Multimodal spatial availability: A singly-constrained measure of accessibility considering multiple modes

Place-based accessibility measures communicate the potential interaction with opportunities at a zone that populations can access. Recent research has explored the implications of how opportunities are counted by different accessibility methods. In conventional measures, opportunities are multiply counted if more than one zone offers access to the same opportunity. This multi-count of opportunities leads to values of accessibility that are difficult to interpret. A possible solution to enhance the meaning-making of accessibility results is by constraining the calculations to match a known quantity. This ensures all zonal values sum up to a predetermined quantity (i.e., the total number of opportunities). In this way, each value can be meaningfully related to this total. A recent effort that implements this solution is spatial availability, a singly-constrained accessibility measure. In this paper, we extend spatial availability for use in the case of multiple modes or more generally, heterogeneous population segments with distinct travel behaviors. After deriving a multimodal version of spatial availability, we proceed to illustrate its features using a synthetic example. We then apply it to an empirical example of low emission zones in Madrid, Spain. We conclude with suggestions for future research and its use in evaluating policy interventions.

Exploring the gender care experiences and perspectives of individuals who discontinued their transition or detransitioned in Canada

BACKGROUND

Those who detransition have received increased public and scholarly attention and their narratives are often presented as evidence of limitations with contemporary gender-affirming care practices. However, there are scant empirical studies about how this population experienced their own process of gaining access to gender-affirming medical/surgical interventions, or their recommendations for care practice.

AIMS

To qualitatively explore the care experiences and perspectives of individuals who discontinued or reversed their gender transitions (referred to as detransition).

METHODS

Between October 2021-January 2022, Canadian residents aged 18 and older with experience of stopping, shifting, or reversing a gender transition were invited to participate in semi-structured, one-on-one, virtual interviews. A purposive sample of 28 was recruited by circulating study adverts over social media, to clinicians in six urban centres, and within participants' social networks. Interviews ranged between 50-90 minutes, were audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Following constructivist grounded theory methodology, interview data were analyzed inductively and thematically following a two-phase coding process to interpret participants' experiences of, and recommendations for, gender care.

RESULTS

Participants were between the ages of 20-53 (71% were between 20-29). All participants identified along the LGBTQ2S+ spectrum. Twenty-seven out of 28 of the participants received medical/surgical interventions (60% were ages 24 and younger). A majority (57%) reported three or more past gender identities, with 60% shifting from a binary transgender identity at the time of initiating transition to a nonbinary identity later in their transition journey. To access medical/surgical interventions, most participants were assessed via the gender-affirming care model pathway and also engaged in talk therapy with a mental healthcare provider such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. Some participants experienced their care as lacking the opportunity to clarify their individual treatment needs prior to undergoing medical/surgical transition. Decisional regret emerged as a theme alongside dissatisfaction with providers' "informed consent" procedures, such that participants felt they would have benefitted from a more robust discussion of risks/benefits of interventions prior to treatment decision-making. Overall, participants recommended an individualized approach to care that is inclusive of mental healthcare supports.

CONCLUSIONS

To optimize the experiences of people seeking and receiving gender care, a thorough informed consent process inclusive of individualized care options is recommended, as outlined by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, standards of care, version 8.

Empathy training for service employees: A mixed-methods systematic review

Following the surge for empathy training in service literature and its increasing demand in service industries, this study systematically reviews empirical papers implementing and testing empathy training programs in various service domains. A mixed-methods systematic review was performed to identify and describe empathy training programs and discuss their effectiveness in service quality, service employees' well-being, and service users' satisfaction. Included papers met those eligibility criteria: qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods study; one training in empathy is identifiable; described training(s) developed for or tested with service employees dealing with service users. We searched health, business, education, and psychology databases, such as CINAHL, Medline ABI/Inform Global, Business Source Premier, PsycINFO, and ERIC. We used the Mixed-Method Assessment Tool to appraise the quality of included papers. A data-based convergent synthesis design allowed for the analysis of the data. A total of 44 studies published between 2009 to 2022 were included. The narrative presentation of findings was regrouped into these six dimensions of empathy training programs: 1) why, 2) who, 3) what, 4) how, 5) where, and 6) when and how much. Close to 50% of studies did not include a definition of empathy. Four main empathic competencies developed through the training programs were identified: communication, relationship building, emotional resilience, and counseling skills. Face-to-face and group-setting interventions are widespread. Our systematic review shows that the 44 papers identified come only from health services with a predominant population of physicians and nurses. However, we show that the four empathic skills identified could be trained and developed in other sectors, such as business. This is the first mixed-methods, multi-disciplinary systematic review of empathy training programs in service research. The review integrates insights from health services, identifies research limitations and gaps in existing empirical research, and outlines a research agenda for future research and implications for service research.

Digital literacies, social media, and undergraduate learning: what do students think they need to know?

This research addresses an identified need to further understand digital literacies (DL) and whether undergraduate students view DL as being important in their lives and in their learning. Using a cross-sectional survey sent to a stratified random sample of 2500 undergraduates representative of the overall student population at a medium-sized Canadian undergraduate university (survey response rate of 19.8%, N = 496), we explored the relationships between social media and digital literacies, particularly in different disciplinary contexts. We also explored the ways in which students report using social media in their university learning, showing that students value social media for collaboration, discussion, information finding and sharing, and practise activities related to their learning. Additionally, we examined the importance students place on DL, and how they perceive and rate their own abilities with digital literacies across three domains: procedural and technical, cognitive, and sociocultural. Findings illustrate an observable gap between the high importance that students place on digital literacies (including DL for social media) in their learning and their lives and the lack of coverage students reported receiving about these topics in their undergraduate education. Based on the study's findings, we discuss the specific ways that those in the higher education community can address this gap by engaging with and fostering development of digital literacies within specific disciplinary and professional contexts, and in interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary learning settings across the curriculum.

Quality-checking the new normal: trial modality in online jury decision-making research

Objectives

We sought to examine differences between videotaped and written trial materials on verdicts, perceptions of trial parties, quality check outcomes, perceived salience of racial issues, and emotional states in a trial involving a Black or White defendant.

Hypotheses

We predicted that verdicts and ratings of trial parties would be similar for those participants viewing a videotaped trial and those reading a written transcript. However, we suspected that emotional states might be heightened for those watching a video and that those reading transcripts would perform better on quality checks regarding trial content (but worse on those involving trial party characteristics, including defendant race).

Method

Participants (N = 139 after removing those who did not meet our threshold for data quality) recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk were randomly assigned to watch a video or read a transcript of a trial involving an alleged murder of a police officer. They completed a questionnaire probing their verdict, perceptions of trial parties, perceived salience of racial issues, and emotional state, and responded to a series of quality checks.

Results

Participants in the videotape condition performed significantly worse on quality checks than did those in the transcript condition. There were no significant differences between modalities in terms of verdict or perceived salience of racial issues. Some other differences emerged between conditions, however, with more positive perceptions of the pathologist and police officer in the transcript condition, and more negative emotion elicited by the trial involving a White defendant in the videotape condition only.

Conclusions

There were no meaningful differences between videotaped and written trial materials in terms of outcome (verdict), but the presence of some trial party rating and emotional state differences stemming from modality epitomizes the internal/ecological validity trade-off in jury research. Our quality check results indicate that written transcripts may work better for obtaining valid data online. Regardless of modality, researchers must be diligent in crafting quality checks to ensure that participants are attending to the stimulus materials, particularly as more research shifts online.

Blue boats in deep waters: how aspects of IUU policy impact Vietnamese fish workers

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) polices in the Asia-Pacific region are impacting Vietnamese blue boats. We examine several aspects of IUU policy, including the effects of hardening marine borders in the Southeast Asian region and the increased surveillance of Vietnamese blue boats, to understand how such policies impact blue boat owners, captains, and workers. We find that under increased surveillance, fishers face greater precarity as they become subject to the legal and political actions of multiple states. When blue boats are caught outside Vietnamese waters, boat owners, captains, and workers face significant, albeit differentiated, livelihood challenges. We argue that policies designed to stop IUU or unsustainable fishing should also proactively address working conditions on blue boats; if not, policies may unwittingly cause problems for those directly involved in the industry, with hired workers facing particular hardships. For these reasons, Vietnam's IUU yellow card can also be seen as an opportunity for fisheries labor reforms.

Prevalence and correlates of prescription opioid use among US adults, 2019-2020

This study estimates the prevalence of prescription opioid use (POU) in the United States (US) in 2019-2020, both in the general population and specifically among adults with pain. It also identifies key geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic correlates of POU. Data were from the nationally-representative National Health Interview Survey 2019 and 2020 (N = 52,617). We estimated POU prevalence in the prior 12 months among all adults (18+), adults with chronic pain (CP), and adults with high-impact chronic pain (HICP). Modified Poisson regression models estimated POU patterns across covariates. We found POU prevalence of 11.9% (95% CI 11.5, 12.3) in the general population, 29.3% (95% CI 28.2, 30.4) among those with CP, and 41.2% (95% CI 39.2, 43.2) among those with HICP. Findings from fully-adjusted models include the following: In the general population, POU prevalence declined about 9% from 2019 to 2020 (PR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.85, 0.96). POU varied substantially across US geographic regions: It was significantly more common in the Midwest, West, and especially the South, where adults had 40% higher POU (PR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.26, 1.55) than in the Northeast. In contrast, there were no differences by rural/urban residence. In terms of individual characteristics, POU was lowest among immigrants and among the uninsured, and was highest among adults who were food insecure and/or not employed. These findings suggest that prescription opioid use remains high among American adults, especially those with pain. Geographic patterns suggest systemic differences in therapeutic regimes across regions but not rurality, while patterns across social characteristics highlight the complex, opposing effects of limited access to care and socioeconomic precarity. Against the backdrop of continuing debates about benefits and risks of opioid analgesics, this study identifies and invites further research about geographic regions and social groups with particularly high or low prescription opioid use.

Pandemic-Related Disruption and Positive Adaptation: Profiles of Family Function at the Onset of the Pandemic

The onset of the pandemic brought heightened stress to parents due to disruptions to family life, in addition to processes of positive family adaptation, including greater closeness, more time spent together, and shared problem-solving. Delineating how early pandemic-related family stress and positive adaptation simultaneously operate is important for understanding risk and resilience. We use a person-oriented approach to identify subgroups of caregivers based on patterns of stress and positive adaptation in the first months of the pandemic. Data come from a multi-national study of 549 caregivers (68% female) of 1098 children (younger child: M = 9.62, SD = 3.21; older child: M = 11.80, SD = 3.32). In May 2020, caregivers reported on stress (income, family, and pandemic-specific) and positive adaptation using previously validated scales, and covariates indexing family vulnerabilities (i.e., caregiver adverse childhood experiences, caregiver and child mental health) and psychosocial resources (caregiver social support, positive coping, religiosity/spirituality, and benevolent childhood experiences, and pre-pandemic socioeconomic resources). A latent profile analysis was conducted using the four indicators. Profiles were examined in relation to covariates using BCH procedures. A 4-profile solution was selected, characterized by Low Disruption (n = 296), Multi-Domain Disruption (n = 36), Income Disruption (n = 111), and Family Disruption (n = 106) groups. Positive adaptation minimally differentiated profiles. Participants in the Low Disruption group reported more resources and fewer vulnerabilities than other groups. Those in the Multi-Domain Disruption group reported the fewest resources and the most vulnerabilities. Early in the pandemic, a minority group of individuals in this sample carried a disproportionate burden of pandemic-related stress. Potential consequences to family functioning and implications for systemic family prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Whiteness in Question: the Anatomy of a Taxonomy Across Transnational Contexts

The idea of whiteness has been used in the Anglo-American, middle-class, liberal settings to denote an essential group appurtenance on phenotypical and cultural terms and to code such appurtenance as a universal marker of privilege that cuts across any other differentiating axes that allocate societal advantages and disadvantages. The assumption that racialized skin colour and low social status are inferiorizing attributes of racialization, while white skin colour and high social class are privileged attributes of whiteness, has constructed the idea of whiteness as one that encompasses and supersedes the idea of class. Immigrants to Anglo-American multicultural societies have always been relegated to the margins of their host societies, and their economic exclusion, in particular, has been theorized as resulting from their racialization. This paper, however, compares and contrasts the marginalization of two migrant populations—namely, high-skilled immigrants to Canada, and Eastern European low-skilled immigrants to the UK—to problematize the assumption that whiteness has an essential sameness that universally cuts across other stratifying axes in society, and to show that an essentialist understanding of whiteness disregards class-based explanations for the economic exclusion of migrants, explanations which are often bound with the global circulation of capital and the dominant economic position of the rich nations from the Global North.

College students' cyberloafing and the sense of meaning of life: The mediating role of state anxiety and the moderating role of psychological flexibility

Background

With the gradual penetration of network media into various fields of people's life, the relationship between network behavior and the sense of meaning of life is bound to be closer and closer. The purpose of this study is to explore the mediating role of state anxiety between cyber loafing and the sense of meaning of life, and the moderating role of psychological flexibility in this mediating relationship.

Methodology

With 964 undergraduates recruited as subjects three-wave-time-lagged quantitative research design was conducted in China. All participants were required to complete a self-reported electronic questionnaire. Then, the mediating mechanism and moderating effect were explored with utilization of SPSS25.0.

Results

The results showed that cyberloafing had significant negative correlation with the sense of meaning of life. Our analysis testing the mediating effect showed that state anxiety partially mediated the relationship between cyberloafing and the sense of meaning of life (indirect effect = −0.05, p < 0.01,), while the mediating effect was 31.25% of the total effect. Our analysis testing the moderating effect showed that psychological flexibility significantly moderated the relationship between cyberloafing and state anxiety (interaction effect = −0.26, p < 0.01). And our analysis testing the moderated mediating effect showed that psychological flexibility played a moderating role in the mediating effect of state anxiety.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of this study, college students' cyberloafing negatively affects their sense of meaning of life. Therefore, appropriate measures should be taken to supervise and restrict college students' Internet use and provide them with corresponding guidance; certain psychological adjustment measures should also be taken when necessary to help college students with low psychological flexibility in reducing their state anxiety and improving their sense of meaning of life.

Play, Learn, and Teach Outdoors-Network (PLaTO-Net): terminology, taxonomy, and ontology

BACKGROUND

A recent dialogue in the field of play, learn, and teach outdoors (referred to as "PLaTO" hereafter) demonstrated the need for developing harmonized and consensus-based terminology, taxonomy, and ontology for PLaTO. This is important as the field evolves and diversifies in its approaches, contents, and contexts over time and in different countries, cultures, and settings. Within this paper, we report the systematic and iterative processes undertaken to achieve this objective, which has built on the creation of the global PLaTO-Network (PLaTO-Net).

METHODS

This project comprised of four major methodological phases. First, a systematic scoping review was conducted to identify common terms and definitions used pertaining to PLaTO. Second, based on the results of the scoping review, a draft set of key terms, taxonomy, and ontology were developed, and shared with PLaTO members, who provided feedback via four rounds of consultation. Third, PLaTO terminology, taxonomy, and ontology were then finalized based on the feedback received from 50 international PLaTO member participants who responded to ≥ 3 rounds of the consultation survey and dialogue. Finally, efforts to share and disseminate project outcomes were made through different online platforms.

RESULTS

This paper presents the final definitions and taxonomy of 31 PLaTO terms along with the PLaTO-Net ontology model. The model incorporates other relevant concepts in recognition that all the aspects of the model are interrelated and interconnected. The final terminology, taxonomy, and ontology are intended to be applicable to, and relevant for, all people encompassing various identities (e.g., age, gender, culture, ethnicity, ability).

CONCLUSIONS

This project contributes to advancing PLaTO-based research and facilitating intersectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration, with the long-term goal of fostering and strengthening PLaTO's synergistic linkages with healthy living, environmental stewardship, climate action, and planetary health agendas. Notably, PLaTO terminology, taxonomy and ontology will continue to evolve, and PLaTO-Net is committed to advancing and periodically updating harmonized knowledge and understanding in the vast and interrelated areas of PLaTO.

Disrupted Lessons in Engineering Robotics: Pivoting Knowledge Transfer From Physical to Virtual Learning Environments

This study examined the effects of an Arduino microrobot activity on college students' interest in robotics through three specific objectives: (1) determining how students' conceptual understanding regarding the basics of microcomputing and computer programming changes after engaging in an engineering robotics learning module, (2) assessing the impact of these changes on students' sense of competence in engineering robotics, and (3) explaining the role of students' perceived knowledge transferability in the relationship between their sense of competence and changes in their interest for pursuing engineering robotics. Participants (n = 58) were recruited from two Engineering Physics courses and surveyed before (Time 1) and after (Time 2) an Arduino microcomputing learning activity. First, significant increases were reported post-activity for interest in robotics, as well as conceptual understanding of microelectronics and computer programming. Second, changes in the understanding of computer programming significantly predicted students' sense of competence at Time 2. Finally, high and low levels of competence and perceived knowledge transferability were related to changes in students' interest in robotics. Moreover, high levels of perceived knowledge transferability alone played an important role in students' interest in robotics. Transferring complex engineering ideas to novel situations was beneficial regarding students' learning gains associated with computer programming and with the Arduino microcontroller platform. An overview of the virtual lab architecture used is provided with suggested novel directions for teaching college-level courses about engineering robotics.

Development trajectory for the temporal and spatial evolution of the resilience of regional tourism environmental systems in 14 cities of Gansu Province, China

The rapid development of the urban economy in China and the accompanying income growth experienced by urban residents have increased demand for tourism and leisure, which has brought pressure on the urban tourism environment system (UTES), making the contradiction between tourism economic development and the ecological environment increasingly acute. While seeking to rationalize the economic, social, and ecological benefits of tourism, reducing the fragility of the UTES and improving its anti-interference and recovery capabilities have become attracted significant attention from scholars in China and elsewhere. This paper establishes a definition of resilience for an UTES and constructs an evaluation index system for it in terms of the social, economic, and ecological environments. It also establishes an entropy weight-TOPSIS resilience evaluation model to measure resilience in regional systems, using ArcGIS to analyze the standard deviation ellipse and center of the gravity track of the resilience. System dynamics was used to construct diagrams of causal relationships and stock flow for the constituent elements of UTES to show the mechanisms that promote its resilience. This paper investigates 14 cities of Gansu Province in particular to simulate the resilience model of a regional system.

Fostering diversity work as a process of lifelong learning: A partnership case study with an immigrant services organisation

Diversity work is an area of growing interest for organisations in both the private and public sectors. In a nutshell, the term refers to the work conducted within an organisation that promotes inclusive and equitable engagement with people and communities across social differences such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality and religion. Related research has generated relatively more knowledge about the challenges and problems of diversity initiatives than about effective practices that genuinely foster social equity and inclusion. This article contributes to the latter with a partnership case study involving the United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society (S.U.C.C.E.S.S.), a large non-profit immigrant services organisation headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Specifically, the study presented here focuses on the organisational practices that are constitutive of frontline workers' engagement with diversity work and learning. It shows that (1) building a diverse and inclusive organisation, (2) supporting continuous learning opportunities at work, and (3) providing diversity training, both directive and generative, form the organisation's diversity "curriculum". This study also demonstrates that the strength of this workplace curriculum is that it has the potential to challenge the boundary between instrumentalism (harnessing diversity work to business success) and equity activism (prioritising diversity work in its own right), and that it creates space for collective reflection in the presence of others. Conceptually drawing on the practice turn in social sciences, particularly Steven Billet and Jennifer Newton's learning practice, and what David Boud terms "the reflective turn", this article positions diversity work as a reflective and iterative process of lifelong learning for both organisations and individual workers.

Health professional regulation in historical context: Canada, the USA and the UK (19th century to present)

BACKGROUND

There is no widespread agreement over what form healthcare professional regulation should take, and the evidence base concerning the effectiveness and fairness of regulatory systems and practices is limited. Those urging policy change argue there is a need to modernize; however, there is much we can learn from reviewing the history of healthcare professional regulation.

MAIN BODY

An overview of the history of regulation in Canada, with consideration of the United States of America and the United Kingdom, is provided. Self-regulating professions emerged in the nineteenth century, influenced by a variety of stakeholders responding to local concerns for healthcare quality, access and professional training. Regulatory practices changed over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in response to changing stakeholders and shifting interests.

CONCLUSIONS

Reviewing the history of healthcare professional regulation reveals lessons to inform policy in a range of settings.

An empirical study on spatial-temporal dynamics and influencing factors of apple production in China

In the context of supply-side structural reform, revealing the characteristics of spatial–temporal dynamics and influencing factors of China’s apple production layout is of great significance to ensure apple supply and demand balance and timely adjustment of industrial policies and regional layout strategies. Based on national and provincial apple production data from 1978 to 2016, this study used the apple production concentration index to analyse the evolution characteristics of regional apple production patterns in China. A theoretical analysis framework was established and a spatial econometric model was used to quantitatively explore the influencing factors of China’s apple production layout. The results showed that, first, since the reform and opening-up policy, a general trend of fluctuating growth was found for apple production in China. The centre of apple production layout moved in the southwest direction, with the shift from the Bohai Bay region to the Loess Plateau region. Second, apple production had a significant spatial correlation, while the degree of spatial agglomeration gradually decreased. Third, these changes were significantly influenced by apple comparative income, infrastructure, policies, and climatic conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to continue optimizing and adjusting the apple spatial layout to enhance the technological progress and economic effect of the apple industry and to ensure the stability and balance of regional supply and demand.

Toward Active Community Environmental Policing: Potentials and Limits of a Catalytic Model

This paper offers a field tested community environmental policing model to address the pressing environmental management challenges of reducing e-waste burning in informal e-waste hubs, and enforcement against informal polluting industries more broadly. This is based on our intervention to reduce e-waste burning in a substantial informal e-waste hub in the West Bank, Palestine, a 45 km² region in which an estimated 5-10 metric tonnes of cables are burnt daily, causing serious environmental and public health consequences. In analogous e-waste hubs in the global South, environmental management solutions have focused on economically attractive alternatives to replace cable burning or policies that integrate informal recyclers with formal e-waste management systems-achieving little success. Our paper describes a two-pronged intervention in Palestine's e-waste hub, which reduced e-waste burning by 80% through a combination of economically competitive cable grinding services and an "active" community environmental policing initiative that lowered barriers to and successfully advocated for governmental policing of e-waste burning. Our discussion of this intervention addresses the community environmental policing literature, which has documented few successes stories of real improvements to the enforcement of environmental violations. We argue that existing strategies have relied on "passive" approaches comprised of monitoring and reporting environmental violations to advocate for change. Our strategy offers a template to improve outcomes through a more "active" approach, moving from monitoring environmental violations through understanding the rationale and dynamics of violators, identifying environmental policing barriers, and implementing a feasible and persuasive strategy to overcome them.