Large Sample Survey Research Articles

Fostering public climate change discussions from a social interaction perspective.

Public discussions on climate change, as a form of social interaction, are widely recognized as effective tools for promoting collective action. However, there is limited research on examining the factors that influence climate change discussions from a social interaction perspective. In the present study, we conducted a large sample (N = 1,169) survey to investigate personal (such as self-efficacy and personal response efficacy) and others' (such as perceived others' response efficacy and social norms) factors influencing climate change discussions from a social interaction perspective. The results showed that (i) for people with high climate change perceptions, personal response efficacy, self-efficacy, and social norms have positive effects on climate change discussions, but the effect of perceived others' response efficacy on climate change discussion is not significant; (ii) for people with low climate change perceptions, self-efficacy and social norms have positive effects on climate change discussions, but the effects of personal response efficacy and perceived others' response efficacy on climate change discussion are not significant; (iii) irrespective of individuals' high or low perceptions of climate change, social norm remains the most important predictor of climate change discussions. These findings make valuable contributions to the theoretical literature and intervention efforts regarding climate change discussions from a social interaction perspective.

“In the beginning, I said I wouldn't get it.”: Hesitant adoption of the COVID-19 vaccine in remote Alaska between November 2020 and 2021

Achieving sufficient COVID-19 vaccination coverage has been hindered in many areas by vaccine hesitancy. Many studies based on large survey samples have characterized vaccine refusal, but there are fewer in-depth qualitative studies that explore hesitant adoption: the middle-ground between vaccine acceptance and refusal, and how individuals may move across this continuum depending on their lived experience. For this paper, we use the narratives of 25 adults living in off-road, predominately Alaska Native communities to describe the complex decision-making processes undertaken by ‘hesitant adopters’, defined in our study as those who completed their initial COVID-19 series despite reporting hesitancy. Interviewees' stories help illustrate how hesitant adopters' decision-making processes involved making sense of information through interactions with trusted individuals, lived experiences, observations, emotions, and personal motivations. For the majority of these hesitant adopters' (n = 20, 80%) interpersonal interactions were key in helping to make the decision to get vaccinated. Over half of the interviewees (n = 14, 56%) described how conversations with individuals they trusted, including healthcare providers, family, friends, and interactions through their professional network made them feel safe. One third of the hesitant adopters (n = 7, 28%) attributed their decision to get vaccinated based on the influence of Alaska Native Elders including their knowledge, personal experiences, as well as being motivated by the desire to protect them. Independent research was also important to about a quarter of hesitant adopters (n = 6, 24%), and for these interviewees it was the process of gathering information on their own and learning from others, especially healthcare providers who could answer their questions and alleviate their concerns. This paper illustrates the temporality of vaccine decision-making: vaccine acceptance for those who are hesitant may be an ongoing process that is influenced by personal experience, relationships, and context.

COVID-19 vaccine decision-making in remote Alaska between November 2020 and November 2021

Vaccine hesitancy is an ongoing barrier to achieve sufficient COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Although there are many studies globally of vaccine hesitancy based on large survey samples, there are fewer in-depth qualitative studies that explore vaccine hesitancy and acceptance as a spectrum of decision-making. In this paper, we begin to describe vaccination decision-making among 58 adults living in remote Alaska based on three waves of online surveys and follow-up semi-structured interviews conducted between November 2020 and November 2021. The survey question of intention was not a predictor of adoption for about one third of the interviewees who were unvaccinated when they took the survey (n=12, 35%). Over half of all interviewees (n=37, 64%) had vaccine-related concerns, including 25 vaccinated individuals (representing 57% of vaccinated interviewees). Most interviewees reported that they learned about COVID-19 vaccines through interpersonal interactions (n=30, 52%) and/or a variety of media sources (n=29, 50%). The major facilitators of acceptance were trust in the information source (n=20, 48% of the 42 who responded), and learning from the experiences of family, friends, and the broader community (n=12, 29%). Further, trust and having a sense of agency appears to be important to interviewee decision-making, regardless of vaccination status and intention.

The Just Transition in Japan: Awareness and desires for the future

As with many advanced economies, Japan is currently undergoing an energy transition, aiming to deploy the maximum amount of renewable energy in order to reduce reliance on energy imports from abroad. Ideally, this transition will not only increase energy security for Japan, but will also improve the living standards of its people and be representative of a ‘just’ transition. In order to determine the nature of the Japanese energy transition, it is important to recognize the awareness of concepts such as the Just Transition, and to understand people's desires for the future. This research investigates the relationship between these factors, i.e., uncovering whether or not awareness of the Just Transition concept affects peoples desired outcomes, personal behaviors or preferences toward energy policies which engender a transition. Here we analyze a large sample survey (n = 6000) of the Japanese public to understand desires, behaviors and preferences, to attempt to extract policy implications and effective strategies to promote desirable behaviors which promote a Just Transition. Our results show that demographics impact upon Just Transition knowledge levels, and that these knowledge levels themselves then impact upon propensity to undertake desirable behaviors, or to allow for the deployment of conducive technologies at the local or regional level. A greater level of understanding of the concept of a Just Transition, perhaps via targeted education may help to align people's behavior, desires and expectations toward the development of a fairer future energy system in Japan and more broadly for other advanced economies.

Association of Serum Vitamin D With Periodontal Disease

ObjectiveThere are conflicting reports on the relationship between vitamin D and periodontal disease. Our research is intended to further analyse the association between serum 25(OH)D3, a vitamin D precursor and periodontal disease based on a large national survey sample in Japan. MethodsWe downloaded the 2009–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycle, which included a total of 23,324 samples. Logistic regression of factors influencing perioral disease including periodntal disease, and subgroup logistic regression were performed to analyse the relationship between serum vitamin D and perioral disease, using WTMEC2YR as weights for regression analysis. Then machine learning model–based prediction of perioral disease onset was performed, and the machine learning algorithms used included boost tree, artificial neural network, AdaBoost, and random forest. ResultsWe evaluated the vitamin D, age, sex, race, education, marriage, body mass index, ratio of family income to poverty (PIR), smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, and hypertension as variables in the included samples. Vitamin D was negatively associated with perioral disease; compared with Q1, the odds ratios and 95% CI were 0.8 (0.67–0.96) for Q2, 0.84 (0.71–1.00) for Q3, and 0.74 (0.6–0.92) for Q4 (P for trend <.05), respectively. The results of the subgroup analysis showed that the effect of 25(OH)D3 on periodontal disease was more pronounced in women younger than 60 years. Based on the accuracy and receiver operating characteristic curve, we concluded that a boost tree was a relatively good model to predict periodontal disease. ConclusionsVitamin D might be a protective factor for periodontal disease, and boost tree analysis we emplyed was a relatively good model to predict perioral disease.

The Geography of Racially Polarized Voting: Calibrating Surveys at the District Level

Debates over racial voting, and over policies to combat vote dilution, turn on the extent to which groups’ voting preferences differ and vary across geography. We present the first study of racial voting patterns in every congressional district (CD) in the United States. Using large-sample surveys combined with aggregate demographic and election data, we find that national-level differences across racial groups explain 60% of the variation in district-level voting patterns, whereas geography explains 30%. Black voters consistently choose Democratic candidates across districts, whereas Hispanic and white voters’ preferences vary considerably across geography. Districts with the highest racial polarization are concentrated in the parts of the South and Midwest. Importantly, multiracial coalitions have become the norm: in most CDs, the winning majority requires support from non-white voters. In arriving at these conclusions, we make methodological innovations that improve the precision and accuracy when modeling sparse survey data.

How do orphan disease patients live during the pandemic of Omicron variant? A nationwide survey of spinal muscular atrophy patients in China

ObjectivesTo investigate the challenges of patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) during the Omicron variant COVID-19 pandemic. DesignA cross-sectional survey was conducted in China from January 02, 2023, to January 12, 2023, using a questionnaire that covered three aspects: (1) Demographic information; (2) SMA-related information; and (3) COVID-19-related information. We recruited patients with SMA from 33 provinces. The prevalence, course, and clinical manifestations of COVID-19 were calculated. The relationships between independent and outcome variables were investigated. ResultsIn total, 677 patients (male: 349; female: 328) were included in this study (average age = 11.40 years); 534 (78.88%) suffered from COVID-19. The most common symptoms were fever (95.51%), cough (57.87%), and sputum (49.44%). Of the infected patients, 91.57% recovered with at-home care, and 8.43% were hospitalized; 1.31% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). A positive correlation was observed between the SMA severity and hospitalization rate. The ICU stay rate in patients with SMA type I was significantly higher than that in other SMA types. ConclusionThis is the first large sample survey to timely reveal the living situation of patients with SMA during the COVID-19 pandemic's Omicron variant. Patients with SMA type I should be paid more attention in terms of hospitalization and ICU stay.

A comparative study of different sleep assessment methods for preschool children.

This study aimed to examine the differences between different sleep assessment methods for preschool children. Preschool children (n = 54, mean age: 4.6 years) were recruited from kindergarten. Data were collected using an accelerometer, a sleep log, and sleep questionnaire. Furthermore, correlation analysis, Bland-Altman analysis, and repeated measures ANOVA were performed. (1) The sleep duration evaluated by different sleep assessment methods were all significantly correlated, among which the sleep log and Sadeh algorithm showed the highest correlation (r = 0.972, p < .001), while the Tudor-Locke algorithm and the sleep questionnaire demonstrated the lowest correlation (r = 0.383, p < .01); (2) The points between different sleep assessment methods were all within 95% LoA, except for the sleep log and Tudor-Locke algorithm; (3) In various methods of sleep assessment, significant differences were observed in sleep onset (F2 (1.6,85.0) = 32.8, p < .001, η2 : 0.38), while no significant differences were observed in sleep offset (F2 (1.5,80.1) = 32.8, p = .05, η2 : 0.05); (4) In addition, no significant difference in sleep onset was observed between the sleep questionnaire and sleep log (p > .05), and there was also no significant difference in sleep onset between the Sadeh algorithm and the Tudor-Locke algorithm (p > .05). Both the Sadeh algorithm and the Tudor-Locke algorithm can be used as effective algorithms for sleep duration assessment of Chinese preschool children, with the latter having obvious advantages in large sample surveys. Future research should pay attention to the differences between different sleep assessment methods when using these algorithms.

Gender and LGBT Affinity: The Case of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

AbstractWhen a party selects an out lesbian as its leader, do women and LGBT people evaluate that leader more positively? And do they become more likely to vote for that party? We answer these questions using the case of Kathleen Wynne, premier of Ontario, Canada, from 2013 to 2018. We draw on four large-sample surveys conducted by Ipsos before and after the 2011 and 2014 Ontario elections. We compare shifts in best premier choice and vote choice among non-LGBT men, non-LGBT women, LGBT men, and LGBT women from 2011 to 2014. We find gender and LGBT affinity in leader evaluations. However, we find that only non-LGBT women and LGBT men were more likely to vote Liberal after Wynne became leader. This article contributes to research on affinity by examining LGBT affinity in a real-world election and the intersection of gender and LGBT affinity.

Sleep duration during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: A GIS-based large sample survey study

Although several studies have been conducted in Bangladesh regarding sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, none have utilized a large nationwide sample or presented their findings based on nationwide geographical distribution. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the total sleep duration, night-time sleep, and daily naptime and their associated factors as well as geographic information system (GIS) distribution. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 9730 people in April 2020, including questions relating to socio-demographic variables, behavioral and health factors, lockdown, depression, suicidal ideation, night sleep duration, and naptime duration. Descriptive and inferential statistics, both linear and multivariate regression, and spatial distribution were performed using Microsoft Excel, SPSS, Stata, and ArcGIS software. The results indicated that 64.7% reported sleeping 7–9 h a night, while 29.6% slept less than 7 h nightly, and 5.7% slept more than 9 h nightly. 43.7% reported 30–60 min of daily nap duration, whereas 20.9% napped for more than 1 h daily. Significant predictors of total daily sleep duration were being aged 18–25 years, being unemployed, being married, self-isolating 4 days or more, economic hardship, and depression. For nap duration, being aged 18–25 years, retired, a smoker, and a social media user were at relatively higher risk. The GIS distribution showed that regional division areas with high COVID-19 exposure had higher rates of non-normal sleep duration. Sleep duration showed a regional heterogeneity across the regional divisions of the country that exhibited significant associations with a multitude of socioeconomic and health factors.

Model Construction of Chinese Preservice Physical Education Teachers’ Perception of Social Media: A Grounded Theory Approach

(1) Background: Pre-service physical education teachers commonly embrace social media for multiple purposes. However, little is known about their perception of social media, which could affect the appropriate use of social media in their future professional work. This study aims to explore a theoretical model of how pre-service physical education teachers perceive social media in order to provide a basis for educators to guide their appropriate use of social media. (2) Methods: Qualitative data were collected in diverse ways, mainly from interviews. Seventeen Chinese preservice physical education teachers were selected as participants by a purposive sampling technique. The interview questions focused on participants' motivation, expectations, and experiences in social media usage. Grounded theory was used to analyze the data by ROST CM and Nvivo 12. (3) Results: The perception of social media among teachers includes three subsidiary categories made up of 10 sub-categories, 70 concepts, and 307 labels. The three categories are (a) value perception, including the perspective of intelligent function, interaction, and rich information, (b) risk perception, involving psychological risk, information risk and privacy risk and (c) overall perception, like development trends, current status and basic elements. (4) Conclusions: Chinese preservice physical education teachers perceive social media as having similarities and differences compared to other countries. Future research should consider a large sample survey to revise and verify the initial exploration of perception and study diverse groups of teachers' perceptions of social media.

High Social Mobility Leads to Delayed Reproduction.

Many important family decisions, such as when to have offspring, essentially manifest different life history strategies, ranging from slow to fast ones. The current research examined how one critical societal factor, social mobility (i.e., the shift of socioeconomic status in a society), may contribute to such slow (vs. fast) life history strategies. With four multi-method studies, including archival data at the national level, a large-sample survey (N = 6787), and experimental studies (N = 497), we found that a high level of social mobility predicted and resulted in delayed reproduction. Specifically, a high level of social mobility, indexed by both objective reality and subjective perception, predicted individuals' positive future expectations. This further leads them to focus on long-term goals and foster a slow life history strategy, i.e., preferring delayed reproduction. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Investigation of the Internal Conditions of 213 Reprocessed Endoscopic Channels.

Studies have indicated that endoscope reprocessing failure might be attributed to internal damage or residual liquid in endoscopes. However, large-sample survey data on the internal conditions of endoscopic channels after reprocessing are lacking. This study used a borescope to investigate the internal cleanliness and damage of 213 endoscopic biopsy channels after reprocessing at the endoscopy center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, provided in theoretical basis for the efficacy of endoscope reprocessing and maintenance. A borescope was used to observe and analyze the inside of the endoscopic biopsy channel of 213 reprocessed endoscopes (in accordance with the Chinese health industry standard "Regulation for cleaning and disinfection technique of flexible endoscope (WS 507-2016). Each endoscope was observed for at least 10 minutes, and the results were recorded and evaluated by 5 researchers independently. In all, 2504 images and 109 videos were recorded, and abnormal findings were classified into 10 categories: scratches (91.5%, 195/213), scratches with adherent peel (46.0%, 98/213), discolored areas (49.3%, 105/213), transparent drops (28.2%, 60/213), milky drops (23.9%, 51/213), white particles (46.9%, 100/213), attached materials (37.6%, 80/213), wear on metal parts (41.3%, 88/213), rust (23.9%, 51/213), and black spots (35.7%, 76/213). Among scratches, those in Teflon from 0-10cm at the apex of the biopsy channel outlet and in metal from 0-5cm at the biopsy channel inlet accounted for 58.4% (114/195) and 96.4% (188/195), respectively. Scratches were the most common form of damage in the endoscopic biopsy channels investigated and were related to the use of endoscopic accessories and cleaning brush materials. The incidence of other abnormalities gradually increased with the duration of use and began to increase significantly after 18 months. All abnormalities have a certain impact on the quality of endoscope reprocessing. We recommend that a borescope be used to check the inside of endoscopic biopsy channels regularly to determine the damage and cleaning conditions and that these channels be reprocessed, repaired, or replaced in a timely manner.

Using whatsApp video call to reach large survey sample of low-income children during covid-19: a mixed method post-hoc analysis

ABSTRACT This paper is a post hoc analysis and critical reflection of an unplanned methodology change made in the face of the unforeseen disruption brought by Covid-19 pandemic to a longitudinal study on children (N=462) from low-income families in Singapore. The research team was thrown into a state of intense ambivalence between waiting for life to come back to normal so that face-to-face survey could be resumed or to reformulate the methods and keep to the designed time intervals. This paper documents the framework that guided the urgent decision made for the change of data collection methods from f2f to video call survey, the trade-offs, implications on ethics and implementation results. Corroborating mixed post-hoc analysis methods of five qualitative focused group discussions with 39 survey interviewers who implemented the video-call survey, and statistical analysis of the consistencies of survey results over 3 time points, it was found that utilizing video call methodology did not lead to substantial difference in survey quality. The findings of this paper underscore the need for social science researchers to recognize the inevitability of uncertainties in the research fields and the need to strengthen one’s preparedness for change while closely attending to the possible ethical implications.

Epidemiological characteristics of ankylosing spondylitis in Guangxi Province of China from 2014 to 2021.

To explore the epidemiological characteristics of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Guangxi Province of China through a large sample survey of more than 50 million aboriginal aboriginal population. A systematic search was conducted using the International Classification of Diseases 10 (ICD-10) codes M45.x00(AS), M45.x03+(AS with iridocyclitis), and M40.101(AS with kyphosis) to search the database in the National Health Statistics Network Direct Reporting System (NHSNDRS). 14004 patients were eventually included in the study. The parameters analyzed included the number of patients, gender, marriage, blood type, occupation, age at diagnosis, and location of household registration data each year, and statistical analysis was performed. AS incidence rates increased from 1.30 (95% CI: 1.20-1.40) per 100,000 person-years in 2014 to 5.71 (95% CI: 5.50-5.92) in 2020 in Guangxi Province, and decreased slightly in 2021. Males have a higher incidence than females; the ratio was 5.61 : 1. The mean age of diagnosis in male patients was 45.4 (95% CI: 45.1-45.7) years, in females 47.6 (95% CI: 46.8-48.4) years. The most frequent blood type was O, and the most frequent occupation was farmer. The AS incidence rate was disparate in different cities. Liuzhou city had the highest eight-year average AS incidence rates from 2014 to 2021, and Chongzuo city had the lowest (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence between different ethnic groups (p > 0.05). The AS person-years incidence rate was increasing in Guangxi province of China from 2014 to 2020, which had obvious gender and regional differences, showing the characteristics of local area aggregation.

An Empirical Study of Employee Well-being Status and Improvement Strategies Based on Large Sample Survey

With the rapid development of the social economy, the main contradiction in our society at the present stage has been transformed into the contradiction between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The transformation of this principal contradiction has made the "well-being index" an important indicator to measure the development and progress of a country. In this study, 879 employees from 7 public institutions were selected as the research objects by means of questionnaire survey. The present situation of employees' well-being in three dimension of life well-being, workplace well-being and psychological well-being, and the well-being level of employees with different statistical variables were deeply understood. At the same time, through in-depth interviews, the paper further studies the specific influencing factors of employees' well-being of life, well-being of workplace and psychological wellbeing, and proposed improvement measures from the aspects of improving management consciousness, giving employees life care, improving employees' working environment, and improving democratic management level, so as to enlighten human resource management and improve employees' well-being level.

A survey on dairy and dairy products influence on early menarche: A non-randomized analytical cross sectional observational study

Menarche is first menstrual period which is phase of transition from childhood to adulthood. Many studies revealed decline in age of menarche. Background: There is large concern over early puberty. Dairy products are considered as one of the reason for decline in age of puberty due to presence of steroid hormones. Objective: Main objective of this study is to identify whether Dairy & dairy products has any role for early puberty. Methods: An online cross-sectional study has been conducted (between September 2022 to nov-2022) at MNR Homoeopathic medical college & hospital, Sangareddy, Telangana, India using NHANES Diet questionnaire. Results: Weak negative relationship between intake of dairy products consumption for early menarche. Conclusion: Further detailed study with large sample survey is needed to draw the statement whether dairy products has directly proportional ratio in declining the age of puberty.

Barriers to youth sport participation in dense urban centres

This research examines barriers that urban youth face which limit participation in sport. Conceptually, this work distinguishes between three categories of active (participatory) engagement: 1) those that never participated; 2) those that used to participate; 3) those that do participate; and their level of passive engagement. A set of hypotheses for urban youth sport participation incorporating external and intrinsic factors are tested and guided by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Based on pre-interviews with urban youth (n = 53), a large-sample survey (n = 3,003) of youth in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver was conducted. Results identified four segments of urban youth participation; a multiple regression analysis supported the TPB as an appropriate lens for understanding urban youth sport participation. The development of segments of urban youth based on sport engagement has implications for managers involved in promoting participation. The article contributes theoretically through the extension of the TPB in the context of urban youth participation.

The effect of a currency board arrangement on subjective assessments of a country's economic performance

We present a novel approach to evaluating the effect of a monetary exchange rate regime on economic performance, focusing on countries with a currency board arrangement (CBA). This approach is designed to evaluate the impact of the regime on the perceptions and expectations of a population. We utilise seemingly unrelated regressions to analyse data from large-sample surveys conducted by the Austrian National Bank over the period 2007-2016 in ten European transition economies. The analysis indicates that the probability of the economic situation in a country being perceived as good by its citizens is lower in countries with a currency board arrangement. However, this negative effect almost disappears among respondents who do not trust their government and when there is a significant recession in the country. These findings suggest that a CBA should be maintained for its stabilising effects: 1) when the economic situation is unfavourable, although it might not be beneficial once the situation is stabilised; 2) in countries with low levels of trust in government.

Impact of working from home on travel behavior of rail and car commuters: A case study in the Tokyo metropolitan area

This study empirically analyzes the impact of working from home (WFH) on travel behavior in the Tokyo metropolitan area. We use a large survey sample divided by the usual travel mode for commuting and quantify the impact of WFH on the number of rail, car, and walking and cycling trips made on a weekday. Two types of trip frequency models are examined: (1) a multivariate Poisson-lognormal (MVPLN) regression model that simultaneously explains the number of trips made by multiple modes and (2) a negative binomial regression (NBR) model. Explanatory variables comprise the place of work, the built environment of the place of residence, and individual and household attributes. The estimation results of the MVPLN model show that the error correlation between the number of trips made by a commuting mode and that by other/non-commuting modes is low for both rail and car commuters, which could justify the application of an NBR model. The estimation results of the NBR model show that the average effect of WFH for the full day (compared with working only outside the home) is a reduction of 1.9 rail trips per day for rail commuters and 1.6 car trips per day for car commuters, with car commuters who live in low-density areas tending to reduce car trips to a lesser extent. Meanwhile, few differences are observed in the reduction in rail trips for rail commuters by population density. Rail commuters tend to walk and cycle more if they work from home for the full day.