Core Questions Research Articles

Continuity and Evolution in Vermeule on Legal Interpretation

Abstract This article is a constructive interpretation of Adrian Vermeule’s thought on legal interpretation, putting his previous work on these issues in conversation with his explicit embrace of the classical legal tradition so prominently on display in Common Good Constitutionalism. What emerges is a picture of Vermeule’s contemporary thinking on interpretation that has an interesting core of continuity, one running concurrently with several significant conceptual and normative evolutions brought about by his more explicit embrace of a classical legal framework. Part I offers a synthesis of Vermeule’s treatment of core questions of legal interpretation pre-Common Good Constitutionalism. Part II begins by outlining Vermeule’s express turn to the classical legal tradition and how this tradition approaches important public law issues linked to interpretation. Part II then proceeds to pick out and elaborate on themes of continuity and evolution. I argue here that while Vermeule’s embrace of the classical legal tradition has involved several significant conceptual and normative shifts in his thinking, this has not involved repudiation of his prior work on legal interpretation. Rather, the thrust and insights of much of his previous public law thought on interpretation retain vibrancy within the explicitly classical framework he has now adopted. Overall, I suggest Common Good Constitutionalism, and the works accompanying and building upon it, can be profitably read as providing a form of retroactive coherence to Vermeule’s long-standing arguments concerning legal interpretation, offering them a unifying conceptual framework. From the perspective of a classical natural law jurist at least, Vermeule’s embrace of the classical tradition provides his extensive body of scholarship in this area a more explicit and robust conceptual and normative anchor.

Unveiling the Best Practices of Winning Coaches: A Phenomenological Study

This research investigated the experiences of coaches who trained student-athletes within Monkayo East District, Davao de Oro, Philippines. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, the study employed in-depth interviews with six participants to explore four core questions. It examined how coaches' methods influenced athletes' physical capabilities and contributed to their overall athletic success. Furthermore, the research identified the challenges coaches encountered, including managing uncooperative athletes, navigating the balance between academics and athletic training, overcoming financial constraints, and crafting individualized plans for each athlete. The study shed light on strategies for overcoming these challenges, emphasizing the significance of compassion, clear communication, and fostering a supportive environment. Additionally, it explored the multifaceted role coaches played in preparing athletes for high-pressure competitions and making a lasting impact on their lives. The findings illuminated that effective coaching transcended technical training, encompassing a holistic approach that integrated personal development. This research offered valuable insights for future endeavors in the field of sports coaching, informing both research and practical applications.

Can green finance policies accurately promote corporate environmental investment?—a comprehensive evaluation from multiple aspects

The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in the United Arab Emirates at the end of November 2023, stated that climate action cannot be delayed and the financing and investment situation for adapting to climate change needs a qualitative leap. Vigorously developing green finance is one of the important ways to achieve this goal. The core question of this paper is: Can green finance policies promote enterprises’ environmental investment? This article uses the formal implementation of the “Green Credit Guidelines” in 2012 as a quasi-natural experiment, bases on the micro data of A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2020, and adopts the difference-indifferences propensity score matching method (PSM-DID) to explore the role of green credit policy in guiding corporate environmental protection investment from multiple dimensions. The research shows that the implementation of the “Green Credit Guidelines” has promoted corporate environmental protection investment to a certain extent, and the conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests. Heterogeneity tests found that the impact of green credit policy on corporate environmental protection investment varies significantly among different ownership enterprises and enterprises in different regions. Further research shows that the Green Credit Guidelines are regulated by macro and meso factors. From the perspective of mechanism, this paper finds out the mechanism of promoting enterprises’ environmental protection investment at the micro level. At the macro level, economic policy uncertainty and monetary policy tightening affect the degree of corporate environmental protection investment. At the meso level, the government’s attention to environmental protection determines the behavior of local enterprises, which in turn affects the attitude of enterprises towards environmental protection investment activities. At the micro level, the implementation of green credit on the one hand exacerbates the problem of corporate financing constraints, making companies have incentives to invest in environmental protection to alleviate this problem. On the other hand, it will also promote changes in innovation and capital factors in enterprises, directly increasing corporate environmental protection investment. This paper is helpful for the theoretical circle and management departments, so as to provide reference for the government to issue relevant policies.

Antimicrobial management in patients undergoing therapeutic plasma exchange: A Cross-Sectional Nationwide Survey.

There is little evidence of antimicrobial elimination via therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and no guidelines for antimicrobial optimal dosing in patients undergoing TPE. We aimed to assess current practices and knowledge regarding antimicrobial management during TPE. A structured online survey was conducted from May to November 2023, and physicians were invited to participate through national scientific platforms and professional societies. One hundred five participants completed the survey, of whom 61% were infectious disease physicians, with 68.6% having more than 10 years of experience. That the TPE procedure could significantly affect plasma concentrations of antimicrobial agents was reported by 74.3% of the respondents. Among the physicians, 42.9% suggest antimicrobial dose adjustment, and 38.1% recommend temporarily discontinuing antimicrobial drug administration during TPE. Therapeutic drug monitoring was recommended by 33.3% of the respondents for certain antimicrobials, mainly glycopeptides and aminoglycosides, in patients undergoing concurrent TPE. Furthermore, 59.3% of physicians sometimes consult with another healthcare professional for treatment management, most commonly a pharmacist or a clinical pharmacist and an infectious diseases specialist. The core questions regarding potential drug-, procedure-, and patient-related antimicrobial elimination factors via TPE were responded to accurately by less than half of the physicians. It was clear that they had a lack of clinical practices and knowledge regarding antimicrobial management during TPE. To ensure the therapeutic efficacy of antimicrobials and avoid treatment failure, physicians should improve their practice strategies and consider antimicrobial elimination factors with TPE in this data-poor setting.

Inferring Taxonomic Affinities and Genetic Distances Using Morphological Features Extracted from Specimen Images: a Case Study with a Bivalve dataset.

Reconstructing the tree of life and understanding the relationships of taxa are core questions in evolutionary and systematic biology. The main advances in this field in the last decades were derived from molecular phylogenetics; however, for most species, molecular data are not available. Here, we explore the applicability of two deep learning methods - supervised classification approaches and unsupervised similarity learning - to infer organism relationships from specimen images. As a basis, we assembled an image dataset covering 4144 bivalve species belonging to 74 families across all orders and subclasses of the extant Bivalvia, with molecular phylogenetic data being available for all families and a complete taxonomic hierarchy for all species. The suitability of this dataset for deep learning experiments was evidenced by an ablation study resulting in almost 80% accuracy for identifications on the species level. Three sets of experiments were performed using our dataset. First, we included taxonomic hierarchy and genetic distances in a supervised learning approach to obtain predictions on several taxonomic levels simultaneously. Here, we stimulated the model to consider features shared between closely related taxa to be more critical for their classification than features shared with distantly related taxa, imprinting phylogenetic and taxonomic affinities into the architecture and training procedure. Second, we used transfer learning and similarity learning approaches for zero-shot experiments to identify the higher-level taxonomic affinities of test species that the models had not been trained on. The models assigned the unknown species to their respective genera with approximately 48% and 67% accuracy. Lastly, we used unsupervised similarity learning to infer the relatedness of the images without prior knowledge of their taxonomic or phylogenetic affinities. The results clearly showed similarities between visual appearance and genetic relationships at the higher taxonomic levels. The correlation was 0.6 for the most species-rich subclass (Imparidentia), ranging from 0.5 to 0.7 for the orders with the most images. Overall, the correlation between visual similarity and genetic distances at the family level was 0.78. However, fine-grained reconstructions based on these observed correlations, such as sister-taxa relationships, require further work. Overall, our results broaden the applicability of automated taxon identification systems and provide a new avenue for estimating phylogenetic relationships from specimen images.

Exosomes derived from cancer cells relieve inflammatory bowel disease in mice

Exosome therapy has garnered significant attention due to its natural delivery capabilities, low toxicity, high biocompatibility, and potential for personalised treatment through engineering modifications. Recent studies have highlighted the ability of tumour cell-derived exosomes (TDEs) to interact with immune cells or modify the immune microenvironment to suppress host immune responses, as well as their unique homing ability to parental cells. The core question of this study is whether this immunomodulatory property of TDEs can be utilised for the immunotherapy of inflammatory diseases. In our experiments, we prepared exosomes derived from murine colon cancer cells CT26 (CT26 exo) using ultracentrifugation, characterised them, and conducted proteomic analysis. The therapeutic potential of CT26 exo was evaluated in our dextran sulphate sodium salt (DSS)-induced inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mouse model. Compared to the control and 293 T exo treatment groups, mice treated with CT26 exo showed a reduction in the disease activity index (DAI) and colon shortening rate, with no noticeable weight loss. Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of colon paraffin sections revealed reduced inflammatory infiltration and increased epithelial goblet cells in the colons of CT26 exo-treated group. Furthermore, we conducted preliminary mechanistic explorations by examining the phenotyping and function of CD4+ T cells and dendritic cells (DCs) in the colonic lamina propria of mice. The results indicated that the ameliorative effect of CT26 exosomes might be due to their inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion by colonic DCs and selective suppression of Th17 cell differentiation in the colon. Additionally, CT26 exo exhibited good biosafety. Our findings propose a novel exosome-based therapeutic approach for IBD and suggest the potential application of TDEs in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Performance Evaluation of Jakarta Polder Based on the Sustainable Urban Polder Model (SUPM)

Although economic and institutional reports have yielded relevant insights, they have not been linked to the polders’ performances since the Jakarta flood control study 2004. As a result, two crucial shortcomings have arisen: the absence of an integrated conclusion and a deficiency in model assessment. The Sustainable Urban Polder Model (SUPM) was developed to integrate Technical, Financial, and Institutional (TFI) aspects to address this gap. This research addresses two core questions: First, what is the structure of the SUPM? Second, what insights can be gleaned regarding the Polder Boards? This research aims to formulate SUPM and investigate the Polder Board’s impact on Pluiton Pulo Mas and Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) Polders. The formulation of SUPM is conducted using the Partial Least Squares- Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). Further, the PLS-SEM’s i) R2 is utilized as model validation and ii) the weight-value to describe the impact of inter TFI. The sustainable management construct’s R2 of Pluit, Pulo Mas, and PIK attain 49.2%, 35.9%, and 96.2 %, respectively. The polder’s technical construct’s R2 towards inundation in Pluit, Pulo Mas, and PIK Polders, respectively, attains R2 = 68.3%, R2 =94.5% and R2 = 26.0%. The pathway of Sustainable Management towards Open Water reveals that PIK Polder has a positive contribution (+0.606) due to its operational management. Conversely, Pluit and Pulo Mas Polders exhibit negative weight values (-0.396 and -0.866, respectively), indicating the risk of inability to maintain the open water storage. Consequently, establishing Polder Boards is essential for these polders.

What do algorithms explain? The issue of the goals and capabilities of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)

The increasing ubiquity of machine learning (ML) motivates research on algorithms to “explain” models and their predictions—so-called Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI). Despite many publications and discussions, the goals and capabilities of such algorithms are far from being well understood. We argue that this is because of a problematic reasoning scheme in the literature: Such algorithms are said to complement machine learning models with desired capabilities, such as interpretability or explainability. These capabilities are in turn assumed to contribute to a goal, such as trust in a system. But most capabilities lack precise definitions and their relationship to such goals is far from obvious. The result is a reasoning scheme that obfuscates research results and leaves an important question unanswered: What can one expect from XAI algorithms? In this paper, we clarify the modest capabilities of these algorithms from a concrete perspective: that of their users. We show that current algorithms can only answer user questions that can be traced back to the question: “How can one represent an ML model as a simple function that uses interpreted attributes?”. Answering this core question can be trivial, difficult or even impossible, depending on the application. The result of the paper is the identification of two key challenges for XAI research: the approximation and the translation of ML models.

Earnings trajectories of individuals in same-sex and different-sex couples: Evidence from administrative data

We unite two interrelated bodies of work – a growing literature on sexual orientation earnings gaps and a rich tradition of research on intragenerational career trajectories – to examine how labor markets and life courses interact to produce gender and sexual orientation inequalities over time. We use the 1982–2019 Canadian Longitudinal Administrative Databank, a unique longitudinal database constructed from tax records, to answer core questions about the mechanisms that underlie sexual orientation earnings inequality. Growth curve models reveal how sexual orientation earnings gaps evolve over time spent in the workforce, and how they relate to differences in demographic and work characteristics for those in same- and different-sex couples at various points in the life course. We find that sexual orientation earnings gaps converge and diverge at unique career stages for men and women, and at each stage relate to unique mechanisms, especially work characteristics and family status. We find little significant variation in average earnings trajectories by sexual orientation across cohorts who were subject to differing legal and social environments surrounding sexual orientation.

Trauma-Informed Care in a Homeless Women's Shelter: A Mixed Method Evaluation

Trauma-informed care (TIC) benefits to service users and providers are increasingly acknowledged across various health and social care settings. TIC can potentially increase service user engagement, prolong shelter placements, and lessen staff vicarious trauma and burnout. However, studies documenting staff experiences and/or the implementation of TIC are scarce. This limitation has prompted calls for more grounded and applied research into trauma-informed practice, tracking implementation in practice, staff perceptions, barriers, and organisational change. This study aims to address this gap and is an ecological, mixed-methods evaluation of the efficacy of TIC training in a female-only homeless shelter. Quantitative data included 132 incident reports during the first yearly quarters pre- and post-training, hypothesising post-training reductions in incident numbers and severity. Using expansive thematic analysis, semi-structured interviews with six shelter staff (n = 6) explored employee views of TIC relative to trauma understanding, incident management, and integration in practice. Findings revealed a marginal increase in incident numbers and a statistically significant reduction in incident severity post-TIC with a 50% reduction in calls to emergency medical services (EMS). Participant accounts of working practice pre- and post-TIC uncovered increased trauma understanding, increased confidence and competence, healing relationships, and enhanced self-care. Findings are discussed with reference to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s (2014) trauma-informed framework and Yatchmenoff et al’s. (2017) core questions in evaluating TIC. While these results are significant as one of the first evaluations of TIC training in Ireland, limitations and implications for future research and practice are considered.

Deconstructing Technostress: A Configurational Approach to Explaining Job Burnout and Job Performance

Understanding how technostressors lead to technostrain, such as high job burnout or low job performance, has become a core question in information systems (IS) research and practice. To unpack this relationship, we build on general systems theory to argue that the next step for technostress research is to go beyond examining the independent influences of technostressors and discuss how their interdependencies lead to technostrain. To illustrate our argument empirically, we use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and identify four configurations of high- and low-intensity technostressors that lead to high job burnout and one that leads to low job performance. We show that three types of interdependencies among technostressors, i.e., complementarity, contingency, and substitution, form configurations that lead to technostrain. Within these configurations, high-intensity technostressors can mutually enhance their effects and low-intensity technostressors can buffer the impact of other high-intensity technostressors on technostrain. The results help to explain why organizational interventions that address independent technostressors may fail if they do not account for the interdependencies among technostressors. Our work provides evidence of the need to further develop theories that explain how and why interdependencies among technostressors lead to technostrain.

Einflussfaktoren auf die eigene Anwendung der Sepsis-Kompetenz und ihre Förderung bei Patientinnen und Patienten: Ergebnisse einer Mixed-Methods-Studie mit Gesundheitsfachpersonen

BackgroundSepsis is a life-threatening and relatively common emergency which is often recognized too late or not at all. Therefore, the “SepsisWissen” (SepsisKnowledge) project aimed to bring about changes in health care professionals’ behavior in the area of sepsis prevention and early detection. It addressed the health care professionals themselves (e. g., their own vaccination, hygiene and early detection behavior) and their patient counseling behavior. To promote this behavior, the SepsisWissen campaign included offers such as trainings or print products. The subsequent core question is: From the health professionals’ perspective, which barriers and facilitators affect their own application of sepsis competence and their promotion of their patients’ sepsis competence? MethodsThis paper was based on a cross-sectional mixed-methods study part of “SepsisWissen” witha)semi-structured interviews with 17 providers andb)a quantitative survey among 135 providers.Part a) was analyzed using qualitative oriented content analysis based on Mayring, part b) was analyzed descriptively.The interviewees included physicians, nurses, pharmacists, assistants to physicians and pharmacists and, additionally, one paramedic in the quantitative sample. Some of them had attended “SepsisWissen” trainings. ResultsThe qualitative data analysis identified 41 conducive and hindering factors, which can be assigned to the following eight major topics: 1) syndrome sepsis; 2) predisposing factors for health professionals' own acquisition and application of sepsis competence; 3) enabling factors for health professionals themselves; 4) behavior and lifestyle of patients; 5) reinforcing factors for patients; 6) public health education; 7) political, administrative, and organizational context; 8) environmental factors. In the qualitative and quantitative surveys, the suggestion to improve the sepsis competence of the population and to reduce misinformation, respectively, through public education (e.g., via schools or the media). DiscussionSepsis training for health professionals was considered as a facilitating factor for taking potential sepsis symptoms and patients’ respective statements more seriously. Future training formats should convey more explicitly how health professionals can better communicate their own sepsis knowledge to their patients. They request instruments to support their communication, such as checklists for lay persons. According to the interviews, health workers themselves need recurring external reminders for the topic of sepsis. Organizational and political conditions should be improved. From the health professionals’ point of view, it is essential to offer better reimbursement for prevention and counseling services and to allocate adequate time resources for both. ConclusionHealth professionals could increase their potential to apply and promote sepsis competence if general conditions were optimized. From their perspective, it is most important to relieve them of some of their patient counselling burden by initiating more public education.

Knowledge on oral health and periodontal status among type II diabetes mellitus (DM) patients in Libya

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the common diseases in the world. Its dramatic increase annually is considered a global issue to the people, in which raising awareness about the disease and its complication is crucial. It has been well documented by the literature that smoking and DM are two major risk factors for periodontal disease. Knowledge of oral health is vital for type II DM patients and is a key factor in the treatment and prevention of periodontal disease. A cross-sectional study was conducted among three hundred diabetic patients in a Benghazi diabetic treatment center. The participants were 40.3% (n = 121) male and 59.7% (n = 179) female adults whose ages ranged from 16 to 80 years. Inclusion criteria included Libyan citizens diagnosed with type II DM. The participants were questioned through a structured questionnaire and followed by the examination of their oral status. Periodontal examination was performed by two periodontists using the following indices: plaque index (PI) and periodontal disease index (PDI). Knowledge about oral health and periodontal status for Libyan patients with type II DM was tested through eight core questions using a structured questionnaire. The results showed about half of the sample had poor knowledge regarding the condition and its detrimental effect on oral and general health. Only 31% of participants provided good knowledge about type II DM and its relationship to oral health and periodontal status. The P-value showed a significant relationship between the knowledge and PI and PDI indices. Participants with poor knowledge showed higher scores in both indices. A significant relation was found between PI, PDI and knowledge. As knowledge was fair, the lower the PI and PDI scores. To lessen diabetic complications and their deleterious effects on oral and general health, raising knowledge and awareness could be a solution. Multidisciplinary cooperation between the medical and dental staff could be implemented to increase public knowledge. Key words: Oral health, Periodontal, Patients, Diabetes mellitus, Libya, Health awareness, Dentistry

Urban shift and dwelling practices impact on the identity of Amman’s public stairs: Jordan’s Cinema Steps as a case study

ABSTRACT Historically, Amman’s seven hills made stairways vital for navigation. As the city grew, stairways, especially Jordan’s Cinema Steps, became social hubs rather than just functional paths. This research examines the transformation of these steps, drawing from Ingold’s “Dwelling” and Heidegger’s “Dasein.” It also explores “place attachment” and its link to the stairway’s users. The core question is: how do interactions shape the place’s authenticity and identity? Findings suggest dwelling practices reinforce the Steps’ role as an urban landmark, informing urban planners about potential revitalization of other stairways in Amman.

The Artificial Third: A Broad View of the Effects of Introducing Generative Artificial Intelligence on Psychotherapy.

This paper explores a significant shift in the field of mental health in general and psychotherapy in particular following generative artificial intelligence's new capabilities in processing and generating humanlike language. Following Freud, this lingo-technological development is conceptualized as the "fourth narcissistic blow" that science inflicts on humanity. We argue that this narcissistic blow has a potentially dramatic influence on perceptions of human society, interrelationships, and the self. We should, accordingly, expect dramatic changes in perceptions of the therapeutic act following the emergence of what we term the artificial third in the field of psychotherapy. The introduction of an artificial third marks a critical juncture, prompting us to ask the following important core questions that address two basic elements of critical thinking, namely, transparency and autonomy: (1) What is this new artificial presence in therapy relationships? (2) How does it reshape our perception of ourselves and our interpersonal dynamics? and (3) What remains of the irreplaceable human elements at the core of therapy? Given the ethical implications that arise from these questions, this paper proposes that the artificial third can be a valuable asset when applied with insight and ethical consideration, enhancing but not replacing the human touch in therapy.

Interaction between the gut microbiota and colonic enteroendocrine cells regulates host metabolism.

Nutrient handling is an essential function of the gastrointestinal tract. Hormonal responses of small intestinal enteroendocrine cells (EECs) have been extensively studied but much less is known about the role of colonic EECs in metabolic regulation. To address this core question, we investigated a mouse model deficient in colonic EECs. Here we show that colonic EEC deficiency leads to hyperphagia and obesity. Furthermore, colonic EEC deficiency results in altered microbiota composition and metabolism, which we found through antibiotic treatment, germ-free rederivation and transfer to germ-free recipients, to be both necessary and sufficient for the development of obesity. Moreover, studying stool and blood metabolomes, we show that differential glutamate production by intestinal microbiota corresponds to increased appetite and that colonic glutamate administration can directly increase food intake. These observations shed light on an unanticipated host-microbiota axis in the colon, part of a larger gut-brain axis, that regulates host metabolism and body weight.

The effects of war on the quality of higher education in Yemen: Scholars’ perspectives

Yemen witnesses a heinous war and continual conflict that devastates its fragile infrastructure. The country’s development indicators devolve significantly, and, among other sectors, higher education and its quality have been imperiled. The objective of this paper is to explore the effects of war on the quality of higher education in Yemen from the standpoint of Yemeni scholars. This qualitative study is based on grounded theory design and used semi-structured in-depth interview methods to collect data from Yemeni scholars within and outside Yemen. The core questions focused on the impact of war, the actions taken by scholars, and the prospects of higher education quality. Seventeen diverse scholars were included in the study. The analysis of data outlined six war-related factors that affect the quality of higher education: attacks on scholars, financial constraints, corruption, human capacity shortage, poor research performance, and lack of physical capacity. Realities are reconstructed through descriptions of the trajectory of the war and its negative consequences on scholars and their endeavors. Quality as a sign of the good functioning of higher education institutions is not an exclusively sectorial issue. Actions and prospects need to fit within frameworks of national reconciliation, regional peace, and frameworks of international cooperation. Further research tackling other dimensions of education quality and including other stakeholders is needed. Rethinking and reforming Yemen’s higher education system in its different aspects and challenges, are paths to peacebuilding and the recovery of the country. A roadmap prioritizing this reform is urgently needed.

The Belt and Road Initiative and Dynamics of Structural Transformation

Structural transformation is among the core questions in development economics, but in recent decades, the discipline has shifted its focus away from production and transformation in favour of analyses on exchange, growth and productivity. Yet, the structural transformation question remains central, and needs to be confronted with the main changes in the global economic and political landscape, such as the emergence of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). With its emphasis on an infrastructure-based connectivity agenda, the BRI opens the space for a paradigm shift in development, and for a renewed emphasis on structural transformation. This article introduces a special issue that explores the role of the BRI in promoting structural transformation in low- and middle-income countries, to understand if and under which conditions the BRI creates pathways that can change the structure of the economies. Through an explicit focus on the role of BRI on transformation in low- and middle-income countries, this special issue examines how domestic institutions regulate and coordinate production diversification, national and international sectoral specificities, and drivers and barriers to technological innovation and trade. In this sense, the special issue sheds light on new conceptualisations and empirical examples of industrial policies.

Important drivers for customer satisfaction – a Swedish crisis reflection

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine crisis effects on customer satisfaction and underlying drivers by adding a new set of data to previous research. The core questions are: are the findings from Hallencreutz and Parmler (2019, 2021) sustained or can new customer demands, needs, expectations and behaviours be traced in the wake of the ongoing crisis?Design/methodology/approachA first study covering 2005–2017 was completed in 2018, published online in 2019 and in print in 2021 (Hallencreutz and Parmler, 2021). This new study adds the years 2018–2023 to the data set and reuses the partial least squares (PLS) approach to structural equation models, also known as PLS path modelling.FindingsThis additional study sustains the results from the initial study (Hallencreutz and Parmler, 2019, 2021). The variable product quality has been substituted by service quality as one of the most crucial drivers for customer satisfaction together with brand image, and the current state of permacrisis has not changed that.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is built on Swedish data from the EPSI Rating Initiative (Eklöf and Westlund 2002) covering customer perceptions in banking, insurance (life and non-life), telco (mobile operators, broadband and Pay-tv) and energy (trade, distribution and heating) over the years 2005–2023.Practical implicationsThe study emphasizes the importance of understanding how customer satisfaction drivers evolve over time in different industries and societal sectors, especially during crises. This additional study sustains the paradigm shift in the studied industries – product quality has been substituted by service quality as one of the most crucial drivers for customer satisfaction, and the current state of economic downturn has not changed that.Social implicationsSociety will have to learn to live with political and economic instability and unpredictability for the foreseeable future. To recognize the increasing value deriving from firms’ intangible assets while providing flawless deliveries seems to be a way forward in troublesome times. This is also a catalyst for existing societal trends: the necessary reforms to master sustainable transformations will require an ongoing adaptation process, with both winners and losers across continents.Originality/valueThe world has coped with a global pandemic, and Europe is currently experiencing a humanitarian, political and economic crises caused by a war in Ukraine. This extended period of global instability and insecurity could be called a permacrisis (Collins dictionary, 2022). This study offers a unique quantitative analysis built on Swedish data from EPSI Rating initiative.

Causal Inference About the Effects of Interventions From Observational Studies in Medical Journals.

Many medical journals, including JAMA, restrict the use of causal language to the reporting of randomized clinical trials. Although well-conducted randomized clinical trials remain the preferred approach for answering causal questions, methods for observational studies have advanced such that causal interpretations of the results of well-conducted observational studies may be possible when strong assumptions hold. Furthermore, observational studies may be the only practical source of information for answering some questions about the causal effects of medical or policy interventions, can support the study of interventions in populations and settings that reflect practice, and can help identify interventions for further experimental investigation. Identifying opportunities for the appropriate use of causal language when describing observational studies is important for communication in medical journals. A structured approach to whether and how causal language may be used when describing observational studies would enhance the communication of research goals, support the assessment of assumptions and design and analytic choices, and allow for more clear and accurate interpretation of results. Building on the extensive literature on causal inference across diverse disciplines, we suggest a framework for observational studies that aim to provide evidence about the causal effects of interventions based on 6 core questions: what is the causal question; what quantity would, if known, answer the causal question; what is the study design; what causal assumptions are being made; how can the observed data be used to answer the causal question in principle and in practice; and is a causal interpretation of the analyses tenable? Adoption of the proposed framework to identify when causal interpretation is appropriate in observational studies promises to facilitate better communication between authors, reviewers, editors, and readers. Practical implementation will require cooperation between editors, authors, and reviewers to operationalize the framework and evaluate its effect on the reporting of empirical research.