Partner Type Research Articles

Partnerships in the recovery planning process: lessons from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and Irma

PurposeTo assess which partnerships were most critical during the recovery planning process following Hurricanes Maria and Irma. We discuss the roles and impact of different types of partners, barriers and facilitators to partnerships and lessons in collaboration during the development of the economic and disaster recovery plan for Puerto Rico.Design/methodology/approachThe Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) was tasked with assisting the Puerto Rican government with an assessment of damages from Hurricanes Maria and Irma and the development of the Recovery Plan. During the process, a small team compiled and coded a database of meetings with non-HSOAC partners. The team was divided into sector teams that mirrored FEMA’s Recovery Support Functions. Each sector completed two surveys identifying high impact partners and their roles and contributions, as well as barriers and facilitators to partnerships.FindingsA total of 1,382 engagements were recorded across all sectors over seven months. The most frequently identified high impact partners were federal and Puerto Rican governmental organizations partners. NGOs and nonprofits were noted as key partners in obtaining community perspective. Sector teams cited a lack of trust and difficulty identifying partners as barriers to partner engagement. Given the expedited nature of disaster response, establishing partnerships before disasters occur may help facilitate community input. Early networking, increased transparency and defining roles and responsibilities may increase trust and effectiveness among partnerships.Originality/valueTo our knowledge, this is one of the few studies that quantifies and illustrates the partnerships formed and their contributions during recovery planning, and lessons learned.

Analysis of crash severity in rear-end and angle collisions on an urban roundabout in heterogeneous non-lane-based traffic conditions

ABSTRACT This study examines crash risk factors and develops a severity model for rear-end and angle collisions in roundabouts and its vicinity in non-lane-based heterogeneous traffic. The rear-end severity is primarily influenced by posted speed limits, violation type, collision partner, single-vehicle collision, and vehicle age. Whereas type of violation, collision partner, and presence of road surface condition are the critical influencing factors for determining the severity outcomes of angle collision. The marginal effects of angle collision results indicated that the probability of fatal injury increased by 28% due to heavy-vehicle-vulnerable road user collisions. In the rear-end case, risk factors such as collision partners (heavy vehicles-vulnerable road users) increased by 18% and single-vehicle collisions increased by 25%, highly influencing the severity of fatal injury at roundabouts. Notably, rear-end collisions exhibit higher severity compared to angle collisions. This study provides valuable insights for developing strategies to mitigate roundabout collision severity.

Routineness of Social Interactions Is Associated With Higher Affective Well-Being in Older Adults.

Some research conceptualizes routineness of daily life as an indicator of cognitive vulnerability that would lead to lower well-being in older age, whereas other research expects routineness to give rise to more meaning and stability in life and thus to higher well-being. Further research is needed to understand routineness in older adults in relation to cognitive abilities and well-being. This study examined routineness of social interactions. We examined data from an event-contingent experience sampling study with 103 Swiss community-dwelling older adults (aged 65 to 84 years). Participants completed in-lab cognitive assessments (reasoning, episodic memory, speed, and vocabulary) and reported their well-being (positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction). For more than 21 days, participants reported the time and context of their social interactions (including modality, partner type, and location). Routineness of social interactions was defined as social interactions that occurred at the same time of day over the study period. It was calculated using recurrence quantification analysis. Linear regressions showed that higher routineness of social interaction in general, of social interaction through the same modality, and of social interaction with the same partner type were associated with higher positive affect. Higher routineness of social interaction in general was associated with lower negative affect. Routineness of social interactions was not associated with life satisfaction or cognitive abilities. A routine social life may increase older adults' affective well-being. Results are discussed in the context of activity engagement and time use in older age.

Patterns of sex behaviors and factors associated with condomless anal intercourse during the COVID-19 pandemic among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong: A cross-sectional study.

The present study examined the patterns of sex behaviors before and during COVID-19, and identified the factors associated with condomless anal intercourse during COVID-19 from individual, interpersonal, and contextual level among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Hong Kong. A cross-sectional study was conducted among MSM in Hong Kong. A total of 463 MSM completed a cross-sectional telephone survey between March 2021 and January 2022. Among all participants, the mean number of regular sex partners, non-regular sex partners, and casual sex partners during the COVID-19 period were 1.24, 2.09, and 0.08 respectively. Among those who had sex with regular, non-regular, and casual sex partner during the COVID-19 period, respectively 52.4%, 31.8% and 46.7% reported condomless anal intercourse. Compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, participants reported significantly fewer number of regular and non-regular sex partners during the COVID-19 period. However, a higher level of condomless anal intercourse with all types of sex partners during the COVID-19 period was also observed. Adjusted for significant socio-demographic variables, results from logistic regression analyses revealed that perceived severity of COVID-19 (aOR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.58, 0.88), COVID-19 risk reduction behaviors in general (aOR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.48, 0.96), COVID-19 risk reduction behaviors during sex encounters (aOR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.30, 0.66), condom negotiation (aOR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.44, 0.86), and collective efficacy (aOR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.64, 0.98) were protective factors of condomless anal intercourse with any type of sex partners during the COVID-19 period. The COVID-19 control measures have caused a dramatic impact on the sexual behavior of MSM in Hong Kong. Interventions that promote condom use during the COVID-19 pandemic are still needed and such interventions could emphasize prevention of both COVID-19 and HIV.

Value Perception Analysis in the Brazilian Company of Research and Industrial Innovation

This study aims to analyze the perceived value of services provided by the Brazilian Company of Research and Industrial Innovation (EMBRAPII) to its contracting ministries and institutional partners. It utilizes the theory of value perception analysis and Constructivist Multi-criteria Decision Analysis to identify critical elements for evaluating EMBRAPII’s contracting organizations. Brainstorming sessions with experts led to the identification of five criteria and 14 sub-criteria. These criteria include a relationship with EMBRAPII, a signed agreement, EMBRAPII’s reputation, technical capacity, and the ability to adapt to changes. Data were entered into the second version of the MyMCDA-C software for value perception analysis. The findings showed a positive perceived value, with the best-performing sub-criteria relating to the organization’s reputation and the agreement signed. The study concludes that EMBRAPII needs to improve in areas such as adapting to change, the adequacy of its proposals for distinct types of partnership, and social media positioning. However, the contracting organizations generally support EMBRAPII’s direction and proposed solutions.

Standing with Ukraine? How citizens trade off self-interest and principles in supporting war-torn international partners

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an attack on democracy, human rights, and the international order. While European democracies have supported their war-torn partner, Russia has sought to undermine public support by stopping its gas supply and imposing economic costs on European citizens. In consequence, Europeans find themselves caught between economic self-interest and principles. We present a theoretical argument and test how corresponding arguments for and against continued backing of Ukraine affect citizens’ support using experimental and observational data collected while concerns with gas shortage and inflation mounted in Germany and Denmark. We find that support for Ukraine does not falter due to economic concerns. In contrast, citizens become more supportive when presented with arguments related to human rights, democracy, and respect for territorial boundaries. We discuss implications for understanding citizens’ responses to autocratic power strategies and how support likely depends on the type of partner and domestic elite rhetoric.

Developing relationships as a security factor in supply chain management in the metal sector in Poland

Ensuring security in the current environment, becomes particularly important in both social and economic terms. The changing conditions for business operators are not conducive to ensuring process stability and thus reducing risks in supply chains. It is becoming essential to identify areas, resources and activities that have the potential to ensure process stability and security and reduce uncertainty as well as risk in supply chains. Developing bonds between business partners is particularly important in this regard. Cooperation based on trust ids the basis of such partnerships in supply chains. At the same time, creating such relationships is not only a challenge, but also an additional source of risk. The objective of this paper is to identify the key aspects of relationship formation within companies and their role in ensuring the security of supply chains. Achieving the purpose of the thesis requires the identification of the essence of relationships and relational capital, and the presentation of research findings on key aspects of corporate relationships in supply chains. The research was conducted using a proprietary questionnaire and covered businesses operating in in the metal industry in Poland. The issues examined included such elements as: competences of enterprises in supply chain management in terms of shaping relations: within the enterprise, with customers, suppliers of materials and services, intermediaries (distributors), the number of contractors with whom enterprises cooperate and the level of their relationships, at which they cooperate, involvement of partners/contractors in decision-making, concepts used in relationships with co-operators, type of contracts and partnerships created, measurement/evaluation of cooperation and the scope of control of cooperation with contractors, elements of building trust, factors conducive to cooperation, barriers and reasons for failures in establishing supply chain management relationships. The research thesis is: identifying the relationships of enterprises with contractors has a positive impact on their formation and ensuring the security of supply chains. The research niche presented in the article concerns the use of opinion and judgment research based on the author's survey questionnaire in the environment of enterprises from the metal industry. Obtaining the results allowed to identify the role and scope of business relationships in supply chains and important factors influencing their shaping. The role of managing relationships with business partners as an important element impacting the security of supply chains was also emphasised.

Reflections of participating in a Students as Partners co-creator project in a second year Physiology subject: An example of an Internationalisation at Home experience

This paper showcases a partnership between students, and an academic to develop new and review existing learning resources in a second-year physiology subject “Systems Physiology” offered at Deakin University in Australia, from the perspective of both of students and the teaching staff. All involved participated in a collaborative, student lead project; it was a reciprocal process where all members contributed, in their own unique way to evaluate, design, create and implement an online activity to enhance the understanding of a concept, in this case cardiovascular physiology (both theoretical and practical aspects). This type of partnership encourages critical reflection and opens a door to new ways of learning and teaching in Higher Education. We propose that Students As Partners project could be designed to specially meet an Internationalisation at Home experience for both domestic and international students at Deakin University tapping into the diverse pool of experiences and skills that our current students already bring to the curriculum.

Партнерская модель взаимодействия властных элит и гражданского общества и проблемы ее становления в современной России

The relevance of the study of the partnership model of interaction between government elites and civil society and the problems of its formation in modern Russia is due to the fact that effective interaction between the state and civil society institutions can benefit both subjects under consideration and contribute to the progressive development of the country as a whole. The paper concludes that the optimal model of interaction between public authorities and civil society institutions presupposes equality of the actors under consideration: here a strong state exists along with a strong civil society, and relations between them develop according to the type of partnership. The author emphasizes that the partnership model as a special type of interaction between the state and civil society assumes that public authorities do not seek to manage nongovernmental organizations as basic structures of civil society, but, on the contrary, are focused on dialogue with NGOs, the widespread use of various "negotiation platforms" and other forms of civil dialogue. A significant obstacle to the formation of partnerships between the state and civil society, based on an equal dialogue between the government and the public, is the low level of prestige of the so-called public activity in the eyes of the vast majority of the country's population. The organization of effective interaction between public authorities and civil society structures in our country is hampered by the general attitude of the ruling political elite towards public associations, which is characterized by the desire of the authorities to exercise control over any initiatives emanating from citizens and their organizations.

Enabling policy environment for water operator partnerships in the Southern African Development Community

AbstractWater service provision has typically been primarily regarded as a government endeavor, especially in developing countries. Various concepts of partnerships have been promoted over the past five decades in the sector, primarily to improve service provision. Among these partnerships, water operator partnerships (WOPs) have been distinguished as a leading concept that promotes easy access to water supply and sanitation. Several WOPs exist worldwide with varying partnership types and characteristics. For WOPs to thrive effectively globally, an enabling environment has to be provided. More so for developing countries that are more susceptible to socio‐economic and climate change factors that affect water service delivery. This paper evaluates the enabling policy environment for WOPs in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Data used for the study include literature from the Global Water Operator Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) WOPs database, as well as other online resources, enabling a detailed understanding of different case studies in the SADC region on a North–South and South–South basis. It must, however, be noted that data availability on the database is dependent on the utilities engaged in the WOP recording and uploading it, and this affected the scope of the study. The database provided three in‐depth case studies from Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, and extensive literature review provided an additional in‐depth case study from Malawi. Strategies such as water reforms and multi‐stakeholder partnerships are highlighted in aiding the WOPs. Findings show that current policies in the region make provisions for partnerships but are not explicit or exhaustive on the different forms of partnerships. The lack of an intermediate third party in countries such as Malawi negatively affects the relationship between the utilities and, subsequently, the success of the WOP. Strategies such as capacity building and stakeholder participation can assist in creating a more enabling policy environment for WOPs.

The impact of explorative and exploitative collaborations on SMEs innovative performance

ABSTRACT Despite the importance of SMEs for innovation activity, questions remain concerning the determinants of their innovative performance and the role of different types of collaboration and partners. The present paper empirically analyzes the role played by different types of R&D collaborations in the persistence of SME innovative performance. We used a longitudinal database to identify all the Swedish SMEs that launched significant product innovations in the ICT market in the 1990–2019 period, in combination with collected data on the R&D collaborations established by these SMEs. Through several dynamic panel data regression models, we point out how SME innovative performance is significantly affected by R&D collaborations with large firms and universities. Crucially, we show how the impact of these collaborations differs depending on the nature of these relationships. In doing so, the present paper offers insights into the relationships between SMEs and universities, and open innovation strategies.

Increased Community Outcomes or Better Outcomes from Library Partnership: Through an Equity Lens

ABSTRACT Library programs and services serve communities, and they aim to increase information literacy, knowledge, increase access and decrease barriers. These benefits can be enhanced through partnerships between libraries and outside organizations. To explore what types of partnerships exist among libraries and discover more about resulting community benefits, a literature search was conducted looking for examples of shared experiences of different libraries. The literature search was completed utilizing a health focused database, an educational focused database and a library focused database: PubMed, Educational Institution of Educational Sciences (ERIC) and Library & Information Science s (LISA). A combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary were utilized that best described the topic of library partnerships and collaboration which support health initiatives. The articles retrieved highlighted three thematic concepts of community benefits from library collaborations such as increased engagement and satisfaction with programs, increased learning for library staff and increased access to resources for community members. Partnerships between individual libraries as well as partnerships between libraries and outside organizations have the potential to provide positive, equitable and tangible benefits for both libraries and the communities they serve. More research and investigation in the area of library partnerships and community benefits is recommended to help continue the progress and success that has already been established.

Study Partner Type and Adverse Event Reporting in Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trials.

In randomized clinical trials (RCTs), monitoring adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs) is critical. All Alzheimer's disease (AD) RCTs require participants to enroll with a study partner. We examined AE reporting rates in mild-to-moderate AD trials and their associations with study partner type. We estimated AE reporting rates using placebo data from seven independent RCTs conducted by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study. We assessed the heterogeneity of reporting rates as a function of visits using generalized estimating equations. In the primary analysis, we tested the hypotheses that the rates of reporting differed by study partner type and time they spent with the participant weekly using Poisson regression with robust variance estimation. In all regression models, log-transformed total patient years was included. The estimated reporting rates were 2.83 (95% CI: 2.66, 3.02), 1.18 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.28), 0.23 (95% CI: 0.19, 0.27), and 0.28 (95% CI: 0.24, 0.33) events per participant year for grade 1-3 AEs and SAEs, respectively. We estimated that greater number of visits per year was associated with increased reporting for grade 1-2 AEs and SAEs. We did not find evidence to suggest that AE reporting differed by study partner type or by time the study partner spent with the participant. Study partner type and time the study partner spent with the participant did not appear to impact AE reporting. Estimated reporting rates may be useful to evaluate safety in future studies, particularly those with no control arm and similar visit frequencies.

Diverse Early-Life Family Trajectories and Young Children’s Mental Health in the UK

Past research suggests that children from two-parent married families fare better than children from other families on many outcomes. Only fragmented evidence on diverse family trajectories in association with child mental health is available. Using multi-channel sequence analysis and data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, we jointly capture maternal partnership trajectories and type of father co-residence between birth and age 5. We then assess the association between these family trajectories and child mental health at age 5 and 8 using random effects regression. Children whose trajectories include the entrance of a non-biological father or parental separation have the lowest levels of mental health. However, children of never partnered mothers and those who repartner with the biological father have comparable mental health to children of stably married biological parents. Thus, not all types of family complexity or instability appear to be equally detrimental to children’s mental health.

Mapping creative territories with actors, partnerships, innovations, and regulatory mechanisms based on literature review

Creative territories are geographic spaces of collaboration between different social actors, driving innovations and requiring regulatory mechanisms for sustainability and growth. This paper aims to synthesize available evidence on creative territories through a systematic literature review to analyze the significant actors in creative territories, the type of partnerships between them, the kind of innovations in creative territories, and the regulatory mechanisms for supporting these territories. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed to ensure a transparent and systematic approach. A comprehensive search in the Scopus database, employing predefined search terms and inclusion criteria, included 86 articles. The findings revealed several key topics within the existing academic literature on creative territories, including i) the individual social players in creative territories and partnerships and collaborations among them, ii) the various innovations in these territories and sectors, iii) the regulatory mechanisms applied by government and non-government actors. These topics or aspects were further analyzed and categorized to provide a comprehensive overview of the research landscape. The discussion section presents a critical analysis and synthesis of the findings, highlighting that the government supports creative territories through 16 regulatory mechanisms, while the literature highlights at least 5 levels of government intervention. Additionally, private social actors can positively impact creative territories through various regulatory mechanisms, including firm self-regulation, industry self-regulation, and civil regulation, with at least 21 social actors classified into 5 groups collaborating through six types/forms of collaboration. Furthermore, several circumstances and factors should be available to prosper in a particular partnership/collaboration like a clear definition of responsibilities, well-defined rules, mutual benefits, equal collaboration, and solid authority. The findings underscore the importance of creative territories and serve as a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, offering insights and directions for future research endeavors.

Improving sexual health through partner notification: the LUSTRUM mixed-methods research Programme including RCT of accelerated partner therapy

Improving sexual health through partner notification: the LUSTRUM mixed-methods research Programme including RCT of accelerated partner therapy

Lexical Alignment is Pervasive Across Contexts in Non-WEIRD Adult-Child Interactions.

Lexical alignment, a communication phenomenon where conversational partners adapt their word choices to become more similar, plays an important role in the development of language and social communication skills. While this has been studied extensively in the conversations of preschool-aged children and their parents in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) communities, research in other pediatric populations is sparse. This study makes significant expansions on the existing literature by focusing on alignment in naturalistic conversations of school-aged children from a non-WEIRD population across multiple conversational tasks and with different types of adult partners. Typically developing children aged 5 to 8 years (n = 45) engaged in four semi-structured conversations that differed by task (problem-solving vs. play-based) and by partner (parent vs. university student), resulting in a corpus of 180 conversations. Lexical alignment scores were calculated and compared to sham conversations, representing alignment occurring at the level of chance. Both children and adults coordinated their conversational utterances by re-using or aligning each other's word choices. This alignment behavior persisted across conversational tasks and partners, although the degree of alignment was moderated by the conversational context. These findings suggest that lexical alignment is a robust phenomenon in conversations between school-age children and adults. Furthermore, this study extends lexical alignment findings to a non-WEIRD culture, suggesting that alignment may be a coordination strategy employed by adults and children across diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Determinants for positive and negative experiences of interpersonal touch: context matters

ABSTRACT The goal of the study was to determine which aspects of interpersonal touch interactions lead to a positive or negative experience. Previous research has focused primarily on physical characteristics. We suggest that this may not be sufficient to fully capture the complexity of the experience. Specifically, we examined how fulfilment of psychological needs influences touch experiences and how this relates to physical touch characteristics and situational factors. In two mixed-method studies, participants described their most positive and most negative interpersonal touch experience within a specific time frame. They reported fulfilment of nine needs, affect, intention, and reason for positivity/negativity, as well as the body part(s) touched, location, type of touch, interaction partner, and particular touch characteristics (e.g. humidity). Positive and negative touch experiences shared similar touch types, locations, and body parts touched, but differed in intended purpose and reasons. Overall, the valence of a touch experience could be predicted from fulfilment of relatedness, the interaction partner and initiator, and physical touch characteristics. Positive affect increased with need fulfilment, and negative affect decreased. The results highlight the importance of relatedness and reciprocity for the valence of touch, and emphasise the need to incorporate psychological needs in touch research.

Use of preexposure prophylaxis and condom purchasing decisions.

Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but not other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Men who have sex with men (MSM) who take PrEP tend to report reduced condom use, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. For this study, MSM who take PrEP (i.e., PrEP experienced; n = 88) and MSM who do not (i.e., PrEP naïve; n = 113) completed an online study, including the condom purchase task (CoPT). The CoPT assesses decisions to purchase condoms across escalating prices (range: free-$55) for sex with different types of hypothetical partners: those least likely to have an STD (least STD) and those that participants most want to have sex with (most want sex with). When condoms were free, PrEP-experienced MSM had a lower rate of condom purchasing than did PrEP-naïve MSM. For both partner types, PrEP-experienced MSM reached a price break point (i.e., would not buy condoms) at a lower price than did PrEP-naïve pariticipants. For the most-want-sex-with partner at the price at which participants elected not to buy condoms, only 23% of PrEP-experienced MSM chose to abstain from sex when not purchasing condoms versus 53% among PrEP-naïve MSM. Similar patterns were observed for the least-STD partner. The results support the potential utility of the CoPT in identifying behavioral mechanisms related to condom use and PrEP.

Joint controllers in large research consortia: a funnel model to distinguish controllers in the sense of the GDPR from other partners in the consortium

Large European research consortia in the health sciences face challenges regarding the governance of personal data collected, generated and/or shared during their collective research. A controller in the sense of the GDPR is the entity which decides about purposes and means of the data processing. Case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and Guidelines of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) indicate that all partners in the consortium would be joint controllers. This paper summarises the case law, the Guidelines and literature on joint controllership, gives a brief account of a webinar organised on the issue by Lygature and the MLC Foundation. Participants at the webinar agreed in large majority that it would be extreme if all partners in the consortium would become joint controllers. There was less agreement how to disentangle partners who are controllers of a study from those who are not. In order to disentangle responsibilities, we propose a funnel model with consecutive steps acting as sieves in the funnel. It differentiates between two types of partners: all partners who are involved in shaping the project as a whole versus those specific partners who are more closely involved in a sub-study following from the DoA i or the use of the data Platform. If the role of the partner would be comparable to that of an outside advisor, that partner would not be a data controller even though the partner is part of the consortium. We propose further nuances for the disentanglement which takes place in various steps. Uncertainty about formal controllership under the GDPR can stifle collaboration in consortia due to concerns over (shared) responsibility and liability. Data subjects’ ability to exercise their right can also be affected by this. The funnel model proposes a way out of this conundrum.