Research Questions Research Articles

School Counselors’ Reflections on Supporting LGBTQ+ Students

Background: Suicide attempts and suicide completion are on the rise for children and adolescents and even more so for LGBTQ+ youth. Despite some social progress, LGBTQ+ individuals still face oppression socially and legally. With much of the restrictive LGBTQ+ legislation occurring within educational settings, school counselors have an important role supporting the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth; however, many school counselors do not feel equipped to do so. Objectives: School counselors often exit their graduate programs and enter the profession with little to no knowledge of or experience working with LGBTQ+ students. The current study sought to better understand school counselors’ experiences supporting LGBTQ+ youth in their school by discussing results of two focus groups with school counselors working with LGBTQ+ students in a southeastern school district. Research Question: What are the experiences of elementary, middle, and high school counselors supporting LGBTQ+ students in a southeastern school district? Methods: Using thematic analysis of two focus group interviews, we gained greater insight into school counselors’ experiences of supporting LGBTQ+ students in their schools. Results: Through the thematic analysis, five themes and two subthemes emerged in the data. Conclusions: Although school counselors often lack time or resources to work with LGBTQ+ youth ( Gonzalez, 2016 ), the current study’s findings reveal additional barriers given less attention in the literature: navigating tension and pressure from legal policies and nonaffirming parents.

3 Hands -on 1: Applying system dynamics to develop “Flight Simulators” for sustainable animal production

Abstract Solving complex livestock production problems is a pressing issue for achieving long-term sustainability and profitability and often requires modeling techniques. The use of mathematical models is undoubtedly a daily practice in the livestock industry, especially nutrition, and has improved animal performance, productivity, and environmental sustainability while maintaining or reducing costs. Although many students and professionals use spreadsheets and existing empirical models for nutrition and management [NASEM (2016)], there is still a need to understand the complexity of livestock systems and the utility of flight simulator models. At the same time, more complex models (although robust) may fail to provide new insights for experienced nutritionists due to poor user-friendliness. A systems understanding goes beyond simply obtaining a desired output, such as optimizing a total mixed ration, but instead leads to identifying high-leverage solutions and gaining insight. Further, parameterizing and calibrating variables and equations and testing management scenarios is straightforward. However, developing causal feedback linkages (A to B and B to A) and identifying time delays is less intuitive and more challenging for novices. Model flight simulators grounded in fully documented, calibrated models provide a means to introduce practitioners to a methodology of insight generation because the user designs and runs the model scenarios for themselves, challenging their mental models. Such approaches are generally more impactful (compared with someone telling them) because they have gained insight into the system themselves, and, in the case of open source (white box models), they can explore equations and parameters. Therefore, understanding how to utilize dynamic models in scenario-based simulations is critical in training current and future modelers in animal science. This hands-on model training will cover the basics of System Dynamics modeling and allow participants to run real-time animal production simulations. Finally, participants will be “debriefed” to unpack “ah ha” moments that were unexpected. The debrief will include using models to develop accurate guidelines and recommendations for those who cannot use computer models and developing experimental designs to test hypotheses and “validate” model recommendations (proof in the pudding). Participants will gain knowledge of System Dynamics applications for animal production systems, experience using flight simulators, and their utility in teaching, informing, and guiding their livestock production or that of a client. The “flight simulator” will focus on production and nutrition with species-agnostic principles. Participants will also have a new tool to identify areas for improvement in model development (i.e., what is missing?), research questions, or industry needs. The need for modelers who can turn big data into insight, knowledge, and wisdom using a systems approach is becoming even more critical due to the increasing use of precision livestock farming. Thus, providing the livestock industry with trained systems modelers will help achieve current and future sustainability challenges.

Supporting the Conversational Behavior of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders with Self-Monitoring and a Video-Based Supplement.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) might demonstrate impairments in initiating and sustaining a conversation and experience conversational challenges such as question-asking and turn-taking. Conversational skills are pivotal for the social functioning of adolescents with ASD. The current investigation aimed to extend the available information on interventions addressing the conversational needs of adolescents with ASD. The research questions were: (a) What is the effect of self-monitoring, supplemented by a video-based model on the conversational skills of adolescent students with ASD? and (b) What is the acceptability of the intervention among the participating adolescents with ASD?. Appropriate conversational behavior of three students with ASD (aged 16-18 years) was assessed using a withdrawal design, during 10-min conversation sessions. Appropriate conversational behavior was defined as a sequence of a turn-taking response (i.e., waiting quietly until the speaker finished talking), followed by a verbal utterance which included (a) making a statement or responding on topic, and/or (b) asking a contextually appropriate "wh"- question. The independent variable consisted of a primary self-monitoring procedure and a daily video-based supplement. Treatment fidelity and treatment acceptability were also assessed. The conversational behavior of all participants consistently improved under the self-monitoring intervention with the video-based supplement. Self-monitoring with a video-based supplement can effectively support the conversational behavior in adolescents with ASD. This information can guide the evaluation and planning of appropriate interventions designed to improve limited conversational behaviors of adolescents with ASD.

The Impact of Rape Myth Education on Jury Decision-Making: A Systematic Review.

A systematic review of research exploring the impact of providing rape myth countering information to mock-jurors was conducted. The primary aim of the review was to inform the development of an educational intervention for jurors to reduce potential bias in their decision-making based on belief in prevalent rape myths. In total, the following 12 databases were searched: British Education Index, CINAHL, Child Development and Adolescent Studies, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Educational Administration Abstracts, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Social Care Online. The databases were filtered to return peer-reviewed publications, written in English, and published between 1980 and 2023. The search returned 6,119 potential articles. After duplicates were removed, the 3,202 remaining publications were screened. Only studies that presented rape myth countering information to participants within a mock-juror paradigm were included. Studies that did not compare an information condition to a no-information control condition were excluded, as were those which concerned male rape myths, given the focus on female rape myth beliefs in this review. Eight studies were reviewed and were critically appraised according to validity criteria utilized by Dinos et al. Some evidence emerged to suggest that the provision of judicial directions, expert witness testimony, and complainant statements regarding rape myths can impact upon jury decision-making although the findings were mixed overall. Study limitations regarding internal and external validity were frequently present. Recommendations regarding future research questions and methods are advanced, including those that can inform the development of an effective intervention for jurors.

Ranking sports science and medicine interventions impacting team performance: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies in elite football

This study protocol describes a systematic method to identify, collect and rank sports science and medicine interventions most associated with optimising team performance in elite football in observational studies. While...

410 Preparing yourself, or your students, for a career in the animal science industries

Abstract Preparing yourself, or your students, for a career in Animal Science related industries may seem to require a crystal ball. As important as the specific knowledge might seem, the animal science students of tomorrow will need skills, perspective, an open mindset, the ability to think critically and a desire to be a problem solver. Careers going forward will reward the polymaths who are adaptable and resilient. Experiential training, a hallmark of animal science teaching in recent decades, should, in future, cross three domains: research, animal management and work. Experience in identifying pertinent research questions, forming hypotheses, a plan to test them and skills to analyze the results will be crucial to solving livestock-related challenges of the future. Living the day-to-day experience of a livestock producer will create graduates who are better grounded in and empathetic to the reality of livestock management. And lastly, internships can provide great insight into the demands of, and varied skills required to succeed in, the workplace. Our curricula for the animal science employee of the future should have depth and a great deal of breadth. Excellent understanding of the basic sciences: chemistry, biology, physiology, microbiology, is a given in order that employees can grasp the ever-deeper level of knowledge we have of animal-based systems. In our view, careers of the future will also require working knowledge of a wide swath of disciplines. Students should recognize the increasing likelihood that they may work in a small, entrepreneurial business at some point in their career. In addition to their animal science expertise, they may be called upon to contribute to initiatives in marketing, finance, innovation, global trade, data analytics, communications, One Health, compliance, sustainability or business ethics, to name a few. At the risk of being labeled as a “jack of all trades and master of none”, the animal science employee of the future will need multiple skillsets, the flexibility to draw on all of them and the willingness to step up and contribute to the success of their employer.

Beyond the bedside: A scoping review of the experiences of non-practising health care professionals in Health Professions Education.

The shortage of educators within Health Professions Education (HPE) threatens the optimal training of the future health care workforce. Furthermore, without recruitment of diverse and skilled faculty, targets to expand the workforce will not be possible. Non-practising health care professionals offer extensive knowledge and qualifications within health care, without the competing clinical commitments of their clinical academic colleagues, and therefore are ideally positioned to support education and training initiatives. However, the limited available evidence suggests that these individuals face significant challenges transitioning from clinical to academic roles. The purpose of this scoping review is to address the research question 'What is known about the career experiences of non-practicing healthcare professionals (defined as individuals with clinical backgrounds who no longer engage in direct patient care) across various professions and internationally, within the field of health professions education?'. To do so, we aim to map the global experiences of non-practising health care professionals from different specialties and disciplines transitioning to HPE, with a view to both current support strategies that aim to recruit and retain these individuals and fuel future research in this area. Following Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review guidelines, a research question was formulated focussing on exploring the career experiences of non-practising health care professionals now working in HPE. Searching seven literature databases and grey literature identified 51 articles for analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilised to chart and thematically analyse data to identify key themes. There has been a rise in publications on this topic, with most studies originating from the United States and focusing on nursing. Transition to academia is marked by significant challenges, including identity shifts, renumeration and professional progression tensions, licencing issues and financial concerns. Support systems are crucial to navigating new roles alongside personal/professional development but often lacking. This scoping review highlights challenges and opportunities for non-practising health care professionals in HPE. Additional support for making the transition to education, including structured onboarding processes and long-term mentoring relationships, would be beneficial. Recognising the liminal space these professionals occupy might also facilitate more effective integration into academic roles, contributing to a more dynamic and inclusive HPE environment. Future research should explore these experiences from broader professional and geographical perspectives and employ an intersectional approach to fully understand and support this growing demographic in our field.

The effectiveness of partial pulpotomy compared with full pulpotomy in managing deep caries in vital permanent teeth with a diagnosis of non-traumatic pulpitis.

Pulpitis may be pain free or alternatively characterized by mild to severe pain and associated symptoms. Evidence has recently emerged that patients presenting with carious pulp exposure range of symptoms can be treated effectively with pulpotomy. The current systematic review aimed to answer the following research question: "In patients with deep caries lesions in permanent teeth associated with no symptoms, reversible pulpitis or signs and symptoms indicative of irreversible pulpitis (P), is partial pulpotomy (I) as effective as full pulpotomy (C), in terms of a combination of patient and clinical reported outcomes (O), with "tooth survival" as the most critical outcome? The systematic literature search was conducted in the following electronic databases: OVID, Scopus, PubMed (Including MEDLINE), and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) supplemented with Grey literature and hand searching of relevant journals. The English language clinical trials comparing the patient and clinical reported outcomes between partial and full/complete were included. After a structured literature search, two authors independently performed study selection, extracted data and performed a risk of bias assessment; a third reviewer resolved disagreements. As there were only two studies with different exclusion criteria, no meta-analysis was performed and the quality of evidence was assessed by the GRADE approach. After study selection a total of two randomised clinical trials with a total of 156 teeth were included both for the management of teeth with irreversible pulpitis. There were no studies for asymptomatic teeth or teeth with reversible pulpitis. A "Low" risk of bias was noted for both studies with a high level of overall evidence. A meta-analysis was not carried out due to differences in inclusion criteria between the studies related principally to caries depth. Both studies reported a high rate of clinical success for pulpotomy with a pooled unadjusted success rate for full pulpotomy of 90% and 83% partial pulpotomy of at 1-year; however, no significant difference between the treatments was noted in either study. There was significantly reduced postoperative pain reported in the full pulpotomy group over 1-week compared with the partial pulpotomy in one but not in the other study. Pulpotomy as a definitive treatment modality is as effective in managing teeth exhibiting signs and symptoms indicative of irreversible pulpitis and challenges the established protocols to manage this condition. Although based on only two RCTs with a limited number of patients, no difference was shown in terms of clinical or radiographic outcome or postoperative pain between groups. Further well designed randomised clinical trials of longer duration are required in this area to improve the evidence available. There is no consistent difference in patient-reported pain between partial and full pulpotomy at day 7 postoperatively and the clinical success rate was similar after 1 year for both treatment modalities.

Comparison of feed-forward control strategies for simplified vertical hopping model with intrinsic muscle properties

To analyse walking, running or hopping motions, models with high degrees of freedom are usually used. However simple reductionist models are advantageous within certain limits. In a simple manner, the hopping motion is generally modelled by a spring-mass system, resulting in piecewise smooth dynamics with marginally stable periodic solutions. For a more realistic behaviour, the spring is replaced by a variety of muscle models due to which asymptotically stable periodic motions may occur. The intrinsic properties of the muscle model, i.e. preflexes, are usually taken into account in three complexities-constant, linear and Hill-type. In this paper, we propose a semi-closed form feed-forward control which represents the muscle activation and results in symmetrical hopping motion. The research question is whether hopping motions with symmetric force-time history have advantages over asymmetric ones in two aspects. The first aspect is its applicability for describing human motion. The second aspect is related to robotics where the efficiency is expressed in term of performance measures. The symmetric systems are compared with each other and with those from the literature using performance measures such as hopping height, energetic efficiency, stability of the periodic orbit, and dynamical robustness estimated by the local integrity measure (LIM). The paper also demonstrates that the DynIn MatLab Toolbox that has been developed for the estimation of the LIM of equilibrium points is applicable for periodic orbits.

Theoretical sensitivity and reflexivity in grounded theory.

Grounded theory (GT) has become one of the foremost tools in qualitative nursing research. There are different approaches to GT but a feature common to all of them is theoretical sensitivity, which facilitates GT's iterative process. However, differences between the approaches in how to apply theoretical sensitivity and how much influence existing knowledge should play have contributed to tribalism. To critically evaluate the role of theoretical sensitivity and reflexivity in GT and the involvement they can have, as well as explore what steps researchers can take to improve their insight. Theoretical sensitivity enables researchers to steer their studies to answer their research questions, gain insight into their study's findings and develop theory grounded in the data. However, reflection is required for researchers to understand their effect on the theories that emerge, prevent them from applying preconceived ideas and allow for the unfettered emergence of theory. Researchers who do not demonstrate insight into their own philosophical positions and influences risk being accused of bias; this may result in the perceived value of their theoretical outcomes being reduced. Applying a reflexive process may mitigate this, enabling them to understand and refine their methodological processes and produce high-quality GT research. All researchers should consider using reflexivity when conducting research. Understanding influences and positionality in qualitative methodologies allows for transparency and improves the rigour of their outcomes.

Exploring meta-heuristics for partitional clustering: methods, metrics, datasets, and challenges

Partitional clustering is a type of clustering that can organize the data into non-overlapping groups or clusters. This technique has diverse applications across the different various domains like image processing, pattern recognition, data mining, rule-based systems, customer segmentation, image segmentation, and anomaly detection, etc. Hence, this survey aims to identify the key concepts and approaches in partitional clustering. Further, it also highlights its widespread applicability including major advantages and challenges. Partitional clustering faces challenges like selecting the optimal number of clusters, local optima, sensitivity to initial centroids, etc. Therefore, this survey describes the clustering problems as partitional clustering, dynamic clustering, automatic clustering, and fuzzy clustering. The objective of this survey is to identify the meta-heuristic algorithms for the aforementioned clustering. Further, the meta-heuristic algorithms are also categorised into simple meta-heuristic algorithms, improved meta-heuristic algorithms, and hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms. Hence, this work also focuses on the adoption of new meta-heuristic algorithms, improving existing methods and novel techniques that enhance clustering performance and robustness, making partitional clustering a critical tool for data analysis and machine learning. This survey also highlights the different objective functions and benchmark datasets adopted for measuring the effectiveness of clustering algorithms. Before the literature survey, several research questions are formulated to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the survey such as what are the various meta-heuristic techniques available for clustering problems? How to handle automatic data clustering? What are the main reasons for hybridizing clustering algorithms? The survey identifies shortcomings associated with existing algorithms and clustering problems and highlights the active area of research in the clustering field to overcome these limitations and improve performance.

Predicting Acute Stress with Life Satisfaction and Psychological Resilience Scales during COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece

Background theories in positive psychology and mental health support that ‘Psychological Resilience’ (PR) and ‘Satisfaction with Life’ (SwL) are protective factors of psychological distress. On the other hand, ‘Acute Stress Disorder’ (ASD) is a condition related to the adaptation of sympathetic adaptation after a stressful stimulus in a period of less than a month. Regarding the stressful evident of COVID-19, little evidence is provided on the question of whether PR and SwL can predict ASD. To investigate, the present study received answers to three self-reported scales regarding ASD (Acute-Stress Disorder Scales [ASDS]; M= 38.67, SD= 15.51), PR (Nicholson-McBride Resilience Questionnaire [NMRQ]; M= 41.83, SD= 7.63) and SwL (Satisfaction-with-Life Scale [SWLS]; M= 23.3, SD= 6.31) from a sample of 1,158 Greeks from the general population during the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The results show that ASD is significantly negatively correlated to both PR [r= -.420, p< .001] and SwL [r= -.311, p< .001], while the predictive model (NMRQ and SWLS) predicted significantly ASDS [F(2, 1157) = 1155.06, p< .001, Adjusted R2 = .21]. The results of the study are overall confirmatory to previous studies although relevant literature may be limit as emphasis has been put on PTSD. Future studies may test the same research question in non-COVID conditions to the Greek or other populations. Keywords: Acute Stress Disorder; Psychological Resilience; Satisfaction with Life; COVID-19; Greece

Maternal and Child Health Training of Traditional Birth Attendants and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

In remote communities, maternal and child health is often compromised due to limited access to healthcare. Simultaneously, these communities historically rely greatly on traditional birth attendants (TBAs). However, optimal integration of these traditional methods with modern healthcare practices remains a topic of debate. We assessed the effect of maternal and child health training of traditional birth attendants on adverse pregnancy outcomes. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to answer the above research question. We independently screened studiesusing databases like PubMed, Scopus, and CENTRAL, extracted data, and assessed the study quality. Due to fewer original studies in this field, we considered both pre-post and between-group differences to assess the effect of differences. These were synthesised separately, assessed against a p-value function, and subjected to sensitivity analyses. We included six interventional studies. Training TBAs reduced the risk of perinatal mortality [0.69, 0.61-0.78] and 7-day neonatal mortality [0.65, 0.53-0.80] but not stillbirth [0.70, 0.39-1.26]. In randomized controlled trials, there is a lower risk of perinatal mortality [0.73, 0.67-0.79] and neonatal mortality [0.70, 0.62-0.80] but not stillbirth [0.81, 0.56-1.18] with trained traditional birth attendants. There are methodological concerns with most existing studies, including domains like allocation concealment. There is some evidence of the benefit of training TBAs, though of a low to very low certainty. Due to fewer studies, inconsistent estimates for different critical outcomes, and concerns with the existing studies, further well-designed studies can give more insights. They can also help optimize the contents of TBA training interventions. CRD42023412935 (PROSPERO).

Cocreative Development of Robotic Interaction Systems for Health Care: Scoping Review.

Robotic technologies present challenges to health care professionals and are therefore rarely used. Barriers such as lack of controllability and adaptability and complex control functions affect the human-robot relationship. In addition to educational opportunities, the possibility of individual adaptation can improve the usability and practical implementation of robotics. Previous work has focused on developments from a technology-centered perspective and has included user interests too late in the process. This study addresses the following research question: What cocreative research approaches are used in the field of nursing robotics to improve the usability, intended use, and goal-directed application of robotic developments for nurses and to support the nursing process? This scoping review provides an overview of the topic and the research activities taking place within it. Five databases and the reference lists of the identified publications were searched for studies without further restrictions. Studies were included if they developed and evaluated interaction and control platforms for robotic systems in health care in a cocreative way with end users. The search resulted in 419 hits, of which 3 publications were included. All publications were feasibility or user studies that were mainly carried out in the European Union. The 3 interaction and control platforms presented were all prototypes and not commercially available. In addition to those in need of care, all studies also included family carers and health care professionals. Robotic interaction and control platforms in health care are rarely, if ever, developed and evaluated with feasibility or user studies that include prototypes and end users. While the involvement of end users is crucial, this review emphasizes that all stakeholders, including health care professionals, should participate in the development process to ensure a holistic understanding of application needs and a focus on user experiences and practical health care needs. It is emphasized that the active involvement of end users in the development process is critical to effectively meeting the needs of the target group.

What's a parent to do? Measuring cultural logics of parenting with computational text analysis

Leading theories on parenting in the United States suggest that parenting varies widely by socioeconomic status, with middle-class parents practicing “concerted cultivation”—marked by parents' intensive efforts to foster their children's development—and working-class parents engaging in the “accomplishment of natural growth”—with children given more freedom to manage their own time. While frequently inferred that these parenting practices reflect different cultural logics of parenting, such logics are inherently hard to measure. Our paper proposes a new inductive way to study parenting logics using computational text analysis applied to a nationally representative survey where respondents provided parenting advice across three hypothetical parenting situations. Analyzing this advice using Biterm Topic Modeling we find that nearly all parenting logics reflect some form of intensive parenting, but within that are multiple nuanced versions varying across two dimensions: (1) assertive vs negotiated parenting, and (2) pedagogic vs pragmatic parenting. Using fractional multinomial logistic regression, we find little difference in how parenting logics vary by race/ethnicity, education, and income, suggesting more similarity across groups and more variability within groups than commonly understood. These findings also demonstrate how computational techniques may provide complementary tools to enrich the study of long-standing questions in social science research, at times offering an analytical naïveté that human coding cannot offer.

An Evaluation of the Technologies Used for the Real-Time Monitoring of the Risk of Falling from Height in Construction—Systematic Review

The construction industry has the highest number of fatal accidents compared to other industries. However, manual safety compliance monitoring is complex and difficult for safety engineers, and more automated solutions need to be found. The main research objective was to review the state of the art of real-time monitoring technologies used to assess the risk of falling from height in the construction sector. A systematic review is proposed in order to summarise the technologies used for real-time monitoring in the construction sector, following the PRISMA methodology. Only studies that assessed the risk of falling in real time were selected. From an initial set of 1289 articles, 40 were classified as strictly relevant to addressing the research questions. Various technologies that use artificial intelligence have been designed to monitor workers in real time and to send alerts to workers at any time in the event of a risk situation, thus preventing accidents. This study showed that new technologies are being introduced to predict the risk of a fall in real time, changing the approach from reactive to proactive and allowing this monitoring to improve workplace surveillance and safety. Further research is needed to develop effective systems that are easy for people to use without compromising productivity.

Machine learning to guide the use of plasma technology for antibiotic degradation

Antibiotics are misused and discharged into environmental water, posing a constant potential threat to the ecosystem. Utilising plasma’s physical and chemical effects to remove antibiotics has emerged as a promising wastewater treatment technology. However, the complexity and high cost of reactor configurations represent significant limitations to the practical application of this technology. Furthermore, evaluating the degradation efficiency of antibiotics necessitates using costly and sophisticated testing instruments, coupled with time-consuming and labour-intensive experiments. The present study developed a generalised model using machine learning algorithms to predict the removal efficiency of antibiotics by a plasma system. Of the eight machine learning algorithms constructed, the ensemble model XGBoost exhibited the highest prediction accuracy, as indicated by a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.943. This correlation indicates a strong relationship between the predicted removal rates and the experimental values. Moreover, the accuracy of the prediction was enhanced through the utilisation of a multi-model stacking approach. A further quantitative assessment of the key factors affecting the efficiency of the plasma process, and their synergistic effects, is provided by the interpretable analysis of the model’s behaviour. It is anticipated that the results will facilitate the design of efficient plasma systems, reduce the need for extensive experimental screening, and improve practical applications in the removal of antibiotic contamination. This provides an informative view of the applications of plasma technology, opening the way for new environmental research questions.

Developing a socio-hydrological model to assess community sensitivity to lake degradation

ABSTRACT The crucial challenge in arid/developed endorheic basins is to balance agricultural water demands with ecosystem health. This study addresses this dilemma by developing a semi-distributed socio-hydrological model for the basins using monthly water balance coupled with annual community sensitivity (CS)/response models. The central research question focuses on whether the degradation of lakes in the Tashk-Bakhtegan basin, our selected case study, can shift the community’s attitude towards allocating water resources for environmental rather than agricultural purposes. Given the basin’s vastness and complex water access, individuals hold diverse environmental attitudes on lake degradation. Upon model calibration, it becomes evident that downstream areas exhibit a CS variable 2.4 times higher than upstream areas, with annual fluctuations ranging from 1.15 to 6.34. Remarkably, the findings underscore a gradual transformation in downstream attitudes, where increasing CS has shifted their perspective towards prioritizing the well-being of the lake, while upstream residents continue to prioritize agro-economic benefits.

Ontological agility and infrastructure: Palestinian liberation's praxis in the corridor between Ramallah and East Jerusalem

ABSTRACT This ethnographic study examines how Palestinians navigate bureaucracies along the corridor between Ramallah and East Jerusalem, a fragmented border zone between the Palestinian Authority and Israeli Authorities. The central research questions are as follows. First, how do Palestinian users cultivate mobility, subsistence, and relatedness practices within and against the bureaucratic infrastructures and regimes of enclosure imposed since the Oslo Accords? Second, how might these grounded modes of agency unsettle the prevailing theoretical paradigms related to resistance, futurity, and liberating praxis? Interviews with 25 Palestinian commuters reveal their use of “ontological agility,” “performative ambiguity,” and subvert the built environments to traverse jurisdictions, access rights, and enable survival. However, these tactics remain ambivalent and potentially reinforce oppressive structures. The corridor represents a space where Palestinian experiences are caught between sovereignty, fracturing stable meanings and generating new cultural expressions beyond traditional decolonization. By embracing these lived ambiguities, the study demonstrates how everyday Palestinian practices constitute a form of spatial and political liberating praxis that cannot be fully captured by rational actor models or rights-based approaches to political struggle. Instead, these practices reveal the potential for a more nuanced, contextual form of agency that operates within and against settler colonial logics.

Optimizing e-Learning in CPD: Preferences and Perceptions of Health Professionals.

Continuing professional development for health professionals increasingly relies on e-learning. However, there is insufficient research into the instructional strategies health professionals prefer to engage with in e-learning. An empirical study was undertaken to answer the research question: What instructional strategies do learners prefer in e-learning modules to improve their learning experience? The Department of Health Professions Education at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences developed six, stand-alone, self-paced modules for health professionals focusing on education and leadership. The module evaluation survey consisted of six Likert scale questions and two open-ended questions. Responses from these anonymized module evaluations from 2019 to 2022 were analyzed. Descriptive statistics for the Likert scale questions were calculated. Responses to the two open-ended questions were compiled and analyzed thematically. All survey respondents found the content of the modules helpful and met their stated learning objectives. A majority (94%) agreed or strongly agreed that readings and videos increased their knowledge in the topic area and that quizzes effectively strengthened their understanding of the topics. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data: pedagogical strategies, technology issues, feedback and interaction, and transfer of learning. This study foregrounds the voice of the learner, which emphasizes health professionals' preference for instructional strategies that align with their needs as adult learners. The findings highlight the value of content relevance, expert creation, and authentic examples in enhancing learner satisfaction.