scholarly journals Perspective: Standards for Research and Reporting on Low-Energy (“Artificial”) Sweeteners

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J Mela ◽  
John McLaughlin ◽  
Peter J Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
New Research ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACT Widely differing views exist among experts, policy makers, and the general public with regard to the potential risks and benefits of reduced- or low-energy sweeteners (LES) in the diet. These views are informed and influenced by different types of research in LES, with differing hypotheses, designs, interpretation, and communication. Given the high level of interest in LES, and the public health relevance of the research evidence base, it is important that all aspects of the research process are framed and reported in an appropriate and balanced manner. In this Perspective, we identify and give examples of a number of issues relating to research and reviews on LES, which may contribute toward apparent inconsistencies in the content and understanding of the totality of evidence. We conclude with a set of recommendations for authors, reviewers and journal editors, as general guidance to improve and better standardize the quality of LES research design, interpretation, and reporting. These focus on clarity of underlying hypotheses, characterization of exposures, and the placement and weighting of new research within the wider context of related prior work.

scholarly journals Research fatigue in COVID-19 pandemic and post-disaster research: causes, consequences and recommendations

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonny S. Patel ◽  
Rebecca K. Webster ◽  
Neil Greenberg ◽  
Dale Weston ◽  
Samantha K. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Coordination Failure ◽  
Disaster Research ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Aid Coordination ◽  
Post Disaster

PurposeResearch fatigue occurs when an individual or population of interest tires of engaging with research, consequently avoiding further participation. This paper considers research fatigue in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, to identify contributory factors and possible solutions for future post-disaster research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on examples from the literature and their own observations from the recruitment and data collection phases of qualitative and quantitative studies, to provide an overview of possible research fatigue in the current COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for future post-disaster research.FindingsPeople affected by disasters sometimes receive multiple requests for study participation by separate teams who may not necessarily be coordinating their work. Not keeping participants informed of the research process or outcomes can lead to disillusionment. Being overburdened with too many research requests and failing to see any subsequent changes following participation may cause individuals to experience research fatigue.Originality/valueGuidelines for researchers wishing to reduce the occurrence of research fatigue include ensuring greater transparency within research; sharing of results and using oversight or gatekeeper bodies to aid coordination. Failure to restrict the number of times that people are asked to participate in studies risks poor participation rates. This can subsequently affect the quality of information with which to inform policy-makers and protect the health of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic or other public health disasters/emergencies.

scholarly journals The Problems and Needs of Patients Diagnosed with Cancer and Their Caregivers

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Anna Lewandowska ◽  
Grzegorz Rudzki ◽  
Tomasz Lewandowski ◽  
Sławomir Rudzki
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Unmet Needs ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Literature Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Mean ◽  
High Level ◽  
Patients Experience

(1) Background: As the literature analysis shows, cancer patients experience a variety of different needs. Each patient reacts differently to the hardships of the illness. Assessment of needs allows providing more effective support, relevant to every person’s individual experience, and is necessary for setting priorities for resource allocation, for planning and conducting holistic care, i.e., care designed to improve a patient’s quality of life in a significant way. (2) Patients and Methods: A population survey was conducted between 2018 and 2020. Cancer patients, as well as their caregivers, received an invitation to take part in the research, so their problems and needs could be assessed. (3) Results: The study involved 800 patients, 78% women and 22% men. 66% of the subjects were village residents, while 34%—city residents. The mean age of patients was 62 years, SD = 11.8. The patients received proper treatment within the public healthcare. The surveyed group of caregivers was 88% women and 12% men, 36% village residents and 64% city residents. Subjects were averagely 57 years old, SD 7.8. At the time of diagnosis, the subjects most often felt anxiety, despair, depression, feelings of helplessness (46%, 95% CI: 40–48). During illness and treatment, the subjects most often felt fatigued (79%, 95% CI: 70–80). Analysis of needs showed that 93% (95% CI: 89–97) of patients experienced a certain level of need for help in one or more aspects. (4) Conclusions: Patients diagnosed with cancer have a high level of unmet needs, especially in terms of psychological support and medical information. Their caregivers also experience needs and concerns regarding the disease. Caregivers should be made aware of the health consequences of cancer and consider appropriate supportive care for their loved ones.

scholarly journals Addiction journals and the management of conflicts of interest

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Stenius
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Drug Research ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
New Research ◽  
Political Decisions

Stenius, K. (2016). Addiction journals and the management of conflicts of interest. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(1), 9-10. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i1.233Scientific journals are crucial for a critical and open exchange of new research findings and as guardians of the quality of science. Today, as policy makers increasingly justify decision-making with references to scientific evidence, and research articles form the basis for evidence for specific measures, journals also have an indirect responsibility for how political decisions will be shaped.

scholarly journals Civil Society Engagement and Policy Representation in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 1648-1676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Rasmussen ◽  
Stefanie Reher
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Policy Issue ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Civic Culture ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Representation ◽  
High Level

Since Tocqueville linked the quality of democracy in America to its vibrant civic culture, studies have explored the relationship between social capital and the quality of governance. Yet, few have examined the mechanisms between individual components of social capital and democracy in depth. This study focuses on the link between one component of social capital, civil society engagement, and the linkage between public opinion and policy. It argues that engagement in associations with an interest in the policy issue may stimulate correspondence between public opinion and policy through their ability to collect and disseminate information to policy makers and the public. The analysis of 20 specific policy issues from 30 European countries confirms these expectations: Issues that experience a high level of associational engagement display a stronger relationship between public opinion and policy. The findings underline the role civil society organizations can play in policy representation beyond engaging in interest advocacy.

Analysis of predictive performance in the Eromanga Basin

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 678
Author(s):  
Steven McIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Large Data ◽  
Predictive Performance ◽  
Environment Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
High Level ◽  
Uncertainty Environment ◽  
High Uncertainty ◽  
Eromanga Basin

Strategic and operational management in the exploration and production business is characterised by prediction and decision making in a data-rich, high-uncertainty environment. Analysis of predictive performance since the 1970s by multiple researchers indicates that predictions are subject to over-confidence and optimism negatively impacting performance. The situation is the same for other areas of human endeavour also operating within data-rich, high-uncertainty environments. Research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience indicates the way in which the human brain perceives, integrates and allocates significance to data is the cause. Significant effort has been dedicated to improving the quality of predictions. Many individual companies review their predictive performance during long periods, but few share their data or analysis with the industry at large. Data that is shared is generally presented at a high level, reducing transparency and making it difficult to link the analysis to the geology and data from which predictions are derived. This extended abstract presents an analysis of predictive performance from the Eromanga Basin where pre-drill predictions and detailed production data during a period of decades is available in the public domain, providing an opportunity to test the veracity of past observations and conclusions. Analysis of the dataset indicates that predictions made using both deterministic and probabilistic methodologies have been characterised by over-confidence and optimism. The reasons for this performance are discussed and suggestions for improving predictive capability provided.

scholarly journals Wi-Fi radiation levels at BCIT

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ketan Minhas ◽  
BCIT School of Health Sciences, Environmental Health ◽  
Bobby Sidhu
Keyword(s):  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
The Body ◽  
Probability Level ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Average Value ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Data Points ◽  
New Research

  Objective: To determine if there are any difference in the amount of EMF Wi-Fi radiation being emitted between three locations at the BCIT campus in Burnaby, BC. Background: Wi-Fi radiation is widely being used in today’s society for the quick access it gives us to connect to the internet. Some cities in the United Kingdom have installed many Wi-Fi devices throughout the public domain so people can be connected all the time. Furthermore, most schools are being outfitted with routers to provide internet access for their students. But, as this paper will show, new research is forcing a shift in the thinking of some policy makers in choosing to install these connections in the public domain. Method: To measure the amount of non-ionizing EMF radiation being absorbed by the body, an Extech RF meter was used. This instrument provides instantaneous and average readings for a particular area one measures. During the experiment, the RF meter was held stationary at one location for approximately 10-15 seconds in order to stabilize the reading. The average value was taken as the instantaneous reading was fluctuating. This process was done in 3 buildings at BCIT and in order to increase the reliability and validity, 30 data points were collected from each building. Results: The Tests of Assumption showed that the data was not normally distributed as there was more than one “Reject” at the 0.05 probability level. For analysis, the Krukal-Wallis One-Way ANOVA was utilized and results showed that due to a high probability level of 0.57, the H0 could not be rejected and as a result there are no differences in radiation levels being emitted into the buildings tested. Conclusion: The amount of Wi-Fi radiation in the three buildings tested at BCIT were not significantly different from one another.  

scholarly journals Using Twitter to better understand online patient experience sentiments in the US (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Sewalk ◽  
Gaurav Tuli ◽  
Yulin Hswen ◽  
John S Brownstein ◽  
Jared B Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
Patient Experience ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
National Level ◽  
Online Data ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Patient Views ◽  
The Us

BACKGROUND Traditional large-scale assessments of patient care in the US have difficulty in representing all aspects of health, beyond hospital care. There are documented differences in access to healthcare across the US. It is important to understand disparities in healthcare to better inform policy makers and healthcare administrations to improve quality of care provided. Previous research indicates online data is available from Twitter about patient experiences and opinions of their healthcare. Understanding patient views through sentiment analyses of Twitter data can be used to supplement traditional feedback surveys. OBJECTIVE We aim to provide a characterization of patient experience sentiments across the US on Twitter over a four year period. METHODS We developed a set of software components to auto-label and examine the patient experience Twitter dataset. The set includes: (I) a classifier to determine patient experience tweets, (II) a geolocation inference engine for social data, (III) a modified version of a sentiment classifier from the literature, and (IV) another engine to determine if the tweet is from a metro or non-metro area. RESULTS Of the 27.3 million tweets collected between February 2013 and February 2017 using a set of patient experience related keywords, the classifier was able to identify 2,779,555 tweets that were labeled as patient experience. After running the patient experience tweets through the geolocation classifier, we identified 876,384 tweets by approximate location to use for spatial analyses. At the national level, we observed 27.7% of positive, 36.3% neutral, 36% of negative Patient Experience tweets. Overall, the average sentiment polarity shifted towards less negative every year across all the regions in the country. The patient experience tweet rate also decreased across all the states over the four year study period. We also observed the sentiment of tweets to have a lower negative fraction during daytime hours, whereas the sentiment of tweets posted between 8pm and 10am tend to have a higher negative fraction. Additionally, tweet sentiment varied by region and by metro vs. non-metro analyses. CONCLUSIONS This study presents methodologies for a deeper understanding of online discussion related to patient experience across space and time, and demonstrates how Twitter can provide a unique and unsolicited perspective from users, which may not be captured from traditional survey methods for understanding patient views.

scholarly journals A Study on Teacher-Child Interaction from the Perspective of Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 114-118
Author(s):  
Siqi Wang ◽  
Hongjia Guo
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Cognitive Level ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Kindergarten Education ◽  
Child Interaction ◽  
Important Means ◽  
New Research

Children’s perspective is based on their own cognitive level in understanding objective things. The study of children’s perspective is a bottom-up research process under the premise of having a full respect for a child’s view. With the change of views about children in recent years, “children’s perspective” has become a new research direction. At the same time, teacher-child interaction, as an important means of evaluating the quality of kindergarten education, requires a bottom-up perspective from children. This study hopes to understand children’s emotional experience in the process of teacher-child interaction as well as their understanding and evaluation of their own experience by exploring their perspectives on the interaction, so as to better improve the quality of teacher-child interaction in kindergarten.

scholarly journals Strategy To Improve Competence Of Public Service Officials In The West Sulawesi Province, Indonesia

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Rohana Thahier
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
The Public ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
The One ◽  
High Level ◽  
Resource Sector ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Creativity And Innovation

The high level of public complaints against bureaucracy shows that on the one hand the quality of bureaucratic service has, in public opinion, been found wanting. At the same time, public awareness has continued to grow, with consumers demanding they have rights to receive high quality service (Dwiyanto, 2002). The quality of public service is lacking. Often bribes are required, services are not guaranteed, and procedures are over-complicated. The perceptions of the public human resource sector are various: Professionalism is lacking, corruption, collusion and nepotism run rampant, wages are insufficient, service to the public is over-complicated, relationships are based on a patrion-client system, there is lack of creativity and innovation, not to mention other potential negative perceptions which essentially show that this system is still weak in Indonesia.  All this motivates us to reform the public human resources sector of Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi (Reformation of Bureaucracy).

Signs of Safety: lessons learnt from evaluations

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Baginsky ◽  
Jo Moriarty ◽  
Jill Manthorpe
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Time To Build ◽  
Signs Of Safety ◽  
The Many ◽  
New Research

Purpose Signs of Safety (SoS) is a strengths-based approach to child protection casework that has been widely adopted in countries across the world. The purpose of this paper is to report on a study that aimed to synthesise the many evaluations of SoS that have been conducted to assess their strengths and limitations. The intention is to identify the aspects which should be explored further and those that remain unexamined to inform future evaluations. Design/methodology/approach The study collated and then examined many of the evaluations that are in the public domain as well as some of those that were conducted within agencies and have not been made publicly available. Findings At the present time (early 2019), the evidence base for SoS is limited. Independent, robust research needs to be undertaken over time to build on the studies that have been conducted. New research must be designed to fill gaps and be capable of producing the evidence required and it must address its own limitations. Originality/value This study is the most comprehensive contemporary review of the evaluations of SoS that have been conducted to the best of the authors’ knowledge.

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