Exploring cultural differences in wildlife value orientations using student samples in seven nations

Understanding differences in the way people think about wildlife across countries is important as many conservation challenges transcend jurisdictions. We explored differences in wildlife value orientations in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Serbia. Standard scales assessed domination (prioritizing human well-being) and mutualism (striving for egalitarian relationships with wildlife). We used student samples (total n = 2176) for cross-cultural comparisons. Reliabilities of the wildlife value orientations scales were adequate in all countries. Relationships between demographics and wildlife value orientations were different across countries. Men were generally more oriented towards domination and less towards mutualism than women, except in Serbia, where it was the other way around. Estimated at the level of the individual (using ANOVA), wildlife value orientations varied across countries, with nationality explaining a larger portion of the variation in mutualism (21%) than domination (6%). Estimated at the level of countries (using multilevel modelling), effect sizes were comparable. Thought about wildlife has previously only been examined within single countries. This paper makes a new contribution to the conservation literature suggesting that wildlife value orientations vary by country, and are associated with demographic factors. For conservation practices, understanding national differences in the way people think about wildlife is crucial to understanding sources of conflict among practitioners. Such knowledge is also important to gain public support for conservation.

Test–retest reliability and practice effect of the Leuven Perceptual Organisation Screening Test

Visual diagnostic tests must have a high degree of consistency in their measurements (high reliability) to ensure accurate assessment of perceptual abilities. The current study assessed test–retest reliability and practice effects in the Leuven Perceptual Organisation Screening Test (L-POST) in 144 healthy volunteers, with time intervals between 0 and 756 days. We used Pearson's and intraclass correlation analysis, Bland–Altman analysis and multilevel modelling. Results from our analyses converged and supported an adequate reliability of the L-POST. Multilevel modelling demonstrated an absence of practice effect, suggesting that the L-POST is suitable for repeat administration. This study suggests that the L-POST has adequate reliability and is suitable for repeat administration even at short intervals. This study provides the basis for a more systematic evaluation for neuropsychological assessments, which can lead to the development of more reliable assessment batteries.

Changes in pre-service teacher self-efficacy for teaching in relation to professional experience placements

This article aims to contribute new, longitudinal evidence on teacher self-efficacy (TSE) by investigating changes in TSE over the last 2 years of an Australian initial teacher education program. Two hundred and one pre-service teachers were surveyed at three timepoints: (1) after the first professional experience placement, (2) before and (3) after the final placement, using the Scale for Teacher Self-Efficacy. Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. TSE for the domains of classroom management and student engagement decreased significantly between the first and before the commencement of the last professional experience placements. All three dimensions of TSE – instructional strategies, student engagement and classroom management – increased significantly during the final placement.

Trends, Variation, and Factors Influencing Antibiotic Prescribing: A Longitudinal Study in Primary Care Using a Multilevel Modelling Approach

Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the greatest threats to global health. Over 80% of antibiotics are prescribed in primary care, with many prescriptions considered to be issued inappropriately. The aim of this study was to examine the association between prescribing rates and demographic, practice, geographic, and socioeconomic characteristics using a multilevel modelling approach. Antibiotic prescribing data by 320 GP surgeries in Northern Ireland were obtained from Business Services Organisation for the years 2014–2020. A linear mixed-effects model was used to identify factors influencing antibiotic prescribing rates. Overall, the number of antibacterial prescriptions decreased by 26.2%, from 1,564,707 items in 2014 to 1,155,323 items in 2020. Lower levels of antibiotic prescribing were associated with urban practices (p < 0.001) and practices in less deprived areas (p = 0.005). The overall decrease in antibacterial drug prescriptions over time was larger in less deprived areas (p = 0.03). Higher prescribing rates were linked to GP practices located in areas with a higher percentage of the population aged ≥65 (p < 0.001) and <15 years (p < 0.001). There were also significant regional differences in antibiotic prescribing. We advocate that any future antibiotic prescribing targets should account for local factors.

Anopheles salivary antigens as serological biomarkers of vector exposure and malaria transmission: A systematic review with multilevel modelling

<b>Background:</b> Entomological surveillance for malaria is inherently resource-intensive and produces crude population-level measures of vector exposure which are insensitive in low-transmission settings. Antibodies against Anopheles salivary proteins measured at the individual-level may serve as proxy biomarkers for vector exposure and malaria transmission, but their relationship is yet to be quantified. <b>Methods:</b> A systematic review of studies measuring antibodies against Anopheles salivary antigens (PROSPERO: CRD42020185449). Multilevel modelling (to account for multiple study-specific observations (level-one), nested within study (level-two), and study nested within country (level-three)) estimated associations between seroprevalence with Anopheles human biting rate (HBR) and malaria transmission measures. <b>Results:</b> From 3981 studies identified in literature searches, 42 studies across 16 countries were included contributing 393 study-specific observations of anti-Anopheles salivary antibodies determined in 42,764 samples. A positive association between HBR (log transformed) and seroprevalence was found; overall a 2-fold (100% relative) increase in HBR was associated with a 23% increase in odds of seropositivity (OR: 1.23, 95%CI: 1.10-1.37, p<0.001). The association between HBR and Anopheles salivary antibodies was strongest with concordant, rather than discordant Anopheles species. Seroprevalence was also significantly positively associated with established epidemiological measures of malaria transmission: entomological inoculation rate, Plasmodium spp. prevalence, and malarial endemicity class. <b>Conclusions:</b> Anopheles salivary antibody biomarkers can serve as a proxy measure for HBR and malaria transmission, and could monitor malaria receptivity of a population to sustain malaria transmission. Validation of Anopheles species-specific biomarkers are important given the global heterogeneity in the distribution of Anopheles species. Salivary biomarkers have the potential to transform surveillance by replacing impractical, inaccurate entomological investigations, especially in areas progressing towards malaria elimination. <b>Funding:</b> Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust.

Is intuition allied with jumping to conclusions in decision-making? An intensive longitudinal study in patients with delusions and in non-clinical individuals

Research suggests that a jumping-to-conclusions (JTC) bias, excessive intuition, and reduced analysis in information processing may favor suboptimal decision-making, both in non-clinical and mentally disordered individuals. The temporal relationship between processing modes and JTC bias, however, remains unexplored. Therefore, using an experience sampling methodology (ESM) approach, this study examines the temporal associations between intuitive/analytical information processing, JTC bias, and delusions in non-clinical individuals and patients with schizophrenia. Specifically, we examine whether a high use of intuitive and/or a low use of analytical processing predicts subsequent JTC bias and paranoid conviction. In a smartphone-based ESM study, participants will be prompted four times per day over three consecutive days to answer questionnaires designed to measure JTC bias, paranoid conviction, and preceding everyday-life intuition/analysis. Our hierarchical data will be analyzed using multilevel modelling for hypothesis testing. Results will further elucidate the role of aberrant human reasoning, particularly intuition, in (non-)clinical delusions and delusion-like experiences, and also inform general information processing models.

Evaluation of the Consumer Perception of Sharing Economy: Cases of Latvia, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

The overwhelming goal of large-scale cross-country research is to evaluate consumers’ perception of a sharing economy. The research was limited by the number of respondents, as well as by the countries represented in the survey. Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus were mostly represented, and only these responses (757) were analyzed. The study used multilevel modelling of sharing economy elements (dependent variable) in relation to personal characteristics (age, gender, income, industry) nested by the self-assessed level of eco-friendliness (a key predictor for the attitude towards sharing economy). Findings: The key personal characteristics, which influence a person’s intention to be involved in the sharing economy practices, are level of income, education, and also self-perceived ecological friendliness. The sharing economy is not only a topic for investigation among academicians, but also an issue on the agenda of the European Commission, because it is considered as a driver for growth and job creation in the European Union. Despite an increasing interest and many studies, there is a limited number of studies focused on difference in perception of sharing economy depending on personal characteristics of respondents. This indicates the necessity of conducting such surveys, involving participants from different European countries. The given paper could be used as a methodological framework for other European researchers who are interested in the exploration of the topic regarding perception of the sharing economy.

Anti-immigrant Attitudes in the European Union: What Role for Values?

This paper aims to analyse the connection between values individuals hold and perception whether immigration is bad or good for economy in the European Union. It applies the multilevel modelling approach on the European Social Survey rounds 1–7 and a set of the OECD economic measures. The method allows for an examination of personal (values, socioecomic and demographic) and contextual (GDP, inequality and unemployment rates) drivers of anti-immigrant tendencies. The results show that individual values are connected to how people perceive immigrants in the EU.

Utilisation of tracheostomy in patients with COVID-19 in England: patient characteristics, timing and outcomes

Objectives: We aimed to characterise the use of tracheostomy procedures for all COVID-19 critical care patients in England and to understand how patient factors and timing of tracheostomy affected outcomes. Design: A retrospective observational study using exploratory analysis of hospital administrative data. Setting: All 500 National Health Service hospitals in England. Participants: All hospitalised COVID-19 patients aged ≥ 18 years in England between March 1st and October 31st, 2020 were included. Main outcomes and measures: This was a retrospective exploratory analysis using the Hospital Episode Statistics administrative dataset. Multilevel modelling was used to explore the relationship between demographic factors, comorbidity and use of tracheostomy and the association between tracheostomy use, tracheostomy timing and the outcomes. Results: In total, 2,200 hospitalised COVID-19 patients had a tracheostomy. Tracheostomy utilisation varied substantially across the study period, peaking in April-June 2020. In multivariable modelling, for those admitted to critical care, tracheostomy was most common in those aged 40-79 years, in males and in people of Black and Asian ethnic groups and those with a history of cerebrovascular disease. In critical care patients, tracheostomy was associated with lower odds of mortality (OR: 0.514 (95% CI 0.443 to 0.596), but greater length of stay (OR: 41.143 (95% CI 30.979 to 54.642). In patients that survived, earlier timing of tracheostomy (≤ 14 days post admission to critical care) was significantly associated with shorter length of stay. Conclusions: Tracheostomy is safe and advantageous for critical care COVID-19 patients. Early tracheostomy may be associated with better outcomes, such as shorter length of stay, compared to late tracheostomy.