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Purpose: To describe how high-level European sprint coaches (from 100 to 400 m) work to improve important factors associated with the quality of the holistic training process and the quality of the specific training session. Methods: A descriptive analysis was conducted using questionnaires from 31 European elite sprint coaches (ie, training athletes defined as tiers 3, 4, and 5) who participated voluntarily. Results: The coaches used traditional periodization (45%) with a 10- to 15-day tapering phase (48%) that includes a reduction in volume, maintenance of intensity, and focus on correct technical execution. In the 3 mesophases, coaches prioritized the basic development of strength and sprint work in the first phases of the season and emphasized more sprint-specific work in the competitive phase. Before sessions, adjustments were made based on factors such as psychological (77%), technical (48%), and physical (39%) parameters. In-session load management relies on a combination of objective and subjective measures (55%), in which the dialogue with athletes (65%) was regarded as the main resource. Feedback during and after sessions covers technical (54%), psychological (48%), and physical (35%) aspects. Recovery protocols after sessions mainly involve rest and professional guidance (42%). For performance assessment and testing, coaches utilize countermovement jump (52%), force–velocity profile (45%), and 30-m flying (61%) as main tools. Conclusions: European sprint coaches demonstrated a comprehensive approach to planning and management, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of their training methodologies and the diverse tools employed for athlete testing and monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a commentary on Ramoglou and McMullen’s 2024 article “What is an opportunity?: From theoretical mystification to everyday understanding.” The original article is discussed here with a focus on the philosophy of ordinary language and actualization theory in the context of entrepreneurship theory.

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education proposes that the metaphor "scholarship as conversation" is an essential concept for information literacy—that is, to be information literate, one must understand that scholarship is a conversation. This article challenges that position. I argue that the conversation metaphor fails to capture some of the most salient aspects of contemporary scholarship—especially the gatekeeping function of peer review—and inadvertently privileges a hermeneutic conception of scholarship that emphasizes its process at the expense of its purpose, providing safe haven for fringe theories and pseudoscience. The genealogy of the conversation metaphor is traced to determine its underlying structure, its aptness as a metaphor is considered, and an alternative model of scholarship as collaboration is proposed. The goal is to lay bare the scholarly conversation's strengths and weaknesses and to demonstrate that the metaphors of information literacy are worth critical appraisal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying patients' reasons for visiting is the central task at medical openings, the structure of which has been well studied in Western primary care, but much under-researched in China's mainland. Drawing on conversation analysis of 91 audio-recorded primary care consultations in China, this study explores interactional features of patients' problem presentation at medical openings in terms of sequential positions, forms, and contextual contingencies, which has implications for the model of medical service encounters in Chinese primary care openings. Although problem description is commonly solicited by doctors across cultures, Chinese patients' problem presentation often takes forms other than problem description. Nearly two thirds of problem presentation in our data are designed as a request-making action (57/91 cases), being more often self-initiated than solicited. This blurs the boundary between medical visits for new and non-new problems. The analysis of Chinese patients' problem presentation points to a high degree of patient agency in primary care in China, suggesting a strong orientation to the "provider-consumer" (vs. "professional-client") model of service encounters in the opening structure of doctor-patient interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication is an integral component in palliative care. A number of studies have used conversation analysis (CA) to examine communication between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients/companions in palliative care. To the best of our knowledge, however, no work has been done to synthesize these studies. Thus, the review aimed to synthesize these conversation analytic studies in the setting of palliative care. The review included peer-reviewed studies that focused on communication between HCPs and patients/companions and that were published in English before September 10 2022. The database and manual search produced 16 eligible studies. The thematic analysis generated five themes: (1) promoting patient agency and autonomy; (2) practices for gathering pain-related information and navigating pain concerns (practices for gathering pain-related information and practices for navigating patients' pain concerns); (3) initiating and managing end-of-life discussions; (4) facilitating shared decision making in palliative care; and (5) navigating sensitive topics and uncertainty in prognostic talk. The review highlighted the potential of CA for research in palliative care and had implications for communication practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, a conversation between Simon Grennan, Carol Wild, Miranda Matthews and Claire Penketh, explores drawing as cause and consequence, applying Grennan's thinking to three drawings as a means of exploring and exemplifying ideas discussed in his keynote at the iJADE Conference: Time in 2023. Following an initial introduction to key ideas that were raised for that audience, the paper explores the ways that three particular drawings operate, with temporality offering one of a number of ways that they may be explored. The paper centres on three questions: (i) What might students learn are the different purposes of drawing? (ii) How might students adjudicate the status of drawn traces? (iii) How might students adjudicate the value of drawing activities? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aphasia impacts communication and relationships. While counselling is increasingly recognised as a component of the speech‐language therapy role, the success of conversation partner training is typically measured in terms of communication alone. This scoping review aimed to describe how successful conversation is currently measured with couples—with and without aphasia, to inform the development of an ecologically valid measure for couples with aphasia. Methods and Procedures: The scoping review was reported in alignment with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis Extensions for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‐SCR). MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO databases were searched for conversation treatment studies for couples with and without aphasia. Patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) were extracted from included studies and screened against the three‐tier model of situated language to shortlist those that measure everyday communication. Items within shortlisted PROMs were further described using the refined International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health linking rules. Results: Following screening and full‐text review, 46 studies were included, consisting of 24 studies conducted with couples with aphasia and 22 studies conducted with couples without aphasia. For couples with aphasia, 13 PROMs were identified that measured everyday communication. Of these, 23% were dyadic (i.e., measured from the perspectives of both members of the couple); however, they usually only appraised the communication behaviours of the person with aphasia. For couples without aphasia, eight PROMs were identified that measured everyday communication; all were dyadic and measured both attitudes and communication behaviours of both partners. Conclusion: Conversation relies on the interaction of two people, and success in conversation is best rated by those having the conversation. The use of PROMs is recommended as part of person and relationship‐centred practice; however, there is currently no validated PROM for conversation in aphasia that considers the perspectives and behaviours of both the person with aphasia and their communication partner. The PROM items identified in this study will form the basis of future research to develop a PROM for couples' conversations in aphasia. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Communication partner training (CPT) for couples, where one person has aphasia, can improve conversation skills and enhance relationships. Clinician‐rated measures, such as conversation analysis, have been used to measure the outcomes of CPT. However, there is a lack of person‐centred or self‐rated outcome measurement instruments. that is, patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) for couples' conversations in aphasia. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: We have identified outcome measurement instruments used in conversation treatment studies for couples with and without aphasia. We found that most PROMs used in aphasia treatment studies were not dyadic, that is, they did not include the self‐report of both communication partners. In contrast, the PROMs used with couples without aphasia were dyadic and contained items that measured a more complex range of both partners' emotions, behaviours and attitudes. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: This study provides insights into the content and characteristics of PROMs for couples' conversation therapy and may assist clinicians in selecting outcome measurement instruments in their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to explore conversations about mental health difficulties by Reddit users who posted within college subreddits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: Data were collected from the subreddits of 22 California campuses, representing 113,579 anonymous members. Using the following search terms, we retrieved 577 posts (ie, 268 original posts and 309 replies): COVID, Coronavirus, Quarantine, Pandemic, Anxiety, Anxious, Depressed, Depression, Overwhelmed, Stress, and Stressed. Methods: We used inductive, thematic data analysis to explore themes within posts and replies dated from 3/16/2020 to 3/16/2021. Results: We identified the following themes: 1) the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted engagement with learning; 2) remote learning has exacerbated students' mental health difficulties; and 3) students provide and receive social support online. Conclusions: These findings have implications that are particularly relevant as campuses are faced with continuous decisions related to repopulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how mental health counsellors on helplines in Sweden deal with racism from callers who self‐categorise as non‐racialised. Previous studies have identified racism as a problem in health care interactions, but there is limited knowledge about the features of racialised talk and how staff respond. In this study, we use conversation analysis and membership categorisation analysis to examine racialised talk in 17 audiorecorded calls, a subset of 458 calls to suicide preventive helplines. The analysis shows that racialisation functions as a resource for callers to make sense of their mental health difficulties. This speaks to the complexity of responding to racism in a mental health setting, as counsellors must see to callers' needs, and calling out racialised talk may alienate callers. Call‐takers manage this problem in three ways: (1) questioning racialised talk, (2) supporting the callers' stance in a way that makes it ambiguous if call‐takers are coproducing racism or affiliating with callers' lives being difficult and (3) supporting callers' problems as mental health issues while resisting a potentially racist trajectory. The study offers direct insight into the workings of racism in health care and how practitioners can balance health care users' needs for support with an antiracist position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested how speech phenomena (discourse markers like oh and you know and fillers like uh and um) and the conceptualisation of voices (as human or machine) affected speaker quality ratings (trustworthiness, friendliness, intelligence, and nervousness) across dialogues and monologues. Listeners preferred human voices over synthesised voices in dialogue containing discourse markers and fillers (Study 1). Shifting the location of discourse markers to new locations did not negatively impact ratings of what participants heard (Study 2), but hearing shifted markers did lead participants to rate imagined machine speech containing markers more negatively on a post-experiment questionnaire. Backstories also impacted perceptions of recorded speech: People rated the same synthesised speech more positively if they believed it was created by a person than if they believed it was created by machine (Study 3). Similarly, people's opinions about robots varied depending on context (Study 4). How people rate machine agents in the future will likely reflect how machine agents are portrayed to the public, capabilities aside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Automated remote assessment and monitoring of patients' neurological and mental health is increasingly becoming an essential component of the digital clinic and telehealth ecosystem, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. This review article reviews various modalities of health information that are useful for developing such remote clinical assessments in the real world at scale. Approach: We first present an overview of the various modalities of health information--speech acoustics, natural language, conversational dynamics, orofacial or full body movement, eye gaze, respiration, cardiopulmonary, and neural --which can each be extracted from various signal sources--audio, video, text, or sensors. We further motivate their clinical utility with examples of how information from each modality can help us characterize how different disorders affect different aspects of patients' spoken communication. We then elucidate the advantages of combining one or more of these modalities toward a more holistic, informative, and robust assessment. Findings: We find that combining multiple modalities of health information allows for improved scientific interpretability, improved performance on downstream health applications such as early detection and progress monitoring, improved technological robustness, and improved user experience. We illustrate how these principles can be leveraged for remote clinical assessment at scale using a real-world case study of the Modality assessment platform. Conclusion: This review article motivates the combination of human-centric information from multiple modalities to measure various aspects of patients' health, arguing that remote clinical assessment that integrates this complementary information can be more effective and lead to better clinical outcomes than using any one data stream in isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, ultimately fatal disease causing progressive muscular weakness. Most people living with ALS (plwALS) experience dysarthria, eventually becoming unable to communicate using natural speech. Many wish to use speech for as long as possible. Personalized automated speech recognition (ASR) model technology, such as Google's Project Relate, is argued to better recognize speech with dysarthria, supporting maintenance of understanding through real-time captioning. The objectives of this study are how plwALS and communication partners use Relate in everyday conversation over a period of up to 12 months and how it may change with any decline in speech over time. Method: This study videoed interactions between three plwALS and communication partners. We assessed ASR caption accuracy and how well they preserved meaning. Conversation analysis was used to identify participants' own organizational practices in the accomplishment of interaction. Thematic analysis was used to understand better the participants' experiences of using ASR captions. Results: All plwALS reported lower-than-expected ASR accuracy when used in conversation and felt ASR captioning was only useful in certain contexts. All participants liked the concept of live captioning and were hopeful that future improvements to ASR accuracy may support their communication in everyday life. Conclusions: Training is needed on best practices for customization and practical use of ASR technology and for the limitations of ASR in conversational settings. Support is needed for those less confident with technology and to reduce misplaced allocation of ownership of captioning errors, risking negative effects on psychological well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines the effectiveness of automatic speech recognition (ASR) for individuals with speech disorders, addressing the gap in performance between read and conversational ASR. We analyze the factors influencing this disparity and the effect of speech mode-specific training on ASR accuracy. Method: Recordings of read and conversational speech from 27 individuals with various speech disorders were analyzed using both (a) one speaker-independent ASR system trained and optimized for typical speech and (b) multiple ASR models that were personalized to the speech of the participants with disordered speech. Word error rates were calculated for each speech model, read versus conversational, and subject. Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess the impact of speech mode and disorder severity on ASR accuracy. We investigated nine variables, classified as technical, linguistic, or speech impairment factors, for their potential influence on the performance gap. Results: We found a significant performance gap between read and conversational speech in both personalized and unadapted ASR models. Speech impairment severity notably impacted recognition accuracy in unadapted models for both speech modes and in personalized models for read speech. Linguistic attributes of utterances were the most influential on accuracy, though atypical speech characteristics also played a role. Including conversational speech samples in model training notably improved recognition accuracy. Conclusions: We observed a significant performance gap in ASR accuracy between read and conversational speech for individuals with speech disorders. This gap was largely due to the linguistic complexity and unique characteristics of speech disorders in conversational speech. Training personalized ASR models using conversational speech significantly improved recognition accuracy, demonstrating the importance of domain-specific training and highlighting the need for further research into ASR systems capable of handling disordered conversational speech effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LGBTQ+ people and communities continue to survive and thrive within the context of complex and unrelenting personal, structural, and collective trauma. Psychological research has examined this adaptive capacity through frameworks of resilience and posttraumatic growth. Through multidisciplinary engagement, we have identified limitations of these frameworks when they are applied to LGBTQ+ communities. In the first half of this article, we reconceptualize resilience and posttraumatic growth as queer thriving and offer the Möbius strip as a metaphor to challenge and expand normative ideas around direction, trajectory, timeline, and outcomes of positive change through adversity. In the second half of this article, we explore pathways to queer thriving within an LGBTQ+ intergenerational community project—an ethnographic experiment—that we have cofacilitated since 2019. We view generational divisions in LGBTQ+ communities as both a reflection and a form of trauma. In our ethnographic experiment, LGBTQ+ younger and older adults have the rare opportunity to heal this division by coming together for storytelling, dialogue, and artmaking around themes and issues important to their lives. In this article, we present three ethnographic vignettes that powerfully illustrate the potential for queer thriving through intergenerational social connection. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of mixed-disciplinary, community-engaged, and descriptive approaches to examining resilience and posttraumatic growth within marginalized communities. Public Significance Statement: Generations of LGBTQ+ people have been kept apart for too long. In this article, we explore pathways to queer thriving through sustained LGBTQ+ intergenerational engagement. We present findings from an LGBTQ+ intergenerational community project that utilizes storytelling, dialogue, and artmaking to heal divisions in LGBTQ+ communities and promote queer thriving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cancer-related cognitive impairment involves changes in cognitive domains among people diagnosed with cancer. This review aimed to explore and synthesize the experiences of women with breast cancer disclosing cancer-related cognitive impairment symptoms to health professionals. Methods: A systematic review and meta-synthesis was conducted to generate synthesized findings from existing literature. Six databases were searched from inception until mid-October 2022, with eligible studies appraised using the QualSyst Quality Assessment Checklist. Results: Three synthesized findings were generated from eight included studies. Findings highlight that women initiated conversations disclosing symptoms and frequently experienced dismissal or minimization from health professionals. Women rarely received information about cognitive impairment symptoms before treatment. Women reported that health professionals could be more involved in managing cognitive impairment symptoms. Conclusion: This meta-synthesis highlights the importance of health professionals providing information before treatment and following up on cognitive impairment symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been through my work interviewing and working with survivors in various settings: research and educational ones-in which there are many "off the record" conversations-that have taught me something that interviews don't usually offer; what it means to live with and negotiate the past. They have also taught me that while some survivors feel an urgent imperative to transmit memory, there is a gnawing self-consciousness as to how their words will be received. It has been argued that testimonies humanize and individualize the suffering of the victims and survivors, both during the Holocaust and in their postwar lives. However, through my own work interviewing survivors, I now understand that it is our conversations together that humanize the survivors. Sadly, it is these "off the record" conversations that are not recorded in the massive corpus of archived testimonies, and our ability to have them that is receding. In this presentation I will reflect on these "off the record conversations" and what they have taught me in the hope that I will understand the survivors, their lives, and their testimony and recounting a little more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media campaigns produce effects when audience members discuss the campaign messages. Fundamental to the understanding of how talk bridges exposure and effect is a knowledge of its content. However, prior attempts to measure talk content have largely been limited to gross characteristics of the interactions. We argue that advances in this line of research require representing post-exposure talk as campaign-induced interpersonal communication (CIC), with a focus on how individuals produce and exchange messages in conversations. Interaction data were gathered in two experiments in which pairs of participants co-viewed, then discussed health-related public service announcements. Analysis of the data produced (a) an empirically-derived typology of talk turns that provided a comprehensive, content-based description of message production and (b) evidence that turn pairs are associated in theoretically meaningful ways in exchanges that displayed properties of deliberative interactions. These findings lay a foundation for future research on the antecedents and outcomes of CIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family environment is essential but underused for promoting sexual and reproductive health protective behaviors (SHPB). However, previous literature had no consistent findings regarding how families can efficiently provide sex education and what aspects of family communication may facilitate SHPB. Based on family communication patterns theory (FCPT) and new research that segments family conformity orientation into four sub-dimensions (i.e., respecting parental authority, experiencing parental control, adopting parents' values, and questioning parents' beliefs), we explored the roles that family communication patterns (FCP) and parents' (direct and indirect) sexual communication play in influencing adult daughters' intentions to engage in SHPB. Using survey data from 234 female participants, path analysis suggested that daughters' SHPB intentions were associated with more direct and indirect sexual communication, higher conversation orientation, higher parental control, and less adoption of parental values. Also, parents' direct sexual communication mediated the impact of conversation orientation on SHPB intentions. Additionally, parents' indirect sexual communication mediated the path from parental value adoption to SHPB intentions, mitigating the negative direct impact of parental value adoption. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the persuasive effects of two-sided refutational conversion messages compared to one-sided advocacy messages in increasing pro-COVID-19 vaccination attitudes and reducing resistance to getting vaccinated among U.S. adults who self-reported as unvaccinated. Results showed that main effects of conversion messages led to significantly higher attitudes but failed to directly reduce resistance toward vaccination. Predicted mediation effects between conversion messages and the dependent variables were found for homophily but were not supported for argument strength. Significant group differences were detected between participants who self-reported as high or low in vaccine hesitancy, for structural equation models that significantly and indirectly led to decreased resistance. Findings show the potential for two-sided conversion messages to be used by public health message designers to affect pro-health outcomes. Implications and limitations of these results and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harlow's seminal work on the nature of attachment focused on the importance of warm, responsive, and loving relationships in children's healthy development. While the need for love and care is arguably universal, the ways in which these emotions are expressed can vary across cultural contexts. We examined how Chinese American parents' expressions of love were associated with children's attachment security. A total of 110 Chinese American immigrant parent–child dyads (children 7–11 years old, 49% girls) participated in 3‐min conversations in which parents were instructed to communicate love and care. Proposition‐level analyses in speech (total 8825 propositions) identified three types of affection: training (guan and chiao shun); relational affection (qin); and validation (acceptance and encouragement of child's own expression of emotion, thoughts, and behaviors). Higher training was observed in parents with lower American orientation and lower income. Higher relational affection was observed in parents with lower income. Higher validation was observed in parents with higher income. Using path analyses, training and validation were found to be positively associated with children's attachment security beyond parenting styles. Effects of parents' relational affection were moderated by children's American orientation. Results demonstrate how immigrant parents draw on multiple cultural scripts to express love and care. These findings expand traditional concepts of parental love in immigrant families and illustrate how bicultural expressions of love can shape attachment security in middle childhood. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/HqUfIDxkFsE Research Highlights: Analyses of parent‐child discussions identified three parental affection styles (i.e., training, relational affection, and validation) as expressions of love and care in Chinese American immigrant families.Training and validation were positively associated with children's attachment security.Relational affection was associated with lower attachment security for children with higher American cultural orientation, suggesting the effects of parent–child expressions of love are shaped by acculturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Café (TWC) method is now established as a participatory tool used in community development and qualitative research. However, there is a limited critique of TWC as a social work research method, especially with children. This paper discusses TWC as a method for understanding what matters for children on the British Overseas Territory of St Helena Island. As a social worker, the importance of supporting children's engagement and voice is well known in participation, necessitating careful ethical consideration. Within this project facilitating authentic conversations with children on a remote island required examining assumptions alongside engaging with colonial legacies to bring forward respectful participation. TWC shares several fractures of other participatory approaches evolving from critical pedagogy, which appeared aligned with social work values and ethics. Facilitated shared learning and allowed children to discuss issues that mattered to them, although handing over dialogue to children required commitment to trust and sharing control with young people. Café events revealed the complex positioning of social roles situating lived experiences, whereby children developed their learning of what mattered to them through interactions and a growing understanding of their global position. The method edged dialogue towards transformative conversations, acknowledging the oppression of marginalised peoples, requires reflection and action from children and young people themselves to elevate their positions from within their own knowledge. This supports the potential for further research to understand if creative methods can create more spaces for dialogue, allowing the emergence of more authentic children's engagement in research which is more socially just. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies suggest a widespread notion among social workers that children should be involved in child protection processes. Nevertheless, children are found to be unsatisfied with the degree to which they feel involved and heard in those processes. This study explored social workers' reasons to exclude children from conversations about contact visits. It applied a social constructivist approach, in which the dominant understandings of children—'child constructions'—in the social workers' responses were identified and then used to discuss the concepts of 'participation' and 'conversation'. Findings reveal that social workers' reasons to exclude children from conversations about contact visits align with prevailing notions of children as rights holders, as vulnerable and as mentally immature. This study suggests that broadening the concept of conversations could provide social workers with the latitude to explore innovative approaches to conversing with children. Furthermore, conversations about contact visits should be performed to be as a tool that empowers children to influence and make meaning of their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both in their quantity and their quality, informal political conversations can provide an important bellwether for democratic health. However, not everyone is willing to participate in political conversations in all settings, and systematic imbalances in who chooses not to share political attitudes can distort perceptions of public opinion. Using data from three original surveys, including both observational and experimental analysis, we examine people's decisions to initiate political discussions using a psychological framework of self-threat and self-affirmation. We find that political conversations pose a higher level of self-threat when disagreement is probable and the relationship with the potential discussion partner is weaker. High levels of self-threat, measured via self-reported anxiety, are associated with a lower willingness to initiate a political conversation. However, self-threat can be counteracted. While it does not reduce the anxiety associated with a threatening situation, self-affirmation increases people's willingness to initiate a political conversation in higher threat circumstances. This suggests that efforts to find common ground or boost confidence by reflecting on non-political values could increase the pool of people willing to bring up and share their political views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overarching mission of Death Cafes is to raise people's consciousness about life's temporality so that they make the most of their finite lives. Death Cafés create a space for people to gather and have an open dialogue about death and dying. The current qualitative research study explores the experience of nine participants who engage in Death Cafes as facilitators or attendees. Findings including themes of "The Setting", "The Players", and "The Conversation" explore the experiences of Death Cafe participation. Discussion of findings and implications include death rituals, commercialization of death experiences, and the supportive community of the Death Cafe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Given the typical trajectory of glioblastoma, many patients lose decision-making capacity over time, which can lead to inadequate advance care planning (ACP) and end-of-life (EOL) care. We aimed to evaluate patients' current ACP and EOL care status. Patients and Methods We conducted a cohort study on 205 patients referred to oncologists at a Korean tertiary hospital between 2017 and 2022. We collected information on sociodemographic factors, cancer treatment, palliative care consultation, ACP, legal documents on life-sustaining treatment (LST) decisions, and aggressiveness of EOL care. Results With a median follow-up time of 18.3 months: 159 patients died; median overall survival: 20.3 months. Of the 159 patients, 11 (6.9%) and 63 (39.6%) had advance directive (AD) and LST plans, respectively, whereas 85 (53.5%) had neither. Among the 63 with LST plans, 10 (15.9%) and 53 (84.1%) completed their forms through self-determination and family determination, respectively. Of the 159 patients who died, 102 (64.2%) received palliative care consultation (median time: 44 days from the first consultation to death) and 78 (49.1%) received aggressive EOL care. Those receiving palliative care consultations were less likely to receive aggressive EOL care (83.3% vs 32.4%, P  < .001), and more likely to use more than 3 days of hospice care at EOL (19.6% vs 68.0%, P  < .001). Conclusions The right to self-determination remains poorly protected among patients with glioblastoma, with nearly 90% not self-completing AD or LST plan. As palliative care consultation is associated with less aggressive EOL care and longer use of hospice care, physicians should promptly introduce patients to ACP conversations and palliative care consultations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tell one another stories of our lives. Sharing subjective experience is part of what it means to be an embodied, languaging being. In order to explore this aspect of our nature we need to relate our phenomenal experience to its neural bases as we talk. I describe a three-step procedure to do so as a person recounts a personal story. The first step characterizes their subjective experience. I describe two complementary ways to do so. The second step infers the attentional and attributional processes that compose that experience. I suppose that telling a personal story is a form of reliving it. The process of mental simulation involved recruits other attributional processes and is itself nested under one that sustains attention to the goal of telling the story. The third step identifies these processes with their possible neural bases expressed through the language network. I take the mapping from the phenomenal to the neural to be the neurophenomenal space and offer a visualization of it. I illustrate the procedure using the hypothetical example of a bilingual speaker who tells of a recent experience walking in a new city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Changes in the speech and language of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been reported. Using machine learning to characterize these irregularities may contribute to the early, non-invasive diagnosis of AD. Methods: We conducted cognitive function assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination, with 83 patients with AD and 75 healthy elderly participants, and recorded pre- and post-assessment conversations to evaluate participants' speech. We analyzed the characteristics of the spectrum, intensity, fundamental frequency, and minute temporal variation (∆) of the intensity and fundamental frequency of the speech and compared them between patients with AD and healthy participants. Additionally, we evaluated the performance of the speech features that differed between the two groups as single explanatory variables. Results: We found significant differences in almost all elements of the speech spectrum between the two groups. Regarding the intensity, we found significant differences in all the factors except for the standard deviation between the two groups. In the performance evaluation, the areas under the curve revealed by logistic regression analysis were higher for the center of gravity (0.908 ± 0.036), mean skewness (0.904 ± 0.023), kurtosis (0.932 ± 0.023), and standard deviation (0.977 ± 0.012) of the spectra. Conclusions: This study used machine learning to reveal speech features of patients diagnosed with AD in comparison with healthy elderly people. Significant differences were found between the two groups in all components of the spectrum, paving the way for early non-invasive diagnosis of AD in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is gaining attention for its potential in cognitive function assessment and intervention. AI robots and agents can offer continuous dialogue with the elderly, helping to prevent social isolation and support cognitive health. Speech-based evaluation methods are promising as they reduce the burden on elderly participants. AI agents could replace human questioners, offering efficient and consistent assessments. However, existing research lacks sufficient comparisons of elderly speech content when interacting with AI versus human partners, and detailed analyses of factors like cognitive function levels and dialogue partner effects on speech elements such as proper nouns and fillers. Methods: This study investigates how elderly individuals' cognitive functions influence their communication patterns with both human and AI conversational partners. A total of 34 older people (12 men and 22 women) living in the community were selected from a silver human resource centre and day service centre in Tokyo. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and participants engaged in semi-structured daily conversations with both human and AI partners. Results: The study examined the frequency of fillers, proper nouns, and "listen back" in conversations with AI and humans. Results showed that participants used more fillers in human conversations, especially those with lower cognitive function. In contrast, proper nouns were used more in AI conversations, particularly by those with higher cognitive function. Participants also asked for explanations more often in AI conversations, especially those with lower cognitive function. These findings highlight differences in conversation patterns based on cognitive function and the conversation partner being either AI or human. Conclusions: These results suggest that there are differences in conversation patterns depending on the cognitive function of the participants and whether the conversation partner is a human or an AI. This study aims to provide new insights into the effective use of AI agents in dialogue with the elderly, contributing to the improvement of elderly welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on current research, it is evident that the way people see themselves is shaped by their conversation partners. Historically, this literature focuses on how one individual’s expectations can shape another person’s self-views. Given the reciprocal nature of conversation, we wondered whether conversation partners’ self-views may mutually evolve. Using four-person round-robin conversation networks, we found that participants tended to have more similar self-views post-conversation than pre-conversation, an effect we term “inter-self alignment.” Further, the more two partners’ self-views aligned, the more they enjoyed their conversation and were inclined to interact again. This effect depended on both conversation partners becoming aligned. These findings suggest that the way we see ourselves is coauthored in the act of dialogue and that as shared self-views develop, the desire to continue the conversation increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community nurses (CNs) play an important role in supporting healthy lifestyles, including healthy eating behaviour of patients. However, many CNs do not incorporate healthy eating support in their daily routines to the fullest extent possible. This study aimed to explore (1) the associations between nurse-related behavioural determinants and self-reported healthy eating support practices of Dutch CNs and (2) CNs' need for additional knowledge. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey design, 244 Dutch CNs completed an online, self-administered questionnaire in October-November 2021. The 60 questionnaire items were related to CNs' characteristics, nurse-related determinants, healthy eating support practices (observing problems, having a conversation about patients' dietary behaviour, motivating patients to eat and drink healthier and supporting patients in goal setting) and the need for additional knowledge. The items on determinants and practices used a 5-point Likert scale. Adjusted prevalence ratios (PRadjusted) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were obtained for the associations between determinants and practices, using adjusted Poisson regression with robust variance estimations. Results: More CNs practiced observing problems (75%) and having a conversation (70%) than did motivating patients (45%) and supporting goal setting (28%) at least often. A more positive attitude (PRadjusted 1.8; 95%CI 1.5–2.2), greater self-efficacy (PRadjusted 1.3; 95%CI 1.1–1.5), greater motivation (PRadjusted 1.5; 95%CI 1.3–1.7) and better abilities (PRadjusted 1.4; 95%CI 1.2–1.6) were associated with a greater prevalence of supporting healthy eating at least often (vs. never to sometimes). Barriers were not associated with healthy eating support (PRadjusted 1.1; 95%CI 1.0-1.2). CNs especially desired more knowledge on diet in relation to cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, severe psychiatric diseases and dementia; methods for motivating patients to start and for supporting patients to sustain healthy eating; and dealing with patient autonomy. Conclusions: This study suggests that nurse-related behavioural determinants such as attitude, self-efficacy, motivation and ability should be addressed to improve CNs' competences in healthy eating support. In addition, based on self-reported need for additional knowledge, it is recommended to pay attention to evidence-based behaviour change techniques, dealing with patient autonomy, and diet in relation to cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, severe psychiatric diseases and dementia. Reporting method: The STROBE Statement was followed for reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence highlights the benefits and importance of discussing End-of-Life (EoL), yet many people struggle to talk openly about death and dying. This practice-based report details the development of Dying Matters, an applied theatre performance designed to encourage EoL conversations with loved ones. The combination of lived experience monologues and reflection activities appeared to provide an inspiring and supportive experience. The team observed many attendees actively taking moments during the performance to ponder and write their response to EoL preferences prompts. Further application of this work is recommended to engage a broader community and to enhance healthcare professional training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual assistants allow users to interact with apps using a conversational mode. A particular kind of device supporting virtual assistants is the smart speaker, which allows end users to access contents and services, perform searches and command smart environments via voice interaction. These devices are gaining relevance among users, and the number of apps available for giving them more conversational capabilities grows constantly. However, there is a gap between what can be achieved using these devices and the information available on the web, i.e. most web apps don't have one smart speaker app counterpart. In this work, we present a two-step approach to defining conversational interfaces for virtual assistants based on existing web sites. During the first step, the user creates web content blocks, which describe target contents and the strategy for retrieving them. In the second step, the user uses web content blocks to specify the conversational interface. Although the approach could be considered generic enough for any kind of conversational interface, we focus our research on voice user interfaces, considering smart speaker apps as a major target. With our approach, apps based on voice user interfaces for smart speakers may be developed in a no-code manner. We describe and illustrate the approach by presenting usage examples and an evaluation using the Alexa service and an Amazon Echo device. The evaluation shows promising results for two case studies where there is no significant difference between the user experience when comparing solutions developed using the Alexa SDK versus apps using our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has established that the brain uses episodic memories to make continuous predictions about the world and that prediction errors, so the mismatch between generated predictions and reality, can lead to memory updating. However, it remains unclear whether prediction errors can stimulate updating in memories for naturalistic conversations. Participants encoded naturalistic dialogues, which were later presented in a modified form. We found that larger modifications were associated with increased learning of the modified statement. Moreover, memory for the original version of the statement was weakened after medium-strong prediction errors, which resulted from the interplay of modification extent and strength of previous memory. After strong prediction errors, both original and modification were well-remembered. Prediction errors thus play a role in keeping representations of statements and therefore socially relevant knowledge about others up to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Afterword I engage with each article in this special issue by highlighting some of their main points and placing them in conversation with scholarship in my substantive interests. In doing so, I signal the expansive potential of each contribution as I see it from my scholarly corner. I elucidate the generative potential of this collection and underscore the fruitfulness of adopting the critical lens to state-created categorization that threads the articles for the field of immigration studies in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies a previously undescribed genre of narrative about instances where an absent third party trespasses into the epistemic territory of the speaker by disregarding the speaker’s expertise in a knowledge domain tied to the speaker’s identity. These narratives occurred in unstructured interaction between close friends. We extracted a collection of exchanges from a corpus of sixty audio/video recording of conversations elicited in a university setting and analyzed them using methods from Conversation Analysis. In such narratives, speakers vilify the absent third party, make extensive use of direct reported speech, and explain why they are the true authority on the subject in question. They often speak directly to the absent party, sanctioning their behavior. Listeners respond to these narratives by displaying shock at reports of the third party’s statements and amusement at re-enactments of the speaker’s retorts. Listeners also assist in the narratives, often participating in scolding and denigrating the trespasser. We argue that these narratives act to recruit listener assistance in an after-the-fact sanctioning of the trespassing third party and validation of the speaker’s knowledge and related identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Background Aim Methods Results Conclusions Radiant skin is a common patient request and the result of multiple contributing factors. Currently, there is no standardized methodological approach that facilitates assessment of skin quality from a holistic perspective.To develop a holistic methodological process to assess skin quality using a scale that helps identify treatment priorities, facilitates conversation with the subject, and helps manage expectations, supports long‐term treatment plans, and tracks treatment progress over time.Ten global experts (dermatologists and esthetic physicians) identified the main measurable aspects that contribute to skin quality, and these were combined to form the Skin Quality Assessment Scale (SQS). The scale comprises four overarching skin quality domains containing nine measurable aspects: texture (pores, lines, scars); discoloration (redness, pigmentation, dullness); firmness (laxity); and hydro‐lipid balance (oiliness, dryness). Each aspect is graded on a 4‐point severity scale (0 = none to 3 = severe). The SQS was validated by a large group of practicing clinicians.Practicing clinicians (> 40, 78% dermatologists) were surveyed; prior to reviewing the scale, 67% did not use any scale but 81% believed a holistic SQS was needed. After reviewing the scale, 100% agreed the scale provides a holistic assessment of skin quality. In addition, 95% agreed the scale helps assess all key aspects of skin quality with subjects and 98% deemed it valuable for their clinic.The SQS represents a holistic assessment tool that engages with and manages subjects' expectations, identifies treatment priorities, creates a long‐term treatment plan, and visualizes the skin quality improvement over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Comment critiques current urban sanitation financing discourse and proposes sustainable cost recovery principles as a framework for more constructive conversations. The way we talk about financing matters, and a better conversation can lead to better outcomes. We contend that framing discussions around sustainable cost recovery principles can foster fairer, more sustainable financing arrangements that acknowledge sanitation as a critical public good while ensuring service provider viability and user affordability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have now concluded that phubbing (i.e., using a phone to snub conversational partners) has a negative influence on conversations, individuals, and their relationships. Yet, phone usage during face-to-face conversations may vary in degree, purpose, and frequency, and research has yet to identify the point at which phone usage causes conversational partners to feel phubbed. Using Attribution Theory as a framework, the present study begins to explore the parameters of phubbing to understand when phone usage does and does not count as phubbing. Findings demonstrated that individual biases and attributions influence perceptions and effects of phone usage during face-to-face conversations. Specifically, individuals with more negative biases towards phone usage were more likely to activate an attributional framework that caused them to believe that their partner's phone usage constituted phubbing. Findings also suggested that nonverbal immediacy may mediate the effects of phone usage during face-to-face conversations such that phone usage that hinders nonverbal immediacy is more likely to be perceived as phubbing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of initiating conversations with "guess what" questions is common across various social settings. This study examines whether askers and guessers share similar desires for correct guesses during these interactions, a question previously unexplored in behavioral sciences. Across five studies, our research uncovered a significant discrepancy: Askers generally exhibited a lower desire for correct guesses compared to guessers. This pattern holds true across diverse social contexts. Moreover, the results of guesses impact the outcomes of conversations, with askers experiencing more enjoyment and being more willing to continue the conversation when guesses are incorrect, whereas guessers have the opposite experience. Further, while individuals may recognize this disparity, adopting a perspective-taking approach does not alter the guesser's desire to guess correctly; however, guessers do decrease that desire when reminded to protect the asker's emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conversation with Quinn Slobodian's Crack-up capitalism, the commentary explores the book's innovative but for the most part implicit methodological and expositional strategy, reflecting on some of the implications for the geographical analysis of ideas and ideation. Ideation certainly matters, but never mechanically or predictably, so the challenging questions concern how to specify, and to assign explanatory weight to, particular ideas in particular situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) increase health risks leading to negative pregnancy outcomes, thus prompting the need for preconception care to address these risks. The aim of this study is to assess the association between ACEs score and self-report of having pre-pregnancy health conversations with a healthcare provider. Methods: Secondary analysis of PRAMS data from 2016 to 2020 was performed from 3 states and Washington, DC. ACEs score was categorized as 0 (low risk), 1–3 (intermediate risk), and ≥ 4 (high risk). Pre-pregnancy health conversations were measured using reports of being asked about the desire to have children, use birth control to prevent pregnancy, and/or improve health during any visit in the 12 months prior to pregnancy. Multivariate Poisson Regression was performed to adjust for potential confounders: age, race/ethnicity, income, education, insurance type, marital status, pregnancy intention, and parity. Results: A total of 10,448 PRAMS survey responses from 2016 to 2020 were included in the analysis. More than half of women reported having at least 1 ACE (51%). Those with an ACE score of ≥ 4 had 1.19 (95% CI: 1.01–1.41) times higher adjusted Prevalence Ratio (aPR) and those with an ACE score of 1–3 had about the same aPR 1.00 (95% CI: 0.93–1.09) of reporting pre-pregnancy health conversations with a healthcare provider compared to those with no ACEs. Conclusions for practice: The overall low percentage of respondents reporting receipt of pre-pregnancy health conversations with a health care provider indicates the need for these conversations to be had on a more routine basis. Significance: Women with high ACEs scores are at increased risk for unintended pregnancy, teenage pregnancy, prenatal substance use, and perinatal depression. Preconception care has been found to improve outcomes such as smoking cessation; greater prevalence of obtaining antenatal care; and lower rates of neonatal mortality. Given that ACEs can contribute to negative pregnancy outcomes, having health conversations with a healthcare provider about ways to improve health before pregnancy, the desire to have children or not, and about the use of birth control to prevent pregnancy is particularly needed among those with ACEs to reduce negative birth outcomes for both women and infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How should we, as philosophers, respond to the pure moral testimony of people in marginalized positions? Some philosophers argue that marginalized people have an epistemic advantage concerning their experiences of marginalization, such that, if we are non‐marginalized, then we should defer to their moral testimony concerning these experiences. We might accept this as a requirement for ordinary conversation but doubt that any such requirement obtains when we do philosophy, since philosophy requires a critical stance. This paper argues that philosophers should also defer in such cases. It concludes that non‐marginalized philosophers can only properly address certain moral propositions concerning the experiences of marginalized people if they engage in ongoing philosophical discussions with such people, starting from a position of trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Everyone should have the opportunity to participate in decisions about their health, including people living with dementia. People with dementia typically bring a companion to medical appointments, so most care decisions are made in interactions involving three parties. To make decisions about their care, patients with dementia must have the opportunity to take a turn-at-talk in conversations where decisions are made. However, negotiating who speaks next in triadic talk is a complex task, especially when dementia-associated language and/or memory problems impact communication. Findings show that using second person ("you") pronouns assist people with dementia in responding to queries, yet third person ("she/he") can exclude them from the interaction, although this near-canonical pronoun use can be overridden by sequential placement, gesture, and gaze. We also demonstrate how midturn pronoun switching often only provides for tokenistic inclusion, though this again is dependent on sequential placement and embodied interaction. Data are in English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]