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A comprehensive review of the non-timber forest product (NTFP) sector from 1980 to 2022 was undertaken. The study employed a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology, incorporating explicit keywords. The results indicate that NTFPs underwent significant evolution, including research and development changes, particularly following the Rio de Janeiro summit. Most published research originated from the United States, accounting for 24% of the total; Brazil and India each contributed 10% of the published research. We included 316 potential research items: 262 articles, 19 book chapters, 27 review articles, and eight conference papers. The review analysis highlighted that NTFPs are crucial in meeting food requirements, obtaining specific medicinal resources, and acquiring material inputs for rural households, serving as a safety net during agrarian distress. NTFPs play a crucial role in promoting the development of the bio-economy. In low- and high-income nations with abundant bio-resources, NTFP value chains are increasingly pertinent for generating revenue, enhancing livelihoods, and reducing poverty in forest dependent communities. Further, the analysis emphasized that NTFP consumption, utilization, and sales occur at the household level, and its comprehensive assessment is challenging, leading to the need for a reevaluation of approaches that include value chain analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates changes in the promissory visions articulated in education reforms around the world. We use structural topic modeling to inductively analyze the content of 9,268 reforms from 215 countries and territories during the period 1970–2018 using the World Education Reform Database. Our findings reveal a decline in traditional management-focused reforms and a rise in reforms related to data and information. We also find an expanding commitment to educational access and inclusion, but reforms framed explicitly in 'rights' language diminish. We argue that the rise of data-centric reforms and the retreat from rights-based approaches may both reflect and contribute to a broader erosion of the liberal world order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inadequate sleep is an on-going risk to the health and mission readiness of U.S. Armed Forces, with estimates of sleep problems high above U.S. civilian populations. Intervening early in the career of active duty Air Force personnel (or "Airmen") with education and the establishment of healthy behaviors may prevent short and long term-detriments of sleep problems. This paper describes the results of a qualitative study seeking to understand the facilitators and barriers to achieving good sleep in a technical training school during the first year of entry into the United States Air Force. Using the social ecological framework and content analysis, three focus groups with Airmen were conducted to explore themes at the individual, social, environmental, and organizational/policy level. Overall, results indicated a cohort motivated to achieve good sleep, and also struggling with a number of barriers across each level. This paper highlights opportunities for population health interventions during technical training aimed at supporting Airmen in developing healthy sleep behaviors early in the course of their career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examine the role that hospitality serves in meeting the needs of participants in the traditions-focused sport and leisure activity of golf. By developing a scale for on-course experiences, this paper supports the successful operation of golf clubs by expanding our understanding beyond traditional considerations. This paper develops a scale to evaluate on-course expectations using a mixed methods approach. Initial focus groups identified touchpoints covering golfers' expectations through scale development with further factor analyses identifying critical customer touchpoints. Findings suggest that golfers value hospitality attributes as part of the overall on-course experience. While activity-focused aspects of course design, course quality, and pace of play are essential, hospitality features of player support and course hospitality emerged as important. Provides insights into golf management by exploring the growing influence that hospitality touchpoints have on overall satisfaction, where an intense focus on the game has been the norm and components, such as hospitality services, have been an afterthought. Results developed a detailed scale including five factors and 28 touchpoints that can be used in future golf research. These touchpoints create an understanding of on-course expectations that can be used to further golfer understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is one of the most important and also hazardous industries in Australia. Having a sound knowledge and understanding of the circumstance of injury events is critical to developing evidence-based intervention programs. This paper aims to provide a brief historical snapshot of the development of data systems underpinning the assessment of fatal farm injury in Australia and how it has impacted on safety policy and practice. The first Australian studies used coronial information to explore agricultural fatalities, these studies reviewed paper-based records (in-situ) and collected the information for analysis and reporting. This task was laborious and costly. When the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) was established in 2000, this allowed access to coronial records online. Information provided about the deceased includes demographics, contextual details on the nature of the fatality and autopsy, toxicology, and police reports, as-well-as the coroner's finding. Information from the NCIS, along with media reports, have been used to develop the farm fatality database. This information has been used to inform the safety goals and targets for farm commodity groups, identify key risks, provide long-term benchmark indicators and underpin the development of prevention materials and training resources. Without accurate, timely, concise and relevant data about injury occurring on farms, there is no evidence to drive policy and practice or to evaluate programs of work. As such, the continued utilization and extension of the NCIS data will prove crucial to further reducing the burden of preventable fatal injuries on Australian farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper raises and addresses issues to do with leadership and child psychotherapy, beginning with a report on a systematic review of papers about leadership in the Journal of Child Psychotherapy (JCP). The authors establish that leadership is expressed implicitly rather than as an important issue in its own right with relevance to clinical work, service development and the ongoing viability of psychoanalytic child psychotherapy. When reviewing the limited literature available, the authors classify them into five types of article: tribute to leaders past; clinical leadership; threat to survival and call to action; organisational leadership; and exemplary papers describing professional leadership. The authors query why the leadership literature is sparse and inexplicit and respond by using the theme of 'dual citizenship' to explore the issue from a psychoanalytic and organisational perspective. The psychoanalytic perspective explores tensions and barriers that may be profession-specific in relation to leadership. The organisational perspective explores the wider literature on leadership, starting with the concept of 'wicked problems and clumsy solutions'. The authors introduce and describe a 'leadership stance' that is compatible with psychoanalytic practice in context. This requires opening up leadership activity to the same scrutiny and reflective practice as clinical work, which provides ways of containing organisational and career anxieties and perplexing clinical problems. This paper is a call to action in regard to integrating leadership into the training and the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, researchers in the sport management area have used covariance based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) when testing complex models. Recently, researchers have been using partial least squares path modeling (often called PLS-SEM) more frequently. The purpose of this paper was to advise sport management researchers about what approach to use by comparing PLS-SEM versus CB-SEM analytical techniques on the two different types of models: a formative (composite indicator) multigroup model and, a formative (composite indicator) continuous interaction model. We collected data from individuals (N = 1155) in the New England area (USA). After testing a base model, a multigroup model, and a continuous interaction model, we feel that PLS-SEM is the better choice for sport management researchers when testing formative models that use a composite variable. Our research shows when and why each technique works, in addition to showing that PLS-SEM moderation and multigroup models with formative items can work in the R statistical software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction or adoption of innovations at the firm level has consequences for job creation that may differ across low-middle and high-income countries. Also, the type of innovation that firms introduce, such as process or product innovations, can affect employment through different channels. This paper aims to study the effects of innovation on employment growth at the firm level using a framework that considers the nature of innovation and the relative efficiency of the firms. The study uses a rich panel dataset that combines information from two different surveys in Colombia: the Annual Manufacturing Survey and the Survey on Development and Technological Innovation in the Manufacturing Sector. The article provides empirical evidence supporting the idea that the nature of innovation in the country involves complementarities between process and product innovations. The paper discusses how this result is related to the patterns of innovation in middle income countries, which need not only new technologies but also imitation of processes and products. Another novelty of this analysis is the study of displacement effects of process innovation through improvements in the relative efficiency of the firms. Findings show that some firms reduce employment from process innovations, reflecting high heterogeneity in efficiency among firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid pace of social and economic change around the world has led to many books and articles on how organizations can change their structures and procedures. People in the fields of systems and cybernetics have been active contributors to this literature. They strive not only to bring together people from a range of disciplines but also to combine the theories, methods and perspectives of many disciplines. The descriptions of new management methods from the fields of systems and cybernetics have broadened the field of strategic planning, introducing ideas not just from business administration and management but also fields such as biology, philosophy and cognitive science. This article seeks to further develop a multidisciplinary theory of social and organizational change that the authors described in previous papers. The article suggests a model for how knowledge from existing disciplines can play a role in the change process and when the traditional disciplines can be most helpful in a process of organizational change. The article describes how two methods—quality improvement and group facilitation—can contribute to social learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chile is a country highly affected by natural hazards, especially scour and seismic phenomena. Therefore, throughout the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, total or partial collapses of bridges have been evidenced, particularly those that occurred in the 1960 and 2010 earthquakes. From these experiences, the Chilean Highway Administration has promoted a series of management activities in order to reduce the number of collapsed structures. In this context, since 2019 the Ministry of Public Works of Chile (MOP) supported by the Chilean universities started a program to develop the subject of forensic engineering on bridges, in order to include the methodology in the technical codes and provide a standardization of protocols for the implementation of activities in the case of the collapse of structures. The aspects included in this methodology are: Determination of volatile and non-volatile information; Actions for intervention on the structure and protection of users; Gathering of technical information through the application of tests; Review of stress–strain states through Finite Element Method (FEM); Elaboration of hypotheses and review of them through a decision tree; and, finally, Conclusions and recommendations from a technical and contractual perspective. This paper presents a detailed description of the current forensic engineering methodology in Chile and its first application in the Cancura Bridge case study. In addition, a historical compilation of Chilean bridge collapses is presented, in each case identifying the typology of the structure, the causes of collapse and the main inspection techniques used. Finally, a statistical review is carried out analyzing aspects such as stages of the life cycle where collapse has occurred: design, construction or operation, and the incidence of natural hazards in these phenomena. From this analysis, the cases of Loncomilla, Cancura and Huasco bridges are highlighted. Since the collapse of these bridges occurred without the implementation of current methodology, the article concludes on the advantages and disadvantages of the methodology, providing a comparative analysis with the inspection activities in these structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a taken-for-granted institutional form, shelters for unhoused New Yorkers, through the neo-institutional lens of institutional inertia and critical case study methodology. It focuses on the external shock of COVID-19, NYC's use of unoccupied hotels for social distancing, and the return to shelters when COVID waned. For guidance, we examine other instances of interrupted institutional inertia following shocks. Using Lewin's force field analysis, we explore why changes to some institutional forms amidst COVID persisted while novel approaches to shelter dissipated. We conclude that directly involving unhoused people in the design and implementation of homeless services may improve outcomes. Human service professionals share a body of knowledge and assumptions – a kind of echo chamber that amplifies and confirms beliefs. It is important to look beyond traditional and familiar models of service delivery to find alternative ideas and approaches that may be effective. Returning to Kurt Lewin's concept of force fields provides opportunities to think effectively and holistically about how to modify or change services, policies, and organizations. People served by human services – those with lived experiences – possess unique expertise that can inform organizational decisions and planning in new and helpful ways. As practitioners, we need to find ways to be more inclusive of the perspectives and ideas of those our programs serve through participatory methods of planning, decision making, and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical Teacher is a leading international journal in health professions education. The Journal recognizes its responsibility to publish papers that reflect the breadth of topics that meet the needs of its readers around the globe including contributions from countries underrepresented in the health professions education arena. This paper sets out the Journal's policy with regard to Equity Diversity Inclusion (EDI) and the steps to be taken to implement the policy in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is the fastest-growing segment of laboratory medicine. this review focuses on the essential aspects of setting analytical performance specifications (APS) and performing quality assurance for POCT in primary healthcare. In-vitro diagnostic medical devices for POCT are typically small and easy to operate. Users often have little to no laboratory experience and may not necessarily see the value of conducting quality assurance on their devices. therefore, training, guidance, and motivation should be integral parts of the total quality management system, as they are vital for managing errors and ensuring reliable results. It is common to believe that the analytical quality of POCT should be comparable to that of laboratory testing, and as a result, APS should be the same. this paper challenges this concept. the APS for POCT can often be less stringent compared to those used in a central laboratory because the requester is closer to both the analytical and clinical situation. Point-of-care instruments should be selected based on clinical needs, the required analytical quality and user-friendliness in the intended usage setting. Quality assurance should include both internal quality control (IQC) and external quality assessment (EQA). It is recommended that IQC protocols should be dependent on the complexity of the POCt device. A scoring system to determine how frequent IQC should be analyzed in primary healthcare on different types of POCt devices has been suggested. the main challenge in EQA for POCT involves using suitable control materials that reflect instrument performance on patient samples. Obtaining commutable control materials for POCT is difficult since the matrix often is whole blood. An essential aspect of EQA for POCT is that feedback reports should be easily interpretable. Users should receive advice from the EQA organizer regarding the root causes of deviating results. Quality assurance for POCT is not an easy task and presents numerous challenges. However, there is evidence that quality assurance improves the quality of POCT measurements and, consequently, can enhance patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst NHS Health Service management is usually characterized by hierarchized bureaucracy and profit-driven competitiveness, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically disrupted these ways of working and allowed London-based non-clinical management to experience their roles otherwise. This paper is based on 35 interviews with senior non-clinical management at a London-based NHS Trust during 'Alpha phase' of Britain's pandemic response (May-August 2020), an oft-overlooked group in the literature. I will draw upon Graeber's theory of "total bureaucratization" to argue that though the increasing neo-liberalization of the health-services has hitherto contributed toward a corporate mentality, the pandemic gave managers a chance to experience more collaboration and freedom than usual, which ultimately led to more effective realization of decision-making and change. The pandemic has shown NHS managers that there are alternatives to neoliberal logics of competition and hierarchy, and that those alternatives actually result in happier and effectively, more capable staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor grade subarachnoid haemorrhage patients represent a unique cohort with lack of clear treatment protocol. Most neurosurgical units in the UK will manage them at local hospital until they make a significant recovery, this period can put them at higher risk of rebleed while with aggressive treatment a significant subset can achieve a favourable outcome. Identification of this subset is difficult and decision to treat them is associated with significant commitment of neurosurgical and ITU resources. Recent paper by Szklener has come up with a scale for prognostication in this subgroup of patients. We wanted to check the validity of this scale in our patient population and see if this scale can be used to guide early patient transfer and aggressive management at the Neurosurgical unit. We retrospectively reviewed our referral database for all poor grade subarachnoid patients referred over 2 years. Demographic information, Fisher and WFNS scores, admitting leucocyte count and outcome information as per MRS were obtained. These were scored as per the scale suggested by Szklener. A total of 115 poor grade subarachnoid patients were referred over the study time frame. 47 of them were accepted for admission. 18/47 patients achieved a favourable outcome (GOS4-5). Only 1 patient managed in peripheral hospital had a good outcome. There was a significant association between Szklener's score and achieving a favourable outcome p = 0.002. A selective admission policy could work specially with current economic climate, achieving outcomes comparable to admit-all. However, to optimise outcomes for all patients an aggressive standardised management at peripheral hospitals and a uniform admission policy assisted by Szklener score may be adopted. Szklener's model predicts the outcome better than WFNS and age but more validation is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an emerging form of health care with accelerated growth in recent years, online medical consultation (OMC) has received extensive attention worldwide. Although the number of studies on OMC has increased substantially, few provide a comprehensive and up-to-date review of OMC's research constituents, themes, and trends. This study, therefore, extracted 1,801 OMC-related articles published in English from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database during the past 30 years and employed a bibliometric analysis of WoS and CiteSpace to examine major constituents' distribution, collaboration relationships, themes, and trends. The results indicate that the United States, England, and China contributed the most to the proliferation of OMC studies. The United States had the greatest academic influence and the most collaborative connections, while China demonstrated the sharpest increase and most active development in recent years. However, there is a lack of substantial and close collaboration between researchers worldwide. The main themes of OMC research were Internet hospitals, COVID-19, mixed methods, online health community, and information technology. Researchers have recently shifted their attention to social media, management, efficacy, word of mouth, mental health, and anxiety. This review paper provides researchers and practitioners with a holistic and clear understanding of the features and trends of OMC research. It also identifies potential areas for future OMC research and sheds light on OMC practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration in the digitalization era is of utmost importance, as it enables sustainable development in the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) context. In this paper, a general view over different approaches and application scenarios of collaboration, along with I4.0-oriented technology that has been put forward is explored, based on a systematic literature review. As a result, it was possible to realize that the wide worldwide portfolio of contributions in the literature can be grouped in seven main clusters, which, in turn, are further synthesized through a proposed framework including three main blocks about models, tools, and business approaches about collaborative manufacturing and management in I4.0. It was also possible to recognize that learning, and further, co-learning are key issues correlating collaboration with I4.0, along with the human factor, which assumes a central role in linking these two domains, which combined, are of utmost importance to enable companies to reach a sustainable development in the current digitalization era. Future open research questions should be explored in order to further analyse industrial understandings on the importance of the underlying communication, learning, and collaboration approaches, along with supporting methods, means, and tools, to properly approach collaboration issues in I4.0, for promoting sustainable development of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Security literacy can be viewed as being different, at different levels of management. This paper presents and explains a security literacy model from a managerial level perspective and how different security literacy methods (awareness, training, education) supports the model of the different information security needs of strategic (why), tactical (how), and operational (what) management. The model was developed from academic literature content. The model suggests that security goes beyond technical knowledge and instead involves critically thinking about what to do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceutical sector corruption undermines patient access to medicines by diverting public funds for private gain and exacerbating health inequities. This paper presents an analysis of UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) compliance in seven countries and examines how full UNCAC adoption may reduce corruption risks within four key pharmaceutical decision-making points: product approval, formulary selection, procurement, and dispensing. Countries were selected based on their participation in the Medicines Transparency Alliance and the WHO Good Governance for Medicines Programme. Each country’s domestic anti-corruption laws and policies were catalogued and analysed to evaluate their implementation of select UNCAC Articles relevant to the pharmaceutical sector. Countries displayed high compliance with UNCAC provisions on procurement and the recognition of most public sector corruption offences. However, several countries do not penalise private sector bribery or provide statutory protection to whistleblowers or witnesses in corruption proceedings, suggesting that private sector pharmaceutical dispensing may be a decision-making point particularly vulnerable to corruption. Fully implementing the UNCAC is a meaningful first step that countries can take reduce pharmaceutical sector corruption. However, without broader commitment to cultures of transparency and institutional integrity, corruption legislation alone is likely insufficient to ensure long-term, sustainable pharmaceutical sector good governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary welfare organizations engage in various evaluation practices to assess the quality of their services. In this paper we report a qualitative exploration of how technology-enabled evaluations are understood by organizational members who participate in quality assurance activities in Swedish social services. The study contributes to critical information systems literature, focusing on the tensions professionals experience in relation to the digital systems they use for evaluations. For example, "quantities" take precedence over the qualities of such work, as information systems constrain ambitions to realize knowledge-based social services. The results reveal three tensions in professionals' evaluation-related activities arising from conflicting uses or desires. One is between desires for flexible systems that enable reflection and standardized digital support systems. Another is between uses or desires for indicators that are meaningful at the operational level and for general, comparable measures at the management level. The third is between desires to use evaluation procedures for learning and control. The study contributes to both theory and practice related to technology-enabled evaluation of welfare services, and critical perspectives on information systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) are being introduced with high levels of autonomy. This means that not only the role of the human operator is changing but also the way in which operations are performed. MASS are expected to be uncrewed platforms that are operated from a Remote Control Centre (RCC). As such, the concept of human-machine teams is important. The operation of MASS however shares some resemblance to other uncrewed platforms (e.g. Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles; UAVs) and it may be that lessons could be learned in relation to the development of MASS systems. A systematic literature review has been conducted, focusing on decision making, to generate insights into operating uncrewed vehicle platforms and design recommendations for MASS. Seven themes were revealed: decision support systems, trust, transparency, teams, task/role allocation, accountability and situation awareness. A Network Model was developed to show the interconnections between these themes which was then applied to a case study of an UAV accident. The purpose of doing this was to demonstrate the utility of the model to real-world scenarios and showed how each theme applied within the human-machine team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is an editorial that explores the concept of holistic integrative medicine (HIM) and its application in managing liver cirrhosis. The authors argue that liver cirrhosis affects multiple organs and should be treated holistically, rather than focusing solely on the liver. They discuss the evaluation of prognosis, assessment of decompensation and recompensation, and treatment of liver cirrhosis from a holistic perspective. The authors suggest that HIM offers a more comprehensive and unbiased approach to managing liver cirrhosis. Additionally, the document appears to be a reference list for a research paper on hepatology, providing citations for various articles and studies related to liver disease and its treatment. [Extracted from the article]

Post-stroke dysphagia (PSD) is a widely prevalent and possibly life-threatening consequence that may lead to aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, dehydration, and higher mortality risk. Recommending thickened fluids (TF) is a longstanding practice in the management of dysphagia. Augmenting liquid viscosity with a xanthan gum-based thickener benefits patients with PSD by aiding in the enhancement of bolus control, facilitating improved coordination in the swallowing mechanism, and lowering the risk of aspiration. Despite the widespread use of TF, limited high-quality evidence supports its benefits in PSD. This manuscript presents the clinical experience with four varied cases of PSD. A comprehensive approach to management with TF decreased the risk of aspiration pneumonia and facilitated effective management of dietary recommendations both during hospitalization and after discharge (all Cases). In addition, TF maintained nutrition and hydration in patients with multiple hospital admissions (Case 2), maintained hydration in those unable to engage in swallow rehabilitation due to complex medical conditions (Cases 2, 3, and 4), and those who needed slow and longer recovery due to long-term risk of silent aspiration (Cases 2, 3, and 4). In one case (Case 4), the use of TF was extended for more than two years post-stroke with no reported incidence of chest infection. In routine clinical practice, a comprehensive management approach with xanthan gum-based TFs reduces the risk of aspiration and aspiration pneumonia in patients with PSD while maintaining nutritional and hydration and improving swallowing function based on formal instrumental assessments. This clinical experience highlights the pivotal role of instrumental assessment, patient education, and informed decision-making to optimize outcomes with TF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The longitudinal course of bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with an active process of neuroprogression, characterized by structural brain alterations and progressive functional impairment. In the last decades, a growing need of a standardized staging model for BD arose, with the aim of a more appropriate definition of stage-specific clinical manifestations and the identification of more customized therapeutic tools. The authors review the literature on clinical aspects, neurobiological correlates and treatment issues related to BD progression. Thereafter, they address the definition, constructs, and evolution of the staging concept, focusing on the clinical applications of BD staging models available in literature. Although several staging models for BD have been proposed to date, their application in clinical practice is still relatively scant. This may have a detrimental impact on the clinical and therapeutic management of BD, in terms of early and proper diagnosis as well as tailored treatment interventions according to the different stages of illness. Future research efforts should tend to the integration of recent insights on neuroimaging and epigenetic markers, toward a standardized and multidimensional staging model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on terrorism and the rehabilitation of terrorists is growing continuously, but primary studies of high quality are still scarce. In many countries, the number of clients convicted of terrorist offences is increasing. As such, prison and probation services serve as important actors in the prevention of recidivism and radicalisation. This scoping review identifies viable management and treatment methods and approaches to (a) prevent violent extremism in prison and probation services, and (b) manage violent extremist clients in prison and probation services. The findings of twenty-seven primary studies highlight the importance of so-called soft approaches by building trust and resilience among violent extremist clients, and facilitating their prosocial engagement. Strength-based models could be considered as an alternative to the predominant risk-oriented practices in prison and probation services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public knowledge about the role of lifestyle in managing type two diabetes (T2D) is an essential preventive strategy. Despite efforts in public awareness, the prevalence continues to rise, with the majority relying on the availability of effective therapeutics, underestimating the role of healthy lifestyle changes. This study aims to assess public awareness of the impact of lifestyle modification in managing T2D in a major metropolitan city in Saudi Arabia, which will help inform the health management authority in the country on the level of public awareness and advise on the development of educational programs. An observational cross-sectional survey study comprising 16 knowledge and 6 attitude questions was conducted among the population over 18 years old using online survey. After validation, the online self-developed questionnaire was distributed through social media. The knowledge and attitude scores were similar between males and females. Participants with a family member or friend with T2D demonstrated higher knowledge scores. However, the attitude scores did not differ significantly based on family or friend relationships. The knowledge and attitude on the role of lifestyle modifications in preventing and managing T2D is moderate, implying an opportunity for innovative strategies to raise public knowledge and attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence in the workplace, unethical conduct, illegal behavior, and employees with poor integrity are problematic for any industry. When it comes to working in community-based corrections (CBC), however, poor integrity can cause serious threats to the safety of the employee, their peers, their clients, and the community they serve. The Critical Hire-Screen (CH-S) and Step One Survey II (SOS II) are two pre-employment integrity assessments used in various CBC agencies. The present study explored the degree to which the CH-S and SOS II correlated with and predicted supervisor ratings of correctional officer job performance. Disparate impact analyses were also conducted exploring the degree to which each tool's scale scores differed based on applicant age, gender and racial/ethnic status. Results revealed that only CH-S scale scores correlated with, and significantly differentiated between, supervisor ratings of job performance. Results also revealed that the CH-S and SOS II did not generate scale scores that significantly differed based on age, gender, or racial/ethnic status. Implications for correctional agencies are provided in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the determinants of the effective use of European Structural and Investment Funds. We use a newly constructed database of the 1024 programmes from the last two programme periods that started in 2007 and 2014, respectively. Our results show that virtually all programmes fail to meet the initial deadline and need the extension period to be able to spend the funds initially allocated. About 45% of EU funds allocated are not used by the initial deadline and a tenth of the programmes end up not using over 10% of the funds. Our econometric analysis shows that beyond institutional framework measures of accountability, law and order, corruption and public officials' attitudes, education and management capacity are key determinants in the efficient use of fund allocation. These findings are in line with previous work documenting that, as in the private sector, management capacity plays an important role in explaining government efficiency. In such circumstances, implementing measures that help bureaucracies deal with the lack of management skills and processing capacity – such as outsourcing fund management – may improve the efficient use of EU funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015 the so-called "European refugee crisis" began to put advanced democratic states to the test. How would they manage millions of asylum-seekers living within their borders – in the state, but not yet of the state? This article interrogates what it means to manage asylum, focusing on street-level organizations at the interface between asylum-seekers and the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model has become a standard formula for developing and assessing offender treatment programs. It has also become increasingly used to guide case management practices. However, less focus has been given to the impact of adhering to these principles within the development of case plan objectives. The current study has two objectives. The first objective is to draw attention to the lack of literature examining the impacts of case plan adherence to RNR on offender outcomes. The second intention is to contribute to this field by examining the impact of case plan adherence to the need principle on recidivism among a sample of halfway house clients. Results show that higher adherence within one need domain, employment/education, was related to significantly lower recidivism. Overall, these findings indicate that adherence to the need principle in offender case plans may improve client outcomes. They also underline a need for more research on the development and impacts of case plan objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new medication for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) called imeglimin can target all three organs involved in the pathogenesis of DM, namely the liver, skeletal muscles, and pancreas. This research seeks to examine the most efficacious and safe dose of imeglimin for the management of T2DM. Using particular keywords, we searched the CENTRAL, Medline, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for pertinent literature. The results of continuous variables were pooled into the mean difference (MD) and dichotomous variables into odds ratio (OR) along with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using fixed-effect models. Our pooled analysis revealed that imeglimin 1000 mg twice daily [MD −0.90% p < 0.00001] and 1500 mg twice daily [MD −0.84% p = 0.0003] as monotherapy was associated with a higher reduction in the HbA1c compared to placebo. This superiority was still maintained when given as combination therapy. Regrettably, there was an observed escalation in gastrointestinal AEs as the dosage of imeglimin was raised, despite the absence of a corresponding improvement in its efficacy in decreasing HbA1c levels. Our study suggests that imeglimin 1000 mg twice daily may offer the most optimum therapeutic effects for glycemic control without compromising its safety profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]