Towards better child protection programmes:a qualitative evaluation of Youth Disseminating Life Skills Programme

The present study aimed to assess the acceptability of a 12-week training programme, Youth Disseminating Life Skills Programme whose aims were to help university students acquire knowledge on and to increase sensitivity towards child abuse and neglect by adopting a qualitative methodology. The sample consisted of 13 university students who took part in the Youth Disseminating Life Skills Programme (10 female, 3 male: mean age 22 years; age range: 20–31). With the help of a general interview guide, the focus group meetings were held. Established conventions guided the analysis. Participants recounted feelings about and benefits of the Programme, and ways to improve the Programme. Feelings about the Programme included both positive (e.g. feeling hopeful) and negative feelings (e.g. feeling traumatised). Participants recounted a variety of benefits of the Programme (e.g. correcting some myths about child abuse). Participants proposed some ways whereby the Programmecouldbeimproved.Some findingscouldbeinterpretedin terms of existing literature/theory. Other findings extended the literature and could be viewed as targets for future child protection programmes

Quantifying the Storm Time Thermospheric Neutral Density Variations Using Model and Observations

Accurate determination of thermospheric neutral density holds crucial importance for satellite drag calculations. The problem is twofold and involves the correct estimation of the quiet time climatology and storm time variations. In this work, neutral density estimations from two empirical and three physicsâ based models of the ionosphereâ thermosphere are compared with the neutral densities along the Challenging Microâ Satellite Payload satellite track for six geomagnetic storms. Storm time variations are extracted from neutral density by (1) subtracting the mean difference between model and observation (bias), (2) setting climatological variations to zero, and (3) multiplying model data with the quiet time ratio between the model and observation. Several metrics are employed to evaluate the model performances. We find that the removal of bias or climatology reveals actual performance of the model in simulating the storm time variations. When bias is removed, depending on event and model, storm time errors in neutral density can decrease by an amount of 113% or can increase by an amount of 12% with respect to error in models with quiet time bias. It is shown that using only average and maximum values of neutral density to determine the model performances can be misleading since a model can estimate the averages fairly well but may not capture the maximum value or vice versa. Since each of the metrics used for determining model performances provides different aspects of the error, among these, we suggest employing mean absolute error, prediction efficiency, and normalized root mean square error together as a standard set of metrics for the neutral density.Plain Language SummaryThermospheric neutral density is the largest source of uncertainty in atmospheric drag calculations. Consequently, mission and maneuver planning, satellite lifetime predictions, collision avoidance, and orbit determination depend on the accurate estimation of the thermospheric neutral density. Thermospheric neutral density varies in different timescales. In short timescales, the largest variations occur due to the geomagnetic storms. Several empirical and physicsâ based models of the ionosphereâ thermosphere system are used for estimating the variations in the neutral density. However, the storm time responses from the models are clouded by the climatology (background variations), upon which the effect of geomagnetic storms is superimposed. In this work, we show that it is critical to use reference levels for the neutral density to extract the true performance of the models for the evaluation of the storm time performances. We demonstrate that mean absolute error, prediction efficiency, and normalized root mean square error should be considered together for the performance evaluations, since each of them provides different aspects of the error.Key PointsUsing the average and maximum values of neutral densities to determine the model performances can be misleadingRemoving the quiet time trend from the neutral density reveals the actual performance of the model in simulating the storm time variationsMean absolute error, prediction efficiency, and normalized root mean square error should be considered together for the evaluationsPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148396/1/swe20816_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148396/2/swe20816-sup-0001-2018SW002033-SI.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148396/3/swe20816.pd

Identification of Ligand Binding Sites of Proteins Using the Gaussian Network Model

The nonlocal nature of the protein-ligand binding problem is investigated via the Gaussian Network Model with which the residues lying along interaction pathways in a protein and the residues at the binding site are predicted. The predictions of the binding site residues are verified by using several benchmark systems where the topology of the unbound protein and the bound protein-ligand complex are known. Predictions are made on the unbound protein. Agreement of results with the bound complexes indicates that the information for binding resides in the unbound protein. Cliques that consist of three or more residues that are far apart along the primary structure but are in contact in the folded structure are shown to be important determinants of the binding problem. Comparison with known structures shows that the predictive capability of the method is significant

Scalable psychological interventions for Syrian refugees in Europe and the Middle East: STRENGTHS study protocol for a prospective individual participant data meta-analysis

Introduction The World Health Organization’s (WHO) scalable psychological interventions, such as Problem Management Plus (PM+) and Step-by-Step (SbS) are designed to be cost-effective non-specialist delivered interventions to reduce symptoms of common mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The STRENGTHS consortium aims to evaluate the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and implementation of the individual format of PM+ and its group version (gPM+), as well as of the digital SbS intervention among Syrian refugees in seven countries in Europe and the Middle East. This is a study protocol for a prospective individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to evaluate (1) overall effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and (2) treatment moderators of PM+, gPM+ and SbS with Syrian refugees. Methods and analysis Five pilot randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and seven fully powered RCTs conducted within STRENGTHS will be combined into one IPD meta-analytic dataset. The RCTs include Syrian refugees of 18 years and above with elevated psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10>15)) and impaired daily functioning (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0>16)). Participants are randomised into the intervention or care as usual control group, and complete follow-up assessments at 1-week, 3-month and 12-month follow-up. Primary outcomes are symptoms of depression and anxiety (25-item Hopkins Symptom Checklist). Secondary outcomes include daily functioning (WHODAS 2.0), PTSD symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5) and self-identified problems (PSYCHLOPS). We will conduct a one-stage IPD meta-analysis using linear mixed models. Quality of evidence will be assessed using the GRADE approach, and the economic evaluation approach will be assessed using the CHEC-list. Ethics and dissemination Local ethical approval has been obtained for each RCT. This IPD meta-analysis does not require ethical approval. The results of this study will be published in international peer-reviewed journals

Sex differences in self-construal and in depressive symptoms: predictors of cross-national variation

Sex differences in aspects of independent versus interdependent self-construal and depressive symptoms were surveyed among 5,320 students from 24 nations. Men were found to perceive themselves as more self-contained whereas women perceived themselves as more connected to others. No significant sex differences were found on two further dimensions of self-construal, or on a measure of depressive symptoms. Multilevel modeling was used to test the ability of a series of predictors derived from a social identity perspective and from evolutionary theory to moderate sex differences. Contrary to most prior studies of personality, sex differences in self-construal were larger in samples from nations scoring lower on the Gender Gap Index, and the Human Development Index. Sex differences were also greater in nations with higher pathogen prevalence, higher self-reported religiosity, and in nations with high reported avoidance of settings with strong norms. The findings are discussed in terms of the interrelatedness of self-construals and the cultural contexts in which they are elicited and the distinctiveness of student samples

Psicología social y moral de COVID-19 en 69 países

La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado a todos los ámbitos de la vida humana, incluido el tejido económico y social de las sociedades. Una de las estrategias centrales para gestionar la salud pública a lo largo de la pandemia ha sido el envío de mensajes persuasivos y el cambio de comportamiento colectivo. Para ayudar a los estudiosos a comprender mejor la psicología social y moral que subyace al comportamiento en materia de salud pública, presentamos un conjunto de datos compuesto por 51.404 individuos de 69 países. Este conjunto de datos se recopiló para el proyecto de la Colaboración Internacional en Psicología Social y Moral de COVID-19 (ICSMP COVID-19). Esta encuesta de ciencias sociales invitó a participantes de todo el mundo a completar una serie de medidas morales y psicológicas y actitudes de salud pública sobre COVID-19 durante una fase temprana de la pandemia de COVID-19 (entre abril y junio de 2020). La encuesta incluía siete grandes categorías de preguntas: Creencias sobre COVID-19 y conductas de cumplimiento; identidad y actitudes sociales; ideología; salud y bienestar; creencias morales y motivación; rasgos de personalidad; y variables demográficas. Presentamos los datos brutos y depurados, junto con todos los materiales de la encuesta, las visualizaciones de los datos y las evaluaciones psicométricas de las variables clave.The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behaviour change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public health behaviour, we present a dataset comprising of 51,404 individuals from 69 countries. This dataset was collected for the International Collaboration on Social & Moral Psychology of COVID-19 project (ICSMP COVID-19). This social science survey invited participants around the world to complete a series of moral and psychological measures and public health attitudes about COVID-19 during an early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (between April and June 2020). The survey included seven broad categories of questions: COVID-19 beliefs and compliance behaviours; identity and social attitudes; ideology; health and well-being; moral beliefs and motivation; personality traits; and demographic variables. We report both raw and cleaned data, along with all survey materials, data visualisations, and psychometric evaluations of key variables

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (vol 13, 517, 2022) : National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (Nature Communications, (2022), 13, 1, (517), 10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9)

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.In this article the author name ‘Agustin Ibanez’ was incorrectly written as ‘Augustin Ibanez’. The original article has been corrected.Peer reviewe