bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of HIV risk behavior among male substance abusing offenders of intimate partner violence
Authors: Fernandes Camila , Berbary Cassandra , Crane Cory A. , Easton Caroline J.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the rates of HIV risk-taking behavior and sexual violence among clients with co-occurring addiction and intimate partner violence (IPV). The current study also aims to determine whether HIV risk-taking behaviors (e.g. trading sex for money or drugs, having unprotected sex with multiple partners) differ among substance using IPV offenders with and without a history of sexual aggression.

Design/methodology/approach

Secondary analyses were conducted from Easton et al.’s (2017) randomized controlled trial of substance use domestic violence treatment among substance using IPV offenders. Correlational analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between pre-treatment sexual aggression, HIV risk-taking behaviors, substance use and aggression. Analyses of covariance were conducted in order to determine differences in participants’ HIV risk-taking behaviors based on their history of sexual aggression while controlling for hours of contact with the female partners.

Findings

In a sample of 63 participants, males with higher rates of sexual aggression were more likely to engage in sexual risk-taking behaviors. This study encountered a correlation between pre-treatment risk-taking behavior and verbal and physical aggression, as well as a correlation between pre-treatment risk-taking behaviors and cocaine use. Results neither suggest a relationship between sexual aggression and alcohol use nor HIV risk-taking behaviors and alcohol use at pre-treatment.

Research limitations/implications

The present study is limited by sample size and power.

Originality/value

This study is among the first of its kind to investigate HIV risk-taking behaviors among substance using offenders of IPV. This study provides support for the inclusion of treatment targeting HIV risk-taking behaviors among IPV offenders.
Propulsion model for (hybrid) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)
Authors: Dahms Julius , Bardenhagen Andreas
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper deals with the estimation of the necessary masses of propulsion components for multirotor UAS. Originally, within the design process of multirotors, this is an iterative problem, as the propulsion masses contribute to the total takeoff mass. Hence, they influence themselves and cannot be directly calculated. The paper aims to estimate the needed propulsion masses with respect to the requested thrust because of payload, airframe weight and drag forces and with respect to the requested flight time.

Design/methodology/approach

Analogue to the well-established design synthesis of airplanes, statistical data of existing electrical motors, propellers and rechargeable batteries are evaluated and analyzed. Applying Rankine and Froude’s momentum theory and a generic model for electro motor efficiency factors on the statistical performance data provides correlations between requested performance and, therefore, needed propulsion masses. These correlations are evaluated and analyzed in the scope of buoyant-vertical-thrusted hybrid UAS.

Findings

This paper provides a generic mathematical propulsion model. For given payloads, airframe structure weights and a requested flight time, appropriate motor, propeller and battery masses can be modelled that will provide appropriate thrust to lift payload, airframe and the propulsion unit itself over a requested flight time.

Research limitations/implications

The model takes into account a number of motors of four and is valid for the category of nano and small UAS.

Practical implications

The presented propulsion model enables a full numerical design process for vertical thrusted UAS. Hence, it is the precondition for design optimization and more efficient UAS.

Originality/value

The propulsion model is unique and it is valid for pure multirotor as well as for hybrid UAS too.
Evaluating the effectiveness of corporate boards
Authors: Nordberg Donald , Booth Rebecca
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how board evaluations have emerged as an important tool in public policy and corporate practice for enhancing board effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors review the extensive literature on effectiveness and the emerging literature on board evaluation to identify ways to assess the current policy direction for external evaluation of corporate boards.

Findings

The paper develops an integrated framework of effectiveness that can be used as a tool for board evaluation, in particular for externally facilitated exercises.

Research limitations/implications

Through its integration of prior conceptual work this paper advances our theoretical understanding of this emerging part of policy and practice, with to-date lack much empirical basis.

Practical implications

The framework that is developed shows ways to focus how the practice is conducted by boards and external evaluators alike.

Social implications

It can also help policy formation by pointing out the limitations as well as benefits of various policy options.

Originality/value

In pointing to ways to develop study of the field through empirical research, it provides direction for future academic research. It also identifies a need for and direction toward the professionalization of practice.
Real-time implementation of MRAS rotor time constant estimation for induction motor vector control based on a new adaptation signal
Authors: Omari Aymen , Ismail Khalil Bousserhane , Hazzab Abdeldjebar , Bouchiba Bousmaha , Benmohamed Fayssal ElYamani
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The major disadvantage of the field-oriented control (FOC) scheme of induction motors is its dependency on motor parameter variations because of the temperature rise. Among the motor parameters, rotor resistance is a parameter that can degrade the robustness of FOC scheme. An inaccurate setting of the rotor resistance in the slip frequency may result in undesirable cross coupling and performance degradation. To overcome this disadvantage, the purpose of this paper is to propose a model reference adaptive system (MRAS) rotor time constant tuning to improve the induction motor drive performance and to compensate the flux orientation error in vector control law.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the dynamic model and the indirect field-oriented control of induction motor are derived. Then, an inverse rotor time constant tuning is proposed based on MRAS theory where a new adaptation signal formulation is used as reference model, and the estimated stator currents obtained from induction motors (IM) state space resolution is used in the adaptive model.

Findings

The effectiveness and robustness of IM speed control with the proposed MRAS inverse rotor time constant estimator is verified through MATrix LABoratory/Simulink model simulation and laboratory experimental results. The simulation and experimental results show good transient drive performances, satisfactory for rotor resistance estimation and robustness with regard to uncertainties and load torque disturbance.

Originality/value

This paper presents an online tuning of the inverse rotor time constant using a new adaptation signal MRAS model. The proposed estimator is proved to guarantee the stability for different operating conditions, especially in very low/zero speed region and heavy load torque. The stability analysis of the proposed estimation procedure is also demonstrated.
Islamic finance: financial inclusion or migration?
Authors: Tahiri Jouti Ahmed
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to define a methodology to assess the impact of introducing Islamic finance on financial inclusion.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a literature review to understand the link between Islamic finance and financial inclusion. The second part of the paper presents a conceptual framework to assess the impact of introducing Islamic finance on financial inclusion in a defined context based on the profiling of people interested in Islamic finance.

Findings

The paper brings an insight on the impact of introducing Islamic finance. Indeed, it could cause a financial migration to Islamic banks that can take many forms and depends on many factors that call for deep analysis.

Research limitations/implications

The paper would help financial authorities and financial institutions to measure the impact of introducing Islamic finance on their businesses and the stability of the whole system.

Practical implications

Islamic finance can not only enhance financial inclusion but also create financial migration. The two implications can vary from one context to another.

Social implications

Islamic finance can contribute in the effort of including “self-excluded” people with religious concerns as well as people without access to financial services.

Originality/value

This paper promotes the idea that Islamic finance is not exclusively a way to enhance financial inclusion.
Symmetry influences packaging aesthetic evaluation and purchase intention
Authors: Bigoin-Gagnan Arnaud , Lacoste-Badie Sophie
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the symmetrical disposition of information items displayed on the front of product packaging on perceived complexity, perceptual fluency, aesthetic evaluation and product purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 104 participants was exposed to fast-moving consumer goods packaging. A within-subject design experiment was carried out to assess the influence of the symmetrical disposition of information items displayed on the front of the packaging. ANOVA and a PROCESS procedure to assess mediation (Hayes, 2013) examined the relationships among the factors influenced by symmetry.

Findings

This study found that the symmetrical disposition of information items around the vertical axis (mirror symmetry) decreased visual complexity and highlighted an “indirect-only mediation” of visual complexity on the aesthetic evaluation of the packaging through processing fluency. This research also highlighted the fact that packaging aesthetic evaluation had a positive influence on purchase intention.

Originality/value

This study extends knowledge on package design by showing that the elements on which the producer can act (in this case, symmetry on the front of packaging) have an influence on the consumer’s evaluation of the product and intention to purchase.
Learning analytics: where information science and the learning sciences meet
Authors: Teasley Stephanie Danell
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The explosive growth in the number of digital tools utilized in everyday learning activities generates data at an unprecedented scale, providing exciting challenges that cross scholarly communities. This paper aims to provide an overview of learning analytics (LA) with the aim of helping members of the information and learning sciences communities understand how educational Big Data is relevant to their research agendas and how they can contribute to this growing new field.

Design/methodology/approach

Highlighting shared values and issues illustrates why LA is the perfect meeting ground for information and the learning sciences, and suggests how by working together effective LA tools can be designed to innovate education.

Findings

Analytics-driven performance dashboards are offered as a specific example of one research area where information and learning scientists can make a significant contribution to LA research. Recent reviews of existing dashboard studies point to a dearth of evaluation with regard to either theory or outcomes. Here, the relevant expertise from researchers in both the learning sciences and information science is offered as an important opportunity to improve the design and evaluation of student-facing dashboards.

Originality/value

This paper outlines important ties between three scholarly communities to illustrate how their combined research expertise is crucial to advancing how we understand learning and for developing LA-based interventions that meet the values that we all share.
Being a management accountant in a shared services centre
Authors: Lepistö Lauri , Dobroszek Justyna , Moilanen Sinikka , Zarzycka Ewelina
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve understanding of the work of management accountants in the context of a shared services centre.

Design/methodology/approach

A single case study method is used and data are collected via semi-structured interviews and internal documents. The empirical materials are analysed from the theoretical perspective of dirty work, incorporating aspects from practice theory.

Findings

Findings suggest that management accountants working in a shared services centre develop their occupational esteem by refocusing and reframing strategies. Through these strategies, management accountants can decrease the perceived “dirtiness” associated with their work.

Originality/value

The study sheds light on the under-researched topic of management accountants’ work within a shared services centre. Moreover, it offers the metaphor of liminal work to characterise how management accountants develop their occupational esteem in circumstances where gaining efficiency is the main objective.
On the ground insights from disability professionals supporting people with intellectual disability who have experienced sexual violence
Authors: Fraser-Barbour Ellen Frances
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is report on a study exploring the views of service providers, both within disability service sectors and in mainstream violence response sectors, about ways of effectively supporting people with intellectual disability who may be experiencing abuse and violence.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants and analysed both thematically and in more depth from a socio-ecological perspective.

Findings

Participants highlighted five key factors facilitating or hindering professionals working with individuals with intellectual disability who may be experiencing abuse and violence: connecting clients with services and establishing a rapport; access to information about histories of trauma; policy context; inaccessibility and unavailability of mainstream violence response services; client understanding of what happens “next” after identification of harm.

Originality/value

Overall the study indicates a strong need for the development of resources, information and tools designed to educate and enhance the understanding of professionals supporting people with ID and to better facilitate learning and understanding for people with ID regarding what happens “after” disclosure of sexual violence or other experiences of harm.
Parents’ and children’s violent gameplay: role of co-playing
Authors: Walker Doug , Brocato E. Deanne , Carlson Les , Laczniak Russell N.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of co-playing as a moderator of the relation between parents’ and children’s play of violent video games.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses dyadic parent/child survey data to estimate the conditional effects in the model, both direct and indirect.

Findings

The positive effect of parents’ violent video game play of children’s playing behaviors is attenuated by parent/child co-playing. Parents’ knowledge of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings leads to higher levels of co-playing, thereby indirectly attenuating violent video game play in children as driven by parents’ play.

Research limitations/implications

The paper extends the literature on consumer socialization and the impact of co-playing and identifies an antecedent for co-playing in this context.

Practical implications

The paper reveals that knowledge of the self-regulatory ESRB rules plays a valuable (indirect) role in mitigating violent video game play by children through an increase in co-playing, which attenuates the positive effect of parents’ play on children’s play.

Originality/value

The study incorporates data from both parents and children to investigate the relationship between parents and children’s violent video game play while empirically investigating the uncertainty in the literature concerning the moderating impact of co-playing.
Developing health information literacy in disengaged at-risk populations
Authors: Buchanan Steven , Nicol Emma
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to advance our understanding of the challenges of health information literacy (IL) education in disadvantaged and disengaged at-risk populations; and from the perspective of professionals out with information professions occupying everyday support roles.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative in-depth case study. The participants were a team of UK Family Nurses providing outreach support to young expectant mothers from areas of multiple deprivations, and the mothers themselves. The data collection methods were observation, survey, interviews and focus groups.

Findings

Information needs of mothers are multiple, and not always recognised as information problems, or revealed. Several felt overwhelmed, and actively avoided health information. There is low awareness and/or use of state sources of online health information. Family nurses provide an important information intermediary role, but are unfamiliar with IL concepts and models; consequently, there is limited evidence of client transitions to independent information seeking, or underpinning pedagogical practices to achieve such goals.

Research limitations/implications

Further research is required into appropriate pedagogical approaches to IL education adaptable to semi-structured everyday situations. Recognition of information need requires particular attention, including methods of elicitation and specification in the problematic context.

Practical implications

In an era of digital transitions and public service reforms, the authors raise important questions regarding the true reach of public health policy.

Originality/value

The paper holistically examines nurse–client information behaviours, and extends the discussion of low IL in nurses beyond issues of evidence-based practice to issues of developing healthcare self-efficacy in at-risk clients.
The potential of South Africa’s “Boers”
Authors: Lloyd Warren
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Due to the limited research on minority entrepreneurs in Africa, this paper aims to investigate the specific motivation of the current-day Afrikaner community group in South Africa toward entrepreneurship, whether necessity- or opportunity-based, as they represent a valuable potential toward not just economic growth but a wealth of entrepreneurial cultural capital capable of partnering and sharing successfully with other ethnic community groups.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical research was conducted by quantitative analysis where data were gathered from a random sample of 648 respondents of an online survey. The ten-item achievement motives scale (AMS-R) was used to measure the distinct hope of success (HS) and fear of failure (FF) motives in McClelland’s need for achievement (nAch). The survey was conducted by the writer as part of an alternative study, and the data were analysed using SPSS v23.

Findings

The research determined no significant differences between HS (opportunity motivation) between specified age groups, but for FF (necessity motivation), there were statistical differences. This then disproved the stated hypothesis that current and nascent Afrikaner entrepreneurs are indifferent between the two motives. Along with this, it was found that there exists an overall high HS motive in the Afrikaner community, suggesting a high propensity toward the desired opportunity motivated entrepreneurship.

Research limitations/implications

This research is limited to nAch motivation within the single minority group of Afrikaners in South Africa. Implications for future research could be further comparison to other groups, both minority immigrant and “home” cultural groups, and the value of this as it relates to economic growth and knowledge sharing contexts.

Practical implications

The overall high HS motivation seen in the results should be reassuring for policymakers, on the basis that opportunity motivation is a key driver of economic growth and the value as it relates to knowledge sharing from the Afrikaner group to poorer community groups.

Social implications

South Africa, with a large poor community, and one of the lowest entrepreneurial rates in the world, is desperately in need of economic growth that the potential of partnerships with Afrikaner entrepreneurs contain, both from economic growth and knowledge sharing contexts. The high-opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship seen in the Afrikaners community suggests that there exists the willingness for such partnerships.

Originality/value

This paper provides empirical confirmation of the high opportunity entrepreneurial motive in nascent Afrikaners and provides a positive motivation for developing policies to harness this opportunity through initiatives and partnerships linking Afrikaner and black communities.
A comparative analysis of dimensions of COO and animosity on industrial buyers’ attitudes and intentions
Authors: Meshreki Hakim , Ennew Christine , Mourad Maha Moustafa
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Country of origin (COO) is well established as an extrinsic product cue that influences buyer behavior in the business-to-business (B2B) context. However, non-product-specific attitudes to a COO, including the notion of animosity, have received rather less attention. This paper aims to investigate COO as a multi-dimensional construct and animosity as a normative dimension of buyers’ attitudes and intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

The work is based on data collected from industrial buyers in Egypt and Canada to enable a comparative perspective between developing and developed countries. Structural equation modeling was used to test the study’s hypotheses.

Findings

Country of manufacture was an antecedent of perceived quality and a determinant of brand evaluation in both countries. Price was an antecedent of perceived risk and value in Egypt, while its impact on perceived risk was less pronounced in Canada. Perceived value was the strongest determinant of willingness to buy, while animosity played a significant role in this respect in Canada but not in Egypt.

Research limitations/implications

Country of brand was not included as a dimension to be investigated; industry type was not controlled and may confound the results; and generalization of the results is limited given the cross-sectional approach.

Originality/value

The study’s contribution lies in four main elements, viewed individually and in combination: investigating a large number of COO constructs that have not been studied within a single research context in B2B before; including the animosity construct in a B2B setting; contrasting “benefit received” and “sacrifice given” constructs that help to shape industrial buyers’ purchase decisions; and carrying out the research in two very different countries to help improve the generalizability of results.
Does valence of product review matter?
Authors: Bi Nicky Chang , Zhang Ruonan , Ha Louisa
Published: November 2018

Purpose

As YouTubers began to create videos about their personal experience of using products, these video testimonials have become a powerful form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). This study aims to investigate the mediating role of self-effect and third-person effect in the relationships between eWOM seeking and passing along YouTube product review videos (video-based eWOM – vWOM) as a specific form of eWOM.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper used a survey to interview a total of 282 respondents at a public university in the Midwest USA with about 18,000 students.

Findings

The results show that perceived third-person effect leads to sharing more positive vWOM, while perceived self-effect results in a high likelihood of passing along negative vWOM. The general eWOM consumption does not have a direct effect on the sharing of vWOM. In addition, the YouTube sharing habit contributes to sharing vWOM regardless of valence.

Practical implications

The results provide marketers’ insights on how to utilize the social media such as YouTube to improve the visibility of promotional brand messages. Sharing of positive vWOM is due to perceived third-person effect (presumed influence), but sharing negative vWOM is due to perceived self-effect. It also suggests marketers take immediate remedial measures to avoid spreading of negative reviews to other users because if viewers are persuaded to think it could happen to themselves as well, they will spread the video.

Originality/value

The paper has theoretical implications. It contributes to the third-person effect and presumed influence literature by exploring its role in spreading the word for products. It also fills the gap in effects of eWOM literature by examining the mediating role of the valence of video-based eWOM in the spread of eWOM.
Evaluating policy approaches for tackling informal entrepreneurship
Authors: Horodnic Ioana Alexandra , Williams Colin C.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

When tackling the informal economy, an emergent literature has called for the conventional rational economic actor approach (which uses deterrents to ensure that the costs of undeclared work outweigh the benefits) to be replaced or complemented by a social actor approach which focusses upon improving tax morale. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of these two policy approaches in reducing informal sector entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate this, data are reported from a 2015 representative survey involving 1,384 face-to-face interviews with owners or managers of small businesses in three South-Eastern European countries, namely, Croatia, Bulgaria and FYR Macedonia.

Findings

The findings provide support for the “social actor” approach and display that small businesses have a greater propensity to perceive competitors as operating informally when the level of tax morale is lower. Meanwhile, no support for the deterrence measures of the “rational economic actor” model is reported.

Research limitations/implications

The major limitation of the study is that the paper is not able to display the reasons for the low level of tax morale and horizontal trust. Therefore, further in-depth qualitative research is necessary to explain whether and how the low levels of trust are determined by the failures of various formal institutions.

Originality/value

This is the first known study on small businesses which analyses simultaneously two distinct policy approaches that aim to reduce participation in informal entrepreneurship.
Seeking “better ways”: early career faculty researcher development
Authors: Robbins Claire K. , LePeau Lucy A.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Researcher development is an important but underexplored topic with implications for knowledge production, graduate education, faculty development and equity in higher education. The purpose of this constructivist instrumental case study was to understand how the process of writing and publishing from qualitative dissertations sparked researcher development among two pre-tenure faculty members in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

Two researchers and seven data sources (i.e. six essays and one dialogue transcript) were used to construct the case. Researchers first inductively and independently coded the data sources. Researchers then collectively used the constant comparative technique (Charmaz, 2014) for data analysis.

Findings

Data analysis uncovered an iterative, three-phase process of seeking “better ways” (Evans, 2011) to translate dissertations into publications. This process included (1) recognizing one or more issues in the research design or conveyance of data, (2) rallying in a multitude of ways to seek better ways to address the issue(s) and (3) resolving the issue(s) by following internal voices and finding “better ways”.

Originality/value

Findings offer implications for faculty members’ approaches to mentoring and graduate preparation, and for postdoctoral and early career scholars’ agentic approaches to publishing, teaching and reflecting on one’s own researcher development.
Participation of doctoral students in online social networks
Authors: Tauginienė Loreta , Kalinauskaitė Rima
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the use of online social networks by doctoral students.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative online survey was conducted – 448 doctoral students from 15 universities and 11 research institutes in Lithuania were asked about their participation in both academic and non-academic online social networks.

Findings

The results show that despite efforts to link academics to society, doctoral students are not supported by universities/research institutes nor are doctoral students trained for this purpose, including regarding such threats as offensive posts. Additionally, more comprehensive information is disclosed in academic social networks, but these networks are less common and less frequently used.

Research limitations/implications

International doctoral students in Lithuania cover about 4.4 per cent of the total population of doctoral students. They were not invited to participate in the survey. Furthermore, doctoral students consider any online social network as their professional (academic) network, as was found from our results. This resulted in the confusion of our definition of academic online social networks.

Practical implications

Learning about the diverse online roles doctoral students may take could be facilitated were doctoral students to receive clear and consistent awareness-raising and develop self-awareness in the importance of the roles, the most central online social networks and potential threats, and related institutional support to address them.

Originality/value

This study provides results on how engagement of doctoral students in online social networks might affect their links with society and what academic institutions should promote in doctoral education.
Know Your Enemy: Peter Chalmers Mitchell, British Military Intelligence and the Understanding of German Propaganda in the First World War
Authors: MONGER DAVID
Published: November 2018

This article examines the wartime career of Peter Chalmers Mitchell, who set aside his role as Secretary of the London Zoological Society for a wartime career in the War Office, as part of the larger ‘mobilization of intellect’ undertaken by wartime states. During his time at MI7b, Chalmers Mitchell produced an extensive report on German propaganda, intended to inform officials and propagandists of its content in order to assist Britain's own propaganda efforts. However, his attempt to provide an ‘objective and unbiased . . . presentation of facts’ was undermined by prejudice, complacency, presumption of expertise and the tailoring of discussion towards the tastes of his audience. The article explores Chalmers Mitchell's pre‐war and wartime connections with and writing about Germany before assessing his report and briefly exploring possible connections between it and later British propaganda. It argues that, as a scientist, he was accustomed to producing ‘consensible’ knowledge capable of obtaining scholarly consensus because it followed established conventions. While he traded upon his scientific expertise in earlier public interventions about Germany, this was not highlighted in his report. Instead, because he was writing for officials and workers in a government department, his account was made consensible for its audience by confirming what they already thought. It thus discouraged rather than encouraging more complex British approaches to propaganda in the war's last years.
Childcare Use and Its Role in Indigenous Child Development: Evidence from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children in Australia
Authors: Azpitarte Francisco , Chigavazira Abraham , Kalb Guyonne , Farrant Brad M. , Perales Francisco , Zubrick Stephen R.
Published: November 2018

We investigate patterns of childcare use and its influence on the cognitive development of Indigenous children. The influence of childcare on Indigenous children's cognitive outcomes is less well understood than for non‐Indigenous children due to a lack of appropriate data. We focus on a cohort of Indigenous children in Australia who have been followed from infancy and for whom rich information on childcare use and cognitive outcomes is observed. Compared to Indigenous children who never participated in childcare, Indigenous children who participated in childcare performed better on several early cognitive outcomes. Using regression and propensity score matching, we show that this difference is driven by selection into childcare, with children from more advantaged families being more likely to attend formal childcare. However, matching analysis results suggest that relatively disadvantaged children might benefit more from attending childcare, as indicated by the positive estimated effects found for those who never attended childcare.
Effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine Jinlida granules as an add‐on therapy for type 2 diabetes: A system review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Lian Fengmei , Jin De , Bao Qi , Zhao Yiru , Tong Xiaolin
Published: November 2018

Background

Jinlida granules are a commonly prescribed oral medication in China used in combination with antidiabetic drugs to lower blood glucose. The aim of this study was to systematically identify and pool the findings of randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness and safety of Jinlida granules as add‐on therapy for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods

The China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wang Fang, PubMed, China biology medicine (CBM), and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP) databases were searched for papers regarding the effects of Jinlida granules in T2D published before 1 July 2018. A pooled analysis of extracted data was performed using random‐effects models.

Results

In all, data were retrieved for 15 studies including 1810 individuals. Decreases in HbA1c were greater in groups receiving Jinlida granules as add‐on therapy compared with control groups (n = 1820; mean difference − 0.66; 95% confidence interval − 0.72, −0.60; P < 0.00001; I2 = 38%). In addition, Jinlida granules reduced body mass index and had beneficial effects on homeostatic model assessment of β‐cell function and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. No obvious adverse events were reported.

Conclusions

Findings from this meta‐analysis demonstrate additional benefits of Jinlida granules as an add‐on therapy for T2D and that Jinlida granules are generally safe. Treatment with Jinlida granules provided clinically and statistically significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose, 2‐hour post‐load glucose, and HbA1c levels in patients with T2D. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size and study limitations.
Primary posterior perineal hernia: Incidental CT diagnosis of a rare pelvic floor hernia
Authors: Mistry Vijay , Halder Arani , Saad Nivene
Published: November 2018

Perineal hernias are rare, protruding through a defect, congenital or acquired, of the pelvic floor musculature with intraperitoneal or extraperitoneal content. Anatomically they can be classified as anterior and posterior based on the position relative to the superficial transverse perineal muscle. We present a case of a rare primary posterior perineal hernia that was identified incidentally on computed tomography.
Lymph nodes as barriers to T‐cell rejuvenation in aging mice and nonhuman primates
Authors: Thompson Heather L. , Smithey Megan J. , Uhrlaub Jennifer L. , Jeftić Ilija , Jergović Mladen , White Sarah E. , Currier Noreen , Lang Anna M. , Okoye Afam , Park Byung , Picker Louis J. , Surh Charles D. , Nikolich‐Žugich Janko
Published: November 2018

In youth, thymic involution curtails production of new naïve T cells, placing the onus of T‐cell maintenance upon secondary lymphoid organs (SLO). This peripheral maintenance preserves the size of the T‐cell pool for much of the lifespan, but wanes in the last third of life, leading to a dearth of naïve T cells in blood and SLO, and contributing to suboptimal immune defense. Both keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) and sex steroid ablation (SSA) have been shown to transiently increase the size and cellularity of the old thymus. It is less clear whether this increase can improve protection of old animals from infectious challenge. Here, we directly measured the extent to which thymic rejuvenation benefits the peripheral T‐cell compartment of old mice and nonhuman primates. Following treatment of old animals with either KGF or SSA, we observed robust rejuvenation of thymic size and cellularity, and, in a reporter mouse model, an increase in recent thymic emigrants (RTE) in the blood. However, few RTE were found in the spleen and even fewer in the lymph nodes, and SSA‐treated mice showed no improvement in immune defense against West Nile virus. In parallel, we found increased disorganization and fibrosis in old LN of both mice and nonhuman primates. These results suggest that SLO defects with aging can negate the effects of successful thymic rejuvenation in immune defense.
Scoping the impact of curriculum and placement on the rural pharmacy workforce
Authors: Taylor Selina M. , Glass Beverley D.
Published: November 2018

Objective

The objective of this review was to scope the impact of university rural curriculum and rural clinical placements on students’ intentions to practise rurally and rural pharmacists’ choice of rural practice.

Design

The scoping review used Arskey and O'Malley's methodological framework, searching the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Informit and Scopus. This scoping review followed PRISMA for article reporting.

Setting

Studies were selected from those conducted in Australia, USA, Canada and Africa.

Participants

Pharmacy undergraduate students, interns, registered and academic pharmacists were included.

Main Outcome Measure

The pharmacy curriculum at universities and placements undertaken, specifically in rural and remote settings, were evaluated to determine their influence on intention to practise as a rural pharmacist.

Results

The search strategy generated 294 records, 31 of which were included in the scoping review. Key findings were mapped to two domains, which broadly included the impact of rural placements and curriculum on intention to practise rurally. Some universities have attempted to introduce a rural curriculum, but reported resources as a barrier and the lack of resulting evidence of students’ intention to practise rurally. Although results indicate rural placements have had a positive influence on students’ intention to work rurally, this intention has been measured immediately after exposure to rural practice and might not reflect future intentions.

Conclusion

This review highlights significant gaps in the impact particularly of a rural curriculum and rural clinical placements in relation to the current rural pharmacist workforce. A greater understanding of this topic may guide recommendations for future strategies to address rural pharmacy workforce maldistribution.
Reproduction, fear of childbirth and obstetric outcomes in women treated for fear of childbirth in their first pregnancy: A historical cohort
Authors: Möller Louise , Josefsson Ann , Lilliecreutz Caroline , Gunnervik Christina , Bladh Marie , Sydsjö Gunilla
Published: November 2018

Introduction

About 8% of the pregnant women in Sweden receive counseling for fear of childbirth (FOC) during pregnancy. Little is known about the long‐term reproductive and obstetric outcomes after counseling for FOC: Therefore, the objective of this historical cohort study was to compare the long‐term reproductive and obstetric outcomes in women treated for FOC in their first pregnancy to women without FOC.

Material and methods

All nulliparas consecutively referred for treatment of severe FOC between 2001 and 2007 (n = 608) were compared with all other nulliparas giving birth on the same day (n = 431). Women who were not fluent in Swedish, missing a postal address, had moved out of the area, given birth at another hospital or had a late spontaneous abortion were excluded (n = 555). A total of 235 women agreed to participate in the study, 63 (39%) women in the index group and 172 (53%) in the reference group. The women were contacted by letter in 2015, ie 7‐14 years after first childbirth, and asked to permit access to their medical charts from pregnancies and childbirths and to fill out a study specific questionnaire. Based on data from the medical charts and questionnaire, the mode of delivery, birth experience, obstetric complications, FOC, counseling for FOC and number of childbirths were compared in the two groups.

Results

Women in the index group less often gave birth more than twice compared with the reference group (8.2% vs 22.0%, P = 0.012). We found no significant differences in complications during subsequent pregnancies and deliveries. Women in the index group more often gave birth by CS in their first (P = 0.002) and second childbirth (P = 0.001), more often had a less positive birth experience (index group NRS: median 6.0, interquartile range 6 vs reference group NRS: 7.0, interquartile range 5, P = 0.004) in their first delivery and more often received counseling for FOC (58.7% vs 12.5%, P < 0.001) in subsequent pregnancies. Women in the index group more often experienced FOC (18% vs 5.3%, P = 0.001) 7‐14 years after first childbirth.

Conclusions

FOC is not easily treated. Despite treatment and exposure to childbirth many women received treatment in their next pregnancy and still suffered from FOC 7‐14 years after the first childbirth.
Incidence and predictors of new persistent opioid use following inflammatory bowel disease flares treated with oral corticosteroids
Authors: Noureldin Mohamed , Higgins Peter D. R. , Govani Shail M. , Cohen‐Mekelburg Shirley , Kenney Brooke C. , Stidham Ryan W. , Waljee Jennifer F. , Waljee Akbar K.
Published: November 2018

Background

Opioids are commonly prescribed to manage pain associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is unknown what percentage of patients develop new persistent opioid use following a steroid‐treated IBD flare.

Aim

To identify the incidence and the predictors of new persistent opioid use following an IBD flare.

Methods

We used a national insurance claim dataset to identify patients with IBD who received an opioid medication around the time of a corticosteroid‐treated IBD flare. Patients were stratified as previously opioid naïve, intermittent users, or chronic users. The incidence of persistent opioid use among the opioid‐naïve cohort was evaluated along with associated predictors.

Results

We identified 15 119 IBD patients who received opioids around the time of a flare. 5411 (35.8%) were opioid‐naïve patients of which 35.0% developed persistent opioid use after the flare. Factors associated with new persistent opioid use include a history of depression (hazard ratio [HR] 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13‐1.47), substance abuse (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.2‐1.54), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04‐1.3), as well as, Crohn's disease (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.14‐1.4) or indeterminate colitis (HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.36‐1.88).

Conclusions

New persistent opioid use is common in IBD patients who experience a flare, especially among those with mental health disorders, COPD, and Crohn's disease or indeterminate colitis. These findings can be helpful in risk‐stratifying patients when choosing an acute pain therapy and providing counselling before choosing to prescribe opioids to opioid‐naïve patients experiencing an IBD flare.
Troubling institutions
Authors: Disney Tom , Schliehe Anna
Published: November 2018

Institutions have troubled us for decades. Although the history of this engagement has been noted as somewhat “fragmented” (Billo & Mountz, 2015, Progress in Human Geography, 40, p. 199), geographers have engaged in detailed discussion on how to research institutions (Flowerdew, 1982, Institutions and geographical patterns, Croom Helm, London, UK), and noted their multifaceted and heterogeneous nature. In a special issue in 2000, Philo and Parr initiated a discussion on an emerging and wide ranging literature of institutional geographies and their epistemological frames. This collection seeks to invigorate institutional geographies in thinking through trouble and moving to develop “geographies of trouble.” This special section on “Troubling Institutions at the Nexus of Care and Control” has emerged from three sessions at the annual conference of the RGS‐IBG in 2016. The papers reflect a diverse engagement with the institutional in geography and provide novel insights around the nature of trouble. We believe geographers could develop trouble, scaling up to map the interconnected circuits of trouble interventions but also to move forward and consider how these networks and institutions are changing, adapting and increasingly troubled themselves.
Is postponed laparoscopic appendectomy justified for patients with acute appendicitis?
Authors: Kohga Atsushi , Yajima Kiyoshige , Okumura Takuya , Yamashita Kimihiro , Isogaki Jun , Suzuki Kenji , Muramatsu Katsuaki , Komiyama Akira , Kawabe Akihiro
Published: November 2018

Introduction

Recent meta‐analyses revealed that laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) is a feasible procedure even for patients with complicated appendicitis. More than a few patients with acute appendicitis arrive at the hospital during night shifts and have their operation postponed for various reasons. However, the feasibility and disadvantages of this so‐called “postponed laparoscopic appendectomy” (PLA) remain controversial.

Methods

We included 149 patients who underwent LA for acute appendicitis within 48 h of diagnosis between January 2013 and May 2018. Patients were divided into an immediate LA group (patients who underwent LA within 4 h of diagnosis, n = 84) and a PLA group (patients who underwent LA 4–48 h after diagnosis, n = 65). Comparisons were made between these groups.

Results

The preoperative characteristics of the patients in the immediate LA and PLA groups were not significantly different. Operative time was significantly longer in the PLA group than in the LA group (92.5 ± 40.8 vs 78.1 ± 29.7 min, P = 0.012). The incidence of postoperative complications (grade II or higher) was significantly greater in the PLA group than in the LA group (32.3% vs 17.8%, P = 0.041). Multivariate analysis revealed that a preoperative CT finding of periappendiceal fluid (P = 0.005, odds ratio = 4.71) and surgery 4–48 h after diagnosis (P = 0.005, odds ratio = 4.425) were independent risk factors of postoperative complications (grade II or higher).

Conclusions

For patients with acute appendicitis, surgeons should perform immediate LA, if that is the patient's preferred surgical treatment, as long as there is no special reason to postpone surgery.