North American Counterparts Research Articles

Psychosocial Correlates Of Physical Activity In Children And Adolescents: A Meta-analysis

PURPOSE: This study investigated the association between physical activity (PA) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB, Ajzen,1991)-based variables among children and adolescents. METHODS: We evaluated the association between PA and TPB-based variables (intention, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control / self-efficacy to engage in PA) among children and adolescents, and the moderation effects of geographical region of study between PA and TPB-based variables. A total of 36 articles met the inclusion criteria and were meta-analyzed. RESULTS: Intention significantly correlated with and had a medium effect on PA in children. TPB displayed a good fit in path analysis. Moderator analyses showed that subjective norms and perceived behavioral control / self-efficacy had a larger effect on children in the rest of the world, compared to their North American counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide a summary of current scientific findings about the association between TPB-based variables and PA in children and adolescents, and support TPB as a feasible conceptual framework to study psychosocial factors that underpin PA.

SUN-085 Clinical and Hormonal Features of 37 Families with Central Precocious Puberty Due to MKRN3 Loss-Of -Function Mutations

Context: Loss-of-function mutations in the maternally imprinted Makorin RING-finger 3 (MKRN3) gene (15q11.2) are the most prevalent cause of familial central precocious puberty (CPP). Objectives: To analyze the phenotypes of a large cohort of children with CPP due to MKRN3 mutations and to compare them with the phenotypes of idiopathic CPP. Setting and Participants: We studied 73 individuals from 37 families with mutations in MKRN3 originating from nine different countries. The phenotypes of these patients at initial diagnosis were compared to a cohort of 124 patients with idiopathic CPP. Additionally, expression of nine different genes implicated with pubertal timing, including MKRN3, was performed in the hypothalamus of female mice in different phases of sexual maturation. Results: Nineteen different heterozygous, paternally inherited mutations in MKRN3 were identified in 73 patients with CPP (48 girls and 25 boys). Six MKRN3 mutations were frameshifts, one introduced a premature stop codon, 11 were missense mutations predicted to be pathogenic, and one was a deletion in the promoter region. A frameshift mutation affecting codon 161 in the amino terminal region of the protein was the most frequent MKRN3 defect (46%), representing a hotspot region. Among the cohort with MKRN3 mutations, first pubertal signs occurred at 6·2 ± 1·2 years in girls and 7·6 ± 1·4 years in boys. Patients harboring severe frameshift/nonsense mutations did not differ significantly in any clinical or hormonal parameters compared to the 20 patients with missense variants. However, when the 48 girls with MKRN3 mutations were compared with 124 idiopathic CPP girls, some parameters could be considered as possible predictors of the genetic cause: a lower age at first medical appointment (7·1 ± 1·1 in the MKRN3 group vs. 8·0 ± 2 years in the idiopathic group; p< 0.001) and a shorter time interval between puberty onset and medical assistance (0·8 ± 0·8 vs 2·2 ± 2·1 years; p< 0.001). Interestingly, the other predictor of MKRN3 mutations was a higher basal FSH level (5·1 ± 2·3 vs 3·9 ± 2·7 IU/L; p = 0.017) at first evaluation, although no cutoff value yielded good accuracy. Patients originating from European/Mediterranean countries were more likely to have missense variants (56% of all mutations) than North American and South American (23%) counterparts (p <0.001). Mouse Mkrn3 mRNA levels in the arcuate nucleus were highest in the prepubertal phase when compared with expression of other genes and Mkrn3 decreased progressively through puberty and adult ages. Conclusions: Different types of loss-of-function MKRN3 mutations were associated with premature sexual development in both sexes. Their phenotypes were relatively uniform, regardless of the mutation type. Clinical features of children with MKRN3 mutations were similar to the idiopathic CPP group.

Experimental governance? The emergence of public sector innovation labs in Latin America

Public sector innovation labs are becoming an increasingly visible instrument in public sector innovation and experimentation. Proponents of these labs claim they can play an important role in addressing pressing social challenges, changing government structures and thereby shaping ideas and practices of future governance. Whilst some research has been carried out on public innovation labs, the focus of inquiry has been primarily on the emergence, models and activities of labs in Europe and North America. This paper attempts to contribute to this growing body of research by bringing forth some of the particularities of this phenomenon as it emerges in Latin America. Using as starting point three experimental interests identified in the available literature, namely increasing flexibilization of public procedures, developing methods for citizen engagement and experimental development of public policies, the paper presents insights and observations from a study of ten public sector innovation labs in Latin America. In particular, our focus is on how these interests are confronted with different realities and therefore what kind of challenges the labs face. Experimentation in Latin America seems to concern not only flexibilization, engagement and public policies; it also includes juggling with the tensions arising from budgetary constraints, the need to weave networks of regional labs to collaborate and finally the need to align their agendas to those of other institutions, while being accountable to different levels of society. This places Latin American labs in a different light than their European and North American counterparts.

Good, better, best? A model for Australian practitioners of forensic vocational assessment

AbstractVocational assessment is the foundation of future vocational choices available to a person with a disability. In a compensable environment with potential for litigation, the assessment process becomes more complex and challenging for claimant, practitioner, and other stakeholders. The purpose of forensic (medicolegal) vocational assessment in Australia is reviewed. Comparison of ethics, qualifications, and experience of Australian forensic assessors (practitioners) and their North American counterparts points to an urgent need for an accreditation framework. This paper discusses microaccreditation as an independent model of training and credentialing of Australian forensic vocational practitioners. Credentialing the forensic vocational practitioner serves to underpin the quality and rigor of vocational assessments undertaken in a highly scrutinized legal market.

Where do the best technical football players in the world come from? Analysing the association between technical proficiency and geographical origin in elite football

Opta seasonal sum total statistics for 1,533 professional football players representing 88 nations around the world were analysed in order to determine where the most proficient technical football players originate from. A series of Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted and results revealed that South American players were significantly better at scoring the first goal (p = .044), scoring penalties (p = .034) and attempting shots (p = .018) than their European counterparts. Both European and South American players were revealed to be more adept at passing actions than their African, Asian or North American counterparts. Both South American and African players committed significantly more errors than their European, Asian or North American counterparts, with South American players more frequently apprehended by the referee than Asian players (p = .031), European players (p = .020) and North American players (p = .034). African players were revealed to be caught offside (p = .039) as well as have more unsuccessful ball touches (p = .001) and be dispossessed (p = .036) significantly more often than European players. It is concluded that a player’s geographical origin can impact their technical proficiency in football and this theme needs further investigation.

Representation of Women and Gender Roles in Georgian and North-American Poetry of the Late 20th Century

The role and representation of women has been one of the central issues in the societal, aesthetical, philosophical processes of the 20th and 21st centuries, so much so, that it became a turning point of sorts in the development of Western civilization and in shaping it to its current form. Even today, the topic of women remains a measure of the progress of a country, and is one of the main characteristics of social and cultural development. The voice of women, hardly heard in literature over the centuries, was even more silenced in colonized or foreign-dominated societies. The Soviet cultural policy significantly changed the direction of development of Georgian literature, and hindered modernist-avant-garde tendencies and attempts to express women’s genuine feelings and grievances in literature. The article studies the representation of women and gender roles in Georgian poetry of the Soviet thaw and onwards, as compared to the voice of women in the poetry of a number of prominent North American and Canadian poets. The article analyzes the works of Georgian poets who were selected mainly on the basis of the concepts of the national narrative and alternative narrative. In the late 20th century, the national narrative was the real driving force in the literature of Soviet-dominated Georgia, especially in poetry, as opposed to the official, imposed official Soviet narrative. The selected poets are studied in light of different concepts and hypotheses introduced by outstanding feminist scholars and writers. The results show that masculine discourse and double-voiced discourse can be observed in the poetry of Georgian male authors. The tendencies prevalent in the poetry of the Georgian men analyzed were influenced by the national motifs endorsed by both the Stalinist and post-Stalinist cultural policies from the Soviet center, and reinforced in Georgia after Sovietization. The patriotic and masculine tendencies of Georgian literature can be interpreted as an implicit reflection of the attempts of Georgian men to represent themselves as the owners of their land, and consequently their women, thus to oppose the reality of the Russian-Soviet colonization of Georgia. Écriture feminine and a protest against patriarchy is seen to prevail, alongside double-voiced discourse, in the works of female poets from the late 1950s onwards. The Georgian female poets have a lot in common with their North-American counterparts, but also differ from them by expressing their protest less overtly, a fact which changes over time. Écriture feminine in the poetry of the studied female poets, as well as the double-voiced discourse observed in the poetry of the representatives of both genders in Georgia, can be considered as part of the Alternative Narrative Culture. The developments of the 20th century still have an impact on Georgian literature, as well as other fields, in modern Georgia. The alternative narrative which prevails in Georgian literature of the 20th century is regaining momentum in the literature of independent Georgia, making it a full-fledged member of postmodern and post-colonial culture.

Voluntary admissions for patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Voluntary admission rates of schizophrenia vary widely across studies. In order to make the topic be informed by evidence, it is important to have accurate estimates. This meta-analysis examined the worldwide prevalence of voluntary admissions for patients with schizophrenia. PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Medline databases were systematically searched, from their commencement date until 19th November 2018. Meta-analysis of included studies was performed using the random-effects model. Thirty-five studies with 134,100 schizophrenia patients were included. The overall voluntary admission rate of schizophrenia was 61.9 % (95 %CI: 52.3 %-70.7 %), while the involuntary rate was 43.0 % (95 %CI: 34.8 %-51.7 %). Subgroup analyses revealed that patients in Europe had significantly higher voluntary admission rates, while their North American counterparts were more likely admitted involuntarily. Papers published prior to 2008 reported higher involuntary admission rates. Meta-regression analyses showed that higher male percentage and higher study quality were significantly associated with higher voluntary admission rate. Although the worldwide prevalence of voluntary admissions was higher than that of involuntary admissions, the latter was common for schizophrenia. With the continuing liberalization of mental health laws broadening community-based psychiatric services, the rate of voluntary psychiatric admissions is expected to further increase over time.

Questionable research practices among Brazilian psychological researchers: Results from a replication study and an international comparison.

Research on scientific integrity is growing in psychology, and questionable research practices (QRPs) have received more attention due to its harmful effect on science. By replicating the procedures of previous research, the present study aimed at describing the use of QRPs among Brazilian psychological researchers and to make an international comparison with previous studies in other countries-the US and Italy. Two hundred and thirty-two Brazilian researchers in the field of psychology answered questions related to 10 different QRPs. Brazilian researchers indicated a lower tendency to engage in two QRPs (failing to report all of a study's dependent measures; deciding whether to collect more data after looking to see whether the results were significant) when compared to their Italian and North American counterparts, but indicated a higher tendency to engage in two other QRPs (selectively reporting studies that "worked"; not reporting all of a study's conditions). Most of the sample did not admit integrity conflicts in their own research but indicated that others have integrity problems, as observed in previous studies. Those discrepancies could be attributed to contextual and systemic factors regarding different publication demands among the different nations. Further studies should focus on identifying the antecedents of QRPs.

Vicariously Experiencing it all Without Going Outside

The livestreaming industry in China is gaining greater traction than its European and North American counterparts and has a profound impact on the stakeholders' online and offline lives. An emerging genre of livestreaming that has become increasingly popular in China is outdoor livestreaming. With outdoor livestreams, streamers broadcast outdoor activities, travel, or socialize with passersby in outdoor settings, often for 6 or more hours, and viewers watch such streams for hours each day. However, given that professionally produced content about travel and outdoor activities are not very popular, it is currently unknown what makes this category of livestreams so engaging and how these techniques can be applied to other content or genres. Thus, we conducted a mixed methods study consisting of a survey (N=287) and interviews (N = 20) to understand how viewers watch and engage with outdoor livestreams in China. The data revealed that outdoor livestreams encompass many categories of content, environments and passersby behaviors create challenges and uncertainty for viewers and streamers, and viewers watch livestreams for surprising lengths of time (e.g., sometimes more than 5 continuous hours). We also gained insights into how live commenting and virtual gifting encourage engagement. Lastly, we detail how the behaviors of dedicated fans and casual viewers differ and provide implications for the design of livestreaming services that support outdoor activities.

Scientific media dieting and youth awareness and expectations about the environmental issues of deforestation and species extinction in the Middle East and North America

Relying on bivariate ordered probit regression modelling, the present study focuses on the role that scientific media consumption and cultural differences play in shaping youth's awareness and expectations about the two environmental issues of deforestation and species extinction in the Middle East and North America. We find that compared to their North American counterparts, youth in the Middle East are 14.2% less aware of, and 14.5% less optimistic about the issue of deforestation, while 38.9% less aware of, and 59.0% less optimistic about the issue of species extinction. In addition, we find that science club attendance and broad science reading in books are the two most effective communication media for raising youth's awareness about the two environmental issues. Furthermore, each level increase in youth's awareness is found to raise their optimism by 20.4% for the issue of deforestation, and 15.0% for the issue of species extinction, suggesting that effective youth based communication strategies could assist with sustainability and conservation efforts in those two regions.

Restoring the Chilean Race: Catholicism and Latin Eugenics in Chile

Using early twentieth century Chile as a case study, this article examines the interaction between Catholicism and eugenic social reform in Latin America. Examining articles that appeared in popular and Catholic periodicals between 1891 and 1940, it argues that both Catholic and secular eugenicists advocated for the modernization of patriarchal social structures to protect the racial health of the Chilean population. The article therefore illustrates how Latin American eugenics, though less concerned with biological heritage than its North American counterparts, still supported the notion that organizing societies around gender difference was scientifically sound.

Scientific media dieting and youth awareness and expectations about the environmental issues of deforestation and species extinction in the Middle East and North America

Relying on bivariate ordered probit regression modelling, the present study focuses on the role that scientific media consumption and cultural differences play in shaping youth's awareness and expectations about the two environmental issues of deforestation and species extinction in the Middle East and North America. We find that compared to their North American counterparts, youth in the Middle East are 14.2% less aware of, and 14.5% less optimistic about the issue of deforestation, while 38.9% less aware of, and 59.0% less optimistic about the issue of species extinction. In addition, we find that science club attendance and broad science reading in books are the two most effective communication media for raising youth's awareness about the two environmental issues. Furthermore, each level increase in youth's awareness is found to raise their optimism by 20.4% for the issue of deforestation, and 15.0% for the issue of species extinction, suggesting that effective youth based communication strategies could assist with sustainability and conservation efforts in those two regions.

An Examination of the Empirical Literature: Gifted Education in the Australian Context

Gifted education as a field of research in Australia is relatively young when compared with its North American counterparts. A reflection of how the field of gifted education has developed from 1983 to 2017 in this context allows for observations of previous research and current trends, and how these may influence future directions for the field. Empirical research published in peer-reviewed journals is one metric that can be used to undertake this reflection, including the individuals responsible for the research, the setting where the research is undertaken, and outlets where resulting findings are published, as well as the research themes that dominate research agendas. Longitudinally, these metrics are part of the narrative that construct Australian gifted education. Reflecting on how the field developed provides an understanding of how research and practice have evolved and what future research and innovations are possible.

Secular trend of childhood nutritional status in Calabria (Italy) and the United States: the spread of obesity

The number of children who are overweight has been increasing worldwide, including in Mediterranean countries. Based on this, we hypothesized that the weights of Italian children from Calabria have also increased across the years, approaching even the levels of their North American counterparts. This cross-sectional study, which was conducted at 3 time points (1992, 2004, and 2013/2014) with Calabrian children between the ages of 9 and 10 years, aimed to (1) examine a 20-year trend of growth and weight in Calabrian children and (2) compare these trends to those of children from the United States within a similar period. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used for comparing Calabrian and American children at similar time points. Height and weight were measured, and body mass index was calculated. Nutritional status was defined by International Obesity Task Force cutoffs. Across 20 years, a positive trend was observed in the height and weight of Calabrian children. Trends of preobesity and obesity increased significantly in Calabria from 10.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.1-15.3) to 30.5% (95% CI 26.4-34.8) and from 2.1% (95% CI 0.7-4.8) to 13.8% (95% CI 10.9-17.2), respectively. Although a cessation was observed between 2004 and 2013/2014, from 2003 to 2004, childhood overweight rates in Calabria were as high as those seen in the United States. There was no significant difference between boys from Calabria and the United States in 2013/2014. Over time, odds to become overweight were significant for most of the children from both populations but higher for those from Calabria. Therefore, inducting a reform in the political, environmental, and societal systems may protect children from becoming overweight by increasing quality of diet and physical activity.

Crown Diameters of Deciduous Teeth in Jordanians

Odonotmetic data on the deciduous dentition of Jordanians are lacking and such data on Arabs are geenrally scarce. The aim of this study was to proivde a detailed description of crown-size dimensions in the deciduous dentition of Jordanians and to compare the findings with those of other populations. Measurements of mesiodistal (MD) and buccolingual (BL) crown diamters were obtained from dental casts of 84 males and females aged 2.9 to 5.8 years. The differences in crown size (MD and BL diameters) between the right and left sides of the dental arch were not significant. All antimeric teeth showed high correlation coefficients in their crown dimensions (p&lt;0.001). These findings suggest that either right or left side measurements can be taken to represent the tooth size of the populations. The relative variability in crown size showed that the lateral incisors were the most variable teeth (coefficient of variation: CV=7.5%), while the second molars were the most stable teeth (CV=4.7%). The MD diameters were more variable in the males for all teeth except the mandibular first molars, whereas variabilities in BL dimensions showed a similar pattern in both sexes. No significant differences in crown size measurements were found between males and females. Male means exceeded female means only by 0.05 mm. The central incisors displayed the greatest percentage of sexual dimorphism, while the second molars were the least dimorphic teeth. No specific pattern of percentages of sexual dimorphism were noted between the MD and BL diamters. The percentage of sexual dimorphism in the present sample was considerably lower than those of other ethnic groups. Jordanian children had tooth size that was larger than their Egyptian and North American counterparts, close to those of Japanese, and smaller than those of British children.

How Leading Firms Pursue Legitimacy through CSR Communication? A Cross-Regional Analysis

To deepen our understanding of how firms pursue different forms of legitimacy in communicating their corporate social responsibility (CSR), a specific framework has been developed. By employing a specific methodology for content analysis of online CSR communication, four different CSR legitimacy-seeking strategies are compared across European, North-American and Asian firms included in both Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and Hang Seng (Mainland China and Hong Kong) Corporate Sustainability Index (HSMHSUS). The analysis reveals that Asian firms do not present significant differences in how they disclose on corporate websites their orientation to sustainability (i.e. institutional rhetoric) than European and North American counterparts. However, they seem significantly less inclined to engage in political (i.e. how they report their stakeholder engagement and governance structure), dialogic (i.e. how they adopt a two-way dialogue strategy) and strategic rhetoric in comparison with European firms. The difference between Asian and North American firms mostly concerns the former¡¯s less salient use of the strategic rhetoric, namely the ways in which firms disseminate content on CSR issues to gain societal support and, at the same time, seek competitive advantage. The comparative study sheds light on how concrete legitimacy strategies through CSR communication vary in different contexts. The paper suggests the need to further explore CSR communication as an indicator of the evolution of legitimacy-seeking approaches by firms.

Mapping the cancer patient information landscape: A comparative analysis of patient groups across Europe and North America

AimLittle is known about how patient groups provide information for patients. We invited 838 patient groups from Europe and North America to participate in an online survey. MethodsThe survey covered: (i) availability, accessibility and quality of information provided; (ii) methods by which patient groups communicate; (iii) ways in which patient groups acquire information and confirm its veracity/accuracy; (iv) how people access information online. ResultsEuropean patient groups were significantly less effective in providing medical-related information than their North American counterparts in: clinical trials, potential causes of cancer, medical research, diagnosis/screening, symptoms, treatments (all p < 0.0001); Recommendations of best practice/care (p < 0.03), healthcare services(p = 0.029) and complimentary medicine (p = 0.01). Clinical trials (p = 0.0006), medical research (p = 0.006) and diagnosis/screening (p = 0.0024) were also areas where North American patients were more likely to require medical-related information.Similar patterns emerged for non-medical information with nutrition (<0.0001), watchful waiting (p = 0.0003), self-management of care (p = 0.0003), prevention (p = 0.002) and emotional issues (p = 0.016) being less effectively communicated by European patient groups. Nutrition was also an area where North American patients were more likely to require non–medical-related information.The main barriers in accessing online information which showed differences between European and North American patients were: perceived lack of need, mainly due to faith in their doctors (p = 0.0001); limited access to the internet (p = 0.0005), limited computer skills (p = 0.02); and lower income (p = 0.027). ConclusionThese results emphasise the more mature nature of cancer patient engagement/information provision in North America, providing valuable insights and guidance to inform development of more robust and effective cancer patient information communication platforms in Europe.

Observations on bipolar disjunctions of moonwort ferns (Botrychium, Ophioglossaceae).

Peter Raven, in 1963, included two fern taxa of the genus Botrychium in his list of plant species exhibiting American amphitropical bipolar disjunctions. He attributed the southern hemisphere occurrences to post-Pleistocene long-distance dispersal from counterparts in the northern hemisphere, probably assisted by annual bird migrations between the disjunct areas. Using genetic evidence gathered through worldwide analyses of phylogenetic relationship in Botrychium, we now review and reconsider Raven's conclusions. Genetic similarities indicate that South American Botrychium dusenii is an allotetraploid taxon closely related to B. spathulatum, a North American endemic, and that B. lunaria in New Zealand possesses a genotype identical to that of a taxon in North America derived through introgressive hybridization between B. lunaria and an endemic North American species, B. neolunaria. Both North American counterparts exhibit Raven's characteristics of bipolar disjuncts in their occurrence in mountain and coastal meadows, copious production of small propagules (spores in Botrychium), occurrence in habitats frequented by transpolar bird migrants, and ability to found new colonies through inbreeding. We discuss these characteristics in Botrychium and relative to other ferns and suggest further studies on Botrychium and related taxa to address questions of time, number, and mode of bipolar dispersals.

Regional productivity convergence: An analysis of the pulp and paper industries in U.S., Canada, Finland, and Sweden

In this paper we investigate the presence of productivity convergence in eight regional pulp and paper industries of U.S. and Canada over the period of 1971–2005. Expectation of productivity convergence in the pulp and paper industries of Canadian provinces and of the states of its southern neighbour is high since they are trading partners with fairly high level of exchanges in both pulp and paper products. Moreover, they share a common production technology that changed very little over the last century. We supplement the North-American regional data with national data for two Nordic countries, Finland and Sweden, which provides a scope to compare the productivity performances of four leading players in global pulp and paper industry. We find evidence in favour of the catch-up hypothesis among the regional pulp and paper industries of U.S. and Canada in our sample. The growth performance is at the advantage of Canadian provinces relative to their U.S. counterparts. The two Nordic countries, that had the lowest productivity levels in 1971, erased most of the gap and in some cases moved ahead of their North-American counterparts.

Beliefs and values explain international differences in perception of solar radiation management: insights from a cross-country survey

Solar radiation management (SRM) aims to counteract the negative consequences of global warming and is considered for deployment in the event that mitigation and adaptation efforts appear insufficient. However, because the potential ecological and political side effects of SRM are not well understood, and because SRM will cross national boundaries, an international research perspective on the general public’s perception of this technology is required. We conducted an online survey on the general public’s perception and acceptance of SRM in Canada, China, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. Our findings confirmed the need for an international perspective, as we found several cross-country differences. Chinese respondents, for example, indicated greater acceptance for SRM than their North American and European counterparts. Moreover, results of regression analyses on acceptance of SRM by country revealed that lower acceptability ratings for SRM in Canada and Europe were mostly related to stronger beliefs that SRM tampers with nature. Chinese respondents, by contrast, were more accepting of SRM when they held stronger beliefs that it may reduce the motivation to adopt burdensome climate change mitigation efforts. Although our research—and previous studies—suggest that opposition to SRM remains, dismissing the technology entirely on these grounds and without conducting a careful, cross-national, and transdisciplinary decision-support process to set up an international policy regime seems premature as people from countries that are less prepared to mitigate and adapt to climate change seem to be more supportive of SRM.