Quantitative research enjoys heightened esteem among policy-makers, media
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and the general public. Whereas qualitative research is frequently dismissed as subjective and impressionistic, statistics ...are often assumed to be objective and factual. We argue that these distinctions are wholly false; quantitative data is no less socially constructed than any other form of research material. The first part of the paper presents a conceptual critique of the field with empirical examples that expose and challenge hidden assumptions that frequently encode racist perspectives beneath the façade of supposed quantitative objectivity. The second part of the paper draws on the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to set out some principles to guide the future use and analysis of quantitative data. These 'QuantCrit' ideas concern (1) the centrality of racism as a complex and deeply
rooted aspect of society that is not readily amenable to quantification; (2) numbers are not neutral and should be interrogated for their role in promoting deficit analyses that serve White racial interests; (3) categories are neither 'natural' nor given and so the units and forms of analysis must be critically evaluated; (4) voice and insight are vital: data cannot 'speak for itself' and critical analyses should be informed by the experiential knowledge of marginalized groups; (5) statistical analyses have no inherent value but can play a role in struggles for social justice.
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BFBNIB, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is a complex system operating at many scales, the importance of which is increasingly recognized in academia and policy. There are calls to expand the nexus to ...include land and climate (WEFLC) as well as to narrow the science-policy divide, implying conducting assessments at policy-relevant scales to assess the impacts of policy objectives. This paper presents a national-scale WEFLC nexus system dynamics modelling assessment for Latvia. Qualitative and quantitative assessment was performed with local stakeholders to validate model structure, data, results, and to gather information on Latvian policy objectives and implement them in the model as potential future policies. Under baseline conditions (i.e. without implementing goal-specific policies under shared socio-economic pathway 2), results indicate a levelling off of consumption by 2050 while production of food products and energy is expected to increase. Nitrogen losses and climate emissions increase, going against policy targets. Implementation of indicative policies has desired impacts within their given sector, but may lead to trade-offs in others. Implementing multiple policies simultaneously may augment or hinder progress towards objectives due to system interconnectedness. Therefore, when choosing which policies to implement, cross-sectoral implications must be carefully considered. This work offers insight for policy and decision making in Latvia, hinting at policy options to pursue, and highlighting those to avoid. This study offers suggestions for closing the science-policy divide including the use of visual serious game environments for results interpretation, the use of selected indicators for nexus performance assessment, and close stakeholder engagement throughout a project.
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•There are a lack of policy-relevant integrated nexus studies.•A Latvian water-energy-food-land-climate nexus system dynamics model is developed.•Policies, developed with expert stakeholder, are integrated in the model.•Policies implemented in isolation have desired nexus impacts only in that sector.•Policy packages show complex nexus impacts which must be considered.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Social and emotional learning (SEL) has become more central to education because of demand from educators, parents, students, and business leaders alongside rigorous research showing broad, positive ...impacts for students and adults. However, all approaches to SEL are not equal. Systemic SEL is an approach to create equitable learning conditions that actively involve all Pre-K to Grade 12 students in learning and practicing social, emotional, and academic competencies. These conditions require aligned policies, resources, and actions at state and district levels that encourage local schools and communities to build the personal and professional capacities of adults to: implement and continuously improve evidence-based programs and practices; create an inclusive culture that fosters caring relationships and youth voice, agency, and character; and support coordinated school-family-community partnerships to enhance student development. Promoting social and emotional competencies-including the abilities to understand and manage emotions, achieve positive goals, show caring and concern for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions-are important for success at school and in life. In this article, we summarize key concepts and evidence for systemic SEL. Next, we explain interrelated Theories of Action and resources developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to implement and continuously improve systemic SEL in schools, districts, and states. We discuss research on nested, interacting settings and processes involved in systemic SEL at proximal (classrooms, schools, families, and communities) and distal (districts, states, national, and international) ecological levels. We conclude with recommendations for future SEL research, practice, and policy.
Public Significance Statement
A systemic approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) creates equitable learning conditions that actively involve all Pre-K to Grade 12 students in developing social, emotional, and academic competencies. Decades of research shows these competencies lead to beneficial outcomes at school and in life. Creating these conditions requires aligned policies, resources, and actions at state and district levels to support a coordinated learning process through school-family-community partnerships to enhance student development.
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CEKLJ, FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PEFLJ, UPUK
As a crucial indicator of modernization, urbanization has significant effects on carbon dioxide emissions. Using a panel data of 141 countries over the period of 1961–2011, this paper analyzes the ...impact of urbanization on carbon dioxide emissions empirically. We employ two-way fixed effects model based on the extended STIRPAT theoretical frameworks. Our results show that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between urbanization and carbon emissions and the turn point is around 73.80%. But excessive urban concentration can claim the benefits of high-level urbanization. These findings can also help policy makers to use efficient urbanization to curb the carbon emissions, especially for the Asian countries that with high density of population.
•It uses a cross-country panel data of 141 countries over the period 1961–2011.•It employs two-way fixed effects model based on the extended STIRPAT framework.•There is inverted U-shaped relationship between urbanization and carbon emissions.•The turning point for OECD countries is 73.80% on urbanization.•Excessive urban concentration can claim the benefits of urban agglomeration.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Aim:
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the COVID-19 pandemic and psychological fatigue as a mental health issue among the population of Istanbul, Turkey.
Participants ...and methods:
This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Istanbul, Turkey, between March and June 2020, where a total of 4,700 persons were approached and 3,672 (78%) of participants (64.4% males and 35.6% females) completed the Knowledge Attitude Practices (KAP) and Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) questionnaires.
Results:
In this study, 64.1% of participants were categorized as psychologically fatigued and 35.9% as normal. There was a significant difference between fatigued and normal participants with respect to age, educational level, occupational status, place of residence and number of family members (p < .001). Other differences related to knowledge of COVID-19 were symptoms, treatment, ways of spreading (p < .001), prevention by avoiding crowded places (p = .008) and isolation (p = .002). For attitudinal items, normal participants generally showed more positive attitudes than the fatigued in believing that COVID-19 will finally be controlled, satisfaction with preventive measures taken by the authorities, reporting suspected cases with symptoms and trusting that Turkey can overcome the COVID-19 pandemic (p < .001). Multivariate stepwise regression analysis indicated that level of education, avoiding going to crowded places, eye, nose and mouth organs are sensitive organs to the virus, keeping physical distance due to epidemic affect by COVID-19 virus, isolation and treatment of people reduce the spread of COVID-19 virus and 14-days period of time, COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through contact with the respiratory droplets of an infected person, occupational status, health education programme needed and antibody treatment variables were significantly associated with fatigue after adjusting for age, gender and income variables.
Conclusion:
The current study provides valuable information for policymakers and mental health professionals worldwide regarding associations between the mental health of individuals and the ongoing outbreak, COVİD-19.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this article, several scholars of nationalism discuss the potential for the COVID‐19 pandemic to impact the development of nationalism and world politics. To structure the discussion, the ...contributors respond to three questions: (1) how should we understand the relationship between nationalism and COVID‐19; (2) will COVID‐19 fuel ethnic and nationalist conflict; and (3) will COVID‐19 reinforce or erode the nation‐state in the long run? The contributors formulated their responses to these questions near to the outset of the pandemic, amid intense uncertainty. This made it acutely difficult, if not impossible, to make predictions. Nevertheless, it was felt that a historically and theoretically informed discussion would shed light on the types of political processes that could be triggered by the COVID‐19 pandemic. In doing so, the aim is to help orient researchers and policy‐makers as they grapple with what has rapidly become the most urgent issue of our times.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Quantifying the value that legislators give to reelection relative to policy is crucial to understanding electoral accountability. We estimate the preferences for office and policy of members of the ...U.S. Senate, using a structural approach that exploits variation in polls, position‐taking, and advertising throughout the electoral cycle. We then combine these preference estimates with estimates of the electoral effectiveness of policy moderation and political advertising to quantify electoral accountability in competitive and uncompetitive elections. We find that senators differ markedly in the value they give to securing office relative to policy gains: While over a fourth of senators are highly ideological, a sizable number of senators are willing to make relatively large policy concessions to attain electoral gains. Nevertheless, electoral accountability is only moderate on average, due to the relatively low impact of changes in senators' policy stance on voter support.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Microplastic (<5 mm) ingestion has been recorded in Galeus melastomus, the blackmouth catshark, around the Balearic Islands. In total 125 individuals were analyzed for microplastic ingestion. Results ...have shown that 16.80% of the specimens had ingested a mean value of 0.34 ± 0.07 microplastics/individual. Stomach fullness index ranged from 0.86 to 38.89% and regression analyses showed that fuller stomachs contained more microplastics. A higher quantity of filament type microplastics were identified compared to granular or hard plastic type. No significant differences were given between ingestion values of two locations over the continental shelf providing further evidence of the ubiquitous distribution of microplastics. The findings in this study reflect the availability of this man made contaminant to marine species in seafloor habitats. Based on results from this study, data on microplastic ingestion could be used to study trends in the amount and composition of litter ingested by marine animals in accordance with descriptor 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
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•16.80% of the analyzed sharks ingest 0.34 ± 0.07 microplastics per individual.•G. melastomus with more replenished stomachs had higher quantities of microplastics.•Higher presence of microplastics filament in stomach contents of G. melastomus.•G. melastomus could be used as a common indicator species for microplastic ingestion.
Galeus melastomus inhabiting the continental shelf off the western Mediterranean Sea ingest 0.34 ± 0.07 microplastics/individual.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
This study aims to examine the key factors that may hinder or facilitate the adoption of mobile banking services in a cross-cultural context. A conceptual framework was developed through extending ...the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology UTAUT2 by incorporating three additional constructs, namely trust (TR), security (PS) and privacy (PP). Data were collected using an online survey and a self-administrated questionnaire from 901 mobile banking users who were either Lebanese or English. These were analysed using structural equation modelling based on AMOS 23.0. The results of this analysis indicated that behavioural intention towards adoption of mobile banking services was influenced by habit (HB), perceived security (PS), perceived privacy (PP) and trust (TR) for both the Lebanese and English consumers. In addition, performance expectancy (PE) was a significant predictor in Lebanon but not in England; whereas price value (PV) was significant in England but not in Lebanon. Contrary to our expectation, Social Influence (SI) and Hedonic Motivations (HM) were insignificant for both the Lebanese and English consumers. Overall, the proposed model achieved acceptable fit and explained 78% of the variance for the Lebanese sample and 83% for the English sample – both of which are higher than that of the original UTAUT2. These findings are expected to help policy makers and bank directors understand the issues facing mobile banking adoption in different cultural settings. Subsequently, they will help guide them in formulating appropriate strategies to improve the uptake of mobile banking activities. As the low mobile banking adoption rate in Lebanon can be attributed to the novelty of this technology, the Lebanese banking sector stands to greatly benefit from this study.
•The study examines the factors influencing intention to use mobile banking services in Lebanon and the UK.•The study extended UTAUT2 with security, privacy and trust.•Consumer’ intention to adopt m-banking is influenced by habit, security, privacy and trust for both samples.•Social Influence and Hedonic Motivations were insignificant for the Lebanese and English consumers.•The model explained 78% of the variance for the Lebanese and 83% for English sample which is higher than the original UTAUT2.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Smart city approaches in city planning have gained significant momentum in the recent past. While proponents argue that smart cities will bring positive social change by the adoption of ICTs, ...enriched governance and human capital among the citizenry, opponents point out about the negative effects and gaps exist in their planning and execution. Despite efforts to promote its practice, there has been wide criticism about the concept and the way it has been adopted and implemented. The roles of various players, especially the central role of the private sector, is often challenged in the academic literature. A variety of expectations from various stakeholders make the potential implementation strategies even more complex. The current paper reviews the research in the field to date to find that there are conflicting views in smart city planning, which limit our knowledge about the ‘real’ smart city and its implications for building creative and inclusive urban space. Such uncertainty at the conceptual level, and the heightened importance given by policy makers and markets to its adoption, highlights the need for proper scrutiny. The paper clusters the various views pertaining to the building of smart cities and, thereby, proposes a 3RC framework, consisting of Restrictive, Reflective, Rationalistic and Critical schools, which critically analyses various stages in the development of the field. The overall aim of the paper is to understand how smart cities differ in their meanings, intentions and ‘offerings’.
•3RC framework is developed to understand the existence of smart cities.•Thorough literature review on smart cities has been carried out.•The paper analyses how smart cities differ in their approaches and what matters for their creation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
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