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Voltage distribution in sub-cellular micro-domains such as neuronal synapses, small protrusions, or dendritic spines regulates the opening and closing of ionic channels, energy production, and thus, cellular homeostasis and excitability. Yet how voltage changes at such a small scale in vivo remains challenging due to the experimental diffraction limit, large signal fluctuations, and the still limited resolution of fast voltage indicators. Here, we study the voltage distribution in nano-compartments using a computational approach based on the Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations for the electro-diffusion motion of ions, where inward and outward fluxes are generated between channels. We report a current–voltage (I–V) logarithmic relationship generalizing Nernst law that reveals how the local membrane curvature modulates the voltage. We further find that an influx current penetrating a cellular electrolyte can lead to perturbations from tens to hundreds of nanometers deep, depending on the local channel organization. Finally, we show that the neck resistance of dendritic spines can be completely shunted by the transporters located on the head boundary, facilitating ionic flow. To conclude, we propose that voltage is regulated at a subcellular level by channel organization, membrane curvature, and narrow passages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed Monte Carlo and dynamic Monte Carlo simulations to model the diffusion of monodispersed suspensions composed of impenetrable cuboidal particles, specifically hard board-like particles (HBPs), in the presence of parallel hard walls. The impact of the walls was investigated by adjusting the size of the simulation box while maintaining constant packing fractions, fixed at η = 0.150, for systems consisting of HBPs with prolate, dual-shaped, and oblate geometries. We observed that increasing the distance between the walls led to the recovery of an isotropic bulk phase, while local particle organization near the walls remained stable. Due to their shape, oblate HBPs exhibit more efficient anchoring at wall surfaces compared to prolate shapes. The formation of nematic-like particle assemblies near the walls, confirmed by theoretical calculations based on density functional theory, significantly influenced local particle dynamics. This effect was particularly pronounced to the extent that a modest portion of cuboids near the walls tended to diffuse exclusively in planes parallel to the confinement, even more efficiently than observed in the bulk regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pundits, advocates, and scholars have increasingly focused on the strategies of transnational repression employed by autocratic states to deter opposition and control the voices of emigrants abroad. Typically, transnational repression is understood as various forms of state-directed tactics executed by institutional actors who are deployed, trained, and organized by the state. Yet, the tactic of inciting hatred and division among emigrants to undermine dissidents—part of a nationalist strategy that mobilizes non-state actors for repression—has not been thoroughly explored. This article reveals a unique form of diaspora actorhood: the repressive nationalist diasporas, which consist of culturally driven migrants who support their authoritarian homelands and exert significant influence in various aspects of transnational migrants' civic life, including student groups, ethnic associations, and grassroots organizations. Through these networks, diaspora migrants provide autocrats with the means to extend their repressive reach internationally. This paper examines the People's Republic of China (PRC) as a case study, demonstrating how the state leverages nationalist sentiments to alienate dissidents and fuel enmity among its loyalists overseas. The consequences are extensive, involving surveillance, harassment, and assaults on dissidents such as Hong Kongers, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Taiwanese, and mainland Chinese—aiming to silence those who criticize the PRC regime. Ethnographic research, interviews, and publicly available data are used to reveal, describe, and analyze the role and global reach of the repressive nationalist diaspora in the transnational repression mechanism as part of modern autocratic statecraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last half-century, the 'centre–periphery' model has become insufficient to describe the increasingly fragmented and multicentric Latin American metropolises. Frontiers between central and peripheral areas are shifting, in part, due to the emergence of new corporate centralities, usually located outside historical city centres and heavily equipped with private 'security' agents and devices. By examining the evolving governing practices taking place in and around the dynamic frontier of a business centrality in São Paulo, Brazil, this article discusses the connections between the transformation in centre–periphery relations and the reworking of prior forms of socio-spatial control since the 'security' turn of the 1990s. More specifically, it explores the effects of the production of securitised corporate centralities on the racialised differential governance of urban space. For this purpose, the article draws from empirical work involving fieldwork, interviews with public and private 'security' agents, the observation of meetings of the local Public Security Community Council (CONSEG), and the analysis of police statistics. In sum, the argument presented here is that the evolution of segregation mechanisms and governing practices in Latin-American metropolises reproduces centre–periphery relations under new spatial configurations, and increases the capacity of private agents to subject urban space to their own rules and regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife Conservation, Management and Sustainable Use Units (UMAs in Spanish) integrate strategies for wildlife management and social participation in Mexico. There are 25 UMAs within Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve in Morelos state. Two decades after their implementation, there is not much information on their performance. We analyzed human perceptions in terms of UMAs benefits, environmental conservation, institutional support, and problems through interviews with inhabitants. Interviewees considered income as the main benefit followed by environmental benefits from UMAs. They mentioned that institutional support and the continuous participation of inhabitants and technicians are fundamental for adequate performance. They expressed concern over poaching and unregulated hunting, among other. Given the restrictions on the activities permitted within a protected area, residents focus on obtaining alternative economic benefits, and the presence of UMAs provide income and employment. Institutional support, community organization and trustworthy technicians are key to successful conservation, sustainability and human welfare projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community schools are schools which recognize that children are apart of communities, and therefore, attempt to directly address the outside of school factors that impact student learning by offering services to students, their families, and the broader community through a variety of partnerships with governmental and community-based organizations. Based on empirical research, this paper argues that while the community schools provide a much-needed approach to educating students beyond their academic needs, the schools work within deeply-rooted racist systems and structures. Seen through the lens of racial capitalism, in particular, the work of community schools may be quite limited in what they can accomplish. Using census data from the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance (BNIA) combined with GIS mapping, this paper investigated the racially segregated contexts in which community schools operated in Baltimore. In so doing, the paper argues that the potential of community schools is circumscribed by the spatial injustice that the neighborhoods experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers and community organizations are increasingly operationalizing food sovereignty, and argue that participatory, community-engaged food sovereignty metrics can enhance insights about local contexts, and opportunities for food sovereignty. In Haiti, one of the most food-insecure countries in the world, peasant and civil society organizations have been calling for food sovereignty for over a decade, and the state recently published a food sovereignty policy document, marking an important paradigm shift. In this paper, we share a case study of a food sovereignty tool that was designed through a participatory, community-based process in Northern Haiti, offering a blueprint and lessons learned that we hope will be useful to others working to operationalize food sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies often suggest that the thrust of peasant politics is the advancement of autonomous family farming. Such studies seem remote in rural places where migration, pluriactivity, and non-agrarian jobs and aspirations are the norm. We examine peasant politics in rural Ecuador, where peasant communities have driven nationwide uprisings in recent years. We find that many peasant community organizations cultivate political legitimacy among their members by advancing diverse, non-agrarian objectives, rather than autonomous farming. We argue that researchers stand to learn much about peasant politics by attending to precisely how agrarian livelihoods and post-agrarian aspirations weave together to (re)produce rural institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explored the social networks of 20 women who were in the process, or had completed, a sentence at a residential community corrections facility. Drawing on egocentric social network data and in-depth qualitative interviews, we analyzed the kinds of support that were most and least available to women, who were members of their network and what type of support they provided, and the role of complex relationships and peers. We found that women often relied on complex relationships and strategically navigated these relationships to access support. Many women also expressed a desire to mend and heal damaged relationships, recognizing their significance in their support system. Although peers can play a critical role in providing support to system-involved women, community corrections must invest in facilitating supportive connections and relationships among women. Ultimately, this research offers insights that can guide community corrections organizations in building and repairing women's networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies grassroots organizations that provide various forms of support to vulnerable local communities in the United Kingdom in a context of increasing austerity, public sector drawbacks, a lack of funding and extensive monitoring, and evaluative requirements. We focus on the COVID‐19 pandemic, which challenged traditional funding relationships. We analyze lived experiences of trust, emotion, and suffering to understand the politics of accountability across the diverse economy. We draw on Gibson‐Graham's post‐capitalist framework, which insists on the politics of language, the subject, and collective action. In the setting we study, the language of crisis reshaped funding, vulnerable subjectivities emerged to support vulnerable communities, and fragmenting accountabilities were met with attempts to promote collective action and solidarity. We, therefore, contribute to literature in critical accounting and literature focused on the voluntary and community sector by studying a landscape of diverse accountability practices to explore the possibilities that they offer in terms of accounting for non‐capitalist organizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural decoding is a tool for understanding how activities from a population of neurons inside the brain relate to the outside world and for engineering applications such as brain-machine interfaces. However, neural decoding studies mainly focused on different decoding algorithms rather than different neuron types which could use different coding strategies. In this study, we used two-photon calcium imaging to assess three auditory spatial decoders (space map, opponent channel, and population pattern) in excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the dorsal inferior colliculus of male and female mice. Our findings revealed a clustering of excitatory neurons that prefer similar interaural level difference (ILD), the primary spatial cues in mice, while inhibitory neurons showed random local ILD organization. We found that inhibitory neurons displayed lower decoding variability under the opponent channel decoder, while excitatory neurons achieved higher decoding accuracy under the space map and population pattern decoders. Further analysis revealed that the inhibitory neurons' preference for ILD off the midline and the excitatory neurons' heterogeneous ILD tuning account for their decoding differences. Additionally, we discovered a sharper ILD tuning in the inhibitory neurons. Our computational model, linking this to increased presynaptic inhibitory inputs, was corroborated using monaural and binaural stimuli. Overall, this study provides experimental and computational insight into how excitatory and inhibitory neurons uniquely contribute to the coding of sound locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the potential for community health worker (CHW)-led programs to improve the health of people with justice involvement (PWJI), little is known about the practical implementation of such models. We explored barriers and facilitators to implementation of a municipal CHW program, the Health Justice Network (NYC HJN), led by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) in partnership with three reentry-focused community-based organizations (CBOs) and three federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that was designed to serve the health and social service needs of PWJI. Methods: Eighteen in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of CHWs, partner site supervisors, and DOHMH staff. Interviews were conducted virtually and transcribed verbatim. Codes and themes were developed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to understand facilitators and barriers to NYC HJN implementation. Results: Important facilitators to implementation included: lived experience of CHWs, as well as NYC HJN's voluntary nature, lack of onerous eligibility criteria, and prioritization of participant needs. One barrier was the lack of a formal implementation protocol. Themes identified as facilitators in some instances and barriers in others were CHW integration into site partners, the expansive scope of work for CHWs, the integration of a trauma-informed approach, values alignment and existing infrastructure, leadership engagement, CHW training and support, and input, feedback, and communication. Conclusions: Findings will help inform how to successfully implement future CHW-led interventions for PWJI with municipal, health, and social service partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of xylazine, a non-opioid tranquilizer not for human consumption, in illicitly manufactured fentanyl is increasing in the United States. However, little is known about xylazine awareness and attitudes among people who use drugs. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of people who use drugs in Ohio was conducted from November 2023 – May 2024 to identify xylazine awareness and attitudes in rural and urban counties across the state. Study participants were recruited from naloxone distribution sites, including health departments, syringe service programs, and community-based organizations. Results: Among 630 people who use drugs in Ohio, more than one-half (53.5%) were unaware of xylazine being in "street drugs," regardless of urbanicity. Among individuals who were aware of xylazine, most (73.0%) indicated they did not want to use the drug and try to avoid it. In addition, 75.8% of this group felt it was "very" or "extremely" important to know if xylazine was in their drugs. Discussion: This research found that many people who use drugs in Ohio are unaware of xylazine and its risks. An important finding of this study is that most individuals who had heard of xylazine did not want to use it and were concerned about knowing whether xylazine was in their drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aim to understand how long‐term state neglect of public infrastructure coexists with a renewed emphasis on profit‐driven infrastructure development in urban contexts. We focus on Exarcheia, an Athens neighbourhood known for its radical character, where a lack of public infrastructure investment aligns with plans for new transport infrastructure and urban regeneration. Using a participatory action research approach and engaging in collective discussions with grassroots organisations opposing these plans, we argue that prolonged austerity following the 2008 economic crisis has redefined state‐funded public infrastructures, aligning them more closely with the speculative interests of real estate, commercial, and infrastructure capital. The interplay of austerity infrastructure, gentrification, and spatial violence manifests as a form of slow urbicide, paving the way for revanchist urban regeneration that prioritises the commercial exploitation of urban space at the expense of the historical, political, and cultural identities of affected neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the cost efficiency of local police agencies in the US for 2016. We employ a multi-output translog stochastic frontier model and show that reductions in inefficiency would yield significant budgetary savings and improved performance in service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) presents a significant health concern during pregnancy, predisposing individuals to future diabetes. Despite established postpartum diabetes screening guidelines, adherence to follow-up remains inadequate. Aims: This study aimed to assess the predictive value of the 50-gram glucose challenge test (GCT) for post-pregnancy diabetes development. Materials and methods: A population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted on pregnant women aged 18–45 who underwent GCT screening between November 2007 and July 2017 in a large Israeli community medical organization. Baseline characteristics, GCT results, and diabetes development during follow-up were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Results: Among 8,675 women included, 2.4% developed diabetes over a median follow-up of 73.23 months. Elevated GCT results correlated with a higher risk of future diabetes, with a 4% rise in risk per 1 mg/dL increase in glucose above 140 mg/dL. Multivariate analysis revealed a 60-fold rise in the risk of future diabetes in women with GCT results ≥ 200 mg/dL compared to those with GCT < 140 mg/dL, adjusting for age, body mass index, pre-pregnancy glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides. A GCT result between 140 and 199 mg/dL was a predictor of future diabetes, even when adjusted for GDM based on a subsequent GTT if performed. Conclusions: GCT results during pregnancy strongly predict future diabetes development, with higher GCT values significantly increasing risk. Recognizing abnormal GCT results as indicative of a prediabetic state offers a practical approach for risk stratification, facilitating early diagnosis, and intervention in post-pregnancy care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's dropping birthrate is a frequent topic in both media and political discourse and yet, an increasing number of non-Japanese women are giving birth in the country. While praised for several of its women-centered features, Japanese maternity care also faces criticism for its perceived inflexibility and lack of cultural sensitivity. This article presents a comprehensive overview of Japanese and English language studies on non-Japanese women's access to maternity care in Japan. It highlights the challenges many women encounter, such as linguistic and cultural barriers, as well as institutional and physician inflexibility. The article also acknowledges noteworthy aspects, including excellent midwifery and support for new mothers. Ultimately, this paper argues that research utilizing in-depth narratives from foreign women is necessary to develop a more culturally sensitive approach to maternity care. It also underscores the need for medical professionals to collaborate with grassroots organizations to understand the dynamic needs of non-Japanese women and sufficiently support them through pregnancy, birth, and post-natal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of addressing social needs in a crisis context. Some US jurisdictions integrated a social service component into case investigation and contact tracing (CI/CT) programs, including the New York City (NYC) Test & Trace (T2) Program; the Take Care initiative referred NYC residents who tested positive or were exposed to COVID-19 to services to support isolation and quarantine and meet basic needs. More research is needed to determine effective implementation strategies for integrating social needs provision into CI/CT programs. To identify barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the Take Care initiative, we conducted key informant interviews with program staff, community-based organization partners, and cases and contacts as part of a larger evaluation of the T2 program. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using rapid qualitative methods. Key facilitators to implementation included utilizing a case management software system, employing strategies to encourage service uptake, leveraging cross-agency collaborations, and partnering with community-based organizations for resource navigation. Barriers identified included external management of the software system, challenges reaching and engaging the public, administrative complications due to shifting collaborations, and management of CBO partners' structure and hiring. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations to support effective planning and implementation of social needs service provision in a crisis context. Future research should focus on testing promising implementation strategies highlighted in this study and applying them to varied contexts and crisis situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavior change campaigns are crucial in combatting illegal wildlife trade (IWT) by reducing demand, but assessing their impact requires robust strategies. The Behavior‐Centered Theory of Change (BC‐ToC) integrates Theory of Change frameworks with decision‐making models to design and evaluate interventions using behavioral and progress indicators. We used BC‐ToC to design two behavioral change interventions aimed at reducing demand for two threatened Venezuelan bird species: the Yellow‐shouldered Amazon (YSA) and the Red Siskin (RS). We developed workshops to engage community organizations and conservationists to identify audience groups, evaluate alternative behaviors considering impact and benefits, and define behavior‐based indicators for monitoring change. For YSA, two audience groups with similar demand motivations emerged: "common folks" (women, 20–70 yo, low education) and "young professionals" (20–30 yo, educated). Enjoying parrots through outdoor activities emerged as an alternative. For RS, the main audience segments were the breeder groups "South American node" (Venezuelan and Brazilian) and "Iberian node" (Spaniels and Portuguese). Iberian with wider age range (30–60 yo) and greater education than South American. Adopting responsible sourcing practices surfaced as the alternative behavior. We described behavioral levers, intermediary outputs, and indicators reflecting changes in knowledge, attitudes, norms, and control. We discussed challenges for adoption, emphasizing systemic barriers and the role of regulations, and provided ground‐tailored strategies for effective behavioral interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisational forms are defined by the cultural and the scientific – a dual dimensionality of organisational legitimacy. This study examines organisational legitimacy of refugee-led community organisations (RCOs), as they form or emerge out of refugee camps and places of displacement and then transition to fit into taken-for-granted cultural-scientific organisational models in places of resettlement. Analyses draw from participant observation, interviews and focus groups with leaders of RCOs. Findings illustrate how the 'face' of RCOs imitates western forms in managing external recognisability, while they retain embodied, culturally-specific practice modalities in their actions and programming for co-ethnic constituencies. Findings also point to the centrality of cultural expert knowledge in RCOs' processes of organisational legitimacy. In finality, we argue that the RCO, in its strategies of decoupling form from function and of deploying cultural expertise, perhaps resists the taken-for-granted legitimacy of organisations as primarily or solely rooted in the modern and the scientific, while also complicating and problematising the very meaning of those terms and pointing to questions about organisational ethno-racialisation. RCOs elucidate localised dissent more clearly, as they 'resettle' and negotiate their insider-outsider qualities into a newer synthesis. RCOs' contestations notwithstanding, their struggle for legitimacy is yet an ongoing contested process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is evident that father engagement in parenting contributes to child well-being, and fatherhood programs effectively enhance father engagement and employment outcomes. However, program effectiveness can be compromised if participating fathers drop out. This study investigates factors associated with program engagement (i.e., initiating treatment) and completion (i.e., attending 75% or more sessions) with a sample of primarily African American fathers recruited from a community-based organization in the United States (n = 691). The analysis showed that nearly one-third (31%) of enrolled fathers did not attend any program session, and just over half (55%) of those who attended at least one session completed the program. Being older was associated with program engagement, while having a high school diploma and being ordered by the court to pay child support were associated with program completion. Fathers expressed several barriers to program participation, including programmatic and institutional issues (Rules and Staff, Fit Misaligned with Needs), as well as scheduling and external factors (Job-Related Conflict, Logistic Issues, Challenging Life Events). These findings highlight the importance of identifying participant motivation, addressing life challenges, and implementing strengths-based practices in fatherhood programs to make fathers feel seen, welcomed, and supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the effects of perceived overqualification on creative performance. Based on self-determination theory, it examines the mediating role of harmonious passion and the moderating role of organizational identification. Using two-wave survey data from 224 employees in Chinese local organizations, we tested the hypotheses with SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 24.0. The results indicate that perceived overqualification negatively affects creative performance, with harmonious passion mediating this relationship. Additionally, organizational identification buffers the effect of perceived overqualification on harmonious passion and the indirect effects on creative performance via harmonious passion. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: Community health needs assessments are required for most state and local public health agencies and non-profit hospitals. Typically based on community health improvement planning models, these assessments encompass overall community health and multiple diseases to inform program planning. National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Centers and community-based cancer-focused programs share the goal of reducing cancer burden in the catchment areas they serve. However, to date, no published models exist to guide cancer-specific needs assessments for a determined geographic area that can inform both public health and research initiatives. The purpose of this article is to outline a cancer needs assessment (CNA) framework and community-engaged, mixed-methods process, along with a case study of how we applied it in Kentucky. Methods: We convened a steering committee of key organizational partners to provide input throughout the process. We developed a conceptual framework of multi-level determinants affecting cancer-related outcomes. We incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data gathered through a variety of means, including a novel application of group concept mapping to guide definition of priorities. Results: The resulting CNA has helped guide strategic planning and priorities for Kentucky's Cancer Action Plan, Markey Cancer Center, state agencies, and community-based organizations. Conclusion: This framework and process can be used collaboratively by cancer center Community Outreach and Engagement offices, public health agencies, oncology programs, and community partners to plan impactful cancer control programs and research in their catchment areas. Universities can also use them to inform the planning of community engagement and health equity research efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local news organizations are currently redefining how they tell stories, and one tool they are utilizing to reconnect with members of their communities is solutions journalism. This solutions-oriented approach to storytelling includes voices who have the tools to combat local, national, and international problems as well as those who have been directly impacted by issues. This back-and-forth narrative gives deeper insight into issues pervading society (and what can be done about them) than a traditional news story might. However, much is still unknown about how journalists and their media organizations are defining and practicing solutions journalism, especially from the context of local media. This study sought to give foundational understanding to how media practitioners in the southeastern United States who recognize and utilize solutions journalism are pioneering this subsection of the journalism landscape. Insights mined from semi-structured interviews indicate that the definition and practice of solutions journalism is evolving, and that symbiotic relationships formed through the practice of solutions journalism can aid in building credibility, creating stronger bonds within communities, and positively impacting underrepresented communities through tangible change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Policymakers across countries promote cross-sector collaboration as a route to improving health and health equity. In England, major health system reforms in 2022 established 42 integrated care systems (ICSs)—area-based partnerships between health care, social care, public health, and other sectors—to plan and coordinate local services. ICSs cover the whole of England and have been given explicit policy objectives to reduce health inequalities, alongside other national priorities. Methods: We used qualitative methods to understand how local health care and social services organizations are collaborating to reduce health inequalities under England's reforms. We conducted in-depth interviews between August and December 2022—soon after the reforms were implemented—with 32 senior leaders from NHS, social care, public health, and community-based organizations in three ICSs experiencing high levels of socioeconomic deprivation. We used a framework based on international evidence on cross-sector collaboration to help analyse the data. Results: Leaders described strong commitment to working together to reduce health inequalities, but faced a combination of conceptual, cultural, capacity, and other challenges in doing so. A mix of factors shaped local collaboration—from how national policy aims are defined and understood, to the resources and relationships among local organizations to deliver them. These factors interact and have varying influence. The national policy context played a dominant role in shaping local collaboration experiences—frequently making it harder not easier. Organizational restructuring to establish ICSs also caused major disruption, with unintended effects on the partnership working it aimed to promote. Conclusions: The major influences on cross-sector collaboration in England mirror key areas identified in international research, offering opportunities for learning between countries. But our data highlight the pervasive—frequently perverse—influence of national policy on local collaboration in England. National policymakers risked undermining their own reforms. Closer alignment between policy, process, and resources to reduce health inequalities is likely needed to avoid policy failure as ICSs evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Belonging is closely associated with well-being, yet individuals with experiences of being unhoused are likely to experience social exclusion and challenges with developing a sense of belonging. Engagement in meaningful activity has been linked to belonging; however, there are no focused studies exploring experiences of how engaging in meaningful activities influences belonging. Meaningful activities are things we do that bring value to our lives. Purpose: To explore how engaging in meaningful activities may influence experiences of belonging following homelessness through a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews. Method: Using interviews conducted in a community-based participatory action study exploring the transition to housing following homelessness (n = 19), we conducted a thematic analysis using the method described by Braun and Clarke. Participants were recruited through communication with local organizations supporting individuals with lived and living experiences of being unhoused as well as through presentations at drop-in organizations. An intentional effort was made to recruit diverse participants regarding housing status, age, and gender. Inductive analysis was used to conduct initial coding, focusing on belonging and engaging in meaningful activities. We then analyzed the codes abductively, using Bourdieu's Social Capital Theory to inform this analysis. Findings: The overarching essence generated in our analysis was: "I don't feel like I belong...everything in the world is not for me...it's for people with...enough money to...enjoy those things". Within this overall essence, we generated three themes: 1) Human connection: "being where I am with people who care about me, I actually feel good"; 2) Social exclusion: being a "regular member of society"; and 3) Non-human connection: "my cats...are like my kids to me." Participants described numerous contextual factors that challenged them as they sought belonging following homelessness, including financial limitations and other societal factors. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that meaningful activity was an important pathway to belonging for participants in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the health benefits of expressive writing that is culturally adapted for Chinese immigrant breast cancer survivors (BCSs) and to characterize how acculturation moderates the effects of expressive writing interventions. Methods: We will recruit Chinese immigrant BCSs (N = 240) diagnosed with stage 0-III breast cancer and within 5 years of completion of primary treatment. Recruitment will occur primarily through community-based organizations and cancer registries. Participants will be randomly assigned either to a control condition to write about neutral topics or to one of two intervention conditions, self-regulation or self-cultivation, both of which aim to promote adaptive cognitive processes but differ in how they achieve this goal. The self-regulation intervention culturally adapts a Western expressive writing paradigm and incorporates emotional disclosure, whereas the self-cultivation intervention originates from Asian cultural values without disclosing emotions. Participants in all three conditions will be asked to write in their preferred language for three 30-minute sessions. The primary outcome will be quality of life (QOL) at the 6- and 12-month follow-ups, and the secondary outcomes will be perceived stress, stress biomarkers, and medical appointments for cancer-related morbidities. Discussion: This project will be the first large RCT to test culturally based brief interventions to improve QOL and reduce stress among Chinese immigrant BCSs. This project is expected to address two important needs of Chinese immigrant BCSs: their unmet psychological needs and the lack of culturally competent mental health care for Chinese immigrant BCSs. The immediate product of this line of research will be empirically evaluated, culturally responsive interventions ready for dissemination to Chinese immigrant BCSs across the United States. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04754412. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telehealth services are a growing aspect of the US healthcare delivery system. Some rural patients, however, lack proper internet speed in their home to access telehealth services and need alternative telehealth access points. Public libraries can be an alternative telehealth access point due to their access to high-speed internet services; however, these programs often experience limited success due to a lack of planning with community health providers and local health organizations. This article describes a novel workbook that guides public libraries to collaborate with community stakeholders when considering the implementation of telehealth services. Development of the workbook leveraged expertise of library and public health professionals. The workbook is currently free to download and updated versions will be available as more knowledge is gained in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While schools are rapidly trying to recruit culturally and linguistically diverse educators, community-based organizations’ immigrant educators have already developed such practices within Latino immigrant populations. This study examines the funds of knowledge of four Latino immigrant youth educators who work with Latino adolescents in a community organization. Findings revealed that youth educators’ practices drew from their own lived experiences to prepare students to be academically successful while cultivating belonging and leadership within their community. This study offers implications for drawing upon the funds of knowledge of immigrant educators who can meet the needs of immigrant youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Middle Eastern contexts, like Jordan, the public participation spaces referred to as “invited spaces” for state-led participation are heavily controlled by the state and its representatives. This paper explores the various ways in which grassroots and civic organizations navigate and sometimes manipulate the state apparatus’ planning rules and grids to create alternative modes of meaningful participation in the production of the city. Following the Arab Spring in 2011, local grassroots organizations started adopting “new languages and taktikat” (تَكتِيكَات,’ tactics in English, words used by the grassroots to describe their practices) that allowed them to move beyond direct confrontation with the state in the so-called “invented” spaces of participation led by civil society. Building on de Certeau’s notion of “tactics,” this paper looks at these approaches as tactics used by grassroots to negotiate power and participation within neoliberal top-down authorities. Ultimately, it argues against viewing grassroots initiatives solely in terms of a binary lens of legality/informality or “invited”/“invented” dichotomies, as they neither function as insurgents nor remain passive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the relationship between different types of proximities—network and spatial—in relation to innovation in the context of the R&D service industry. In doing so, it contributes to the recent debate in the literature on the effects of network connectivity versus geographical colocation. The paper uses original data from a survey of 145 R&D service establishments in Montreal (Canada) and their interactions with both local and nonlocal organizations. The findings of the paper indicate that collaborative networks (both local and nonlocal) have a stronger association with R&D service innovation than spatial proximity to R&D service organizations and other collaborators. However, when these two dimensions are interacted, they are shown to function as substitutes. The paper also demonstrates that the relationship between spatial proximity and networking varies across three dimensions: local versus nonlocal networking, the type of relationship (client, supplier, competitor, and research institutes and university), and the type of network connectivity—brokerage versus closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancement of the reform and opening up, the non-state Sectors (NSS) in China and Vietnam have developed rapidly. The ruling parties, which used to have comprehensive control over politics, economy, and society, have now found it difficult to control the new economic space. To effectively control NSS, the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of Vietnam have attempted to embed themselves in NSS by expanding grassroots party organizations. In this process, they have adopted different strategies and procedures, resulting in two distinct models: China's expansion model, which is characterized by a proactive approach combining rigidity and flexibility, and Vietnam's expansion model, which is characterized by a flexible approach with a focus on soft cooperation. This study compares the formation, nature, and main characteristics of the two models for party organization expansion in China and Vietnam, hoping to provide a more comprehensive and objective understanding of the developments in China and Vietnam, preliminarily elucidate, from an academic perspective, the operational model of party-building in NSS in the two countries, and enrich the theoretical research on the continuous expansion of the existing Leninist parties in the new era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Adverse social determinants of health have been shown to be associated with a greater chance of developing chronic conditions. Although there has been increased focus on screening for health-related social needs (HRSNs) in health care delivery systems, it is seldom examined if the provision of needed services to address HRSNs is sufficiently available in communities where patients reside. METHODS: The authors used geospatial analysis to determine how well a newly formed health system and community-based organizations (CBOs) social care coordination network covered the areas in which a high number of patients experiencing HRSNs live. Geospatial clusters (hotspots) were constructed for Kaiser Permanente Northwest members experiencing any of the following 4 HRSNs: transportation needs, housing instability, food insecurity, or financial strain. Next, a geospatial polygon was calculated indicating whether a member could reach a social care provider within 30 minutes of travel time. RESULTS: A total of 185,535 Kaiser Permanente Northwest members completed a HRSN screener between April 2022 and April 2023. Overall, the authors found that among Kaiser Permanente Northwest members experiencing any of the 4 HRSNs, 97% to 98% of them were within 30 minutes of a social care provider. A small percentage of members who lived greater than 30 minutes to a social care provider were primarily located in rural areas. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the importance of health system and community-based organization partnerships and investment in community resources to develop social care coordination networks, as well as how patient-level HRSN can be used to assess the coverage and representativeness of the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory medicine has undergone a deep and multifaceted revolution in the course of human history, in both organizational and technical terms. Over the past century, there has been a growing recognition of the need to centralize numerous diagnostic activities, often similar or identical but located in different clinical departments, into a common environment (i.e., the medical laboratory service), followed by a progressive centralization of tests from smaller laboratories into larger diagnostic facilities. Nevertheless, the numerous technological advances that emerged at the beginning of the new millennium have helped to create a new testing culture characterized by a countervailing trend of decentralization of some tests closer to patients and caregivers. The forces that have driven this (centripetal) counter-revolution essentially include a few key concepts, namely "home testing", "portable or even wearable devices" and "remote patient monitoring". By their very nature, laboratory medical services and remote patient testing/monitoring are not contradictory, but may well coexist, with the choice of one or the other depending on the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patient, the type of analytical procedure and the logistics and local organization of the care system. Therefore, this article aims to provide a general overview of patient self-testing, with a particular focus on portable and wearable (including implantable) devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, residents and community organizations in the ethnically diverse neighborhood of Albany Park, on Chicago’s northwest side, have been resisting gentrification, emerging as one of the city’s most active neighborhoods in anti-displacement organizing and policy setting. We seek to understand how a multiplicity of actors, human and non-human, have coalesced to achieve a modicum of success in stalling, subverting, and overcoming gentrification and its attendant displacement of low-income residents. We draw on the work of urban assemblage theorists to build a temporal and spatial analysis, showing the complex assemblage of resistance actors, their experiences, and their narratives over a 20-year time span. Despite the fear of many scholars and residents, Albany Park shows that once started, gentrification is not inevitable. We introduce the concept of “inplacement” to show resistance to displacement is possible through the work of civil society organizations and other neighborhood actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the relationship between indigenous tourism, crisis situations and resilience from a theoretical and methodological standpoint. The analysis is based on a research process related to indigenous tourism that was implemented during and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The process involved theoretical discussion of the relationship between tourism, crises and resilience in indigenous peoples as well as the development of innovative methodologies for collaborative work in conditions of confinement for health reasons and openness of the territories. The work was undertaken in the understanding that indigenous tourism is considered a particular type of tourism in which indigenous individuals, families, organizations and communities exercise control and offer an opportunity for encounters. At the same time, however, it has been seen to be a political proposal put forward by indigenous peoples themselves to strengthen their culture and organization. Historically, indigenous peoples have deployed their own strategies in 'crisis' situations. Based on this research and the experience of indigenous tourism in Chile, the article discusses, analyses and links these three concepts from a theoretical standpoint before concluding with a methodological proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealing the mechanisms underlying community organization has long been a central interest for ecologists and biogeographers. Recent findings have suggested that different dimensions of biodiversity may be shaped by contrasting ecological processes, offering complementary insights about community assembly. However, studies integrating multiple diversity facets across the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) remain insufficient. We combined multiple analytical frameworks to unravel the patterns (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic) and correlates (local environment, land use and dispersal pathways) of aquatic arthropod diversity in lotic (stream) and lentic (wetland) ecosystems of the QTP. We observed strong phylogenetic signals in most functional traits, pointing to the influence of evolutionary processes on these faunas. Null models indicated that community structure in most streams and wetlands was mostly the result of random draws from the regional functional and phylogenetic species pool. The prevalence of stochasticity was most likely associated with the interplay of the paleogeographical history, the extremely harsh environmental conditions at high elevations and the subsequent impoverishment of the regional species pool. However, some streams and wetlands also exhibited phylogenetic overdispersion and functional clustering, emphasizing the potential importance of competitive exclusion and habitat filtering, respectively. Variation partitioning further revealed that both environmental filtering and dispersal limitation accounted for the spatial variation of diversity measures, with local environment overriding the effects of space and catchment land use. Overall, this study improves our understanding of community organization and diversity patterns in environmentally extreme alpine catchments, with broad implications for the conservation and management of one of the world’s most important high‐altitude treasures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shortage of adequately trained healthcare providers (HCPs) able to treat adults who have experienced childhood interpersonal trauma (CIT) is a pressing concern. This study explored HCPs’ training needs for a trauma-focused psychoeducational group intervention and the potential barriers and facilitators to accessing such training. Three 1-hour focus group sessions were conducted with HCPs (n = 17) from two urban and one rural community healthcare organization serving diverse populations in Ontario, Canada, including under-housed people, women struggling with mental health and addiction, and LGBTQ+ populations. On average, participants had 2.4 years in their current role and 18.1 years of mental health field experience. Thematic analysis revealed key findings: a strong clinical need for trauma services, accessible training programs, and broadly applicable interventions relevant for diverse populations. Notably, participants emphasized the clinical advantages and increased accessibility of a virtual training programs focused on psychoeducational treatment interventions, particularly within community-based healthcare settings. This study highlights the potential of a virtual psychoeducational training programs for HCPs to address this critical gap in healthcare provision for individual with CIT. It also underscores the need to move beyond training program development and focus on implementation and sustainability of interventions in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The redevelopment and management of brownfield sites by grassroots cultural organizations have been shown to have a transformative role on communities and cities, implementing bottom-up culture-led urban regeneration rather than top-down models which often lead to gentrification. Based on analyses and interviews with actors from major grassroots cultural centres in Berlin (ufaFabrik) and Bratislava (Nová Cvernovka), this study challenges previous research on cultural brownfields focusing on temporary artistic interventions, arguing instead that long-term commitment, care, participation and cooperation between cultural organizations and local administrations can lead to more sustainable regeneration models in which cultural brownfields operate as commons-based ecosystems of care. The study also offers a unique insight into the “western” vs. “eastern” specifics, highlighting the fact that post-socialist administrations can serve as a barrier to a successful redevelopment through stigmatized public-NGO relationships, where artists and communities are often perceived as a “political opposition”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe Chaco Salteño of Argentina is a global hotspot of land conflict and climate change pressures that, together, threaten the livelihoods of local inhabitants. This study sought to examine the role that formal land tenure and other mechanisms of access to resources play in building resilient livelihoods in the face of multiple stressors. Using a qualitative approach, we analyze the role of mechanisms controlling access to resources in securing the conditions necessary for adaptation. We find that the two primary adaptive mechanisms identified by producers (formalized land tenure and local producers’ organizations) vary greatly in their feasibility and contributions to livelihood resilience. We explore these to better understand how they are perceived by producers and the extent to which they are employed. Findings from this study contribute to efforts to advance sustainable development by contextualizing the importance of varied strategies in supporting resilient livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sub-optimal community health service delivery (CHSD) has been a challenge constraining community health systems (CHS) globally, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. This paper examined the key factors that either enhance or constrain CHSD in Nigeria at the individual, community/facility and governmental levels while recommending evidence-based solutions for sustaining and improving CHSD within the framework of CHS. Methods: Data were collected through a qualitative study undertaken in three states (Anambra, Akwa-Ibom and Kano) in Nigeria. Respondents were formal/informal health providers, community leaders and representatives of civil society organizations all purposively sampled. There were 90 in-depth interviews and 12 focus group discussions, which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using codes to identify key themes. Results: Factors constraining community health service delivery at the individual level were poor health-seeking behaviour, preference for quacks and male dominance of service delivery; at the community/facility level were superstitious/cultural beliefs and poor attitude of facility workers; at the governmental level were inadequate financial support, embezzlement of funds and inadequate social amenities. Conversely, the enabling factors at the individual level were community members' participation and the compassionate attitude of informal providers. At the community and facility levels, the factors that enhanced service delivery were synergy between formal and informal providers and support from community-based organizations and structures. At the governmental level, the enhancing factors were the government's support of community-based formal/informal providers and a clear line of communication. Conclusions: Community health service delivery through a functional community-health system can improve overall health systems strengthening and lead to improved community health. Policy-makers should integrate community health service delivery in all program implementation and ultimately work with the community health system as a veritable platform for effective community health service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractRapid urbanization, poverty and socio-economic inequalities are causes of the backlog of informal settlements in South Africa, as dwellers cannot access formal housing schemes. Such unplanned settlements often need more basic services, social facilities and adequate housing. Nevertheless, informal settlements are core parts of the urban form rather than places for eradication. This article examines self-building and community-led upgrading practices in three case studies of partially and non-serviced informal settlements in Durban. It adopts action research participatory methods to coproduce knowledge and map various perspectives around community-led housing upgrading, building materials and construction skills in an effort to enhance community resilience and self-reliance. The findings reveal the key drivers and challenges associated with self-building, informal procurement and overall project management of the housing process. Successful grassroots practices demonstrate community ownership and dweller control beyond the physical upgrading per se. The lessons learned call for inclusive, participatory, and incremental approaches for effective community organization, self-reliance, social capital and livelihood development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Individuals who serve as peer mentors within Canadian spinal cord injury (SCI) community service organizations are reporting compassion fatigue from their roles. One psychological resource that has the potential to reduce compassion fatigue and promote overall mental health among peer mentors is self-compassion. However, there is limited knowledge of any self-compassion programs that have been tailored to address the needs of these individuals. To address this limitation, this paper outlines a protocol to examine the feasibility, acceptability, implementation, and effectiveness of a tailored self-compassion program to reduce compassion fatigue and enhance compassion satisfaction, self-compassion, and mental health among peer mentors within Canadian SCI community service organizations. Design: The 6-week online program will be tested among 20 individuals (five separate groups of four) who serve as peer mentors within two Canadian SCI community service organizations. Method: Feasibility and implementation data will be collected throughout the duration of the program and post program while acceptability data will be collected post program. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, we will follow a single-group quasi-experimental design with surveys (pre/post/follow-up) and semi-structured interviews (post/follow-up). Results: Results from this study are intended to inform the design of a self-compassion program for peer mentors within Canadian SCI community service organizations who experience compassion fatigue and reduced mental health. Conclusion: Providing evidence for the effectiveness of this program could prove useful for Canadian SCI community service organizations who wish to better support and retain their peer mentors and thus improve the quality of support they provide to mentees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the meaning that refugee solidarity activists supporting people on the move across the Western Balkans migratory route and at the Italian–French border attribute to the notion of 'care', which they use to define their solidarity practices, particularly in the aftermath of the global pandemic. By means of a content analysis of in-depth interviews with representatives of grassroots solidarity groups, the article demonstrates that 'care' is conceived of as having a political character, as it responds to both the crisis of health care and the restrictions on freedom of movement; a non-hierarchical connotation, which informs in- and out-group relationships; and a transformative orientation, as acts of care prefigure a society in which freedom of movement and health rights are granted to all, in contrast to the existing model of migration governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores counter-design as a radical meaning-making practice for community co-design. Radicalism, here, is an ongoing process of complicating and unsettling daily practices to reveal and thus acknowledge socio-political context. Semiotic analysis of ethnographic research with grassroots organisations is taken as the point of departure to understand how communities co-design meaning, and in turn how we might co-design new meanings through countering. Through counter-design in place, we observe small semiotic moments that problematise the rhetoric of horizontal democratic organising amongst the realities of coercion and power asymmetries. These semiotic moments are thus significant for how they reveal the reproduction of meaning and how this constructs, and can subsequently limit, the possible actions for these communities. In this sense, our approach constitutes a design praxis, through which we analyse what it means to employ countering against existing institutional power, both for our participants and for ourselves as designers. Here, we reveal the tenuousness of (designer/ly) intent in relation to and in combination with the artifice of readymade community designs, as these are shaped by work 'on the ground' and consider how this might impact the co-creation of democratic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the writings of adolescents in a community-based organization, we utilize a critical poetic inquiry methodology to examine how they express the spatial, temporal, and relational boundaries of the pathways among adolescence, adultification, and adulthood through poetic expression. Through Anzaldúa's (1999) framework of nepantla, an in-between space that serves to interlace the past, present, reality, and imagination for adolescents, we find that students (a) navigate and identify family dynamics, (b) negotiate tensions of adultification, and (c) recognize and push against social inequities. This article illuminates how youth in under-resourced communities negotiate, imagine, and realize possibilities for their futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Celebrating Indigenous zones and movements of revival and "resurgence" has become a dominant frame of sorts for Indigenous political theory. Emergent Indigenous political praxis in Hawai'i, led by certain grassroots groups and organizers, leads me to theorize a qualitatively and quantitatively different modality of Indigenous politics—what I offer as "insurgent Indigeneity." This essay traces a genealogy of resurgence paradigms, presenting a set of philosophical presuppositions that entail circumscriptions on Indigenous political horizons and praxis: namely, an inward focus and a dyadic politics of a friend-enemy distinction. Drawing from the emergent practices of Hawaiian insurgent Indigeneity, and the political schema of expanding hegemony in Antonio Gramsci's The Modern Prince , I theorize how actors build upon resurgence to strategically proliferate outward, building mass power in a complex field of forces and actors to pursue a wider horizon of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community sustainability often comes to a halt at the stage of community organizational change, especially in the context of leaders. Further studies on the focus on empowering community organizations need to be strengthened to support sustainable communities. The case study method was used in this study with the research subject of community regeneration of the Sekolah Master Indonesia (SMI) located in Depok. The results of the study show that even though SMI has managed to survive for 24 years, it has not let go of the community's concerns in the sustainability of community leadership. SMI's success in carrying out components that support community sustainability has not covered the chaos when there is a change in leadership. The focus on strengthening the capacity of organizational resources is important to anticipate from the beginning, so that the empowerment of community members is felt thoroughly by every community member who can be the successor in community regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature and landscapes are increasingly recognized as integral to human health, well-being, and sense of belonging. As such, nature and landscapes offer potential benefits for nature-based integration (NBI) efforts aimed at fostering a sense of inclusion among new residents. Although such linkages are recognized, NBI research remains limited with fruitful potential for place-based and immigrant-oriented community organizations or governments interested in fostering a sense of inclusion, belonging, identity, and even environmental responsibility among new residents. In this article, we demonstrate the application of a collaborative NBI study among Oregon's growing Slavic immigrant community. This study, through a community geography and community-based participatory research approach, sought to gauge community interactions with and sense of place to Oregon's natural environment, notably mountain landscapes. Although with limitations, this study demonstrates the potential of NBI to enrich nature-based programs, immigrant advocacy organizations, government engagement efforts, and landscape planning with opportunities to better understand and tools to potentially engage diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]