Benefits Of Membership Research Articles

Pilot Survey Assessing Lactation and Breastfeeding Experiences, Attitudes, and Knowledge Among Transfeminine Individuals.

Background: Transfeminine individuals are capable of developing breast tissue that is indistinguishable from cis-females, allowing them to breastfeed effectively. Breastfeeding affords known health benefits for both members of a lactating individual-infant dyad and supporting this experience for transfeminine individuals fosters reproductive equity. Objective: This study assessed experiences, attitudes, and knowledge regarding breastfeeding and lactation among a group of transfeminine individuals receiving hormone therapy within a specialized gender care clinic. Methods: Transfeminine individuals on estrogen therapy who were part of the Duke Research for Equitable Access to Medicine (DREAM) Registry were invited to complete a 15-question online survey about experiences, goals, attitudes, and knowledge regarding lactation and breastfeeding. Results: A total of 71 out of 130 eligible DREAM individuals completed the survey (54.6%). No survey participants had breastfed and three (4.2%) had experienced lactation. One in four participants designated lactation a health care goal. Four out of five participants reported it was important, most commonly to affirm their gender identity (n = 41, 57.7%) and/or to bring their breasts to full maturity (n = 36, 50.7%). One in eight participants designated breastfeeding as a health care goal. Four out of five participants reported it was important, most commonly for parent-child bonding (n = 34, 47.9%) and/or health/nutritional benefits to the newborn (n = 34, 47.9%). Conclusion: Transfeminine individuals may be interested in experiencing lactation for multifaceted reasons, including goals for parent-infant feeding (breastfeeding-dyad bonding and breast milk health benefits) and for their gender transition (affirming gender and breast maturity). Future community-engaged research is warranted to inform both clinical practice and lactation protocols for transfeminine individuals hoping to breastfeed.

PDK CONNECTION: Strategic planning and the future of PDK membership

In this month’s PDK Connection, CEO James F. Lane announces the association’s new vision (to eliminate the teacher shortage by reimagining educator pathways) and new mission (to inspire and grow current and rising educators to become community leaders and advocates for high quality education). Lane also shares information about a new member benefit and a new Kappan publication schedule. PDK members now have access to the Teaching Channel video library, while print editions of Kappan will be delivered to members four times a year (March, May, September, and December).

President's Page: Layoff recovery: An unadvertised benefit of SEG membership

Staff reductions, commonly referred to as layoffs, are an unfortunate reality in the energy sector. The dynamics of supply and demand significantly influence oil and gas prices. Decisions made by oil producers, such as those from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), further affect these prices. Natural disasters can disrupt oil production and supply chains, while political instability can also influence availability and pricing. Additionally, economic fluctuations play a crucial role in the rise and fall of this commodity's cost. Mergers often lead to overlapping positions that become redundant. While these factors are largely beyond our control, they remind us that working in this rewarding yet unpredictable industry comes with its challenges, which we can mitigate by preparing for such occurrences.

IEEE Women in Engineering Member Benefits

IEEE Women in Engineering Member Benefits

Perceptions on American Fisheries Society Membership and Recommendations for Action Based on 2022 Survey Results

A survey was conducted in 2022 to identify current perceptions and preferences regarding the value of AFS membership and its associated benefits, to assess the effectiveness of AFS initiatives and communication efforts, to provide insight into the role of AFS in career development, and to document motivations for membership in other societies. The membership survey included participation from current AFS members as well as nonmembers with interests in the fisheries profession. We conducted an analysis of the 2,285 survey respondents, where the goal of the analysis was to identify global trends among all respondents as a means to improve the overall experience for society members through value‐added membership benefits and initiatives. For the purposes of this analysis, survey questions that specifically addressed membership benefits or membership retention were evaluated. Most of the survey questions evaluated in this analysis included an option to provide comments that were also compiled and assessed for recurring trends. Similar to previous membership surveys, high membership and meeting registration fees were frequently cited as a possible limitation or barrier to retaining and recruiting members. Survey respondents indicated that a higher value of membership appreciation could be achieved through better communication of benefits and efforts to encourage employers to support membership and certification. Recommendations were developed from the survey responses and some have already been implemented by the Membership Committee through an Action Plan. These recommendations will be used to guide future actions to increase membership, to enhance current membership benefits, and to serve as a framework to focus and refine future actions that will be considered by the Membership Committee on behalf of AFS.

Couples therapy and the challenges of building trust, fairness, and justice.

The cornerstone of the contextual family therapy model is predicated on the belief that all family members benefit from trustworthy relationships, which result from (a) acknowledging the contributions of deserving family members, (b) engaging in responsible interactions, and (c) ensuring a fair distribution of relational burdens and benefits. Nonetheless, conflicts may arise when one partner asserts a claim to relational resources based on need, while the other believes they are entitled to such resources based on merit. Based on relational ethics and the development of trust, this paper focuses on the therapist's role in facilitating the conflict-resolution process to assist couples in reestablishing individual responsibility and accountability within the systemic framework of couple therapy. It elucidates several clinical strategies, including (a) cultivating trust through fairness and focusing on the importance of reciprocity and equitable give-and-take, (b) detecting destructive entitlement, and (c) marital relationships and ethics of care. Several clinical examples are discussed, as well as common couple relational issues associated with horizontal and vertical relationships, partnership, and fusion, and the impact of gender and power dynamics and trustworthiness based on the feminist lens.

Regional integration and export performance of Pakistan: Empirical evidence from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The study examines export impact of Pakistan's integration into Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on its export's performance. We apply Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood (PPML) on augmented gravity model to estimate trade data from the period before and after permanent membership with Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2017. The study aims to explore changes in exports volume and analyze the key mechanism through which Shanghai Cooperation Organization promotes exports. The study assesses that after integration which key exports sector such as agriculture or manufacturing sectors are affected more significantly. The initial findings suggest that SCO integration positively affect and provide access to Central Asian markets, leading to modest but noticeable promotion in exports promotion. In heterogeneity analysis we find that exports of Pakistan are more significant with low and middle-income level countries compared to higher-income level countries. Additionally, exports in the manufacturing sector benefited more than in the agriculture sector. The significant and positive findings of mechanism analysis indicate that the belt and road (B&R) initiative and bilateral trade agreements are the key factors to enhanced exports. The overall impact remains moderated by structural changes in Pakistan economy, such as poor infrastructure, deficiency in energy sector and limited trade relations with its neighbors India and Iran. The study concludes that although the SCO integration has positively promoted exports of Pakistan however, it requires to address domestic economic constraints and capitalize more effectively the benefits of SCO membership through regional cooperation mechanism. For more potential benefits in the region SCO needs to expand B&R connectivity, encourage more trade agreements, and adopt favorable environment to attract high income countries in the organization. The study provides the base for future research in depth analysis of long-term impact of SCO integration on Pakistan exports.

FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF IMPROVED TOMATO SEED VARIETIES AMONG SMALL-SCALE TOMATO FARMERS IN SOUTH WEST ZONE OF NIGERIA

The study examines factors influencing adoption of improve tomato varieties among small-scale farmers in Southwest Nigeria. Data were collected via structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, probit regression, and Likert scales. The findings revealed that 41.4% of the farmers were in their productive years with an average age of 45 years, predominantly male (70.0%), married (81.9%), with small households averaging five members. However, 87.5% had formal education and average of eight years of tomato farming experience. The farmers cultivate an average of 0.63 hectares, indicating small-scale operations. Furthermore, 85.6% of the farmers were not part of cooperatives. The result also shows that 80.0% and 65.0% of the farmers lack access to credit and extension services in the study area. Logic regression model reveal 68.39% probability of adoption of improve tomato seed varieties among farmers. Key factors significantly influencing adoption include age, gender, farming experience, education, access to extension services, market distance, input supply, and specific training. Major challenges include high input cost (73.8%), pests and diseases (55.6%), lack of credit (61.9%), marketing issues (28.8%) and unfavorable weather (18.1%). Therefore, recommendations from the study include strengthening extension services, raising awareness of cooperative membership benefits, and addressing farmers' priorities and needs.

Government formation in presidentialism: Disentangling the combined effects of pre-electoral coalitions and legislative polarization

Abstract Recent research has shed light on the impact of pre-electoral coalitions on government formation in presidential democracies. However, the fact that pre-electoral coalitions are not automatically transformed into coalition cabinets has often gone under the radar. In this article, I argue that the importance of pre-electoral pacts for government formation depends on the degree of legislative polarization. When parties are distant from one another in the ideological spectrum, presidents face more difficulties in breaking away from the pre-electoral pact and rearranging their multiparty alliances. Conversely, when polarization is not pervasive, presidents have more leeway to build coalition cabinets different from the ones prescribed by pre-electoral coalitions. Drawing on a dataset of 13 Latin American countries, the results support my claim and suggest that the relationship between government formation and the concession of office benefits for pre-electoral coalition members is more nuanced than previously assumed.

Why do some African firms export? The role of regional economic communities?

AbstractThis article examines whether African manufacturing firms are strategically located for regional market access. The study uses a large dataset from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys and is based on 6800 firms from 26 African countries. The study findings show that firms located in countries with dual membership to Regional Economic Communities (RECs) exhibit a significantly higher propensity to export than firms in countries affiliated with a single REC. Additionally, our findings suggest that RECs enhance export participation by mitigating customs delays. However, constraints in the business environment can hinder the propensity of firms to export. In particular, the study identifies informal competition and power outages as substantial barriers that increase the cost of doing business and diminish the potential benefits of REC membership. These results underscore the importance of advancing economic integration across Africa to bolster export participation. Additional improvements in the domestic business environments should address the constraints that hinder firms' international competitiveness.

The Partners of My Partners: Shared Collaborative Experience and Team Performance in Surgical Teams

When teams in organizations are assembled to perform contingent tasks, team members carry with them experiences of prior interaction with partners in different teams. Focal team members share collaborative experiences to the extent that they worked with common external prior partners. Extending current research on team effectiveness, we investigate how shared collaborative experience (SCE) affects team performance. Consistent with the established understanding of team processes as carrying both a teamwork and a taskwork component, we conceptualize SCE as having two distinct dimensions that we call SCE extent and SCE diversity. We posit that high SCE extent increases the ability of teams to refine their teamwork processes, increasing their performance through enhanced coordination and reflexivity. We argue that high SCE diversity hinders the ability of teams to form a shared understanding of task demands, thus undermining team performance. Furthermore, we investigate the contingent effect of task complexity on the relationship between SCE and performance. We argue that the benefits of implicit coordination and the drawbacks of experience diversity decrease as tasks become more complex and require more explicit coordination and wider repertoires of responses. These predictions find support in an analysis of 1343 robot-assisted surgery operations performed by 114 surgeons during a four-year period in a private university hospital. By explicitly recognizing how team members benefit from the network of their shared prior partners, our study contributes to developing a new approach to study the effectiveness of temporary teams in organizations.

Sneak Peek of the AMWA 2024 Medical Communication Compensation Survey Results

As the leading professional organization for medical writers, editors, and communicators, AMWA has been conducting periodic compensation surveys since 1989. This research is designed to provide insights into income, and the factors that affect it, within the field of medical communication. The AMWA 2024 Medical Communication Compensation Survey was conducted in March and April 2024 by an outside research firm, Association Research, Inc (ARI). ARI will deliver the final, comprehensive report to AMWA in Fall 2024. AMWA members will receive full access to the report as an exclusive member benefit. On the following pages, infographics highlighting select results from the full-time employed and full-time freelance medical communicator data sets (respectively) are presented.

Application of Balint Intervention Groups in Professional Communication in Medical Science Education

Dear Editor The purpose of this research is to familiarize professors and students of medical sciences with the concept of Balint groups. Michael Balint created the Balint groups in 1957 in order to better understand the relationships between family doctors and their patients (1, 2). According to Michael Balint, in addition to medical education, doctors should also have proper communication skills and characteristics with patients (2, 3). Balint groups are one of the effective methods to improve therapist-client relationships in the form of 90-minute sessions, held weekly to monthly, over several years (4, 5). Each Balint group consists of 6 to 10 members with one to two leaders or facilitators. In these groups, usually, one person presents the desired topic, which can be the condition of a patient, in a period of 3 to 5 minutes, and the desired topic is discussed for an hour or more. All topics discussed in the group are confidential, and the leader emphasizes creating a safe environment that is based on trust and acceptance. The members of the group take turns expressing their opinions on the topic, and finally, the group leader summarizes the opinions, and the final result is obtained (6). Doctors in these groups have meetings to discuss their performance, the psychological aspects of their work, and the relationship between the doctor and the patient (1, 7). One of the goals of Balint groups is to increase one's knowledge by reporting on one's patient, discussing the topic in a safe environment, finding one's mistakes due to the feedback of others, and correcting one's emotional experiences in relation to the patient. Balint group members reveal their innermost feelings and experiences in order to be able to talk about a topic. In this way, members share their content with other group members in a non-judgmental environment. The group members benefit from the feedback of others and compare their experiences with the contents of other colleagues (8). Group discussions about feelings have the benefit of making people more aware of their feelings, thus enabling them to analyze and organize their information. Emotions and feelings in clinical work can be useful for patients if they are tolerated and understood by the doctor (9). Due to the rapid development of technology, the improvement of educational methods, and attention to the needs of patients, the importance of the Balint group should be given more attention due to the change in demographic characteristics (1). As a result, Balint groups have gradually been emphasized in medical education (10). In Balint groups, with the participation of students, the duration is shorter than in normal Balint groups, and the leader may be more active in describing their experiences (11). The presence of students in Balint groups leads to the development of empathy skills among medical students (12). For example, students are placed in a real and uncomfortable clinical situation to observe their reactions and increase their empathetic abilities, thus becoming more patient-centered (12, 13). Studies show that doctors who were part of Balint groups during their student period have a higher sense of control and satisfaction in their work environment. Also, these groups improve the skills of giving bad news in students (11). By attending these classes, students can use the professors' experiences with problematic issues in dealing with patients, which they have not observed during their studies. Improving doctor-patient relationships, reducing job burnout, and managing stress and anxiety are other benefits of participating in Balint groups (1). Medical schools should create an environment for students that will lead to progress in their socialization process (14). Therefore, it is suggested that Balint groups be used to improve teacher-student relationships in medical education.

Membership Benefits

Membership Benefits

Peningkatan Pengelolaan Infaq Baitul Maal BMT NU Singgahan Tuban melalui Program Ternak Kambing Bergulir

Infaq from a financial management body or cooperative is generally channeled or used for social service activities. Likewise, at BMT NU Singgahan, the collected donations from members who have provided financing will be managed for social service activities or for donations to events that provide activity proposals to BMT NU Singgahan. Management of Baitul Maal BMT NU Singgahan infaq, which is still limited and underdeveloped, requires improvement in infaq management so that it can develop for the benefit of BMT NU Singgahan members and the surrounding areas. The aim of this community service program is to improve the management of Baitul Maal BMT NU Singgahan infaq through socialization and realization of the rolling goat program. The method used in this community service activity is the ABCD method (Asset based community development). This method is carried out by approaching the administrators and managers of BMT NU Singgahan and gathering information about existing programs. After that, a discussion was held regarding the BMT NU Singgahan infaq development program. As a result of the discussion, it was agreed that socialization of the rolling goat program could be carried out with resource persons from the Tuban Regency Livestock and Fisheries Service and goat farming practitioners. The socialization and realization of the rolling goat program was carried out with potential recipients of the rolling goat program and also the managers of the NU Singgahan BMT. The result of this community service activity is the realization of the rolling goat program for infaq management Baitul Maal BMT NU Singgahan with 4 program recipients and each received 3 breeding goats. The impact obtained by BMT NU Singgahan is that it can improve the management of Baitul Maal in generating profits for members. Meanwhile, the impact received by members can be helped by the existence of a business in the form of livestock. Monitoring and evaluation used in this program is by carrying out monthly control of livestock goats at the program recipient's residence and checking the condition of the livestock.

Benefits of North Korea's Membership in the New York and ICSID Conventions

This article contends that North Korea should accede to the New York Convention and the ICSID Convention to provide more robust legal protections and dispute settlement mechanisms for foreign investors. While North Korea has enacted various domestic laws and established special economic zones to attract foreign investment, these measures have proved insufficient to fully assuage investor concerns, particularly regarding the enforcement of arbitral awards and protections against expropriation. Joining the New York Convention would mitigate uncertainties surrounding the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards by obligating North Korean courts to recognize and enforce such awards, subject only to limited, internationally accepted grounds for refusal. Accession to the ICSID Convention would enable aggrieved foreign investors to bring claims against North Korea before a neutral, depoliticized arbitral tribunal, providing an additional layer of protection against discriminatory or expropriatory state conduct. Membership in these conventions would significantly enhance North Korea's credibility in the eyes of foreign investors, demonstrating a commitment to upholding the rule of law and aligning its investment framework with global norms. While accession alone is not a panacea, it represents a crucial step toward building investor confidence, facilitating greater FDI inflows, and fostering North Korea's economic development and international engagement.

Meta-inventory management decisions: A theoretical model

The manufacturing industry leverages the traceability and visibility of Industrial 4.0 to integrate digital and physical twins for solving the intricacy of a production system. Physical entities can be converted into digital twins with smart IoT (Internet of Things) devices and computational techniques. Research efforts have generally focused on the development of digital twin models for basic practical applications. Advanced applications of digital twins have not been widely reported. An innovative use of digital twins for inventory management has only been analysed theoretically and reported as meta-inventory management for the first time by Wang and Huang (2023). This paper extends the novel concept of meta-inventory by using a theoretical Newsvendor model for original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and own brand manufacturing (OBM) factories. The impacts of meta-inventory on both supply chain members, including the factory and its downstream retailer, are investigated through two kinds of response models (e.g., hybrid and separate response models). Analytical and numerical results show that a factory achieves better performance by using a separate model since it clarifies the responsibility of digital twins. The hybrid response model holds a higher proportion of digital inventory, but its final profits are less than that in the separate model due to fewer orders and higher prices and costs of uncertainty. OBM can better leverage the advantage of digital twins than OEM. Also, both supply chain members benefit from the implementation of meta-inventory out of profit increase, price reduction, and risk hedging. This research provides guidance for manufacturing sites to implement digital twins and reduce their concerns on investing in meta-inventory.

Invited Reflection: Small Talk about Big Ideas: The Benefits of ELATE Membership

In this piece, three leaders of English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE) reflect on their individual experiences with ELATE before collectively exploring the benefits of membership in the professional organization.

Fenomenologi Koperasi Sebagai Katalis Kehidupan Generasi Muda Dalam Upaya Rebranding Koperasi

Transnsforming cooperative values by education institutions in Indonesia would encourage their graduates become the agents of exchange of social and economic lives. Qualitatively cooperative development is still beyond expectation therefore some youths have negative cooperative image. The research purpose was to gain the impacts of cooperative education applying phenomenology method and the informants were alumni of Indonesia Institute of Cooperative Management. The results show that their involvement in cooperative due to its uniqueness, an ideal system, and benefits for members and communities. As a life catalist, cooperative enables people to gain economic benefits, develop thinking paradigm and personality, broader networkings as well. Nevertheless cooperative image is still perceived negatively such as unprosfessional management, single business unit, profit oriented, Syariah contra, and political issues. Some efforts are rebranding cooperative by changing mindset through education and training of cooperative and entrepreneurship, implementing cooperative values and principles, involving youth; hiring professional manager, encouraging members in investment, activating stakeholders; and publishing positive information.

Analisis Faktor-Faktor yang Memengaruhi Return pn Asset serta Manfaat Ekonomi Anggota Koperasi

This study aims to explain the factors that influence the decline in return on assets and the economic benefits obtained by cooperative members. This research was conducted with the object of the trading business unit of Sumber Tani Mandiri Agricultural Cooperative. In this study, the method used is a case study by collecting data and direct observation on the object of research and then analyzing it in depth. The measuring instrument to determine the factors that influence the decline in return on assets uses net profit margin and total asset turnover. Meanwhile, direct economic benefits are measured by comparing prices in cooperatives and non-cooperatives. In addition, the economic benefit of direct members is analyzed by distributing questionnaires to cooperative members as respondents. Then, for indirect economic benefit, it was measured by calculating the remaining operating results of the members' share. The results showed that the turnover of total assets from 2018 to 2022, so that the turnover of total assets can be said to be effective because the turnover is getting faster. However, when viewed from the development of net profit margin, it is considered inefficient because the amount of net profit margin generated tends to decrease due to increased expenses or costs incurred. The amount of net profit margin generated in 2018 to 2022. Thus, the factors that influence the decrease in return on assets are due to expenses or costs that have increased more than revenue from sales. The direct economic benefits in the form of price benefits offered by cooperatives are cheaper than the prices offered by non-cooperatives. However, for indirect economic benefits in the form of the remaining results of operations has decreased from the previous year.