Regional Affiliates Research Articles

A comprehensive summary of eponymous awards and scholarships in sexual medicine.

Numerous eponymous awards and scholarships exist within sexual medicine. This comprehensive review is intended to summarize these awards and highlight the esteemed sexual medicine experts for whom these awards are named. To provide historical background and context for the various eponymous awards in sexual medicine. The websites of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) and the regional affiliate societies, including the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA), International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH), and various regional societies were identified, and all awards associated with a member of note were documented. In cases where no awards were identified within a regional society and a contact person was available, inquiries were made regarding the existence of awards. Several documents on the history of the ISSM were utilized for background on awards. A comprehensive list of current awards and their history was compiled. This is the first comprehensive history of eponymous awards and scholarships available in sexual medicine.

Radical Defence: The American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born and the Movement for Deportation Resistance and Immigrants’ Rights

Abstract The American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born was a Communist-affiliated legal advocacy organisation that operated from the 1930s through to the 1970s, that witnessed several periods of ideological and social change in immigration policy and politics. As a radical campaign group, it developed as an outgrowth of the twentieth-century American left, and created a distinct platform devoted explicitly to defending the rights of immigrants. Using the courts, popular protest, policy advocacy and other innovative campaign strategies, the group and its regional affiliates, along with allied leftist organisations, pioneered a framework of constitutional rights and legal protections for the immigrants who were persecuted and threatened with deportation due to their links to the labour left. During the early Cold War, their work defending foreign-born radicals against deportation gradually expanded to include other immigrant communities, and to broach broader issues of civil and human rights.

President’s Introduction

President’s Introduction Hilary Levine, PhD, CGP, President of EGPS Dear Reader, I am excited that after a period of transition and renewal, a new and improved GROUP journal has been born. It takes a well-coordinated team of people to publish a quarterly journal, and we are fortunate to have had such a dedicated group of people working on GROUP. Recently, several of those people have retired from their roles. I’d like to thank Jonah Schwartz, Erica Gardner-Schuster, and Brunhild Kring for their many years of service to the journal. Contemporaneously, the Board of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society (EGPS) has been examining and amending the ways that we have historically centered the experiences of White professionals in private practice. Our newly revised organizational mission reflects our steadfast commitment to being a more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization. The practice of using groups for healing exists on a much broader scale than what has typically been the focus of EGPS’s programming and training. This bias has influenced not only who we attracted as members but also who was interested in writing for and reading our journal. Over the past several months, we have been reimagining and updating how our journal functions to restore our publication to a quarterly journal that serves a broader community of group practitioners. I am grateful to Christine Schmidt for leading this reimagining process. One result was the creation of a mission statement for the journal that is in alignment with our organizational mission. We have strengthened our vision to reflect the unique offerings our journal can bring to group work in an increasingly diverse field. GROUP is a quarterly journal that publishes articles and reviews on the use of groups in the service of healing. The journal encourages creative thought and dissemination of knowledge about group processes and welcomes multiple theoretical orientations, contexts, purposes, and ideologies. Aspiring to be intentionally antioppressive to all people, GROUP seeks to advance scholarship that exemplifies respect for the historical [End Page 7] and current contexts, needs, values, and strengths of cultures, races, and genders typically under- and misrepresented in postcolonial literature. The journal invites articles that integrate perspectives from social work, psychology, politics, sociology, history, the arts, economics, health care, education, and organizational dynamics. Although the journal focuses primarily on the application and experience of group process and practice, GROUP also publishes relevant research articles. Continuously published since 1976, GROUP is the journal of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society, a regional affiliate of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. In addition, a search committee, led by Christine Schmidt and Vinny Dehili, was formed to create a new editorial team. I am delighted to announce that after an expansive search for qualified editors, we welcome Dr. Jessica Jean Baptiste and Dr. Marty Cooper to the helm as coeditors of GROUP. They will be joined by a robust and active editorial team to recruit writers and review articles. As our new team gets up and running, rather than putting out four issues this year, we will instead be producing two double issues, 47.1–2 and 47.3–4. Beginning in 2024, we plan to issue four separate quarterly issues. Another change to GROUP is that we have decided to cease production of print editions and to go entirely digital. Please note that this will be the final print edition of GROUP. As always, we welcome potential authors and encourage consultation with the editors about ideas that could be developed into an article. Submitted material receives blind review by scholars and practitioners in the field who serve on the editorial board, although final decisions rest with the editors. For more information, see page 6 or contact info@egps.org. Thank you for your patience during this transition. I hope you thoroughly enjoy this double issue of GROUP. [End Page 8] Copyright © 2023 Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society

Assessing al-Qaeda: A Debate

Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, the current status and future of al-Qaeda is a central policy question, especially as the U.S. government looks to pivot away from counterterrorism toward managing great power competition. This article presents a debate on this issue between Daniel Byman and Asfandyar Mir. Mir argues that al-Qaeda remains a significant threat, committed to fighting the United States despite pressures to alter direction. The control of al-Qaeda central over its major regional affiliates remains strong, with steady growth in capability. It also retains important allies and has major opportunities due to the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the domestic political environment, changing priorities in the United States, and great power competition. Byman, in contrast, contends that al-Qaeda suffers debilitating organizational problems, with affiliates having localized and the movement lacking a haven remotely comparable to pre-9/11 Afghanistan. In addition, improved counterterrorism keeps al-Qaeda off balance. If al-Qaeda remains a major threat, counterterrorism must remain among the United States’ major national security priorities, even if it is not the top one, and robust counterterrorism measures need to be sustained. If al-Qaeda is weak, the importance of counterterrorism in the hierarchy of U.S. foreign policy priorities can fall substantially.

Field Report: News From The College English Association Regional Affiliates

Field Report: News From The College English Association Regional Affiliates

An Iranian Worldview: The Strategic Culture of the Islamic Republic

Highlighting the nexus between the Islamic Republic’s strategic culture and behavior, this article argues that Iran’s clerical leadership is ideological in its orientation but has always demonstrated tactical nous and pragmatism. Domestically, it pursues Islamification in conformity with Khomeinism. Regionally, it fosters conditions that might force the United States and its European allies out of the Middle East and oblige local governments to seek accommodation. Its network of regional affiliates and proxies are primarily tools of deterrence to safeguard the regime. Nevertheless, Tehran has a penchant for opportunistically promoting regional instability and arming substate actors to ensnare adversaries in protracted conflicts. Its interventionist proclivities are also borne out of domestic exigencies. Paradoxically, the regime compensates for its diminishing legitimacy by becoming even more aggressive at home and adventurous abroad. There are growing signs, however, that the Islamic Republic’s strategic culture may be its undoing.

Convergence as an aspect of the work of affiliates of the public broadcaster in the wartime period

Introduction. Ukrainian society needs operational and verified news, especially in the conditions of war. Mass media should respond to such requests from the audience. Relevance of the study. The number of subscribers and pages of affiliates of the public broadcaster in the regions is constantly growing. Therefore, the study of the broadcaster's work on social networks is relevant. Methodology. The main method was content analysis. By the method of comparison, the common and distinctive features of the work of convergent editorial offices have been established. The method of systematization made it possible to determine the peculiarities of the work of mass media on individual sites. The method of generalization made it possible to record the identified trends. Results. The work of regional affiliates to fill information platforms with content has common and distinctive features. Up to 15 messages were published daily on the broadcaster's websites in Transcarpathia, Rivne, and Sumy regions in May. The Telegram page was used by all three affiliates to notify about alarms and inform about news of local and all-Ukrainian importance. The Facebook pages of the branches of the public broadcaster in Transcarpathia, Rivne and Sumy regions worked according to a similar scheme: they published regional and all-Ukrainian news. Alarm notifications on this site were distributed only in Transcarpathia. Youtube video hosting was used by all three branches with varying intensity. Conclusions. The most popular among content consumers are Facebook pages, the total number of followers of the three branches is 158,000. Instagram pages and Viber channels have the fewest followers, 57,500 and 57,000 followers, respectively. The number of followers on media pages in social networks indicates the relevance of the work convergent editions and the need for further improvement of the concepts of information filling of patforms.

587 PATIENT-REPORTED SYMPTOMS FOR ESOPHAGEAL CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CURATIVE INTENT TREATMENT

Abstract Esophageal cancer (EC) patients experience considerable symptom burden from treatment. This study utilized population-level patient-reported Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) scores collected as part of standard clinical care to describe symptom trajectories and characteristics associated with severe symptoms for patients undergoing curative intent EC treatment. Methods EC patients treated with curative intent at regional cancer centers and affiliates between 2009–2016 and assessed for symptoms in the 12 months following diagnosis were included. ESAS measures nine common patient-reported cancer symptoms. The outcome was reporting of severe (≥7/10) symptom scores. Multivariable analyses were used to identify characteristics associated with severe symptom scores. Results 1,751 patients reported a median of 7 (IQR 4–12) ESAS assessments in the year following diagnosis, for a total of 14,953 unique ESAS assessments included in the analysis. The most frequently reported severe symptoms were lack of appetite (n = 918, 52%), tiredness (n = 787, 45%) and poor wellbeing (713, 40.7%). The highest symptom burden is within the first five months following diagnosis, with moderate improvement in symptom burden in the second half of the first year. Characteristics associated with severe scores for all symptoms included female sex, high comorbidity, lower socioeconomic status, urban residence, and symptom assessment temporally close to diagnosis. Conclusion This study demonstrates a high symptom burden for EC patients undergoing curative intent therapy. Targeted treatment of common severe symptoms, and increased support for patients at risk for severe symptoms, may enhance patient quality of life.

Clinical and Financial Implications of Second-Opinion Surgical Pathology Review.

Second-opinion pathology review identifies clinically significant diagnostic discrepancies for some patients. Discrepancy rates and laboratory-specific costs in a single health care system for patients referred from regional affiliates to a comprehensive cancer center ("main campus") have not been reported. Main campus second-opinion pathology cases for 740 patients from eight affiliated hospitals during 2016 to 2018 were reviewed. Chart review was performed to identify changes in care due to pathology review. To assess costs of pathology interpretation, reimbursement rates for consultation Current Procedural Terminology billing codes were compared with codes that would have been used had the cases originated at the main campus. Diagnostic discrepancies were identified in 104 (14.1%) patients, 30 (4.1%) of which resulted in a change in care. In aggregate, reimbursement for affiliate cases was 65.6% of the reimbursement for the same cases had they originated at the main campus. High-volume organ systems with low relative consultation reimbursement included gynecologic, breast, and thoracic. Preventable diagnostic errors are reduced by pathology review for patients referred within a single health care system. Although the resulting changes in care potentially lead to overall cost savings, the financial value of referral pathology review could be improved.

News From Cea'S Regional Affiliates and Allied Organizations

News From Cea'S Regional Affiliates and Allied Organizations

The Impact of New Member Orientation Programs on Union Member Commitment: Evidence from a National Study in a Post-Janus Setting

This article presents the findings of a study that examined local union new member orientation programs and their impact on member attitudes toward the union. Data for this study were collected through a survey of new members of six geographically dispersed local and regional affiliates of a large national public sector union. Members were asked about their experiences as new members. The findings provide strong evidence that high-quality new member orientation programs have a positive impact on member commitment to the union and that unions and union leaders can invest resources in initiating or improving these programs with the confidence that they will have a positive and significant impact on member attitudes. It also provides specific insights into the elements of effective new member orientation programs and includes action recommendations on how unions can use new member orientations programs to build stronger organizations.

University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine

University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine

Effect modification of resident autonomy and seniority on perioperative outcomes in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Resident operative involvement is an integral aspect of general surgery residency training. However, current data examining the effect of resident autonomy on perioperative outcomes remain limited. Patient and operator-specific data were collected from 344 adult laparoscopic cholecystectomies at a tertiary academic institution and its regional affiliates between 2018 and 2019. Multivariate modeling compared postoperative outcomes between cases completed with or without resident involvement and its effect modification by resident seniority and autonomy per Zwisch scale. Outcomes include 30-day postoperative complications, hospital readmission rate, and operative time. Multivariate analysis revealed resident involvement in laparoscopic cholecystectomy did not significantly change odds of 30-day postoperative complications (OR 2.52, p=0.185, 95% CI 0.64-9.92) or hospital readmission (OR 1.61, p=0.538, 95% CI 0.36-7.23). Operative time is significantly increased compared to faculty-only cases (IRR 1.37, p<0.001, 95% CI 1.26-1.48). While accounting for case difficulty and resident performance evaluated by SIMPL criteria, stratification by resident autonomy measured by Zwisch scale or seniority reveal no effect modification on 30-day postoperative complications, readmissions, or operative time. The effect of resident involvement on longer relative rates of operative time loses its significance in supervision-only cases (IRR 1.18, p=0.069, 95% CI 0.99-1.41). While resident involvement and autonomy are associated with significantly longer operative times in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, their lack of significant effect on postoperative outcomes argues strongly for continued resident involvement and supervised operative independence.

Between external forces and internal factors: The geography of domestic airline services in South Africa

This paper investigates the changes and current patterns of domestic passenger airline networks in South Africa, considering routes operated and volumes of seats supplied by carriers. This market was liberalised in 1991 and the new market-oriented policy was not challenged by the post-apartheid regime. Flag-carrier South African Airways (SAA) has lost its virtual monopoly, and thus significant volumes and market share, although its decrease is smaller if one considers its regional affiliates and subsidiary. Conversely, low-cost airlines have literally boomed, while British Airways has penetrated the market through a franchise agreement with Comair. Route networks by airline show various patterns. The low-cost carriers tend to concentrate on South Africa's Golden Triangle, while SAA regional affiliates mostly serve thin routes without competitors. Furthermore, the rise of low-cost airlines has led to the utilisation of a secondary airport in Johannesburg, the only African city with a multiple-airport system. Finally, our results are interpreted in light of South Africa's geography, intermodal options and social-political issues.

Nollywood Reception Preferences among Selected Multilingual Nigerian Undergraduates in the University of Ibadan: Does Ethnicity Still Matter?

Multilingualism and multi-ethnicity realities in Nigeria informed the existence of regional Nigerian films (Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo films as majors), apart from English Nollywood films. These regional Nollywoods mainly portray the experiences and lives of people of their regional affiliates and are mostly patronised by indigenes of the regions. As such, this study investigated if such ethnic mindset matters in Nollywood reception preferences among Nigerian undergraduates that are proficient in English and at least two major Nigerian languages. The study, guided by two research questions, adopted the qualitative research design. Fifteen (15) multilingual undergraduate students of the University of Ibadan were purposively selected for a semi-structured interview. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Findings revealed that the selected multilingual Nigerian undergraduates, despite their linguistic reality, showed preferences for Nollywood produced in English and/or pidgin above regional ones produced in indigenous languages. The reasons for this, emanating from the sub-themes, were far from ethnicity. Ethnicity, therefore, does not influence Nollywood reception preferences among undergraduates. On this basis, recommendations were made on how Nollywood could be better improved to showcase the nature of Nigeria’s unity in diversity.

Управління забезпеченням економічної безпеки регіональної філії АТ «Українська залізниця»

Ukrainian railway transport makes significant impact on the economy of Ukraine (56,1% of freight turnover and 27,4% of passenger traffic in 2018), as well as on such important components of its national security as economic security, political security, social security, military security and others. JSC «Ukrainian Railways» includes 6 regional affiliates (Southern Railway, Lviv railway and others), which are not legal entities, but have their own management systems and resourses.The scheme of the economic security system for a regional affiliate of JSC «Ukrainian Railways» is developed in the paper (according to the black box model). Its inputs are: Threats to the economic security of JSC «Ukrainian Railways» (external and internal); Resources for economic security provision (personnel, financial, material, informational, etc). Its outputs are: an acceptable level of economic security of a regional affiliate (not lower than 0,80); sustainable development of a regional affiliate. Inside subsystems are named after 7 functional components of economic security provision: financial; intellectual and personnel; technical and technological; political and legal; informational; ecological; power.The control subsystem of the scheme of the economic security system must include: a unit of diagnostics of level of economic security; a threat monitoring unit; a unit of organization, planning, motivation and control. The functions of the units are described in the paper. It is also revealed what functional components of the economic security of JSC UZ and its affiliates are affected by major internal threats. The main internal threats are corruption, unprofessional leadership, the loss of skilled workers, the progressive depreciation of fixed assets and the distortion of reporting.The calculations of the level of economic security of the regional affiliate «Southern Railway» in 2014 - 2018 are performed and the reasons for being it in the risk zone are revealed. They are: low labour productivity, reduction of current liquidity and productivity of locomotive, low productivity of carriage, deepening of unprofitableness of activity of the railway (rate of return dropped to -27,4%).

Laboratory Test Utilization in an Expanding Regional Laboratory Network: Past Successes and Future Opportunities

Abstract Introduction The University of Rochester Medical Center developed a reference test utilization program implemented in 2011 to tackle increasing test volumes and costs. There was an initial &gt;7,000 decrease in test volumes, which equated to &gt;$1,000,000.00 in savings by year end 2012. Despite this, by the end of 2018, testing volumes had increased 34% and the cost had climbed 36%. Here we would like to discuss the methods implemented for initial success, potential reasons for continued increases in volumes and costs, and ideas to mitigate this trend in the future. Methods In 2010, the University of Rochester formed a laboratory diagnostics committee, which successfully decreased reference testing volumes and costs in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. They did this by developing a formulary for reference tests, which was divided into three tiers based on clinical utility and cost: tier 1 tests, unrestricted and available to all providers to order; tier 2 tests, restricted with only board-certified, subspecialty-trained physicians able to order; and tier 3 tests, off formulary and not available to order. The resident physician staff was also no longer allowed to order any reference testing on inpatients. Despite initial gains costs and volumes have climbed &gt;36% and 34%, respectively, since implementation. Possible explanations for this include the addition of regional affiliate hospitals and reference clients that are not following these protocols, increased testing volumes, and increasing use of molecular testing. Conclusion Despite successful implementation of a reference test utilization program, close monitoring and adaptations are necessary in our continuously changing health care environment to remain effective. Implementation of the program at the regional affiliate hospitals and a more robust molecular testing menu in-house are potential options to control rising costs while providing high-quality patient care.

ISIS-K: deadly nuisance or strategic threat?

ABSTRACTIn 2014, an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria emerged in Afghanistan. Wilayat Khorasan, or ISIS-K, intends to secure Afghanistan to legitimize the Islamic State’s caliphate across the ‘Khorasan Province’ including portions of Central Asia, China, Iran, the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. While the group’s intent is clear, its capability confounds analysts. The authors argue that Wilayat Khorasan is likely the Islamic State’s most viable and lethal regional affiliate based on an expansionist military strategy. This is designed to enable the group’s encirclement of Jalalabad City in Nangarhar Province and is foundational to its expanded operational reach, regionalization, and lethality. Since 2016, the US-led Coalition’s counter-terrorism strategy has disrupted ISIS-K’s critical requirements and prevented external attacks. Yet, raids and strikes alone will not defeat ISIS-K. They must be calibrated against an institution-building approach that legitimizes Afghanistan’s government and redresses grievances that ISIS-K exploits to resolve.

Association Between Postpartum Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Metastasis and the Clinical Features Underlying Risk

In women 45 years or younger, breast cancer diagnosis after childbirth increases the risk for metastasis and death, yet limited data exist to define this window of risk and associated prognostic factors. To assess the window of elevated risk for metastasis following a postpartum breast cancer (PPBC) diagnosis and whether clinical prognostic factors are associated with the increased risk. This multicenter cohort study conducted using cases from the Colorado Young Women's Breast Cancer Cohort diagnosed between January 1, 1981, and December 31, 2014, included 701 women 45 years or younger with stage I to III invasive breast cancer for whom parity data, including time of last childbirth, were available. Data analysis was conducted from July 1 to September 30, 2017. This study involved a tertiary care academic hospital-based breast center and its regional affiliates with cases from the greater Rocky Mountain region. Primary exposures were prior childbirth or no childbirth, time between most recent childbirth and breast cancer diagnosis, and time between breast cancer diagnosis and metastasis. The primary outcome was distant metastasis-free survival. A total of 701 women 45 years or younger from the greater Rocky Mountain states region were included in the analysis; mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 37.9 (5.1) years. Breast cancer diagnosis within 10 years after parturition was associated with elevated risk for metastasis, particularly in women with stage I or II disease. In addition, women with PPBC diagnosed within 10 years of a completed pregnancy that was estrogen receptor-positive showed distant metastasis-free survival similar to that of nulliparous patients with estrogen receptor-negative cancer, and women with estrogen receptor-negative PPBC had further reduced metastasis-free survival. Moreover, women with PPBC had increased lymphovascular invasion and lymph node involvement. In addition, tumor-associated Ki67 positivity identified 129 patients with luminal B cancer in the cohort that, independent of parity status, had poorer prognosis compared with patients with luminal A cancer, although it did not reach statistical significance. Diagnosis of PPBC within 10 years post partum appears to be associated with an increased risk for metastasis. This increased risk was highest in stages I and II cancer at diagnosis and present in both patients with estrogen receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-negative cancer, persisting in estrogen receptor-positive cases for up to 15 years after diagnosis. Postpartum breast cancer diagnoses were not associated with increased Ki67 index but were associated with increased lymphovascular invasion and lymph node involvement compared with breast cancer in nulliparous patients.

Field Report: News from the College English Association Regional Affiliates

Field Report: News from the College English Association Regional Affiliates