bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stakeholder engagement practices and impression management
Authors: Gagné Vincent , Berthelot Sylvie , Coulmont Michel
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the substantiveness of stakeholder engagement by examining voluntary disclosures tied to the engagement process. The objective is to draw a portrait of stakeholder engagement practices and determine whether they genuinely contribute to informing stakeholders or whether they are simply intended to manage stakeholders’ impressions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed an exploratory content analysis on 113 sustainability reports published in 2018 in the Global Reporting Initiative database. The authors investigated disclosures tied to consulted stakeholders, communication modes and material issues resulting from the engagement process. The authors then assessed the substantiveness of these disclosures to determine the extent of the impression management tactics deployed in the stakeholder engagement disclosures made by Canadian companies.

Findings

Data analysis showed that more than a third of Canadian firms tend to make generic disclosures on their stakeholders’ engagement. As well, almost half the engagement modes disclosed are unidirectional and fewer than 33% of Canadian companies disclose on relevant sustainability issues. Furthermore, only 26% of the sample seek assurance on the information disclosed. Overall, the authors note an important trend in impression management used in sustainability reporting and underscore a potentially significant sectoral effect in the tactics used.

Originality/value

These data provide new insight into stakeholder engagement processes and highlight the strategies used by Canadian companies to manage their stakeholders’ impressions rather than their expectations. The study also contributes to a better understanding of the underexplored stakeholder engagement process and provides regulatory organisations with deepened insights to better frame stakeholder engagement disclosures.
Exploring the fit between mobile application service and application privacy
Authors: Hsieh Jung-Kuei , Li Hsiang-Tzu
Published: December 2021

Purpose

With the popularity of mobile applications and increasing consumer awareness of application privacy, this paper aims to introduce a new construct of service-privacy fit (i.e. the perceived degree of match between the service of a mobile application and a privacy permission request) to predict consumers’ mobile application adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

Four experiments were carried out to test the hypothesized relationships. The first study investigated the direct impact of service-privacy fit on application adoption and the mediators of benefit expectancy and privacy concerns. The second, third and fourth studies further applied the moderated mediation model to analyze the moderating roles of benefit message type, regulatory focus type and privacy assurance.

Findings

The results show that service-privacy fit influences application adoption not only directly but also indirectly via the mediators of benefit expectancy and privacy concerns. Furthermore, the findings confirm the moderators of benefit message type, regulatory focus type and privacy assurance.

Originality/value

Drawn from the perspectives of task-technology fit and information boundary theory, this paper introduces a new construct of service-privacy fit as a determinant of application adoption. Grounded in privacy calculus theory, it further explains this relationship through mediating effects of benefit expectancy and privacy concerns. Furthermore, this paper proposes that benefit messages and privacy assurance are effective coping strategies to increase the benefit expectancy and reduce the privacy concerns of applications. Based on the perspective of regulatory fit theory, this study further shows that the effects of coping strategies rely on personal traits. The findings enrich the existing knowledge of mobile application adoption and application privacy, suggesting that practitioners should consider mobile consumers’ perception of service-privacy fit when developing applications.
Agile and generic work values of British vs Indian IT workers: a culture-clash case
Authors: Bastiaansen Carla A.J. , Wilderom Celeste P.M.
Published: December 2021

Purpose

After deciding to become agile, many information technology (IT) units struggle; they underestimate the needed managerial expertise to alter their current culture toward an agile one, particularly when cross-cultural (f)actors are involved. Given that work values are the key to an organizational culture, the study derived a set of agile work values of culturally diverse IT professionals together with a set of well-known generic work values. Consequently, the authors illustrate that managers in charge of the transition to an effective agile culture must pay serious attention to the specific value constellations of its often highly diverse workforce.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review resulted in an initial list of agile work values. Then, mainly through a Delphi round, 12 agile-specific work values were established. These were survey rated, along with the validated set of 18 generic work values, by 102 British and Indian IT professionals in a digital service and consulting firm that was requested by its client to become agile. The observations made in 14 feedback group-interview-type dialogs enriched the surveyed data further.

Findings

In the current exploratory study, four generic value dimensions were complemented by two agile-specific ones: team communication and shared responsibility. Among the British and Indian (on-site and offshore) workers, only 2 of the 30 current work values were shared while 7 significant value differences were found, explaining the noted employee bitterness, productivity losses and client disengagement. This situation was reflected in the many discrepancies between the professionals' ideal agile way of working and how their unit was currently functioning.

Originality/value

The multi-method study shows an over-optimistic approach to becoming agile in a common cross-cultural context; insights are gained on how to optimize agile ways of organizing IT work when British IT workers collaborate with Indian IT workers. It may benefit many agile practitioners and managers working with(in) cross-culturally mixed and partly remote teams.
Structural process model of organizational innovativeness types for sustainability: a dynamic capability perspective
Authors: Bhupendra Kumar Verma , Sangle Shirish
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to present an empirical test to analyze a structural process model based on constructs of organizational innovativeness types considering sustainability aspects. It explores interdependency among constructs of organizational innovativeness identified as product, process, behavioral, market, strategic and risk innovativeness. It integrates a dynamic capability perspective to strengthen the existing literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Sample for data analysis covers 389 managers of firms demonstrating some traits of sustainability orientation and operating in a developing economy like India. Structural equation modeling is applied to test the causal model.

Findings

Study reveals that risk innovativeness along with strategic innovativeness leads to behavioral innovativeness which further causes product innovativeness and business process innovativeness. Business process innovativeness supports product innovativeness leading to market innovativeness of a firm. Characteristics of organizational innovativeness linked with the risk-taking ability of top management can be a critical differentiating factor between conventional and sustainability-oriented firms.

Research limitations/implications

The factor of risk innovativeness was applied as per the existing measurement scale and has a scope for further exploration. It also offers an opportunity to reassess organizational innovativeness processes considering sustainability aspects.

Practical implications

The study may help organizations to develop a systemic approach to evolve and develop business processes linked to organizational innovativeness considering sustainability challenges and uncertain market conditions.

Social implications

Development of organizational innovativeness considering sustainability aspects may lead to innovative and disruptive products/services leading to mitigate climate change issues, thus helping global societies in long run.

Originality/value

The study offers common ground linked to the bodies of research related to dynamic capabilities, micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities, innovative capability and sustainability.
A criminologically informed examination of looting behaviour during natural disaster incidents
Authors: Gaherity Charles , Birch Philip
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine looting behaviour during natural disaster incidents. As a consequence, this study considers looting in the context of two case studies: a Tsunami and a Bushfire. The study offers an exploration into the types of and motivations for looting, as well as reflecting on prevention measures.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodological approach of a rapid evidence assessment (REA) is used to examine looting behaviour within the context of two natural disaster incidents, drawing on a thematic analysis, as outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006) to support the presentation of findings.

Findings

The findings of the REA yield three themes. The first theme, Theme 1, focuses on the types of offenders – looters, while Theme 2 focuses on the motivations for offending behaviour – looting. The final theme, Theme 3, presents crime prevention responses: looters and looting. Each theme is further illustrated through a number of sub-themes, and while the two case studies centre on two distinct natural disaster incidents, there are similarities that exist between them offering insights for why looting occurs and consequently how to respond to looting.

Research limitations/implications

Previous research has recognised how incidents such as bushfires enable and create opportunity for looting behaviour. Yet, arguably, little has been achieved in successfully preventing such behaviour. This study offers evidence for why looting occurs during natural disaster incidents and considers the prevention measures that can lead to a reduction in this offending into the future. The need for more detailed and primary research into looting during natural disaster incidents is a research implication engendered by the current study.

Practical implications

This study considers crime prevention approaches in the form of situational crime prevention and social development crime prevention that have direct relevance on crime prevention policy and practice. The practical implications are worthy of attention from law enforcement agencies and other first/emergency responders.

Social implications

This study seeks to offer evidence for policy and practice initiatives that can increase public safety and reduce further threats to community safety during natural disaster incidents.

Originality/value

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a concerted effort for swifter and more effective responses to emergency management incidents has occurred. However, the focus of such responses has typically overlooked looting during natural disaster incidents. This study goes some way in addressing that gap in the literature and connects the current scientific knowledge to prevention strategies, informing future policy and practice responses to addressing looting during such incidents. This study provides a stimuli for further research into looters, looting and natural disaster incidents.
Social entrepreneurship education providers – Slovak case
Authors: Polonyová Simona , Pongrácz Eva
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the current state of education in the field of social enterprise in Slovakia and its support, share the experience of social entrepreneurship education providers and formulate recommendations for the development of human resources in the context of supporting social enterprise.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is presented as a case study. It is based on the initial experience of education providers in the field of social entrepreneurship in Slovakia, as the concept of integrating social entrepreneurship into education in Slovak conditions is currently in the phase of gradual establishment.

Findings

One of the biggest barriers of the development of education is insufficient awareness and overall promotion of social enterprise in Slovakia. The general public lacks awareness on the topic of social enterprise and a general platform on social enterprise, which would provide information on the possibilities of formal and non-formal education, is missing.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this paper are based on the limited experience of social entrepreneurship education providers, as the systematic concept of integrating social entrepreneurship into education in Slovak conditions is currently in the phase of gradual establishment.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study, which provides an overview of the present situation of education in the field of social enterprise from the perspective of the experience of the addressed organizations, their opinions and perception.
Parasitic trophic mode of plant host affects the extent of colonization, but does not induce systematic shifts in the composition of foliar endophytic assemblages in temperate meadow ecosystems
Authors: de Paula Caio Cesar Pires , Macek Petr , Bárta Jiří , Borovec Jakub , Svobodová Ilona , Holá Eva , Lepš Jan , Sirová Dagmara
Published: December 2021

Foliar endophytic bacteria and fungi are increasingly being recognized as important drivers of plant host phenotype—affecting a wide range of eco‐physiological processes. However, we are still lacking fundamental ecosystem‐level knowledge about the structure, function and inter‐species interactions in endophytic assemblages associated with plant hosts sharing a common life strategy or ecological specialization.

In this study, we chose two groups of plants with contrasting physiology as model systems: parasites and their hosts. We assessed whether plant life‐history strategy, namely differences in nutrient acquisition and accumulation, plays a role in structuring above‐ground microbiomes under field conditions.

We focused on the structure, colonization extent and potential function of foliar endophytic bacteria and fungi in three root hemiparasitic species (Orobanchaceae), one stem holoparasite (Convolvulaceae), and their potential host plants co‐occurring in species‐rich temperate grassland ecosystems. For this purpose, we combined next generation amplicon sequencing with quantitative real‐time PCR, chemical analyses of leaf tissue, and, in the case of bacteria, functional predictions using information deposited in available databases.

We found the foliar endophytic assemblages to be diverse, dominated by generalist taxa, but highly similar across all studied species. Despite of the highly contrasting leaf tissue chemistry in the parasitic and non‐parasitic plant species, the parasitic trophic mode did not induce systematic shifts in the diversity, composition or predicted biogeochemical function of the endophytic microbiomes under field conditions. However, compared to their potential hosts, leaves of both hemiparasitic and holoparasitic species harboured significantly lower fungal counts, estimated as ß‐actin gene copies ng DNA−1, which suggests that parasitic plants may possess mechanisms to regulate the extent of colonization by endophytic fungi.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
How melanism affects the sensitivity of lizards to climate change
Authors: Mader Sebastian , Goldenberg Jonathan , Massetti Federico , Bisschop Karen , D’Alba Liliana , Etienne Rampal S. , Clusella‐Trullas Susana , Shawkey Matthew D.
Published: December 2021

The impact of climate change on global biodiversity is firmly established, but the differential effect of climate change on populations within the same species is rarely considered. In ectotherms, melanism (i.e. darker integument due to heavier deposition of melanin) can significantly influence thermoregulation, as dark individuals generally heat more and faster than bright ones. Therefore, darker ectotherms might be more susceptible to climate change.

Using the colour‐polyphenic lizard Karusasaurus polyzonus (Squamata: Cordylidae), we hypothesized that, under future climatic projections, darker populations will decrease their activity time more than brighter ones due to their greater potential for overheating.

To test this, we mechanistically modelled the body temperatures of 56 individuals from five differently coloured populations under present and future climate conditions. We first measured morphological traits and integumentary reflectance from live animals, and then collected physiological data from the literature. We used a biophysical model to compute activity time of individual lizards as proxy for their viability, and thereby predict how different populations will cope with future climate conditions.

Contrary to our expectations, we found that all populations will increase activity time and, specifically, that darker populations will become relatively more active than bright ones. This suggests that darker populations of K. polyzonus may benefit from global warming.

Our study emphasizes the importance of accounting for variation between populations when studying responses to climate change, as we must consider these variations to develop efficient and specific conservation strategies.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Comparison of hypocentre locations from the reprocessing of a downhole microseismic dataset
Authors: Akram Jubran , Yang Yan , Peter Daniel B.
Published: December 2021

Focusing on a single vertical‐well microseismic monitoring dataset, the aim here is to objectively look at the hypocentre location determination workflow and compare results from another independent processing effort of the same dataset. To that end, we use the Akaike information criterion–based picker followed by the cross‐correlation‐based refinement for P‐ and S‐wave arrival times. We apply a particle swarm optimization algorithm to calibrate a one‐dimensional velocity model using a single ball‐drop event. Due to the absence of any a priori information, we obtain three different local solutions for the velocity model using the particle swarm optimization algorithm with different upper and lower bounds on the search space. We also use the particle swarm optimization algorithm to determine hypocentre locations for microseismic events. In addition, we perform a waveform‐similarity‐based analysis to identify clusters of closely located microseismic events. Our results show that the hypocentre locations from all three local solutions exhibit similar fracture orientations and dimensions, as compared to the results from another independent processing effort. However, random differences with mean and standard deviation values in x, y, z as (53.9, −23.2, −6.2 m) and (35.5, 42.6, 17.6 m) exist between the two processing versions. These differences can be explained by the combined effect of errors in arrival times, back‐azimuths and velocity models, and the use of different algorithms in the two processing efforts. We also find that the comparison of event clusters other than full event distributions is an effective way of identifying any systematic differences between the two processing results.
Southern hemisphere plants show more delays than advances in flowering phenology
Authors: Everingham Susan E. , Blick Raymond A. J. , Sabot Manon E. B. , Slavich Eve , Moles Angela T.
Published: December 2021

Shifts in flowering phenology have been studied in detail in the northern hemisphere and are a key plant response to climate change. However, there are relatively fewer data on species' phenological shifts in the southern hemisphere.

We combined historic field data, data from herbarium specimens dating back to 1842 and modern field data for 37 Australian species to determine whether species were flowering earlier in the year than they had in the past. We also combined our results with data compiled in the southern and northern hemispheres, respectively, to determine whether southern hemisphere species are showing fewer advances in flowering phenology through time.

Across our study species, we found that 12 species had undergone significant shifts in flowering time, with four species advancing their flowering and eight species delaying their flowering. The remaining 25 species showed no significant shifts in their flowering phenology. These findings are important because delays or lack of shifts in flowering phenology can lead to mismatches in trophic interactions between plants and pollinators or seed dispersers, which can have substantial impacts on ecosystem functioning and primary productivity. Combining our field results with data compiled from the literature showed that only 58.5% of southern hemisphere species were advancing their flowering time, compared with 81.6% of species that were advancing their flowering time in the northern hemisphere. Our study provides further evidence that it is not adequate for ecologists to assume that southern hemisphere ecosystems will respond to future climate change in the same way as ecosystems north of the Equator.

Synthesis. Field data and data from the literature indicate that southern hemisphere species are showing fewer advances in their flowering phenology through time, especially in comparison to northern hemisphere species.
Clinical reasoning underlying acute care occupational therapists' assessment of rehabilitation potential after stroke or brain injury: A constructivist grounded theory study
Authors: Lam Wai Shun Priscilla , Swaine Bonnie , Bottari Carolina
Published: December 2021

Introduction

In acute care hospitals, clinicians are expected to rapidly provide recommendations regarding patients' rehabilitation potential and candidacy for postacute rehabilitation. Some studies have investigated factors influencing referral to rehabilitation, but few have examined clinical reasoning underlying referral decisions. This study aimed to investigate what occupational therapists were thinking about (factors influencing reasoning), how they reasoned (thought processes) when evaluating stroke or traumatic brain injury patients' rehabilitation potential, and how they decided on referral to postacute rehabilitation.

Methods

Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, the clinical reasoning of 10 acute care occupational therapists working in a large Canadian city was examined. Participant recruitment, data collection, and analysis were performed simultaneously following theoretical sampling procedures. Therapists' thoughts on patients' rehabilitation potential were collected twice (during chart consultation and initial patient assessment) using think‐aloud protocols and semi‐structured interviews. Constant comparison, memoing, and diagramming methods were employed during coding to help categorisation and conceptualisation.

Findings

Numerous patient, clinician, and organisation‐related factors were found to influence clinical reasoning. Occupational therapists interpreted these factors in an attempt to (1) predict recovery, (2) estimate rehabilitation potential, and (3) determine rehabilitation candidacy. They used two types of thought processes: (1) building a representation of patients' rehabilitation potential (involving eight steps including gathering and interpreting factors); (2) activating bottom‐up and top‐down scripts (comparing the expected impact of impairments on activity performance to behaviours observed during activity performance). Furthermore, an algorithm was developed describing how occupational therapists decide on referral to postacute rehabilitation.

Conclusion

Findings can be used to teach students and novice occupational therapists how to identify and interpret key factors in the assessment of stroke or traumatic brain injury patients' rehabilitation potential. Results also provide insight on cognitive processes that can be taught for efficient assessment of rehabilitation potential and decision‐making regarding referral to postacute rehabilitation.
Government Response Measures and Public Trust during the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Evidence from Around the World
Authors: Liu Jia , Shahab Yasir , Hoque Hafiz
Published: December 2021

This study examines public trust in government and public belief in its truthfulness in respect of the measures it is taking to combat COVID‐19. Analysing global data from the International Coronavirus Survey of 178 countries between 20 March and 8 April 2020, we establish that integrated government response policies, underpinned by containment health measures and economic reliefs, are crucial to winning public trust and support. We find that a one standard deviation increase in composite government response measures leads to a 0.353% increase in public trust in government and a 0.414% increase in public belief in its truthfulness. The impacts vary according to legal systems, whose political ethos determines the quality of welfare services and their ability to respond to citizens’ needs during a public health emergency. Further, public trust in government measures differs in relation to how a country's system of governance and institutional culture respond to meet public expectations, with citizens’ attitudes influenced by the fairness, effectiveness and accountability of government agencies. Most importantly, our evidence consistently demonstrates that the provision of impartial, transparent and truthful government communications is vital for maintaining public trust. Moreover, experience gained from previous pandemics, reinforcing a nation's preparedness and responsiveness to future public health crises, is crucial to ensuring citizens’ confidence in government competence. Overall, our original investigation reveals a contention between the exigencies of government policies and public expectations in a global health emergency, and has profound implications for public management and business and economic regeneration in the aftermath of the pandemic, laying the foundations for future research.
PLANNERS’ ALCHEMY ACHIEVED? HOW NIMBY AND YIMBY REPRODUCE THE HOUSING QUESTION
Authors: Teresa Benjamin F.
Published: December 2021

A laissez‐faire Yes‐In‐My‐Back‐Yard (YIMBY)‐ism is not a solution to Not‐In‐My‐Back‐Yard (NIMBY)‐ism; rather it represents the other side of the coin of capitalist development. YIMBYism reproduces the ‘Housing Question’ as Engels posed it, by shifting housing problems across time and space, and in their form. Until YIMBYism contains a critique of capitalist uneven development, it will not fundamentally address the causes of housing problems.
YIMBYISM THEN AND NOW
Authors: Lake Robert W.
Published: December 2021

The upsurge in anti‐regulatory rhetoric known as YIMBYism has deep historical roots in laissez‐faire liberalism. Contemporary YIMBYism lacks empirical validation; embraces a categorical fallacy; embodies moral failure; exemplifies the arrogance of policy expertise; reveals the maturation of neoliberalism; and provides an object lesson in the dominance of power politics in the production of truth in the contemporary moment.
AIMING FOR THE ‘GREEN’: (Post)Colonial and Aesthetic Politics in the Design of a Purified Gated Environment
Authors: Waldman Devra
Published: December 2021

This article investigates the politics of the design of a golf‐focused gated community in Gurgaon, India. It considers the aesthetic uses of golf and architecture that go into the production of a purified urban environment to explore the relationship between urban development, environmental aesthetics and spatial purification in contemporary India. I demonstrate how an architectural focus on golf reproduces the ‘distribution of the sensible’ by attempting to delimit the field of view: who and what is seen, and what an individual can or cannot see. I show how golf is political—deeply connected to and inseparable from legacies of colonial environmental and spatial purification and exclusion, as well as contemporary aesthetic‐political regimes that justify spatial segregation, cleansing, and the protection of beautiful environments away from the urban poor. The aesthetic emphasis on a beautified, green and empty environment that characterizes the production of golf highlights the aesthetic terms on which environmental selves are imagined and how environmental images are constructed. This is an aesthetic premised on the creation of shared viewership combined with the power to be(long) in a place where one can be with others but not mixed up with them.
Analysis of dietary exposure and risk assessment of pesticide residues in roots and rhizomes of Chinese herbs
Authors: Xie Hanyi , Li Huijuan , Zhao Yanfang , Liu Lanqi , Chen Xiangfeng
Published: December 2021

Medicine food homologous (MFH) plants provide therapeutic and health care effects through diet. Thus, a risk assessment system for hazardous ingredient residues is urgently required to ensure their safe use. In this study, the pesticide contamination of six root and rhizome Chinese herbs, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Panacis Quinquefolii Radix, Pseudostellariae Radix, Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Codonopsis Radix, and Glehniae Radix, and the risks associated with their intake were investigated. A total of 420 MFH plant samples collected from 22 provinces in China were tested, and 61 pesticides were detected in 413 samples. Multiple pesticide residues were detected in each MFH sample, with contents ranging from 0.0002 to 3.010 mg/kg dry weight. Carbendazim (≥47.14%) and propham (≥40%) were the most frequently detected pesticides. Risk assessment determined by hazard quotients indicated that the risks were acceptable, with no short‐ or long‐term adverse health effects. However, considering the high incidence of residues and the detection of unregistered or even prohibited pesticides, strict supervision of soil quality and pesticide application (particularly cadusafos) in MFH plant cultivation are recommended to aid in monitoring MFH plant quality and ensuring diet and drug safety.

Practical Application

Ensure the diet and drug safety of Chinese herbs.
Dosimetric comparison of high‐dose rate cervix brachytherapy with and without interstitial needles and the impact on target volume coverage, and organ at risk constraints
Authors: Mohammed Khadiga E , Nagar Tanisha , Pearson Shelley M , Donaldson Jethro , Johnson Carol
Published: December 2021

Introduction

The aim of this audit was to compare the data from the Wellington Blood and Cancer Centre (WBCC) with international reported experience by quantifying the dosimetric impact of interstitial needles on target coverage and organ at risk (OAR) doses.

Methods

All patients identified as having had interstitial needles as part of their treatment out of a cohort of 120 radically treated cervical cancer patients between 2013 and 2019 were included. Each patient acted as their own control with two treatment plans optimised for each fraction; the clinically treated plan and a re‐optimisation without the use of interstitial needles. Plan optimisation was completed according to the departmental protocol and cumulative equivalent doses for 2 Gy fractions (EQD2) were calculated.

Results

Eighteen patients were suitable for evaluation. A total of 52 insertions with interstitial needles were performed, of the 148 needles inserted, 119 (80.4%) were loaded. HRCTV D90% coverage mean was EQD2 5.4 Gy (0.5–10.6 Gy) higher for the course containing loaded interstitial needles, while no significant change was observed with regards to OAR doses. This improved coverage is in line with international standards which report 4.4–9.0 Gy.

Conclusion

WBCC’s early experience of interstitial cervix brachytherapy has shown our target coverage improvements meet previously published international standards and confirms the value of this technique. This audit supports ongoing use of interstitial needles at the WBCC.
New lessons on TDP‐43 from old N. furzeri killifish
Authors: Louka Alexandra , Bagnoli Sara , Rupert Jakob , Esapa Benjamina , Tartaglia Gian Gaetano , Cellerino Alessandro , Pastore Annalisa , Terzibasi Tozzini Eva
Published: December 2021

Frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are fatal and incurable neurodegenerative diseases linked to the pathological aggregation of the TDP‐43 protein. This is an essential DNA/RNA‐binding protein involved in transcription regulation, pre‐RNA processing, and RNA transport. Having suitable animal models to study the mechanisms of TDP‐43 aggregation is crucial to develop treatments against disease. We have previously demonstrated that the killifish Nothobranchius furzeri offers the advantage of being the shortest‐lived vertebrate with a clear aging phenotype. Here, we show that the two N. furzeri paralogs of TDP‐43 share high sequence homology with the human protein and recapitulate its cellular and biophysical behavior. During aging, N. furzeri TDP‐43 spontaneously forms insoluble intracellular aggregates with amyloid characteristics and colocalizes with stress granules. Our results propose this organism as a valuable new model of TDP‐43‐related pathologies making it a powerful tool for the study of disease mechanism.
Malignant tumours mimicking periapical lesions: A report of three cases and literature review
Authors: Evangelista Karine , de Faria Vasconcelos Karla , Teodoro Ana Beatriz , Cavalcanti Marcelo Gusmão Paraíso , de Mendonça Elismauro Francisco , Watanabe Satiro , Silva Maria Alves Garcia
Published: December 2021

Apical periodontitis shows radiographic signs such as widening of the periodontal ligament and periapical radiolucency, which differ in extent depending on the stage of the lesion. However, other lesions can be associated with or coincidental to the apical region, representing developmental lesions and benign or malignant tumours. This article describes three cases of malignant tumours, a central mucoepidermoid carcinoma (CMEC), a chondroblast osteosarcoma and an osteosarcoma of the jaw (OSJ) that presented as periapical lesions. Endodontists must be aware of unsuccessful treatment, persistent pain, signs of paraesthesia, a rapid growth rate and delayed response to therapy associated with atypical features. Complementary examinations, such as biopsy and computed tomography, can allow the early diagnosis of malignant tumours, leading to a better prognosis and thus increased survival rates and improvement in quality of life.
The Timing of Public Policies: Political Budget Cycles and Credit Claiming
Authors: Bueno Natália S.
Published: December 2021

Why do politicians cluster the distribution of benefits in the run‐up to elections? I suggest that credit claiming is an explanation for political budget cycles. Brazilian rules banning credit claiming before elections while allowing the distribution of benefits until Election Day provides an opportunity to differentiate between distribution and credit claiming combined with distribution as an engine that reinforces political budget cycles. Evidence from housing and conditional‐cash‐transfer programs demonstrates that officials expand these programs before the credit‐claiming ban and halt expansion after the ban yet prior to Election Day. Drawing on social media and qualitative data, I show that politicians use credit claiming to convey information about their competence and attribution. Distribution without attribution reduces the likelihood of political budget cycles compared to distribution with attribution, which together reinforces pre‐election expansion of policy benefits. I rule out rival explanations of clientelism and party favoritism.
Beneficent dehumanization: Employing artificial intelligence and carebots to mitigate shame‐induced barriers to medical care
Authors: Palmer Amitabha , Schwan David
Published: December 2021

As costs decline and technology inevitably improves, current trends suggest that artificial intelligence (AI) and a variety of “carebots” will increasingly be adopted in medical care. Medical ethicists have long expressed concerns that such technologies remove the human element from medicine, resulting in dehumanization and depersonalized care. However, we argue that where shame presents a barrier to medical care, it is sometimes ethically permissible and even desirable to deploy AI/carebots because (i) dehumanization in medicine is not always morally wrong, and (ii) dehumanization can sometimes better promote and protect important medical values. Shame is often a consequence of the human‐to‐human element of medical care and can prevent patients from seeking treatment and from disclosing important information to their healthcare provider. Conditions and treatments that are shame‐inducing offer opportunities for introducing AI/carebots in a manner that removes the human element of medicine but does so ethically. We outline numerous examples of shame‐inducing interactions and how they are overcome by implementing existing and expected developments of AI/carebot technology that remove the human element from care.
The ethical‐legal requirements for adolescent self‐consent to research in sub‐Saharan Africa: A scoping review
Authors: Nkosi Busisiwe , Zanoni Brian , Seeley Janet , Strode Ann
Published: December 2021

Support for the enrolment of adolescents in research has been constrained by uncertainties in parental involvement, and the lack of clarity in the ethical and legal frameworks. We conducted a scoping review to examine articles that explored the opinion of scholars on the question of adolescent consent and conditions for parental waivers in research in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) tool, we searched electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASSE, EBSCOHOST) and also reviewed the references of articles identified for additional relevant literature. We included full text English articles focusing on adolescent consent and parental waivers in SSA that were published between 2004 and 2020. We excluded studies focusing on healthcare, theses, and reviews. We reviewed a total of 21 publications from South Africa (n = 12), Kenya (n = 4) and Botswana, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe (n = 1 each). We identified four broad thematic issues: the current position regarding parental waivers and self‐consent; parental involvement in the consent process; the role of community approval or consent when adolescent self‐consent approaches were used; and complexities and ambiguities in legal requirements and ethical guidelines on adolescent consent. Our findings show inconsistencies and ambiguities in the existing legal and ethical frameworks within and across different countries, and underscore the need for consistent and clearer guidance on parental waivers and adolescent self‐consent. Harmonization of the legal and ethical frameworks taking into account varying contexts is critically important to ensure research on adolescents in SSA meets adolescents' specific unmet needs.
On older person/place transformations: Towards a more‐than‐representational geography of aging in rural Canada
Authors: Hanlon Neil , Skinner Mark W.
Published: December 2021

The spatial variability of population aging in rural areas of Canada, and the demographic processes that underlie these areal patterns, are reasonably well understood. Research to date emphasizes processes of population redistribution (e.g., net out‐migration), regional economic change (e.g., resource‐based economic restructuring), and chronologically‐centred models of bodily decline as the major features of population aging in rural contexts. This literature has informed a wide range of gerontological research and policy, but there is much more to be said about becoming older in rural Canada. In this paper, we present the outline of a post‐representational approach to rural aging. We consider the influence of relational and non‐representational forces acting on the experience of aging in rural Canada. We then draw on reflections of earlier work in a particular geographic setting as a means to tease out “more‐than‐representational” considerations for discussion. We also echo recent calls to address a “blind spot” in geographic scholarship that overlooks the considerable extent to which older persons re‐shape their community environments. We conclude with an invitation for a greater engagement with older person/place transformations, including closer attention to the processes and performances of “aging‐through‐place” in other Canadian settings.
Practical management of suspected hypersensitivity reactions to anti‐tuberculosis drugs
Authors: Bermingham William Hywel , Bhogal Rashmeet , Arudi Nagarajan Sowmya , Mutlu Leman , El‐Shabrawy Reham Mohamed , Madhan Ramesh , Krishnaswamy Uma Maheswari , Murali Mandakolathur Ramaswamy , Kudagammana Sanath Thushara , Shrestha Rajeev , Sumantri Stevent , Christopher Devasahayam Jesudas , Mahesh Padukudru Anand , Dedicoat Martin , Krishna Mamidipudi Thirumala
Published: December 2021

Tuberculosis (TB) is the commonest cause of death by a single infectious agent globally and ranks amongst the top ten causes of global mortality. The incidence of TB is highest in Low‐Middle Income countries (LMICs). Prompt institution of, and compliance with, therapy are cornerstones for a favourable outcome in TB and to mitigate the risk of multiple drug resistant (MDR)‐TB, which is challenging to treat. There is some evidence that adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) to anti‐TB drugs occur in over 60% and 3%–4% of patients respectively. Both ADRs and HSRs represent significant barriers to treatment adherence and are recognised risk factors for MDR‐TB. HSRs to anti‐TB drugs are usually cutaneous and benign, occur within few weeks after commencement of therapy and are likely to be T‐cell mediated. Severe and systemic T‐cell mediated HSRs and IgE mediated anaphylaxis to anti‐TB drugs are relatively rare, but important to recognise and treat promptly. T‐cell‐mediated HSRs are more frequent amongst patients with co‐existing HIV infection. Some patients develop multiple sensitisation to anti‐TB drugs. Whilst skin tests, patch tests and in vitro diagnostics have been used in the investigation of HSRs to anti‐TB drugs, their predictive value is not established, they are onerous, require specialist input of an allergist and are resource‐dependent. This is compounded by the global, unmet demand for allergy specialists, particularly in low‐income countries (LICs)/LMICs and now the challenging circumstances of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) pandemic. This narrative review provides a critical analysis of the limited published evidence on this topic and proposes a cautious and pragmatic approach to optimise and standardise the management of HSRs to anti‐TB drugs. This includes clinical risk stratification and a dual strategy involving sequential re‐challenge and rapid drug desensitisation. Furthermore, a concerted international effort is needed to generate real‐time data on ADRs, HSRs, safety and clinical outcomes of these interventions.
Practical implementation of cumulative‐effects management of marine ecosystems in western North America
Authors: Hollarsmith Jordan A. , Therriault Thomas W. , Côté Isabelle M.
Published: December 2021

Globally, ecosystem structure and function have been degraded by the cumulative effects (CE) of multiple stressors. To maintain ecosystem resilience, there is an urgent need to better account for CE in management decision‐making at various scales. Current laws and regulations are supported by a multitude of frameworks and strategies that vary in application and terminology use across management agencies and geopolitical boundaries. We synthesized management frameworks that accounted for CE in marine ecosystems at the regional and national levels across western North America (Canada, United States, Mexico) to identify similarities and shared challenges to successful implementation. We examined examples of solutions to the identified challenges (e.g., interagency and cross‐border partnerships to overcome challenges of managing for ecologically relevant spatial scales). Management frameworks in general consisted of 3 phases: scoping and structuring the system; characterizing relationships; and evaluating management options. Challenges in the robust implementation of these phases included lack of interagency coordination, minimal incorporation of diverse perspectives, and data deficiencies. Cases that provided solutions to these challenges encouraged coordination at ecological rather than jurisdictional scales, enhanced involvement of stakeholders and Indigenous groups, and used nontraditional data sources for decision‐making. Broader implementation of these approaches, combined with increased interagency and international coordination and collaboration, should facilitate the rapid advancement of more effective CE assessment and ecosystem management in North America and elsewhere.
Revisiting the evidentiary basis for ecological cascades with conservation impacts
Authors: Mumby Peter J. , Chaloupka Milani , Bozec Yves‐Marie , Steneck Robert S. , Montero‐Serra Ignasi
Published: December 2021

Complex ecological interactions are widely utilized to deliver conservation benefits but their efficacy is often debated. Using a coral reef trophic cascade as an example, we reveal that outcomes can be surprisingly difficult to detect. Even important impacts of marine reserves can go undetected (20% more coral with power < 0.5). This evidentiary challenge is compounded by misinterpretation of “nonsignificant” results as evidence of failed conservation practice. We illustrate a more appropriate analytical approach using a Bayesian Region of Practical Equivalence (ROPE) whereby many tests of conservation practice would be interpreted correctly as “undecided” rather than “negative.” Practitioners working with ecological cascades will increasingly be faced with “undecided” evidence of conservation benefits. Since one solution is to consider a wider diversity of evidence, we provide a hierarchy of evidentiary quality. In this way, even reductionist evidence of the component ecological interactions can be utilized, which is far easier to collect and evaluate.
Culture influences the development of children's gender‐related peer preferences: Evidence from China and Thailand
Authors: Wang Yang , Qian Miao , Nabbijohn A. Natisha , Wen Fangfang , Fu Genyue , Zuo Bin , VanderLaan Doug P.
Published: December 2021

Current understanding of how culture relates to the development of children's gender‐related peer preferences is limited. To investigate the role of societal acceptance of gender nonconformity, this study compared children from China and Thailand. Unlike China and other cultures where the conceptualization of gender as binary is broadly accepted, individuals who identify as a nonbinary “third” sex/gender have been highly visible and tolerated in Thai society for at least several decades. Chinese and Thai 4‐ to 9‐year‐olds (N = 458) viewed vignettes of four hypothetical peers who varied on gender (i.e., boy vs. girl) and gender‐typed toy play behavior (i.e., masculine vs. feminine), and were asked to give a friendship preference rating for each peer. Chinese, compared with Thai, children evidenced gender‐related peer preferences that emerged earlier, remained more stable across age groups, and were relatively more biased against gender‐nonconforming behavior. The only cultural similarity was in children's preference for peers who were of the same gender and/or displayed same‐gender‐typed behavior. Thus, while preference for peers who are of the same gender and/or display same‐gender‐typed behavior is common among children across cultures, the developmental onset and course of these preferences vary by culture. Moreover, societal acceptance of gender nonconformity might be key to limiting children's bias against gender‐nonconforming peers.