Search

Background: Although the prescription of physical activity in clinical care has been advocated worldwide, in the Netherlands, "Exercise is Medicine" (E = M) is not yet routinely implemented in clinical care. Methods: A set of implementation strategies was pilot implemented to test its feasibility for use in routine care by clinicians in 2 departments of a university medical center. An extensive learning process evaluation was performed, using structured mixed methods methodology, in accordance with the Reach, Effect, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework. Results: From 5 implementation strategies employed (education, E = M tool embedded in the electronic medical records, lifestyle coach situated within the department, overviews of referral options, and project support), the presence of adequate project support was a strong facilitator of the implementation of E = M. Also, the presence of the lifestyle coach within the department seemed essential for referral rate. Although clinicians appreciated the E = M tool, barriers hampered its use in practice. Conclusions: Specific implementation strategies, tailored to the setting, are effective in facilitating the implementation of E = M with specific regard to education for clinicians on E = M, deployment of a lifestyle coach within a department, and project coordination. Care providers do see a future for lifestyle coaches who are structurally embedded in the hospital, to whom they can easily refer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upon the departure of a library administrator, such as dean or director, a librarian may be asked to serve in a leadership position on a limited term or open-ended, interim basis. In such a position, an interim leader can feel isolated, overwhelmed, and unprepared to navigate the challenges of the role. With this in mind, this column focuses specifically on the needs and experiences of librarians serving in interim leadership positions. Topics addressed include roles and expectations, planning and transparency, relationships and support, and imposter syndrome. The column concludes with a summary of advice for interim library leaders and the rewards that may result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In October 2019, the Ensor Learning Resource Center at Georgetown College lost one staff position. While this reduction in force was not a major surprise, what happened over the next three budget years was. With each new year, the library lost positions as part of budget cuts at the institution. To manage these cuts, the library and its staff underwent a major realignment of duties and services to continue to meet patron needs. The article below offers some context and advice for those who may find themselves in similar situations. Recent history in library staffing has seen a reduction in the numbers of qualified librarians and paraprofessionals. According to the IPEDS data, academic libraries have seen an approximately 14% drop in the number of staff and librarians in their ranks. Given this reality, it is incumbent on library leaders to adjust to these new realities, rewriting job descriptions, dropping job duties—including those that are vitally important—and working to ensure building operations continue. This retrenchment in library staffing leads to impacts—both negative and positive—that have far-reaching effects beyond the library walls. As library director at Georgetown College, a small liberal arts campus of approximately 1200 students and a faculty of 75, I faced the situation described above four times in four straight budget years as a staff of seven dwindled to a staff of three. While one staff position was added in October 2022, for three months, a 65,000 square foot building that had to deliver services and spaces for over twelve hundred students ran with a skeleton crew. In this article I offer background to this situation, how it was addressed, and some (hopefully) helpful tips to those in a similar situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do advertising trade press and association resources advise practitioners on considering disabilities in advertising work? What does the industry think are effective practices for taking disabilities into account fairly and respectfully? This article answers these questions by closely reading prominent industry articles and multimedia materials focused on recommendations regarding how to take disabilities into account in advertising work. Using critical disability scholars' critiques of the advertising industry's considerations of disability as a guide, critical discourse analysis was applied to trade articles and multimedia materials published between 2018 and early 2023 by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), Adweek, and Ad Age, all leading advertising industry trade publishers among U.S. advertising practitioners. These analyses present some emergent themes about what the industry tells itself are the effective practices to represent disabilities and reach and include people with disabilities. Careful attention is paid to the similarities and gaps between industry recommendations and scholarly and activist guidelines to see where the industry sees itself in its journey of disability diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I analyse the relationship between hiring external consultants and firm innovation in emerging markets. Firms in these economic environments face specific problems that hinder organizational activities such as innovation. Hiring external consultants is considered a particularly important strategy to overcome these corporate inefficiencies as it provides firms with access to skills and knowledge. The results for a sample of firms from 32 countries imply that firms that hire external consultants are more likely to conduct product and process innovation. Moreover, the use of advisory services is positively associated with the likelihood of undertaking more ambitious innovation projects in terms of disruptiveness and the number of innovation types. Determining the impact of the consulting intensity, I show that the relation between the number of interactions with external consultants and innovation is inversely U-shaped. This implies that more consulting is not always better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voting Advice Applications (VAAs), such as the German Wahl-O-Mat (WOM), have been examined extensively by researchers in various ways. Here, a subset of research uses data from the Wahl-O-Mat to investigate party relations. While these investigations focus on a limited number of WOM editions, I explicitly investigate the persistence of party relations in the WOM in a broad statistical analysis over 63 editions of the WOM in this exploratory research paper. At first glance, I find that intuitive differences in the overall proximities are observable. However, while many arguments exist that corroborate the suitability of the WOM data for the investigation of party relations, I identify statistically significant lower proximities for the six largest German parties in WOM editions from 2009 onward. Based on a review of changes in the design framework of the WOM and comparative data analyses based on the Chapel Hill Expert Survey and the Manifesto data set, these lower proximities are apparently linked to changes in the design of the WOM. As a result, I discuss the general ability of data from the WOM to give reliable insights into party relations. I argue that the WOM might roughly represent overall party relations but, due to a non-proportionality in the shift of the distances, potential design changes have distorting impacts on the relations between parties that make comparisons between different editions of the WOM problematic. This should be a starting point to investigate other VAAs for similar patterns to reevaluate the validity of data from VAAs for the examination of party relations in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A popular interpretation of "evidence‐based" decision‐making is "rely (only) on the rigorous evidence" (RORE) via "systematic" reviews that: use objective protocols to generating the potentially relevant papers from the literature; then filter those to retain only the small subset that provide impact estimates regarded as "rigorous"; and summarize only those estimates. I use two sets of cross‐country impact estimates—on wage gains for migrants and private school learning gains—to illustrate this seemingly attractive approach is both empirically and conceptually unsound. First, the cross‐country variation in the rigorous estimates of impact is very large, which implies the average(s) from a systematic review is of little predictive use. In both empirical examples the "systematic review of the rigorous estimates" approach leads to worse predictions of impact across countries than the naïve use of country‐specific ordinary least squares estimates. Second, I contrast a systematic review—RORE approach with an "understanding" approach—which seeks to encompass all of the available evidence into coherent understandings in forming judgments. In both examples the notion that the impact effects are constant across countries—"external validity"—is easily rejected. Insisting on privileged reliance on "rigorous" estimates in making context‐specific decisions is logically incoherent and deeply anti‐scientific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At this critical juncture in the development of NeuroAI, we outline challenges and training needs of junior researchers working across AI and neuroscience. We also provide advice and resources to help trainees plan their NeuroAI careers. New developing area of NeuroAI at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence has many open challenges, one of which is training the new generation of experts. In this Comment, the authors provide resources and outline training needs and recommendations for junior researchers working across artificial intelligence and neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable behavioral and organizational research on advice from human advisors, and despite the increasing study of artificial intelligence (AI) in organizational research, workplace-related applications, and popular discourse, an interdisciplinary review of advice from AI (vs. human) advisors has yet to be undertaken. We argue that the increasing adoption of AI to augment human decision-making would benefit from a framework that can characterize such interactions. Thus, the current research invokes judgment and decision-making research on advice from human advisors and uses a conceptual "fit"-based model to: (1) summarize how the characteristics of the AI advisor, human decisionmaker, and advice environment influence advice exchanges and outcomes (including informed speculation about the durability of such findings in light of rapid advances in AI technology), (2) delineate future research directions (along with specific predictions), and (3) provide practical implications involving the use of AI advice by human decision-makers in applied settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolism analysis is complex, accordingly representation and interpretation of metabolomics and fluxomics data is prone to pitfalls, which, if not considered, can lead to misinterpretations. The purpose of this short advice article is to raise awareness for these pitfalls and provide a guideline for biologists on how to best present metabolomics data. As part of a metabolism methods advice series, this commentary highlights frequent pitfalls and offers guidance related to designing, processing, and communicating metabolomics analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this perspective, we discuss why current mechanistic uncertainty on ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) and health acts as a major challenge to providing informed dietary guidelines and public advice on UPFs. Based on the balance of current evidence, we do not believe it is appropriate to be advising consumers to avoid all UPFs and we await further evidence to inform consumer guidance on the need to limit consumption of specifics foods based on their degree or type of processing. Eric Robinson and colleagues discuss what advice we can give in the face of the mechanistic uncertainty of ultra-processed foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We recently completed the Fund Consciousness Science! Project: a workshop and subawards program aimed to align United States federal funding mechanisms and consciousness research. Here we describe the project's motivation, execution, and outcomes to motivate similar efforts both locally and globally. This Comment reviews a recent workshop that aimed at improving funding outcomes for consciousness science researchers. The most essential pieces of advice for early career consciousness scientists are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically evaluates Itzhak Gilboa, Andrew Postlewaite, Larry Samuelson, and David Schmeidler’s account of economic models. First, it gives a selective overview of their argument, highlighting their emphasis on similarity and oversight of the role of idealizations in economics. Second, it proposes a sketch of an account of models as arguments and argumentative devices. This account not only sheds light on Gilboa et al.’s approach, including its shortcomings, but also identifies key challenges in model-based inference, suggesting a fresh perspective on the uses of models in economics for diverse objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epidemiological and clinical studies often have missing data, frequently analysed using multiple imputation (MI). In general, MI estimates will be biased if data are missing not at random (MNAR). Bias due to data MNAR can be reduced by including other variables ("auxiliary variables") in imputation models, in addition to those required for the substantive analysis. Common advice is to take an inclusive approach to auxiliary variable selection (i.e. include all variables thought to be predictive of missingness and/or the missing values). There are no clear guidelines about the impact of this strategy when data may be MNAR. Methods: We explore the impact of including an auxiliary variable predictive of missingness but, in truth, unrelated to the partially observed variable, when data are MNAR. We quantify, algebraically and by simulation, the magnitude of the additional bias of the MI estimator for the exposure coefficient (fitting either a linear or logistic regression model), when the (continuous or binary) partially observed variable is either the analysis outcome or the exposure. Here, "additional bias" refers to the difference in magnitude of the MI estimator when the imputation model includes (i) the auxiliary variable and the other analysis model variables; (ii) just the other analysis model variables, noting that both will be biased due to data MNAR. We illustrate the extent of this additional bias by re-analysing data from a birth cohort study. Results: The additional bias can be relatively large when the outcome is partially observed and missingness is caused by the outcome itself, and even larger if missingness is caused by both the outcome and the exposure (when either the outcome or exposure is partially observed). Conclusions: When using MI, the naïve and commonly used strategy of including all available auxiliary variables should be avoided. We recommend including the variables most predictive of the partially observed variable as auxiliary variables, where these can be identified through consideration of the plausible casual diagrams and missingness mechanisms, as well as data exploration (noting that associations with the partially observed variable in the complete records may be distorted due to selection bias). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased automation transparency can improve the accuracy of automation use but can lead to increased bias towards agreeing with advice. Information about the automation's confidence in its advice may also increase the predictability of automation errors. We examined the effects of providing automation transparency, automation confidence information, and their potential interacting effect on the accuracy of automation use and other outcomes. An uninhabited vehicle (UV) management task was completed where participants selected the optimal UV to complete missions. Low or high automation transparency was provided, and participants agreed/disagreed with automated advice on each mission. We manipulated between participants whether automated advice was accompanied by confidence information. This information indicated on each trial whether automation was "somewhat" or "highly" confident in its advice. Higher transparency improved the accuracy of automation use, led to faster decisions, lower perceived workload, and increased trust and perceived usability. Providing participant automation confidence information, as compared with not, did not have an overall impact on any outcome variable and did not interact with transparency. Despite no benefit, participants who were provided confidence information did use it. For trials where lower compared to higher confidence information was presented, hit rates decreased, correct rejection rates increased, decision times slowed, and perceived workload increased, all suggestive of decreased reliance on automated advice. Such trial-by-trial shifts in automation use bias and other outcomes were not moderated by transparency. These findings can potentially inform the design of automated decision-support systems that are more understandable by humans in order to optimise human-automation interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the billing of an initial examination in the hospital when a stationary treatment is rejected against medical advice. It discusses whether billing for pre-stationary treatment without admission is legally permissible. It also addresses the legal regulations and contracts related to the remuneration of hospital services. It is determined that the claim for remuneration of a stationary treatment is dismissed because there is no effective legal basis. [Extracted from the article]

Background: With increased emphasis on self-management in healthcare, clinicians need outstanding skills in offering advice and empowering patients to attain an optimal outcome. Objectives: This study explores how undergraduate physiotherapists acquire knowledge, skills, and confidence to offer advice to patients in clinical practice. Methods: Convenience sampling was used to recruit 50 BSc and MSc pre-registration physiotherapy students across all years of study in one university in southern England, UK. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for first year BSc students (n = 13). Six focus groups of mixed BSc and MSc students were conducted, three groups (n = 15 students) were mid-training, and three groups (n = 22 students) were in their final year. Results: Thematic analysis identified 6 themes: advice content; a patient-centered approach; delivery; acquisitions; perceptions; and uptake of advice. Students placed high value on advice-giving, drawing upon multiple learning opportunities, however they felt under-prepared to deliver this skill in practice. Furthermore, perceptions of their student status, and pressures to perform on graded placements were reported to influence the advice they offered to patients. Conclusions: Developing high-level skills in promoting self-management is essential in physiotherapy, this study highlights the challenges for students to develop these skills. Academic and practice educators must explicitly enable and support students to develop the knowledge and skills to confidently offer high-quality advice to patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We asked 15 editors about their perceptions of five sentences using singular they in different contexts and about the style guides that inform their work. Editors appreciated the inclusivity of indefinite and definite singular they and recognized APA for its leading-edge stance. Our findings indicate the need for editors to develop a heuristic for determining when to deviate from style guide advice and to develop their own system for mitigating ambiguity in relation to they. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online portfolio selection is a decision-making problem of how to dynamically adjust asset positions based on historical price sequences. The existing works on online portfolio strategy are based on integrating static experts whose advice does not change with market states, which is inconsistent with the advice from dynamic experts in reality. In this paper, we propose a new online portfolio strategy by using side information states to characterize market states, getting advice from dynamic experts who dynamically adjust the strategy based on side information states and integrating their advice. To do so, we first regard all the state constant rebalanced portfolio strategies, which make portfolios dynamically according to side information states, as expert advice. Second, we apply the exponentially weighted average (EWA) algorithm to integrate the advice from the experts and propose a new strategy. Then, we prove that the strategy has the same asymptotic average logarithmic return rate as the best state constant rebalanced portfolio (BSCRP) strategy, i.e., it is universal. Finally, we conduct numerical experiments by using actual financial data from Chinese and American markets. The results indicate that our proposed strategy has good competitive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Receiving appropriate, unbiased advice from their teachers is important for students' smaller- and larger-scale educational decisions. However, teachers' concerns about being or appearing to be prejudiced may interfere and lead them to provide encouraging advice to students belonging to negatively stereotyped groups even when it is not warranted (failure-to-warn phenomenon). In this experimental study, we aimed to replicate findings from the US and tested whether teacher students in Germany provided overly encouraging advice regarding the academic plans of a student with a Turkish (vs. German) name. Teacher students (n = 174) saw the overly ambitious timetable of a (supposed) student with a Turkish or German name and gave advice online on rating scales and in an open-response format. In their advice, they indicated, among others, the perceived demands of the timetable, possible affective and social consequences for the student, and the need to reconsider the timetable. Contrary to expectations and findings from the US, our analyses did not indicate differences in the advice that students with Turkish vs. German names received. Instead, teacher students warned students with a Turkish and German name equally of the difficulties associated with their potential timetable. We discuss both methodology- and theory-related potential explanations for these unexpected findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When both a buyer and a seller have private information about their valuations of the same object, they trade the object less efficiently. A better-informed agent than the buyer and the seller can facilitate trade more efficiently by advising them with the agent's information. However, the agent's interest affects the validity of the agent's advice and thus trade outcomes. When the agent's interest is to maximize the trade probability rather than the expected transaction price, the agent is more likely to share the agent's information with both the buyer and the seller. The information provided by the agent raises not only the trade probability but also the expected transaction price. Therefore, the attempt of the agent to raise the expected transaction price may fail, whereas the one to increase the trade probability succeeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the dynamics of human reliance on algorithmic advice in a situation with strategic interaction. Participants played the strategic game of Rock–Paper–Scissors (RPS) under various conditions, receiving algorithmic decision support while facing human or algorithmic opponents. Results indicate that participants often underutilize algorithmic recommendations, particularly after early errors, but increasingly rely on the algorithm following successful early predictions. This behavior demonstrates a sensitivity to decision outcomes, with asymmetry: rejecting advice consistently reinforces rejecting advice again while accepting advice leads to varied reactions based on outcomes. We also investigate how personal characteristics, such as algorithm familiarity and domain experience, influence reliance on algorithmic advice. Both factors positively correlate with increased reliance, and algorithm familiarity significantly moderates the relationship between outcome feedback and reliance. Facing an algorithmic opponent increases advice rejection frequencies, and the determinants of trust and interaction dynamics differ from those with human opponents. Our findings enhance the understanding of algorithm aversion and reliance on AI, suggesting that increasing familiarity with algorithms can improve their integration into decision‐making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that people are more influenced by advisors who are objectively more accurate, but also by advisors who tend to agree with their own initial opinions. The present experiments extend these ideas to consider people's choices of who they receive advice from—the process of source selection. Across a series of nine experiments, participants were first exposed to advisors who differed in objective accuracy, the likelihood of agreeing with the participants' judgments, or both, and then were given choice over who would advise them across a series of decisions. Participants saw these advisors in the context of perceptual decision and general knowledge tasks, sometimes with feedback provided and sometimes without. We found evidence that people can discern accurate from inaccurate advice even in the absence of feedback, but that without feedback they are biased to select advisors who tend to agree with them. When choosing between advisors who are accurate vs. likely to agree with them, participants overwhelmingly choose accurate advisors when feedback is available, but show wide individual differences in preference when feedback is absent. These findings extend previous studies of advice influence to characterise patterns of advisor choice, with implications for how people select information sources and learn accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Gut microbiota seems to play a critical role in health and disease. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a nutritional intervention in children 6–12 years old on the microbiota and to identify possible dietary components involved in the change. A 2‐month parallel, controlled randomised trial was conducted. The nutritional intervention was based on the recommendations of the Mediterranean diet, for both intervention groups, with the difference that in the ALINFA group a more intensive intervention based on a complete diet, while in the control group, dietary advice was provided. After the intervention, ALINFA group showed an increase in the richness and diversity of their microbiota as well as changes in the abundance of different bacterial heels. These changes were mainly influences by fibre intake and the type of fat consumed. The ALINFA nutritional intervention seems to be able to positively influence children's microbiota, showing significant changes within 2 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to identify factors that influence running shoe selection and how salespeople and runners experience the in-store selection process. In a cross-sectional design, we surveyed 101 runners (buyers and non-buyers) and 38 salespeople in specialty running stores. Surveys contained questions about demographics, factors influencing shoe choice, sources of footwear advice/education, conscious behaviour, and perceived influence of salespeople on selection. There were no significant differences between buyers and non-buyers regarding how much runners thought about their purchases (i.e., level of consciousness). Salespeople were significantly younger than runners and believed a greater number of factors and sources of advice influenced shoe selection. Runners most frequently identified fit, comfort, and gait analysis or injury prevention as most influential in selecting shoes, in that order. Salespeople believed comfort was the most important for runners. Buyers and non-buyers prioritised advice on running shoes from salespeople, friends, and family, while salespeople primarily got their information from peers. Buyers and non-buyers visiting speciality running stores largely reflect the same population. Salespeople advising runners significantly differed from their target clientele in several regards and overestimated their influence on runners' selection. We caution runners to carefully consider the advice from salespeople as many employees make recommendations that are not evidence-based and may have limited experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bhutan's overarching development paradigm of Gross National Happiness (GNH) promotes a harmonious balance between material and non-material dimensions. But Bhutan's evaluation practice has not yet adopted the principles of GNH, preventing evaluation findings and recommendations from aligning with the priorities of GNH. This article makes the case that Culturally Responsive Evaluation (CRE) is a potential way that Bhutan can ensure evaluation is aligned with GNH. Authors analyze a recent, critical evaluation of the Direct Employment Scheme (DES), initiated by the Bhutanese government to increase youth employment. Authors developed a CRE assessment tool to understand whether and how the DES evaluation conformed to CRE. Findings of the review focused on five themes: (1) understanding context, (2) seeking advice, (3) forming an evaluation team, (4) methodology, and (5) understanding evaluation findings. Authors conclude with a discussion about how a CRE approach would have better ensured evaluation responsiveness to Bhutan's interests. This article contributes to discussions about criticisms that evaluation in the Global South does not serve in-country needs. It also holds the promise of providing evidence about how evaluation can support achieving Bhutan's goal of Gross National Happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission requested EFSA to update the scientific guidance for the preparation of notifications for authorisation of traditional foods, previously developed following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on novel foods. This guidance document provides advice on the scientific information needed to be submitted by applicants when submitting traditional food notifications pursuant to Article 14 and traditional food applications pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The safety of a traditional food should be substantiated by data on its composition, its experience of continued use and its proposed conditions of use. Its normal consumption should not be nutritionally disadvantageous. The applicant should integrate the information on the composition and the experience of continued use and provide a concise overall consideration on how this substantiates the history of safe use of the traditional food and how this relates to the proposed conditions of use for the EU. Potential health hazards identified on the basis of compositional data and/or data from the experience of continued use should be discussed. On the basis of the information provided, EFSA will assess the safety related to the consumption of the traditional food under the proposed conditions of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In unrestricted or exploratory factor analysis (EFA), there is a wide range of recommendations about the size samples should be to attain correct and stable solutions. In general, however, these recommendations are either rules of thumb or based on simulation results. As it is hard to establish the extent to which a particular data set suits the conditions used in a simulation study, the advice produced by simulation studies is not direct enough to be of practical use. Instead of trying to provide general and complex recommendations, in this article, we propose to estimate the sample size that is needed to analyze a data set at hand. The estimation takes into account the specified EFA model. The proposal is based on an intensive simulation process in which the sample correlation matrix is used as a basis for generating data sets from a pseudo-population in which the parent correlation holds exactly, and the criterion for determining the size required is a threshold that quantifies the closeness between the pseudo-population and the sample reproduced correlation matrices. The simulation results suggest that the proposal works well and that the determinants identified agree with those in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There's growing proof of the impact of sun rays, in their various wave lengths and strengths, on the human skin. That yields more knowledge and recommendations on the means to protect and preserve that vital organ. Nowadays, such information is available thanks to the various formulae and filters of sunscreen products. Protection from UV rays is particularly important due to the high risk of sunburn, DNA mutation and changes, and skin cancer. This report will explore practical recommendations regarding the use of sunscreen, as well as advice on how we can protect ourselves from the impact of sun rays. The general methods for safeguarding from the sun include finding a shade, when you are outside, applying products to keep safe from the sun, wearing protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses. Sunscreen is just one of many measures that are used to protect the skin from the sun rays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to explore empirically the mediation effect of firm innovation on the relationship between external knowledge and firm performance. Using cross-sectional data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey in ten sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, a range of analysis was conducted to test for the mediation effect. We used Baron and Kenny's (1986) triple test for mediation to understand the nature of mediation and the product of the coefficient approach to compute three different mediation tests (the Sobel test and the Aroian and Goodman tests) including the bootstrapping confidence interval. The result confirms innovation mediates the relationship between external advice and firm performance. The study contributes to the limited literature on the mechanism through which external knowledge could positively influence firm performance, especially in a developing country context (Africa) where existing literature has focused more on how external knowledge influences firm innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auditing standards require that auditors' reliance on a specialist is commensurate with the specialist's competence. In assessing competence, auditors encounter cues diagnostic of the specialist's social status but less so of competence. In an experiment, we manipulate specialist status and find that auditors mistake status for competence unless they are prompted to separate the constructs. This raises the possibility that auditors could overrely on high-status specialists. However, auditors also assess high-status specialists as more influential, and when the specialist disagrees with the client, they rely more on high-status specialists because of this perceived influence. Thus, high-status specialists can increase auditors' willingness to challenge the client by providing a strong ally. Additional analyses suggest that auditors are aware that they rely on the specialist's influence rather than competence, indicating that auditors do not use the process that auditing standards envision to evaluate and rely on specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Berliner Journal für Soziologie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background Approximately 770 children are diagnosed with cancer in Australia every year. Research has explored their experiences and developed recommendations for improving support provided to families. These have included the provision of psychology services, improved communication between healthcare professionals and parents, and increased information for families. Methodology In our hermeneutic phenomenological study, 44 participants (21 fathers and 23 mothers), with ages ranging from 28 to 51 years (M  =   37 years, SD  =   5.6 years) were interviewed. Interviews ranged from 45 to 150 min (M  =   65 min, SD  =   18 min) duration. Findings Thematic analysis of the data generated seven themes. Take it second by second; Find some normality; Take care of yourself; You need to talk to someone; Just take all the help; Speaking up for your child; and Take care of the siblings. Conclusion The results of our study provide firsthand advice from parents. The overwhelming theme that emerged is that while many parents revealed that they had not asked for or received support, in hindsight they unanimously reflected that they wished they had sought out services. The strength of this study is that parents are more likely to accept the advice of other parents with a shared lived experience. The results of our study can be used to develop resources that could be provided to parents. These resources would emphasize that the recommendations come from parents who have traveled the same path and have learnt from hindsight and experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deploys servicisation as a case study to discuss economists' methods and the confirmation bias issue. Data show the average pattern of structural transformation in developing countries has since the early 1990s been servicisation, and the faster the growth, the greater the servicisation. Data also show that servicisation has been an extremely under-researched topic compared with industrialisation. This is an example of confirmation bias—weak links between theory and facts—that erodes the plausibility of policy advice. The paper analyses methods and their policing, and points to issues to address to reduce risks of confirmation bias by strengthening 'the power of facts'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Telephone advice lines are a key component of rheumatology services. A national survey of telephone advice line providers was undertaken to explore how this service is currently delivered and the impact on those delivering it to inform providers, policymakers and patients. Methods We conducted an online survey between March and September 2023 collecting data on demographics, how advice lines function, governance and the impact on nurses' well-being. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results A total of 123 health professionals completed the survey. The majority were rheumatology nurses [ n  = 118 (96%)], >45 years of age [ n  = 112 (91%)], band ≥7 [ n  = 92 (76%)], with 77 (65%) reporting >10 years of experience within rheumatology. Most advice lines operated weekdays only [ n  = 93 (79%)], with most calls returned within 2 days [ n  = 81 (66%)], although some callers waited >7 days [ n  = 19 (15%)]. The number of calls received monthly ranged from 100 to >800, with 46 (37%) responders reporting >500 calls/month. The most common reasons for contacting advice lines were disease activity, pain and medication concerns. For most responders, governance arrangements were unclear [ n  = 72 (61%)]. Providing advice lines impacted on the well-being of nurses providing the service: 89 (72%) felt anxious 'sometimes to mostly' and 79 (64%) found it 'mostly–always' stressful. A total of 85 (69%) nurses had not received any training to manage advice lines. Conclusion Although telephone advice lines are provided by experienced rheumatology nurses, high demand is impacting on well-being. Having designated training could equip nurses with additional skills to manage increased capacity and monitor their own well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While risk tolerance is often elicited using questionnaire-based instruments, in this paper, we evaluate the merits of an inversion-based technique, wherein risk aversion parameters are inferred from an individual's portfolio holdings and a sequence of realized returns. We obtain expressions for the finite sample and asymptotic variance of the estimated risk aversion parameter under the inversion approach with a single risky asset, demonstrating that confidence intervals for parameter estimates are relatively wide. Extending the analysis, we show that inferring risk aversion from multiple risky assets does not typically serve to reduce the estimated parameter variance, but rather propagates estimation error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes a particular interest in the dynamics between information flows, continuous ongoing assessments, intelligence dissemination, and forward-looking operational advice. The point of departure is the tension between balancing quality (in the sense of in-depth processing of large amounts of information) and speed (meeting requirements of timeliness) in current intelligence assessments. The article takes an explorative approach to practices in current intelligence, utilizing qualitative interview data combined with open source material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looking inside themselves is the best way for young planners to grow their practice. Practical advice is given about the importance of self-reflection and mentoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do limitations on commissions paid to financial advisers reduce prices of financial products and stimulate investment? I examine these questions by estimating the causal effects of regulating commissions for mutual fund distribution. I exploit the unique institutional setting in Israel and the 2013 policy change when the government reduced commissions differently for different fund types. The reform led to a major decline in fund expense ratios and a consequent increase in fund flows. Funds with price-sensitive investors experienced 35% larger inflows. I interpret these results as investor responses to price competition fostered by a reduction in distribution costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Canadians continue to report challenges accessing primary care. Practice choices made by primary care providers shape services available to Canadians. Although there is literature observing family medicine practice trends, there is less clarity on the reasoning underlying primary care providers’ practice intentions. Advice offered by residents and early-career family physicians may reveal challenges they have experienced, how they have adapted to them, and strategies for new residents. In this paper, we examine advice family medicine residents and early-career family physicians would give to new family medicine residents. Methods Sixty early-career family physicians and thirty residents were interviewed as part of a mixed-methods study of practice patterns of family medicine providers in Canada. During qualitative interviews, participants were asked, “what advice would you give [a new family medicine resident] about planning their career as a family physician?” We inductively analyzed responses to this question. Results Advice consisted of understanding the current climate of family medicine (need for specialization, business management burden, physician burnout) and revealed reasons behind said challenges (lack of support for comprehensive clinic care, practical limitations of different practice models, and how payment models influence work-life balance). Subtheme analyses showed early-career family physicians being more vocal on understanding practical aspects of the field including practice logistics and achieving job security. Conclusion Most advice mirrored current changes and challenges as well as revealing strategies on how primary care providers are handling the realities of practicing family medicine. Multi-modal systemic interventions may be needed to support family physicians throughout the changing reality of family medicine and ensure family medicine is an appealing specialty.

On a three stage “ladder,” from humanism to scepticism to pessimism, Ecclesiastes has traditionally been regarded as the last of those three. Many recent studies, however, have challenged this assessment, replacing humanism with optimism and presenting a stark choice between the two extremes of optimism and pessimism. In this paper it is argued that a middle way can be found, using the language of “realism.” How to define “a realist” and what this means for understanding Qoheleth is explored. Examples of Qoheleth’s pragmatic advice, experiential starting point, and continual balancing of life’s options are aired, and key indicators of his realism are found. These are demonstrated first, in his use and placement of the three major poems in the book, second, in his choice of phrases around “knowledge,” and third, in his use of exemplifying stories that ground his more abstract musings in a concrete reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article delves into the genre of domestic advice media in the United States, particularly focusing on television programs that provide guidance on homemaking, hosting, and crafting. It explores the traditional image of the mid-twentieth-century homemaker and the emergence of feminist artists who use satire and nostalgia to create a parallel genre called domestic satire. The author analyzes Amy Sedaris and her show "At Home with Amy Sedaris," which satirizes the traditional domestic advice genre. The article also discusses the historical context of domestic programming and its impact on cultural memory and contemporary representations of domesticity. [Extracted from the article]