Changes In Human Behavior Research Articles

COVID-19 pandemic interventions reshaped the global dispersal of seasonal influenza viruses

The global dynamics of seasonal influenza viruses inform the design of surveillance, intervention, and vaccination strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a singular opportunity to evaluate how influenza circulation worldwide was perturbed by human behavioral changes. We combine molecular, epidemiological, and international travel data and find that the pandemic’s onset led to a shift in the intensity and structure of international influenza lineage movement. During the pandemic, South Asia played an important role as a phylogenetic trunk location of influenza A viruses, whereas West Asia maintained the circulation of influenza B/Victoria. We explore drivers of influenza lineage dynamics across the pandemic period and reasons for the possible extinction of the B/Yamagata lineage. After a period of 3 years, the intensity of among-region influenza lineage movements returned to pre-pandemic levels, with the exception of B/Yamagata, after the recovery of global air traffic, highlighting the robustness of global lineage dispersal patterns to substantial perturbation.

Identifying barriers to providing daily playtime for cats: A survey-based approach using COM-B analysis

Play behaviour is often considered a sign of good welfare in companion animals. To meet their pets’ environmental needs, owners are encouraged to provide opportunities for the expression of natural behaviours. Owners can provide cats with an outlet for hunting behaviour through interactive play, where they move a wand toy in a way that mimics prey. However, not all owners play this way regularly, or at all, with their cats. In this study, we implemented part of the Behaviour Change Wheel framework, specifically the COM-B model in relation to human behaviour change, via an online survey to assess barriers (in the areas of Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation) for owners playing with their cats with wand toys and to quantify and understand current owner-cat play behaviour. Forty-seven percent of owners reported playing with their cat regularly in a baseline survey of 1599 respondents from 47 countries. Using COM-B analysis, we identified several barriers to playing relating to capability, opportunity, and motivation. Specific examples included being too mentally or physically tired, forgetting to play with their cat, not having time due to work, not being able to make play a daily habit, life getting in the way and the perception that their cat seems to prefer other toys or activities to wand toys. Greater knowledge about play and identifying fewer barriers were associated with more frequent interactive wand toy play. Interventions to improve feline welfare should focus on helping cat owners overcome these identified capability, opportunity, and motivation barriers.

A survey of communicating robot learning during human-robot interaction

For robots to seamlessly interact with humans, we first need to make sure that humans and robots understand one another. Diverse algorithms have been developed to enable robots to learn from humans (i.e., transferring information from humans to robots). In parallel, visual, haptic, and auditory communication interfaces have been designed to convey the robot’s internal state to the human (i.e., transferring information from robots to humans). Prior research often separates these two directions of information transfer, and focuses primarily on either learning algorithms or communication interfaces. By contrast, in this survey we take an interdisciplinary approach to identify common themes and emerging trends that close the loop between learning and communication. Specifically, we survey state-of-the-art methods and outcomes for communicating a robot’s learning back to the human teacher during human-robot interaction. This discussion connects human-in-the-loop learning methods and explainable robot learning with multimodal feedback systems and measures of human-robot interaction. We find that—when learning and communication are developed together—the resulting closed-loop system can lead to improved human teaching, increased human trust, and human-robot co-adaptation. The paper includes a perspective on several of the interdisciplinary research themes and open questions that could advance how future robots communicate their learning to everyday operators. Finally, we implement a selection of the reviewed methods in a case study where participants kinesthetically teach a robot arm. This case study documents and tests an integrated approach for learning in ways that can be communicated, conveying this learning across multimodal interfaces, and measuring the resulting changes in human and robot behavior.

Relationship between sun exposure and seasonal affective disorder symptoms in rural older people with different personalities: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesEvidence suggests that environmental support, personality traits, and psychological factors can influence seasonal changes in human mood and behavior, particularly in rural middle-aged women and older people. This study aimed to quantify the associations between personality traits, seasonal affective disorder symptoms, and sun exposure in rural older people.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional analytical study, the participants were 300 rural older persons from 12 natural villages and 5 geriatric service centers in 4 different cities in Jiangxi Province, China. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), the Personal Inventory of Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder (PIDS-SA-SimpChi), and the Sunlight Exposure Scale were used to conduct follow-up interviews throughout the year. Spatial analysis was performed using ArcGIS and Geodetic Probes. The data were analyzed using SPSS 21 and Amos 23.0 mediated models.ResultsRural older people with low sun exposure exhibited higher personality trait scores (p < 0.001). Personality traits were directly associated with seasonal affective disorder symptoms(p < 0.01); Sun exposure mediated this effect in rural older people (p < 0.05).ConclusionHigh-scoring personalities are more typical of rural older people with low sun exposure, and there is a greater risk of emotional and behavioral instability. Latitudinal differences are not a determinant of SAD. Increased sun exposure is associated with symptom relief. The promotion of light therapy devices in rural areas with low sunlight is warranted.

A Review of Data-Driven Methods in Building Retrofit and Performance Optimization: From the Perspective of Carbon Emission Reductions

In order to reduce the contribution of the building sector to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, it is important to improve the building performance through retrofits from the perspective of carbon emission reductions. Data-driven methods are now widely used in building retrofit research. To better apply data-driven techniques in low-carbon building retrofits, a better understanding is needed of the connections and interactions in optimization objectives and parameters, as well as optimization methods and tools. This paper provides a bibliometric analysis of selected 45 studies, summarizes current research hotspots in the field, discusses gaps to be filled, and proposes potential directions for future work. The results show that (1) the building-performance optimization (BPO) process established through physical simulation methods combines the site, retrofit variables, and carbon-related objectives, and the generated datasets are either directly processed using multi-objective optimization (MOO) algorithms or trained as a surrogate model and iteratively optimized using MOO methods. When a sufficient amount of data is available, data-driven methods can be used to develop mathematical models and use MOO methods for performance optimization from the perspective of building carbon emission reductions. (2) The benefits of retrofits are maximized by holistically taking environmental, economic, and social factors into account; from the perspectives of carbon emissions, costs, thermal comfort, and more, widely adopted strategies include improving the thermal performance of building envelopes, regulating HVAC systems, and utilizing renewable energy. (3) The optimization process based on data-driven methods, such as optimization algorithms and machine learning, apply mathematical models and methods for automatic iterative calculations and screen out the optimal solutions with computer assistance with high efficiency while ensuring accuracy. (4) Only 2.2% and 6.7% of the literature focus on the impacts of human behavior and climate change on building retrofits, respectively. In the future, it is necessary to give further consideration to user behaviors and long-term climate change in the retrofit process, in addition to improving the accuracy of optimization models and exploring the generalization and migration capabilities of surrogate models.

COVID-19 policy responses, social norms, and behavior change in MENA

ABSTRACT Inducing behavior change is a missing factor in the face of viral threats. We provide evidence from a natural experiment in 2020 on the effects of containment, closure, and economic policy responses to COVID-19 on change in human mobility behavior in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and worldwide. We also examine how social norms, namely risk taking and patience, and institutional trust, could explain the heterogenous effects of policy responses on behavior change. Our results show that the stringency of containment and closure policies decreased human mobility in MENA and worldwide. Risk-averse populations and populations with low-time preference were more likely to pre act and lower their mobility independent of containment and closure policies. The effectiveness of risk communication in promoting positive mobility change increased by the level of institutional trust. Specifically in MENA, populations were less responsive to the actual disease risk and the public perception of that risk. Familiarity with COVID-19 induced negative behavior change among impatient populations. Economic support policies promoted strong positive mobility change among low-risk and high-time preference populations. Income support seems to be the effective economic policy response in low-income countries and debt relief the effective one in higher-income countries.

COVID-19 lockdown measures affect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons distribution and sources in sediments of Chaohu Lake, China

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted human activities and the environment globally. The lockdown measures have led to significant changes in industrial activities, transportation, and human behavior. This study investigates how the lockdown measures influenced the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the sediments of Chaohu Lake, a semi-enclosed lake. Surface sediment samples were collected in summer of 2020 (lockdown have just been lifted) and 2022 and analyzed for 16 priority PAHs. The range of ΣPAHs concentrations remained similar between 2020 (158.19–1693.64 ng·g−1) and 2022 (148.86–1396.54 ng·g−1). Among the sampling sites, the west lake exhibited similar PAHs concentrations characteristics over the two years, with higher levels observed in areas near Hefei City. However, the east lake exhibited increased ΣPAHs concentrations in 2022 compared to 2020, especially the area near ship factory. PAHs source analysis using principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR) revealed an increased proportion of petroleum combustion sources in 2022 compared to 2020. The isotope analysis results showed that organic matter (OM) sources in the western lake remained relatively stable over the two years, with sewage discharge dominating. In contrast, the eastern lake experienced a shift in OM sources from sewage to C3 plants, potentially contributing to the increased PAH levels observed in the eastern lake sediments. Ecological risk assessment revealed low to moderate risk in both 2020 and 2022. Health risk evaluation indicated little difference in incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values between the two years, with only benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) posing a high risk among the carcinogenic PAHs. Children generally faced higher health risks compared to adults. This study reveals pandemic-induced changes in PAH pollution and sources in lake sediments, offering new insights into the impact of human activities on persistent organic pollutants, with implications for future pollution control strategies.

Changes in perceived risk and ecosystem services after herbicide use on an aquatic invader

ABSTRACT Biodiversity conservation can entail socially controversial management interventions such as herbicide applications to eradicate aquatic invasive plants from highly productive native ecosystems. This study used a case example of the successful eradication of Alaska’s first aquatic invasive plant, Elodea spp. from two lakes surrounded by waterfront homes with the objective to measure perceived changes in the use of the lakes by local residents. A household survey was conducted with homeowners before and after the application of herbicides to measure public attitudes and human behavior changes related to the use of herbicide. We found fears and subjective expectations of survey respondents did not match the eventually collected objective scientific data on water quality. Also, we measured a significant negative change in lake-related activities over the duration of the management intervention that is smaller compared to the reduced activity level lake residents anticipated before the application of herbicide. Swimming and the consumption of fish caught in the lakes were the most negatively affected ecosystem services. The study showed the indirect and often hidden effects of management interventions on human risk perceptions that can translate to unintended human behavior changes and a reduction in related ecosystem service use. To account for complex social dimensions of controversial resource management interventions, resource managers require information on broad public value trade-offs and perceived risk beyond that which public meetings can provide. In this context, household surveys before and after resource management interventions can offer insights few other approaches can. The potential for more advanced outreach methods is discussed.

The role of human behaviour change in companion animal management: A case study of Praia de Faro, Portugal

Abstract Humane dog and cat population management has relied on Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) projects in an attempt to control or reduce free-roaming populations and improve the welfare of dogs and cats. It has been recognised that the root cause of dog and cat population and welfare issues is people and their attitudes and behaviours towards dogs and cats – whether this is through lack of responsible ownership leading to loss or abandonment, or programs that focus on single tools such as sterilisation. Failing to recognise the interdependency that exists between individual and community responsibility means that projects that rely solely on the actions of an individual or a small group, and do not involve the wider community, risk limiting their impact and sustainability. Typically, sterilisation projects regularly fail to address this issue. The concept of human behaviour change is beginning to be used in dog population management programs but is still largely unused and untested in cat population management programs. In 2013, a 4-year project in Praia de Faro, Portugal, started to explore how communities respond to a local program using community engagement tools to measure and evaluate changes in attitudes and behaviours towards owned and un-owned dogs and cats. The research question is: ‘does community involvement and participation in a project increase its chances of success in relation to improved welfare for animals?’ Results suggest improved dog and cat welfare, positive changes in attitudes and behaviours of the community, and increased community involvement.

Prolonged unemployment is associated with control loss and personal as well as social disengagement.

The need for control is a fundamental human motivation, that when deprived can lead to broad and substantial changes in human behavior. We aimed to assess the consequences of control deprivation in a real-life situation that poses a severe threat to personal control: a prolonged unemployment. Using a sample N = 1055 of unemployed (n = 748) versus working (n = 307) individuals, we examined predictions derived from two models of reactions to control deprivation: control-regaining and disengagement/withdrawal. We found that length unemployment is correlated with a psychological state strongly interfering with psychological as well as social functioning. While control-regaining models of responding to lack of control have received virtually no support from our findings, our results provide evidence that long-term unemployed individuals are more disengaged than working individuals. They are more apathetic, less likely to engage in control-regaining efforts and in active forms of construing one's own future.

From personal convictions to collective action: Predicting employees’ pro-environmental behaviors in public and private spheres

Promoting changes in human behavior is crucial for mitigating and reducing environmental damage. While there is much research focused on private-sphere or generalized pro-environmental behavior, there is a relative dearth of research explicitly examining public-sphere pro-environmental behavior from a collective action perspective. In response to the mixed empirical results from previous applications of the value-belief-norm model in organizational contexts, this study explores the full value-belief-norm model, taking into account public-sphere and private-sphere pro-environmental behaviors. A sample of 504 hospitality industry employees in Kazakhstan and 515 hospitality industry employees in the United States participated in this study. The results indicate a hierarchical relationship between values, beliefs, and behaviors and confirm that values indirectly influence pro-environmental behaviors through belief variables. The findings suggest that these beliefs play vital roles in translating values into actionable behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

The Pathway To Peace And Harmony: A Buddhist Perspective

Buddhism has long been recognized as a non-violent, peaceful philosophy and religion. The suggested study aims to illustrate the Buddhist concept of harmony and serenity through a journey. Through the theory of dependent origination, Buddha preached that everything exists in relation to another and so do we human beings and our reactions to others depend on these factors and evils arising out of ignorance. The paper tries to examine the possibility of how global peace and harmony can also be accomplished through this dependency on ourselves as well as others in society. Buddha speaks of various causes of violence especially those arising within the human mind out of ignorance and false understanding of ourselves and our self-constructed world-views. Buddha also gives ways to tackle these violent forces within the individual and without. These have the potential to lead us to the pathways of realization of peace and harmony. Buddha is an exemplary visioner, practitioner and peacemaker; the Buddhist philosophy has contributions to the peace-making process while holding the potential to promote peace and harmony as a way of life through self-examination and self-reflection. In addition to the five precepts, they plant seeds and provide stability and footing for responding to oneself and others with kindness, love, affection, empathic delight, and serenity. This will result in a new way of thinking, believing, behaving, and living. As human behavior changes, the world around shall also respond accordingly and the attainment of peace and harmony becomes a reality. The peaceful means suggested by Buddha and emphasis on a holistic framework for all of mankind and to be practiced every moment of one’s existence, Buddhist philosophy plays a vital role in the peace and harmony-oriented paradigm having a practical outlook and impacting human lives globally.

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This study examined the theory of design psychology affecting users' thinking actions, focusing on the human cognitive system and information processing process. Based on related literature studies such as design, psychology, and brain science, the study was conducted focusing on case analysis of design psychology principles. As a result of the study, first, it was confirmed that the tendency of thinking appeared differently depending on the height of the ceiling, and creativity was promoted in spaces with high ceilings and specific thinking was promoted in spaces with low ceilings. Second, apart from usability, it was found that a design with good aesthetics reinforces users' positive attitudes and explores problem-solving methods with a generous attitude even in the event of a problem. Third, by first presenting positive expressions or experiences before experiencing a situation, it was found to have a positive effect on the user's perception, judgment, behavior, and memory. Fourth, it has been shown that visual stimuli activate physical waves and central nerves, causing psychological changes in human behavior and thoughts. Fifth, design consistency has been shown to affect user behavior and quick decision-making, but family similarity only needs to be interrelated, even if it is not in a fixed form. The significance of this study is to understand that the preference or bias that users judge design is related to design psychology. As a limitation, it failed to deal with the design psychological principles that negatively affect users' thinking formation. Furthermore, it is proposed to be conducted by supplemented and supplemented.

Security and Information Technology for Big Data

Big data has grown in importance in a variety of corporate and academic fields as a result of substantial changes in human behavior and lifestyles. While this focus simplifies data management, big data is regarded as important in many industrial areas because it can be merged with other types of data. Big data can be managed alongside other types of data, particularly in large organizations that handle a range of data types. This type of management contributes to the improvement and development of the organizational structure, as well as raising the skill level of employees in these organizations. Despite these benefits, there are numerous concerns, particularly throughout the stages of data gathering and storage, when there is a risk of hacking or leakage, as well as the difficulty of sorting and identifying data. For these reasons, big data protection is regarded as one of the most important issues discussed in this paper in order to develop an appropriate framework for protecting big data related to companies, as well as methods for dealing with this data in order to develop an appropriate strategy to protect big data security and privacy.

Mathematical Modeling of Schistosomiasis Transmission Using Reaction-Diffusion Equations

Schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic trematodes of the genus \textit{Schistosoma}, affects millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions lacking access to clean water and proper hygiene. With its impact on health and well-being, the World Health Organization aspires to eliminate schistosomiasis by 2030. This work addresses the challenge of effective control in endemic areas by integrating diffusion in each sub-population using reaction-diffusion equations. The proposed model includes treated individuals who have undergone massive drug administration and a time-dependent function that models the change in human behavior. We present a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) model of schistosomiasis spread that incorporates population movement and human behavior change. Mathematical analysis explores the system's dynamics according to the infection threshold $R_0$, shedding light on the disease's behavior. Sensitivity analysis is used to identify the key parameters affecting disease spread. Numerical simulations under different scenarios elucidate the impact of human behavior on disease dynamics. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of schistosomiasis transmission and provides insights into control strategies.

Mathematical Assessment of the Role of Human Behavior Changes on SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Dynamics in the United States.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only presented a major global public health and socio-economic crisis, but has also significantly impacted human behavior towards adherence (or lack thereof) to public health intervention and mitigation measures implemented in communities worldwide. This study is based on the use of mathematical modeling approaches to assess the extent to which SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics is impacted by population-level changes of human behavior due to factors such as (a) the severity of transmission (such as disease-induced mortality and level of symptomatic transmission), (b) fatigue due to the implementation of mitigation interventions measures (e.g., lockdowns) over a long (extended) period of time, (c) social peer-pressure, among others. A novel behavior-epidemiology model, which takes the form of a deterministic system of nonlinear differential equations, is developed and fitted using observed cumulative SARS-CoV-2 mortality data during the first wave in the United States. The model fits the observed data, as well as makes a more accurate prediction of the observed daily SARS-CoV-2 mortality during the first wave (March 2020-June 2020), in comparison to the equivalent model which does not explicitly account for changes in human behavior. This study suggests that, as more newly-infected individuals become asymptomatically-infectious, the overall level of positive behavior change can be expected to significantly decrease (while new cases may rise, particularly if asymptomatic individuals have higher contact rate, in comparison to symptomatic individuals).

Understanding the dynamic process of human behavior changes towards disaster preparedness: An application of the integrated TTM with SCT and PMT

Integrating the Transtheoretical Model with Social Cognitive Theory and Protection Motivation Theory, we propose a new model to study the progress of behavior changes towards disaster preparedness along three developmental stages: from “not prepared” (NP), to “intention to prepare” (IP), to “already prepared” (AP). Using the 2021 National Household Survey data (FEMA, N = 6,180), we tested this model by employing a series of nested weighted generalized ordered logistic regressions. We found that, although Hispanics have a larger prevalence of IP than their non-Hispanic white counterparts, they are less likely to move to the AP stage. The observed ethnic disparity is largely due to the disparities in actual behavioral capabilities in essential knowledge and access to resources between the two groups. Personal disaster experience, social/observational learning, self-efficacy, and risk perception each facilitate behavior changes from the NP to IP or AP stage (i.e., departure from NP stage) and from NP or IP stage to AP stage (i.e., arrival at AP stage). Although income does not necessarily influence one's decision to depart from the NP stage, it determines one's arrival at the AP stage. Increasing one's income further boosts the realization of AP for people with high-risk perceptions. However, for people with moderate or low levels of risk perceptions, increased income did not lead to arrival at the AP stage. Additional research is needed to more fully apply this process-oriented approach with new measurement introduced in this paper to study the behavior changes among subpopulations in exposure to specific hazards.

Toward the design of persuasive systems for a healthy workplace: a real-time posture detection.

Persuasive technologies, in connection with human factor engineering requirements for healthy workplaces, have played a significant role in ensuring a change in human behavior. Healthy workplaces suggest different best practices applicable to body posture, proximity to the computer system, movement, lighting conditions, computer system layout, and other significant psychological and cognitive aspects. Most importantly, body posture suggests how users should sit or stand in workplaces in line with best and healthy practices. In this study, we developed two study phases (pilot and main) using two deep learning models: convolutional neural networks (CNN) and Yolo-V3. To train the two models, we collected posture datasets from creative common license YouTube videos and Kaggle. We classified the dataset into comfortable and uncomfortable postures. Results show that our YOLO-V3 model outperformed CNN model with a mean average precision of 92%. Based on this finding, we recommend that YOLO-V3 model be integrated in the design of persuasive technologies for a healthy workplace. Additionally, we provide future implications for integrating proximity detection taking into consideration the ideal number of centimeters users should maintain in a healthy workplace.

The views of preschool teachers on the contribution of ICT in Environmental Education

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are forms of technology that enhance young children's learning and experiences. When teachers successfully integrate them as targeted tools using computers, tablets, videos, interactive whiteboards, digital games, etc., the quality of teaching and learning can be improved by providing students with an engaging and successful experience. At the same time, environmental conditions worldwide continue to deteriorate at an alarming rate due to a complex web of socio-ecological challenges such as climate change, air pollution, loss of biodiversity, etc. In order to drive transformative changes in human behaviour, it is essential to educate and inform individuals from an early age, starting with kindergarten students. Incorporating new technologies into environmental education and other subjects can spark students' interest and facilitate more effective information dissemination and learning. This study investigated the views of 105 preschool teachers on the contribution of ICT to Environmental Education. The research tool used was a questionnaire distributed to teachers via Google Forms. The research questions pertain to teachers' knowledge and opinions about ICT and EE, as well as the frequency of ICT use and media during teaching interventions. Furthermore, the factors that influence the smooth integration of ICTs into EE teaching and the results that this integration brings were investigated. The research showed that the contribution of ICT in EE positively affected the students. Those that stood out were the active participation, the increased interest, the development of teamwork and the mobilisation of the weak students. However, although the teachers pointed out some difficulties in using ICT in their teaching, such as the deficiency of material and technical infrastructure and the lack of time, they also pointed out how significant and influential the contribution of ICT in teaching Environmental Education is.

Tracking Global Changes of Human Mobility Behavior and Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant challenges to human mobility behavior worldwide. Our study examines the changes of human mobility behavior across 130 countries and regions during two periods: February 15th to August 15th, 2020 (the reaction period) and January 1st to June 30th, 2021 (the adaptation period). Our findings reveal the following: (1) Global Trends: During the reaction period, there was a notable decrease in human mobility globally, with a corresponding increase in residential behavior. However, during the adaptation period, apart from residential behavior, mobility in the remaining categories increased, particularly mobility in parks; (2) Regional Patterns: All continents experienced significant declines and fluctuations in human mobility behavior during the reaction period. In the adaptation period, Africa demonstrated more stable daily variations in the Fisher Information (FI) dynamic compared to other continents, while Asia showed relatively lower stability, marked by several sharp declines; (3) National Responses: Different countries and regions exhibited varying degrees of adaptation to changes in human mobility behavior. We categorized the 130 countries and regions into different categories based on their responses to these changes. This research aims to offer insights for policymakers in formulating strategies to address future unpredictable events.