Transferring cognitive talent across domains to reduce the disposition effect in investment

We consider Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to correctly predict the intentions of others. To an important degree, good ToM function requires abstraction from one’s own particular circumstances. Here, we posit that such abstraction can be transferred successfully to other, non-social contexts. We consider the disposition effect, which is a pervasive cognitive bias whereby investors, including professionals, improperly take their personal trading history into account when deciding on investments. We design an intervention policy whereby we attempt to transfer good ToM function, subconsciously, to personal investment decisions. In a within-subject repeated-intervention laboratory experiment, we record how the disposition effect is reduced by a very significant 85%, but only for those with high scores on the social-cognitive dimension of ToM function. No such transfer is observed in subjects who score well only on the social-perceptual dimension of ToM function. Our findings open up a promising way to exploit cognitive talent in one domain in order to alleviate cognitive deficiencies elsewhere.

Evaluation of Safety Climate and its associated factors in Base Hospital Avissawella

The safety climate is “the summary of molar perceptions that employees share about their work environments” and associated with several factors. A descriptive cross-sectional study was done among a randomly selected sample of medical officers (n= 109) and nursing officers (n=193) to evaluate the safety climate and its associated factors in Base Hospital Avissawella Sri Lanka. Among the six safety climate dimensions personal protective and engineering control equipment availability (mean=3.94, SD=0.67) was perceived at the highest level. The lowest scored perceptual dimension was absence of job hindrances (mean=3.27, SD=0.83). Among the respondents 219 (83.5%) had at least one exposure incident. There is no significant relationship between job category and workplace exposure incidents (p= 0.388). Only 28.3% (n=62) had reported about their injuries. Only 60.7% (n=159) were strictly compliant to safe work practices and the compliance of nursing officers was better than of medical officers (p=0.000). The safety climate had a negative association with workplace exposure incidents (OR< 1.0) and a positive association with compliance to safe work practices. (OR>1.0). The respondents had negative perceptions about some of the safety climate dimensions. Workplace exposure incidents were common and the reporting behavior about injuries was poor among both categories of staff, but comparatively the nursing officers were better. Majority were “Strict compliant” to the safe work practices and compliance was better among nursing officers. Safety climate was negatively associated with exposure incidents and positively with the compliance. The hospital managers should pay more attention on safety of employees, provide adequate training opportunities on occupational safety and encourage employees’ reporting behavior.

Gender preference on the quality of landscape aesthetic of urban agriculture

In addition to providing food benefits, urban agriculture also has aesthetic benefits. Therefore, a visual assessment of the urban agricultural landscape can be used to measure this aesthetic value. Gender preference is also carried out to see differences in visual assessment. This research was conducted in Makassar City using primary data with 129 respondents consisting of 53 people who had never been to Makassar and 76 people who had been/lived in Makassar. The aesthetic assessment of agricultural landscapes in Makassar City used the Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) method with a perceptual dimension. The results showed that the most beautiful urban agricultural landscapes had a high level of preference, namely in various plant gardens and verticultural hydroponic systems. Furthermore, the highest SBE score as a potential attraction was shown by male respondent who had never been to Makassar. Possible urban agricultural landscape resources should receive special attention by arranging them neatly and cleanly so that they have high artistic value to provide beauty and comfort for visitors.JEL Classification: C00; O13; Q19

DIFFERENT MUSCULOSKELETAL PAINS AND SOCIOCULTURAL FEATURES: THE CASE OF PRIVATE NOBEL PHYSICAL THERAPY AND REHABILITATION MEDICAL CENTER

Aim: It was conducted to evaluate the effect of some sociodemographic and cultural characteristics on pain perception and pain intensity in different musculoskeletal pains and to determine some characteristics related to pain. Method: By recording the demographic information and sociocultural characteristics of all participants; Scandinavian Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and McGill Pain Scale Short Form were used to assess pain perception and pain intensity. Results: 544 patients, 372 women and 172 men, with subacute and chronic musculoskeletal pain were included in this study. The average age of the participants was 40.74±14.53 years. When the effect of sociocultural factors on pain intensity and pain perception (sensory and perceptual dimensions) is examined; it was determined that as the education level increased, the severity of pain (p = 0.002) and pain perception decreased (p = 0.0001), and the pain intensity of the participants living in the village was higher (p = 0.014). While the severity of pain and pain perception were higher in female individuals, it was determined that they also increased with age. When the relationship between pain intensity and pain perception of the participants is examined; positive high relationship (r = 0.630, p = 0.0001) was found between the intensity of pain and sensory pain perception, and a moderate relationship (r = 0.597, p = 0.0001) was found between perceptual dimension. A high positive correlation was found between sensory and perceptual pain dimensions (r = 0.658, p = 0.0001) Conclusion: Chronic pain experience and pain perception levels are affected by social and cultural characteristics. Sociocultural characteristics of individuals should also be taken into consideration in pain relief. Studies examining the effects of different sociocultural characteristics such as language, religious belief, family structure, pet feeding or interaction with animals on musculoskeletal pain are also needed.

Strengthening the affectivity of atmospheres in urban environments: the toolkit of multi-sensory experience

PurposeThe affectivity is conceptualised in the literary work of phenomenological theories as a significant factor in urban environments studies that are related to change people's feelings. This article aims to present toolkits for creating affective urban atmospheres, which is based on communications between people and place.Design/methodology/approachTo better comprehend the links between the felt body theory and reconstructing affective urban atmospheres in urban environments, this article has performed bibliographic investigations on the sensible approaches and presented Toolkit related to the multi-sensory experience.FindingsThis article breaks new ground to discuss the concepts of the felt body, vital drive and daily multi-sensory experience as a contribution to urban studies applications.Research limitations/implicationsThis article clarified the possibility of creating affective urban atmospheres through the concepts of affectivity as a process at a pre-design stage.Originality/valueIn conclusion, it is argued that work on multi-sensory experience in urban environments needs to address the felt body and vital drive to become a set of urban studies tools of perceptual dimension.

Polarities influence implicit associations between colour and emotion

Colours are linked to emotional concepts. Research on the effect of red in particular has been extensive, and evidence shows that positive as well as negative associations can be salient in different contexts. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the contextual factor of polarity. According to the polarity-correspondence principle, negative and positive category poles are assigned to the binary response categories (here positive vs. negative valence) and the perceptual dimension (green vs. red) in a discrimination task. Response facilitation occurs only where the conceptual category (valence) and the perceptual feature (colour) share the same pole (i.e., where both are plus or both are minus). We asked participants (n = 140) to classify the valence of green and red words within two types of blocks: (a) where all words were of the same colour (monochromatic conditions) providing no opposition in the perceptual dimension, and (b) where red and green words were randomly mixed (mixed-colour conditions). Our results show that red facilitates responses to negative words when the colour green is present (mixed-colour conditions) but not when it is absent (monochromatic conditions). This is in line with the polarity-correspondence principle, but colour-specific valence-affect associations contribute to the found effects.

No Correlation between Perception of Meaning and Positive Schizotypy in a Female College Sample

We visually perceive meaning from stimuli in the external world. There are inter-individual variations in the perception of meaning. A candidate factor to explain this variation is positive schizotypy, which is a personality analogous to positive symptoms of schizophrenia (e.g., visual hallucination). The present study investigated the relationship between positive schizotypy, and the perception of meaning derived from meaningful and meaningless visual stimuli. Positive schizotypy in Japanese female undergraduates (n = 35) was assessed by the Cognitive-Perceptual dimension of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. The participants were asked to report what they saw in noise-degraded images of meaningful objects (Experiment 1) and to respond whether the objects were meaningful (Experiment 2A) and which paired objects were meaningful (Experiment 2B). Positive schizotypy (i.e., Cognitive-Perceptual score) did not correlate with time to detect meaningful objects, and with false-alarm rates, sensitivity, and response criterion in the perception of meaning from meaningful and meaningless stimuli. These results were against our hypothesis and contradicted previous findings. The inconsistencies are discussed in terms of different methods (e.g., stimulus category) and conditions (e.g., paranormal beliefs).

The association between body weight dissatisfaction with unhealthy eating behaviors and lack of physical activity in adolescents: A systematic review

A systematic review examined the association between body weight dissatisfaction with unhealthy eating behaviors and lack of physical activity in adolescents, since it represents an alert to adolescent’s health and well-being. Six electronic databases and gray literature were systematically searched from January 1980 to December 2018. A total of 11 articles met the inclusion criteria. Included studies assessed body weight dissatisfaction using different dimensions/components: satisfaction component of the attitudinal dimension was assessed in five studies, behavior component of the attitudinal dimension was assessed in two studies, perceptual dimension was assessed in two studies, and two studies were unclear about dimension. Behaviors: two assessed only unhealthy eating behaviors, six assessed lack of physical activity, and three assessed both behaviors. Only three studies found an association between body weight dissatisfaction with unhealthy eating behaviors, three with lack of physical activity, and one did not perform a statistical test for an association between body weight dissatisfaction with unhealthy eating behaviors and lack of physical activity. Few studies have reported an association between body weight dissatisfaction with one of these unhealthy behaviors. There was substantial heterogeneity related to unit of measures, both for body weight dissatisfaction and for behaviors studied.

Affective Atmospheres, Essence of Architecture, and Spirit of Place

This chapter reviews the implications of using the words “essences” and “spirit” in urban studies and their link with the concept of affective atmospheres in the realms of architecture. Two assumptions are valid when this matter is addressed. The first is that, despite affective atmospheres being considered as the fifth dimension in architecture, they are not their essence or spirit. The second is that these atmospheres impersonate a crucial role in reconstructing different urban environments, which are based on the perceptual dimension. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an informed view bibliographically and conceptually about distinguishing between essence, spirit, and affective atmospheres. The chapter also provides an analysis of the concept of affective atmospheres to verify the hypothesis. The conclusion is latent in the possibility that the expression “affective atmospheres,” instead of “essence” or “spirit,” can be used for referring to people's emotional impressions in urban environments as a fifth dimension.