Broader Level Research Articles

Assessing the health needs of children and young people accessing paediatric hospital services: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionHealth needs are issues that face a population or specific groups, which can benefit from healthcare and wider social and environmental changes. They are inextricably linked to health inequalities, which...

Decoding the enigma of RNA-protein recognition: quantum chemical insights into arginine fork motifs.

Arginine (Arg) forks are noncovalent recognition motifs wherein an Arg interacts with the phosphates and guanine nucleobases of RNA, providing extraordinary specific RNA:protein recognition. In this work, we carried out an in-depth DFT based quantum mechanical investigation on all known classes of Arg forks to estimate their intrinsic structural stabilities and interaction energies. The optimized structures closely mimic the structural characteristics of Arg forks and this close match between experimental and optimized geometries suggests that Arg forks are intrinsically stable and do not require additional support from other RNA or protein components. Both hydrogen-bonding and cation-π interactions are important for the intrinsic stability of Arg forks, providing an average interaction energy of -36.7 kcal mol-1. Furthermore, we found a direct correlation between Arg forks' interaction energies and the number of phosphates involved, which is more delicately modulated by other factors, like the types of hydrogen bonds and cation-π interactions that constitute the Arg fork. Additionally, we observed a positive correlation between the average interaction energies of Arg forks and the frequency of their occurrence in available crystal structures. At the broader level, this work establishes the groundwork for more precise modeling and understanding of RNA-protein interfaces, which could have potential implications in advancing the knowledge of biomolecular recognition patterns.

Urban Acupuncture as Recovery Approach to Improving the Liveability of Neighbourhoods Affected by Beirut Port Explosion

Abstract Following the port explosion in 2020, Beirut witnessed an unprecedented crisis, revealing the incompetence of its development plans and promoting the emergence of new approaches to improve liveability in damaged areas. Currently, urban planning has shifted from the traditional focus on large-scale interventions to the focus on flexible and adaptive small-scale interventions, especially in financially weak areas. Inspired by traditional Chinese medicine, urban acupuncture (UA) exemplifies this shift through localized interventions aimed at revitalizing cities by simulating their energy. This paper aims to investigate the potential of implementing UA as a recovery approach in Rmeil neighbourhood, heavily impacted by the explosion, to improve its liveability. By analysing and comparing two international examples, the paper highlights the interventions used to activate the urban context. It finally proposes six strategic interventions and ten key actions tailored to achieve social, economic, and environmental results in Rmeil with less effort. This paper represents the foundation for implementing urban acupuncture on a broader level in Beirut and other spots in Lebanon.

ORCA: Outage Root Cause Analysis in DER-Rich Power Distribution System Using Data Fusion, Hierarchical Clustering and FP-Growth Rule Mining

Power outages have been an inevitable part of power delivery systems. In case of large scale outages with conflicting information in the distribution network with distributed energy resources (DER), recognition of the root causes becomes increasingly complex. Root cause detection is very important for routing the crew and for faster restoration. Number of studies have been conducted on analysis of the outages, planning predictive actions, and improving the restoration process for minimizing the load outages using various statistical and data processing. A comprehensive methodology with the ability to find root causes in quick and efficient manner is still missing. This work proposes an Outage Root Cause Analysis (ORCA) tool, with various internal modules. The proposed ORCA utilizes the available data from diverse set of sensors (Distribution Phasor Measurement Units, metering and relay) within the distribution system (DS) to: a) aggregate using data fusion algorithm: an Ensemble Extended Kalman Filter (EEKF) approach, b) classify events at broader level (fault, breaker operation or cyber-attack with/without load outage) using hierarchical agglomerative clustering in online and offline manners, and c) narrow down the outage root cause to the possible nuanced identified causes (vegetation, animal, weather, wildfire, protection, equipment failure, planned) using the available historical data and the Frequent Pattern-Growth data mining approach. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach compared to the other existing key approaches using two different test systems and multiple outage with different locations case scenarios.

Analysis of the genetic diversity in RNA-directed RNA polymerase sequences: implications for an automated RNA virus classification system.

RNA viruses are characterized by a broad host range and high levels of genetic diversity. Despite a recent expansion in the known virosphere following metagenomic sequencing, our knowledge of the species rank genetic diversity of RNA viruses, and how often they are misassigned and misclassified, is limited. We performed a clustering analysis of 7801 RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRp) sequences representing 1897 established RNA virus species. From this, we identified substantial genetic divergence within some virus species and inconsistency in RNA virus assignment between the GenBank database and The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). In particular, 27.57% virus species comprised multiple virus operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), including Alphainfluenzavirus influenzae, Mammarenavirus lassaense, Apple stem pitting virus, and Rotavirus A, with each having over 100 vOTUs. In addition, the distribution of average amino acid identity between vOTUs within single assigned species showed a relatively low threshold: <90% and sometimes <50%. However, when only exemplar sequences from virus species were analyzed, 1889 of the ICTV-designated RNA virus species (99.58%) were clustered into a single vOTU. Clustering of the RdRp sequences from different virus species also revealed that 17 vOTUs contained two distinct virus species. These potential misassignments were confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. A further analysis of average nucleotide identity (ANI) values ranging from 70% to 97.5% revealed that at an ANI of 82.5%, 1559 (82.18%) of the 1897 virus species could be correctly clustered into one single vOTU. However, at ANI values >82.5%, an increasing number of species were clustered into two or more vOTUs. In sum, we have identified some inconsistency and misassignment of the RNA virus species based on the analysis of RdRp sequences alone, which has important implications for the development of an automated RNA virus classification system.

Attitudes among the Australian public toward AI and CCTV in suicide prevention research: A mixed methods study.

Research is underway exploring the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) for suicide prevention research in public locations where suicides occur. Given the sensitive nature and potential implications of this research, this study explored ethical concerns the public may have about research of this nature. Developed based on the principle of respect, a survey was administered to a representative sample of 1,096 Australians to understand perspectives on the research. The sample was aged 18 and older, 53% female, and 9% ethnic minority. Following an explanatory mixed methods approach, interviews and a focus group were conducted with people with a lived experience of suicide and first responders to contextualize the findings. There were broad levels of acceptance among the Australian public. Younger respondents, females, and those declining to state their ethnicity had lower levels of acceptance of CCTV research using AI for suicide prevention. Those with lived experience of suicide had higher acceptance. Qualitative data indicated concern regarding racial bias in AI and police response to suicidal crises and the need for lived experience involvement in the development and implementation of any resulting interventions. Broad public acceptance of the research aligns with the principle of respect for persons. Beneficence emerged in the context of findings emphasizing the importance of meaningfully including people with lived experience in the development and implementation of interventions resulting from this research, while justice emerged in themes expressing concerns about racial bias in AI and police response to mental health crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

SOAP classifier for free-text clinical notes with domain-specific pre-trained language models

The increasing use of electronic health records (EHRs) in healthcare has led to a significant amount of unstructured clinical text data. This paper proposes a model for classifying free-text clinical notes in the Portuguese language in sentences following the SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) note standard using domain-specific pre-trained language models. Among the five pre-trained BERT models tested, BioBERTptRT achieved the best results with a precision of 0.9461, accuracy of 0.9434, recall of 0.9437, and F1-score of 0.9435. BioBERTptRT, specialized in the Portuguese language, clinical terminology, and the medical group’s domain, outperformed the other models, showing a 0.28% increase in the F1-score compared to the second most specialized model. The proposed model focuses on high-level sentence classification rather than entity-level classification and aims to structure clinical notes at a broader level. The study utilizes a private database of 10,000 anonymized health records containing 234,673 clinical notes. These notes were divided into 1,183,345 unique sentences used to retrain BioBERTptRT. Additionally, 100,021 sentences were manually labeled for use in fine-tuning the models This work contributes to the structuring of clinical notes by showcasing the performance improvements obtained through domain specialization in BERT networks. Additionally, it presents an analysis of the performance gains achieved by BioBERTpt compared to mBERT, both in our study and other related works. Furthermore, this study provides a valuable comparison between the distribution of sentences and the results obtained in this research and similar studies conducted in English.

Implementasi Kurikulum Muatan Lokal Dalam Proses Pembelajaran Aksara Arab Melayu Pada Kelas IV di MIS YPI Batang Kuis Sumatera Utara

This research aims to analyze curriculum implementation in the Malay Arabic script learning process in class V at MIS YPI Batang Kuis using descriptive qualitative methods. The research method in this study was carried out using data collection techniques, namely interviews, documentation and observation. The objects of this research were 30 students in class IV MIS YPI Batang Kuis. The data collection technique in this research is equipped with tests and questionnaires which take place face to face with students. Data analysis methods include assessing writing test scores, calculating the percentage of reading ability, as well as evaluating overall results to understand the effectiveness of teaching Malay Arabic script. It is hoped that the findings from this research will provide a more comprehensive view regarding the implementation of the Malay Arabic script learning curriculum in the form of teaching strategies that best support Malay Arabic learning in class V MIS YPI Batang Kuis. The results of this research can be a reflection to improve existing teaching methods. By understanding the successes and challenges in the learning process, more effective strategies can be developed to improve students' understanding of the Malay Arabic script. It is hoped that the implications of this research can help prepare better curriculum and teaching guidelines and improve the quality of the Malay Arabic script learning process at a broader level.

Lviv Under the Soviets (1939-1941): Students, Refugees and Deportees

The Soviet aggression against Poland at the outbreak of the Second World War resulted in the annexation of more than 50% of the pre-war Polish territory to the Soviet Union, with the rest occupied by Germany. With a focus on western Ukraine, the initial period of Soviet rule is reviewed in the context of the German-Soviet geopolitical alliance, the troubled history of inter-ethnic relations, and the changes imposed by the regime. The situation at Lviv University illustrates the shift from Polish to Soviet sovereignty. In the autumn of 1939, with the earlier antisemitic policies lifted, many Jews applied for admission to the university under Soviet control. The university files show how the political changes were perceived at the time. They also highlight the influx of refugees escaping the German occupation in the rest of Poland. On a broader level, Soviet policies introduced contradictions that had a negative impact on all ethnic groups within the annexed territory. Even though the Soviets granted the right to citizenship to Polish citizens under their control, the regime unleashed systematic repressions. Removed from key positions, Poles were targeted by Soviet propaganda and the security apparatus. Despite a façade of Ukrainization, local Ukrainians were distrusted and their pre-war leaders persecuted. Jews were generally relieved that they had escaped falling under the Nazis. While some of them gained access to higher education and positions in the civil administration, many others were arrested and deported to labour camps, because of their pre-war political affiliations, ‘undesirable’ class distinctions, and refugee status.

Institutional theory in accounting information systems research: Shedding light on digital transformation and institutional change

This article aims to shed light on digital transformation in the accounting sector from the perspective of institutional change. We performed a systematic literature review to understand how institutional change could be applied to research on Accounting Information Systems (AIS), using a quantitative method to categorize data through LSA (Latent Semantic Analysis) technique; and a qualitative method performed by hierarchical categorical content analysis as a basis for inferences. We reviewed 309 articles using Institutional Theory in accounting and AIS. The LSA results presented the main topics of study, subfields of research, and uses of Institutional Theory. Regarding accounting research, it is possible to identify the role of institutional forces in the IFRS adoption (in private and public sectors), XBRL adoption, and disclosure of information on organizations’ environmental, social, and governance, with a focus on analyses at the organizational level and regulatory pressures. A deep dive into AIS articles showed that Institutional Theory was applied to analyze the adoption of systems/technologies (mostly ERP and XBRL) through isomorphic processes (coercive, mimetic, and normative). We proposed to analyze digital technologies as an exogenous change for the digital transformation in accounting business using another perspective of Institutional Theory: institutional change. Institutional change analyzes the role of destabilizing elements in the change of an organizational field as a whole and not just in a few organizations. In this perspective, technology is the agent of change on a broader level, transforming organizations, individuals, customers, suppliers, and governments. The main contribution of this article is presenting suggestions for future AIS. This research agenda contributes to advancing Institutional Theory in AIS, using the lens of institutional change to analyze the new realities shaping accounting organizations, such as digital transformation.

Mugabe’s Look East Policy in the Context of Iran: Afrocentricity and Mugabeism

Zimbabwe’s Look East Policy particularly the country’s relations with China has drawn the attention of the media, academics, and scholarly literature. The introduction of the unwritten Look East Policy in 2003 saw the deepening of relations between Zimbabwe and countries in Southeast Asia, the Far East, and the Middle East. However, the literature focuses largely on Zimbabwe-China relations that were boosted by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation at the broader level. Leaning on the Afrocentric theoretical framework the article analysed Mugabe’s Look East Policy in the context of Iran. The paper also leaned on Mugabeism which represents the ideology and personality of Mugabe as an influential political figure that dominated Zimbabwe’s political landscape and shaped the country’s policy direction at the domestic and international levels. Methodologically, the paper used desktop qualitative research that relied on primary and secondary sources. The article adopted Foreign Policy Analysis as an analytical tool and drew from Afrocentricity and Mugabeism as conceptual frameworks to shape the understanding of Zimbabwe’s foreign policy towards Iran. It contributes to the discourse on Mugabe’s Look East Foreign Policy which had focused largely on the challenges, failures and success of the Policy in the context of Zimbabwe-China relations. Alternatively, the paper analysed the role played by Mugabe as an individual decision-maker on the Policy in the context of Zimbabwe-Iran relations. It established that Zimbabwe-Iran relations were driven by Mugabe as an individual decision-maker. The Policy was informed by Mugabe’s disdain towards neoliberalism, his bad history with the West and as a proponent of an economy that is driven by Africans based on their historical and material conditions. The Policy is also attributed to Mugabe’s stubbornness and authoritarian characteristics. Keywords: Mugabe, Look East Policy, Iran, Afrocentricity, Mugabeism

Analisis Proses Pembelajaran Aksara Arab Melayu pada Kelas IV di MIS YPI Batangkuis melalui Metode Kualitatif Deskriptif

This research aims to analyze the Arabic-Malay script learning process in class V at MIS YPI Batangkuis using descriptive qualitative methods. The research method in this study was carried out using 2 (two) data collection techniques, namely interviews and observation. The objects of this research were 30 students in class IV MIS YPI Batangkuis. Data collection techniques in this research were carried out using tests and questionnaires which took place face to face with students. Data analysis methods include assessing writing test scores, calculating the percentage of reading ability, as well as evaluating overall results to understand the effectiveness of teaching Arabic-Malay. It is hoped that the findings from this research will provide a more comprehensive view of the teaching strategies that best support Arabic-Malay language learning in the fifth grade environment of MIS YPI Batangkuis. The results of this research can be a reflection to improve existing teaching methods. By understanding the successes and challenges in the learning process, more effective strategies can be developed to improve students' understanding of Arabic-Malay. It is hoped that the implications of this research can help develop better teaching guidelines and improve the quality of Arabic-Malay language education at a broader level.

Spatial reasoning in context: bridging cognitive and educational perspectives of spatial-mathematics relations

Spatial reasoning is ingrained in daily life, such as when locating our keys or parking our car. At a broad level, spatial reasoning describes the ability to mentally represent and transform objects and their relations. Spatial reasoning is comprised of distinct, yet related, spatial skills, most of which have strong links with mathematics achievement. Subsequently, understanding the ways spatial reasoning connects with mathematics has the potential to support achievement in school. However, current research practices have failed to translate into practical outcomes for students. To date, research has often focused on decontextualized spatial skills, measured by psychometric tests, to generalize about broader models of spatial reasoning. However, spatial reasoning goes beyond test performance. In this theoretical review, I have sought to find the points of connection between the fields of cognitive psychology, often based in the lab, and mathematics education, situated within classrooms, and discussed ways to connect this currently siloed work for greater impact on classroom practice. The paper addresses the emergence of spatial research from its historical roots in intelligence testing and the influence these conceptualizations have had on contemporary methodologies. It goes on to discuss how these research traditions may be limiting our ability to understand the mechanisms linking spatial reasoning and mathematics. The paper argues for a broader view of research problems and methodologies in spatial cognition research to facilitate the translation of research to meaningful contexts in pedagogy and learning.

Multiway Decomposition Followed by Reconvolution of Fluorescence Time Decay Data.

The use of time-resolved emission spectroscopy (TRES) is increasing as these instruments become more available, and the prices are decreasing, especially with the development of cheaper LED light sources. In this article, we propose a new methodology for analyzing TRES data. It combines two existing methods: PARAFAC and reconvolution. PARAFAC is a soft modeling curve resolution technique which has been extensively applied to steady-state fluorescence data, and reconvolution is the most common method for fitting TRES data. The proposed method is compared to two well-established methods of analyzing these data, namely, global reconvolution and tail fitting. In addition, we compare our approach with the SLICING method proposed in 2021 by Devos et al. which is also based on a soft model, but does not include the reconvolution step. All of these methods follow the assumption that the measured fluorescence signal is a linear combination of the underlying fluorophores. The comparison is based on a measured TRES data set with a mixture of three fluorophores and two sets of simulated data sets with up to four fluorophores. The results show that global fitting works well as long as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is high (more than 15 dB), independent of the spacing between the emission peak maxima. SLICING does not give as good estimates of the time decay, mainly due to the challenge of defining the tail. Our proposed method gives robust and accurate results, outperforming the other techniques in cases with broad instrument response functions and high noise levels with SNRs down to 5 dB.

Governance and sustainable development goals (SDGs): a bibliographic review of the literature

Objective: to carry out a bibliographical review of the literature on sustainable governance and SDGs, inventorying, and mapping initiatives developed by the international literature. Theoretical approach: Adopted a bibliometric approach that allows exploring the existing nuances in a specific field while discovering the emerging areas of this theme through the Bibliometrix software. Results: Through this review, the importance of governance for the implementation of the SDGs is evident because governance operates on a broader level and involves the participation of different stakeholders acting in different segments to obtain dialogues and different power relations to manage the common issues related to the achievement of the SDGs. Originality and Relevance: Highlighting the importance of governance for implementing and consolidating the 2030 Agenda, gaps were found in the few studies relating the two themes. Given this, there is a need to map initiatives developed by the international literature on sustainable governance, SDGs, and the 2030 Agenda, to understand better the current advances and challenges involving the subject so that new perspectives for studies are signaled. Theoretical and methodological contributions: Theoretical implications are in the discussion of the conceptual and empirical strengthening of these themes and practical implications in the development of future methodologies.

Vocational skill training programs for persons with intellectual disability (PID) and trainers' perspective during and post vocational skill training.

Employment is one of the primary goals of persons with intellectual disabilities (PID). Employment can lead to positive psychosocial and economic benefits for people with ID, but people with disabilities are not afforded this opportunity to contribute to society through work due to multiple challenges, as well as the transition from vocational skill training to getting employed for PID is more challenging. Seven vocational skill trainers were chosen from the seven vocational skill training centres offering skill training for PID and located in urban Bengaluru were selected using a purposive sampling design for this study. The trainers were interviewed to understand their perspectives on challenges during and post vocational training for PID. Training offered to PID in several vocational centres ranged from unskilled to semi-skilled. A range of barriers including gaps in awareness and knowledge of the various training programs for PID challenges associated with their transition after training, unique challenges in placing the trained PID into external organizations, stigma, and attitudinal barriers associated with disability are described to be influencing the skill training of PID and their subsequent employment. Skill training offered for PID across the centres with significant challenges while providing the training and supporting their transition into the community for employment. The challenges of the PID need to be studied at a broader level through including all the stakeholders.

Rethinking teaching and learning assessments in the 21st century

Assessment plays an essential role in education because it measures the extent of student learning for both assessment of learning and assessment for learning. Assessment is constructed to promote student learning at the subject or broader level. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to rethink assessment for students’ learning to make it compatible with online or hybrid learning, which has been on the rise. Therefore, this article aims to discuss the need to rethink assessment in teaching and learning. The article provides insights into the reasons for and types of assessment. It also discusses various issues concerning assessments and different approaches to assessment that educators can apply in their modern teaching and learning, especially in the context of the 21st century. The article concludes by emphasizing the need for rethinking teaching and learning assessment to ensure it can help students develop the necessary knowledge and skills to thrive in and outside the classroom setting.

Media Exposure and Vote Choice in India, 1996–2019

This article examines the relationship between media consumption and voting choices in India in the context of increasing exposure to media, both traditional and new. Using media exposure-related data from the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies’ (CSDS) national election surveys since 1996, it makes a few key assertions. Historically, there has been a positive relationship between traditional news media exposure and voting for the BJP, i.e., the greater the voters’ TV and newspaper consumption, the higher their support for the BJP. With respect to the Congress party, the tendency has generally been the opposite. This pattern now extends to social media exposure as well. However, this impact of media exposure on voting preferences that’s visible at the broad level weakens considerably when slicing the data further by socio-demographic factors. It has been found that the trend of the BJP’s vote share rising with increasing exposure to media is not consistent across the categories of age, education, and caste during many elections. If there is one election, however, that bucked this trend, it was the 2014 Lok Sabha election. The article argues that the BJP was successful in recognizing this and capitalized on it through an extensive media and communications campaign in 2014.

Looking for Theory‐Practice Synthesis for Actionable Outcomes: A Continuing Special Collection for Translational Water Research

AbstractTranslational research (TR) represents a promising systematic process for going from scientific discoveries to practical applications. Through conversations with academics, practitioners, decision‐makers and users, there has emerged a broad level of water science community support for including TR in Water Resources Research (WRR) publications. Based on this, we now open a continuing special collection of TR papers in WRR. The aim is to facilitate a community within hydrology and water science that seeks to provide actionable knowledge for societal benefit across disciplines, scales and contexts, with a focus on water as a key societal resource or a risk (e.g., of floods, droughts, or as pollutant carrier). This Editorial discusses what the multi‐faceted nature of TR may include in the context of WRR, why it is important to encourage TR papers in WRR, and how the opening of a continuing special collection of translational water research papers initiates a process to include such articles in the journal.

Teachers Leading Beyond the Classroom

The role of teachers has evolved significantly, extending far beyond the traditional confines of the classroom. This paper explores the multifaceted role of teacher leaders who embrace a more comprehensive and influential position within the education system. Teacher leadership is a term that encompasses various roles and responsibilities, and its definition can vary depending on the organizational structure of the school. This study delves into how teacher leaders catalyze change within their classrooms and at broader levels, such as the school, district, and national levels. Teachers leading beyond the classroom underscores the essential role that teacher leaders play in shaping the future of education by leveraging their passion, expertise, and experience to bring about positive change in various facets of the educational system. It emphasizes the need for schools to recognize and harness the potential of teacher leaders to create a more dynamic, inclusive, and effective learning environment for all stakeholders in education.