Comparative Research Research Articles

Engagement and Communication Challenges for a Complex, Multi-nation Research Project: AD|ARC (Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection)

The Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection (AD|ARC) is a complex research project involving four nations, a mixture of business-level, household-level and person-level data, and diverse partners, stakeholders and audiences. The project is creating independent but comparable Research Ready Datasets, using linked data for farm businesses, farmers and farm families in the four UK nations. The engagement and communications workstream is crucial to build trust, inform the programme of work, support and enhance scientific objectives, and deliver high-quality, relevant findings that meet stakeholder and funder expectations. The project deployed a bespoke engagement and communications framework to meet these objectives. This presentation shares key elements of AD|ARC project's engagement and communications framework and strategy: Multi-region Approach: Balancing the need for a harmonised, federated resource with respecting regional differences in data, trusted research environments, and stakeholder perspectives. Transparency and Trust: Engaging diverse stakeholders, including farmers, researchers, and policymakers, to build trust, support and legitimacy. Collaborative Decision-Making: Interacting with diverse partners, (data owners, researchers, research subject representatives) to refine research questions. Outreach and Dissemination: A multi-method, iterative approach to raise awareness, share and promote the project. Results are demonstrated by success in being selected as an ADR UK Flagship Dataset; integrating diverse perspectives into the creation of comparable Research Ready Datasets; consensus on a research programme; useful learning which is incorporated into strategy; and actionable evidence to inform policymaking. The presentation will reflect on lessons learned, drawing out implications for research and public engagement that could apply to any complex research project.

Teacher collaborative inquiry into practice in school-based learning communities: The role of activity type

This study contributes to growing scholarly interest in teacher-led, school-based learning communities and the characteristics of teacher dialogue and social interaction that support professional learning in these settings. Based on existing conceptual distinctions proposed in the literature, we term this type of teacher dialogue “collaborative inquiry into practice” (CLIP) and propose a systematic and reliable tool to measure it. We then employ a quantitative, comparative research design to study how different teacher team activities (i.e., video-analysis, peer consultations, and pedagogical planning) shape the extent to which teachers engage in CLIP. Fifty-four transcribed teacher meeting excerpts were analyzed with the CLIP coding scheme, assessing different aspects of inquiry-based reasoning, participation, and content. Quantitative comparisons and illustrative examples show that CLIP was lowest during peer consultations, in part because teachers were often not positioned as agents of change in such conversations. Pedagogical planning activities featured more instances of inquiry into each other's ideas. Contrary to common assumptions, collaborative video analysis activities were not characterized by increased attention to student thinking or inquiry orientation. Our findings provide new insights into teacher-led, collaborative learning in on-the-job settings, as well as practical implications for the design of school-based professional learning communities.

Postage Stamps as Political and Religious Propaganda: The Case of Hamas

The article, “Postage Stamps as Political and Religious Propaganda: The Case of Hamas,” analyzes the use of postage stamps by Hamas between 2009 and 2019 as a medium for disseminating political, religious, and nationalist messages. After assuming control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas issued 148 stamps, utilizing them to assert its legitimacy, promote resistance to Israel, and shape a Palestinian historical narrative. Although these stamps were not recognized by the Universal Postal Union, they served as an important communication tool within Gaza. The study reveals that over half of the stamps focus on themes related to the national struggle, including martyrdom, military operations, and Palestinian unity. Additionally, religious symbols, particularly those related to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and international commemorative events are prominent features. The findings suggest that stamps were strategically employed by Hamas to strengthen its role in the Palestinian struggle and to enhance its domestic legitimacy. The article concludes by proposing further comparative research between the stamps of Hamas and those issued by other non-recognized entities, while also addressing the potential influence of the 2023 Gaza conflict on future stamp issuance.

Financial Performance Measurement Using the Value Added Method to Determine the Effect on Stock Prices

One of the Indonesian government's policies since 2015 has been to increase development through its developed infrastructure, by increasing its budget for this sector from year to year. However, companies listed in the engineering and construction subsector on the Indonesian Stock Exchange, both state-owned enterprises and private companies, experienced losses so it could be said that their financial performance was poor. This study intends to evaluate the financial performance engineering and construction sub-sector companies using the Economic Value Added (EVA), Market Value Added (MVA), Refined Economic Value Added (REVA), Financial Value Added (FVA), and Shareholder Value Added (SVA) in 2018 – 2023 and determine their influence on stock prices. This type of research is quantitative descriptive research using E-Views 12 with a population 26 companies and a sample size 16 companies. Based on the results the calculations and analysis, it stated that EVA, MVA, REVA, FVA, SVA and stock prices engineering and construction companies, both state-owned and private, during the 2018 - 2023 period obtained an average of negative amounts. The research results show that the financial performance variables using value added have an influence on stock prices with influence of 74.57% while the rest is influenced by other variables not examined in this research. Partially only MVA and SVA have an influence on stock prices because based on the probability test using E-Views 12 it appears that only MVA and SVA produce results below the alpha. The suggestion for this research is that company management should pay attention to the company's financial performance, especially the MVA and SVA variables and further researcher can make comparative research between all value-added variables.

A New Cascaded Multilevel Inverter for Modular Structure and Reduced Passive Components

In high-power applications, achieving adequate power quality in power converter design is accomplished by utilizing multilevel inverters instead of using two-level and three-level inverters. The device generates a sinusoidal output voltage, which results in reduced total harmonic distortion and lower voltage stress on the switches and leads to lower electromagnetic interference, making it suitable for use in renewable energy applications. However, to illustrate the advantages mentioned above, a significant number of switching devices and DC sources are necessary while raising the voltage levels. This article proposes an asymmetrical voltage generation method, which operates in a ratio of 1:5 and generates 25 levels using 11 power switches. The topology is modular in structure, and each module has a lower component count, which significantly reduces the overall cost. The proposed topology is capable of generating negative output voltage levels without the use of an H-bridge configuration, where only three switches are used to generate any voltage levels. The functionality of the developed module is amended by fixing different voltage values in DC sources. This article also presents a comprehensive examination of the circuit and the functioning of various voltage levels. The advantages of the proposed inverter have been demonstrated by comparative research with the currently existing MLI topologies. Ultimately, both the simulation and experimental findings validated the practical capabilities.

Gender Differences in the Perception of Ethics and Civic Moral Disengagement in Medical Doctors

The present study aims to find the gender differences in the perception of doctors while making ethical decisions and their level of civic morality. A simple distinction between ethics and morality would be that ethics are in reference to an external source, they come from the work environment. A comparative research design has been used in this study for which a Purposive sampling strategy was selected. The participants of the study selected were 75 male and 75 female doctors aged 25-40 years, practicing in Jinnah Hospital and Services Hospital, Lahore. Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) and Moral Disengagement Scale (MDS) were utilized to collect the data. To identify the differences among the variables Independent Sample T-test was administered on the collected data. The results of the study revealed that there is no significant difference in the perception of ethics and civic moral disengagement, this brought to the view that gender alone does not influence one’s ethics, pro-social reasoning, and behavior. The findings of this current research state that there are no differences among doctors working in two different locations, among genders, or between ethics and civic moral disengagement. This would be helpful to know because doctors constantly face questions regarding ethics and have to make fast, effective decisions that will affect their patient's life.

Subgroup Analysis of TLR2, -3, -4 and -8 in Relation to the Severity of Clinical Manifestations of Cervical HPV Infection.

We present the findings of assessing the expression levels of extracellular TLR2 and TLR4 and intracellular TLR3 and TLR8 correlating with the severity of clinical manifestations of HPV infection. A total of 199 women took part in a single-center prospective comparative research study on TLR2, TLR3, TLR4 and TLR8 expression in HPV-related cervical lesions. TLRs' mRNA expression was analyzed using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Our results indicate the potential significance of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR8 in responding to HPV infection and its progression to SILs and CC, highlighting the importance of HPV polyinfection in relation to TLR4 and TLR8.

Impactos Socioambientais em Assentamentos Urbanos Informais

Aim – Analyze, critically, the environmental licensing process of informal urban settlements, seeking to improve the instrument in a context of climate change. Methodology - This is a qualitative approach in which the documentary research method was used in environmental licensing processes of informal urban land subdivisions in the Federal District. Originality/relevance - There is a scarcity of studies investigating licensing in informal urban settlements. Considering that environmental licensing is required for activities that may cause socio-environmental damage and aims to mitigate or compensate for such damage, research that empirically evaluates the application of the instrument should be encouraged. Results - In general, environmental licensing in informal urban settlements has not been efficient, mitigation measures are not complied with, monitoring is unsatisfactory, there is a lack of indicators to measure urban environmental quality, and there is a lack of analysis of technological alternatives that consider climate projections and nature-based solutions. Theoretical/methodological contributions: Research on environmental licensing processes for informal urban settlements for low-income (ARIS) and high-income populations (ARINE) has contributed to complement the global literature, focused on investigating the mining and energy sectors. Comparative research on informal urban land subdivision in other socioeconomic contexts is recommended. Social and environmental contributions - Low-income settlements in ARIS are more vulnerable to socio-environmental risks and climate change than settlements in ARINE, requiring greater attention from managers to reduce this vulnerability.

Ukrainian adaptation of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS)

Expanding the methodological toolkit of research, particularly through adapting foreign psychometric tools, is crucial for Ukrainian psychology. This allows for conducting new research and comparing its results. One promising direction is studying the impostor phenomenon, manifested in an individual’s doubts about their achievements. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale, developed by foreign researchers, is used for this purpose. This study aimed to adapt the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale into Ukrainian. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale was translated into Ukrainian by two psychologists using the back-translation method. The research sample consisted of 297 students aged 18 to 22 (M = 20.4, SD = 1.49), including 82 males and 215 females. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis of scales, correlation analysis (Spearman’s coefficient), and confirmatory factor analysis were used. The results of the study indicate a considerable degree of consistency between the obtained data and the foundational theoretical model. The assessment of content validity revealed a significant number of statistically significant correlations. A high level of test-retest reliability was identified for the adapted methodology. The resulting factor model is conceptually similar to the original; however, it is not identical. Other studies have also noted the emergence of new factor models, suggesting the potential for refinement of this methodology or reflecting age, temporal, and cross-cultural differences among the subjects studied. The evaluation of the psychometric characteristics of the Ukrainian version of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale demonstrated high internal validity and reliability for the adapted tool. The Ukrainian version of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale may be valuable for the psychodiagnosis of impostor syndrome manifestations and further standardisation and application in comparative research. The findings could contribute to optimising psychological support by taking into account the specific characteristics of impostor syndrome in the course of psychological work

Nursery- vs. Mother-Reared Baboons: Reproductive Success and Health Parameters.

There is a plethora of data demonstrating the deleterious consequences of nursery rearing in nonhuman primates (NHPs). However, baboon studies report varying consequences of nursery rearing, from no differences in reproduction and sociality to moderate differences in social cognition and abnormal behavior. We compared health and reproductive parameters in a large sample (N= 231) of mother-reared (MR) and nursery-reared (NR) captive olive baboons housed at the Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Texas. MR baboons had higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios and heart rates than NR baboons. Rearing was not a significant predictor of body condition score or body weight (p > 0.20), and MR and NR individuals did not differ in the level of wounding observed (p > 0.70). The proportion of successful births across NR and MR females was also not significantly different (p > 0.70), nor were rates of maternal neglect and infant death. These data suggest minimal differences in health and reproductive parameters across rearing statuses in baboons housed at this facility. In conjunction with previous research that also seems to show minimal differences as a function of rearing in baboons, but directly contrast with data in other NHP species, these data suggest that baboons may be more robust against deleterious effects of abnormal rearing conditions than other NHP species.

Conduct of Large, Multisite, Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research Studies: Learnings From the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's Palliative Care Learning Network.

Conduct of Large, Multisite, Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research Studies: Learnings From the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's Palliative Care Learning Network.

Are municipal politicians ideological moderates?

For more than a century, many practitioners and researchers have argued that municipal politicians are more ideologically moderate – that is, closer to the centre of a unidimensional left-right ideological scale – than their national counterparts. Testing this claim requires direct comparison of politicians who represent similar constituents but who are elected at different levels of government, but comparative data of this sort are rarely available. Here, I use new data from surveys of Canadian municipal, provincial, and federal politicians to rigorously test the “municipal moderation” thesis. Comparing politicians' symbolic ideological self-understandings N≈3,000 and their latent policy ideologies N≈775, I find strong evidence that municipal politicians think of themselves as more ideologically moderate, but are not more moderate in their policy beliefs. Further, I leverage variation in the partisan identities of Canadian municipal politicians to show that differences in ideological moderation across levels of government disappear when we remove municipal non-partisans from the analysis. My results reinforce the view that municipal politicians hold non-ideological cultural norms but are embedded in an ideological electoral and policymaking context. My analysis also illustrates the analytical potential for “vertical” rather than “horizontal” comparative research designs.

SentraGakkumdu Challenges in Enforcing Election Crimes Under Law Number 7 of 2017: A Comparative Research of Indonesia and Nigeria

General elections in Indonesia are designed to ensure equality and justice for all voters and candidates, regardless of party affiliation. Despite these principles, election violations do occur, including criminal acts, breaches of ethical standards by election organizers, and administrative violations related to election procedures. To protect the integrity of elections, which is crucial for democracy, lawmakers have classified certain electoral frauds as criminal offenses. The Election Law not only outlines the procedures for conducting elections but also prohibits actions that undermine the fairness of the process and imposes penalties on offenders. The type of research in this study is normative legal research, which is a research method that focuses on written legal norms. accompanied by a comparative study of the country of Nigeria The results showed that the small number of reports of election crimes that continued to the level of investigation, prosecution, and examination in court until the issuance of a permanent legal force decision (inkracht van gewisjde) showed that the handling of election crimes in the elections had not been effective. The same is true for Nigeria through INEC. Although INEC has the authority to initiate cases of electoral offenses, it rarely does so due to a lack of supervisory capacity due to understaffing and the inability or unwillingness of the police to collect evidence and conduct investigations.

Improving the Validity of Non-Interventional Comparative Effectiveness Research by Basing Study Design on a Specified Existing Randomised Controlled Trial.

This issue of AJE includes three articles (two reporting original analyses and one systematic review) in which non-interventional studies used an existing randomized controlled trial (RCT) as a reference standard to both inform non-interventional study design, and to benchmark results against. This commentary provides a brief background on the challenges of non-interventional comparative effectiveness research, before elaborating on (i) the potential benefits and challenges of basing non-interventional study design on a specified existing RCT, and (ii) the distinction between designing analysis based upon a specified existing RCT and studies based solely upon a hypothetical target trial. Finally, a number of recommendations for the conduct and reporting of non-interventional studies based upon existing RCTs are provided.

Integrating human rights in social work education in Europe

ABSTRACT The engagement of social workers with human rights is deeply embedded in the history of the profession and discipline. Therefore, incorporating human rights into social work curricula is paramount. However, comparative research on the integration of human rights in Europe is largely missing. This article addresses the gap by analyzing curricula in eight European countries. It is based on a symposium organized by the Special Interest Group on Human Rights in Social Work within the European Association of Schools of Social Work in 2022. The article focuses on three questions: What explicit references to human rights can be found? How are human rights linked to political and structural aspects? In what form is the significance of human rights for social work practice considered? The analysis encompassed the curricula of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Finland. It shows that human rights are an integrated component within all degree programs in these countries, albeit in different forms and to different extents. However, the critical analysis also shows significant shortcomings, e.g. missing emphasis on human rights topics within the curriculum and insufficient consideration of the practical applicability of human rights.

Comparative research on monitoring methods for nitrate nitrogen leaching in tea plantation soils

Great concern has long been raised about nitrate leaching in cropland due to its possible environmental side effects in ground water contamination. Here we employed two common techniques to measure nitrate leaching in tea plantation soils in subtropical China. Using drainage lysimeter as a reference method, the adaptability of estimating drainage and nitrate leaching by combining the water balance equation with the suction cup technique was investigated. Results showed that the final cumulative leachate volume for the calculated and measured method was 721.43 mm and 729.92 mm respectively during the study period. However, nitrate concentration exerted great influence in the estimation of nitrate leaching from the suction cup-based method. The cumulative nitrate leaching loss from the lysimeter and suction cup-based method was 47.45 kg ha−1 and 43.58 kg ha−1 under lysimeter nitrate concentrations ranging from 7 mg L−1 to 13 mg L−1, 156.28 kg ha−1 and 79.95 kg ha−1 under lysimeter nitrate concentrations exceeding 13 mg L−1. Therefore, the suction cup-based method could be an alternative way of monitoring nitrate leaching loss within a range of 7–13 mg L−1 of nitrate concentrations in leachate. Besides, lower results occurred in suction cup samplers due to lack of representative samples which mainly leached via preferential flow when in strong leaching events. Thus, it is advisable to increase sampling frequency under such special conditions. The results of this experiment can serve as a reference and guidance for the application of ceramic cups in monitoring nitrogen and other nutrient-ion leaching in tea plantation soils.

Investigation on directional rock fracture mechanism under instantaneous expansion from the perspective of damage mechanics: A 3-D simulation

With developments in geotechnical engineering, directional rock-breaking technology has been applied in large quantities. As a novel non-explosive rock-breaking technology, Instantaneous Expansion with a Single Crack (IESC) has been studied and applied to some extent in the past few years. IESC uses expansion gas to fracture rock mass in the predetermined direction by a special energy-gathering tube, which has the advantages of high safety, strong directional ability, and easy to operate. At present, there is a lack of in-depth investigation on the directional fracture mechanism of rock under the action of IESC. According to damage mechanics, the fundamental reason for rock fracture is due to the initiation, expansion, and penetration of internal cracks. In this study, a 3-D numerical model based on the theory of progressive failure is established to study the directional rock fracture mechanism of IESC, while a Conventional Expansion (CE) model without energy-gathering tube is established for comparative research. The maximum tensile stress criterion and unified strength criterion are used to identify damage failure of the element. The evolution processes of four key parameters are simulated, the types and degrees of tensile/compressive damage of the unit are analyzed, which aims to decipher the model's directional fracture mechanism under IESC loading. The established 3-D numerical models are validated by comparing with experimental results. The research results can contribute to further understanding the directional rock fracture mechanism of IESC and provide a theoretical basis for the application of IESC in the field.

How teachers develop professionally: strategies used by high school teachers in Taiwan

ABSTRACT This study used a constant comparative qualitative research method to explore formal and informal learning strategies teachers use to develop professionally and the impact these learning strategies have on their professional practices. Participants were selected through snowball sampling, consisting of 20 teachers from five high schools in Taiwan. Three were male, and 17 were female, with an average age of 43. The study found that participants’ formal learning strategies include attending workshops and conferences and doing professional courses in colleges or online. Their informal learning strategies include discussions and sharing ideas with colleagues, using the internet to learn and search for information, reading reference materials, and reflecting on teachings and students’ feedback. The impact of the learning on participants’ professional practices includes improved subject content and professional knowledge, teaching and learning skills, classroom and time man agement skills, teaching and learning aid production skills, and collaboration and information-searching attitudes.

Comparison of cultural values in the myths of Mount Semeru and Mount Kunlun

Myths are stories about gods and goddesses who are connected with supernatural powers, used by ancestors as instruments to interpret phenomena that could not be explained. The existence of myths functions as an educational tool to instill specific cultural values and beliefs. This exploration is directed at comparing the myths of Mount Semeru and Mount Kunlun to gain further enlightenment regarding the cultural values in the two stories. The research was managed using a comparative descriptive research method through a literature study as a data collection technique. Research has found that the cultural values that are common among the people are that mountains are believed to be the house of gods and other creatures, the peaks of both mountains are trusted to be places where humans cannot pass, and several gods and goddesses are said to have helpers in the form of animals. The differences in cultural values accepted by society are in the form of differences in figures that are prioritized in their distribution and what is prioritized in their transmission in myths. That way, it is known that each region and country still has unique characteristics and specialties in its cultural life, which are reflected in mythical stories.

Language Use in Exogamous Marriages in South-west Nigeria

This study examined language use of the exogamous families in Southwestern Nigeria in order to find out the language choice in a range of domains (formal and non-formal) and with different speech partners. The theoretical framework adopted for this study is Fishman’s (1972) Domain Analysis. Language use questionnaire was structured and administered to these families. The population of the study included nine hundred (900) respondents drawn from twelve (12) Local Governments of South-western Nigeria and the respondents were strictly from exogamous families. Data collected were analysed using statistical tool. The findings revealed that English language is the most used language among the exogamous marriage families in South-Western Nigeria in both formal and non-formal domains. The study also revealed that the children of all the exogamous marriage families have language socialization as they acquired at least one of the languages spoken by their parents easily, but lack the use of it in everyday dialogue rather they prefer to use English. This is because, they lack balance bilingualism or 'multilingualism. The researchers recommended that comparable research could be conducted on exogamous couples living in both rural and urban communities in order to enrich the knowledge of the sociolinguistic findings and better assessment.