Inclusiveness in research and innovation settings

This is a draft entry. The final version will be available in Elgar Encyclopedia of Innovation Management edited by Eriksson, P., Montonen, T., Laine, P-M, & Hannula, A., forthcoming in 2025, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035306459This entry highlights the critical transition from a quantitative pursuit of gender equality to a focus on qualitative inclusion within the research and innovation (R&I) domains. Acknowledging that according to Unesco, women occupy merely one-third of research positions globally, this entry emphasises the significance of diversifying research and innovation to mitigate societal inequalities and biases in technologies, particularly those stemming from a predominantly masculine research culture. It underscores the necessity of addressing structural and cultural barriers in the field of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) to create a more inclusive and diverse working culture, ensuring that women and other minorities are retained and empowered within R&I

Risk factors for lower urinary tract injury at the time of hysterectomy for benign reasons

None of the authors has any conflicts of interest to report except for Dr. Rebecca G. Rogers, who is DSMB chair for American Medical Systems Transform Trial, UptoDate royalties, ACOG royalties, and is on the executive board of the ACOG. Dr. Gena Dunivan is a member of the AUGS Education Committee

Comparison and Consensus Guidelines for Delineation of Clinical Target Volume for CT- and MR-Based Brachytherapy in Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer

To create and compare consensus clinical target volume (CTV) contours for computed tomography (CT) and 3 Tesla (3T) magnetic resonance (MR) image-based cervical-cancer brachytherap

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Integration of gender in international science, technology and innovation (STI) collaboration:learning from international feminist policies

Science, technology and innovation (STI) is increasingly characterized by its international nature (Griset, 2020). The rising internationalization of STI is argued to be due to the growing importance of the knowledge economy, and the role of STI in finding solutions to wicked problems, such as climate change (Leijten, 2017; Schot and Steinmuller 2018). Yet, both international affairs and STI institutions that have impact on STI policies continue to be masculinised spaces, where overall resistance to women’s meaningful participation remains standard practice. This has not only shaped the ways in which international STI policies and programmes influence different segments of the population, but also demarcated the group who makes decisions at the international sphere, what kind of questions are being raised and addressed, and who primarily benefits from international STI agreements and its outputs, including funding. Following the gendered organizations theory’s notion of (STI and international) institutions “as sites that (re)produce gender dynamics and the gender order” (Rodriguez and Guenther 2022), we explore through a comparative case study organizations that have either implemented feminism into official (foreign) policy principle, or work as forerunners in integrating gender into STI related projects and ask “how can feminist (foreign) policy principles guide integration of gender dimension into STI diplomacy?”

Integration of gender in international science, technology and innovation (STI) collaboration:learning from international feminist policies

Science, technology and innovation (STI) is increasingly characterized by its international nature (Griset, 2020). The rising internationalization of STI is argued to be due to the growing importance of the knowledge economy, and the role of STI in finding solutions to wicked problems, such as climate change (Leijten, 2017; Schot and Steinmuller 2018). Yet, both international affairs and STI institutions that have impact on STI policies continue to be masculinised spaces, where overall resistance to women’s meaningful participation remains standard practice. This has not only shaped the ways in which international STI policies and programmes influence different segments of the population, but also demarcated the group who makes decisions at the international sphere, what kind of questions are being raised and addressed, and who primarily benefits from international STI agreements and its outputs, including funding. Following the gendered organizations theory’s notion of (STI and international) institutions “as sites that (re)produce gender dynamics and the gender order” (Rodriguez and Guenther 2022), we explore through a comparative case study organizations that have either implemented feminism into official (foreign) policy principle, or work as forerunners in integrating gender into STI related projects and ask “how can feminist (foreign) policy principles guide integration of gender dimension into STI diplomacy?”

Benchmarking report on gender equality in science, technology and innovation (STI) dialogues

This deliverable focuses on the integration of gender in international science, technology, and innovation (STI) collaboration and draws lessons from international gender equality and feminist policy principles

Survival Variability by Race and Ethnicity in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Context: The role of race/ethnicity in survival of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is unclear, with some studies reporting poorer survival among minority children and others reporting equivalent survival across race/ethnicity in the modern, risk-stratified treatment era. Objective: To investigate the relation between race/ethnicity and survival in a large, population-based analysis of incident ALL cases in the United States. Design, Population, and Setting: This study included 4952 individuals diagnosed with ALL between 1973 and 1999 at age 19 years or younger. ALL cases were identified from 9 population-based registries of the National Cancer Institute\u27s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. Main Outcome Measures: Survival probabilities were compared among white, black, Hispanic, Asian/ Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaskan Native children. Kaplan-Meier curves and proportional hazard ratios from Cox regression analysis were calculated, accounting for treatment era (1973-1982, 1983-1989, and 1990-1999), age at diagnosis (\u3c1, 1-9, and 10-19 years), and sex. Results: Although overall 5-year survival probabilities improved with each successive treatment era, differences according to race/ethnicity persisted. For 1990-1999, 5-year survival was 84% for white children, 81% for Asian/Pacific Islander children, 75% for black children, and 72% for both American Indian/Alaskan Native children and Hispanic children. The largest difference by race/ethnicity was observed among children diagnosed between ages 1 and 9 years. Compared with white children, after adjusting for treatment era, age at diagnosis, and sex, children of black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native descent had hazard ratios of 1.50 (95% CI, 1.0-2.2; P=.03), 1.83 (95% CI, 1.4-2.4; P\u3c.001), and 1.90 (95% CI, 0.8-4.6; P=.16). Conclusions: Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native children with ALL have worse survival than white and Asian/Pacific Islander children, even in the contemporary treatment era. Future work must delineate the social and biological factors, including any differences in pharmacokinetics associated with chemotherapeutic agents, that account for disparities in outcome

A novel anchoring system for pelvic organ prolapse repair: an observational study

Introduction and hypothesis: Sacrospinous ligament (SSL) fixation is an effective and widely used vaginal procedure for correcting apical prolapse. The Saffron Fixation System (Coloplast Corp., Minneapolis, MN, USA) is a new anchoring device aimed at facilitating a durable, easy, and short procedure for SSL fixation with the goal of minimizing operative complications. The objective was to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of anchor deployment and suture fixation for pelvic organ prolapse repair using the Saffron Fixation System. Methods: An observational human cadaver study was conducted to measure the distance between anchor location and anatomical landmarks in the pelvis, and the holding force of the fixated anchors. Anchors were placed in four human cadavers by different implanters. The pull-out force of these anchors was measured to assess efficacy (three cadavers by three implanters) and the distance between anchors and primal vessels and nerves was measured to assess safety (one cadaver by one implanter). Results: Nineteen out of 20 anchors (95%) were correctly placed as judged by independent assessment performed by non-implanting surgeons. Distance between anchors and surrounding nerves and vessels exceeded 10 mm. Mean (SD) pull out-force was 17.9 (5.6) N. Conclusion: The innovative anchoring device that was developed appeared to enable precise and solid anchor placement in the SSL. Future clinical studies are needed to explore if the theoretical advantages of this device translate to improved clinical outcomes in comparison with available suturing and anchoring devices