Research on crisis episodes during the first decade of adult life suggests two types of such "quarter-life" crisis exist: locked-in and locked-out. Both relate conceptually to the transition out of emerging adulthood. A female case study was studied over a 4-year period, starting when she left university. Well-being and depression data were gathered 5 times, two interviews were conducted, as well as a structured e-mail exchange. Results showed two episodes of crisis within the study period. The first was the locked-out type, which occurred when the participant experienced multiple failures to find work, leading to self-esteem decline and anxiety. The second crisis was the locked-in type, which occurred when she felt obliged to stay in a job despite a bullying boss. The case study provides a rich exemplification of quarter-life crisis theory and insights for further consideration in multi-participant studies on the challenges of leaving tertiary education.
Admiration is a social emotion that has implications for behavior, such as leading to a desire to emulate the admired person. This study extends previous findings about admired attributes among emerging adults, by investigating the same topic in Greece and also exploring the relationship between admired person types and admired qualities, gender, and socio-economic status. A total of 198 participants aged 18 to 25 (mean age = 19.46 years; 50% women) provided written descriptions of five attributes that they admire in a non-fictional person. A hybrid coding scheme was used. The most prevalent categories were Drive and Determination, Care and Generativity, and Resilience and Positivity. Some prevalence differences were found by person type, gender and socio-economic status. The findings extend the understanding of admiration in new directions by supporting a high level of cross-cultural consistency in admired attributes, but also some features that are unique to the Greek context.
Case studies have four functional roles which, if more widely embraced, can help to advance theory and methodology in the study of emerging adults. These functions are case-based theory development, individual-level prediction testing, theory exemplification, and idiographic psychobiography. We describe these functions and provide real and hypothetical examples of each one. We also discuss specifiability - the capacity of a theory to make predictions about, explain, and interpret individuals - as a criterion of validity for theories that is closely tied to the rationale for case studies. Finally, protocols for case study sampling are described, including intensity sampling, deviant case sampling, and significant case sampling.
Dataset for the article: Oliver J. Robinson, Adam Tewkesbury, Simon Kemp, Ian D. Williams, Towards a universal carbon footprint standard: A case study of carbon management at universities, Journal of Cleaner Production, Available online 22 February 2017, ISSN 0959-6526, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.147. Organisations of all types are significant contributors to international greenhouse gas emissions. The business case for supporting low-carbon practices is gathering pace, alongside the regulatory demands imposed through carbon emission compliance reporting. Despite this, guidance for generating carbon footprints through hybrid environmentally extended input-output analysis is under-developed and under-researched. Higher Education Institutions are key components of education systems across the globe, transcending international borders, socio-political regimes and economic systems. As an internationally significant sector beginning to address climate issues through carbon reduction policies on and off the estate, very few research articles have been published that document emissions arising from all directly and indirectly attributable activities. This study outlines a number of key elements to standardise the organisational carbon footprinting process by reconciling and evaluating the methodological steps in six selected internationally reputable guidelines (published by the Global Reporting Initiative, the Carbon Disclosure Project, the United Kingdom's Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the International Standardisation Organisation and the Higher Education Funding Council for England). A systematic review is undertaken which relates the four principles of carbon footprinting (boundary-setting, identification of activities, collecting of data and reporting/verification) to the academic literature. Then, via consultation with university environment managers, a number of recommendations are made to address and improve i) the potential to avoid double-counting, ii) the financial and resource cost of carbon footprinting and iii) the reliability and comparability of data compiled by institutions. We introduce a methodology for a universal, standardised footprinting standard for higher education (that could also apply to all organisations regardless of sector or region) with cut-off criteria that excludes paid-for products and services typically included in the 'Scope 3' proportion of the footprint. In proposing this methodology, carbon footprinting is made more applicable to higher education institutions (since existing standards are designed for generality and for profit-driven organisations) and the practical issues, associated with externally owned data and non-expert staff, are broadly overcome.
Compiled by Capt. O. P. Robinson, and based on the courses of instruction at the School, of musketry, Fort Sill, and on Maj. H. E. Eames' book, "The rifle in war." ; War dept. doc. no. 631. ; At head of title: War department. The adjutant general's office. ; Mode of access: Internet.
Organisations of all types are significant contributors to international greenhouse gas emissions. The business case for supporting low-carbon practices is gathering pace, alongside the regulatory demands imposed through carbon emission compliance reporting. Despite this, guidance for generating carbon footprints through hybrid environmentally extended input-output analysis is under-developed and under-researched. Higher Education Institutions are key components of education systems across the globe, transcending international borders, socio-political regimes and economic systems. As an internationally significant sector beginning to address climate issues through carbon reduction policies on and off the estate, very few research articles have been published that document emissions arising from all directly and indirectly attributable activities. This study outlines a number of key elements to standardise the organisational carbon footprinting process by reconciling and evaluating the methodological steps in six selected internationally reputable guidelines (published by the Global Reporting Initiative, the Carbon Disclosure Project, the United Kingdom's Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the International Standardisation Organisation and the Higher Education Funding Council for England). A systematic review is undertaken which relates the four principles of carbon footprinting (boundary-setting, identification of activities, collecting of data and reporting/verification) to the academic literature. Then, via consultation with university environment managers, a number of recommendations are made to address and improve i) the potential to avoid double-counting, ii) the financial and resource cost of carbon footprinting and iii) the reliability and comparability of data compiled by institutions. We introduce a methodology for a universal, standardised footprinting standard for higher education (that could also apply to all organisations regardless of sector or region) with cut-off criteria that excludes paid-for products and services typically included in the 'Scope 3' proportion of the footprint. In proposing this methodology, carbon footprinting is made more applicable to higher education institutions (since existing standards are designed for generality and for profit-driven organisations) and the practical issues, associated with externally owned data and nonexpert staff, are broadly overcome.
Background: Environmental factors determine children's health. Quantifying the health impacts related to environmental hazards for children is essential to prioritize interventions to improve health in Europe. Objective: This study aimed to assess the burden of childhood disease due to environmental risks across the European Union. Methods: We conducted an environmental burden of childhood disease assessment in the 28 countries of the EU (EU28) for seven environmental risk factors (particulate matter less than 10 micrometer of diameter (PM(10)) and less than 2.5 micrometer of diameter (PM(2.5)), ozone, secondhand smoke, dampness, lead, and formaldehyde). The primary outcome was disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), assessed from exposure data provided by the World Health Organization, Global Burden of Disease project, scientific literature, and epidemiological risk estimates. Results: The seven studied environmental risk factors for children in the EU28 were responsible for around 211,000 DALYs annually. Particulate matter (PM(10) and PM(2.5)) was the main environmental risk factor, producing 59% of total DALYs (125,000 DALYs), followed by secondhand smoke with 20% of all DALYs (42,500 DALYs), ozone 11% (24,000 DALYs), dampness 6% (13,000 DALYs), lead 3% (6200 DALYs), and formaldehyde 0.2% (423 DALYs). Conclusions: Environmental exposures included in this study were estimated to produce 211,000 DALYs each year in children in the EU28, representing 2.6% of all DALYs in children. Among the included environmental risk factors, air pollution (particulate matter and ozone) was estimated to produce the highest burden of disease in children in Europe, half of which was due to the effects of PM(10) on infant mortality. Effective policies to reduce environmental pollutants across Europe are needed.
Background: Environmental factors determine children's health. Quantifying the health impacts related to environmental hazards for children is essential to prioritize interventions to improve health in Europe. Objective: This study aimed to assess the burden of childhood disease due to environmental risks across the European Union. Methods: We conducted an environmental burden of childhood disease assessment in the 28 countries of the EU (EU28) for seven environmental risk factors (particulate matter less than 10 micrometer of diameter (PM10) and less than 2.5 micrometer of diameter (PM2.5), ozone, secondhand smoke, dampness, lead, and formaldehyde). The primary outcome was disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), assessed from exposure data provided by the World Health Organization, Global Burden of Disease project, scientific literature, and epidemiological risk estimates. Results: The seven studied environmental risk factors for children in the EU28 were responsible for around 211,000 DALYs annually. Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) was the main environmental risk factor, producing 59% of total DALYs (125,000 DALYs), followed by secondhand smoke with 20% of all DALYs (42,500 DALYs), ozone 11% (24,000 DALYs), dampness 6% (13,000 DALYs), lead 3% (6200 DALYs), and formaldehyde 0.2% (423 DALYs). Conclusions: Environmental exposures included in this study were estimated to produce 211,000 DALYs each year in children in the EU28, representing 2.6% of all DALYs in children. Among the included environmental risk factors, air pollution (particulate matter and ozone) was estimated to produce the highest burden of disease in children in Europe, half of which was due to the effects of PM10 on infant mortality. Effective policies to reduce environmental pollutants across Europe are needed. ; The research leading to these results received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no 308333—the HELIX project.
Admiration is a social emotion that is developmentally formative in emerging adulthood; admired adults act as mentors, role models, and sources of inspiration to this age-group. The present study explored who and what emerging adults admire in their elders, across four countries (UK, Iran, China, and Russia). A total of 525 participants provided written descriptions of an admired figure. Across all cultures, care and generativity was the most common theme. Cross-cultural differences emerged for the themes of limitations and difficulties (most prevalent in China), autonomy and assertiveness (most prevalent in Russia), intellect and education (most prevalent in Russia), and religion and spirituality (most prevalent in Iran). Males and females in the UK and Russia tended to select admired figures of their own sex, but in Iran and China both male and female participants selected more male than female figures. The findings suggest a common thematic core to admiration in emerging adulthood combined with culturally specific features.
Front of pack food labels (FOPLs) provide accessible nutritional information to guide consumer choice. Using an online experiment with a large representative British sample, we aimed to examine whether FOPLs improve participants' ability to identify the healthiness of foods and drinks. The primary aim was to compare ability to rank between FOPL groups and a no label control. Adults (≥18 years), recruited from the NatCen panel, were randomised to one of five experimental groups (Multiple Traffic Light, MTL; Nutri-Score, N-S; Warning Label, WL; Positive Choice tick, PC; no label control). Stratification variables were year of recruitment to panel, sex, age, government office region, and household income. Packaging images were created for three versions, varying in healthiness, of six food and drink products (pizza, drinks, cakes, crisps, yoghurts, breakfast cereals). Participants were asked to rank the three product images in order of healthiness. Ranking was completed on a single occasion and comprised a baseline measure (with no FOPL), and a follow-up measure including the FOPL as per each participant's experimental group. The primary outcome was the ability to accurately rank product healthiness (all products ranked correctly vs. any incorrect). In 2020, 4504 participants had complete data and were included in the analysis. The probability of correct ranking at follow-up, and improving between baseline and follow-up, was significantly greater across all products for the N-S, MTL and WL groups, compared to control. This was seen for only some of the products for the PC group. The largest effects were seen for N-S, followed by MTL. These analyses were adjusted for stratification variables, ethnicity, education, household composition, food shopping responsibility, and current FOPL use. Exploratory analyses showed a tendency for participants with higher compared to lower education to rank products more accurately. Conclusions: All FOPLs were effective at improving participants' ability to correctly rank products ...
Characterization of the "exposome", the set of all environmental factors that one is exposed to from conception onwards, has been advocated to better understand the role of environmental factors on chronic diseases. Here, we aimed to describe the early-life exposome. Specifically, we focused on the correlations between multiple environmental exposures, their patterns and their variability across European regions and across time (pregnancy and childhood periods). We relied on the Human Early-Life Exposome (HELIX) project, in which 87 environmental exposures during pregnancy and 122 during the childhood period (grouped in 19 exposure groups) were assessed in 1301 pregnant mothers and their children at 6-11 years in 6 European birth cohorts. Some correlations between exposures in the same exposure group reached high values above 0.8. The median correlation within exposure groups was >0.3 for many exposure groups, reaching 0.69 for water disinfection by products in pregnancy and 0.67 for the meteorological group in childhood. Median correlations between different exposure groups rarely reached 0.3. Some correlations were driven by cohort-level associations (e.g. air pollution and chemicals). Ten principal components explained 45% and 39% of the total variance in the pregnancy and childhood exposome, respectively, while 65 and 90 components were required to explain 95% of the exposome variability. Correlations between maternal (pregnancy) and childhood exposures were high (>0.6) for most exposures modeled at the residential address (e.g. air pollution), but were much lower and even close to zero for some chemical exposures. In conclusion, the early life exposome was high dimensional, meaning that it cannot easily be measured by or reduced to fewer components. Correlations between exposures from different exposure groups were much lower than within exposure groups, which have important implications for co-exposure confounding in multiple exposure studies. Also, we observed the early life exposome to be variable over time and to vary by cohort, so measurements at one time point or one place will not capture its complexities. ; This work was supported by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) [grant number: 308333–the HELIX project]. INMA data collections were supported by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, CIBERESP, and the Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT. KANC was funded by the grant of the Lithuanian Agency for Science Innovation and Technology (6-04-2014_31V-66). The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Ministry of Education and Research, NIH/NIEHS (contract no N01-ES-75558), NIH/NINDS (grant no.1 UO1 NS 047537-01 and grant no.2 UO1 NS 047537-06A1). The Rhea project was financially supported by European projects (EU FP6-2003-Food-3-NewGeneris, EU FP6. STREP Hiwate, EU FP7 ENV.2007.1.2.2.2. Project No 211250 Escape, EU FP7-2008-ENV-1.2.1.4 Envirogenomarkers, EU FP7-HEALTH-2009-single stage CHICOS, EU FP7 ENV.2008.1.2.1.6. Proposal No 226285 ENRIECO, EUFP7-HEALTH-2012 Proposal No 308333 HELIX, FP7 European Union project, No. 264357 MeDALL), and the Greek Ministry of Health (Program of Prevention of obesity and neurodevelopmental disorders in preschool children, in Heraklion district, Crete, Greece: 2011–2014; "Rhea Plus": Primary Prevention Program of Environmental Risk Factors for Reproductive Health, and Child Health: 2012–15).
Exposure to environmental pollutants, particularly during pregnancy, can have adverse consequences on child development but little is known about the effects of pollutant mixtures on endogenous metabolism in pregnant women. We aimed to identify urinary metabolic signatures associated with low level exposure to multiple environmental pollutants in pregnant women from the INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente) birth cohort (Spain, N = 750). 35 chemical exposures were quantified in first trimester blood samples (organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, PFAS), in cord blood (mercury), and twice in urine at 12 and 32 weeks of pregnancy (metals, phthalates, bisphenol A). 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolic profiles of urine were acquired in the same samples as pollutants. We explored associations between exposures and metabolism through an exposome-metabolome wide association scan and multivariate O2PLS modeling. Novel and reproducible associations were found across two periods of pregnancy for three nonpersistent pollutants and across two subcohorts for four of the persistent pollutants. We found novel metabolic signatures associated with arsenic exposure: TMAO and dimethylamine possibly related to gut microbial methylamine metabolism and homarine related to fish intake. Tobacco smoke exposure was related to coffee metabolism and PCBs with 3-hydroxyvaleric acid, usually released under ketoacidosis. These findings will have implications for further understanding of maternal-fetal health, and health across the life-course. ; This work was supported by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 308333–the HELIX project, the Medical Research Council Integrative Toxicology Training Partnership (ITTP) through a PhD studentship (recipient LM), an MRC-ITTP career development fellowship (recipient MC), an MRC early career fellowship (recipient OR), and the Medical Research Council–Public Health England (MRC-PHE) Centre for Environment and Health (MR/L01341X/1). The subcohort studies were funded by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176, FIS-PI06/0867, FIS-PS09/00090 and FIS-PI13/02187), Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT 1999SGR 00241, Department of Health of the Basque Government (2005111093, 2009111069, and 2013111089), and the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (DFG06/004 and DFG08/001). Convenios anuales con los ayuntamientos de la zona del estudio (Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia y Azpeitia y Beasain). We thank Olivier Cloarec and Ekaterina (Katya) Nevedomskaya for developing the in-house script to perform O2PLS models.
