Manuscript Improvements in compassion and fears of compassion throughout the COVID 19 pandemic 22.12.22

During large-scale disasters, social support, caring behaviours, and compassion are shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes. This multi-national study aimed to assess the fluctuations in compassion over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents (Time 1 n = 4156, Time 2 n = 980, Time 3 n = 825) from 23 countries completed online self-report questionnaires measuring the flows of compassion (i.e., Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales) and fears of compassion toward self and others and from others (i.e., Fears of Compassion Scales) and mental health at three time-points during a 10-month period. The results for the flows of compassion showed that self-compassion increased at Time 3. Compassion for others increased at Time 2 and 3 for the general population, but in contrast, it decreased in health professionals, possibly linked to burnout. Compassion from others did not change in Time 2, but it did increase significantly in Time 3. For fears of compassion, fears of self-compassion reduced over time, fears of compassion for others showed more variation, reducing for the general public but increasing for health professionals, whilst fears of compassion from others did not change over time. Health professionals, those with compassion training, older adults, and women showed greater flows of compassion and lower fears of compassion compared with the general population, those without compassion training, younger adults, and men. These findings highlight that, in a period of shared suffering, people from multiple countries and nationalities show a cumulative improvement in compassion and reduction in fears of compassion, suggesting that, when there is intense suffering, people become more compassionate to self and others and less afraid of, and resistant to, compassion

Field dependence of electronic recoil signals in a dual-phase liquid xenon time projection chamber

We present measurements of light and charge signals in a dual-phase time projection chamber at electric fields varying from 10 V/cm up to 500 V/cm and at zero field using 511 keV gamma rays from a $^{22}$Na source. We determine the drift velocity, electron lifetime, diffusion constant, and light and charge yields at 511 keV as a function of the electric field. In addition, we fit the scintillation pulse shape to an effective exponential model, showing a decay time of 43.5 ns at low field that decreases to 25 ns at high fields.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Longitudinal influence of self-compassion and fears of compassion on prosocial and antisocial behaviour in sport: A conditional latent growth curve modelling analysis

The impact of self-compassion on athlete wellbeing is well established. Much less researched is the impact of self-compassion, and its related fears (hereafter “fears of compassion”) on athletes’ prosocial and antisocial behaviours. Indeed, sporting contexts offer opportunities for athletes to demonstrate prosocial and antisocial behaviours towards teammates and competitors, and these behaviours could lead to various performance and wellbeing-related consequences. Given the well-documented benefits of a compassion, and the intention to investigate alternative antecedents or predictors of prosocial and antisocial behaviour in sport, we assessed the longitudinal influences of self-compassion and fears of compassion on athletes’ prosocial and antisocial behaviours. The study used a repeated measures design, where 324 athletes (174 male, 150 female) from 35 different sports (22 individual sports, 13 team sports) completed surveys at baseline and the 4th and 8th month. Conditional latent growth curve modelling revealed higher self-compassion and lower fears of receiving compassion from others at baseline were associated with greater prosocial behaviours, whilst higher fears of self-compassion were associated with higher antisocial behaviour, over eight months. Results also revealed a trend for antisocial behaviour to increase across the study period. Compassion-based interventions may be of value to athletes to improve prosocial behaviours in sport contexts

The Fears of Compassion in Sport Scale a short context specific measure of fear of self compassion and receiving compassion from others validated in

Despite the many benefits of compassion, athletes fear being compassionate. To provide a valid and reliable psychometric tool for sport researchers and practitioners, we developed and validated a Fears of Compassion in Sport Scale (FCSS), based on an existing measure of fears of compassion in general life domains. We generated FCSS items measuring sport-specific fear of self-compassion (FSC) and receiving compassion from others (FCO). Following a content evaluation of FCSS items, we assessed psychometric properties of the new instrument in three samples of UK athletes (total N = 792). The FCSS demonstrated very good factorial, concurrent, discriminant, predictive validity, measurement invariance (especially across sport types and competitive levels), internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Both FSC and FCO in sport were negatively associated with self-compassion and associated positively with narcissistic vulnerability and psychological distress. Athletes were more fearful of self-compassion but less fearful of receiving compassion in sport compared to in general life. However, it was FCO, not FSC, that predicted psychological distress at three months follow-up. The new instrument offers a way to assess fears of compassion in sport. The present research provided new knowledge regarding different manifestations of fears of compassion in sport

The emerging of new business culture: A few key issues pertain to open economy and marketing

There is no question that the open source way of doing business has many distinct advantages over the traditional proprietary economy. Sharing IP (intellectual property) in an open economy is great but there has to be a return on the investment to create that IP. We examine the positive and negative aspects of the shift from industrial era capitalist proprietary business practices to a tribal form of an open source based "open economy", and explore some key issues pertain to open economy and marketing

Towards improved seed system management: Use of affordable net tunnels and decentralized inspection schemes.

Increased sweetpotato production in sub-Saharan Africa is hampered by high incidence of virus diseases. Work is going on to test whether healthy seed production can be maintained through a combination of farmer practices and internal and external quality assurance mechanisms; and to ensure that external regulatory processes are appropriate and cost effective. This will generate evidence about the effectiveness of the net tunnel technology in enhancing farmers’ access to quality planting material. This flyer outlines the approaches and lessons learnt so far in research and dissemination of net tunnel technology in Tanzania and Uganda

Ethical trading and socioeconomic transformation: critical reflections on the South African wine industry

Newly emerging ethical trade practices in the South African wine industry are examined as a way of engaging with debates about the ability of alternative trade approaches to facilitate meaningful opportunities for socioeconomic development in the global South. The South African wine industry has undergone rapid restructuring since the end of apartheid in order to meet the demands of international markets. However, transforming racially skewed ownership and skill patterns is proving a particular challenge. In this paper we outline some of the initiatives that have been introduced to stimulate socioeconomic change within the industry. By utilising analytical tools such as commodity chains, networks, and cultural approaches we demonstrate that a complex array of forces is driving change on the ground. Such forces include national imperatives derived from the legacy of apartheid and the concerns of consumers in the global North. We conclude by considering the types of local and global constraints that need to be challenged if these initiatives are to be successful in facilitating meaningful socioeconomic transformation within the wine industry

Ion-Molecule Reactions in Unsaturated Hydrocarbons: Allene, Propyne, Diacetylene, and Vinylacetylene

Ion-molecule reactions in allene, propyne, diacetylene, and vinylacetylene (1-buten-3-yne) have been studied at near-thermal energies by the technique of ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Rate coefficients and branching ratios are reported for the reactions of C_3H^+_n (n = 1-4) with allene and propyne and for the reactions of C_4H^+_n (n = 0-5) with diacetylene and vinylacetylene. Branching ratios are also given for the reactions of C_4H^+_n, C_5H_n, and C_6H^+_n with propyne and for reactions of C_6H^+_n with diacetylene and vinylacetylene. More than 90% of the reactive channels lead to product ions having a larger carbon skeleton than the reactant ion. Evidence for ions with the same m/e ratio having differing reactivities was obtained for C_3H^+_3, C_6H^+_7, and C_7H^+_7. Ion reaction sequences in allene and propyne were followed at higher pressures (l0^(-4) torr) to investigate secondary, tertiary, and higher order processes

The effects of twisted magnetic field on coronal loops oscillations and dissipation

The standing MHD modes in a zero-$\beta$ cylindrical magnetic flux tube modelled as a straight core surrounded by a magnetically twisted annulus, both embedded in a straight ambient external field is considered. The dispersion relation for the fast MHD waves is derived and solved numerically to obtain the frequencies of both the kink ($m=1$), and fluting ($m=2,3$) waves. Damping rates due to both viscous and resistive dissipations in presence of the twisted magnetic field is derived and solved numerically for both the kink and fluting waves.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure