Environment: Key research Flashcards
Who did the study on aircraft noise exposure and residents’ stress and hypertension
Black and Black (2007)
What were the aims of the black and black study
1- is health related quality of life worse in a community chronically exposed to aircraft noise than in a community not exposed
2- is long term aircraft noise exposure associated with elevated blood pressure in adults via noise stress as a mediating factor
What were the sample details in the black and black study
-1500 questionnaires were sent out to individuals living in Sydney Australia near Sydney airport - they were exposed to 70dB+, 50 times a day
- 55km away for the control group and matched on socio-economic status
- 796 responded, with 704 fully completed
What was the sampling method used in the black and black study
-Told in covering letter the questionnaire was about environmental noise but didn’t mention the aircraft
What was the research methods used in the black and black study
- self-report/ questionnaire
- quasi experiment
- cross sectional = comparing 2 areas
What were the 7 major characteristics measured in the questionnaire in the black and black study
1 - health related quality of life
2 - hypertension (blood pressure)(closed questions)
3 - noise sensitivity
4 - noise stressors
5 - noise annoyance (very subjective)
6 - demographics (gender, age, marital status)
7 - all other variables that could affect stress
What were the main findings from the black and black study
Noise annoyance and exposure:
In exposed = 6.27
In non-exposed = 1.03
Hypertension:
No significant differences
In exposed = 51
In non-exposed= 55
Noise stress:
In exposed = 6.44
In non-exposed = 4.25
What do the results from the black and black study tell us about the impact of nose on our biological responses
- exposure to noise affects you mentally but not physically
- -> environmental stressors have no direct impact on physical health by they do have a negative effect on mental health
How might the study by black and black be ethnocentric
- Sydney airport might have different types of planes (bigger and louder)
- Sydney airport may be a lot busier due to tourists
- Sydney airport may be bigger e.g. More traffic
- Hotter in Sydney so the temperature may cause more stress
What was happening to the workers on their old shift patterns in the czeisler study
Workers were falling asleep at work/ 29% reported to fall asleep on the job, when operating heavy machinery
What were the aims of the czeisler study
-To investigate the effects of taking the properties of the Circadian Rhythms and applying them to the direction of shift rotation and the interval between each shift change
What are the sample details in in the czeisler study
- All worked at The Great Salt Lake minerals and chemicals corporation in Utah
- compared 85 male rotating shift workers, aged 19-68
- 33 were phase advance and 52 were phase delay
- control group consisted of 68 male, non-rotating. Workers aged 19-56
- response rate was 86%
What was the research method used in the czeisler study
-questionnaire/ self report
What was the procedure of the czeisler study
- Questionnaires were given out to measure workers’ satisfaction, health, personnel turnover and productivity. This was measured before and after the introduction of new shift work schedules
- A rotating work schedule was designed to take into account the circadian timing system which focuses on: direction of rotation and interval between phase shifts
- 33 workers continued to change shift each week on phase advance and 52 others rotated shifts by phase delay once every 21 days –> the 21 phase delay schedule was originally designed so that work hours were shifted gradually by one to two hours per day for 5 days
- Workers preferences were evaluated from questionnaires distributed 3 months after introduction
What were the results prior to the introduction of new shift schedules in the czeisler study
- rotators reported significantly more problems with insomnia than non-rotators
- 29% of rotators reported that they had fallen asleep at work at least once during previous 3 months
- 81% reported that it took 2-4 days or more for their sleep schedule to adjust after each phase advance
What were the results for after the introduction of the new shift schedules in the czeisler study
- The workers clearly preferred the phase delay direction of rotation
- complaints that the schedule changed too much dropped from 90% to 20%
- substantial increase on the schedule satisfaction index, improvements in health index and reduction in personnel turnover
What were the conclusions for the czeisler study
- work schedules that rotate by phase delay with an extended interval between each rotation are most compatible with the properties of the human circadian timing system
- using phase advance is making workers more tired and therefore lose concentration when working due to losing sleep
Who did the study into motivating recycling behaviour
Lord (1994)
What was the aim of the Lord study
aimed to show that exposure to each message and source strategist yields more favorable attitudes towards recycling and a higher level of participation in recycling programmes than no message exposure
What was the sample in the Lord study
140 households in a North-Eastern community in the USA served by a curb side recycling programme
- 20 households received an advertisement message with a positively framed message
- 20 households received an advertisement message with a negatively framed message
- 20 households received a newspaper article with a positively framed message
- 20 households received a newspaper article with a negatively framed message
- 20 households received a personal letter with a positively framed message
- 20 households received a personal letter with a negatively framed message
- 20 households received no message (controls)
Quota sampling was used
57% of respondents were female
from ages 19-65
income ranged from $10,000 - $130,000
What research method was used int he Lord study and how was recycling observed
-Quasi experiment field study
- The design was full-factoral 3 (message source: advertisement, newspaper article, personal letter from acquaintance)
- message framing: positive or negative
What were all of the messaging sources about in the Lord study:
advertisement
newspaper article
personal letter
advertisement = was attributed to a fictitious company caiming to be a distributor of environmentally friendly products in the region
Newspaper article = Describes as having recently appeared in a local news publication
Personal letter = Signed by a student assistant and addressed to a personal aquaintance
