Coherent Definition Research Articles

Defining Urbanicity in the Context of Psychosis Research: A Qualitative Systematic Literature Review.

Numerous studies have found that being born or raised in urban environments increases the odds of developing psychosis in Northern and Western Europe. However, available research from Southern Europe, Latin America, and Asia has reported null results. A limitation in most studies to date is the inadequate characterization of urban and rural life components that may contribute to varying psychosis risk across regions. To deepen our understanding of the different concepts and measures of urbanicity and related factors in psychosis research, we conducted a qualitative systematic literature review extracting information from studies published between 2000 and 2024. Sixty-one articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were used in the thematic analysis. The analysis revealed that urbanicity lacked a single, coherent definition across studies and regions. Three major categories of themes were developed from the analysis: (1) Urbanicity comprises several interconnected constructs, (2) Urbanicity measurements vary between countries from the Global North and the Global South, and (3) Urbanicity operates through key neighborhood-level mechanisms. Future research on urbanicity and psychosis should consider the potential limitations of urbanicity's conceptualization and operationalization and aim to address these limitations by focusing on contextual, historical, and community-level factors, utilizing locally validated measures, and employing mixed-method designs.

Understanding Teacher Leadership: A Survey of the Field

Even as the amount of research in teacher leadership (TL) has grown, it continues to be criticized as lacking a coherent definition and theoretical base. TL, as a field of study, lacks any organization or regularly occurring meetings. This study surveyed TL scholars and practitioners and mixed methods analysis showed that participants agreed that TL lacks a cohesive definition, but four common themes emerged from the data on the definition.

Understanding "Childhood Poly-Victimization" to help uncover abuse during child investigative interviewing: a systematic review.

It is well established that child victims are some of the most challenging populations to interview. Indeed, children tend to feel ashamed, scared or in denial, leading to difficulties for law enforcement when gathering information, and subsequently with prosecuting offenders. Moreover, with crimes against children increasing, it is common for interviewed victims to have experienced several abuses (poly-victimization). Thus, the main goals of this study are to (1) identify the facets that are included in poly-victimization, in order to (2) provide a clear definition that can be used by law enforcement during child interviews, which could lead to (3) a better identification of cases of abuse to maximize safeguarding and protect children. A systematic review was used to establish the differences in conceptualizations of poly-victimization as well as the measurements chosen by research to measure this concept. The current systematic review included research articles on childhood poly-victimization using a quantitative measuring instrument published as of 2007, that focused on populations under 18 years of age. The findings were divided into (1) conceptual dimensions, (2) characteristics of studies' populations and (3) measures and psychometrics properties. It was found that research used various terms for poly-victimization, yet with numerous definitions implying differences in number of abuses, time frame, and mental health aspects to be considered in the identification of poly-victimization. The included papers (n = 6) were from Europe, Asia, and the United States. Over half of the studies used the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) but adapted either (i) to the study's population, (ii) possible answers, (iii) wording of questions, or (iv) by the removal of questions. Our findings highlight the need for a more theoretically coherent definition of childhood poly-victimization. Questions regarding number of abuses, time consideration (past year vs. lifetime), mental health and severity of abuse should be addressed to develop a unified definition of poly-victimization. Rapport-based interviews should be the focus to uncover the truth and to avoid a secondary trauma in the crisis of a child's disclosure of abuse. A new definition of "Childhood Poly-Victimization" is proposed by the authors as well as a "Decision Tree for Identifying Childhood Poly-Victimization" designed to be used by law enforcement during child investigative interviews.

Thematic Coherence in Classroom Discourse: A Question Centered Approach

This article discusses the place of thematic coherence in various approaches to educational dialogue and proposes a unifying approach to the analysis of thematic coherence of classroom conversations based on research in educational dialogue, philosophy of language and recent advances in linguistic research on discourse structure. Addressing the same main question is crucial to preserving thematic coherence in a conversation and is considered a key criterion of quality in classroom dialogues across the field of research in dialogic teaching, e.g., in Alexander’s Dialogic Teaching, Michaels and colleagues’ Accountable Talk, and Mercer’s Interthinking. Nonetheless, a shared definition of thematic coherence is missing in the field. In order to provide such a conception, we propose a question centered approach to evaluating the thematic coherence of educational discourse. On this proposal, the thematic coherence of a conversation depends on how a conversational contribution relates to a conversation’s overall question under discussion. We show how this approach may be used to examine thematic coherence and incoherence and argue that the proposal’s focus on utterance level features of discourse has an advantage in helping researchers track how specific linguistic features of dialogue shape classroom conversations.

23 Years of Research on Market Positioning: A Future Research Agenda

On a practical level, market positioning is critical to achieving competitive advantage, and thus the success of new ventures and entrepreneurs needs more relevant insights to help them gain a foothold in new or existing markets. The purpose of this paper is to carefully analyze and assess the current body of written work regarding the strategic act of positioning a product or brand in the market, thereby critically reassessing and re-evaluating the fundamental notion of positioning and ultimately establishing a more all-encompassing and thorough definition from an abstract and theoretical point of view. In this paper, the authors would like to explore past research related to market positioning in the Scopus database using the keywords “positioning marketing", marketing positioning”, "positioning”, and “strategic positioning” from 2000–2023 (23 years) using the criteria of “exclude and include,” and a total of 140 articles were obtained. Once analyzed, the literature review revealed that there is no coherent definition for positioning and that there is no common agreement among marketing experts and practitioners on the precise meaning of the concept. Therefore, a comprehensive definition of positioning covering the five underlying positioning perspectives (competition, gap/empty mind, consumer perception, differentiation, and advantage) is suggested. Keywords: Market Positioning, Positioning Strategy, Bibliometric Analysis.

The structure of ability beliefs in EFL classrooms: A cross-theoretical analysis bridging self-efficacy and perceived competence needs satisfaction

Theoretical parsimony represents one avenue forward for the study of positive psychology in language education. This study examined two well-recognized but interconnected concepts in the context of second language classrooms: academic self-efficacy rooted in Social Cognitive Theory and competence need satisfaction derived from Self Determination Theory. The investigation sought to show the distinctions and intersections in these constructs, underscoring the necessity for empirical scrutiny to establish their coherent definitions. We aim to present both concepts within a unified framework in order to facilitate a meaningful connection between the two theories. A sample comprising 181 students attending a private junior-high school in urban Japan participated in this study by completing widely used scales measuring self-efficacy and perceived competence. The research employed conventional independent cluster confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), bifactor-CFA, bifactor-ESEM, and the S-1 model for comparative analysis. Among these, the S-1 model emerged as the most theoretically sound model with a good fit and absence of anomalies. Furthermore, the factor representing global perceived competence needs satisfaction exhibited a strong association with students’ later academic achievements. These results indicate the potential cross-theoretical nature of competence beliefs and carry implications for both theory and practice in the psychology of language learning.

What does Bourdieu Mean by the ‘Habitus’ and What Implications does This Idea Have for English Language Teaching in China?: Using Bourdieu: Introducing Habitus, Field and Capital

Habitus remains an ambiguous and cryptic concept, triggering drastic debate not only in sociology and anthropology but also in culture studies and literary criticism. The topic has been cited by a range of writers, notably Mauss, Husserl and Bourdieu. Even Bourdieu did not provide a clear, authoritative or coherent definition of the term in his work. Due to the fact that habitus plays an indispensable part of social constructionism, which defines our understanding of the world. It is necessary for parents, schools and the government to learn about this concept, and utilize it to guide their education practice and policy enactment. This essay will explore the theoretical concept of “habitus” and its interrelationship with “field” and “capital”. Then discuss the wide disparity in different social groups, in terms of habitus and capital in China. Followed by an analysis of the imbalances in Chinese rural and urban schools respectively, in the field of English language teaching. It aims to help readers better understand the poor performance of students who come from less advantageous social groups in language learning, rather than attributing their failure to their individual defects. The essay will also introduce the 2003 English curriculum reform, illustrate the current status of its implementation in various family upbringing and school locations and put forward some feasible proposals for parents, teachers, students and government to promote social equity in English language teaching in China.

What counts as investment? Productive and unproductive expenditures

There have been significant changes in what economists include in the category of investment over the last six decades. The US government agency that compiles national income date, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, has tried to keep up with these changes, but it has not succeeded. The resulting tension between economic theory and official data can be overcome by adopting a different theoretical lens. Work on social reproduction and social investment suggests a more coherent definition of investment than that offered by mainstream economists. The paper then contrasts the measurement of investment in the government data with a calculation of investment derived from this new approach. The results show that business investment is dwarfed by the combined investment made by government and households. This finding suggests that business investment is not the key engine that powers the economy. This has significant implications for economic and social policies.

Indistinguishable entangled fermions: basics and future challenges.

The study of entanglement in systems composed of identical particles raises interesting challenges with far-reaching implications in both, our fundamental understanding of the physics of composite quantum systems, and our capability of exploiting quantum indistinguishability as a resource in quantum information theory. Impressive theoretical and experimental advances have been made in the last decades that bring us closer to a deeper comprehension and to a better control of entanglement. Yet, when it involves composites of indistinguishable quantum systems, the very meaning of entanglement, and hence its characterization, still finds controversy and lacks a widely accepted definition. The aim of the present paper is to introduce, within an accessible and self-contained exposition, the basic ideas behind one of the approaches advanced towards the construction of a coherent definition of entanglement in systems of indistinguishable particles, with focus on fermionic systems. We also inquire whether the corresponding tools developed for studying entanglement in identical-fermion systems can be exploited when analysing correlations in distinguishable-party systems, in which the complete information of the individual parts is not available. Further, we open the discussion on the broader problem of constructing a suitable framework that accommodates entanglement in the presence of generalized statistics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Identity, individuality and indistinguishability in physics and mathematics'.

Conceptualization of patient-centered care in Latin America: A scoping review.

Patient-centered care (PCC) has been declared as a desirable goal for health care in Latin American countries, but a coherent definition of what exactly PCC entails for clinical practice is missing. This article's aim was to identify how PCC is conceptualized in Latin American countries. Scientific databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scielo, Scopus, Web of Science) and webpages of the ministries of health were searched, and experts were contacted for suggestions of literature. References were included if they contained one of a range of a priori defined keywords related to PCC in the title, were published between 2006 and 2021, and were carried out in or concerned Latin America. Definitions of PCC were extracted from the included articles and analyzed using deductive and inductive coding. Deductive coding was based on the integrative model of patient-centeredness, which unites the definitions of PCC in the international literature (mainly North America and Europe) and proposes 16 dimensions describing PCC. Thirty-two articles were included in the analysis and about half of them were from Brazil. Numerous similarities were found between the integrative model of patient-centeredness and the definitions of PCC given in the selected literature. The dimensions of the integrative model of patient-centeredness that were least and most prominent in the literature were physical support and patient information, respectively. A differentiation between PCC and family-centered care (FCC) was observed. Definitions of PCC and FCC as well as their cited references were diverse. A considerable overlap between the conceptualization of PCC in Latin America and the integrative model of patient-centeredness has been identified. However, there are substantial differences between countries in Latin America regarding the emphasis of research on PCC versus FCC and diverse conceptualizations of PCC and FCC exist. This scoping review takes the patient's perspective based on the integrative model of patient-centeredness. Due to the study being a review, no patients, neither caregivers, nor members of the public, were involved.

Establishing a Comprehensive & Coherent Definition of Parent Responsiveness for Enhanced Multidisciplinary Team Communication in Early Intervention

Abstract Date Presented 04/21/2023 This systematic review of multidisciplinary literature yielded a comprehensive definition of parent responsiveness to infant cues that OT practitioners can use when communicating with interdisciplinary early intervention teams. Primary Author and Speaker: Emily Campi Additional Authors and Speakers: Elizabeth Nye Contributing Authors: Grace Baranek

Probabilistic reconciliation of count time series

Forecast reconciliation is an important research topic. Yet, there is currently neither a formal framework nor a practical method for the probabilistic reconciliation of count time series. This paper proposes a definition of coherency and reconciled probabilistic forecast, which applies to real-valued and count variables, and a novel method for probabilistic reconciliation. It is based on a generalization of Bayes’ rule and can reconcile real-value and count variables. When applied to count variables, it yields a reconciled probability mass function. Our experiments with the temporal reconciliation of count variables show a major forecast improvement compared to the probabilistic Gaussian reconciliation.

Defining chiropractic professional identity: A concept analysis

BackgroundThe concept of professional identity within chiropractic is often discussed and debated, however in the field to date, there is no formal definition of chiropractic professional identity (CPI). This article aims to create a coherent definition of CPI and to formalise the conceptual domains that may encompass it. MethodsUsing the Walker and Avant (2005) process, a concept analysis methodology was employed to clarify the diffuse concept of CPI. This method initially involved selecting the concept (CPI), determining the aims and purpose of the analysis, identifying concept uses, and defining attributes. This was achieved from a critical literature review of professional identity across health disciplines. Chiropractic-related model, borderline and contrary cases were used to exemplify characteristics of CPI. The antecedents required to inform CPI, consequences of having, and ways to measure the concept of CPI were evaluated. ResultsFrom the concept analysis data, CPI was found to encompass six broad attributes or domains: knowledge and understanding of professional ethics and standards of practice, chiropractic history, practice philosophy and motivations, the roles and expertise of a chiropractor, professional pride and attitude, and professional engagement and interaction behaviours. These domains were not mutually exclusive and may overlap. ConclusionA conceptual definition of CPI may bring together members and groups within the profession and promote intra-professional understanding across other disciplines. The CPI definition derived from this concept analysis is: ‘A chiropractor's self-perception and ownership of their practice philosophies, roles and functions, and their pride, engagement, and knowledge of their profession’.

An Analytical Approach to Culture

In this paper, I outline a general framework for cultural analysis consistent with an “analytic” approach to explanation in social science. The proposed approach provides coherent solutions to thorny problems in cultural theory. These include providing a coherent definition of culture (and the “cultural”), specifying the nature of cultural units (both simple and complex), and outlining the processes making possible episodes of cultural genesis, transformation, and reproduction within bounded units characterized as cultural causal systems.

Time for a change: replacing the populist model with elite theory

In recent years, populism has been used to explain the actions of politicians around the globe, from Jair Bolsonaro to Boris Johnson. This presents a problem for scholars who are seeking to understand present-day political trends. Essentially, the populist school does not have a coherent definition of its subject matter, cannot accurately identify who should get this label, and is unable to correctly explain the behaviors of those leaders who acquire the moniker. Since elite theory stands on stronger ground when it comes to these dimensions, it should be used instead to evaluate the events and actors that are currently explored using the populist model. After providing evidence to support this argument, a concluding section proposes future research projects that can strengthen the claim that elite theory is a better way to understand politics.

Coherence Field Theory: Quantum Coherence as the Basis for a Model of Brain Function

A general definition of quantum coherence is developed from analysis of superposition, entanglement, chemical bonding behavior, and basic phenomena of classical mechanics. Various properties of atoms can be better explained if these particles are matter waves that embody a spectrum ranging from relatively coherent to decoherent states. It is demonstrated that quantum coherence so defined can comprehensively explain signal transmission in neurons and dynamics of the brain’s emergent electric field, including potential support for the claim that conscious volition is to some degree real rather than an illusion. Recent research in a physiological context suggests that electromagnetic radiation interacts with molecular structure to comprise integrated energy fields. A mechanism is proposed by which quantum coherence as accelerating electric currents in neurons may result in a broadened spectrum of electromagnetic radiation capable of interacting with molecular complexes in the brain and perhaps elsewhere in an organism to influence vibrational and structural properties. Research should investigate whether a consequent energy field is the basic perceptual substrate, with at least some additive electromagnetic wavelengths of this field involved in generating image percepts insofar as they arise from the body, and electromagnetic vibrations the signature of a more diverse phenomenon by which somewhat nondimensional features of perception such as sound, touch, taste, smell, interoceptive sensations, etc. partially arise. If examination of the brain reveals this organ to be composed of a coherence field, structured at least in part by broadened spectrums of EM radiation interacting with molecular components, this has major implications for furthering our model of the matter/mind interface and possibly physical reality in total.

Assistive technology for an inclusive school for schoolchildren with special needs: autism spectrum disorders

Background: The debate and research over autism spectrum disorders (ASD) encounter a theoretical and interpretive impasse that reflects our inability to provide a coherent definition. This challenge is confirmed by the current description of the condition as a spectrum, and its management stretches the limits of the various relevant fields of knowledge and research, including medicine, psychology, language and communication, education, sociology, human rights, ethics and legal issues, philosophy. Objectives: In the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to persons with physical disabilities, technology has been tool. In the case of ASD, however, although some lines of research are focused on the study of sensory defects, the cause appears to lie, not only in perception, but also in interpretation of stimuli from the outside world. Since we entered the “digital era”, the use of technology as an assistive tool in interpretation of the surrounding world appears to provide a borderline between our knowledge and the dark area of our ignorance. For tackling this, an interdisciplinary approach is required. Which kind of assistive technology (AT) should be employed in the case of ASD, which leads us to an encounter with the theoretical and institutional void that the stormy pace of the digital transformation and evolution has created. Methods: Searching was through PubMed, National Institute of Health (NIH) publications, the official websites of European Union , Autism Europe, resources were found in the library of the University of Macedonia. Ninety eight papers were identified through the literature review in the period 2000-2021 Results: A features of postmodern society that is taking shape under the influence of the digital technology could be the crossing from the physical reality into the virtual realm. Another feature might be the reference to symbolic language that characterizes the various different fields of knowledge, together with their protocols and communication jargon. This entails the creation of hybrid knowledge which is expanding our physical world, and which makes possible intercommunication between isolated disciplinary fields. People with ASD feel more at ease when dealing with digital entities than in interaction with other people. Also individuals who are involved in the digital realm for long periods present characteristics similar to those of ASD. Could the creation of a virtual realm be possible, which would act as a common locus between the so-called normal and people with ASD. Conclusion: We conducted a preliminary study to explore the possibility of an interdisciplinary research program with the participation of experts from the various fields involved in the many aspects of ASD.

A CONCEPTUAL APPARATUS FOR THE FIELD OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC SECURITY: AN UPDATED VIEW

The author argues that the theory of national economic security is on the rise again and the qualitatively new phase of its development will be characterized by an increase of scientific and applied interest to various aspects of this field.
 This trend is consistent with the escalation of internal and external threats to socio-economic stability in major countries, the growing turbulence in the global economy, intensified global competition for natural resources and human capital and the emergence of new types of threats to national economic security, including environmental crises, uncontrolled migration and the coronavirus pandemic.
 In the near future, the scientific community will face a number of important research tasks, including the need to shape an updated methodological base, verify acquired knowledge and outline new research priorities. These tasks will be difficult to complete without a set of comprehensive definitions in the field of national economic security.
 The ongoing capsulation of scientific schools and their gravitation toward their own conceptual frameworks is a serious problem for the institutionalization and development of national economic security as an independent scientific discipline. This problem makes it impossible to create a common methodological framework for the discipline and undermines constructive scientific discussion between representatives of different scientific schools in this field.
 The author attempts to streamline the conceptual apparatus to solve the aforementioned problem. The scholarship of several scientific schools and prominent experts is analyzed to identify and systematize the most important terms and their definitions within the field of national economic security. Based on the data obtained a number of comprehensive and coherent definitions is introduced.
 The current stage of the evolution of national economic security is characterized by a weakening of neoliberal ideas and an increased impact of economic concepts within neorealism in the scientific community. These developments need to be reflected in the conceptual apparatus of this discipline. In this regard, the system of current basic definitions requires a significant update.

The definition of entrepreneurship: is it less complex than we think?

PurposeThe paper introduces a new conceptualisation of entrepreneurship that promotes a broader perspective of the phenomenon. The purpose of the paper is to re-conceptualise the act of entrepreneurship so as to reduce it to the fundamental behaviours and processes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper sets out the motivations for and challenges in establishing a broader definition of entrepreneurship. Following this, current approaches to defining entrepreneurship are reviewed. In light of these, a definition of entrepreneurship is offered that captures a new perspective in understanding entrepreneurship. A critique of the offered definition is offered with regards to promoting theory development, empirical research, quality predictions and a distinctive research domain.FindingsThe authors argue that a definition of entrepreneurship that is focussed on the development and validation of ideas provides a thought-provoking re-conceptualisation of entrepreneurship. Extant perspectives on entrepreneurship as business/organisation creation, uncertainty, innovation, value creation and opportunity recognition/creation are drawn on to demonstrate the applicability of the definition.Originality/valueThe pursuit for an encompassing definition of entrepreneurship has been both extensive and earnest, which has inadvertently resulted in a sizable pool of definitions. The authors offer a re-conceptualisation of entrepreneurship with the intent to provide a broad yet coherent definition that encompasses all acts of entrepreneurship. A benefit of this conceptualisation is the establishment of the endpoint of the entrepreneurship process that delineates it from the domain of management.

A relational theory of fiduciary accountability

Abstract Believing that the law of fiduciary accountability lacks coherent definition, various active writers have sought to provide that definition. Their analyses, however, are misinformed or misconceived. The consequence is that the fiduciary literature continues to be a source of obfuscation, rather than illumination. Here I examine the attempt of one writer to frame the law in what he describes as a ‘relational’ theory. I discuss the diverse misconceptions that impair his work.