A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORS of Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology

In June 2021, JSSAM received its opening impact factor (1.957 for 2020), ranking JSSAM as 46/125 in Statistics and Probability and 29/52 in Social Sciences Mathematical Methods. This ranking is especially gratifying given the relative youth of this journal, and credit should be shared among the dedicated editors (present and emeritus), associate editors, contributing authors, and readership. Truly, the past few years have brought about personal and professional challenges thanks to the coronavirus disease pandemic. Despite this, JSSAM has maintained its high standards, continuing to make great inroads toward its objective of being “the flagship journal for research on survey statistics and methodology” (see About the Journal). Over the past 18months, there have been a few changes underway for JSSAM. For returning authors, perhaps the most noticeable change is the double-blind review process, implemented in July 2021. Implementing this process brings JSSAM in line with other AAPOR and ASA-sponsored journals and allows “honest” reviews. However, JSSAM has made other—perhaps less immediately noticeable— changes. ....

Challenges in the Treatment of Unit Nonresponse for Selected Business Surveys: A Case Study

Probability sample selection procedures gift methodologists with quite a bit of control before data collection. Unfortunately, not all sample units respond and those that do will not always provide data on every questioned characteristic, which can lead to biased estimates of totals. In this paper, we focus entirely on the challenges of mitigating nonresponse bias effects in business surveys, using empirical examples from one survey to illustrate challenges common to many programs

Evidence synthesis on the occurrence, causes, consequences, prevention and management of bullying and harassment behaviours to inform decision making in the NHS

Background Workplace bullying is a persistent problem in the NHS with negative implications for individuals, teams, and organisations. Bullying is a complex phenomenon and there is a lack of evidence on the best approaches to manage the problem. Aims Research questions What is known about the occurrence, causes, consequences and management of bullying and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace? Objectives Summarise the reported prevalence of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Summarise the empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Describe any theoretical explanations of the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Synthesise evidence on the preventative and management interventions that address workplace bullying interventions and inappropriate behaviour. Methods To fulfil a realist synthesis approach the study was designed across four interrelated component parts: Part 1: A narrative review of the prevalence, causes and consequences of workplace bullying Part 2: A systematic literature search and realist review of workplace bullying interventions Part 3: Consultation with international bullying experts and practitioners Part 4: Identification of case studies and examples of good practic

Building the climate resilience of arid zone freshwater biota

Abstract This report describes the research undertaken to develop national guidelines for climate adaptation planning for arid zone aquatic ecosystems and freshwater biodiversity. The guidelines focus on the protection of habitats and processes that support the persistence of freshwater biota under a changing climate. They support policy development, planning and on-ground actions. The major climate adaptation goal is to reduce the risk of the loss of aquatic habitats, deteriorating water quality and the extinction of aquatic and water-dependent species. A portfolio of adaptation approaches to maintaining aquatic habitats, the water resources that support them, and the species that depend upon them, is proposed within a framework of strategic adaptive management. This approach best addresses the uncertainty that exists as to how climatic changes will play out across the arid zone with respect to water availability and ecological processes.  Recommended climate adaptation actions include: combining a national mapping program that identifies the major types of arid zone aquatic ecosystems, their biological assets and the surface water and groundwater resources that sustain them, with vulnerability assessments that determine the climate sensitivity and likely persistence of key habitats; recognising the importance of evolutionary refugia and ecological refuges as priority sites for arid zone climate adaptation planning and policy; protecting a dynamic (spatial and temporal) mosaic of perennial, temporary and ephemeral waterbodies to provide the range of conditions needed to support aquatic and water-dependent species with varying life history traits and dispersal abilities; maintaining the integrity of the dry sediments of temporary and ephemeral waters to ensure the persistence of viable seed and egg banks; recognising the importance of key hydrological and ecological processes, particularly connectivity and dispersal; reducing the existing stressors on aquatic ecosystems and aquatic biota; identifying new and novel waterbodies created by arid zone industries (e.g. mining, pastoralism) that could provide valuable offsets for aquatic systems lost through climatic drying; implementing climate adaptation actions within a strategic adaptive management framework accompanied by a dedicated program for indigenous, industry and local community engagement and education.  Please cite this report as: Davis, J, Sunnucks, P, Thompson, R, Sim, L, Pavlova, A, Morán-Ordóñez, A, Brim Box, J, McBurnie, G, Pinder, A, Choy, S, McNeil D, Hughes, J, Sheldon, F, Timms, B, 2013, Building the climate resilience of arid zone freshwater biota, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 30. This report describes the research undertaken to develop national guidelines for climate adaptation planning for arid zone aquatic ecosystems and freshwater biodiversity. The guidelines focus on the protection of habitats and processes that support the persistence of freshwater biota under a changing climate. They support policy development, planning and on-ground actions. The major climate adaptation goal is to reduce the risk of the loss of aquatic habitats, deteriorating water quality and the extinction of aquatic and water-dependent species. A portfolio of adaptation approaches to maintaining aquatic habitats, the water resources that support them, and the species that depend upon them, is proposed within a framework of strategic adaptive management. This approach best addresses the uncertainty that exists as to how climatic changes will play out across the arid zone with respect to water availability and ecological processes.  Recommended climate adaptation actions include: combining a national mapping program that identifies the major types of arid zone aquatic ecosystems, their biological assets and the surface water and groundwater resources that sustain them, with vulnerability assessments that determine the climate sensitivity and likely persistence of key habitats; recognising the importance of evolutionary refugia and ecological refuges as priority sites for arid zone climate adaptation planning and policy; protecting a dynamic (spatial and temporal) mosaic of perennial, temporary and ephemeral waterbodies to provide the range of conditions needed to support aquatic and water-dependent species with varying life history traits and dispersal abilities; maintaining the integrity of the dry sediments of temporary and ephemeral waters to ensure the persistence of viable seed and egg banks; recognising the importance of key hydrological and ecological processes, particularly connectivity and dispersal; reducing the existing stressors on aquatic ecosystems and aquatic biota; identifying new and novel waterbodies created by arid zone industries (e.g. mining, pastoralism) that could provide valuable offsets for aquatic systems lost through climatic drying; implementing climate adaptation actions within a strategic adaptive management framework accompanied by a dedicated program for indigenous, industry and local community engagement and education.  Please cite this report as: Davis, J, Sunnucks, P, Thompson, R, Sim, L, Pavlova, A, Morán-Ordóñez, A, Brim Box, J, McBurnie, G, Pinder, A, Choy, S, McNeil D, Hughes, J, Sheldon, F, Timms, B, 2013, Building the climate resilience of arid zone freshwater biota, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 30

Researching Lives Through Time: Time, Generation and Life Stories

The Timescapes project was launched on 31st January 2008, and the event included an afternoon seminar on ‘Researching Lives Through Time’. Keynote speakers at that seminar were Barbara Adam, Jenny Hockey, and Paul Thompson. This first working paper in the Timescapes series presents their talks, respectively focusing on time, generation and life stories. Each of these concepts and approaches is central to the Timescapes endeavour

Describing vernacular literacy practices to enhance understanding of community information needs: A case study with practical implications.

Key documents guiding United States library service, including Reference and User Service Association (RUSA) guidelines and the American Library Association (ALA) Code of Ethics and Bill of Rights, focus on equitable public library service.1 By viewing literacy practices as an increasingly crucial realm of the social structure, librarians, policy makers, social researchers, and other interested groups can better understand information barriers that result in social inequality. A clear understanding of vernacular literacy will afford librarians greater insight to the information needs of the public, including a greater understanding of non-users of their libraries. The reality of providing materials in multiple languages in order to meet information needs for multiple cultures is more complicated than simply looking at demographics that are available through the Department of the Census. This study demonstrates the value of field research in order to more fully understand the literacy needs of one's service community.Pre-printIncludes bibliographical references

A 3D Culture Model to Investigate Cellular Responses to Mechanical Loading in Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause paralysis, loss of sensation, and respiratory dependency, which has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients, their life expectancy and is also a significant economic burden due to the high costs associated with primary care and loss of income. One of the difficulties in establishing a treatment method is the heterogeneity of SCI; there are many different types and severities of traumatic primary injury, across different age groups of patients and different locations within the spinal cord, whilst at a cellular level, there are multiple, interacting secondary injury cascades that amplify the primary damage inflicted during the traumatic insult. Many techniques have been developed to mimic particular injuries found in human SCI, however in vivo animal models can be extremely costly and time consuming. The modest translation of therapeutic treatments from animal models to successful clinical trials suggests that there is a need for simplified models of SCI, in which the complex secondary cascade can be broken down into specific cellular interactions under controlled injury parameters. It was hypothesised that in vivo injuries could be simulated using a 3D in vitro model of SCI within a tethered, self-aligned, type-I collagen gel. An in vitro model such as this could advance the understanding of cellular responses to injury and help inform animal studies which may facilitate the design of therapeutics. Initially, different matrices were investigated in order to determine their suitability for use as matrix components for a 3D in vitro model of SCI. The matrices were characterised in terms of their mechanical properties, and the cellular responses of astrocytes following culture within the matrices. A fully hydrated matrix was selected which had a lower elastic modulus in comparison to spinal cord tissue, and which maintained astrocytes in a non-reactive state, as determined by the expression of markers for reactive astrogliosis. Contusion models of SCI are thought to generate the most relevant animal models of SCI, therefore their suitability as an injury mechanism within a 3D cellular model was investigated. A pilot study using the Hatteras contusion device, demonstrated that there was potential for in vivo type contusion devices to be utilised with an in vitro 3D collagen gel SCI model. The remainder of the study utilised the Infinite Horizons (IH) in vivo impactor, which is a force controlled contusion device. The experimental parameters utilised with the IH impactor within an in vivo setting were investigated as to their suitability for collagen gel impactions. Following a detailed investigation, the in vivo parameters of an impact force of 200 kdyn and a dwell time of 0 ms, using a 2.5 mm diameter impaction tip were adopted; however the calibration start height of the impaction tip was altered to avoid full penetration of the impactor tip through the gel. The limitations of the contusion device affected the consistency of the impaction and resulted in a lack force output data. These limitations need to be resolved in order to directly compare in vivo and in vitro SCI using the IH impactor. The impaction of 3D aligned, collagen gels, seeded with primary rat astrocytes, using the IH impactor generated a 3D cavity bordered by reactive astrocytes, which was reminiscent of the glial scar and cystic cavity which forms at the lesion site in vivo. An increasing gradient of the astrocyte reactivity marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein, was expressed by cells closest to the impact zone. Astrocytes within the first 100 µm of the impact zone were highly ramified with cellular filaments aligned with the edge of the impact zone. An increase in the expression of astrocyte reactivity markers was observed over a ten-day period following impaction. In summary, a 3D model of SCI was developed that was highly adaptable, and suitable for further advancement to increase the complexity and experimental outputs that were presented in this study. More detailed analysis of the cellular responses, over longer time courses, and perhaps with the additional complexity of multiple cell types would complement investigations within in vivo models. 3D in vitro tethered collagen gel models such as this could provide valuable insights into the cellular mechanisms which may progress the translation of treatments into the clinic

In what ways does policy on academic integrity, copyright and privacy need to respond in order to accommodate assessment with Web 2.0 tools?

Increasingly social web technologies, such as blogging and micro-blogging, audio and video podcasting, photo/video, social bookmarking, social networking, wiki writing or virtual worlds are being used as forms of authoring or content creation to support students&rsquo; learning in higher education. As Web 2.0 teaching practice is characterised by open access to information and collaborative networks there are both familiar and novel challenges for policy-makers in higher education institutions. The Government 2.0 Taskforce heralded legislative and practice changes necessary because of Web 2.0. We reflect on the qualitative feedback received from innovative higher education practitioners using Web 2.0 to assess student work. This indicates a need for information policy review to accommodate the cultural shift towards information exchange and communication across traditional institutional boundaries. Issues involved when implementing Web 2.0 assessments are identified to highlight requisite areas for policy improvement in higher education, in particular for academic integrity, copyright and privacy policies<br /

Emerging Impacts Resulting from the Implementation of the United States Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program

On January 11, 2011, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) instituted a catch share program for the West Coast groundfish trawl fishery. The program was intended to create a more sustainable fishery and increase economic efficiency through the use of individual fishing quotas and fishing cooperatives. While there are extensive plans to assess the effectiveness of the program over the next several years, there are additional impacts that have emerged that warrant further consideration. This research focuses on areas that were not the primary focus of the PFMC and National Marine Fisheries Service in designing the program, but which may have important effects on other stakeholders of the program. This study sets up a framework that is then used to conduct preliminary analyses on four emerging impacts. The objective of this work is to add to the body of knowledge assessing the catch share program and to further efforts aimed at minimizing negative socioeconomic effects of the program

In what ways does policy on academic integrity, copyright and privacy need to respond in order to accommodate assessment with Web 2.0 tools?

Increasingly social web technologies, such as blogging and micro-blogging, audio and video podcasting, photo/video, social bookmarking, social networking, wiki writing or virtual worlds are being used as forms of authoring or content creation to support students’ learning in higher education. As Web 2.0 teaching practice is characterised by open access to information and collaborative networks there are both familiar and novel challenges for policy-makers in higher education institutions. The Government 2.0 Taskforce heralded legislative and practice changes necessary because of Web 2.0. We reflect on the qualitative feedback received from innovative higher education practitioners using Web 2.0 to assess student work. This indicates a need for information policy review to accommodate the cultural shift towards information exchange and communication across traditional institutional boundaries. Issues involved when implementing Web 2.0 assessments are identified to highlight requisite areas for policy improvement in higher education, in particular for academic integrity, copyright and privacy policie