The Impact of Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies on Sexual Harassment Prevention in the Workplace

Despite increasing pressure to implement anti-sexual harassment policies, the issue remains largely unresolved within organizations in many countries. This mixed-methods study used a survey of 575 news professionals and an analysis of 17 anti-sexual harassment policies in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to understand the effectiveness of anti-sexual harassment policies in preventing and correcting sexual harassment in the workplace. Results show no significant differences of experienced or reported sexual harassment between organizations with or without a policy. Only 30% of participants reported their experiences with organizations responding to 42% of reported cases. The only measured significant impact of policies was found with participants who had been trained on the policy and the likelihood for their organization to act. An analysis of the policies showed they contained unclear definitions, reporting mechanisms, complaint processes, organizational communication, and monitoring. In discussing these results, we highlight how gendered norms must be considered to implement more effective anti-sexual harassment policies

Germany's populist disruptors and the “politics of fluidity”

Introduction The German party system has become increasingly unstable as the “politics of centrality” that was associated with the old Federal Republic has succumbed to a new “politics of fluidity”. The subsequent process of political fragmentation has seen the emergence of populist challenger parties of right and left. The article focuses on the more significant strand of right-wing populism represented by the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) but also considers the persistence of left populism in elements of the Linke and the recent breakaway Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW). Methods The article uses mixed methods to explain modern German populism in comparative and historical perspective, and looking at demand and supply side factors, with a focus on party-based populism. Results The article demonstrates that Germany's populist challengers have a strong impact on party competition but face significant systemic biases that limit their impact on government formation at the state level and certainly at the Federal level. Discussion The article concludes that ceteris paribus the possibility of a right-wing populist government at the national level in Germany is smaller than in European democracies with more majoritarian electoral and party systems such as France. Nevertheless, the emergence of Germany's populist disruptors presents a systemic challenge, not least because of the dangers of over-reaction from Germany's political and legal establishment to the rise of the AfD in particular

Obesity, laypeople’s beliefs and implications for clinicians and leaders of healthcare organisations

Background/Aim Overweight and obesity (OAO) is a major and growing public health crisis in the world. There is convincing medical evidence that caloric overconsumption, rather than lack of exercise, is the primary driver of OAO. Methods In this translation piece, we summarise our programme of research on laypeople’s beliefs about the primary cause of OAO, the origins of these beliefs and implications for clinicians and leadership in healthcare organisations. Results In contrast to the medical consensus, our research conducted in several countries has found that approximately half of the population mistakenly believes that lack of exercise is the primary cause of obesity. These misbeliefs have consequences: people who mistakenly believe that exercise is the most important factor are more likely to be overweight or obese than people who correctly believe that diet is the primary cause of obesity. We argue that these misbeliefs are caused in part by systematic and multipronged communications efforts by the food and beverage industry—a phenomenon we term ‘leanwashing’. Conclusions Not only does leanwashing require public policy intervention by the government, healthcare professionals also need to respond appropriately. In this article, we focus on the implications of leanwashing for leaders of public health organisations, health delivery organisations and clinicians

Timing Legitimacy: Identifying the Optimal Moment to Launch Technology in the Market

How do managers time the launch of new technologies? Without actionable frameworks to ensure consumers and other stakeholders are ready, innovation releases remain a risky endeavor. Previous work on legitimacy has focused on stages following a product launch. However, launch timing concerns shared expectations of when actions should occur prior to launch. This conceptual article evaluates the alignment between firm and stakeholder expectations regarding launch timing. It proposes that the market timing of new technology launches is structured by two dimensions: firm-led coordination and stakeholders’ willingness to change. Combining these dimensions, the authors map four types of market timing situations managers can encounter: antagonistic, synergistic, flexible, and inflexible timing. Temporal legitimacy is achieved when a firm and its key stakeholders share timing norms about the ideal moments when activities should occur in a market process. The authors conceptualize proto-markets as prefacing the well-known market legitimacy stages. This article concludes with a detailed managerial decision tree on how to create the optimal technology product launch moment and avenues of future research on market timing beyond technology launches

Quantifying the Macroeconomic Impact of Credit Expansions

This paper studies how credit expansions affect economic activity and quantifies the relative role of household and firm-side channels in accounting for the aggregate effects. Using data from the quasi-natural experiment of bank deregulation across U.S. states in the 1980s, we document that deregulation led to an expansion of credit and economic activity. We use this causal evidence to estimate a small open-economy heterogeneous-agent New Keynesian model that replicates the effects of this shock. In the long run, reduced borrowing costs for firms account for the lion’s share of the rise in output and employment. In the short run, the firm-side and household-side channels are equally important in driving the expansion of output and employment. Household demand is mostly associated with consumption whereas the firm side is mostly associated with investment. The finding that employment and production—including tradable output—experiences sustained growth after a credit expansion is consistent with the role we attribute to the firm-side channel

A brief international screening tool for traumatic birth and childbirth-related PTSD: the city BiTS-short form

Introduction Screening to identify traumatic births and childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) is critical for reducing the global burden of maternal mental health challenges. Despite this, no brief, validated tools exist for international use. This study therefore developed and validated a short version of the City Birth Trauma Scale (City BiTS) to provide a brief, globally relevant screening tool. Methods The City BiTS-Short was developed in three stages. In stage 1, exclusive lasso statistical analyses were conducted on survey data of 11 302 postpartum women in 31 countries to identify the most effective items for the City BiTS-Short, ensuring all four CB-PTSD symptom domains were represented. In stage 2, stakeholder reviews were conducted with researchers, health professionals (midwives, health visitors, psychiatrist, psychologist) and representatives of women who experienced traumatic birth. In stage 3, the City BiTS-Short was finalised and psychometric properties examined across diverse geographical settings. Results The City BiTS-Short comprises one item assessing traumatic birth and four items assessing CB-PTSD symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance, negative cognitions and mood and hyperarousal. The scale had strong psychometric properties, including good internal consistency (α=0.78) and high correlations with the original City BiTS (r=0.90), birth trauma ratings (r=0.50), distress (r=0.56), impairment (r=0.47) and CB-PTSD diagnoses (r=0.54). It identified 90% of participants with a CB-PTSD diagnosis. Women who had operative births (F(3,2174)=127.38, p<0.001), maternal complications (F(2,2163)=212.84, p<0.001), infant complications (F(2,1100)=138.93, p<0.001) or depression (t(3209.5)=−30.96, p<0.001) had higher scores. Psychometric properties were consistent across most international contexts, with stakeholders affirming its utility. Conclusion The City BiTS-Short offers a brief, validated screening tool for identifying birth trauma and CB-PTSD symptoms. Its widespread adoption can enhance early detection and support for women, potentially reducing the global burden of birth trauma and improving maternal mental health outcomes worldwide. Further research is needed to explore its use in specific contexts

Validation of the City Birth Trauma Scale in Italian: addressing childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder

Background and aim: It is estimated that 19% of women experience childbirth as traumatic, and around 4% develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result. The City Birth Trauma Scale was developed specifically to assess childbirth-related trauma according to recognised diagnostic criteria. This study aimed to translate and validate the City Birth Trauma Scale in Italian (City BiTS-IT) and investigate its psychometric properties to enhance early detection and intervention. Methods: The sample consisted of 255 postpartum women aged 18–38 years. Participants completed the INTERSECT Survey which includes the City Birth Trauma Scale (City BiTS). The bi-factor model was applied to assess the latent structure of the scale, and convergent and divergent validity were evaluated. Results: The City BiTS-IT demonstrated good fit to the data, with high internal consistency (ω = 0.93) and reliability (ECV = 51%). Subscales of Birth-related symptoms and General symptoms showed good reliability (ω = 0.90, ω = 0.89, respectively). Convergent validity analyses revealed strong correlations between City BiTS-IT and depression (EPDS; r = 0.59). Birth-related symptoms correlated more strongly with birth satisfaction scores (BSS-R; r = -0.68), highlighting the impact of traumatic birth experiences on maternal satisfaction. The prevalence of childbirth-related PTSD was 2.4%. Conclusion: The validation of the City BiTS-IT provides a valuable tool for healthcare professionals in Italy to identify and intervene early in cases of CB-PTSD. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to understand the progression of CB-PTSD symptoms and develop tailored interventions for at-risk populations

Persuasive Lobbying and the Value of Connections

The inflow of money into politics and the influence of interest groups on policies are well-documented, but the monetary value of accessing policymakers is less wellunderstood. As a result, it is unclear what inferences researchers can draw from lobbying expenditures about interest groups’ strategies and their ideological alignment with policymakers. We study a model of informational lobbying with a collective decisionmaking body and endogenous reforms to investigate the determinants of the value of access. We show that the funds flowing to a given policymaker depend not only on this policymaker’s ideology and procedural power, but also on the overall distribution of preferences and power among other policymakers. Two policymakers with the same ideology and procedural power might therefore attract different amounts of contributions, depending on the preferences of fellow policymakers. Our results help clarify empirical research linking lobbying expenditures by interest groups to politicians’ ideologies and power