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Background: The Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS) validly and reliably measures symptoms and concerns of those receiving palliative care. Aim: To determine the equivalence of the paper version with an electronic version of the IPOS (eIPOS). Design: Multicentre randomised crossover trial (NCT03879668) with a within-subject comparison of the two modes (washout period 30 min). Setting/Participants: Convenience sample of specialist inpatient and palliative home care patients aged over 18 years with cancer and non-cancer conditions was recruited. Scores were compared using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Bland-Altman plots and via a mixed-effects analysis of variance. Results: Fifty patients were randomised to complete paper-electronic (n = 24) and electronic-paper (n = 26) IPOS with median age 69 years (range 24–95), 56% male, 16% non-cancer. The ICCs showed very high concordance for the total score (ICC 0.99, 95% CI 0.98–1.00), lowest ICCs being observed for symptoms 'Appetite loss' and 'Drowsiness' (ICC 0.95, 95% CI 0.92–0.97). Nine of seventeen items had ICCs above 0.98, as did all subscales. No statistically significant mode, order, age, and interaction effects were observed for IPOS total score and subscales, except for 'Communication' (Fmode = 5.9, p = 0.019). Fifty-eight percent preferred the electronic version. In the group 75+ years, 53% preferred the paper version. Only three entries in the free-text main problems differed between the versions. Conclusion: The very high equivalence in scores and free text between the IPOS and the eIPOS demonstrates that eIPOS is feasible and reliable in an older palliative population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the Cold War, the EU aims to advance to a relevant and autonomous actor in international politics—especially concerning security and defense politics. Scholars interested in whether the EU member states actually converge in their security and defense preferences often analyze strategy papers qualitatively, focusing on selected countries at specific points in time. In this article, we propose a dictionary approach for analyzing the development of security and defense preferences within the EU over the last three decades using quantitative text analysis. We make use of 163 strategy papers, published by all EU member states and the EU itself since 1994. The findings show that EU member states react similarly to international events, but do not converge substantially in their preferences. Furthermore, there is no substantial convergence to the position of the EU itself. We finally discuss usefulness and validity of quantitative text analysis in comparative research more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gold standard for measuring anhedonia is the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS). To date, there are no validated electronic versions of this questionnaire. We aim to study the equivalence between the traditional paper-and-pencil format and a digital version of the SHAPS. A group of 67 patients completed both SHAPS formats, and differences between formats were assessed. McNemar's test showed no significant differences between the two systems. The Kappa coefficient was over 40% for most items, and reliability was above 0.8, showing good to excellent levels of internal consistency. Thus, we have demonstrated a close equivalence between paper-and-pencil and electronic SHAPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid automatized naming (RAN) is a powerful predictor of reading fluency, and many digitized dyslexia screeners include RAN as an essential component. However, the validity of digitized RAN has not been established. Using a sample of 174 second-graders, this study tested (1) the comparability between paper and digitized versions of RAN and (2) the validity of the digitized version. We found that paper and digital versions were highly correlated, and such correlation was consistent across students' reading levels. Further, the digital RAN predicted children's word reading proficiency as well as the paper version. Moreover, the constructs measured by paper and digital versions of RAN were comparable. We conclude that the digitized RAN is a valid alternative to the traditional paper version for this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including South Africa, are currently experiencing multiple epidemics: HIV and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), leading to different patterns of multimorbidity (the occurrence of two or more chronic conditions) than experienced in high income settings. These adversely affect health outcomes, increase patients' perceived burden of treatment, and impact the workload of self-management. This paper outlines the methods used in a qualitative study exploring burden of treatment among people living with HIV/NCD multimorbidity in South Africa. Methods: We undertook a comparative qualitative study to examine the interaction between individuals' treatment burden (self-management workload) and their capacity to take on this workload, using the dual lenses of Burden of Treatment Theory (BoTT) and Cumulative Complexity Model (CuCoM) to aid conceptualisation of the data. We interviewed 30 people with multimorbidity and 16 carers in rural Eastern Cape and urban Cape Town between February-April 2021. Data was analysed through framework analysis. Findings: This paper discusses the methodological procedures considered when conducting qualitative research among people with multimorbidity in low-income settings in South Africa. We highlight the decisions made when developing the research design, recruiting participants, and selecting field-sites. We also explore data analysis processes and reflect on the positionality of the research project and researchers. Conclusion: This paper illustrates the decision-making processes conducting this qualitative research and may be helpful in informing future research aiming to qualitatively investigate treatment burden among patients in LMICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine if and how the reclassification of platform workers from self-employment status to employment status can provide them with adequate social security protection. Little is known about how this transition would guarantee platform workers adequate social protection within the social protection scheme for employees. National social security schemes, in particular income replacement benefit schemes, often (still) depart from the standard employment relationship, leading to lower protection for atypical work forms. Platform workers combine several of the characteristics of atypical forms of work, such as low earnings, irregular working patterns and working. Integrating platform workers into employee social security schemes faces additional challenges due to the online nature of their work, algorithmic management, high levels of unpaid labor, and employer identification difficulties. This paper focuses on unemployment protection, as EU Member States struggle to provide adequate protection for workers with irregular work patterns and income fluctuations, in the case of (short term) income replacement benefits. By constructing nine ideal work patterns reflective of diverse nature of platform work and current practices among platform work, we analyse how different types of 'employed' platform workers may fare within the legislation of three EU countries (Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands). This approach allows us to assess the applicability of unemployment protection to different working patterns among 'employed' platform workers, considering formal, effective, and adequate access to unemployment schemes as outlined in the Council Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed (2019). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) is the primary soft tissue restraint to lateral patellar translation and is often disrupted with a lateral patellar dislocation. Surgical management for recurrent patellar instability focuses on restoring MPFL function with repair or reconstruction techniques. Recent studies have favored reconstruction over repair, but no long-term, comparative studies are available in the literature. Methods: A total of 55 patients (58 knees) with recurrent lateral instability were treated between 2005 and 2012 with either MPFL repair or MPFL reconstruction. Exclusion criteria included prior or concomitant tibial tubercle osteotomy or trochleoplasty, and follow-up less than 8 years. Pre- and post-operative demographic, surgical, imaging and clinical data were recorded for each patient. Results: MPFL repair was performed on 26 patients (29 knees; 14 females, 15 males) at a mean age of 19.1 years. MPFL reconstruction was performed on 29 patients (29 knees; 18 females, 11 males) at a mean age of 18.2 years. Mean follow-up was 12.0 years (range 8.3-18.9). The reconstruction group had a significantly lower rate of recurrent dislocation compared to the repair group (14% vs 41%, p=0.019) at final follow up. There were no differences in the number of pre-operative dislocations (greater than or less than 3), degree of patellar facet chondromalacia, TT-TG distance, or Tegner scores. The reconstruction group had significantly more time from injury to surgery compared to the repair group (median, 1,460 days vs 627 days, p =0.007). There were no differences in post-operative Tegner, Lysholm or Kujala scores at final follow-up. Additionally, there were no differences in return to play rates (repair 80.8% vs reconstruction 75.0%, p=0.610) or reoperation rates (repair 20.7% vs reconstruction 13.8%, p=0.487). Conclusions: Repair of the MPFL leads to nearly 3-fold higher rate of recurrent patellar dislocation (41% vs. 14%) at long term follow-up compared to MPFL reconstruction. However, MPFL repair and reconstruction provide similar clinical results, return to play rates and reoperation rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The United States is increasingly recognizing period product insecurity, insufficient access to menstrual products and limited private spaces for managing menstruation due to financial constraints, as an issue impacting the well-being and dignity of Americans. One strategy to address period product insecurity has been distributing free period products via period supply banks. The outcomes of period product distribution outside the school setting are absent from the literature. Objectives: This study, a formative evaluation of the free period product distribution efforts of the Alliance for Period Supplies, aims to identify (1) characteristics of individuals receiving products from period supply banks and their experiences of period product insecurity and (2) health and social outcomes experienced by recipients of free period products. Design: Survey data collection occurred at two points: baseline and one-year follow-up. All study participants provided verbal consent. Methods: Between Fall 2018 and Spring 2020, 1863 baseline and 80 follow-up surveys were administered. Participants received free period products for themselves and/or a household member from one of 20 participating Alliance for Period Supplies period supply banks directly or from one of their 64 partner agencies. Results: At baseline, 72.4% of participants had to choose between buying period products and another basic need. One year after accessing a period supply bank, 36.3% of participants reported this experience (p = 0.018). Participants reported at baseline, on average, 7.8 days in the past year of avoiding seeing others, canceling appointments, or skipping work or school because they did not have access to period products. At follow-up, this was reduced to 1.2 days, on average, t (68) = 2.214, p < 0.05. Conclusion: Period supply banks play an essential role in facilitating access to period products and the resulting benefits. Our study highlights the need for sustainable, well-funded policies and interventions to address period product insecurity effectively in society. Plain Language Summary: How people in the United States benefit when they get free period products from a period supply bank Why we did this study: In the United States, many individuals cannot afford to buy period supplies and the other stuff they need to live. Period supply banks want to help by giving them free period products. Researchers do not know if getting free period products is helpful for individuals. What we wanted to learn: The Alliance for Period Supplies is a membership program for period supply banks. We wanted to learn about the individuals who get free period products and whether getting them was helpful. What we did: For a year, starting in Fall 2018, we asked 1863 individuals to fill out paper surveys. A year later, we asked 80 of those same individuals to fill out a second survey. We asked participants to take the survey if they got free period products from a period supply bank for themselves or someone they live with. Individuals only participated in the study if they told us they wanted to. What we learned: Individuals who cannot afford period products must navigate difficult decisions between purchasing products or choosing other basic needs. Providing free products through a period supply bank has lessened the burden on these individuals, reducing the number who had to choose. Individuals unable to afford period products may sometimes opt out of going places they want to go for pleasure or miss important events, like work or school, because they do not have period products. Getting free period products has eased these challenges, letting individuals participate more fully in activities and engagements without worry about period products. Why is this important: Period supply banks are essential places where individuals receive free period products. The period supply banks need more individuals, including our government, to donate period supplies or money to buy them so they can help more individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novelty and impact are key characteristics of the scientific enterprise. Classic theories of scientific change distinguish among different types of novelty and emphasize how a new idea interacts with previous work and influences future flows of knowledge. However, even recently developed measures of novelty remain unidimensional, and continued reliance on citation counts captures only the amount, but not the nature, of scientific impact. To better align theoretical and empirical work, we attend to different types of novelty (new results, new theories, and new methods) and whether a scientific offering has a consolidating form of influence (bringing renewed attention to foundational ideas) or a disruptive one (prompting subsequent scholars to overlook them). By integrating data from the Web of Science (to measure the nature of influence) with essays written by authors of Citation Classics (to measure novelty type), and by joining computational text analysis with statistical analyses, we demonstrate clear and robust patterns between type of novelty and the nature of scientific influence. As expected, new methods tend to be more disruptive, whereas new theories tend to be less disruptive. Surprisingly, new results do not have a robust effect on the nature of scientific influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturers increasingly recycle end-of-life products to realize residual economic value and mitigate environmental impacts on the economic system. Concurrently, with the burgeoning growth of the product-service system, leasing models offer an alternative method to complete the material loop without direct collection. While prior research has delved into recycling channels, incentive mechanisms, and remanufacturing within closed-loop supply chain management, a comparative analysis between recycling and leasing strategies remains under-explored. This study seeks to bridge this gap by elucidating the manufacturer's strategic decision-making process, factoring in consumers' product ownership perceptions. We propose a manufacturer decision model anchored on consumer choices and segment it into three scenarios based on varying ownership perceptions. Our analysis contrasts market demand and profit outcomes across these scenarios. Notably, we discern that a hybrid strategy is optimal when ownership perception is low; however, when such perception is heightened, a dedicated recycling strategy proves more advantageous. Importantly, introducing a leasing option does not entirely overshadow the conventional sales market but is susceptible to being overshadowed itself. From a managerial standpoint, while integrating a leasing program might augment revenue streams, sole reliance on it is inadvisable. Furthermore, reshaping consumption paradigms to emphasize product functionality over ownership can pave the way for more expansive leasing strategies, optimizing revenue generation within a closed-loop framework. Plain Language Summary: This paper uses the consumer choice model and the decision model to analyze the two approaches for closing the loop, leasing and recycling. In contrast to previous studies of closed-loop supply chains, this paper considers leasing as another way of closing the loop and takes into account its cannibalization effect on the market for new products and its priming effect on consumers with lower willingness to pay. The paper concludes that the leasing strategy cannot completely cannibalize the selling market and is conditional on implementation, while the recycling strategy can completely cannibalize the leasing market and is always effective. This paper has some applications for closed-loop decision making for manufacturers to improve economic and environmental gains. Manufacturers and policy makers should advocate new forms of consumption that encourage consumers to care more about product function than property rights, thus leaving more room for the rental market to acquire greater benefits. This paper does not consider the supply of P2P platforms when portraying the leasing program and does not use empirical studies to verify the conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Subtle syndesmotic instability (SSI) is a difficult albeit important diagnosis to make, as undiagnosed instability frequently leads to posttraumatic ankle arthritis. Stressed conventional radiographs, ultrasonography, bilateral comparative conventional computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) serve as important diagnostic tools, however, the current diagnostic gold-standard is arthroscopic assessment, an invasive surgical method. The advent of weight-bearing computed tomography (WBCT) is considered to be an important additional diagnostic tool for improved non-invasive SSI diagnosis, particularly by utilizing distal tibiofibular syndesmotic (DTFS) area and volume measurements. However, to date, no studies have assessed WBCT diagnostic accuracy for chronic SSI. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of WBCT area and volumetric measurements in patients with suspected chronic SSI, when compared to the gold-standard arthroscopic assessment. Methods: In this IRB-approved prospective comparative study, 11 patients with suspected SSI were enrolled from July 2019 to December 2020. Patients were assessed preoperatively by bilateral standing WBCT. Raw 3D WBCT was automatically segmented by dedicated software. WBCT measurements included semi-automatic DTFS area (1cm proximally to tibial dome apex) and DTFS volumes (1, 3 and 5cm proximally to tibial dome apex). Threshold values for WBCT abnormality were defined based on currently available data (area>105mm2 and volumes>796mm3, >3062 mm3, and >6733 mm3 for 1, 3 and 5cm, respectively). Subjects underwent surgical treatment including DTFS instability arthroscopic assessment, defined as positive when a 3mm diameter sphere could enter the syndesmotic incisura. Confirmed unstable cases were treated with open reduction/internal fixation. WBCT measurements sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV/NPV) and accuracy were calculated using confirmed arthroscopic instability as diagnostic gold standard. Paired t-tests/Wilcoxon analysis was used to compare measurements. P-values<0.05 were considered significant. Results: When compared to non-injured sides, DTFS area and volumes were significantly higher in injured ankles at 1cm (667 vs 554mm3) and 3cm (2331 vs 2038mm3). Medial gutter volumes were also increased in injured sides (398 vs 370 mm3). DTFS volumes at 5cm and lateral gutter volumes were not different. Nine of eleven patients had confirmed arthroscopic DTFS instability. Considering WBCT area measurements, 4/11 patients were found to be positive (>105mm2), including 3 true positives (+WBCT/+Arthroscopy), 1 false positive (+WBCT/-Arthroscopy), 6 false negatives (-WBCT/+Arthroscopy), and 1 true negative (-WBCT/-Arthroscopy), leading to a 33.3% sensitivity, 50%, specificity, 75% PPV 75%, 14.3% NPV and 36% accuracy. When analysing WBCT DTFS volumes (1cm), 3/11 patients were found positive (>796mm3), depicting 3 true positives, 0 false positives, 2 true negatives and 6 false negatives, with resultant diagnostic accuracy of: 33.3% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% PPV, 25% NPV 25%, and 45% accuracy. Conclusions: This is the first study to prospectively assess the diagnostic accuracy of WBCT area and volume measurements in detecting chronic SSI and to compare it to the arthroscopic diagnostic gold standard. When compared to uninjured side, DTFS area and volumetric measurements were significantly increased in injured sides of patients with suspected SSI, including medial gutter volumes, consistent with associated deltoid ligament instability. However, interestingly, we observed a diagnostic accuracy for WBCT area and volumetric measurements to be lower than initially expected. Further incorporation of additional patients, as well as introduction of an external rotational stress can potentially optimize the WBCT diagnostic accuracy for chronic SSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper examines the health, work, and financial experiences of older adults with disabling conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explores the role of county- and state-level conditions in these experiences. Methods: Using data from the 2020 Health and Retirement Study, we estimated regression models to assess differences in outcomes between those with and without disabling conditions and by race/ethnicity. We used multilevel modeling to assess whether and how county or state factors might be associated with the differences in these effects. Results: Older adults with disabilities were more likely to report experiencing financial hardships, delaying health care, and experiencing effects on work than those without disabilities; these differences are heighted between race and ethnicity. Older adults with disabilities were more likely to live in counties with greater social vulnerability. Discussion: This work underscores the importance of developing a robust, disability-inclusive public health response that protects older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative studies in marketing are dominated by variance-based approaches. These have limitations for understanding macromarketing outcomes that often derive from different combinations of causal conditions, and where factors productive of the same outcome may be different from those impeding it. In this paper we draw on set-theoretic theory and propose qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) as an analytical method able to complement and extend macromarketing research programs. Fuzzy-set QCA is used to explore combinations of conditions influencing COVID vaccine adoption, with readers provided with detailed guidance through the process and current best practices. We consider a number of important but often neglected issues in fuzzy-set QCA; outlining how to conduct robustness checks, appropriateness of a two-step approach, identifying individual cases with specific conditions for further analysis, and examining the problems and opportunities provided by irrelevant cases and contradictions. A summary of macromarketing issues that may benefit from QCA, and recommended practices for conducting a QCA, are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies explored the interaction effect between policy instruments and the policy environment on environmental governance. Based on policy instrument theory, this paper conducts fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the combined effect of policy instruments and the policy environment on the environmental governance efficiency of local governance. This study found four effective configurations of local government environmental governance, which can be summarized as the mandatory mode and the cooperative mode, and three inefficient configurations that can be summarized as the out-of-control mode. The results show that the regions adopting the mandatory mode are economically underdeveloped, while the regions using the cooperative mode are developed. Besides, local government competition leads to the softening of policy instruments, while government-enterprise collusion exacerbates the failure of environmental policy instruments. This paper summarizes the effective modes and reveals the reasons for the low efficiency of local government environmental governance in China. The conclusions provide not only empirical evidence for the study of policy instrument theory but also beneficial insights for the selection of environmental policy instruments and environmental governance practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lay abstracts are brief descriptions or summaries of research that are targeted at a general audience. They are held as an important means for the research community to provide greater transparency to the general public and to increase visibility of the pertinent research. This study aims to examine the extent to which lay abstracts published in the journal Autism are comprehensible to a lay audience in terms of readability measures. Results showed that lay abstracts published in Autism were more readable than their corresponding abstracts but were less readable than plain English texts (e.g. news reports). To our knowledge, this is probably the first comparative study on the readability of lay abstracts. Possible explanations for and implications of these findings were offered. Research papers are sometimes hard to follow. Lay abstracts give a short account of research papers. However, it is unclear whether lay abstracts are readable to the lay people. This study examined the readability of 570 abstracts and lay abstracts published between 2020 and 2022 in the journal Autism. We found that that lay abstracts are easier to read than abstracts but are harder to read than news reports. The findings suggest that lay abstracts, on average, are hard to read for the lay people. We propose that the journal and its authors may invite reviewers from outside the research community to test whether a lay abstract is readable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has consistently established the positive impact of sharing books with young children. Evidence suggests several important factors when evaluating book sharing with young children, including the quality of educator practice = and the nature of groupings, as well as the frequency and duration of book sharing sessions and access to books. Other evidence suggests book sharing may be particularly important for children from low ses backgrounds attending early learning settings. This paper reports on a larger study which investigated the factors and relationships influencing the use of children's literature to support principles of diversity in kindergarten rooms of long day care centres. A mixed methods approach was adopted and a convergent design was employed to synthesise the qualitative and quantitative data and interpret significant relationships and their meanings. The quality of educator practice was measured through the Systematic Assessment of Book Reading (SABR) and Children's engagement in book sharing was assessed using the Children's Orientation to Book Reading Rating Scale. Detailed analysis of 148 video recorded book sharing sessions produced statistical representations of the frequency and duration of book sharing across the contexts and the nature of involvement of the children in the study. Twenty four educators and 110 children from four long day care centres in Western Australia participated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, video-based observations, field notes, document analysis and a book audit. The results showed that while the children in this study had a range of book sharing experiences, few of these were frequent or of high quality. Of great concern is the finding that the children in this study most likely to be considered at risk of educational disadvantage were those with the least exposure to book sharing in general, and, even less so, to high quality book sharing, raising concerns about equitable outcomes for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embedding circular economy (CE) principles in early design requires iterative evaluation across multiple lifecycle phases, with trade-offs between objectives complicating the identification of best solutions. This paper puts forward methods to automatically discover diverse, yet well-performing solution types within complex multi-objective CE design optimisation models. Working with a parametric model derived from a furniture design for CE case study, a comparison is made between weighted-sum single objective optimisation and multi-objective optimisation augmented with clustered solution types targeted by the reference point-based NSGA-II optimisation algorithm. Efficiency of optimisation, quality of results and distinctiveness of solution types presented by each method is compared in an effort to understand which will best assist designers to manage complexity in CE design. The generalisability of the presented methods to larger scale CE design problems is discussed and future areas of work on computational design for CE are extrapolated from the presented results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Working in pediatric palliative care (PPC) impacts healthcare and allied professionals' work-related quality of life (QoL). Professionals who lack specific PPC training but who regularly provide services to the affected children have articulated their need for support from specialized PPC (SPPC) teams. Objectives: This study had two objectives: (1) to evaluate whether the availability of a SPPC team impacted the work-related QoL of professionals not specialized in PPC; and (2) to explore the work-related QoL of professionals working in PPC without specialized training. Design: Repeated cross-sectional comparative effectiveness design. Methods: One hospital with an established SPPC program and affiliated institutions provided the intervention group (IG). Three hospitals and affiliated institutions where generalist PPC was offered provided the comparison group (CG). Data were collected by paper-pencil questionnaire in 2021 and 2022. The Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL 5) questionnaire was used to assess work-related QoL, yielding separate scores for burnout (BO), secondary traumatic stress (STS) and compassion satisfaction (CS). A descriptive statistical analysis was performed and general estimation equations were modelled. To increase the comparability of the IG and CG, participants were matched by propensity scores. Results: The 301 participating non-PPC-specialized professionals had overall low to moderate levels of BO and STS and moderate to high levels of CS. However, none of these scores (BO: p = 0.36; STS: p = 0.20; CS: p = 0.65) correlated significantly with support from an SPPC team. Compared to nurses, physicians showed higher levels of BO (1.70; p = 0.02) and STS (2.69; p ⩽ 0.001). Conclusion: Although the study sample's overall work-related QoL was satisfactory, it showed a considerable proportion of moderate BO and STS, as well as moderate CS. To provide tailored support to professionals working in PPC, evidence regarding key SPPC support elements and their effectiveness is needed. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID, NCT04236180. Plain language summary: Work-related quality of life in professionals involved in pediatric palliative care - Why was this study done? Caring for children suffering from life-limiting conditions and their families impacts professionals' work-related Quality of Life (QoL). Professionals without specific training often provide pediatric palliative care (PPC) to children and their families. - What did the researchers do? We aimed to determine whether the work-related the QoL of professionals without specialised PPC training would be positively influenced when they were supported by PPC specialists. We also wanted to explore what person-specific factors might correspond with higher or lower work-related QoL. Work-related QoL was analysed in relation to burnout (BO), secondary traumatic stress (STS), and compassion satisfaction (CS). These variables' levels were assessed with a questionnaire survey in 2021 and 2022. - What did the researchers find? The 301 participating professionals had overall low to moderate levels of BO and STS and moderate to high levels of CS. There was no substantial difference in work-related QoL in the professionals supported by PPC specialists compared to those who did not receive specialist support. Physicians showed higher levels of BO and STS than nurses. - What do the findings mean? Although the studied professionals' overall work-related QoL was satisfactory, there is a considerable proportion of moderate BO and STS scores in professionals working with children suffering from life-limiting conditions. Further research should explore the specific needs of professionals not specialised in PPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age gap between spouses has important implications for a range of outcomes—from fertility and longevity, to gender relationships, marital quality, and stability. This paper examines the age gap between spouses in 12 countries in South and Southeast Asia. The average age difference (husband's minus wife's age) is positive in all countries and ranges from 2.7 in Myanmar to 8.4 in Bangladesh. Age homogamous marriages accounted for 5% of all marriages in Bangladesh to close to half of all marriages in Thailand. The proportion of age hypogamous marriages was uniformly low in all the countries except for Myanmar where it reaches close to 10%. Men's marriage age has a stronger effect in determining the age gap. In general, the age gap for women with lower education was larger than for those with higher education. However, much of this effect was explained by the difference in marriage timing across educational groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although women's representation in STEM fields and occupations has increased, science and math continue to be stereotyped as male domains. This paper links psychological and sociological explanations for gendered disparities in STEM by examining the relationship between the local "micro-situational" female learning environment and the gender gap in academic self-concept in math and science. We applied hybrid models to TIMSS 2015 data comprised of a pseudo-panel of repeated measures for individual student and peer achievement, academic self-concept, utility value, and interest-enjoyment value in math/science (at age 14). We analyzed data from three countries, including a subsample of students who were taught by the same teacher in both math and science, thus eliminating unobserved teacher heterogeneity. Results indicate that female peer climate in the classroom is important for understanding how girls' self-concept in math/science is formed, even though it was unrelated to the gender gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers are increasingly interested in why people want to participate in qualitative interview studies, particularly what they hope to gain from participating. The present paper contributes to this research agenda by analysing the motivations of victims of interpersonal violence: a group that is considered ethically challenging to involve in research, given their history of being intruded upon. The analysis is based on 174 qualitative interviews from three separate studies: two on intimate partner violence and one on sexual assault. A key finding is that many victims welcome the opportunity to participate and often use the interviews for their own purposes. We identified three different 'participant orientations', or ways victims relate to the interview and the research, including 'telling for oneself', 'telling for others' and 'telling for the researcher'. We discuss how these orientations imply different ethical contracts between the participant and researcher and their links to recruitment methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Reminiscence therapy (RT), which engages individuals to evoke positive memories, has been shown to be effective in improving psychological well-being in older adults suffering from PTSD, depression, and anxiety. However, its impact on brain function has yet to be determined. This paper presents functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to describe changes in autobiographical memory networks (AMN) in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This pilot study used a within-subject design to measure changes in AMN activation in 11 older adults who underwent 6 weeks of RT. In the scanner, participants retrieved autobiographical memories which were either recent or remote, rehearsed or unrehearsed. Participants also underwent a clinical interview to assess changes in memory, quality of life, mental health, and affect. Findings: Compared to pretreatment, anxiety decreased (z = −2.014, p =.040) and activated significant areas within the AMN, including bilateral medial prefrontal cortex, left precuneus, right occipital cortex, and left anterior hippocampus. Conclusion: Although RT had subtle effects on psychological function in this sample with no evidence of impairments, including depression at baseline, the fMRI data support current thinking of the effect RT has on the AMN. Increased activation of right posterior hippocampus following RT is compatible with the Multiple Trace Theory Theory (Nadel & Moscovitch, 1997). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides a comprehensive examination of the current research landscape of People Analytics (PA) from Human Resource Development (HRD) perspectives. By leveraging the methodologies of bibliometrics and topic modeling, the paper aims to illuminate key trends and emerging themes. By conducting a comparative analysis of topics and grouped themes from topic modeling and clusters from bibliocoupling, the study reveals a convergence in research focuses. This convergence is particularly evident in areas such as workforce planning and management, data-informed decision-making, applying analytics to various HR functions, and emphasizing the ethical and societal implications of data analytics in HR. The paper also identifies gaps and future research needs for HRD research in the current PA landscape and discusses fertile grounds for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss the problem of describing an urban plot and to propose a definition that can be used in comparative studies of historic towns. The need for a uniform definition results from comparative research using spatial databases and historical GIS (hGIS). The article discusses the problems in vectorization of plots for the purposes of hGIS analyses, as well as the methods of presenting urban plots on historical plans that have been used so far, on the example of the Historic Towns Atlas series. We compared the results of the analysis with the plot definitions appearing in the literature on urban studies. Based on the literature review and research discussed in the article, we developed and proposed a plot definition for the ontology of historical urban spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The benefit of mammography screening in reducing population mortality from breast cancer is well established. In this paper, we estimate the effect of repeated participation at scheduled screens on case survival. Methods: We analysed incidence and survival data on 37,079 women from nine Swedish counties who had at least one to five invitation(s) to screening prior to diagnosis, and were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1992 and 2016. Of these, 4564 subsequently died of breast cancer. We estimated the association of survival with participation in up to the most recent five screens before diagnosis. We used proportional hazards regression to estimate the effect on survival of the number of scheduled screens in which subjects participated prior to the diagnosis of breast cancer. Results: There was successively better survival with an increasing number of screens in which the subject participated. For a woman with five previous screening invitations who participated in all five, the hazard ratio was 0.28 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.25–0.33, p < 0.0001) compared to a woman attending none (86.9% vs 68.9% 20-year survival). Following a conservative adjustment for potential self-selection factors, the hazard ratio was 0.34 (95% CI 0.26–0.43, p < 0.0001), an approximate three-fold reduction in the hazard of dying from breast cancer. Conclusion: For those women who develop breast cancer, regular prior participation in mammography screening confers significantly better survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to comprehensively examine the effects of societal and individual characteristics on work-related attitudes, specifically work commitment and work orientations, using a single dataset and comparable models. It also seeks to relate these attitudes to classic theories and understand how societal factors shape work-related attitudes. The analysis is based on data collected by the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) in its work orientations survey. Data is analyzed using factor analyses, correspondence analyses, and multilevel regressions. The paper provides an overview of work-related attitudes at the country level and a detailed analysis of societal and individual variables that shape these attitudes. The results indicate that individual attitudes reflect large societal trends and developments, which are discussed with reference to current studies and classic theories. This paper contributes to understanding work-related attitudes by offering a comprehensive analysis of the effects of societal and individual characteristics, using a single dataset and comparable models. It also relates these attitudes to classic theories and discusses how societal factors shape work-related attitudes. The findings also have policy implications, particularly in the recruitment and retention of highly qualified and motivated workers in different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This qualitative systematic review evaluates the evidence in support of the use of oral corticosteroids in patients undergoing sialendoscopy for the treatment of obstructive sialadenitis. Design: Qualitative systematic review. Methods: A literature search was conducted from January 1985 and September 2020. Inclusion criteria embraced peer-reviewed articles in which adult patients undergoing interventional sialendoscopy for obstructive salivary gland disease received oral corticosteroids. The results were initially screened based on title and abstract, and the remaining articles were reviewed for eligibility. Results: About 218 papers were selected by title and abstract, 96 were selected for full-text review, and 9 met the inclusion criteria. Eight published reports were retrospective observational studies and 1 was a prospective comparative study. Overall, the heterogeneity of clinical data stood out in this systematic review. The pooled success rate in the studies was 873/979 (89%). Only 5 studies described a rationale for oral corticosteroid use as part of the post-operative management. In 4 studies, a prednisone total daily dose of 40 to 50 mg was used. One study clearly showed a lower recurrence rate in patients who received oral steroids for more than 7 days in addition to sialendoscopy for management of ductal stenoses. Conclusion: This systematic review showed that most centers that prescribe oral corticosteroids after sialendoscopy are unaware of the specific results with this treatment. For ductal stenoses, only 1 paper clearly showed the benefits of oral corticosteroids after sialendoscopy but more high-quality evidence is required in the form of a comparative study or randomized controlled trial, with appropriate long-term follow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The law and literature about children's consent generally assume that patients aged under-18 cannot consent until around 12 years, and cannot refuse recommended surgery. Children deemed pre-competent do not have automatic rights to information or to protection from unwanted interventions. However, the observed practitioners tend to inform young children s, respect their consent or refusal, and help them to "want" to have the surgery. Refusal of heart transplantation by 6-year-olds is accepted. Research question: What are possible reasons to explain the differences between theories and practices about the ages when children begin to be informed about elective heart surgery, and when their consent or refusal begins to be respected? Research design, participants and context: Research methods included reviews of related healthcare, law and ethics literature; observations and conversations with staff and families in two London hospitals; audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 45 healthcare professionals and related experts; interviews and a survey with parents and children aged 6- to 15-years having elective surgery (not reported in this paper); meetings with an interdisciplinary advisory group; thematic analysis of qualitative data and co-authorship of papers with participants. Ethical considerations: Approval was granted by four research ethics committees/authorities. All interviewees gave their informed written consent. Findings: Interviewees explained their views and experiences about children's ages of competence to understand and consent or refuse, analysed by their differing emphases on informed, signified or voluntary consent. Discussion: Differing views about children's competence to understand and consent are associated with emphases on consent as an intellectual, practical and/or emotional process. Conclusion : Greater respect for children's practical signified, emotional voluntary and intellectual informed consent can increase respectful understanding of children's consent. Nurses play a vital part in children's practitioner-patient relationships and physical care and therefore in all three elements of consent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractions are challenging for both typically achieving children and adults. Although some prior research has focused on fraction difficulties of children with mathematics difficulties (MD), persistent difficulties encountered by adults with MD remain unknown. It is possible that these adults may be able to compensate for some deficits. In this study, we administered an un-timed, paper-based fraction achievement test to French adults with and without MD to compare their knowledge of fractions. Compared with controls, adults with MD performed worse in fraction number lines, fraction concepts, fraction arithmetic, and word problems. However, no difference in performance between the two groups was observed on symbolic representations. This suggests that adults with MD might be able to perform rote procedures such as transcoding from a verbal to a symbolic representation but are severely impaired for fraction number line, fraction concept, and fraction arithmetic. Exploratory error pattern analyses for fraction number line and fraction arithmetic further revealed mistakes similar to those observed in prior studies on children with MD, indicating core deficits in fraction understanding in individuals with MD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To collect health and wellness coaching (HWC) literature related to treatment of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) for systematic assessment using a novel rubric. Data Source: Pubmed, CINAHL, and PsychInfo Study Inclusion and Exclusion: Given 282 articles retrieved, only randomized and controlled trials meeting a HWC criteria-based definition were included; studies with intervention <4 months or <4 sessions were excluded. Data Extraction: Rubric assessment required details of two theoretical frameworks (i.e., study design and HWC intervention design) be extracted from each included paper. Data Synthesis: Data were derived from a 28-item rubric querying items such as sampling characteristics, statistical methods, coach characteristics, HWC strategy, and intervention fidelity. Results: 29 articles were reviewed. Inter-rater rubric scoring yielded high intraclass correlation (r =.85). Rubric assessment of HWC literature resulted in moderate scores (56.7%), with study design scoring higher than intervention design; within intervention design, T2D studies scored higher than obesity. Conclusions: A novel research design rubric is presented and successfully applied to assess HWC research related to treatment of obesity and T2D. Most studies reported beneficial clinical findings; however, rubric results revealed moderate scores for study and intervention design. Implications for future HWC research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the impedance spectra of an epoxy zinc-rich coating (ZRC) and its free film immersed in 3.5% NaCl solution are investigated, the fitting error and model parameter trends of series and nested equivalent circuit fits are compared, and the differences in the high-frequency components of the ZRC and the epoxy coatings are analyzed. The results show that the high-frequency impedance of ZRC is the contact impedance between the zinc powders (Zm) rather than the film impedance (Zf). The corrosion reaction of the ZRCs is controlled by the diffusion of oxygen. For ZRCs, the series equivalent circuits are more reasonable compared to the nested equivalent circuit. Based on the series equivalent circuit, the variation law of the equivalent circuit elements (resistors, capacitors and dispersion coefficient) and the correlation of these elements with low-frequency impedance modulus (|Z|0.01Hz) and open circuit potential (OCP) are investigated in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The gender disparity in surgical disciplines, specifically in speakers across North American medical and surgical specialty conferences, has been highlighted in recent literature. Improving gender diversity at society meetings and panels may provide many benefits. Our aim was to determine the state of gender diversity amongst presenters and speakers at the annual Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (CSO) meetings. Methods: Scientific programs for the CSO annual meetings from 2008 to 2020 were obtained from the national society website. Participant name, role, gender, location, and subspecialty topic were recorded for all roles other than poster presenter. Gender (male or female) was determined using an online search. The total number of opportunity spots and proportion of women was then calculated. Gender differences were analyzed using chi-square test and logistic regression with odds ratios. Four categories were analyzed: Society Leadership, Invited Speaker Opportunities, Workshop Composition (male-only panels or "manels", female-only panels, or with at least one female speaker), and Oral Paper Presenters (first authors). Results: There were 1874 leadership opportunity spots from 2008 to 2020, of which 18.6% were filled by women. Among elected leadership positions in the society, only 92 unique women filled 738 leadership opportunity spots. 13.2% of workshop chairs, 20.8% of panelists and 22.7% of paper session chairs were female. There was an overall increase in the proportion of leadership positions held by women, from 13.9% of leadership spots in 2008 to 30.1% in 2020. Of the 368 workshops, 61.1% were led by men only, 36.4% by at least 1 female surgeon, and 2.5% by women only. "Manels" have comprised at least 37.5% of workshops each year. Conclusions: The proportion of women in speaking roles at the annual CSO meetings has generally increased over time, particularly among panelists, leading to fewer male-only speaking panels. However, there has been a slower rate of growth in the proportion of unique women in speaker roles. There remains an opportunity to increase gender/sex diversity at the major Canadian otolaryngology meeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Deaths in the community are increasing. However, community palliative care out-of-hours is variable. We lack detailed understanding of how care is provided out-of-hours and the associated outcomes. Aim: To review systematically the components, outcomes and economic evaluation of community-based ‘out-of-hours’ care for patients near the end of life and their families. Design: Mixed method systematic narrative review. Narrative synthesis, development and application of a typology to categorise out-of-hours provision. Qualitative data were synthesised thematically and integrated at the level of interpretation and reporting. Data sources: Systematic review searching; MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL from January 1990 to 1st August 2022. Results: About 64 publications from 54 studies were synthesised (from 9259 retrieved). Two main themes were identified: (1) importance of being known to a service and (2) high-quality coordination of care. A typology of out-of-hours service provision was constructed using three overarching dimensions (service times, focus of team delivering the care and type of care delivered) resulting in 15 categories of care. Only nine papers were randomised control trials or controlled cohorts reporting outcomes. Evidence on effectiveness was apparent for providing 24/7 specialist palliative care with both hands-on clinical care and advisory care. Only nine publications reported economic evaluation. Conclusions: The typological framework allows models of out-of-hours care to be systematically defined and compared. We highlight the models of out-of-hours care which are linked with improvement of patient outcomes. There is a need for effectiveness and cost effectiveness studies which define and categorise out-of-hours care to allow thorough evaluation of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: A greater understanding of Over the Counter (OTC) and Prescription Only Medication (POM) misuse amongst adults accessing substance misuse services (SMS) during COVID-19 is required to identify how SMS can better meet the needs of the people who require treatment. AIM: To use a questionnaire to explore OTC/POM misuse during COVID-19 in adults accessing community SMS in England. METHODS: In 2020 to 2021 anonymous self-administered online/paper questionnaires which collated quantitative and qualitative data were completed. They were piloted for suitability and ethical approval was obtained. Thematic analysis was conducted for qualitative data and chi-square tests used to assess the relationship between quantitative variables. RESULTS: Participants were Caucasian (94.6% British), majority male (58.9%), aged 18 to 61 years. Most were prescribed medication for problematic substance use, with a 92.5% self-reported adherence rate. The misuse of benzodiazepines (22.2%) codeine products (30.8%) and pregabalin (14.5%) predominated and 37.5% misused 2 or more medicines. Administration was usually oral and concomitant use of other substances was common: alcohol 44.6% (52% daily), tobacco/vaping 73.2% and illicit substances 58.9%. There were statistically significant associations identified, including between changes during COVID-19 to OTC/POM misuse and illicit use. Only 56 questionnaires were included in the analysis: we believe this low number was because of infection control measures, limited footfall in services, pressures on staff limiting their capacity to distribute the paper questionnaires and reliance upon telephone consultations limiting online distribution. Increasing OTC/POM misuse and obtaining illicit supplies were reported when access to usual supplies were restricted; however, changes to doses/dispensing arrangement liberalisation in response to COVID-19 were positively viewed. CONCLUSION: OTC/POM misuse, including polypharmacy and concomitant use of other substances occurred during COVID-19: SMS need to be vigilant for these issues and mitigate the associated risks for example with harm reduction interventions. Further qualitative research is required to explore the issues identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary argues that to increase diversity in language acquisition research, the field should define specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-defined goals, and prioritize solutions based on their importance, tractability, and neglectedness, ideally in collaboration with a variety of other agents outside the research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Native Americans (the preferred term of our partners/co-authors) experience high rates of sexual violence, which is rooted in colonization and multiple historical traumas. Sexual violence leads to numerous deleterious outcomes, underscoring the critical need for prevention early in life. Yet, most research to date on sexual violence has not focused on Native American populations, and we know little about the most effective strategies to recruit and retain Native American individuals in sexual violence prevention research. The purpose of the current study, grounded in principles of participatory action research, is to describe strategies that were used to recruit (e.g., traditional feeds, door knocking) and retain (e.g., monetary incentives, ongoing community engagement) Native American youth for a study that sought to assess, via surveys and qualitative interviews, the impacts of a youth-led sexual violence prevention initiative in a small city in the Great Plains. We also collected qualitative data from Native American caregivers regarding their perceptions of research. Overall, 67.9% (n = 545) of eligible Native American youth completed the survey, and school and door knocking were most effective methods of recruitment/enrollment followed by community and school events and texting. Over the course of 3 years of data collection, there were higher rates of attrition among Native American youth compared to white youth, and several factors (e.g., older age, sexual assault victimization) predicted attrition among Native American youth. Native American caregivers' responses reflected on reasons it is hard to engage youth and caregivers in research (e.g., lack of time, distrust) as well as strategies to enhance engagement (e.g., personal connection, providing community resources). Throughout the paper, Native American co-authors and project partners reflect on these findings. Implications for future sexual violence prevention research with Native American youth and their caregivers that uses decolonized, participatory action research methodologies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes a UK-based psychoeducational intervention for users of online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM). It is founded on 17 months of anthropological research in group programs with 81 participants and 15 staff. The article argues that group exercises help participants reframe knowledge about their offending, and ultimately reinforce the theoretical concept of discipline (Foucault) toward internal and external surveillance, normalization, and decreased risk. The paper first discusses factors participants believed contributed to offending. It then analyzes the program and participants' experiences, focusing on exercises about the mind (fantasy), Internet usage (disclosure and relationships), needs met by offending (Good Lives and true needs), and planning for the future (relapse prevention). Critical is that participants are encouraged to reengage offline lives and enact discipline on and to the online world. Thus, the article ends with an anthropologically-minded discussion about digital norms, online morality, and implications for Internet offender psychoeducational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) are at heightened risk of sustaining a brain injury (BI). Problematically, a high overlap between BI and trauma symptoms leads to difficulties in identifying when an IPV-related BI has occurred. This paper investigated differences in symptom reports between survivors with (n = 95) and without (n = 42) probable IPV-related BI. Chi-squared analyses isolated a constellation of symptoms found to be specifically associated with BI status. These symptomatic markers may assist professionals in discerning BI from other comorbid conditions present in IPV, and thus help survivors access BI-specific treatments and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Digital health interventions have potential to enhance rehabilitation services by increasing accessibility, affordability and scalability. However, implementation of digital interventions in rehabilitation is poorly understood. This scoping review aims to map current strategies, research designs, frameworks, outcomes and determinants used to support and evaluate the implementation of digital interventions in rehabilitation. Data sources: Comprehensive searches from inception until October 2022 of MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PEDro, SpeechBITE, NeuroBITE, REHABDATA, WHO International Clinical Trial Registry and the Cochrane Library. Methods: Two reviewers screened studies against the eligibility criteria. Implementation science taxonomies and methods, including Powell et al.'s compilation of implementation strategies, were used to guide analysis and synthesis of findings. Results: The search retrieved 13,833 papers and 23 studies were included. Only 4 studies were randomised controlled trials and 9 studies (39%) were feasibility studies. Thirty-seven discrete implementation strategies were reported across studies. Strategies related to training and educating clinicians (91%), providing interactive assistance (61%), and developing stakeholder interrelationships (43%) were most frequently reported. Few studies adequately described implementation strategies and methods for selecting strategies. Almost all studies measured implementation outcomes and determinants; most commonly, acceptability, compatibility and dose delivered of digital interventions. Conclusion: The rigour of implementation methods in the field is currently poor. Digital interventions require carefully planned and tailored implementation to facilitate successful adoption into rehabilitation practice. To keep pace with rapidly advancing technology, future rehabilitation research should prioritise using implementation science methods to explore and evaluate implementation while testing effectiveness of digital interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the link between non-standard employment (NSE) and the risk of partnership dissolution, applying event history analysis to data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey for the period 2001–2016. It moves beyond previous studies by (a) considering a broader range of employment types, including fixed-term and casual contracts, temporary agency work and part-time work, and (b) by comparing the effect of NSE in nonmarital cohabitations and marriages. The results show that the effect differs by employment type, gender and partnership type. For example, among women, part-time work is associated with a decreased dissolution risk compared to full-time work in marriages but not in cohabitations. Temporary employment is linked to increased dissolution risks compared to permanent employment in both partnership types, with the association partly being stronger for casual and/or agency work than for fixed-term contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many autistics report being distressed by eye contact, but eye-tracking studies suggest that eye contact is associated with hypo-arousal rather than hyper-arousal in autism. Within a live face-to-face paradigm combining a wearable eye-tracker with electrodermal activity sensors, 80 adults (40 autistics) defined words in front of an experimenter either staring at their eyes (direct gaze condition) or looking elsewhere (averted gaze condition). Autistics did not differ from neurotypicals in their eye behaviours nor their skin conductance responses. Autistics did not appear distressed when they were looking at the experimenter's eyes in the direct gaze condition. However, neurotypicals, compared to autistics, might experience more stress when looking at the experimenter in the averted gaze condition, even after controlling for social anxiety and alexithymia. In comparison to autistics, neurotypicals might be hyper-aroused when they look at someone avoiding eye contact. Based on a bidirectional perspective on interactional difficulties in autism, we speculate that the neurotypicals' distress when their attempts to eye contact are not reciprocated could make their behaviour insistent, which, in turn, could make the autistics uncomfortable. In our study, participants' partner remained passive, displaying no specific reaction when a mutual gaze was shared or not. Future studies should test different partner reactions to gaze in various social contexts. What is already known about the topic? Autistics are usually reported to share less eye contact than neurotypicals with their interlocutors. However, the reason why autistics might pay less attention to eyes looking at them is still unknown: some autistics express being hyper-aroused by this eye contact, while some eye-tracking studies suggest that eye contact is associated with hypo-arousal in autism. What this paper adds? This study is based on a highly controlled live face-to-face paradigm, combining a wearable eye-tracker (to study eye behaviours) with electrodermal activity sensors (to assess potential stress). We draw a nuanced picture of social attention in autism, as our autistic participants did not differ from our neurotypical group in their eye behaviours nor their skin conductance responses. However, we found that neurotypicals, compared to autistics, seemed to be much more distressed when their interlocutor did not gaze at them during the experiment. Implications for practice, research or policy: Our study encourages to consider social interaction difficulties in autism as a relational issue, instead as an individual deficit. This step might be first taken in research, by implementing paradigms sensitive to the experimenter's role and attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social determinants of health (SDH), such as social isolation and loneliness, are often more frequently experienced in brain injury survivors. The paper explores the personal experiences of loneliness among brain injury survivors during lockdown to negate health inequalities and improve rehabilitation for this population in the future. Twenty-four brain injury survivors participated in semi-structured interviews and questionnaires relating to loneliness, resilience and wellbeing. Three themes (the experience of loneliness, loneliness during the pandemic and loneliness after the pandemic) explored survivors' experiences of loneliness generally post-brain injury, but also chronicle how these feelings developed in lockdown and survivors' feelings regarding society returning to 'normal'. Future interventions should focus on reframing survivors' beliefs regarding societal expectations and minimise the pressure they experience to keep up with their peers physically and emotionally. Additionally, we recommend creating accessible peer support options for all brain injury survivors as an important step for alleviating loneliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines 'auxiliary' police in three European countries and the extent to which they continue to present a pluralisation of public sector policing. Examining findings from existing empirical research, we will argue that despite different origins, systems of governance, formal powers and levels of centralisation, the police auxiliaries in England and Wales, France and The Netherlands have all experienced an overall trend towards becoming more 'enforcement-orientated'. This unique comparative analysis measures each agency's powers, appearance, organisational dimensions and mandate and the associated drivers towards change, such as the politicisation of law and order, large-scale institutional transformations and professionalisation attempts. This analysis will have implications for pluralised policing scholarship as it questions the extent to which auxiliary officers provide a true alternative to the standard or national public policing mandate, which has historically highlighted the 'law and order' function of the police. It also highlights the lack of research on what 'policing by government' (Loader, 2000) looks like in practice and the need for further comparative research with these auxiliary state policing actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China released the Opinions on Further Promoting the Spirit of Scientists and Enhancing Work and Study Styles in 2019, the spirit of scientists has gradually become an integral part of the socialist spirit, and a high degree of attention has been devoted by the Chinese government to promoting scientists' spirit. Through a historical review and comparative analysis, particularly of the evolving role played by Chinese STM journals (science, technology and medical journals), we propose that STM journals are an important venue for promoting the spirit of scientists. On this basis, and in view of the problems and challenges faced by STM journals under the new requirements in the new era, we suggest conceptual upgrades and mindset shifts that Chinese STM journals need to make to further promote scientists' spirit. Finally, we introduce specific measures to implement these concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues against a prevailing culture-free tendency in cross-cultural qualitative research that has been normalized by conventional qualitative research methodology to propose " chameleonization, " a culturally sensitive research process. First, I delineate the paradoxes encountered in comparative research of Sino-U.S. university partnerships by comparing five fieldwork elements: research ethics, access to fields, informed consent, informants' recruitment, and interview environment and process. The comparison reveals that the seemingly "golden" rule of Western-centered qualitative research and procedure were both disturbing and paralyzing in non-Western fields. Subsequently, this work deciphers these paradoxes with Hofstede's cultural dimension theory as a main analytical framework, supplemented by theories from cultural theorists in the two cultures. These paradoxes can be resolved through a chameleonization process through which researchers attune to a postmodern cross-culturalness by navigating the "folds of culture," as characterized by their cross-cultural qualitative fields. Tentative strategies for applying chameleonization to activate, solidify, and extend a "folding-unfolding-refolding" process are then proposed, followed by a discussion on the approach's potential limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare voice-related outcomes of type 1 thyroplasty using Gore-Tex® between patients with and without augmentation injection laryngoplasty (IL) prior to surgery. Methods: Forty-five patients who underwent Gore-Tex® thyroplasty at a single institution by a single surgeon between November 2016 and February 2019 were identified as those who previously had IL (n = 20) and those without IL (n = 25). Pre- and post-operative voice-related primary outcomes were evaluated using the GRBAS, and CAPE-V auditory-perceptual rating scales and secondary outcome were evaluated using the VRQOL. Pre- and post-operative voice samples were blinded, randomized, and analyzed by 3 voice-specialized speech pathologists to obtain CAPE-V scores. The VRQOL and GRBAS scores were obtained from retrospective chart review. Student's t test with a paired one-tailed distribution was used for comparisons within groups and 2-sample equal variance for comparisons between groups. Intraclass correlation coefficient determined interrater agreement. Results: GRBAS, and VRQOL significantly improved post Gore-Tex® thyroplasty. There was no difference in improvement between patients who received pre-surgery IL and those who did not in either GRBAS or VRQOL scores, but CAPE-V showed significant improvement in the IL group. A strongly positive correlation was demonstrated between the severity of CAPE-V pre-op score and the overall improvement following surgery for both groups combined. Conclusion: Patients with vocal fold paralysis have a significantly better voice after Gore-Tex® thyroplasty by self-report (VRQOL) and assessment by trained voice professionals (GRBAS). Having IL prior to surgery does not adversely affect later surgical outcomes. This paper represents one of the largest analyses of voice quality outcomes of Gore-Tex® thyroplasty using validated patient scales and randomized blinded analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has drawn attention to the stigma and high rates of victimization among people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and an overlap between bias and non-bias victimization. However, studies of bias events or hate crime involving persons with ID are scarce. Using a self-report measure, we analyze lifetime bias victimization in a sample of 260 adults diagnosed with ID (age M = 41.7, SD = 12.0; 59.2% men), of whom 92 experienced bias victimization (age M = 41.2, SD = 11.9; 54.3% men), and compare the number of different types of victimization and the poly-victimization status between bias and non-bias victims. We also examine the following features: the victim, offender(s), victim–offender relationship, and location. Results show that bias victims experience a higher number of different types of victimization than non-bias victims (M = 7.74 and 4.96, respectively; p <.001, r rb=.37, ξ =.42) and are four times more likely to be poly-victims than non-bias victims (odds ratio [ OR ] = 4.37; 95% CI, p <.001). Most of the victims experienced a number of bias victimization episodes (89.1%; n = 82), and more than a quarter were injured (27.2%, n = 25) as a result of the victimization. All the bias victimizations by strangers were carried out in public places, as were most of the bias victimizations by acquaintances. Schoolmates and work colleagues perpetrated attacks at school and in the workplace, respectively. More than half of the victims, 63% (n = 58), spoke of the experience with someone, but only one reported it to the authorities. The paper provides a valuable descriptive and bivariate analysis of bias victimization of people with ID. The findings will help to understand bias violence against this population, highlighting the need for targeted and effective interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first European Union Survey on Violence against Women (EU-VAW) released in 2014 revealed the unexpected result indicating that the world's most egalitarian countries have relatively high rates of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women (IPVAW). This phenomenon, referred to as the "Nordic Paradox," revived a heated, intermittently ongoing discussion dating back four decades where several competing hypotheses about the relationship between gender inequality and IPVAW have been proposed, but no consensus has been reached. The main aim of this paper is to revisit the most important of such hypotheses proposed in the last four decades, while proposing a new one that could potentially throw some light on understanding the "Nordic Paradox." Multilevel linear regression models are estimated using data from the EU-VAW survey conducted in 2012, and an alternative operationalization of the Gender Equality Index (GEI) (our measure of gender equality). We did not find any significant effect of gender equality on IPVAW repetition. However, we found that higher country-level status of women and men go together with less IPVAW, with a larger effect of women's status in economic domains compared to the impact of men's economic status, and a larger effect of men's overall status. These findings support the Marxist feminist hypothesis, stating that women's absolute status in the economic and labor domain is critical in lessening IPVAW, as women's real and potential access to resources is key for leaving a violent relationship. At the same time, our results support the "male privilege protection" hypothesis, which states that gains in women's status in certain domains—such as in the economic sphere considering our results for the European Union—would not suppose a threat to men, allowing ameliorative effects. In contrast, if the overall status of men is threatened, backlash effects would be triggered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic people often have an atypical profile of abilities: while excelling in some structured paradigms, many report difficulties with making real-life decisions. To test whether decision-making in autism is different from in typically developing controls, we reviewed 104 studies that compared decision-making performance between autistic and comparison participants (N = 2712 autistic and N = 3189 comparison participants) between 1998 and 2022. Our searches revealed four main decision-making paradigms that are widely used in the field of decision neuroscience: perceptual discrimination, reward learning, metacognition and value-based decision-making paradigm. Our synthesis highlights that perceptual processing and reward learning were similar between autistic and comparison participants, whereas value-based decision-making and metacognitive accuracy were often different between groups. Furthermore, decision-making differences were most pronounced when the autistic participant was explicitly probed to report on an internal belief, while implicit markers of the same decision (e.g. error-related response times) were usually not different. Our findings provide evidence in favour of a metacognitive explanation of decision-making atypicalities in autism. Lay summary: Many autistic people report difficulties with real-life decision-making. However, when doing decision-making tests in laboratory experiments, autistic people often perform as well or better than non-autistic people. We review previously published studies on autistic people's decision-making, across different types of tests, to understand what type of decision-making is more challenging. To do this, we searched four databases of research papers. We found 104 studies that tested, in total, 2712 autistic and 3189 comparison participants on different decision-making tasks. We found that there were four categories of decision-making tests that were used in these experiments: perceptual (e.g. deciding which image has the most dots); reward learning (e.g. learning which deck of cards gives the best reward); metacognition (e.g. knowing how well you perform or what you want); and value-based (e.g. making a decision based on a choice between two outcomes that differ in value to you). Overall, these studies suggest that autistic and comparison participants tend to perform similarly well at perceptual and reward-learning decisions. However, autistic participants tended to decide differently from comparison participants on metacognition and value-based paradigms. This suggests that autistic people might differ from typically developing controls in how they evaluate their own performance and in how they make decisions based on weighing up the subjective value of two different options. We suggest these reflect more general differences in metacognition, thinking about thinking, in autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gay and bisexual men (GBM) report higher rates of sexualised and injecting drug use (IDU) than heterosexual men. Injecting-related stigma is linked to negative health outcomes among people who inject drugs (PWID). This paper describes the ways in which stigmatisation manifests in the narratives of GBM who inject drugs. We conducted in-depth interviews with Australian GBM with IDU histories, exploring drug use, pleasure, risk, and relationality. Data were analysed using discourse analytical approaches. Interviewees (n = 19), aged 24–60 years, narrated their experiences of IDU practice over 2–32 years. Most (n = 18) injected methamphetamine, and used other (non-injected) drugs, in sexual contexts. From participants' narratives, we developed two themes related to stigmatisation of PWID that illustrate the limitations of conventional drug discourses to narrate GBM's experiences. The first theme captures participants' attempts to pre-empt stigmatisation, outlining the layering of stigma faced by GBM who inject drugs. Linguistically, participants transformed injecting stigma by distinguishing their personal practice from that of more discreditable drug users. Practically, they mitigated stigmatisation by keeping discrediting information from others. The second theme illustrates how by complicating the stereotypes of IDU, participants took up prominent discursive practices linking IDU with trauma and pathology. Participants exerted agency by broadening available interpretive repertoires for understanding IDU among GBM, thus creating a counter-discourse. We argue that mainstream discursive practices reverberate through gay communities, perpetuating stigmatisation of PWID and inhibiting care-seeking. More narration of unconventional experiences, beyond insular social groups and critical scholarship, is needed in public discourse to effect destigmatisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]