Dealing with social desirability bias: An application to charitable giving

Purpose: This paper aims to address the issue of survey distortion caused by one of the most common and pervasive sources of bias, namely social desirability bias (SDB). Despite 50 years of research, there are still many unanswered questions about its conceptualisation and operationalisation. The authors argue that traditional measures of SDB are inadequate and that the context in which the research is being conducted should be reflected in the measures employed. Hence, the authors develop and validate a multi-dimensional scale that may be used to measure the degree of SDB present in responses to giving surveys. Design/methodology/approach: Following initial scale development procedures a convenience sample of 820 donors to a national charity was employed to refine the resultant scale items. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability tests were conducted to establish the dimensionality of the new scale and its reliability. Using a separate sample of 1,500 active donors, the scale was then subject to confirmatory procedures to test its predictive validity. Findings: The findings support the assertion that SDB is a multi-dimensional construct consisting of six dimensions. However, in the context of postal surveys it is found that self-deception and the degree of intrinsic benefit accruing to a donor are the primary determinants of the level of SDB an individual will exhibit. The authors also highlight the significance of the SDB issue since in the survey reported here, 65 per cent of respondents were found to over-report their giving. Originality/value: This is one of the first published studies that has been able to explore the predictive validity of a SDB scale. The work has expanded our understanding of the determinants of SDB and provided an instrument that may now be employed to reduce a significant proportion of this error in giving surveys. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

The Possibility of Inflation in Asymptotically Safe Gravity

We examine the inflationary modes in the cubic curvature theories in the context of asymptotically safe gravity. On the phase space of the Hubble parameter, there exists a critical point which corresponds to the slow-roll inflation in Einstein frame. Most of the e-foldings are attained around the critical point for each inflationary trajectories. If the coupling constants $g_i$ have the parametric relations generated as the power of the relative energy scale of inflation $H_0$ to the ultraviolet cutoff $\Lambda$, a successful inflation with more than 60 e-foldings occurs near the critical point.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Navigating <i>relative invariance</i>:Perspectives on corporate heritage identity and organizational heritage identity in an evolving nonprofit institution

The notion of relative invariance is highlighted as a foundational principle in how corporate heritage identity traits can remain the same, yet change in meaning over time. Yet, little is published regarding how this notion manifests, or how corporate heritage stewards manage it in identity challenging situations. Utilizing a case study of one of the UK’s oldest cancer charities, we highlight how two groups of protagonists – heritage defenders and service innovators – shape the meaning of corporate heritage identity over time. We explore four core tensions that expose the multifaceted and complex nature of relative invariance and identify specific integration and compartmentalization strategies utilized to restore balance, allowing for the continued meaningfulness of corporate heritage identity. Overall, our study advances the notion of relative invariance, providing a more complete understanding of stewards’ affinity toward corporate heritage and extending the field of corporate heritage identity into the nonprofit sector

CMB Spectral μ\mu-Distortion of Multiple Inflation Scenario

In multiple inflation scenario having two inflations with an intermediate matter-dominated phase, the power spectrum is estimated to be enhanced on scales smaller than the horizon size at the beginning of the second inflation, $k > k_{\rm b}$. We require $k_{\rm b} > 10 {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ to make sure that the enhanced power spectrum is consistent with large scale observation of cosmic microwave background (CMB). We consider the CMB spectral distortions generated by the dissipation of acoustic waves to constrain the power spectrum. The $\mu$-distortion value can be $10$ times larger than the expectation of the standard $\Lambda$CDM model ($\mu_{\Lambda\mathrm{CDM}} \simeq 2 \times 10^{-8}$) for $k_{\rm b} \lesssim 10^3 {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$, while the $y$-distortion is hardly affected by the enhancement of the power spectrum.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Eco-Capabilities as a Pathway to Wellbeing and Sustainability

Eco-Capabilities is an AHRC funded project situated at the intersection of three issues: a concern with children’s wellbeing; their disconnect with the environment; and a lack of engagement with arts in school curricula. It builds on Amartya Sen’s work on human capabilities as a proxy for wellbeing, developing the term eco-capabilities to describe how children define what they feel they need to live a fully good human life through environmental sustainability, social justice and future economic wellbeing. A total of 101 children aged 7–10 from schools in highly deprived areas participated in eight full days of arts in nature practice. The study drew on arts based research methods, participatory observations, interviews and focus groups with artists, teachers and children. Findings suggest that arts in nature practice contributed towards eight (eco-)capabilities: autonomy; bodily integrity and safety; individuality; mental and emotional wellbeing; relationality: human/nonhuman relations; senses and imagination; and spirituality. This was facilitated through four pedagogical elements: extended and repeated arts in nature sessions; embodiment and engaging children affectively through the senses; ‘slowliness’, which envelops children with time and space to (re)connect; and thoughtful practice, which facilitates emotional expression. We suggest that, through these elements, arts in nature practice supports children’s wellbeing, and guides them towards a more entangled relationship with nature and a clearer understanding of themselves as part of it, thereby motivating them to take better care of it

“It was like I was not a person, it was like I was the nature”: The impact of arts-in-nature experiences on the wellbeing of children living in areas of high deprivation

Background: Nature can weaken the negative effects of deprivation on health, shifting away from pathogenic models of health and supporting the wellbeing of disadvantaged groups. Nevertheless, children living in deprived areas are nine times less likely to have access to nature compared to more affluent children. Schools can facilitate equity of access to nature, thereby playing a crucial role in addressing health inequities. What has received scant attention in existing literature is how access to, and engagement with, nature can be facilitated through arts experiences. // Methods: ‘Eco-capabilities’ is a pilot study exploring the impact of the arts-in-nature practice - ‘Artscaping’ - on the wellbeing of 101 children (aged 7–10) living in areas of high deprivation. Qualitative and arts-based methods were used to understand children's, artists' and teachers' experiences of participating in the intervention. Quantitative methods were used to gain preliminary information on children's self-reported measures of wellbeing pre- and post-intervention. // Findings: Children's wellbeing was supported by the development of: self-confidence and self-esteem; agency; slowliness and calmness; and connectedness with nature. Although children's self-reported measures of wellbeing did not reach statistically significance, the most noticeable changes were that children felt happier with their life as a whole, spending time outdoors and doing things away from home, and more optimistic about what future holds for them. // Conclusions: This study developed the proof of concept for the arts-in-nature intervention. Future research should focus on scaling-up this intervention in primary, secondary and special schools in a wider range of geospatial contexts. Future research should also prioritise the collaboration between artists and teachers to ensure the sustainability of this practice beyond the scope of the research

The cost-effectiveness of nivolumab monotherapy for the treatment of advanced melanoma patients in England

Background: Nivolumab was the first programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor to demonstrate long-term survival benefit in a clinical trial setting for advanced melanoma patients. Objective: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of nivolumab monotherapy for the treatment of advanced melanoma patients in England. Methods: A Markov state-transition model was developed to estimate the lifetime costs and benefits of nivolumab versus ipilimumab and dacarbazine for BRAF mutation-negative patients and versus ipilimumab, dabrafenib, and vemurafenib for BRAF mutation-positive patients. Covariate-adjusted parametric curves for time to progression, pre-progression survival, and post-progression survival were fitted based on patient-level data from two trials and long-term ipilimumab survival data. Indirect treatment comparisons between nivolumab, ipilimumab, and dacarbazine were informed by these covariate-adjusted parametric curves, controlling for differences in patient characteristics. Kaplan–Meier data from the literature were digitised and used to fit progression-free and overall survival curves for dabrafenib and vemurafenib. Patient utilities and resource use data were based on trial data or the literature. Patients are assumed to receive nivolumab until there is no further clinical benefit, assumed to be the first of progressive disease, unacceptable toxicity, or 2 years of treatment. Results: Nivolumab is the most cost-effective treatment option in BRAF mutation-negative and mutation-positive patients, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of £24,483 and £17,362 per quality-adjusted life year, respectively. The model results are most sensitive to assumptions regarding treatment duration for nivolumab and the parameters of the fitted parametric survival curves. Conclusions: Nivolumab is a cost-effective treatment for advanced melanoma patients in England

eHealth interventions for people with chronic kidney disease

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: This review aims to look at the benefits and harms of using eHealth interventions in the CKD population