Consumerism Research Articles

Bolygótudat, bioszferikus kormányzás, klímaigazságosság

Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future was published in 2020. The novel is the sequel to the New York 2140 science fiction dystopian novel. The conceptual continuation presents a vision of unsustainable capitalism that functions via endless expansion. The Ministry for the Future brings into focus the outcome of externalities of capitalism: climate change and its effects on societies and individuals. The study emphasis on critique of capitalism, of mass production and mass consumption, at the same time it points at the techno-optimism in The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. The analysis of appearance of climate change in the novel is interdisciplinary, the study’s approach is scientific and empirical.

Analysis of body mass and food consumption of university students of the male sex in Brazil

This study aimed to characterize food intake, body weight and self-perception about weight among university men of a Higher Education Institution in Brazil. Cross-sectional study, conducted in 2019, with a representative sample of 375 university students, using a validated questionnaire. Regarding nutritional assessment, most of them were classified as eutrophic (61.3%). It is noteworthy that 31.5% were overweight (overweight and obesity). Although most (42.6%) of the students realized that they were at normal weight, when the other categories (below or overweight) are added, 57.4% indicated these options. Asked about attitudes towards the current weight, 33.9% answered that they were not doing something and 14.3% indicated that they were trying to maintain them. Adding to the other options, 48.2% tried to lose or win. Most of them did not diet, exercise, use of weight loss medications in the 30 days prior to the research. Regarding physical activity in the week prior to the survey, 37.1% did not practice. On food intake the previous day, most consumed fruits, vegetables or boiled vegetables at least once. On the consumption of fast food (hamburger, coxinha, snacks or french fries), 53.9% did not make consumption in the previous week. Regarding biscuits, cakes or sweets, 40.8% ate once. It was observed that the interviewees presented good eating habits, however, part of them perceived their weight as not ideal. Although a small frequency indicates that you have done something (diet, exercises, use of medications) to lose weight, attention should be paid to these situations in order to monitor possible risk behaviors, highlighting universities as important spaces for help and promotion of men's health.

Analysis of body mass and food consumption of university students of the male sex in Brazil

Analysis of body mass and food consumption of university students of the male sex in Brazil

Statistical Analysis of the Interdependence between the Technical and Functional Parameters of Electric Vehicles in the European Market

The vehicle market at the European level (and also elsewhere) has registered a high dynamic for the adoption of electric vehicles as the future means of transport. Government policies and decisions fully support this move, but there are still massive barriers to entry into the EV market due to consumer attitudes and perceptions. Consumer attitudes and perceptions will be decisive in the market success of future electric vehicle models, given that consumers are particularly interested in the vehicles’ technical and dynamic performance. The pressure from customers’ demands for performance leaves its mark not only on the increase of performance and technical parameters, but directly contributes to the generation of interdependence between these parameters. This article presents a comparative statistical analysis of 203 electric vehicle models (from various construction categories), present in the European vehicle market (between the years 2019 and 2022), to highlight the direct and indirect links (interdependencies) between technical and performance parameters depending on the constructive class (type). The goal of this article is to determine whether there is a relationship between the three key performance metrics for electric vehicles—autonomy, top speed, and acceleration—and five significant technical/constructive metrics for these vehicles—battery capacity, energy efficiency, electric motor power, fast charging speed, and vehicle weight (brand and year of availability in the market). Based on the analyzed data, it can be stated that the design and construction of an electric vehicle model currently takes into account both performance and technical parameters, with a strong link between the weight of the vehicle and the energy capacity of the battery (+0.687) being highlighted and also the relationship between autonomy and vehicle weight (+0.355). The conclusions of this study can be used in the future by manufacturers for the development of new models of electric vehicles (new generic platforms and chassis) by classifying/standardizing these vehicles into specific classes, corresponding to the requirements of different classes of consumers or identifying constructive solutions specific to each type of consumer.

Optimum 7 MW HTS direct-drive wind turbine synchronous generator designs with different rotor and stator iron topologies

Partially superconducting direct-drive wind turbine generators with high-temperature superconducting excitation winding enable an increase of the rated unit power, higher efficiency, and a high, adjustable power factor. The high excitation ampere-turns allow for iron topologies that differ from conventional permanent magnet-excited generators. This study compares four different iron topologies for 7,mathrm{MW} rated power and 8.33 rpm with a slotted stator or stator air gap winding regarding technical key characteristics and economic aspects. The generator designs are numerically optimized based on 2D finite element simulations. Maximum efficiency and the most lightweight designs are obtained with the stator air gap winding, whereas all-iron topologies prove advantageous regarding the trade-off between small active mass and high-temperature superconductor material consumption. The costs of the cryogenic cooling system and of the full converter are both found to be less than 15% for a wide range of generator designs.

Urban Vietnamese consumers’ preferences for attributes of sustainably produced rice

PurposeThe purpose of the present research is to examine the comparative values that urban Vietnamese consumers place on attributes of rice that is produced using environmentally friendly methods. The authors consider the impacts that this may have on the livelihoods of rural Vietnamese small farmers. Rice is an “impure public good” that includes both “private” and “public” attributes that consumers consider in their purchase decisions. Consumers make tradeoffs between environmentally and socially beneficial practices (public goods) and perceptions of product quality (private goods). The authors used latent class modeling to investigate the values associated with attributes of rice that is produced using sustainable farming practices.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a discrete choice experimental design in which consumers stated their choices among combinations of rice attributes. The survey provided responses from 360 urban Vietnamese consumers and allowed to estimate the preferences and nonpecuniary values for rice grown using different levels of environmentally beneficial production methods.FindingsThe results identify two segments of rice consumers: one group of consumers who are sensitive to price and the other group who are sensitive to environmental issues. The individual characteristics are reflected in the choices of production methods and in the willingness to pay for environmentally beneficial outcomes of those methods.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the number of independent variables measured, the sample was relatively small, such that confirmatory statistical methods were inconclusive. However, the authors used multiple analytical tools that provide corroboration of the significant determinants of the utility functions for the two segments.Practical implicationsThe results provide directions for production of rice at a national level, as well as practical implications for consumer-oriented communications.Social implicationsResults suggest that the emerging middle class of Vietnamese consumers are willing to pay more for rice that is produced using methods that are beneficial to the environment. Results also indicate challenges to provide sustainably-produced rice to poorer groups of consumers.Originality/valueThe study provides important context for consumer preferences within emerging economies. This also adds to a growing literature that uses the choice experiment method to estimate consumer valuation of the outcomes of various agricultural practices.

Buying into Change: Mass Consumption, Dictatorship, and Democratization in Franco's Spain, 1939–1982 by Alejandro J. Gómez del Moral

Reviewed by: Buying into Change: Mass Consumption, Dictatorship, and Democratization in Franco's Spain, 1939–1982 by Alejandro J. Gómez del Moral Annabel Martín Keywords Spain, Europe, United States, Consumerism, Mass Culture, Advertising, Department Store Culture, Galería Preciados, Corte Inglés, Sears, Supermarkets, Francoism, Dictatorship, Spanish Miracle, Internationalization, Democracy, Gender, Alejandro J. Gómez del Moral, Annabel Martín gómez del moral, alejandro j. Buying into Change: Mass Consumption, Dictatorship, and Democratization in Franco's Spain, 1939–1982. U of Nebraska P, 2021, 366 pp. Buying into Change: Mass Consumption, Dictatorship, and Democratization in Franco's Spain, 1939–1982 is a sharp and intelligent study of the development of a consumer society and its effects on Spanish cultural and social mores during the Franco regime. Segments of Spanish society of the 1960s were invited to join Europe's consumer society and did so with a vengeance. The accumulation of goods, the habitus of the new bourgeoisie, and the depoliticization of the working classes through consumption (goods and tourism) was not "Spanish" in intent, but rather the necessary outcome of a model of early neoliberal modernization grounded on the widespread decoupling of the economic sphere from all others in developed western societies. The Franco regime might have been anachronistic in the limitations it secured in most political, social, and cultural manifestations, but it was, on the other hand, a model student in its placing of capitalist market structures, a new service sector centered on tourism and consumption, at its core. In this new socioeconomic scenario, Spain proved itself a worthy European neighbor, given how the lack of political freedom or the repressive state discourses on cultural and gender mores were overshadowed by rapid, market-driven, and speculative [End Page 319] economic development. Buying into Change sets out to document just how important the new capitalist model of development was in accomplishing this by focusing on several of the pillars of capitalist consumption: the prolific offer of consumer goods in retail stores, the reordering of the country's food supply thanks to the success of the supermarket, and the role of modern advertising and of consumer magazines in this process. If the market, and not politics, is what articulates this new society, then modernity is secured for the dictatorship, provided it follow the laws of profit and gain. In The Consumer Society (1970), Baudrillard reminds us that consumer goods present themselves not as the products of labor but rather as the harnessing of power (33). Within a dictatorship, goods can appear to magically remedy the shortcomings of the political system, a magic that turns abundance into "an effect of nature," into an "inalienable right" (33) thanks to advertising and its invention of "truth." Individuals who bore this process in Spain and did so with a blunt political imagination did not automatically link a change in the political regime with the improvement of the conditions of life, for "progress" was, for the most part, exclusively branded in economic terms, measured in degrees of consumption, just like for fellow citizens in neighboring western democracies. This fresh age of affiuence immersed Spaniards within a burgeoning material abundance, regardless of its actual accessibility. One begs to ask, then, if capitalist economic and social structures are not actually custom-made for dictatorships. It would not be extravagant to think so given how consumer logic does away with the messiness of societies, thanks to its logic of efficiency (control and uniformity) despite parading as varied and plural in options and choices. If this is the case, the effects on democracy are also quite straightforward shortening, therefore, the road Spain needed to travel to become more like its democratic neighbors. However, one must not forget that consumerism also withholds a promise of change, of hope, a momentary arrest of the difficulties of life brought about by the political and economic impossibilities that the working poor faced in Spain. No one pointed to these contradictions within consumer society like Spanish filmmaker Luis García Berlanga in El verdugo (1962), quite possibly the most provocative critique of the Franco regime ever screened. In the film, the violence of the dictatorship can comfortably coexist within consumer society, constricting...

Mass flow and consumption calculations of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plant with emphasis on the fate and risk quotient assessment

In Egypt, pharmaceuticals consumption increased dramatically owing to the population growth and the unrestricted sale manner. Accordingly, the occurrence and fate of nine common pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) were scrutinized at a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Giza, Egypt. The levels of these PhACs were assessed in different the wastewater treatment stages and dewatered sludge phase using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode arrays detector. The average concentrations of the total PhACs detected in influent, primary sedimentation effluent (PSE) and final effluent (FE) were 227, 155 and 89 µg L−1, respectively. The overall removal efficiency of the individual PhACs ranged from 18 to 72% removal. The occurrence trend revealed that biodegradation and adsorption are the concurrently removal mechanisms of the studied PhACs. The overall consumption per day in West of Greater Cairo was estimated based on influent concentration of STP. Sulfamethoxazole, paracetamol and diclofenac were detected with the highest levels in the influent of STP, PSE and FE as well as in the dewatered sludge. Furthermore, the high concentrations of these compounds in the sludge confirm the adsorption pathway removal of theses PhACs. The risk quotient (RQ) assessment for the detected PhACs in FE is greatly higher than the predicted non-effect concentration (PNEC). Conclusively, the FE of STP is considered a risky source for PhACs in adjacent surface water.

Thermoregulatory trade-offs underlie the effects of warming summer temperatures on deer mice.

Climate warming could challenge the ability of endotherms to thermoregulate and maintain normal body temperature (Tb), but the effects of warming summer temperatures on activity and thermoregulatory physiology in many small mammals remain poorly understood. We examined this issue in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), an active nocturnal species. Mice were exposed in the lab to simulated seasonal warming, in which an environmentally realistic diel cycle of ambient temperature (Ta) was gradually warmed from spring conditions to summer conditions (controls were maintained in spring conditions). Activity (voluntary wheel running) and Tb (implanted bio-loggers) were measured throughout, and indices of thermoregulatory physiology (thermoneutral zone, thermogenic capacity) were assessed after exposure. In control mice, activity was almost entirely restricted to the night-time, and Tb fluctuated ∼1.7°C between daytime lows and night-time highs. Activity, body mass and food consumption were reduced and water consumption was increased in later stages of summer warming. This was accompanied by strong Tb dysregulation that culminated in a complete reversal of the diel pattern of Tb variation, with Tb reaching extreme highs (∼40°C) during daytime heat but extreme lows (∼34°C) at cooler night-time temperatures. Summer warming was also associated with reduced ability to generate body heat, as reflected by decreased thermogenic capacity and decreased mass and uncoupling protein (UCP1) content of brown adipose tissue. Our findings suggest that thermoregulatory trade-offs associated with daytime heat exposure can affect Tb and activity at cooler night-time temperatures, impacting the ability of nocturnal mammals to perform behaviours important for fitness in the wild.

Imperial Wine: How the British Empire Made Wine’s New World by Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre

Academic monographs about commodities generally distinguish themselves from the commercial genre by offering more than entertainment for the curious. Sven Beckert’s Empire of Cotton: A Global History (New York, 2014) and Erika Rappaport’s A Thirst for Empire: How Tea Shaped the Modern World (Princeton, 2017) wielded the might of significant economic and political research within their pages, even if the footnotes were neatly stowed out of sight at the back of thick volumes. Wine achieved scholarly recognition as an agent of historical development in David Hancock’s Oceans of Wine: Madeira and the Emergence of American Trade and Taste (New Haven, 2009) and as a social marker in Charles Luddington’s The Politics of Wine in Britain: A New Cultural History (New York, 2013), which is mainly about fortified wines. In her study of British involvement in the production and sale of wine in its settler colonies, Regan-Lefebvre looks at unfortified wine and seeks to show how British imperial vineyards had wide-ranging implications for the future of the metropole and its colonies. Wine became imbricated in colonial claims for legitimacy abroad and within gentrifying modes of consumption at home in Britain. If wine could speak, it would name innumerable aggressive entrepreneurs whose ambitions fueled an important surge in activity outside of Continental Europe.Regan-Lefebvre’s account shows how the modern consumer’s choice of an alcoholic beverage rested on centuries of canny merchant schemes, land grabs, and exploitation of Indigenous peoples. In five initial chapters, she sketches the large framework for her study, beginning with two key assumptions: The argument for making wine rested on a vision of civilizing the frontiers of empire, constituting the very foundation of British claims to legitimacy in lands occupied by Indigenous people; the simple fact of British attachment to alcoholic drinks made wine production a potent driver of commerce. Three principal arenas of action demonstrate these points early in the game, beginning with the Dutch invasion of South Africa, British settlement of Australia, and British cultivation of New Zealand grapes. Regan-Lefebvre gives passing attention to wine in India, Cyprus, Malta, and Canada. She manages to keep every thread of argument in view, showing how wine drinking (as opposed to the consumption of just port or claret) signified an elite but significant activity with a bright, if distant future.In truth, early wines from these places failed to satisfy knowing consumers. The most important off-stage player in this book is France, supplier of the finest wines to a tiny fraction of British consumers. Readers interested in this crucial point regarding Britain will appreciate Regan-Lefebvre’s careful inclusion of tariff legislation across the centuries. The determination to avoid commercial surrender to French supremacy in wine inspired a great deal of colonial entrepreneurial swashbuckling and ambition. Over time, the most knowledgeable vineyard owners grappled with learning more about French methods.Regan-Lefebvre recognizes the arrival of widespread middle-class wine drinking in the Victorian period as a major milestone and contemplates the long arc of commercial effort that made it possible. When tariffs were removed in 1860, she points out, the boost to wine drinking was part of a larger plan of “social engineering” (95). Encouraging the working classes (two-thirds of the British population at the time) to shift from spirits and beer to wine pointed to a new era of gentility, or so the planners hoped. As part of the sociological landscape of alcohol, Regan-Lefebvre reveals the serendipitous convergences leading to broad-based off-license distribution of wine, even if debatable quality earned it the name of “plonk.” She argues that without the boost of such imports, wine drinking could not have become a distinctly British activity, let alone compete with the ubiquitous and sizable consumption of beer.Regan-Lefebvre’s final three chapters about Britain after World War II and modern consumer culture could alone have countenanced a book-length study, particularly since fluctuations in quantity and quality suggest that this period witnessed a true turn to popular wine-drinking. Yet her larger and longer framework is devoted to exposing the power and importance of economic structures. Regan-Lefebvre showcases triumphant twentieth-century capitalism carrying New World wines into a twenty-first century of global mass consumerism. The existence of “affordable and approachable” New World wines is the shared product of imperialism, capitalism, and cultural gentrification (234). This book clearly proves that good commercial wine is one of the ways that the system convinces players that the game is worth playing, another form of the people’s opium that society is loathe to lose.

Abstract P6-05-48: Perceptions About Breast Cancer in North Africa: A Social Listening Project

Abstract Background Social media platforms are a versatile platform used for exchange of information. It is increasingly being used by patients, caregivers, and physicians to interact and engage among themselves and with healthcare organizations. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world, with ~2.3 million cases in 2020 alone. Hence, it is vital to understand the perceptions about breast cancer from a wider lookout to bridge the gaps in patient management. The objective of this study was to understand the trends in social media conversations and current perceptions about breast cancer in the North African countries. Methods Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies hosted by Brandwatch (a social analytics tool) were used to scan 100M websites to analyze publicly visible online conversations about cancer between November 1, 2018 and October 31, 2021. Conversations from 6 North African countries i.e. Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara were analyzed in 3 languages (Arabic, English, and French). Conversations were filtered to isolate breast cancer and related mentions. To isolate the voice of breast cancer patients and their caregivers, manual review of all non-news content in which pronouns appeared within 7 words proximity of disease terms was carried out. Results A total volume of 53,354 conversations (43,785 Arabic, 6,161 English, and 3,408 French) on breast cancer were analyzed. Breast cancer was the most discussed cancer type, contributing to 63% of Arabic, 61% of English, and 66% of French conversations among total cancer related conversations. Egypt led the volume of breast cancer related conversations in Arabic and English, followed by Sudan. Morocco led the volume of conversations in French, followed by Tunisia. For all 3 languages, the proportion of male authors dominated the volume of conversations as compared to female authors (60% of Arabic, 54% of English, and 56% of French). A total volume of 590 (347 Arabic, 158 English, and 85 French) conversations about breast cancer were identified as patient related. Twitter was the most popular platform for Arabic and English-speaking populations. The most discussed topic about breast cancer was identified to be ‘Pink October’ or ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’. Across all languages, impact on mental health and financial security was a significant patient concern. Many people reached out directly to the online community for financial support. In Arabic conversations, female patients expressed concern about impact on their relationship with their spouse (or future spouse) due to their condition. Patient conversations about the BReast CAncer gene (BRCA) were also observed. However, there is little evidence about the extent of awareness among patients or their caregivers. There were scarce mentions about male/transgender breast cancer among conversations. Discussions about raising awareness, early detection, and self-checking of breast cancer were also identified. Conclusion Breast cancer was the most discussed type of cancer in North African countries. Patients and caregivers sought financial support on social media platforms. Based on types of conversations identified, it can be inferred that patients do not actively seek information about treatments and cancer management on social media. These insights can be utilized to engage patients, caregivers, patient advocacy groups, and influencers to address concerns and disseminate accurate and simplified information for mass consumption. Table 1. Types of Patient Conversations*. Citation Format: Amel Ladjeroud, Ahlem El Ghoul, Magdy Mohamed. Perceptions About Breast Cancer in North Africa: A Social Listening Project [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-05-48.

An Empirical Analysis of the Psychological Factors Influencing the Purchase Behaviour in the Automotive Market

This article throws light on various discriminant functions that will best discriminate between different segments of consumers regarding the psychological factors influencing the purchase behavior in India's automotive market. The paper further highlights the importance of various promotional tools in the purchase of cars in India. The car market in India is one of the largest segments of the domestic auto industry. From a luxury product for the urban middle class in the eighties and earlier, a car has now become the favorite mode of personal transport and the most coveted personal household durable possession among nearly all consumer classes. The commercial vehicle segment's leading vehicle is the stylish, fuel-efficient and sturdy 4-stroke car, the purchase of which is influenced by various psychological factors like motivation, perception, learning, beliefs, and attitudes. Descriptive research using a stratified random sampling method was undertaken, and the study was conducted using both primary and secondary data. It was concluded that the “Beliefs and Attitudes” factor was the most effective psychological factor in discriminating among the urban consumers and the ‘Motivation’ factor was the most effective psychological factor in discriminating among the rural consumers in the choice of a car brand.

Dancing at the Hotel Adlon: Queer, Black, and Jewish Characters in Contemporary German Television

Abstract This article discusses Das Adlon: Eine Familiensaga (Hotel Adlon: A Family Saga), a 2013 German miniseries about one of the most exclusive addresses in Germany’s capital. This miniseries about the quintessentially upper-class German location chooses to portray minority characters whose story arcs are developed through dance scenes that reveal the complexity of representing queer, Black, and Jewish characters in a miniseries designed for mass consumption. In this way, the miniseries and its dance scenes raise important questions about who belongs in Germany. I contend that the dance floor is an arena through which the miniseries Hotel Adlon and its characters negotiate changing notions of what it means to be German.

Numerical Solving of Radiation Geometrical Inverse Problem

Compared to large satellites, on-board electronics of microsatellites, such as microprocessors, are more exposed to radiation and high-energy particles. This problem can lead to single-event upsets, which might generate false commands such as thruster firing or switching heaters on or off. In some cases, these upsets cause the loss of a spacecraft orientation and endanger the whole mission. This makes important to elaborate a reliable and robust attitude determination system which will enable us to correct and recover the spacecraft’s attitude after a failure. It must have a simple design, low mass, and power consumption. In this paper we suggest a new method of determination of spacecraft’s attitude based on heat fluxes analysis that could form the basis of such a system. In order to develop it we have to solve two inverse problems sequentially. The first inverse problem is the estimating of heat fluxes absorbed by the spacecraft surface. The second one is to determine the spacecraft’s attitude based on the estimated values of radiative heat fluxes. This paper is dedicated to the solution of the second inverse problem.

Perceived Value of Information Attributes: Accounting for Consumer Heterogeneous Preference and Valuation for Traceable Agri-Food

Information attributes characterize traceable agri-food. The perceived value of information attributes influences consumers' preferences for traceable agri-food, consisting of two dimensions, predictive value and confidence value. We examine heterogeneous preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) in China's traceable agri-food market. Using the choice experiments, we explore how the traceability information, certification type, region of origin, and price influence Chinese consumers' Fuji apple choices. We identify three consumer classes by a latent class model: certification-oriented class (65.8%), price-sensitive and origin-oriented class (15.0%), and no-buy class (19.2%). The results show that consumer sociodemographic characteristics, predictive value, and confidence value are the heterogeneous sources that determine their preferences for Fuji apple information attributes. Specifically, consumers' age, family income per month, and whether the family has children under 18 significantly impact the membership probability of consumers in both certification-oriented and price-sensitive and origin-oriented classes. Consumers' predicted value and confidence value significantly impact the membership probability of consumers in the certification-oriented class. In contrast, consumers' predicted value and confidence value have no significant impact on the membership probability of consumers in price-sensitive and origin-oriented class.

Modeling and Validation of a LiOH Production Process by Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis from Concentrated LiCl.

Electromembrane processes for LiOH production from lithium brines obtained from solar evaporation ponds in production processes of the Salar de Atacama are considered. In order to analyze high concentrations' effect on ion exchange membranes, the use of concentrated LiCl aqueous solutions in a bipolar membrane electrodialysis process to produce LiOH solutions higher than 3.0% by mass is initially investigated. For this purpose, a mathematical model based on the Nernst-Planck equation is developed and validated, and a parametric study is simulated considering as input variables electrolyte concentrations, applied current density, stack design, process design and membrane characteristics. As a novelty, this mathematical model allows estimating LiOH production in a wide concentration range of LiCl, HCl and LiOH solutions and its effect on the process, providing data on final LiOH solution purity, current efficiency, specific electricity consumption and membrane performance. Among the main results, a concentration of 4.0% to 4.5% by LiOH mass is achieved, with a solution purity higher than 95% by mass and specific electrical energy consumption close to 4.0 kWh/kg. The work performed provides key information on process sensitivity to operating conditions and process design characteristics. These results serve as a guide in the application of this technology to lithium hydroxide production.

Determinants of Hypertension in Outpatients in East Java, Indonesia

Objective: To assess the prevalence of hypertension and to identify the causative factors. Method: The cross- cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr Soegiri Hospital, Lamongan, Indonesia, from March to July 2019, and comprised outpatients of either gender. Data was collected using a modified World Health Organisation STEPwise approach to surveillance questionnaire to identify the risk factors for hypertension. Data were analysed using the SPSS 16.0 statistical tool and logistic regression test. Results: Of the 184 subjects, 118(64.1%) were females and 66(35.9%) were males, and 96(52%) were aged <60 years. Overall, 120(65.2%) subjects were hypertensive; 80(66.7%) females and 40(33.3%) males. The two main factors that significantly influenced the incidence of hypertension were body mass index (p=0.001) and consumption of vegetables (p=0.013). After adjusting for confounding factors, only body mass index was found to affect the incidence of hypertension (odds ratio: 5.61; 95% confidence interval: 1.686-18.659). Conclusion: Body mass index and and dietary patterns affected the incidence of hypertension. After adjusting for confounding factors, only the former was found to have significant association with hypertension. Keywords: Blood pressure, Body mass, Hypertension, Feeding, Dietary.

PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE CONDITIONS OF TRANSFORMATION TO A PLANETARY-SPACE CIVILIZATION

The author considered the causes of the processes of de-intellectualization of society associated with the influence of man-made civilization, mass consumption society, and information society. Considering the importance of intellectualization of the individual, attention is paid to the fact that the term itself is used functionally, as the ability to use the intellect in certain situations, and not as the inner core of the spiritual image of the individual. Such consideration of intellectuality is substantiated in connection with the need for the functioning of modern post-classical science, as well as the study of large, complexly organized systems capable of self-organization. In order to formalize
 the concept of intellectualization, the structural elements (noosphericity, analyticity, intelligibility, creativity, heuristics, civility, intelligence, independent thinking, positive, life-affirming character), features of the manifestation of intellectuality in various spheres of personal activity, levels of intellectual development were considered. It has been proven that the need to achieve higher levels of intellectuality (evolutionary, global creative, spiritual) is connected with the need to survive the civilization at the stage of transformation to the planetary-cosmic one, use the resources of the technotronic society, and create intellectual and moral spirituality.

Nuclear weapons, existentialism, and International Relations: Anders, Ballard, and the human condition in the age of extinction

Abstract IR scholars increasingly turn to the writings of Existentialists to make sense of the multiple and entangled planetary crises that characterise the twenty-first century. In this article, I argue that two postwar intellectuals, Günther Anders (1902–1992) and J. G. Ballard (1930–2009), offer a rich intellectual ancestry and inspiration to such scholarship. Both authors critically and creatively reworked central Existentialist ideas in the context of postwar technological acceleration and the development of nuclear weapons. To Anders and Ballard, nuclear weapons symbolised, and were the most extreme manifestation of, the pathologies they associated with technological modernity: mass consumption, spectacular violence, a deadening of affect, and an increased inability of humans to psychologically process and grasp the destructive capacities of science and technology. To counter these trends, they both firmly relied on Surrealism to bolster the human imagination as a catalysator for personal and social transformation. I argue that their work offers an opportunity to reconnect the study of nuclear weapons in IR to broader existentialist questions and suggest that their respective attempts to foreground human being in the nuclear age as ‘being-towards-extinction’ holds important lessons for recent attempts to recentre the study of IR around planetary imaginaries of extinction.

The Radical in Ambedkar: Critical Reflections

The Radical in Ambedkar: Critical Reflections