QUT study finds most food delivery riders don’t cut corners when it comes to safety

Queensland University of Technology

Peer-Reviewed Publication

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

 

VIDEO: A QUT STUDY THAT OBSERVED AND COMPARED 3401 BICYCLE FOOD DELIVERY RIDERS AND PRIVATE CYCLISTS IN BRISBANE HAS FOUND THAT FOOD DELIVERY RIDERS GENERALLY DON’T TAKE MORE RISKS ON THE ROADS – DESPITE THE HUGE TIME PRESSURES OF THE GIG ECONOMY AND HUNGRY CUSTOMERS. view more 

CREDIT: QUT

A QUT study that observed and compared 3401 bicycle food delivery riders and private cyclists in Brisbane has found that food delivery riders generally don’t take more risks on the roads – despite the huge time pressures of the gig economy and hungry customers.

The study by QUT’s Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q), Risky business: Comparing the riding behaviours of food delivery and private bicycle riders, is published in the November edition of the Accident Analysis & Prevention journal.

Researchers Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios, Dr Elisabeth Rubie and Professor Narelle Haworth AM looked at red light running, helmet wearing and mobile phone use.

Their team of 13 observers staked out sites across five inner Brisbane suburbs (South Brisbane, West End, Newstead, New Farm and Central Brisbane) during lunchtime and dinner time peaks over six days last winter.

“Despite media and public concern, the observations did not support a view that BFDRs [bicycle food delivery riders] engage in more risky riding behaviours than private riders,” the authors wrote.

“Overall, helmets were worn by 97.4 per cent of riders (BFDRs 99.3 per cent vs private riders 93.4 per cent), which is very positive given the safety benefits that helmets offer in the event of a crash or fall.”

First author Dr Oviedo-Trespalacios said the research team did still witness some risky behaviours by private cyclists and bicycle food delivery riders (BFDRs) – but, overall, neither group was worse than the other.

“There has been enormous growth in the gig economy and the home delivery of meals – which was particularly accelerated during the COVID-19 lockdowns, not just in Australia, but around the world,” he said.

“There is increasing evidence that food delivery on push bikes or electric bikes is an occupation with significant road safety risks, because the work pressures to get food delivered fast can encourage risky behaviour.

“But the results of our study suggest carrying a food bag does not make riders more likely to run a red light, not wear a helmet or ignore other road rules.

“This doesn’t mean it’s all good news though.

“We witnessed plenty of risky behaviour among the 2274 BFDRs and 1127 private cyclists who we observed in the inner suburbs of Brisbane during the day and night.

“Overall, 24 per cent of all riders confronted with a red traffic or pedestrian light did not stop. Whether the rider was a BFDR or private rider had little direct influence on red light running. Instead, riding the wrong way in the traffic lane and swapping between the footpath and the road were more common among those who disobeyed signals. Long waiting times for the walk signal and bicycles not triggering traffic signals are likely to encourage riders to cross on red, particularly under time pressure.

“Helmet wearing was actually better among delivery riders – 99.8 per cent of BFDRs wore a helmet, versus 93.4 per cent of private cyclists, and men were slightly more likely to wear a helmet than women.

“Most riders avoided handheld phone use while riding, but cradles with mobile phones were very prevalent among BFDRs. It was very difficult for our observers to see if riders were touching their phones while moving, but when they did witness it, it was more likely to be food delivery riders physically interacting with their phones than private riders.”

The authors also found slight behavioural differences between delivery riders who were employees paid per hour, and those who were contractors paid per job. In particular, contractors were more likely to have a phone visible than employed riders.

“The results suggest that organisations that employ BFDRs appear to manage rider distraction better than companies that contract riders,” the authors wrote.

The QUT study noted that at least six food delivery riders died in road crashes in Australia in 2020. 

A New South Wales Food Delivery Safety Taskforce established after the deaths identified more than 80 serious incidents involving delivery riders over 2019 and 2020. The taskforce’s conclusions included that between 4pm and 8pm was the worst danger time, and contributing factors to incidents included fatigue and time and emotional pressures.

QUT Media contacts:
- Mechelle McMahon, media@qut.edu.au
- After hours, 0407 585 901 or media@qut.edu.au

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JOURNAL

Accident Analysis & Prevention

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2022.106820 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Risky business: Comparing the riding behaviours of food delivery and private bicycle riders

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

1-Nov-2022

Three new species of ground snakes discovered under graveyards and churches in Ecuador

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PENSOFT PUBLISHERS

 

IMAGE: ATRACTUS DISCOVERY WAS FOUND HIDDEN AMONG THE GRAVES OF THE ELDERS OF THE ANDEAN TOWN AMALUZA, AZUAY PROVINCE, ECUADOR. view more 

CREDIT: ALEJANDRO ARTEAGA

A group of scientists led by Alejandro Arteaga, grantee of The Explorers Club Discovery Expeditions and researcher at Khamai Foundation, discovered three new cryptozoic (living underground) snakes hidden under graveyards and churches in remote towns in the Andes of Ecuador. The discovery was made official in a study published in the journal ZooKeys. The new snakes, which are small, cylindrical, and rather archaic-looking, were named in honor of institutions or people supporting the exploration and conservation of remote cloud forests in the tropics.

Believe or not, graveyards are also land of the living. In the Andes of Ecuador, they are inhabited by a fossorial group of snakes belonging to the genus Atractus. These ground snakes are the most species-rich snake genus in the world (there are now 150 species known globally), but few people have seen one or even heard about their existence. This is probably because these serpents are shy and generally rare, and they remain hidden throughout most of their lives. Additionally, most of them inhabit remote cloud forests and live buried underground or in deep crevices. In this particular case, however, the new ground snakes where found living among crypts.

The discovery of the three new species took place rather fortuitously and in places where one would probably not expect to find these animals. The Discovery Ground Snake (Atractus discovery) was found hidden underground in a small graveyard in a remote cloud forest town in southeastern Ecuador, whereas the two other new species were found besides an old church and in a small school. All of this seems to suggest that, at least in the Andes, new species of snakes might be lurking just around the corner.

Unfortunately, the coexistence of ground snakes and villagers in the same town is generally bad news for the snakes. The study by Arteaga reports that the majority of the native habitat of the new snakes has already been destroyed. As a result of the retreating forest line, the ground snakes find themselves in the need to take refuge in spaces used by humans (both dead and alive), where they are usually killed on sight.

Diego Piñán, a teacher of the town where one of the new reptiles was found, says: “when I first arrived at El Chaco in 2013, I used to see many dead snakes on the road; others where hit by machetes or with stones. Now, after years of talking about the importance of snakes, both kids and their parents, while still wary of snakes, now appreciate them and protect them.” Fortunately, Diego never threw away the dead snakes he found: he preserved them in alcohol-filled jars and these were later used by Arteaga to describe the species as new to science.

In addition to teaching about the importance of snakes, the process of naming species is important to create awareness about the existence of a new animal and its risk of extinction. In this particular case, two of the new snakes are considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the near future.

The discovery process also provides an opportunity to recognize and honor the work of the people and institutions fighting to protect wildlife.

Atractus discovery was named to honor The Explorers Club Discovery Expedition Grants initiative, a program seeking to foster scientific understanding for the betterment of humanity and all life on Earth and beyond. The grant program supports researchers and explorers from around the world in their quest to mitigate climate change, prevent the extinction of species and cultures, and ensure the health of the Earth and its inhabitants.

Atractus zgap was named in honor of the Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (ZGAP), a program seeking to conserve unknown but highly endangered species and their natural habitats throughout the world. The ZGAP grant program supports the fieldwork of young scientists who are eager to implement and start conservation projects in their home countries.

Atractus michaelsabini was named in honor of a young nature lover, Michael Sabin, grandson of American philanthropist and conservationist Andrew “Andy” Sabin. Through the conservation organization Re:wild, the Sabin family has supported field research of threatened reptiles and has protected thousands of acres of critical habitat throughout the world.

“Naming species is at the core of biology”, says Dr. Juan M. Guayasamin, co-author of the study and a professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. “Not a single study is really complete if it is not attached to the name of the species, and most species that share the planet with us are not described.”

“The discovery of these new snakes is only the first step towards a much larger conservation project,” says Arteaga. “Now, thanks to the encouragement of ZGAP, we have already started the process of establishing a nature reserve to protect the ground snakes. This action would not have been possible without first unveiling the existence of these unique and cryptic reptiles, even if it meant momentarily disturbing the peace of the dead in the graveyard where the lived.”

  

General view of a graveyard in Amaluza, Azuay province, Ecuador

CREDIT

Alejandro Arteaga

Atractus michaelsabini was found hidden besides a church in the Andean town Guanazán, El Oro province, Ecuador.

CREDIT

Amanda Quezada

A jar full of Atractus snakes.

CREDIT

Alejandro Arteaga

CAPTION

Atractus zgap was found in an orchard of small school in the Andean town El Chaco, Napo province, Ecuador

CREDIT

Alejandro Arteaga

Alejandro Arteaga examines the holotype of Atractus discovery. He had to examine hundreds museum specimens before confirming the new species as such.

CREDIT

David Jácome

Original source:

Arteaga A, Quezada A, Vieira J, Guayasamin JM (2022) Leaving no stone unturned: three additional new species of Atractus ground snakes (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Ecuador discovered using a biogeographical approach. ZooKeys 1121: 175-210. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1121.89539

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JOURNAL

ZooKeys

DOI

10.3897/zookeys.1121.89539 

ARTICLE TITLE

Leaving no stone unturned: three additional new species of Atractus ground snakes (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Ecuador discovered using a biogeographical approach

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

15-Sep-2022

Earth Summit mission 2022: Scientific Expedition and Research on Mt. Qomolangma helps reveal synergy of westerlies and the monsoon as well as their climatic and environmental effects

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

IMAGE: SCIENTISTS CONDUCTING THE RADIO SOUNDING EXPERIMENT AT THE MT. QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP AT 7:00 A.M. ON MAY 4TH. view more 

CREDIT: WEIQIANG MA

In May 2022, a group of monsoon researchers conducted "Earth Summit Mission 2022: Scientific Expedition and Research on Mt. Qomolangma" within the Himalayan Mountains. This mission implemented new advanced weather observation technologies, methods, and means to investigate both the vertical change characteristics and interaction mechanisms of the region's prevailing westerlies and monsoonal flow. Research data covered all six spheres, or atmospheric layers, near Mt. Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth.

This expedition was the first scientific research project implemented at greater than 8,000 meters above sea level. Researchers focused on two tasks: Detecting the vertical structure of the atmosphere surrounding the mountain and observing extreme weather conditions unique to Mt. Qomolangma. Their full report is now published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.

“We successfully predicted that the best time to rush to the summit would be around May 4, due to the low relative humidity and weak wind speed (less than 15m/s) around 8000 meters altitude. All the observations in the base camp and Qomolangma Station made a significant contribution to this scientific expedition.” said Prof. Weiqiang Ma the leader of Qomolangma station team.

Using cutting-edge instruments for high-altitude weather detection, the team collected data at the summit and at their base camp near the National Observation and Research Station for Qomolongma Special Atmospheric Processes and Environmental Changes, which is located at 28021'54''N, 86056'53''E at an altitude of 4276 meters. These instruments facilitated high altitude radio soundings, wind radar data, and microwave radiometry. An EC system, atmospheric boundary layer tower, and automatic weather station (AWS) assisted in this groundbreaking analysis, which allowed new insights into the vertical structure of the atmosphere near Mt. Qomolangma.

“Based on the preliminary analysis of the observations, we found strong glacial wind around Mt. Qomolangma, and we learned more about the vertical momentum exchange between large-scale westerlies and the boundary layer in the Qomolangma area.” said Prof. Yaoming Ma, leader of the westerly-monsoon synergy and influence team and the report's corresponding author.

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JOURNAL

Advances in Atmospheric Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s00376-022-2166-3 

ARTICLE TITLE

Earth Summit Mission 2022: Scientific Expedition and Research on Mt. Qomolangma Helps Reveal the Synergy between Westerly Winds and Monsoon and the Resulting Climatic and Environmental Effects

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

16-Sep-2022

Traditional medicine could give new hope to heart patients

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN - THE FACULTY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL SCIENCES

At the European Football Championship last summer, time suddenly stood still. The buzzing tension that filled the air disappeared in a matter of seconds when footballer Christian Eriksen suddenly collapsed, died and was resuscitated on live television. And in no time, millions of people worldwide became conscious of the threat of cardiovascular diseases, which according to the WHO is the most frequent cause of death in the western world.

When the heart fails in young athletes, it is often due to the condition ARVC. ARVC is estimated to be responsible for half of all incidents of sudden cardiac arrest in athletes during physical activity.

In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen show insights on a new mechanism involved in the disease progression. In fact, they also present a potential treatment strategy, reveals Professor Alicia Lundby, whose research team led the new study.

“We have identified a previously unknown disease mechanism in ARVC, which adds a completely new layer of information that no one knew about,” she says.

The previously unknown mechanism is a defect occurring in the nucleus, deep inside the heart cells responsible for the contraction of the heart muscle. The defect causes a chain reaction that ultimately results in cell death.

“Based on the new insights we obtained, we identified a molecule that may be able to slow down disease progression,” says Alicia Lundby from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen.

Alicia Lundby and her colleagues studied heart biopsies from healthy individuals and from patients suffering from hereditary ARVC. They performed a deep and so-called molecular profiling of the heart samples and identified the molecular differences between the hearts. Based on these measurements, they formulated hypotheses about the causes of the disease and tested them on mice models and stem cell derived heart muscle cells.

The study was published in the top cardiology journal, Circulation.

Molecule from tulip tree as treatment?

The researchers found that by activating a specific molecule, sirtuin-3, they could slow down disease development. They therefore started a hunt for a molecule with that function.

And with honokiol, they found it. Honokiol is a natural product extracted from the bark and leaves of the tulip tree and has been used e.g. as a pain killer in traditional medicine in some parts of Asia.

“When we tested honokiol on our mouse model, it really did slow down the development of the disease. The same happened in our stem cell derived heart cells. We do not know if it works the same with humans, but the fact that we can confirm the effect in two different models makes it very interesting," says Alicia Lundby.

"It is really satisfying to take a project all the way from very basic science measurements, through interpretation of the results to coming up with a possible strategy to mitigate the disease progression and finally demonstrate that it works. To me, this is truly the essence of the type of research I am excited about, namely to shed light on the mechanisms behind heart disease such that we can propose novel treatment strategies," she says.

“Doing the types of studies we do, analysing several thousands of proteins at a time, is challenging,  when trying to understand what the changes we measure actually mean. This part of the work requires delving into the scientific literature. So you read and read and read. And talk to colleagues, think and read some more. It is months of detective work. And it’s both stimulating and frustrating at times. Because it is certainly not straightforward.”

The hard work does not stop here. The researchers have already launched a follow up study to examine their findings more closely.

“We believe our findings are significant, and we want to determine whether they can actually help patients. The next step for us is to determine whether the mechanism we identified is present in all  ARVC patients ,” says Alicia Lundby.

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JOURNAL

Circulation

DOI

10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.060454 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Human tissue samples

ARTICLE TITLE

Loss of Nuclear Envelope Integrity and Increased Oxidant Production Cause DNA Damage in Adult Hearts Deficient in PKP2: A Molecular Substrate of ARVC

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

13-Sep-2022

Pando in pieces: Understanding the new breach in the world’s largest living thing

It’s ancient, it’s massive, and it is faltering.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

S.J. & JESSIE E. QUINNEY COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES, UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: INFOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATING THE DIVERGING ECOLOGIES OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST LIVING ORGANISM, AN ASPEN STAND CALLED PANDO. view more 

CREDIT: INFOGRAPHIC BY LAEL GILBERT

It’s ancient, it’s massive, and it is faltering. The gargantuan aspen stand dubbed ‘Pando,’ located in south-central Utah, is more than 100 acres of quivering, genetically identical plant life, thought to be the largest living organism on earth (based on dry weight mass, 13 million pounds). What looks like a shimmering panorama of individual trees is actually a group of genetically identical stems with an immense shared root system. 

Now, after a lifetime that may have stretched across millennia, the ‘trembling giant’ is beginning to break up, according to new research.

Paul Rogers, adjunct professor of ecology in the Quinney College of Natural Resources and director of the Western Aspen Alliance, completed the first comprehensive evaluation of Pando five years ago. It showed that browsing deer (and to a lesser degree cattle) were harming the stand—limiting growth of new aspen suckers and putting an effective expiration date on the colossal plant. As older trees aged-out, new aspen sprouts weren’t surviving voracious browsers to replace them. Pando was slowly dying. 

In response to the threat, managers erected fencing around a section of the stand to keep grazing animals out, creating an experiment of sorts. Rogers recently returned to evaluate the strategy, and to do a well-check on the overall health of Pando. He reported his findings in the journal Conservation Science and Practice.  

Pando seems to be taking three disparate ecological paths based on how the segments are managed, according to the research. Around 16 percent of the stand is adequately fenced to keep out browsing animals; new aspen suckers surviving those first tender years to establish into new trees. But across more than a third of the stand, fencing had fallen into disrepair and was only lately reinforced. Past browsing still has adverse impacts in this section; old and dying trees still outnumbering the young.

And the areas that remain unfenced (approximately 50 percent of the stand) continue to have concentrated levels of deer and cattle consuming the bulk of young sprouts. These hard-hit zones are now shifting ecologically in distinct ways, said Rogers. Mature aspen stems die without being replaced, opening the overstory and allowing more sunlight to consistently reach the forest floor, which alters plant composition. These unfenced areas are experiencing the most rapid aspen decline, while the other fenced areas are taking their own unique courses—in effect, breaking up this unique, historically uniform, forest.  

The solution to Pando’s survival, said Rogers, might not be just more fencing. While unfenced areas are rapidly dying off, fencing alone is encouraging single-aged regeneration in a forest that has sustained itself over the centuries by varying growth. While this may not seem critical, aspen and understory growth patterns at odds from the past are already occurring, said Rogers.

In Utah and across the West, Pando is iconic, and something of a canary in the coal mine. As a keystone species, aspen forests support high levels of biodiversity—from chickadees to thimbleberry. As aspen ecosystems flourish or diminish, myriad dependent species follow suit. ​​Long-term failure for new recruitment in aspen systems may have cascading effects on hundreds of species dependent on them.

Additionally, there are aesthetic and philosophical problems with a fencing strategy, said Rogers. 

“I think that if we try to save the organism with fences alone, we’ll find ourselves trying to create something like a zoo in the wild,” said Rogers. “Although the fencing strategy is well-intentioned, we’ll ultimately need to address the underlying problems of too many browsing deer and cattle on this landscape.”

Pando is a paradox. It is reputed to be the earth’s largest organism, but it is comparatively small in the big-picture of conservation challenges across the globe—or even just in Utah, he said. But as a symbol, it speaks to the fate of aspen diversity and healthy human interactions with the earth at-large. Lessons learned while protecting Pando also offer perspective on struggling aspen forests spanning the earth's northern hemisphere.

Field Technicians Rebekah Adams and Etta Crowley take vegetation measurement under Pando, the world’s largest living organism. A recent evaluation of the massive aspen stand in south-central Utah found that Pando seems to be taking three disparate ecological paths based on how the different segments are managed.

CREDIT

Photo by Paul Rogers

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DOI

10.1111/csp2.12804 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Pando's pulse: Vital signs signal need for course correction at world-renowned aspen fores

Red Sea may have a nursery for oceanic manta rays

Peer-Reviewed Publication

KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (KAUST)

 

IMAGE: BY MAKING THE MOST OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND DOWNTIME DURING LOCKDOWN, A TEAM OF KAUST RESEARCHERS HAS REVEALED PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN DETAILS ABOUT THE POPULATION OF OCEANIC MANTA RAYS IN THE RED SEA. view more 

CREDIT: © 2022 KAUST; ANNA KNOCHEL

The endangered oceanic manta ray Mobula birostris is an iconic marine creature, and yet surprisingly little is known about them. Now, a study led by KAUST researchers has provided insights into population demographics and the movement of these rays across the Red Sea region. It also hints at a potential nursery ground off the coast of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

 

“There are so many unknowns about these charismatic creatures,” says Anna Knochel, a former Masters student at KAUST who led the project under the supervision of Michael Berumen. “I wanted to learn more about the Red Sea manta population, but a full scientific survey would be challenging and expensive. I realized we could tap into social media for help.”

 

Knochel and colleagues began by collating images and details of sightings they had witnessed. They contacted Elke Bojanowski, a marine scientist and divemaster in Egypt, who granted access to her image archives. They then reached out to members of the public who had posted photographs of rays taken in the Red Sea region on various social media platforms. These online images doubled the amount of data for the project.

 

“Like whale sharks, manta rays have unique spot patterns on their bodies; this, together with size estimates gleaned from photographs, meant that individuals could be identified,” says Knochel. “I spent weeks analyzing photographs to identify as many individuals as I could.”

 

The team identified 267 individuals from 395 sightings in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Jordan and Israel, from 2004 to 2021. Movements were recorded for 21 rays sighted in more than one location, including basin-spanning migrations from one side of the Red Sea to the other. The ability of these animals to undertake long-distance movements over deep water means that multinational cooperation will be required to protect them effectively.

 

“I noticed that many of the rays were really young — they were small, and I could see juvenile males with immature sexual organs,” says Knochel. “I identified 27 young males and estimate that a further 29 were juvenile females. The young rays were regularly spotted at Sharm El-Sheikh, suggesting that the area could be a nursery ground.”

 

The only other known nursery ground for oceanic manta rays is the Flower Garden Banks, a marine sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, where sightings of juvenile males were confirmed in a recent paper.

 

“This study highlights the untapped value of the Red Sea, not just to scientists, but to all the nations surrounding its coasts,” says Berumen. “These findings will encourage further research into oceanic manta rays, and Saudi Arabia has a real chance to model best practice in terms of sustainable tourism for marine wildlife.”

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DOI

10.1002/aqc.3883 

ARTICLE TITLE

Crowdsourced data reveal multinational connectivity, population demographics, and possible nursery ground of endangered oceanic manta rays in the Red Sea

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

14-Sep-2022

How ideology shaped the U.S. response to the Ukraine invasion

New book shows ideological concerns permeate foreign relations

Book Announcement

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

Although some politicians and analysts argue that U.S. foreign policy should somehow rise above ideology, the evidence suggests that isn’t possible, according to a historian who edited a new book on the subject.

 

Any approach to dealing with allies and foes around the world has some kind of organizing principle that amounts to an ideology, said Christopher McKnight Nichols, a professor of history at The Ohio State University.

 

“Even leaders who don’t think deeply about ideology, or even outright reject ideology, can’t escape it,” said Nichols, who is the Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies at Ohio State’s Mershon Center for International Security Studies.

 

“The apparent absence of ideology demonstrates the opposite: the profound influence of ideologies in U.S. foreign relations.”

 

Nichols is co-editor of the new book Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations, with David Milne, professor of modern history at the University of East Anglia. The book includes 22 chapters by experts examining ideology from a variety of angles. Nichols wrote a chapter on unilateralism.

 

The influence of ideology is apparent in how the United States has dealt with Russia in the buildup and aftermath of its invasion of Ukraine, Nichols said.

 

President Obama’s national security team said his approach to foreign policy would be “pragmatism over ideology.”

 

But Nichols said the underexamined ideologies of the administration prevented them, at least in part, from anticipating the threat that Russia posed to world peace.

 

“They thought Russia was a waning power and China was a more important one and those assumptions amounted to an ideology that led them to underestimate Russian power,” he said.

 

President Trump’s embrace of Russian leader Vladimir Putin also functioned as an ideology – whether Trump thought so or not – that helped set the stage for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 

After the invasion, President Biden returned to America’s ideological commitment since the Cold War to protect European allies. But even then, Biden walked a tightrope between helping Ukraine and the long-standing American desire to avoid getting entangled in foreign wars, Nichols explained.

 

“The challenge of Ukraine was how can the U.S. give an enormous amount of aid and not wind up fighting this war. And that’s where I think the ideological bedrock is in this moment,” he said.

 

“No one wants us to put our troops on the ground in Ukraine. The United States, both the public and its leaders, has this wariness about getting too involved.”

 

In Nichols’ chapter on unilateralism, he traces this wariness to the nation’s founding.  From the beginning, presidents and other leaders have wanted the United States to prioritize its own interests, and not be constrained by agreements or ties with other countries.  Alexander Hamilton called it “the fatal heresy of a close alliance.”

 

In the early days of the American republic, unilateralism came from a position of weakness, Nichols said.  The United States wanted time to become stronger or at least not appear too fragile and vulnerable relative to European power in commercial and military areas.

 

After the United States became a global power, America often acted alone because it could – it had the strength to not need other countries to support its initiatives. That helped lead to policy stances like “America First,” which emphasizes nationalism and a self-interested “go it alone” approach to the world.

 

“Unilateralism seems to have come roaring back in the early 21st Century, but it has always been with us.  It is a powerful and enduring ideology in the United States,” Nichols said.

 

Other chapters in the book explore a variety of ideologies that influence foreign relations in the United States.

 

One chapter, for example, examines how the United States often acts much more out of fear in its dealings with the rest of the world than would be expected for a nation that is as powerful as it is.

 

Another chapter looks at how U.S. presidents have deployed “civilization” as a justification for various actions. Often the term is used to justify domination and violence in the name of preserving civilization.

 

While various facets of ideologies such as unilateralism and fear, keywords and concepts such as civilization and freedom, religious faith and exceptionalism, have been invoked at numerous times during the nation’s history, Nichols said they often aren’t fully articulated or discussed.

 

“U.S. leaders and citizens alike often don’t seem conscious of the ideologies at work in shaping their worldviews, or think that they aren’t being ideological at all,” he said.

 

But it is ideologies, Nichols said, that history shows help us to make sense of the complex world around us. They allow individuals, like nations, to arrange priorities, values, and assumptions into a coherent system to understand and the deal with the complicated realities of both the local and the global.

 

“One of the lessons from the book, therefore, is the vital importance of ideology in U.S. foreign policy – even when we don’t recognize it.”

Fit for work at over 50

Researchers at the University of Bonn have developed program to increase performance and well-being

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BONN

Am I over the hill? This question comes up regularly among workers over 50. A common prejudice is that older people’s efficiency and stress-tolerance are continuously decreasing. But mental performance, self-confidence, psychological resilience and well-being can be improved in the 50-plus generation. This is shown in a study by researchers from the Section of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Bonn, which was published online in advance in the European Journal of Ageing. The print version is expected to be released in December.

Corporate executives are concerned that older professionals will no longer be able to keep up with technological innovations. "In the working world, for a long time, employees were frequently offered no opportunities for further training after the age of 45," Prof. Dr. Una Röhr-Sendlmeier of the Developmental and Educational Psychology Department at the University of Bonn reports from previous studies. "It was assumed that such an investment would not be worthwhile." This was contradicted by the results of research in developmental psychology, which show that lifelong learning is generally quite possible.

More than 800 participants

In the "Learning in Everyday Work" ("Lernen im Arbeitsalltag", LiA) project, Röhr-Sendlmeier's team studied the impact of particular training sessions on mental speed and concentration, perception of one's own competence, self-efficacy, and stress management in more than 800 women and men aged 50-plus during the years 2013 to 2019. "It was important to us that in each of the training sessions, the content on the different training areas was offered in a varied and interlocked way," reports first author Tanja Hüber. For instance, physical activation was followed by cognitive training, then skills reinforcement, and after a break, information on stress development and relaxation exercises.

The complete training course consisted of five modules administered during two and a half hours per week for 15 weeks: In the skills training, participants visualized the skills and professional strengths they have acquired over the course of their lives. Stress management training was about finding individual strategies for dealing with stressful situations. The group trained mental abilities and problem-solving skills with the strategy game "Go", which was largely unfamiliar to most of them. Memory strategies were part of another module. Coordination exercises for activation and relaxation exercises to gain strength in everyday life rounded off the program. The control group received no training.

While 397 participants began with the five modules, other groups focused on specific training contents combined with physical activation. "We wanted to find out what effects the cognitive training, the skills training or the stress management training each had on their own," explains co-author Dr. Udo Käser. The individual training sessions comprised two hours per week and took place for seven weeks.

Statistically measurable improvements

Immediately after completion of the training courses and after another 6 months, the team evaluated the effects of the five-module training course and the specific trainings with questionnaires and tests. The results show statistically highly significant improvements. For instance, participants' information processing speed increased on average from 2.42 bits per second before training to 2.65 bits per second six months after training. In contrast, the control group changed little. The training group's self-assessment of inner calm also showed an increase from 4.75 before training to 5.28 on a scale of one to nine. The tendency to give up when facing failure decreased from 5.12 before training to 4.53.

A survey after participation showed that over 97 percent of participants would recommend the training to others. The team has further inquiries from companies about the "Learning in Everyday Work" project. The researchers intend to continue the project beyond the funded period. They are also invited to present their findings at the International Conference on Future of Preventive Medicine and Public Health in Barcelona, Spain, in March 2023.

A win-win for employees and companies

"Professionals over 50 gain quality of life, and companies gain the opportunity to offer these professionals a perspective for longer," Röhr-Sendlmeier concludes. This is a win-win situation for both sides - and in view of demographic change and the shortage of skilled workers, it is also of great importance to society as a whole.

Funding:

The study was funded by the Hans Hermann Voss Foundation.

Publication: Tanja Hüber, Udo Käser, Lena Stahlhofen, Lara Görtner & Una Röhr‑Sendlmeier: Evaluation of a multi‑component training programme for employees aged 50+, European Journal of Ageing, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-022-00715-0

JOURNAL

European Journal of Ageing

DOI

10.1007/s10433-022-00715-0 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Evaluation of a multi‑component training programme for employees aged 50+