bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Precarious ground
Authors: Novak Anja
Published: November 2023

The construction of Flevoland is the largest land reclamation project in the Netherlands to date. Its completion around 1970 coincided with the emergence of a new postmodern art form, Land art. In Flevoland, the abundance of empty space and the desire to promote and give meaning to the new land gave rise to a remarkable collection of site-specific Land art pieces, created by internationally renowned artists on behalf of local governments. This essay unravels the stories these Land art pieces tell about the polders in which they are located. The artworks refer to the history of the man-made landscape and draw our attention to its qualities. But they also express the ambivalent feelings that polder landscapes evoke. In addition to an optimistic pioneering spirit and admiration for the skills of the Dutch hydraulic engineers, the works are also about human conceit and the sheer power of nature. They remind us that we are on precarious ground.
Welfare in Crisis: Labor and Social Protection in the Global South
Authors: Lin Jake , Arnold Dennis , Nguyen Minh T.N.
Published: November 2023

Welfare expansion in the global South is partly in response to the social crises caused by neoliberal restructuring since the 1980s, with the 2008 global financial crisis escalating them, and the covid-19 pandemic further exposing the impact on the most precarious working populations. What are the new dynamics of labor struggles against these structural, industrial, and health crises under the expansion of social protection or the lack thereof? How do the state and non-state actors manage recurring and new capitalist crises by reconfiguring labor and social policies? The contributions in this special issue address these questions by engaging with workers’ lived experiences across the global South and post-communist states. They show that current labor and social policies fail the test under various crises. We argue that the neoliberalization of labor and welfare reconfigurations and the recurring crises of global capitalism have reproduced each other in these global South countries.
Time, Co-Creation and Collaborative Research: Moving from a Sympathetic Commonality towards Empathetic Distance
Authors: Schneider Luisa T.
Published: November 2023

Prioritizing empathetic distance over sympathetic commonalities enables inclusive and collaborative research that attends to relationships in all their forms, even those based on negative emotions or opposition. Exploring how emotions and positionalities influence rapport allows anthropologists to explore “what is” rather than solely seeking “what if” or “what ought to be.” A multi-temporal understanding of research time as commitment and relation emphasizes the importance of rapport, positionality, and depth. This raises the question of how to balance researchers’ desire to control research endeavors with institutional demands to reduce time spent on research and its follow-up, and the need to conduct fieldwork in ways that align with the values of our collaborators. How much control are we willing to relinquish to empower the people with whom we do research, and what outcomes can we expect? By sharing the benefits, risks, and challenges of relinquishing control, I examine the tension between academic epistemology and lived experience, trust and security, engaged and vulnerable ethnography, and research bureaucracy.
Ethical Recursivity: Reconciling Ethics and Action in a Publicly Engaged Anthropology
Authors: Wolf Anna-Lena
Published: November 2023

While anthropologists have been cautious to avoid essentialism, the notion “informant” in anthropology’s promotion of scholar-informant solidarity has been surprisingly undifferentiated. Based on my experience of interlocutors’ heterogeneity during my fieldwork on Assam tea plantations, I illustrate the ambiguity, porosity and mutability of the category of the “informant.” I argue that the general imperative to support informants occludes that there are multiple interlocutors with different, at times conflicting, claims. Therefore, a (conscious or unconscious) decision about whom among the multiple interlocutors to support in the field of study seems inevitable. Inspired by the epistemological concept of recursivity, drawn from the recent framework of a recursive anthropology, I suggest ethical recursivity as one possible answer to the question on what ethical grounds anthropologists could base their decision about whom among the multiple (marginalized) interlocutors they show solidarity to, in order to reconcile ethical premises and actions within a publicly engaged anthropology.
Implementation Research in Mathematics Education: A Systematic Mapping Review
Authors: Ahl Linda Marie , Helenius Ola , Aguilar Mario Sánchez , Jankvist Uffe Thomas , Misfeldt Morten , Prytz Johan
Published: November 2023

We present the results of a systematic literature review of research articles that self-identify as describing the implementation of innovations from mathematics education research in educational practice. We classified 103 articles according to study type, the type of teaching/learning phenomenon the implementation targeted, and whether the innovation carrier was a curriculum reform, professional development, or a curriculum resource. We found that interest in implementation research increased from a modest number of published studies prior to 2003 to a peak in 2021. Other results highlight that projects that targeted teaching in line with the U.S. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics process standards were dominant when curricular reform acted as a carrier. Planning and design aspects of such projects were rarely reported, and projects were rarely discussed theoretically. Instead, such projects were commonly researched by studying teachers’ reform enactment. We discuss the consequences of this imbalance.

The impact sheet to this article can be accessed at 10.6084/m9.figshare.24219124
Methods and Standards of Teaching in a Scottish University
Authors: Chilton James , Bett Bryan
Published: November 2023

A Senate working-party of the University of Strathclyde was charged with the task of reviewing teaching methods and standards within and outwith the university. Staff and student surveys were conducted and the results compared with those of the Report of the Hale Committee on University Teaching Methods. The working-party's report on its enquiries was transmitted by Senate to the Boards of Studies of Schools who, in turn, asked departments to consider its implications. Many departments within the university have reported modifications in their teaching following the report of the working-party.
A Democratic Education
Authors: Kleinberg S. S.
Published: November 2023

The paper is concerned with the applicability of the concept of democracy to education. More specifically I am concerned with the role of democracy in education, as distinct from questions about the kind of education appropriate in a democratic society.

My discussion is based on a conventional distinction between two kinds of democracy, democracy as a form of government, and democracy as an attitude to life.

My main concern is the former. I take A. S. Neill as an example of someone who professes a belief in this kind of democracy in an educational context. I seek to show that the kind of educational government which might seem implicit in a commitment to ‘educational democracy’ does not take place at Summerhill and that in any case Neill's writings show him to be opposed to this kind of government. Democratic government in education, I suggest, is in fact sufficiently radical as to be incompatible with compulsory schooling.

The second kind of democracy is briefly discussed and it is maintained that this notion can be fully understood only when the basic questions of educational debate have been answered, and thus that it is a mistake to believe that any appeal to it can help answer these questions.
Streaming in a Communist Country: The Case of Czechoslovakia
Authors: Skinner Donald
Published: November 2023

Eastern Europe, understandably rather neglected in the 1950s, is now a worthy (indeed crucial) subject for comparative research–especially concerning differentiation since Czech developments have led Russian ones and since the Czech trend seems contrary to that in Britain. The almost total rejection of ‘streaming’ in the 1950s caused several problems and led to differentiation ‘experiments’ in 1964–initially rather crude, now quite sophisticated. The original academic/practical division proved unsatisfactory (on educational and social grounds) but a system of options and electives produced very favourable results. These experiments do not imply a rejection of comprehensive education. The Czech dilemma in trying to provide for the full development of talent within a comprehensive framework raises some general issues about ‘streaming’ which are also relevant to Scotland.
The Effects of Student-Pupil Interaction
Authors: Mearns D. J. , Hobbs A. , Crozier Sheena
Published: November 2023

A group of students on a post-graduate teacher training course took part in a Reluctant Learner Project. On one afternoon a week for a term, each student took a small group of comprehensive school pupils from a low stream class out of school and engaged in mutually agreed activities.

A Semantic Differential test was administered before and after the Project to the College students taking part and to a control group of other students. No significant differences between the Project and Control groups existed on the Pre-Test.

Various differences emerged between the Pre- and Post-Tests, and between the Project and Control groups on the Post-Test. These included:

(1) The Project group showed a significant decrease in their evaluation of self and of the education system but a significant increase in their evaluation of low stream pupils.

(2) Both groups showed a significant decrease in their evaluation of the college course, but this was significantly less in the case of Project students.
Head Teachers’ Estimates and Student Performance
Authors: Wilson John D.
Published: November 2023

Headteachers’ estimates for 95 per cent of the arts and science students who entered Aberdeen University in 1967 were related to first year and degree examination performance. Estimates from the application form included a rating for hard work and level of degree, as well as a letter of recommendation. An additional rating was obtained on a short check list.

Heads see women as better prospects than men, but men with weak performance are more accurately predicted than women. Good students are more predictable than weak students. Neither letter of recommendation, nor specific ratings, discriminated very well (especially for arts women), but specific ratings were generally superior, the best being for hard work and perseverance. Heads from the university region gave more accurate reports for most students than heads from other parts of the country, but the latter's estimates were more accurate for science women.
The niche of think tanks in a consensus – seeking and neo-corporatist policy advisory system
Authors: Fraussen Bert , Pattyn Valérie
Published: November 2023

While think tanks are no longer solely a feature of Anglo-Saxon countries, they still appear less prevalent in consensus-oriented and neo-corporatist political regimes. To what extent do central characteristics of these countries shape the organizational characteristics and political activities of think tanks? We theoretically contribute to the existing literature on policy advice by drawing inspiration from niche theory, and empirically complement previous work by focusing on think tanks in Belgium, a country with a crowded and closed advisory landscape. Relying on a combination of data sources, our analysis highlights three central features of think tanks: (1) the long-term and anticipatory character of their policy advice, (2) the evidence-based nature of their policy work, and (3) their consensus-oriented mode of operating. The first two features echo what earlier studies in pluralist setting identified as key distinguishing characteristics. The third feature, their consensus-oriented mode of operating, represents a new element that turns out critical for understanding the niche of think tanks in Belgium. Its consensus-style tradition shows not only in how think tanks position themselves externally, but also in their internal organizational structure.

Points for practitioners

- Think tanks have potential to be key providers of policy advice, also in relatively closed systems with neo-corporatist traits. - In such settings, think tanks especially benefit from a consensual mode of operating, both internally and externally. - The long-term orientation of think tanks can set them apart from other providers of policy advice, such as interest groups and political party think tanks.
Evolving meanings of ‘principles’ in agronomic discourse
Authors: Sumberg James , Giller Ken E , Glover Dominic
Published: November 2023

The notion of principles, and the sense that they are different from but closely linked to practices, is deeply rooted in the agronomy literature. However, these terms are currently used by different authors to mean very different things. This paper explores these various uses and meanings. We argue that an understanding of the use of apparently innocuous, everyday words like principles and practices provides a valuable insight into on-going debates, contestation and politics about the future of agriculture and food. In the case of principles, it is important to understand the forms they take, by whom they are proclaimed and for what purpose(s). We find that while most alternative agricultures define themselves through a set of principles, these do not challenge or undermine the scientific principles that underpin mainstream agronomy. Further, we argue that to articulate and proclaim principles is to seek to exercise discursive power. Specifically, proclaiming principles or defining a favoured approach to agriculture by articulating a specific set of principles, is to exert authority, bolster legitimacy and claim a place in a crowded and contested marketplace.
Multiple faults diagnosis for ocean-going marine diesel engines based on different neural network algorithms
Authors: Zhu Guoqing , Huang Lin , Yin Jiapeng , Gai Wen , Wei Lijiang
Published: November 2023

Fault diagnosis technologies for ocean-going marine diesel engines play an important role in the safety and reliability of ship navigation. Although many fault diagnosis technologies have achieved acceptable results for single fault of diesel engines, the diagnosis of multiple faults is rarely involved. Due to the strong correlation, non-linearity and randomness of multiple faults, it is extremely difficult to make an accurate diagnosis. In this study, diagnosis methods based on thermal parametric analysis combined with different neural network algorithms were established and used for the diagnosis of multiple faults in the ocean-going marine diesel engine. The results show that the Levenberg Marquardt back propagation neural network has the highest diagnostic accuracy rate of 88.89% and 100% for multiple faults and single faults, respectively, and its diagnostic time is also relatively short, 0.78 s. The Bayesian regularization back propagation neural network can give a diagnostic accuracy rate of 100% for single faults, but for multiple faults, the diagnostic accuracy rate is only 55.56%, and the diagnosis time for the entire sample is the longest. As for the probabilistic neural network, although it has the fastest diagnosis speed, it has the lowest diagnostic accuracy rate for both single faults and multiple faults. The results may provide references for the online diagnosis of single faults and multiple faults in ocean-going marine diesel engines.
Greening informality through metabolic coordination: An urban political ecology of governing extralegal housing forms in Taiwan
Authors: Chiu Chihsin
Published: November 2023

Despite its significance in informing inclusive political interventions in informal settlements in different political economic contexts, the urban informality literature falls short in exploring state intervention in or policy responses towards desire-based informal housing forms characterised by extralegal construction. This article uses Kaohsiung City in Taiwan as a case study to explore how the local government has collaborated with the private sector to govern the extralegal construction prevailing in community buildings. These interventions include the use of rooftop solar power systems aimed at remodelling existing buildings and green building design prototypes created to prevent future informalities. Using an urban political ecology lens, I analyse how the municipality appropriates the values and properties of solar power systems and green architecture to unite actors, relating extralegal construction to urban metabolism. I develop the concept of ‘metabolic coordination’ to show how the state coordinates actors, resources, technologies and capital to embed an internal circuit of funding flows governing extralegal construction in a larger external circuit of capital circulation consisting of growing solar photovoltaic and green housing markets. The adopted lens of urban political ecology interrogates three interrelated aspects of embedding informality in renewed urban space: municipal interventions remaking informalities, property-led greening of informalities and its negotiation, and inequality in accessing interventions. The city uses pragmatic and adaptive approaches to control extralegal construction. These approaches allow the city to leverage informality for growth and sustainability. However, the governing schemes create new forms of injustice and inequality.
Painted eggs in the Muslim and Christian traditions
Authors: Shkolna Olga V. , Sosik Olha D. , Hurenko Maryna O. , Diachenko Roksolana V. , Zaitseva Veronika I.
Published: November 2023

Eggs are a symbol of life, reproduction and restoration of nature for many nationalities. The oldest egg decoration ceremonies are known to have taken place among Zoroastrians, whose historical heartland lies in Azerbaijan, India and Iran. The ancient tradition of decorating eggs connects the culture of historical Persia to contemporary Europe. In many Eastern European countries, including Poland, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine, these practices persist up to the present where painted eggs serve as national symbols. While the patterns on the eggs and the style of painting may differ (Iran’s Nowruz holiday eggs are different from European Easter Eggs), there are similarities in the decorative techniques used by the Slavic peoples of Ukraine, Poland and Romania who have preserved the tradition of treating the egg as a sacred source and repository of nascent life which has a protective power.
Intracranial hemorrhage in a large cohort of patients supported with veno-venous ECMO. A retrospective single-center analysis
Authors: Wiest Clemens , Müller Thomas , Lubnow Matthias , Fisser Christoph , Philipp Alois , Foltan Maik , Schneckenpointner Roland , Malfertheiner Maximilian V
Published: November 2023

Background

Intracranial bleeding (ICB) is a serious complication during veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO), with potentially fatal consequences.

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the incidence, time of detection of ICB among patients treated with V-V ECMO and potential risk factors for developing ICB during V-V ECMO.

Methods

Five hundred fifty six patients were included in this retrospective single center analysis.

Results

Median time on V-V ECMO was 9 (IQR 6-15) days. Intracranial bleeding during V-V ECMO was detected in 10.9% of all patients (61 patients with ICB). Only 17 patients with ICB presented obvious clinical symptoms. Intracranial bleeding was detected on cerebral imaging in median after 5 days (IQR 1-14) after starting V-V ECMO. Overall survival to hospital discharge was 63.7% (ICB: 29.5%). Risk factors of ICB before starting V-V ECMO in univariable analysis were platelets <100/nl (OR: 3.82), creatinine >1.5mg/dl (OR: 1.98), norepinephrine >2.5mg/h (OR: 2.5), ASAT >80U/L (OR: 1.86), blood-urea >100mg/dl (OR: 1.81) and LDH >550u/L (OR: 2.07). Factors associated with cannulation were rapid decrease in paCO2 >35mmHg (OR: 2.56) and rapid decrease in norepinephrine >1mg/h (OR: 2.53). Multivariable analysis revealed low platelets, high paCO2 before ECMO, and rapid drop in paCO2 after V-V ECMO initiation as significant risk factors for ICB.

Conclusion

The results emphasize that ICB is a frequent complication during V-V ECMO. Many bleedings were incidental findings, therefore screening for ICB is advisable. The univariate risk factors reflect the underlying disease severity, coagulation disorders and peri-cannulation factors, and may help to identify patients at risk.
Testing Nonmonotonicity in Health Preferences
Authors: Abellan-Perpiñan Jose-Maria , Martinez-Perez Jorge-Eduardo , Pinto-Prades Jose-Luis , Sanchez-Martinez Fernando-Ignacio
Published: November 2023

Objective

The main aim of this article is to test monotonicity in life duration. Previous findings suggest that, for poor health states, longer durations are preferred to shorter durations up to some threshold or maximum endurable time (MET), and shorter durations are preferred to longer ones after that threshold.

Methods

Monotonicity in duration is tested through 2 ordinal tasks: choices and rankings. A convenience sample ( n = 90) was recruited in a series of experimental sessions in which participants had to rank-order health episodes and to choose between them, presented in pairs. Health episodes result from the combination of 7 EQ-5D-3L health states and 5 durations. Monotonicity is tested comparing the percentage rate of participants whose preferences were monotonic with the percentage of participants with nonmonotonic preferences for each health state. In addition, to test the existence of preference reversals, we analyze the fraction of people who switch their preference from rankings to choices.

Results

Monotonicity is frequently violated across the 7 EQ-5D health states. Preference patterns for individuals describe violations ranging from almost 49% with choices to about 71% with rankings. Analysis performed by separate states shows that the mean rates of violations with choices and ranking are about 22% and 34%, respectively. We also find new evidence of preference reversals and some evidence—though scarce—of transitivity violations in choices.

Conclusions

Our results show that there is a medium range of health states for which preferences are nonmonotonic. These findings support previous evidence on MET preferences and introduce a new “choice-ranking” preference reversal. It seems that the use of 2 tasks with a similar response scale may make preference reversals less substantial, although it remains important and systematic.

Highlights

Two procedures based on ordinal comparisons are used to elicit preferences: direct choices and rankings. Our study reports significant rates of nonmonotonic preferences (or maximum endurable time [MET]–type preferences) for different combinations of durations and EQ-5D health states. Analysis for separate health states shows that the mean rates of nonmonotonicity range from 22% (choices) to 34% (rankings), but within-subject analysis shows that nonmonotonicity is even higher, ranging from 49% (choices) to 71% (rankings). These violations challenge the validity of multiplicative QALY models. We find that the MET phenomenon may affect particularly those EQ-5D health states that are in the middle of the severity scale and not so much the extreme health states (i.e., very mild and very severe states). We find new evidence of preference reversals even using 2 procedures of a similar (ordinal) nature. Percentage rates of preference reversals range from 1.5% to 33%. We also find some (although scarce) evidence on violations of transitivity.
Facts matter: The analytic group between witnessing and horizontality
Authors: Berger Miriam
Published: November 2023

In this paper I argue that witnessing and horizontality are both essential factors in the process of healing the injuries induced by manmade violence. Bearing witness represents the acknowledgement that harm has been done, that it needs to be accounted for and healed. Horizontality directs our concerted look into what transpires between people in the lived present. I suggest that the convergence between witnessing and horizontality renders a view into the multi-dimensional reciprocal interactions which human interdependence is made of. This view into the lived interactive process that unfolds between members of the analytic group, can unravel the relational consequences of traumatic experiences. It enables them to become active participants in each other’s healing and hence crucial in recovering their faith in a social reality of mutual concern. I shall situate these reflections in my experiences personally and professionally.
Effect of mold temperature on properties of hybrid biocomposites from semicrystalline polymers and agro-industrial by-products
Authors: Hidalgo-Salazar Miguel A. , Correa-Aguirre Juan P. , García-Navarro Serafín , Roca-Blay Luis
Published: November 2023

The surface temperature of the mold is a critical processing parameter that significantly influences the quality of composites during injection molding. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of mold surface temperature on the properties of hybrid biocomposite materials prepared by incorporating polypropylene-PP with agro-industrial by-products such as rice husks-RH and fique powder-FP using co-rotating twin-screw extrusion and injection molding. While this article focuses on PP as the polymeric matrix, the methodology employed in this study can also be applied to investigate the effect of mold surface temperature on the properties of other polymers used in the production of hybrid composites via injection molding as biobased or biodegradable plastics. The mechanical characterization reveals that the utilization of higher mold temperatures and the hybridization of RH and FP result in an increase in the elastic modulus of up to 30% compared to PP. Also, thermal, viscoelastic, morphological, and HDT characterization revealed that higher surface mold temperature led to changes in PP crystallinity, and a better hybrid biocomposites performance. This study highlights the potential of mold surface temperature controlling and agro-industrial by-products hybridization for the design and production of higher quality and sustainable products using injection molding.
A highly sensitive pressure sensor based on Ag-graphene-PDMS film and its applications
Authors: Sadiq Hammad , Hui Hu , Huang Song , Zeeshan Muhammad , Ullah Siraj , Mahmood Kashif
Published: November 2023

The fast progress in artificial intelligence has increased the need for wearable electronics. Herein, a piezoresistive pressure sensor consisting of three layers has been proposed. The soft sensing film has been fabricated by filling PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) with Ag-graphene by a simple mixing method, which possesses low cost and excellent sensing properties, including high sensitivity, high conductivity, and quick response to different pressures. Furthermore, the characterizations were performed by using a scanning electron microscope to study the microstructure and surface morphologies of the Ag-graphene-PDMS film to explore its internal working mechanism. Moreover, the single sensor and sensor array were tested for many applications. The results showed that the fabricated pressure sensor effectively identified various human movements and distinguished pressures with different values and positions. As a result, this sensor has a wide range of applications, including smart wearable technologies and soft robotics.
Partnership in care: Organic systems framework strategies for patients and care providers
Authors: Cady Phil
Published: November 2023

The organic systems framework is a conceptual social sciences theoretical framework developed by renowned author Barry Oshry. Oshry outlines how we are often blind to the context we are in and our reactions to those conditions, which leads to certain experiences. This article emanates from the author’s reflections on bringing organic systems insights to groups and organizations worldwide and how such strategies in relational systems may apply to patients and care providers working together in partnership. As patients and care providers engage in such partnerships, they enter distinctly different contexts, each with unique challenges and opportunities. Written from a first-person perspective, the author moves beyond seeing the patient as a client in the healthcare system and into the possibilities of how patients and providers can work together across contexts to create and sustain meaningful care-based partnerships.
Effects of FDM 3D printing parameters on PLA biomaterial components dimensional accuracy and surface quality
Authors: Baraheni Mohammad , Shabgard Mohammad Reza , Tabatabaee Ali Mahdavi
Published: November 2023

Since precise manufacturing is very important in different industries, the produced part surface quality and dimensional accuracy have been brought to attention in recent years. In this regard, in Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) as a prototyping method, controlling the process parameters in order to customize the produced part has been a value-added ability which should be considered. Optimizing the process parameters helps to enhance the mentioned products’ properties. In this paper, influential process parameters, including print speed (PS), infill percentage (IP), and nozzle temperature (NT) were selected to examine. That was concluded NT increase from 195°C to 240°C, IP increase from 10% to 50% and PS decrease from 150 to 50 mm/min enhance dimensional accuracy including inner and outer ovality up to 30%, 53%, and 50%, respectively. PS is the most significant parameter on inner and outer ovality by 43.92% and 66.60% contribution, respectively. The density of the FDM part was affected mostly by the IP by 92.94% contribution which leads to the printed part density increment up to 13%. Other parameters have small effect on the density value. According to desirability method, that was resulted NT of 240°C, IP of 50%, and PS of 54 mm/min are the optimum parameters. Besides, verification tests were carried out and a maximum error of 7.5% was reported, which shows optimization confidence. In the following, part geometry influence on the final part surface roughness and dimensional accuracy was examined. The experiments demonstrated that cube geometry has the least surface roughness of 20 µm and dimensional error of 0.17 mm due to the independent motion of the axes. Also cone geometry has the highest dimensional error of 0.32 mm and surface roughness of 51 µm which was due to simultaneous axes motion and lateral face lower than 90°.
Everyday Healthcare Regulation: British Newspapers and Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Authors: Ashworth Michael
Published: November 2023

This article interrogates the controversial field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), focussing in particular on the implication of the British press in its regulation. It grounds its analysis in a ‘decentred’ understanding of regulation; a socio-legal approach which moves beyond formal regulation and regulators, and instead foregrounds diverse social actors and their attempts to alter behaviour across a given domain. Focussing on The Times newspaper as a case-study, it identifies five regulatory techniques through which the newspaper drew (and redrew) lines separating the safe from the risky, the efficacious from the sham, and the normal from the deviant. By analytically decentring CAM's formal regulation, this article provides a conceptual contribution. It highlights an everyday form of healthcare regulation directed at prospective users which may be just as significant in potentially guiding users towards or away from particular healthcare practices/practitioners as the more traditional, formal kinds of regulation identified in regulatory literatures.
Possibilities and Challenges in Education for Sustainable Development: The Case of Higher Education
Authors: Uggla Ylva , Soneryd Linda
Published: November 2023

Sustainable development as a subject area and learning objective increasingly finds its way into the curriculum from pre-school to university level, and education and learning are emphasized as key drivers for sustainable development. At the same time, the sustainable development discourse has since its inception been met with critique, not least that it is a post-political discourse, which favours an instrumental view of knowledge and a simplified view of the relation between knowledge and action. In this article, we focus on the possibilities and challenges of teaching sustainable development in higher education. We argue that it is the formative role of higher education that is particularly important to explore in relation to the possibilities of education for sustainable development. In addition, we suggest that sociology can provide a good basis for both critical thinking and normative action, in ways that reaches beyond instrumental and narrow views of knowledge, human action and change.
Revitalizing an Island Community: Education for Sustainable Living in Nakanoshima, Oki Islands, Japan
Authors: Bedford Timothy
Published: November 2023

Japan is facing a problem of depopulation of rural and island communities. This research focuses on the island of Nakanoshima (Ama-cho), which has dramatically declined in population in the past 70 years. In 2007, the High School faced the threat of closure due to declining numbers, and were it to close would have further hastened the decline of the island. At that time, radical reforms were made by the local government and subsequently the Miryokuka project was created to save the school and make it into a centre of education to promote sustainable living in Ama-cho. During a visit to the island, observations and semi-structured interviews were carried out with different stakeholders. This focussed on the ways educational interventions have contributed to reversing population decline and rejuvenating the island. The research demonstrated the power of the school’s transformative place-based pedagogy to foster sustainable living in Ama-cho.
Experiences of Nurses Caring for Children Under Five Years with Burns at a Teaching Hospital in Ghana
Authors: Dartey Anita Fafa , Dzansi Gladys , Ohene Lillian Akorfa , Salia Solomon Mohammed , Sarpong Ellen , Armah-Kessey Mary
Published: November 2023

Background

Nurses provide comprehensive, person-centred care to patients of all ages with any condition to save and protect lives. Caring for children under 5 years with burns involves high-level skills, agility and stable emotions. This study sought to explore nurses’ experience when managing children under five years with burns at the burns unit of a teaching hospital in Ghana.

Methods

An exploratory, descriptive qualitative approach was used with a purposive sampling method to recruit 15 participants at saturation from the Burns Unit. The interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. With participants’ consent, their voices were audio-recorded. Data were transcribed verbatim after the researchers listened to the audios several times. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis.

Results

Narratives of the nurses were represented as emotional experiences, challenges and coping strategies associated with caring for children with burn injury. Mental representation of care task, grief and sadness, helplessness and impatience were identified as the emotional experiences. Increased workload, lack of adequate motivation and shortage of hospital supplies were the main challenges. Teamwork, good working relations, effective work-life balance and emotional detachment were the coping strategies the nurses adopted.

Conclusion

This study highlighted the experiences of nurses caring for children under five years with burns. The work environment of nurses created stress and increased the burden of care. Nurses need support to recognise and manage their physical, emotional and social responses to their work. In addition, periodic staff training must be promoted to boost staff confidence and enhance their efficiency on the job.
Inter-Organizational Home Care Nursing Teams: A Comparison of a Region Wide Organizational Change Initiative With Success Factors Identified by Forerunners and Team Theory
Authors: Rydenfält Christofer , Persson Johanna , Larsson Roger , Johansson Gerd , Erlingsdóttir Gudbjörg
Published: November 2023

Teamwork is considered something positive. While there is much research on teamwork in healthcare, research on teamwork in home care nursing is limited. As the need for home care nursing is likely to increase in the future, it is of great interest to investigate the circumstances associated with the implementation of teamwork in home care nursing. The present study compares the results from a large change initiative intended to foster inter-organizational teamwork between municipal home care nurses and doctors employed by the region, with success factors identified by forerunners and contemporary team theory. Eighteen participants representing the organizations involved in the change initiative, and 6 participants from the forerunners, were interviewed, and 3 success factors were identified: fixed doctors in team, co-location of staff, and a shared team identity. However, for the studied change initiative, few of the success factors were present. Since the success factors are similar to factors associated with effective teamwork in the literature, this is problematic. The results indicate that there was a focus on the division of labor between the municipalities and the region rather than on interdisciplinary cooperation. They also suggest that the change initiative, as it worked in practice, did not always make sense from the perspective of the nurses and doctors involved. Thus, we suggest that measures are taken to ensure that change initiatives, like the 1 studied, also make sense on the local level in the organization where most of the implementation takes place.
Maladi Nanm, Maladi Zonbi, & Maladi Lalin: A qualitative study of cultural concepts of distress in northern Haiti
Authors: Galvin Michael , Michel Guesly , Pierre Edny , Manguira Eurine , Cénat Jude Mary
Published: November 2023

Cultural Concepts of Distress (CCDs) are culturally constructed diagnostic categories that exist within a specific society or culture. While several studies have assessed CCDs around the world, few studies have examined them in Haiti. This qualitative study examines manifestations of anxiety and depression via “sent spirits” in the form of maladi nanm (“Soul disorder”) and maladi zonbi (“Zombie disorder”), and bipolar disorder in the form of maladi lalin (“Moon disorder”). Examples of CCDs were recorded as part of a study which interviewed 96 outpatients at the first mental health center in northern Haiti. Using qualitative methods, the authors identified three specific CCDs as reported by mental health patients. Maladi nanm and maladi zonbi represent alternative explanatory models of anxiety and depression in which the sufferer views mental illness as stemming from a sent spirit, or spirit which is intentionally sent supernaturally with the intent to cause harm. Maladi lalin is experienced by patients with bipolar disorder who associate cycles of mania and depression as in-sync with the phases of the moon. Understanding culture-bound forms of mental distress in settings such as Haiti is essential to developing accurate psychometrics for measuring mental health, as well as ensuring culturally appropriate and effective diagnosis and treatment.
Who is receiving financial transfers from family during young adulthood in Australia?
Authors: Woodman Dan , Maire Quentin , Cook Julia
Published: November 2023

Parents are increasingly providing financial support to their adult children. At the same time, it is often taking young people into their 30s to convert educational credentials into career outcomes, establish independent households, and marry or form partnerships. While the role of the so-called ‘bank of mum and dad’ in assisting with entry into home ownership is well established, its effects are potentially far wider, for example affecting young adults’ employment pathways. This article contributes to emerging research on extended intergenerational support using longitudinal data from Australia to explore which young people are receiving this support during their 20s and into their early 30s. Drawing on our findings, we contend that financial transfers as people enter their mid-20s and beyond appear to be used both to manage hardship and precarity, and to enable speculation on positive employment futures.
Predicting metabolic syndrome using machine learning – Analysis of commonly used indices
Authors: Avizohar Elad , Shehory Onn
Published: November 2023

Determining the factors that contribute to making a reliable prediction of the metabolic syndrome will provide a deeper understanding of the medical indices involved in the prediction and assist in early diagnosis and treatment of patients. The study examined the optimal number of National cholesterol education program adult treatment panel (NCEP ATP) III indices needed to make a reliable prediction of the syndrome, whether each of the five NCEP ATP III indices for predicting the syndrome is equally important and whether a reliable prediction can be made using calculated blood pressure indices – estimated mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure – instead of NCEP ATP III blood pressure indices. The results show that NCEP ATP III indices for determination of the syndrome are not equally important. Moreover, the indices importance and their prediction quality vary according to gender. Optimal results are obtained by using all five NCEP ATP III indices for prediction.
Policy for Equity: Associations Between Community Mental Health Agency Policies and Clinicians’ Cultural Competence
Authors: Triplett Noah S. , Blanks Jones Jasmin L. , Garfias Yasmin , Williams Natasha D. , Dorsey Shannon
Published: November 2023

Systemic reform is needed to address racism as a root cause of mental health inequities, such as understanding how community mental health (CMH) agencies’ practices and policies may impact care provided to racially minoritized populations. This study described and examined associations between CMH clinicians’ multicultural knowledge and awareness and agency practices and policies to improve care for Clients of Color. CMH clinicians (N = 119) across Washington State reported on their multicultural competence and agencies’ practices and policies in an online survey. Multicultural competence was assessed with the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS), which assesses respondents’ knowledge of multicultural counseling frameworks and awareness of multicultural counseling issues. Agency policies were examined with an adapted version of the Multiculturally Competent Service System (MCSS) Assessment Guide, which asked respondents to endorse the degree to which their agencies had taken specific steps to better serve racially and ethnically minoritized populations across 11 domains, including policies, linguistic diversity in services, and quality monitoring and improvement. Multicultural knowledge and awareness were generally high across the sample. Clinicians commonly endorsed that their agencies had mission statements that were committed to cultural competence. Endorsement of concrete steps to improve services for non-English speaking clients was associated with greater multicultural knowledge and awareness, and practices to monitor and improve care provided to Clients of Color were associated with lower scores. Addressing mental health inequities requires multifaceted solutions. Results highlight the potential of examining agency practices and policies as one solution to improve care for Clients of Color.
Evil, Constructed: A Salient Part of an Emerging Spiritual Veteran Identity
Authors: Grimell Jan
Published: November 2023

This article investigated constructions of evil among deployed Swedish veterans. Six cases were used to demonstrate common themes of these constructions: humans are capable of everything; anyone can be violated, even killed; evil and cruelty comes in many forms; coldness/cynicism; exhausting to witness suffering and pain; and existential rumination. The impact of these can affect a veteran's identity and their notions of self. However, processing encounters with evil is seen, in some Christian perspectives, as an essential prerequisite for spiritual growth, and this might be potentially important to supporting the emergence of spiritual veteran identities. A pastoral care giver or military chaplain can serve as an existential conversation partner who can assist veterans when approaching such experiences and their potential impact. This may be especially fertile in secular contexts, where pastoral wisdom and ontological approaches can be hard to find in the everyday lives of veterans.
Corrective Osteotomy in a Patient With Congenital Absence of Pronation Based on Three-Dimensional Statistical Shape Modeling
Authors: van Es Eline M. , Stockmans Filip , Colaris Joost W.
Published: November 2023

We present a new indication of a three-dimensional statistical shape model (SSM): a patient with bilateral impaired forearm rotation due to a congenital variance in bone shape. A corrective osteotomy was planned and performed to best match the SSM created by computed tomography (CT) scans of 18 peers. Postoperatively, pronation increased by 70°, and the patient was pain-free. A CT scan showed accurate correction of the deformity and union of all osteotomies. This technique offers opportunities for patients with bilateral nontraumatic osseous forearm pathology.
Experimental investigation on selective laser melting additive manufacturing of non-ferromagnetic heterogeneous material based on TiNi alloy with Ta coating
Authors: Long Hui , Wu Weihui , Wang Di , Liu Linqing
Published: November 2023

In order to manufacture non-ferromagnetic heterogeneous material by Selective Laser Melting (SLM), it is necessary to solve the separation problem of non-ferromagnetic mixed powders after SLM forming. This research presents how to resolve this problem using TiNi/Ta mixed powders by ultrasonic vibration screening method and the analysis of SLM manufacturing experiment for non-ferromagnetic heterogeneous material. The purity of TiNi and Ta powders after separation could reach 99.7087%wt% and 98.8501wt% respectively, which both reached a relatively high purity. A TiNi alloy sample with Ta coating and TiNi/Ta gradient transition was manufactured successfully by SLM. The material interface of the sample achieves metallurgical bonding, and the color of the sample profile shows a gradient transition. The EDS analysis shows that the material composition changes from Ta ->Ta/TiNi gradient ->TiNi from surface to inside of the sample. The Ta coating contains over 92.5wt% Ta, and the TiNi matrix contains over 98.69wt% TiNi. Along the powder laying direction, it is difficult to clean the small powder near the solid-powder or solid-solid interfaces made of two different materials, which causes micro polluted areas near the interfaces. This study also provides a new method for integrated manufacturing of TiNi alloy part with Ta coating.