Expert Survey Research Articles

Supply chain risk management for humanitarian aid delivery: risk identification and contingency analysis

PurposeHumanitarian organizations are responsible for delivering aid under diverse circumstances in various contexts. We argue that humanitarian organizations face specific challenges in their logistics and operations. Thus, adequate supply chain risk management is required to facilitate effective and efficient humanitarian aid delivery.Design/methodology/approachWe first identify potential supply chain risks in humanitarian aid delivery from the literature. We then utilize an expert survey to determine the probability and impact ratings of the identified risks, assessing the importance of six aggregated risk categories. To examine the influence of contingencies on a country, organization, and crisis level, we investigate the effect of ten contextual factors on the importance of different supply chain risks in humanitarian aid delivery.FindingsWe derive six relevant risk categories for humanitarian aid delivery and develop five propositions concerning criticality, context-sensitivity, relevant contingencies, and risk management approaches. Findings and propositions encourage and guide future research on the topic.Practical implicationsRisk identification and assessment support mission-specific decision-making. Our findings encourage and foster organizational learning between missions. A differentiated view of risk types allows for stronger inter-organizational collaboration within the sector and beyond.Originality/valueThis study is among the first to derive supply chain risks and categories specific to humanitarian aid delivery. Contingency analysis on a country, organization, and crisis level offers unique insights into risk management in humanitarian aid delivery.

Development of a self-assessment tool to evaluate the readiness of pharmacy departments for internship training in China: a two-phase study

ObjectivesInternships in the pharmacy departments of training hospitals represent a crucial stage in the professional development of pharmacy students. However, the quality of internship training varies significantly across training hospitals in China, and there is a lack of standardized readiness evaluation tools. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a self-assessment tool to evaluate the preparedness of training hospitals for providing internship training.MethodsThis study employed an exploratory mixed-methods approach and was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, during 2021, focus groups were conducted with 16 interns from three tertiary hospitals in Henan Province. In 2022, 14 preceptors from tertiary hospitals in various provinces were interviewed either one-on-one or in focus groups. The interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis to compile a set of self-assessment indicators for internship training readiness. Subsequently, the initial draft of the self-assessment tool for internship training readiness was developed by integrating the indicators derived from the interviews and literature review. In the second phase, the Delphi method was utilized. In 2023, the experts participated in two rounds of correspondence (21 experts in the first round and 19 in the second round), and consensus was reached on the indicators of the self-assessment tool after the two rounds. Meanwhile, these experts assessed the current status of internship training in training hospitals across China.ResultsThe qualitative findings of the first phase included five themes and 22 sub-themes, which were integrated with the indicators derived from the literature review to develop an initial indicator framework for the second phase. This initial framework comprised five domains and 37 items. The second phase involved two rounds of expert surveys, with effective response rates of 90.48% and 89.47%, respectively. Ultimately, the self-assessment tool for evaluating the readiness of pharmacy departments in training hospitals for internships included five dimensions and 35 secondary indicators: (1) organizational structure, (2) training content, (3) training mode, (4) effectiveness evaluation, and (5) emergency management. Additionally, experts assessed the readiness of pharmacy departments in Chinese training hospitals for internships, yielding varied results. Emergency management preparedness scored the highest, followed by organizational structure and training content preparation. However, the modes of internship training and the evaluation of training effectiveness received lower scores.ConclusionThe developed tool provides a comprehensive self-assessment checklist for the pharmacy departments of training hospitals and possesses the potential to enhance the development of more effective internship training programs.

Numerical method for forming an alternative opinion in coalitions of highly qualified specialists using relative usefulness indicator

Subject of research: the formation of an alternative opinion in coalitions of highly qualified specialists. Purpose of research: development of a numerical method for the formation of an alternative opinion in coalitions of highly qualified specialists using a relative utility indicator and its subsequent implementation in the form of a computer program. Methods of research: survey, formalization, system analysis, correlation analysis, Hamming criterion, natural experiment, object-oriented programming. Main results of research: 1. The approach proposed by the author, based on combining methods of mathematical statistics and taking into account the individual competencies of experts, provides new opportunities for the formation of an alternative opinion in coalitions of experts and allows for increased efficiency in decision-making. 2. Verification of the developed numerical method was carried out using the example of a survey of police officers regarding violators of security systems in the field of critical information infrastructure. 3. A computer program has been developed that implements the created method. 4. The study revealed that the relative usefulness indicator of the j-th expert provides an opportunity to form alternative expert positions that have a reliable generalized opinion. 5. The practical significance of the work lies in the development of a computer program that can be used to conduct expert surveys and obtain reliable expert assessments based on them.

Designing usability/user experience heuristics to evaluate e-assessments administered to children

The application of electronic assessments (e-assessments) has increased, particularly among elementary-school-aged children. Paper-based assessments are frequently converted into digital formats for efficiency gains, with little thought given to their user experience (UX) and usability. Individual differences, particularly among young children, can inhibit test-takers from completing the assessment tasks that are not designed to match their needs and abilities. Consequently, studies have raised concerns about the generalizability and fairness of e-assessments. Whereas heuristic evaluation is a standard method for evaluating and enhancing the efficacy of a product with respect to a set of guidelines, more information is needed about its added value when designing e-assessments for children. This paper synthesizes heuristics on the basis of the literature and expert judgments to accommodate children's abilities for interacting with e-assessment platforms. We present a final set of 10 heuristics, validated and refined by applying a heuristic evaluation workshop and collecting 24 expert surveys. The results indicate that the derived heuristics can help evaluate the UX and usability-related aspects of e-assessments with 6- to 12-year-old children. Moreover, the present paper proposes recommendations for a framework for developing usability/UX heuristics that can be used to help researchers develop domain-specific heuristics in the future.

From ignorance to awareness: Quality of collaborative governance enhances public awareness of AMR

In representative democracies, the public administration plays a pivotal role in managing a myriad of public policies. While considerable knowledge exists regarding how public issue awareness influences political competition before policy enactment, its persistence in the administrative aftermath is characterized by much more uncertainty. This study addresses this puzzle within the challenging context of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) governance in Europe, posing the question: How does administrative governance shape public AMR awareness? Drawing on newly collected expert survey data from all EU member states and a recent Eurobarometer survey measuring behavioral aspects related to AMR (N = 26.502), the findings show that different aspects of administrative governance yield mixed results. Notably, there is a strong and positive relationship between the quality of collaborative governance and public awareness. These results underscore the critical role of administrative governance quality in understanding public behavior, particularly in the context of combating AMR.

Experiences of patients with hard-to-heal wounds: insights from a pilot survey.

To learn about the experiences of people who seek treatment for hard-to-heal wounds, we distributed a nationwide pilot survey, asking questions about the nature of their wound, how it shaped their daily lives, pathways to receiving care and experiences with treatment. The long-term objective is to quantify the journey of patients with hard-to-heal wounds to identify ideal intervention points that will lead to the best outcomes. This article summarises the findings, implications, limitations and suggestions for future research. Qualitative data were self-reported from patients with hard-to-heal wounds (open for ≥4 weeks) in a pilot chatbot survey, (Wound Expert Survey (WES)) provided online in the US on Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram) between 2021 and 2022. The US national pilot survey attracted responses from 780 patients, 27 of whom provided a video testimonial. Some 57% of patients delayed treatment because they believed their wound would heal on its own, and only 4% saw a wound care specialist. Respondents reported the cost of care as the most frequent reason for not following all of a doctor's treatment recommendations. Queries regarding quality of life (QoL) revealed that more than half (65%) said they have negative thoughts associated with their wound at least every few days. Some 19% of respondents said their wound had an odour and, of them, 34% said odour had a major or severe negative impact on their self-confidence. Economically, nearly one-quarter of respondents said having a wound led to a drop in their total household income and 17% said their wound led to a change in their employment status. A national pilot survey of patients with hard-to-heal wounds revealed that many delay seeking professional assistance and only a small minority see a wound care specialist. Experiencing an ulcer, even for a few months, can have significant negative effects on a patient's QoL. Patients frequently had negative thoughts associated with their wound, and odour compounded these negative effects, leading to major or severe negative impacts on self-confidence. Households experienced a decline in income, due to both the direct reduction or loss of patient employment and the additional time spent by family members assisting in patient recovery. Thus, a variety of factors contribute to poor outcomes for patients with hard-to-heal wounds. To validate and extend these preliminary results, future surveys of patients with hard-to-heal wounds should focus on additional reasons patients do not seek professional help sooner. To improve health outcomes and QoL, assessment of patient socioeconomic variables should occur whenever wound closure stalls.

An assessment framework for smart and sustainable housing for older adults using analytic hierarchy process (AHP)

IntroductionWhile there is a call for smart and sustainable housing in general and for older adults in particular, little attention is paid to identifying the determinants of such housing and their extent of influence on the quality of life (QoL) of older adults. This study addresses the above gap by re-defining the criteria for house quality assessment, taking into account new needs of older inhabitants, while concerning digital assistive technologies.MethodsThis research uses various methods to identify and validate housing-related criteria and metrics, resulting in a transparent multi-criteria evaluation framework that accounts for the spatial needs of older adults. These include recommendations for multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM/A), expert workshop to develop new metrics and validate sub-criteria, expert survey to prioritize criteria and sub-criteria and interviews with three employees in the construction-services sector in the Netherlands, to gain knowledge on smart and healthy environments.Results and DiscussionThe results show that age-friendliness of housing function is the most significant criterion, while availability of housing modifications for seniors most important sub-criterion. Our findings can benefit architects in designing improved age- friendly spaces, older adults in evaluating their dwellings and researchers from the field of architecture in selecting most relevant method for their study.

Assessment of the CDC hypospadias atlas for epidemiological research - A survey of experts

Assessment of the CDC hypospadias atlas for epidemiological research - A survey of experts

Attitude to Law as an Indicator of the Journalist’s Legal Culture (Based on the Materials of an Expert Survey)

The article discusses an important part of the professional culture of a journalist – legal culture, which is based on knowledge of legal norms and journalists’ attitude to the law, manifested in their lawful behavior and, in general, in the activities of modern Russian mass media. As part of the research project of the Department of Theory of Journalism and Mass Communications at St. Petersburg State University, Professional Ideology of Journalism, a pilot study of the normative-legal discourse of journalists’ professional culture was conducted. The empirical basis for the study was expert interviews with representatives of print media who have extensive experience in journalism, including the position of editor-in-chief. The purpose of the research is to reveal how sectoral legislation determines the content of journalists’ activities; how journalists feel about the Russian On the Mass Media law and the normative regulation of media activities in general; and, ultimately, how journalistic activities embody the three structural components of a journalist’s legal culture: 1) cognitive; 2) motivational-refl exive and 3) activity-practical. The results of the processing of expert interviews show that, in general, journalists have a respectful attitude toward industry-specifi c legislation and consider the current law On Mass Media to be a basic document regulating freedom of expression and many other issues of media activity. Although the freedom of speech, which was enshrined in the Russian law on mass media and later in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, has not become a tradition, a norm of life, creativity and professional culture of journalists. Keywords: law, legislation, legal culture, freedom of speech, journalist, expert survey

Evaluation of cephalosporin allergy: Survey of drug allergy experts

BackgroundSince publication of the 2022 Drug Allergy Practice Parameters (DAPP) of the AAAAI and ACAAI it is unclear the extent to which the simplified and risk-stratified evaluation of cephalosporin allergy has been incorporated into allergy practice. ObjectiveWe aimed to assess current cephalosporin allergy testing practices using real case examples. MethodsAn 18-question REDCap survey was sent to the 136 members of the Adverse Reactions to Drugs, Biologics and Latex (ARDBL) Committee of the AAAAI between February-April 2023. ResultsForty-six (33.8%) ARDBL members completed the survey, following three email attempts. Most practicing in the United States (32, 69.6%), six (13.0%) in Canada, and the remaining from Europe and Asia. Almost half (47.7%) reported that the 2022 DAPP had increased their use of direct oral challenges. 91% would use cephalosporins in the setting of low-risk penicillin allergy history without testing. For low-risk cephalosporin reactions, 68% would perform a direct oral challenge (DOC) with the culprit drug. In severe immediate penicillin reactions, 23% would evaluate with penicillin-skin-testing before assessing cephalosporin allergy. For cephalosporin-related anaphylaxis, 48% would perform cephalosporin-based testing. For perioperative anaphylaxis with cefazolin, 57% would perform cephalosporin-based testing. For positive skin testing to cefazolin 79% chose to avoid the culprit drug with follow-up oral challenge to a structurally dissimilar cephalosporin. ConclusionIncreased uptake of DOC represents the initial impact of the 2022 DAPP. However, there is significant variation in testing practices of cephalosporin allergy even amongst drug allergy experts, reflecting a need for higher evidence base to guide consensus around testing higher risk reactions.

Why accommodate? How niche pressure and intra-party divisions shape mainstream party strategies

ABSTRACT Research demonstrates that mainstream parties often take up the issues and positions of emerging Eurosceptic and anti-immigration parties. Yet, these accommodative strategies generally do not pay off. Why do mainstream parties nevertheless accommodate these niche actors? I argue that mainstream-niche competition is governed by intra-party dynamics. The pressure exerted by niche parties alone does not suffice to drive internally united mainstream parties to accommodate. However, when mainstream parties face substantial intra-party divisions on the niche party’s issue, they may yield under internal pressure. I find empirical support for my theoretical claims on the issue of European integration using expert survey data on 78 mainstream parties in 14 Western European democracies between 1999 and 2019. The findings contribute to our understanding of the conditions under which niche parties are contagious and illustrate how intra-party divisions can steer parties away from vote-seeking strategies with consequences for voter representation.

Developing organic farming areas to achieve ESG principles

Abstract Considering consumer demand for eco-friendly and safe food products, and the desire to comply with ESG principles, the authors need to study priority methods and directions for developing organic agriculture. The article aims at determining promising directions for developing organic agriculture to achieve ESG principles. This research employed methods of analysis of documents and scientific articles, online expert survey and statistical method for checking the reliability during the process of information collection. The authors systematized the results obtained into groups depending on the method of agricultural production in organic agriculture: organic, organo-biological, biodynamic, biological (ecological), and integrated. After ranking them, the authors determined the areas of organic agriculture that require priority development. This research has practical significance for government authorities, business structures, farmers and other stakeholders as it can aid in development of government programs to support organic agriculture entities in Kazakhstan and other countries with similar conditions to achieve ESG principles.

PopBERT. Detecting Populism and Its Host Ideologies in the German Bundestag

Abstract The rise of populism concerns many political scientists and practitioners, yet the detection of its underlying language remains fragmentary. This paper aims to provide a reliable, valid, and scalable approach to measure populist rhetoric. For that purpose, we created an annotated dataset based on parliamentary speeches of the German Bundestag (2013–2021). Following the ideational definition of populism, we label moralizing references to “the virtuous people” or “the corrupt elite” as core dimensions of populist language. To identify, in addition, how the thin ideology of populism is “thickened,” we annotate how populist statements are attached to left-wing or right-wing host ideologies. We then train a transformer-based model (PopBERT) as a multilabel classifier to detect and quantify each dimension. A battery of validation checks reveals that the model has a strong predictive accuracy, provides high qualitative face validity, matches party rankings of expert surveys, and detects out-of-sample text snippets correctly. PopBERT enables dynamic analyses of how German-speaking politicians and parties use populist language as a strategic device. Furthermore, the annotator-level data may also be applied in cross-domain applications or to develop related classifiers.

Health issues of young adults with hearing loss or deafness: A basis for the development of a chatbot

BackgroundThe loss of hearing and thus communication affects the well-being of millions of people worldwide. Digital tools for coping with everyday life are becoming increasingly important and can have a positive impact on health literacy, especially among young adults. This raises the question of which issues such apps should specifically address in order to meet the needs of young adults with hearing loss or deafness. MethodsThe aim was to identify the health issues of young adults (aged 18–28 years) with hearing loss or deafness in order to derive specific recommendations for a conversational agent (chatbot). A multiple embedded case study design consisting of chat interviews (n = 8) and an online-based expert survey (n = 14) was used. ResultsThe central phenomenon focuses on “The sense of belonging and feeling well in spite of hearing loss”, which is influenced by two main categories: a. the ability to be oneself despite one’s vulnerability; b. the desire to be strong despite one’s vulnerability. Important health issues include depression, drug use, diet, exercise, isolation due to COVID measures and HIV prophylaxis. ConclusionWritten information must be provided in simple and accessible language supported by images and symbols. Conversation agents developed to support people with hearing impairment should be easy to install and self-explanatory to use.

Social Construction of All-Russian Identity in the North Caucasus: Status and Prospects

Introduction. The relevance of the issues under study, which is due to the need to strengthen the all-Russian identity in the multi-ethnic North Caucasian community in the context of a sharp aggravation of geopolitical contradictions. The purpose of the article is formulated – on the basis of empirical material, to determine the specifics of the manifestation of macrosocial identity in the life of the population of the North Caucasus Federal District and to identify opportunities for further construction of an all-Russian identity in the North Caucasus region. Materials and methods. The section identifies the sources of the empirical base of all subjects of the Russian Federation that form the North Caucasus Federal District, the main of which are regional regulatory legal acts, scientific articles in journals that are freely available in the RSCI, and expert opinion obtained during an expert survey. The use of methodical triangulation (content analysis, discourse analysis and semi-structured expert interviews) made it possible to highlight different aspects of the process of forming a macrosocial identity, making the research picture more voluminous and complete. The heuristic value of the results obtained through this triangulation was manifested in clarifying the structure of the macrosocial identity of the North Caucasian society and fixing the priority of ethnic and partially religious identities. Results. It is substantiated that for studying the problems of constructing an all-Russian identity in the subjects of the federation that are part of the North Caucasus Federal District, the most optimal is the analytical model of identity proposed by M.V. Nazukina and includes three main levels of identity policy implementation on a regional scale: normative, narrative-mythological and symbolic. The current stage of the formation of macrosocial identity in the North Caucasus is characterized at all three levels by a certain priority of ethnic identity, which is enhanced by confessional identity. Discussion and Сonclusion. Based on the results of scientific analysis, it was concluded that a relative balance has developed in the North Caucasus between the all-Russian and ethnic components of macrosocial identity with a partial predominance of ethno-confessional. Analytical material may be of interest to scientific teams studying the problems of humanitarian security in the North Caucasus; structures interested in strengthening ethnopolitical unity in the region on the basis of all-Russian values. The main results and conclusions of the work can be useful for the media, various cultural and educational institutions in organizing and conducting educational work among the population of the region, including youth.

북유럽 지역의 제품 디자인 특성 분석을 통한 뱅앤올룹슨 오디오 제품 디자인과의 상관성에 관한 연구

At some point in modern daily life, Nordic design began to rapidly increase as a home design preferred by people. Northern Europe has developed a unique culture due to its geographical conditions, such as adapting to nature or being friendly, focusing on indoor life, and practicality through simplicity. In this study, the characteristics of Northern European Design were derived into four types through analysis of design cases of representative Northern European countries. Nordic countries are traditionally based on practicality, and are characterized by nature-friendly purity, aesthetics of cultural background, and sustainable simplicity. Bang & Olufsen was selected as the target to examine specifically how these Nordic design characteristics were applied to actual product design and how they changed over time. Bang & Olufsen is a world-renowned audio company in Northern Europe with a 99-year history. In this study, a case study of 66 representative Bang & Olufsen products from 1926 to 2023 was conducted, and the results showed that Bang & Olufsen's audio design generally maintains the characteristics of Nordic design over time. Among the characteristics of Nordic design, simplicity and aesthetics still remain strong over time, and purity is relatively low but appears to be increasing slowly as technology advances. Despite the lack of samples of target products for case analysis and some limitations in the expert survey, this study is significant in that it presents a method for analyzing design characteristics by examining the geographical characteristics and temporal changes in product design.

Prevention of extremism and terrorism in schools: experience of the republic of Dagestan

The article presents the results of the study of preventive anti-terrorist educational work among students of general education schools of the Republic of Dagestan. It is noted that this work with school youth is carried out systematically and comprehensively with the participation of not only teachers, but also external subjects of preventive influence on adolescents from among representatives of law enforcement agencies, various ministries and departments authorised in the field of youth, information and state national policy, cultural and art figures, representatives of the official Muslim clergy, athletes, deputies, veterans of the Special Military Operation and other public opinion leaders. It was revealed that the main format of this work is a thematic preventive conversation with schoolchildren, that requires certain pedagogical skills and competencies. Using a formalised expert survey of school teachers and a series of research interviews, an assessment of the effectiveness of this activity was identified, as well as problems that hinder the improvement of the quality of anti-extremist educational work with Dagestani youth. Noting the importance and usefulness of this work, the interviewed teachers point to a number of problems and factors that reduce its effectiveness. The workload of teachers with "paperwork", frequent demands for various kinds of reports on the work done, formalism, holding events without taking into account the age and individual characteristics of students, incompetence, lack of understanding and support from the parent community, weak interest in such events from both teachers and schoolchildren and a number of other factors hinder the improvement of the quality of anti-terrorist educational work with Dagestani youth. It seems that the prevention of extremism and terrorism is part of the general educational impact of the comprehensive school institution on a child, raising him to be a moral, law-abiding and patriotic citizen. To improve the quality of this work, it is important to raise the authority of school teachers at the state level, since a teacher without authority is a bad educator for teenagers not only in the area of countering the spread of the ideology of extremism and terrorism, but also in the matter of spiritual, moral and patriotic education in general.

Construction of a Model for Evaluating the Operating Efficiency and Performance of State-Owned Enterprises Using Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation

State-owned energy, transportation, and telecommunications enterprises power many countries' economies and societies. Considering commercial and social objectives, SOE performance evaluation is complex. Rather than innovation, sustainability, and stakeholder satisfaction, financial factors have determined SOE's success. The present study simulates an SOE Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation approach to overcome the constraint. The model encompasses quantitative and qualitative performance. The proposed model prioritizes the whole evaluation aim and follows it with performance criteria and sub-criteria. This paper used the analytical hierarchy process with expert survey input to fine-tune the standard weights. Fuzzy logic addresses the uncertainty in qualitative analysis. This method performs traditional financial ratio analysis, balanced scorecard, and data envelope analysis

Development of Recreation in Improving the Health of the Population

This article investigates the potential of developing recreational and military-recreational zones, particularly focusing on the Chimgan-Charvak resort area in Uzbekistan. Despite the rapid global growth of recreational tourism, military recreation remains underexplored, presenting a knowledge gap, especially in Uzbekistan. The study employs SWOT analysis and expert surveys to assess the region's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, alongside mapping techniques to analyze the population's health challenges. Findings reveal significant untapped potential in ecotourism and the necessity of balancing recreational development with environmental conservation. The study underscores the importance of innovative approaches to tourism management and calls for better investment in tourism infrastructure and specialized training for tour guides. These insights have broad implications for enhancing Uzbekistan’s economic growth through sustainable tourism development.

A systematic risk assessment approach for urban roadside infrastructure assets

Revealing potential risks and the influence of these risks on urban roadside vulnerable/risky zones has been a great deal for the last decades owing to increasing vehicular mobility. This study aimed to develop a risk assessment methodology for urban roadside infrastructure assets. In this context, seven risk parameters that are likely to affect hazardous aboveground assets installed on urban roadsides were determined, and weights of each parameter (order of importance) were presented based on expert surveys and literature information using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Mathematical models were set up for each risk parameter using real field data, The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), literature, related standards, and expert surveys by linear, nonlinear, and binary logistic regression analyses. Risk groups were created, and precautions were offered. The efficiency of the models was verified based on the 28 accident records and field observations in 172 assets. When considering the assets that undergo traffic accidents, 71% of the total assets are ranked in the critical and high-risk group. This ratio is consistent with the risk group definitions assigned in this study; thus, the model proposed is accurate and can be applied reliably. The verification process of the total risk model was sufficiently successful to be used in practice and can be generalized by considering the road and traffic characteristics, infrastructure facilities, and future requirements of the regions or countries that reflect similar historical and cultural concerns. Practitioners, governmental institutes, and researchers can apply this methodology to provide their own data with high transparency and reliability.