Individual Contributors Research Articles

Building a Talent Portfolio: A Modern Approach to Career Development

In today's disruptive business environment where entire job categories are emerging and transforming rapidly, traditional career path models centered on predefined vertical progression no longer adequately equip organizations with the workforce mobility and strategic resilience needed to dynamically deploy talent as work evolves. This article explores how progressive companies like global banking giant HSBC and humanitarian relief leader World Vision have overcome these challenges through transitioning to career portfolio-based talent systems that empower employees to curate diverse experiences through roles, projects, assignments and skills development opportunities. A shift from narrow career paths to emphasis on capability and experience building strengthens organizational agility through a multi-skilled workforce while providing strategic benefits to talent retention, succession planning and futureproofing the business in uncertainty. Perhaps most importantly, the career portfolio approach also empowers individual contributors with the versatility and lifelong learning critical for navigating today's fluid labor market landscape - futureproofing both their employability and work fulfillment in the new world of work.

Perceived glucose levels matter more than CGM-based data in predicting diabetes distress in type 1 or type 2 diabetes: a precision mental health approach using n-of-1 analyses.

Diabetes distress is one of the most frequent mental health issues identified in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Little is known about the role of glucose control as a potential contributor to diabetes distress and whether the subjective perception of glucose control or the objective glycaemic parameters are more important for the experience. With the emergence of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), this is a relevant question as glucose values are now visible in real-time. We employed a precision monitoring approach to analyse the independent associations of perceived and measured glucose control with diabetes distress on a daily basis. By using n-of-1 analyses, we aimed to identify individual contributors to diabetes distress per person and analyse the associations of these individual contributors with mental health at a 3 month follow-up. In this prospective, observational study, perceived (hypoglycaemia/hyperglycaemia/glucose variability burden) and measured glucose control (time in hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, CV) were assessed daily for 17 days using an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) approach with a special EMA app and CGM, respectively. Mixed-effect regression analysis was performed, with daily diabetes distress as the dependent variable and daily perceived and CGM-measured metrics of glucose control as random factors. Individual regression coefficients of daily distress with perceived and CGM-measured metrics were correlated with levels of psychosocial well-being at a 3 month follow-up. Data from 379 participants were analysed (50.9% type 1 diabetes; 49.6% female). Perceived glucose variability (t=14.360; p<0.0001) and perceived hyperglycaemia (t=13.637; p<0.0001) were the strongest predictors of daily diabetes distress, while CGM-based glucose variability was not significantly associated (t=1.070; p=0.285). There was great heterogeneity between individuals in the associations of perceived and measured glucose parameters with diabetes distress. Individuals with a stronger association between perceived glucose control and daily distress had more depressive symptoms (β=0.32), diabetes distress (β=0.39) and hypoglycaemia fear (β=0.34) at follow-up (all p<0.001). Individuals with a stronger association between CGM-measured glucose control and daily distress had higher levels of psychosocial well-being at follow-up (depressive symptoms: β=-0.31; diabetes distress: β=-0.33; hypoglycaemia fear: β=-0.27; all p<0.001) but also higher HbA1c (β=0.12; p<0.05). Overall, subjective perceptions of glucose seem to be more influential on diabetes distress than objective CGM parameters of glycaemic control. N-of-1 analyses showed that CGM-measured and perceived glucose control had differential associations with diabetes distress and psychosocial well-being 3 months later. The results highlight the need to understand the individual drivers of diabetes distress to develop personalised interventions within a precision mental health approach.

Stand by me or not? Academic context-related and individual contributors to university students’ intended reaction to cyberbullying.

Stand by me or not? Academic context-related and individual contributors to university students’ intended reaction to cyberbullying.

"I Will Die by My Own Hand": Understanding the Development of Suicide Capability in the Narratives of Individuals Who Have Attempted Suicide.

Suicide capability is a multidimensional concept that facilitates the movement from suicidal ideation to suicide attempt. The three-step theory of suicide posits that three overarching contributors comprise suicide capability: acquired (fearlessness about death and high pain tolerance), dispositional (genetics), and practical (knowledge and access to lethal means) capability. Although extensive research has investigated relationships between individual contributors of capability and suicide attempts, little research has considered how an individual's capability for suicide develops as a combination of contributors. Given suicide is multifaceted and complex, our understanding of capability development is relatively limited. This potentially negatively impacts prevention and capacity reduction-focused intervention efficacy. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how suicide capability develops. Fourteen community-based suicide attempt survivors were recruited using convenience sampling. Individual narratives were collected using open-ended interviews, and data were analysed using narrative analysis. Results indicated that participant narratives contained two elements. The first included how capability development and suicide attempt facilitation were often underpinned by the relational interplay between acquired and practical contributors. For example, participants without a high pain tolerance seeking attempt methods that were perceived to be painless. The second element contained a novel finding relating to the agentic role of participants when deciding and attempting suicide. Agency was revealed within and across narratives emphasising the active role the individual plays in their movement from ideation-to-action. The role of individual agency in coming to a decision to take one's own life and then acting warrants further consideration within contemporary suicide theories.

Higher habitual intakes of flavonoids and flavonoid-rich foods are associated with a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes in the UK Biobank cohort

AimTo examine the associations of a diet high in flavonoid-rich foods, as reflected by a “Flavodiet Score” (FDS), the major individual food contributors to flavonoid intake, and flavonoid subclasses with type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in the UK Biobank cohort.Materials and methodsFlavonoid intakes were estimated from ≥2 dietary assessments among 113,097 study participants [age at enrolment: 56 ± 8 years; 57% female] using the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) databases. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate associations between dietary exposures and T2D.ResultsDuring 12 years of follow-up, 2628 incident cases of T2D were identified. A higher FDS (compared to lower [Q4 vs. Q1]), characterised by an average of 6 servings of flavonoid-rich foods per day, was associated with a 26% lower T2D risk [HR: 0.74 (95% CI: 0.66–0.84), ptrend = <0.001]. Mediation analyses showed that lower body fatness and basal inflammation, as well as better kidney and liver function partially explain this association. In food-based analyses, higher intakes of black or green tea, berries, and apples were significantly associated with 21%, 15%, and 12% lower T2D risk. Among individual flavonoid subclasses, 19–28% lower risks of T2D were observed among those with the highest, compared to lowest intakes.ConclusionsA higher consumption of flavonoid-rich foods was associated with lower T2D risk, potentially mediated by benefits to obesity/sugar metabolism, inflammation, kidney and liver function. Achievable increases in intakes of specific flavonoid-rich foods have the potential to reduce T2D risk.

Past Imperfect: Revisiting the History of the Federation of State Medical Boards

ABSTRACT: In 2020, FSMB commenced a closer look at its history to provide a more transparent accounting of past statements, actions and policies evincing bias, discrimination, or racism. There is much in FSMB history that is positive but it is clear that FSMB fell short at times in demonstrating a consistent commitment to values we recognize as integral to a just society. This failure proved especially impactful to international medical graduates (IMGs), osteopathic physicians, women, and persons of color. Vitriolic language, under-representation and bias factored into the FSMB experience of these groups to varying degrees. While some FSMB statements and policies reflected overt bias, more often, inaction or silence characterized FSMB response to discrimination unfolding within the medical profession and society. This can be attributed, in part, to the long period in which FSMB's modest resources created over-reliance upon the profession (eg, the American Medical Association). This dependence resulted in missed opportunities for FSMB to champion priorities committed to the responsibilities and interests of the regulatory community and the public it serves, as opposed to those of the profession. Unsurprisingly, FSMB governance reflected the same power dynamics and lack of diversity seen within leadership in the profession until recent decades. FSMB has taken multiple steps to address past failures: revisiting how it recognizes and honors individual contributors to medical regulation, adopting policy statements and guidelines codifying a commitment to inclusive governance and educational programming. Further actions are possible through naming conventions behind FSMB awards and potential policy addressing the appointive process to state medical boards.

Unlocking stray light mysteries in the CoRot baffle with the time-of-flight method

Stray light (SL) has emerged as a primary limiting factor for space telescopes. Pre-launch testing is essential for validating performance and identifying potential issues. However, traditional methods do not enable the decomposition and identification of individual SL contributors. Consequently, when problems arise, resolving them often involves a cumbersome and risky trial-and-error approach. The time-of-flight (ToF) method was recently introduced, employing a pulsed laser source and ultrafast sensor to characterize individual SL contributors. A proof of concept was achieved using a simple three-lens system. In this paper, we apply the ToF method to a real space optical system: the spare model of the CoRoT baffle. We successfully measured individual SL contributors over a dynamic range of 10−11, identifying direct scattering on vane edges and two-step scattering paths. Our results provide a performance breakdown, differentiating intrinsic baffle SL from contributions arising from experimental conditions. Notably, the ToF method allowed us to discriminate air scattering, eliminating the need for expensive vacuum testing. The ToF provides unparallel insights, including defects identification. For instance, we identified the presence of localized dust particles causing significant SL. These results confirm the utility of the ToF method even for the most challenging space systems.

Group authorship, an excellent opportunity laced with ethical, legal and technical challenges

ABSTRACT Group authorship (also known as corporate authorship, team authorship, consortium authorship) refers to attribution practices that use the name of a collective (be it team, group, project, corporation, or consortium) in the authorship byline. Data shows that group authorships are on the rise but thus far, in scholarly discussions about authorship, they have not gained much specific attention. Group authorship can minimize tensions within the group about authorship order and the criteria used for inclusion/exclusion of individual authors. However, current use of group authorships has drawbacks, such as ethical challenges associated with the attribution of credit and responsibilities, legal challenges regarding how copyrights are handled, and technical challenges related to the lack of persistent identifiers (PIDs), such as ORCID, for groups. We offer two recommendations: 1) Journals should develop and share context-specific and unambiguous guidelines for group authorship, for which they can use the four baseline requirements offered in this paper; 2) Using persistent identifiers for groups and consistent reporting of members’ contributions should be facilitated through devising PIDs for groups and linking these to the ORCIDs of their individual contributors and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the published item.

Exploring Social Work Practitioners' Perspectives on the Contributors to Burnout since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Burnout has a historic and disproportionate impact on social workers and is one important contributor to the ongoing health and behavioral health workforce crisis in the United States. Little is known, however, about social workers' experiences of burnout and their perceptions of factors that contribute to burnout since the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to explore this by answering the following research questions: (a) To what extent are social workers in South Carolina experiencing burnout? and (b) What do South Carolina social workers view as the top reasons for burnout in their professional role? Seventy social work practitioners and leaders from South Carolina completed an online survey during Fall 2022 that included the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and an open-ended question focused on identifying their perceptions of the top three reasons for burnout in the profession. Findings suggest that social workers in this study are experiencing moderate levels of burnout since the COVID-19 pandemic and report primarily organizational (83 percent) contributors to burnout. They also identified individual (36 percent), systemic (29 percent), and interpersonal (27 percent) contributors to burnout. Implications are discussed related to policy and practice responses to prevent and address burnout among social workers.

Lipidomic analysis of facial skin surface lipids in acne in young women.

Alterations in the secretion and composition of skin surface lipids (SSL) are closely associated with the development of acne. Lipidomics is a useful tool to analyse the SSL of different types of acne. Our previous study found that phosphatidylserine and triacylglycerols dominate SSL changes in male acne and infantile acne, respectively. However, skin surface lipids as well as specific lipids in female acne patients remain to be investigated. To analyse and compare the SSL profile of acne women and healthy women and to discuss the involvement of differential lipids in acne development. Systematic lipidomics approach (high-throughput UPLC-QTOF-MS technology in combination with multivariate data analysis methods) was used to analyse the variations of SSL between acne and healthy groups. Analysis revealed significant differences in lipid content and composition between the two groups. Further analysis showed that levels of 13 individual lipids were significantly different and followed the same trend as the main class and subclasses. The largest individual contributor to the subgroup was triglycerides (TG) and phosphatidylinositol (PI). In addition, female acne patients exhibited reduced ceramide chain length (CCL) and increased levels of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), The changes of CCL in female acne are identical to male acne. There was a significantly higher level of TG and PI in the SSL of female acne patients. A reduction in CCL and an increase in UFAs content might contribute to the reduced skin barrier function in acne patients. The results suggest that female acne may have different pathogenesis than male acne.

A web-based geovisualization framework for exploratory analysis of individual VGI contributor’s participation characteristics

ABSTRACT Understanding the participation characteristics of VGI (volunteered geographic information) contributors is important as their active participation and consistent data contribution are key to success of any VGI project. Existing studies on this matter focused primarily on deriving and interpreting participation patterns of contributor groups. There is a lack of investigation into the participation pattern of individual contributors, which can be complementary to a comprehensive understanding of VGI contributors’ participation characteristics. Building and using a custom web-based geovisualization framework, this study explores the individual-level participation characteristics of VGI contributors from the perspectives of spatial, temporal, thematic, and social interaction patterns. I conducted geovisual exploratory data analysis on VGI datasets from the iNaturalist biodiversity citizen science project to gain intuitions on the clustering and variabilities of participation patterns in iNaturalist, detect participation pattern shifts over time and form explanation hypotheses, and assess and develop metrics to measure participation. The geovisualization framework is expected to be generally applicable to other VGI datasets for exploring individual-level contributor participation patterns. This work is among the first efforts to explore individual-level VGI participation characteristics through geovisualization and geovisual analytics.

Analyzing 14-years of suicide rates in Chile: Impact of alcohol policy, domestic violence, and a suicide prevention program

Suicide is a major public health problem worldwide with far-reaching effects on families, communities, and societies. Influencing factors range from macro-level interventions like alcohol control policies and suicide prevention programs to individual contributors such as alcohol abuse and domestic violence. This study aimed to examine the relationship between Chile's suicide rate changes from 2002 to 2015 and the Alcohol Act of 2004, a national suicide prevention program implemented in 2007, alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. Assembling a unique longitudinal dataset from Chilean public institutions, the study employed an instrumental variable time-series cross-regional design. Results indicated that the Alcohol Act was not associated with suicide rates, domestic violence exhibited a significant association with increased suicide rates, and the national suicide prevention program was linked to reductions in suicide rates, especially among males. These findings align with research from neighbouring countries, showcasing the efficacy of suicide prevention programs in decreasing suicide rates in Chile. Results highlight the importance of integrating protocols to early-detect domestic violence in suicide prevention programs, as well as the need to further improving alcohol control policies to complement suicide prevention programs.

Longitudinal Effects of Employees’ Big Five Personality Traits on Internal Promotions Differentiated by Job Level in a Multinational Company

Promotions are central to individual career success. For organisations, it is crucial to identify and develop employees capable of higher-level responsibility. Previous research has shown that personality traits as inter-individual differences predict promotions. However, effects have mostly been examined on a broad factor level. This study investigated longitudinal effects of Big Five personality traits on both factor (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness) and more detailed facet levels on promotions in employees of a multinational wholesale company (N = 1774, n = 343 promoted). We also explored how personality differentially impacts promotional likelihood as a matter of target job level (individual contributor vs. first- or senior-level manager roles). Overall, associations with promotions were detected for neuroticism (negative) and conscientiousness (positive). At the more nuanced facet level, all Big Five factors had at least one personality facet that was significantly related to promotions. Additionally, personality-promotion relationships were generally stronger for lower- rather than higher-level promotions. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that employee personality traits have a meaningful impact on who will be promoted and should hence be considered in organisational personnel selection, personnel development, and performance management practices.

Publication of the Belle II Software

Publication of the Belle II Software

A Preliminary Comparison of Intention to Quit between Heterosexual and Homosexual Elementary School Teachers: School-Related and Individual Contributors

A Preliminary Comparison of Intention to Quit between Heterosexual and Homosexual Elementary School Teachers: School-Related and Individual Contributors

Space-time mapping of soil organic carbon stock and its local drivers: Potential for use in carbon accounting

The measurement and tracking of changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and its underpinning drivers are important in greenhouse gas accounting and carbon trading schemes. While repeated direct measurement of a location over time is the ‘gold standard’ for SOC stock change estimation, this is currently unfeasible at scale due to sample collection and analysis costs. Here, we used a data-driven, space–time digital soil mapping modelling approach (ST-DSM) coupled with an interpretive machine learning (IML) technique to both predict and quantify the relative contributions of covariates to annual SOC stocks and their uncertainty at 0–30 cm depth and at a 90 m spatial resolution for Australia between 1990 and 2018. A quantile regression forest model was calibrated using data from a datacube comprising of SOC stock values collected over the prediction years and a suite of dynamic and static environmental covariates. The evaluation of the ST-DSM model on a test set was satisfactory. Long-term annual mean (Mg C/ha), and total (Pg C) topsoil SOC stock were 37.6 (12.3 – 101.1, 90 % PI) and 28.3 (9.25 – 83.1, 90 % PI) respectively. The mean annual rate of SOC stock change over the Australian continent was 0.11 (±0.22) Mg C/ha yr−1 and the total net change was 23.5 Tg C yr−1, indicating Australia’s soils were a net sink of SOC over the 29-year period. However, SOC stocks declined in the montane ecoregion, a great concern given its fragility and high SOC stock. The long-term mean fraction of photosynthetic vegetation was the most important individual local contributor to SOC stock prediction in many parts of Australia. The aggregated effect of covariates based on the soil forming factors indicates vegetation as the principal local driver of SOC stock across most of the Australian continent, followed by climate. The evaluation of our results against independent, temporally paired field data and estimates from a nationally accepted SOC process-based model yielded promising results. Our approach demonstrates the use of readily available and inexpensive covariates to estimate SOC stock changes, as well as the underlying drivers over a larger area but at a spatial resolution suitable for decision making. This approach presents a new monitoring and verification possibility for carbon projects and national carbon accounting especially with the growing number of existing profile observations in soil databases.

Transforming Political Divides: How Student Identities and Campus Contexts Shape Interpartisan Friendships

Recent evidence suggests that only about 1 in 5 U.S. adults has a friend on the political “other side” (Dunn, 2020). Although these interpartisan friendships are uncommon, they play a critical role in catalyzing empathy, reducing prejudice, furthering justice, and even restoring democracy, as suggested by the theory of civic friendship (Goering, 2003; Kahane, 1999; Rawlins, 2009). In the present study, we drew on national data from the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS) to examine the personal and contextual factors that predict interpartisan friendship formation among 5,762 college students attending 118 higher education institutions in the United States. The findings revealed the constellation of individual, social, and institutional contributors to students’ capacities to reach across political differences in their friendships. We offer guidance for how college educators can support the development of these relationships that may open a path toward empathy and healing in our polarized society.

Exploring the Leiden 'Van Royen herbarium': History and scientific significance of the herbarium specimens of Adriaan (1704–1779) and David van Royen (1727–1799)

The dried plant collection, now known as the 'Van Royen herbarium', was assembled by Adriaan and David van Royen, successive Leiden professors of botany in the period 1729–1799. The significance of this herbarium is partly due to the fact that Linnaeus was able to study Adriaan's collections extensively when he stayed in The Netherlands, such that it must have influenced, to some extent, his subsequent publications, notably Species Plantarum (1753). In this review we track the complex history of the herbarium and follow its physical housing through time. Poor storage conditions in the 18th and 19th centuries may account for the loss of an unknow nnumber of specimens originally in the herbarium. The history of the herbarium of Nicolaas Meerburg, head gardener in the Leiden botanical garden from 1774–1814, where he hadworked from 1752, is closely connected with that of the Van Royens, and is also discussed here. We explore the composition of the'Van Royen herbarium' and document who contributed to it. Altogether 80 plant collectors or original herbarium owners are identified. For example, there is a substantial set of specimens collected by Carl Peter Thunberg in Japan and many specimens from the Cape region of South Africa, which must have been gathered by him during his first stay there. Another largeset is that collected by Johann Gerhard König in Ceylon (now a days SriLanka) and there are many specimens from the collections of Albrecht von Haller and Sébastien Vaillant. The herbarium contains several seed collections used for Joseph Gaertner's De Fructibus (listed in Appendix 4)and also many specimens assembled by Adriaanvan Royen for his Ericetum Africanum project. Last, but not least significant among the rest, there are specimens cut out of a book herbarium owned by Jacob Breyne with plants collected by Carolus Schweiker (or Sweiker) around Montpellier (France) in 1666. Information necessary for the correct attribution of specimens is presented, complete with information enabling attribution of individual specimens to their original owners. Example barcodes of specimens from individual contributors and their handwriting(s)can be found in Appendix 3. Brief details of the life and work of Adriaan and Davidvan Royen is given in Appendices 1 and 2. The significance of the herbarium for the typification of Linnaean and other species names is discussed.

Broad spectrum micronutrients: a potential key player to address emotional dysregulation

Psychiatric conditions are inherently multifactorial and must be understood and addressed within a multidimensional framework. Adequate nutritional intake is necessary for optimal mental health and is thus an essential component of any psychiatric treatment plan; this is especially true as many patients have a diet high in ultra-processed foods. However, due to a variety of factors such as individual biological and behavioral contributors, modern farming practices, and climate change, implementing a healthy diet alone may not be sufficient to satisfy nutritional requirements. Research studies on three formulations of broad-spectrum micronutrients (BSMs) have demonstrated significant efficacy in treating a range of mental health disorders. In particular, outcomes associated with emotional regulation via BSMs across a variety of psychiatric illnesses (ADHD, autism, trauma, mood disorders, nicotine dependence, and psychosis) to date have been positive.

A Study on Enhancement of Communication Skills

Abstract: The process of conveying ideas, information, thoughts, knowledge, data, opinions, or messages from the sender to the recipient via a chosen method or channel with a clear goal in mind is defined as effective communication. Effective communication results in satisfaction for both the sender and the recipient. The process is cyclical in nature, commencing and concluding with the sender upon receiving a response or feedback from the recipient. In the workplace, communication skills are among the most used and in-demand. Leaders and individual contributors alike must practice these. Excellent communication skills are the difference between connected, agile teams and teams that are unable to collaborate; stay aligned, and accomplishes shared objectives in our increasingly remote and hybrid work environments. In this paper we study the communication style and how to improvise the communication skills.