106 research outputs found

    Exploring perceptions of household surface cleaning products and the implications for sustainable consumption

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    Historically, green cleaning products have performed poorly in comparison with conventional alternatives. Other green product categories are rising in popularity while green cleaning products remain unfavourable. Consumers may view green cleaning products negatively because they believe that green products cannot be as strong as conventional products. This has only been tested in hypothetical products. Consumers also view green cleaning products as safer than conventional cleaning products. This thesis explores these perceptions by answering the following research questions: 1. Are there differences in the composition of green and conventional cleaning products? If so, do these differences have implications for health and the environment? 2. Does a product’s environmental status influence how the product is perceived by consumers in terms of its effectiveness? 3. Does a product’s environmental status influence how the product is perceived by consumers in terms of its safety? 4. Does a product’s environmental status influence the way in which its ingredients are perceived by consumers? Firstly, a comparison of ingredients was made using publicly available information. Secondly, a novel experimental study was used to compare perceptions of product efficacy. Finally, an online survey was utilised to explore perceptions of product and ingredient safety. There are no differences between green and conventional cleaning products in their potential harm to human health. Negative quality perceptions of green household cleaning products are not present for existing green cleaning products. Consumers struggle to identify green cleaning products, but those who correctly identify green cleaning products perceive them as safer for health than conventional products. There were no perceived differences in ingredient safety between green and conventional products. This research contributes an original methodology by exploring perceptions in real over hypothetical products, and outlines principles that future research must follow

    Lichenizing Pedagogy: Art Explorations in More-than-Human Performance and Practice

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    This project of performative writing and visual inquiry proposes the concept of “lichenizing” as a collaborative methodology for engaging with the lively pedagogy of the more-than-human. Looking to the multispecies mosaic of Lichen as teacher and ally, this arts-based, collectively produced foray considers transcorporeal, intermingled relationships as a pedagogical tool for fostering a radical, ecologically-centered curiosity for learning and making. To support our theorizing, we present two collaborative art projects where tenets of lichenizing were utilized to instruct process and form, and suggest further exploration and research on the practice of “lichenizing.

    Current status and priorities of paediatric oncology nursing in Africa: a synthesis of perspectives from SIOP Africa nurses

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    Introduction. As African countries adopt the global goal of improving childhood cancer survival to 60% by 2030, intentional actions are required to improve nursing. This report aims to describe the current status of paediatric oncology nursing in Africa. Methods. We report on nursing-related aspects of a survey to map paediatric oncology services in Africa (2018–2019), document perceived nursing strengths and weaknesses (2017) and share nurses’ research priorities (2019). Additionally, we report on a survey to identify topics for a foundation course (2019) and the expressed perspective of African nurses about the status of paediatric oncology nursing across the continent (2022). Results. Only 21% of respondents in the African mapping survey reported having nurses who care for children with cancer at least 75% of the time. Many centres do not have allied health workers like dieticians and play therapists, thus contributing to the nursing burden of care. The main strength of African paediatric oncology nurses was the humanisation of care, while the major weakness was the lack of training follow-up. The top research priorities focused on professional practice and psychosocial support. The Delphi survey identified 57 topic areas grouped into a 12-module curriculum for nurses new to paediatric oncology. The nurses affirmed their dedication to providing compassionate care, however, noted their vulnerability to harm and called for better specialisation, recognition and remuneration. Conclusion. This paper amplifies the voice of African paediatric oncology nurses. It illuminates the room for improvement and provides a reference point for future comparison

    How Adolescents Deal With Divorce

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    Millions of youth have divorced or separated parents, and many youth experience behavior problems or cope with this family transition in unhealthy ways. At the same time, evidence-based programs to help youth cope with their parents divorce are limited. Moreover, research with contemporary youth that was designed to inform such programming is further scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore emerging adults (N = 141) perceptions of the challenges, as well as their coping methods throughout their own parents divorce-related transitions. Themes surrounding feeling caught in the middle between parents and attempting to maintain contact with both parents emerged from the data as two of the most commonly coded categories. Participants also frequently reported struggles regarding parents new romantic relationships or the remarriage of their parents and feeling sad, depressed, or experiencing other negative emotions. The most frequently mentioned coping aid was friends, particularly someone with a similar experience dealing with parental divorce. These data provide insight into the types of topics and coping strategies that could form the basis for developing outreach efforts for helping youth who are coping with their parents divorce.Ope

    Quenching and the UVJ Diagram in the SIMBA Cosmological Simulation

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    Over the past decade, rest-frame color–color diagrams have become popular tools for selecting quiescent galaxies at high redshift, breaking the color degeneracy between quiescent and dust-reddened star-forming galaxies. In this work, we study one such color–color selection tool—the rest-frame U − V versus V − J diagram—by employing mock observations of cosmological galaxy formation simulations. In particular, we conduct numerical experiments assessing both trends in galaxy properties in UVJ space and the color–color evolution of massive galaxies as they quench at redshifts z ∌ 1–2. We find that our models broadly reproduce the observed UVJ diagram at z = 1–2, including (for the first time in a cosmological simulation) reproducing the population of extremely dust-reddened galaxies in the top right of the UVJ diagram. However, our models primarily populate this region with low-mass galaxies and do not produce as clear a bimodality between star-forming and quiescent galaxies as is seen in observations. The former issue is due to an excess of dust in low-mass galaxies and relatively gray attenuation curves in high-mass galaxies, while the latter is due to the overpopulation of the green valley in simba. When investigating the time evolution of galaxies on the UVJ diagram, we find that the quenching pathway on the UVJ diagram is independent of the quenching timescale, and instead dependent primarily on the average specific star formation rate in the 1 Gyr prior to the onset of quenching. Our results support the interpretation of different quenching pathways as corresponding to the divergent evolution of post-starburst and green valley galaxies

    Acceptability of Aggression Among Children Who Reside With Substance-Abusing Parents: The Influence of Behavioral Dysregulation, Exposure to Neighborhood Violence, and Interparental Violence

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    The present study examined how interparental violence, neighborhood violence, behavioral regulation during parental conflict, and age predicted beliefs about the acceptability of aggression and the acceptance of retaliation against an aggressive peer among youths. Participants were 110 families (mothers, fathers, and children) in which one or both parents met criteria for substance use disorder. Results of a bootstrapped multivariate regression model revealed higher exposure to neighborhood violence predicted greater acceptability of general aggression, whereas higher father-to-mother violence perpetration predicted lower acceptability of general aggression. Higher exposure to neighborhood violence, behavioral dysregulation during parental conflict, and older child age predicted greater approval of retaliation toward an aggressive peer. Findings are interpreted as related to the cognitive-contextual framework

    \u27Physical Activity 4 Everyone\u27 school-based intervention to prevent decline in adolescent physical activity levels: 12 month (mid-intervention) report on a cluster randomised trial

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    Background: Adolescence is a recognised period of physical activity decline, particularly among low-income communities. We report the 12-month (midpoint) effects of a 2-year multicomponent physical activity intervention implemented in disadvantaged secondary schools. Methods: A cluster randomised trial was undertaken in 10 secondary schools located in disadvantaged areas in New South Wales, Australia. Students in Grade 7 were recruited, with follow-up in Grade 8. The intervention was guided by socioecological theory and included seven physical activity strategies, and six implementation adoption strategies. The primary outcome was mean minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day assessed using Actigraph GT3X accelerometers. Outcome data were analysed using repeated measures linear mixed models. Results: At baseline, 1150 (93%) students participated in the data collection (mean age 12 years, 48% boys) and 1050 (79%) students participated at 12-month follow-up. By the 12-month follow-up, the six implementation adoption strategies had been used to support schools to deliver four of the seven physical activity elements. There was a significant group-by-time interaction for mean minutes of MVPA per day in favour of the intervention group (adjusted difference between groups at follow-up=3.85 min, 95% CI (0.79 to 6.91), p≀0.01), including significantly more vigorous physical activity (2.45 min, p≀0.01), equating to 27 min more MVPA per week. Summary: At 12-month follow-up, the intervention had reduced the decline in physical activity among adolescents from disadvantaged schools. The intervention may assist students to meet physical activity guidelines

    Clinicopathological Determinants of Recurrence Risk and Survival in Mucinous Ovarian Carcinoma

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    Mucinous ovarian carcinoma (MOC) is a unique form of ovarian cancer. MOC typically presents at early stage but demonstrates intrinsic chemoresistance; treatment of advanced-stage and relapsed disease is therefore challenging. We harness a large retrospective MOC cohort to identify factors associated with recurrence risk and survival. A total of 151 MOC patients were included. The 5 year disease-specific survival (DSS) was 84.5%. Risk of subsequent recurrence after a disease-free period of 2 and 5 years was low (8.3% and 5.6% over the next 10 years). The majority of cases were FIGO stage I (35.6% IA, 43.0% IC). Multivariable analysis identified stage and pathological grade as independently associated with DSS (p p < 0.001). Grade 1 stage I patients represented the majority of cases (53.0%) and demonstrated exceptional survival (10 year DSS 95.3%); survival was comparable between grade I stage IA and stage IC patients, and between grade I stage IC patients who did and did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. At 5 years following diagnosis, the proportion of grade 1, 2 and 3 patients remaining disease free was 89.5%, 74.9% and 41.7%; the corresponding proportions for FIGO stage I, II and III/IV patients were 91.1%, 76.7% and 19.8%. Median post-relapse survival was 5.0 months. Most MOC patients present with low-grade early-stage disease and are at low risk of recurrence. New treatment options are urgently needed to improve survival following relapse, which is associated with extremely poor prognosis

    The Physical Activity 4 Everyone Cluster Randomized Trial : 2-Year Outcomes of a School Physical Activity Intervention Among Adolescents

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    Acknowledgments The Physical Activity 4 Everyone intervention trial was funded by the New South Wales Ministry of Health through the New South Wales Health Promotion Demonstration Research Grants Scheme and conducted by Hunter New England Population Health (a unit of the Hunter New England Local Health District), in collaboration with the University of Newcastle and University of Wollongong. Infrastructure support was provided by Hunter Medical Research Institute. The research team acknowledges the importance of making research data publically available. Access to the accelerometer data from this study may be made available to external collaborators following the development of data transfer agreements. Further results arising from the study can be found at www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/high-schools/. No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
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