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Leading in the void:Leadership challenges and mitigation practices when agile and hierarchical organizing intersect
No full textUse of nonbarrier contraceptives among women with HIV
No full textOBJECTIVE: To investigate the use of non-barrier contraceptives among women with HIV (WWH) compared to women from the general population (WGP) in Denmark.DESIGN: Nationwide population-based matched cohort study.METHODS: We included WWH aged 16-50, treated at an HIV specialized clinic, and included in The Danish HIV Cohort Study between 1995-2021 and an age-matched comparison cohort of WGP. We examined use of hormonal contraception (HC), intrauterine devices (IUD), and sterilization from 10 years before to 20 years after study inclusion. Additionally, we calculated age-standardized proportions and incidences over calendar time.RESULTS: We included 1,720 WWH and 17,720 WGP. Median age was 33 years and almost half of WWH had African origin (41%). Non-barrier contraceptive use was lower among WWH (8.5%) compared to WGP (32.1%) at study inclusion. Before and after inclusion, WWH had nearly half the non-barrier contraceptive use of WGP, with notably lower HC and IUD use. Initially, fewer WWH were sterilized, but five years after inclusion, sterilization became the preferred method among WWH. HC use increased among WWH after 2010 but decreased among WGP after 2005. IUD use increased among both groups during 1995-2021 but remained lower among WWH. Incidence of sterilizations remained stable in both groups.CONCLUSION: Use of non-barrier contraceptives was lower among WWH compared to WGP. For WWH, sterilization became the preferred non-barrier method few years after study inclusion. HC and IUD use increased among WWH after 2010 but remained lower than for WGP. Improved contraceptive counseling is recommended to support reproductive health among WWH.</p
In the shadows of Absolutism:Criminal Justice Administration in Ninetenth Century Denmark
No full textMaking WebVOWL Great Again
No full textWebVOWL is a popular Ontology Visualization tool used by researchers and practitioners as a standalone tool or embedded in larger data integration tools. Unfortunately, its performance, especially when visualizing large ontologies, leaves much to be desired. Here, we demonstrate a new version of WebVOWL optimized for speed. We describe our analyses of the original tool’s run-time complexity and how we reduced the theoretical complexity and practical run-time by orders of magnitude. In the demonstration, we will show the side-by-side performance monitored behavior of the original WebVOWL with our version on tasks such as visualizing a large ontology, filtering, and collapsing sub-graphs
An Auto Battler Game to Engage High School Student's Understanding of Ionic Bonds in Chemistry
No full textThis paper describes the development and evaluation of a serious game to help high school students understand the topic of ionic bonds in chemistry. Chemistry is among the lowest-scoring subjects for high school students due to complex chemistry concepts and syntax difficulties. The novelty of this study is a developed auto battler game that includes specific learning objectives regarding ionic bonds. 27 Danish high school students participated in the evaluation. The evaluation consisted of a knowledge test and a questionnaire with items from the user engagement scale. The findings revealed that the high school students were positively engaged in the battle game. The grand mean for eight engagement items, based on a 5-point Likert scale, was 3.78. Specifically, the participants perceived the graphics and visual elements as highly positive. Further, they were concentrated while playing and were interested in the game. The students provided positive statements in the open-ended comments, including a good, creative, cozy, well-made, engaging, and fun game. However, the learning outcomes were not as satisfactory as expected. In the paper, we outline reflections on difficulties when measuring learning outcomes in game-based learning
Learning through comparison when studying evidence and policy
No full textThe aim of this themed section is to demonstrate the conceptual and empirical contribution that comparative perspectives offer in advancing scholarship on the evidence-policy interplay. It is motivated by our sense that a lack of comparative analysis within this area of research risks conceptual confusion and contributes to limited engagement with the more political dimensions of evidence use. It brings together four papers which, between them: examine evidence use across different government ministries within the same country; provide a cross-national comparison of parliamentary institutions to support evidence use; explore variations in evaluation approaches within different national settings; and reflect on how perspectives on evidence shift when researchers become politicians, trying to navigate complex policy environments. We use this editorial to reflect on three cross-cutting themes that emerge from these four contributions. First, a tendency for dominant disciplines to shape evidence cultures in policy settings. Second, the complexity of policy making, which, in democracies, necessarily includes political dimensions. These two themes inform a third, the need for realism when working to support the use of evidence in policy. We conclude by arguing that this themed section highlights the contextual, divergent and contingent nature of evidence use in policy. By showcasing four contrasting approaches to comparative analysis of evidence use, we hope to encourage a desire to learn from, and reflect on, the insights provided by less familiar contexts and disciplines, while also underlining the necessity of considering the political and democratic dimensions of evidence use in policy.</p
Unpacking dimensions of a tiering typology:Delegation, direction and strength
No full textWithin environmental assessment (EA), tiering between higher-tier strategic environmental assessment at the plan and program level and lower-tier environmental impact assessment at the project level creates effective communication, ensuring that insights are not isolated to the planning level in which they were derived, but can inform and guide other levels. Tiering can travel in many directions – ensuring that strategic goals make it into implemented projects and that information gained in project levels inform future strategic planning. This research extends the tiering concept along three dimensions, ‘delegation’, ‘direction’ and ‘strength’. It does so to further existing conceptual understandings and gain a nuanced understanding of the role that especially strategic levels have in ensuring meaningful tiering. To illustrate the new conceptual tiering typologies, the research draws upon a case study of three Danish EA reports on spatial planning to understand how tiering is delegated between planning levels. The illustrative case study concludes that a procedurally effective referral of information between planning tiers calls for tiering practice that is explicit and is both delegated and successfully implemented in the appropriate planning levels. Consequently, this paper not only furthers theoretical perspectives; it also demonstrates how the proposed typology can be applied and opens for further reflection on the potentials and limitations of the typology as well as avenues for future research.</p
Psychometric properties of patient-related outcome measures used for patients surviving a pulmonary embolism:A systematic review
Full text linkBACKGROUND: Patients who survive a pulmonary embolism (PE) often suffer several negative long-term physical and mental consequences, limiting their ability to stay physically- and socially active ultimately deteriorating their quality of life. Patients with PE therefore need evidence-based rehabilitation, targeting what is important to each individual patient. Valid and reliable patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are crucial to help clinicians plan and track rehabilitation outcomes in a reliable manner.PURPOSE: A systematic review to generate an overview over psychometric properties (reliability, validity, responsiveness, floor/ceiling effect and accessibility) of 34 PROMs used to assess PE, identified in a previous review by the research group.METHODS: A literature search was performed in PUBMED, CINAHL and EMBASE from inception to September 2024 and included psychometric studies of 34 specific PROMs. The evidence for each psychometric property was evaluated according to the COSMIN criteria for good measurement properties and graded according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach for systematic reviews. Methodological quality was assessed using the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist for PROMs.RESULTS: The literature search yielded 3.801 records after removal of duplicates; 3.778 records were excluded based on title and abstract and further 10 articles were excluded during full-text reading leaving 13 articles evaluating the psychometric properties of PROMs. The Pulmonary Embolism Quality of life Questionnaire (PEmb-QoL) was assessed in 10 studies, showing very good internal consistency, reliability, criterion validity, construct validity, responsiveness and floor/ceiling effects. Structural validity for the PEmb-QoL was considered inadequate. One study found moderate evidence for the EQ-5D-5l showing adequate convergent construct validity. EQ-5D-5L also showed very good divergent construct validity, as well as good floor/ceiling effects and acceptability but inadequate structural validity. Low evidence for Perception of anticoagulation treatment questionnaire (PACT-Q) showed very good construct validity and internal consistency as well as adequate structural validity. Structural validity for the PACT-Q was acceptable, while content validity was doubtful and poor floor/ceiling effects. Finally moderate to high evidence for the Post-VTE functional status scale (PVFS) showing very good construct validity but inadequate structural validity and doubtful content validity.CONCLUSION: Some aspects of psychometric properties has been assessed in four out of the 34 PROMs used to assess patients with PE. Future studies should strive towards assessing all psychometric properties of PROMs used both clinically and in research.IMPLICATIONS: The results from this review put the reliability of tracking patients with PE into question, possibly skewing results from previous studies and more importantly showing an incomplete picture of rehabilitation following PE.</p
Numerical modelling of air-induced drag reduction allowing the transition between bubbly, air layer and mixed regimes
No full textAir lubrication can reduce the frictional resistance of ships, leading to significant fuel cost savings. However, the performance of air lubrication systems varies considerably, depending on the operating conditions. Complex gas morphologies play a crucial role here but are difficult to predict. Such a variety of morphologies (bubbly flow, air layers, or mixed regimes) requires morphology-adaptive methods, such as MultiMorph. This method allows for multiple morphologies of a given phase, including the transfer between them. The injection of gas can result in air bubbles, air layers, or a mixed regime, based on local transfer mechanisms. The ability to predict these morphologies is a distinctive feature of this method. Alternative methods prescribe a specific regime a priori, and do not allow a transition. To assess the suitability of MultiMorph for air lubrication problems, two geometries with different complexities are considered. The first test validates the method against flat plate experiments. Various water velocity and gas flow rate combinations were considered to investigate their influence on gas morphology and the associated drag reduction. The second case features a three-dimensional ship hull geometry with two bubble injectors to test the applicability of the method to a more complex scenario, including a curved geometry. The method performs well in both test cases and qualifies as a useful tool for numerical investigations of air lubrication phenomena.</p