Formal Integration Research Articles

The Development of Leadership Communities of Practice: Utilizing the ADKAR Framework.

This paper introduces the concept of leadership communities of practice (COP) as a strategy to enhance succession planning and leadership development within the Canadian healthcare context. Drawing upon Prosci's ADKAR methodology as a foundational change management framework, this paper explores the adaptation of COP, originally developed by Lave and Wenger in 1991, to foster collaborative learning. While COP have a long history in business and education sectors, their formal integration into healthcare, specifically leadership development is relatively recent. This paper highlights the necessity of a robust change management approach to effectively introduce COP as a mechanism to enhance leadership development in healthcare settings, highlighting their potential to facilitate knowledge exchange and support social learning among healthcare leaders.

Implementing a Digital Profiling System for Enhanced Support and Integration of Muslim Converts in Malaysia

This article explores the strategic implementation of a digital profiling system to enhance the support and integration of Muslim converts in Malaysia. Utilizing qualitative research methods and an extensive literature review, the study emphasizes the transformative potential of the e-profiling system in optimizing data management for this specific demographic. Highlighting its significance in the Malaysian context, the research advocates for the adoption of e-profiling systems to offer tailored guidance and support, fostering increased resilience, stronger faith, a deeper understanding of Islam, and steadfast adherence to Islamic values. Exclusively focused on Malaysia, this study serves as a comprehensive guideline for improving the overall management of Muslim converts. The article underscores the importance of utilizing an e-profiling system to systematically store essential data about new converts, facilitating organized support from religious bodies. The innovative approach introduced in this research addresses critical aspects, including the formal procedure, religious education, community support, continuous monitoring, and social integration. In conclusion, this article contributes to the discourse on improving the support and integration of Muslim converts in Malaysia through the strategic implementation of an advanced technological solution – the e-profiling system.

Integrating basic sciences into clerkship rotation utilizing Kern’s six-step model of instructional design: lessons learned

BackgroundIt is generally agreed that basic and clinical sciences should be integrated throughout the undergraduate medical education, however, there is still need for continued formal integration of basic sciences into clinical clerkship in many medical schools across the globe.MethodsUtilizing Kern’s Six-Step Model of Instructional Design, we aimed to develop an intervention that would facilitate cognitive integration of basic and clinical sciences. After problem identification and targeted needs assessment through focused group discussion with the students and faculty, objectives were devised with an implementation plan of using flipped class approach to develop a content-focused and learner-centered teaching strategy. This intervention was piloted in the 2-week cardiology clerkship in Year 5. Evaluation of the content, integration, student and faculty experiences were recorded through in-depth interviews, FGDs and a formative MCQ test.ResultsFlipped classroom based integrated sessions were successfully developed. The implementation phase was met with challenges that primarily stemmed from the diverse teaching styles among faculty members, hesitance to deviate from conventional practices, variations in clinic timings, and demanding schedules. Noteworthy observations were in terms of ownership of the project, the need for faculty development in modern student-centered teaching pedagogies, opportunities for content improvement, scheduling of sessions, and suggestion of revisiting fundamental concepts in basic sciences through a brief boot camp-style session at the onset of the clerkship. The role of flipped case model and clinical cases in integrating basic sciences into clinical sciences were appreciated by the students. Standardization in teaching practices was identified as the major challenge by the faculty.ConclusionsA functional, learner-centered framework of cognitive integration of basic sciences in clinical sciences curriculum of cardiology rotation was developed with a potential to be implemented in other clerkship rotations.

Social Networks as Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments for Second Language Teaching in Higher Education

In the post-pandemic era, the Digital 2023 Report highlights a rapid expansion in the global user base of social networking sites (SNSs). Despite the lack of formal integration of SNSs in second language (L2) education, which could enhance real-time creation, collaboration, and communication in the target language and culture, L2 learners still actively use these technologies outside of educational settings. This exploratory study utilizes a descriptive survey research design with a purposefully selected sample of 239 undergraduate and graduate students in their first and second years of language studies. These students pursue commonly taught languages, such as Spanish, as well as less commonly taught ones, such as Arabic, Persian, Slavic (Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Russian, and Polish), Turkic (Turkish and Uyghur), and Uralic (Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian), in addition to others, such as Mongolian. The diverse range of languages enables a thorough investigation of the use of SNSs among college-level L2 learners in the United States, including both widely taught and less commonly taught languages. The findings of this study show that the target age group exhibits distinct preferences in their choice of social platforms for personal use compared to those used in L2 classrooms. Furthermore, the outcomes underscore the significant impact of age, gender, and the method of course delivery on the usage patterns of social networking sites.

The prolonged dilemma: Refugees' impact on labour market in Türkiye

AbstractTürkiye has a long history of hosting millions of refugees, but since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, it has emerged as the world's leading refugee‐hosting country. Due to this fact, the frequency of refugee inflows to Türkiye has attracted us to explore refugees' macroeconomic impacts as the ongoing political and social debates in Türkiye regarding refugees are immensely focused on their economic impacts. Hence, this paper investigates the effect of refugees on unemployment in Türkiye. The study utilizes the Auto Regressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) Bounds Test approach from 1991 to 2021. Our results yield the pronounced positive and aggravating impact of refugees on unemployment rates in Türkiye. Türkiye's policymakers should focus on local economic policies to improve the refugees' formal integration into the labour market to resolve the negative economic effect of refugee hosting on the labour market.

The blow-up method applied to monodromic singularities

The blow-up method proves its effectiveness to characterize the integrability of the resonant saddles giving the necessary conditions to have formal integrability and the sufficiency doing the resolution of the associated recurrence differential equation using induction. In this work we apply the blow-up method to monodromic singularities in order to solve the center-focus problem. The case of nondegenerate monodromic singularities is straightforward since any real nondegenerate monodromy singularity can be embedded into a complex system with a resonant saddle. Here we apply the method to nilpotent and degenerate monodromic singularities solving the center problem when the center conditions are algebraic.

Learning Innovation Utilization in Technical Education: A Quantitative Study

This paper investigated students' perceptions and usage of learning innovations in technical and vocational education and training (TEVT) colleges in Punjab, Pakistan. Technologies explored included computers, software, internet, CDs/DVDs, and multimedia. A survey methodology gathered input from 406 randomly selected students pursuing technology-related diploma and undergraduate programs. It was a quantitative study. Keeping in view the objective of the study, a 5-point Likert scale was developed. The data were analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20. Findings revealed foundational technology access is decent, including computer availability (mean=3.44) and internet connectivity (mean=3.90). Self-professed digital literacy levels were also relatively high (mean=3.59). However, actual integration into instruction lagged in areas like leveraging software tools (mean=3.16), multimedia systems (mean=3.76), and especially CD/DVDs (mean=2.75). Analysis illuminated gaps between infrastructure readiness and full-fledged adoption to enhance learning experiences. Students showed an appetite for online self-directed usage, though formal blended integration models are still developing. Findings confirm that while technical access provides a starting point, TEVT institutions should still activate progress through teacher readiness, active learning pedagogies, and reduced barriers inhibiting sophisticated digitally enabled instruction. Strategic commitments can leverage student capabilities toward truly immersive technical education fitting industry innovation.

LITERACY OF THE APPLICATION OF THE TRIKON STRATEGY (CONTINUOUS, CONVERGENT AND CONCENTRIC) IN THE INNOVATION OF CHOCOLATE PRODUCT VARIANTS OF FARMER GROUPS IN GUNUNGKIDUL

Situation analysis The chocolate farmer group is located in Nglegi Hamlet RT 09 RW 03 Nglegi Patuk, Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region 55561. This group has natural potential and chocolate agricultural products are quite good in Gunungkidul. The products of this chocolate farmer group are processed from the basic ingredients of chocolate, because one village is almost 50% planted with chocolate trees which are the specialty of this village. The processed products produced include coffee powder, chocolate rengginang, and chocolate bananas. The main obstacle felt by the chocolate farmer group is how to make new products that are competitive and weak graphic design so that product visualization becomes an obstacle in imagining the shape of new products and the right packaging. Solutions are needed literacy in the application of the TRIKON strategy so that formalization, intervention, and value integration in product and business development continue to run continuously because this is the hope of all members of the Chocolate Farmers Group. This service program runs according to plan and has a significant impact on understanding the literacy of packaging innovation based on 3 N (niteni, nirokke, nambahi) and visualizing the type of packaging that has local wisdom value. In addition, the main obstacle of how to determine new competitive products can be overcome by understanding the TRIKON strategy well. Literacy The application of the TRIKON Strategy (continuous, convergent and concentric) in the innovation of Farmers Group chocolate product variants is expected to be able to be applied in the face of a constantly evolving environment of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

Research on Ensemble Learning-Based Feature Selection Method for Time-Series Prediction

Feature selection has perennially stood as a pivotal concern in the realm of time-series forecasting due to its direct influence on the efficacy of predictive models. Conventional approaches to feature selection predominantly rely on domain knowledge and experiential insights and are, therefore, susceptible to individual subjectivity and the resultant inconsistencies in the outcomes. Particularly in domains such as financial markets, and within datasets comprising time-series information, an abundance of features adds complexity, necessitating adept handling of high-dimensional data. The computational expenses associated with traditional methodologies in managing such data dimensions, coupled with vulnerability to the curse of dimensionality, further compound the challenges at hand. In response to these challenges, this paper advocates for an innovative approach—a feature selection method grounded in ensemble learning. The paper explicitly delineates the formal integration of ensemble learning into feature selection, guided by the overarching principle of “good but different”. To operationalize this concept, five feature selection methods that are well suited to ensemble learning were identified, and their respective weights were determined through K-fold cross-validation when applied to specific datasets. This ensemble method amalgamates the outcomes of diverse feature selection techniques into a numeric composite, thereby mitigating potential biases inherent in traditional methods and elevating the precision and comprehensiveness of feature selection. Consequently, this method improves the performance of time-series prediction models.

Mapping interdisciplinary collaboration in music education: analysis of models in higher education across North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia

Interdisciplinary collaboration is an emerging imperative in music education, but current understanding of global practices remains limited. Prior studies have focused narrowly on specific programs within limited geographic areas. However, there is minimal quantitative mapping of initiatives across institutions and regions. Contextual insights explaining regional variations are also scarce. Hence, this study aims to address these gaps by conducting a comprehensive analysis of interdisciplinary programs, partnerships, events, and publications across leading global music institutions using a mixed methods approach. The analysis reveals significant diversity in models and determinants of productivity across regions. For instance, while Europe leads in formal integration and research output, North America prioritizes technology-enabled innovation through media and emerging tools. Partnerships are ubiquitous but focus areas and curricular integration vary. The findings reveal significant diversity in interdisciplinary education practices and formats worldwide, implying a need for contextualized implementation aligned to institutional strengths rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Therefore, as music education evolves, tailored interdisciplinary strategies that blend local priorities with global best practices are recommended to creatively nurture multifaceted skills and maximize potential for innovation. Thus, this research contributes an invaluable knowledge base to inform evidence-based, nimble policies and frameworks for cultivating cutting-edge, socially engaged musicians and ventures worldwide.

Introduction to the special issue: Affective neurolinguistics: understanding the interaction of emotion and language in the brain

ABSTRACT Emotions permeate every aspect of our lives including how we process and use language. Affective neurolinguistics is an emerging field that aims to unify separate research traditions in neurolinguistics and affective neuroscience. This special issue provides an overview of recent developments, on the lexico-semantic, syntactic and pragmatic levels. The 11 studies address the embodied acquisition of emotional concepts, their network representation in the brain, their representation in the first versus second language as well as the role of attentional focus. They also specify how emotional content interacts with morphosyntactic processing, how inter individual differences determine the primacy of syntax or affect in sentence processing, and how emotional influences play out in the multi-modal integration of language in quasi-realistic communicative settings. In total, this collection of studies covers the status of the field of affective neurolinguistics, laying the groundwork for a more formal multi-level integration of affect into language models.

What determines subunit integration in the multinational firm? A meta-analysis

Although subunit integration matters to performance outcomes in the multinational firm, the determinants of integration remain unclear. We distinguish between formal integration—the centralization of strategic decision-making and the formalization of policies and procedures and informal integration through socialization toward shared goals and a cohesive identity. We argue that corporate parents' implementation of these integration mechanisms is informed by conditions internal and external to the multinational firm. Drawing on 154 empirical studies encompassing 35,752 foreign subunits over 34 years, we find that a locally oriented subunit strategy negatively affects centralization and socialization. Host country constraints positively affect formalization and socialization. These findings are consistent with some theoretical expectations but contradictory to others. We enrich the nomological network of subunit integration, offering novel insights regarding the internal and external drivers of structural heterogeneity within and between multinational firms. Our findings thus inform theory of the complex nature of managerial decisions in multinational firms.

Integrative demographic modelling reduces uncertainty in estimated rates of species' historical range shifts

AbstractAimBiogeographers have used three primary data types to examine shifts in tree ranges in response to past climate change: fossil pollen, genetic data and contemporary occurrences. Although recent efforts have explored formal integration of these types of data, we have limited understanding of how integration affects estimates of range shift rates and their uncertainty. We compared estimates of biotic velocity (i.e. rate of species' range shifts) using each data type independently to estimates obtained using integrated models.LocationEastern North America.TaxonFraxinus pennsylvanica Marshall (green ash).MethodsUsing fossil pollen, genomic data and modern occurrence data, we estimated biotic velocities directly from 24 species distribution models (SDMs) and 200 pollen surfaces created with a novel Bayesian spatio‐temporal model. We compared biotic velocity from these analyses to estimates based on coupled demographic‐coalescent simulations and Approximate Bayesian Computation that combined fossil pollen and SDMs with population genomic data collected across the F. pennsylvanica range.ResultsPatterns and magnitude of biotic velocity over time varied by the method used to estimate past range dynamics. Estimates based on fossil pollen yielded the highest rates of range movement. Overall, integrating genetic data with other data types in our simulation‐based framework reduced apparent uncertainty in biotic velocity estimates and resulted in greater similarity in estimates between SDM‐ and pollen‐integrated analyses.Main ConclusionsBy reducing uncertainty in our assessments of range shifts, integration of data types improves our understanding of the past distribution of species. Based on these results, we propose further steps to reach the integration of these three lines of biogeographical evidence into a unified analytical framework.

Acceptability of an online communication training intervention for genetic counseling students.

Technology provides opportunities to enhance communication skills training for genetic counseling graduate students. We assessed the acceptability of an online communication training program. Graduate student volunteers completed five online training modules on basic communication skills with opportunities to practice the skills within three simulated/standardized patient (SP) sessions. Participants completed online questionnaires reporting on acceptability, perceived usefulness, and realism of the modules and SP sessions. They also reported on the ease of transferring skills from the modules to clinical practice. Out of the 60 students who completed the baseline session, 35 (58%) completed all five training modules. Out of these 35 students, most found the modules to be useful (94%) and agreed that they were relevant to clinical practice (97%). At least 88% of participants found the genetic counselors, patient, and case scenarios to be realistic. Twenty-eight students had participated in clinical rotations since completing the intervention. Of these, 17 (61%) reported that it was at least slightly easy to use the skills in actual clinical cases. Most students also reported being able to transfer the skills they had learned into clinical practice. While the training was well-received, the relatively low completion rate of 58% raises concern that the intervention may need formal integration into the program curriculum to succeed due to the time and effort demands on students.

Hear my voice: understanding how community health workers in the Peruvian Amazon expanded their roles to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through community-based participatory research

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic led to the collapse of the Peruvian health system, disrupting healthcare access for indigenous communities in the Amazon. Our study analysed how community health workers (CHWs) from...

Do Work Permits Work? The Impacts of Formal Labor Market Integration of Syrian Refugees in Jordan

Abstract The integration of refugees into host countries’ formal labor markets is increasingly recommended as a durable solution to forced migration. Yet, this policy response is a contentious political topic with little empirical evidence, especially in low- and middle-income host countries available to support policy. This article examines the impacts of integrating Syrian refugees into Jordan’s formal labor market. We use robust greedy one-to-one propensity score matching on comprehensive high-quality data from almost 75,000 Syrian refugee households collected between 2017 and 2019 to generate novel evidence on the socio-economic benefits of refugee labor market integration. Our findings show that the ability to access formal jobs, reflected by holding a work permit, is significantly associated with increased refugee income, strengthens food security, and reduces protection needs and child labor. These findings contribute to a better and knowledge-based understanding of a prominent policy response for forced migrants.

Evaluation of a novel virtual reality Immersive Clinical Experience to enhance medical education curriculum.

Medical students often find the transition to clerkship challenging and stressful. The use of virtual reality (VR) technologies such as screen-based learning, 360-video and immersive VR using head-mount-devices is becoming more utilized in medical education. Immersive technologies in particular have been shown to lead to greater enthusiasm and provide higher knowledge gain for students compared to screen-based VR. The University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine has developed a novel immersive patient experience using VR to enhance the clinical skills program and evaluate student perception regarding its formal integration into curricula. Students reported positive feedback on the experience, and interest in more immersive learning opportunities in future sessions. VR technology has the potential to enhance medical education and provide a safe immersive learning environment to build clinical acumen.

Emergency Department Pediatric Readiness and Disparities in Mortality Based on Race and Ethnicity

Presentation to emergency departments (EDs) with high levels of pediatric readiness is associated with improved pediatric survival. However, it is unclear whether children of all races and ethnicities benefit equitably from increased levels of such readiness. To evaluate the association of ED pediatric readiness with in-hospital mortality among children of different races and ethnicities with traumatic injuries or acute medical emergencies. This cohort study of children requiring emergency care in 586 EDs across 11 states was conducted from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2017. Eligible participants included children younger than 18 years who were hospitalized for an acute medical emergency or traumatic injury. Data analysis was conducted between November 2022 and April 2023. Hospitalization for acute medical emergency or traumatic injury. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. ED pediatric readiness was measured through the weighted Pediatric Readiness Score (wPRS) from the 2013 National Pediatric Readiness Project assessment and categorized by quartile. Multivariable, hierarchical, mixed-effects logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of race and ethnicity with in-hospital mortality. The cohort included 633 536 children (median [IQR] age 4 [0-12] years]). There were 557 537 children (98 504 Black [17.7%], 167 838 Hispanic [30.1%], 311 157 White [55.8%], and 147 876 children of other races or ethnicities [26.5%]) who were hospitalized for acute medical emergencies, of whom 5158 (0.9%) died; 75 999 children (12 727 Black [16.7%], 21 604 Hispanic [28.4%], 44 203 White [58.2%]; and 21 609 of other races and ethnicities [27.7%]) were hospitalized for traumatic injuries, of whom 1339 (1.8%) died. Adjusted mortality of Black children with acute medical emergencies was significantly greater than that of Hispanic children, White children, and of children of other races and ethnicities (odds ratio [OR], 1.69; 95% CI, 1.59-1.79) across all quartile levels of ED pediatric readiness; but there were no racial or ethnic disparities in mortality when comparing Black children with traumatic injuries with Hispanic children, White children, and children of other races and ethnicities with traumatic injuries (OR 1.01; 95% CI, 0.89-1.15). When compared with hospitals in the lowest quartile of ED pediatric readiness, children who were treated at hospitals in the highest quartile had significantly lower mortality in both the acute medical emergency cohort (OR 0.24; 95% CI, 0.16-0.36) and traumatic injury cohort (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.25-0.61). The greatest survival advantage associated with high pediatric readiness was experienced for Black children in the acute medical emergency cohort. In this study, racial and ethnic disparities in mortality existed among children treated for acute medical emergencies but not traumatic injuries. Increased ED pediatric readiness was associated with reduced disparities; it was estimated that increasing the ED pediatric readiness levels of hospitals in the 3 lowest quartiles would result in an estimated 3-fold reduction in disparity for pediatric mortality. However, increased pediatric readiness did not eliminate disparities, indicating that organizations and initiatives dedicated to increasing ED pediatric readiness should consider formal integration of health equity into efforts to improve pediatric emergency care.

Before Play, With Play, After Play: The Shaping of ‘formal integrity’ in the Early Drafts of Play

The present essay argues that Beckett's concept of ‘formal integrity’, which he first articulated in his discussion of Film with the production team in 1964, was in fact shaped long before Film was on Beckett's writing desk. Rather, it emerged gradually during the early genesis of Play, the work that has often been associated with Film as the two were written around the same time and deal with similar themes. In order to make this point, the essay engages with the draft material in a recently discovered notebook that contains the earliest stage of the play's genesis – the manuscripts that were long considered lost and not recoverable. While paying due attention to the relevance to Play of the other works populating the notebook, the main focus lies on the development of what it terms Beckett's conceptual (rather than textual) writing style, which is a consequence of his quest for ‘formal integrity’. More specifically, the essay demonstrates that this ‘formal integrity’ goes beyond Beckett's extreme attention to Play's form (something that has been noted in literature), but hinges on correspondences between both formal and textual elements. In other words, it refers just as much to the content as it does to form, but content differently conceived as compared to his earlier plays.

The Gendered Consequences of Abolition and Citizenship on Nineteenth-Century Gorée Island

Abstract: In the spring of 1848, the French Second Republic abolished slavery and made citizens of most adult male residents in its overseas territories. Gorée Island (Senegal) became a French exclave, where free and freed women experienced socioeconomic and political decline. The patriarchal French state that “liberated” enslaved women and “enfranchised” former female slave owners simultaneously limited Goréen women’s avenues to economic prosperity and political authority. French republicanism unsettled a significant sociopolitical distinction, the slave–nonslave divide, making gender a more salient factor mediating Goréens’ access to liberty and the public sphere. Goréen women experienced their formal integration into the Second French Republic—with the regime’s patriarchal republican laws and institutions—as colonialism. Goréens became members of a French Republic that championed universal equality, gendered difference, and patriarchy. French republican tenets excluded Goréen women from civic politics and the public sphere and created female colonial subjects on an island of citizens.