2,504 research outputs found
Delphi Method and Nominal Group Techniques in Family Planning and Reproductive Health Research
Both the Delphi method and nominal group technique
offer structured, transparent and replicable ways of
synthesising individual judgements and have been used
extensively for priority setting and guideline development
in health-related research including reproductive
health. Within evidence-based practice they provide a
means of collating expert opinion where little evidence
exists.They are distinct from many other methods
because they incorporate both qualitative and quantitative
approaches. Both methods are inherently flexible; this
article also discusses other strengths and weaknesses of
these methods
Examining the âCosmetics Placebo Effectâ
Previous studies have found a positive effect of cosmetics on certain behavioral measures, such as the tip given to waitresses by male patrons. These studies have employed confederates who usually wear cosmetics. We therefore sought to examine whether the positive effect found in these studies could, in part, be explained by a change in behavior. In order to test the possibility of a âcosmetics placebo effectâ, we employed a confederate to solicit donations from passersby. On some days our confederate would not have any cosmetics applied to her face (i.e., no cosmetics condition), on some days cosmetics were pretended to be applied to her face (i.e., placebo cosmetics condition), and on other days cosmetics were actually applied to her face (i.e., cosmetics condition). In line with previous research, we found that across conditions men donated significantly more than women to our female solicitor, providing support for the âshowoff hypothesisâ, in which male generosity serves as a mating tactic. When investigating menâs donations in more detail, we found that the highest percentage of donations came in the cosmetics condition, followed by the placebo cosmetics condition, and then by no cosmetics condition. The effect of condition on donation rates, however, was not statistically significant. Our study was limited to one solicitor and one dependent variable (i.e., percentage of people approached who donated) and therefore future research would benefit from using more confederates as well as examining other behavioral measures. Given the influence of cosmetics use on so many real-world outcomes, we believe that further exploration into a possible âcosmetics placebo effectâ would be valuable
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Phonetic Stress Cues in Noun-Verb Pairs in American English vs. Indian English
The essence of helping: Significant others and nurses in action draw men into nursing
Background: Nurses are ageing placing nursing workforce sustainability under threat. An untapped potential resource of men in nursing exists within Australia. Objective: The aim of the first phase of this longitudinal study was to investigate why men choose nursing. Design: Qualitative methodological approach used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).
Research question: âWhat are the experiences of male graduate nurses regarding their career choice?â
Method: The IPA method focused on personal subjective experience where the participantsâ own sense-making is important. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a format relevant to IPA. Participants: Purposeful snowball sampling recruited nine nurses.
Findings: The âessence of helpingâ permeated the key theme through significant others and career choice triggers impacting on their decision to enter nursing.
Conclusion: Exposure to nurses in action is purported to enhance the awareness of nursing as a career option for men that may contribute to increased recruitment of men into nursing
Not according to plan: Exploring gaps in city climate planning and the need for regional action
As the country's primary economic and population centers, cities drive most greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and will absorb most climate-related costs. And the growing frequency of floods, fires, droughts, and heat waves puts cities of all sizes in greater danger.To reduce these costs and amplify benefits, cities need to reduce emissions (or "decarbonize") their built environment. Eliminating fossil fuel consumption from their transportation, building, and electricity sectors is essential; collectively, these sectors produce nearly two-thirds of national GHG emissions. However, achieving those reductions will require more than simply relying on new federal rules and funding, including those in the Inflation Reduction Act. Local planners, policymakers, and practitioners need to coordinate on new infrastructure investments.One of the first steps cities have taken is the drafting of "climate action plans"âmany of which pledge specific carbon reductions. Yet even as these plans proliferate, cities leaders are struggling to hit their targets. One gap in city climate planning and action is internal, with cities often failing to specify detailed strategies that will advance their goals. The other gap is regional: Individual cities do not have the fiscal, technical, or programmatic capacity to single-handedly drive decarbonization across their metropolitan regions, and often, they do not coordinate with other jurisdictions.This report attempts to better understand why cities are failing to meet their targets and what can be learned from the planning practices that are working well. By evaluating the most comprehensive decarbonization plans across 50 of the country's largest cities, the report judges how well the strategies and actions in these plans prepare cities for meaningful, accountable decarbonization
Stepfathers' affinity-seeking with stepchildren, stepfather-stepchild relationship quality, marital quality, and stepfamily cohesion among stepfathers and mothers
Because of the potential stepparent-stepchild relationships have for tension and conflict, clinicians have identified the development of a positive stepparent-stepchild connection as one of the major tasks of stepfamily life. Stepparents often are advised to focus initially on developing friendships with stepchildren, or seeking affinity with them, particularly early in the life of the relationship. Both family systems theory and evolutionary theory suggest that stepparentsâ affinity-seeking behaviors are related to the quality and functioning of other stepfamily dyads, such as couple relationships, and the whole stepfamily. We extend prior work on stepparentsâ affinity seeking by including perceptions of both members of the stepcouple about affinity seeking, stepfather-stepchild conflicts, couple relationship quality, and stepfamily cohesion. Stepfathers and mothers from 234 stepcouples independently completed online surveys. After accounting for covariates (i.e., duration of mothersâ previous relationships, duration of the stepcouple relationship, focal childâs biological sex and age, number of children in the household, and mothersâ report of household income), stepfathersâ perceptions of affinity-seeking with the focal child significantly predicted both partnersâ perceptions of stepfather-stepchild conflict, marital quality, marital confidence, and stepfamily cohesion. Mothersâ perceptions of stepfathersâ affinity-seeking were significantly related to her marital confidence and perceptions of stepfamily cohesion. Stepfathersâ perceptions of their affinity-seeking explained more variance in stepfathersâ and mothersâ outcomes than did mothersâ perceptions. The results suggest benefits associated with stepfather affinity-seekingâless conflict with stepchildren, better couple relationships, and closer stepfamily ties. Our findings provide evidence for encouraging stepparents to focus on building affinity with stepchildren
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Comparison of five different RNA sources to examine the lactating bovine mammary gland transcriptome using RNA-Sequencing.
The objective of this study was to examine five different sources of RNA, namely mammary gland tissue (MGT), milk somatic cells (SC), laser microdissected mammary epithelial cells (LCMEC), milk fat globules (MFG) and antibody-captured milk mammary epithelial cells (mMEC) to analyze the bovine mammary gland transcriptome using RNA-Sequencing. Our results provide a comparison between different sampling methods (invasive and non-invasive) to define the transcriptome of mammary gland tissue and milk cells. This information will be of value to investigators in choosing the most appropriate sampling method for different research applications to study specific physiological states during lactation. One of the simplest procedures to study the transcriptome associated with milk appears to be the isolation of total RNA directly from SC or MFG released into milk during lactation. Our results indicate that the SC and MFG transcriptome are representative of MGT and LCMEC and can be used as effective and alternative samples to study mammary gland expression without the need to perform a tissue biopsy
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