bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on the flow field and film cooling effectiveness of the endwall with swirling film cooling
Authors: Zhang Jian , Zheng Qun , Li Zhaolin , Yue Guoqiang , Jiang Yuting
Published: May 2022

In order to obtain the effect of endwall secondary flow on the swirling film cooling, a geometric model of cascade is established to research the endwall swirling film cooling and swirling flow induced by prismatic jet impingement configurations. Numerical simulation is applied to investigate three jet flow configurations on the endwall film cooling performance at the compound angles of film hole γ = 0° and 30° and blowing ratios M = 0.5–2.0. The influence of complex vortex structures near endwall for jet flow is analyzed in detail; the strong transverse cross flow near the endwall is the main reason affecting the film cooling effectiveness. The variation laws of endwall film cooling effectiveness with the compound angle of film hole, jet flow configuration, and the blowing ratio are obtained. As the blowing ratio increases, the spanwise average film cooling effectiveness increases first and then decreases. While the blowing ratio is M =1.0, the endwall film cooling effectiveness is the best. Increasing the compound angle of the film hole leads to a decrease in the endwall cooling effectiveness. The spanwise average cooling effectiveness of γ = 30° decreases by 35% compared to the γ = 0°.
Predicting intention of residential solar installation: The role of ecological lifestyle, consumer innovativeness, perceived benefit, government incentives, and solar product knowledge
Authors: Huang Hsien-Long , Cheng Li-Keng
Published: May 2022

In this study, we investigated the relationships between personal traits (sustainable lifestyle and consumer innovativeness), psychological and physical benefits (warm glow and government incentive), attitude toward rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system installation, and intention to install a residential PV system. Furthermore, we examined the moderating effect of solar product knowledge on the relationship between attitude and intention to install a residential PV system. Convenience sampling was performed to collect data in this study. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to participants in the form of an online survey. To prevent priming effects, the research constructs were not presented in the questionnaire, and the questions were not presented in the order of the research constructs. Each questionnaire item was evaluated using a 7-point Likert scale, and 370 valid surveys were received. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to verify the validity of the constructs. The CFA results confirmed that the measurement scales used in this study were appropriate. The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, ecological lifestyle, consumer innovativeness, government incentive, and warm glow affect attitude toward rooftop PV system installation. Second, this attitude influences the intention of rooftop PV system installation, and consumer knowledge moderates the relationship between attitude and intention toward rooftop PV system installation. This study's findings provide a comprehensive theoretical and empirical basis for understanding the antecedents of attitude toward the installation of residential solar energy systems. Thus, the public sector can use the aforementioned findings as a basis for developing a residential solar energy promotion policy, and relevant public and private companies can use these findings as a basis to create attractive marketing strategies for residential solar energy technology.
Impaired left ventricular systolic synchrony in patients with lupus Nephritis: A speckle tracking echocardiography study
Authors: He Wei , Xie Peihan , Li Wei , Yao Fengjuan , Liu Yanqiu , Liang Liuqin , Liu Donghong
Published: May 2022

Objectives

We aimed to explore the value of two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography measurements of the global longitudinal strain (GLS) and left ventricular mechanical dispersion (LVMD) in the assessment of early stage left ventricular systolic dysfunction and heterogeneity of myocardial contraction in patients with lupus nephritis (LN).

Methods

Patients with LN and extra-renal systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy participants in the control group underwent echocardiography for the traditional measurement of the left ventricular systolic and diastolic function and speckle tracking measurements of the GLS and LVMD. GLS was defined as the average value of the peak strain during systole of the left ventricular 17 segments, and LVMD was defined as the standard deviation. The demographic characteristics including age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) of all the participants were collected. The clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patients with LN were collected.

Results

We included 41 healthy control, 37 patients with extra-renal SLE, and 73 patients with LN. There were statistically significant differences in the GLS and LVMD between the extra-renal SLE and LN groups (GLS −19.36% vs. −17.61%, p < 0.001; LVMD 35.62 ms vs 42.96 ms, p<0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in the LVMD between the extral-renal SLE and control groups (35.62ms vs 25.51ms, p<0.001), but not in GLS (−19.36% vs −19.52%, p > 0.05). Multiple regression analyses were conducted in a subset of patients, and 24-hour proteinuria was independently associated with LVMD (β [SE], 0.793 [0.302], p < .05).

Conclusions

Patients with LN have more severe myocardial involvement than patients with extra-renal SLE. The asynchrony in myocardial contraction represented by the LVMD can be recognized earlier than that of the overall contractile functional impairment represented by GLS. In patients with LN, the 24-hour proteinuria was associated with LVMD. This indicates that the heterogeneity in the contractile function may be associated with the severity of renal damage.
Robust statistical inference for matched win statistics
Authors: Matsouaka Roland A.
Published: May 2022

As alternatives to the time-to-first-event analysis of composite endpoints, the win statistics, that is, the net benefit, the win ratio, and the win odds have been proposed to assess treatment effects, using a hierarchy of prioritized component outcomes based on clinical relevance or severity. Whether we are using paired organs of a human body or pair-matching patients by risk profiles or propensity scores, we can leverage the level of granularity of matched win statistics to assess the treatment effect. However, inference for the matched win statistics (net benefit, win ratio, and win odds)—quantities related to proportions—is either not available or unsatisfactory, especially in samples of small to moderate size or when the proportion of wins (or losses) is near 0 or 1. In this paper, we present methods to address these limitations. First, we introduce a different statistic to test for the null hypothesis of no treatment effect and provided a sample size formula. Then, we use the method of variance estimates recovery to derive reliable, boundary-respecting confidence intervals for the matched net benefit, win ratio, and win odds. Finally, a simulation study demonstrates the performance of the proposed methods. We illustrate the proposed methods with two data examples.
Do Rating and Task Measures of Control Abilities Assess the Same Thing?
Authors: Friedman Naomi P. , Gustavson Daniel E.
Published: May 2022

The ability to control one’s thoughts and actions is broadly associated with health and success, so it is unsurprising that measuring self-control abilities is a common goal across many areas of psychology. Puzzlingly, however, different measures of control––questionnaire ratings and cognitive tasks––show only weak relationships to each other. We review evidence that this discrepancy is not just a result of poor reliability or validity of ratings or tasks. Rather, ratings and tasks seem to assess different aspects of control, distinguishable along six main dimensions. To improve the psychological science surrounding self-control, it will be important for future work to investigate the relative importance of these dimensions to the dissociations between self-control measures, and for researchers to explain which aspects of control they are studying and why they have focused on those aspects of control when one or both types of measures are deployed.
Sensory and autonomic innervation of the local tissues at traditional acupuncture point locations GB14, ST2 and ST6
Authors: Wang Jia , Cui Jing-jing , Xu Dong-sheng , Su Yu-xin , Liao Jie-ying , Wu Shuang , Zou Ling , Guo Ya-ting , Shen Yi , Bai Wan-zhu
Published: May 2022

Objective:

To visualize and compare the sensory and autonomic innervation of the local tissues at the sites of different traditional acupuncture points in the rat forehead and face by histochemical examination.

Methods:

GB14 ( Yangbai), ST2 ( Sibai) and ST6 ( Jiache) were selected as the representative traditional acupuncture points in this study, and the local tissues at these sites were dissected in rats after perfusion followed by double or triple fluorescent histochemical staining. Here, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) were used to label the sensory, sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibers, respectively.

Results:

The CGRP+ sensory, TH+ sympathetic and VAChT+ parasympathetic nerve fibers were simultaneously demonstrated in the local tissues at GB14, ST2 and ST6. Although the three kinds of nerve fibers ran in parallel or intermingled with each other, by the analysis from the view of three-dimensional reconstruction, it was clear that each of them distributed in an independent pattern to their corresponding target tissues including the blood vessels, hair follicles, arrector pili and subcutaneous muscles, as well as sebaceous glands.

Conclusion:

Our study demonstrated the sensory and autonomic innervation of the local tissues at GB14, ST2 and ST6, providing neurochemical evidence indicating that the CGRP+ sensory, TH+ sympathetic and VAChT+ parasympathetic nerve fibers form a neural network at these point locations that may respond to acupuncture stimulation.
Stirring Being with Grace: A Queer Pneumatological Disruption of Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Gender
Authors: Cable Elizabeth
Published: May 2022

In this study, I aim to elaborate a constructive pneumatology—seen as through a glass darkly, in contemporary progressive Catholic and queer theologies—that has the power to challenge, and transform, ways of thinking theologically that are profoundly informed by gender essentialism. This effort to disrupt gender essentialism may be framed as part of the ongoing liberationist task—to identify and disrupt human idols that, theologically, reign in the place of the transformative grace of God and that, ethically, hinder the flourishing of God’s creation.
Trans Issues? Beyond a Hermeneutic of Mutilation
Authors: Tatton-Schiff Judith
Published: May 2022

This article questions whether the ‘problem’ of trans issues lies more in the binary, patriarchal structures of our society than it does in our bodies. I utilize Marcella Althaus-Reid’s ‘Hermeneutic of Mutilation’, arguing that, much as ‘to give hospitality to our own fragmentations may require sometimes acts of transformations’, we must not support the heteropatriarchal pattern and system as it attempts to normalize, police, control or punish the ‘deviant’ bodies of transgender individuals, from ‘wrong’ and ‘less than’ into ‘right’ and ‘cured’. As postmodern deconstruction has informed and influenced our thinking around identity, the modern, biological approach to sex/gender has been profoundly challenged. I will make a parallel between current debates around trans issues and disability, body and liberation theology; if disability only ‘becomes’ a disability when the able-bodied majority designates it as ‘other’, are trans folk being similarly ‘othered’, as their different bodies, perspectives or identities challenge the fearful, defended mind-sets of society? Should we continue to prioritize ‘fixing’ trans bodies, in order to have them fit more neatly within that society? Or, should we challenge the patriarchal, heteronormative moulds of a culture that would rather trans individuals ‘accept’ their ‘wrongness’ and take steps to ‘correct’ that wrongness? This is not to say that trans+ individuals should not continue to make exactly the same medical/surgical choices as are currently the norm and even to choose modes of gender expression that are binary or ‘traditional’, should that be their desire and choice. Rather, this is an appeal for all of us to challenge a society that deems some bodies ‘right’ and others as ‘wrong’, and expects such painful conformity.
Observations of fatigue damage development in woven glass fiber-reinforced polymer composite using transmission light photography technique
Authors: Ansari Md Touhid A , Singh Kalyan K , Azam Mohammad S
Published: May 2022

Fatigue behaviour is an important aspect for consideration while handling glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites. A combination of (0°/90°) and (±45°) plies are gaining practical interest in engineering applications due to their excellent mechanical properties. Properties of individual above-stated plies primarily influence the behaviour of laminates. Fatigue behaviour of on-axis (0°/90°) and off-axis (±45°) fiber orientated woven GFRP laminates was investigated. Tensile and tension-tension fatigue tests were performed on the prepared test coupons according to the ASTM standard. Fatigue test was conducted until failure at maximum applied stress of 90%, 70%, and 50% of the respective ultimate strength. Damage growth was monitored in the term of debond zones by employing the transmission light photography technique. Testing process was recorded by using a digital camera. The results were established in terms of the stress-strain curve, Wöhler curve, debond zones and dynamic stiffness. The fatigue strength of off-axis laminates was much lower than the on-axis laminates. Global damage has occurred in (0°/90°) laminates while (±45°) laminate witnessed localized damage. At higher stress levels, samples were failed at shorter lifespan with aggressive damage; however, on-axis specimens survived with longer fatigue life.
A War of Information: Spanish Naval Intelligence During the American Revolutionary War (1775–83)
Authors: Ortega-del-Cerro Pablo
Published: May 2022

Early-Modern war absorbed large material resources, including manpower, warships, guns, ammunition and supplies, but there was one key element of warfare that was quite immaterial: information. This article analyses Spanish naval intelligence and deals with the production, collection, and management of information within and through the navy. To examine this complex issue this paper will focus on the Spanish naval intelligence system during the American Revolutionary War (1776–83). By the 1770s and the 1780s the Spanish navy had developed and improved an efficient framework that provided decisive information for the mobilisation of its naval forces.
Caregivers’ perception of teenagers’ dignity in end of life stages: A phenomenological study
Authors: Mohammadi Fateme , Oshvandi Khodayar , Khodaveisi Masoud , Fatemeh Cheraghi  , Tehrani Tayebeh Hasan , Khalili Arash , Kyle Hazel
Published: May 2022

Introduction: Maintaining patient dignity in a caregiving environment is one of the most important moral responsibilities for caregivers. Nonetheless, there are vulnerable groups, specifically teenagers, who in their final stages of life are prone to their dignity being threatened. Moreover, dignity is an abstract concept and there is no studies done on teenagers’ dignity in the final stages of life available in Iran.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the caregivers’ experiences regarding teenagers’ dignity in the final stages of life.Research design: This study is a descriptive phenomenological qualitative research project. The data was collected using deep individual and semi-structured interviews as well as taking notes. The Colaizzi analysis method was used to analyze the data.Participants and research context: 22 caregivers working with teenagers in the final stages of life in a public health centers in Iran who had the criteria to enter the study were selected using a purposeful sampling method and invited to join the study from August 2018 to June 2019. The sampling continued until data saturation.Findings: The findings of the present study were presented in the form of three main themes including “private,” “respecting individual identity,” and “attention to teenagers’ needs” and an additional eight categories.Ethical Considerations: The study’s protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and all ethical principles were followed throughout the study.Discussion and conclusion: Based on the present study from the caregivers’ point of view, teenagers in their final stages of life required to be cared for and taught in an environment that their privacy was maintained and their individual identity was respected as well as getting attention from the caregivers and companions. In such situations, the teenagers felt calm and their dignity was maintained; therefore, providing a cultural, professional, and organizational setting where all the components of maintaining dignity in teenagers are supported and prioritized is necessary.
Patient privacy protection among university nursing students: A cross-sectional study
Authors: NS Chan Dorothy , Choi Kai-chow , HY To Miranda , KN Ha Summer , CC Ling Gigi
Published: May 2022

Background

Protecting a person’s right to privacy and confidentiality is important in healthcare services. As future health professionals, nursing students should bear the same responsibility as qualified health professionals in protecting patient privacy.

Objectives

To investigate nursing students’ practices of patient privacy protection and to identify factors associated with their practices.

Research design

A cross-sectional study design was adopted. A two-part survey was used to collect two types of data on nursing students: (1) personal characteristics, including demographics, clinical experience and use of information and communication technology and social media and (2) practice of patient privacy protection, collected using the Patient Privacy Scale.

Participants and research context:

A total of 319 nursing students aged 18 or above, studying pre-registration nursing programmes and who had attended at least one block of clinical placement, were recruited from a university in Hong Kong.

Ethical considerations

The study received ethical approval from the Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The participants were informed of the study aim and written consent was obtained before completing the survey.

Findings:

The mean total score on the Patient Privacy Scale was 119.7 out of 135. Nursing students who were regular users of Instagram and those who had never taken photographs with patients and hence did not need to obtain patient consent were associated with better practices of patient privacy protection (higher total scores on the Patient Privacy Scale).

Conclusions

The findings improve our understanding of nursing students’ practice of patient privacy protection and the associated factors. This will inform the development and revision of current strategies to enhance nursing students’ practice of patient privacy protection, especially their use of social media.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Education of Adivasi Communities in Kerala
Authors: Sihas K. M. Muhammed , Nair Lekshmi V.
Published: May 2022

The Kerala government launched its ambitious virtual learning programme, with the help of Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), targeting 4.5 million students in the state from 1 June 2020. The step was both challenging and progressive, condiering the digital divide in the state. This article examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the education of Adivasi communities in the Wayanad district of Kerala. The district has the largest Adivasi population in Kerala, constituting around 18.76% of its total population. While measures have been taken to ensure digital facilities to the marginalised communities to attend the virtual classes, it is argued that these actions would not yield the desired outcome unless the most basic sociocultural, economic and geographical barriers are addressed. This article is based on an ongoing ethnographic study since February 2018 in three Adivasi communities in Noolpuzha Panchayath of Wayanad district in Kerala.
India and Climate Change: Old Traditions, New Strategies
Authors: Jha Vyoma
Published: May 2022

Climate change emerged as a serious diplomatic concern for India in the early 1990s. India has since been a staunch champion of the developing world, in multilateral climate negotiations; from playing a key role in establishing the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities, to forging alliances with countries with shared developmental concerns. Faced with the growing impact of climate change and changing geopolitics, India’s foreign policy on climate change has undergone significant shifts during two decades of multilateral climate talks. First, India’s willingness to undertake domestic climate action as a result of its changing economic status and, second, the role of the political leadership—since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014—in shaping the climate discourse both in the country and abroad. India has, in recent years, shed its defensive, naysayer strategy at climate negotiations and led several multilateral initiatives for climate action. As India celebrates 75 years of its Independence, it is forging a new, confident leadership on issues of climate change. While there is continuity in India’s traditional stance on finance and technology transfer during negotiations, Indian foreign policy has begun to display a marked change in the strategic use of climate change to assert greater power on the global stage.
Prevalence and Associated Factors of Depression and Anxiety Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Nair Reshma , Bulgiba Awang
Published: May 2022

Cases and death counts rise as the world continues to scuffle with the COVID-19 pandemic and its catastrophic effects. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at a heightened risk of developing psychological distress during the pandemic as a result of extreme work demands and poor experiences of recovery. This study aimed to evaluate the mental health outcomes of HCWs in hospitals during the pandemic and explore the associated psychosocial, individual, and work-related factors of depression and anxiety among them. The present study employed a cross-sectional survey study design. Participants from the Department of Medicine, Department of Surgery, and Department of Emergency were recruited via an online based questionnaire. A validated screening tool, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) questionnaire was utilized to assess the status of anxiety and depression among the HCWs. The prevalence of anxiety and depression among the HCWs were 12.2% and 1.4%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis further demonstrated that being male (OR = 1.581) and having work-related stigma was significantly associated with anxiety (OR = 2.635).
No strings attached: Corporate welfare, state intervention, and the issue of conditionality
Authors: Bulfone Fabio , Ergen Timur , Kalaitzake Manolis
Published: May 2022

This paper contributes to Comparative Political Economy (CPE) by developing an analytical concept of corporate welfare. Corporate welfare—the transfer of public funds and benefits to corporate actors with weak or no conditionality—is a prominent form of state-business relations that CPE scholarship regularly overlooks and misinterprets. Such transfers should be understood as a structural privilege of business in a globalized post-Fordist capitalism, and an increasingly common strategy through which states attempt to steward national economic dynamism within a highly constrained range of policy options. However, without a well-developed concept of corporate welfare—premised upon the key criterion of conditionality—studies that identify a “return” of the state in industrial planning misrepresent these transfers to business as a reassertion of state influence and control, rather than a reflection of state weakness and subordination. The paper provides the analytical building blocks to properly conceptualize transfers to business, works out the core challenges for empirical research, and provides empirical illustrations of this burgeoning phenomenon from the fields of unconventional monetary policy, privatization, and urban political economy.
Gaining lead firm position in an emerging industry: A global production networks analysis of two Scandinavian energy firms in offshore wind power
Authors: Afewerki Samson , Steen Markus
Published: May 2022

Global production networks (GPN) research has given limited attention to lead firms’ competitive strategies in emerging project-based industries (PBIs). Informed by the industry life cycle approach, the authors develop a process-sensitive approach that unpacks the black-boxed notion of lead firms’ competitive capabilities development processes to address this gap. The approach is operationalized in the analysis of the evolutionary trajectories of Ørsted (Denmark) and Equinor (Norway) in the emerging offshore wind power industry. Analytically, the authors differentiate between lead firms’ pre-entry, entry, and post-entry scope-related and scale-related competitive capabilities development processes. They demonstrate how these processes are shaped by industry characteristics and co-evolve with broader industry developments and extra-firm dynamics. Through this novel perspective, the paper extends conventional wisdom on the role GPNs as facilitators of knowledge transfer and of local and regional capability formation and development. The authors argue that GPNs can also facilitate both knowledge transfer to and competitive capability formation by (lead) firms.
Medication Adherence Rate in Arab Patients With Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review
Authors: Alomari Albara , Alananzeh Ibrahim , Lord Heidi , Abdulla Al-Lenjawi Badriya , Fernandez Ritin
Published: May 2022

Background:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most common chronic illnesses in the Eastern Mediterranean. There have been few studies on medication adherence in Arab patients with CVD.

Aim:

To investigate the rates and the reasons for medication adherence in Arab patients with CVD.

Methodology:

The Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for prevalence systematic reviews was used. MEDLINE, EMCARE, CINAHL, Scopus, Science Direct, PsychINFO, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched.

Results:

Thirteen quantitative studies on medication adherence in Arab adult CVD patients were included. Pooled data from nine studies demonstrated that 53.2% (95% confidence interval = [51.2%, 55.1%]) of patients were adherent to their medications. Reasons for nonadherence to medication include personal factors, understanding, and complexity of treatment regimes, medication knowledge and structural barriers.

Conclusion:

Medication adherence appears to have a social gradient, and families should be actively involved in future strategies to increase medication adherence.
Reducing the Potential Scope of Chemical Catastrophes in the US Chemical Industry: Evidence From the EPA's Risk Management Planning Program
Authors: Orum Paul
Published: May 2022

Available information suggests that some chemical facilities are reducing the potential for catastrophic chemical releases to nearby communities. However, the actual extent and nature of any technological changes are not well documented, and the pace of change is slow at best. Moreover, major federal programs do not routinely investigate industry practices and communicate lessons learned, thereby missing important opportunities to generate knowledge of solutions that reduce populations at risk.
‘There Were Moments We Wished She Could Just Die’: The Highly Gendered Burden of Nodding Syndrome in Northern Uganda
Authors: Irani Julia , Rujumba Joseph , Mwaka Amos Deogratius , Arach Jesca , Lanyuru Denis , Idro Richard , Colebunders Robert , Gerrets René , Peeters Grietens Koen , O’Neill Sarah
Published: May 2022

Nodding Syndrome (NS) occurs within a wide spectrum of epilepsies seen in onchocerciasis endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa. It has debilitating consequences on affected individuals and increases the socio-economic, physical and psychological burden on care-givers and their households, diminishing their standing within the community. Social science research on the disproportionate burden of the disease on females is limited. Based on ethnographic research over 3 years in northern Uganda, we explored the burden of being ill and care-giving for persons with NS from a gendered perspective. We found that NS-affected females were at greater risk of physical and psychological abuse, sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and stigma, in a context of deteriorating socio-economic conditions. Primary care-givers of the NS-affected, mostly women, struggled to make ends meet and were subjected to stigma and abandonment. Targeted interventions, including legal protection for affected females, stigma reduction, and psycho-social and financial support are needed.
Female Genital Mutilation as a Social Norm: Examining the Beliefs and Attitudes of Women in This Diaspora
Authors: Gutiérrez-García Ana Isabel , Solano-Ruiz Carmen , Perpiñá- Galvañ Juana , Siles- González José , Jimenez- Ruiz Ismael
Published: May 2022

In this article, we explore the beliefs, values and attitudes about female genital mutilation in the diaspora of sub-Saharan women and how the migration process has influenced these beliefs. Our qualitative analysis of the life stories and lifelines of 10 women in the sub-Saharan diaspora in light of the Social Convention Theory indicated that making public statements about the topic is complex and that the taboo permeating the practice remains intact even outside of Africa. Furthermore, we discovered that, in our context, this practice was not a requirement and did not improve the chances of marriage, with female behaviours considered ‘appropriate’ instead gaining value. Any interventions based on this theory must consider the broad networks that help shape marriages in this diaspora. This work opened new lines of research regarding the situation of the diaspora of sub-Saharan women and the relationship of the practice of female genital mutilation with marriage.
Attitudes Toward Peer-Delivered Sexual-Health Services Among New York City Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals Who Have Sex with Men and Attend Collective Sex Venues
Authors: Meunier Étienne , Alohan Daniel , Tellone Stephen , Silvera Richard , Cohall Alwyn , Baran Adam , Wakefield Michael , Grov Christian , Fisher Celia B.
Published: May 2022

Collective sex venues such as sex clubs are strategic sites to promote sexual health among sexual and gender minority individuals. We present qualitative findings from a multiple-method study on the acceptability of sexual-health services at collective sex venues in New York City (NYC) among attendees who identified as men, transgender, or gender non-conforming. In a survey used for sample selection ( n = 342), most respondents (82.7%) agreed that “having outreach workers at sex venues is a good thing.” Interviewees ( n = 30) appreciated how on-site services could promote sexual health in their community. They felt peer workers should be familiar with collective sex venues and share demographic characteristics with attendees. Some participants felt workers should keep some boundaries from attendees, while others felt they could be fully integrated in the environment, suggesting that either peer outreach or popular-opinion leader types of interventions could be feasible.
“You cannot stop talking about palliative care:” Perspectives and Learnings from Providers on Communicating about Home-based Palliative Care to Patients and Physicians
Authors: Kogan Alexis Coulourides , Rahman Anna , Lomeli Sindy , Enguidanos Susan
Published: May 2022

Background

Home-based palliative care (HBPC) programs are proliferating across the U.S, yet face significant, documented challenges in promoting uptake of services and sustaining sufficient patient referrals. There is a huge need to understand effective methods for engaging physicians, patients, and caregivers in palliative care. Thus, the purpose of this study was to elicit successful practices on how to best communicate about HBPC to both healthcare providers and patients/caregivers.

Method

Focus groups with nine California-based HBPC organizations were conducted between January and April 2020. Discussions lasted approximately 54 minutes, were guided by a semi-structured protocol, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and codes from the data.

Results

Twenty-five interdisciplinary HBPC staff members participated in a focus group. Most identified as white (76%), female (76%), and working in their current position for 5 years or less (56%). Three themes were identified from the data: (1) value of relationships; (2) communication do’s and don’ts; and (3) need for education. Participants discussed actionable recommendations for each theme.

Discussion

Study findings highlight several successful practices for HBPC programs to communicate- and foster relationships with healthcare professionals and patients/families about palliative care, with education at the crux. Lessons learned about key words and phrases to say and to avoid are particularly valuable for budding HBPC programs. Our results suggest that HBPC providers exert enormous efforts to increase patient referrals and enrollment through strategic, continuous outreach and education to physicians, patients, and their caregivers; however, palliative care educational interventions are needed.
Pre-Brown African American School Leadership Paradigm: A Conceptual Model
Authors: Croft Sheryl J.
Published: May 2022

This research answers the question, “How did pre-Brown African American school leaders lead their schools?” After conducting a metasynthesis on the leadership practices of pre-Brown African American school leaders, I constructed the Pre-Brown African American School Leadership Paradigm (PAASLP) and model. The PAASLP describes a paradigm that bridges a gap between under-researched leadership beliefs, goals, and practices of pre-Brown African American school leaders during segregation and up through desegregation. Aspirational beliefs were grounded in the assertion that through an exemplary education student could develop the skills to move beyond the segregated society and aspire to a different life free from imposed barriers. Resistant beliefs focused on practices designed to prepare students to engage and participate fully in democratic citizenship and to resist the constraints of the society in which they lived. This emergent paradigm offers a basis for African American school leaders’ student-centered leadership as an alternative to contemporary leadership paradigms focused primarily on accountability.
Ci3T Leadership Team Members’ Perceived Facilitators and Barriers to Implementation
Authors: Royer David James , Oakes Wendy Peia , Briesch Amy M. , Chafouleas Sandra M. , Lane Kathleen Lynne , Buckman Mark Matthew , Sherod Rebecca Lee , Common Eric Alan
Published: May 2022

In this qualitative study we sought to understand the experiences of K-12 school personnel serving on Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-Tiered (Ci3T) leadership teams. We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews and five focus groups across three states and five school districts to determine team members’ perceptions regarding facilitators and barriers to Ci3T implementation. We determined from common themes three priority areas for continued professional learning to support Ci3T implementation: (a) Ci3T onboarding and training for new team members, (b) communicating the vision of Ci3T to foster buy-in across stakeholders, and (c) providing Ci3T professional learning to faculty and staff. We discussed findings in terms of possible benefits to school leadership teams working within integrated tiered models and how results of this study may inform the creation of learning modules to support district and Ci3T leadership team members. We discuss limitations with future directions.
Introduction to the Special Issue: A New Era for Remote Early Intervention and Assessment
Authors: Buzhardt Jay , Meadan Hedda
Published: May 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated a challenge in early intervention that the field has struggled for decades to adequately address: How do we implement evidence-based practices remotely while maintaining fidelity for the vast array of early intervention services? This is the core question that investigators sought to address in this Special Issue of the Journal of Early Intervention. Over the last quarter century, the internet and associated technology has transformed key parts of our daily lives, including how we communicate, shop, bank, and share data. Despite extensive funding from both public and private sectors that has generated innovative tools and approaches to deliver remote early intervention, few have reached scale. This has resulted in little change from traditional face-to-face intervention delivery relative to the sweeping changes seen in other sectors, until the Spring of 2020 when most of the world was faced with using unproven methods to deliver intervention and assessments remotely. In this introduction to the special issue, we provide a brief overview of the current need for effective practices to support remote early intervention and early childhood special education services, lessons learned from past education technology research, and an overview of the studies reported in the special issue.
Quality of Life in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension
Authors: Shang Shu-Ting , Chang Yu-Ling , Ho Wan-Jing , Liu Chieh-Yu , Chien Ching-Hui
Published: May 2022

We explored positive and negative affect, quality of life (QOL), and associated factors in patients with pulmonary hypertension. We conducted this cross-sectional study using convenience sampling at a medical center in Taiwan. We used the Social Support Scale, positive and negative affect scale, and Short Form 36-item Health Survey to collect data. In these patients, greater social support was associated with less negative affect and better QOL (mental components). Lower Borg dyspnea scores or greater distances in the six-minute walk test were associated with more positive affect, less negative affect, and better QOL (both physical and mental components). Patients with less negative affect and more positive affect had better QOL (mental components). Therefore, nursing staff should routinely monitor the emotional status and QOL of patients with pulmonary hypertension, especially those with less social support and poorer cardiopulmonary function. Strengthening these aspects may improve patients’ emotional status and QOL.
Closing the Gap: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocols in Primary Cleft Palate Repair
Authors: Asadourian Paul A. , Lu Wang Marcos , Demetres Michelle R. , Imahiyerobo Thomas A. , Otterburn David M.
Published: May 2022

Objective

Assess the evidence for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols in the cleft palate population.

Design

A systematic review of MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases for articles detailing the use of ERAS protocols in patients undergoing primary palatoplasty.

Setting

New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Patients/Participants

Patients with cleft palate undergoing primary palatoplasty.

Interventions

Meta-analysis of reported patient outcomes in ERAS and control cohorts.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Methodological quality of included studies, opioid use, postoperative length of stay (LOS), rate of return to emergency department (ED)/readmission, and postoperative complications.

Results

Following screening, 6 original articles were included; all were of Modified Downs & Black (MD&B) good or fair quality. A total of 354 and 366 were in ERAS and control cohorts, respectively. Meta-analysis of comparable ERAS studies showed a difference in LOS of 0.78 days for ERAS cohorts when compared to controls ( P < .05). Additionally, ERAS patients utilized significantly less postoperative opioids than control patients ( P < .05). Meta-analysis of the rate of readmission/return to ED shows no difference between ERAS and control groups ( P = .59). However, the lack of standardized reporting across studies limited the power of meta-analyses.

Conclusions

ERAS protocols for cleft palate repair offer many advantages for patients, including a significant decrease in the LOS and postoperative opioid use without elevating readmission and return to ED rates. However, this analysis was limited by the paucity of literature on the topic. Better standardization of data reporting in ERAS protocols is needed to facilitate pooled meta-analysis to analyze their effectiveness.
Assessment of the Velopharyngeal Mechanism at Rest and During Speech in Children With 22q11.2DS: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Kollara Lakshmi , Perry Jamie L. , Kirschner Richard E. , Fang Xiangming , Baylis Adriane L.
Published: May 2022

Objective

Velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) associated with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) has a complex etiology. This study had 3 aims: (1) assess differences in velopharyngeal and levator muscle configuration during rest versus sustained speech production (2) compare differences in velopharyngeal changes between children with and without 22q11.2DS (3) examine the relationship between adenoid thickness, pharyngeal depth, and velopharyngeal changes.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Methods

A total of 22 participants, 11 with 22q11.2DS and 11 controls with normal speech and velopharyngeal anatomy (ages 4-12 years), underwent nonsedated MRI at rest and during sustained /i/. Differences in velar and levator muscle contraction across the 2 different conditions were analyzed, using matched paired t-tests. Mean differences across participant groups were examined. Correlation analyses were also conducted.

Results

When comparing differences between rest and sustained phoneme production (aim 1), significant ( P < .05) differences were noted for all velar and levator muscle variables. For differences in velopharyngeal changes between children with and without 22q11.2DS (aim 2), VP ratio and effective VP ratio were noted to be significantly different. Pharyngeal depth and adenoid thickness were correlated with velar and levator muscle change measures and ratios (aim 3).

Conclusion

Results from this study provide quantitative in vivo measurements of the contracted levator muscle and velum in young children with 22q11.2DS. Results demonstrated that VP ratio and EVP ratio are significantly different between children with and without 22q11.2DS and that pharyngeal depth is a strong clinical determinant of VPD in children with 22q11.2DS.
Freedom and the Machine: Technological Criticisms in Adam Smith’s Thought
Authors: Bunn Philip D.
Published: May 2022

In conversations surrounding technology and the future of politics, Adam Smith is a valuable resource for evaluating the subtle relationship between technology and freedom. Smith explores the tendency of specialization occasioned by the advancement of machines to cause “mental mutilation” where the worker’s human faculties are stunted through overspecialization or narrowing of scope of opportunities to judge. Smith’s treatment of the development of sympathetic judgment as necessary to the practice of liberty illuminates the depth of the harms caused by this mutilation; it is the very freedom of the worker that is at stake when the development and the exercise of judgment are restricted. Taken together, Smith’s discussion of the advancement of machines and free and independent judgment can aid contemporary thinkers in understanding the relationship between technology and freedom in commercial society, particularly if new technologies substitute for the judgment of the worker or prevent the development of their judgment.
Asking the Right Questions: A Framework for Developing Gender-Balanced Political Knowledge Batteries
Authors: Kraft Patrick W. , Dolan Kathleen
Published: May 2022

Gender differences in political knowledge are a well-known empirical finding in public opinion research. Scholars working in this area have proposed various explanations for this phenomenon, often focusing on issues regarding the format and content of factual knowledge batteries. Yet, there are surprisingly few works that focus on how scholars might diversify the content of political knowledge measures to develop items that are less biased toward male areas of expertise. In this paper, we propose an inductive framework to develop more gender-balanced knowledge batteries by including political issues that are of particular relevance to women and women’s lives. Employing gender-balanced measures of political knowledge reveal instances where women and men demonstrate equivalent levels of political knowledge and higher levels of political interest and efficacy among women—engagement that is often masked by conventional measures of knowledge.
Political Hearings Reinforce Legal Norms: Confirmation Hearings and Views of the United States Supreme Court
Authors: Krewson Christopher N.
Published: May 2022

Does the political nature of modern judicial confirmation hearings lead the public to think of the Supreme Court as a political body? Some political actors inevitably attack the institution during a confirmation hearing—which should lead to a decrease in support for it—but they attack the Court for acting extra-judicially. More generally, confirmation hearings send the American public an important and universal message: that the Supreme Court at least ought to be a legal institution. Based on original panel data closely surrounding the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, I find that confirmation hearings lead the public to place greater value on the non-political characteristics of a judge. While Supreme Court legitimacy reduced among Democrats over the course of the hearings, all respondents (including Democrats) became more likely to emphasize the importance of the legal qualities in a judge. For Democrats, the data suggests these two processes (reduced legitimacy and increased emphasis on a judge’s legal characteristics) worked independently. For Republicans—and consistent with positivity bias theory—enhanced legitimacy was predicted by a decrease in focus on the political aspects of a judge over the course of the confirmation hearing.
Work Volition Scale for Chinese Working Adults: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study
Authors: Lan Yuanmei , Liu Doudou , Li Chaoping , Wang Jiayan
Published: May 2022

The present study aims to validate the Chinese version of the Work Volition Scales (WVS), an instrument that assesses three components of work volition: volition, financial constraint, and construct constraint. In Study 1 ( N = 498), the WVS was translated into Chinese, and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted resulting in that three factors were consistent with the original scale. In Study 2 ( N = 442), the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the bifactor model provided the most parsimonious fit to the data. The measurement invariance test then revealed that the WVS is equivalent across gender, age, education level, and job tenure. In addition, convergent and concurrent validity supported the finding that the WVS and three subscales are linked with related variables. The results support significant incremental validity in predicting career satisfaction, meaningful work, and life well-being. The findings suggest that the WVS is a valuable instrument for researchers and career counselors who seek to explore work volition among Chinese working adults.