Chronic smartphone gaming consumption and positive coping practice

Purpose - Chronic consumption practice has been greatly accelerated by mobile, interactive and smartphone gaming technology devices. This study explores how chronic consumption of smartphone gaming produces positive coping practice. Design/methodology/approach - Underpinned by cognitive framing theory, empirical insights from eleven focus groups (n=62) reveal how smartphone gaming enhances positive coping amongst gamers and non-gamers. Findings - The findings reveal how the chronic consumption of games allows technology to act with privileged agency that resolves tensions between individuals and collectives. Consumption narratives of smartphone games, even when play is limited, lead to the identification of three cognitive frames through which positive coping processes operate: (a) the market generated frame, (b) the social being frame, and (c) the citizen frame. Research limitations/implications – This paper adds to previous research by providing an understanding of positive coping practice in the smartphone chronic gaming consumption. Originality/value - In smartphone chronic gaming consumption, cognitive frames enable positive coping by fostering appraisal capacities in which individuals confront, hegemony, culture and alterity-morality concerns. 

Fragmentation versus convergence: University students in Brussels and the consumption of TV series on the Internet

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Alcohol consumption and Mediterranean Diet adherence among health science students in Spain: the DiSA-UMH Study

Objective: To describe the association between consumption of different alcoholic beverages and adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of the baseline data of the DiSA-UMH study, an ongoing cohort study with Spanish health science students (n = 1098) aged 17-35 years. Dietary information was collected by a validated 84-item food frequency questionnaire. Participants were grouped into non-drinkers, exclusive beer and/or wine drinkers and drinkers of all types of alcoholic beverages. Mediterranean diet adherence was determined by using a modification of the relative Mediterranean Diet Score (rMED; score range: 0-16) according to consumption of 8 dietary components. We performed multiple linear and multinomial regression analyses. Results: The mean alcohol consumption was 4.3 g/day (SD: 6.1). A total of 19.5%, 18.9% and 61.6% of the participants were non-drinkers, exclusive beer and/or wine drinkers and drinkers of all types of alcoholic beverages, respectively. Participants who consumed beer and/or wine exclusively had higher rMED scores than non-drinkers (β: 0.76, 95%CI: 0.25-1.27). Drinkers of all types of alcoholic beverages had similar rMED scores to non-drinkers. Non-drinkers consumed less fish and more meat, whereas drinkers of all types of alcoholic beverages consumed fewer fruits, vegetables and more meat than exclusive beer and/or wine drinkers. Conclusions: The overall alcohol consumption among the students in our study was low-to-moderate. Exclusive beer and/or wine drinkers differed regarding the Mediterranean diet pattern from non-drinkers and drinkers of all types of alcohol. These results show the need to properly adjust for diet in studies of the effects of alcohol consumption.

A Methodology for estimating energy consumption of QDI asynchronous circuits

International audience

Effects of Information and Time of Use Pricing on Irish Electricity Demand and Supply

In this dissertation I quantify residential behavior response to interventions designed to reduce electricity demand at different periods of the day. In the first chapter, I examine the effect of information provision coupled with bimonthly billing, monthly billing, and in-home displays, as well as a time-of-use (TOU) pricing scheme to measure consumption over each month of the Irish Consumer Behavior Trial. I find that time-of-use pricing with real time usage information reduces electricity usage up to 8.7 percent during peak times at the start of the trial but the effect decays over the first three months and after three months the in-home display group is indistinguishable from the monthly treatment group. Monthly and bi-monthly billing treatments are not found to be statistically different from another. These findings suggest that increasing billing reports to the monthly level may be more cost effective for electricity generators who wish to decrease expenses and consumption, rather than providing in-home displays. In the following chapter, I examine the response of residential households after exposure to time of use tariffs at different hours of the day. I find that these treatments reduce electricity consumption during peak hours by almost four percent, significantly lowering demand. Within the model, I find evidence of overall conservation in electricity used. In addition, weekday peak reductions appear to carry over to the weekend when peak pricing is not present, suggesting changes in consumer habit. The final chapter of my dissertation imposes a system wide time of use plan to analyze the potential reduction in carbon emissions from load shifting based on the Ireland and Northern Single Electricity Market. I find that CO2 emissions savings are highest during the winter months when load demand is highest and dirtier power plants are scheduled to meet peak demand. TOU pricing allows for shifting in usage from peak usage to off peak usage and this shift in load can be met with cleaner and cheaper generated electricity from imports, high efficiency gas units, and hydro units.

VITAMIN “A” FOOD CONSUMPTION BY PREGNANT WOMEN IN BRAZIL: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the Vitamin “A” food consumption by pregnant women in Brazil. Methods: The review consisted of a search for articles published in the period from 1999 to 2015 in SciELO, PubMed, and LILACS databases. At the end, eight articles were selected for this review. Results: The methods used for the analysis of the intake of vitamin “A” were: food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) – considering the diet or only vitamin “A” foods and the dietary recall (24hDR). Only two articles estimated the adequacy of the Vitamin “A” food consumption by the population assessed. Some methodological limitations were quite frequent, emphasizing the lack and/or limitation of information on the sample representativeness, loss of studies, accuracy of the methods applied and the control of confounding variables. Conclusion: It is observed that there are still few studies that critically assess the Vitamin “A” food consumption by pregnant women in Brazil, and that the identification and control of possible biases of the dietary surveys can improve the reliability of the information found.

Sources of Information about Dietary Fibre: A Cross-Country Survey

Problem statement: Dietary fibre (DF) has been recognized as a major determinant for improvement of health. Hence the means of information through which people become aware of its benefits are crucial. Research questions: Where do you usually find information about dietary fibre? What means of communication do you consider the most appropriate to encourage the consumption of dietary fibre? Purpose of the study: This work aimed at studying the sources of information about dietary fibre, as a means to educate people about aspects related to healthy eating. Factors such as gender, level of education, living environment or country were evaluated as to their effect on the selection of sources and preferences.   Research Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study by means of a questionnaire, applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 6010 participants from 10 countries in different continents (Europe, Africa and America), answered after informed consent by all participants. For the analysis were used several descriptive statistics tools, crosstabs and chi square test to assess the relations between some of the variables under study. Findings: Mostly the information about DF comes from the internet, but television is recognized as suitable. Differences were found between genders, levels of education, living environments and countries. The internet (preferred source), got highest scores for Hungary, urban areas, university education and female gender. The radio (least scored source) was preferred in Egypt, for men and with lower education (primary school). Conclusions: People get information through the internet due to easy access. However, it is to some extent a risk given the impossibility to control de information made public on the internet. The role of health centres and hospitals as well as schools should definitely be increased, as a responsible way to ensure correct information.

User Interface Abstraction for enabling TV set based Inclusive Access to the Information Society

199 p.

Selection of optimal operating conditions based on minimum energy consumption for an acrylonitrile recovery unit

The selection of the optimal operating conditions for an industrial acrylonitrile recovery unit was conducted by the systematic application of the response surface methodology, based on the minimum energy consumption and products specifications as process constraints. Unit models and plant simulation were validated against operating data and information. A sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to identify the set of parameters that strongly affect the trajectories of the system while keeping products specifications. The results suggest that energy savings of up to 10% are possible by systematically adjusting operating conditions.

Forward - Green Virtual Enterprises and Their Breeding Environments: Sustainable Manufacturing, Logistics and Consumption

Part 9: Innovation Networks

Development of an innovative non rule-based energy management strategy for a Hybrid Electric Vehicle, structured for predictive driving controls based on external information knowledge

Recently, the interest of the automotive market for hybrid vehicles has increased due to the more restrictive pollutants emissions legislation and to the necessity of decreasing the fossil fuel consumption, since such solution allows a consistent improvement of the vehicle global efficiency. The term hybridization regards the energy flow in the powertrain of a vehicle: a standard vehicle has, usually, only one energy source and one energy tank; instead, a hybrid vehicle has at least two energy sources. In most cases, the prime mover is an internal combustion engine (ICE) while the auxiliary energy source can be mechanical, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic. It is expected from the control unit of a hybrid vehicle the use of the ICE in high efficiency working zones and to shut it down when it is more convenient, while using the EMG at partial loads and as a fast torque response during transients. However, the battery state of charge may represent a limitation for such a strategy. That’s the reason why, in most cases, energy management strategies are based on the State Of Charge, or SOC, control. Several studies have been conducted on this topic and many different approaches have been illustrated. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop an online (usable on-board) control strategy in which the operating modes are defined using an instantaneous optimization method that minimizes the equivalent fuel consumption of a hybrid electric vehicle. The equivalent fuel consumption is calculated by taking into account the total energy used by the hybrid powertrain during the propulsion phases. The first section presents the hybrid vehicles characteristics. The second chapter describes the global model, with a particular focus on the energy management strategies usable for the supervisory control of such a powertrain. The third chapter shows the performance of the implemented controller on a NEDC cycle compared with the one obtained with the original control strategy.

Smartphone chronic gaming consumption and positive coping practice

Purpose - Chronic consumption practice has been greatly accelerated by mobile, interactive and smartphone gaming technology devices. This study explores how chronic consumption of smartphone gaming produces positive coping practice. Design/methodology/approach - Underpinned by cognitive framing theory, empirical insights from eleven focus groups (n=62) reveal how smartphone gaming enhances positive coping amongst gamers and non-gamers. Findings - The findings reveal how the chronic consumption of games allows technology to act with privileged agency that resolves tensions between individuals and collectives. Consumption narratives of smartphone games, even when play is limited, lead to the identification of three cognitive frames through which positive coping processes operate: (a) the market generated frame, (b) the social being frame, and (c) the citizen frame. Research limitations/implications – This paper adds to previous research by providing an understanding of positive coping practice in the smartphone chronic gaming consumption. Originality/value - In smartphone chronic gaming consumption, cognitive frames enable positive coping by fostering appraisal capacities in which individuals confront, hegemony, culture and alterity-morality concerns.

Alcohol consumption among university students: a typology of consumption to aid the tailoring of effective public health policy

Objective: Elevated levels of alcohol consumption among university students are well documented. Policymakers have attempted to combat this issue at a university, national and international level. Tailoring public health policy to effectively tackle alcohol use is crucial. Using Q-methodology, the current study aims to develop a typology of alcohol consumption in the Irish university student population. Setting: A large Irish university. Participants Hundreds of possible statements on types of consumption were generated from a systematic review and a set of one-on-one interviews. These were reduced to 36 statements, 6 statements which define each of the 6 previously defined consumption types. Participants were advised to scan through the 36 statements and fill the statements into a ‘forced choice, standardised distribution’. Following this, a 45–90 min interview was conducted with students to illuminate subjectivity surrounding alcohol consumption. Analysis was conducted using PQ Method and NVivo software. Principal component analysis, followed by varimax rotation, was conducted to uncover the final factor information. Results: In total, 43 students completed the Q-study: 19 men and 24 women. A typology describing 4 distinct groupings of alcohol consumer was uncovered: the guarded drinker, the calculated hedonist, the peer-influenced drinker and the inevitable binger. Factor loadings of each of the consumer groupings were noted for type description. Conclusions: This is the first study to propose ideal types of alcohol consumption among a university student population. Further research is required to investigate the degree to which each of these ideal types is subscribed. However, this typology, in addition to informing public policy and strategies, will be a valuable analytic tool in future research.