bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Racialised Social Question: Pension Reform in Apartheid South Africa
Authors: Ulriksen Marianne S.
Published: December 2020

The post-WWII period was the “golden age” of welfare-state development. Not so in South Africa, where pension policies did not undergo any significant reforms during the entire apartheid era (1948–1990). This chapter takes a constructivist approach to unpacking the marginal reform efforts in social security in an otherwise reform-fervent apartheid regime. Through in-depth analyses of historical accounts and parliamentary debates, I investigate the ideational underpinnings of and justifications for pension policy developments. The reasons for the state’s limited pension reforms are the ideas of “separate development” and different levels of “civilisation” whereby the white regime could justify taking primary responsibility for only their “own people”.
Guidelines and Safety Practices for Improving Patient Safety
Authors: Ricciardi Walter , Cascini Fidelia
Published: December 2020

This chapter explains why clinical practice guidelines are needed to improve patient safety and how further research into safety practices can successfully influence the guideline development process. There is a description of the structured process by which guidelines that aim to increase the likelihood of a higher score are created. Proposals are made relating to (a) the live updating of individual guideline recommendations and (b) tackling challenges related to the improvement of guidelines.
Adverse Event Investigation and Risk Assessment
Authors: Bellandi Tommaso , Romani-Vidal Adriana , Sousa Paulo , Tanzini Michela
Published: December 2020

This chapter describes a comprehensive approach to adverse event investigation and risk assessment, as well as the characteristics of an integrated system for patient safety and clinical risk management. Drawing on evidence from other industries and healthcare organizations across the globe, the author’s report how such a system can be developed with the active involvement of policy-makers, healthcare managers, health professionals, and patients. Human factors and ergonomics provide the theoretical framework in which the guiding principles, methods, and tools are selected and applied to identify, analyze, and prevent risks related to unsafe care in any healthcare setting.
Intensive Care and Anesthesiology
Authors: Damiani S. , Bendinelli M. , Romagnoli Stefano
Published: December 2020

The wide range of medical disciplines afferent to anesthesiology (anesthesia, perioperative care, intensive care medicine, pain therapy, and emergency medicine), carry a great, cross-specialty opportunity to influence safety and quality of patients’ care. Operating rooms and Intensive Care Units are settings burdened with a high risk of error: surgery is evolving, while the medical staff working in ICU is expected to provide high-quality care in a stressful and complex setting. It is estimated that about 1.5% of surgical interventions are complicated by critical events, but the true incidence is likely underestimated. Across medical specialties, preventable patient harm is more prevalent in the ICU.

Recommendations and good practices for the safe provision of anesthesia and critical care exist and must be known and transferred into daily practice, since one of the main duties of anesthesia and critical care providers is to provide patient safety. Strategies to reduce the occurrence of medication errors, appropriate monitoring practices, equipment care and knowledge, planification and mastery of non-technical skills during emergencies, as well as designing and sustaining a healthy work environment and adopting adequate staffing policies could have an impact on patient safety and positively influence patient outcomes in this setting. The development of simulation training and cognitive aids (e.g., checklists, emergency manuals) is also changing the approach to crises and is expected to encourage a deeper cultural change.
Obstetric Safety Patient
Authors: Ragusa Antonio , Ushiro Shin , Svelato Alessandro , Strambi Noemi , Di Tommaso Mariarosaria
Published: December 2020

In healthcare, the patient safety system which has been developed following the study of the various phases necessary for its determination, supplies strategies to avoid the repetition of circumstances that originally has led an individual to make mistakes. In fact, the culture of risk management, starting from the consideration that the errors are not eliminable, is based on the belief that they need to be properly analyzed, implementing intervention strategies that avoid its repetition, in order to become good learning opportunities.
Brief Story of a Clinical Risk Manager
Authors: Tartaglia Riccardo
Published: December 2020

This chapter briefly describes the experience of a doctor who worked for over 15 years as a clinical risk manager in a regional health service. The chapter describes the phases of a project that started with the establishment and organization of a structure dedicated to patient safety and the creation of a network of doctors and nurses with the function of managing clinical risk. The project was therefore developed through the training of health workers and the creation of a reporting system for adverse events. The first results obtained and the criticalities experienced in the relationship with the political-administrative apparatus are reported. In Italy, this experience has contributed to the enactment in 2017 of an important law on the patient safety that has established centers for the management of health risk and the patient safety in every Italian region and has laid the foundations to further improve the quality of care in the Italian health service.
Organ Donor Risk Stratification in Italy
Authors: Peris Adriano , Bronzoni Jessica , Meli Sonia , Ducci Juri , Rreka Erjon , Ghinolfi Davide , Balzano Emanuele , Melandro Fabio , De Simone Paolo
Published: December 2020

The permanent gap between organ demand and supply has prompted use of organs from extended criteria donors (ECD). These carry a higher risk of disease transmission, with regard to infections and malignancies. We present herein the donor risk stratification algorithm implemented in Italy since 2004 for identification management of donor-to-recipient risk of disease transmission. The principles underlying this algorithm are: (1) the risk of disease transmission must be assessed against the potential benefit for the transplant recipient (i.e., no donor can be excluded from evaluation and their organs might benefit potential candidates); (2) patients awaiting organ transplantation must be informed that the risk of disease transmission is small but finite (standard risk); and (3) risk evaluation is an ongoing process based on information collected longitudinally after transplantation. Regional and national transplant authorities are committed to regular updating of guidelines based on clinical data derived from clinicians and on evaluation of posttransplant graft and patient survival rates.
Human Error and Patient Safety
Authors: Higham Helen , Vincent Charles
Published: December 2020

This chapter introduces the topic of error as an essential foundation for an understanding of patient safety. We introduce psychological classifications of error and then, using clinical examples, show how we can use these ideas to understand how errors occur and how chains of small errors can combine to cause harm to patients. We outline a practical approach to conducting investigations into healthcare incidents. Finally, we offer some reflections on how doctors experience errors and how best to support yourself or your colleagues when things do not go as well as intended.
Digital Technology and Usability and Ergonomics of Medical Devices
Authors: Ranzani Francesco , Parlangeli Oronzo
Published: December 2020

Trying to identify what digital medical technologies are today is a practically unresolvable task. Over the last few years, we have seen a radical change in these technologies; they have become not only extremely sophisticated and complex but also capable of maintaining evolving relationships with their users.
Lessons Learned from the Japan Obstetric Compensation System for Cerebral Palsy: A Novel System of Data Aggregation, Investigation, Amelioration, and No-Fault Compensation
Authors: Ushiro Shin , Ragusa Antonio , Tartaglia Riccardo
Published: December 2020

Cerebral palsy is a pathological condition whose prevention and treatment have been immensely studied by experts in perinatal medicine and pediatric neurology. Despite this, it is still one of the main concerns nowadays in many countries, not only for scientific reasons but for legal ones also. For instance, in Japan, an increase in lawsuits relating to cerebral palsy was observed more than a decade ago, after healthcare resources in perinatal medicine had increasingly shrunk and had become fragile under the growing burden for physicians and midwives to provide advanced treatment, emergent care, high-risk treatment, and so on. Young physicians did not specialize in obstetrics because of the increased burden, which gave rise to a vicious cycle of shrinking resources in perinatal medicine. To address this issue, the Japan Obstetric Compensation System for Cerebral Palsy (JOCS-CP) was urgently introduced in 2009 to investigate, develop preventive measures, and award monetary compensation on a no-fault basis, with the Japan Council for Quality Health Care (JQ) as its operating organization (Fig. 33.1). It has so far produced annual reports on the prevention of cerebral palsy for nine consecutive years including numerical data and specific themes relating to the occurrence and prevention of cerebral palsy. The success of the system is a good reference for responding to adverse events which may happen in and have a vast impact on perinatal care. Therefore, this chapter focuses on cerebral palsy with primary reference to materials published by the JOCS-CP in the field of perinatal medicine. The aim of this chapter is to learn about the issues mentioned above and to discuss the significance and impact of introducing a nationwide system like the JOCS-CP. It describes knowledge and idea to questions of “Why cerebral palsy is highlighted among adverse event in obstetrics?”, “How the no-fault compensation/investigation/prevention system could be introduced?”, “What has been achieved by the system?”, and “How cerebral palsy is prevented?”.
Looking to the Future
Authors: Lachman Peter
Published: December 2020

Over the past 20 years, there has been rapid growth in interventions to improve the safety of people who receive care. These have focused on process and developing interventions to address the risks that people face when they are treated either in the community or in hospital. It is clear that the improvement in safety is evident, though not uniform, and that the challenge is more than one of improving process but more complex. In this chapter, four key areas are covered. The concept of culture and language is the foundation for safety and a change in culture is the first step. This will then include the development of psychological safety and well-being for people who deliver care, and co-production of safety with those who receive care. The social determinants of safety require further delineation and research. Finally, harnessing the potential of the new technologies and artifical intelligence will be the next step in developing as harm free care as is possible. Redesign of healthcare delivery is essential.
Patients for Patient Safety
Authors: Sheridan Susan , Sherman Heather , Kooijman Allison , Vazquez Evangelina , Kirk Katrine , Metwally Nagwa , Cardinali Flavia
Published: December 2020

Unsafe care results in over 2 million deaths per year and is considered one of the world’s leading causes of death. In 2019, the 72nd World Health Assembly issued a call to action, The Global Action on Patient Safety, that called for Member States to democratize healthcare by engaging with the very users of the healthcare system—patients, families, and community members—along with other partners—in the “co-production” of safer healthcare.

The WHO’s Patients for Patient Safety (PFPS) Programme, guided by the London Declaration, addresses this global concern by advancing co-production efforts that demonstrate the powerful and important role that civil society, patients, families, and communities play in building harm reduction strategies that result in safer care in developing and developed countries. The real-world examples from the PFPS Programme and Member States illustrate how civil society as well as patients, families, and communities who have experienced harm from unsafe care have harnessed their wisdom and courageously partnered with passionate and forward-thinking leaders in healthcare including clinicians, researchers, policy makers, medical educators, and quality improvement experts to co-produce sustainable patient safety initiatives. Although each example is different in scope, structure, and purpose and engage different stakeholders at different levels, each highlights the necessary building blocks to transform our healthcare systems into learning environments through co-production of patient safety initiatives, and each responds to the call made in the London Declaration, the WHO PFPS Programme, and the World Health Assembly to place patients, families, communities, and civil society at the center of efforts to improve patient safety.
Infection Prevention and Control
Authors: Costa Anna L. , Privitera Gaetano Pierpaolo , Tulli Giorgio , Toccafondi Giulio
Published: December 2020

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are adverse events exposing patients to a potentially avoidable risk of morbidity and mortality. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is increasingly contributing to the burden of HAIs and emerging as of the most alarming challenges for public health worldwide. Practically, harm mitigation and risk containment demand cross-sectional initiatives incorporate both approaches to infection prevention and control and methodologies from clinical risk management.
Design Research: Immersion and Intervention
Authors: Müller Francis
Published: December 2020

Research is part of any design praxis. But there is no consensus about how exactly research should be conducted. This is in part due to the fact that the disciplines of design have varied historically and are today greatly differentiated from one another. This chapter sketches out how design ethnography does research: it does not test previously constructed hypotheses, but rather explores and leads into new territories, which makes it risky and adventurous. It concerns itself with singularities, which means it does not necessarily need to generalize its findings. It can break with convention, push boundaries, and expand conceptual horizons. It is abductive, constructivist, and reflexive. It develops hypotheses that can be transferred into design.
CrESt Use Cases
Authors: Schlingloff Holger
Published: December 2020

In this chapter, we present three use cases that are used throughout this book to demonstrate the various systems engineering methods presented: vehicle platooning, adaptable and flexible factories, and autonomous transport robots. The use cases are chosen from real-life industrial tasks and exhibit all software engineering challenges that are specific to the development of collaborative embedded systems.
Language Engineering for Heterogeneous Collaborative Embedded Systems
Authors: Butting Arvid , Wortmann Andreas
Published: December 2020

At the core of model-driven development (MDD) of collaborative embedded systems (CESs) are models that realize the different participating stakeholders’ views of the systems. For CESs, these views contain various models to represent requirements, logical functions, collaboration functions, and technical realizations. To enable automated processing, these models must conform to modeling languages. Domain-specific languages (DSLs) that leverage concepts and terminology established by the stakeholders are key to their success. The variety of domains in which CESs are applied has led to a magnitude of different DSLs. These are manually engineered, composed, and customized for different applications, a process which is costly and error-prone. We present an approach for engineering independent language components and composing these using systematic composition operators. To support structured reuse of language components, we further present a methodology for building up product lines of such language components. This fosters engineering of collaborative embedded systems with modeling techniques tailored to each application.
Supporting the Creation of Digital Twins for CESs
Authors: Cioroaica Emilia , Kuhn Thomas , Dimitrov Dimitar
Published: December 2020

One important behavioral aspect of collaborative embedded systems (CESs) is their trustworthiness, which can be assessed at runtime by evaluating their software and system components virtually. The key idea behind trust evaluation at runtime is the assessment of system interactions and consideration of an extended set of actors that influence the dynamicity of these systems. In this sense, the behavior of collaborative embedded systems and collaborative system groups (CSGs) is part of a more complex behavior of digital ecosystems that form around the collaborating systems. One way of performing runtime virtual evaluation of such complex behavior is through the implementation of digital twins (DTs). DTs are executable models fed with real-time data that allow behavior to be observed and analyzed in concrete technical situations. The use of digital twins enables goals to be evaluated in holistic scenarios at three different levels: strategic level, tactical level, and operational level, as we present in this chapter.
Variant and Product Line Co-Evolution
Authors: Kirchhof Jörg Christian , Nieke Michael , Schaefer Ina , Schmalzing David , Schulze Michael
Published: December 2020

Individual collaborative embedded systems (CESs) in a collaborative system group (CSG) are typically provided by different manufacturers. Variability in such systems is pivotal for deploying a CES in different CSGs and environments. Changing requirements may entail the evolution of a CES. Such changed requirements can be manifold: individual variants of a CES are updated to fix bugs, or the manufacturer changes the entire CES product line to provide new capabilities. Both types of evolution, the variant evolution and the product line evolution, may be performed in parallel. However, neither type of evolution should lead to diverging states of CES variants and the CES product line, otherwise both would be incompatible, it would not be possible to update the CES variants, and it would not be possible to reuse bug fixes of an individual variant for the entire product line. To avoid this divergence, we present an approach for co-evolving variants and product lines, thus ensuring their consistency.
Advanced Systems Engineering
Authors: Broy Manfred , Böhm Wolfgang , Rumpe Bernhard
Published: December 2020

Advanced systems engineering (ASE) is a new paradigm for agile, efficient, evolutionary, and quality-aware development of complex cyber-physical systems using modern digital technologies and tools. ASE is essentially enabled by smart digital modeling tools for specifying, modeling, testing, simulating, and analyzing the system under development embedded in a coherent and consistent methodology.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) projects SPES2020, SPES_XT, and CrESt offer such a methodology and framework for model-based systems engineering (MBSE). The framework provides a comprehensive methodology for MBSE that is independent of tools and modeling languages. The framework also offers a comprehensive set of concrete modeling techniques and activities that build on a formal, mathematical foundation. The SPES framework is based on four principles that are of paramount importance: (1) Functional as well as non-functional requirements fully modeled and understood at system level. (2) Consistent consideration of interfaces at each system level. (3) Decomposition of systems into subsystems and their interfaces. (4) Models for a variety of cross-sectional topics (e.g., variability, safety, dynamics).
Architectures for Flexible Collaborative Systems
Authors: Böhm Birthe , Cârlan Carmen , Sohr Annelie , Unverdorben Stephan , Vollmar Jan
Published: December 2020

Collaborative systems are characterized by their interaction with other systems in collaborative system groups in order to reach a common goal. These systems interact based on fixed rules and have the ability to change structurally, if necessary. Changes in the collaboration are usually triggered from outside and are time-discrete with a rather wide time scale. The architectures of these systems and system groups must support flexibility and adaptability at runtime while also ensuring specific qualities, although these changes and their consequences cannot be fully foreseen in all combinations at design time.

In order to enable knowledge preservation and reuse for the design of system architectures for flexible collaborative systems and system groups, we present a method for designing reference architectures for systems and system groups. For this approach, we present an example of a reference architecture for an operator assistance system. To adequately consider safety requirements during the design, we further introduce a method which adapts safety argumentation for flexible collaborative systems to changes in their specification or operating context.
Function Modeling for Collaborative Embedded Systems
Authors: Hayward Alexander , Daun Marian , Petrovska Ana , Böhm Wolfgang , Krajinski Lisa , Fay Alexander
Published: December 2020

The evolution from traditional embedded systems to dynamically interacting, collaborative embedded systems increases the complexity and the number of requirements involved in the model-based development process. In this chapter, we present the new aspects that need to be considered when modeling functions for collaborative embedded systems and collaborative system groups, such as the relationship between functions of a single system and functions resulting from the interplay of multiple systems. These different aspects are represented by a formal, domain-independent metamodel. To aid understanding, we also apply the metamodel to two different use cases.
Architectures for Dynamically Coupled Systems
Authors: Gandor Malin , Jäckel Nicolas , Käser Lorenz , Schlie Alexander , Stierand Ingo , Terfloth Axel , Toborg Steffen , Wachtmeister Louis , Wißdorf Anna
Published: December 2020

Dynamically coupled collaborative embedded systems operate in groups that form, change, and dissolve—often frequently—during their lifetime. Furthermore, the context in which collaborative systems operate is a dynamic one: systems in the context may appear, change their visible behavior, and disappear again. Ensuring safe operation of such collaborative systems is of key importance, while their dynamic nature poses challenges that do not occur in “classical” system design. This starts with the elicitation of the operational context against which the system will be designed—requiring capture of its dynamic nature—and affects all other design phases as well. Novel development methods are required, enabling engineers to deal with the challenges raised by dynamicity in a manageable way. This chapter presents methods that have been developed to support engineers in this task. The methods cover different viewpoints and abstraction levels of the development process, starting at the requirements viewpoint, and glance at the functional and technical design, as well as verification methods for the type of systems envisioned.
Dynamic Safety Certification for Collaborative Embedded Systems at Runtime
Authors: Moncada David Santiago Velasco , Schneider Daniel , Petrovska Ana , Laxman Nishanth , Möhrle Felix , Rothbauer Stefan , Zeller Marc , Koo Chee Hung , Safdari Samira
Published: December 2020

Traditionally, integration and quality assurance of embedded systems are done entirely at development time. Moreover, since such systems often perform safety-critical tasks and work in human environments, safety analyses are performed and safety argumentations devised to convince certification authorities of their safety and to certify the systems if necessary. Collaborative embedded systems, however, are designed to integrate and collaborate with other systems dynamically at runtime. A complete prediction and analysis of all relevant properties during the design phase is usually not possible, as many influencing factors are not yet known. This makes the application of traditional safety analysis and certification techniques impractical, as they usually require a complete specification of the system and its context in advance. In the following chapter, we introduce new techniques to meet this challenge and outline a safety certification concept specifically tailored to collaborative embedded systems.
Goal-Based Strategy Exploration
Authors: Obe Patricia Aluko , Brings Jennifer , Daun Marian , Feeken Linda , Mirzaei Elham , Neumann Martin , Nickles Jochen , Rösel Simon , Sauer Markus , Schlingloff Holger , Stierand Ingo , Zernickel Jan-Stefan
Published: December 2020

When collaborative embedded systems (CESs) connect to form a group, this collaborative system group (CSG) can achieve goals that are beyond the reach of individual systems. The goals such a group can achieve depend on the constituent collaborative embedded systems. Consequently, the ability of a collaborative system group to adapt itself is driven by the capabilities of its collaborative embedded systems. This tight interconnection impedes the manual handling of adaptation strategies. Therefore, this chapter introduces a goal-based approach for strategy exploration that considers the peculiarities of collaborative system groups and collaborative embedded systems. The chapter sets out the model-based approach to adaptive system (group) design, incorporating the goals of collaborative system groups and individual systems, and outlines corresponding automated validation methods. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach for a case example of collaborative transport robots.
Warnsignale für Krebserkrankungen im Kindesalter
Authors: Lewitan L. , Burdach S.
Published: December 2020

In Kinderarztpraxis und Notaufnahme können bereits wichtige Weichen für die spätere Behandlung krebskranker Kinder und Jugendlicher gestellt werden. Dies hat eine große Relevanz für die Prognose, da viele kindliche Tumoren schnell fortschreiten und mit fortgeschrittenen Stadien durch intensivierte Therapie auch vermehrt Nebenwirkungen und Spätfolgen einhergehen. Die häufigsten Warnsignale sind Knochenschmerzen, Blässe, Fieber, Kopfschmerzen und Erbrechen sowie Weichteil- bzw. Lymphknotenschwellungen. Zudem muss bei untypischen Symptomkonstellationen frühzeitig an eine maligne Genese gedacht werden. Die Kunst ist es, unter den häufigen, scheinbar banalen Symptomen die seltenen, aber ernsten Differenzialdiagnosen zu finden. Die „Schwabinger Regeln“ bieten hierbei eine wertvolle Hilfestellung.
Die nasslaufende Kupplung als Stellglied zur Schwingungsreduzierung im Antriebsstrang – Einflüsse eines veränderten Tribosystems
Authors: Bischofberger Arne , Ott Sascha , Albers Albert
Published: December 2020

Eine Veränderung der Systemstruktur (tribologisches System) kann die Schwingungsreduzierung im nasslaufenden Kupplungssystem bei ansonsten gleichbleibenden Randbedingungen möglicherweise maßgeblich verbessern. Dieser Beitrag stellt hierzu Untersuchungen bei gezielter Variation des Tribosystems, im Speziellen des Reibbelages und des verwendeten Öls, vor. Für eine relative Bewertung der Schwingungsentkopplung werden die Bewertungsgrößen spezifisches Amplitudenverhältnis und die Winkelbeschleunigung eingeführt und herangezogen. Zusätzlich wird das dynamische Reibungszahlverhalten der Tribosystemvarianten gegenübergestellt und auf mögliche Korrelationen mit dem Schwingungsentkopplungsverhalten hin untersucht.
Effectiveness of Behaviour Therapy for Children and Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder in a Naturalistic Setting
Authors: Andrén Per , Wachtmeister Vera , Franzé Julia , Speiner Caroline , Fernández de la Cruz Lorena , Andersson Erik , de Schipper Elles , Rautio Daniel , Silverberg-Mörse Maria , Serlachius Eva , Mataix-Cols David
Published: December 2020

It is unclear if the results of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of behaviour therapy (BT) for Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic tic disorder (CTD) can be generalised to naturalistic clinical settings and are durable long-term. In this naturalistic study, 74 young people with TS/CTD received BT at a specialist clinic. Data were collected at baseline, post-treatment, and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Measures included the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) and the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale (CGI-I), amongst others. Tic severity and tic-related impairment improved after treatment, with large within-group effect sizes. At post-treatment, 57% of the participants were classified as treatment responders according to the CGI-I. Tic severity and tic-related impairment improved further through the follow-up, with 75% treatment responders at the 12-month follow-up. BT is an effective and durable treatment for young people with TS/CTD in a naturalistic specialist clinical setting, with comparable effects to RCTs.
Convergent Inexact Penalty Decomposition Methods for Cardinality-Constrained Problems
Authors: Lapucci Matteo , Levato Tommaso , Sciandrone Marco
Published: December 2020

In this manuscript, we consider the problem of minimizing a smooth function with cardinality constraint, i.e., the constraint requiring that the "Equation missing"-norm of the vector of variables cannot exceed a given threshold value. A well-known approach of the literature is represented by the class of penalty decomposition methods, where a sequence of penalty subproblems, depending on the original variables and new variables, are inexactly solved by a two-block decomposition method. The inner iterates of the decomposition method require to perform exact minimizations with respect to the two blocks of variables. The computation of the global minimum with respect to the original variables may be prohibitive in the case of nonconvex objective function. In order to overcome this nontrivial issue, we propose a modified penalty decomposition method, where the exact minimizations with respect to the original variables are replaced by suitable line searches along gradient-related directions. We also present a derivative-free penalty decomposition algorithm for black-box optimization. We state convergence results of the proposed methods, and we report the results of preliminary computational experiments.
Navigating Uncertainty: Early Career Academics and Practices of Appraisal Devices
Authors: Nästesjö Jonatan
Published: December 2020

There is a lack of objective evaluative standards for academic work. While this has been recognized in studies of how gatekeepers pass judgment on the works of others, little is known about how scholars deal with the uncertainty about how their work will be evaluated by gatekeepers. Building upon 35 interviews with early career academics in political science and history, this paper explores how junior scholars use appraisal devices to navigate this kind of uncertainty. Appraisal devices offer trusted and knowledgeable appraisals through which scholars are informed whether their work and they themselves are good enough to succeed in academia. Investigating how early career academics rely upon appraisals from assessors (i.e., ‘academic mentors’), the study adds to existing literature on uncertainty and worth in academic life by drawing attention to how scholars’ anticipatory practices are informed by trusting the judgment of others. The empirical analysis demonstrates that early career academics are confronted with multiple and conflicting appraisals that they must interpret and differentiate between. However, the institutional conditions for dealing with uncertainty about what counts in future evaluations, as well as which individuals generally come to function as assessors, differ between political science and history. This has an impact on both valuation practices and socialization structures. Focusing on what I callpractices of appraisal devices, the paper provides a conceptual understanding of how scholars cope with uncertainties about their future. Furthermore, it expands existing theory by demonstrating how scholars’ self-concept and desired identities are key to the reflexive ways appraisal devices are used in the course of action.
Digital media, book reading, and aspects of sleep and sleep-related fears in preschoolers: the Ulm SPATZ Health Study
Authors: Ricci Cristian , Schlarb Angelika A. , Rothenbacher Dietrich , Genuneit Jon
Published: December 2020

Background

High levels of digital media use with screen-based devices has been found to threaten several aspects of child and adolescent health. However, the rapid change in digital media use behavior in our society over the past decade has rendered much of the existing evidence outdated.

Materials and methods

The present work reports data ascertained from 2016 to 2019 on preschoolers’ digital media use and book reading among 4‑ to 6‑year-old children from the longitudinal Ulm SPATZ Health Study. These data are supplemented by exploring the association of child digital media use and book reading with aspects of children’s sleep and sleep-related fears.

Results

After data management, 581 children participated at the age of 4 years. At the ages of 5 and 6 years, data were available for 508 and 426 participants, respectively. Median age of the mothers was 33 years (range 21–54) and 70% had graduated from high school. Most time spent using digital media was represented by passive activities in front of a screen. Time spent using digital media increased with children’s age. An increased risk of the fear of sleeping alone (RR: 1.35, [95% CI: 1.07; 1.70]) and fear of the dark (1.47 [95% CI 1.16; 1.87]) was documented for exposure to “all media” higher than the median as compared to lower levels. Exposure to “books” above the median and compared to lower levels was tentatively associated with a relevant 18% reduction in the risk of both fear of sleeping alone and fear of the dark (0.82 [95% CI 0.65; 1.03] and 0.82 [95% CI 0.64; 1.05], respectively).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that reducing time spent using digital media and potentially substituting this time by reading books, which seem to be a safe alternative, is a valid solution to reduce some common aspects of poor sleep in preschoolers.
Profile von Berufswahlmotivationen von Lehramtsstudierenden und deren Effekte auf Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen
Authors: Eder Anna M. , Gniewosz Burkhard , Bach Andreas , Hofmann Franz , Katstaller Michaela
Published: December 2020

Motivationale Orientierungen nehmen innerhalb der LehrerInnenbildungsforschung hinsichtlich der intendierten Professionalisierung von Studierenden eine zentrale Rolle ein. Diese Studie untersucht, gestützt auf das FIT-Choice Modell, die Erwartung-Wert-Theorie sowie die sozial-kognitive Theorie, inwiefern Berufswahlmotivationen prädiktiv für die lehrberufsspezifischen Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen sein können. Ein personenzentrierter Ansatz ermöglicht es, die intraindividuellen Unterschiede hinsichtlich motivationaler Orientierungen von Lehramtsstudierenden differenziert darzustellen und gibt in weiterer Folge darüber Auskunft, welche Motivationskonstellationen sich als günstig für die antizipierte Professionalisierung der Studierenden zeigen. Diese Studie fokussiert, ausgehend von motivationalen Ausgangslagen, die Unterschiede in den berufsspezifischen Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen von 366 StudienbeginnerInnen am Standort Salzburg. Mit der latenten Profilanalyse konnten drei Motivationsprofile identifiziert werden, aus welchen Motivationen heraus ein Lehramtsstudium gewählt wurde. Hinsichtlich ihrer professionsspezifischen Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen hebt sich vor allem jenes Profil als günstig hervor, welches sich über hohe soziale und intrinsische Orientierungen auszeichnet. Als weniger günstig stellt sich das Profil heraus, welches allgemein weniger hohe Werte über die Dimensionen der Berufswahlmotivation aufweist und sich generell als wenig ausdifferenziert zeigt.
Insights on the Human Amniotic Membrane in Clinical Practice with a Focus on the New Applications in Retinal Surgery
Authors: Tartaro Ruggero , Caporossi Tomaso , Virgili Gianni , Barca Francesco , Giansanti Fabrizio , Rizzo Stanislao
Published: December 2020

Lay Summary

Recently, the use of the human amniotic membrane (hAM) has been extended to treat retinal disorders such as refractory macular holes, retinal breaks and dry and wet age-related macular degeneration. Not only the hAM has proved to be an excellent tool for repairing retinal tissue, but it has also shown a promising regeneration potential. This review aims to highlight the novel use of the hAM in treating retinal diseases. Although the hAM has been used in the ocular anterior segment reconstruction for more than 60 years, in the last 2 years, we have found in literature articles showing the use of the hAM in the retinal surgery field with interesting results in terms of tissue healing and photoreceptor regeneration.
Public risk perception and emotion on Twitter during the Covid-19 pandemic
Authors: Dyer Joel , Kolic Blas
Published: December 2020

Successful navigation of the Covid-19 pandemic is predicated on public cooperation with safety measures and appropriate perception of risk, in which emotion and attention play important roles. Signatures of public emotion and attention are present in social media data, thus natural language analysis of this text enables near-to-real-time monitoring of indicators of public risk perception. We compare key epidemiological indicators of the progression of the pandemic with indicators of the public perception of the pandemic constructed from$$\sim 20$$∼20million unique Covid-19-related tweets from 12 countries posted between 10th March and 14th June 2020. We find evidence of psychophysical numbing: Twitter users increasingly fixate on mortality, but in a decreasingly emotional and increasingly analytic tone. Semantic network analysis based on word co-occurrences reveals changes in the emotional framing of Covid-19 casualties that are consistent with this hypothesis. We also find that the average attention afforded to national Covid-19 mortality rates is modelled accurately with the Weber–Fechner and power law functions of sensory perception. Our parameter estimates for these models are consistent with estimates from psychological experiments, and indicate that users in this dataset exhibit differential sensitivity by country to the national Covid-19 death rates. Our work illustrates the potential utility of social media for monitoring public risk perception and guiding public communication during crisis scenarios.
Canadian Pioneers of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Brief History
Authors: Eisen Andrew , Taylor David
Published: December 2020

This is an historical account of Canadian pioneers working in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the 1970s and 1980s. Key contributions included the development of specialized clinics, the ALS Society of Canada, human motor unit estimates in vivo, use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the dementias of ALS, the importance of neurofilaments and axonal flow, neuroinflammation and immunity related to ALS, use of tissue culture to study pathogenesis, and the story of ALS in Guam. Their work set the stage for future generations of ALS physicians and scientists to bring about meaningful therapies and hopefully a cure for ALS.
Strong submeasures and applications to non-compact dynamical systems
Authors: TRUONG TUYEN TRUNG
Published: December 2020

A strong submeasure on a compact metric space X is a sub-linear and bounded operator on the space of continuous functions on X. A strong submeasure is positive if it is non-decreasing. By the Hahn–Banach theorem, a positive strong submeasure is the supremum of a non-empty collection of measures whose masses are uniformly bounded from above. There are many natural examples of continuous maps of the form
$f:U\rightarrow X$
, where X is a compact metric space and
$U\subset X$
is an open-dense subset, where f cannot extend to a reasonable function on X. We can mention cases such as transcendental maps of
$\mathbb {C}$
, meromorphic maps on compact complex varieties, or continuous self-maps
$f:U\rightarrow U$
of a dense open subset
$U\subset X$
where X is a compact metric space. For the aforementioned mentioned the use of measures is not sufficient to establish the basic properties of ergodic theory, such as the existence of invariant measures or a reasonable definition of measure-theoretic entropy and topological entropy. In this paper we show that strong submeasures can be used to completely resolve the issue and establish these basic properties. In another paper we apply strong submeasures to the intersection of positive closed
$(1,1)$
currents on compact Kähler manifolds.
Re-envisioning organizational complexity using a multiple perspectives model
Authors: Yoo Choon Bae (Paul)
Published: December 2020

Organizations are now more complex and require collaboration to function effectively across multiple stakeholders. Consequently, they need to be familiar with collaborative projects and participate consciously in shared processes for the accomplishment of particular goals. In order to support and strengthen business partnerships, organizations could use a model based on a multi-perspective approach, as a way of visualizing effective decision-making processes and gaining an understanding regarding how they can establish and maintain stable relationships with other organizations and strategic alliances. The benefits of the new multi-perspective model could be utilized for the collaboration of multiple stakeholders and to drive future organizational change. This study presents a case study which explores the use of a multiple perspective framework in Australian Government Organizations. The results from this study suggest that a multi-perspective model may be used to address organizational complexity through the holistic integration of stakeholder perspectives and sustained knowledge flow.
Changes and Challenges: Parenting Challenges in Iranian Mothers
Authors: Hajkhodadadi Davoud , Etemadi Ozra , Abedi Mohammad Reza , Jazayeri Rezvanossadat
Published: December 2020

Having adolescents affect many aspects of the parent's lives. The aim of this study was to investigate the parenting challenges within the cultural background of Iranian mothers. The participants consisted of 24 mothers who were selected using a purposive sampling method. Semistructured interviews were recorded and transcribed for further analysis. To analyse the data, a thematic analysis was carried out. The analysis of the data shows that for Iranian mothers, parenting challenges are categorised into seven themes: (a) Sense of diminished power and control, (b) Sense of inadequacy, (c) Lack of father's participation, (d) New situation, coping and resolve, (e) Altered relationships issues, (f) Unfulfilled expectations, and (g) Environmental threats. Based on the findings of our study, parenting challenges are culture-bound and controversial, and dealing with them requires parental training.
THE NEW RADIOCARBON DATASET FOR TRILITH MONUMENTS OF SOUTHEASTERN ARABIA
Authors: Garba R , Demján P , Svetlik I , Dreslerová D
Published: December 2020

Triliths are megalithic monuments scattered across the coastal plains of southern and southeastern Arabia. They consist of aligned standing stones with a parallel row of large hearths and form a space, the meaning of which is undoubtedly significant but nonetheless still unknown. This paper presents a new radiocarbon (14C) dataset acquired during the two field seasons 2018–2019 of the TSMO (Trilith Stone Monuments of Oman) project which investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of the triliths. The excavation and sampling of trilith hearths across Oman yielded a dataset of 30 new 14C dates, extending the use of trilith monuments to as early as the Iron Age III period (600–300 BC). The earlier dates are linked to two-phase trilith sites in south-central Oman. The three 14C pairs collected from the two-phase trilith sites indicated gaps between the trilith construction phases from 35 to 475 years (2 σ). The preliminary spatio-temporal analysis shows the geographical expansion of populations using trilith monuments during the 5th to 1st century BC and a later pull back in the 1st and 2nd century AD. The new 14C dataset for trilith sites will help towards a better understanding of Iron Age communities in southeastern Arabia.
Some pearl millet-based foods promote satiety or reduce glycaemic response in a crossover trial
Authors: Hayes Anna M. R. , Gozzi Fanny , Diatta Aminata , Gorissen Tom , Swackhamer Clay , Bellmann Susann , Hamaker Bruce R.
Published: December 2020

In a previous trial in Mali, we showed that traditional pearl millet couscous and thick porridge delayed gastric emptying (about 5 h half-emptying times) in a normal-weight population compared with non-traditional carbohydrate-based foods (pasta, potatoes, white rice; about 3 h half-emptying times), and in a gastric simulator we showed millet couscous had slower digestion than wheat couscous. In light of these findings, we tested the hypothesis in a normal-weight US population (n14) that millet foods would reduce glycaemic response (continuous glucose monitor), improve appetitive sensations (visual analogue scale ratings), as well as reduce gastric emptying rate (13C-octanoic acid breath test). Five carbohydrate-based foods (millet couscous – commercial and self-made, millet thick porridge, wheat couscous, white rice) were fed in a crossover trial matched on available carbohydrate basis. Significantly lower overall glycaemic response was observed for all millet-based foods and wheat couscous compared with white rice (P ≤ 0·05). Millet couscous (self-made) had significantly higher glycaemic response than millet couscous (commercial) and wheat couscous (P < 0·0001), but as there were no differences in peak glucose values an extended glycaemic response was indicated for self-made couscous. Millet couscous (self-made) had significantly lower hunger ratings and higher fullness ratings (P < 0·05) than white rice, millet thick porridge and millet couscous (commercial). A normal gastric emptying rate (<3 h half-emptying times) was observed for all foods, with no significant differences among them. In conclusion, some traditionally prepared pearl millet foods show the potential to reduce glycaemic response and promote satiety.