Reporting child sexual abuse within religious settings: challenges and future directions

The sexual abuse of children within religious settings is an issue that has gained increased popular and professional attention over the past two decades. Various reports have highlighted the scale of such abuse, along with shortcomings in reporting practices. In this article, we outline some contemporary research that sought to understand the psychology that underpins variable reporting practices. In line with this research, we set out two conceptual frameworks that have some potential to help to explain such practices: system justification theory and moral foundations theory. Further, we describe how these frameworks could be adopted in research moving forward in order to make sense of the ways in which members of religious groups respond to allegations of child sexual abuse within their institutions. We close the article by arguing that by gaining a deeper understanding of the psychology underlying reporting practices, it may be possible to communicate more effectively about child sexual abuse within religious institutions, and therefore encourage more widespread reporting of allegations before more children are harmed

A comprehensive study of the tides around the Welsh coastal waters

A computational model has been used to explore characteristics of the barotropic tide around the Welsh coast in detail for the first time. Proper understanding of tidal characteristics is vital for the sustainable use of marine resources; particularly for industries such as marine energy extraction, aggregate mining, aquaculture, as well as regulators and agencies with responsibilities for the resource management and public safety. In shallow water areas, the influence of bathymetry and energy dissipation leads to the generation of higher harmonics that cause complex tidal phenomena. The Celtic and Irish seas, which enclose the Welsh coast (UK), are heavily industrialised shallow water seas with macro-to mega-tidal semi-diurnal tides. It is shown that tidal distortion is significant in the Bristol Channel (S. Wales) and in the large shallow estuaries of the N. Wales coast; for much of the west coast this is only significant in localised areas around headlands and islands. Tidal dominance switches from flood dominant in the south and north to ebb dominant on the west coast. Highly complex patterns of vorticity in the tidal residual flow are noted. All these factors mean that careful siting of industry and coastal management interventions is required to avoid disruption of the natural system

Food venue choice, consumer food environment, but not food venue availability within daily travel patterns are associated with dietary intake among adults, Lexington Kentucky 2011

Objective The retail food environment may be one important determinant of dietary intake. However, limited research focuses on individuals’ food shopping behavior and activity within the retail food environment. This study’s aims were to determine the association between six various dietary indicators and 1) food venue availability; 2) food venue choice and frequency; and 3) availability of healthy food within food venue. Methods In Fall, 2011, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults (n=121) age 18 years and over in Lexington, Kentucky. Participants wore a global position system (GPS) data logger for 3-days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) to track their daily activity space, which was used to assess food activity space. They completed a survey to assess demographics, food shopping behaviors, and dietary outcomes. Food store audits were conducted using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey-Store Rudd (NEMS-S) in stores where respondents reported purchasing food (n=22). Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between six dietary variables with food venue availability within activity space; food venue choice; frequency of shopping; and availability of food within food venue. Results 1) Food venue availability within activity space – no significant associations. 2) Food Venue Choice – Shopping at farmers’ markets or specialty grocery stores reported higher odds of consuming fruits and vegetables (OR 1.60 95% CI [1.21, 2.79]). Frequency of shopping - Shopping at a farmers’ markets and specialty stores at least once a week reported higher odds of consumption of fruits and vegetables (OR 1.55 95% CI [1.08, 2.23]). Yet, shopping frequently at a super market had higher odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 1.39 95% CI [1.03, 1.86]). 3) Availability of food within store – those who shop in supermarkets with high availability of healthy food has lower odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 0.65 95% CI [0.14, 0.83]). Conclusion Interventions aimed at improving fruit and vegetable intake need to consider where individuals’ purchase food and the availability within stores as a behavioral and environmental strategy

Creative destruction in science

Drawing on the concept of a gale of creative destruction in a capitalistic economy, we argue that initiatives to assess the robustness of findings in the organizational literature should aim to simultaneously test competing ideas operating in the same theoretical space. In other words, replication efforts should seek not just to support or question the original findings, but also to replace them with revised, stronger theories with greater explanatory power. Achieving this will typically require adding new measures, conditions, and subject populations to research designs, in order to carry out conceptual tests of multiple theories in addition to directly replicating the original findings. To illustrate the value of the creative destruction approach for theory pruning in organizational scholarship, we describe recent replication initiatives re-examining culture and work morality, working parents\u2019 reasoning about day care options, and gender discrimination in hiring decisions. Significance statement It is becoming increasingly clear that many, if not most, published research findings across scientific fields are not readily replicable when the same method is repeated. Although extremely valuable, failed replications risk leaving a theoretical void\u2014 reducing confidence the original theoretical prediction is true, but not replacing it with positive evidence in favor of an alternative theory. We introduce the creative destruction approach to replication, which combines theory pruning methods from the field of management with emerging best practices from the open science movement, with the aim of making replications as generative as possible. In effect, we advocate for a Replication 2.0 movement in which the goal shifts from checking on the reliability of past findings to actively engaging in competitive theory testing and theory building. Scientific transparency statement The materials, code, and data for this article are posted publicly on the Open Science Framework, with links provided in the article

A structured assessment on the perceived attributes of sustainable agricultural practices: A study for the Malaysian vegetable production sector

Individual farmers subjectively perceive the attributes of green agricultural innovations and their subsequent benefits. Qualifying this knowledge is important, but past efforts have largely been unsystematic. This systematic study assesses the structure of perceived attributes of sustainable agricultural practices. Through a survey of Malaysian vegetable farmers, the results of confirmatory factor analysis indicate that the most robust structure consists of four attributes. The four important attributes are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity and trialability. Among them, measures are required to link non-economic benefits to profitability to the attribute of relative advantage. Our work represents a guide to assist change agents to evaluate farmer perceptions at different locations systematically. This structured method will help effectively to design and promote sustainable agriculture and other green agricultural innovations.