Andrea Bickerdike, Joan Dinneen and Cian O' Neill
Due to the international paucity of empirical evidence, this study aimed to investigate the health metrics and lifestyle behaviours of a staff cohort in a higher education…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the international paucity of empirical evidence, this study aimed to investigate the health metrics and lifestyle behaviours of a staff cohort in a higher education institution (HEI) in Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 279 (16.4% response rate) HEI staff (academic, management, clerical/support), via a web-based health questionnaire that incorporated validated measures such as the Mental Health Index-5, Energy and Vitality Index, Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (short form) and the AUDIT-C drinking subscale. A cluster analytical procedure was used to examine the presence of distinct clusters of individuals exhibiting either optimal or sub-optimal health behaviours.
Findings
A multitude of concerning patterns were identified including poor anthropometric profiles (64.4% of males overweight/obese), excessive occupational sitting time (67.8% of females sitting for = 4 h per day), hazardous drinking among younger staff (38.2% of 18–34 year olds), sub-optimal sleep duration on weeknights (82.2% less than 8 h), less favourable mean psychometric indices than the general Irish population, and insufficient fruit and vegetable intake (62.1% reporting <5 daily servings). Cluster analysis revealed “Healthy lifestyle” individuals exhibited significantly lower BMI values, lower stress levels and reported fewer days absent from work compared to those with a “Sub-optimal lifestyle”.
Originality/value
In contrast to the abundance of research pertaining to student cohorts, the current study is the first to examine the clustering of health-related variables in a cohort of HEI staff in Ireland. Findings will be used to inform policy at the host institution and will be of broader interest to higher education stakeholders elsewhere. Future longitudinal studies are required to monitor the health challenges experienced by this influential, yet under-researched cohort.
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Month after month we bring forward additional evidence of the injury resulting from the use of chemical “preservatives” in food, while the Authorities feebly hesitate to give…
Abstract
Month after month we bring forward additional evidence of the injury resulting from the use of chemical “preservatives” in food, while the Authorities feebly hesitate to give specific legal effect to the recommendations of the Departmental Committee which made such a complete inquiry into this question. The evidence upon which those recommendations were based has been fully corroborated by a number of different observers. FERE and others have shown that, as regards boric acid and borax, even when administered in the smallest medicinal doses, there is always the risk that these drugs may aggravate, or even produce, renal diseases. These observations have been confirmed by the work of Dr. CHARLES HARRINGTON, an account of which has been recently published. Twelve cats were fed on the same food; six were treated with borax, one had no preservative, and five were given a preservative which had no apparent effect. The experiment extended over a period of 133 days, the quantity of borax given averaging about 0.5 grms, per diem. Three of the borated cats soon became ill, and one died at the end of six weeks. On the termination of the experiment the cats were all killed, and upon examination it was found that the organs of the six cats which had not taken borax were in perfectly sound and healthy condition, while the others, with one exception, were all suffering from nephritis. Of course, instances are recorded in which patients have been treated with borax and boracic acid with apparently no injurious result, but as a general rule these experiments have been of too short duration to allow of the desired information being arrived at, and the results must therefore be regarded as inconclusive and unreliable. It is perfectly evident that the kidneys may be for a short time quite capable of eliminating many objectionable substances, but the long‐continued use of such bodies, as Dr. HARRINGTON'S researches clearly indicate, sets up an inflammatory condition of the kidneys which, of course, interferes with the effective performance of their proper functions, and lays the foundations for complications of the most serious nature.
The following is the text of Mr. JOHN BURNS' Bill for securing the purity of articles of food and preventing the misdescription thereof, which was introduced in the House of…
The progress of initiatives concerned with implementing evaluated clinical research (such as evidence based medicine and clinical effectiveness) is dependent on the way individual…
Abstract
The progress of initiatives concerned with implementing evaluated clinical research (such as evidence based medicine and clinical effectiveness) is dependent on the way individual health professionals actually acquire, use and value clinical knowledge in routine practice. The findings of two research projects, the Value and EVINCE projects, are compared with studies of the consolidation and application of clinical knowledge in clinical decision making. The Value project was concerned with the ways in which information from NHS libraries might be used in present and future clinical decision making. EVINCE was a similar impact study for nursing professionals. Both studies confirmed the importance of personal clinical knowledge. Health information services need to use a variety of strategies and knowledge management skills to ensure that the evaluated research evidence is assimilated and implemented into practice.
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J.M. THOMAS, L.L. EBERHARDT and W.C. HANSON
With the increasing popularity of computer simulation models as tools for environmental management and assessment, there is often a need to consider how well the output from such…
Abstract
With the increasing popularity of computer simulation models as tools for environmental management and assessment, there is often a need to consider how well the output from such models represent reality. Statisticians evaluate the basic assumptions of least‐squares regression models by either computing statistics from or graphically evaluating residuals (observed minus predicted values). Even though there are usually a priori assumptions about residuals from simulation models we have found that their graphical or statistical evaluation can suggest model deficiencies. In this paper residuals from three simulation models were examined with the objective of suggesting limitations or desirable changes. The ability of simulation models to mimic observed data were used to provide support for visual appraisals.
There has been significant investment in NHS research and development aimed at strengthening the knowledge base of decision‐making. But evidence‐based health care is no panacea…
Abstract
There has been significant investment in NHS research and development aimed at strengthening the knowledge base of decision‐making. But evidence‐based health care is no panacea. What is effective or ineffective is vigorously contested. Nor does evidence‐based decision‐making offer a tidy solution to matters of a more sensitive political nature. In particular, it is not a solution to the rationing dilemma.
IF we count the University of Strathclyde School of Librarianship as a “new” school—rather than simply an old school transferred from a College of Commerce to a university—then…
Abstract
IF we count the University of Strathclyde School of Librarianship as a “new” school—rather than simply an old school transferred from a College of Commerce to a university—then four “new” schools were established between 1963 and 1964, three of the four in universities and the other closely linked with a university, though remaining independent. All four schools have their special features but I consider the more significant of Belfast's features to be its right, from the outset, to conduct all its own examinations for graduates and non‐graduates. Queen's was also the first British university to provide non‐graduates with courses in librarianship. (Strathclyde is the second.) All successful students are eligible for admission to the Register of Chartered Librarians (ALA) after they have completed the prescribed period of practical experience.
Simone Mariconda, Alessandra Zamparini and Francesco Lurati
The purpose of this paper is to conceptually develop and empirically test a model according to which a crisis leads to a greater reputational damage when it is highly relevant to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceptually develop and empirically test a model according to which a crisis leads to a greater reputational damage when it is highly relevant to the firm’s organizational identity or highly relevant to stakeholders’ identity.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 299 participants based in the USA were recruited online using the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. The study uses a 2 (relevance of crisis to organizational identity: low vs high) × 2 (relevance of crisis to stakeholders’ identity: low vs high) between-subjects experimental design.
Findings
The results confirm the hypotheses that an organizational crisis leads to greater reputational damage when it is highly relevant to the firm’s organizational identity or when it is highly relevant to stakeholders’ identity. No significant interaction between the two variables was found.
Research limitations/implications
Future research could focus on further elaborating on how the two identity-related variables tested in this paper interact with other variables that have already been studied for moderating the effects of crises on reputation damage.
Practical implications
The paper reaffirms the deep interconnection between identity, stakeholders and reputation. Concretely, the results of the study suggest an informative way of mapping the degree to which risks or issues could potentially damage organizational reputation.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by providing a more situational understanding of how the same exact crisis can damage the reputation of organizations differently. By doing so, the paper opens several new avenues for future research.
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Nirma Sadamali Jayawardena, Mitchell Ross, Sara Quach and Debra Grace
The purpose of this study is to investigate visual comprehension in memory for 360-degree video advertisements amongst adolescents under single and repeated viewing conditions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate visual comprehension in memory for 360-degree video advertisements amongst adolescents under single and repeated viewing conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study explored visual comprehension in memory for 360-degree video advertisements using the theoretical assumptions of the social psychology theory of social information processing by Wyer (2003). The authors conducted two experiments over a timeline of three months. In the first experiment, participants watched the 360-degree video advertisement once, and after one week, the same set of participants watched the same advertisement again. The theoretical assumptions in the comprehension unit were used to design the experiments and to explore visual comprehension in memory for 360-degree video advertisements. The data were collected using surveys and interviews through an experimental research design approach. NVivo software was used to analyse the data.
Findings
This study found that while female participants were able to comprehend colours in the visuals better, male participants were better able to comprehend facial expressions presented in the visuals. Further, both female and male participants were able to comprehend locations within the advertisement visuals. It was found that participants understood the plot or the story of the advertisement better after the second viewing than after the first viewing.
Practical implications
The two main contributions from this study are as follows: from a theoretical perspective, the application of a social psychology theory for the advertising sector enables us to gather more insights about the social cognition stages of a human mindset such as information retrieval, judgement, decision making, goal stimulation and short- and long-term memory. In doing so, this study not only explored adolescents' visual comprehension memory of 360-degree video advertisements, but it also contributed to the theory of social information processing by Wyer (2003) by exploring consumer visual comprehension memory. From a practical perspective, the findings of this study provide a solid foundation for future advertising firms or agencies, marketers, and salespeople on how to design effective advertisements using 360-degree video versions in a way that appeals to consumer visual memory.
Originality/value
This paper can be considered as amongst the first studies which combine social psychology with advertising to investigate visual comprehension memory for 360-degree video advertisements amongst adolescents.