bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rising Extreme Meltwater Trends in Greenland Ice Sheet (1950–2022): Surface Energy Balance and Large-Scale Circulation Changes
Authors: Bonsoms Josep , Oliva Marc , López-Moreno Juan I. , Fettweis Xavier
Published: June 2024

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) meltwater runoff has increased considerably since the 1990s, leading to implications for the ice sheet mass balance and ecosystem dynamics in ice-free areas. Extreme weather events will likely continue to occur in the coming decades. Therefore, a more thorough understanding of the spatiotemporal patterns of extreme melting events is of interest. This study aims to analyze the evolution of extreme melting events across the GrIS and determine the climatic factors that drive them. Specifically, we have analyzed extreme melting events (90th percentile) across the GrIS from 1950 to 2022 and examined their links to the surface energy balance (SEB) and large-scale atmospheric circulation. Extreme melting days account for approximately 35%–40% of the total accumulated melting per season. We found that extreme melting frequency, intensity, and contribution to the total accumulated June–August (summer) melting show a statistically significant upward trend at a 95% confidence level. The largest trends are detected across the northern GrIS. The trends are independent of the extreme melting percentile rank (90th, 97th, or 99th) analyzed and are consistent with average melting trends that exhibit an increase in similar magnitude and spatial configuration. Radiation plays a dominant role in controlling the SEB during extreme melting days. The increase in extreme melting frequency and intensity is driven by the increase in anticyclonic weather types during summer and more energy available for melting. Our results help to enhance the understanding of extreme events in the Arctic.
Influences of Large-Scale Circulation and Atmospheric Rivers on U.S. Winter Precipitation beyond ENSO
Authors: Ding Qinghua , Wang Hailan
Published: June 2024

This study aims to understand the underlying mechanism of large-scale circulation control on atmospheric rivers (ARs) and precipitation variability across the contiguous United States (CONUS) in winter. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), known as a key driver of global circulation, has shown a modest impact on CONUS precipitation, prompting us to focus our attention on other climate drivers. Here, we find that barotropic instability over the exit region of the North Pacific subtropical jet stream plays a critical role in forming a downstream stationary Rossby wave train during winter (referred to as the West Mode). This wave pattern influences CONUS precipitation by affecting AR activity and explains approximately 50% of rainfall changes in the western United States, as well as numerous extreme wet and drought years along the West Coast, such as the wet winter in 2022/23. Over the past eight decades, the West Mode exhibited limited sensitivity to both sea surface temperature (SST) and increasing anthropogenic forcing and was more influential in shaping interannual and interdecadal CONUS precipitation variabilities than ENSO. This result may explain why ENSO alone can only account for a limited portion of CONUS precipitation variability, thereby imposing an inherent constraint on the precision of seasonal predictions of CONUS precipitation made by climate models. Due to the significance of the West Mode in governing precipitation variability over the western United States, winter precipitation in that region may possess some resilience to the effects of global warming in the coming decades, as supported by large ensemble simulations driven by projected radiative forcing.

Significance Statement

To better understand how large-scale circulation shapes precipitation within the contiguous United States (CONUS), we identify at least two leading circulation modes in winter that together explain almost 70% of CONUS precipitation in the western United States and 30% in the central and eastern United States. One of these modes is a well-known teleconnection modulated by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the other reflects internal variability related to jet stream dynamics. However, this internal mode is more critical than the ENSO-driven one in regulating precipitation changes through mediating atmospheric rivers (ARs) over the CONUS, particularly in the West. This finding suggests that precipitation changes over the CONUS are partly governed by internal circulation dynamics and thus exhibit less susceptibility to global warming in the decades to come.
Unorthodox Alliances at the Margins of the State: Haredi Jews, the Israeli State, and the Collaborative Battle Against Sexual Violence
Authors: Kravel-Tovi Michal
Published: June 2024

Over the last decade, ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish society in Israel has witnessed an unprecedented attempt to place sexual violence high on the agenda, calling for concerted communal action and assistance to individuals in need. Based on a long-term anthropological fieldwork, I explore in this article how this revolution from within the Haredi sector catalyzes and is further solidified by unorthodox alliances with various agencies of the Israeli state. By this, I mean a range of pedagogic, discursive, and institutional processes of collaboration and trust-building, established between Haredi community leaders and representatives of the secular Israeli state. These unorthodox alliances constitute a two-way street of communication and adjustment, advancing, on the one hand, the socialization of Haredi populations to state laws, logics, and discourses, and requiring, on the other hand, that the state tailor its services and procedures to exercise culturally sensitive considerations. I analyze the labor invested in these alliances through the framework of “the margins of the state.” I contend that these alliances establish, or at least experiment with, arrangements that may ultimately reconfigure and recalibrate the relationship between the two sides.
From Trailing Behind to Shaping the Curve: Researching Rare and Impactful Events for Societal Benefit
Authors: Hasse Vanessa C.
Published: June 2024

Many of today’s most disruptive challenges are the result of rare yet highly impactful events. Their characteristics are largely at odds with prevailing management research paradigms, thus stymieing efforts toward societally relevant guidance. New approaches are needed to ensure sustainable businesses and societies.
Housing the historical bloc: Civil society contestation of authoritarian neoliberalism in England
Authors: Fearn Gareth
Published: June 2024

Neoliberalisation, particularly since the financial crisis, has been associated with significant housing crises. Rising prices and rents have benefitted asset owners, whilst squeezing younger generations out of the ‘property owning democracy’. As the tensions between these two groups grow, states are seeking further reforms to urban planning to deliver greater levels of private house-building, as a policy fix which also serves the interests of capital. To deliver further neoliberal reforms, though, states are increasingly turning towards more authoritarian practices to manage growing dissent to neoliberal rule. Drawing on Gramsci and theoretical insights from the major crises of the 1970s, this paper analyses how authoritarian practices, statist and populist, are derived from the administrative and legitimation crises that followed the financial crash of 2007/8. It focuses on a particular administrative crisis – housing in England – to show how increasingly coercive urban planning practices were advocated for at national level, which in turn revealed tensions within the ‘historical bloc’ of the neoliberal order. In the English case the government has struggled to cohere the consent of capital and civil society, with key class fractions of the historical bloc divided over planning reform. I argue that the contestations have nonetheless shifted political common sense towards reducing deliberative and democratic practices, shifting accountability from those with structural power to those with much more marginal power.
Urine Samples and Drug-Body-Treatment Assemblages: Youth Enactments of Drug Testing in Sweden
Authors: Ekendahl Mats , Kvarmans Petra , Karlsson Patrik
Published: June 2024

Drug testing plays a key role in youth substance use treatment in Sweden. Young people treated for substance use problems are routinely required to leave urine samples, and there is often controversy between patients and staff around its relevance. Still, there is a lack of research on how young people make sense of this practice. This article contributes to this knowledge through an ANT-inspired (Actor Network Theory) analysis of how youth enact urine testing in their treatment experiences. We attempt to tease out what kind of sociomaterial object urine testing is according to youth, and how it affects their lives. The study is based on interviews with 25 previous patients (mean age 17). The analysis shows that the participants enacted urine testing as both a stable object that creates binaries in knowledge networks (use or nonuse), and as a flickering object that appears in and affects diverse drug-body-treatment assemblages (even outside the clinic). The participants had internalized the importance of leaving negative samples to get discharged and avoid adult surveillance. They described a practice that made substance use a demarcated, individual and treatable problem, and also, often contrary to their own self-understandings, devalued their ability to be honest about and regulate their conduct. Through establishing substance use as a simplified either/or phenomenon and through attributing patients with the agency to become nonusers only, urine testing appears counter-productive if treatment is to strengthen informed decision making and responsibility among soon to be adults.
Item Response Modeling of Clinical Instruments With Filter Questions: Disentangling Symptom Presence and Severity
Authors: Magnus Brooke E.
Published: June 2024

Clinical instruments that use a filter/follow-up response format often produce data with excess zeros, especially when administered to nonclinical samples. When the unidimensional graded response model (GRM) is then fit to these data, parameter estimates and scale scores tend to suggest that the instrument measures individual differences only among individuals with severe levels of the psychopathology. In such scenarios, alternative item response models that explicitly account for excess zeros may be more appropriate. The multivariate hurdle graded response model (MH-GRM), which has been previously proposed for handling zero-inflated questionnaire data, includes two latent variables: susceptibility, which underlies responses to the filter question, and severity, which underlies responses to the follow-up question. Using both simulated and empirical data, the current research shows that compared to unidimensional GRMs, the MH-GRM is better able to capture individual differences across a wider range of psychopathology, and that when unidimensional GRMs are fit to data from questionnaires that include filter questions, individual differences at the lower end of the severity continuum largely go unmeasured. Practical implications are discussed.
Engaging the later Rawls on legitimacy
Authors: Ferrara Alessandro
Published: June 2024

Frank Michelman’s recent book Constitutional Essentials. On the Constitutional Theory of Political Liberalism is discussed from a specific angle, related to how Rawls’s ‘deflection procedure’ – called by Michelman ‘justification by constitution’ – is affected by two recent innovations in the paradigm of political liberalism: first, the extension of reasonable pluralism to a family of liberal political conceptions of justice that coexist in a liberal-democratic society; second, the idea of legitimation based on the criterion of reciprocity, aimed at supplementing the liberal principle of legitimacy. In the attempt to probe Michelman’s assessment of the impact of these two innovations, three critical points are mentioned, for each of them, that suggest a somewhat more sceptical attitude than Michelman’s about the capacity of ‘justification by constitution’ to remain substantially unaltered, once these innovations are in place.
Analysis of the relative impact of emotional intelligence on explaining adolescent academic performance / Análisis del impacto relativo de la inteligencia emocional en la explicación del rendimiento académico adolescente
Authors: Palomera Raquel , Fernández-Fuertes Andrés-Avelino , Villoria Sonia
Published: June 2024

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential role of emotional intelligence as a significant predictor of academic performance in secondary school students, while concurrently factoring in other pertinent personal factors in the prediction model, such as general intelligence, academic self-efficacy and scholar motivation. A cross-sectional correlational study was carried out with a sample of 427 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 ( M = 13.83; SD = 1.40). The analyses carried out revealed that academic self-efficacy was the foremost predictor of academic performance, followed by general intelligence, performance-inhibiting anxiety and the experiential area of emotional intelligence. This study’s findings conclude that emotional intelligence is a contributory skill in explaining adolescent academic performance.
Sight-reading components across tonal and atonal environments in music: An exploratory analysis of performers’ self-assessed proficiency
Authors: Kim You Jin
Published: June 2024

Sight-reading poses persistent challenges for professional musicians, particularly those lacking adept sight-reading skills. Recognizing the practical implications of sight-reading as a facilitator of musical learning, scholarly endeavors have sought to identify the components that influence sight-reading proficiency. The focus on diverse tonal environments has surfaced as a key avenue for unveiling the complexities of tonality-related sight-reading skills. Against this backdrop, the present study delved into the intricate relationship between sight-reading components and tonal characteristics in music, employing performers’ self-assessments of their proficiencies in these domains. The findings revealed that sight-readers exhibit comparable self-assessments of their proficiency in sight-reading, but a significant disparity emerged between tonal and atonal sight-reading. Common predictors—rhythm reading, playing by ear, and performance techniques—emerged as influential factors explaining proficiency in both tonal and atonal sight-reading proficiency. In contrast, the predictors that include knowledge of tonal center, tonal function, and basic music theory were indicative for tonal sight-reading, while music interpretation and complexity of tonality were connected to atonal sight-reading proficiency. The findings highlight the useful integration of sight-reading components within diverse tonal environments, which offers flexibility, practicality, and adaptability in sight-readers’ practice.
Photoplethysmography-based assessment of varicose vein-related risk factors, exercise health beliefs, and venous refill time in healthcare professionals working in operating rooms and outpatient clinics
Authors: Şirin Gökçe , Karaveli Cakir Selda , Eryiğit Sinem , Toz Hasan , Pirhan Osman , Erpolat Taşabat Semra , Çalişkan İlknur
Published: June 2024

Bacground

Impaired venous return is observed in healthcare professionals who spend long periods standing and sitting. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate varicose vein-related risk factors, exercise health beliefs, and venous refill time in healthcare professionals working in operating rooms and outpatient clinics by photoplethysmography.

Method

The study sample consisted of 100 healthcare professionals without a diagnosis of peripheral venous insufficiency. Data were collected using a descriptive characteristics form, the Health Belief Model Scale for Exercise, the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, and photoplethysmography.

Result

This study found that OR nurses had shorter venous refill times and experienced more pain due to prolonged standing, despite their high health beliefs about exercise.

Conclusion

Healthcare professionals working in operating rooms should be screened for venous insufficiency and trained regarding the practices to prevent venous insufficiency, such as lying down, elevating legs, and using elastic stockings.
Student Thinking Styles and Course Engagement in Online Versus Face-to-Face Marketing Courses
Authors: Groza Mark D. , Groza Mya P. , Hasbrouck Sue
Published: June 2024

As online course delivery becomes an ever-increasing modality in marketing education, it is essential that marketing educators understand the unique factors that drive student course engagement in online versus face-to-face courses. This article develops and empirically tests a conceptual model grounded in the theory of mental self-governance which suggests different student thinking styles play varying roles in driving course engagement and satisfaction in online and face-to-face courses. The conceptual model is empirically tested by analyzing survey and objective learning achievement (final grade) data collected from 194 students enrolled in online marketing courses and 232 students enrolled in face-to-face marketing courses. Results indicate that delivery modality influences the effect distinct thinking styles have on course engagement. Interestingly, the analysis suggests that course engagement has a greater positive impact on final grades for students enrolled online compared with those enrolled in face-to-face marketing courses. The implications of these findings are discussed, offering valuable insights for educators navigating the evolving landscape of marketing education.
Physical and chemical properties of CaF2−CaO−Al2O3−MgO slag for electroslag remelting of Mg-containing GH3128 superalloy
Authors: Wang Pengfei , Gong Wei , Jiang Zhouhua , Zhang Yu , Li Xingtong , Li Diyue
Published: June 2024

During electroslag remelting, Mg in the electrode reacts with some components in the slag, resulting in its serve oxidation loss. The CaF2−CaO−Al2O3−MgO slags with high MgO content are generally used for remelting Mg-containing Fe- and Ni-based alloys. However, there is a scarcity of foundational data available on the physical and chemical properties of the slags, posing a challenge in developing a suitable slag for remelting Mg-containing GH3128 superalloy. Hence, this paper conducted a comprehensive study on the melting temperature, viscosity, and reactivity of four known slags. The results show that D2 slag (50%CaF2–20%CaO–20%Al2O3–10%MgO) has the lowest melting temperature of 1588 K due to containing fewer high-melting-point phases and possesses lower viscosity because of simpler aluminate structures. Additionally, the D2 slag has the highest activity ratio, enabling the superalloy to achieve the highest equilibrium Mg content of 0.0174%. The D2 slag exhibits a heightened MgO activity and facilitates the release of more Mg2+ ions, thereby exerting a pronounced inhibitory effect on the diffusion of Mg2+ ions from the slag–metal interface to the slag. The superalloy attains a highest Mg yield of about 30%. Therefore, the D2 slag emerges as the most suitable choice for remelting the Mg-containing GH3128 superalloy.
Musical mood induction: The relative influences of music type and the importance of music preference
Authors: Vella Elizabeth J , McDonough Cristin , Goldstein Hannah
Published: June 2024

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of music type on mood and the influence of music preference for predicting mood induction. Ninety undergraduate participants ( Mage = 22.19 years, SD = 6) completed a music preference inventory prior to listening to heavy metal and classical music stimuli, presented in counterbalanced order. Participants completed the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale inventory to measure baseline mood and then re-completed the inventory after each music stimulus presentation. Multivariate analysis of variance on repeated measures evaluated the effects of music type on mood, whereas multiple regression analysis tested the influence of preference on mood following music exposure. Heavy metal music induced a state of high arousal/negative mood via increases in hostility, whereas classical music induced a state of low arousal/positive mood via increases in serenity. Preferences for heavy metal music predicted significant reductions in negative affect and hostility following heavy metal music, coupled with increases in serenity, joviality, and positive affect. Likewise, classical music preference predicted significant increases in joviality and PA following classical music listening. The results of the current study demonstrate how differential music exposures influence mood and reveal the importance of listener preferences for predicting mood change.
Latent class analysis of migraine associated vestibular-auditory symptoms
Authors: Li Hui , Xu Xiaonuo , Xu Rongjiang , Fan Ping Xiao , Zhou Jiying , Dong Liang
Published: June 2024

Objective

This study aimed to identify the potential subgroups of migraines based on the patterns of migraine associated symptoms, vestibular and auditory symptoms using latent class analysis and to explore their characteristics.

Method

A total of 555 patients with migraine participated in the study. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia, osmophobia, visual symptoms, vestibular symptoms (dizziness, vertigo), and auditory symptoms (tinnitus, hearing loss, aural fullness) were assessed. Latent class analysis was performed to identify subgroups of migraines. Covariates such as gender, age of migraine onset, frequency of migraine attacks per month, and family history were also considered.

Results

The analysis revealed four latent classes: the Prominent Vestibular; Prominent Nausea; Presenting Symptoms but not prominent or dominant; and Sensory Hypersensitivity groups. Various covariates, such as gender, age of migraine onset, and frequency of migraine attacks, demonstrated significant differences among the four groups. The Sensory Hypersensitivity group showed the presence of multiple sensory symptoms, earlier age of migraine onset, and higher proportion of females. The Prominent Vestibular group had the highest probability of dizziness or vertigo but lacked the presence of auditory symptoms. The Prominent Nausea group exhibited prominent nausea. The Presenting Symptoms but not prominent or dominant group comprised individuals with the highest migraine attacks per month and proportion of chronic migraine.

Conclusion

This study identifies four subgroups of migraines based on the patterns of symptoms. The findings suggest potential different but overlapped mechanisms behind the vestibular and auditory symptoms of migraine. Considering the different patterns of migraine-related symptoms may provide deeper insights for patients’ prognosis and clinical decision-making.
Photogrammetry-Based Method for Measuring Volume Changes of Soil Specimens During Critical Phases of Triaxial Testing
Authors: Fayek Sara , Zhang Xiong , Xia Pingxin
Published: June 2024

Triaxial tests has been routinely used to measure the stress–strain relationship for geomaterials. During triaxial testing, many sources of errors that cannot be completely avoided but are often ignored or approximated using empirical equations. This paper presents a systematic investigation of soil volume change, volume strain nonuniformity, and cross-sectional calculation along the specimen during triaxial testing using a photogrammetry-based method. Consolidated drained triaxial tests were performed in which two parallel measurements were taken: (1) relative volume using the conventional triaxial testing and (2) absolute volume using the photogrammetry-based method. The difference in the observed volume and void ratio measurements between the two methods highlighted the importance of absolute soil volume over the relative volume method. The results revealed the effect of soil volume change in the interpretation of triaxial testing findings. Various preparation steps and procedures during triaxial testing have influenced the initial measured volume and thus caused deviation of the subsequent associated measurements. This method would present a quality control approach for different aspects of triaxial testing to improve the test simulations to accurately measure the soil behavior. The proposed method is important for more refined simulations and identification of setup-induced errors. Additional applications of the current research would allow correct determination of the stress path followed during triaxial testing, the critical-state soil mechanics parameters, and the stress–strain relationship, including deformation and strength parameters.
Cooperative Perception System for Aiding Connected and Automated Vehicle Navigation and Improving Safety
Authors: Chen Hanlin , Bandaru Vamsi K. , Wang Yilin , Romero Mario A. , Tarko Andrew , Feng Yiheng
Published: June 2024

Cooperative perception that integrates sensing capabilities from both infrastructure and vehicle perception sensors can greatly benefit the transportation system with respect to safety and data acquisition. In this study, we conduct a preliminary evaluation of such a system by integrating a portable lidar-based infrastructure detection system (namely, Traffic Scanner [TScan]) with a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Level 4 connected and automated vehicle (CAV). Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication devices are installed on both the TScan and the CAV to enable real-time message transmission of detection results in the form of SAE J2735 basic safety messages. We validate the concept using a case study, which aims at improving CAV situation awareness and protecting vulnerable road user (VRU) safety. Field testing results demonstrate the safety benefits of cooperative perception from infrastructure sensors in detecting occluded VRUs and helping CAVs to plan safer (i.e., higher post-encroachment time) and smoother (i.e., lower deceleration rates) trajectories.
Exploring Spatiotemporal Patterns of Frequently Congested Urban Road Segments Based on Multi-Source Data: A Case Study of China’s Super-Large Cities
Authors: Cui Hongjun , Dong Xiushi , Su Yue , Zhu Minqing , Ma Xinwei
Published: June 2024

Traffic congestion has emerged as a primary obstacle to sustainable urban development and the livability of life. Seven super-large cities in China were the study area of this paper as the problem tends to be more severe in larger cities. First, frequently congested road segments were defined based on real-time traffic condition data from online maps. Then, the spatiotemporal characteristics of these road segments were explored. Finally, mitigation measures and ways to ease traffic congestion in big cities were discussed against the background of rapid urbanization. The results demonstrate that the proportion of frequently congested road segments takes up between 1.8% and 9.87% of China’s super-large cities. There is a positive correlation between the overall operational efficiency of the urban road network and the ratio of frequently congested road segments. Temporally, commuting patterns during the morning and evening are displayed by these road segments. Spatially, they also demonstrate significant clustering characteristics. The proportion of frequently congested road segments caused by the lack of alternative routes is about 20% in the six cities studied. The data for Chongqing is even higher at 42.94%. Therefore, congestion caused by the lack of alternative routes may be underestimated by existing research. This work could provide theoretical support for transportation planning and management. As cities continue to expand and urbanization accelerates, the significance of this research will increase.
Is preexisting inflamed jaw marrow a “hidden” co-morbidity affecting outcomes of COVID-19 infections? – Clinical comparative study
Authors: Lechner Johann , McMahon Robert E , Bouquot Jerry E , Notter Florian , Schick Fabian
Published: June 2024

Introduction: Exceedingly high levels of the chemokine CCL5/RANTES have been found in fatty degenerated osteonecrotic alveolar bone cavities (FDOJ) and aseptic ischemic osteolysis of the jaw (AIOJ) from toothless regions. Because CCL5/RANTES seems to have a prominent role in creating the COVID-19 “cytokine storm”, some researchers have used the monoclonal antibody Leronlimab to block the CCR5 on inflammatory cells.

Objective: Is preexisting FDOJ/AIOJ jaw marrow pathology a “hidden” co-morbidity affecting some COVID-19 infections? To what extent does the chronic CCL5/RANTES expression from preexisting FDOJ/AIOJ areas contribute to the progression of the acute cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients?

Methods: Authors report on reducing the COVID-19 “cytokine storm” by treating infected patients through targeting the chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) with Leronlimab and interrupting the activation of CCR5 by high CCL5/RANTES signaling, thus dysregulating the inflammatory phase of the viremia. Surgical removal of FDOJ/AIOJ lesions with high CCL5/RANTES from patients with inflammatory diseases may be classified as a co-morbid disease.

Results: Both multiplex analysis of 249 FDOJ/AIOJ bone tissue samples as well as serum levels of CCL5/RANTES displayed exceedingly high levels in both specimens.

Discussion: By the results the authors hypothesize that chronic CCL5/RANTES induction from FDOJ/AIOJ areas may sensitize CCR5 throughout the immune system, thus, enabling it to amplify its response when confronted with the virus. As conventional intraoral radiography does little to assess the quality of the alveolar bone, ultrasonography units are available to help dentists locate the FDOJ/AIOJ lesions in an office setting.

Conclusion: The authors propose a new approach to containment of the COVID-19 cytokine storm by a prophylactic focus for future viral-related pandemics, which may be early surgical clean-up of CCL5/RANTES expression sources in the FDOJ/AIOJ areas, thus diminishing a possible pre-sensitization of CCR5. A more complete dental examination includes trans-alveolar ultrasono-graphy (TAU) for hidden FDOJ/AIOJ lesions.
Facilitating Authentic Practice and Content Acquisition Through Competition: The Econ Games
Authors: Patel Darshak , Al-Bahrani Abdullah , Hoyt Gail
Published: June 2024

The Econ Games is a student competition that was first designed as a programmatic ancillary to benefit students majoring in economics at Northern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky. Initially local, it has grown into an annual international competition, with participation from over forty academic institutions and garners data and financial support from a wide array of private industry and governmental partners. This immersive experiential learning opportunity connects student teams with community partners, where they utilize research skills to tackle real-world challenges. It prioritizes inclusivity, encouraging participation from diverse backgrounds. Participants gain practical experience with data, improve presentation and teamwork abilities, and kickstart their career development. In this paper, we outline the structure of the Econ Games and their institutional evolution, assessing their impacts on students, economics programs, and community partners. Additionally, we provide insights for institutions interested in joining the Econ Games or creating similar student competitions.
On (Cognitive) Bias in School Psychology
Authors: Braden Jeffery P.
Published: June 2024

In this essay, I explore how cognitive bias, rather than racial or ethnic bias, may inhibit the ability of school psychologists to advance social justice through research and practice. I begin with the argument that tests advance the cause of social justice because they define problems (i.e., disparities among groups) in objective, measurable terms. I then argue that, rather than doing the cognitively demanding work of collecting, evaluating and applying scientific evidence to enhance outcomes for all students, school psychologists default to less cognitively demanding strategies (specifically, confirmatory and conjunction biases) to guide how they define and respond to the problem of inequities among groups. I propose that research, practice, and professional education in school psychology would be more likely to advance outcomes for all students if we shift our focus from arguing what could cause disparities among groups to a focus on applying the theories and technologies derived from objective, measurable scientific research.
Sense of purpose and meaning in life during the transition to grandparenthood
Authors: Chereches Flavia S , Ballhausen Nicola , Brehmer Yvonne , Olaru Gabriel
Published: June 2024

The grandparent role has been often described as one of the most fulfilling aspects of older age. Yet, no longitudinal studies investigated the effect of the transition to grandparenthood on older adults’ sense of purpose and meaning in life. In this pre-registered study, we investigated the effect of becoming a first-time grandparent and a first-time caregiving grandparent on changes in sense of purpose and meaning in life. We used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), covering up to 12 years around the transition ( N HRS = 843, N ELSA = 587). To disentangle potential grandparenthood effects from age-related developmental changes, we used propensity score matching to compare grandparents to matched non-grandparents. Using latent change score models, we only found increases in sense of purpose in the years leading up to the transition, but not afterwards. No consistent findings of mean-level changes were observed in the control groups. Thus, our findings suggest that becoming a (caregiving) grandparent does not necessarily contribute to higher meaning and sense of purpose in life than before or compared to non-grandparents.
Uncovering Local Knowledge in Grassroots Associations: An Illustration of the Critical Reflexive Approach
Authors: Leach Kirk A. , Nickels Ashley E. , Davis-Matthews Miles
Published: June 2024

Grassroots associations (GAs) are the “keepers” of collective local knowledge yet uncovering that local knowledge remains challenging for nonprofit researchers. In this study, we propose the utility of reflexivity for nonprofit scholars conducting research aimed at accessing local knowledge within GAs and illustrate its use in practice through collaborative autoethnography (CAE). From block clubs to mutual aid groups, grassroots associations provide a space for members to come together, share insights, build community, and are important repositories of local knowledge. However, GAs remain the “dark matter” of the nonprofit sector—understudied and undertheorized. We discuss the difficulties nonprofit researchers face in accessing the local knowledge of resident within grassroots associations. We then present our CAE methodology and conclude by recommending that scholars interested in accessing local knowledge engage in reflexive praxis attuned to power and positionality. This study contributes to expanding our work with and knowledge of grassroots associations within nonprofit studies.
Predicting the Word-Problem Performance of Students With Mathematics Difficulty Using Word-Problem Vocabulary Knowledge
Authors: Stevens Elizabeth A. , Leroux Audrey J. , Powell Sarah R.
Published: June 2024

This study reports a secondary analysis from a randomized control trial study conducted with third graders with mathematics difficulty (MD; N = 75). We used simple linear regression to investigate whether students’ performance on a word-problem vocabulary assessment predicted their performance on a measure of word-problem solving. Additionally, we used multiple linear regression to determine whether English learner (EL) status ( n = 21; 28%) moderated this relation. Students’ word-problem vocabulary knowledge significantly predicted their word-problem performance ( R2 = .27), but this relation was not moderated by EL status (Δ R2 = .003). These findings suggest word-problem vocabulary knowledge is important for word-problem solving for students with MD, regardless of EL status. Given the results showed that improved word-problem vocabulary was associated with higher levels of word-problem solving, researchers and teachers might consider including word-problem vocabulary support as part of word-problem interventions.
Catholic Ethics of War: On the Plausibility of Christian Pacifism
Authors: Cebula Adam
Published: June 2024

This article proposes three responses to the anti-war statements made recently by Pope Francis. The first one recapitulates the very foundations of the prevalent legal and ethical approaches to the issue of war—laid by the most influential Christian thinkers of all times, revisited on several occasions by their followers, and ultimately confirmed in the fairly recent documents articulating Catholic war ethics. The second discusses the specific mode of Francis's apparent repudiation of the doctrine of just war, implying the essential equalisation of the moral status of either warring party—even in the case of conflicts initiated and sustained by undeniable and unprovoked acts of aggression. The third examines the reasonableness and moral soundness of the Pope's implied belief in the impermissibility of an attacked political community's (unintendedly) exposing its members to the enemy's violence without having a substantiated prospect of (relatively swift) military success of its defensive undertaking.
Multi-parameter similarity model-based lightweight design of battery electric vehicle body-in-white
Authors: Liu Ke , Liao Yinghua , Tong Xingbing , Zhang Liangdong , Zhou Junchao
Published: June 2024

The bending stiffness, torsional stiffness, and low-order modal frequencies of the body-in-white (BIW) are crucial factors in structural lightweight design. This paper introduces a BIW optimization approach for electric vehicles (BEVs) that integrates comprehensive sensitivity analysis and multi-parameter similarity models. The aim is to efficiently balance the BIW’s stiffness performance with minimal weight, while also managing potential manufacturing cost increases from design modifications. Firstly, the validity of the computational model is demonstrated by the BIW bending and torsion stiffness test and modal test. On this basis, the integrated sensitivity evaluation indexes of the structural member thickness parameters to the stiffness, weight and low-order modal frequency response of the BIW were calculated. The sheet metal thickness parameters of 17 structural members were preferred as design variables, and a multi-parameter similarity prediction model for BIW weight reduction design was constructed. Minimum weight, maximum stiffness and higher modal frequency of the BIW are defined as the optimization objectives. The optimal solution was finally solved using a multi-objective optimization algorithm. The results indicate a 1.582% reduction in weight of the BIW compared to the pre-optimization BIW. This paper delves into the intricate interplay between the parameters of the BIW’s structural components using simulation optimization techniques alongside experimental validation. This study not only proposes a new idea for the problem of how to efficiently and accurately determine the best optimization object from a large number of structural components in the development of vehicle structural safety, but also provides a research basis for automobile manufacturers to implement further weight reduction and optimization work on the BIW at the later stage of BEV development.
Analytical model for material removal rate in rotary tool micro-ultrasonic machining of hard and brittle materials
Authors: Kumar Sandeep , Dvivedi Akshay , Rakurty CS , Tiwari Tanmay , Tewari Maneesh
Published: June 2024

The rotary tool micro-ultrasonic machining (RT-MUSM) process is a newly developed variant of conventional micro-USM. It is preferred over conventional micro-USM due to its ability to remove material at a faster rate and with better accuracy than the machined microfeatures. Some experimental investigations have been conducted on the RT-MUSM process for the machining of hard and brittle materials. However, the theoretical model of the material removal rate (MRR) for the RT-MUSM process has not been discussed in the literature. Thus, the present research work reports on developing a predictive model of the MRR for the RT-MUSM process during glass machining. Pure brittle fracture mode was considered to be the material removal mechanism during the model's development. The developed model was verified through experiments. The estimated results were compared with the experimental results and found to be in good agreement with each other. Additionally, statistical analysis was carried out for the prediction accuracy of the developed model. The results revealed that the model is adequate, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9976 and a mean absolute percentage error of 2.45%. Hence, the developed model can be used to estimate the MRR for the RT-MUSM process of hard and brittle materials such as ceramics.
The Causes and Consequences of Drifting Expectations
Authors: Villano William J. , Kraus Noah I. , Reneau T. Rick , Jaso Brittany A. , Otto A. Ross , Heller Aaron S.
Published: June 2024

Awaiting news of uncertain outcomes is distressing because the news might be disappointing. To prevent such disappointments, people often “brace for the worst,” pessimistically lowering expectations before news arrives to decrease the possibility of surprising disappointment (a negative prediction error, or PE). Computational decision-making research commonly assumes that expectations do not drift within trials, yet it is unclear whether expectations pessimistically drift in real-world, high-stakes settings, what factors influence expectation drift, and whether it effectively buffers emotional responses to goal-relevant outcomes. Moreover, individuals learn from PEs to accurately anticipate future outcomes, but it is unknown whether expectation drift also impedes PE-based learning. In a sample of students awaiting exam grades ( N = 625), we found that expectations often drift and tend to drift pessimistically. We demonstrate that bracing is preferentially modulated by uncertainty; it transiently buffers the initial emotional impact of negative PEs but impairs PE-based learning, counterintuitively sustaining uncertainty into the future.
Tracing climate and human-driven erosional activity in the Transylvania lowlands (Central-Eastern Europe) during the Holocene
Authors: Hutchinson Simon M , Haliuc Aritina , Feurdean Angelica
Published: June 2024

Erosion is a complex geomorphological process controlled by climate, soil and vegetation characteristics in addition to land-use. However, the interplay of these drivers is not fully understood. Here we present a 11.8 ka multi-proxy record of geochemical, mineral magnetic and grain size analyses from Lake Stiucii, in the Transylvania lowlands (CE Europe) documenting past erosional activity and the drivers of landscape change. We identify three major phases in the site’s development. The first, a lacustrine phase (11.8–10.9 cal ka BP), is characterised by open water conditions with significant river inflow and depicts a period of greater erosion under a less developed catchment vegetation cover. Between 10.9 and 4.6 cal ka BP, the lake became a wetland characterised by shallow water with a reduced drainage network under warmer climate and/or reduced rainfall. From 4.6 cal ka BP, a second lacustrine phase developed driven by enhanced stream flow and sediment input subsequently accelerated by land use change.

On a millennial scale, the two significant changes in the lake-catchment system and erosion regime at 10.9 and 4.6 cal ka BP may reflect a response to fluctuations in large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. The eight short-term erosional events identified at 10.6, 7.8 cal ka BP, between 4.4–4.1, 3.5, 3.0–2.5, 1.9, 1.5, 1.1–0.8 cal ka BP, overlap well-known climate events. However, from 4.6 cal ka BP the climate-landscape relationship is amplified by rising anthropogenic impacts. Our data provide critical information on the paleoenvironmental evolution of CE Europe’s lowlands and facilitate discussion of the effects of millennial and centennial climatic shifts as expressed in the local environment.
Does fear of compassion effect nurses’ caring behaviours? a cross-sectional study
Authors: Takmak Şenay , Karaçar Yeliz
Published: June 2024

Aims

The aim of this study is to determine the levels of nurses’ fear of compassion for others, fear of compassion from others, and fear of self-compassion and to examine the effect of fear of compassion on caring behaviors.

Design

A cross-sectional, quantitative design was used.

Participants and research context

The study was conducted between October 2022 and April 2023 with 304 nurses working in two public hospitals. Data collection tools were the “Fears of Compassion Scales” and the “Caring Behaviors Inventory.” Data were analyzed using a t test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and stepwise multiple regression model.

Ethical considerations

Ethics committee approval of the research was obtained from the non-invasive ethics committee of Kütahya Health Sciences University (Reference No: 25.05.2022/2022/06-19). The principles of the Declaration of Helsinki were followed in the study. The purpose of the research was explained to all participants, and their verbal/written informed consent was obtained.

Results

The mean scores of nurses on fear of compassion for others and from others were at a moderate level, and their scores on fear of self-compassion were close to a moderate level. It was found that the level of nurses’ fear of compassion was related to their sociodemographic and professional variables. Fear of self-compassion, fear of compassion for others, and fear of compassion from others explained 33.5% of the total variance in caring behaviors.

Conclusions

Nurses’ caring behaviors were shown to be more associated with fear of self-compassion than fear of compassion for others. Fear of compassion may be one of the barriers to compassionate care. Interventions that will reduce nurses’ fear of compassion may be one way to provide compassionate care. It is recommended to conduct awareness studies on self-compassion and accepting compassion from others in nurses.
Youth athletes’ framing of nutritional supplements: Performance enhancement and food
Authors: Skilbred Anette , Strandbu Åse , Loland Sigmund
Published: June 2024

Prior studies have revealed how some nutritional supplements used to enhance performance in sports are considered problematic because they are associated with doping. In this study, frame analysis is applied to scrutinise interviews conducted with 24 ambitious youth athletes enrolled in elite sport schools. The analysis enables exploration of the athletes’ understanding and meaning-making concerning the so-called grey zone supplements in terms of two major frames. The first performance frame is expected as the context is elite youth sport, and many aspects of the athletes’ lives revolve around athletic progress. However, the more interesting finding is that this performance frame permeates almost all aspects of the young athletes’ lives, including how food is both understood and consumed. The second frame implies the framing of nutritional supplements as food. Here, the use of supplements is rationalised by practical concerns such as hectic training and teaching schedules that leave little time for meals, with supplements becoming a quick fix to meet energy needs. Hence, meaning-making concerning the grey zone supplements gives rise to an alternative framing linked to food and eating, although an overarching logic of performance also exerts a significant impact.