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Background: Despite the prevailing view that apprenticeships offer many unique benefits to workers with disabilities, people with disabilities are vastly underrepresented in these programs. Objective: This paper describes a 14-month apprenticeship learning community facilitated by the authors and the toolkit for practitioners and key stakeholders that it produced. Methods: The learning community met 14 times as a large group over a 14-month period. During these meetings, facilitated by the authors, members shared problems, solutions, and insights related to apprenticeships, and actively worked towards creating the apprenticeship toolkit. Results: The toolkit is a comprehensive manual for potential apprentices, their families, rehabilitation/vocational counselors, employers, and other stakeholders. It covers topics such as basic knowledge of apprenticeships, steps for entering, navigating, and completing an apprenticeship program, tips for successful interagency collaboration, and guidance on disability disclosure. Conclusion: The learning community model successfully brings together people from diverse areas and backgrounds to brainstorm solutions to shared challenges. The toolkit is an effective resource for any worker or professional interested in apprenticeships. Implications for practice are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The New Me MOT toolkit is part of the His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) accredited offending behaviour programmes, consisting of a series of short exercises that enable offender managers to support graduates of the programmes to generalise their learning. This study was commissioned by HMPPS with the aim to evaluate the delivery of the toolkit in custody, through exploring probation prison offender managers' (POMs') delivery experiences. Design/methodology/approach: Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants from male prisons in England and Wales via semi-structured interviews (n = 8), and data was analysed through thematic analysis. Findings: Five overarching themes with related subthemes were identified: New Me MOT is useful, flexible toolkit, motivation of the prisoner, limited resources and lack of structured guidance. Research limitations/implications: Future research should consider investigating POMs' experiences from other prison establishments, to explore any possible additional findings about what impacts New Me MOT delivery in custody. Practical implications: Suggestions were made to improve the future delivery of the toolkit across HMPPS. This is fundamental to support the behavioural change process. Originality/value: No previous research on New Me MOT exists. This study findings showed that, based on the experiences of eight POMs interviewed, there are factors which aid and obstruct the toolkit delivery. This suggests that POMs might miss opportunities to prioritise generalisation of work for those most in need, target their criminogenic needs and tailor the toolkit content according to participants' personal circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scientists can play an important role in policymaking by providing evidence and consensual expert opinion on the state of scientific knowledge. Delphi surveys have been widely used to develop consensus on a topical issue, yet not compatible with public health crisis situations requiring rapid decisions. We developed a fast-track Delphi process, providing experts with a structured approach to rapidly develop and quantify consensus in support of informed policy decisions. Methods: We identified key elements of consensus-building techniques through a literature review and derived methodological procedures that served as the basis for the elaboration of the new process. Selected methodological experts provided advice on necessary adjustments. The process was pilot tested using a real-world public health issue. Results: The fast-track Delphi process is a hybrid approach between a conventional Delphi and the nominal group technique: one group session followed by two rounds of e-questionnaire, with predefined steps. We developed an ad hoc toolkit (REDCap templates, R code for analysis and production of reports, user guide) to overcome time constraints, which we pilot tested with experts. The feasibility test conducted in 18 days in the field of tobacco control demonstrated the applicability and usefulness of the process in real-world conditions. Conclusions: We strongly believe that this fast-track Delphi process has the potential to help inform policy decisions in various types of crises, including emerging diseases or novel potentially harmful products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parkinson's disease is a complex progressive neurodegenerative disease increasing globally. Self‐management interventions have shown promise in improving the quality of life for people with chronic conditions. This paper aims to describe the development processes and the core components of a facilitated self‐management toolkit to support people with Parkinson's disease to self‐manage their condition. Methods: An iterative co‐design approach was adopted and included the use of systematic reviews, qualitative methods and theory to develop the Live Well with Parkinson's toolkit. A co‐design group was established consisting of people with Parkinson's, family carers and health and social care experts to produce and refine an online self‐management toolkit to be tested in practice. Five co‐design groups were conducted alongside several phases of toolkit development. Results: An online self‐management toolkit, called Live Well with Parkinson's, was developed with core aspects such as tailored information to the individual, a well‐being section using an asset‐based approach and problem‐solving skills to create and maintain goals, symptom review and management sections and a tracker of medication, symptoms and activities/actions. A paper‐based alternative version was also created for those who cannot use an online resource. The toolkit is fully manualised and facilitated by six sessions from a 'supporter' who is trained in behaviour change techniques. It can be shared with carers and healthcare professionals. Conclusion: The toolkit is a robust and comprehensive approach to self‐management of Parkinson's disease. It is evidenced based, incorporates theory and was developed with people with Parkinson's and experts in the area. The Live Well with Parkinson's toolkit has the potential to be embedded within routine healthcare, aligning with self‐management policies. Patient or Public Contribution: Author B.M. is our patient and public involvement (PPI) representative and author on this paper. B.M. supports a team of 15 PPI members who have contributed to the development of the toolkit. This involvement has included attending research team and steering group meetings, attending and facilitating co‐designed workshops, reviewing all the toolkit information before approval and supporting with the user testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Despite three decades of research, gaps remain in meeting the needs of people with dementia and their family/friend carers as they navigate the often-tumultuous process of driving cessation. This paper describes the process of using a knowledge-to-action (KTA) approach to develop an educational web-based resource (i.e. toolkit), called the Driving and Dementia Roadmap (DDR), aimed at addressing some of these gaps. Design: Aligned with the KTA framework, knowledge creation and action cycle activities informed the development of the DDR. These activities included systematic reviews; meta-synthesis of qualitative studies; interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders; development of a Driving and Dementia Intervention Framework (DD-IF); and a review and curation of publicly available resources and tools. An Advisory Group comprised of people with dementia and family carers provided ongoing feedback on the DDR's content and design. Results: The DDR is a multi-component online toolkit that contains separate portals for current and former drivers with dementia and their family/friend carers. Based on the DD-IF, various topics of driving cessation are presented to accommodate users' diverse stages and needs in their experiences of decision-making and transitioning to non-driving. Conclusion: Guided by the KTA framework that involved a systematic and iterative process of knowledge creation and translation, the resulting person-centered, individualized and flexible DDR can bring much-needed support to help people with dementia and their families maintain their mobility, community access, and social and emotional wellbeing during and post-driving cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With rising awareness of the health-related impact of climate change and environmental degradation, there is clear interest by oral health professionals to deliver services in ways that minimize environmental impact. Discussion: We summarize key principles related to sustainability in dentistry. Domains for action such as disease prevention, carbon footprint reduction, and management of plastics, nitrous oxide and antibiotics are discussed. Resources are identified to support teams to implement sustainable practices including the FDI World Dental Federation's Interactive Toolkit and Massive Online Open Course. By understanding key concepts of sustainability, recognizing domain areas for action, and referencing available resources, dental teams will be empowered to move further toward sustainable practice. Continuing Education Credit Available: A CDA Continuing Education quiz is online for this article: The practice worksheet is available online: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Small-molecule control of gene expression underlies the function of numerous engineered gene circuits that are capable of environmental sensing, computation, and memory. While many recently developed inducible promoters have been tailor-made for bacteria or mammalian cells, relatively few new systems have been built for Saccharomyces cerevisiae, limiting the scale of synthetic biology work that can be done in yeast. To address this, we created the yeast Tunable Expression Systems Toolkit (yTEST), which contains a set of five extensively characterized inducible promoter systems regulated by the small-molecules doxycycline (Dox), abscisic acid (ABA), danoprevir (DNV), 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and 5-phenyl-indole-3-acetic acid (5-Ph-IAA). Assembly was made to be compatible with the modular cloning yeast toolkit (MoClo-YTK) to enhance the ease of use and provide a framework to benchmark and standardize each system. Using this approach, we built multiple systems with maximal expression levels greater than those of the strong constitutive TDH3 promoter. Furthermore, each of the five classes of systems could be induced at least 60-fold after a 6 h induction and the highest fold change observed was approximately 300. Thus, yTEST provides a reliable, diverse, and customizable set of inducible promoters to modulate gene expression in yeast for applications in synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and basic research.

The environment management (EM) in hotels is increasingly expected by both consumers and regulatory bodies. The complexities of hotel EM practices require hotels to develop EM capabilities. However, the existing sustainability measurement tools focus on the measures of outcomes and benchmarking. The hotels need a practical guideline and tools to develop EM practices, and to monitor and identify weaknesses and problems. This study aims to provide actionable guidelines for EM capability development. A multi-case study is designed to achieve this goal. This research offers detailed insights into specific actions and strategies that hotels can employ to enhance their sustainability efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Data provided from blood donors have contributed to the understanding of public health epidemiology and policy decisions. A recent example was during the severe acute respiratory syndrome‐related coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) pandemic when blood services monitored the seroprevalence in blood donors. Based on this experience, blood services have the opportunity to expand their role and participate in public health surveillance and research. The aim of this report is to share available resources to assist blood services in this area. Materials and Methods: The Surveillance, Risk Assessment and Policy (SRAP) Sub‐group of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) Transfusion Transmitted Infectious Diseases (TTID) Working Party developed a Public Health Research Toolkit to assist blood services and researchers interested in expanding their role in public health research. Results: The ISBT Public Health Research Toolkit provides resources for what blood services can offer to public health, examples of donor research studies, the utility of donor data and website links to public health agencies. The toolkit includes a customizable template for those interested in establishing and managing a biobank. Conclusion: The ISBT Public Health Research Toolkit includes resources to increase the recognition of the role blood donors can play in public health and to help blood services gain commitment and funding from various agencies for new research and surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the conceptual design of the HumanEnerg Hotspot, an agile toolkit aimed at addressing the human energy crisis in the context of Industry 5.0. The toolkit has been developed using a blend of Design Science Research (DSR) and Human-Centered Design (HCD) methodologies, enabling a comprehensive human-centered problem identification and solution-seeking approach. The toolkit includes a variety of strategies, techniques, frameworks, and resource recommendations for industry use and has been designed to be easily adaptable for use in diverse industry settings. The toolkit is intended to support the European Union's goal for industry to influence society through a human-centric approach to Industry 5.0 by prioritizing human energy reinforcement and creating a more resilient and productive workforce. The toolkit provides a valuable resource for employees and managers alike and offers a promising solution for addressing the human energy crisis in the era of Industry 5.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social prescribing (SP) embodies a comprehensive approach to addressing the social determinants of health. Access to Resources in the Community (ARC) is an innovative SP program offering bilingual services that involves a single point of entry for health and social needs and introduces practice changes to assist primary care providers in engaging patients, along with a nonclinical lay navigator who supports patients in accessing relevant community resources. The ARC team has created a SP toolkit offering practical guidance for setting up, implementing, monitoring the progress of and evaluating SP programs. The four ARC guides can be easily customized for application in diverse practice and research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Hypothesis With increasing recognition of the importance of cognitive health for recovery in people with psychosis, questions arise as to how to implement cognitive health services in large systems of care. This paper describes the implementation of cognitive health services in OnTrackNY (OTNY), a network of clinics delivering a Coordinated Specialty Care treatment model for early psychosis, with the goal of documenting the processes, challenges, and useful adaptations. Study Design In 2018, OTNY piloted a Cognitive Health Toolkit for implementation across 18 affiliated clinics. The toolkit intended to identify the cognitive health needs of individuals early in the course of psychosis and to integrate cognitive health into the vocabulary of wellness and recovery. Implementation involved creating mechanisms for staff training and support to, in turn, help participants improve how they use cognitive skills in daily life. Study Results The toolkit was disseminated to all 28 OTNY programs throughout New York state by 2023. When simple assessment and decision-making tools were embedded in routine care practices, the majority of participants identified that improving memory, attention, and critical thinking skills would be helpful. Consistently, about 70% of those asked wanted to learn more about how to better their cognitive health. Conclusions Cognitive health services can be implemented in large systems of care that provide a multi-level system of implementation supports. Organizational facilitators of implementation include a training program to educate about cognitive health and the delivery of cognitive health interventions, and embedded quality assurance monitoring and improvement activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Background Physical activity is an important aspect of lifestyle management and type 2 diabetes, although the percentage of people with type 2 diabetes achieving recommended guidelines is low. Supported self‐management underpinned by group educational programmes may be helpful but difficult to implement in remote and rural areas. We aimed to test the feasibility of an approach based on education delivered individually by community‐based exercise advisors to people with type 2 diabetes. Methods Following the development of an online educational toolkit a mixture of exercise advisors and people with type 2 diabetes were recruited. People with diabetes had a face‐to‐face consultation with an exercise advisor with mutually agreed follow‐up over 6 months. To track physical activity, people with diabetes aimed to wear an accelerometer device for 7 days at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. Post‐intervention semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with both groups of participants to gauge perspectives of the initiative. Results There was a 56% total attrition rate from baseline to 3 months due to COVID‐19 and its impact on clinical research. Around 50% of participants achieved minimum physical activity recommendations at each time point and 22% of participants had accelerometer data at 3 time points. People with diabetes valued interaction with exercise advisors and felt that the programme would be of greatest benefit to less active individuals. Exercise advisors felt that the programme provided more opportunities and increased confidence and that training in working with older less active individuals would be useful for them. Conclusion It is feasible to develop a physical activity programme delivered by non‐healthcare practitioners underpinned by diabetes‐specific education tailored to people with type 2 diabetes. Several project adaptions should be considered for progress to a pilot study to assess an integrated physical activity programme delivered by community exercise advisors.

The operationalisation of Responsible Research and Innovation is increasingly associated with ethical toolkits. However, scholars remain critical of those toolkits, often referring to them as theoretically problematic, toothless, or too instrumental. Moreover, toolkits imply ideological commitments that are not necessarily made explicit. In this scoping review, we analyse 127 tools designed for technology ethics as part of the RRI Project. We find that (1) these tools tend to frame responsibility as general training or aimed at the development phase of technologies, while monitoring is underrepresented. (2) These toolkits often lack substantive conceptualisations of ethics ignoring contested paradigms. (3) Emerging digital and biotechnologies are over-represented in relation to other socio-technical infrastructures, and (4) there is a risk of a PDF-ization of ethics, as most toolkits are materially constructed as reading material and checklists. We conclude by presenting prompt questions to reflectively reconsider how we design ethical toolkits for technology.

Abstract Background The process of tailored implementation is ill-defined and under-explored. The ItFits-toolkit was developed and subsequently tested as a self-guided online platform to facilitate implementation of tailored strategies for internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) services. In ImpleMentAll, ItFits-toolkit had a small but positive effect on the primary outcome of iCBT normalisation. This paper investigates, from a qualitative perspective, how implementation teams developed and undertook tailored implementation using the toolkit within the trial. Methods Implementation teams in thirteen sites from nine countries (Europe and Australia) used the ItFits-toolkit for six months minimum, consistent with the trial protocol. A qualitative process evaluation was conducted. Descriptive data regarding goals, barriers, strategies, and implementation plans collected within the toolkit informed qualitative data collection in real time. Qualitative data included remote longitudinal interviews (n = 55) with implementation team members (n = 30) and observations of support calls (n = 19) with study sites. Qualitative data were analysed thematically, using a team-based approach. Results Implementation teams developed and executed tailored implementation projects across all steps in the toolkit process. Working in a structured way but with room for flexibility, decisions were shaped by team members’ ideas and goals, iterative stakeholder engagement, internal and external influences, and the context of the ImpleMentAll project. Although teams reported some positive impacts of their projects, ‘time’, both for undertaking the work, and for seeing project impacts, was described as a key factor in decisions about implementation strategies and assessments of success. Conclusion This study responds directly to McHugh et al.’s (2022) call for empirical description of what implementation tailoring looks like in action, in service settings. Self-guided facilitation of tailored implementation enables implementers in service settings to undertake tailoring within their organisations. Implementation tailoring takes considerable time and involves detailed work but can be supported through the provision of implementation science informed guidance and materials, iterative and ongoing stakeholder engagement, and working reflectively in response to external influencing factors. Directions for advancement of tailored implementation are suggested.

To address the gap in preventative support, the aim of the Family Disability Worker (FDW) role is to offer support for parents and cares of children with disabilities and additional needs, who do not meet the criteria to access services through the children with disabilities social work team. This Welsh evaluation included a survey for professionals (n = 23) and parents/carers (n = 5) to explore their attitudes on the new FDW role. Following this, a series of semi-structured interviews were completed to gather the experiences of professionals (n = 23) and parents/carers (n = 3) of working with the FDW. The findings suggest the development of preventive social work practice to reduce isolation and support these families to feel connected to their community. The participants shared attitudes and experiences supporting the development of the FDW role, to enhance and develop creative and strength-based approaches to social work practice to be operationalised through a new FDW practice toolkit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mounting evidence that growth mindset—the belief that intelligence is not fixed and can be developed—improves educational outcomes has spurred additional interest in how to measure and promote it in other contexts. Most of this research, however, focuses on high‐income countries, where the most common protocols for measuring and intervening on student mindsets rely on connected devices—often unavailable in low‐ and middle‐income countries' schools. This paper develops a toolkit to measure student mindsets in resource‐constrained settings, specifically in the context of Brazilian secondary public schools. Concretely, we convert the computer‐based survey instruments into text messages (SMS). Collecting mindset survey data from 3570 students in São Paulo State as schools gradually reopened in early 2021, we validate our methodology by matching key patterns in our data to previous findings in the literature. We also train a machine learning model on our data and show that it can (1) accurately classify students' SMS responses, (2) accurately classify student mindsets even based on text written in other media, and (3) rate the fidelity of different interventions to the published growth mindset curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1970s, research on artificial intelligence in education emerged with the aim of acknowledging and accommodating the psychological aspects of the learning process. Since then, its applications have evolved and it is now used for student learning and assessment, teachers' pedagogical practice, management of educational institutions, and lifelong learning. Nevertheless, the ethical challenges of educational programmes using these systems have not been thoroughly studied. Anchored on the theoretical frame of dialogic ethics, this paper presents a section of a participatory futures research project. The goal of the research is to develop a toolkit that educators can use to ensure a smooth and ethical transition to artificial intelligence-based education while preserving the interests of educational development. This paper emphasises the need for an informed and participatory process that involves all stakeholders and begins with an expert consultation through the Delphi method, the results of which allowed the construction of eight hypothetical futures scenarios. These scenarios provide evidence that examining the ethics of using artificial intelligence systems presents an opportunity to reflect on the ethics of education as a whole. They highlight the challenge of balancing the benefits and drawbacks of such systems, especially concerning educational goals and the interplay between diverse educational actors and personal development in educational settings. The study outcomes are intended to encourage discussions on the integration of ethical artificial intelligence in education and facilitate the continuing professional development of teachers by equipping them with scenarios that can be used as a resource for training purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The process of tailored implementation is ill-defined and under-explored. The ItFits-toolkit was developed and subsequently tested as a self-guided online platform to facilitate implementation of tailored strategies for internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) services. In ImpleMentAll, ItFits-toolkit had a small but positive effect on the primary outcome of iCBT normalisation. This paper investigates, from a qualitative perspective, how implementation teams developed and undertook tailored implementation using the toolkit within the trial. Methods: Implementation teams in thirteen sites from nine countries (Europe and Australia) used the ItFits-toolkit for six months minimum, consistent with the trial protocol. A qualitative process evaluation was conducted. Descriptive data regarding goals, barriers, strategies, and implementation plans collected within the toolkit informed qualitative data collection in real time. Qualitative data included remote longitudinal interviews (n = 55) with implementation team members (n = 30) and observations of support calls (n = 19) with study sites. Qualitative data were analysed thematically, using a team-based approach. Results: Implementation teams developed and executed tailored implementation projects across all steps in the toolkit process. Working in a structured way but with room for flexibility, decisions were shaped by team members' ideas and goals, iterative stakeholder engagement, internal and external influences, and the context of the ImpleMentAll project. Although teams reported some positive impacts of their projects, 'time', both for undertaking the work, and for seeing project impacts, was described as a key factor in decisions about implementation strategies and assessments of success. Conclusion: This study responds directly to McHugh et al.'s (2022) call for empirical description of what implementation tailoring looks like in action, in service settings. Self-guided facilitation of tailored implementation enables implementers in service settings to undertake tailoring within their organisations. Implementation tailoring takes considerable time and involves detailed work but can be supported through the provision of implementation science informed guidance and materials, iterative and ongoing stakeholder engagement, and working reflectively in response to external influencing factors. Directions for advancement of tailored implementation are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce SinaTools, an open-source Python package for Arabic natural language processing and understanding. SinaTools is a unified package allowing people to integrate it into their system workflow, offering solutions for various tasks such as flat and nested Named Entity Recognition (NER), fully-flagged Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD), Semantic Relatedness, Synonymy Extractions and Evaluation, Lemmatization, Part-of-speech Tagging, Root Tagging, and additional helper utilities such as corpus processing, text stripping methods, and diacritic-aware word matching. This paper presents SinaTools and its benchmarking results, demonstrating that SinaTools outperforms all similar tools on the aforementioned tasks, such as Flat NER (87.33%), Nested NER (89.42%), WSD (82.63%), Semantic Relatedness (0.49 Spearman rank), Lemmatization (90.5%), POS tagging (93.8%), among others. SinaTools can be downloaded from (https://sina.birzeit.edu/sinatools). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ripple effect of the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization has impacted physicians and patients across numerous medical specialties. In pediatric surgery, the patient population ranges from fetus to the pregnant patient. There is a gap in the knowledge of pediatric surgeons regarding abortion laws and access. This project aims to bridge the gap by creating access to reliable resources which may be used to optimize patient care and support physicians. We collaborated with the Reproductive Health Coalition, co-founded by the American Medical Women's Association and Doctors for America, to curate a list of resources beneficial to pediatric surgeons. We created a web-based toolkit with the purpose of providing easily accessible and reliable information on reproductive rights in the United States. We identified up-to-date resources on state-by-state abortion laws, legal resources, patient-centered information on obtaining abortion care, and resources for physicians interested in getting involved in advocacy. Pediatric surgery rests at a critical juncture with respect to reproductive rights in the United States. Our toolkit enables users to understand the current climate and identify next steps to advocate for patients and physicians amidst a formidable legal environment. Level V. • Post- Dobbs reproductive laws are rapidly evolving and pediatric surgeons are among physicians who are impacted by these practice restrictions. • This paper highlights the design and utility of a web-based toolkit created with the intent of providing physicians with resources to navigate the impact of abortion access on surgical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Astrocytic Calcium Signaling Toolkit (astroCaST) is a novel solution to a longstanding challenge in neuroscience research: the specialized analysis of astrocytic calcium events within fluorescence time-series imaging. Distinct from existing neuron-centric tools, astroCaST is adept at detecting and clustering astrocytic calcium events based on their unique spatiotemporal characteristics, thus filling a gap in astrocytic research methodologies. This toolkit not only facilitates the detection of such events but also extends its utility to provide comprehensive end-to-end analysis. This feature is absent in most tools targeting astrocytic activity. AstroCaST's development was motivated by the critical need for dedicated software that supports researchers in transitioning from raw video data to insightful experimental conclusions, efficiently managing large-scale datasets without compromising computational speed. It offers a user-friendly interface that caters to both novice and expert users, incorporating both a graphical user interface (GUI) for detailed explorations and a command-line interface (CLI) for extensive analyses. Expected outcomes from utilizing astroCaST include the ability to process and analyze a significantly larger volume of data. This enables a more profound and comprehensive analysis than previously possible, addressing the demands of large-scale astrocytic studies. In summary, astroCaST aims to advance astrocytic calcium imaging analysis, offering a tailored, efficient, and comprehensive toolset that enhances our understanding of astrocytic functions and their implications in neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stroke survivors may not maintain gains made in gait performance after task-oriented circuit training. Behavior change interventions may enhance the long-term adoption of physical activity. This study uses a co-design methodology to develop an intervention and tools to facilitate physical and exercise therapists in supporting an active lifestyle in stroke survivors, which is defined as a lifestyle that integrates daily walking performance with day-to-day activity. Objectives: (1) To describe the insights generated during the co-design process; and (2) To describe the tools that were developed during the co-design process. Methods: A multidisciplinary team consisting of staff members of the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy, exercise and physical therapists specializing in neurorehabilitation and conducting task-oriented circuit class training in primary care settings or day therapy centers within residential care facilities, stroke survivors and their carers, experts in measuring movement behavior in stroke survivors, a company specializing in manufacturing sensors and related software, behavior change specialists, and co-designers all collaborated in a three-stage (define, develop, and deliver) co-design process. Results: In the design process, the team iteratively developed a prototype accelerometer system for measuring walking performance with a feedback function for stroke survivors and their therapists and a prototype toolbox for therapists to support the facilitation of behavior change in their stroke survivors. Discussion: This study shows how co-design can be applied to develop interventions for stroke survivors. Both the prototype system for measuring walking performance and the toolbox incorporate behavior change techniques to support a more physically active lifestyle in stroke survivors. Further research will investigate the feasibility of the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractDesigning effective haptic feedback is challenging due to the subjective nature of touch and the fact that multiple people cannot easily share and evaluate touch experiences. In this work, we propose CoTacs, a collaborative haptic toolkit to address the challenges of haptic feedback design by enabling designers to explore haptic experiences together using group collaboration and allowing them to refine ideas quickly through early feedback during the design process. Two design sessions with five collaborators each show that CoTacs enables users to design, evaluate, refine and explore haptic feedback together. Participants leveraged group feedback to improve their designs and inspire creative ideas for the second collaboration round. Our work demonstrates how collaborative haptic toolkits can enable synergistic effects through interactions between the designers, benefiting haptic feedback design while still exposing several limitations. We discuss different opportunities for the design of future collaborative haptic toolkits and haptic group collaboration techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive Design has been widely promoted in the fields of product, engineering, and user experience design. Despite the educational efforts made by scientists, practitioners, and institutions to raise awareness about accessibility and inclusion, Inclusive Design has not been widely embraced in architectural design practice, where it is often associated with design for disability. This multidisciplinary study, spanning behavioural science, ergonomics, and the social sciences of architecture, explores the challenges architectural design practitioners face when designing inclusively, and identifies opportunities to promote the adoption of Inclusive Design. The results of a questionnaire completed by 114 architectural design practitioners underscore the lack of client awareness of the benefits of inclusive design, highlight the important role practitioners can play in advocating for Inclusive Design, and emphasize the need to develop practices and tools that enhance the design and post-design phases of buildings to ensure inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradual decline in learners' performance in addition prompted the researcher to devise a teaching strategy aimed at improving their academic performance and fostering collaboration with parents. The Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract Learning Toolkit was developed to address this issue while also aiming to eliminate students' fear of numbers and cultivate confidence in math learning. For the research design and methodology, the descriptive-comparative method, specifically the Test-Retest Method, was employed. The study focused on the first grading period of the 2021-2022 school year, centering on the topic of addition. Purposive sampling was utilized to select eighteen Grade 2 learners from Yugno Elementary School as study participants. The weighted mean was calculated to determine the average scores of the respondents before and after implementing the strategy, while t-test statistics were employed to assess the significance of any differences between the pre-test and post-test scores. The findings revealed notable improvements in the performance of Grade 2 learners in addition. The pre-test results showed a mean score of 6.38 with a Mean Percentage Score (MPS) of 33.88%, which increased to a mean score of 14.44 with an MPS of 82.78% in the post-test. This suggests that the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract Learning Toolkit effectively contributed to enhancing students' performance in addition. Moreover, the t-value was found to be higher than the critical value, further confirming the significance of the results. However, it's essential to note the limitations and implications of the study. The research was conducted solely among Grade Two pupils of Yugno Elementary School in San Andres District, Division of Quezon. While the study yielded promising results, its applicability may vary across different educational settings and grade levels. Nonetheless, the development of a learning toolkit tailored to enhance students' performance in addition presents an opportunity for further research and potential implementation in other educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultimate goal of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes is to decrease the occurrence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In response to this, a pharmacist partnership was established between Malawi and Wales (UK) with the aim of strengthening antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) activities in Malawi, with the initial project focusing on two tertiary referral hospitals. The Global Point Prevalence Survey (GPPS) was undertaken for the first time in Malawi at these sites and demonstrated a prescribing rate slightly lower than the African average, with ceftriaxone indicated for almost every bacterial infection. An educational intervention was also delivered, with a train-the-trainer approach upskilling pharmacists at the two sites, who then cascaded co-produced training sessions to an additional 120 multidisciplinary health professionals. A toolkit to support AMS at an individual patient level was also developed and disseminated to provide an ongoing reference to refer to. Both the trainings and toolkit were well received. Over the course of this project, significant progress has been made with the AMS programmes at the two sites, with local staff empowered to implement AMS activities. These interventions could be easily replicated and scaled and support the delivery of some of the AMS elements of the Malawi Ministry of Health National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers community partner perspectives on the National Science Foundation–funded Broader Impacts (BI) Toolkit, a new digital tool researchers can use to improve the societal relevance of their research. Partners suggest three ways the toolkit could be improved moving forward, underscoring the importance of relationship building to any BI activity.

Background: The Disease Control Priorities Project estimates that over 50 % of annual mortality in low- and middle-income countries can be addressed by improved emergency care. Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health and Sanitation has highlighted emergency care as a national priority. We conducted the first multicentre analysis of emergency care capacity in Sierra Leone, using the Hospital Emergency Unit Assessment Tool (HEAT) to analyse 14 government hospitals across the country. Methods: HEAT is a standardised assessment that is recommended in the World Health Organisation Emergency Care Toolkit. It has been used comparably elsewhere. To analyse Sierra Leone's emergency care capacity with the HEAT data, we created the HEAT-adjusted Emergency Care Capacity Score. Purposeful sampling was used to select 14 government facilities nationwide. A multidisciplinary team was interviewed over a 2-day in-person visit to each facility. Results: Human Resources was the strongest parameter, scoring 49 %. All hospitals provided emergency cover 24/7. Emergency Diagnostic Services was the most severely limited parameter, scoring 29 %. 3 hospitals had no access to basic radiography. Infrastructure scored 47 %. 2 hospitals had adequate electricity supply; 5 had adequate clean, running water. No hospitals had adequate oxygen supply. Clinical services scored 39 %. 10 hospitals had no designated Emergency Unit, only 2 triaged to stratify severity. Signal functions scored 38 %. No hospitals had reliable access to emergency drugs such as adrenaline. The total HEAT-adjusted Emergency Care Capacity Score across all hospitals was 40 %. Conclusions: These data identify gaps that have already led to local interventions, including focussing emergency resources to a resuscitation area, and training multidisciplinary teams in emergency care skills. This facility-level analysis could feed into wider assessment of Sierra Leone's emergency care systems at every level, which may help prioritise government strategy to target sustainable strengthening of national emergency care.

The peculiarity of oil and gas projects is their long implementation period, during which they are subject to the influence of a large number of different risk factors that complicate project implementation and result in failure to achieve the planned economic indicators set by investors. The effective operation of companies therefore depends on how reliably investors can predict the prospects for project development. The success of the subsequent functioning of the investment project depends to a large extent on the reliability of the assessment of the effectiveness of the investment project, based on the optimally chosen strategy of its development, and, above all, on the anticipation of possible risk factors and tools for their prevention. Therefore, at present, the competitive struggle in the oil and gas production industry is currently shifting to the area of pre-project preparation of investment projects and increasing the reliability (quality) of their economic efficiency assessment at the stage of making a decision to start their implementation.Geological risks become important in the implementation of exploration projects, the first stage in the overall process of developing the Company's assets. It is necessary to find a balance between the cost of project implementation and the amount of accumulated hydrocarbons for the forecast period, which will ensure maximum profitability of the project. The challenge to optimize the financial outlay on the implementation of geological exploration works by focusing on the most promising and important projects for companies becomes relevant. In this regard, the article considers the methodological approaches proposed by the author to assess the risks of exploration with the aim of improving the efficiency of the planning process and reducing inefficient financial costs.

Background: Implementing new innovations across the health and social care system is complex, involving many factors that in recent years have been compounded by Covid-19. While a plethora of implementation tools and frameworks are available, there are limitations in terms of their design and accessibility. Co-production is a valuable mechanism for developing tools that have utility and accessibility for those tasked with using them in health and social care organisations and there is growing acknowledgement of increasing the role of co-production in implementation science. This paper provides novel insight into co-production practices and relevance to implementation science by reporting findings from a study to co-produce a web-based implementation toolkit (WIT) that is accessible, usable and designed to support adaptive implementation across health and social care systems. Key themes relating to the process of co-production are outlined and the value of using co-production in implementation processes are discussed. Methods: A web-based survey (n = 36) was conducted with a range of stakeholders across health and social care. Findings identified a need for WIT. Survey respondents were invited to express interest in becoming part of a coproduction group and to take part in three online interactive workshops to co-produce WIT. Workshops took place with the group (n = 12) and focused on key developmental stages of WIT. Results: Online co-production workshops were integral to the development and refinement of WIT. Benefits of using this process identified three interrelated themes: (i) Co-designing key features of the toolkit, (ii) Co-producing a toolkit with utility for users across health and social care settings, (iii) Co-producing a toolkit to support the implementation journey. Our approach of undertaking co-production as a dialogic process enabled generation of these themes. To illuminate discussion of these themes we draw upon iterative co-development of the “active ingredients” of key components (e.g., interactive Implementation Wheel) and functions (e.g., interactive “pop-up” definitions of keyword) and features (e.g., case studies) of WIT. Conclusion: Using a co-production approach with a range of end-users across health and social care systems, highlights the benefits of understanding implementation processes for users in these settings. User-centred design and processes for ensuring accessibility readily support the translation of implementation into rapidly changing health and social care systems to benefit outcomes for patients, their families, carers, service users and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces Proto.IoT, an IoT prototyping toolkit designed to complement teaching in Higher Education (HE) by enabling non-expert users to learn IoT concepts through making within time-constrained lecture settings. The significance of Proto.IoT lies in its abstraction of hardware and software implementations, facilitating accessibility for non-experts through a visual rule-based programming environment and plug-and-play approaches. A pilot study, involving 25 IoT developers from the UK and Malaysia, evaluated the IoT back-end system architecture, revealing that Proto.IoT was perceived as user-friendly and effective in reducing development time. The main evaluation focused on the toolkit's front-end rule-based graphical user interface (GUI), engaging 41 undergraduate students. Results indicated that the toolkit supported prototype ideation and was intuitive to use. These findings illustrate the potential of IoT prototyping toolkits to complement traditional lectures, fostering rapid prototyping and ideation, thus facilitating maker education within formal classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This toolkit presents a comprehensive framework for a toolkit intended to increase equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within the medical field and recommendations. We advocate for clear, comprehensive definitions and interpretations of fundamental EDI terms, laying the groundwork necessary for initiating and maintaining EDI initiatives. Furthermore, we offer a systematic approach to establishing EDI committees within medical departments, accentuating the pivotal role these committees play as they drive and steer EDI strategies. This toolkit also explores strategies tailored for the recruitment of a diverse workforce. This includes integral aspects such as developing inclusive job advertisements, implementing balanced search methods for candidates, conducting unbiased appraisals of applications, and structuring diverse hiring committees. The emphasis on these strategies not only augments the diversity within medical institutions but also sets the stage for a more holistic approach to healthcare delivery. Therefore, by adopting the recommended strategies and guidelines outlined in this framework, medical institutions and specifically radiology departments can foster an environment that embodies inclusivity and equity, thereby enhancing the quality of patient care and overall health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing clinical guidelines for osteoarthritis (OA) in primary care is complex. Whilst international guidelines detail what best practice for OA looks like, little is known about how this is best implemented. Limited resources are available to guideline developers, practitioners, researchers, or the public to facilitate implementation. Set in the context of a larger research project which sought to understand the factors that influence knowledge mobilisation (KM) in implementation for OA guidelines, this study reports the development of a toolkit to optimise KM for the implementation of evidence-based OA guidelines in primary care. Triangulation of three qualitative data sets was conducted, followed by a stakeholder consensus exercise. Public contributors were involved in dedicated meetings (n = 3) to inform the content, design, and KM plans for the toolkit. From data triangulation, 53 key findings were identified, which were refined into 30 draft recommendation statements, within six domains: approaches to KM; the knowledge mobiliser role; understanding context; implementation planning; the nature of the intervention; and appealing to a range of priorities. Stakeholder voting (n = 27) demonstrated consensus with the recommendations and informed the wording of the final toolkit. Factors that optimise KM for OA guideline implementation in primary care were identified. Empirical data, practice-based evidence, implementation practice, and stakeholder (including patient and public) engagement have informed a toolkit comprising several overarching principles of KM, which are suitable for use in primary care. Consideration of equitable access when implementing evidence-based OA care among diverse populations is recommended when using the toolkit. Further research is needed to evaluate the toolkit's utility and transferability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographic shifts toward an older and sicker prison population present challenges for corrections leaders and incarcerated people. The priority of custody and control over care in prisons can deprive people of a modicum of autonomy even about expressing their end-of-life wishes. This study was undertaken to inform best practices and identify essential components of end-of-life care planning (EOLCP) for people who will likely die incarcerated. Individual interviews with formerly incarcerated people (n = 16) provided insights on EOLCP knowledge, perceptions, and future plans as each reflected on experiences while incarcerated. Zoom Video Communications were used for the interviews, and audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, verified, and deidentified prior to thematic analysis. Themes were defined and discussed until consensus was reached between the 2 researchers. End-of-life care planning themes included the following: understanding of and experience with advanced directives/care planning (AD/ACP), defining AD/ACP, timing of AD/ACP accessibility to health care resources, how to approach EOLCP in prison, advantages of EOLCP, and barriers to EOLCP. Formerly incarcerated peoples' knowledge, perceptions, and future plans revealed important considerations when developing a contextually relevant toolkit for EOLCP for people living in prison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]