Search

The primary purpose of the current study was to assess the role of organizational justice in understanding prison staff job stress. Specifically, the authors surveyed 322 correctional employees across two prisons located in Guangzhou, China to explore the effects of distributive, procedural, informational, and interpersonal justice on work stress. Results from ordinary least squares analysis revealed significant contributions from three dimensions of organizational justice in explaining stress from work among prison workers. Prison personnel who had higher perceptions of interpersonal, distributive, and procedural justice in the organization were less likely to report being stressed. In addition, men were more likely to report higher levels of work tension than women.

Novice teachers experience language about literacy instruction from a variety of sources. This longitudinal case study uses Bakhtin’s notions of authoritative and internally persuasive discourse to consider how four novice teachers negotiated messages regarding literacy instruction from the conclusion of preservice education through their first 2 years of teaching. Although the challenges of the initial years of teaching have been studied, limited attention has been given to the ways in which novice teachers negotiate and take up language about literacy instruction within their school contexts. Interviews and email journals were used as data sources. Findings reveal that novice teachers perceived authoritative discourse from curricula, programs and assessments, and instructional expectations of administrators or senior colleagues. Participants accessed internally persuasive literacy discourses through questioning, supplementing, and changing literacy programs they perceived as required by authorities. Implications for teacher educators, researchers, and school personnel are discussed.

Introduction: Motor imagery (MI) may be an effective tool for improving activities of daily living (ADL) post-stroke. However, no review to date has examined ADL independence when investigating training effectiveness. This review aimed to evaluate the quality of evidence and the effectiveness of MI training for improving ADL independence post-stroke. Method: Randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies comparing MI to conventional therapies were reviewed. Methodological quality was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. Results: Thirteen articles met inclusion criteria. The overall quality was considered moderate to good, with a PEDro score ranging from 3 to 8. Most studies (9 out of 13) were considered good quality, with one rating of poor quality and three of fair quality. The primary findings suggest that MI training is a low-risk tool that may facilitate ADL independence. Audio-based MI training seems to improve ADL independence when paired with other rehabilitation methods, but the results should be interpreted with caution. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to examine RCTs investigating MI effectiveness in improving ADL post-stroke. Results support the use of MI to facilitate ADL independence. However, more research is needed to establish practice guidelines for implementing MI training post-stroke.

This paper identifies some ways to effectively transfer complex and gender-biased technology information and knowledge (TIK) to both men and women by analyzing the diffusion of Smart-valleys technology in West-Africa. ANOVA and Fisher's exact tests were applied to data collected from 1120 lowland rice farmers in West Africa. Results confirm the general gender inequality in TIK communication with male farmers having more access to Smart-valleys TIK than female lowland farmers. Only few female communicators were used in Smart-valleys TIK transfer even if they were found to be as efficient as men at communicating and teaching. However, opposite results obtained in Togo in particular reveal that it is possible to ensure gender equality in agricultural TIK communication, even in case of complex and gender-bias technologies, if specific gender mainstreaming and gender equity actions are undertaken during technology diffusion. Women-to-women communication improved female farmers access to Smart-valleys TIK confirming that involving female communicators will reduce gender inequality in TIK diffusion. On-farm demonstration was identified as the most effective approach, not only in Smart-valleys TIK communication, but also in ensuring gender equity in access of both male and female farmers to the TIK. Therefore, on-farm demonstration combined with oral explanations should be adopted as the main approach in complex and gender-biased technologies diffusion in general, and in Smart-valleys diffusion in particular.

The aim of this study is to visualize and characterize by ultra-high-speed imaging (UHSI) the failure phenomena at the resin–ceramic bonding interface of lithium disilicate (LiSi2) samples bonded with gold-standard protocol (Monobond Plus [MB]) and the nontoxic one (Monobond Etch & Prime [MEP]) subjected to mechanical loading. Unprecedented frame rate, image resolution, and recording time were reached by using the most advanced UHSI camera. The finite element analysis (FEA) of the proposed mechanical test confirmed that the specific design of our samples enables a combined shear and compression stress state, prone to test the bonding interface while being close to physiological stresses. Ten LiSi2 samples were pretreated by gold standard (MB, n = 5) and self-etching primer (MEP, n = 5). Axial compression loading gradually increased until catastrophic failure was performed. As shown by the FEA, the angle between the bonding interface and load direction leads to shear–compression stresses at the resin–ceramic bonding interface. Failure was recorded by UHSI at 300,000 fps. All recorded images were analyzed to segregate events and isolate the origin of fracture. For the first time, thanks to the image recording setup, it was observed that debonding is the first event before breakage, highlighting that sample fracture occurs by interfacial rupture followed by slippage and cohesive failure of materials. Failure mode could be described as mixed. MEP and MB showed similar results and behavior.

Citizens’ attitudes towards their national healthcare are important indicators of satisfaction and of political perspectives. In this article we summarise individual and national level patterns in healthcare evaluations across Europe. An innovative feature of our analysis is that we demonstrate that assessing healthcare evaluations in relative terms (relative to citizens’ views about the performance of national institutions in other domains), offers new insights about individual and national level variations in attitudes. Thus, we introduce an indicator of relative attitudes towards healthcare and contrast it to an absolute measure in a cross-national analysis. We use a larger dataset than previous studies of healthcare evaluations including countries from all regions of Europe and spanning eight rounds of the European Social Survey (2002–2017, N = 342,000). We find that Europeans’ healthcare evaluations are multidimensional, with different patterns sometimes operating at an absolute and a relative level. When comparing countries, for instance, several nations in Southern and Eastern Europe compare poorly to other nations in their absolute ratings of healthcare but compare favourably if assessed in relative terms. Likewise, using a relative measure, most Scandinavian countries compare less favourably to other countries, but score positively when evaluations are measured in absolute terms.

Introduction: Secondary stroke prevention depends on proper identification of the underlying etiology and initiation of optimal treatment after the index event. The aim of the NOR-FIB study was to detect and quantify underlying atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) using insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), to optimise secondary prevention, and to test the feasibility of ICM usage for stroke physicians. Patients and methods: Prospective observational international multicenter real-life study of CS and TIA patients monitored for 12 months with ICM (Reveal LINQ) for AF detection. Results: ICM insertion was performed in 91.5% by stroke physicians, within median 9 days after index event. Paroxysmal AF was diagnosed in 74 out of 259 patients (28.6%), detected early after ICM insertion (mean 48 ± 52 days) in 86.5% of patients. AF patients were older (72.6 vs 62.2; p Discussion and conclusions: ICM was an effective tool for diagnosing underlying AF, capturing AF in 29% of the CS and TIA patients. AF was asymptomatic in most cases and would mainly have gone undiagnosed without ICM. The insertion and use of ICM was feasible for stroke physicians in stroke units.

Officers are a valuable resource for prisons across the globe. Working in corrections is a demanding job with a higher-than-average risk of job burnout. Most prison burnout studies have focused on staff working in Western prisons, particularly those in the U.S. These studies have generally found an association between work attitudes and burnout among prison officers. However, a key question is whether the associations are universal or contextual, varying by nation . The current study examined the link between the major work attitudes of job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment and the burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feeling ineffective at work among staff at two Chinese prisons. According to the results of ordinary least squares multivariate regression tests, job involvement, and job satisfaction had significant negative effects on emotional exhaustion, but commitment did not. Only job involvement had significant negative effects on depersonalization. Job involvement and organizational commitment had significant negative effects on feeling ineffective, while job satisfaction had nonsignificant effects. The results indicate that the major work attitudes are negatively linked to job burnout for the studied Chinese prison staff; efforts should be undertaken to build these work attitudes to reduce burnout since burnout is linked to negative consequences for officers, inmates, and the prison. Based on previous research and current findings, some of the effects of work attitudes appear to be universal, and others appear to be contextual.

Identifying student strengths is central to transition planning. However, school personnel use few assessments that operationalize behavioral and emotional strengths, and the psychometric functioning of those measures have not been established with transition-age students. In this two-part study, we used a national sample of transition-age students to examine validity evidence for scores from the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-3: Teacher Rating Scale (BERS-3 TRS). Study 1 evaluated the internal structure and test score reliability of the scores for 275 students with exceptionalities. Study II used a sample of 566 students to examine differences in scores between students with and without exceptionalities. Findings from these studies represent evidence for the validity and interpretation of scores for transition-age students with exceptionalities.

In this article, we describe methodology that allows for multiple timescales using flexible parametric survival models without the need for time splitting. When one fits flexible parametric survival models on the log-hazard scale, numerical integration is required in the log likelihood to fit the model. The use of numerical integration allows incorporation of arbitrary functions of time into the model and hence lends itself to the inclusion of multiple timescales in an appealing way. We describe and exemplify these methods and show how to use the command stmt , which implements these methods, alongside its postestimation commands.

This thematic issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine is dedicated to the incredibly important contributions made by women leaders in the biomedical sciences throughout recent history. Scientists from many disciplines have contributed papers, both original research and state of the art reviews, to demonstrate the type of work being performed every day by women leaders committed to advancing scientific knowledge in their respective fields of specialization. In this introduction, we provide readers with a brief highlight of the information to be found in the invited papers.

The bulk of the limited research on prison staff life satisfaction has been conducted in Western nations, particularly in the U.S., and only two studies have explored the relationship between organizational justice and life satisfaction, both of which only examined two of the four dimensions of justice. The current study investigated how all four dimensions of organizational justice (informational, interpersonal, distributive, and procedural) were related to life satisfaction among Chinese prison staff. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis indicated that informational, procedural, and distributive justice had significant positive effects on life satisfaction. Interpersonal justice had an insignificant effect.

Teachers, a population already vulnerable to high stress, experienced increased demands and threats to their coping resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic likely will continue to exact a toll on the mental health of the teaching workforce. A silver lining from COVID-19 could come from teacher stress research conducted during the pandemic, which provides directions for how to improve the occupational lives of teachers. To this end, Christopher McCarthy, Madison Blaydes, Caroline H. Weppner, & Richard G. Lambert briefly review how teacher stress is defined, how it was exacerbated by the pandemic, and what can be done to alleviate it and promote wellness going forward.

Background Lymphedema is due to dysfunction of the lymphatic system. It can be primary or secondary. Pediatric lymphedema is more often primary and is a chronic disease with a heavy burden on quality of life. Methods Medical records of patients under 18 years of age referred between 1996 and 2021 to the specialized lymphedema clinic at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center were reviewed. Demographic data, sex, age at presentation, location of the lymphedema, clinical features, genetic testing, symptoms, complications, investigations, and treatment were collected. Results Of 180 referred patients, lymphedema was confirmed in 151, and 137 were primary lymphedema. Median age of apparition of primary lymphedema was 7.00 years and was significantly lower in boys than in girls. Primary congenital lymphedema was more frequent in boys (51.0%, 27.3% in girls, P = .007), and onset of primary lymphedema during adolescence was more frequent in girls (53.4%, 25.0% in boys, P = .001). Lower limbs were the most impacted (88.3%). Sixty patients had genetic testing, and 38 (63.3%) of them were discovered to have a pertinent genetic mutation. The most common mutated gene was the FLT4 gene (in 9 patients). Seven patients (5.1%) had associated extensive/central lymphatic malformation and 24 (17.6%) had a polymalformative syndrome/syndromic lymphedema. Conclusions Pediatric lymphedema is more frequent in girls, usually involves lower limb, and is most often sporadic, but often associated with a genetic mutation, and genetic testing should be performed.

The present study was conducted to determine whether the problem characteristics of U.S. students school-identified with emotional disturbance (ED) have changed over two decades. We used data from a teacher rating instrument designed to measure the five problem characteristics of ED, as stated in its Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) definition. These data were collected in the process of norming the instrument for 1998 and again for 2020. Comparison of the 1998 and 2020 students school-identified with ED showed that the 1998 group had significantly more problematic functioning on two characteristics, namely, Relationship Problems and Inappropriate Behavior, but no more problematic differences on Inability to Learn, Unhappiness or Depression, and Physical Symptoms or Fears. In addition, analyses of selected items gave more context to the main results. Study limitations, future research, and implications are discussed.

Introduction Chronic Pain is increasingly affecting young people, their quality of life and wellbeing including education, social life and mental health. Current Western approaches to psychological support for Chronic Pain often focus on ‘pain management’ and learning skills and strategies from professionals, making use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and psychoeducation approaches in individual and group interventions. As a Paediatric Psychology service, we have trialled groups running over multiple weeks informed by these approaches and experienced low attendance rates. Method This paper describes a feasibility study of an alternative group intervention; the ‘Living with Pain group’, which combines the ‘Journey of Life’ ( Denborough, 2014 ) with collective narrative and liberation psychology approaches. Results Thirty three young people and eight parents / carers attended the intervention. Attendance rates, quantitative and qualitative feedback from one face-to-face group for young people and parents and two online groups for young people showed increased access and acceptability of the group. Conclusion The findings from this study have shown that a 1-day collective narrative group intervention is feasible, suitable and acceptable and has increased access to our group intervention. Future directions include co-creation with young people and families, community engagement to increase accessibility of our groups and developing partnerships to respond to young people’s hopes to raise awareness.

Background: Muscle atrophy is common after an injury to the knee and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Blood flow restriction therapy (BFR) combined with low-load resistance exercise may help mitigate muscle loss and improve the overall condition of the lower extremity (LE). Purpose: To determine whether BFR decreases the loss of LE lean mass (LM), bone mass, and bone mineral density (BMD) while improving function compared with standard rehabilitation after ACLR. Study Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial Methods: A total of 32 patients undergoing ACLR with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft were randomized into 2 groups (CONTROL: N = 15 [male = 7, female = 8; age = 24.1 ± 7.2 years; body mass index [BMI] = 26.9 ± 5.3 kg/m2] and BFR: N = 17 [male = 12, female = 5; age = 28.1 ± 7.4 years; BMI = 25.2 ± 2.8 kg/m2]) and performed 12 weeks of postsurgery rehabilitation with an average follow-up of 2.3 ± 1.0 years. Both groups performed the same rehabilitation protocol. During select exercises, the BFR group exercised under 80% arterial occlusion of the postoperative limb (Delfi tourniquet system). BMD, bone mass, and LM were measured using DEXA (iDXA, GE) at presurgery, week 6, and week 12 of rehabilitation. Functional measures were recorded at week 8 and week 12. Return to sport (RTS) was defined as the timepoint at which ACLR-specific objective functional testing was passed at physical therapy. A group-by-time analysis of covariance followed by a Tukey’s post hoc test were used to detect within- and between-group changes. Type I error; α = 0.05. Results: Compared with presurgery, only the CONTROL group experienced decreases in LE-LM at week 6 (−0.61 ± 0.19 kg, −6.64 ± 1.86%; P < 0.01) and week 12 (−0.39 ± 0.15 kg, −4.67 ± 1.58%; P = 0.01) of rehabilitation. LE bone mass was decreased only in the CONTROL group at week 6 (−12.87 ± 3.02 g, −2.11 ± 0.47%; P < 0.01) and week 12 (−16.95 ± 4.32 g,−2.58 ± 0.64%; P < 0.01). Overall, loss of site-specific BMD was greater in the CONTROL group ( P < 0.05). Only the CONTROL group experienced reductions in proximal tibia (−8.00 ± 1.10%; P < 0.01) and proximal fibula (−15.0±2.50%, P < 0.01) at week 12 compared with presurgery measures. There were no complications. Functional measures were similar between groups. RTS time was reduced in the BFR group (6.4 ± 0.3 months) compared with the CONTROL group (8.3 ± 0.5 months; P = 0.01). Conclusion: After ACLR, BFR may decrease muscle and bone loss for up to 12 weeks postoperatively and may improve time to RTS with functional outcomes comparable with those of standard rehabilitation.