Beyond income: correlates of conspicuous and luxury consumption in India

Concern about the environmental impacts of consumption has drawn research attention to the drivers of conspicuous and luxury (C/L) consumption. Given the prevailing patterns of overconsumption, most studies to date have focused on countries in the global North. However, an emerging high-consuming middle and upper class in nations such as India and Brazil makes it imperative to extend the study of C/L consumption to these contexts. Research that does exist pertaining to India has predominantly focused only on the role of social identity in driving consumption growth among certain groups. Our study proposes a broader conceptual framework, incorporating a variety of possible factors and applying multivariate statistical analysis to household-expenditure data from the India Human Development Survey. We examine how C/L consumption expenditure is correlated not just with the economic ability to consume (income or wealth) but also with potential socio-psychological drivers and moderators. The results show that while the economic ability to consume (income or its proxy) is an enabling factor, mass-media exposure and social network activity appear to influence C/L consumption positively. Education and caste have more mixed relationships with consumption, and interaction effects between these two variables and economic ability to consume are also significant. The results highlight the importance of socio-psychological factors in shaping consumption decisions beyond the enabling role of income and wealth. Improving understanding of this broader set of factors, as well as their interaction effects, is particularly salient for devising better policies for transitioning toward more sustainable consumption patterns in a large developing country such as India

Synchronization of organ pipes: experimental observations and modeling

We report measurements on the synchronization properties of organ pipes. First, we investigate influence of an external acoustical signal from a loudspeaker on the sound of an organ pipe. Second, the mutual influence of two pipes with different pitch is analyzed. In analogy to the externally driven, or mutually coupled self-sustained oscillators, one observes a frequency locking, which can be explained by synchronization theory. Further, we measure the dependence of the frequency of the signals emitted by two mutually detuned pipes with varying distance between the pipes. The spectrum shows a broad ``hump'' structure, not found for coupled oscillators. This indicates a complex coupling of the two organ pipes leading to nonlinear beat phenomena.Comment: 24 pages, 10 Figures, fully revised, 4 big figures separate in jpeg format. accepted for Journal of the Acoustical Society of Americ

Ubiquitous solar eruptions driven by magnetized vortex tubes

The solar surface is covered by high-speed jets transporting mass and energy into the solar corona and feeding the solar wind. The most prominent of these jets have been known as spicules. However, the mechanism initiating these eruption events is still unknown. Using realistic numerical simulations we find that small-scale eruptions are produced by ubiquitous magnetized vortex tubes generated by the Sun's turbulent convection in subsurface layers. The swirling vortex tubes (resembling tornadoes) penetrate into the solar atmosphere, capture and stretch background magnetic field, and push the surrounding material up, generating shocks. Our simulations reveal complicated high-speed flow patterns and thermodynamic and magnetic structure in the erupting vortex tubes. The main new results are: (1) the eruptions are initiated in the subsurface layers and are driven by high-pressure gradients in the subphotosphere and photosphere and by the Lorentz force in the higher atmosphere layers; (2) the fluctuations in the vortex tubes penetrating into the chromosphere are quasi-periodic with a characteristic period of 2-5 minutes; and (3) the eruptions are highly non-uniform: the flows are predominantly downward in the vortex tube cores and upward in their surroundings; the plasma density and temperature vary significantly across the eruptions. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved

Vortex tubes of turbulent solar convection

The investigation of the turbulent properties of solar convection is important for understanding the multi-scale dynamics observed on the solar surface. In particular, recent high-resolution observations have revealed ubiquitous vortical structures, and numerical simulations have demonstrated links between vortex tube dynamics and the magnetic field organization. Simulations have shown the importance of vortex tube interactions in mechanisms of acoustic wave excitation on the Sun. In this paper, we investigate the mechanisms of formation of vortex tubes in highly turbulent convective flows near the solar surface by using realistic radiative hydrodynamic large-eddy simulations. Analysis of data from the simulations indicates two basic processes of vortex tube formation: (i) the development of small-scale convective instability inside convective granules and (ii) a Kelvin-Helmholtz-type instability of shearing flows in intergranular lanes. Our analysis shows that vortex stretching during these processes is a primary source of the generation of small-scale vorticity on the Sun. © 2012 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Designing and implementing interventions to change clinicians' practice in the management of uncomplicated malaria: lessons from Cameroon.

BACKGROUND: Effective case management of uncomplicated malaria is a fundamental pillar of malaria control. Little is known about the various steps in designing interventions to accompany the roll out of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). This study documents the process of designing and implementing interventions to change clinicians' practice in the management of uncomplicated malaria. METHODS: A literature review combined with formative quantitative and qualitative research were carried out to determine patterns of malaria diagnosis and treatment and to understand how malaria and its treatment are enacted by clinicians. These findings were used, alongside a comprehensive review of previous interventions, to identify possible strategies for changing the behaviour of clinicians when diagnosing and treating uncomplicated malaria. These strategies were discussed with ministry of health representatives and other stakeholders. Two intervention packages - a basic and an enhanced training were outlined, together with logic model to show how each was hypothesized to increase testing for malaria, improve adherence to test results and increase appropriate use of ACT. The basic training targeted clinicians' knowledge of malaria diagnosis, rapid diagnostic testing and malaria treatment. The enhanced training included additional modules on adapting to change, professionalism and communicating effectively. Modules were delivered using small-group work, card games, drama and role play. Interventions were piloted, adapted and trainers were trained before final implementation. RESULTS: Ninety-six clinicians from 37 health facilities in Bamenda and Yaounde sites attended either 1-day basic or 3-day enhanced training. The trained clinicians then trained 632 of their peers at their health facilities. Evaluation of the training revealed that 68% of participants receiving the basic and 92% of those receiving the enhanced training strongly agreed that it is not appropriate to prescribe anti-malarials to a patient if they have a negative RDT result. CONCLUSION: Formative research was an important first step, and it was valuable to engage stakeholders early in the process. A logic model and literature reviews were useful to identify key elements and mechanisms for behaviour change intervention. An iterative process with feedback loops allowed appropriate development and implementation of the intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01350752

A two-species continuum model for aeolian sand ripples

We formulate a continuum model for aeolian sand ripples consisting of two species of grains: a lower layer of relatively immobile clusters, with an upper layer of highly mobile grains moving on top. We predict analytically the ripple wavelength, initial ripple growth rate and threshold saltation flux for ripple formation. Numerical simulations show the evolution of realistic ripple profiles from initial surface roughness via ripple growth and merger.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Spatially Explicit Data: Stewardship and Ethical Challenges in Science

Scholarly communication is at an unprecedented turning point created in part by the increasing saliency of data stewardship and data sharing. Formal data management plans represent a new emphasis in research, enabling access to data at higher volumes and more quickly, and the potential for replication and augmentation of existing research. Data sharing has recently transformed the practice, scope, content, and applicability of research in several disciplines, in particular in relation to spatially specific data. This lends exciting potentiality, but the most effective ways in which to implement such changes, particularly for disciplines involving human subjects and other sensitive information, demand consideration. Data management plans, stewardship, and sharing, impart distinctive technical, sociological, and ethical challenges that remain to be adequately identified and remedied. Here, we consider these and propose potential solutions for their amelioration