bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social sustainability in architectural practice: examining experiences of architectural offices in B-Corp certification in the United Kingdom
Authors: Keser Kurşun Elif , Albadra Dima , Emmitt Stephen
Published: December 2024

Purpose

Social sustainability (SS) is one of the key pillars of sustainability along with environmental and economic sustainability. Several impact assessment frameworks (IAF) exist to evaluate sustainability in the built environment, yet SS is often neglected. This paper is the first to investigate the effectiveness of the B-Corp certification scheme as an IAF to promote SS in architectural practice. With almost 3.5 folds increase in the number of B-Corp-certified UK-based architectural offices, in the last two years, and the neglect of the social dimension of sustainability in IAF application; the key question of this research is “What roles does B-Corp play in architectural practice to promote SS in the UK?”

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on qualitative data collection and thematic analysis. Eight semi-structured online interviews were conducted with B-Corp-certified architectural offices in the UK. The interview questions focused on understanding the offices' B-Corp experiences around three categories: motivations, challenges and changes. Through a coding process, the interviews were analysed to find the similarities and differences between the offices' approaches to SS and their experiences as B-Corps. Keywords were identified and themes with an inductive approach, applying the research question as a lens.

Findings

Data was analysed to understand how B-Corp and its IAF relate to the architectural offices. The study concluded that B-Corp can make it easier to establish inter-actor relationships and B-Corp’s IAF can provide a holistic approach in which architectural offices can better measure their sustainable values by switching the evaluation scale from “building” to “business” unlike common IFAs in the built environment; with these two roles, it can effectively contribute to social sustainability.

Originality/value

It is the first research to introduce the B-Corp certification to the architectural literature. Even though over 90 publications are covering B-Corp in other domains, there has yet to be any research looking at B-Corp-certified architectural offices, its merits as an IAF and limitations. This paper presents novel contributions to the knowledge concerning the assessment of social sustainability in architecture.
Argumentation strategies in lobbying: the discursive struggle over proposals to regulate Big Tech
Authors: Davidson Scott , Lock Irina
Published: December 2024

Purpose

This study investigates, through a case study where organisations held opposing lobbying objectives, the argumentation strategies employed by organisations in their lobbying. Big Tech companies lobbied against proposed online harm regulations in the UK, with their objectives clashing with public interest groups with a health focus, who advocated for broader regulations. The research explores the functional relationship between these argumentation strategies and the lobbying objectives of the organisations involved. Additionally, it examines the extent to which organisations with similar lobbying objectives converge in the argumentation strategies they deploy.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative content analysis of N = 13 submissions in response to the UK Online Safety Bill from seven public interest groups and six Big Tech companies was conducted. It captured both the public affairs objectives and argumentation strategies submitted in response to the regulatory proposal.

Findings

Our findings suggest Big Tech use argumentation strategies that emphasise cost implications, threats to freedom of speech and claim proposed regulations are impractical, while at the same time seeking to align their objectives with public interest norms. Public interest groups continuously stress the costs and risks for mental health if regulations are not widened in scope or rigorously enforced.

Originality/value

Situating lobbying within communication management, the study contributes to theorising language strategies. It reveals the argumentation strategies with which both powerful corporations and public interest groups attempt to influence public policy. Both theoretically and practically, it will contribute to developing analytical frameworks for understanding the influence intent in lobbying argumentation.
Impact of mobile money adoption on financial inclusion in Sri Lanka: mediating impact of hedonism
Authors: Dewasiri Narayanage Jayantha , Kumara Patikiri Koralalage Asanka , Lakmini Walakumbura Simbiya Hevage Madu , Rathnasiri Mananage Shanika Hansini , Jayarathne Potupitiya Gamaathige Sanjeewani Amila
Published: December 2024

Purpose

This study uses hedonism as a mediating variable to examine the relationship between mobile money adoption and financial inclusion in Sri Lankan small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted a quantitative research study utilizing a survey strategy and distributing standardized questionnaires to 150 SMEs in Sri Lanka using a simple random sampling technique.

Findings

According to our analysis, a significant relationship exists between mobile money adoption and financial inclusion in SMEs in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, we found that this relationship is mediated by hedonism, offering insights into the phenomenon.

Practical implications

This study’s findings significantly impact Sri Lankan policymakers, financial institutions, and SMEs. Policymakers can use this research to create plans encouraging mobile money usage, potentially improving financial inclusion among SMEs. When SMEs adopt mobile money, financial institutions can adjust their services to match their demands. It is advantageous for SMEs to understand how adopting mobile money can enhance their financial inclusion and overall business stability.

Originality/value

Our study contributes to existing literature in two key ways. Firstly, it addresses a significant research gap by examining the impact of mobile money use on financial inclusion among SMEs in Sri Lanka. Secondly, we introduce the concept of hedonism as a potential mediator, providing a fresh perspective on the complex dynamics that shape the relationship between mobile money adoption and financial inclusion in this context.
A multi-period model for assessing the reinforcing dependence between climate transition and physical risks of non-life insurers
Authors: Özdil Onur
Published: December 2024

Purpose

Climate risks are crucial for non-life insurers due to their significant exposure to both transition and physical risks. The aim of this study is to develop a multi-period model that represents climate risks in non-life insurance, encompassing the impacts of both physical and transition risks as well as their reinforcing dependence. Literature suggests that as physical climate risks increase, the urgency for climate policies intensifies, leading to higher climate transition risks.

Design/methodology/approach

Our model includes a stochastic transition process affecting assets based on their exposure in climate policy-relevant sectors (green and brown investments) and a dependence structure between this process and liabilities, where the physical risks manifest as an increase in claims.

Findings

Our simulation indicates that the choice of the transition process, as well as the consideration of dependencies, has a significant influence on the insurers’ profit, but even more on the probability of ruin. The impact of green versus brown investment strategies varies considerably based on whether dependencies are taken into account or not.

Originality/value

The results of this study are intended to deepen the understanding of the effects of climate risks on non-life insurers and provide a quantitative analysis of the impact of green and brown investing within this framework.
Efficiency of advanced materials in strengthening of CFST columns: finite elements and artificial neural networks
Authors: Selmi Abdellatif , Raza Ali
Published: December 2024

Purpose

The aim of the current study is to recommend and compare the estimates of finite element model (FEM), analytical model, and artificial neural networks (ANN) model for capturing the LCC of FCSC members. A database comprising 325 FCSC columns was constructed from previous studies to propose FEM and ANN models while the analytical model was proposed based on a database of 712 samples and encasing mechanics of steel tube and FRP wraps. The concrete damage plastic model was used for concrete along with bilinear and linear elastic models for steel tube and FRP wraps, respectively. Analytical and ANN models effectively considered the lateral encasing mechanism of FCSC columns for accurate predictions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study aimed to compare the prediction accuracy of finite element (FEM), analytical, and artificial neural network (ANN) models for the load-carrying capacity (LCC) of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP)-encased concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) compression members (FCSC). A database of 325 FCSC columns was developed for FEM and ANN models, while the analytical model was based on 712 samples, utilizing encasing mechanics of steel tube and FRP wraps. FEM used a concrete damage plastic model, bilinear steel tube, and linear elastic FRP models. Statistical accuracy was evaluated using MAE, MAPE, R², RMSE, and a 20-index across all models.

Findings

Based on the experimental database, the FEM presented the accuracies in the form of statistical parameters MAE = 223.76, MAPE = 285.32, R2 = 0.94, RMSE = 210.43 and a20-index = 0.83. The analytical model showed the statistics of MAE = 427.229, MAPE = 283.649, R2 = 0.8149, RMSE = 275.428 and a20-index = 0.73 while ANN models portrayed the predictions with MAE = 195, MAPE = 229.67, R2 = 0.981, RMSE = 174 and a20-index = 0.89 for the LCC of FCSC columns.

Originality/value

Although various investigations have already been performed on the prediction of the load-carrying capacity (LCC) of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP)-encased concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) compression members (FCSC) using small and noisy data, none of them compared the accuracy of prediction of different modeling techniques based on a refined large database.
Filling the void: the underlying processes of CEO post-retirement role identity reformation
Authors: Lamberti Mark J. , Lew Charlene
Published: December 2024

Purpose

Following identity theory from a symbolic-interactionist perspective, we explore the post-retirement role identity reformation of public company CEOs to uncover the process elements through which role identities reform after retirement from highly salient roles.

Design/methodology/approach

We applied a self-relevant qualitative exploration based on 30 in-depth interviews and employed an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Findings

The findings reveal six interrelated, contemporaneous and contiguous underlying process elements within post-retirement liminality and emergence clusters, which shape work and nonwork role identities that contribute to retirement stability and well-being.

Practical implications

The research provides a basis for organizations and human resource specialists to guide retiring senior executives on the psychological effects, cognitive processes and practical considerations of the retirement transition.

Originality/value

The study provides a framework for understanding how the post-retirement void evokes novel appraisals of self, others and context. These appraisals act as stimuli of an integrated cognitive, social and behavioral work role identity reformation process.
MEGA‐REAL ESTATE SPECULATION AND RACIALIZED DISPOSSESSION: Miami's Little Haiti
Authors: Tardanico Richard
Published: December 2024

This article contributes to research on racialized dispossession through the lens of popular responses to local/global conjunctures of urban financial speculation. How has a predominantly Black immigrant community, Little Haiti, confronted a surging variant of Miami's history of racialized dispossession—corporate mega‐real estate speculation—since 2008's global financial crisis? I examine Little Haiti's confrontation with the proposed Magic City Innovation District, which is, in fact, no more than a large‐scale, mixed‐use commercial venture. Greater Miami's conjuncture undermined the community's capacity to resist or effectively negotiate with Magic City's partnership in three ways: a real estate hegemonic metropolis devoid of potent allies; the near absence of neighborhood‐resident resistance leadership in a working‐poor immigrant community; and a political fracture within Greater Miami's Haitian collective responses over the politics of patronage and accommodative versus contentious bargaining. By enveloping patronage practices within speculative imaginaries of inclusive, tech‐led neighborhood and metropolitan prosperity, Magic City's partnership and local government reinforced that fracture and politically marginalized both the accommodative and contentious factions. I conclude by considering the dilemma of disenfranchised communities today when confronting racialized speculative intrusions. The article's empirical content draws primarily on my collaborative‐community activism, city commission planning sessions and official documentation.
Do donors value volunteer commitment in assessing nonprofit effectiveness?
Authors: Beck Amanda W. , Garven Sarah A. , Yetman Michelle Higgins
Published: December 2024

Evaluating organizational effectiveness is a significant challenge for nonprofit donors making donation allocation decisions. Donations may be misallocated if organizational effectiveness is inadequately assessed, and donors, who are often organizational outsiders, rely on nonprofit disclosures on IRS Form 990 to make such assessments. We examine whether donors value volunteer commitment, as measured by the number of volunteers that nonprofits disclose on Form 990, alongside financial and governance disclosures in assessing organizational effectiveness. Donors and volunteers prefer to make respective gifts of money and time to nonprofits that are effective in furthering their missions. Based on the premise that volunteers, as organizational insiders, are better positioned than donors to judge the impact of their contributions, we hypothesize that volunteer commitment provides value‐relevant information to donors for use in assessing imprecise effectiveness signals—namely, the program ratio and corporate governance disclosures. Consistent with this, we find that the value relevance of the program ratio and corporate governance disclosures to donors is increasing with the level of volunteer commitment. These results suggest that donors view volunteer commitment as a signal of effectiveness, useful in interpreting other signals of effectiveness. The evidence is more pronounced among nonprofits that report more credible volunteer disclosures, have a larger proportion of sophisticated donors, and are more complex. These findings have implications for regulators considering nonprofit disclosure policies, as well as nonprofit managers and directors engaging volunteers.
Mapping agents: A spatial economic analysis of agent location in the Federal Crop Insurance Program
Authors: DeLay Nathan D. , Walters Cory G.
Published: December 2024

Crop insurance is delivered to farmers and ranchers through a partnership among the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), part of the United States Department of Agriculture, and the crop insurance industry. The FCIC offers financial incentives, through reinsurance and subsidies, to private insurance companies for insurance contracts sold in accordance with the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA). Crop insurance agents play an important role in the delivery of the federal crop insurance program, acting as intermediaries between farmers and crop insurance companies. Little is understood about the supply of crop insurance agents and the role of government policy in the provision of agent services, particularly after the 2010 SRA. We model the equilibrium supply of crop insurance agents to derive testable hypotheses about the factors that influence agent concentration across space. We evaluate our model using spatial econometric techniques and a novel dataset of crop insurance agent locations by county. Generally, forces that raise agent compensation, including the degree of competition among insurance companies, are shown to increase the local supply of agents. Results vary by government‐defined reinsurance regions. Notably, historical average premium rates, which both reflect actuarial risk and influence farmer insurance demand, are negatively related to agent competition in the low‐risk Group 1 states, which contributes over 40% of insured liabilities. These factors produce spatial spillovers, suggesting the presence of agglomeration effects in the market for agent services. Proposed changes to the SRA should consider impacts on the regional distribution and local supply of agents.
Swallowed voice: The ethnography of historical experience as method to describe fate and ethnicity as the experience of geographical boundary lines embodied in refugees
Authors: Müller‐Schwarze Nina Katharina
Published: December 2024

This study collects oral histories in intersubjective methods. Grounded methods allowed for themes to emerge that revealed strategies of self‐definition expressed by survivors of ethnic cleansing. The discussion draws on interdisciplinary literature to broaden the scholarly focus from bounded wholes to historical experience. Political scientists convincingly define Silesia as ethnicity and geographical areas in Europe today, yet this anthropological study focuses on the effects of history (sensu Foucault 1972) as experienced, especially emotionally and traumatically, when geopolitical powers divided families into those who stayed and those forced to leave. The discursive field and historical experience of Silesia is vast. An innovative methodology, the ethnography of historical experience, allows for people's experiences of geopolitical boundaries and nation–states to emerge. Themes that emerge distinguish this discursive field in its polyvocality and heteroglossia as creole and multilingual people who experience the imposition of nation–states repeatedly in history. Intersubjective methods change the subjectivity and singing voice of the text author over the long period of this study, and the silent space of trauma is mutually revoiced. Theory from interdisciplinary fields contextualizes the empirical evidence after the themes emerged.
Complex trajectories are associated with neurological impairment in infants with congenital gastrointestinal malformations aged two
Authors: Midavaine Manon , Vinit Nicolas , Sartorius Victor , Kermorvant‐Duchemin Elsa , Lapillonne Alexandre
Published: December 2024

Aim

Our aims were to describe the neurodevelopment of infants with congenital gastrointestinal malformations at 2 years of age and to investigate the association between developmental delay and complex trajectories.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study. Infants operated on for oesophageal atresia, abdominal wall defects, intestinal malformation, congenital diaphragmatic hernia and anorectal malformation were analysed. Neurodevelopment was assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire at 24 months. The primary outcome was the presence of developmental delay, defined as ASQ‐24 months of total score ≤ 185.

Results

Of 118 patients, 11 (9%) had an ASQ‐24 months ≤185. Factors associated with an ASQ‐24 months ≤185 were earlier gestational age (p = 0.045), longer invasive ventilation (p = 0.046), longer parenteral nutrition (p = 0.043) and ≥2 hospitalisations in the first 2 years (p = 0.022). They had a significantly longer stay in the neonatal intensive care unit and subsequent hospitalisations (p = 0.007). After adjustment for prematurity and breastfeeding, this association remained statistically significant.

Conclusion

Nine per cent of children with a gastrointestinal malformation show a developmental delay at the age of two. A prolonged stay in the neonatal intensive care unit and subsequent hospitalisations are associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, while breastfeeding may have a protective effect.
‘Are you ready for a little chat?’1: Creating and developing WhatsApp group chats as a digital research method
Authors: Halliwell Jamie
Published: December 2024

This paper explores how social media ‘group chats’ were developed and applied as a digital research method. Group chats were created using the social media platform WhatsApp to investigate issues regarding Eurovision Song Contest fan practices and their intersection with the expression of sexual identity. I argue that group chats advance our understandings of traditional focus group and remote research methods in geography. Group chats do this by providing opportunities to conduct remote research with multiple groups of people. They are also mobile, temporal, provide additional digital tools for users to express their identity, and help to improve data capture and understanding of social processes. This research highlights the benefits and disadvantages of using group chats as a digital method in terms of their organisation, delivery, data collection and analysis. Benefits include that they are mobile and instantly accessible, they can co‐ordinate groups of people who are geographically disparate, they can take place over a period of time rather than being a ‘one‐off’ event, they remove the barriers of face‐to‐face communication that produce social anxiety, and they enable the capture of multidimensional forms of data, including images, text and GIFs. Disadvantages include missing out on and recontextualising data when absent from a group chat temporarily, and limited data output from and dynamism between participants who were unavailable for long periods. I explore how applying group chats as a digital research method challenges and blurs the distinctions between the personal, the researcher and the researched, and how they can also be reaffirmed in direct messaging spaces where participants flirt with the researcher. Lastly, this paper considers the future potentials of using group chats and social media platforms, like WhatsApp, to understand the socio‐digital practices around live music events.
Potential categories and influencing factors of problem behaviours in high school students: Based on latent profile analysis
Authors: Wu Shuman , Chen Jiarong , Du Mingshi
Published: December 2024

To explore the potential categories of problem behaviours among high school students and their relationships with parental support and optimism–pessimism, a cluster sampling method was utilized to survey 682 first‐ and second‐year high school students. The results of the latent profile analysis indicated: (1) There were differences between male and female students across various dimensions of problem behaviours, with males scoring significantly higher in aggressive behaviour and delinquency, whereas females scored significantly higher in withdrawal behaviour, neuroticism and exam anxiety. (2) The study identified three latent categories of high school students based on their problem behaviours: the low‐risk group, the moderate‐risk group and the high‐risk group. The majority of students with problem behaviours belong to the low and moderate‐risk groups, suggesting that most high school students exhibit problem behaviours at a moderate or low level. (3) As environmental and individual factors, respectively, parental support and optimism–pessimism have a correlation with problem behaviours among high school students. The above research findings can assist educators in developing more targeted prevention and intervention strategies for different categories of high school students based on their levels of problem behaviours.
Innovations in Practice: Brief behavioral parent training for children with impairing ADHD characteristics – a pilot study
Authors: Nijboer Marijn , van Doornik Roos , Groenman Annabeth P. , van der Oord Saskia , Hornstra Rianne , van den Hoofdakker Barbara , Dekkers Tycho J.
Published: December 2024

Background

Behavioral parent training (BPT) is a well‐established intervention for children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but most programs are long, which may limit their accessibility. This could be improved by making programs shorter. Here, we studied (1) the feasibility of a new brief BPT program and its procedures, and (2) pre–post changes in daily rated problem behaviors (primary outcome), children's disruptive behaviors, ADHD/ODD characteristics, impairment, and parents' sense of parenting competence (secondary outcomes).

Methods

We conducted a nonrandomized pilot study including parents of 28 children (4–12 years) with impaired ADHD characteristics. We examined treatment dropout, parent and therapist satisfaction, recruitment rates, study drop‐out, measurement response and completion rates, acceptability of measurements according to parents, and treatment fidelity. Pre–post changes in the treatment group were compared to those in a historical control group using mixed model analysis, except for those outcomes that were not assessed in the control group. Within‐group differences were analyzed for all outcomes.

Results

Feasibility of the program and study procedures were good. Treatment dropout was 14.2%, parents and therapists were satisfied with the new program. We recruited 1.5 participants per month, study dropout was 10.7%, response/completion rates ranged from 82% to 100%, measurements were acceptable for parents, and treatment fidelity was 96%. We found substantial within‐group changes (d's = .68–.77) and medium‐sized between‐group changes (d's = .46–.48) on daily rated problem behaviors. We observed no changes on most of the secondary outcomes, except for disruptive behaviors and impairment.

Conclusion

Our newly developed brief BPT program was feasible and we observed improvements in children's daily‐rated problem behaviors. These results suggest that brief BPT might be beneficial for clinical practice if the findings are confirmed in large‐scale randomized controlled trials.
Foamy Cell Angiosarcoma Resembling a Xanthomatous Histiocytic Infiltrate Without Evidence of Vascular Malignancy
Authors: Potts Jolee , Harocopos George J. , Russell Aaron J.
Published: December 2024

Angiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive malignancy of endothelial cells with multiple subtypes. Foamy cell angiosarcoma is a rare variant in which endothelial cells demonstrate “foamy” cytoplasmic change. We present the case of a 59‐year‐old male who presented with progressive erythema and swelling of the midface and bilateral eyelids. Two biopsies obtained 3 months apart showed an infiltrate of foamy mononuclear cells in the deep dermis, resembling a xanthomatous histiocytic process. Clinical work‐up for disorders including Erdheim‐Chester disease, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and necrobiotic xanthogranuloma was negative. Nine months later, a third set of biopsies was performed showing a similar infiltrate of foamy histiocyte‐like cells within the deep dermis. However, there was also a dermal proliferation of irregular vascular spaces lined by atypical endothelial cells, diagnostic of angiosarcoma. Subsequent immunohistochemical stains demonstrated expression of CD31 and ERG within the foamy cells in both sets of biopsies, strongly suggesting endothelial lineage and supporting a diagnosis of foamy cell angiosarcoma. CD34 was negative. This case represents a very unusual presentation of angiosarcoma and a diagnostic conundrum. In cases such as these, especially when features of a vascular proliferation are absent, ERG appears to be the most useful marker for differentiating foamy cell angiosarcoma from histopathologic mimickers.
Home field effects on the assimilation of inorganic nitrogen fertiliser into proteinaceous amino acids
Authors: Reay Michaela K. , Dunn Jamie , Chiewattanakul Mashita , Griffiths Robert I. , Evershed Richard P.
Published: December 2024

The local adaption of soil microbial communities to native litter inputs, the so‐called home field effect (HFE), is well established, though this phenomenon has yet to be demonstrated for agriculturally relevant inorganic nutrient sources. Using compound‐specific 15N‐stable isotope probing of proteinaceous amino acids (AAs), we investigated if continuous long‐term grassland fertilisation with either ammonium or nitrate resulted in preferential assimilation by the soil microbial community of the ‘home’ N fertiliser. Relative ammonium uptake was maximal in historic ammonium treated soils and previously unfertilised soil, confirming a general microbial preference for ammonium likely due to biochemical transformation efficiencies. Assimilation of nitrate and ammonium into AAs was comparable for the historic nitrate fertilisation, indicating that microbial adaptive processes governed by historical land use can dictate the immobilisation efficiency of different fertilisers. This is the first observation of the HFE in long‐term fertilised grassland soils, with further work required to investigate abiotic or biotic mechanisms underpinning this phenomena.
Smoking, alcohol consumption, and risk of recurrent falls in community‐dwelling Japanese people aged 40–74 years: The Murakami cohort study
Authors: Kimura Shion , Suzuki Choji , Kitamura Kaori , Watanabe Yumi , Kabasawa Keiko , Takahashi Akemi , Saito Toshiko , Kobayashi Ryosaku , Oshiki Rieko , Takachi Ribeka , Tsugane Shoichiro , Yamazaki Osamu , Watanabe Kei , Nakamura Kazutoshi
Published: December 2024

Aim

Evidence is lacking regarding associations between smoking/drinking and falls. This study aimed to determine longitudinal associations between smoking, alcohol consumption, and fall risk in middle‐aged and older people.

Methods

Participants of this cohort study were 7542 community‐dwelling Japanese people aged 40–74 years. The baseline self‐administered questionnaire survey was conducted in 2011–2013, and the second survey was conducted 5 years later. Predictors were smoking level and alcohol consumption. The outcome was the occurrence of recurrent falls. Information on self‐reported falls in the previous year was obtained. Covariates were demographics, lifestyle factors, body mass index, general health status, and disease history.

Results

The mean age of participants was 60.3 years. Higher smoking levels were associated with a higher recurrent fall risk (adjusted P for trend = 0.0386), with the ≥20 cigarettes/day group having a higher risk (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20–3.10) than lifetime non‐smokers. The association between smoking and recurrent fall risk tended to be stronger in drinkers than in non‐drinkers (adjusted OR = 2.75, 95% CI: 1.57–4.81), suggesting a potential interaction (P for interaction = 0.1035). Although there were no dose‐dependent associations between alcohol consumption and recurrent fall risk overall, moderate alcohol consumption (150–299 g ethanol/week) was associated with a lower risk (adjusted OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.33–0.98) compared with no consumption in men.

Conclusions

Smoking, but not alcohol consumption, is dose‐dependently associated with high fall risk. However, moderate alcohol consumption may be associated with a decreased fall risk. Moreover, there may be a potential interaction between smoking and alcohol consumption on fall risk. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2025; 25: 67–74.
Enhanced electrical reliability of Zr‐doped BaTiO3 nanoceramics: First‐principle calculations and experimental studies
Authors: Zhang Weichen , Cheng Xu , Zhen Yichao , Cao Xiuhua , Fu Zhenxiao , Zhang Hui , Wang Xiaohui
Published: December 2024

With the miniaturization of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and the increase of electric field on single‐layer dielectrics, it is essential for the development of nanograin high‐reliability dielectric materials. In this work, Zr‐doped BaTiO3‐based ceramics with an average grain size of 130–150 nm were prepared by a chemical coating method. The effects and intrinsic mechanisms of Zr concentration on microstructure, dielectric properties, and reliability were systematically investigated by theoretical calculations and experiments. Zr additives lower the migration barrier of the dopants, which consequently contributes to the formation of thick shell layers in the core‐shell structure and grain growth, affecting the temperature stability and DC bias characteristics of the dielectric constant. Owing to the large change rate of the Zr–O bond length, the introduction of Zr increases the migration barrier of oxygen vacancies. However, the decrease in the effective doping concentration of the shell part and the reduction in the number of grain boundaries of ceramics with high Zr content have a weakening effect on the inhibition of oxygen vacancy migration. An appropriate amount of Zr doping can adjust the dielectric properties and improve the reliability of BaTiO3‐based ceramics. This study provides a theoretical reference for the design of high‐quality MLCCs.
New insight on the potential detrimental effect of metabolic syndrome on the Alzheimer disease neuropathology: Mechanistic role
Authors: Ali Naif H. , Al‐Kuraishy Hayder M. , Al‐Gareeb Ali I. , Alexiou Athanasios , Papadakis Marios , Bahaa Mostafa M. , Alibrahim Fawaz , Batiha Gaber El‐Saber
Published: December 2024

The metabolic syndrome or syndrome X is a clustering of different components counting insulin resistance (IR), glucose intolerance, visceral obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia. It has been shown that IR and dysregulation of insulin signalling play a critical role in the development of metabolic syndrome by initiating the pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome through induction of glucolipotoxicity, impairment of glucose disposal and triggering of pro‐inflammatory response. Furthermore, metabolic syndrome unfavourably affects the cognitive function and the development of different neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease (AD) by inducing oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and brain IR. These changes together with brain IR impair cerebrovascular reactivity leading to cognitive impairment. In addition, metabolic syndrome increases the risk for the development of AD. However, the central mechanisms by which metabolic syndrome amplify AD risk are not completely elucidated. Consequently, this narrative review aims to revise from published articles the association between metabolic syndrome and AD regarding cellular and subcellular pathways. In conclusion, metabolic syndrome is regarded as a potential risk factor for the induction of AD neuropathology by different signalling pathways such as initiation of brain IR, activation of inflammatory signalling pathways and neuroinflammation.
Social connection and its prospective association with adolescent internalising and externalising symptoms: an exploratory cross‐country study using retrospective harmonisation
Authors: Moltrecht Bettina , Villanova do Amaral João , Salum Giovanni Abrahão , Miguel Euripedes Constantino , Rohde Luis Augusto , Ploubidis George B. , McElroy Eoin , Hoffmann Mauricio Scopel
Published: December 2024

Background

Social connection factors play a key role for young people's mental health. It is important to understand how their influence may vary across contexts. We investigated structural (e.g. household size), functional (e.g. social support) and quality (e.g. feeling close) social connection factors in relation to adolescent internalising and externalising symptoms, comparing two countries Brazil and the United Kingdom (UK).

Methods

We pooled data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) and the Brazilian High Risk Cohort Study (BHRCS). We included 12 social connection variables, identified through retrospective harmonisation and lived experience expert involvement. We tested measurement invariance and conducted multiple regressions to analyse associations between the social connection factors (age 14) and later internalising and externalising difficulties (age 17.5) in both cohorts. We investigated country‐level interactions and used weights to account for attrition, survey design, population representativeness and sample size.

Results

We found pooled main associations with later internalising symptoms for ‘living with half‐siblings’ (p < .001), ‘moving address’ (p = .001), ‘mother marital status’ (p < .001–.003), ‘bullying’ (p = .001), ‘being bullied’ (p < .001) and ‘difficulties keeping friends’ (p < .001). For externalising, we found main associations with ‘household size’ (p = .041), ‘moving address’ (p = .041), ‘mother's marital status’ (p = .001–.013), ‘bullying others’ (p < .001) and ‘being bullied’ (p < .001). Country‐level interactions suggested higher internalising symptoms were associated with ‘household size’ (p = .001) in Brazil and ‘being bullied’ (p < .001) in MCS. Additionally, ‘half‐siblings in household’ (p = .003), ‘poor mother–child relationship’ (p = .018), ‘single mother’ (p = .035), ‘bullying’ (p < .001) and ‘being bullied’ (p < .001) were more strongly linked to externalising difficulties in MCS.

Conclusions

Social connection factors, mostly structural, contributed to adolescent internalising and externalising difficulties in both countries. Factors relating to bullying and family composition seem to play a stronger role in each country. Cultural and socioeconomic factors might explain these differences. Future research should investigate cross‐regional differences to meaningfully inform global mental health efforts.
Exploring mechanisms behind the increasing gender gap in adolescent psychological symptoms, 2002–2022: the role of national‐level gender equality
Authors: de Looze Margreet E. , Cosma Alina , Elgar Frank J. , Schrijvers Karen , Inchley Jo , Walsh Sophie D. , Stevens Gonneke W. J. M.
Published: December 2024

Background

Internalising problems have increased considerably among adolescents in the last decades, particularly among girls, resulting in widening gender gaps. This study examined whether the gender gap in psychological symptoms increased more in more gender‐equal countries in the period 2002–2022, and if so, to what extent this could be explained by changes over time in the experience of stressors (i.e. schoolwork pressure, body dissatisfaction, low classmate support) among boys and girls in these countries.

Methods

National data on gender inequality (UNDP Gender Inequality Index) were combined with aggregated individual‐level data from the Health Behaviour in School‐aged Children (HBSC) study (2002–2022) across 43 countries (N = 1,268,220). Absolute and relative gender gaps in psychological symptoms were regressed on survey cycle, GII and their interaction. Next, interactions of survey cycle and either schoolwork pressure, body dissatisfaction or classmate support were added to the model.

Results

Increases in the absolute and relative gender gap in psychological symptoms between 2002 and 2022 were stronger in more gender‐equal countries, mainly due to larger increases in psychological symptoms among girls in these countries. Also, less favourable time trends for schoolwork pressure and classmate support were found in more gender‐equal countries for boys and especially girls. The larger increase in schoolwork pressure among girls in more gender‐equal countries partly explained the increased absolute gender gap in psychological symptoms in these countries.

Conclusions

While national‐level gender equality was positively associated with boys' and girls' mental health in the early 2000s, this association has become negative for girls in more recent years. The benefits of gender equality for girls' mental health may have become overshadowed by the increased experience of stressors, especially schoolwork pressure. Far from advocating that gender equality is a negative situation, these findings suggest that much work remains to achieve full gender equality, where men and women really share the burdens and stressors in everyday life.
Writing and reading workshop: impact on reading motivation, reading amount and text comprehension
Authors: Zanobini Mirella , Rivella Carlotta , Viterbori Paola
Published: December 2024

The article explores the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation, reading amount and the comprehension of narrative and expository texts in lower secondary school students. In addition, we intended to verify the effect on these variables of an educational programme, the writing and reading workshop (WRW), aimed at promoting students' love of reading and useful reading strategies. The sample included 149 children attending the first year of lower secondary school. A longitudinal design with two steps of data collection was used. In five classes, teachers applied the WRW; the same number of classes were enrolled as a control group and the teachers applied the Italian traditional teaching programme. The experimental group achieved better results in narrative text comprehension and in reading amount after 1 year. Reading amount was found to mediate the relationship between the instructional method and reading comprehension. No effects of the teaching method were found on either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.
Opening the door to writing relationalities: Moving writing and the teaching of writing
Authors: Honeyford Michelle , Watt Jennifer
Published: December 2024

As writers are increasingly required to leave their ways of knowing, doing and being at the doors of their classrooms, this article explores what happens when teachers of writers open those doors and mobilize the Writing Realities framework's interrelated principles of writer‐identity, critical literacies, culturally sustaining pedagogy, multiliteracies, translanguaging and intertextuality. With examples from place‐writing and place‐walking experiences with educators in a Summer Writing Institute, we show the possibilities and potential for multiple and diverse writing realities and relationalities. The article explores how writing relationalities moves outward from those moments to (re)energize teachers to (re)engage in the pressing work of challenging the issues of equity and power in classrooms, and to know/be/teach writers/writing differently.
Capture–recapture estimates of Antarctic blue whale abundance and population growth rate
Authors: Olson Paula A. , Kinzey Douglas , Double Michael C. , Matsuoka Koji , Findlay Ken
Published: December 2024

Photo‐identifications of Antarctic blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) collected from 2003/2004 to 2018/2019 were used in a capture–recapture analysis to estimate abundance and population growth rate for the circumpolar Antarctic. Two capture–recapture models, POPAN and Pradel, were applied to these data. Estimates of annual abundance and their variances from the left and right side photo data were inferred using multimodel averaging, weighted by corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc), of 26 model configurations with prespecified survival rates from .75 to 1.0. These estimates based on the left and right side databases were then combined using inverse‐variance averaging into single estimates for each year. The POPAN superpopulation estimate (total number of individuals present during the sampling period) was 3,506 whales, 95% confidence interval (CI) [2,107, 5,832]. The estimated abundance from the final year of the study in 2018/2019 was 1,817 whales, 95% CI [714, 4,624]. The abundance estimates in this study may be biased downwards due to capture heterogeneity as a result of unequal spatial sampling. Population growth rate estimates were 11% from Pradel and 10% from POPAN. These rates were within the confidence interval estimated by a previous study for Antarctic blue whale population growth rate.
Explaining the Concept of Moral Resilience in Intensive Care Unit Nurses: A Directed Content Analysis
Authors: Varasteh Saeideh , Nia Hamid Sharif , Navidhamidi Mojdeh , Esmaeili Maryam
Published: December 2024

Moral resilience is an emerging concept that has not been fully acknowledged. The aim of this study is to explain lived experiences of moral resilience in intensive care units nurses. This is a qualitative study with a content analysis approach guided by the method of Elo and Kyngäs and based on the theoretical framework of Defilippis et al. Data were collected through 17 in‐depth, individual, and semi‐structured interviews with 17 nurses, who were selected by purposeful sampling. The results of the present study support the theory of Defilippis et al. while adding another category to it. Three categories of self‐awareness, harmonized connection, and moral well‐being, which are consistent with the result of Defilippis et al. were extracted deductively, while the category of moral agency was also extracted inductively from the data. The explanatory theory resulting from Defilippis et al.'s study can be used as a guide to cultivate and improve the moral resilience of nurses working in intensive care units. Moral resilience is fostered in nurses by nurturing and improving their capacities, such as self‐awareness, self‐efficacy, self‐confidence, and self‐reflection. These traits can help maintain and promote moral agency while establishing harmonized connections. Acquiring moral resilience skills can lead to positive outcomes and reduced moral distress.
Working Chance: Peirce's Semiotic Contrasted With Benner's Intuition and Illustrated Through a Semiosis of a Novel Event in the Context of Nursing
Authors: Bender Miriam
Published: December 2024

As a practicing clinical nurse, a phenomenon I experienced at times was the sudden acute sense that something was going wrong with a person in care at the sub‐critical unit in the hospital where I worked. In fact, many hospital nurses have their story of “something's not right” in relation to a person they were caring for/with, in that the day started with them on a coherent path to healing and then suddenly the nurse feels something is going very wrong, and yet there is nothing observable that would justify such a feeling. This feeling would be called “intuition” by many nurses, a concept most notably theorized in nursing by Patricia Benner in her extensive program of scholarship. Benner defines intuition as “understanding without rationale.” Benner opposes embodied intuition and rational abstract reasoning and creates criteria for the use of each by nursing depending on whether the clinical situation is familiar or novel. The philosophical idea is that the new must be reasoned with a different mode of thought than the familiar. Charles Sanders Peirce was a philosopher of reasoning. He defined logic as the theory of reasoning, which by the end of his career he was declaring was only another name for semiotic. Peirce argued that all reasoning/semiosis is done through signs, or more accurately sign‐activity. Semiotic is the philosophical schema providing the concepts and methods by which semiosis ‐ reasoning ‐ happens. Importantly, semiotic does not oppose different modes of thought, and conceptualizes reasoning as a process that functions in familiar as well as novel situations. In this paper I describe Peirce's philosophy of semiotic. I then provide an example relevant to nursing by conducting a semiosis of the nursing scenario above to show how nursing “works chance,” or novelty, in a way that doesn't need to resort to rational abstract reasoning and yet is different than Benner's notion of intuition.