27227 research outputs found
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Towards the (Re)Making of Public Space?
Full text linkThis article provides a critical analysis of Luc Boltanski and Arnaud Esquerre’s The Making of Public Space: News, Events and Opinions in the Twenty-First Century (2025 [2022]). While their earlier work, Enrichment: A Critique of Commodities (2020 [2017]), is situated within economic sociology, their latest book – originally published as Qu’est-ce que l’actualité politique ? Événements et opinions au XXIe siècle (2022) – marks a significant shift towards political sociology, broadly conceived. The article contends that The Making of Public Space represents a highly original contribution that will further consolidate the considerable influence of Boltanski and Esquerre’s collaborative work on cutting-edge debates and research agendas in the contemporary social sciences. In particular, the book makes a strong case for examining the relationship between processes of “turning into current affairs” [processus de mise en actualité] and processes of politicization [processus de politisation]. The analysis is structured in two main parts. The first part summarizes the central arguments advanced by Boltanski and Esquerre in The Making of Public Space. The second part offers a careful assessment of the book’s principal limitations and suggests possible ways to address them
On Sustainable Operations and Supply Chain Management: has the debate on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion been settled
No full textPurpose – This paper investigates the business case for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within the context of Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM), a topic that has been focus of intense debate in academic and practitioner circles, and has become strongly associated with conflicting ideological perspectives. It combines an extensive literature review on DEI and potential outcomes, including the other contributions in the special issue “On Sustainable Operations and Supply Chain Management: What about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?”, with empirical analyses, both quantitative and qualitative, to examine the potential outcomes of DEI initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach – In the empirical analysis, a mixed-methods of explanatory sequential design is used. First, the association between OSCM employees' perceptions of workplace DEI and firm-level performance is examined using matched data from Glassdoor employee-reviews of DEI in Fortune 500 companies and Refinitiv Workspace. Then, a qualitative follow-up analysis is undertaken based on 10 interviews with experienced DEI-leaders and OSCM practitioners.
Findings – DEI research in OSCM is still in its early stages and extant knowledge is predominantly based on case-studies. Evidence on the relationship between firm-level DEI and performance is mixed and may reflect the context as well as the available information. While there are arguments for a positive association, our quantitative analysis challenges this expectation. Our interviews highlight potential positive outcomes such as enhanced employee-engagement and job satisfaction that could translate into performance, but also suggest negative effects when DEI initiatives alienate core groups, are performative rather than substantive, or incur significant short-term costs. Overall, further academic research is needed to address the rhetorics and realities of DEI, understand unfulfilled expectations, identify moderating and mediating factors, and thus potentially resolve inconsistencies in findings.
Originality/value – This introductory article underscores that the DEI debate is far from settled and offers a future research agenda based on an assessment of the current state of DEI scholarship within OSCM, empirical analyses, and a review of the seven papers selected for this special issue
Social prescribing in community care from a policy and practice perspective
No full textSocial prescribing enables professionals to refer patients to non-clinical services, addressing both physical health and mental wellbeing needs. Although not a new concept, current attitudes toward salutogenic models are gaining momentum. The author explores opportunities to embed social prescribing in healthcare in a more robust way through the lens of government policy. The future of social prescribing is promising as it brings forth multiple benefits, although there are also limitations as one size does not fit all. Community nurses have an important role to play as they have key knowledge of how their neighbourhoods function and the needs of local populations
From data to the analytic S-matrix: A Bootstrap fit of the pion scattering amplitude
Full text linkQuantum Chromodynamics (QCD) governs the strong interactions of hadrons, but extracting its physical spectrum remains a significant challenge due to its non-perturbative nature. In this Letter, we introduce a novel data-driven approach that systematically enforces the fundamental principles of analyticity, crossing symmetry, and unitarity while fitting experimental data. Our Bootstrap Fit method combines S-matrix Bootstrap techniques with non-convex numerical optimization, allowing for the construction of a scattering amplitude that adheres to first-principles constraints. We apply this framework to pion-pion scattering, demonstrating that it accurately reproduces low-energy predictions from Chiral Perturbation Theory (χPT) while also providing a non-perturbative determination of the total cross-section that is consistent with experiment. A key feature of our approach is its ability to dynamically generate physical states, yielding a spectrum of resonances consistent with QCD. Most notably, we predict the existence of a genuine doubly charged tetraquark resonance around 2 GeV, which could be observed in B-meson decays at LHCb. These results establish a robust new pathway for extracting hadronic properties directly from scattering data while enforcing fundamental physical constraints
Non-intimate femicide in England and Wales: A ‘continua’ approach
Full text linkThis article addresses ‘non-intimate femicide’ (NIF), referring to the killing of women and girls outside of family and intimate relationships. Despite substantial proportions of femicides involving non-intimate circumstances, there is a dearth of evidence, research and policy on NIF. Using Homicide Index data for England and Wales (2002–2022), this article provides original insight into the victim, perpetrator and incident characteristics in NIF cases, and reveals important differences between intimate and NIF, as well as high levels of missing or poorly recorded data. We argue for more accurate recording of NIF, alongside a ‘continua thinking’ approach to femicide research, which documents the killing of all women and girls across a range of intimate and non-intimate contexts
An Insolvency Toolkit for SMEs in Emerging Economies—A Spotlight on Uganda
Full text linkThis article examines the subject of SME failures due to financial distress in emerging economies by focusing on Uganda as a case study. It adopts a convergent doctrinal and empirical approach, drawing on existing black letter law and literature alongside some of the empirical data obtained from a survey of SME business owners impacted by financial distress, a survey of accredited insolvency practitioners and exchanges from a stakeholder workshop on SME insolvencies in Uganda. The article examines existing legal, regulatory and procedural frameworks on corporate rescue and the identified gaps exacerbating SME failures in unpacking why, despite the availability of these frameworks, business rescue as the policy objective of Uganda’s insolvency law has yet to be fully achieved. The article devises a recommended toolkit that if adopted, may guide the approaches needed to improve SME rescue, and meet legal and statutory objectives of Uganda’s insolvency frameworks to enhance economic stability
Relative and bedside nurse assessment of comfort and communication during propofol, dexmedetomidine, or clonidine-based sedation: pre-planned analysis within the A2B RCT
Full text linkBackground
Optimising comfort and ability to communicate for mechanically ventilated (MV) intensive care (ICU) patients is a priority for clinicians, ICU patients and their relatives. Current usual care is propofolbased sedation plus an opioid analgesic. The alpha2-agonists dexmedetomidine and clonidine are potential alternative sedatives.
Objective(s)
To explore whether nurses and relatives perceive patients sedated with dexmedetomidine and/or clonidine appear more awake, comfortable, and cooperative than patients receiving only propofolbased sedation.
Design and methods
Sub-study within an open-label three-arm trial.
Setting and participants
41 ICUs in the United Kingdom. 1437 adults receiving propofol ±opioid for sedation-analgesia within 48 hours of starting MV, expected to require ≥48 total hours of MV.
Interventions
Light sedation was targeted in all patients unless clinicians requested deeper sedation. In intervention groups algorithms promoted alpha2-agonist up-titration and propofol down-titration followed by sedation primarily with allocated alpha2-agonist. Usual care was propofol-based sedation. Intervention continued until patients were successfully extubated (primary outcome), or other pre-defined end-points.
Outcomes
For each 12-hours care period nurses responded to two ‘yes/no’ questions: Is the patient able to communicate pain? Is the patient able to cooperate with care? When the patients’ personal legal representative visited, they were asked for ‘yes/no’ responses to three questions: does the patient appear awake? Does the patient appear comfortable? Does the visitor feel they can communicate with the patient? Intervention versus propofol group responses were compared fitting a generalised linear mixed model, with results expressed as Odds Ratios (OR; 95% confidence intervals); ORs >1 indicated greater probability of a ‘yes’ response.
Results
Nurse responses were available for >90% of trial patients (mean (SD) 12 (12) care periods per patient). Comparing dexmedetomidine versus propofol groups, the OR for a ‘yes’ response to ‘communicate pain’ was 1.38 (1.08 to 1.75), and for clonidine versus propofol was 1.13 (0.89 to 1.43). For ‘cooperate with care’ comparing dexmedetomidine versus propofol groups, OR was 1.14 (0.98 to 1.32), and for clonidine versus propofol 0.96 (0.83 to 1.12). Relative responses were available for 32-34% of trial patients across groups (mean (SD) 3 (3) days per patient). For the ‘appear awake’ question, the dexmedetomidine versus propofol group OR was 1.48 (1.04 to 2.10), and clonidine versus propofol 1.35 (0.95 to 1.91). For ‘appear comfortable’ the dexmedetomidine versus propofol group OR was 0.64 (0.38 to 1.09), and for clonidine versus propofol 0.78 (0.45 to 1.34). For the ‘feel they can communicate’ comparison the dexmedetomidine versus propofol group OR was 1.00 (0.68 to 1.47), and for clonidine versus propofol 1.05 (0.71 to 1.54).
Limitations
Interventions were unblinded, with risk of bias; missing data may not have been at random.
Conclusions
Nurses perceived patients receiving dexmedetomidine-based sedation could better communicate pain than with propofol-based sedation, and relatives perceived patients appeared more awake. No differences for the other questions were found, or for the clonidine versus propofol comparisons, although some uncertainty remains due to the wide confidence intervals.
Future work
Additional mixed methods research of sedation quality with different agents from staff and relative perspectives.
Study registration:
NCT0365383
Learning critical thinking skills with online bite-sized videos: a qualitative account of students’ perceptions
Full text linkLearning to think critically is a key educational goal for higher education that presents a significant challenge for many students. Surprisingly, few studies have reported students’ views and perceptions towards instructional methods in critical thinking. The current study explored university students’ experiences and perceptions towards an online intervention designed to improve critical thinking skills. The intervention employed video-based learning to introduce four common informal logical fallacies to students across two micro-learning episodes administered online. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 university students to gain insight into four key areas: i) the perceived usefulness of the intervention for critical thinking development, ii) the presentation of learning materials, iii) the factors impacting their engagement, iv) and the potential of this approach to support mainstream provisions. We identified four main themes using thematic analysis: 1) building understanding and awareness of critical thinking, 2) effective video design and presentation, 3) valuing technology-enhanced learning approach, and 4) divergent experiences derived from the practice phase. These themes encapsulate students’ experiences of learning critical thinking as a highly sophisticated skill within an online learning environment and their preferences towards an effective video design. We discuss the implications of these findings for future pedagogical research and training of critical thinking in higher education
Spirituality and religion and the role in improving teaching approaches to diversity and inclusion in the nursing and midwifery curriculum: an explanatory sequential multi-methods study
Full text linkBackground
Spirituality and religion play an important role in many people’s lives. While healthcare professionals support people from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and belief systems, these dimensions are often missing from assessments and care plans. Using the lens of nursing and midwifery students and academic teaching staff, this study sought to explore how the concepts of spirituality and religion could be better incorporated into nursing and midwifery teaching programmes, while acting as a possible conduit for exploring the richness of diversity and inclusion.
Methods
An explanatory sequential multi-methods study, to include an online survey (n = 114 responses) and focus groups (n = 11 participants). Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Integration of the quantitative and qualitative data was achieved through a pillar integration process.
Results
The concept of spirituality was viewed as predominately positive, something personal to individuals and linked to how people make sense of their place in the world. Religion was seen as a connectedness to a community with common beliefs and a shared identity. However, the rules and regulations associated with religion, were perceived by some respondents as leading to intolerance and the exclusion of others. Overall, participants believed that greater awareness of spirituality and religion could help people to be more aware and to be more welcoming of diversity leading to greater inclusion. Participants believed that these concepts should be included in teaching programmes and integrated with clinical practice.
Conclusions
Students and clinical practitioners should be encouraged to increase their knowledge and awareness towards spiritual and religious issues. This awareness may begin with students and clinical practitioners reflecting on their own beliefs and values enabling them to be more sensitive to and respond to the beliefs and values of others. Insights gained by this study may be valuable to healthcare educators and policymakers highlighting the need for greater awareness of spirituality and religion in health and social care training
Mechanistic-data-driven modeling of multi-material composite columns: Toward intelligent lightweight design
No full textThis study examines the axial compressive performance of multi-material composite columns consisting of concrete-filled steel tubes with embedded CFRP-confined timber cores. A data-driven framework integrating theoretical model, finite element simulation and machine learning prediction is established to address the limited accuracy and scalability of conventional dual-material designs. An analytical bearing-capacity model is derived by accounting for steel confinement, CFRP hoop restraint, and timber orthotropy, of which results match FE results well with 5% deviations. Parametric investigations show that increasing steel yield strength and tube thickness would enhance the capacity of the composite columns, whereas CFRP confinement improves the post-crushing response and ductility of the timber core. The columns with circular cores exhibit better deformability than those with square ones. For axial bearing capacity prediction, a theory-residual-modified XGBoost model is proposed, in which theoretical estimates are corrected via SHAP-guided residual learning, achieving higher accuracy than single learners and ensemble baselines. A lightweight design tool is further developed for single/batch evaluation, automatic capacity-to-self-weight assessment, and interpretable prediction, enabling up to 22% self-weight reduction. The proposed methodology provides a validated and practical route for optimizing sustainable, lightweight multi-material composite columns
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