11237 research outputs found
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Business disruptions due to social vulnerability and criminal activities in urban areas
No full textThis study investigates the relationship between social vulnerability, illegal activities, and location-based business disruptions in Athens, the capital of Greece. The research utilises repeated cross-sectional data from 2008, 2014, and 2023, gathered from areas with high levels of criminal activity, reflecting the experiences of business owners and managers in these locations. The findings reveal that heightened levels of social vulnerability—including the presence of illicit drug users and homeless individuals—alongside illegal activities such as gang-related protection rackets and black-market operations, are associated with increased location-based business disruptions. These disruptions manifest in assaults on employees and customers, business burglaries, reputational damage, supply chain problems, and decreased turnover. The study also examines the impact of economic conditions in 2014 and 2023, when Greece's Gross Domestic Product was lower than in 2008, indicating an economic recession. The findings suggest that the economic downturn during these years further exacerbated location-based business disruptions. Conversely, enhanced public safety measures, such as increased police presence, law enforcement, and improved public infrastructure, were associated with a reduction in these disruptions. Furthermore, an interesting insight was that businesses with longer operating histories tend to experience fewer location-based disruptions, indicating that operating history might be perceived as a resilience factor. The study suggests that policy actions should focus on increasing police visibility, providing financial support to high-risk businesses, funding urban regeneration projects, maintaining public infrastructure, and delivering social services aimed at helping marginalised communities escape vulnerability.</p
Participant experiences of icaros (Amazonian curative songs) during a traditional medicine ceremony at the Takiwasi Center, Peru
No full textMusico-healing practices play a key role in indigenous and mestizo traditional medicine in the Amazon. The curative songs or icaros used by the curanderos (traditional healers) of the Peruvian Upper Amazon are administered alongside the psychoactive plant decoction ayahuasca in ritual settings. This Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis examines musical experiences of 6 participants attending an ayahuasca ritual for personal and spiritual development at the Takiwasi Center in Peru in 2018. Findings offer pointers towards a neurophenomenology of musico-healing experiences with ayahuasca, suggesting that the conjunction of icaros and ayahuasca may contribute to psycho-neurobiological mechanisms of healing such as self-referential processing, decentering, and facilitating access to beneficial introspective/meditative states. The study offers a medical ethnomusicological contribution to the phenomenological mapping of musico-healing experiences of Amazonian curative songs under the altered state of consciousness (ASC) produced by ayahuasca.</p
Communicating and categorising ‘kidnap’ incidents in UK police emergency calls: a conversation analytic study
No full textThis study of police emergency calls in the UK addresses the interactional work conducted when dealing with reports of kidnap. In the UK, kidnap is classed as a type of ‘crime-in-action’, known to be complex to categorise and code for the appropriate police response. Using the qualitative method of ‘conversation analysis’, we address this complexity through analysing a dataset of anonymised emergency calls which are, at some point during the call or subsequent police investigation, categorised as ‘kidnap’. Analysing the calls, their categorisations and the accompanying incident logs, we aim to understand the difficulties that can arise in identifying this type of high-stakes incident at the first point of police contact. We find callers encode differing levels of ‘entitlement’ in requests for police assistance, with potential effects on call-handlers’ decisions about kidnap categorisations. We also observe interactional difficulties in establishing information about the incident, either through the caller’s displayed lack of knowledge or certainty, difficulty in producing turns or sometimes resistance to providing further information. These features may render the call-handler’s task of categorising incidents as ‘kidnap’ more challenging. Our identification of these communicative patterns has potential benefits for call-handlers’ practices in the police control room, providing an evidence-base from real-life talk for training. The findings also have implications at an institutional level, as they shed light on the negotiations that underly ‘categorisation’ work in policing, where there may sometimes only be a tacit understanding of how crime categories are decided during initial reports from the public.</p
Nurse lecturers' experiences of working with people with lived experience: a phenomenological study
No full textBackground: Involving people with lived experience in United Kingdom healthcare courses is a government directive and professional body recommendation, yet involvement remains non-standardised with minimal guidance. Previous literature has largely ignored the experiences of Nurse lecturer's in this work, yet they provide vital resources in promoting, sustaining and developing the involvement of people with lived experience. Aim: To explore adult nurse lecturers' experiences of working with people with lived experience in two higher educational institution settings. Design: A qualitative descriptive phenomenology study was undertaken. Setting: This study took place in two universities in the East of England. Participants: Using purposive sampling nine pre-registration adult nurse lecturers working with people with lived experience were recruited. Methods: Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using an adaptation of Colaizzi's method. Results: Three main themes were identified: Filling the gaps; Muddling along; and Challenges and facilitators. These describe the lifeworld of nurse lecturers working with people with lived experience. Nurse lecturers strove to embed people with lived experience into nurse education, which was a challenging process but led to positive outcomes. Nurse lecturers illustrated how working with people with lived experience affected their teaching, professional values and understanding. Findings highlight the need for nurse lecturers to be at the forefront of discussions, emphasising their integral role in ongoing discussions about service user involvement in nurse education. Conclusion: Pre-registration nursing lecturers include people with lived experience in their courses to expand students' understanding of lived experience. Participating lecturers highlighted a snapshot of their multiple, and often ‘hidden,’ roles when working with people with lived experience. Representations of power, human rights and partnership working illustrate important aspects of this work affecting people with lived experience, students and lecturers. Participants wanted to move from tokenistic inclusion of people with lived experience, to a wider cultural/organisational involvement. The intrinsic value of including people with lived experience in courses for professional practice and organisational values were highlighted. Findings are applicable for those who design and develop healthcare courses and can inform future curriculum development.</p
Plant-based food supply chains: recognising market opportunities and industry challenges of pea protein
No full textPlant-based protein food products are considered healthier, more nutritious, and substantially ‘greener’ than meat-based dietary offerings. For reasons such as these plant protein sources including peas/legumes, soy and algae are experiencing unprecedented market popularity. Amidst the multitude of alternative protein-based foods on offer, peas are the most promising plant-protein source as they contain all the essential amino acids and have a well-balanced nutritional profile in terms of fat and fibre. However, understanding the extent of the market feasibility of the respective pea protein supply chains (SCs), based on practical expertise, is of utmost importance for policymakers and industrialists alike to evaluate the growth potential of peas as a protein source. To this end, a survey was conducted among pea SC stakeholders to create an understanding of the level of market feasibility of pea protein-based products. A SWOT analysis consolidated the different views and resulted in the identification of specific strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the industry. By focusing on understanding the challenges and prospects within pea-protein product SCs, this research provides a springboard for further research investigations into related plant protein-based products. The resulting blueprint of recommended initiatives can help inform the further development of pea protein SCs.</p
Effects of occlusion pressure on hemodynamic responses recorded by near-infrared spectroscopy across two visits
No full textIschemic Preconditioning (IPC) has emerged as a promising approach to mitigate the impact of hypoxia on physiological functions. However, the heterogeneity of occlusion pressures for inducing arterial occlusion has led to inconsistent hemodynamic outcomes across studies. This study aims to evaluate the peripheral hemodynamic responses to partial and total blood-flow occlusions on the left arm at rest, using absolute or individualized pressures, on two occasions. Thirty-five young males volunteered to participate in this study. IPC procedure (3 × 7-min) was performed on the left upper arm with cuff pressures at 50 mmHg (G1), 50 mmHg over the systolic blood pressure (SBP + 50 mmHg) (G2) or 250 mmHg (G3). NIRS-derived parameters were assessed for each occlusion and reperfusion phase in the brachioradialis. Results showed a significantly lower magnitude of deoxygenation (TSIAUC) for G1 compared to G2 (−1959.2 ± 1417.4 vs. −10908.1 ± 1607.5, P < 0.001) and G3 -1959.2 ± 1417.4 vs. −11079.3 ± 1828.1, P < 0.001), without differences between G2 and G3. However, G3 showed a significantly faster reoxygenation only for tissue saturation index (TSIslope) compared to G2 (1.3 ± 0.1 vs. 1.0 ± 0.2, P = 0.010), but without differences in the speed of recovery of deoxyhemoglobin [(HHb) slope], or in the magnitude of post-occlusive hyperemia (PORH). Besides TSI reoxygenation speed, G2 and G3 elicit comparable resting hemodynamic responses measured by NIRS. Thus, this study highlights the practicality and effectiveness of using relative occlusion pressures based on systolic blood pressure (SBP) rather than relying on excessively high absolute pressures.</p
Risk factors for depression in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground:
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a widespread chronic condition. Depression frequently occurs among patients with KOA. The objective of this meta-analysis was to identify risk factors associated with comorbid depression in patients with KOA.
Materials and Methods:
A comprehensive search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases was conducted for studies related to comorbid depression in patients with KOA. We conducted statistical analyses to obtain relevant results, followed by heterogeneity tests and assessment for publication bias.
Results:
The prevalence of comorbid depression among patients with KOA was 34% (95% CI, 28%–41%). Notable risk factors linked to comorbid depression in patients with KOA included female sex (relative risk [RR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.11–1.23), obesity (mean difference [MD], 1.30; 95% CI, 0.88–1.71), use of analgesics (RR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.38–1.63), comorbidities (MD, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.10–0.31), unmarried or widowed status (RR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.56–1.91), bilateral knee pain (RR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.11–1.71), high total Western Ontario and Mc-Master Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score (MD, 14.92; 95% CI, 10.02–19.82), high WOMAC pain score (MD, 5.76; 95% CI, 2.86–8.67), low gait velocity (MD, −0.12; 95% CI, −0.16 to −0.09), and extended duration in the Timed Up and Go Test (MD, 1.56; 95% CI, 0.87–2.25).
Conclusion:
Based on the current evidence, female sex, obesity, use of analgesics, comorbidities, unmarried or widowed status, bilateral knee pain, high total WOMAC score, high WOMAC pain score, low gait velocity, and prolonged time on the Timed Up and Go Test were identified as risk factors for depression in patients with KOA. Focus should be given to these aspects when preventing depression among these patients.</p
Oligopolistic power and regional development disparities: a conceptual framework and implications for the UK Levelling Up agenda
No full textThe two dominant approaches to regional disparities in the post-WWII period (the ‘old’ and ‘new’ paradigms) did not study market structures and market power. This article argues that this is a serious blind spot. It builds on a long, albeit somewhat neglected, tradition of thought and presents an ‘oligopolistic’ analytical framework to explain regional disparities. This framework puts the power of oligopolistic firms and the operation of oligopolistic markets at the centre of the analysis and argues that they create nearly insurmountable obstacles for the development of poorer regions. The framework is applied to analyse the UK Levelling Up agenda, arguing that both the agenda and most of those who have scrutinised it are neglecting oligopolistic power, and that therefore their suggestions fall short of what is needed to tackle regional disparities.</p
Multimorbidity clusters and their contribution to well being among the oldest old: results based on a nationally representative sample in Germany
No full textAim: Our aim was to identify multimorbidity clusters and, in particular, to examine their contribution to wellbeing outcomes among the oldest old in Germany. Methods: Data were taken from the large nationally representative D80+ study including community-dwelling and institutionalized individuals aged 80 years and over residing in Germany (n = 8,773). The mean age was 85.6 years (SD: 4.1). Based on 21 chronic conditions, latent class analysis was carried out to explore multi morbidity (≥2 chronic conditions) clusters. Widely used tools were applied to quantify well-being outcomes. Results: Approximately nine out of ten people aged 80 and over living in Germany were multimorbid. Four multimorbidity clusters were identified: relatively healthy class (30.2 %), musculoskeletal class (44.8 %), mental illness class (8.6 %), and high morbidity class (16.4 %). Being part of the mental disorders cluster was consistently linked to reduced well-being (in terms of low life satisfaction, high loneliness and lower odds of meaning in life), followed by membership in the high morbidity cluster.</p
Navigating temporary competitive advantage: pandemic‐driven strategies in the global airline industry
No full textThe present study examines the evolution and dynamics of temporary competitive advantage (TCA) in the volatile airline industry. This is illustrated by using the context of COVID‐19 pandemic to understand the risk faced by the global airline industry. By focusing on “healthiness” as a source of competitiveness, many airlines and the industry instituted distinctive initiatives to demonstrate and deliver hygienically dependable travel experiences. The airline companies adopted a host of new technologies and processes such as biometric boarding, digital health passports, general biometrics, and bring‐your‐own‐device, to minimize face‐to‐face interactions and curtail the spread of the virus. These competitive strategies aimed to improve the companies' operational efficiency, and cost reduction. The avenues for future research and implications for practicing managers are identified and discussed.</p
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