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BACKGROUND: Since the inception of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System in 1991, all surveys have been conducted in schools, using paper and pencil instruments (PAPI). For the 2019 YRBSS, sites were offered the opportunity to conduct their surveys using electronic data collection. This study aimed to determine whether differences in select metrics existed between students who completed the survey electronically versus using PAPI. METHODS: Thirty risk behaviors were examined in this study. Data completeness, response rates and bivariate comparisons of risk behavior prevalence between administration modes were examined. RESULTS: Twenty‐nine of 30 questions examined had more complete responses among students using electronic surveys. Small differences were found for student and school response rates between modes. Twenty‐five of 30 adolescent risk behaviors showed no mode effect. CONCLUSIONS: Seven of 44 states and DC participated electronically. Because survey data were more complete; school and student response rates were consistent; and minor differences existed in risk behaviors between modes, the acceptability of collecting data electronically was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy (CE) field has moved from purely conceptual research into empirical studies. However, the literature does not provide generalized conclusions regarding the overall state of CE transition in manufacturing companies. Existing studies lack a perspective in explaining differences among companies planning or already transitioning to the CE because most empirical research so far is based on single or few case studies, generally assuming that the transition to CE, once undertaken as a purpose, moves along a continuum from a linear model to a circular one. This paper identifies differences among manufacturing companies planning and transitioning to CE and conceptualizes readiness profiles along eight dimensions of change identified in the literature as essential to CE implementation in organizations. A cluster analysis of a sample of manufacturing companies from different sectors, sizes, and locations identified five readiness profiles: the laggards, the explorers, the frontrunners, the strategizers, and the information oriented. The results show that companies may follow different approaches when exploring the potential of CE in their businesses. While some companies decide to explore and experiment across all dimensions of change, others follow a more strategic or operational approach, suggesting different states in which companies find themselves. The findings offer evidence of the change happening across the manufacturing industry and how CE transition unfolds in practice, extending existing literature by providing more overall conclusions on how the transition might unfold in manufacturing companies and different states that companies might be regarding the multiple dimensions of change that should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to clarify the difference of spatial closeness between natural enemies and Frankliniella intonsa, and to provide a scientific basis for rational protection and utilization of natural enemies. This paper applied the block‐sample square difference analysis method, Gray correlation degree method, the aggregation intensity index method and ρ index method to study the difference in the closeness of the spatial relationship between F. intonsa and natural enemies when the number of F. intonsa and their natural enemies was the highest and the minimum area occupied by F. intonsa individuals and colonies in five tea plantations in Hefei, Anhui province in 2021 and four tea plantations in 2020. The results were as follows: 1) Tetragnatha squamataKarsch, Xysticus ephippiafus, Erigonidium graminicolum and Theridion Octomaculatum were the top four natural enemies closely related to F. intonsa in 2021. The top three natural enemies closely related to F. intonsa in 2020 were Tetragnatha squamata Karsch, Xysticus ephippiafus and Theridion Octomaculatum. Two years ago, Tetragnatha squamata Karsch and Xysticus ephippiafus were the same. 2) Cluster size did not change the distribution patterns of natural enemies and F. intonsa. 3) The aggregation of F. intonsa was caused by their own causes or some environmental factors, and the aggregation of natural enemies was caused by environmental factors. 4) In 2021, the minimum area occupied by individuals and groups of F. intonsa in tea gardens was 2m2, and in 2020, it was 8 m2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clustering with Bregman divergence has been used in literature to unify centroid‐based parametric clustering approaches and to allow the detection of nonspherical clusters within the data. Although empirically useful, the large sample theoretical aspects of Bregman clustering techniques remain largely unexplored. In this paper, we attempt to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of centroid‐based Bregman hard clustering by providing uniform deviation bounds on the clustering objective. Our theoretical analysis relies on the famous Vapnik–Chervonenkis (VC) theory, which, although has been extensively used in a supervised learning context, remains largely unexplored in finding empirical risks for unsupervised learning scenarios. As opposed to most of the theoretical works on clustering, our framework allows the number of features (p) to vary with the number of observations (n). The strong consistency of the sample cluster centroids, under standard assumptions in the literature, also follows as a corollary under this general framework. Furthermore, we show that the rate of convergence is at most of the order Olognn, under the standard regularity conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence suggests that household sanitation is associated with child nutritional status in low‐ and middle‐income countries. This paper examined whether household access to improved sanitation facilities and sources of drinking water was associated with stunting and anaemia amongst children aged 6–35 months of age in Indonesia. The sample for the analysis comprised 1,450 children aged 6–35 months who participated in the end‐line survey of the maternal and young child nutrition security project in Asia, conducted in three selected districts in Indonesia. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between household sanitation and water source, and stunting and anaemia. Approximately 26% and 56% of children 6–35 months of age were stunted and anaemic, respectively. Children living in a household with improved sanitation facilities had 29% reduced odds of being stunted compared with those in a household with unimproved sanitation facilities, after adjusting for potential confounders including child's age and gender, maternal education, and iron–folic acid supplementation, as well as household wealth status and source of drinking water (OR = 0.68, 95% CI:0.48–0.96). No association between household sanitation and childhood anaemia was observed. Source of drinking water was not associated with stunting or anaemia amongst children. There were no synergistic effects of household sanitation and water supply on stunting and anaemia. This suggests that efforts to improve household sanitation condition may need to be considered an essential, integral part of the programmatic responses by governments and development partners for the prevention of childhood nutritional status. Further randomised research is necessary to determine the causal link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioural change communication interventions have been shown to be effective at improving infant and young child nutrition knowledge and practices. However, evidence in humanitarian response contexts is scarce. Using data on secondary outcomes of breastfeeding, water treatment, and knowledge from a cluster randomized control trial of the Yemen Cash for Nutrition programme's impact on child nutritional status, this paper shows that the programme significantly improved knowledge and practices for poor women with young children in the pilot districts. The intervention consisted of cash transfers and monthly group nutrition education sessions led by locally recruited community health volunteers. Data are based on self‐reports by participants. Estimating impacts among all 1,945 women in 190 clusters randomly assigned to treatment versus control and controlling for baseline levels and community characteristic and adjusting for noncompliance with randomization, the programme increased the probability of breastfeeding initiation within the first hour after delivery by 15.6% points (p <.05; control = 74.4% and treatment = 83.6%), the probability of exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months by 14.4% points (control = 13.5% and treatment = 25.3%), the probability of households treating water consumed by adults by 16.7% points (p <.01; control = 13.9% and treatment = 23.4%), and treating water consumed by children under two by 10.3% points (p <.10; control = 31.2% and treatment = 37.9%). Impacts on knowledge and breastfeeding are similar for both literate and illiterate women, and water treatment impacts are significantly larger for literate women. This study was registered at 3ie (RIDIE‐STUDY‐ID‐5b4eff881b29a) and funded by the Nordic Trust Fund and Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research programme on Policies, Institutions, and Markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the implementation of student response systems (SRSs) in teaching on the critical thinking (CT) of young students was investigated. The study benefited from a quasi‐experimental design and a pretest/posttest set‐up. Subjects consisted of 156 K‐8 students in Tehran during 2016–2017, selected through a multistage cluster sampling, and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG). The regular curriculum of the students contained a weekly session of a course titled "Thinking and Lifestyle." Ten sessions of the course were conducted using SRS (aka clickers) for EG, whereas CG kept receiving the same content in the conventional form. The teaching period was followed by the posttest. ANCOVA showed that, in contrast with CG, EG scored significantly higher on CT test after the intervention. The effect was shown to be only significant for the students at the lower side of the performance spectrum. Thus, in this inaugural study of clickers in schools in Iran, it was empirically demonstrated that clickers, as a relatively new piece of technology, can be successfully utilized during early adolescence in the pedagogical strategies in general and for the improvement of CT of students in particular. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: For improvement in the critical thinking of learners as an essential objective of education, different approaches have been previously taken.The performance of student response systems at the K–12 level has not been studied as extensively as the collegiate level.What this paper adds: Success of clickers at the core of a question‐driven instructional set‐up for teaching critical thinking to K–8 students is empirically demonstrated.The reported results further enrich the body of literature on the pedagogy of critical thinking and the use of clicker technology for learners in their early teen years.Implications for practice and/or policy: The findings of this work encourage both practitioners and policy makers to take further steps towards more extensive incorporation of student response systems in the instructional strategies/designs for teaching of complex skills and tasks to adolescent learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate feeding practices are crucial for survival, growth, and development in childhood. This paper analyzes Pakistan's Demographic and Health Survey 2012-2013 to fill the knowledge gap in risk factors of poor complementary feeding practices in Pakistani children. Multilevel models were applied to fit the multistage cluster sample of 2,827 children aged 6-23 months from 489 communities. Introduction of solid, semi-solid, or soft foods (intro) was achieved in 67% infants aged 6-8 months. Among children aged 6-23 months, the proportion of children meeting minimum meal frequency, dietary diversity (MDD), and acceptable diet criteria were 63%, 22% and 15%, respectively. Consumption of legumes and nuts, flesh foods, and vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables was low in all children (6-19%), even among children who met the MDD criteria (15-55%). Younger child age, especially between 6 and 11 months and delayed maternal postnatal checkup were significant individual-level risk factors that consistently increased the odds of not meeting all four criteria examined. Fewer antenatal care visits predicted the odds of achieving intro and minimum meal frequency while younger maternal age and household poverty predicted the odds of achieving MDD and minimum acceptable diet. Community-level factors included geographic region and general access to maternal and child health care services. The overall poor quality of children's complementary diets in Pakistani calls for stronger policy and program action to promote the consumption of key nutrient-dense foods while prioritizing interventions for the most vulnerable children and populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper presents the sampling methodology of the National Eye Health Survey that aimed to determine the prevalence of vision impairment and blindness in Australia. Design: The National Eye Health Survey is a crosssectional population-based survey. Participants: Indigenous Australians aged 40 years and older and non-Indigenous Australians aged 50 years and older residing in all levels of geographic remoteness in Australia. Methods: Using multistage, random-cluster sampling, 30 geographic areas were selected to provide samples of 3000 non-Indigenous Australians and 1400 Indigenous Australians. Sampling involved (i) selecting Statistical Area- Level 2 sites, stratified by remoteness; (ii) selecting Statistical Area- Level 1 sites within Statistical Area- Level 2 sites to provide targeted samples; and (iii) grouping of contiguous Statistical Area- Level 1 sites or replacing Statistical Area- Level 1 sites to provide sufficient samples. Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measures involved Sites sites selected and participants sampled in the survey. Results: Thirty siteswere generated, including 12Major City sites, 6 Inner Regional sites, 6 Outer Regional sites, 4 Remote sites and 2 Very Remote sites. Three thousand ninety-eight non-Indigenous participants and 1738 Indigenous participants were recruited. Selection of Statistical Area- Level 1 site overestimated the number of eligible residents in all sites. About 20% (6/30) of Statistical Area- Level 1 sites were situated in non-residential bushland, and 26.67% (8/30) of Statistical Area- Level 1 populations had low eligibility or accessibility, requiring replacement. Conclusions: Representative samples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians were selected, recruited and tested, providing the first national data on the prevalence of vision impairment and blindness in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multilevel problem concerns a population with a hierarchical structure. A sample from such a population can be described as a multistage sample. First, a sample of higher level units is drawn (e.g. schools or organizations), and next a sample of the sub-units from the available units (e.g. pupils in schools or employees in organizations). In such samples, the individual observations are in general not completely independent. Multilevel analysis software accounts for this dependence and in recent years these programs have been widely accepted. Two problems that occur in the practice of multilevel modeling will be discussed. The first problem is the choice of the sample sizes at the different levels. What are sufficient sample sizes for accurate estimation? The second problem is the normality assumption of the level-2 error distribution. When one wants to conduct tests of significance, the errors need to be normally distributed. What happens when this is not the case? In this paper, simulation studies are used to answer both questions. With respect to the first question, the results show that a small sample size at level two (meaning a sample of 50 or less) leads to biased estimates of the second-level standard errors. The answer to the second question is that only the standard errors for the random effects at the second level are highly inaccurate if the distributional assumptions concerning the level-2 errors are not fulfilled. Robust standard errors turn out to be more reliable than the asymptotic standard errors based on maximum likelihood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite strong policy and program commitment, essential maternal nutrition services are not reaching enough women in many countries. This paper examined multifactorial determinants (personal, family, community, and health services) associated with maternal nutrition practices in Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were from a household survey of pregnant (n = 667) and recently delivered women (n = 1,835). Multivariable regression analyses were conducted to examine the determinants of four outcomes: consumption of diverse diets, consumption of iron folic acid (IFA) and calcium tablets, and weight monitoring during pregnancy. Population attributable risk analysis was used to estimate how much the outcomes can be improved under optimal program implementation. During pregnancy, women consumed 28 IFA and 8 calcium tablets, 18% consumed diverse diet, and 17% were weighed ≥3 times. Nutrition knowledge was associated with consumption of diverse diet (odds ratio [OR] = 2.2 times), IFA (2.3 times), calcium (11.7 times), and weight monitoring (1.3 times). Beliefs and self‐efficacy were associated with IFA (OR = 2.0) and calcium consumption (OR = 4.6). Family support and adequate health services were also associated with better nutrition practices. Under optimal program implementation, we estimate that 51% of women would have adequate diet diversity, an average consumption of 98 IFA, and 106 calcium tablets, and women would be weighed 4.9 times during pregnancy. Strengthening existing program operations and increasing demand for services has the potential to result in large improvements in maternal nutrition practices from current baseline levels but may not be sufficient to meet World Health Organization‐recommended levels without creating an enabling environment including improvements in education and income levels to support behaviour change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home fortification with micronutrient powders (MNP) has been shown to reduce anaemia, with high overall acceptability and adherence, but there is limited evidence from West Africa. Around 80% of children younger than 5 years are anaemic in Mali, and new interventions are needed. This paper reports on the adherence and acceptability of a community‐led MNP intervention targeting children aged 6–59 months in Southern Mali. The MNP were delivered by a multidisciplinary group of community volunteers using community‐based preschools, cooking demonstrations, and traditional communication networks to promote MNP, nutrition, hygiene, and child stimulation. The MNP were delivered alongside early childhood development interventions and seasonal malaria chemoprevention. Adherence and acceptability were evaluated through two cross‐sectional surveys in 2014 and 2016 and a qualitative evaluation in 2015. Over 80% of parents reported ever having given MNP to their child, with 65% having given MNP for four or more days in the last week. Likely contributors to uptake include: perceived positive changes in the children following MNP use, the selection of a food vehicle that was already commonly given to children (morning porridge or bouillie) and the community driven, decentralized and integrated delivery approach. These findings support recommendations from recent reviews of MNP implementation to use community‐based delivery approaches and behaviour change components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel survey instrument to identify distinct components of nutrition knowledge and test for links between knowledge and dietary choices in Southern Malawi. Our first aim is to distinguish respondents' familiarity with recommended behaviours, such as when to start breastfeeding or introduce solid foods, from respondents' factual knowledge about mechanisms, such as whether biscuits or papaya and orange fruit or orange Fanta contribute more to future health. We find knowledge of nutrition behaviours to be strongly associated with more schooling, older age, and being female, whereas knowledge of mechanisms is associated only with training and employment as a health professional. We then test whether this expanded definition of nutrition knowledge is associated with dietary intake when controlling for other factors and find no significant links in these data. Results point to the need for knowledge surveys and public health behaviour‐change campaigns to address the kinds of information that might have the most influence on actual behaviour, potentially including the mechanisms involved in food composition, food safety, and disease transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]