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This study investigates the congeniality of physical workspaces given to female librarians in the academic sector of Punjab, Pakistan. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach was employed to explore the phenomenon. Female librarians working in Higher Education Commissions' (HEC) recognized universities of Punjab province participated in the study. For the quantitative phase, a census survey sampling technique was employed for collecting data by using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to 89 females, and 77 responded with a response rate of 86.5 percent. The quantitative results highlighted the satisfaction of female librarians with the physical work environment conditions. For the qualitative phase, twenty outlier cases were identified from the quantitative phase, however, only fourteen consented to participate. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants by using a pre-prepared interview guide. NVivo was used for qualitative data analysis while SPSS-23 was used for the quantitative data analysis. Results revealed a concern among female librarians regarding the open desk system in libraries: they shared that open desk offices not only lack esthetic appeal for users but also disrupt librarians during crucial tasks, thereby highlighting potential drawbacks of this workspace arrangement. This study is unique in its nature as it delves into assessing the physical work environment in Pakistani libraries, focusing specifically on the viewpoint of female librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

We examine the relation between within-firm office changes and audit quality in the United States. Our primary analysis documents a reduction in audit quality, measured using abnormal discretionary accruals and restatements, when the client is transferred to a smaller within-firm office (downsize effect). We are unable to find evidence that clients experience significant improvement in audit quality among transfers to a larger within-firm office (upsize effect). We then condition our sample on the change in the number of public clients of the receiving office to better understand the source of the underlying association. We find that our downsize effect is driven by offices experiencing a decrease in the number of public clients, suggesting that our main association is not entirely the result of resource constraints for the receiving office. We posit that this finding is consistent with audit quality deterioration among within-firm office changes to smaller offices driven, in part, by the receiving office's inability to adequately overcome the knowledge transfer frictions that accompany a move to a new office. Our findings offer empirical evidence on consequences of within-firm office changes and are particularly relevant to regulators and preparers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

Dogs can discriminate between people infected with SARS-CoV-2 from those uninfected, although their results vary depending on the settings in which they are exposed to infected individuals or samples of urine, sweat or saliva. This variability likely depends on the viral load of infected people, which may be closely associated with physiological changes in infected patients. Determining this viral load is challenging, and a practical approach is to use the cycle threshold (Ct) value of a RT-qPCR test. The hypothesis was that dogs should have a specific Ct range at which they could detect people infected with SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the objective was to determine this Ct range. Sweat samples and epidemiological data were collected from 89 infected and 289 non-infected individuals at real life settings (e.g. health centers, offices, football fields). To determine each person's infection status, the Norgen Biotek kit for RT-qPCR was used; targeting the N1 and N2 regions of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid N gene. The performance of 11 trained dogs was evaluated on sweat samples of 379 individuals to determine their sensitivity and specificity (± 95% Confidence Intervals; CI) in detecting SARS-CoV-2 infections. Additionally, the SARS-CoV-2 viral load was calculated from Ct values using a reference curve, and the Ct range at which dogs showed optimal performance was determined. Six dogs exhibited a marginal performance, as their sensitivity 95% CI overlapped with the region of randomness (50%). The remaining five dogs demonstrated sensitivity values between 67% and 87%, with none of their 95% CIs overlapping the randomness region. Regarding specificity, three dogs showed values between 87% and 92%, while all other dogs exhibited values of ≥ 90%. Dogs demonstrated higher detection accuracy in a range of Ct values between 18.49 and 29.17 for the N1 region and between 24.07 and 26.69 for the N2 region of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid gene. Detection significantly decreases for Ct values greater than 30 or less than 16, indicating an optimal range in which dogs are most effective. These performance values concur well with those reported for commercial rapid antigen tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2. Consequently, it is considered that using properly trained animals could offer a viable option to supplement existing diagnostic methods, allowing for rapid diagnosis while optimizing time and economic resources. Moreover, this approach is ecologically sustainable, as it generates less waste compared to the use of rapid tests, while continuing to confirm positive cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artistic and scientific perspectives of the translucent color organic solar cells (OSCs), made with the emerging narrowband nonfullerene acceptors are explored. The translucent color OSCs, comprising a Fabry–Pérot microcavity optical coupling layer, have a power conversion efficiency of >15% and a maximum transparency of >20% for the three primary colors. The performance−color relationship of the translucent color OSCs is analyzed using a combination of high-throughput optical computing and experimental optimization, allowing light with desired color to pass through, while absorbing enough light to generate electricity. Replication of Piet Mondrian's artwork "Composition C (1920)" is demonstrated using a 10 × 10 cm2-sized translucent OSC module with a wide palette of colors and hues. The outcome of the work offers an opportunity for translucent color OSCs to function as both esthetic art and power generating windowpanes for use in our homes, offices, and even greenhouses. The realization of translucent color organic solar cells with competitive efficiency, visible transparency and hue remains a critical challenge. Here, the authors fabricate translucent organic solar cells with a Fabry–Pérot microcavity optical coupling layer for applications in science and art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-pharmacological dementia research products, such as social and behavioural interventions, are generated in traditional university settings. These often experience challenges to impact practices that they were developed for. The Netherlands established five specialized academic health science centres, referred to as Alzheimer Centres, to structurally coordinate and facilitate the utilization of dementia research knowledge. This study leverages implementation science to systematically explore the research utilization strategies used by academic researchers from each Alzheimer Centre, on the basis of the "knowledge-to-action" (KTA) framework that includes knowledge creation, adaptation, dissemination and implementation. Methods: Individual semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 29 respondents across the five Alzheimer Centres in the Netherlands. Participants were selected through purposive (snowball) sampling. Interviews were conducted in-person and virtually through Microsoft Teams, and all were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was guided by the dimensions of the KTA framework. Result: There was a high variation in the strategies used across the five Alzheimer Centres to bring non-pharmacological dementia research into practice. Selected strategies in each Centre were influenced by the typology of research products produced and the Centres' organizational heritage. The knowledge creation and adaptation phases were mainly facilitated by funders' guidance towards research impact and research product co-creation with patients and implementing organizations. Dissemination and implementation phases were often facilitated through utilizing support from university-based technology transfer offices to facilitate implementation and valorization and establishing and strategically leveraging formal infrastructure, such as public–private partnerships and professional collaborative networks. Conclusions: Successful research utilization requires evolving researcher competencies to meet environmental demands and facilitating co-creation with research end-users and implementing partners. Understanding external determinants influencing research utilization in the Dutch dementia research ecosystem is crucial for capacity-building and aligning cross-sector agendas. The KTA framework appears to reveal the intricacies of research utilization, guiding future studies to explore strategies employed across various contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standardized admissions testing has long been a key element of the college admissions process for many postsecondary institutions. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced institutions to quickly adopt test-optional admissions or merit aid policies due to the limited availability of standardized testing. Using qualitative data from focus groups and interviews with 57 chief enrollment officers, we explore the test-optional implementation strategies used by postsecondary admission offices during the pandemic, which included: using alternative measures of academic achievement; leaning into holistic admissions processes with contextualization tools; and implementing dual systems of evaluation for students with and without test scores. While most offices were largely stuck in competency traps, relying on traditional decision-making practices rather than seeking out new ones, others created new evaluative practices or utilized existing evaluation tools in new ways to significantly change their admissions processes. Examining test-optional policy implementation may help explain why these policies, often meant to improve racial and socioeconomic diversity, have yielded only modest benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Archival institutions must make their holdings and services known to the public to ensure increased usage. It is the obligation of archival institutions to adopt strategies to market their services to increase the usage of their holdings. Therefore, this study aims to assess the National Archives of Zimbabwe's (NAZ) decentralisation drive as a strategy to market its archival services. Design/methodology/approach: The multiple case study research design, which is interpretive and qualitative, was used for the study. The study used interviews, questionnaires and document review as data collection tools. The collected data were presented, analysed and discussed using the thematic data analysis approach. Findings: Findings revealed that the NAZ decentralised provincial records centres were actively involved in the marketing of archival services offered by the NAZ. The study also established that the decentralised provincial records centres perform activities such as records surveys, training, oral history, issuance of brochures, guided tours and career guidance, which increase their interactions with communities they serve. The decentralised offices took advantage of these interactions to market archival services offered by the NAZ. Originality/value: The study illustrated that decentralisation of archival institutions and services to the lower tiers of government is a powerful strategy for the marketing of archival services. Therefore, there is need for archival institutions to adopt or enhance the use of this strategy to increase the usage of archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to provide an overview of the dimension of stored collections displayed in visible storage and to indicate the main factors which hinder their accessibility. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on quantitative analysis: a survey was conducted through the offices of International Council of Museums and direct invitations to 2,558 museums located worldwide. Findings: The study estimated 32% on average the share of stored collections displayed in visible storage. The analysis provides a picture of how many stored items are made accessible in visible storage across the continents, according to the collection's type and size and the museums' legal status. In addition, several aspects of visible storage are investigated to highlight whether or not it truly enables museums to achieve accessibility of their stored collections and which factors might hinder the accessibility. Amid them, the foremost factors involve the inadequacy of resources, such as the lack of staff (71%) and poor budget (68%). Because of it, museums are prone to setting up offsite storage (37%), often 16 km far from the city centre, thereby questioning the concept of accessibility itself. Research limitations/implications: One major limitation of this study is that it does not consider people's standpoints. Therefore, the author recommends that future studies focus on what people opine on visible storage, such as their appreciation of the display format, the behind-the-scenes, their need for interpretation and the degree of satisfaction with their information needs, as well as their perception of the size of stored collections. Practical implications: These findings suggest that museums could take action in areas whereby the data demonstrated weaknesses in terms of accessibility. For instance, museums could set up a shuttle service or arrange public transportation service to allow people to visit offsite storage. Additionally, financial accessibility might be achieved by not charging some groups (elderly, students, etc.). Social implications: The topic of stored collections and their accessibility has crucial social implications because not displaying collections triggers inequality amid social groups of excluded people and a small elite. Originality/value: This study focuses on visible storage as a possible solution to enhance the accessibility of collections and indicates to what extent visible storage provides this accessibility. On the contrary, previous research did not estimate how much visible storage impacts the accessibility of stored collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some sub-state governments establish offices abroad for international economic development, while others do not? This article focuses on the paradiplomatic policy of sub-state government internationalization (SGI) that allows sub-state governments to build international networks abroad to promote greater trade, investment, and tourism within their borders. Moving away from autonomy-focused explanations, this article develops three capacity-based hypotheses about the adoption and size of sub-state internationalization. Using an original dataset of the 517 sub-state governments within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the analysis reveals that revenue, human capital, and information capacities are significant in predicting SGI. These findings help paint a novel picture of sub-state internationalization in the globalized economy, showcasing a new methodological and theoretical approach for the study of paradiplomacy and sub-state decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although environmental education (EE) scholars celebrate the diversity of organizations that engage in this work, the challenge remains how to bring these organizations together. Over the last decade, scholars have called for building bridges, but we still know very little about organizational networking and integration processes in EE. In this paper, I analyzed a case study of the first local education office (LEO) to manage an EE network in California. Drawing on institutional theory, I found that the LEO cultivated a local EE organizational field through three complementary strategies of relational work: enabling connections, aligning the field, and holding space. These three strategic tools enabled EE organizations to connect, develop a shared meaning system, and grow their capacity to serve schools. Based on my findings, I propose a model for managing local EE networks, as well as theoretical constructs for understanding organizational processes within the evolving EE landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daytime light levels are important for human physiology. Office workers spend most of their daytime inside buildings where it is unclear whether they receive healthy light levels. A recent publication presented recommendations for the minimum daytime light level for optimal human health, expressed in melanopic equivalent daylight illuminance (EDI). The current paper assesses whether this recommended daytime light level is achieved by office workers through a meta-analysis of personal light levels of office workers, obtained from light-dosimetry field studies. From our literature search, we identified nine eligible papers. These papers comprised data from studies in one or multiple office buildings, over one or more seasons, from 1 to 62 participants, and for 19 to 564 workdays. After analysing the data, we found that in none of the offices the recommended minimum light level of 250 melanopic EDI was met for the entire day. Only 1 out of 6 median and 6 out of 13 mean reported personal light levels were above this recommended value. Unfortunately, these conclusions are less groundbreaking than we hoped for, due to large differences between study protocols. This resulted in a large variety of (unreported) study characteristics (i.e. light data, light-dosimeter, participant, building and environment) which complicated a fair comparison between the different studies. To facilitate meta-analyses of light-dosimetry field studies, we introduce recommendations for data collection and reporting in light-dosimetry field studies. We based these recommendations on the gaps identified from our meta-analysis, supplemented by recommendations from other papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of many global challenges localities have contended with over the past few decades. In response to such global pressures, economic development practitioners are tasked with safeguarding their localities' economic and social well-being. But little is known about how these types of shocks and challenges have influenced overall economic development practices and planning. To address this question, we conducted in-depth interviews with thirty-seven local economic development practitioners from Ontario, Canada. We find that practitioners, in their bounded autonomy, push back against global forces such as the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to safeguard their localities. Further, the findings show that over the last three years a shift occurred in nearly all parts of local economic development – from greater emphasis on human capital, to changes in what sectors of local economies are favored and targeted, to alterations in the day-to-day work occurring within local economic development offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auditing is a credence good so its quality cannot be determined directly. The gain or loss of large clients is one publicly available signal that can used by other clients to ascertain the quality provided by audit firms. This paper examines whether this quality signal results in firms earning fee premiums and discounts. Empirical examination of a sample of 16,233 firm‐years of listed Australian companies for the period 2011–2021 shows that there is an association between offices and industry groups that gain and lose large clients, in both the current and previous periods, and economically significant fee premiums for both Big‐4 and non‐Big‐4 firms. These results suggest that clients can use auditor portfolio changes as quality signals and that they appear to reward firms that gain large clients and prune their portfolios of poor clients, particularly if these changes are in the same industry as the client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Economic Review, published in January 2025, features articles on various economic topics such as minimum wage experiments, school value added, and end-of-life care in for-profit hospices. The journal also includes information on how to submit manuscripts and emphasizes the importance of clear data documentation for replication purposes. The publication aims to provide a platform for researchers to share their findings and contribute to the field of economics. [Extracted from the article]

Fresh produce sold at local farmers' markets (FMs) was identified as a source of microbial contamination. In this study, a survey was developed to analyze small and very small produce growers' knowledge of food safety. The questionnaire also assessed producers' familiarity and willingness to implement the triple wash method (TWM). Surveys were conducted at FMs in West Virginia. The survey included demographics, knowledge of microbial cross-contamination on produce, washing strategies, awareness of the TWM, and willingness to attend good agricultural practice/ Food Safety Modernization Act (GAPS/FSMA) and TWM training. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test (P < 0.05) in R-software. A total of 82 vendors participated in the survey. The survey results revealed knowledge gaps about food safety among FM produce vendors. Additionally, 53.7% of FM vendors did not wash their produce due to increased spoilage (52.6%; P < 0.05). Among participants who washed produce, only 28.2% were familiar with the TWM. Most respondents who washed produce (65.3%; P < 0.05) stated they would be interested in attending GAP/FSMA and TWM training. The information obtained from this study will help tailor GAP/FSMA and TWM training provided by regional extension offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in school offices across Sierra Bullones Elementary Schools during the school year 2023-2024, with the aim of developing an enhanced administrative training plan. Employing a normative survey design, data were collected using a standardized questionnaire adapted from Taguba (2018), focusing on the application of ICT in four key areas of school administration: planning, organizing, leading, and evaluating. The study involved 59 participants, including 15 school administrators, 23 ICT teachers, and 21 administrative assistants from 23 schools in the Sierra Bullones District. The findings revealed that most respondents were aged 37-47 years, with a significant majority (77.97%) being female. Furthermore, 44.07% of respondents held a Master's degree, indicating a well-educated staff, though only 8.47% had attained doctoral degrees. ICT was consistently utilized in various administrative functions, with mean scores of 3.43 for planning, 3.45 for organizing, 3.35 for leading, and 3.48 for evaluating, reflecting a strong integration of technology in school management tasks. Despite these positive findings, several challenges were identified, including a lack of ICT training (31.40%), technical difficulties (30.58%), and compatibility issues (23.14%). These barriers hindered the full potential of ICT in enhancing administrative efficiency. The study underscores the need for targeted professional development, robust technical support, and strategies to mitigate resistance to change. By addressing these challenges, schools can maximize the benefits of ICT, improving both administrative processes and educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) stabilizes vision during head movements by counter-rotating the eyes in the orbits. Although considered one of the simplest reflexes due to its minimal neuronal circuity comprising a 3-neuron arc, previous studies have shown that VOR performance deteriorates in both monkeys and humans when they are drowsy. Given constant head perturbations under dynamic environments, the VOR has been proposed as a viable biomarker for detecting human drowsiness in automobiles and other moving vehicles. However, under stationary environments where exogenous head movements are absent, its applicability has been questioned. In this study, we demonstrate that each heartbeat generates small yet distinctive head movements, and the VOR compensates for these minor head perturbations. Furthermore, we show that the effectiveness of VOR responses varies with the degree of drowsiness, indicating that the VOR can serve as an indicator of drowsiness, even in stationary contexts such as in classrooms and offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackgroundMethodsResultsConclusions\nIMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe call for high quality disability data has gained momentum around the world. The objective of this paper is to analyse the consistency of estimates obtained with the Washington Group short set of questions, which are being recommended for use in national population surveys.Prevalence rates and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated using data from five surveys carried out in three low-income countries and one high-income country.Two surveys undertaken in the same year generated different disability prevalences: 16.1% and 25.6% using a broad cut-off; 4.0% and 6.7% using a narrower cut-off. In two longitudinal surveys, over 50% of persons identified as having disability in a wave were not identified as such in the next wave, independent of cut-off used. Data disaggregation by education and remunerative employment shows little differences between persons with and without disability, which is inconsistent with current evidence.The paper shows some significant inconsistencies that can have consequences for policy, international comparisons, for the monitoring the CRPD and SDGs, and most importantly, for persons with disability. It is important that advocates, policy makers, statistical offices and country authorities follow reliability and validity standards when recommending tools for disability data collection.Valid and reliable disability rates estimates are essential for evidence informed policymaking and for a sound estimation of rehabilitation needs.Stakeholders must consider reliability and validity when selecting tools for disability data collection, and psychometric evaluations must be mandatory for tools to be eligible for inclusion in surveys or censuses.The WHO Functioning and Disability Disaggregation Tool (FDD11) is a validated tool that can be used as a standalone instrument or integrated in existing surveys to provide sound estimates of the prevalence and distribution of disability in populations.Valid and reliable disability rates estimates are essential for evidence informed policymaking and for a sound estimation of rehabilitation needs.Stakeholders must consider reliability and validity when selecting tools for disability data collection, and psychometric evaluations must be mandatory for tools to be eligible for inclusion in surveys or censuses.The WHO Functioning and Disability Disaggregation Tool (FDD11) is a validated tool that can be used as a standalone instrument or integrated in existing surveys to provide sound estimates of the prevalence and distribution of disability in populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key elements in real estate appraisal of residential buildings is the usable area. To determine the monetary value of real estate, appraisers in Poland often rely on transaction data registered in the Real Estate Price Register (REPR). However, the REPR may contain meaningful gaps, particularly on information concerning usable areas. This may lead to difficulties in finding suitable comparative properties, resulting in mispricing of the property. To address this problem, we used linear and nonlinear models to estimate the usable area of buildings with multi-pitched roofs. Utilizing widely available data from the Topographic Objects Database (BDOT10k) based on LiDAR technology, we have shown that three parameters (building's covered area, building's height, and optionally the number of storeys) are sufficient for a reliable estimate of the usable area of a building. The best linear model, using design data from architectural offices, achieved a fit of 95%, while the best model based on real data of existing buildings in the city of Koszalin, Poland achieved 92% fit. The best nonlinear model achieved slightly better results than the linear model in the case of design data (better fit by approximately 0.2%). In the case of existing buildings in Koszalin, the best fit was at 93%. The proposed method may help property appraisers determine a more accurate estimation of the usable area of comparative buildings in the absence of this information in the REPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technical heritage, such as machinery, requires a different perspective than traditionally understood works of art. To protect the most valuable of them, heritage conservation offices need to find an answer to questions such as which ones should be protected, why these precisely, and to what extent? A procedure designed to assist heritage conservation authorities in making informed decisions and which serves to rationalize the conservation decision is the valuation of monuments. The analysis of the methods presented in the literature shows that there is still a need to address the issues related to engineering heritage, particularly devices, machines, and vehicles, whose conservation should encompass operational methods and operational properties. The research here aimed to develop the method of valuing historical lifting equipment, objectivize the assessment of heritage value represented by the examined devices, and research the possibility of their universalization to protect the heritage of engineering art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trained pharmacometricians remain scarce in Africa due to limited training opportunities, lack of a pharmaceutical product development ecosystem, and emigration to high‐income countries. The Applied Pharmacometrics Training (APT) fellowship program was established to address these gaps and specifically foster job creation for talent retention. We review the APT program's progress over 3 years and encourage collaboration to enhance local clinical data analysis in Africa. Initiated in 2021 by Pharmacometrics Africa, a non‐profit educational entity, with support from partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Certara, the APT program targets African doctoral‐level scientists and clinicians. This 6‐month program is jointly managed by partners, with Pharmacometrics Africa handling logistics and sponsor liaison. Job creation initiatives include inviting fellows to join consulting teams or local research centers. Over the 3 year reporting period, 177 applications were received, with 27 individuals (41% female, median age 35 years) from nine African countries selected into and completing the full program. The fellows worked on 13 data analysis projects, with six so far being presented at international conferences and/or submitted for publication in peer‐reviewed journals. Nine fellows have joined consulting teams or research centers working from offices in Africa. Currently, in the 3rd year, the APT program has demonstrated success in skills development, job creation, and fostering a critical mass of African pharmacometricians. Collaboration is essential for the sustainable advancement of model‐informed drug development in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines some key points in the development of the consular institute and the improvement of the legal framework aimed at regulating relations within the relevant sphere of international activity. The history of the consular service is analyzed from ancient times, hostile to the very presence of a «foreign element», to the modem era, concerned with the issue of codification of related legal fields; special attention is paid to the era of the Middle Ages and early modem times as the most fruitful chronological segments from the point of view of the development of fundamentally new norms, practically formalized in the specific conditions of the prevalence of trade and maritime relations. The author cites a number of fundamental documents that became a kind of "substrate" for the formation of the system of consular law in the modem sense of the word: the mysterious Amalfi Table (an amazing monument, probably, from the end of the first millennium AD). The system of consular law in the modem sense was shaped by the mystery of the Amalfi Table (an amazing monument probably from the end of the first millennium), numerous bilateral conventions between sovereign states, elevated to absolute status by the Westphalian system of international relations, Latin American regional "pacts" dedicated to defining the exhaustive range of functions of consular representatives, and, finally, the universal Convention on Consular Relations, created by persistent efforts and under the auspices of the symbol of the new international order - the planetary United Nations. In conclusion, the author expresses the view that the consular service has gained a unique position in the modem international political kaleidoscope; no matter how paradoxical it may sound, the frantic whirlwind of global life in the twenty-first century highlights the success of defending the interests of a state directly "on the ground" by consistently upholding the legal rights of ordinary citizens and legal entities. In other words, an objective indicator of the level of development and practical, rather than declared, effectiveness of a country's diplomatic service is not limited to the functioning of its highest level - the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Embassy; all these indicators are clearly evidenced by the performance of consular offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rip currents are the number one weather-related killer in the Carolinas, and rip currents generated by swells from distant tropical cyclones pose a unique messaging challenge for the National Weather Service (NWS). A database of surf fatalities from Atlantic basin tropical cyclones was compiled, with 87 surf fatalities along the continental United States coastline between 2000 and 2022 attributed to distant storms, where direct impacts from the storm remained far from the local area. Hurricane Lorenzo in 2019 led to eight drownings along the United States East Coast despite remaining more than 3110 km (1680 n mi) offshore in the central Atlantic. The rip current impacts from Lorenzo led to efforts to increase communication and improve several products from the NWS offices in Wilmington and Morehead City, North Carolina. Efforts have also been made to increase the NWS reach into underserved communities and vulnerable populations, including translating rip current briefings into Spanish and developing a partnership with the North Carolina Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. In the last few years, NWS Wilmington has begun messaging rip current outbreaks similar to other weather threats, such as potential severe weather events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the latest in a series examining the offices in the Horologion of Sinai Arabic 232 (13th century). This Book of Hours has its origin in Melkite Alexandria and has never been studied before, nor indeed have the Arabic Books of Hours, in general. The article presents an English translation of the Office of Compline from this manuscript (apart from the psalms, which are simply indicated), with comments and identification of the individual texts. Features of particular interest are the extra saints in the intercessions, different psalms and prayers from the modern rite, and the series of common troparia at the end. The additional saints in the intercessions pose a conundrum: whereas the analysis of Matins, the Hours, and Vespers has suggested that this is an Arabic Melkite Horologion from Alexandria that must have been received from Jerusalem c. the 7th century and then underwent both Alexandrian (Coptic) influences and later Byzantinisation which did not entirely eliminate more archaic elements from Jerusalem such as the tri-ode system at Matins, the choice of additional saints suggests a double provenance from both Alexandria and Sinai. We therefore suggest that the Horologion was brought from Alexandria and underwent some degree of adaptation on Sinai without eliminating all the specifically Alexandrian features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to clarify the impact of practical training for the students of the Accounting Department at the National Institute of Administrative Sciences on professional performance and shed light on the importance of qualifying and empowering students of the accounting department at the Institute and preparing them scientifically and practically to meet the needs of the labor market. It was taken views of a sample of faculty members at the National Institute, and some Accounting and Auditing Offices on one hand, and on the other hand, a sample of students from the accounting department of the Institute, The researcher reached a set of conclusions, the most important of which was: − The lack of cooperation between the institute and the accounting offices and institutions concerned with the accounting profession, to train students during the study, and the curriculum was restricted to the theoretical side, while neglecting the applied side despite its importance. − The weak labor market contribution to improving and developing the quality of accounting education, and we can consider this research as an indicator for officials of the institute in particular, and higher education, vocational education, labor market in general, to take care of the practical side of students during the study, and continue qualify the academic staff in order to serve the educational process to supply the labor market with qualified competencies and able to meet the needs of the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Organise and Act: The Natal Workers Theatre Movement" is a book review that highlights the development of a worker theatre movement in Durban, South Africa, from 1983 to 1987. The book documents how workers in factories created plays to support union organizing and raise awareness about worker issues. It also explores the impact of cultural activities on worker empowerment and collective action. The review reflects on the relevance of this historical movement for worker activists today and raises questions about the inclusion of women workers and the eventual dissolution of the cultural movement in the early 1990s. [Extracted from the article]

This article is based on an interview conducted in July 2023 with Danny Yatom, the eighth Mossad chief. He had a distinguished career in the Israeli Defense Force, joining the Mossad in 1996 after his military service. Yatom's contributions were pivotal during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in diplomatic engagements and peace negotiations between Israel and Jordan. With experience spanning elite military units, intelligence agencies, Prime Minister's offices, and the Israeli Parliament, his insights offer a comprehensive understanding of intricate matters, making it the primary reason for my decision to interview Yatom. Among other topics, Yatom provided nuanced perspectives on Israel's involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, its relations with Azerbaijan, the special ties between Israel and Germany, and the 1979 Islamic revolution. I also inquired about the impact of emotions on decision-making in national security, the historical trajectory of the Mossad, and Israel's approach to Official Public Intelligence Disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We applied the Health Belief Model to mobile device distracted driving. • Distracted drivers downplayed the threats of driving distracted from devices. • Distracted drivers agreed more with the barriers to device-free driving. • Cues from family or friends was perceived as a top device-free driving motivator. • Drivers understand the benefits of not driving distracted. Introduction: The advancement of mobile devices has resulted in constant connectivity, but at the expense of traffic safety. The goal of this study was to apply the Health Belief Model to understand the barriers preventing drivers from driving without manipulating their devices, and what they perceived would motivate them to stop driving distracted. Methods: We conducted a nationwide survey of 2,013 U.S. licensed drivers. Participants indicated how much they agreed with or supported 63 statements and concepts pertaining to the Health Belief Model constructs of threats, barriers, benefits, and cues to action related to manipulating devices while driving. Heath Belief Model constructs were compared between distracted drivers, or those who regularly did (during most or all drives in the previous 30 days) one or more mobile device tasks, and non-distracted drivers. Logistic regression evaluated the relationship between Health Belief Model constructs and distracted driver designation. Results: Those who agreed more with threats (odds ratio [OR], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27, 2.04) and disagreed more with barriers to stopping (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.31, 0.41) were more likely to not drive distracted. We identified distracted drivers' top barriers to avoiding cellphone distractions, as well as barrier categories that were significantly greater for distracted drivers than non-distracted drivers. Distracted drivers felt most strongly that intrapersonal, interpersonal, and policy cues would motivate behavior termination, and more support of technological countermeasures was associated with regularly driving distracted after controlling for support for policy and organizational countermeasures. Conclusions: Simultaneously increasing threat perceptions, targeting the top barriers identified, and implementing policy-, interpersonal-, and technological-based countermeasures may encourage device-free driving. Practical Applications: When designing interventions or programs, state highway safety offices should find new ways to increase threat perceptions and offer solutions to the barriers most cited by distracted drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book review titled "Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19" discusses the challenges faced by evaluation practitioners during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The volume edited by Eliadis, Naidoo, and Rist highlights the need for substantial transformation in evaluation practices to ensure continued relevance. Various chapters in the book explore conceptual, organizational, and methodological explanations for the impact of the pandemic on policy evaluation and offer suggestions for transforming the evaluation discipline. The review suggests that evaluators working in international development projects and governmental institutions would benefit from reading this volume, which provides valuable insights and tools for navigating the changing landscape of evaluation practice. [Extracted from the article]

Continual changes in organizational structures within medical schools have contributed to the expanded scope and the centralization of faculty affairs offices, which support faculty administration and supportive functions. Using qualitative interviews, we investigated the perspectives of academic medicine faculty affairs leaders regarding their offices' priorities in sustaining faculty vitality in the face of current and anticipated challenges. A semi-structured interview protocol based on the researchers' practical knowledge, informed by the study's research inquiries, and pertinent academic literature guided the interviews. Deductive thematic analysis approach was used to identify the patterns and themes across the interviews. Our analysis revealed a central theme: the pivotal nature of the leader's role in strengthening faculty identity. Additionally, three sub-themes emerged concerning the leader's role in nurturing faculty well-being within today's academic medicine context: redefining faculty role, acknowledging and appreciating faculty contributions, and maintaining faculty engagement through a whole-person approach. Faculty affairs leaders describe widening roles with an emerging focus on a whole-person approach valuing the diverse contributions of faculty across the academic mission, supporting professional development, reflecting the individual motivations of faculty, and championing institutional processes that holistically evaluate and recognize faculty contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street vendors are some of the most put-upon actors in urban Africa and elsewhere, vulnerable to harassment by government, commercial businesses, and residents. We look at a group of vendors occupying a sidewalk next to the offices of the Kumasi Metropolitan Authority (KMA) in Ghana's second city. We demonstrate how the sidewalk functions as a family-like space for the coconut sellers. They not only work there, but also use the sidewalk as a space to sleep and bathe. The coconut sellers are migrants from the central region of Ghana and spoke of their relationship to one another, as they lived and worked on the sidewalk, as that of a 'family'. We build on recent scholarship that focuses on sidewalks as places where economic activities are shaped by social relationships. We also show how the location of the sidewalk – near local government offices, next to an urban park – made the coconut sellers less vulnerable to harassment and being moved along. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Multi-Channel Man-in-the-Middle (MC-MitM) attack is an advanced form of MitM attack, characterized by its ability to manipulate encrypted wireless communications between the Access Point (AP) and clients within a WiFi network. MC-MitM attacks can target any Wi-Fi client, regardless of the authentication method used with the AP. Notable examples of such attacks include Key Reinstallation Attacks and FragAttacks, which have impacted millions of WiFi systems worldwide, especially those involving Internet of Things devices. Current defense mechanisms are inadequate against these attacks due to interoperability challenges and the need for modifications to devices or protocols within the targeted Wi-Fi networks. This paper introduces a distributed and cooperative signature-based wireless intrusion detection mechanism designed for online passive monitoring to detect malicious traffic patterns during MC-MitM attacks in any environment, from apartments and houses to large areas like hotels, offices or industrial sites. We implemented the proposed framework on Raspberry Pis and evaluated it in real-world settings. Our evaluation demonstrates that this framework can effectively identify MC-MitM attacks with an average accuracy of 98% when deployed across different locations within our experimental testbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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Background and objectives: The main purpose of lighting in offices is to provide effective and comfortable working environments. Mental comfort and health in turn guarantee an increase in user motivation and lead to better performance and efficiency. Providing sufficient and appropriate light in the workplace increases the willingness to work in employees, the operational accuracy and efficiency, and output. It also results on ocular health, better protected eyes and less fatigued nerves work better, and eventually fewer workspace accidents. The purpose of this research is to investigate lighting from the perspective of operational satisfaction and well-being using the case of Shiraz National Documentation Center.In this research, it is assumed that in the space occupied by the users; while using artificial light in the space, they are not satisfied with the amount of natural light and its effective factors. Methods: In this regard, after using library resources, in the topic of space lighting, field data collection with a photometer and in the topic of employee satisfaction and well-being, a phenomenological and psychoanalytical approach to analyze the unconscious behavior of humans through questionnaires and software analysis in SPSS; Because the brightness of the space alone does not have the ability to express the pleasantness and desirability of the ambient lighting from the users' point of view. Results and conclusion: According to the results, employees have an average of 50% or higher in terms of satisfaction, well-being and visual comfort. But it does not mean that those who are working in the space without natural light are satisfied with the conditions. According to field observations, these spaces do not even have substitutes for visual compositions and nature themes. In terms of satisfaction, well-being and visual comfort in the female group, the average values are higher than the male group; In the post-graduate class, it is more than other classes and the working position of expert is higher than other working positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatiotemporal dynamics of forest cover are essential for understanding the patterns and processes of forest change over time and space. This research focused on the spatiotemporal trends and drivers of forest cover change in the Metekel Zone of Northwest Ethiopia. Landsat 5, Landsat 7, and Landsat 8 imagery, covering the period from 1986 to 2019, were used for land use/cover classification. Land use/cover classification was performed using random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, with training samples obtained through visual image interpretation. Spectral indices, such as the normalized difference vegetation index, soil-adjusted vegetation index, leaf area index, and normalized difference water index, were analyzed to examine forest cover dynamics over time. In addition, key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted. Findings revealed that forest cover decreased significantly from 51.37% in 1986 to 17.20% in 2019, driven largely by human activities such as agricultural expansion, increased demand for firewood, and urban expansion. Findings from spectral indices further corroborated the finding that forest cover in the study region (mainly in the southwestern part) substantially decreased from 1986 to 2019. Concerning forest depletion, the lack of local community awareness has become a key challenge. This problem is attributed to communities prioritizing immediate needs such as fuel and land for agriculture over long-term forest conservation. To combat ongoing deforestation, the Metekel Zone Administration, in collaboration with the land administration office and other stakeholders, revisited and strengthened existing forest policies and control systems. It is also suggested that community awareness, chiefly among youth, should be enhanced through the strategic expansion of formal and nonformal educational initiatives, which empower the youth as agents of change and promote the dissemination of knowledge throughout the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]