Letting Down the Team? Evidence of Social Effects of Team Incentives

This paper estimates social effects of incentivizing people in teams. In two field experiments featuring exogenous team formation and opportunities for repeated social interactions, we find large team effects that operate through social channels. The team compensation system induced agents to choose effort as if they valued a marginal dollar of compensation for their teammate from two-thirds as much (in one study) to twice as much as they valued a dollar of their own compensation (in the other study). We conclude that social effects of monetary team incentives exist and can induce effort at lower cost than through direct individual payment.

Modelling the dynamics of turbulent floods

Consider the dynamics of turbulent flow in rivers, estuaries and floods. Based on the widely used k-epsilon model for turbulence, we use the techniques of centre manifold theory to derive dynamical models for the evolution of the water depth and of vertically averaged flow velocity and turbulent parameters. This new model for the shallow water dynamics of turbulent flow: resolves the vertical structure of the flow and the turbulence; includes interaction between turbulence and long waves; and gives a rational alternative to classical models for turbulent environmental flows

Pulse-phase resolved spectroscopy of continuum and reflection in SAX J1808.4-3658

We perform phase-resolved spectroscopy of the accreting millisecond pulsar, SAX J1808.4-3658, during the slow-decay phase of the 2002 outburst. Simple phenomenological fits to RXTE PCA data reveal a pulsation in the iron line at the spin frequency of the neutron star. However, fitting more complex spectral models reveals a degeneracy between iron-line pulsations and changes in the underlying hotspot blackbody temperature with phase. By comparing with the variations in reflection continuum, which are much weaker than the iron line variations, we infer that the iron-line is not pulsed. The observed spectral variations can be explained by variations in blackbody temperature associated with rotational Doppler shifts at the neutron star surface. By allowing blackbody temperature to vary in this way, we also find a larger phase-shift between the pulsations in the Comptonised and blackbody components than has been seen in previous work. The phase-shift between the pulsation in the blackbody temperature and normalisation is consistent with a simple model where the Doppler shift is maximised at the limb of the neutron star, ~90 degrees prior to maximisation of the hot-spot projected area.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables. Accepted by MNRA

Resistance to COVID-19 vaccination has increased in Ireland and the United Kingdom during the pandemic

Objectives: Hesitance and resistance to COVID-19 vaccination poses a serious challenge to achieving adequate vaccine uptake in the general population. Cross-sectional data from the early months of the pandemic indicates that approximately one-third of adults in multiple nations are hesitant or resistant to a vaccine for COVID-19. Using longitudinal data, we tracked changes in attitudes to COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic. Study design: This is a quantitative, longitudinal design. Method: Nationally representative samples of the adult general population of the Republic of Ireland (N ¼ 1041) and the United Kingdom (N ¼ 2025) were assessed for their attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination at three points from March to August 2020. Results: Statistically significant increases in resistance to COVID-19 vaccination were observed in Irish (from 9.5% to 18.1%) and British (from 6.2% to 10%) adults. Conclusion: Resistance to vaccination has significantly increased in two European nations as the pandemic has progressed. Growing resistance to COVID-19 vaccination will pose a challenge to public health officials responsible for ensuring sufficient vaccine coverag

Landau theory of bi-criticality in a random quantum rotor system

We consider here a generalization of the random quantum rotor model in which each rotor is characterized by an M-component vector spin. We focus entirely on the case not considered previously, namely when the distribution of exchange interactions has non-zero mean. Inclusion of non-zero mean permits ferromagnetic and superconducting phases for M=1 and M=2, respectively. We find that quite generally, the Landau theory for this system can be recast as a zero-mean problem in the presence of a magnetic field. Naturally then, we find that a Gabay-Toulouse line exists for $M>1$ when the distribution of exchange interactions has non-zero mean. The solution to the saddle point equations is presented in the vicinity of the bi-critical point characterized by the intersection of the ferromagnetic (M=1) or superconducting (M=2) phase with the paramagnetic and spin glass phases. All transitions are observed to be second order. At zero temperature, we find that the ferromagnetic order parameter is non-analytic in the parameter that controls the paramagnet/ferromagnet transition in the absence of disorder. Also for M=1, we find that replica symmetry breaking is present but vanishes at low temperatures. In addition, at finite temperature, we find that the qualitative features of the phase diagram, for M=1, are {\it identical} to what is observed experimentally in the random magnetic alloy $LiHo_xY_{1-x}F_4$.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Perceived manageability of debt and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A UK population analysis

Objectives: This study examined the association between perceived manageability of debt and risk of depression, anxiety, and mental health help-seeking among a nationally representative sample of adults living in the United Kingdom (UK). Methods: Data was derived from the COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study Wave 6 (August/September 2021) which examined the psychological, social, and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK adult population. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between different levels of perceived debt manageability (i.e., “easily manageable”, “some problems”, “quite serious problems”, “very serious problems”, “cannot manage at all”) and mental health related outcomes. Results: Almost a quarter of the sample (24%, n = 494) reported debt management problems, and debt manageability associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and mental health help-seeking. After adjusting for demographic variables (e.g. income, receipt of benefits), logistic regression analysis demonstrated a dose-response association between increasing levels of debt manageability problems and mental health outcomes. Specifically, adjusted odds ratios for anxiety ranged from 2.28 (‘some problems’) to 11.18 (‘very serious problems’), for depression ranged from 2.80 (‘some problems’) to 16.21 (‘cannot manage at all’), and for mental health help-seeking ranged from 1.69 (‘some problems’) to 3.18 (‘quite serious problems’, ‘very serious problems’). Conclusion: This study highlights that debt manageability problems represent a robust predictor of depression, anxiety, and mental-health help seeking

Symptoms and levels of ICD-11 Prolonged Grief Disorder in a representative community sample of UK adults.

BackgroundProlonged Grief Disorder (PGD) is a new disorder included in ICD-11 (WHO, 2018). There is a growing body of literature surrounding the prevalence and correlates of ICD-11 PGD symptoms as assessed using various measures. This study was the first to assess levels of ICD-11 PGD symptoms as measured by the International Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (IPGDS), a self-report scale directly aligned with the ICD-11 definition of PGD, among the United Kingdom adult general population, and identify correlates.MethodParticipants included 2025 adults who participated in Wave 5 of the COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium Study (C19PRC-UK). Prevalence rates of PGD were estimated based on two commonly used algorithms defined as 'strict' and 'moderate'. Sociodemographic, loss-related, and mental health correlates (i.e., anxiety, depression, mental health treatment seeking, loneliness) of strict and moderate PGD were then examined using multinomial logistic regressions.ResultsIt was found that 2.4% (n = 43) of participants met probable caseness for PGD using the strict criteria while 7.9% (n = 140) met probable caseness for PGD using the moderate criteria. Multinomial logistic regression analysis results showed, as predicted, that income, time since bereavement, death of a child, religiosity, and depression were associated with both moderate and strict PGD. Correlates of moderate PGD included country of residence, urbanicity, younger age of bereaved, and loneliness.ConclusionsThis study highlights that some symptoms of PGD are commonly reported in the general population, although relatively few meet the criteria for clinical significance. The routine assessment for PGD following a bereavement is discussed and the development of appropriate interventions are recommended