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Complexity Science in Domestic Abuse Literature: A Systematic Scoping Review
Get PDFComplexity science is an interdisciplinary paradigm that helps people understand how outcomes, such as domestic violence and abuse (DVA), arise from within complex adaptive systems. This study aims to identify how complexity science has been applied in DVA literature. A systematic scoping review was conducted, searching across academic databases and Google for articles. Articles published from 1990 to 2020, written in English, had DVA partner abuse as a focus, and used complexity science as a focus or theoretical background to the paper, were considered for inclusion. Data was extracted and narratively synthesized in an iterative manner. Twenty-one studies were included, originating predominantly from the United States and New Zealand, and published mainly after 2009. Approximately 70% of authorships were comprised of interdisciplinary teams. Most papers strongly incorporated complexity science as a methodological approach and applied methods, such as systems modeling (agent-based modeling or systems dynamics modeling), aligning with computer science or engineering disciplines. Some used complexity theory combined with qualitative techniques (interviews or discourse analysis) strongly associated with social sciences research. Methods and findings were heterogeneous and often explored interactions between parts of the system and the subsequent phenomena that emerged from these interactions. Complexity science can: (a) support a holistic understanding of DVA; (b) combine different perspectives; (c) encourage interdisciplinary teams to work collaboratively around an issue such as DVA; (d) identify leverage points to assist in targeting scarce resources; (e) help predict emergent phenomena and unexpected consequences of policy change
Does confronting prejudice reduce intergroup bias? A meta-analytic review.
Get PDFConfronting prejudice is a promising strategy for reducing intergroup bias. The current meta-analysis estimated the effects of confronting prejudice on intergroup bias in the confronted person and examined the impact of potential moderators. Eligible studies measured intergroup bias in participants confronted versus not confronted for intergroup bias. A three-level mixed-effects analysis on 91 effect sizes found a significant, medium-sized effect of confronting prejudice on reducing intergroup bias (g+ = 0.54). There was only limited evidence of publication bias. Confrontation was differentially effective at reducing different types of intergroup bias with a medium-to-large effect on using or endorsing stereotypes, small-to-medium effects on behavior and behavioral intentions, and no significant effects on cognitive prejudice. Effects were otherwise largely robust to differences in confrontation, sample, and study design characteristics. Yet, studies predominantly focused on whether confronting the use of stereotypes reduced subsequent use of stereotypes in artificial settings, and primarily sampled U.S.-based, young, White adults, making it difficult to generalize effects to other forms of intergroup bias and populations, particularly in real-world settings. Studies also tended to measure intergroup bias immediately after confrontation, so the duration of effects over longer periods is less clear. To better evaluate the potential of confrontation as a prejudice reduction technique, future research should examine whether confronting prejudice reduces different forms of intergroup bias in more diverse participant samples and settings, over longer periods, and further test theoretical mediators of these effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Dynamic Resource Analysis and the Development of Psychological Resilience: An Entrepreneurial Perspective
No full textPsychological resilience has received much attention in academic research and practical applications due to its effectiveness in helping individuals to cope with pressure. However, few studies have examined how resource-based responses to constraints affect the psychological resilience of entrepreneurs, as well as the role these resources play in helping entrepreneurs overcome constraints. A study of four cases with six activities from Vietnam and Japan found that entrepreneurs who have succeeded in dealing with constraints attribute them to specific problematic components within a specific activity (partial constraint), rather than the entire resource (entire constraint). They resolve these constraints by selecting and creating new activities that utilise other components and a combination of constraining and non-constraining elements. This is supposed to be the relationship between resource analysis and the construction of psychological resilience. This implies a practical step-by-step process for recognizing partial constraints and leveraging resource components, which can be applied in entrepreneurial training programs
Editorial: Preventing Sarcopenia and Promoting Musculoskeletal Health in Middle-Aged Adults: The Role of Exercise and Nutrition
No full textSarcopenia, once considered an inevitable consequence of ageing, is now recognised as a complex syndrome influenced by lifestyle, disease, and acute physiological stress. As global life expectancy rises, its prevalence is increasing, straining healthcare systems [1, 2] due to its association with disability, frailty, and comorbidities [3]. Prevalence estimates range from 0.2% to 86.5% depending on diagnostic criteria [4]. While typically studied in older adults, evidence suggests earlier onset, with rates between 8%-36% in those under 60 and 10%-27% in those aged 60 and older [4]. This variability partly reflects classification differences, with the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) [5] defining primary sarcopenia (ageing-related) and secondary sarcopenia (driven by disease, inactivity, or malnutrition), each posing distinct diagnostic challenges
‘Everything I can do at home, I will do it at home’: the materialities, temporalities, and spatialities of telemedicine abortion care
Get PDFThe advent of telemedicine abortion in 2020 in the United States meant that abortion care was increasingly pushed out of clinical settings and into the home. Yet, within the context of abortion inequalities and restrictions in the US, there is often more focus on provision of and access to medication abortion via telemedicine than there is on what happens after the abortion pills are acquired. This paper brings together and advances scholarship in abortion, care, and home geographies to address this empirical gap by exploring the material, temporal and spatial dimensions of telemedicine abortion care at home, and examining how these dimensions shape the embodied, emotional, and affective experience of abortion care. Telemedicine abortion allows individuals to self-manage the timing, symptoms, and space of their abortion, thereby creating a caring atmosphere. A geographical perspective on telemedicine abortion reveals that taking the abortion pills at home shapes the experience of abortion care
Optimising Instrumented Mouthguard Data Analysis: Video Synchronisation Using a Cross-correlation Approach
Get PDFPurpose
Head acceleration events (HAEs) are a growing concern in contact sports, prompting two rugby governing bodies to mandate instrumented mouthguards (iMGs). This has resulted in an influx of data imposing financial and time constraints. This study presents two computational methods that leverage a dataset of video-coded match events: cross-correlation synchronisation aligns iMG data to a video recording, by providing playback timestamps for each HAE, enabling analysts to locate them in video footage; and post-synchronisation event matching identifies the coded match event (e.g. tackles and ball carries) from a video analysis dataset for each HAE, this process is important for calculating the probability of match events resulting in HAEs. Given the professional context of iMGs in rugby, utilising commercial sources of coded match event datasets may expedite iMG analysis.
Methods
Accuracy and validity of the methods were assessed via video verification during 60 rugby matches. The accuracy of cross-correlation synchronisation was determined by calculating synchronisation error, whilst the validity of post-synchronisation event matching was evaluated using diagnostic accuracy measures (e.g. positive predictive value [PPV] and sensitivity).
Results
Cross-correlation synchronisation yielded mean synchronisation errors of 0.61–0.71 s, with all matches synchronised within 3 s’ error. Post-synchronisation event matching achieved PPVs of 0.90–0.95 and sensitivity of 0.99–1.00 for identifying correct match events for SAEs.
Conclusion
Both methods achieved high accuracy and validity with the data sources used in this study. Implementation depends on the availability of a dataset of video-coded match events; however, integrating commercially available video-coded datasets offers the potential to expedite iMG analysis, improve feedback timeliness, and augment research analysis
Exercise Capacity in Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of HFrEF and HFpEF Disparities in VO2peak and 6-Minute Walk Distance
No full textIntroduction
Heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) exhibit unique physiological pathways, influencing exercise capacity and functional performance. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), six-minute walk distance (6MWD), cardiac output (CO), and stroke volume (SV), between these phenotypes.
Methods
A systematic literature search of cohort studies via databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library) was conducted from inception until October 2024. A meta-analysis using a random-effects model to calculate the pooled effects was employed.
Results
Fourty-six studies were included. HFrEF patients demonstrated significantly greater 6MWD compared to HFpEF (k = 20; mean difference (MD): 18.09 m, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59–34.59, I2 = 86%, p = 0.03), though this difference became insignificant after adjusting for comorbidities. Conversely, HFpEF patients exhibited higher VO2peak (k = 20; MD: -0.78 ml/kg/min, 95%CI -1.45 – -0.11, I2 = 89%, p = 0.02), CO (k = 12; MD: -1.15 L/min, 95%CI -2.11 – -0.19, I2 = 97%, p = 0.02), and SV (k = 14; SMD: -1.00, 95%CI -1.60 – -0.39, I2 = 95%, p <0.01). Age was identified as a significant moderator of VO2peak.
Conclusion
HFpEF patients demonstrated superior VO2peak, CO, and SV compared to HFrEF patients, while the observed 6MWD advantage in HFrEF was likely influenced by comorbidities. Our findings emphasize the importance of tailoring rehabilitation strategies to HF phenotype-specific physiological profiles, particularly focusing on improving VO2peak and cardiac efficiency in HFpEF
Is there a need for anthropometric standards in olympic sports? A proposal for the kinathropometric profile of elite flag football athletes
Get PDFBackground
Body composition strongly influences the performance of flag football (FF) players, which makes anthropometric measurements important. With the growing popularity of FF, understanding body composition requirements for both male and female players is essential to help optimize their performance. Purpose: This study aimed to characterize and compare anthropometric and body composition profiles between male and female FF players across different playing positions. The study was conducted during the European Flag Football Championship organized by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).
Methods
A cross-sectional study design was used. Anthropometric measurements followed the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) full profile protocol. Data were collected from 91 male and 48 female players, and body composition was estimated using the five-way fractionation method. Comparisons between males and females were performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), with statistical significance set at p &lt; 0.05.
Results
Normative reference values and percentiles for anthropometric variables and body composition were established for male and female FF athletes. Male players had an average sum of eight skinfolds of 83.5 ± 30.5 mm, muscle mass of 36.0 ± 7.4 kg, and adipose mass of 19.8 ± 5.1 kg. Female players (27.4 ± 4.5 years) had an average sum of 8 skinfolds of 115.5 ± 40.9 mm, muscle mass of 27.8 ± 4.0 kg, and adipose mass of 20.5 ± 4.8 kg. Both sexes predominantly presented a mesomorphic somatotype.
Conclusion
This study provides valuable data on anthropometric characteristics of male and female FF players. These results can help create normative reference values and support strategies for performance optimization. Additionally, findings contribute to better understanding of body composition needs in FF athletes of both sexes
The Minimal Element of Writing
No full textJacques Derrida claims that the mark constitutes the minimal element of writing — what he calls ‘the irreducible atom’1 at the asemic origin for the metaphysics of meaning itself (be this origin in the biogenetic code of life or the cybernetic code of data). The writing of the mark, the grapheme, underpins the transmission of information, even before the advent of our phonetic language (for which the mark might seem to constitute the written glyph that evolves to capture an uttered sound). Each extant mark refers, beyond itself, to an absent mark, alluding to this absence, again and again, via iteration and recursion, doing so through a series of sequential references, none of which can terminate in a last mark. The meaning of a mark thus finds itself characterized both by a differing across sites of signification and by a deferring across times of signification.
Compressive behaviour of stub composite columns with stainless steel square outer tubes and recycled aggregate concrete
Get PDFIn recent years, stainless steel has been increasingly used in construction practices due to its appealing appearance, high strength, and satisfactory corrosion resistance, which contribute to a long lifespan. Stainless steel hollow sections are extensively employed as structural members. This paper investigates the axial compressive behaviour of stub composite columns with stainless steel square outer tubes and different aggregate concrete. An experimental programme involving 12 specimens was conducted to study the effects of cross-sectional dimensions, and the types and sizes of coarse aggregates. The load-bearing capacity and failure modes of the specimens were recorded and analysed. A comprehensive parametric study was performed, examining three stainless steel types, different cross-sectional dimensions and two concrete grades. The result showed that while the types and sizes of coarse aggregates influenced the compressive strength of concrete, aggregate sizes of 10 mm and 20 mm did not significantly impact the axial compressive strength of concrete-filled stainless steel composite columns. The axial compressive capacity of concrete-filled stainless steel columns was significantly influenced by the type of stainless steel and the cross-sectional width-to-wall thickness ratio. A simple formula is proposed to predict the cross-sectional compressive capacity of concrete-filled stainless steel columns
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