Wind Farm Noise Management Based on Determinants of Annoyance

Wind energy in Europe is aimed to grow at a steady, high pace. Wind turbine noise is an important issue for residents. Environmental noise management aims to reduce the exposure of the population, usually based on acoustics and restricted to a limited number of sources (such as transportation or industry) and sound descriptors (such as Lden). Individual perceptions are taken into account only at an aggregate, statistical level (such as percentage of exposed, annoyed or sleep-disturbed persons in the population). Individual perceptions and reactions to sound vary in intensity and over different dimensions (such as pleasure/fear or distraction). Sound level is in fact a weak predictor of the perceived health effects of sound. The positive or negative perception of the sound (source) is a better predictor of its effects. This article aims to show how the two perspectives (based on acoustics and on perception) can lead to a combined approach in the management of environmental sound. In this approach the reduction of annoyance, not primarily of level, is the main aim. An important aspect in this approach is what a sound means to people: does it lead to anxiety or worry, is it appropriate? The available knowledge will be applied to wind farm management: planning as well as operation.

Four Puzzles of Reputation-Based Cooperation

Research in various disciplines has highlighted that humans are uniquely able to solve the problem of cooperation through the informal mechanisms of reputation and gossip. Reputation coordinates the evaluative judgments of individuals about one another. Direct observation of actions and communication are the essential routes that are used to establish and update reputations. In large groups, where opportunities for direct observation are limited, gossip becomes an important channel to share individual perceptions and evaluations of others that can be used to condition cooperative action. Although reputation and gossip might consequently support large-scale human cooperation, four puzzles need to be resolved to understand the operation of reputation-based mechanisms. First, we need empirical evidence of the processes and content that form reputations and how this may vary cross-culturally. Second, we lack an understanding of how reputation is determined from the muddle of imperfect, biased inputs people receive. Third, coordination between individuals is only possible if reputation sharing and signaling is to a large extent reliable and valid. Communication, however, is not necessarily honest and reliable, so theoretical and empirical work is needed to understand how gossip and reputation can effectively promote cooperation despite the circulation of dishonest gossip. Fourth, reputation is not constructed in a social vacuum; hence we need a better understanding of the way in which the structure of interactions affects the efficiency of gossip for establishing reputations and fostering cooperation.

Determinant of Obesity Among Women From Low Income Family In RW 05 Area Sub-district Cibubur 2021

Obesity is one of the nutrition problems that the prevalence increases continuously. People from low socioeconomic status significantly increase. Likewise, obesity in a woman is more prone than man. This study aims to explore the causes of obesity in adult women who come from middle and lower families. The research was conducted using qualitative principles, which research method in-depth interviews and observations. The primary informants involved ten adult women who have obese nutritional status and the key informants were community leader and family members. Results showed the influence perception of body shape on the intention and willingness to lose weight. Wrong eating patterns are excess food intake and consumption of food and beverages, which lead to obesity along with less exercise and passive activity. Its behavior is affected by individual perceptions, social support, and the environment..

The Unmasked Electorate: Co-Partisanship, Personal Experience, and Perceptions of COVID-19 Risk in Mexico

Research suggests partisanship influences individual perceptions of COVID-19 risk and preventative behaviors. We ask a distinct but equally urgent question: what factors are associated with variation in risk perception among co-partisans? Even among members of the same party, some individuals’ risk perceptions reflect the party line while others deviate from it. We explore this question in Mexico, where the president utilized his rhetoric to downplay the severity of the pandemic. Why do some of the presidents’ co-partisans perceive COVID-19 as a serious risk (despite partisan appeals to the contrary), while others do not? Drawing on theories of risk perception, we hypothesize that this variation is associated with personal risk experience, like knowing someone who contracted COVID-19. We test this hypothesis via a large-n survey of MORENA supporters. We find that personal experiences are consistently associated with variation in risk perception. Strength of partisan ties, meanwhile, is only activated when paired with risk experience.

Using the Technology Acceptance Model to characterize barriers and opportunities of telehealth in rural populations: A mixed methods study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Healthcare access issues have long plagued rural Americans. One approach to alleviate the challenges and poor health outcomes for rural individuals is through the use of telehealth. While telehealth has been around for decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth and awareness of the service. It is important to understand factors that may be related to telehealth adoption or non-adoption, particularly in underserved rural settings. OBJECTIVE This pilot study examines telehealth perceptions among rural, underserved populations using the TAM as a framework to explore adoption of telemedicine services of those who have used it. The study also explores the differences between user’s and non-user’s perceptions of telehealth. METHODS Paper surveys and phone interviews were completed by individuals in rural Northern Michigan. RESULTS Results suggest that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use explained 91% of the variability in attitude toward telehealth [R2 = .91, F(1,15) = 73.406, p<.001]. Ease of use was a significant predictor (M = 2.36, SD = 1.20, p<.001), but usefulness (M = 3.16, SD = .81, p=.20) was not. Furthermore, there were significant different in individual perceptions of telehealth between users and non-users. For example, non-users believed they would receive better care in-person (Users: M = 3.30, SD = 1.22; Non-Users: M = 1.91, SD = 1.14, F(1, 32) = 10.126, p = .003). The quantitative findings were reinforced with the qualitative results from the phone interviews. CONCLUSIONS Overall, TAM is an appropriate model to view the attitudes toward telehealth that may lead to its adoption by rural Americans.

Introduction

This introduction offers an overview of our research approach, discusses the connection between sociology and climate research, and presents our two research aims. In substantive terms, we address the question of which behaviors are of climate relevance, who is engaging in these behaviors, in which contexts do these behaviors occur, and which individual perceptions and values are related to them. In terms of research methods, we focus on the measurement of climate-relevant behaviors using population surveys. Our goal in this regard is to develop an instrument that allows a valid estimate of an individual’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with as few questions as possible.

Flâneuring and observing the city. The self-ethnographic experience in urban planning

In this article, our intension is to shed light on this thought: the city in all its dimensions, becomes a reception space not only in the base of individual perceptions but also through a “nostalgic” lived dimension for something that may have been irrevocably lost or for something that is desirable. This point of view enables us to approach the city in an emotionally way of seeing, against the irrational, technical and unquestionable manner used by urban specialists. So far, the social and anthropological factor in urban planning has not been the main goal on the projects. Nevertheless, the postmodernity perspective demands new steps forward on urban field thought which are more dialectical and with a strong personal value imprint of the inhabitant’s demand. The study aims to evaluate the (possible) attitudes, representations, conflicts and desires of inhabitants and specialists for specific urban environments (cases) integrating the sense of the imaginary (subjective) perception and the dimensions arising from the reception of architectural structures and forms in the space but also to gain insight of a dipper understanding of the idealistic image of the city entities.

Perceptions, Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change Effects among Small Livestock Herders in Punjab, Pakistan

Pakistan is an agrarian nation that is among the most vulnerable countries to climatic variations. Around 20% of its GDP is produced by agriculture, and livestock-related production contributes more than half of this value. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to determine the vulnerability and knowledge of livestock herders, and particularly the smaller herders. Comprehending individual perceptions of and vulnerabilities to climate change (CC) will enable effective formulation of CC mitigation strategies. This study intended to explore individual perceptions of and vulnerabilities to CC based on a primary dataset of 405 small livestock herders from three agro-ecological zones of Punjab. The results showed that livestock herders’ perceptions about temperature and rainfall variations/patterns coincide with the meteorological information of the study locations. The vulnerability indicators show that Dera Ghazi Khan district is more vulnerable than the other two zones because of high exposure and sensitivity to CC, and lower adaptive capacity. However, all zones experience regular livelihood risks due to livestock diseases and deaths resulting from extreme climatic conditions, lower economic status, and constrained institutional and human resource capabilities, thus leading to increased vulnerability. The results indicate that low-cost local approaches are needed, such as provision of improved veterinary services, increased availability of basic equipment, small-scale infrastructure projects, and reinforcement of informal social safety nets. These measures would support cost-effective and sustainable decisions to enable subsistence livestock herders to adopt climate smart practices.

Does She Deserve It? The Influence of Gender and Meritocracy in Reactions to Affirmative Action Legislation

Gender equality is a matter for debate worldwide. In 2018, Portugal enacted legislation (Decree Law no. 62/2017) to balance gender representation on the executive boards of listed and public sector organizations with measures similar to those causing controversies in other countries. Thus, in accordance with previous research, a study took place to examine the attitudes towards the justice of this legislation and the role of merit in these attitudes. This study (n = 129 women and 94 men) deployed an experimentally manipulative type of affirmative action program to consider the role of individual perceptions of the justice of the legislation coupled with the influence of beliefs in meritocracy and participant gender. The results identify how the type of affirmative action impacted on the perceived justice, also influenced by merit, which seems normative and fundamental to evaluating the justice of such legally stipulated provisions. Nonetheless, objectively evaluating candidate merits revealed difficulties in disentangling this process from personality traits.

Disruption of medical care among individuals in the southeastern United States during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Widespread disruptions of medical care to mitigate COVID-19 spread and reduce burden on healthcare systems may have deleterious public health consequences.Design and Methods: To examine factors contributing to healthcare interruptions during the pandemic, we conducted a COVID-19 impact survey between 10/7-12/14/2020 among participants of the Southern Community Cohort Study, which primarily enrolled low-income individuals in 12 southeastern states from 2002-2009. COVID survey data were combined with baseline and follow-up data.Results: Among 4,463 respondents, 40% reported having missed/delayed a health appointment during the pandemic; the common reason was provider-initiated cancellation or delay (63%). In a multivariable model, female sex was the strongest independent predictor of interrupted care, with odds ratio (OR) 1.63 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40-1.89). Those with higher education (OR 1.27; 95% CI 1.05-1.54 for college graduate vs ≤high school) and household income (OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.16-1.86 for >$50,000 vs <$15,000) were at significantly increased odds of missing healthcare. Having greater perceived risk for acquiring (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.17-1.72) or dying from COVID-19 (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.04-1.51) also significantly increased odds of missed/delayed healthcare. Age was inversely associated with missed healthcare among men (OR for 5-year increase in age 0.88; 95% CI 0.80-0.96) but not women (OR 0.97; 95% CI 0.91-1.04; p-interaction=0.04). Neither race/ethnicity nor comorbidities were associated with interrupted healthcare.Conclusions: Disruptions to healthcare disproportionately affected women and were primarily driven by health system-initiated deferrals and individual perceptions of COVID-19 risk, rather than medical co-morbidities or other traditional barriers to healthcare access.