The relationship between motivations of architectural designers and environmentally sustainable construction design

Research on sustainability in construction design has tended to focus on technological, institutional and economic drivers but there has been little change in the industry. Social scientific approaches offer insights on the lack of progress. However, few previous studies have investigated psychological factors despite the pivotal role of the individual professional decision-maker. The aim was to understand what personal motivations drive architectural designers to pursue sustainable design in their work and whether non-environmental motivations can drive sustainable outcomes. Twenty-eight architectural designers in fourteen small firms in the London area were interviewed. Thematic analysis was conducted, informed by the self-determination theory of motivation. Although extrinsic motivators were noted, autonomous motivations including a moral imperative and personal commitment predominated. Further, the participants demonstrated other self-determined motivations including realisation of self-identity, pursuit of quality in design and awareness of their work’s impact on people. These autonomous motivations align closely with sustainability principles including design for durability, high standards and technical expertise. The findings point to the risks of reliance on extrinisic motivators such as regulation, and the opportunities to engage architectural designers more extensively in sustainable design by linking sustainability to autonomous motivations

Moral, wasteful, frugal, or thrifty? Identifying consumer identities to understand and manage pro-environmental behaviour

Moral motives are important for pro-environmental behavior. But such behavior is not only motivated by moral or environmental concerns. We examined what higher order motives, other than morality, may be important for understanding pro-environmental behavior, by studying consumer identities. In three studies (N = 877) four consumer identities were distinguished: moral, wasteful, frugal, and thrifty. Frugal and moral consumer identities were most salient and were the strongest predictors of pro-environmental behaviors, but in different ways. Frugality, which is related to, but distinct from thriftiness, was particularly important for behaviors associated with waste reduction of any kind (including money). The findings suggest that people adopt the same behavior for different reasons, in ways consistent with their consumer identities. People manage multiple consumer identities simultaneously, and environmental policy is likely to be more effective if it addresses these multiple identities

The role of building control surveyors and their power in promoting sustainable construction

In England, building regulations govern aspects of a building’s environmental performance. The Building Control Surveyor reviews designs and on-site construction in order to evaluate, and ultimately certify, compliance with the regulations, but little research has been carried out to investigate the role of these professionals in promoting sustainable construction. A qualitative study was conducted, comprising semi-structured interviews with 21 building control surveyors and 4 key informants from professional bodies in England. The building surveyors initially positioned their power as wholly derived from the regulations, thus constraining their contribution on sustainability to regulation enforcement. However, this stood in contradiction to their recognition of being valued and influential members of the project team. Descriptions of day-to-day activities included sharing common goals with the team, providing guidance based on their knowledge and experience, and developing collaborative relationships. Based on theories of power, these practices may be seen as processes of power. The primary conclusion is that building control surveyors are indeed powerful in the project team, and, with greater recognition of the varied forms of power available to them above and beyond regulatory certification, they could extend their influence in daily working interactions to promote more sustainable construction

Precautionary action against overheating in English homes: What influences householders’ intentions?

Temperate zones including the UK and mainland Europe continue to be exposed to increasing temperatures and more frequent heatwaves as global warming continues. The built environment can mitigate the risk and recommendations for precautionary actions have been published by government and others. A key player in improving resilience is the householder, who determines whether precautionary measures will be installed in their home. Previous research on flooding has applied Protection Motivation Theory to examine determinants of householder engagement. However, flooding risks differ from those of overheating in several ways. The current study builds on this work to address the gap on understanding householder propensity to install precautionary measures against overheating. A large-scale survey (n = 1,007) of householders was conducted in the south of England. The findings show that householders are ill-prepared to deal with predicted temperature rises. While perception of threat risk and severity has an influence on their intention to take action, their appraisal of their ability to make changes, of the effectiveness of the changes and of convenience are stronger factors, particularly for flat dwellers. Policy recommendations include raising awareness of specific measures for mitigation and of effectiveness of recommended actions, and targeting older householders

Diagnostic Value of Lumbar Facet Joint Injection: A Prospective Triple Cross-Over Study

The diagnosis “lumbar facet syndrome” is common and often indicates severe lumbar spine surgery procedures. It is doubtful whether a painful facet joint (FJ) can be identified by a single FJ block. The aim of this study was to clarify the validity of a single and placebo controlled bilateral FJ blocks using local anesthetics. A prospective single blinded triple cross-over study was performed. 60 patients (31 f, 29 m, mean age 53.2 yrs (22–73)) with chronic low back pain (mean pain persistance 31 months, 6 months of conservative treatment without success) admitted to a local orthopaedic department for surgical or conservative therapy of chronic LBP, were included in the study. Effect on pain reduction (10 point rating scale) was measured. The 60 subjects were divided into six groups with three defined sequences of fluoroscopically guided bilateral monosegmental lumbar FJ test injections in “oblique needle” technique: verum-(local anaesthetic-), placebo-(sodium chloride-) and sham-injection. Carry-over and periodic effects were evaluated and a descriptive and statistical analysis regarding the effectiveness, difference and equality of the FJ injections and the different responses was performed. The results show a high rate of non-response, which documents the lack of reliable and valid predictors for a positive response towards FJ blocks. There was a high rate of placebo reactions noted, including subjects who previously or later reacted positively to verum injections. Equivalence was shown among verum vs. placebo and partly vs. sham also. With regard to test validity criteria, a single intraarticular FJ block with local anesthetics is not useful to detect the pain-responsible FJ and therefore is no valid and reliable diagostic tool to specify indication of lumbar spine surgery. Comparative FJ blocks with local anesthetics and placebo-controls have to be interpretated carefully also, because they solely give no proper diagnosis on FJ being main pain generator

Variability of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease key epidemiological data in Europe: systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is predicted to become a major cause of death worldwide. Studies on the variability in the estimates of key epidemiological parameters of COPD may contribute to better assessment of the burden of this disease and to helpful guidance for future research and public policies. In the present study, we examined differences in the main epidemiological characteristics of COPD derived from studies across countries of the European Union, focusing on prevalence, severity, frequency of exacerbations and mortality, as well as on differences between the studies' methods.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This systematic review was based on a search for the relevant literature in the Science Citation Index database via the Web of Science and on COPD mortality rates issued from national statistics. Analysis was finally based on 65 articles and Eurostat COPD mortality data for 21 European countries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Epidemiological characteristics of COPD varied widely from country to country. For example, prevalence estimates ranged between 2.1% and 26.1%, depending on the country, the age group and the methods used. Likewise, COPD mortality rates ranged from 7.2 to 36.1 per 10⁵inhabitants. The methods used to estimate these epidemiological parameters were highly variable in terms of the definition of COPD, severity scales, methods of investigation and target populations. Nevertheless, to a large extent, several recent international guidelines or research initiatives, such as GOLD, BOLD or PLATINO, have boosted a substantial standardization of methodology in data collection and have resulted in the availability of more comparable epidemiological estimates across countries. On the basis of such standardization, severity estimates as well as prevalence estimates present much less variation across countries. The contribution of these recent guidelines and initiatives is outlined, as are the problems remaining in arriving at more accurate COPD epidemiological estimates across European countries.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The accuracy of COPD epidemiological parameters is important for guiding decision making with regard to preventive measures, interventions and patient management in various health care systems. Therefore, the recent initiatives for standardizing data collection should be enhanced to result in COPD epidemiological estimates of improved quality. Moreover, establishing international guidelines for reporting research on COPD may also constitute a major contribution.</p

Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults.

BACKGROUND: Underweight, overweight, and obesity in childhood and adolescence are associated with adverse health consequences throughout the life-course. Our aim was to estimate worldwide trends in mean body-mass index (BMI) and a comprehensive set of BMI categories that cover underweight to obesity in children and adolescents, and to compare trends with those of adults. METHODS: We pooled 2416 population-based studies with measurements of height and weight on 128·9 million participants aged 5 years and older, including 31·5 million aged 5-19 years. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1975 to 2016 in 200 countries for mean BMI and for prevalence of BMI in the following categories for children and adolescents aged 5-19 years: more than 2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference for children and adolescents (referred to as moderate and severe underweight hereafter), 2 SD to more than 1 SD below the median (mild underweight), 1 SD below the median to 1 SD above the median (healthy weight), more than 1 SD to 2 SD above the median (overweight but not obese), and more than 2 SD above the median (obesity). FINDINGS: Regional change in age-standardised mean BMI in girls from 1975 to 2016 ranged from virtually no change (-0·01 kg/m2 per decade; 95% credible interval -0·42 to 0·39, posterior probability [PP] of the observed decrease being a true decrease=0·5098) in eastern Europe to an increase of 1·00 kg/m2 per decade (0·69-1·35, PP>0·9999) in central Latin America and an increase of 0·95 kg/m2 per decade (0·64-1·25, PP>0·9999) in Polynesia and Micronesia. The range for boys was from a non-significant increase of 0·09 kg/m2 per decade (-0·33 to 0·49, PP=0·6926) in eastern Europe to an increase of 0·77 kg/m2 per decade (0·50-1·06, PP>0·9999) in Polynesia and Micronesia. Trends in mean BMI have recently flattened in northwestern Europe and the high-income English-speaking and Asia-Pacific regions for both sexes, southwestern Europe for boys, and central and Andean Latin America for girls. By contrast, the rise in BMI has accelerated in east and south Asia for both sexes, and southeast Asia for boys. Global age-standardised prevalence of obesity increased from 0·7% (0·4-1·2) in 1975 to 5·6% (4·8-6·5) in 2016 in girls, and from 0·9% (0·5-1·3) in 1975 to 7·8% (6·7-9·1) in 2016 in boys; the prevalence of moderate and severe underweight decreased from 9·2% (6·0-12·9) in 1975 to 8·4% (6·8-10·1) in 2016 in girls and from 14·8% (10·4-19·5) in 1975 to 12·4% (10·3-14·5) in 2016 in boys. Prevalence of moderate and severe underweight was highest in India, at 22·7% (16·7-29·6) among girls and 30·7% (23·5-38·0) among boys. Prevalence of obesity was more than 30% in girls in Nauru, the Cook Islands, and Palau; and boys in the Cook Islands, Nauru, Palau, Niue, and American Samoa in 2016. Prevalence of obesity was about 20% or more in several countries in Polynesia and Micronesia, the Middle East and north Africa, the Caribbean, and the USA. In 2016, 75 (44-117) million girls and 117 (70-178) million boys worldwide were moderately or severely underweight. In the same year, 50 (24-89) million girls and 74 (39-125) million boys worldwide were obese. INTERPRETATION: The rising trends in children's and adolescents' BMI have plateaued in many high-income countries, albeit at high levels, but have accelerated in parts of Asia, with trends no longer correlated with those of adults. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust, AstraZeneca Young Health Programme