14234 research outputs found
Sort by
Parenthood and Poverty Risk within Couples
No full textReplication package, full article at: https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcae04
High-Frequency vs Low-Frequency Music Therapy in Psychiatric Inpatients: A Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textRandomized Controlled Trial High-Frequency vs. Low-Frequency Music Therapy in Hospitalized Patients with Mental Disorder
A multi-metric analysis of 50,000 linguistic profiles provides sparse evidence that language distance modulates bilingual cognition
No full textBilingualism can be thought of as an intensive mental gym for language control. However, the moderators that underlie bilingual adaptations are a matter of ongoing investigation. Degree of similarity in mental, linguistic representations between the languages of a bilingual has been argued to differentially condition recruitment of control mechanisms and, as such, would embody a contributing factor to relevant neurocognitive adaptations. While ample evidence exists for this claim, its empirical coverage is limited because testing in cognitive science disproportionally represents communities that speak big, Indo-European languages, thus potentially providing a biased view of bilingual cognition. In this work, we assess the role of language distance as a key moderator of bilingual adaptations through a large-scale aggregation analysis of 510 experiments. To measure distance, we develop a multi-metric approach, using state-of-the-art databases, such as Grambank, and tapping into different levels of linguistic granularity. Aggregating data from 56,173 participants who speak 79 different languages, spanning 11 language families and a language isolate, we find sparse evidence for a distance effect at the population level. Certain language pairs stand out as promising hosts for bilingual adaptations, but their representation in the sample is not robust enough to enable strong conclusions, attesting to the need to employ more representative samples. Our results suggest that language distance is a complex variable that has the potential to address the perennial question of what makes bilinguals distinct
Did emperor Leo III introduce imperial iconoclasm?
No full textThis essay explores the origins of Byzantine iconoclasm, traditionally attributed
to Emperor Leo III in the second quarter of the 8th century. It examines the influence of the Islamic world on Leo’s actions, considering whether Arab interactions may have prompted him to issue an edict against icons. Offering a counterargument, the essay also evaluates the possibility that imperial iconoclasm stemmed from Leo's personal religious convictions rather than external influences. However, as this essay argues, the lack of evidence supporting an imperial edict during Leo’s reign suggests, as some historians contend, that it is unlikely he formally introduced iconoclasm at a large scale. The analysis draws on contemporary sources, letters from Patriarch Germanos, and the controversial Chalke Gate incident. It concludes by shifting responsibility for the introduction of imperial iconoclasm to Leo’s son, Constantine V, who more evidently implemented and enforced the policy through pragmatic and aggressive measures against icon veneration and monasticism
Bounding Knowledge Decay From Agnostic Temporal Generalization
No full textCausal generalization is essential to contemporary political science practice. We argue that recent methodological advances in causal generalization pay insufficient attention to issues which arise from generalization over time. For assumptions of varying degrees of strictness, we derive novel statistical bounds of the growing uncertainty of a given causal estimate into the future. We derive these bounds using the Wasserstein divergence which allows us to weaken assumptions of positivity which are not typically met in practice. In an empirical example, we demonstrate that actual variation in treatment effects over time tends to dominate reported statistical uncertainty. Once implicit and untenable assumptions about covariate distribution and conditional treatment effects are made explicit and relaxed, descriptive and causal knowledge are both essential for temporal causal generalization
Supermarket Nutritionists’ Perspectives, Views, and Experiences on Affordability Interventions to Support Healthier and More Environmentally Sustainable Food Purchasing in UK Retail Settings
No full textBackground: Food insecurity (lack of reliable access to affordable and nutritious food) is a major concern in high-income countries because it increases the risk of poor nutrition, obesity and associated adverse health outcomes. Healthier diets are often also more environmentally sustainable (hereafter; sustainable), an important factor in reducing climate change. Practice-based interventions are therefore urgently needed to support people living with food insecurity and obesity to access and afford healthier and sustainable foods. Supermarkets are a key area for intervention, as purchasing can be an antecedent to consumption. However, the retailers’ perspectives on the feasibility of implementing affordability interventions is often overlooked and under-researched. Therefore, this study explored the perspectives, views, and experiences of major UK supermarket senior nutritionists on the acceptability and feasibility of using affordability interventions for healthier and more sustainable food in the supermarket.
Methods: We recruited seven UK senior supermarket nutritionists who represented 85% of the UK grocery market share. We used semi-structured interviews and analysed the data using a reflective thematic analysis approach.
Results: Supermarket nutritionists perceived that their business did prioritise health and environmental sustainability for customers. However, there were several challenges encountered when trying to promote healthier and more sustainable food in the supermarket environment, including profitability concerns, unpredictability of intervention outcomes, control over own-brand products, perceived intention-behaviour gap, and a belief that they are already implementing affordability interventions. Differences in how supermarkets approach the evaluation of interventions also emerged, as well as a willingness to collaborate with academics and other retailers to optimise the evaluation of interventions. Lastly, supermarket nutritionists raised the need for an operationalised definition for sustainable food products.
Conclusions: Affordability interventions to support customers to purchase healthier and more sustainable food require supermarkets to consider multiple challenges. Findings highlight the need for upstream intervention that mandates and facilitates multi-lever approaches to health and sustainability without compromising commercial viability, along with practice-based approaches to implementation and evaluation
The Social Nature of Political (Dis)Interest: Conceptualizing and Validating Political (Dis)Interest as a Social Identity
No full textPolitical interest is fundamental to democratic engagement. Yet, its conceptualization remains debated. In this agenda-setting study, we offer a new but important perspective by conceptualizing political (dis)interest as a social identity. We introduce two innovative measures: the Positive Political Interest Identity Scale (PPIS) and the Negative Political Interest Identity Scale (NPIS). Employing Item Response Theory, we validate the construct validity of both scales in a preregistered study in the Netherlands (N = 1, 553). Using the same dataset, we demonstrate their predictive validity. The PPIS and NPIS uncover substantial differences in political attitudes and behaviors both between and within individuals who identify as politically (dis)interested. Conceptualizing political (dis)interest as a social identity enriches our understanding of the concept and its implications for politically relevant attitudes and behaviors, while also informing interventions to foster political interest equally across all citizens