Two-phase Design Research Articles

“Weird duality”: learning from the experiences of students in university peer support roles during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: To explore university student peer supporter experiences in the pandemic context and with a specific focus on student mental health. Participants: The sample comprised 13 students from various peer support programs, providing academic, social and/or emotional support at a South-East England university. Methods: A two-phase qualitative design involved individual interviews and focus groups, followed by participant validation with a subset of participants. Results: Peer supporters identified an increased need peri-pandemic for mental health support. The accessibility was aided by students perceiving peer supporters to be approachable, but was undermined by concerns about peers’ credibility. Supporter-supportee relationships were characterized by intimacy and mutuality, which were seen as conducive to authenticity, but caused challenges with respect to boundaries. Conclusions: Peer support is a complex activity, characterized by a sense of multiplicity and mutuality. Responsive supervision and dedicated training are necessary to manage these complexities amidst elevated student mental health needs.

Explanatory sequential descriptive analysis of music therapists’ clinical practice for individuals with eating disorders

The purpose of this study was to explore music therapists’ clinical practice in the United States for individuals with eating disorders (ED). To this aim, the researcher used a two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods research design: (a) quantitative survey of music therapists (N = 18) in the U.S. working with clients with ED, and (b) in-depth interviews with music therapists (n = 7) who provided contact information at survey conclusion. The majority of participants had a bachelor’s or master’s degree in music therapy, worked approximately eight years with individuals with ED, and most frequently used cognitive behavioral, client-centered, or dialectical behavior therapy approaches. Participants primarily worked with adolescents and adults with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, within groups, in a variety of settings. The five most common treatment areas were self-expression, coping skills, depression, identify feelings, and express feelings, using various receptive, improvisation, composition, and re-creative interventions. The majority of MTs reported high job satisfaction and competence, perceived services as important and client responses positive. Interviewees explained and elaborated upon the results of the survey. Interviewees described aspects of safety, harm, trauma, and self-care, and highlighted importance of continued learning, training, research, observation, supervision, and skill development.

Development of a Pediatric Behavioral Early Warning Scale (PEDI-BEWS) for Children.

Background and Purpose: The prevention of aggressive behavior in child and adolescent inpatient settings is essential. However, it can be difficult to prompt a quick appropriate intervention without an early warning scale for the prevention and management of behavioral emergencies in a psychiatric inpatient adolescent unit. Behavioral emergencies often result in restraint/seclusion and/or administration of psychotropic medications. The objectives are to develop and evaluate the Pediatric Behavioral Early Warning Scale (Pedi-BEWS) as a screening tool to prompt quick appropriate interventions and to decrease incidents of restraint/seclusion and/or administration of psychotropic medications. Methods: A two-phase methodological design was applied. A total of 447 inpatients and 21 nurses were used to test internal consistency reliability and validity. Results: Receiver operating characteristic curve areas for the developed instrument were calculated to be 0.890 (Cognition), 0.959 (affect), and 0.951 (behavior). The overall Pedi-BEWS indicated high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .98). Conclusions: The Pedi-BEWS shows high internal consistency and validity. The use of the newly developed tool may reduce or eliminate episodes of seclusion and restraint for pediatric patients with a behavioral problem. In addition, the tool has the potential to enhance psychiatric nurses' assessment skills and competencies. The use of the newly-developed Pedi-BEWS can promote an appropriate and timely nursing assessment and intervention before the deterioration in psychiatric nursing practice.

Estimated prevalence of DSM-5 eating disorders in Norwegian adolescents: A community based two-phase study.

Little is known about the prevalence of DSM-5 eating disorders (EDs) in adolescents. In Norway, the most recent community-based prevalence study in adolescents was published more than 20 years ago. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of DSM-5 EDs in Norwegian adolescents using a two-phase design. A total of 1558 upper secondary school students (827 girls and 730 boys) (ages 16-19) were screened for at-risk ED pathology using the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire short version (EDE-QS). A sub-sample of 99 adolescents (87 girls and 12 boys) subsequently participated in a clinical interview using the Eating Disorder Assessment for DSM-5 (EDA-5). Eating pathology was common, with 19.9% of participants scoring at or above the applied EDE-QS cut-off. The estimated prevalence of any ED was 9.4% in the total sample, and 16.4% in girls. The number of boys who took part in the diagnostic interview was low, thus, diagnostic data from boys were not analyzed separately. Prevalence estimates of AN, BN, BED, and OSFED in girls were 2.7%, 1.1%, 1.9%, and 10.7%. Atypical AN was the most frequently assigned diagnosis in girls. Sampling biases limit generalizability of results. Additional population-based studies are warranted to assess the prevalence of EDs in Norwegian youth. In this study, 1558 adolescents, aged 16-19, were screened for ED pathology. A subsample completed a diagnostic interview using DSM-5 criteria. Results showed that one in five adolescents displayed problematic eating behaviors and cognitions. The estimated prevalence rate of any ED was 9.4%. Sampling biases limit generalizability of results. Additional population-based studies are warranted to assess the prevalence of EDs in Norwegian youth.

Measurement and modeling of void fraction for developing two-phase flow of R134a in a horizontal tube after an expansion valve

This paper applies an image analysis technique to quantify the two-phase flow videos after an expansion valve. This method first finds the liquid-vapor interface and then estimates the void fraction and velocity of each phase. This paper also proposes a one-dimensional developing two-phase flow model based on the force-momentum balance. The void fraction of the developing flow predicted by the model shows a similar trend to the quantified experiment data from image analysis: void fraction will decrease and then stabilize as flow develops along the tube. In essence, the change in void fraction and flow velocity is a result of unbalanced force in liquid and vapor phase. This model is also capable of estimating the distance to achieve fully developed flow after an expansion valve. The ability to predict two-phase flow behavior is not only important to the theoretical study of two-phase flow, but also critical to two-phase flow system design to optimize heat transfer and pressure drop.

Delivery and evaluation of simulations to promote authentic and meaningful engagement in childhood disability research

BackgroundIn 2019, our interdisciplinary team of researchers, family members, and youth co-designed four simulation training videos and accompanying facilitation resources to prepare youth, family members, trainees, and researchers to build the knowledge and skills to engage in patient-oriented research (POR) authentically and meaningfully. Videos covered challenges in aspects of the research process including (1) forming a project team; (2) identifying project objectives and priorities; (3) agreeing on results; and (4) carrying out knowledge translation.MethodsThe purpose of the study was to deliver four simulation training videos across 2 two-hour facilitated workshops with researchers, trainees, and family partners. We evaluated whether the training videos and facilitated discussion of the simulations helped to improve knowledge and attitudes about authentic and meaningful partnership in research and self-perceived ability to engage in POR. An explanatory sequential two-phase mixed methods design was used. Phase 1 (quantitative) included two training workshops and a pre/post-training survey. Phase 2 (qualitative) included two qualitative focus groups. Results of each phase were analyzed separately and then combined during interpretation.ResultsSixteen individuals (including researchers/research staff, trainees, family members, clinicians) took part in this research study. Overall, participants were highly receptive to the training, providing high scores on measures of acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility. While the training videos and facilitated discussion of the simulations were found to increase participants’ knowledge and ability to engage in authentic and meaningful POR, we found no significant change in attitude or intent. Recommendations about the simulation content and delivery were provided to inform for future use.ConclusionsThe simulations were found to be a positive and impactful way for collaborative research teams to build knowledge and ability to engage in authentic and meaningful POR. Recommendations for future work include covering different content areas with varying levels of nuance; and offering the training to stakeholders in a variety of roles, such as those higher-ranked academic positions.

Factors Impacting Implementation of Universal Screening of Developmental Language Disorder in Public Schools.

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is an underidentified neurodevelopmental disorder that affects, on average, one out of 11 kindergarten-age children (ages 4-6 years). Children with DLD can face academic, behavioral, psychiatric, emotional, and social challenges. Universal screening is seen as an effective way for public school districts to increase DLD identification rates. However, little is known about factors impacting implementation of school-based universal screenings for DLD. We partnered with a large suburban school district in the Intermountain West region of the United States to gather detailed perspectives from school personnel regarding the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of universal screening in their district. Using a two-phase mixed-methods design, we first conducted focus groups to identify potential barriers and facilitators to universal screening. We then used the qualitative data from the first phase to develop a 20-item survey to assess agreement with the focus group results among a wider group of district speech-language pathologists and kindergarten teachers from the school district. Our survey showed moderate levels of agreement with our focus group results. In particular, school personnel showed high levels of support for universal screening for DLD, with interesting interplay across various factors: (a) the negative impact of unmanageable workload on personnel under both referral- and universal-based identification formats, (b) the preference for paraprofessionals to administer screenings, (c) the role that Response to Intervention programs may play in offsetting workloads associated with universal screenings, and (d) the need for increased awareness and education about child language development and impairment among general education teachers and the public. Recommendations for incorporating these factors into more useful and applicable collaborative research-based efforts are presented. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23661876.

Field evaluation of a point-of-care triage test for active tuberculosis (TriageTB)

BackgroundTo improve tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for a non-sputum based triage test to focus TB testing on people with a high likelihood of having active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Various host or pathogen biomarker-based testing devices are in design stage and require validity assessment. Host biomarkers have shown promise to accurately rule out active TB, but further research is required to determine generalisability. The TriageTB diagnostic test study aims to assess the accuracy of diagnostic test candidates, as well as field-test, finalise the design and biomarker signature, and validate a point-of-care multi-biomarker test (MBT).MethodsThis observational diagnostic study will evaluate sensitivity and specificity of biomarker-based diagnostic candidates including the MBT and Xpert® TB Fingerstick cartridge compared with a gold-standard composite TB outcome classification defined by symptoms, sputum GeneXpert® Ultra, smear and culture, radiological features, response to TB therapy and presence of an alternative diagnosis. The study will be conducted in research sites in South Africa, Uganda, The Gambia and Vietnam which all have high TB prevalence. The two-phase design allows for finalisation of the MBT in Phase 1 in which candidate host proteins will be evaluated on stored serum from Asia, South Africa and South America and on fingerstick blood from 50 newly recruited participants per site. The MBT test will then be locked down and validated in Phase 2 on 250 participants per site.DiscussionBy targeting confirmatory TB testing to those with a positive triage test, 75% of negative GXPU may be avoided, thereby reducing diagnostic costs and patient losses during the care cascade. This study builds on previous biomarker research and aims to identify a point-of-care test meeting or exceeding the minimum World Health Organisation target product profile of a 90% sensitivity and 70% specificity. Streamlining TB testing by identifying individuals with a high likelihood of TB should improve TB resources use and, in so doing, improve TB care.Trial registrationNCT04232618 (clinicaltrials.gov) Date of registration: 16 January 2020.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Nurse Clinical Reasoning Scale (NCRS): A Validation Study Among Italian Nurses.

Background and Purpose: Clinical reasoning for nurses is considered a valuable component of clinical nursing competencies, but there are few tools to ascertain this. This study tested the Italian Nurses Clinical Reasoning Scale (I-NCRS) psychometric properties based on Levett-Jones' theoretical clinical reasoning model. Methods: Content, face, and construct characteristics were ascertained for their validity. The study had a two-phase design: (a) content and face validity and (b) construct validity. Results: Three factors emerged from the factorial analysis of our reference sample: nursing problems of health, nursing information of health, and nursing assessment of health. Conclusions: The scale represents a valuable tool for the self-assessment of the clinical reasoning skills of nurses. I-NCRS showed evidence of validity and reliability, being also useful for assessing clinical reasoning for educational and research purposes among Italian nurses.

Power, self-presentation and volunteer intention: Altruistic versus egoistic appeals in volunteer recruitment message

This article explores how and when residents' self-presentation motivations can be aroused to facilitate their volunteer engagement. It uses a two-phase quantitative research design with Chinese residents as research participants. Study 1 (n = 208) used a survey method to examine the effects of residents' dispositional power on their self-presentation motivations and subsequent volunteer intention; Study 2 (n = 164) employed a three-factor between-subject experiment to investigate how state power and contextual factors influence residents' self-presentation motivations and volunteer intention. The findings suggest that dispositional and state power are congruent in driving residents' volunteer intention for self-presentation purposes. Moreover, powerful residents are shown to be more susceptible to altruistic appeals in public response conditions, whereas they are more responsive to egoistic appeals in private response conditions. In contrast, powerless residents are more receptive to altruistic versus egoistic appeals in both public and private response conditions. This research contributes to host volunteering literature by illustrating how and when residents’ self-presentation motivations can be elicited for the subsequent volunteer engagement in a volunteer recruitment campaign. It also provides practical implications for tourism volunteer organizations by proposing a novel self-presentation approach to facilitating volunteer engagement.

Ride-sharing customers’ self-protection motivation in the post-COVID-19 world

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has generated unprecedented public fear, impeding both individuals’ social life and the travel industry as a whole. China was one of the first major countries to experience the COVID-19 outbreaks and recovery from the pandemic. The demand for outings is increasing in the post-COVID-19 world, leading to the recovery of the ride-sharing industry. Integrating protection motivation theory and the theory of reasoned action, this study aims to investigate ride-sharing customers’ self-protection motivation to provide anti-pandemic measures and promote the resilience of ride-sharing industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study followed a two-phase mixed-methods design. In the first phase, the authors executed a qualitative study with 30 interviews. In the second phase, the authors used the results of the interviews to inform the design of a survey, with which 272 responses were collected. Both studies were conducted in China.FindingsThe present results indicate that customers’ perceived vulnerability of COVID-19 and perceived COVID protection efficacy (self-efficacy and response efficacy) are positively correlated with their attitude toward self-protection, thus leading to their self-protection motivation during the rides. Moreover, subjective norms and customers’ distrust appear to also impact their self-protection motivation during the ride-sharing service.Originality/valueThe present research provides one of the first in-depth studies, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, on customers’ protection motivation in ride-sharing services in the new normal. The empirical evidence provides important insights for ride-sharing service providers and managers in the post-pandemic world and promote the resilience of ride-sharing industry.

Effectiveness and Benefits of Exercise on Older People Living With Mental Illness' Physical and Psychological Outcomes in Regional Australia: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Regular exercise is reported to improve depressive symptoms and quality of life for people experiencing mental illness. For older adults, including strength and balance can also decrease falls. Mental health services seldom include funding for Accredited Exercise Physiologist programs. A 9-week Accredited Exercise Physiologist-led program for older adults receiving mental health treatment with a community Older People's Mental Health Service was trialed in regional Australia. This clinician-conceived small-scale feasibility study utilized a two-phase concurrent triangulation mixed-method design to evaluate physical and psychological program outcomes and identify factors related to engaging in physical activity. This tailored exercise program led to improvements in measures of psychological distress and physical and psychological function. These changes corresponded with participants identifying benefits of exercising as a group of adults living with mental illness. Such findings suggest a supervised, individualized program for older mental health consumers confers physical and psychological benefits; however, further research evaluating exercise interventions with this population is required.

Goodness-of-fit two-phase sampling designs for time-to-event outcomes: a simulation study based on New York University Women’s Health Study for breast cancer

BackgroundSub-cohort sampling designs such as a case-cohort study play a key role in studying biomarker-disease associations due to their cost effectiveness. Time-to-event outcome is often the focus in cohort studies, and the research goal is to assess the association between the event risk and risk factors. In this paper, we propose a novel goodness-of-fit two-phase sampling design for time-to-event outcomes when some covariates (e.g., biomarkers) can only be measured on a subgroup of study subjects.MethodsAssuming that an external model, which can be the well-established risk models such as the Gail model for breast cancer, Gleason score for prostate cancer, and Framingham risk models for heart diseases, or built from preliminary data, is available to relate the outcome and complete covariates, we propose to oversample subjects with worse goodness-of-fit (GOF) based on an external survival model and time-to-event. With the cases and controls sampled using the GOF two-phase design, the inverse sampling probability weighting method is used to estimate the log hazard ratio of both incomplete and complete covariates. We conducted extensive simulations to evaluate the efficiency gain of our proposed GOF two-phase sampling designs over case-cohort study designs.ResultsThrough extensive simulations based on a dataset from the New York University Women’s Health Study, we showed that the proposed GOF two-phase sampling designs were unbiased and generally had higher efficiency compared to the standard case-cohort study designs.ConclusionIn cohort studies with rare outcomes, an important design question is how to select informative subjects to reduce sampling costs while maintaining statistical efficiency. Our proposed goodness-of-fit two-phase design provides efficient alternatives to standard case-cohort designs for assessing the association between time-to-event outcome and risk factors. This method is conveniently implemented in standard software.

DIMENSIONS OF EMPLOYEE OUTCOMES IN RESTAURANTS: A CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS

This study was conducted to address the issue of disengaged employees in the context of restaurants by determining the underlying factors for its incidence as employee outcomes. This study utilized the exploratory mixed-method approach following a two-phase study design. The first phase consisted of in-depth interviews with six restaurant employees, selected purposively in order to develop a significant statement for the development of factor structure on employee outcomes which will be used in the second phase. The second phase was the development of survey instruments for 420 respondents, selected randomly. In the first phase, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the salient factors which yielded five dimensions. The five dimensions that characterized employee outcomes, after 12 iterations are an empowered workforce, customer focus, efficient performance, a trusted and confident workforce, and continuing professional development. These dimensions were validated through a quantitative phase utilizing the confirmatory factor analysis in order to identify the best-fit model. Four model configurations were undertaken and model 4 was considered the most parsimonious model, essentials statistical analysis revealed that all of the identified factors were significantly correlated. The model explains 69.6 percent of the variation in employee outcomes.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0005/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Growing and fixing: Comparing the creative mindsets of teachers and artist practitioners

Research indicates that teachers holding fixed creative mindsets limits the potential for students to develop creative thinking skills due to judgments teachers make about their students’ creative potentials (Paek and Sumners 2017). Set against the context of the importance of creativity for economic development (OECD, 2022) and personal wellbeing (Carson, 2019; Forgeard, 2019), this paper explores UK primary school teachers’ creative mindsets by comparing them with the creative mindsets of Artist Practitioners. A two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods research design is used. In Phase 1, 50 participants completed the Creative Mindset Scales (Karwowski 2014) to explore the creative mindsets held by the two groups; in Phase 2, 6 participants (3 from each group) undertook semi structured interviews to help explain trends from Phase 1. An integrative analysis found that primary teachers held more polarised beliefs of fixed and growth creative mindsets than Artist Practitioners. We hypothesise that this is due generic growth mindsets being mandated in UK primary schools and being adopted without deeper understanding by primary school teachers. In order to facilitate students developing creative thinking skills, the paper recommends that teacher-centred professional development is needed to develop whole school communities of creative practice where conceptualisations of creativity are actively explored.

Granular Data Compression and Representation

We develop a comprehensive and original methodology of data compression realized in the setting of Granular Computing. It is advocated that a compression process is inherently associated with the emergence of information granules forming compressed data. This entails that compression goes hand-in-hand with the elevated level of abstraction of the generated results. The performance of the method is evaluated with the aid of the indexes of coverage and specificity commonly encountered when processing and describing information granules. A two-phase design environment is systematically established along with the detailed algorithmic layer exploring mechanisms of fuzzy clustering and the principle of justifiable granularity and its generalizations. Reconstruction error and granular reconstruction error criteria are introduced and analyzed. Experimental studies carried out on publicly available data are reported and illustrate the process of granular compression and analyze the performance of the obtained results.

Agential explanations: how employee participation is enhanced in normatively controlled organizations?

PurposeThe study aims to highlight and understand, and bring the human agency into the debate on the theory of normative control. While, the previous literature has highlighted the problem of the missing subject. However, the actual human agency in terms of agential properties has not been seriously addressed. This study is an attempt to overcome this problem of the missing subject.Design/methodology/approachA two-phase design inspired by retroductive inference was adopted for this study. In the first phase, abduction was used to explore the literature on normative control to highlight the forces of attraction, which may pull the employees to participate willingly within normative control systems. In the second phase, following retroductive inference, agential explanations of the forces of attraction identified in the first phase were explored by venturing into other related fields, e.g. psychology and sociology.FindingsThe study highlights four strategies used by organizations using normative control, i.e. comfort zoning, relational bonding, moral trapping and elitist appeal. These strategies rely on attractive forces. These forces of attraction pull employees to participate in the normative control system. The attractive element in the identified strategies is due to the fact that these strategies target specific agential properties, i.e. the need for comfort, sense of belonging, moral agency and pride. Overall, the findings suggest that individuals drive their concerns from culture but in relation to their capacity as needy beings for being enculturated.Practical implicationsTheoretically, this study adds conceptual strength to the explanations of normative control. It is suggested that neglect of human agency renders explanations conceptually weak. The study fills this gap in the research. Practically, this study would be beneficial for better design and implementation of normative control. Several studies have pointed out that normative control does not yield the intended results. Out of many reasons, a lack of understanding of human agency is a major cause of unsuccessful attempts to normatively control employees. This study provides some basis to understand the human subject for better design of soft systems of control.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research study that explores agential properties with reference to normative control systems. This study is important for researchers and practitioners.

Uplifting Voices to Create New Alternatives

The present study used a structural social work theoretical lens to undertake a systematic mental health needs assessment. Using a community-based participatory research approach and a two-phase mixed methods design, the researchers assessed mental health needs and barriers to care among 2,556 adults of primarily Mexican background from ten economically marginalized communities in Chicago’s southwest side. Findings indicated that mental health concerns including depression, anxiety, and trauma-related symptoms were prevalent among community members and stemmed from the oppressive national and local level structural contexts in which they lived. Furthermore, data demonstrated that research participants overwhelmingly identified structural and programmatic barriers, rather than social barriers such as stigma, as posing the greatest challenges to mental health service access. Among the structural and programmatic barriers identified were service cost, lack of insurance coverage, and limited availability of services that were culturally affirming and responsive to context-specific service needs. This study has far-reaching implications for understanding the impact of structural factors on mental health. We recommend that social workers advocate for organizational and policy changes that address these structural barriers.

Extending health care access via telemedicine in public libraries.

Despite the potential for telemedicine in public libraries to expand health care access to those living a long distance from care and in broadband poor areas, there are few libraries that collaborate with providers to extend access. To explore licensed health care providers' perspectives on telemedicine in public libraries as a method of improving equitable access to care for populations lacking the ability to connect to telemedicine from home. We used a two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods design with a quantitative strand followed by a qualitative strand. Surveys were analyzed descriptively. Interviews were analyzed thematically using descriptive content analysis. Of the 50 survey respondents, 13 were physicians and 36 were nurse practitioners (NPs); 12 NPs were interviewed. NPs were overwhelmingly supportive of telemedicine in public libraires, describing how connecting at-risk populations to a video visit (VV) allowed for a more thorough and accurate assessment than a phone call. Although several NPs were concerned with privacy, others considered a library to be more private than the home. Interviews revealed how chronic illness management may be the ideal visit type for public library-based telemedicine. Given the importance of expanding access sites for telemedicine, NPs should consider partnering with libraries in their catchment areas where broadband access is sparse and patients must travel long distances to care. Managing chronic illnesses using telemedicine in public libraries may be an important approach toward reducing health disparities in populations who live in long distances from care and do not have home-based internet access.

Anisotropic optical and magnetic response in self-assembled TiN–CoFe2 nanocomposites

Transition metal nitrides (e.g., TiN) have shown tremendous promise in optical metamaterials for nanophotonic devices due to their plasmonic properties comparable to noble metals and superior high temperature stability. Vertically aligned nanocomposites (VANs) offer a great platform for combining two dissimilar functional materials with a one-step deposition technique toward multifunctionality integration and strong structural/property anisotropy. Here, we report a two-phase nanocomposite design combining ferromagnetic CoFe2 nanosheets in the plasmonic TiN matrix as a new hybrid plasmonic metamaterial. The hybrid metamaterials exhibit anisotropic optical and magnetic responses, as well as a pronounced magneto-optical coupling response evidenced by Magneto-optic Kerr Effect measurement, owing to the novel vertically aligned structure. This work demonstrates a new TiN-based metamaterial with anisotropic properties and multifunctionality toward light polarization modulation, optical switching, and integrated optics.