427 research outputs found

    Control of Charity Solicitations

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    Giving, whether it is done wisely or not, is big business these days-totaling approximately 10 billion dollars in 1963. The value of our philanthropic and religious organizations, in terms of capital investment, was recently estimated at more than 68 billion dollars. By these yardsticks alone, philanthropy ranks as one of our Big Ten industries. The real shocker is that over 500 million dollars (billion) of our hard earned money finds its way into the well lined pockets of charity racketeers each year. This is a great deal of money to be lost to worthwhile charities and institutions, almost as much as total corporation giving. What can be done, and what is being done to protect the giving public and community minded commerce and industry

    Clustering and correlates of screen-time and eating behaviours among young adolescents

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    Background: Screen-time and eating behaviours are associated in adolescents, but few studies have examined the clustering of these health behaviours in this age group. The identification of clustered health behaviours, and influences on adolescents’ clustered health behaviours, at the time when they are most likely to become habitual, is important for intervention design. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and clustering of health behaviours in adolescents, and examine the sociodemographic, individual, behavioural, and home social and physical environmental correlates of clustered health behaviours. Methods: Adolescents aged 11–12 years (n=527, 48% boys) completed a questionnaire during class-time which assessed screen-time (ST), fruit and vegetable (FV), and energy-dense (ED) snack consumption using a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Health behaviours were categorised into high and low frequencies based on recommendations for FV and ST and median splits for ED snacks. Adolescents reported on their habits, self-efficacy, eating at the television (TV), eating and watching TV together with parents, restrictive parenting practices, and the availability and accessibility of foods within the home. Behavioural clustering was assessed using an observed over expected ratio (O/E). Correlates of clustered behaviours were examined using multivariate multinomial logistic regression. Results: Approximately 70% reported having two or three health risk behaviours. Overall, O/E ratios were close to 1, which indicates clustering. The three risk behaviour combination of low FV, high ED, and high ST occurred more frequently than expected (O/E ratio = 1.06 95% CI 1.01, 1.15. Individual, behavioural, and social and physical home environmental correlates were differentially associated with behavioural clusters. Correlates consistently associated with clusters included eating ED snacks while watching TV, eating at the TV with parents, and the availability and accessibility of ED snack foods within the home. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of screen time and unhealthy eating, and screen time is coupled with unhealthy dietary behaviours. Strategies and policies are required that simultaneously address reductions in screen time and changes to habitual dietary patterns, such as TV snacking and snack availability and accessibility. These may require a combination of individual, social and environmental changes alongside conscious and more automatic (nudging) strategies

    Lecture capture: Practical recommendations for students and instructors

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    In this article, we provide practical recommendations to help promote self-regulated strategies for the use of lecture capture for both students and instructors. For students, we suggest that the importance of attendance and effective note-taking should be reinforced, as well as specifying how lecture capture can best be used as a catch-up or revision aid. For instructors, we highlight the need to provide guidance for students on how to learn and to adopt a context-dependent approach to lecture capture based on pedagogical considerations, rather than all-or-nothing. Regarding the issue of the relationship between lecture capture and attendance, we suggest the focus should move to a more nuanced discussion of why students fail to attend lectures and how they are using lecture capture. Finally, we discuss other concerns commonly raised by instructors related to lecture capture. Our student guidance is available for dissemination in infographic form at https://osf.io/esd2q/files/

    Ancient Yersinia pestis and Salmonella enterica genomes from Bronze Age Crete

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    During the late 3rd millennium BCE, the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East witnessed societal changes in many regions, which are usually explained with a combination of social and climatic factors.1, 2, 3, 4 However, recent archaeogenetic research forces us to rethink models regarding the role of infectious diseases in past societal trajectories.5 The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, which was involved in some of the most destructive historical pandemics,5, 6, 7, 8 circulated across Eurasia at least from the onset of the 3rd millennium BCE,9, 10, 11, 12, 13 but the challenging preservation of ancient DNA in warmer climates has restricted the identification of Y. pestis from this period to temperate climatic regions. As such, evidence from culturally prominent regions such as the Eastern Mediterranean is currently lacking. Here, we present genetic evidence for the presence of Y. pestis and Salmonella enterica, the causative agent of typhoid/enteric fever, from this period of transformation in Crete, detected at the cave site Hagios Charalambos. We reconstructed one Y. pestis genome that forms part of a now-extinct lineage of Y. pestis strains from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age that were likely not yet adapted for transmission via fleas. Furthermore, we reconstructed two ancient S. enterica genomes from the Para C lineage, which cluster with contemporary strains that were likely not yet fully host adapted to humans. The occurrence of these two virulent pathogens at the end of the Early Minoan period in Crete emphasizes the necessity to re-introduce infectious diseases as an additional factor possibly contributing to the transformation of early complex societies in the Aegean and beyond.Results and discussion STAR★Method

    Design and analysis of DLS steel/composite thick-adhernd adhesive joints

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    The paper describes experimental and numerical techniques to study the structural design and behaviourof thick-adherend DLS joints that are based on steel /steel and steel/composites and epoxy adhesives, withfocus on long overlap joints. A standard fabrication method was followed to produce 60 specimens of various dimensions and materials

    MOISTURE ABSORPTION BY PLANTS FROM AN ATMOSPHERE OF HIGH HUMIDITY

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