Public Community Research Articles

Kurdish women’s interactions in European urban public space and the extent of their social integration

ABSTRACT The development of accessible and inclusive public spaces has been proposed as a means to address this gender inequality and promote social inclusion. However, there is a lack of specific analysis on the interactions and integration of Kurdish migrant women in European cities. This study explores the social integration of Kurdish migrant women in European urban settings, with a focus on Vienna and Cologne. It investigates the role of urban public spaces in Kurdish women’s social interactions and integration into host communities. The study analyzes the sociodemographic characteristics of Kurdish women in both cities and examines the nature of interactions, sense of safety, meaningful social activities, and barriers in public spaces. The results show that frequenting public spaces and engaging in meaningful social activities correlate positively with social inclusion, while feelings of safety and barriers do not show significant correlations. The study highlights the importance of considering the unique context of each city and improving access to public spaces and community activities to promote social inclusion. The findings contribute to strategies for promoting social inclusion of immigrant women based on their interactions in urban public spaces.

Association Between Perceived Noise Pollution and Sleep Quality: Findings from the 2018 Community Health Survey.

This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between sleep quality and perceived noise. A cross-sectional study involving 185,246 adults (81,854 men and 103,392 women) participating in the 2018 Korea Community Health Survey (KCHS) was conducted. Subjective sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), while perceived noise pollutants were categorized into two groups: perceived noise pollution (n = 43,638) and perceived non-noise pollution (n = 141,608). We used chi-square tests and independent sample t tests to compare differences between the perceived noise group and the non-perceived noise group, as well as multivariate logistic regression analysis to calculate adjusted odds ratios (OR) for sleep quality variables. The perceived noise pollution group had significantly poor psychosocial variables (stress, depression assessed by Patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)) than the perceived non-noise pollution group. Poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5) was associated with perceived noise pollution (OR 1.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.30-1.36, P < 0.001). In addition, sleep quality (OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.06-1.13, P < 0.001); sleep latency (OR 1.11; 95% CI 1.09-1.14, P < 0.001); sleep duration (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.07-1.13, P < 0.001); sleep efficiency (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.16-1.25, P < 0.001); sleep disturbance (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.42-1.51, P < 0.001); sleep medication use (OR 1.13; 95% CI 1.07-1.20, P = 0.002); and daytime dysfunction (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.20-1.26, P < 0.001) were associated with perceived noise pollution after confounding variables. Perceived noise pollution was significantly associated with poor sleep quality. Perceived noise annoyance could be used as a signal of health effects in the public community.

공공디자인 진흥을 위한 사업 유형 분류에 관한 연구

Today, it is difficult to think of the public sphere, daily life, and community life without thinking of public design. As public design is actively linked and grafted with various fields, it is spreading to all phenomena of public policy and society, expanding the scope of new business opportunities. Therefore, this study aims to present a typology of public design projects by examining the terrain of public design projects from a multidimensional perspective, which is a collection of processes and outcomes carried out for the purpose of individual and social needs, and ultimately accepted by the public as a socio-cultural experience. In line with the purpose of the study, the need for research on public design project types was confirmed through a review of previous studies and literature, and project types were categorized through case analysis of projects by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Seoul Metropolitan Government. As a result, four types of public design projects are proposed based on the orientation of thematic and practical methods: value creation, culture diffusion, capacity building, and foundation creation. At a time when a way of understanding public design projects that can be shared by various actors in implementation, participation, and cooperation needs to be established, the more comprehensive conceptualization of project types presented in this study is expected to provide direction in planning and implementing policies and projects, as it can be combined and linked to various areas such as culture, tourism, welfare, pedestrianism, safety, and health, as well as the design field.

Online group-based internal family systems treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: Feasibility and acceptability of the program for alleviating and resolving trauma and stress.

Demand for trauma-focused therapy continues to increase, especially in community mental health care settings where group treatment models can be cost-effective and increase access to care. The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may offer an effective therapeutic approach. The purpose of this proof-of-concept study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, trauma-focused, group-based treatment approach and investigate potential mechanisms of action. Study participants completed the Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress (PARTS), an online-delivered program including 16 weeks of 90-min IFS-based groups with eight 50-min individual IFS counseling sessions. Participants completed assessments including clinician-administered and self-report measures of PTSD, common comorbid conditions (e.g., complex PTSD [disturbances in self-organization], depression, anxiety, and suicidality), and potential mechanisms (e.g., decentering, self-compassion, and emotion regulation). Most participants (n = 11/15; 73%) attended 12+ group sessions, with 92% (12/13 responders) reporting they would recommend PARTS to a friend. All respondents reported the program was helpful (13/13; 100%). PTSD symptom severity was reduced from baseline to Weeks 16 (d = -0.7, p = .005) and 24 (d = -0.9, p < .001). A clinically meaningful response (i.e., 10+ point reduction on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [5th ed.]) was demonstrated in 53% of participants (8/15) by Week 24. Decentering, self-compassion, and emotion regulation all improved (p < .05). PARTS was feasible and acceptable as a group-based, online intervention in an urban, public community health care system. While PARTS showed promise in reducing overall PTSD symptom severity, well-controlled efficacy research is needed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Police Duties and Functions in Realizing Justice and Legal Certainty Under Police Law No. 2 Of 2002

The National Police of the Republic of Indonesia (Polri) holds a crucial role in upholding security and public order (Kamtibmas) as one of the key state institutions. Governed by Law Number 2 of 2002 concerning the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia, this research aims to scrutinize and assess the duties and functions assigned to the police according to this legislation, with a focus on their ability to achieve justice and legal certainty. Employing normative research methods, this study relies on a literature review as its primary data collection technique. The collected data undergoes analysis through three stages: data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The findings of this research reveal that under Police Law No. 2 of 2002, the functions of the police are outlined in Article 2. These functions encompass maintaining security and public order, law enforcement, protection, and community service, positioning the police as an integral part of state governance. Additionally, Article 13 delineates the primary duties of the police, emphasizing their responsibility in maintaining security and public order, enforcing laws, and offering protection, guidance, and service to the community.

Evaluating social governance innovation policy in China: A study based on fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis

Social governance is an important aspect of national governance. Strengthening and innovating social governance is an important task to promote social construction, and the necessary policy support is an important means to achieve governance innovation. Based on the policy texts of 31 urban districts (including 22 provincial capitals, 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government and 5 capitals of autonomous regions), the innovation policy of social governance is divided into five dimensions: organizational mobilization policy, public service policy, social regulatory policy, community constructive policy and data informative policy. Using the fs-QCA method, the path of social governance innovation policy on governance performance is discussed. The study finds that the supply mode of two innovative policy combinations have a significant effect on the improvement of social governance performance: One is organizational mobilization policy, public service policy and community constructive policy, and the other is organizational mobilization policy, social regulatory policy and data informative policy.

REALITIES in health disparities: Researching Evidence-based Alternatives in Living, Imaginative, Traumatised, Integrated, Embodied Systems.

Under the backdrop of pervasive health inequalities, public health professionals, researchers and non-academic partners in the United Kingdom are mobilising to understand how and in what ways community assets can address health disparities at scale in complex systems. While there is recognition that cultural, natural and community resources can improve health outcomes, these are unequally dispersed with lack of integration in communities and health and social care systems. Researching Evidence-based Alternatives in Living, Imaginative, Traumatised, Integrated, Embodied Systems (REALITIES) is a participatory action research Scottish consortium of 57 with established community asset hubs in five localities with strong relationships uniting conflicting ways of seeing the world. Our collective of lived and felt experience community members, community-embedded researchers, academics and non-academics draws upon a variety of practices, methods, datasets and philosophies to expand existing approaches to tackling health inequalities. We present conceptual and theoretical underpinnings for our co-produced systems-level model and empirical findings from testing REALITIES across three disadvantaged localities (November 2022, ongoing). After explaining the context that led to the development of the new scalable REALITIES model for integrated public systems to interface with 'assets', we detail philosophical pillars and guiding principles for our model and how we applied these mechanisms to explain how integrated partnership working can lead to improved health outcomes across multiple public systems. We present a meta-analysis from co-producing and testing the model, showing how measuring change in complex public systems involves critical investigation of People, Process, Place, Price, Power and Purpose. Our critique reflects on power imbalances and inequities in Research-practice-Policy (RPP) partnerships and suggestions for how to nurture healthy ecosystems: overcoming barriers and enabling participation; reflecting on challenges of scaling up, testability and complexity of RPP partnerships; moving from siloed learning to transdisciplinary collaboration in practice; ensuring knowledge exchange has direct impact on communities and frontline practitioners; embedding relational ethics and safeguarding into daily practice. We propose the REALITIES model to unite alternative, sometimes conflicting, ways of thinking about public systems and community assets by continuously reflecting on entanglements between different assumptions about knowledge, reality, evidence, and unnecessary binaries between creative methodologies and scientific method.

The Moonlighting Intention in Indonesian Public Community College Employee: A Perceived Threat Moderated Mediation Model

This study headed to probe the moonlighting intentions (MI) empirically from non-monetary factors, including job satisfaction (JS) through the mediation of organizational commitment (OC) and the moderation role of perceived COVID-19 threats (PCT) and perceived financial threats (PFT) during the pandemic. The study accustomed quantitative methods with a survey and a cross-sectional design. This study gathered data from 81 employees at Community College (AK-Tekstil Solo) and analyzed it using SMART PLS. This study discovered that job satisfaction majorly impacts organizational commitment and moonlighting intentions. Organizational commitment negatively influences moonlighting intentions due to its indirect-only (full mediation) relationships with job satisfaction. PCT and PFT did not play a moderating role, but they did diminish the effect sizes between constructs. The results of this study confirmed the substantial non-monetary facets of moonlighting intentions. This research contributes to the development of theory by validating the relationships that it draws from social exchange theory, and the novelty is the introduction of moderating variables in terms of threat aspects perceived during the pandemic, PCT, and PFT. The relevance of the research findings provides some practical implications and valuable insights for managers of formal educational institutions in the environmental condition that may change at any time without certainty

Overview of Symbolic Violence: A Review of the Literature

Objective: This study aims to investigate the literature on symbolic violence over the past decade, with the purpose of understanding its nature and manifestations in contemporary society. Theoretical Framework: Within the context of gender studies and the increasing political impact of feminism, symbolic violence is defined as the subjugation of individuals to others through processes of socialization that naturalize power relations. These relations, based on asymmetries such as gender, become unquestionable, providing a solid foundation for research on symbolic violence. Method: A systematic review of scientific productivity on symbolic violence was conducted by tracing databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. Research articles published between 2013 and 2023 in English and Spanish, and with full access, were considered. Results and Discussion: It was found that both material and symbolic structures serve as bases for symbolic violence against women, legitimizing within contemporary patriarchal society. These findings are discussed in relation to the theoretical framework, highlighting identified implications and relationships, as well as potential discrepancies and limitations of the study. Research Implications: Practical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed, providing insights into how the results can influence practices in the field of gender studies and the fight against gender-based violence. These implications could encompass public policies, educational programs, and community actions. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the persistence and complexity of symbolic violence in contemporary society. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by its ability to inform and guide interventions aimed at combating gender-based violence and promoting equity and social justice.

SARS-CoV-2 detection in aerosol from community indoor environments

Since its emergence, the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly and extensively affected global health and society. Numerous studies have focused on detecting SARS-CoV-2 in air samples collected in healthcare indoor spaces, but few have analysed its presence in air samples from other public community spaces. In addition, limited studies have surveyed indoor spaces where it was not known if individuals with COVID-19 were present or had been present at the time of sampling. This study aimed to determine the SARS-CoV-2 genetic load in aerosol samples collected in public community indoor environments where prior knowledge of the presence of infected individuals with COVID-19 cases is not available at the time of sampling.Air samples (N = 497) were collected from healthcare settings, elderly care homes, and educational settings in the Valencian Community, Spain. RNA was extracted and the N1, N2, and E gene fragments of SARS-CoV-2 were quantified using RT-qPCR. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 8.9 % of air samples. The highest positivity rates were observed in hospitals (16.2 %), elderly care homes (15.3 %), and primary care centres (12.7 %). Concentration of the N1 gene in positive samples ranged 4.3–504 gc/m3 (n = 10), 6.2–77 gc/m3 (n = 8) and 5.1–14 gc/m3 (n = 7), respectively. The genes N2 and E were less frequently detected and generally reported lower concentrations.The frequency of detection of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols increased at the same time that the population COVID-19 cumulative incidence increased.

Differences in stroke clinical presentation among sexes

IntroductionThere are sex-based differences in stroke epidemiology, treatment, and outcomes. In this manuscript, we discuss the differences that exist in the clinical presentation of acute stroke among sexes. DiscussionWe present the differences in stroke presentation among sexes including age at the time of presentation, severity of stroke on presentation, and stroke type and location. We discuss the atypical clinical presentations, explore the radiographic findings on presentation (including location, infarct core volume, the impact of collateral circulation, hematoma location in intracranial hemorrhage), and discuss differences in time elapsed between symptom onset and management amongst sexes. ConclusionDifferences exist in stroke clinical presentation amongst sexes. These disparities have public health implications, and as they become better understood, impact awareness campaigns in both the public and healthcare communities.

Exploring Economic Development Strategies for Canadian Indigenous Communities Post-Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted the Indigenous Canadian economy. Indigenous enterprises exist in every industry, from small proprietorships to major organizations employing thousands of people. The research concerning the effects of such peculiarities on Indigenous corporations is sparse. This research aimed to examine how the pandemic affected development companies by comparing pre-epidemic forecasts to the trajectory of Indigenous-owned firms after two years of the pandemic and analyzing its singularities. The study was conducted by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) and supported by mixed methods techniques such as surveys, interviews, and non-participatory observations obtained from ten distinct Canadian Indigenous Economic Development Corporations, revealing a reality in which Indigenous businesses confront significant challenges in terms of access to public finance, human resources, community well-being, company diversification, and innovation. The result compared pre-pandemic forecasts and analyses that found Indigenous enterprises failing to recover and move ahead on company diversification and innovations, public finance, human resources, and sustainable development.

Community Power-Building Groups And Public Health NGOs: Reimagining Public Health Advocacy.

Public health frameworks have grappled with the inequitable distribution of power as a driver of the social conditions that determine health. However, these frameworks have not adequately considered building community power as a strategy to shift the distribution of power. Community power-building organizations build and organize a base of affected people to take collective action to transform their material conditions, using advocacy and other tactics. We conducted qualitative interviews with representatives of twenty-two national nongovernmental public health organizations (public health NGOs) and thirteen community power-building organizations to explore the nature and potential of partnerships between public health and community power-building organizations. Our findings suggest ways to close advocacy gaps within the public health ecosystem and ways in which public health can strategically leverage its power, resources, and expertise to support social justice campaigns and movements.

Project Impact: A Public Community College Campus–Based Support and Reentry Program for Justice-Impacted Students in New York City

Background: Between 70 million and 100 million Americans have a record of interaction with the criminal legal system, a group facing stigma and discrimination in civic participation, housing, employment, and education. Justice-impacted people face collateral consequences in the community, making reentry programs essential to success at reintegration. Focus of Study: Project Impact (PI) at the Borough of Manhattan Community College/City University of New York (BMCC/CUNY) supports students impacted by the criminal legal system. PI provides direct services to justice-impacted students through an extensive peer mentoring program and a high school equivalency program, and by offering college credit–bearing courses to students presently incarcerated in partnership with John Jay College’s Prison-to-College Pipeline. PI defines “justice impacted” expansively as students who have been formerly incarcerated, have family who have been incarcerated or arrested, have had issues in family court, or in any other way have been significantly affected by the criminal legal system. Research Design/Conclusions: This evaluation provides unequivocal evidence of the strong, positive impact that PI is making, serving as a rare campus-based reentry program within a community college in New York City.

Comprehensive Safety Strategies and Innovations for Infrastructure Resilience in Bridges

This study explores the critical elements of ensuring bridge safety, covering design, construction, maintenance, personal protective equipment (PPE), community engagement, and public perception. It draws lessons from historical bridge failures, like the Morandi Bridge collapse, highlighting the necessity for stringent safety protocols in infrastructure development. Innovative solutions, such as heating systems to prevent ice formation and seismic resilient designs, are explored to address maintenance challenges and environmental impacts. In addition, the study also examines the role of public perception, education, and community engagement in bridge safety. It discusses the positive and negative aspects of safety measures like nets and Fall Protection Systems (FPS) and evaluates the impact of public education programs on safety awareness. Visual standards, clear signage, and innovations in bridge design, such as smart sensors and self-healing materials, are explored for their contributions to safety and longevity. A comparative analysis of safety standards worldwide, such as AASHTO, BSI, CSA, Austroad, Eurocodes, JRA, TB, IRC, ABNT, and SANS, highlights global efforts to establish consistent safety measures. Historical data and case studies, including the Tacoma Bridge Collapse and the Minneapolis I-35W Collapse, provide insights into safety measures' evolution. In conclusion, there is a need for a comprehensive approach to bridge safety, on the backend by implementing policies and ensuring safety protocols are being met, as well as a good public perception using visual components, like safety nets. Success hinges on collaborative efforts, robust risk reduction, and fostering public confidence in infrastructure development.

Identifying villages and breeding habitats for dengue transmission in Thailand: insights from long-term larval surveys

BackgroundIn Thailand, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) regularly performs visual larval surveys throughout the country to monitor dengue fever outbreaks. Since 2016, the DDC switched from a paper-based to a digital-based larval survey process. The significant amount of larval survey data collected digitally presents a valuable opportunity to precisely identify the villages and breeding habitats that are vulnerable to dengue transmission.MethodsThe study used digitally collected larval survey data from 2017 to 2019. It employed larval indices to evaluate the risk of dengue transmission in villages based on seasonal, regional, and categorical perspectives. Furthermore, the study comprehensively scrutinized each container category by employing different measures to determine its breeding preference ratio.ResultsThe result showed that villages with a very high-risk of dengue transmission were present year-round in all regions, with the highest proportion during the rainy season. The Southern region had more high-risk villages during the winter season due to rainfall. Slums and residential communities were more vulnerable to dengue than commercial areas. All container categories could potentially serve as breeding habitats for dengue-carrying mosquitoes, with abandoned containers being the most significant breeding sites.ConclusionsThe risk of dengue transmission was present year-round throughout Thailand. This underscores the importance of community and government initiatives, along with sustained public awareness campaigns and active community engagement, to efficiently and permanently eradicate mosquito breeding habitats. It should be noted that larval indices may not strongly correlate with dengue cases, as indicated by the preliminary analysis. However, they offer valuable insights into potential breeding sites for targeted preventive measures.

Towards a Communication Ecology in the Life of Rural Senior Citizens: How Rural Public Spaces Influence Community Engagement

The dilemma of weak participation and non-participation of rural communities is a universal topic of global development. The rural public space is an important field for local residents to interact, communicate, and engage with each other, and is an important place for the sustainable development of rural areas. However, previous studies have neglected to understand the intrinsic connection between rural public space and community participation from the perspective of community communication ecology. Based on the concept of age-friendly communities, this study’s fieldwork in rural Shanghai, China, using the methodology of grounded theory, found that physical, social, and psychological factors all have an impact on community engagement among rural residents. Specifically, environmental quality, facility support, community networks, social participation, call to action, place attachment, spatial perception, and self-transformation are identified as the core elements that significantly influence community engagement among rural residents. This study further reveals that the multiple factors influencing community engagement among rural residents are complex and interdependent rather than operating independently. Spatial support, communicative triggers, and symbolic identification, respectively, operate at the technological level (physical–social factors), social level (social–psychological factors), and discursive level (psychological–physical factors) to promote community engagement among older adults in Chinese rural areas. Through this research, we hope to further the realization of rural civic engagement and the sustainability of local communities and to provide scholarly insights into the promotion of more equitable community life.

Navigating health challenges: the interplay between occupation-imposed movement restrictions, healthcare access, and community resilience

BackgroundTransportation plays a significant role in health, community resilience, and access to basic needs such as healthcare, social services, education, and job opportunities. Health and community resilience are, however, impacted by a multitude of complex and unequal factors, such as transportation restrictions exacerbated by the Israeli occupation. The goal of the research was to examine the intricate relationships that exist in Palestine between movement restrictions imposed by occupation, health outcomes, and community resilience.MethodA self-structured questionnaire, devised based on expert conversations and previous literature, was used in this descriptive, quantitative study to explore health and resilience outcomes. Age, gender, marital status, place of residence, and means of transportation were among the various factors that were utilized to describe the socio-demographics of the study sample (n = 202). The researchers employed stepwise multiple regression and descriptive statistics for the data analysis.ResultsStudy findings indicated that transportation restrictions have significant direct and indirect health consequences. A significant direct effect is observed, signifying a negative correlation between restrictions and health; increased transportation restrictions are consistently correlated with a decline in health. The study emphasized how place of residence affects health outcomes, with higher scores for campers and people living in green line areas. It also underscores that public means of transportation are found to be better for health outcomes than private cars.ConclusionThis study emphasized that roadblocks, checkpoints, and military incursions make it difficult for Palestinians to receive medical care, which has a detrimental impact on their health and well-being. It also underscores the need for significant reforms in Palestinian health and transportation systems to enhance infrastructure and healthcare access. The Palestinian Authority should invest in public transportation and community resilience programs to address transportation-related health issues, especially in villages, due to frequent settler attacks.

Profitability and Market Value Effect on Carbon Emission Disclosures: The Moderating Role of Environmental Performance

Climate change is an issue that is of concern to the global public and scientific community. There is a close relationship between climate change and carbon emissions, which are the primary cause of global warming. Reporting on carbon emissions is essential for corporate accountability to stakeholders when evaluating a company's financial and non-financial performance. Good management of carbon emissions will enhance the company's reputation. This study analyses the impact of company profitability and market value on the disclosure of carbon emissions, with environmental performance serving as a moderating variable in the context of Indonesian public companies. This study concludes that: (1) There is no significant impact on profitability, as measured by Return on Assets, on Carbon Emission Disclosure; (2) The study finds that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between market value, measured by Tobin's Q, and the level of carbon emission disclosure. This relationship is significant at a 5% significance level; (3) The moderating effect of environmental performance on the relationship between profitability, as measured by return on assets, and carbon emission disclosure is found to be insignificant; (4) The significance level of 10% indicates that the relationship between environmental performance, as a measure of a company's environmental practices, and market value, as represented by Tobin's Q, is strengthened concerning the disclosure of carbon emissions. This research can contribute to developing accounting knowledge to close gaps in the body of knowledge regarding the disclosure of carbon emissions in developing nations, particularly Indonesia.

Labeling methods for partially ordered paths

The landscape of applications and subroutines relying on shortest path computations continues to grow steadily. This growth is driven by the undeniable success of shortest path algorithms in theory and practice. It also introduces new challenges as the models and assessing the optimality of paths become more complicated. Hence, multiple recent publications in the field adapt existing labeling methods in an ad hoc fashion to their specific problem variant without considering the underlying general structure: they always deal with multi-criteria scenarios, and those criteria define different partial orders on the paths. In this paper, we introduce the partial order shortest path problem (POSP), a generalization of the multi-objective shortest path problem (MOSP) and in turn also of the classical shortest path problem. POSP captures the particular structure of many shortest path applications as special cases. In this generality, we study optimality conditions or the lack of them, depending on the objective functions’ properties. Our final contribution is a big lookup table summarizing our findings and providing the reader with an easy way to choose among the most recent multi-criteria shortest path algorithms depending on their problems’ weight structure. Examples range from time-dependent shortest path bottleneck path problems to the electric vehicle shortest path problem with recharging and complex financial weight functions studied in the public transportation community. Our results hold for general digraphs and, therefore, surpass previous generalizations that were limited to acyclic graphs.