Mom Expo: Bridging the Gap Between Local Women and Perinatal Resources

The purpose of this project was to describe the implementation of a perinatal health fair intended to connect local women to holistic resources. Researchers used participatory strategies to develop the health fair with local women and perinatal educators. Researchers evaluated the health fair using pragmatic measures based on the (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework. Forty-two attendees were reached and 23 educators hosted booths and educational sessions. Feedback indicated strong enthusiasm for future similar events. Nearly three quarters of the time spent implementing the health fair was devoted to building relationships within the community. Overall, this project provides practical and empirical information to inform the planning, implementation, and evaluation of perinatal health fairs that establish meaningful connection between local women, perinatal educators, and health researchers.

A Pilot Study Comparing Tools for Tracking Implementation Strategies and Treatment Adaptations

Background Tailoring implementation strategies and adapting treatments to better fit the local context may improve their effectiveness. However, there is a dearth of valid, reliable, pragmatic measures that allow for the prospective tracking of strategies and adaptations according to reporting recommendations. This study describes the development and pilot testing of three tools to designed to serve this purpose. Methods Measure development was informed by two systematic reviews of the literature (implementation strategies, treatment adaptation). The three resulting tools vary with respect to the degree of structure (Brainstorming Log = low, Activity Log = moderate, Detailed Tracking Log = high). To prospectively track treatment adaptations and implementation strategies, three stakeholder groups (treatment developer, implementation practitioners, mental health providers) were randomly assigned one tool per week via an anonymous web-based survey for nine weeks and incentivized to participate. Three established implementation outcome measures, the Acceptability of Intervention Measure, Intervention Appropriateness Measure, and Feasibility of Intervention Measure were used to assess the tools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather more nuanced information from stakeholders regarding their perceptions of the tools and the tracking process. Results The three tracking tools demonstrated moderate to good acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility; the Activity Log was deemed the most feasible of the three tools. Implementation practitioners rated the tools the highest of the three stakeholder groups. The tools took an average of 15 minutes or less to complete. Conclusion This study sought to fill methodological gaps that prevent stakeholders and researchers from discerning which strategies are most important to deploy for promoting implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices. These tools would allow researchers and practitioners to track whether activities were treatment adaptations or implementation strategies and what barrier(s) each target. These tools could inform prospective tailoring of implementation strategies and treatment adaptations, which would promote scale out and spread.

A Pilot Study Comparing Tools for Tracking Implementation Strategies and Treatment Adaptations

Background Tailoring implementation strategies and adapting treatments to better fit the local context may improve their effectiveness. However, there is a dearth of valid, reliable, pragmatic measures that allow for the prospective tracking of strategies and adaptations according to reporting recommendations. This study describes the development and pilot testing of three tools to designed to serve this purpose.Methods Measure development was informed by two systematic reviews of the literature (implementation strategies, treatment adaptation). The three resulting tools vary with respect to the degree of structure (Brainstorming Log = low, Activity Log = moderate, Detailed Tracking Log = high). To prospectively track treatment adaptations and implementation strategies, three stakeholder groups (treatment developer, implementation practitioners, mental health providers) were randomly assigned one tool per week via an anonymous web-based survey for nine weeks and incentivized to participate. Three established implementation outcome measures, the Acceptability of Intervention Measure, Intervention Appropriateness Measure, and Feasibility of Intervention Measure were used to assess the tools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather more nuanced information from stakeholders regarding their perceptions of the tools and the tracking process.Results The three tracking tools demonstrated moderate to good acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility; the Activity Log was deemed the most feasible of the three tools. Implementation practitioners rated the tools the highest of the three stakeholder groups. The tools took an average of 15 minutes or less to complete.Conclusion This study sought to fill methodological gaps that prevent stakeholders and researchers from discerning which strategies are most important to deploy for promoting implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices. These tools would allow researchers and practitioners to track whether activities were treatment adaptations or implementation strategies and what barrier(s) each targets. These tools could inform prospective tailoring of implementation strategies and treatment adaptations, which would promote scale out and spread.

Fragile alliances: culture, funding and sustainability in police–academic partnerships

Background: Police–academic partnerships have developed significantly over the past decade or so, spurred on by the expansion of the evidence-based policing movement, the increasing value attached to impactful research in the academy, the ascendance of the professionalisation agenda in the police, and the growing necessity of cross-sectoral collaborations under conditions of post-financial crisis austerity. This trend has given rise to a burgeoning literature in the discipline of criminology which is concerned with charting the progress of these partnerships and setting out the ideal conditions for their future expansion.<br />Aims and objectives: we advance a sympathetic critique of this literature, adding a note of caution to its largely optimistic outlook.<br />Methods: we do this by combining a narrative review of the literature on police–academic partnerships with insights from elsewhere in the social sciences and observations from our experience of running the International Strand of the N8 Policing Research Partnership.<br />Findings and discussion: while we recognise that police–academic partnerships have certainly come a long way, and have the capacity to make important contributions to police work, we argue that they remain ‘fragile’ alliances, beset with fractious occupational cultures, unreliable funding streams and unsustainable inter-institutional relationships. We also reason that the structures underpinning this ‘fragility’ do not represent problems to be overcome, for they help to protect the integrity of the two professions.<br />Conclusion: we conclude by offering pragmatic measures for sustaining police–academic partnerships during those difficult periods characterised by cultural dissonance, a paucity of funding and the turnover of key personnel.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ol><li>Over the past decade, police–academic partnerships have developed considerably in scope and size.</li><br /><li>This process has been spurred on by shifting attitudes towards research in the police and academy.</li><br /><li>However, these partnerships are largely confined to a select few countries in the Global North.</li><br /><li>They are also rendered ‘fragile’ by issues relating to culture, funding and sustainability.</li></ol>

Pragmatic measures for implementation research: development of the Psychometric and Pragmatic Evidence Rating Scale (PAPERS)

The use of reliable, valid measures in implementation practice will remain limited without pragmatic measures. Previous research identified the need for pragmatic measures, though the characteristic identification used only expert opinion and literature review. Our team completed four studies to develop a stakeholder-driven pragmatic rating criteria for implementation measures. We published Studies 1 (identifying dimensions of the pragmatic construct) and 2 (clarifying the internal structure) that engaged stakeholders—participants in mental health provider and implementation settings—to identify 17 terms/phrases across four categories: Useful, Compatible, Acceptable, and Easy. This paper presents Studies 3 and 4: a Delphi to ascertain stakeholder-prioritized dimensions within a mental health context, and a pilot study applying the rating criteria. Stakeholders (N = 26) participated in a Delphi and rated the relevance of 17 terms/phrases to the pragmatic construct. The investigator team further defined and shortened the list, which were piloted with 60 implementation measures. The Delphi confirmed the importance of all pragmatic criteria, but provided little guidance on relative importance. The investigators removed or combined terms/phrases to obtain 11 criteria. The 6-point rating system assigned to each criterion demonstrated sufficient variability across items. The grey literature did not add critical information. This work produced the first stakeholder-driven rating criteria to assess whether measures are pragmatic. The Psychometric and Pragmatic Evidence Rating Scale (PAPERS) combines the pragmatic criteria with psychometric rating criteria, from previous work. Use of PAPERS can inform development of implementation measures and to assess the quality of existing measures.

Status of Complex Langevin

I review the status of the Complex Langevin method, which was invented to make simulations of models with complex action feasible. I discuss the mathematical justification of the procedure, as well as its limitations and open questions. Various pragmatic measures for dealing with the existing problems are described. Finally I report on the progress in the application of the method to QCD, with the goal of determining the phase diagram of QCD as a function of temperature and baryonic chemical potential.

Role and Status of English and Other Languages in Nepal

This paper analyses the role and status of English and other languages in Nepal as well as talks about the attitude of several agents towards English and other languages when used in the domains such as education, media and business. Nepal is a culturally and linguistically diversified country and has undergone various socio-political changes in a very short span of time primarily beginning from 1950 as of now. These changes include abolition of Panchayat, a system in which the king ruled directly led to a democratic country and end of a decade long civil war as well as abolition of monarchy which led to a country as the federal republic. These socio-political changes have made a direct significant impact on language planning and policy. The official language, Nepali and the international language, English are the dominant languages in Nepal which in many cases overshadow the promotion of other vernacular languages. As a result, a majority of people opt for these dominant languages overlooking their own indigenous linguistic affluence. In this paper, as a conclusive remark, I also argue that some plans followed by pragmatic measures are needed to uplift the status of majority of other languages in Nepal. Journal of NELTA, Vol. 21, No. 1-2, 2016, Page:105-112