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Social aggression is a pervasive feature of insect societies. In eusocial Hymenoptera, aggression among females can affect task performance and competition over direct reproduction (egg laying); in most species males participate in social interactions relatively rarely. Males of the independent-founding paper wasp Mischocyttarus mastigophorus are exceptional: they are aggressive toward female nestmates, leading us to explore the function of this unusual behavior. We applied social network analyses to data on M. mastigophorus social aggression to quantify sex differences in giving and receiving social aggression. The network analyses supported the pattern of biased male aggression toward female nestmates; females are relatively rarely aggressive to males. We then asked whether male aggression toward females was biased by females’ relative ovary development. Males were more aggressive toward females with better-developed ovaries, opposite to patterns of aggression among females. Because food brought to the colonies is often monopolized by dominant females, we suggest that males direct aggression toward socially dominant females with better-developed ovaries to obtain food. The implications of biased male aggression for female task performance and physiology are unknown.

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Cardiovascular Research (CVR) following peer review. The version of record Perrino, Ferdinandy, Bøtker, Brundel, Collins, Davidson, Den Ruijter, Engel, Gerdts, Girao, Gyöngyösi, Hausenloy, Lecour, Madonna, Marber, Murphy, Pesce, Regitz-Zagrosek, Sluijter, Steffens, Gollmann-Tepeköylü, Van Laake, Van Linthout, Schulz, Ytrehus. Improving translational research in sex-specific effects of comorbidities and risk factors in ischaemic heart disease and cardioprotection: Position paper and recommendations of the ESC Working Group on Cellular Biology of the Heart. Cardiovascular Research (CVR). 2021;117(2):367-385, is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvaa155. Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is a complex disorder and a leading cause of death and morbidity in both men and women. Sex, however, affects several aspects of IHD, including pathophysiology, incidence, clinical presentation, diagnosis as well as treatment and outcome. Several diseases or risk factors frequently associated with IHD can modify cellular signalling cascades, thus affecting ischaemia/reperfusion injury as well as responses to cardioprotective interventions. Importantly, the prevalence and impact of risk factors and several comorbidities differ between males and females, and their effects on IHD development and prognosis might differ according to sex. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these differences are still poorly understood, and their identification might have important translational implications in the prediction or prevention of risk of IHD in men and women. Despite this, most experimental studies on IHD are still undertaken in animal models in the absence of risk factors and comorbidities, and assessment of potential sex-specific differences are largely missing. This ESC WG Position Paper will discuss: (i) the importance of sex as a biological variable in cardiovascular research, (ii) major biological mechanisms underlying sex-related differences relevant to IHD risk factors and comorbidities, (iii) prospects and pitfalls of preclinical models to investigate these associations, and finally (iv) will provide recommendations to guide future research. Although gender differences also affect IHD risk in the clinical setting, they will not be discussed in detail here.

Purpose Administration of questionnaires to assess the diffusion of disordered eating behaviours via the web is becoming common today. The aim of this study is to assess whether two different approaches of administering a test to assess traits of eating disorders (EDs), orthorexia nervosa (ON) and muscle dysmorphia (MD) by email recruitment and online completion (web-based survey—WBS) and by in person recruitment and paper-and-pencil completion (paper-based survey—PBS), gives different results. Methods During 2 consecutive academic years, a self-reported questionnaire consisting of questions about personal characteristics and three tests for the evaluation of ON (ORTO-15), MD (MDDI-ITA), and EDs (EAT-26) were administered to two groups of undergraduates, respectively, as a WBS and a PBS. Results The WBS response rate was 6.7% (N = 137), and the PBS response rate was 86.5% (N = 372). The WBS group showed a statistically significant higher prevalence of students with eating disordered behaviours (21.2% vs 5.4%) and registered a higher mean score on the EAT-26 test (13.5 ± 11.1 vs 6.0 ± 8.0); no differences between the two groups emerged for ON and MD prevalence and test scores. Moreover, in the WBS group, the number of students with one or more tests with test scores above the cut-off values was significantly higher (46.0% vs 32.3%). Conclusion The choice of the approach to administer a questionnaire to assess the diffusion of EDs and related issues must take into account all the factors that can result in selection bias and that can affect the reliability of the results. Level of evidence Level V, descriptive cross-sectional survey.

Objective\ud This study examines the impact of data collection method on the sociodemographic and health profile of samples of people with diabetes who complete either an online or postal patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) validation survey.\ud \ud Methods\ud A longitudinal survey of people with diabetes was conducted using online and postal survey versions. The survey consisted of sociodemographic and health questions, a health and self-management PROM (Health and Self-Management in Diabetes [HASMID]), and 5-level version of EQ-5D. Dose adjustment for normal eating Online, Diabetes UK, and social media were used to recruit online survey participants. A panel of patients at a local National Health Service Trust was randomly allocated to participate in either survey version (two-thirds to postal version). Participants were asked to complete the survey again approximately 3 months later.\ud \ud Results\ud A total of 2784 participants completed the survey (1908 online, 876 postal). The samples (online versus postal) differed; the online sample was younger, with a larger proportion of women and respondents with type 1 diabetes. There were significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics by type of diabetes across data collection mode. The proportion of respondents who responded again at point 2 was higher in the postal sample (525 postal, 698 online).\ud \ud Conclusion\ud The sociodemographic and health profile of samples of people with diabetes differed depending on whether they completed the online or postal survey. Differences are likely due to different recruitment methods and differences in those choosing to respond to different survey versions. Future PROM validation surveys should select data collection methods carefully because these can affect sample characteristics and results.

Subgroup by treatment interaction assessments are routinely performed when analysing clinical trials and are particularly important for phase 3 trials where the results may affect regulatory labelling. Interpretation of such interactions is particularly difficult, as on one hand the subgroup finding can be due to chance, but equally such analyses are known to have a low chance of detecting differential treatment effects across subgroup levels, so may overlook important differences in therapeutic efficacy. EMA have therefore issued draft guidance on the use of subgroup analyses in this setting. Although this guidance provided clear proposals on the importance of pre-specification of likely subgroup effects and how to use this when interpreting trial results, it is less clear which analysis methods would be reasonable, and how to interpret apparent subgroup effects in terms of whether further evaluation or action is necessary. A PSI/EFSPI Working Group has therefore been investigating a focused set of analysis approaches to assess treatment effect heterogeneity across subgroups in confirmatory clinical trials that take account of the number of subgroups explored and also investigating the ability of each method to detect such subgroup heterogeneity. This evaluation has shown that the plotting of standardised effects, bias-adjusted bootstrapping method and SIDES method all perform more favourably than traditional approaches such as investigating all subgroup-by-treatment interactions individually or applying a global test of interaction. Therefore, these approaches should be considered to aid interpretation and provide context for observed results from subgroup analyses conducted for phase 3 clinical trials.

It is commonly hypothesized that scientists are more likely to engage in data falsification and fabrication when they are subject to pressures to publish, when they are not restrained by forms of social control, when they work in countries lacking policies to tackle scientific misconduct, and when they are male. Evidence to test these hypotheses, however, is inconclusive due to the difficulties of obtaining unbiased data. Here we report a pre-registered test of these four hypotheses, conducted on papers that were identified in a previous study as containing problematic image duplications through a systematic screening of the journal PLoS ONE. Image duplications were classified into three categories based on their complexity, with category 1 being most likely to reflect unintentional error and category 3 being most likely to reflect intentional fabrication. We tested multiple parameters connected to the hypotheses above with a matched-control paradigm, by collecting two controls for each paper containing duplications. Category 1 duplications were mostly not associated with any of the parameters tested, as was predicted based on the assumption that these duplications were mostly not due to misconduct. Categories 2 and 3, however, exhibited numerous statistically significant associations. Results of univariable and multivariable analyses support the hypotheses that academic culture, peer control, cash-based publication incentives and national misconduct policies might affect scientific integrity. No clear support was found for the “pressures to publish” hypothesis. Female authors were found to be equally likely to publish duplicated images compared to males. Country-level parameters generally exhibited stronger effects than individual-level parameters, because developing countries were significantly more likely to produce problematic image duplications. This suggests that promoting good research practices in all countries should be a priority for the international research integrity agenda. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11948-018-0023-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This article explores how young prenatal women negotiate, articulate, and manage their experiences of chronic pelvic pain (CPP). I argue that chronic pelvic pain lies at the intersection of chronic illness, pain, feminization, sex, and legibility, and that pain of this character is deeply stigmatized. Investigating it offers a visceral view into the affective layers of chronic pain. This project draws on ethnographic interviews with CPP sufferers aged eighteen to thirty, pelvic health care providers, and sex and treatment tool production companies. The analysis is rooted in histories of frigidity, hysteria, and chronic illness that together affect how CPP is socially understood today. This article explicates the critical differences between prompted recurrent pain and constant bodily pain in terms of the subjectivity of associated experiences, the problematic insistence on vaginal penetration as evidence of cure, and the dilemmas of treating pain with doubly painful therapies.

The physical demands of daily life in developed countries have decreased remarkably during the last two centuries. General leisure time has increased and the age at retirement has decreased. General health has improved and life expectancy has increased. Most people can expect to live 20-30 years after retirement. By 2050, one in four people in Europe and North America will be aged 65 or over. Furthermore, women live longer than men. Generally, the physical demands on older women will be low. Thus, their physical fitness will decline, which in turn will affect a variety of organ systems and functions, and so impact on mental health, quality of life and independent living. This opinion paper explores exercise strategies for healthy ageing.

The relationship between border and bureaucracy offers fertile ground to study how the border continues to affect the lives and movement of people. As epistemological and material sites, borders an...

Background:COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become the most threatening issue to all populations around the world. It is directly and indirectly affecting all of us and thus, is a emergence topic dealt in global health. In order to avoid the infection, various studies have been done and still ongoing. Now having over 141 million cases of COVID19 and causing over 3 million deaths around the world, the tendency of infection and degree severity of the disease shown in different groups of people came up as an issue. Here, we reviewed 21 papers on SNPs related to SARS-CoV-2 infection severity and analyzed the results of them.Methods:The PubMed databases were searched for papers discussing SNPs associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection severity. Clinical studies with human patients and statistically showing relevance of the SNP with virus infection were included. Quality Assessment of all papers were done with Newcastle Ottawa Scale.Results:In the analysis, 21 full-text literatures out of 2956 screened titles and abstracts, including 63496 cases, were included. All were human based clinical studies, some based on certain regions gathered patient data and some based on big databases obtained online. ACE2, TMPRSS2, IFITM3 are the genes mentioned most frequently that are related with SARS-CoV-2 infection. 20 out of 21 studies mentioned one of more of those genes. The relevant genes according to SNPs were also analyzed. rs12252-C, rs143936283, rs2285666, rs41303171, and rs35803318 are the SNPs that were mentioned at least twice in two different studies.Conclusions: We found that ACE2, TMPRSS2, IFITM3 are the major genes that are involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The mentioned SNPs were all related to one or more of the above mentioned genes. There were discussions on certain SNPs that increased the infection severity to certain ethinic groups more than the others. However, as there is limited follow up and data due to shortage of time history of the disease, studies may be limited.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have recently gained a lot of attention as a new e-learning paradigm. Despite its widespread use, the high percentage of students who do not use it raises concerns among institutions in developed countries who have spent considerable time and money developing it. As a result, it is critical to comprehend the variables that affect students' decisions to take MOOCs. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for assessing MOOC acceptance among students in Nigerian higher education institution, and it expands on the technology acceptance model (TAM). Five constructs and two moderators are identified and hypothesized and synthesis of related prior literature: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, reputation, subjective norm, facilitating condition, and technology awareness. The suggested conceptual framework in this research enriches existing literature on student’s intention to use MOOCs.

In this study, we compared cancer patients preference for computerised (tablet/web-based) surveys versus paper. We also assessed whether the understanding of a cancer-related topic, pharmacogenomics is affected by the survey format, and examined differences in demographic and medical characteristics which may affect patient preference and understanding. Three hundred and four cancer patients completed a tablet-administered survey and another 153 patients completed a paper-based survey. Patients who participated in the tablet survey were questioned regarding their preference for survey format administration (paper, tablet and web-based). Understanding was assessed with a ‘direct’ method, by asking patients to assess their understanding of genetic testing, and with a ‘composite’ score. Patients preferred administration with tablet (71%) compared with web-based (12%) and paper (17%). Patients

The Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) (Payne et al., 2005) can measure implicit attitudes based on a conceptually different procedure from the Implicit Association Test (IAT) (Greenwald et al., 1998). We aim to improve the administrative advantage of the AMP by converting it into a paper-based performance test so that it can collect massive data easily without using a computer for each examinee. We conduct three Paper-based AMP experiments to achieve the typical AMP results with large effect sizes (Study 1), obtain sufficient reliability by the test-retest method (Study 2), and find a similar phenomenon of the disappearance of misattribution when participants evaluate the primes consciously prior to the target evaluation (Study 3).

The audio paper is an academic publication format that seeks to bring together academic argumentation and analysis with media, technology and situated, sensory experience. This article is a presentation of our conception of what an audio paper can be. As it follows, this conception is depended on and developed within a specific context, both when it comes to how the idea was conceived, how the audio paper takes form in practice and how it gradually is being accepted as an academic publication format. Meanwhile, we bring forth some of the publications we have experienced so far, we also argue, that the audio paper is not only a final and fixed format, but is always to be perceived situated in various modes of production.

The environment in which physicians practice and patients receive care continues to change. Increasing employment of physicians, changing practice models, new regulatory requirements, and market dynamics all affect medical practice; some changes may also place greater emphasis on the business of medicine. Fundamental ethical principles and professional values about the patient-physician relationship, the primacy of patient welfare over self-interest, and the role of medicine as a moral community and learned profession need to be applied to the changing environment, and physicians must consider the effect the practice environment has on their ethical and professional responsibilities. Recognizing that all health care delivery arrangements come with advantages, disadvantages, and salient questions for ethics and professionalism, this American College of Physicians policy paper examines the ethical implications of issues that are particularly relevant today, including incentives in the shift to value-based care, physician contract clauses that affect care, private equity ownership, clinical priority setting, and physician leadership. Physicians should take the lead in helping to ensure that relationships and practices are structured to explicitly recognize and support the commitments of the physician and the profession of medicine to patients and patient care.

The authors of this paper examined how paper-based vs. computer-based modes of learning affected student performance on TOEIC vocabulary tests for known and unknown words. Japanese university students were tested on two different TOEIC vocabulary registers to see how the mode of learning affected student performance on vocabulary tests. The results show all students, including higher ability students, perform better on paper-based over computer-based tests and this performance is carried through all levels of ability until students become familiar with the vocabulary, and their cognitive load is decreased. This indicates that all students when challenged by new and unknown data would initially perform better with paper-based modes of learning. This has important implications for the teaching of new TOEIC vocabulary both at the institutional and classroom level.

Natural disasters have significant economic and social impacts. Among them, health disasters affect education possibly more than others. From the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we can see it has negative impacts on students’ learning. It appears to affect students from different age groups differently. Students in primary and secondary education seem to suffer more than their counterparts in higher education. In this literature review, we attempt to understand the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on students’ learning.

BackgroundAttention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric complication in children, which affects about 5-10% of the population. Although ADHD is a multi-factorial disorder, one of its causes refers to dysfunction of the arousal.ObjectivesThe current study aimed at investigating whether a change in arousal level in children with ADHD differs from the control group.Materials & MethodsTo achieve the research objectives, the mean Skin Conductance Levels (SCLs) as an useful index of measuring arousal levels was used, and then the changes during resting eyes-open condition and after that during playing computer games on 15 male subjects aged 8 to 12 years as the ADHD group and other 15 age-gender matched in the control group were evaluated; then, the recorded data were analyzed with repeated measures analysis of variance. The study was conducted in a child mental health services center in Tabriz, Iran, in 2012.ResultsAcross conditions, mean SCL index was lower in the ADHD group than that of controls. Computer games caused a significant increase in SCL index, which was not different between the both groups. The findings showed a similar pattern of changes during testing conditions for both the ADHD and control groups F(1,28)=85.90; P

[enter This study aims to explore the challenges facing the perception of women entrepreneurs in Bule Hora town administration. Related to the challenges facing in the perception, attitude, and belief of women entrepreneur in-action and the potential women are segregated. The researchers used a qualitative research design related to the interpretative approach was developed. The researchers used eight interviewees who were involved in the study. The purposive sampling techniques were used to get data from the sample respondent, an interview was used. The qualitative data analysis method thematic data analysis is used. The major finding of the study shows that challenges facing the perception of women entrepreneurs in the study area are a lack of finance, working place, and training, social-cultural factors. The implication of the study will help the government to revise his policy to give a solution personal and organizational –related, legal/administration, economic, social/cultural and other factors that affect the perception of women entrepreneurs in entrepreneurial activity

Sporadically advocated over the last two centuries, a cerebellar role in cognition and affect has been rigorously established in the past few decades. In the clinical domain, such progress is epitomized by the “cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome” (“CCAS”) or “Schmahmann syndrome.” Introduced in the late 1990s, CCAS reflects a constellation of cerebellar-induced sequelae, comprising deficits in executive function, visuospatial cognition, emotion–affect, and language, over and above speech. The CCAS thus offers excellent grounds to investigate the functional topography of the cerebellum, and, ultimately, illustrate the precise mechanisms by which the cerebellum modulates cognition and affect. The primary objective of this task force paper is thus to stimulate further research in this area. After providing an up-to-date overview of the fundamental findings on cerebellar neurocognition, the paper substantiates the concept of CCAS with recent evidence from different scientific angles, promotes awareness of the CCAS as a clinical entity, and examines our current insight into the therapeutic options available. The paper finally identifies topics of divergence and outstanding questions for further research.

Augmented reality (AR) can support a user in performing an expert task by overlaying real world objects with the domain specific information required to complete the task. Understanding how users can process and use such information is very important for informing the design of AR technologies and applications. In this paper, the results of a quality of experience (QoE) evaluation of an AR application for the task of solving a Rubik's Cube are presented. The Rubik's Cube was selected based on its familiarity and the expertise needed to solve it unaided. An empirical approach was taken to identify the QoE features that affect the usability and utility of an AR head-mounted display (HMD) compared with paper-based instruction. The QoE evaluation methodology involved the capture and analysis of implicit and explicit QoE metrics. The utility (in terms of performance) of each mode of instruction was objectively measured using: (a) cube completion success rates; and (b) time-to-completion. The implicit metrics of electrodermal activity (EDA), skin temperature, heart rate and the novel use of facial action units (AUs) were recorded to infer emotional state during the task completion. Finally, with respect to explicit metrics, the test subjects completed a Likert scale questionnaire post the experience to subjectively report QoE as well as a self-assessment manikin (SAM) questionnaire to self-report emotional state upon task completion. The results show that AR yielded higher success rates and significantly lower time-to-completion rates. The AR group explicitly reported higher levels of positive valance (affective state) than the paper-based group. The physiological data showed that the AR group were less stressed (via EDA) than the paper-based group. Finally, analysis of the AU data reflected a greater than chance (total: 21.85%) accuracy when predicting affective state based on SAM questionnaires as ground-truth.

Research Highlights Perceived effective sanction, in this study, refer to perception that the customers have the ability to impose punishment on the vendor if the vendor does not fulfill his or her promises. This paper is aimed to examine the effect of perceived effective sanctions on trusting beliefs and trusting intention on an unfamiliar online vendor. This study proposes that a strong perception of effective of imposing sanctions on an unfamiliar online vendor may lead to customers’ trustworthiness perception of the vendor and subsequently, their tendency to rely on the vendor. This paper also proposes the methodology to validate the research model. ___________________________________________________________________________ Graphical Abstract The following figure shows the proposed research model in this study. Research Objectives In the literature, McKnight’s trust studies (i.e. McKnight, Choudhury, and Kacmar (2002a), (2002b)) have conceptualized trust by specifically dividing it into two separate yet interrelated components (i.e. trusting beliefs which refers to one’s beliefs that the other person is competent, benevolence, and has integrity where trusting beliefs is an important antecedent to another trust component, that is, trusting intention which refers to one’s willingness to depend on the other person). They have studied trust specifically on an unfamiliar online vendor, one with whom the customer has no past experience or interaction, also called initial trust in this study. Perceived effective sanctions has been suggested by Bock, Lee, Kuan, & Kim (2012) as antecedent to initial trust, however, trust that they conceptualized, in fact, referred to trusting beliefs as termed by McKnight’s trust studies. They have examined the effect of perceived effective sanctions on trusting beliefs only but not on trusting intention. It is essential to examine the effect of perceived effective sanctions on trusting intention as according to McKnight’s trust studies, compared to trusting beliefs, trusting intention indicates a firmer commitment to trust, has better predicting power on specific behavioral intention that will lead one to indulge in certain behaviors (i.e. purchase) and one who has trusting intention is not solely due to one’s trusting beliefs but also due to other factors in which one’s perceived effective sanctions could be one of them. Examining its direct effect on trusting intention should enhance the predicting power on trusting intention. Based on the researchers’ knowledge, McKnight’s conceptualization is best describing trust and thus it is worthwhile to incorporate perceived effective sanction in McKnight’s trust model to develop a greater understanding on how it affects customers’ initial trust on an unfamiliar online vendor. At the same time, improve the Bock, Lee, Kuan, & Kim’s (2012) work through a proposed direct relationship between the constructs. In particular, this study aims to examine the effect of perceived effective sanctions on trusting beliefs and trusting intention on an unfamiliar online vendor. Methodology This study suggests quantitative method to validate the conceptual model. Due to university students are the most connected, experienced and frequent users of the Internet Drennan, Mort, & Previte (2006) and based on Hair, Hult, Ringle, & Sarstedt’s (2017) 10 times rules and equation of determining sample size, a total of 120 local university students are proposed to participate in the study. The study involves two phases. In a computer laboratory, the respondents will asked to visit an unfamiliar or non-reputable website. This is to ensure the respondents visit a website for the first time so that initial trust as what we aim to study can be investigated. After the website browsing, the respondents are given a questionnaire which will solicit their perception on sanctions, trusting beliefs, and trusting intention. The collected data will be analyzed statistically using smartPLS. Conclusion According to the proposed research model and based on the literature, logic, theoretical, and empirical support, this study proposes that trusting beliefs positively affect trusting intention where in the context of online transaction, if customers strongly sense that an unknown online vendor is kind hearted, capable, and honest, these will increase their tendency to rely on the vendor. Futhermore, this study suggests that perceived effective sanctions positively affects trusting beliefs and trusting intention on an unfamiliar online vendor. We propose that customers with a strong perception on effective of imposing sanctions on an unfamiliar online vendor will have higher beliefs that the vendor will behave trustworthily and consequently have higher tendency to rely on the vendor. In particular, this study contributed academically by proposing a relationship between perceived effective sanctions and trusting intention; which it has not yet been explored in the literature. Acknowledgement The authors would like to thank the Zamalah Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for their financial assistance.

The most recent conceptualizations of empathy recognize affective empathy as distinct from cognitive empathy. Consequently, instruments that assess these 2 types of empathy have been developed. Among them, the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) is a particularly promising, relatively new, self-report measure consisting of 31 items. To examine the cross-cultural adaptability of the QCAE, we investigated the psychometric properties of an Italian version in 2 samples and with 2 different formats of administration. Study 1 (n = 407) used archival data collected via paper and pencil; Study 2 (n = 285) used newly collected data, obtained with an online format. In these studies, in addition to the QCAE, 6 other instruments measuring empathy-related constructs (i.e., interpersonal competence, well-being, personality traits, emotion regulation, alexithymia, and emotion recognition) were administered, too. Data analysis focused on factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity. The findings of both studies provide support for the cross-cultural applicability of the QCAE, and reveal interesting associations between empathy and the other constructs under examination.

Construction industry has complexity in its nature because it contains a large number of parties such as clients, contractors, consultants, stakeholders, shareholders, regulators and others. It makes significant contributions to the socio-economic development process of a country. But due to some factors the construction project progress affected in different countries. Therefore this study focused on the identification and ranking of the different factors that affect the construction of project progress in different areas. Keywords: Performance of Construction, Factors affecting Construction Performance, Ranking DOI: 10.7176/CER/12-7-02 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Latent Semantic Analysis uses Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to effectively retrieve relevant information from the information corpus. However, LSA has a high computational cost. In order to address this aspect, it is proposed to filter only those words carrying high semantic importance. The aim is to improve the execution time of semantic space construction and dimensionality reduction. We present how the use of data filter can effectively meet the proposed goals in comparison to baseline method of performing recommendations. The proposed system was assessed over a dataset of 80 articles (Titles and Abstracts). The results of the experiments show that the proposed system performed better in terms of elapsed time with an average precision of 85.54% (78.64% for baseline method) and an average recall of 92.96% (89.70% for baseline method).

This exploratory study compared the effects of two different mediums of reading—interactive e-book reading and paper-based reading—on learners’ reading comprehension. A specific focus was placed on literal vs. inferential comprehension. Thirty Korean middle school English language learners were randomly assigned to an interactive e-book reading (treatment) group or a paper-based reading (control) group. A pre-test and five comprehension tests were administered to both groups over a total of six reading sessions. A survey was also conducted to investigate students’ perceptions of how helpful interactive e-book features were in aiding their reading comprehension. Results from the reading comprehension test scores showed no statistical differences between the groups across the five tests. Analysis of literal and inferential questions also showed no significant difference overall. Findings from the survey data along with researcher observation notes suggest that interactive features that are not designed to aid students’ understanding can distract students from the task of reading which may hinder their comprehension. The overall results of this study suggest that it may not be the medium of reading, but how students engage with each medium that can affect their comprehension of text.

Where a vehicle driver has multiple conditions or a condition that affects multiple body systems, there may be an additive or a compounding detrimental effect on driving abilities. An 81-year-old male motorcyclist was admitted to a tertiary care hospital following a road traffic accident. He has sustained only minor injuries. No significant past medical history. He has monocular vision since 1960 following accidental trauma to the right eye. He had obtained a heavy and light vehicle driving license in 1958, which is valid for life. Driving with monocular vision is permitted in many European countries and Sri Lanka. However, an important question remains - should the ability of driving be reviewed in an accident or any other condition which affects driving. This paper attempts to propose a referral mechanism to reduce morbidity and mortality in people with driving disabilities. Monocular vision affects vision in many ways. This might have serious implications both on the safety of the patient and the public. Driving with monocular vision is allowed in many countries. However proper evaluation of subsequent illnesses and referral mechanism is important in cases like this to reduce morbidity and mortality. In Sri Lanka there is no proper referral system for this. Therefore, we propose to introduce 1. Mandatory renewal of all driving licenses. 2. Mandatory notification system in conditions that affect driving 3. Issue a restrictive license and frequent review in relevant cases. This would be important in reducing injury risk to both the individual concerned and the public.

Objective The objective of this study was to investigate older adults' performance on the paper and electronic Montreal Cognitive Assessment (eMoCA). Design Repeated measures and correlational design. Participants A convenience sample of 40 adults over 65 years of age living in the community. Interventions Participants completed the eMoCA and paper Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in a randomized order during 1 session. Participants reported their touchscreen experience and comfort and indicated their modality preferences. Main outcome measures The primary outcome measures were paper MoCA and eMoCA total and subscale scores. Secondary outcome measures included participants' reported touchscreen experience and comfort, as well as post-administration preferences. Results A moderate statistically significant correlation was found between eMoCA and paper MoCA performance across all participants. Analysis comparing first administration modality only (eMoCA vs. paper MoCA) found no statistically significant difference in total scores; however, there was a statistically significant difference for the visuospatial/executive subscale, which required physical interaction with paper or the tablet. For this subscale, participants scored lower on the eMoCA versus paper MoCA. There was a statistically significant correlation between experience with touchscreen devices and performance on the eMoCA, but not between modality preference and performance. Conclusion Modality of administration can affect performance on cognitive assessments. Clinicians should consider individuals' level of touchscreen experience before selecting administration modality.

Quality of work life (QWOL) has been considered important to motivate employees, enhance their commitment towards the organization and also a tool to improve their performance. QWOL. The paper reviews twenty articles from various backgrounds and enhances the understanding of the concept of QWOL. The article also attempts to recognize the numerous factors affecting QWOL. The paper identifies that leadership style, pay, nature of job, job security, assistance programmes and interestingly total quality management (TQM) practices affect QWOL. The paper also identifies various behavioural outcomes of QWOL result in harmony, less stress and conflict among the employees.

The relationship between regulation and economic outcomes is a longstanding question in economic analysis. Considering the underlying foundations of good regulatory systems — such as their effectiveness at enforcing contracts or permitting business creation — is critical for spurring improvements in economic opportunity. A March 2019 Policy Research Working Paper for the World Bank Group examines how “business-friendly” regulations and their enforcement affect poverty at the country level. This review analyzes the paper’s main claims, examines its methodology, and recommends ways to make improvements. While the paper contributes to the literature on how country-level regulatory characteristics affect poverty, it makes strong claims that are not fully supported by the results or methodology. Modifying the analysis could enhance the findings and expand the paper’s contribution to the literature on country-level determinants of poverty. Rather than offering a clear path forward to addressing poverty, the World Bank working paper is better seen as a starting point for further research.

Science fiction is untethered by assumptions of how people, things, and environments should act. The perceptions and portrayals of childhood in two science fiction comic series, Saga and Paper Girls , provide engagements with affective encounters. Attention to these encounters and the disruptive portrayals of childhood encourages the exploration of the pedagogic potential of sensation. Comics, as a genre, and childhood in each series inhabit ambiguity: comics blur the boundaries of popular culture objects and “properly” educative materials, while the younger characters in Saga and Paper Girls are not quite adult or child, nor innocent or monster. An examination of Chapters 1 through 48 of Saga and Issues 1 through 18 of Paper Girls reveals approaches to engaging sensations of tension and discomfort. Using affect and new materialism as guiding frameworks for this examination of two comic series, it is possible to sift through the provocations of affect suggested by interaction with the material comic itself and the meanings this exploration holds for reconsidering educational habits.

Trust in institutions and political participation are both essential for democracy. This paper proposes modeling trust in institutions among 14-year-old students in schools comparatively using ICCS 2016 data from 13 European countries. Data include more than 54,000 students in their eighth grade of schooling. Based on previous studies, we hypothesize to find that social media harm trust in institutions and therefore negatively affect civic and democratic participation. Trust and civic culture systems are studied using SEM. Results indicate that trust in social media indeed negatively influences trust in institutions in almost all European countries, which in turn reduces expected political and electoral participation of students.

Background: Using thinking-based scientific methods such as paper-based and electronic nursing processes in nursing education can lead to education of skilled and efficient experts that can affect students’ satisfaction in addition to their quality of care. The present study aimed to compare the effects of recording and implementing the nursing process based on two methods (paper-based and electronic) on the quality of patient care and nursing students’ satisfaction. Methods: This randomized-field trial was conducted in 2014 on 64 nursing students that were randomly assigned into two groups of paper-based and electronic nursing process. The intervention included a one-day training on the nursing process and then its implementation on patients using the two mentioned methods during two weeks of internship. Quality of care was measured through a researcher-designed care quality questionnaire before and after the intervention. Students’ satisfaction with the implementation of the nursing process was measured through a researcher-designed students’ satisfaction questionnaire after the intervention. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) score of students’ satisfaction in the paper-based nursing process and the electronic process was 37.3±4.7 and 68.9±14.2, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.015). After the intervention, the mean score of care quality in the electronic group was 46.9±5.6 and the mean score of the paper-based group was 39.9±9.2. This difference was also statistically significant (P

The most important consideration is how the collection of measurements may affect a person's well-being.

Media outlets provide crucial inputs into the democratic process, yet they face increasingly severe economic challenges. I study how a newly salient manifestation of this pressure, reduced reporting capacity, influences political coverage. Focusing on newspapers in the United States, where industry-wide employment fell over 40% between 2007 and 2015, I use panel data to assess the relationship between reporting capacity and political coverage. Staff cuts substantially decrease the amount of political coverage newspapers provide. Across different samples and measurement approaches, a typical cutback to a newspaper's reporting staff reduces its annual political coverage by between 300 and 500 stories. These political news declines happen against the backdrop of similar reductions in non-political coverage, meaning the share of newspaper articles focused on politics remains stable over this period. This demonstrates that economic pressure affects the political information environment by shaping the media's capacity to cover politics.

The working environment may have a significant effect on response to treatment of depression and this issue has not yet been sufficiently addressed in the scientific literature. There is evidence showing that being engaged in high-level positions can be an obstacle to the success of treatment. This article discusses the few evidence in the literature and some of the possible mechanisms involved. Specific personality attributes and difficulties in adapting to depression may delay access to care and may also reduce treatment compliance. The presence of stress in jobs that require high cognitive function and lack of social support may be elements that hinder the recovery process. Residual symptoms that impact on cognitive functions may undermine adherence to treatment and adversely affect the response. The implications of these issues are potentially relevant for clinical practice in the treatment of depression and for future research.