Equity Tourism: Ravaging the Justice Landscape

As the long-standing and ubiquitous racial inequities of the United States reached national attention, the public health community has witnessed the rise of “health equity tourism”. This phenomenon is the process of previously unengaged investigators pivoting into health equity research without developing the necessary scientific expertise for high-quality work. In this essay, we define the phenomenon and provide an explanation of the antecedent conditions that facilitated its development. We also describe the consequences of health equity tourism—namely, recapitulating systems of inequity within the academy and the dilution of a landscape carefully curated by scholars who have demonstrated sustained commitments to equity research as a primary scientific discipline and praxis. Lastly, we provide a set of principles that can guide novice equity researchers to becoming community members rather than mere tourists of health equity.

Improving the understanding of N transport in rural catchments under Atlantic climate conditions from analysis of the concentration-discharge relationship derived from a high frequency data set

Understanding processes controlling stream nutrient dynamics over time is crucial for implementing effective management strategies to prevent water quality degradation. In this respect, the study of the nutrient concentration-discharge (C-Q) relationship during individual runoff events can be a valuable tool for extrapolating the hydrochemical processes controlling nutrient fluxes from streams. This study investigated nitrogen concentration dynamics during events by analyzing and interpreting the nitrogen C-Q relationship in a small Atlantic (NW Iberian Peninsula) rural catchment. To this end, nitrate (NO3) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) concentrations were monitored at high temporal resolution during 102 runoff events over a 6-year period. For each of the selected runoff events, C-Q response was examined visually for the presence and direction of hysteresis loops and classified into three types of responses: clockwise and anticlockwise and no hysteresis. Some metrics, such as the change in concentration (ΔC) and the overall dynamics of hysteresis loops (ΔR), were used to quantify nitrogen behavior during the runoff events. The results showed how transport mechanisms varied between parameters. The most frequent hysteretic response for NO3 was enrichment with anticlockwise rotation, indicating that subsurface flow is the main pathway to the stream. On the contrary, the TKN dynamic was dominated by clockwise hysteresis, suggesting that surface runoff is mainly responsible for the transport of TKN to the river. Hysteresis direction (ΔR) and magnitude (ΔC) were better explained by event characteristics, such as rainfall, runoff, and discharge increase than by antecedent conditions (antecedent precipitation and baseflow).

Performance of Chinese foreign subsidiaries: the role of national distance, organizational learning and overseas Chinese networks

PurposeThe current literature lacks discussion on the effects of synergy among multiple factors at different levels on foreign subsidiary performance. The purpose of this paper is to explore the configuration of factors affecting foreign subsidiary performance.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology adopted in this paper is the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The data are obtained from 125 foreign subsidiaries of Chinese MNCs through questionnaire surveys and secondary data.FindingsThe research results reveal that five configurations of antecedent conditions predict high foreign subsidiary performance, and the other two configurations predict not-high performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper’s main limitation is its only focus on foreign subsidiaries of Chinese MNCs, which means that the findings should be generalized with precaution. The most valuable implication is to identify the configurations that lead to high and not-high foreign subsidiary performance.Practical implicationsThis paper addresses the question of how interdependent factors at the national and corporate level are beneficial to foreign subsidiaries’ performance.Originality/valueThis study makes the following contributions to current theories: It provides (1) new insights for understanding the complex causality between antecedent conditions and foreign subsidiary performance and (2) a practical reference for the multinational operations of foreign subsidiaries.

Rainfall-induced shallow landslides and soil wetness: comparison of physically based and probabilistic predictions

Landslides are an impacting natural hazard in alpine regions, calling for effective forecasting and warning systems. Here we compare two methods (physically based and probabilistic) for the prediction of shallow rainfall-induced landslides in an application to Switzerland, with a specific focus on the value of antecedent soil wetness. First, we show that landslide susceptibility predicted by the factor of safety in the infinite slope model is strongly dependent on soil data inputs, limiting the hydrologically active range where landslides can occur to only ∼20 % of the country with typical soil parameters and soil depth models, not accounting for uncertainty. Second, we find the soil saturation estimate provided by a conceptual hydrological model (PREVAH) to be more informative for landslide prediction than that estimated by the physically based coarse-resolution model (TerrSysMP), which we attribute to the lack of temporal variability and coarse spatial resolution in the latter. Nevertheless, combining the soil water state estimates in TerrSysMP with the infinite slope approach improves the separation between landslide triggering and non-triggering rainfall events. Third, we demonstrate the added value of antecedent soil saturation in combination with rainfall thresholds. We propose a sequential threshold approach, where events are first split into dry and wet antecedent conditions by an N d (day) antecedent soil saturation threshold, and then two different total rainfall–duration threshold curves are estimated. This, among all different approaches explored, is found to be the most successful for landslide prediction.

Defining minimum runoff length allows for discriminating biocrusts and rainfall events

The runoff coefficient (RC) is widely used despite requiring to know the effective contributing area, which cannot be known a priori. In a previous work, we defined runoff length (RL), which is difficult to measure. This work aimed to define the minimum RL (mRL), a quantitative and easy proxy of RL, for use in a pilot study on biocrusts in the Tabernas Desert, Spain. We show that RC decreases according to a hyperbola when the contributing area increases, the independent variable being the length of the effective contributing area and its coefficient involving the effects of rainfall and surface features and antecedent conditions. We defined the mRL as the length of the effective contributing area making RC = 1, which is calculated regardless of the area. We studied mRL from three biocrust types and 1411 events clustered in seven categories. The mRL increased with rain volume and intensity, catchment area and slope, whereas plant cover and biocrust succession (with one exception) had a negative effect. Depending on the plot, mRL reached up 3.3–4.0 m on cyanobacterial biocrust, 2.2–7.5 m on the most widespread lichens, and 1.0–1.5 m on late-successional lichens. We discuss the relationships of mRL with other runoff-related parameters.

The Free-of-Charge Phenomena in the Network Economy—A Multi-Party Value Exchange Model

The long-standing economic model is one where customers receive and pay for goods and services. However, in today’s modern network economy, why are vendors willing to provide free services and goods to free-riders at an apparent loss? The objective of this study is to provide a theoretical framework explaining why free network services emerge and how they work. This study adopted the multi-case study method, summarized 28 types of revenue model patterns from 51 indicative free network services, and inferred the causes for the antecedent conditions of each revenue model with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), in order to confirm the causal relationship between the various antecedent conditions, configurations, and revenue models as conclusive evidence. In addition, this study established seven conditional propositions via their links with related theories, which were taken as the basis for providing in-depth explanations of the revenue model of the free network service, and expanded the demonstration of the original network economy.

Social psychological aspects of inter-organizational collaboration in a total defense context: a literature review

Purpose This paper aims to systematically review the extant research on social psychological aspects of civil-military inter-organizational collaboration, particularly in a total defense context. Design/methodology/approach A systematic scoping studies review was performed. Peer-reviewed articles were searched in PsycInfo and Sociological Abstracts. Inclusion criteria were met by 25 articles. Findings Four higher-order categories with underpinning categories were derived in the analysis. They were modeled as follows: antecedent conditions affect, informal processes and practical efforts, which, in turn, affect inter-organizational trust and collaboration. These higher-order categories are all influenced by formal organizational aspects and the society in which they are found. Research limitations/implications The existing literature covering the chosen study focus is limited. Further studies are needed and the presented model can serve as a road map. Practical implications A series of questions derived from the categories of the model is presented. The questions are included as a tool for practical reflection for collaborating actors in common education, training or exercise settings or in after-action reviews. Originality/value The focus on social psychological aspects of civil-military inter-organizational collaboration, particularly in a total defense context, is new. The suggested relationship between superior themes adds knowledge to a research field dominated by sociological and political science approaches.

Newer Insights Into Fetal Growth and Body Composition

Based on epidemiological and experimental evidence, the origins of childhood obesity and early onset metabolic syndrome can be extended back to developmental processes during intrauterine life. It is necessary to actively investigate antecedent conditions that affect fetal growth by developing reliable measures to identify variations in fetal fat deposition and body composition. Recently, the resolution of ultrasonography has remarkably improved, which enables better tissue characterization and quantification of fetal fat accumulation. In addition, fetal fractional limb volume has been introduced as a novel measure to quantify fetal soft tissue volume, including fat mass and lean mass. Detecting extreme variations in fetal fat deposition may provide further insights into the origins of altered fetal body composition in pathophysiological conditions (i.e., fetal growth restriction or fetal macrosomia), which are predisposed to the metabolic syndrome in later life. Further studies are warranted to determine the maternal or placental factors that affect fetal fat deposition and body composition. Elucidating these factors may help develop clinical interventions for altered fetal growth and body composition, which could potentially lead to primary prevention of the future risk of metabolic dysfunction.

The importance of antecedent vegetation and drought conditions as global drivers of burnt area

The seasonal and longer-term dynamics of fuel accumulation affect fire seasonality and the occurrence of extreme wildfires. Failure to account for their influence may help to explain why state-of-the-art fire models do not simulate the length and timing of the fire season or interannual variability in burnt area well. We investigated the impact of accounting for different timescales of fuel production and accumulation on burnt area using a suite of random forest regression models that included the immediate impact of climate, vegetation, and human influences in a given month and tested the impact of various combinations of antecedent conditions in four productivity-related vegetation indices and in antecedent moisture conditions. Analyses were conducted for the period from 2010 to 2015 inclusive. Inclusion of antecedent vegetation conditions representing fuel build-up led to an improvement of the global, climatological out-of-sample R2 from 0.579 to 0.701, but the inclusion of antecedent vegetation conditions on timescales ≥ 1 year had no impact on simulated burnt area. Current moisture levels were the dominant influence on fuel drying. Additionally, antecedent moisture levels were important for fuel build-up. The models also enabled the visualisation of interactions between variables, such as the importance of antecedent productivity coupled with instantaneous drying. The length of the period which needs to be considered varies across biomes; fuel-limited regions are sensitive to antecedent conditions that determine fuel build-up over longer time periods (∼ 4 months), while moisture-limited regions are more sensitive to current conditions that regulate fuel drying.

Path Dependence Repetition Dinamika Perkembangan Partai Proto Islam Indonesia, Sarekat Islam (1911-1940)

This article aims to describe the trajectory of the development of Sarekat Islam (SI) in the pre-independence era by using path dependence analysis and critical junctures. In this context, important political decisions made by the proto-Islamic party agents will identify various alternatives determined by their antecedent conditions, as well as a series of follow-up causal events after critical junctures as path dependence patterns that lead to an outcome or outcome of the development of the SI organization. explained that there were three stages of the development of the Sarekat Islam organization, which transformed into the Sarekat Islam Party (PSI) and the Indonesian Sarekat Islam Party (PSII) which were produced by three agent decisions in moments of critical juntures, namely the stages of growth, division and decline. Key word : Critical junctures, Path dependence, the proto- Islamic party