Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and work engagement in residential child care

Due to the challenging nature of the setting, residential childcare staff are at risk of developing compassion fatigue, including burnout and secondary traumatic stress. There is also opportunity to experience compassion satisfaction from supporting young people in need. These concepts are under-researched in residential childcare, as is work engagement; a sense of vigour, dedication and absorption at work which is beneficial for employees and organisations. This quantitative study investigated the relationship between compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and work engagement in staff working in independent residential childcare organisations in England, Scotland and Wales. The study used a within-participants design using correlational analyses, with a sample of 100 participants who completed a self-report questionnaire. Work engagement was positively correlated with compassion satisfaction and negatively correlated with the burnout aspect of compassion fatigue but not secondary traumatic stress. However, the absorption component of work engagement was positively associated with secondary traumatic stress, reflecting that burnout and secondary trauma are distinct aspects of compassion fatigue that relate differently with work engagement. It is recommended that residential childcare organisations be aware of, and implement support structures to prevent or minimise, both burnout and secondary traumatic stress in their employees

Attenuation, Delay and Noise properties of light slowed by Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

Electromagnetically Induced Transparency is an effect that allows light to propagate through an otherwise opaque material. Due to the dispersion properties of the EIT system, it also slows the information carried on the sideband frequencies of a light beam. The effect can also be used to store information in an atomic medium. It was therefore proposed that EIT systems can be applied in optical cicuits, specifically with regard to quantum information processing where it is necessary to delay, or store quantum states of light. Hence it is necessary to understand how EIT systems influence the quantum state of a light beam and whether EIT systems can ever have the potential to delay and store quantum information at the quantum noise limit. ¶ This thesis examines the transfer of an optical signal at the sideband frequencies through an EIT medium. A comprehensive characterisation of an EIT system in terms of delay and signal transmission is performed. This measurement technique provides data on EIT performance over a range of signal frequencies and a range of experimental parameters. Experiments were conducted with both pure Rubidium vapour and Rubidium vapour mixed with a noble gas. ¶ Studies have been made into a new system of measurement that will allow delay, attenuation and added noise spectra to be assessed via a single-shot measurement

Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and work engagement in residential child care

Due to the challenging nature of the setting, residential childcare staff are at risk of developing compassion fatigue, including burnout and secondary traumatic stress. There is also opportunity to experience compassion satisfaction from supporting young people in need. These concepts are under-researched in residential childcare, as is work engagement; a sense of vigour, dedication and absorption at work which is beneficial for employees and organisations. This quantitative study investigated the relationship between compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and work engagement in staff working in independent residential childcare organisations in England, Scotland and Wales. The study used a within-participants design using correlational analyses, with a sample of 100 participants who completed a self-report questionnaire. Work engagement was positively correlated with compassion satisfaction and negatively correlated with the burnout aspect of compassion fatigue but not secondary traumatic stress. However, the absorption component of work engagement was positively associated with secondary traumatic stress, reflecting that burnout and secondary trauma are distinct aspects of compassion fatigue that relate differently with work engagement. It is recommended that residential childcare organisations be aware of, and implement support structures to prevent or minimise, both burnout and secondary traumatic stress in their employees

Sleep Health Education to Promote Public Health: Attitudes and Desired Learning Goals among Social Work Students

Social workers are often front line behavioral health providers for underserved populations, many of whom experience sleep disturbances. Inadequate sleep presents a public health challenge and is associated with many adverse physical health and mental health consequences. Social workers are uniquely positioned to promote sleep health among individuals experiencing health inequities. However, sleep is rarely included as part of the curricula in social work programs in the U.S. We conducted qualitative formative research to investigate social work students’ perceptions of sleep education and desired sleep learning objectives. Twenty-five social work students were recruited via a listserv e-mail to participate in one of three focus groups. Participants believed sleep education could be beneficial in promoting client health and well-being. Desired learning goals included: (1) the importance of sleep; (2) identify symptoms of sleep deprivation and sleep disorders; (3) environmental and lifestyle factors that impact sleep; (4) behaviors to promote optimal sleep; and (5) sleep health as it relates to special populations (e.g., homelessness, substance using). Social work students expressed a desire to aquire knowledge on sleep health promotion as part of the social work curricula. Sleep education could be of considerable relevance to social work students, practitioners, and the clients they serve

Strategic Planning for Research Use in Nursing Practice

Background/Objective: To prepare for a culture change to integrate research utilization into daily nursing practice, the authors conducted a descriptive survey of all registered nurses (RNs) in an integrated healthcare delivery system. The purposes of this study were to assess RNs\u27 knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of nursing research activities, assess factors that support a research environment, and determine facilitating and challenging factors related to conducting regional nursing research. Methods: A 33-item survey based on the Iowa Model for Evidence-Based Practice was developed, validated, and determined to be reliable by the authors. Site coordinators organized and managed the orientation, administration, and collection of data from the 2,736 registered nurses who worked in 6 hospitals, 65 affiliated clinics, and 3 business units. Narrative notes taken by study investigators were analyzed for themes to determine challenging and facilitating factors for conducting regional research. Results: Education and job title significantly predicted knowledge and ability to perform research activities but was not related to willingness to engage in research activities. Several environmental factors were associated with knowledge of, willingness to engage in, and ability to perform research utilization activities. Challenging and facilitating factors to conducting regional research were identified. Conclusions/Implications: Our research environment is changing to value research as shown in the philosophy, conceptual framework, and bylaws for the professional nursing staff. Novice-to-expert research utilization expectations are included in the promotional model for nursing. All RN job descriptions and the annual performance tool were revised to include responsibilities related to research activities. The Iowa Model for Evidence-Based Practice was adopted as the method for creating practice validation and change. Train-the-trainer educational and experiential sessions are being designed for nurse leaders; all new RN employees complete a self-assessment tool of research utilization knowledge and the nursing division strategic goals incorporate research utilization expectations. The elements of this plan may be useful for nurse executives. Healthcare systems are restructuring throughout the world and within the United States. These changes are occurring to better meet the evolving healthcare needs of the population through cost-effective approaches. Within the United States, emerging organized healthcare systems require research related to patient care outcomes and the health systems that can best address them

Multi-Messenger Astronomy with Extremely Large Telescopes

The field of time-domain astrophysics has entered the era of Multi-messenger Astronomy (MMA). One key science goal for the next decade (and beyond) will be to characterize gravitational wave (GW) and neutrino sources using the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). These studies will have a broad impact across astrophysics, informing our knowledge of the production and enrichment history of the heaviest chemical elements, constrain the dense matter equation of state, provide independent constraints on cosmology, increase our understanding of particle acceleration in shocks and jets, and study the lives of black holes in the universe. Future GW detectors will greatly improve their sensitivity during the coming decade, as will near-infrared telescopes capable of independently finding kilonovae from neutron star mergers. However, the electromagnetic counterparts to high-frequency (LIGO/Virgo band) GW sources will be distant and faint and thus demand ELT capabilities for characterization. ELTs will be important and necessary contributors to an advanced and complete multi-messenger network.Comment: White paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Surve

White paper: Research Challenges at the Intersection of Energy and Equity in the Energy Transition

Summary report from NSF2026: Conference Workshops to Identify Research Challenges at the Intersection of Energy and Equity in the Energy Transitio

Longitudinal Assessment of Prenatal, Perinatal, and Early-Life Aflatoxin B1 Exposure in 828 Mother–Child Dyads from Bangladesh and Malawi

Background: In utero or early-life exposure to aflatoxin, which contaminates staple crops in disadvantaged settings, may compromise pregnancy and infant outcomes, but investigations into the extent, persistence, and determinants of aflatoxin exposure at these life stages have lacked longitudinal data collection and broad geographic representation. Objectives: Aflatoxin exposure and selected determinants thereof were characterized in mother–child dyads with serial plasma/serum samples in prenatal, perinatal, and early life in Malawi and Bangladesh. Methods: Circulating aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)–lysine albumin adducts were measured in dyads from Bangladesh (n = 573; maternal first and third trimester, 3 mo postpartum, cord blood, infant 24 mo) and Malawi (n = 255; maternal second and third trimester, 6 mo postpartum, infant 6 and 18 mo) with isotope dilution mass spectrometry. We examined AFB1-lysine adduct magnitude, persistence, seasonality, and associations with infant feeding, and estimated daily AFB1 intake. Results: Maternal AFB1-lysine was higher in Malawi (98% detectable; median: 0.469, IQR: 0.225–1.027 pg/μL) than in Bangladesh (59%; 0.030, nondetectable [nd]–0.077 pg/μL). Although estimated dietary exposure in Malawi was temporally stable (648 ng AFB1/day), estimated intake in Bangladesh was reduced by 94% between rainy and winter seasons (98 to 6 ng/day). AFB1-lysine was low in cord blood from Bangladesh (15% detectable; 0.045, 0.031–0.088 pg/μL among detectable) and in Malawian infants at 6 mo of age (0.072, nd–0.236 pg/μL), but reached maternal concentrations by 18 or 24 mo (Bangladesh: 0.034, nd–0.063 pg/μL; Malawi: 0.370, 0.195–0.964 pg/μL). In Malawian infants, exclusive breastfeeding at 3 mo was associated with 58% lower AFB1-lysine concentrations at 6 mo compared with other feeding modes (P = 0.010). Conclusions: Among pregnant women, aflatoxin exposure was persistently high in Malawi, while lower and seasonal in Bangladesh. Infants were partially protected from exposure in utero and with exclusive breastfeeding, but exposures reached adult levels by 18–24 mo of age. The Bangladesh and Malawi trials are registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00860470 and NCT01239693. Curr Dev Nutr 2022;6:nzab153.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Assessing the impacts of 1.5 °C global warming – simulation protocol of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP2b)

In Paris, France, December 2015, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) invited the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide a "special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways". In Nairobi, Kenya, April 2016, the IPCC panel accepted the invitation. Here we describe the response devised within the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP) to provide tailored, cross-sectorally consistent impact projections to broaden the scientific basis for the report. The simulation protocol is designed to allow for (1) separation of the impacts of historical warming starting from pre-industrial conditions from impacts of other drivers such as historical land-use changes (based on pre-industrial and historical impact model simulations); (2) quantification of the impacts of additional warming up to 1.5°C, including a potential overshoot and long-term impacts up to 2299, and comparison to higher levels of global mean temperature change (based on the low-emissions Representative Concentration Pathway RCP2.6 and a no-mitigation pathway RCP6.0) with socio-economic conditions fixed at 2005 levels; and (3) assessment of the climate effects based on the same climate scenarios while accounting for simultaneous changes in socio-economic conditions following the middle-of-the-road Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP2, Fricko et al., 2016) and in particular differential bioenergy requirements associated with the transformation of the energy system to comply with RCP2.6 compared to RCP6.0. With the aim of providing the scientific basis for an aggregation of impacts across sectors and analysis of cross-sectoral interactions that may dampen or amplify sectoral impacts, the protocol is designed to facilitate consistent impact projections from a range of impact models across different sectors (global and regional hydrology, lakes, global crops, global vegetation, regional forests, global and regional marine ecosystems and fisheries, global and regional coastal infrastructure, energy supply and demand, temperature-related mortality, and global terrestrial biodiversity)