16119 research outputs found
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Evaluating in interaction: subjective-side and objective-side assessments in design review
Get PDFThis study responds to ongoing calls to illuminate the interactional practices of design by examining design evaluation conversations. Through a microethnographic analysis of a recorded design review meeting between a designer and two clients who are also co-CEOs, the study investigates how participants evoke and navigate diverse opinions through verbal, vocal, and bodily practices, with particular attention to their use of subjective-side and objective-side assessments. The analysis reveals that participants’ activation of objective-side and subjective-side perspectives gives rise to a dichotomy between practicality and aesthetics, resulting in diverging views. However, these formulations also enable participants to achieve agreement. The study highlights how a keen awareness of these distinctions can be strategically leveraged to support productive and relational evaluation activities
The spread of non-native species
Get PDFThe global redistribution of species through human agency is one of the defining ecological signatures of the Anthropocene, with biological invasions reshaping biodiversity patterns, ecosystem processes and services, and species interactions globally. Here, we review the facets underlying the spread of non-native species – the key process by which introductions translate into large-scale invasions. In particular, we synthesise the ecological, evolutionary, and anthropogenic mechanisms underpinning the spread of non-native species, highlighting how dispersal, recruitment, and establishment interact across spatial and temporal scales. We examine the dynamics of non-native species spread in animals, plants, fungi, and pathogens, as well as across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine realms, with particular attention to the dynamics and processes modulating spread. We further evaluate essential phenomena of non-native species spread, such as the role of invasion
fronts, Allee effects, propagule pressure, interactions with environmental change, landscape properties, and biotic interactions. We then outline how spread can be measured, modelled, and predicted using tools ranging from classical diffusion models to cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence and individual-based simulations. By offering a cross-system and cross-scale synthesis, this review advances the theoretical and practical understanding of non-native species spread for supporting policy and management
Challenges in healthcare research in Nepal: What is the way forward?
Get PDFThe landscape of healthcare research in Nepal has changed significantly over the last three decades, bringing in many challenges. A roundtable discussions during the Britain-Nepal Academic Council (BNAC) Nepal Study Days in 2023 examined the following three current issues in health research in Nepal: i) the process and practice of ethical issues; ii) lack of validated and standardised research tools for data collection; and iii) researcher integrity and quality of research publications. This commentary explores these challenges in detail. It also suggests way forward in which the Nepal Health Research Council could play a leading role in addressing these issues through capacity building and resource development
Exploring the impact of perceived value dimensions and brand image on in-game purchase intention in freemium mobile games
Get PDFThis study investigates the factors influencing in-game purchase intention in freemium mobile games, with a focus on perceived value dimensions and the mediating role of brand image. The findings reveal that perceived enjoyment is the most significant predictor of purchase intention, while economic and quality values have limited direct effects. Surprisingly, perceived unobstructedness positively impacts purchase intention, challenging previous assumptions. Social value, however, does not significantly affect purchase intention, suggesting its role may be overestimated in freemium games. This research contributes to the academic understanding of how players’ perceived values and brand image shape their purchase decisions. It introduces brand image as a key mediator and offers new insights into how emotional, unobstructedness and brand image drive consumer behaviour in freemium mobile games. By broadening the conceptualization of perceived value, this study enriches the theoretical framework of in-game purchase intention, providing valuable implications for both academic research and practical game design and marketing strategies
The Sweet Tooth Trial: A Parallel Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating the Effects of A 6-Month Low, Regular, or High Dietary Sweet Taste Exposure on Sweet Taste Liking, and Various Outcomes Related to Food Intake and Weight Status
Get PDFBackground
Public health organizations currently recommend lowering the consumption of sweet-tasting foods, on the assumption that a lower exposure to sweet-tasting foods lowers preferences for sweet taste, decreasing sugar and energy intake, and aiding obesity prevention. However, empirical data supporting this narrative are lacking.
Objectives
The objective of this study was to assess the effects of a 6-mo low, regular, and high dietary sweet taste exposure on liking for sweet taste.
Methods
In a parallel-groups randomized controlled intervention study, 180 healthy adults (female/male: 123/57; aged: 35 ± 15 y; body mass index (in kg/m2): 23 ± 3) were provided with dietary advice and ∼50% daily energy needs for 6 mo, where 7% (low sweet taste exposure, n = 61), 35% (regular sweet taste exposure, n = 60), or 80% (high sweet taste exposure, n = 59) provided foods and beverages were sweet tasting from sugars, low-calorie sweeteners, fruits and dairy. Before, at 6 mo, and at a 4-mo follow-up, sweet taste liking, sweet taste intensity perception, food choice, energy intake, body weight, markers for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and adverse events were assessed.
Results
Sweet food consumption varied between groups over the intervention period (self-reported dietary measures (percentage energy, percentage weight): smallest χ2(16) = 59.4, P < 0.001; urinary markers for sucrose, sucralose, and saccharin: smallest χ2(10) = 21.0, P = 0.02). However, from baseline to month 6, no differences between groups were found in sweet taste liking ( χ2(40) = 37.9, P = 0.56), sweet taste intensity perception (χ2(40) = 20.7, P = 0.99), sweet food choice (χ2(10) = 10.1, P = 0.43), energy intake (χ2(10) = 12.7, P = 0.24), body weight (χ2(10) = 14.3, P = 0.16), markers for diabetes and cardiovascular disease (largest χ2(10) = 15.9, P = 0.10) or adverse events. After the intervention, participants also spontaneously returned to baseline levels of sweet food intake.
Conclusions
In the current trial, altering exposure to sweet-tasting foods did not change sweet taste liking, nor other outcomes. These results do not support public health advice to reduce exposure to sweet-tasting foods, independent of other relevant factors such as energy density and food form.
This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04497974
Between protection and dependency: Rethinking IP harmonisation and innovation-driven FDI
Get PDFThis piece reflects the tensions between regional intellectual property (IP) harmonisation and innovation-driven foreign direct investment (FDI) in emerging economies. Rather than offering definitive answers or empirical analysis, it signals the complexity of aligning international IP norms with diverse national innovation ecosystems and their FDI attractiveness. This piece calls attention to critical legal systems theory, dependency theory, the capabilities approach, and innovation systems theory, but it does not claim to fully apply these frameworks on this occasion. It highlights their relevance instead as a preparation for the following research endeavours. Case insights from Chile, Brazil and Vietnam illustrate how harmonisation may reproduce asymmetries and sideline local actors. Therefore, there is no intention to turn this piece into a conclusive study. Instead, it is an invitation to rethink the politics of IP governance and develop a more nuanced, plural, and context-aware research agenda for emerging economies
Partnership work as practice of and preparation for navigating complexity, uncertainty, and precarity.
Get PDF‘Lines of flight’ in city food networks: a relational approach to food systems transformation
Get PDFThis paper focuses on multi-actor partnerships within city food networks geared towards food system transformation. While an emergent body of research uncovered collective tactics in the context of urban food strategies, more research is needed to understand how tactics mobilised by multiple state, civil society, and market actors change based on different engagements and connections – namely their relational aspects. We conducted a systematic literature review of interdisciplinary research on Fair Trade Towns, one of the most globally widespread examples of multi-actor city food networks, to observe tactics from a relational perspective, analysed through the Deleuzian theoretical device of ‘lines of flight’. Findings show what tactics are employed by different state, civil society, and market actors in city food networks, and how these different partnerships act along ‘lines of flight’, activated relationally depending on the connections and the power dynamics in different assemblages. We conclude by identifying new avenues for future research to understand the relational, unfolding, and complex character of food system transformation
The underlying mechanisms by which Post-Traumatic Growth is associated with cardiovascular health in male UK military personnel: The ADVANCE cohort study
Get PDFPost-Traumatic Growth (PTG) is associated with good cardiovascular health, but the mechanisms of this are poorly understood. This cross-sectional analysis assessed whether factors of PTG (Appreciation of Life (AOL), New Possibilities (NP), Personal Strength (PS), Relating to Others (RTO) and Spiritual Change (SC)) are associated with cardiovascular health in a cohort of 1006 male UK military personnel (median age 34). The findings suggest AOL, PS and RTO are associated with better cardiovascular health through cardiometabolic effects (lower levels of triglycerides, and total cholesterol) and haemodynamic functioning (lower diastolic blood pressure), but not inflammation. However, NP and SC were associated with poorer cardiovascular health through cardiometabolic effects (lower levels of high-density lipoproteins and higher levels of total cholesterol) and AOL had a non-linear association with low-density lipoproteins. These findings suggest that the relationship between PTG and cardiovascular functioning is complex and in need of further scrutiny