Individual Experiences Research Articles

Employee green behavior in laboratories of higher education institutions: a qualitative study

Purpose This study aims to explore employee green behavior in higher education institution (HEI) laboratories in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was used to explore the green behavior experiences of individuals working in HEI laboratories. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine participants selected via purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was performed on the collected data using ATLAS.ti 9 software. Findings The analysis of the collected data identified five themes related to the green behavior in HEI laboratories. These themes, ranked in descending order of frequency, are conserving, avoiding harm, transforming, influencing others and taking initiative. The conserving theme accounted for one-third of the subcodes, as did the avoiding harm theme. The final one-third of subcodes was distributed among the remaining three themes. Research limitations/implications This study conducted virtual interviews and coincidentally interviewed only female participants. The findings contribute to the existing literature on the themes of green behavior among laboratory staff in HEIs and provide valuable insights for university managers and sustainability coordinators in shaping policies to promote environmentally friendly practices and address negative practices. Originality/value Despite existing studies on environmental practices in various workplace settings, the exploration of green behavior in HEI laboratories in the Kingdom of Bahrain from the employee perspective remains limited. This study presents a significant opportunity for researchers to explore sustainability in HEI laboratories and for policymakers to develop corresponding strategies.

“Mammograms are kind of my pacifier”: The cultural context of women's preference for annual mammograms in a risk-based screening cohort

Population genetic testing and risk-based screening have the potential to shift how we determine risk and screen for breast cancer. While much attention has been paid to the experiences of individuals who may be at elevated risk for breast cancer, less is known about how those at average risk make decisions about their health. Through qualitative interviews with 30 participants, we explore how those enrolled in a risk-based screening trial who are determined to be at average risk for breast cancer make screening decisions. We consider how the social context of breast health, known as ‘pink ribbon culture,’ and the pervasiveness of annual mammography as the standard of care make risk-based screening less acceptable for many participants. Risk-based screening paradigms assume that individuals will assess their risk quantitatively based on the risk models that are used. Yet, our findings demonstrate that social and cultural factors influence decision-making surrounding breast cancer screening, an important consideration when implementing risk-based screening programs. We will begin to address a gap in knowledge about how women who are told they are average risk after risk-based screening (most of the population) and recommended to screen less than annually make screening decisions.

Why Won't Anyone Talk? Challenges Naming and Addressing Tokenism Within Health and Human Service Agencies Serving the LGBTQ+ Community.

Workplace tokenism, the use of superficial efforts to appear equitable, which often leads to burnout of marginalized groups, is pervasive, even in health and human service organizations dedicated to improving their community's health and well-being. An original research project to identify interventions addressing tokenism within Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer plus serving health and human service agencies in New York was unable to engage staff in focus groups. A follow-up survey with 41 potential participants reported burnout as the main reason for nonparticipation. Qualitative data revealed desired aftercare for the retraumatizing nature of sharing individual experiences. Utilizing a community-based participatory research approach with an antiracism lens may mitigate challenges addressing tokenism, thereby increasing workplace inclusion of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer plus community.

Lifetime Revictimization: Evidence From the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.

Despite the documented increasing prevalence of elder abuse victimization and its devastating health effects, a life-course view of the victimization experiences of older adults has rarely been adopted in the elder abuse literature. The current study investigated lifetime links between victimization experiences by examining the indirect effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) on elder abuse victimization via intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in middle adulthood, and whether this indirect association would differ by gender. Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, we analyzed the previous and current victimization experiences of a total of 5,391 older adults in their early 70s and estimated mediational and moderated mediation models. The key results indicated that a higher ACE score was associated with exposure to IPV victimization in middle adulthood, which was in turn associated with exposure to elder abuse victimization. This indirect association was stronger for women than for men. Regarding specific types of childhood victimization, parental physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing domestic violence significantly predicted elder abuse victimization via IPV victimization. Our results support the phenomenon of lifetime victimization, whereby an individual experiences reoccurring forms of victimization across the life course from childhood to late adulthood. Findings highlight the compelling need for the assessment of cumulative victimization experiences and their impact on elder abuse victims. A life-course-based, trauma-informed approach would greatly enhance prevention and intervention services for elder abuse.

Editorial for the special issue on "Prediction, Creativity, and Cultural Evolution in Music Cognition".

Music making across cultures arguably involves a blend of innovation and adherence to established norms. This integration allows listeners to recognise a range of innovative, surprising, and functional elements in music, while also associating them to a certain tradition or style. In this light, musical creativity may be seen to involve the novel recombination of shared elements and rules, which can in itself give rise to new cultural conventions. Put simply, future norms rely on past knowledge and present action; this holds for music as it does for other cultural domains. A key process permeating this temporal transition, with regards to both music making and music listening, is prediction. Recent findings suggest that as we listen to music, our brain is constantly generating predictions based on prior knowledge acquired in a given enculturation context. Those predictions, in turn, can shape our appraisal of the music, in a continual perception-action loop. This dynamic process of predicting and calibrating expectations may enable shared musical realities, that is, sets of norms that are transmitted, with some modification, either vertically between generations of a given musical culture, or horizontally between peers of the same or different cultures. As music transforms through cultural evolution, so do the predictive models in our minds and the expectancy they give rise to, influenced by cultural exposure and individual experience. Thus, creativity and prediction are both fundamental and complementary to the transmission of cultural systems, including music, across generations and societies. For these reasons, prediction, creativity and cultural evolution were the central themes in a symposium we organised in 2022. The symposium aimed to study their interplay from an interdisciplinary perspective, guided by contemporary theories and methodologies. This special issue compiles research discussed during or inspired by that symposium, concluding with potential directions for the field of music cognition in that spirit.

Focus on the less exposed: a virtual photovoice study with LGQ educators

ABSTRACT Within the classroom, many educators strive to cultivate a climate of inclusivity. However, little is known about how LGBTQ+ educators negotiate their identities and feelings of inclusion within the confines of their institutional practices. This study employed a virtual photovoice inquiry rooted in Freire’s educational approach to examine perceptions of inclusion for lesbian, gay, and queer-identifying (LGQ) educators. Four LGQ educators and staff members documented their lived experiences through photography and engaged in critical dialogue about their artwork. In this paper, the author shares two themes from the qualitative data: resiliency in the face of adversity and the pivotal role of self-identity and its development. The findings shed light on the nuanced experiences of LGQ educators while offering pathways to promote inclusivity and enhance LGBTQ±positive awareness in educational settings. In the landscape of LGBTQ+ educational research, a significant void persists, particularly in understanding the perceptions of LGBTQ+ educators and staff, which carries substantial implications for developing inclusive educational policies and practices. By providing a deeper understanding of the experiences of LGQ individuals within academia, this research catalyses the advancement of social justice and provides directions for future research within educational contexts.

Exhibiting slavery in Australia: Personal narratives and legacies

AbstractThe history of slavery has often been located on the same continuum as that of incarceration. This article explores the development of an exhibition representing the legacies of slavery in Australia, analysing Australian and international exhibitions alongside theories of museology, historiography and memory. It begins by considering the growth of slavery memory since the latter twentieth century, and Australia's own slavery heritage. The second half of the article focuses on curatorial directions and decisions taken in the exhibition, which our research team is currently developing in partnership with the Australian National Maritime Museum as part of an Australian Research Council project. Much of the project's research to date has been biographical, investigating the lives of individual slavers and colonists to explore colonial and racial frameworks still underpinning contemporary Australia. For the exhibition, we are investigating ways of expanding the scope to represent the lives and experiences of enslaved individuals. We are also exploring the challenges of retracing past lives, the potential limits of empathy, and the politics of ownership when telling stories about the past. This includes considering community participation, the biases and silences of the archives, and the use of art in representing the past.

Hypertensive patients' experience of care: a qualitative study

Hypertension is an incurable disease, requiring patients to comply with treatment in order to reduce the risk of complications, including death. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experience of individuals with hypertension in relation to compliance with treatment.The study adopted a qualitative descriptive design using semi-structured questions, and a total of 20 patients with hypertension participated.The result of this study found 5 themes, namely, not taking the medication regularly, adhering to a diet, using complementary medicine, stable blood pressure, and dizziness as the primary complaint.There were significant and exciting results from this study, namely, patients who do not take medication regularly and do not adhere to their diet.

Examination of Cyberbullying Experiences of Social Media Users.

This study was carried out in a descriptive and cross-sectional design in order to examine the cyberbullying experiences of individuals using social media. This descriptive study was conducted online between June 16, 2022, and August 16, 2022, in Turkey. The data collection process was completed with 471 participants. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form and the Cyberbullying Triangulation Questionnaire. The mean questionnaire score was found to be 7.36 ± 6.99. Cyberbully, cybervictim, and cyberbystander scores of men were found to be higher than those of women. Also, cybervictim, cyberbully, and cyberbystander scores of those who experienced cybervictim or engaged in cyberbully were significantly higher (p < .05). A positive relationship was found between cyberbully and cybervictim (p = .000), between cyberbystander and cybervictim and cyberbully (p < .05), and between the Cyberbullying Triangulation Questionnaire total scores and cybervictim, cyberbully, and cyberbystander (p < .05). Individuals should be given training on risky internet use and the correct use of technology to prevent cyberbullying. Families should also be supported in setting an example, setting rules, applying filtering software, determining online behavior rules, and communicating with the bully or victim child. Individuals should be informed about the steps to follow when exposed to cyberbullying. Although legal sanctions are effective on cyberbullying, it is recommended that a holistic study be planned and carried out according to the people's age group and development level to increase awareness about the phenomenon.

Challenging exclusion: bringing the human rights to water and sanitation to Europe

ABSTRACT Research and advocacy on water and sanitation in low-income countries often consider the human rights to water and sanitation as the basis for improving access to these essential services. But how often is the spotlight turned on high-income countries? Do the predominantly Global North researchers, advocates, donors and development partners who explore failures to meet the human rights in Accra or Jakarta ever ask if the same rights are realized at home in Berlin, London or Paris? Exclusion and marginalization similar to that faced by various populations in low-income countries are present in the lived experiences of individuals and groups in Europe, including homeless people, Roma communities, incarcerated people and refugees. Yet, the same human rights that are invoked in low-income countries are all too often ignored in Europe. Meanwhile, high-income countries cannot point to insufficient financial resources to justify failures in human rights realization. Against this background, this short communication outlines some of the inequalities in access to water and sanitation that exist and persist in high-income countries through the lens of human rights, and proposes that invoking these human rights can support the ideals of equity and justice contributing to re-imagining universal access to services across Europe.

Descending Stairs Detection Using Digital Image Processing to Guide Visually Impaired

Blindness refers to a condition in which an individual experiences limitations in their visual ability. Individuals with visual impairments require specific assistance to facilitate their movement from one location to another. The need for this assistance arises due to various obstacles scattered throughout their environment. One of the most significant challenges is navigating descending stairs. To address this issue, a descending stairs detection system based on digital image processing has been developed. Through this approach, the mobility of individuals with visual impairments can be enhanced. The descending stairs detection system is designed using the Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) method to extract distinctive features of descending stairs and the surrounding floor surfaces. Seven GLCM features are incorporated into the development of this system, allowing it to differentiate between descending stairs and floors using the Extra Tree Classifier classification method. Through a series of tests, the system's accuracy is measured at 84%, demonstrating its adequate ability to identify descending stairs. Additionally, the average computation time for detecting descending stairs and floors is recorded at 0.121 (s), indicating the efficient performance of this system in supporting the mobility of individuals in need.

Cognitive Representations and Personal Experiences of COVID-19 Using Social Virtual Reality

Abstract In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, understanding its psychological and social impacts has become a critical area of scientific inquiry. The pandemic's far-reaching consequences have been felt across diverse populations, prompting a need for innovative research methodologies to capture the breadth of individual experiences. This study addresses the challenge of articulating personal narratives during the pandemic by leveraging the capabilities of social virtual reality (VR) and digital storytelling, a method yet to be fully explored in pandemic-related research. Here, we show that by integrating photogrammetric 3D media with social VR technology, we can obtain a nuanced understanding of individuals' experiences during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Our analysis reveals distinct themes related to health, life events, environment, technology, and employment, illustrating a complex interplay of factors influencing personal experiences during the pandemic. These findings contrast with and expand upon previous research by providing a more immersive and participant-centric perspective on the pandemic's impact. They highlight the value of using VR to capture and analyze personal experiences in unprecedented global situations. By situating these results within the broader context of pandemic research, this study underscores the potential of VR as a transformative tool for social science research. It opens new avenues for understanding complex human experiences, offering valuable insights across scientific disciplines, thereby enhancing our collective knowledge of the pandemic's multifaceted effects on society.

INTERPRETING THE CONDITIONS OF BULLYING IN PHOTOBOOK ENTITLED “BULLY”

This study aims to interpret the conditions of bullying as depicted in the photobook "Bully", exploring the symbolic and aesthetic elements used to represent the psychological and emotional dimensions of bullying. Utilizing a qualitative, interpretative approach, the research employs visual analysis and symbolic interpretation to uncover the deeper meanings conveyed through the photobook's imagery. The analysis focuses on how visual elements such as lighting, composition, and perspective reflect the dynamics of power, fear, isolation, and resilience within the context of bullying. The study is grounded in the Social-Ecological Model and Cognitive-Behavioral Theory, which provide frameworks for understanding the multifaceted nature of bullying and the cognitive distortions experienced by both victims and perpetrators. Results reveal that shadows in the images symbolize the psychological distress and cognitive distortions faced by victims and bullies, while light represents hope, resilience, and the potential for cognitive and emotional recovery. The photobook effectively captures the complex interplay between individual experiences and social influences, illustrating how both victims and bullies are affected by and respond to their environments. The findings underscore the importance of addressing both psychological and social factors in bullying interventions and highlight the photobook's role as a powerful medium for visualizing and understanding these dynamics.

Assessment of long-term psychosocial outcomes in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis – the SAPIENCE study protocol

BackgroundN-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a rare neurological autoimmune disease with severe neuropsychiatric symptoms during the acute phase. Despite good functional neurological recovery, most patients continue to experience cognitive, psychiatric, psychological, and social impairments years after the acute phase. However, the precise nature and evolving patterns over time of these long-term consequences remain unclear, and their implications for the well-being and quality of life of predominantly young patients have yet to be thoroughly examined.MethodsSAPIENCE is a European multi-center (n = 3) prospective observational cohort study studying the long-term cognitive, psychiatric, psychological, and social outcome in patients with NMDAR encephalitis. The study consists of three interconnected levels. Level 1 comprises a qualitative interview and focus groups with patients and their caregivers. Level 2 consists of a condensed form of the interview, standardized questionnaires, and a detailed neuropsychological examination of patients. Level 3 involves an online survey that will be open to patients world-wide and explores patient-reported outcomes (PROMs), and patient-reported experiences (PREMs) in association with clinical and cognitive outcomes. Levels 1 to 3 will progressively contribute developing of structured interviews, survey questions, and treatment guidelines by informing one another.DiscussionSAPIENCE is an in-depth study of the long-term effects of NMDAR encephalitis and bridges the gap between standardized assessments and individual patient experiences, intending to improve patient care and to increase awareness of the psychosocial long-term consequences of the disease. Through collaboration of experts in clinical neurology and social and health psychology across Europe, SAPIENCE aims to create online assessment tools and formulate guidelines for patient-centered post-acute care that will help enhance the quality of life for patients and caregivers.

Optimising Care for Young Adults: An Integrated Theoretical Model for Supporting Care Leavers

Individuals who leave foster and institutional care after attaining age 18, commonly referred to as care leavers, encounter numerous obstacles that impact their overall welfare. This study pesents a holistic method for comprehending individual experiences by incorporating several social, psychological and developmental perspectives. This comprehensive framework recognizes the intricate interaction among personal attributes, the societal environment and systemic elements that impact the lives of individuals transitioning out of care. This study intended to use a combination of different theoretical viewpoints to design an integrated model for more complete and effective interventions. These interventions may address the many needs of care leavers and increase their overall well-being.

Personalized Neuroimaging Reveals the Impact of Children's Interests on Language Processing in the Brain.

Cognition is shaped by individual experiences and interests. However, to study cognition in the brain, researchers typically use generic stimuli that are the same across all individuals. Language, in particular, is animated and motivated by several highly personal factors that are typically not accounted for in neuroimaging study designs, such as "interest" in a topic. Due to its inherently personal and idiosyncratic nature, it is unknown how interest in a topic modulates language processing in the brain. We conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 20 children (ages 6.98-12.01 years, mean(SD)=9.35(1.52), 5 female/15 male) as they listened to personalized narratives about a topic of specific interest, as well as to non-personalized generic narratives. We found that personalized narratives about a topic of interest increased activation in canonical language areas, as well as in reward and self-reference regions. Strikingly, we found that activation patterns elicited by topics of personal interest were more consistent across children, despite their idiosyncratic nature, than activation patterns elicited by narratives about an identical generic topic. These results reinforce the critical role that personal interests play in language processing in the human brain, and demonstrate the feasibility of using a personalized neuroimaging approach to study the effects of individually-varying factors such as interest in the brain.

The influence of socioeconomic status on individual attitudes and experience with clinical trials

BackgroundCharacterizing perceptions of clinical trials among the socioeconomically disadvantaged is necessary for understanding how social determinants of health such as socioeconomic disparities in education and income can affect people’s awareness of and exposure to clinical trialsMethodsA survey was distributed in spring 2023 among a survey taking sample stratified by demographic variables to reflect the U.S. population. The survey assessed the socioeconomic status of the respondent and related covariates, as well as outcome measures including interest in joining a clinical trial, concerns relating to participation, and whether the respondent had previously been asked to participate. Multiple and logistic regression were used to assess the relationship between predictor and outcome variablesResultsHere we show the results of outcome measures regressed on main predictors related to socioeconomic status and related demographic predictors. Education, employment status, insurance coverage, and English proficiency were significant predictors of interest in clinical trial participation. Education and the presence of a healthcare professional or former clinical trial participant in the respondent’s personal network were significant predictors of whether the respondent had previously been asked to participate in a clinical trialConclusionsThe results of the analysis reveal how socioeconomically vulnerable groups, including those from low income and low education groups, are being excluded in clinical research. Analyses also uncovered the impact of clinical trial social influence—the presence of having a family or friend in one’s social network who participated in a clinical trial—on willingness to participate and exposure to clinical trials.

Feasibility of a Personal Neuromorphic Emulation.

The representation of intelligence is achieved by patterns of connections among neurons in brains and machines. Brains grow continuously, such that their patterns of connections develop through activity-dependent specification, with the continuing ontogenesis of individual experience. The theory of active inference proposes that the developmental organization of sentient systems reflects general processes of informatic self-evidencing, through the minimization of free energy. We interpret this theory to imply that the mind may be described in information terms that are not dependent on a specific physical substrate. At a certain level of complexity, self-evidencing of living (self-organizing) information systems becomes hierarchical and reentrant, such that effective consciousness emerges as the consequence of a good regulator. We propose that these principles imply that an adequate reconstruction of the computational dynamics of an individual human brain/mind is possible with sufficient neuromorphic computational emulation.

Organizational on-boarding practices and shifts in alcohol misuse among at-risk college recruits

With a significant proportion of college students in many countries engaging in risky drinking behavior, this study examines the tendency of such young adults to ‘mature out’ of such behavior in their first year of employment after graduating, and the degree to which three mainstream organizational on-boarding experiences may expedite such ‘maturing out’. Focusing on newcomers’ experiences with alcohol-oriented job orientation, job empowerment, and organizational efforts to facilitate the development of supportive peer relationships, we test hypotheses regarding the direct effects of time on the change in alcohol misuse among those reporting misuse in college, as well as the degree to which individual on-boarding experiences account for the variance in young adults’ maturing out trajectories over the course of their first year of employment. Findings generated from data collected from over 400 young adults over multiple waves offer important theoretical and practical implications regarding how and why particular onboarding tactics may be more or less effective in influencing newcomers’ health-related behaviors.

Occupant complacency in workplace fire evacuations

This study explored occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations. It is targeted at those responsible for fire safety management and fire safety practitioners with a contribution to prevent or mitigate the risk of injury or death arising out of a delayed evacuation at work. It seeks to define occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations, identify its antecedents and explore effective measures to mitigate or control the antecedents of occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations. Research was conducted using a survey instrument by contacting safety, health and fire safety professionals globally through convenience sampling and several international safety, health and fire safety-related institutions. This included demographics of the respondents, the confirmation of a definition of complacency, and means of dealing with complacency as defined by the questionnaire including priority strategies. The research team then sought to identify the antecedents of occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations using raw data from a previous study. This study addresses the hypothesis that if there is a clear definition of occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations and control measures are developed, tested and implemented, the risks of injury and death related to occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations could be prevented or mitigated. Analysis of survey findings clarified a number of key strategies to avoid evacuation complacency including but not limited to underscoring the importance of leadership involvement within a safety culture; training and education, awareness raising and communications to avoid occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations; evacuation drills; procedures, and the role of fire wardens. Based on information from a published report that explored individual attitudes, perceptions and experiences as well as perceived vulnerability that shape antecedents of occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations and individual behaviours when an evacuation alarm is initiated, the authors identified and filled a gap in the report, by suggesting a working definition of occupant complacency during workplace fire evacuations and control measures to prevent or mitigate this behaviour.