Using Mass Media And Social Media For The Prevention Of Non-Communicable Diseases

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancers, and cardiovascular disease, share modifiable risk factors, with overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition being among the most important of these. One public health strategy that has been widely employed to address these risk factors and reduce the burden of NCDs is mass media campaigns (MMCs). These campaigns use multiple channels – including television, radio, billboards, online, and increasingly social media – to communicate messages about the promotion of health and the prevention of the disease. The aim is to reach as many people in the target population as possible, with the expectation that doing so will maximise the campaign’s impact on the population's health. However, gaps in the scientific literature are such that knowledge about what works in NCD-related MMCs is limited. First, those campaigns that have been evaluated have consistently shown positive impacts on awareness, knowledge, and other intermediate outcomes, but it is rare for a campaign to demonstrate behaviour change. Second, the existing evidence is ageing quickly due to the rapid change in media consumption habits over the last decade, including the rapid uptake of Facebook and other social media. Finally, while there are theories, such as the Hierarchy of Effects model, that purport to explain how campaigns influence behaviour change, these have rarely been tested, meaning that their accuracy and usefulness is unknown. Collectively, these gaps make it difficult to identify effective components of MMCs, which is problematic given that governments use these types of campaigns often and that they are usually expensive to design and implement. In this thesis, I present research that addresses these gaps. My research provides insight into the impact of MMCs on health-related outcomes and furthers our understanding of best practice in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of mass media and social media campaigns. Specifically, my research aims to identify and critique current practice within overweight and obesity prevention campaigns, identify the strengths and limitations of current practices on Facebook as a component of campaigns, and determine the impact of the recent New South Wales (NSW) Government’s Make Healthy Normal (MHN) overweight and obesity prevention campaign. To address these aims, I conducted seven studies, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. These studies provide new and valuable insights into improving campaigns and creating engaging content on Facebook. Collectively, the findings indicate that, while campaigns can be effective in increasing knowledge about a health issue, increasing knowledge is insufficient and may not even be necessary to have a meaningful impact on health. This raises questions around the role of MMCs in responding to health issues like obesity. The research also suggests that while there is real potential to use Facebook as an effective component of campaigns, more consideration should be given to exactly what role Facebook (or other social media) should play within a broader campaign. Finally, it is important that the theories that underpin campaigns be tested and refined. Doing so will mean that effective features of communications campaigns can be identified and increase the likelihood that future campaigns will contribute to solving complex prevention problems

The Influence of Maturity Status on Jumping Performance of Inner London Secondary School Students

2018 dissertation for MRes. Talent Detection (TDE) is a method for the identification of potentially talented athletes establishing the physical ability of an athlete without the presence of sport specific skill. TDE typically uses assessments that identify physical characteristics inherent with the given sport, with ambitions to find those with superior physical ability. These protocols are traditionally aimed at set chronological ages, as low as ten years old. However, it has been established that youths will enter the adolescent process at different ages, and will go through the process at different rates. Therefore we know that it is possible to have a selection of athletes of the exact same chronological age, with as much as a few years difference in biological age (from the onset of puberty). Maturation of athletes has been explored and a selection of non-invasive methods has been established as valid protocols for biological age assessment. This research looked to establish relationships between maturity and jumping performances across the vertical (VJ) and horizontal (HJ) jumps, both highly used assessments within TDE. 72 girls and 65 boys were assessed for maturity and performance of jumps were taken using a jump mat for VJ and a tape measure for HJ. The results concluded a strong relationship with maturity and VJ and HJ in the boys, and a very strong relationship with peak power in both VJ and HJ in the boys and girls. The limitations of this study surround the dependency on adjustment equations due to the equipment used, and the use of the prediction equation for maturity. However there is strong evidence that suggests biological age should be considered when undergoing assessments as used within TDE, to allow for fair comparison across athletes of the same chronological age, and further research needs to be done overcoming the limitations of this study

Thermal Regime of a Cold Air Trap in Central Pennsylvania, USA: the Trough Creek Ice Mine

Air temperatures internal and external to a talus cave (‘ice mine’) in central Pennsylvania were measured hourly for three years. Despite its location near the base of a talus slope, the cave demonstrated the thermal characteristics of an apparently static cave, with limited connections to the external environment other than through the cave entrance. Congelation ice that lasted until late spring formed as drip or flowstone and ponded ice from the limited influx of infiltrating water during late winter/early spring. A closed period of thermal stratification and slow warming of cave air was followed by an open period in winter months during which the cave was cooled by the influx of cold dry air. Unlike the occasionally strong and localised cooling induced by the flow of cold air from vents at the base of talus slopes, static cold traps retain their cold air and have little apparent effect on surrounding biota, instead providing potential refugia for organisms that prefer colder temperatures. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA

Branching geometry of valley networks on mars and earth and its implications for early martian climate

Mars’ surface bears the imprint of valley networks formed billions of years ago. Whether these networks were formed by groundwater sapping, ice melt, or fluvial runoff has been debated for decades. These different scenarios have profoundly different implications for Mars’ climatic history and thus for its habitability in the distant past. Recent studies on Earth revealed that valley networks in arid landscapes with more surface runoff branch at narrower angles, while in humid environments with more groundwater flow, branching angles are much wider. We find that valley networks on Mars generally tend to branch at narrow angles similar to those found in arid landscapes on Earth. This result supports the inference that Mars once had an active hydrologic cycle and that Mars’ valley networks were formed primarily by overland flow erosion, with groundwater seepage playing only a minor role

Determining the structure of the United States marine instrumentation industry and its position in the world industry

This report is a general, but comprehensive, description and analysis of industrial organization in the field of marine electronic instrumentation (MEl), a broadly defined "industry," which until now has received little systematic, scholarly attention. The report reviews the current literature on international trade and competitiveness, as well as trade and scientific journals relevant to the industry. The resul ts of a series of interviews with representatives of the industry and responsible government agencies are presented and industry and government data on R&D and output have been collected and analyzed together with other indicators of industrial performance. On the basis of these sources, the structure of the industry and its markets is characterized and the importance of marine electronic instrumenation in international high technology trade is established. Over 350 firms in the U.S. industry are identified, which annually earn total estimated gross revenues of approximately $5 billion. These firms fall into three largely distinct industry groups: (1) defense systems contractors; (2) commercial marine electronics; and (3) scientific instrumentation. The first group is by far the largest in sales volume and is oligopolistic in structure, consisting of a few large rivals for infrequent and complex defense systems contracts. The other groups are more purely competitive. Four major customer groups are distinguished: (1) military; (2) commercial and recreational shipping and boating; (3) offshore oil and gas; and (4) oceanographic/environmental. Most of the firms in the industry face international competititon. The importance of marine electronic instrumentation to technological advance and economic activity in the world's oceans is strongly apparent. Parameters affecting the international competitiveness of firms in this industry, including those relating to industry structure and behavior and governmental practices and institutions such as sponsored research, procurement, intellectual property rights, tax allowances, antitrust enforcement, small business encouragements, export controls, import restrictions, exchange rates, and technology transfer are summarized. A number of issues relating to international competititon, economic analysis, and government policy that are fruitful areas for further research also are identified.Funding was provided by the Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Ocean Service, Office of Marine Operations through a grant to the Massachusetts Centers of Excellence Corporation, grant Number NA87-AA-D-M0037

Predictive Effects of Good Self-Control and Poor Regulation on Alcohol-Related Outcomes: Do Protective Behavioral Strategies Mediate?

In the present study, we examined whether use of protective behavioral strategies mediated the relationship between self-control constructs and alcohol-related outcomes. According to the two-mode model of self-control, good self-control (planfulness; measured with Future Time Perspective, Problem Solving, and Self-Reinforcement) and poor regulation (impulsivity; measured with Present Time Perspective, Poor Delay of Gratification, Distractibility) are theorized to be relatively independent constructs rather than opposite ends of a single continuum. The analytic sample consisted of 278 college student drinkers (68% women) who responded to a battery of surveys at a single time point. Using a structural equation model based on the two-mode model of self-control, we found that good self-control predicted increased use of three types of protective behavioral strategies (Manner of Drinking, Limiting/Stopping Drinking, and Serious Harm Reduction). Poor regulation was unrelated to use of protective behavioral strategies, but had direct effects on alcohol use and alcohol problems. Further, protective behavioral strategies mediated the relationship between good self-control and alcohol use. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed

Time spent playing outdoors after school and its relationship with independent mobility: a cross-sectional survey of children aged 10–12 years in Sydney, Australia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Time spent outdoors is positively associated with physical activity and has been suggested as a proxy for physical activity of children. The role of children's independence in physical activity and time spent outdoors is less understood. This study aimed to assess how much time children spent playing outdoors after school, and to explore the relationship between outdoor play and independence among children aged 10–12 years.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Children recorded how much time they spent playing outdoors or watching TV/videos or playing computer games after school using a five-day diary, and also reported whether they were allowed to walk on their own in their neighbourhood as an indicator of their independent mobility. Parents were surveyed on family demographics and perception of neighbourhood safety. The surveys were conducted in late 2006 as part of the Central Sydney Walk to School program which involved 1975 children and their parents from 24 primary schools. Factors associated with time spent playing outdoors were determined by logistic regression modelling.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-seven per cent of children spent less than half an hour a day playing outdoors after school, and 43% spent more than 2 hours a day watching TV, videos or playing computer games. Forty-eight per cent of children were allowed to walk on their own near where they lived. Children's independent mobility was significantly associated with outdoor play after adjusting for other confounders. Compared with those who were never allowed to walk on their own near where they lived, students who were allowed to walk on their own were significantly more likely to spend more than half an hour a day playing outdoors after school with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.6, 95% CI 1.84–3.58, P < 0.001.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings that a significant proportion of children spend less than half an hour a day playing outdoors after school and have excessive screen time have important implications for physical activity promotion and obesity prevention. The study also suggests that children's independent mobility should be considered in research and evaluation into children's play and physical activity. Environments that promote greater independent mobility in children may increase their physical activity levels and hence reduce their risk of overweight/obesity.</p

The Assessment of Protective Behavioral Strategies: Comparing the Absolute Frequency and Contingent Frequency Response Scales

The purpose of the present studies was to examine the effects of response scale on the observed relationships between protective behavioral strategies (PBS) measures and alcohol-related outcomes. We reasoned that an absolute frequency scale (stem: how many times... ; response scale: 0 times to 11 + times) conflates the frequency of using PBS with the frequency of consuming alcohol; thus, we hypothesized that the use of an absolute frequency response scale would result in positive relationships between types of PBS and alcohol-related outcomes. Alternatively, a contingent frequency scale (stem: When drinking ... how often ... ; response scale: never to always) does not conflate frequency of alcohol use with use of PBS; therefore, we hypothesized that use of a contingent frequency scale would result in negative relationships between use of PBS and alcohol-related outcomes. Two published measures of PBS were used across studies: the Protective Behavioral Strategies Survey (PBSS) and the Strategy Questionnaire (SQ). Across three studies, we demonstrate that when measured using a contingent frequency response scale, PBS measures relate negatively to alcohol-related outcomes in a theoretically consistent manner; however, when PBS measures were measured on an absolute frequency response scale, they were nonsignificantly or positively related to alcohol-related outcomes. We discuss the implications of these findings for the assessment of PBS

Dynamic Economic Analysis of Marine Pollution Prevention Technologies: An Application to Double Hulls and Electronic Charts

Marine pollution associated with shipping accidents has resulted in a Congressional mandate for double hulls on tankers in U.S. waters. In this paper, we formulate a social planner's problem using optimal control theory to examine the relative cost-effectiveness of double hulls and alternative pollution retention technologies, and the optimal installation strategy for such technologies. The model encompasses the costs and benefits associated with shipping operations, damage to the marine environment, and investment in each technology. A computer simulation of the model is used to evaluate investment strategies for two technological options: double hulls and electronic chart systems. Results indicate that electronic charts may be a far more cost-effective approach to marine pollution control