A Call for Item-ordering Transparency in Online IS Survey Administration

Online survey applications typically offer the capability to individually randomize the order in which survey items are presented to subjects, a method that structurally eliminates several sources of method bias inherent to static surveys. IS researchers who use online surveys have a strong interest in knowing how prior surveys were administered in published research, however, we find this information is rarely available in current practice. This paper presents a call for increased transparency in reporting item-ordering methodology in future online IS survey research. This call is based on 1) a literature review of online survey research published in the AIS Senior Scholars’ Basket of Journals, 2) results of new research comparing reliability and construct validity characteristics produced by individually-randomized vs. static survey administration methods, and 3) results of hypothetical structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses contrasting structural models following purification of the individually-randomized and static datasets

An Investigation into College Students’ Preferences for Technology Integration into Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction

This study investigates if college students in general and those with stress, depression, and anxiety in particular would use technology to reduce their stress via mindfulness-based training. We conducted two studies. The first study focused on how college students who struggle with stress, depression, and anxiety view mindfulness-based stress reduction and using technology to support it. We conducted a survey that assessed how college students rated a variety of technologies that they could use to enhance their mindfulness-based stress reduction. The second study focused on whether college students with and without mental health issues would prefer to use an app in their mindfulness training. The first study involved 81 U.S. college students from 18 to 27 years old, and the second involved nine college students over 18 years old who had experienced stress, depression, and anxiety. The results suggest that college students did not differ in the likelihood that they would use different technologies to reduce their stress via mindfulness-based training. A majority of participants who struggled with stress, depression, and anxiety and who had taken mindfulness-based stress reduction training believed that having a mindfulness-based stress reduction app in conjunction with the in-person class we offered would reduce barriers to practicing mindfulness-based stress reduction. While many companies and technologists tout the benefits of pure online or digital solutions to mindfulness practice, the college students who struggled with stress, depression, and anxiety in our study clearly signaled that they did not prefer a technology solution alone and that they found such a solution insufficient

Trmun (north-eastern Italy): Multi-scale remote and ground-based sensing of a Bronze Age and post-Roman fortification

We have used multi-scale remote sensing to investigate a little known archaeological site in northern Istria (north-eastern Italy). Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) and archaeological field surveys have allowed us to identify the position and extension of a large Protohistoric hillfort. Its highest and best-preserved sector, corresponding to a modest elevation at the eastern margin of the settlement, has been further investigated through thermal imaging, high-resolution ALS, drone Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry and 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), leading to a detailed identification of unexpected buried features. An excavation campaign conducted in 2022 has confirmed the remote and ground-based sensing results. This excavation has led to the discovery of a Bronze Age fortification, partially reused and modified with the construction of 2 or 3 square towers during the post-Roman period. Our results demonstrate that the combined analysis of multi-scale remote and ground-based sensing is crucial to planning archaeological exploration in the field. Digital methods provide high-resolution topography and detect buried features that assist in monitoring and managing cultural heritage

Germinal ovarian tumors in reproductive age women: Fertility-sparing and outcome

MOGCTs (malignant ovarian germ cell tumors) are rare tumors that mainly affect patients of reproductive age. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fertility and survival outcomes in young women with MOCGTs treated with fertility-sparing surgery (FSS).From 2000 to 2018, data from 28 patients of reproductive age with a diagnosis of MOGCT at the University of Bari were collected. Most received FSS, and in patients treated conservatively, the reproductive outcome and survival were investigated. Data of patient demographics, clinical presentation, oncology marker dosage, staging, type of surgery, histological examination, survival, and reproductive outcome were collected from hospital and office charts. All informed consent was obtained from all patients. The median age was 24 (range: 9-45 years). The majority of the patients had stage IIIC. Twenty-four woman received FSS consisting of unilateral ovariectomy and omentectomy, whereas only 4 women, based on their stage (IIIC), received a radical surgery (hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy, lymphadenectomy, and omentectomy). Our study shows that FSS in MOGCTs can produce good results both on reproductive outcomes and on survival. Indeed, in our group, there was only 1 case of exitus as result of recurrence. Furthermore, patients after FSS maintained normal ovarian function and 5 of 5 women who tried to get pregnant succeeded spontaneously. The median follow-up was 90 months (range 3-159).Conservative surgery for MOGCTs should be considered for women of reproductive age who wish to preserve fertility

LA SEQUENZA NUMIDICA NEL SUO CONTESTO GEOTETTONICO: UNA PROPOSTA DI ORDINE PALEOGEOGRAFICO

Numerous and much debated are the interpretations given through time far the Numidian Sequence and Lateral Facies in the different sectors of the Maghreb, Cordillera Chain and Southern Apennine. The Numidian Sequence can be schematically subdivided, in the regional context, into three main stratigraphi­cal intervals. They can be found in two successions which are different far their palaeogeographic position. Moreover, are present some Lateral Facies in the external (Numidian like Sequence) and internal (Mixed Suc­cessions) palaeogeographical position in relation to Numidian Sequence. The Numidian Basin may be located, in agreement with most of the previous authors, at South of the European Paleomargin, towards the African Paleomargin, probably aver the Massylian and Ultra-Tellian p.p. palaeogeographic sectors (External Zones), more or less deformed. The Numidian Basin may represent an active Upper Oligocene-Early Miocene fore­deep, relatively more external with respect to the "Maghrebian flysch basin", supplied by quartzose sands of saharian origin

A pre seismic radio anomaly revealed in the area where the Abruzzo earthquake ( M =6.3) occurred on 6 April 2009

Abstract. On 6 April 2009 a strong (Mw=6.3) earthquake occurred in the Abruzzo region (central Italy). Since 1996, the intensity of CLT (f=189 kHz, Sicily, Italy), MCO (f=216 kHz, France) and CZE (f=270 kHz, Czech Republic) broadcast signals has been collected with a ten minutes sampling rate by a receiver operating in a place located about 13 km far from the epicenter. During March 2009, the old receiver was substituted with a new one able to measure, with one minute sampling rate, the intensity of five VLF signals and five LF signals radiated by transmitters located in different zones of Europe. The MCO and CZE transmitters mentioned above are included among them. From 31 March to 1 April the intensity of the MCO radio signal dropped and this drop was observed only in this signal. The possibility that the drop was connected to problems in the transmitter or in the receiver was investigated and excluded. So, the drop indicates a defocusing of the radiated signal. Since no particular meteorological situation along the path transmitter-receiver happened, the defocusing must be related to other causes, and a possibility is presented that it is a precursor of the Abruzzo earthquake

Extreme rainfall events in karst environments: the case study of September 2014 in the Gargano area (southern Italy)

In the first week of September 2014, the Gargano Promontory (Apulia, SE Italy) was hit by an extreme rainfall event that caused several landslides, floods and sinkholes. As a consequence of the floods, two people lost their lives and severe socio-economic damages were reported. The highest peaks of rainfall were recorded between September 3rd and 6th at the Cagnano Varano and San Marco in Lamis rain gauges with a maximum daily rainfall (over 230 mm) that is about 30% the mean annual rainfall. The Gargano Promontory is characterized by complex orographic conditions, with the highest elevation of about 1000 m a.s.l. The geological setting consists of different types of carbonate deposits affected by intensive development of karst processes. The morphological and climatic settings of the area, associated with frequent extreme rainfall events can cause various types of geohazards (e.g., landslides, floods, sinkholes). A further element enhancing the natural predisposition of the area to the occurrence of landslides, floods and sinkholes is an intense human activity, characterized by an inappropriate land use and management. In order to obtain consistent and reliable data on the effects produced by the storm, a systematic collection of information through field observations, a critical analysis of newspaper articles and web-news, and a co-operation with the Regional Civil Protection and local geologists started immediately after the event. The information collected has been organized in a database including the location, the occurrence time and the type of geohazard documented with photographs. The September 2014 extreme rainfall event in the Gargano Promontory was also analyzed to validate the forecasts issued by the Italian national early-warning system for rainfall-induced landslides (SANF), developed by the Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection (IRPI) for the Italian national Department for Civil Protection (DPC). SANF compares rainfall measurements and forecasts with empirical rainfall thresholds for the prediction of landslide occurrence. SANF forecasts were compared to the documented landslides and discussed

Modeling the impact of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine serotype catch-up program using United States claims data

Background: Analysis of US claims data from April 2010 to June 2011 estimated that 39% of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) catch-up eligible cohort would ever receive the catch-up vaccination; a previous analysis assumed 87%. Methods: This updated figure was applied to a previously published 10-year Markov model while holding all other inputs constant. Results: Our model estimated that the catch-up program as currently implemented is estimated to prevent an additional 1.7 million cases of disease in children aged ≤59 months over a 10-year period, compared with routine PCV13 vaccination with no catch-up program. Conclusions: Because 39% catch-up uptake is less than the level of completion of the 4-dose primary PCV13 series, vaccine-preventable cases of pneumococcal disease and related deaths could be decreased further with additional uptake of catch-up vaccination in the catch-up eligible cohort