bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of foreign direct investment, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, and natural resources on ecological footprint: an Indian perspective
Authors: Roy Arup
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Globally, India ranks third in greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions. Decarbonizing India's economy would necessitate significant changes in how the country generates energy, manufactures things, delivers services and manages natural resources. Recently, scholars from different parts of the world have used various indicators like carbon and methane emissions to investigate potential solutions to the global warming problem that has resulted in climate change. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of foreign direct investment, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, in addition to economic growth, trade openness, and natural resources on ecological footprint.

Design/methodology/approach

Using India's yearly data from 1990 to 2016, this research investigates the impact of direct foreign investment (FDI), trade (TA) and natural resources (NR) on the ecological footprint (EF) within the framework of economic growth (GDP), renewable (RE) and non-renewable (NRE) energy consumption. The Zivot–Andrews unit root approach was used to examine the structural breaks in data series and the presence of stationary. An auto regressive distributive lag model was used to investigate the presence of long-run and short-run dynamic relationships among the variables.

Findings

The empirical findings demonstrate that FDI, RE and GDP have a negative and substantial impact on EF in the long term; in contrast, NRE and TA are significant and positive. The Granger causality test indicates that feedback transmission was observed between NR and EF and TA and EF. One-way causation passed from GDP to FDI and NR; TA to FDI and RE.

Originality/value

Indian Government and authorities should push for an eco-friendly manufacturing process and technology adaptation to improve environmental quality.
Competency frameworks, alternative credentials and the evolving relationship of higher education and employers in recognizing skills and achievements
Authors: Braxton Sherri Nicole
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Recognizing, tracking and providing mechanisms for sharing an individual's comprehensive record of learning is necessary and essential for both her agency over and ability to manage sharing her qualifications with parties whom she desires to be aware of her learning record. In doing so, she may capture and present degrees, certifications, microcredentials or badges representing varying levels of knowledge, skill and abilities (KSAs) achieved in both formal and informal educational experiences. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned ideas.

Design/methodology/approach

In the USA, competency frameworks are gaining more solid footing with both higher education institutions and employers as both move to address the changing landscape of education-to-work preparation and the relationships that exist between them. The need to support lifelong learning and the various pathways that individuals traverse in and out of educational pursuits and the workforce require a more personalized approach.

Findings

This paper will discuss the drivers of the newfound traction of competency frameworks among higher education and employers within the USA, present examples of the frameworks and how they are being applied to address the common interests of educators, employers and the learner/earners, and explain the role badges and microcredentials play in capturing and recognizing the broad spectrum of learning, skills and competencies achieved by an individual throughout the lifelong learning journey.

Originality/value

The digital badging taxonomy and concept of using badges as a representation of a unit of competency, both introduced in this paper, provide a unique strategy for contextualizing the relationship between levels of cognitive domain recognized in academic settings and the language of KSAs used by employers.
Under “my way or the highway”! The weaker partner's synergy on collaborative performance in humanitarian relief when experiencing power tactics
Authors: Roy Vivek , Prakash Chandra , Charan Parikshit
Published: February 2023

Purpose

My way or the highway: A stronger partner in humanitarian relief collaboration often seeks control over its weaker partners by leveraging diverse power tactics that may be non-coercive or coercive in nature. In this backdrop, this research accentuates the perspective of weaker partners to understand how a weaker partner drives collaborative synergy under power tactics. Weaker partner in the collaborative dyad resembles the humanitarian organization (HO) who is less capable in terms of access to resources. This partner is further dependent on the stronger HO's directives to participate in the relief work.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on social exchange theory (SET), a collaborative dyad in humanitarian relief work is visualized from the perspectives of power and power disparity. In terms of power, mediated power tactics such as legal, coercive and reward powers are considered. Disparity recognizes the presence of a stronger and a weaker partner. Set also magnifies the insight on conflict and trust that can respectively hamper and improve the synergy between partners. In total, 295 executives representing self-reported weaker HOs are surveyed.

Findings

Legal power, as experienced by the weaker partner, bears a positive impact over collaborative performance to improve collaborative synergy. Coercive power shows a negative impact. Reward power again bears a positive impact. Coercion can complicate collaborative synergy by establishing conflicts. Yet, the trust of weaker partner on stronger HO positively moderates the negative impact of conflict over collaborative performance.

Originality/value

This research invokes the view of power disparity to explain synergy in inter-organizational collaboration from the perspective of weaker partners.
The case for transitional services and programs for older adults reentering society: a narrative review of US departments of correction and recommendations
Authors: Onyeali Rose , Howell Benjamin A. , McInnes D. Keith , Emerson Amanda , Williams Monica E.
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Older adults who are or have been incarcerated constitute a growing population in the USA. The complex health needs of this group are often inadequately addressed during incarceration and equally so when transitioning back to the community. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the literature on challenges older adults (age 50 and over) face in maintaining health and accessing social services to support health after an incarceration and to outline recommendations to address the most urgent of these needs.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a narrative literature review to identify the complex health conditions and health services needs of incarcerated older adults in the USA and outline three primary barriers they face in accessing health care and social services during reentry.

Findings

Challenges to healthy reentry of older adults include continuity of health care; housing availability; and access to health insurance, disability and other support. The authors recommend policy changes to improve uniformity of care, development of support networks and increased funding to ensure that older adults reentering communities have access to resources necessary to safeguard their health and safety.

Originality/value

This review presents a broad perspective of the current literature on barriers to healthy reentry for older adults in the USA and offers valuable system, program and policy recommendations to address those barriers.
Authentic leadership journey: an empirical discussion from Pakistani higher education employing the lay theory of psychology
Authors: Abbas Ansar , Ekowati Dian , Anwar Aisha
Published: February 2023

Purpose

From a lay theory standpoint, the authentic leadership journey has not been perceived together. This research aims to examine how both theories might be combined to reveal an authentic leadership journey in the eyes of laypeople when they perceive commitment and performance in an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

Using simple random sampling, this research used a self-administered questionnaire prepared and distributed to higher education professionals in Islamabad. SPSS was used to compute the data, and PLS Smart was used to determine the path analysis.

Findings

The need for authenticity among humans is not a phantom, but the perspective is more toward better performance. In Pakistan, the general public and the educational establishment may benefit from greater self-awareness.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on a new phenomenon that can help us better comprehend what it means to be an authentic leader.
The COVID-19 pandemic and financial stability in Vietnam: evidence from the interbank market
Authors: Le Hang Thi Thuy , Hoang Huy Viet , Phan Nga Thi Hang
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial stability in Vietnam, a developing country characterized by a bank-based financial system.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of daily data from January 23, 2020 to June 30, 2022, the VECM and NARDL models are employed to study Vietnam’s financial stability in face of the COVID-19 disaster. Following the literature on COVID-19, the authors measure the impact of the pandemic by the number of daily infected cases and the national lockdown. Given the reliance of the Vietnamese government on the banking system to regulate the economy, the authors evaluate financial stability from the interbank market and stock market perspectives.

Findings

The authors find that the pandemic imposes a destructive effect on financial stability during the early time of the pandemic; however, the analysis with an extended period indicates that this effect gradually fades in the long term. In addition, from the NARDL results, the authors reveal an asymmetric relationship between the financial market and the COVID-19 pandemic in both short term and long term.

Research limitations/implications

An implication drawn from this study is that unprecedented health disasters should be resolved by unprecedented stringent countermeasures when conventional methods are ineffective. Although rigorous remedies may increase short-term liabilities, their implementation quickly ceases disease diffusion and helps an economy enter the recovery stage in a timelier manner.

Originality/value

The study is the first to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial stability, via the interbank market lens, in a developing country that relies on the bank-based financial system.
The sustainable development goals in a Bachelor of Design course; current integration and benefits, constraints and opportunities for deeper integration
Authors: Browne Geoffrey R.
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Universities’ unique position within society means they have an important role to contribute to sustainability and to help achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are one of the most widely recognised articulations of sustainability. This study aims to look at the integration of the SDGs in education, specifically, in the Bachelor of Design (B-DES) “pathways” at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews with pathway coordinators and a survey of all 45 core subjects were used to understand the current degree of integration and the benefits, constraints and opportunities of deeper integration.

Findings

Sustainability is deeply incorporated into B-DES curricula, but the SDGs are not. Most teachers, but particularly pathway coordinators, see value in deeper incorporation. Issues that constrain this include some students’ fatigue with the idea of “sustainability”, a crowded curriculum and some teachers’ scepticism, even disdain for the SDGs, which they see as contradictory, too broad or overly political.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on the extent of integration and reveals several possible pedagogical approaches: analysing what industries need to do to make a proportionate contribution to achieving the SDGs, critical review of industries’ use of and alignment with the SDGs, comparing and contrasting the SDGs with disciplines’ theoretical frameworks and critiquing the SDGs’ ambition with reference to the capabilities and technologies of a discipline. Provided they are done with due consideration of the SDGs’ limitations, these methods of integration have the potential to better prepare students as global citizens and for international employment.
Residual life prediction of wet clutch based on binary Wiener process
Authors: Liu Yong , Zhang Jiang , Cui Junjie , Zheng Changsong , Liu Yajun , Shen Jian
Published: February 2023

Purpose

In armored vehicles integrated transmissions, residual life prediction based on oil spectrum data is crucial for condition monitoring and reliability assessment. This paper aims to use the advantages of real-time and accurate prediction of binary Wiener process, the residual life prediction of clutch is studied.

Design/methodology/approach

First, combined with the wet clutch life test, the indicator elements Cu and Pb and the failure threshold of the residual life prediction of the clutch are extracted through the oil replacement correction of the spectral data of the whole life cycle; second, the correlation characteristics of indicating elements are analyzed by MATLAB Copula function, then the correlation function of residual life will be derived; third, according to the inverse Gaussian principle, the performance degradation mathematical models of the unary and binary Wiener processes of the above two indicator elements are established; finally, the maximum likelihood estimation method is used to estimate the parameters, and the monadic and binary performance degradation mathematical models are used to predict the residual life of the tested clutch.

Findings

By comparing the prediction results with the test results, with the passage of time, 81.25% of the predicted value error of the residual life prediction method based on the binary Wiener process is controlled within 20%, while 56.25% of the predicted value error of the residual life prediction method based on the unitary Wiener process is controlled within 20%. At the same time, the prediction accuracy of the binary prediction model is 2%–16.7% higher than that of the unitary prediction model.

Originality/value

This paper studies the residual life prediction theory of wet clutch, which can develop the theory and method of comprehensive transmission health monitoring, and provide theoretical and technical support for the construction of a reliable health management system for high-speed tracked vehicles.
The problematic use of smartphones in public: the development and validation of a measure of smartphone “zombie” behaviour
Authors: Pressey Andrew , Houghton David , Istanbulluoglu Dogá
Published: February 2023

Purpose

We have witnessed an evolution in the use of smartphones in recent years. We have been aware for some time of the potentially deleterious impact of smartphones on users' lives and their propensity for user addiction, as reflected in the large and growing body of work on this topic. One modern phenomenon – the distracted mobile phone user in public, or “smartphone zombie” – has received limited research attention. The purpose of the present study is to develop a robust measure of smartphone zombie behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

The research deign comprises three studies: A round of focus groups (n = 5) and two online surveys (survey one n = 373, survey two n = 386), in order to develop and validate a three-factor, 15-item measure named the Smartphone Zombie Scale (SZS).

Findings

Following the round of focus groups conducted, Exploratory Factor Analysis and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the SZS measure (Cronbach's α = .932) is demonstrated to be robust and comprises three factors: Attention Deficit (Cronbach's α = .922), Jeopardy (Cronbach's α = .817) and Preoccupation (Cronbach's α = .835), that is shown to be distinct to existing closely related measures (Smartphone Addiction scale and Obsessive Compulsive Use).

Originality/value

The present study represents the first extant attempt to produce a measure of smartphone zombie behaviour, and provides us with a reliable and valid measure with which we can study this growing phenomenon.
Exploring arXiv usage habits among Slovenian scientists
Authors: Metelko Zala , Maver Jasna
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This study investigates how important the preprint arXiv is for Slovenian scientists, whether there are differences between scientific disciplines and the reputation of arXiv among Slovenian scientists. We are also interested in what advantages and disadvantages scientists see in using arXiv.

Design/methodology/approach

A voluntary sample of active researchers from the scientific fields covered by arXiv was used. Data were collected over 21 days in September 2021 using a 40-question online survey. In addition to descriptive statistics, nonparametric statistical methods such as Pearson's chi-squared test for independence, Kruskal-Wallis' H-test and Mann-Whitney's U-test were applied to the collected data.

Findings

Among Slovenian scientists there is a wide range of different users of arXiv. The authors note differences among scientific disciplines. Physicists and astronomers are the most engaged, followed by mathematicians. Researchers in computer science, electrical engineering and systems science seem to have recognized the benefits of the archive, but are still hesitant to use it. Researchers from the other scientific fields participated in the survey to a lesser extent, suggesting that arXiv is less popular in these scientific fields. For Slovenian scientists, the main advantages of arXiv are faster access to knowledge, open access, greater impact of scientists' work and the fact that publishing in the archive is free of charge. A negative aspect of using the archive is the frustration caused by the difficulties in assessing the credibility of articles.

Research limitations/implications

A voluntary sample was used, which attracted a larger number of researchers but has a higher risk of sampling bias.

Practical implications

The results are useful for international comparisons, but also provide bases and recommendations for institutional and national policies to evaluate researchers and their performance.

Originality/value

The results provide valuable insights into arXiv usage habits and the reasons for using or not using arXiv by Slovenian scientists. There is no comparable study conducted in Slovenia.
Inflation uncertainty, macroeconomic instability and the efficiency of financial institutions
Authors: Abaidoo Rexford , Agyapong Elvis Kwame
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The study examines the effect of macroeconomic risk, inflation uncertainty and instability associated with key macroeconomic indicators on the efficiency of financial institutions among economies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Design/methodology/approach

Data for the empirical inquiry were compiled from 35 SSA economies from 1996 to 2019. The empirical estimates were carried out using pooled ordinary least squares (POLS) with Driscoll and Kraay’s (1998) standard errors.

Findings

Reported empirical estimates show that macroeconomic risk and exchange rate volatility constrain the efficiency of financial institutions. Further results suggest that inflation uncertainty has a significant influence on the efficiency of financial institutions among economies in the subregion. Additionally, reviewed empirical estimates show that institutional quality positively moderates the nexus between inflation uncertainty and financial institution efficiency. At the same time, political instability is found to worsen the adverse effect of macroeconomic risk on the efficiency of financial institutions.

Practical implications

For policymakers and governments, improved institutional structures are recommended to ensure the operational efficiency of financial institutions, especially during an inflationary period. For decision-makers among financial institutions, the study recommends policies that have the potential to make their institutions less vulnerable to macroeconomic risk and exchange rate fluctuations.

Originality/value

The approach adopted in this study differs significantly from related studies in that the study examines and reviews interactions and relationships not readily found in the reviewed literature.
Understanding of consumers’ inconspicuous luxury consumption practices in Vietnam: an exploratory study from an ethical perspective
Authors: Nguyen Ngoc Bao , Nguyen Mai Thi Tuyet , Nguyen Minh Binh
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This study aims to explore how inconspicuous luxury consumption is being practiced in an Asian culture like Vietnam. Moreover, the ethical motivations that drive Vietnamese luxury consumers to engage in consuming inconspicuous luxury fashion products are also investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research approach was used to serve the purpose of this study. Specifically, the authors conducted two rounds of in-depth interviews with 42 Vietnamese luxury consumers recruited using the snowball sampling technique.

Findings

The findings from the interviews indicate that inconspicuous luxury consumption is on the rise in Vietnam. This study also reveals that inconspicuous luxury consumers in Vietnam share some common characteristics with their counterparts in Western and other Asian countries. Significantly, based on Hunt–Vitell model, the findings suggest that ethical considerations play a crucial role in motivating Vietnamese consumers to engage in inconspicuous luxury consumption. Together with typical motivations such as differentiation seeking, aesthetics seeking and status seeking, consumers buy inconspicuous luxury products to adhere to internalized norms and moral principles.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the extant literature by enriching knowledge pertaining to practices of inconspicuous luxury consumption, especially in the context of an emerging Asian country. Notably, an essential contribution of this study is to identify ethical considerations as a new emerging motivation driving inconspicuous luxury consumption. The link between ethical issues and inconspicuous luxury consumption has been largely unexamined in the literature. In this study, the Hunt–Vitell model’s process of ethical reasoning is used in a new context of inconspicuous luxury consumption in an emerging Asian economy.
Assessment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia health commodities’ supply chains in selected hospitals of Lagos State during COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Olalekan Adesola , Igweike Victor , Ekun Oloruntoba , Adegbite Abosede , Ogunleye Olayinka
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (PE/E) are rising in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. This study aims to evaluate the availability and logistics management of sixteen items from the Nigerian essential medicine list required for managing these conditions.

Design/Methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study in 50 health-care facilities in Lagos State, Nigeria, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by interviewing the facility’s main person in charge of health commodities. Data were recorded during the visit and in the previous six months using the adapted Logistics Indicators Assessment Tool (LIAT). In addition, descriptive analysis was conducted based on the World Health Organization availability index.

Findings

The availability of 13 (81%) of the commodities were high, and 3 (19%) were relatively high in the facilities, stock out rate during the visitation and previous six months varied with the commodities: urinalysis strip (22%) and (40%), hydralazine (20%) and (20%), labetalol injection (8%) and (20%), labetalol tablet (24%) and (24%) and sphygmomanometer (8%) and (8%). No stock out was recorded for 11 (69%) commodities. All the facilities observed 9 (75%) out of the 12 storage guidelines, and 36 (72%) had a perfect storage condition score.

Limitations/Implications

Current state of PE/E health commodities in the selected facilities is highlighted, and the strengths and weaknesses of the supply chain in these health facilities were identified and discussed.

Originality/value

These commodities’ availability ranged from reasonably high to very high. Regular supportive supervision is germane to strengthening the logistics management system for these commodities to prevent the negative impact on the health and well-being of the people during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic.
“Society must be controlled” “Green Pass” and the experiment of a society of control in Italy
Authors: Altobelli Dario
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The introduction in Italy in July 2021 of the “COVID-19 Green Certification”, known as the “Green Pass”, was a particularly important moment in the political and social history of the country. While its use for health reasons is debatable both logically and scientifically, its effects should be measured at the general sociological level. The “Green Pass” allowed Italian social life to be shaped according to a social and political profile that can be traced back to a “society of control”. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper, of a theoretical nature, intends to verify such an interpretation through a critical survey of Gilles Deleuze's well-known Post-scriptum sur les sociétés de contrôle (1990) and relating the theories to it from cybernetic science, sociology of social systems and the continental philosophy, specifically Michel Foucault. After a short introduction on the history of the instrument's introduction, the paper, divided into parts reflecting the set-up of Deleuze's text, examines the systemic social effects of the “Green Pass” with regard to its logic, and concludes with a reflection on the program of the instrument's future developments.

Findings

The “Green Pass” put into practice a model of a society of control as anticipated by Deleuze, verified with particular reference to some instances of Luhmann's theory of social systems, and in the perspective of a Foucault's “normalizing society” in the process of definition and affirmation.

Social implications

The “Green Pass” has been a controversial tool that has caused forms of social discrimination and exclusion and has seriously questioned the architecture of the rule of law. The conceptual paper tries to reflect on the premises and implications of this instrument.

Originality/value

The approach to the problem both in a critical key and according to concepts and theories of the sociology of social systems, cybernetics and continental philosophy.
Sustainable supply chain clusters: an integrated framework
Authors: Barakat Mahmoud Ramadan , Tipi Nicoleta , Wu Jialin Snow
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This research aims to provide a conceptual framework with the scope to assist in establishing sustainable supply chain clusters (SCCs) by providing an instrument for organisations to enhance the three sustainability dimensions in a dynamic environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This research proposes a conceptual framework to enhance sustainability and organisational performance through three theoretical lenses: the system theory, extended resource-based view and the dynamic capabilities (DCs) theory. This approach is carried out through a comprehensive review of the existing literature on SCCs.

Findings

Four main propositions are formulated and demonstrated using the developed framework, which expands the discussion about SCCs and their key characteristics in a dynamic environment. This is particularly relevant as it allows empirical testing of the theories in an SCC context.

Research limitations/implications

It can be noted that more extensive research is needed to further understand the issues faced in establishing sustainable clusters. Drawing on the theoretical lenses to establish the framework helps to enhance the understanding and operational capabilities of sustainable SCCs during and after disruptions, such as the global disruption created by COVID-19.

Practical implications

This research paves the way to help organisations improve their adaptability to the dynamic business environment by emphasizing the importance of clustering and linking it to sustainability through DCs to establish a sustainable cluster.

Originality/value

This research aims to guide organisations' use of SCCs as tools to enhance sustainability in a dynamic environment, given that the relationship amongst supply chain cluster design characteristics (SCCDCs), DCs and sustainability remains unexplored. The combination of the three theoretical lenses in developing the proposed framework will assist in further understanding the applicability of these theories when they are considered together.
The 2022 SEND Green Paper and the SENCo: more evidence on demographics, qualifications and leadership status
Authors: Dobson Graeme J.
Published: February 2023

The 2022 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Review in England has proposed changes to the way in which SENCos are trained before working in English schools. Although the DfE collects data relating to the demographics of all teachers, the 2022 SEND Review Green Paper does not draw on this to support or inform the changes being proposed. A Freedom of Information request was made to the DfE, from which actual data could be acquired, with breakdowns by age, gender, qualifications and leadership status. The data describe a teacher who is still more likely to be female and approaching the middle of their career. Most SENCos are still on the class teacher pay scale rather than the leadership scale, with a minority holding a Master's‐level qualification. The DfE does not have an accurate overview of how many teachers hold the current SENCo qualification. The article provides a number of recommendations to policymakers based on the data provided.
The determinants of the media coverage of politicians: The role of parliamentary activities
Authors: YILDIRIM TEVFIK MURAT , THESEN GUNNAR , JENNINGS WILL , DE VRIES ERIK
Published: February 2023

A large strand of scholarly inquiry has built on the assumption that being active in legislatures helps further representatives’ career prospects by enhancing their media and public visibility. Previous studies suggest some visibility‐boosting effects of parliamentary work, but results vary considerably across political settings and research designs. Moreover, there is little research on the extent to which the visibility‐boosting effect of being active in parliament varies across representatives. Specifically, do legislators with high news value benefit more from legislative speechmaking, or can other representatives make up for lower news value by taking the parliamentary floor? We believe that this lack of focus on the conditional nature of the link between political work and media visibility restricts our understanding of the consequences of political work. This study therefore presents a unique combination of data covering nearly 600,000 news appearances and 850,000 parliamentary speeches of members of parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom (2000–2015) and Norway (2000–2016) to examine the link between legislative speechmaking and the news visibility of legislators. Our results suggest that the media appearances of representatives in the United Kingdom and Norway are associated positively with the number of legislative speeches representatives make and that this positive association between speechmaking and media visibility is differential across groups of representatives, with senior MPs and government party MPs benefiting more from being active on the parliamentary floor.
Older adults sex offender: Five case series in a Brazilian population
Authors: Braga Marcela Sena , Yano Souza Martins Larissa , Leão Fernanda Macedo Garcia , Viana Bernardo de Mattos
Published: February 2023

Sexual assault perpetrated by older adults is still an underreported crime and is not fully understood. To describe a series of cases of sexual assault by Brazilian older adults and discuss the associated factors based on the literature. This is a cross‐sectional descriptive analysis of five cases of older adults accused of sexual assault in the Forensic Psychiatry sector of the Medical Legal Institute (Coroner's Office) in the City of Belo Horizonte’. This review focuses on five cases involving male defendants with a mean age of 59.75 years; two with previous psychiatric treatment, and one with a previous criminal record. Their victims were prepubescent children, four of them female. Psychiatric conditions related to forensic diagnosis included dementia, schizophrenia, alcohol‐related substance use disorder, paraphilia, and one without a psychiatric diagnosis. The final forensic report on all five cases found that two of the older adults diagnosed with a mental disorder in two were considered to have a mental illness that completely impaired the cognitive and volitional domains; two other adults were diagnosed with mental health disturbance that partially impaired these domains; and the last adult was diagnosed and found without mental health impairment. While the incidence of sexual crimes committed by older adults is low, the absolute number of cases has expected to rise due to population aging. Assessing the factors related to this type of crime is therefore an initial step to understanding and formulating preventive strategies.
Droperidol versus ondansetron for nausea treatment within the emergency department
Authors: Philpott Lachlan , Clemensen Ellie , Lau Gabriel T
Published: February 2023

Objective

A randomised single‐blind trial was undertaken in an adult ED population, comparing the effectiveness of droperidol 2.5 mg IV with ondansetron 8 mg IV for the treatment of nausea and vomiting.

Methods

Patients were randomly allocated to receive droperidol (n = 60) or ondansetron (n = 60). Patients rated their nausea severity on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) immediately before and 30 min after drug administration. The primary outcome was of symptom improvement, defined by a VAS change ≥−8 mm 30 min post‐treatment. Mean VAS change and percentage experiencing desired effect were secondary outcomes compared.

Results

Of 120 study patients, 60 (50%) received droperidol or ondansetron. Symptom improvement occurred in 93% (56 of 60) and 87% (52 of 60), respectively (P = 0.362). Mean VAS change was −38 mm and −29 mm, respectively (P = 0.031). Percentage of patients indicating desired effect was 85% and 63%, respectively (P = 0.006). Additional antiemetics were required for 16% and 37% of subjects, respectively (P = 0.006).

Conclusion

There was no statistically significant difference in the primary outcome of symptom improvement between droperidol and ondansetron. Secondary outcomes which favour droperidol warrant further exploration.
Barriers and facilitators to implementing medications for opioid use disorder and naloxone distribution in Veterans Affairs emergency departments
Authors: Sasson Comilla , Dieujuste Nathalie , Klocko Robert , Basrai Zahir , Celedon Manuel , Hsiao Jonie , Himstreet Julianne , Hoffman Jonathan , Pfaff Cassidy , Malmstrom Robert , Smith Jason , Holstein Ariel , Johnson‐Koenke Rachel
Published: February 2023

Objectives

Safer opioid prescribing patterns, naloxone distribution, and medications for opioid use disorder (M‐OUD) are an important part of decreasing opioid‐related adverse events. Veterans are more likely to experience these adverse events compared to the general population. Despite treatment guidelines and ED‐based opioid safety programs implemented throughout Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers, many Veterans with OUD do not receive these harm reduction interventions. Prior research in other health care settings has identified barriers to M‐OUD initiation and naloxone distribution; however, little is known about how this may be similar or different for health care professionals in VA ED and urgent care centers.

Methods

We conducted qualitative interviews with VA health care professionals and staff using a semistructured interview guide. We analyzed the data addressing barriers and facilitators to M‐OUD treatment in the ED and naloxone distribution using descriptive matrix analysis, followed by team consensus.

Results

We interviewed 19 VA staff in various roles. Respondent concerns and considerations regarding the initiation of M‐OUD in the ED included M‐OUD initiation falling outside of ED's scope of providing acute treatment, lack of VA‐approved M‐OUD protocols and follow‐up procedures, staffing concerns, and educational gaps. Respondents reported that naloxone was important but lacked clarity on who should prescribe it. Some respondents stated that an automated system to prescribe naloxone would be helpful, and others felt that it would not offer needed support and education to patients. Some respondents reported that naloxone would not address opioid misuse, which other respondents felt was a belief due to stigma around substance use and lack of education about treatment options.

Conclusions

Our VA‐based research highlights similarities of barriers and facilitators, seen in other health care settings, when implementing opioid safety initiatives. Education and training, destigmatizing substance use disorder care, and leveraging technology are important facilitators to increasing access to lifesaving therapies for OUD treatment and harm reduction.
Emotions and transcripts after a while: An interview with a ‘parachute kid’
Authors: Waters Johanna L.
Published: February 2023

This paper discussions the implications of returning to ‘old’ interview data many years later and asks what can be learned from the different emotions that such revisiting can invoke in the researcher? It considers the significance of emotions in the process of analysing interview transcripts and how a researcher changes over time. It calls on researchers to ‘revisit’ past data for another look.
A research broker for a third‐culture researcher: Experiences conducting field research in urban Pakistan
Authors: Siddiqui Hafsah
Published: February 2023

Although much debate has been undertaken about the insider–outsider and in‐betweener positionalities within social science research, the third‐culture researcher (TCR) represents an under‐researched identity which demands greater attention. Conducting doctoral fieldwork in Islamabad as a TCR gave rise to challenges that were navigated through a research broker. The TCR positionality represents one who visits their country of ethnicity for the purposes of conducting research having mostly lived abroad, or as one who conducts research in a country where they have mostly lived but do not share ethnicity. I argue that research brokers are particularly important for TCRs—and in‐betweener researchers more generally—because they provide contextual grounding, protection, and access to people and places where TCRs have partial familiarity with local conditions and where all actors involved are embedded within a context of risk. Research brokers also supplement TCRs' in‐between status by negotiating and managing their own positionality and skillset to facilitate interaction between the researcher and participants. This process can be challenging and has its limitations. I assert this by drawing on joint reflections and an interview with my research broker, as well as personal anecdotes. The TCR–broker relationship transforms knowledge production in multiple ways. Firstly, working with an actor with a unique positionality and skillset offers insight into how different identities interact and engage to shape research relations and outcomes. Secondly, it highlights how the research site is experienced differently and carries various meanings, significance and consequences for those involved. Finally, the TCR–broker relationship offers the opportunity to engage in candid discussions about the benefits and limitations involved in working with others. The broker creates a significant impression on the research during fieldwork and beyond. Highlighting their voices adds to our scholarly understanding of the impact of positionality on qualitative social science methodological research.
Constructions of difference in lay talk about diversity: Ideological dilemmas, antiracism and implications for identity
Authors: Iatridis Tilemachos , Kadianaki Irini
Published: February 2023

Dilemmas around differences among people may encapsulate ideological assumptions deep‐rooted in modernity, according to work on ideological dilemmas. In this article, we suggest that ideological struggles such as the one between racism and antiracism may further ingrain ideological dilemmas around difference and put certain identities at stake. In a qualitative study addressing constructions of difference in lay talk about diversity, lay people in Greece argued about the meaningfulness, value, and public character of difference, deploying two lines of argumentation: an ‘objectivist’ line affirming categorical differences and hierarchies; and a ‘subjectivist’ argumentative line which deprived categorical differences of any importance and simultaneously celebrated differences assuming that differences only lie in individuals' minds. For this latter line of argumentation, constructions of difference appeared to perform a non‐racist identity, making systematic comparisons to racists' alleged constructions of differences. Such comparisons were far less important for the objectivist argumentative line. These findings suggest that constructions of difference may be nested in ideological struggles, selectively reflecting the categorizations of the social world – and associated identities – advanced by ideological projects such as antiracism. The discussion points to theoretical implications for historical accounts of social categorization and social implications for current inclusive perspectives centred on diversity.
“I would be lost without it but it's not the same” experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities of using information & communication technology during the COVID‐19 global pandemic
Authors: Chadwick Darren D. , Buell Susan , Burgess Emma , Peters Vince
Published: February 2023

Background

COVID‐19 is a life‐threatening virus which has circulated the globe resulting in unprecedented effects on the daily lives of people across the world. Countries across the globe have advocated measures, including self‐isolation and maintaining social distance to reduce the spread of COVID‐19. The pandemic has seen an increase in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for many aspects of life. This study aimed to find out from people with intellectual disabilities what it was like using ICT during COVID‐19 and how this affected their lives.

Method

Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 19 people with learning disabilities throughout the COVID pandemic. The qu/alitative data gathered was analysed using longitudinal thematic framework analysis to identify the main ways technology use had impacted on people's lives and the challenges and facilitators of technology use during this time.

Findings

Technology played an important role in the lives of the people with learning disabilities who took part in the study. Technology facilitated continuation and maintenance of important daily activities and roles in people's lives (e.g., jobs, getting support and leisure), keeping people meaningfully occupied and maintaining social contact which reduced feelings of loneliness and isolation. People adapted and learned new skills, with help from friends, family and support staff, which boosted self‐confidence. Despite some identified barriers, prior technology use, tenacity and a positive attitude towards ICT supported learning new skills and adaptation to increased ICT use.

Conclusions

Supporting the development of digital competence, confidence and persistence in people with learning disabilities was important during this international crisis and has had a fundamental positive effect on wellbeing.
Friends or foes: The mononuclear phagocyte system in ischemic stroke
Authors: Ziqing Zhang , Yunpeng Liu , Yiqi Liu , Yang Wang
Published: February 2023

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a major cause of disability and death in adults, and the immune response plays an indispensable role in its pathological process. After the onset of IS, an inflammatory storm, with the infiltration and mobilization of the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS), is triggered in the brain. Microglia are rapidly activated in situ, followed by waves of circulating monocytes into the ischemic area. Activated microglia and monocytes/macrophages are mainly distributed in the peri‐infarct area. These cells have similar morphology and functions, such as secreting cytokines and phagocytosis. Previously, the presence of the MPS was considered a marker of an exacerbated inflammatory response that contributes to brain damage. However, recent studies have suggested a rather complicated role of the MPS in IS. Here, we reviewed articles focusing on various functions of the MPS among different phases of IS, including recruitment, polarization, phagocytosis, angiogenesis, and interaction with other types of cells. Moreover, due to the characteristics of the MPS, we also noted clinical research addressing alterations in the MPS as potential biomarkers for IS patients for the purposes of predicting prognosis and developing novel therapeutic strategies.
Shall we dance? How systemic intermediaries coordinate interaction within local sustainability initiatives over time
Authors: Kutter Linda , Wolf Patricia , Rothbarth Catherine Sudbrack
Published: February 2023

Local sustainability transition projects are often coordinated by systemic intermediaries. In this context, previous research identified an extensive list of systemic intermediary roles and functions in the acceleration phase of these initiatives. However, little is known about the interplay between systemic intermediary activities and emerging collaboration patterns over time. This paper analyses the innovation journeys of six case studies to explore interaction dynamics and collaboration activities that emerge between systemic intermediaries, niche and regime actors over the course of time. Based on this, it develops a conceptual framework that visualizes design patterns that underlie a certain choreography of the systemic intermediaries and complements earlier research with in‐depth insights into temporal aspects of multiple‐actor mobilization and coordination processes in sustainability transition initiatives.
Isolation, characterization and anticancer activity of secondary metabolites from Verbascum speciosum
Authors: Demirci Serpil , Alp Cemalettin , Akşit Hüseyin , Ulutaş Yakup , Altay Ahmet , Yeniçeri Esma , Köksal Ekrem , Yaylı Nurettin
Published: February 2023

Herein, two iridoid glucosides aucubin (1) and ajugol (2), and two phenyl ethanoids, verbascoside (3) and poliumoside (4) were isolated from the methanol extract of the aerial parts of Verbascum speciosum and used to study about their anticancer activity for the first time. The structures of all compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic data (IR, 1D and 2D NMR, LC‐TOF/MS). Antiproliferative activities of Aucubun (1) and Verbascoside (3) were tested against A‐549 (human colon cancer), MDA‐MD‐453 (human breast cancer) and 3T3‐L1 (mouse fibroblast)cell lines by XTT assay. In addition, the anticarcer mechanism of action of aucubin (1) was investigated on MDA‐MB‐453 cells for the first time. XTT result showed that both applied compounds exhibited antiproliferative effect at different dose ranges depending on the cancer type, as well as selectivity between cancer and healty cell lines. Flow cytometry analyzes revealed that aucubin (1) exerts its cytotoxic effect in MDA‐MB‐453 cells by directing cells to early apoptosis and inhibiting the P13K/AKT signaling pathway.