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HOW COLOR SCHEME IFLUENCE STRESS REDUCTION IN HOSPITAL WAITING AREAS
No full textHospital waiting rooms may often be seen as the most overlooked area of the hospital, just a passageway; however, waiting rooms are emotionally charged spaces where a patient/family has a right to experience the depths of fear, grief, uncertainty, and hope. These rooms are a crucial part of the patient journey; however, they are usually treated as an afterthought. The design of these emotional spaces is often poorly addressed, and the design is poorly developed with little regard for the psychological and emotional impact on patients and caregivers. Waiting rooms are often filled with sterile colours, matching furniture, and a lack of emotional warmth, which can compound distress, add to feelings of isolation, and elevate waiting into an emotionally charged experience. From both research and direct experience, it is evident that these environments often fail to acknowledge or respond to the critical psychological needs of those who inhabit them.
This research arises from a personal experience after my father was hospitalised for an extended period and died. During that distressing time, my family and I spent weeks in uninspired waiting spaces. These waiting spaces' colour palette was either too neutral or too clinical, compounded our emotional pain, without alleviating it. The absence of warmth, comfort, and design elements that foster human connection made it clear that no hospital space supports a sense of wellness. The experience of waiting was profoundly demoralising and emphasised the global disregard for waiting in the hospital area in terms of psychological health.
Insights from contemporary literature in environmental psychology suggest that colour can significantly influence mood regulation, perceived stress, and physiological responses (Ulrich, 2008; Dalke et al., 2006). However, the potential of colour design in healthcare waiting areas as a deliberate consideration is not widely recognised. This study will examine the role of colour palettes selected with consideration of cultural context, age-group concerns and emotional experiences to enhance stress management and promote more positive psychological states in waiting spaces. More importantly, the study situates colour palettes as a significant aspect of the patient experience, offering depth and breadth to evidencebased and emotionally charged space-making in hospitals that transcend clinical neutrality. The academic framework and conceptual value will build on experiential research of colour palettes as a tool for enhancing emotional intelligence within the built environment
Who said growth means losing sight of circularity? A futuristic conceptualisation of a circular fashion rental model in the UK
Get PDFThe modern marketplace requires simultaneous growth in sustainable production and consumption, and degrowth in the use of finite resources and waste produced. Circular economy business models present important strategies to minimise raw materials and environmental impacts while allowing economic development. Fashion is a pertinent context to examine as the world's worst polluter. This conceptual paper examines fashion rental business models that shift the focus of traditional consumption from linear to circular and access-based. Through a two-phase methodology, a comparative analysis of four UK fashion rental startups and four modes of theorising futures, four theorised futures are produced to illustrate circular startup growth. The theoretical and managerial implications of each imagined economy are discussed, as well as how such businesses scale in each scenario and the impact on their circular principles. Finally, we discuss the implications for the macromarketing discipline's transformative role in imagining sustainable futures.
Keywords: startups, circular economy, futurology, rental fashion, product-service-system
A Robust Brain-Computer Interface for Reliable Cognitive State Classification and Device Control
No full textBrain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) offer promising solutions for direct communication between the brain and external devices, with applications spanning from cognitive state classification to device control. Despite their potential, ensuring high reliability and robustness in these systems remains a major challenge due to the non-stationary nature of EEG signals. In this paper, we introduce a novel framework for improving the reliability of EEG-based BCIs, with a focus on cognitive state classification and device control. Our approach utilises Welch’s method to address EEG signal variability, producing more stable power spectral density (PSD) estimates through signal segmentation and periodogram averaging. While Welch’s method is computationally intensive, the proposed pipeline optimises the trade-off between accuracy and speed, ensuring real-time or near-real-time performance. The effectiveness of our method is validated through experiments with open-source datasets and device control in real-time scenarios. The results highlight the robustness of our framework and its potential to advance BCI technology, paving the way for more reliable and user-friendly applications across various domains
Herding and anti-herding behaviour in the UK, French and German stock markets before and during the Covid pandemic
Get PDFThis paper studies herding and anti-herding behaviour in three European stock markets before and during the Covid-19 pandemic by employing both static and dynamic analysis. We examine four different questions related to herding behaviour: (i) Did herding behaviour increase during the pandemic? (ii) Does herding behaviour respond differently in up and down market conditions? (iii) Is herding behaviour related to the volume of trading activity? and (iv) Does herding behaviour increase in periods of high market volatility? We find that, contrary to much of the existing literature, there is very little evidence of herding activity, and if anything, we find the evidence points to anti-herding behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic
Manipulating perceived postural stability in younger and older adults and the effect on standing postural stability and gait
Get PDFEvidence suggests that neuromuscular function and balance of younger adults can be modified by the perception or predictions of an outcome. This study aimed to determine the effect of manipulating perception of postural stability on standing postural stability and gait of younger and older adults. 14 older adults and 14 younger adults completed quiet normal standing (NS) and tandem stance (TS) postural stability, and normal preferred (PWS) and fastest (FWS) walking speed gait assessments under three conditions. Conditions included control (CON) with no manipulation, and stable (STB) and unstable (UNS) conditions where participants were led to believe they were receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation to regions that would increase or decrease postural stability, respectively. Perceived stability decreased following UNS during NS and FWS compared to CON and in TS compared to STB, younger adults also had greater perceived stability than older adults in TS. In NS medio-lateral postural sway was less complex in UNS than CON and STB and anterior-posterior sway complexity was lower in older than younger adults. However, no effects of the manipulation were found in TS. PWS walking speed was greater in CON than STB or UNS, and in FWS the walk ratio was greater in CON than STB or UNS, both indicative of more cautious gait. This study provided novel insight to the effects of manipulating perceived stability on postural stability of younger and older adults. We suggest these changes result from changes to predictive models of stability and associated (un)certainty of predictions pertaining to sensory information
The effectiveness of UK-based interventions to reduce school exclusion : a systematic review
Get PDFBackground.
The United Kingdom (UK) Serious Violence Strategy has recognised school exclusion (an umbrella term for suspension, exclusion for a fixed period and permanent exclusion) as a risk factor for involvement in serious violence. There has been a recent upturn in school exclusions in the UK raising concern for the consequences for young people. This systematic literature review is the first to explore effectiveness of UK-based interventions to reduce school exclusion.
Method.
In accordance with PRISMA reporting guidelines seven databases (Web of Science, British Education Index, ERIC, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library) and grey literature, were searched with key terms and synonyms for child, school, suspension, intervention, and UK utilising the PICO framework. Inclusion criteria were: empirical studies of any design that included pre- and post- measure of impact on exclusion rates, conducted between 2003 and 2023. Eight papers describing seven interventions were identified. The studies were quality reviewed through the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data was extracted according to a six criteria framework developed by the researchers to identify a hierarchy of interventions: positive effect, theoretical underpinning, multi-level approach, data reliability, intervention fidelity, quality appraisal. Participant demographic characteristics were also extracted.
Findings.
Studies that specifically aimed to reduce school exclusion and had a sound theoretical basis were most effective at reducing school exclusion rates. Analysis was corroborated by effect sizes. Objective rather than self-report, indicated more reliable conclusions. However, preventive interventions underpinned by theory and taking a multi-level approach, showed similar efficacy as the study that took a reactive targeted approach. Targeted interventions were often nested in a multi-level approach.
Recommendations.
Multi-level whole school approaches were assessed as most effective in reducing school exclusion. However, this review also indicates efficacy of a pupil targeted approach. Both approaches need further study to establish impact over time. Multi-level whole school approaches, led by government initiative, could be a preventative public health approach that would avoid classroom disruption, stigmatisation of the individual child, and staff stress. These are unexplored considerations that warrant qualitative exploration in interventions to reduce school exclusion