Shifts In Human Behaviour Research Articles

The Uprise of Human Leishmaniasis in Tuscany, Central Italy: Clinical and Epidemiological Data from a Multicenter Study.

Human leishmaniasis is facing important epidemiological changes in Southern Europe, driven by increased urbanization, climate changes, emerging of new animal reservoirs, shifts in human behavior and a growing population of immunocompromised and elderly individuals. In this evolving epidemiological landscape, we analyzed the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of human leishmaniasis in the Tuscany region of Central Italy. Through a multicentric retrospective analysis, we collected clinical and demographic data about all cases of leishmaniasis recorded between 2018 and 2023. We observed 176 cases of human leishmaniasis, with 128 (72.7%) visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and 47 (26.7%) cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Among these, 92.2% of VL and 85.1% of CL cases were autochthonous. The cumulative incidence of autochthonous human leishmaniasis was 0.22 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018, but reached 1.81/100,000 in 2023. We identified three main areas of transmission: around the city of Florence (North-East Tuscany), around Grosseto city (South-West Tuscany) and Elba Island. Our findings confirm that the epidemiology of leishmaniasis is undergoing significant changes in Central Italy. Awareness towards this emerging health threat and surveillance strategies need to be improved in order to reliably assess the disease's burden. Further research is needed in a "One-Health" perspective, to clarify the epidemiological dynamics at the environmental, reservoir, vector and human levels. The role of climate change and specific climatic factors affecting the epidemiological patterns of human leishmaniasis should be assessed. Further knowledge in these fields would promote targeted control and prevention strategies at regional and national levels.

Analyzing evolutionary game theory in epidemic management: A study on social distancing and mask-wearing strategies.

When combating a respiratory disease outbreak, the effectiveness of protective measures hinges on spontaneous shifts in human behavior driven by risk perception and careful cost-benefit analysis. In this study, a novel concept has been introduced, integrating social distancing and mask-wearing strategies into a unified framework that combines evolutionary game theory with an extended classical epidemic model. To yield deeper insights into human decision-making during COVID-19, we integrate both the prevalent dilemma faced at the epidemic's onset regarding mask-wearing and social distancing practices, along with a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis. We explore the often-overlooked aspect of effective mask adoption among undetected infectious individuals to evaluate the significance of source control. Both undetected and detected infectious individuals can significantly reduce the risk of infection for non-masked individuals by wearing effective facemasks. When the economical burden of mask usage becomes unsustainable in the community, promoting affordable and safe social distancing becomes vital in slowing the epidemic's progress, allowing crucial time for public health preparedness. In contrast, as the indirect expenses associated with safe social distancing escalate, affordable and effective facemask usage could be a feasible option. In our analysis, it was observed that during periods of heightened infection risk, there is a noticeable surge in public interest and dedication to complying with social distancing measures. However, its impact diminishes beyond a certain disease transmission threshold, as this strategy cannot completely eliminate the disease burden in the community. Maximum public compliance with social distancing and mask-wearing strategies can be achieved when they are affordable for the community. While implementing both strategies together could ultimately reduce the epidemic's effective reproduction number ([Formula: see text]) to below one, countries still have the flexibility to prioritize either of them, easing strictness on the other based on their socio-economic conditions.

돌연변이의 미학

This study explores Laurie Hogin’s unique ecological approach by examining her artworks, which have not been extensively studied in South Korea. The analysis of her works focuses on the salient feature of ‘mutation’, highlighting the ecological perspective rooted in the major concepts of Félix Guattari’s ecosophy. First, through the lens of Guattari’s “Three Ecologies”, it is shown that Hogin’s mutation is not just biological reproduction, but a combination of non-human minorities, human-as-animal, and consumer subjectivity with in the ecosystem. Hogin’s mutation is ecological in its ability to facilitate the transformation of human subjectivity through sensory experiences that deviate from the everyday. It is a delicate endeavor to assess the capacity of artworks to produce new subjectivities. However, Hogin’s works actively reveal non-human others and raise questions about the capitalism’s subjugation through symbols and consumer subjectivity. Consequently, this has the potential to serve as a catalyst for some viewers in their ecological departure. Furthermore, this study argues that art, as a platform for experimentation and exploration, can play an important role in solving ecological problems and facilitating paradigm shifts in human behavior and cognition. Art can be a powerful catalyst in addressing ecological crises by promoting shifts in perception, diverse perspectives, sensory sharing and connection, social dialogue, and interdisciplinary research. Accordingly, this paper concludes by emphasizing that mutation in art is an important key to a future that respects the values of diversity and heterogeneity.

The raptor lockdown menu—Shifts in prey composition suggest urban peregrine diets are linked to human activities

Abstract Raptors can thrive in cities where food supplies are abundant and seasonally stable. The availability of such resources may be linked to spatiotemporally predictable human activities generating reliable food subsidies for both raptors and their prey, capable of sustaining large populations. However, raptors may become affected by shifts in human behaviour. Here, we explore how urban peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus diets respond to changes in human activity levels amidst COVID‐19 pandemic social restrictions. We used online nest cameras to study peregrine diets and reproduction across 31 sites in 27 UK cities over three breeding seasons, including one during lockdown. Prey composition changed significantly between years, and these differences varied by region. During lockdown, London peregrines took a lower proportion of pigeons (−14.5%), offset by a greater proportion of starlings Sturnus vulgaris (+6.9%) and ring‐necked parakeets Psittacula krameri (+3.2%). In other cities, lockdown diets showed no change for pigeons (+0.3%), starlings comprised a lower prey proportion (−4.3%), while non‐dominant corvid prey (+2.3%) and waterbirds (+2%) had greater importance. Racing pigeon prey also decreased during lockdown, significantly outside London. However, breeding parameters (number of eggs, hatchlings, fledglings) were not significantly different, suggesting urban peregrines may not have experienced food shortages amidst restrictions. Thus, our study demonstrates that human activity can influence urban peregrine predation opportunities but is unlikely to be more important than other factors like habitat availability. It also highlights how impacts can vary regionally, which may have been driven by social and geographical differences between the capital and other cities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Integrated behaviour change intervention for sustainable community development: a KAP study of WASH in district Gujrat, Pakistan

Abstract Behaviour change interventions are fundamental to achieve sustainability in communities through the identification of new, and strengthening the existing positive practices. It is considered central to the quest for a sustainable future and solves multidimensional community problems, which require large scale shifts in human behaviour with regard to their health, socio-physical activities and long held habits. In this context, the study examines the role of integrated behaviour change interventions for sustainable community development by exploring the direct and mediating impacts through knowledge attitude and practice (KAP) of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). The primary data was collected from district Gujrat (Pakistan) through stratified random sampling to explore the impacts of KAP of WASH and its relationship with child health and sustainable community development. The hypotheses of the study were tested with smartPLS software. Findings of the overall sample of the study have revealed that integrated behaviour change interventions have significant impacts on KAP, WASH practices in daily life, child health (CH) and sustainable community development (SCD). Furthermore, the relationships among variables are positively significant and have direct and mediating impacts on sustainable community development.

Close encounters of the worst kind: reforms needed to curb coral reef damage by recreational divers

Intentional and unintentional physical contact between scuba divers and the seabed is made by most divers and multiple times per dive, which often results in damage to corals and other marine life. Current efforts to reduce reef contacts (e.g., voluntary dive operator recognition programs and voluntary dive standards) can be effective, but lack sufficient incentive structures for long-term compliance. In their current capacity, these programs fail to reduce reef contacts to tolerable levels. Regulatory policies can facilitate pervasive and permanent shifts in human behavior, but have been underutilized to change unsustainable underwater norms. Most coral reefs open to recreational diving lie within territorial waters of individual countries, and many already have existing forms of protection with legislation that can be easily modified. Successful policy precedents in Marine Protected Areas (e.g., bans on underwater glove use) and elsewhere (e.g., anti-smoking laws in public spaces and legislation enforcing seat belt use) demonstrate the largely untapped potential of using effective governance to change destructive diving norms for good. To reduce intentional reef contacts, policy-makers can enact regulations in MPAs directly banning all contact between divers and the seabed. To reduce unintentional contacts, policy-makers can create policy safeguards that preempt such occurrences (e.g., requiring divers to keep a certain distance from the seabed). Crucially, such policies will need accompanying formal and informal enforcement measures that are equitable, effective, and efficient to motivate compliance and effect lasting behavior change. Having a robust, well-enforced, regulatory framework to tackle both types of reef contacts lends credence to the efforts of existing conservation programs, and is key to permanently changing divers’ underwater attitudes and fostering sustainable scuba diving behavior to the benefit of all.

Social distancing measures differentially affected rats in North America and Tokyo.

Because rats are commensal organisms that depend on human activities for food, shifts in human behavior will have pronounced effects on local rat populations. In the spring of 2020, social distancing measures were implemented globally to curtail the spread of SARS-CoV-2. This presented a unique opportunity to obtain information regarding the immediate effects of shifts in human behavior on rat populations in a variety of countries. In response to increased sightings of rats in the USA that were reported in American media, we analyzed the changes in the number of public service calls in Tokyo, Japan. We found that the number of calls increased after the implementation of social distancing measures, suggesting that rat sightings had also increased in Tokyo. We then surveyed the changes in the business activities of pest management professionals in the USA, Canada, and Tokyo. We found that the activities were increased in 50 to 60% of the respondents from the USA and Canada. In contrast, 60 to 70% of the respondents from Tokyo answered that their activities were not changed. These results implied that, following the implementation of social distancing measures, rat infestations increased in North America, but not in Tokyo. The survey also suggested that roof rats were considered to be the predominant rodent species in Tokyo. This may account for the limited infestations in Tokyo because roof rats are more sedentary than brown rats. Taken together, our findings suggest that social distancing measures differentially affected rat populations in North America and Tokyo.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10340-021-01405-z.

The ecological consequences of a pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered human behaviour in profound ways, prompting some to question whether the associated economic and social impacts might outweigh disease impacts. This fits into a burgeoning ecological paradigm suggesting that for both predator–prey and parasite–host interactions, non-consumptive effects (avoidance) can be orders of magnitude stronger than consumptive effects (sickness and death). Just as avoidance of predators and parasites imposes substantial costs on prey and hosts, altered behaviour to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 has impacted human fitness and wellbeing. But the effects of infectious disease avoidance do not stop there; non-consumptive effects of predators and parasites often trigger cascading indirect effects in natural systems. Similarly, shifts in human behaviour due to COVID-19 have triggered myriad indirect effects on species and the environment, which can be positive, negative or neutral. We urge researchers to recognize that the environmental impacts associated with lockdowns are indirect effects of the virus. In short, the global response to COVID-19 suggests that the non-consumptive effects of a pathogen, and resulting indirect effects, can be profound.

Narratives of Epidemics: Topsy-turvy Conditions of Humans and Quest for Existence

Corpus of literature is replete with works that feature pandemics as central themes. As a response to diseases outbreaks, fiction writers portray the human condition and the shifts in human behaviour at these crucial junctures of human history. Plot structure and characterization accounts for the void –both within and without—: prevailing chaos, crumbling social structures, undermining of religious values, and Government’s apathy. Based on such themes, this paper examines, from Deterministic and Existentialistic perspectives, three representative fictions written in the 21st century: Reina James’s This Time of Dying (2006) on the deadly influenza of 1918, Amir Taj Elsir’s Ebola ’76 (2012) on the outbreak of Ebola in 1976, and Karen Maitland’s The Plague Charmer (2016) on the plague of 1361. The findings include: (a) the novels predict the contemporary society with their resonance of apocalyptic images and preventive measures, (b) they manifest ontological shifts as the orthodox worldviews are jolted, and (c) fictional and personal narratives are not less important than historical records on health in quest for existence.

Human occupation and environmental change in the western Maghreb during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Late Glacial. New evidence from the Iberomaurusian site Ifri El Baroud (northeast Morocco)

With the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), hunter-gatherers of the so-called Iberomaurusian techno-complex appeared in what is now the Mediterranean Maghreb. During a period of about seven thousand years, these groups left sandy occupation layers in a limited number of archaeological sites, while at the beginning of Greenland Interstadial (GI) 1, the sudden shift towards the deposition of shell-rich sediments and the increase in number of sites document clear changes in subsistence strategies as well as occupation density. It is highly likely that these shifts in human behaviour are related to paleoenvironmental changes in the area, which, so far, are poorly documented in geological and archaeological archives. Ifri El Baroud (Gunpowder Cave, northeast Morocco) contains a well-stratified archaeological sequence covering both phases of Iberomaurusian occupation separated by a sharp sedimentary change. In this paper, new chronological data and detailed investigations on site formation using sedimentology and micromorphology are presented. In addition, results of the analyses of fauna, pollen, macrobotanical remains, and phytoliths are included. This data contributes to a full-scale paleoenvironmental interpretation of the site’s archaeological deposits, highlighting the fluctuations of landscape conditions at the transition from the cold-arid Greenland Stadial (GS) 2.1 to the warmer and moister Greenland Interstadial 1.

Communicating the relevance of paleo research in the current societal environment

It is not an easy task for paleoscientists to communicate the relevance of their research to policy makers and funders. However, an increase in catastrophic environmental calamities related to climate change (e.g. landslide, droughts, flooding) demands a response both in terms of policy-making and future governmental decisions. Often, climate change in the recent past was linked to major shifts in human behavior, which masks the relative contribution of humans and nature. For example, the 4.2 ka BP aridification event was so severe that it may have triggered the collapse of several large civilizations (the Old Kingdom in Egypt and the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia; Gibbons 1993). Compilations of long-term records of past variability can help reduce the uncertainties on past, present and future climate changes, and thus support informed societal decisions. Therefore, policymakers should (and some may argue, must) consider the long-term perspective provided by paleoscience research.

The role of material culture in human time representation: Calendrical systems as extensions of mental time travel

Humans have cognitive mechanisms that allow them to keep track of time, represent past events, and simulate the future, but these capacities have intrinsic constraints. Here, we explore the role of material culture as an extension of internal time representations through anthropological and archeological case studies, focusing on Upper Paleolithic material culture. We argue that calendars complement and extend internal time representations, because they enable humans to project past events into the future more accurately than is possible with episodic memory alone, making them one of the factors that significantly improved foraging success during the Upper Paleolithic. We discuss the implications of the epistemic use of material culture for our understanding of the causes of shifts in human behavior during the Upper Paleolithic.

Forecasting the consequences of climate-driven shifts in human behavior on cetaceans

Abstract While climate change is expected to affect cetaceans primarily via loss of habitat and changes in prey availability, additional consequences may result from climate-driven shifts in human behaviors and economic activities. For example, increases in shipping, oil and gas exploration and fishing due to the loss of Arctic sea ice are highly likely to exacerbate acoustic disturbance, ship strikes, bycatch and prey depletion for Arctic cetaceans. In the tropics, climate change may result in increased hunting pressure on near-shore dolphins and whales off Asia, Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere as the availability of other marine resources diminishes. This study explores the range of potential consequences to cetaceans worldwide from predicted climate-driven shifts in human behavior, and evaluates the risks to particular species given their geographic ranges and habitat preferences. While concern about impacts of climate change on cetaceans has largely focused on polar species, the analysis presented here suggests tropical coastal and riverine cetaceans such as the Irawaddy dolphin, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, and finless porpoise are particularly vulnerable to those aspects of climate change that are mediated by changes in human behavior. Policy recommendations include the following: (1) information about cetacean populations should be incorporated into national, regional and international climate adaptation decisions wherever possible (for example, via GEF-sponsored adaptation initiatives); and (2) human-mediated impacts of climate change should be included in cetacean conservation and management plans, such as the management procedures of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), where possible. Because human responses to climate change are likely to evolve rapidly over the coming years and decades, it is important that local, regional and international cetacean conservation and management plans include regular reviews to allow them to adapt to new information.

End User Development and Meta-Design

The first decade of the World Wide Web predominantly enforced a clear separation between designers and consumers. New technological developments, such as the participatory Web 2.0 architectures, have emerged to support social computing. These developments are the foundations for a fundamental shift from consumer cultures (specialized in producing finished goods) to cultures of participation (in which all people can participate actively in personally meaningful activities). End-user development and meta-design provide foundations for this fundamental transformation. They explore and support new approaches for the design, adoption, appropriation, adaptation, evolution, and sharing of artifacts by all participating stakeholders. They take into account that cultures of participation are not dictated by technology alone: they are the result of incremental shifts in human behavior and social organizations. The design, development, and assessment of five particular applications that contributed to the development of our theoretical framework are described and discussed.

269 Scenarios for Cancer prevention in Europe: the Eurocadet project

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is attributable to carcinogen and oncogenic virus exposure and rates are driven by the prevalence, intensity, and duration of exposures. Recent dramatic shifts in human behavior have resulted in substantial heterogeneity in HNSCC incidence trends over calendar time. For example, changes in sexual behavior during the 1900s likely increased exposure to oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and, consequently, rates of HPV-positive HNSCC. Shifting rate-ratios for HPV-positive versus negative HNSCC determine the HPV attributable fraction (AF), best measured by direct tumor testing for HPV DNA and RNA. Potential high efficacy of HPV vaccines against oral HPV infections will affect future incidence trends, depending on calendar time of introduction, male and female coverage, and herd protection. Accurate estimates of HPV AF for all cancers, including HNSCC, may inform HPV immunization policy and surveillance of effectiveness.

Engaging sustainable development: some observations on progress in the UK

Continuing criticism of the term ‘sustainable development’ deflects attention from the political project that has to underpin shifts in human behaviour. It is more important to redefine the roles and functions of public and private institutions in ways that legitimate sustainable actions in the belief that latent public support for environmental protection can be converted into a widening range of new but customary behaviours. A brief review of the UK government's response to the Rio declaration demonstrates faltering purpose, reinforcing and reflecting public distrust of government and those commercial interests that benefit from the status quo. Only very modest comfort can be taken from its limited initiatives which range from the greater dissemination of information to the setting of some environmental targets. The unwillingness of government to promote major fiscal or financial reforms, or significantly to decentralize power and initiative, or to recognize the limitations to scientific knowledge when seeking the bases to ‘rational’ decision-making in the face of uncertainty, reveal the inadequacy of the steps so far taken.