An ecosystemic perspective of the factors affecting the learning experiences of learners with dyslexia in mainstream schools in England.

A systematic literature review (SLR) of seven papers written between 2015 and 2021 explored the educational experiences of learners with dyslexia in mainstream schools in England from an ecosystemic perspective and how to improve the situation. The analysis employed keywords for database searches and followed the PRISMA flow protocol. It synthesised evidence using thematic analysis and identified seven themes: dyslexia challenges; differential treatment; negative stereotypes; early intervention; teachers' training; power dynamics; and collaboration. The results suggest that several factors can influence the learning experiences of learners with dyslexia in English mainstream schools. Similarly, such factors can, in turn, be dependent on education policies. On that premise, this systematic literature review recommends that to promote positive learning experiences for learners with dyslexia, classroom strategies targeting interventions should be supported with broader environmental strategies shaping individuals' learning experience and offer support from different perspectives. A whole-school approach to providing intervention, teachers' training, parents and school partnerships, and professional collaboration can improve learners' educational experiences. A further recommendation is for learning interventions to target all learners, to prevent differential treatment of learners with dyslexia and to avoid them standing out from their peers and creating a negative experience.

Lost in Transition: Community-Dwelling Partners' Stories of Losing a Spouse to Cognitive Decline and Long-Term Care Facilities.

This qualitative narrative study presents three stories told by older community-dwelling partners to spouses moving into long-term care facilities because of cognitive decline. Applying Alvesson and Kärreman's mystery method to these stories reveals that when spouses' caring needs increase, care partners must take on increasing loads of practical work and responsibilities. These partners become lost in the transitions between care work, extended family, and attending to their couplehood. When their spouses move into long-term care, living apart presents new challenges of care and couplehood, each day presenting new and unforeseen tasks to manage. Our findings suggest that if couplehood is to be maintained, well-established habits and work division between the spousal partners are both drivers and barriers. It necessitates agency, creativity from the community-dwelling partner, as well as a supportive extended family and sufficient economic resources. More knowledge is required regarding the interdependent expectations between the next-of-kin, long-term care residents, and caregiving staff members.

A special section: Contributions of family science to anti-racism efforts.

Concomitant with a growing recognition of demographic shifts toward greater racial/ethnic diversity in the United States and widespread depictions of racial injustice, desires for increased racial/ethnic tolerance and inclusivity have been expressed in various sectors of U.S. society, including education, healthcare, and business. However, the literature on effective strategies and interventions for advancing anti-racism, or efforts to reduce racial/ethnic injustice, is minimal and underdeveloped. The family science field, characterized by rich theories on human systems and interactions, strategies for changing interpersonal dynamics, and the recognition that perceived knowledge is dependent on sociopolitical location, has much to offer the study of strategies to actualize increased racial/ethnic equity. The articles in this special section demonstrate potential contributions family science can make to the endeavor for racial/ethnic equity, through presenting theoretical, empirical, and practice innovations and findings steeped in the family science orientation toward addressing systems, cycles, and change.

Teachers Matter More Than Sites and Facilities: Provincial-Level Educational Predictors of Adolescent Life Satisfaction.

Purpose: Life satisfaction can predict students' school engagement and academic performance, and has shown significant regional differences among adolescents. The predictive effect of economic factors as regional characteristics on adolescent life satisfaction has been extensively examined; however, the regional educational factors that could predict adolescent life satisfaction remain unknown. This study aimed to identify provincial-level educational factors that can predict adolescent life satisfaction. Methods: The participants comprised 16,737 students, aged 11-16 years (M age = 13.82; SD age = 0.77; 8767 girls, 7970 boys), from 31 provinces in China. Students completed measures on socioeconomic status and life satisfaction. Multilevel modeling was adopted in data analysis. Results: Adolescent life satisfaction was positively correlated with family socioeconomic status, and negatively associated with age and academic ranking. Life satisfaction was lower for girls than boys. Some regional education development indicators could predict adolescent life satisfaction: ratio of students to teachers, ratio of students to teachers with master's degrees, and multimedia classroom size negatively correlated with adolescent life satisfaction; meanwhile per capita sports field area positively correlated with adolescent life satisfaction. Per capita education expenditure, classroom area, laboratory area, computer room area, language lab area, gymnasium area, green space area, sports field area, computers per student, number of books, and value of equipment and instruments could not significantly predict life satisfaction in this study. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the life satisfaction of female adolescents, those in older age groups, with lower academic rankings and socioeconomic status, and those residing in regions with underdeveloped educational systems was relatively poor. These groups of adolescents should therefore be given special attention. To enhance their life satisfaction, some certain provinces should consider implementing measures such as increasing the number of teachers, reducing class sizes, and providing more opportunities for physical activity among junior middle school students.

Picking Apart a Program Evaluation Committee: A Multiple Case Study Characterizing Primary Care Residency Program Evaluation Committee Structure, Program Improvement, and Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: As of 2014, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates initiating a Program Evaluation Committee (PEC) to guide ongoing program improvement. However, little guidance nor published reports exist about how individual PECs have undertaken this mandate. OBJECTIVE: To explore how four primary care residency PECs configure their committees, review program goals and undertake program evaluation and improvement. METHODS: We conducted a multiple case study between December 2022 and April 2023 of four purposively selected primary care residencies (e.g., family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine). Data sources included semi-structured interviews with four PEC members per program and diverse program artifacts. Using a constructivist approach, we utilized qualitative coding to analyze participant interviews and content analysis for program artifacts. We then used coded transcripts and artifacts to construct logic models for each program guided by a systems theory lens.  Results: Programs adapt their PEC structure, execution, and outcomes to meet short- and long-term needs based on organizational and program-unique factors such as size and local practices. They relied on multiple data sources and sought diverse stakeholder participation to complete program evaluation and improvement. Identified deficiencies were often categorized as internal versus external to delineate PEC responsibility, boundaries, and feasibility of interventions. CONCLUSION: The broad guidance provided by the ACGME for PEC configuration allows programs to adapt the committee based on individual needs. However, further instruction on program evaluation and organizational change principles would augment existing PEC efforts.

Influence of early childhood parental hostility and socioeconomic stress on children's internalizing symptom trajectories from childhood to adolescence.

Introduction: Children and adolescents with elevated internalizing symptoms are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, and other psychopathology later in life. The present study examined the predictive links between two bioecological factors in early childhood-parental hostility and socioeconomic stress-and children's internalizing symptom class outcomes, while considering the effects of child sex assigned at birth on internalizing symptom development from childhood to adolescence. Materials and Methods: The study used a sample of 1,534 children to test the predictive effects of socioeconomic stress at ages 18 and 27 months; hostile parenting measured at child ages 4-5; and sex assigned at birth on children's internalizing symptom latent class outcomes at child ages 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, and 16-19. Analyses also tested the mediating effect of parenting on the relationship between socioeconomic stress and children's symptom classes. Other covariates included parent depressive symptoms at child ages 4-5 and child race and ethnicity. Results: Analyses identified three distinct heterogenous internalizing symptom classes characterized by relative symptom levels and progression: low (35%); moderate and increasing (41%); and higher and increasing (24%). As anticipated, higher levels of parental hostility in early childhood predicted membership in the higher and increasing symptom class, compared with the low symptom class (odds ratio (OR) = .61, 95% confidence interval (CI) [.48,.77]). Higher levels of early childhood socioeconomic stress were also associated with the likelihood of belonging to the higher-increasing symptom class compared to the low and moderate-increasing classes (OR = .46, 95% CI [.35,.60] and OR = .56, 95% CI [.44,.72], respectively). The total (c = .61) and direct (c' = .57) effects of socioeconomic stress on children's symptom class membership in the mediation analysis were significant (p <.001). Discussion: Study findings suggest that intervening on modifiable bioecological stressors-including parenting behaviors and socioeconomic stressors-may provide important protective influences on children's internalizing symptom trajectories.

Chronic pain as an emergent property of a complex system and the potential roles of psychedelic therapies.

Despite research advances and urgent calls by national and global health organizations, clinical outcomes for millions of people suffering with chronic pain remain poor. We suggest bringing the lens of complexity science to this problem, conceptualizing chronic pain as an emergent property of a complex biopsychosocial system. We frame pain-related physiology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, learning, and epigenetics as components and mini-systems that interact together and with changing socioenvironmental conditions, as an overarching complex system that gives rise to the emergent phenomenon of chronic pain. We postulate that the behavior of complex systems may help to explain persistence of chronic pain despite current treatments. From this perspective, chronic pain may benefit from therapies that can be both disruptive and adaptive at higher orders within the complex system. We explore psychedelic-assisted therapies and how these may overlap with and complement mindfulness-based approaches to this end. Both mindfulness and psychedelic therapies have been shown to have transdiagnostic value, due in part to disruptive effects on rigid cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns as well their ability to promote neuroplasticity. Psychedelic therapies may hold unique promise for the management of chronic pain.

Investigating practice integration of independent prescribing by community pharmacists using normalization process theory: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Independent prescribing (IP) has not been extensively investigated in community pharmacy (CP). Normalization process theory (NPT) constructs help explain how interventions are integrated into practice and include: 'coherence' (understanding), 'cognitive participation' (what promotes engagement), 'collective action' (integration with existing systems), and 'reflexive monitoring' (evaluation). AIM: To use NPT to investigate the integration of pharmacist IP in CP. METHOD: NHS Scotland Pharmacy First Plus (PFP) is a community pharmacy IP service. Questionnaire items were developed using the NPT derived Normalisation MeAsure Development (NoMAD) tool for an online survey of all PFP IP pharmacists. Demographic data were analysed descriptively and scale scores (calculated from item scores for the 4 NPT constructs) were used for inferential analysis. RESULTS: There was a 73% (88/120) response rate. Greater than 90% 'strongly agreed'/'agreed' to NoMAD items relating to most NPT constructs. However, responses to 'collective action' items were diverse with more participants answering 'neither agree nor disagree' or 'disagree'. A statistically significant difference in NPT construct scale scores with significant p-values (ranging from p < 0.001 to p = 0.033) was shown on all the NPT constructs for the variable 'On average, how often do you consult with patients under the PFP service?'. CONCLUSION: This theory-based work offers perspectives on IP integration within CP. Despite its geographic focus this work offers insights relevant to wider contexts on IP integration. It shows 'collective action' focused 'organisation' and 'group process' challenges with a need for further work on staff training, resource availability and utilisation, working relationships, communication and management.

A Test of the Behavioral Model of Tic Disorders Using a Dynamical Systems Framework.

Tic disorders are a class of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by involuntary motor and/or vocal tics. It has been hypothesized that tics function to reduce aversive premonitory urges (i.e., negative reinforcement) and that suppression-based behavioral interventions such as habit reversal training (HRT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP) disrupt this process and facilitate urge reduction through habituation. However, previous findings regarding the negative reinforcement hypothesis and the effect of suppression on the urge-tic relationship have been inconsistent. The present study applied a dynamical systems framework and within-subject time-series autoregressive models to examine the temporal dynamics of urges and tics and assess whether their relationship changes over time. Eleven adults with tic disorders provided continuous urge ratings during separate conditions in which they were instructed to tic freely or to suppress tics. During the free-to-tic conditions, there was considerable heterogeneity across participants in whether and how the urge-tic relationship followed a pattern consistent with the automatic negative reinforcement hypothesis. Further, little evidence for within-session habituation was seen; tic suppression did not result in a reduction in premonitory urges for most participants. Analysis of broader urge change metrics did show significant disruption to the urge pattern during suppression, which has implications for the current biobehavioral model of tics.

Perseveration on suicidal thoughts and images in daily life: An examination of the cognitive model of suicide through a dynamic systems lens.

According to the cognitive model of suicide, interactions between hopelessness and attentional biases toward suicidal information create a narrowed attentional focus on suicide as a viable solution, particularly in the presence of life stress, leading to increased suicide risk. This study used a dynamic systems approach to examine the short-term temporal patterns between stress, hopelessness, suicide-specific rumination, and suicidal intent. Adults (N = 237; M = 27.12 years; 62% cisgender women; 87% White/European American) with elevated suicidal ideation completed ecological momentary assessments six times a day for 14 days. A multilevel model approach informed by dynamic systems theory was used to simultaneously assess stable and dynamic temporal processes underlying perceived stress, hopelessness, suicide-specific rumination, and suicidal intent. Each variable demonstrated temporal stability. In support of the cognitive model of suicide, we observed (1) a reciprocal relationship between stress and hopelessness such that stress and hopelessness amplified each other (early-stage processes), and (2) reinforcing loops such that hopelessness, suicide-specific rumination, and suicidal intent amplified each other (later-stage processes). A dynamic systems modeling approach underscored the negative impact of a perpetuating cycle of suicide-specific rumination, deepening hopelessness, and escalating suicidal intent on increasing suicide risk, which may be targets for intervention.

"You Can Do So Much Better Than What They Expect": An Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography on School Integration With Newcomer Youth.

Newcomer adolescents make up a large minority of Canada's population and their positive integration experiences with education systems across the country are critical for both their development and the country's long-term success. The current study examined newcomer adolescents' (n = 4, between 16 and 18 years old) integration experiences using an arts-based engagement ethnography to understand what influences their positive integration into the school system. Artifacts, interview, and focus group data were analyzed systematically using ethnographic research guidelines. Five structures were identified: (1) barriers to advancement at individual, school, and macro levels, (2) fluctuating relationship with cultural identity, (3) limited trust in systems, (4) resilience through independent learning, and (5) facilitating factors to positive integration experiences at the family and school level. In keeping with a relational developmental systems theory framework, each structure accounts for multiple inter- and intra-individual factors at multiple environmental levels. These findings outline considerations for systemic issues in academic institutions and offer suggestions for how institutions can better support newcomer adolescents.

Farm to Preschool Programs and Its Impact on Children's Dietary Health: Evaluation Through Bronfenbrenner's Socio-Ecological Model.

Children's development is shaped by the world around them. According to Bronfenbrenner's theory, children are influenced by direct interactions and the broader environment, which includes family, community, and society. This concept aligns with initiatives like farm-to-preschool programs. These programs forge connections between communities and local food sources, introducing gardening and nutritional education. This approach aligns seamlessly with Bronfenbrenner's theory, creating a multi-layered learning experience and fostering children's healthier eating habits. This review delves into how farm-to-preschool efforts enhance young children's diets through the ecological model evaluation framework, encompassing health, education, economics, and the environment.

The selfish network: how the brain preserves behavioral function through shifts in neuronal network state.

Neuronal networks possess the ability to regulate their activity states in response to disruptions. How and when neuronal networks turn from physiological into pathological states, leading to the manifestation of neuropsychiatric disorders, remains largely unknown. Here, we propose that neuronal networks intrinsically maintain network stability even at the cost of neuronal loss. Despite the new stable state being potentially maladaptive, neural networks may not reverse back to states associated with better long-term outcomes. These maladaptive states are often associated with hyperactive neurons, marking the starting point for activity-dependent neurodegeneration. Transitions between network states may occur rapidly, and in discrete steps rather than continuously, particularly in neurodegenerative disorders. The self-stabilizing, metastable, and noncontinuous characteristics of these network states can be mathematically described as attractors. Maladaptive attractors may represent a distinct pathophysiological entity that could serve as a target for new therapies and for fostering resilience.

Research on factors influencing Chinese parents' support for death education: a cross-sectional survey.

Objective: This study aims to explore the factors influencing Chinese parents' attitudes toward death education. Given the current lack of such education in China, this research is particularly significant. Death education is vital for shaping the values of young people and alleviating mental health issues, such as depression and suicidal tendencies. By identifying these influencing factors, this study seeks to provide guidance for policymakers and educators in promoting the development and widespread adoption of death education. Methods: To do so, a national cross-sectional quota sample of 12,435 Chinese parents was used. Borrowing from social-ecological theory, the researchers carried out multiple stepwise regression analyses to examine the individual, family, and social-level factors that shape the supportive attitudes of Chinese parents toward death education. Results: The findings revealed that at the individual level, parent (ß = 0.04, p < 0.001), education level (ß = 0.07, p < 0.001), and religious belief (ß = -0.02, p < 0.05) were significant predictors of Chinese parents' support for death education. Meanwhile, at the family and social level, average monthly household income (ß = 0.07, p < 0.001), family health (ß = 0.03, p < 0.05), family communication (ß = 0.02, p < 0.05), social support (ß = 0.15, p < 0.001), neighborhood relations (ß = 0.11, p < 0.001), and social network size (ß = 0.05, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of Chinese parents' supportive attitudes toward death education. Conclusion: Based on these findings, it is suggested that the relevant development, planning, publicity, and public welfare groups and government departments should promote death education, provide more social support, and encourage neighborhood harmony. As higher education and average monthly household income were found to significantly impact the support, the government should improve access to higher education and actively work to increase residents' income to facilitate the development of death education.

Design Principles for Biological Adaptation: A Systems and Control-Theoretic Treatment.

Establishing a mapping between (from and to) the functionality of interest and the underlying network structure (design principles) remains a crucial step toward understanding and design of bio-systems. Perfect adaptation is one such crucial functionality that enables every living organism to regulate its essential activities in the presence of external disturbances. Previous approaches to deducing the design principles for adaptation have either relied on computationally burdensome brute-force methods or rule-based design strategies detecting only a subset of all possible adaptive network structures. This chapter outlines a scalable and generalizable method inspired by systems theory that unravels an exhaustive set of adaptation-capable structures. We first use the well-known performance parameters to characterize perfect adaptation. These performance parameters are then mapped back to a few parameters (poles, zeros, gain) characteristic of the underlying dynamical system constituted by the rate equations. Therefore, the performance parameters evaluated for the scenario of perfect adaptation can be expressed as a set of precise mathematical conditions involving the system parameters. Finally, we use algebraic graph theory to translate these abstract mathematical conditions to certain structural requirements for adaptation. The proposed algorithm does not assume any particular dynamics and is applicable to networks of any size. Moreover, the results offer a significant advancement in the realm of understanding and designing complex biochemical networks.

Differences in Lower-Extremity Joint Coordination During Two Landing Phases of a Drop Jump Task.

The aim of the present study was to compare the differences in joint coordination patterns and variability in the lower extremity between the first and second landing phases of the drop jump. Eighteen resistance-trained men (age: 22.8 ± 1.8 years) performed drop jumps from a height of 0.40 m. An eight-camera motion capture system was utilized to record kinematic trajectories. Modified vector coding technique and circular statistics were used to determine the coordination pattern and variability of the following joint couples during the first and second landings: hip frontal-knee frontal (HfKf), hip sagittal-knee frontal (HsKf), hip sagittal-knee sagittal (HsKs), knee frontal-ankle frontal (KfAf), knee sagittal-ankle frontal (KsAf), and knee sagittal-ankle sagittal (KsAs). Statistical differences in the distribution frequencies of coupling angles and variability between the dominant and nondominant limbs across the two landing phases were compared using two-way repeated analysis of variance and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. During the second landing phase, the proportion of HsKs, KfAf, and KsAs showing in-phase coordination was reduced but the proportion of KfAf and KsAs showing proximal joint (knee) coordination was increased (p < .05). Significant differences in bilateral asymmetry were observed only for the HfKf and KfAf patients (p < .05). HsKs, KfAf, and KsAf varied considerably during the second landing phase (p < .05). Joint coordination patterns during the second landing phase of the drop jump differed considerably from those during the first landing phase, thereby increasing the risk of knee and ankle injuries.

From Stress to Screen: Understanding Cyberloafing through Cognitive and Affective Pathways.

This investigation delves into the pervasive yet insufficiently examined phenomenon of "cyberloafing", characterized by employees engaging in non-work-related internet activities during office hours. Despite its frequent occurrence in contemporary work environments, the fundamental mechanisms underpinning cyberloafing remain largely uncharted. This study uses the conservation of resources theory and the cognitive-affective personality system framework to demystify the relationship between role stress and cyberloafing. We developed a dual-path model to assess the mediating roles of perceived insider status and emotional exhaustion. Employing SPSS and Smart PLS for data analysis, our research sampled 210 corporate employees. The findings reveal that role stress predicts perceived insider status and emotional exhaustion significantly. Notably, while perceived insider status negatively correlates with cyberloafing, emotional exhaustion shows a positive correlation. These factors mediate the relationship between role stress and cyberloafing, underscoring a multifaceted dynamic. Our results provide new theoretical insights into the mechanisms of employee counterproductive behavior, specifically in the context of cyberloafing, and broaden our understanding of its determinants. This study illuminates theoretical nuances and offers practical implications for managerial strategies and future scholarly inquiries into organizational behavior.

Couple differentiation and health-related quality of life.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether couple differentiation influenced mental and physical health-related quality of life in couple members. Data for this study were derived from a larger study at a couple a family therapy clinic. One hundred and thirty-three couples were included in a latent profile analysis, and seventy-two couples were included in analyses of mean differences. The latent profile analysis resulted in three distinct groups by level of couple differentiation: high, moderate, or low in differentiation of self. Analyses of variance indicated evidence that couple differentiation influenced health-related quality-of-life measures. Findings are discussed in the context of Bowen Family Systems Theory and the existing literature.

Rabies management structures and challenges in the North in a One Health framework.

Rabies is often described as the quintessential One Health problem, linking especially animal health to human health. I examined how rabies is managed in the circumpolar North through semi-structured interviews of key informants in three cases: Alaska, Northwest Territories, and Svalbard. While rabies is controlled at the territorial or state level in the Northwest Territories and Alaska, respectively, the perception of where authority lies in rabies management is less evident in Norway concerning Svalbard than in the other two cases. Respondents generally characterised the working relationship between sectors and scales of governments as positive. However, coordination remains one of the main challenges to rabies management, with harsh environmental conditions and small remote communities adding additional challenges in all three cases. Rabies managers in Svalbard also face unique conditions, such as risks associated with hunting and the particular administrative structure of Svalbard. Due to limited veterinary services in dispersed small and remote communities, dogs present challenges to rabies management in Alaska and the Northwest Territories. Personal relationships are important in disease management across agencies, and the unique challenges in the far North will likely pose challenges in adopting approaches to disease management from temperate climates.