours

Understanding and changing eating behaviours are central to the work of Nutrition Society members working in both research and applied settings. The present paper describes a recently published resource to guide the design of interventions to change behaviour, The Behaviour Change Wheel: A Guide to Designing Interventions (BCW Guide). This is a practical guide to intervention design that brings together recently-developed theory-based tools in behavioural science into a coherent step-by-step design process. It is based on the BCW, a synthesis of nineteen frameworks of behaviour change found in the research literature. The BCW has at its core a model of behaviour known as 'capability', 'opportunity', 'motivation' and 'behaviour'. The model recognises that behaviour is part of an interacting system involving all these components. The BCW identifies different intervention options that can be applied to changing each of the components and policies that can be adopted to deliver those intervention options. The book shows how the BCW links to theory-based frameworks to understand behaviour such as the Theoretical Domains Framework and the recently developed Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy v1 for specifying intervention content. In essence, it shows how to link what is understood about a given behaviour to types of intervention likely to be effective and then translate this into a locally relevant intervention. In addition, the present paper sets out some principles of intervention design

Changing eating behaviour: What can we learn from behavioural science?

Designing effective behaviour change interventions is key to promoting healthy eating. This paper takes a theoretical perspective to consider why people do not behave in ways that promote health and summarises evidence-based principles and strategies for behaviour change. We present a theoretically driven, comprehensive method for intervention design using several tools recently developed in behavioural science

Examining the Effects of Race on Human-AI Cooperation

Recent literature has shown that racism and implicit racial biases can affect one’s actions in major ways, from the time it takes police to decide whether they shoot an armed suspect, to a decision on whether to trust a stranger. Given that race is a social/power construct, artifacts can also be racialized, and these racialized agents have also been found to be treated differently based on their perceived race. We explored whether people’s decision to cooperate with an AI agent during a task (a modified version of the Stag hunt task) is affected by the knowledge that the AI agent was trained on a population of a particular race (Black, White, or a non-racialized control condition). These data show that White participants performed the best when the agent was racialized as White and not racialized at all, while Black participants achieved the highest score when the agent was racialized as Black. Qualitative data indicated that White participants were less likely to report that they believed that the AI agent was attempting to cooperate during the task and were more likely to report that they doubted the intelligence of the AI agent. This work suggests that racialization of AI agents, even if superficial and not explicitly related to the behavior of that agent, may result in different cooperation behavior with that agent, showing potentially insidious and pervasive effects of racism on the way people interact with AI agents

The emergence of integrated private reporting

Purpose: Private social and environmental reporting (SER) has grown considerably in recent years, consistent with a rise in institutional investor engagement and dialogue with investee companies. We interpret the emergence of integrated private reporting through the lens of institutional logics. We frame the emergence of integrated private reporting as a merging of two hitherto separate and possibly rival institutional logics. Methodology/Approach: We interviewed 19 companies listed on the FTSE100 and 20 UK institutional investors. The interviews were semi-structured and analysed in an interpretive fashion. Findings and Implications: We provide evidence to suggest that private SER is beginning to merge with private financial reporting and that, as a result integrated private reporting is emerging. This trend is mirroring the international trend in public reporting toward an integrated approach. Specifically, we find that specialist social responsible investment managers are starting to attend private financial reporting meetings whilst mainstream fund managers are starting to attend private meetings on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Further, senior company directors are becoming increasingly conversant with ESG issues. We interpret our findings as two possible scenarios: (i) there is a genuine hybridisation occurring in UK institutional investment such that integrated private reporting is emerging, or; (ii) the financial logic is absorbing and effectively neutralising the responsible investment logic. Originality: This is the first research investigating the evolution of private integrated reporting

Developing interventions to change recycling behaviors: A case study of applying behavioral science

The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) are frameworks that can be used to develop recycling interventions. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the utility of these frameworks for developing recycling interventions. 20 semistructured interviews with university building users were analyzed using the TDF and BCW. Environmental context and resources, beliefs about consequences, knowledge, and intention were identified as the key theoretical domains influencing recycling behaviors. The BCW was used to develop recommendations for intervention. This research is the first case study to demonstrate how the TDF and the BCW can be used to develop recycling interventions

Making music for mental health: how group drumming mediates recovery

BACKGROUND: While music-making interventions are increasingly recognised as enhancing mental health, little is known of why music may engender such benefit. The objective of this article is to elucidate the features of a programme of group drumming known to enable mental health recovery. METHODS: Qualitative research was conducted with 39 mental health patients and carers who had demonstrated recovery following engagement with a programme of group djembe drumming in the UK. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews designed to understand the connection between drumming and recovery and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). RESULTS: Results revealed three overarching features of the drumming intervention: (1) the specific features of drumming, including drumming as a form of non-verbal communication, as a connection with life through rhythm, and as a grounding experience that both generates and liberates energy; (2) the specific features of the group, including the group as a space of connection in and through the rhythmic features of the drumming, as well as facilitating feelings of belonging, acceptance, safety and care, and new social interactions; (3) the specific features of the learning, including learning as an inclusive activity in which the concept of mistakes is dissolved and in which there is musical freedom, supported by an embodied learning process expedited by the musical facilitator. CONCLUSION: The findings provide support for the conceptual notion of 'creative practice as mutual recovery', demonstrating that group drumming provides a creative and mutual learning space in which mental health recovery can take place

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Polymer-Metal Bonds

Molecular simulation is becoming a very powerful tool for studying dynamic phenomena in materials. The simulation yields information about interaction at length and time scales unattainable by experimental measurements and unpredictable by continuum theories. This is especially meaningful when referring to bonding between a polymer and a metal substrate. A very important characteristic of polymers is that their physical properties do not rely on the detailed chemical structure of the molecular chains but only on their flexibility, and accordingly they will be able to adopt different conformations. In this paper, a molecular simulation of the bonding between vinyl ester polymer and steel is presented. Four different polymers with increasing chain lengths have been studied. Atomic co-ordinates are adjusted in order to reduce the molecular energy. Conformational changes in the macromolecules have been followed to obtain the polymer pair correlation function. Radius of gyration and end-to-end distance distributions of the individual chains have been used as a quantitative measurement of their flexibility. There exists a correlation between flexibility of the molecular chains and the energy of adhesion between the polymer and the metal substrate. Close contacts between the two materials are established at certain points but every atom up to a certain distance from the interface contributes to the total value of the adhesion energy of the system

Cardiovascular-renal axis disorders in the domestic dog and cat: a veterinary consensus statement

OBJECTIVES There is a growing understanding of the complexity of interplay between renal and cardiovascular systems in both health and disease. The medical profession has adopted the term "cardiorenal syndrome" (CRS) to describe the pathophysiological relationship between the kidney and heart in disease. CRS has yet to be formally defined and described by the veterinary profession and its existence and importance in dogs and cats warrant investigation. The CRS Consensus Group, comprising nine veterinary cardiologists and seven nephrologists from Europe and North America, sought to achieve consensus around the definition, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of dogs and cats with "cardiovascular-renal disorders" (CvRD). To this end, the Delphi formal methodology for defining/building consensus and defining guidelines was utilised. METHODS Following a literature review, 13 candidate statements regarding CvRD in dogs and cats were tested for consensus, using a modified Delphi method. As a new area of interest, well-designed studies, specific to CRS/CvRD, are lacking, particularly in dogs and cats. Hence, while scientific justification of all the recommendations was sought and used when available, recommendations were largely reliant on theory, expert opinion, small clinical studies and extrapolation from data derived from other species. RESULTS Of the 13 statements, 11 achieved consensus and 2 did not. The modified Delphi approach worked well to achieve consensus in an objective manner and to develop initial guidelines for CvRD. DISCUSSION The resultant manuscript describes consensus statements for the definition, classification, diagnosis and management strategies for veterinary patients with CvRD, with an emphasis on the pathological interplay between the two organ systems. By formulating consensus statements regarding CvRD in veterinary medicine, the authors hope to stimulate interest in and advancement of the understanding and management of CvRD in dogs and cats. The use of a formalised method for consensus and guideline development should be considered for other topics in veterinary medicine

The Multi-Fungicide Resistance Status of Aspergillus fumigatus Populations in Arable Soils and the Wider European Environment

The evolution and spread of pan-azole resistance alleles in clinical and environmental isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus is a global human health concern. The identification of hotspots for azole resistance development in the wider environment can inform optimal measures to counteract further spread by minimizing exposure to azole fungicides and reducing inoculum build-up and pathogen dispersal. We investigated the fungicide sensitivity status of soil populations sampled from arable crops and the wider environment and compared these with urban airborne populations. Low levels of azole resistance were observed for isolates carrying the CYP51A variant F46Y/M172V/E427K, all belonging to a cluster of related cell surface protein (CSP) types which included t07, t08, t13, t15, t19, and t02B, a new allele. High levels of resistance were found in soil isolates carrying CYP51A variants TR34/L98H and TR46/Y121F/T289A, all belonging to CSP types t01, t02, t04B, or t11. TR46/Y121F/M172V/T289A/G448S (CSP t01) and TR46/Y121F/T289A/S363P/I364V/G448S (CSP t01), a new haplotype associated with high levels of resistance, were isolated from Dutch urban air samples, indicating azole resistance evolution is ongoing. Based on low numbers of pan-azole resistant isolates and lack of new genotypes in soils of fungicide-treated commercial and experimental wheat crops, we consider arable crop production as a coldspot for azole resistance development, in contrast to previously reported flower bulb waste heaps. This study also shows that, in addition to azole resistance, several lineages of A. fumigatus carrying TR-based CYP51A variants have also developed acquired resistance to methyl benzimidazole carbamate, quinone outside inhibitor and succinate dehydrogenase (Sdh) inhibitor fungicides through target-site alterations in the corresponding fungicide target proteins; beta-tubulin (F200Y), cytochrome b (G143A), and Sdh subunit B (H270Y and H270R), respectively. Molecular typing showed that several multi-fungicide resistant strains found in agricultural soils in this study were clonal as identical isolates have been found earlier in the environment and/or in patients. Further research on the spread of different fungicide-resistant alleles from the wider environment to patients and vice versa can inform optimal practices to tackle the further spread of antifungal resistance in A. fumigatus populations and to safeguard the efficacy of azoles for future treatment of invasive aspergillosis