Examining Attitudes and Experiences of Ageism During COVID-19: Are They on the Rise?

Gerontologists have warned of rising ageism amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adults have been portrayed as a homogenous group given their health vulnerabilities and have been viewed with mixed perceptions. For instance, the pandemic has been viewed as an “old person’s” disease and older adults have been inherently linked to imposing health and safety lifestyle changes. Others have responded with acts of overaccommodative care that have minimized older adults’ autonomy. Taken together, there have been inferences of increased hostile and benevolent ageism. Currently, these claims lack empirical data, and the goal of this study was to examine if attitudes and experiences of ageism are on the rise. Across two studies, we examined young adults’ (N=268) attitudes of older adults and older adults’ (N=65) experiences of ageism before and after the start of the pandemic. In study 1, we examined ageist attitudes at 3 time points (2017, 2019, 2020) from separate, but equitable, college samples and found that hostile ageism was higher during the pandemic (F(2,265)=5.48, p<.001) and benevolent ageism demonstrated no differences. In study 2, we explored older adults’ experiences of ageism pre-and post-pandemic onset (2019, 2020) and, found that they reported experiencing less hostile ageism (t(64)=2.45, p<.05), with no differences in experienced benevolent ageism. Our findings suggest an increase in hostile ageist views, but a decrease in experiences, partially supporting the alleged claims of rising ageism. Nevertheless, the last year of the pandemic is dynamically contextualized and research should elaborate on the extent and consequences of this rise.

Colorectal Cancer Survivors Suffering From Sensory Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Are Not a Homogenous Group: Secondary Analysis of Patients’ Profiles With Oxaliplatin-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Oxaliplatin, a pivotal drug in the management of colorectal cancer, causes chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in a third of cancer survivors. Based on a previous cross-sectional study assessing oxaliplatin-related sensory CIPN in colorectal cancer survivors, a secondary analysis was designed to explore the possibility that different clusters of patients may co-exist among a cohort of patients with oxaliplatin-related CIPN. Other objectives were to characterize these clusters considering CIPN severity, anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), patients’ characteristics and oxaliplatin treatments. Among the 96 patients analyzed, three clusters were identified (cluster 1: 52, cluster 2: 34, and cluster 3: 10 patients). Clusters were significantly different according to CIPN severity and the proportion of neuropathic pain (cluster 1: low, cluster 2: intermediate, and cluster 3: high). Anxiety, depressive disorders and HRQOL alteration were lower in cluster 1 in comparison to clusters 2 and 3, but not different between clusters 2 and 3. This study underlines that patients with CIPN are not a homogenous group, and that CIPN severity is associated with psychological distress and a decline of HRQOL. Further studies are needed to explore the relation between clusters and CIPN management.

Prey identity affects fitness of a generalist consumer in a brown food web

The use of ever-advancing sequencing technologies has revealed incredible biodiversity at the microbial scale, and yet we know little about the ecological interactions in these communities. For example, in the phytotelmic community found in the purple pitcher plant, Sarrecenia purpurea, ecologists typically consider the bacteria as a functionally homogenous group. In this food web, bacteria decompose detritus and are consumed by protozoa that are considered generalist consumers. Here we tested whether a generalist consumer benefits from all bacteria equally. We isolated and identified 22 strains of bacteria, belonging to six genera, from S. purpurea plants. We grew the protozoa, Tetrahymena sp. with single isolates and strain mixtures of bacteria and measured Tetrahymena fitness. We found that different bacterial strains had different effects on protozoan fitness, both in isolation and in mixture. Our results demonstrate that not accounting for composition of prey communities may affect the predicted outcome of predator-prey interactions.

Not all Asians End up on Third Base

Scholars generally treat Asians as a homogenous, high-performing population. However, for Filipino Americans, this is not always the case. The analysis of why Filipino Americans are less likely than those in other large hyper-selected Asian groups to get to “third base” demonstrates the need to avoid treating Asians as a homogenous group.

The role of acknowledgment in the psychosocial recovery of young adults in disaster events

In 2009, 4 major bushfires destroyed vast areas of Gippsland in eastern Victoria including the areas around Delburn, Bunyip, Churchill and Wilsons Promontory. These are collectively known as the 2009 Gippsland bushfires. Research was conducted to investigate the psychosocial recovery of young adults in these areas. Twenty young adults participated in the study and, while these young adults are not an homogenous group, commonalities were identified across their stories. Asked what would have helped their recovery, the participants all said that acknowledgment of their personal and age-specific needs was the single most important factor that enabled or impeded recovery. This paper describes some of their stories. The paper looks at how participants viewed acknowledgment and the effects of its absence on their psychosocial recovery and how they felt unacknowledged in local recovery supports. The paper reports on the findings of this research and suggests an approach for management and longer-term recovery support that is inclusive of the specific needs of young adults.

Vegetarian diet: Perceptions and attitudes of hospitality management

Vegetarianism is characterized by a great expansion among consumers as well as food producers and suppliers, which significantly affects supply in the hospitality business. Although vegetarians are perceived as a homogenous group, they are a varied and heterogeneous group, depending on the consumed foodstuffs, which requires hospitality workers to offer a wide variety of meals and combinations of plant origin. This is the reason why this research aims to show attitudes of restaurant management towards vegetarian cuisine and to examine the orientation of restaurants towards vegetarian meals, as well as challenges faced by employees in the hospitality industry. The basic task is to examine and present attitudes of hospitality management towards vegetarian food. The aim of the overall research is to get a better insight into awareness and attitudes of hospitality management towards foods of vegetarian origin, which is reflected in the restaurant offer.

Reduced maximal aerobic capacity after COVID-19 in young adult recruits, Switzerland, May 2020

In March 2020, we observed an outbreak of COVID-19 among a relatively homogenous group of 199 young (median age 21 years; 87% men) Swiss recruits. By comparing physical endurance before and in median 45 days after the outbreak, we found a significant decrease in predicted maximal aerobic capacity in COVID-19 convalescent but not in asymptomatically infected and SARS-CoV-2 naive recruits. This finding might be indicative of lung injury after apparently mild COVID-19 in young adults.

An emotion-based segmentation of bank service customers

PurposeEmotional and affective responses are experienced during service use that determine customer behavior; and for this reason, bank services require an better understanding of the emotions customers feel in service experiences. This research aims to examine whether different customer segments exist in the bank services industry, based on the emotions they experience when using the service.Design/methodology/approachThe factors were examined through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Then, two-step clustering analysis was developed for customer segmentation on data from 451 bank service customers. Finally, an Anova test was conducted to confirm the differences among the obtained customer segments.FindingsOur findings show that the emotion-based segmentation is meaningful in terms of behavioral outcomes in bank services. Further, research findings indicate that bank service customers cannot be perceived as a homogenous group, since four customer clusters emerge from our research namely “angry complainers”, “pragmatic uninvolved”, “emotionally attached customers” and “happy satisfied customers”.Research limitations/implicationsOur findings show that the emotion-based segmentation is meaningful in terms of behavioral outcomes in bank services. Further, research findings indicate that bank service customers cannot be perceived as a homogenous group, since four customer clusters emerge from our research namely “angry complainers”, “pragmatic uninvolved”, “emotionally attached customers” and “happy satisfied customers”, being the “angry complainers” the most challenging customer group.Originality/valueThe study is the first one to specifically segment bank customers based on the emotions they experience when using the service.

Who makes the world? Academics and (un)cancelling the future

In this essay, we consider the role of academics as change-makers. There is a long line of reflection about academics’ sociopolitical role(s) in international relations (IR). Yet, our attempt differs from available considerations in two regards. First, we emphasize that academics are not a homogenous group. While some keep their distance from policymakers, others frequently provide policy advice. Hence, positions and possibilities of influence differ. Second, our argument is not oriented towards the past but the future. That is, we develop our reflections on academics as change-makers by outlining the vision of a ‘FutureLab’, an innovative, future forum that brings together different world-makers who are united in their attempt to improve ‘the world'. Our vision accounts for current, perhaps alarming trends in academia, such as debates about the (in)ability to confront post-truth politics. Still, it is a (critically) optimistic one and can be read as an invitation for experimentation. Finally, we sympathize with voices demanding the democratization of academia and find that further cross-disciplinary dialogues within academia and dialogues between different academics, civil society activists and policymakers may help in finding creditable solutions to problems such as climate change and populism.