Codifying systemic design: A toolkit

In this paper we want to reflect on the use of toolkits as a codification strategy to fuel an expanding practice of ‘systemic design’. This critical reflection is rooted in the real‐life experience of bringing together two different sets of skills in the development of a Systemic Design Toolkit. Designers and concept‐driven system thinkers belong to different epistemic communities. While these fields of practice are arguably in the process of converging, in actual practice it proves to be a challenge to transcend their governing epistemological differences. What pragmatically unites these practitioners is their ambition to successfully codify a vast and layered knowledge base. A Systemic Design Toolkit is argued to offer promise as a ‘boundary object’ between the epistemic communities involved in creating the toolkit (the designers on the one hand and the conceptual system thinkers on the other) and between the toolkit developers and toolkit users. The paper closes with a tentative list of design criteria for systemic design toolkits

A Sociopragmatic Study of Values of Nigerians as Exemplified in Wale Okediran's Tenants of the House: Implication for a Political Caste System

When Basil Bernstein postulated tire Deficit Hypothesis Theory, little did he know that nonverbal means of expression much more than the "code" would hell' in establis!ung the social class system which Bem; tein had intended to eradicate by formally uncot>ering it. In Nigeria, today, the concept of social class, !lluc!rmore than accepted socralnorms and practices, is celebrated and accentuated. The old idea of relat- 11gand integratmg culturally with other members of a communal Afrrcan society seems to have been lost. By scrutinizing Wale Okediran's Tenants of the House, we unravel the pragmatic features of the varius social classes rn the present political institutiOn of tire country as demonstrated by the Honorables in ·he House of Represmtatit•es, using the critical discourse analysis model. In doing this, we look beyond Itt referential end or grammatical meaning of the words to studying how para-linguistic and non-ver~ 1 expressions get sitrwtional meanings in context. The group dichotomy talked about makes aspirants 1 relatit>ely lrigha social dass members compared to where they originally belong. Tirey become oblivious f the close tre that ordinarily exists among Nigt'Tia~Js who are of the same region or state. It is culturally li;approPing how Lizzy, "a tmant of the House" could be int>olved in a plar1 to impeach her kinsman, the speaker of the House. a cotenant though of a higher social rank. We understand the importance placed on social class ratha than khrship affinity or social norms where we cons1der the rdea that the haunted speaker 1s Lizzy's close fnend. What mcessant political impeachments result in-especially when they are intkxed by polrticrans' zeal to indiscrimmately move up a higher class-are unremitting inconclusive proj- ts and uncultrmted ideologie

A relação entre a discriminação percebida e o balanço afetivo em pessoas com deficiência física: o papel mediador do dominio do ambiente

There is a large body of research showing that perceived discrimination has a negative effect on physical and mental health of persons belonging to different stigmatized groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between perceived discrimination and affective balance in people with physical disabilities. In addition, the mediating role of a special relevant variable -the environmental mastery (Ryff, 1989a) - is analyzed in relation to people with physical disabilities as a protective factor against negative discrimination. Participants in the study were 52 people with physical disabilities. Results showed that the negative relationship between perceived discrimination and affective balance is significantly reduced by introducing environmental mastery into the equation. It was also found that the age of the participants shows a positive association both with affective balance and environmental mastery. This research shows that to the extent that people with physical disabilities feel able to choose or create favorable environments, the negative effects of stigma are reduced.Numerosas investigaciones ponen de manifiesto que la discriminación percibida tiene un efecto negativo importante en la salud física y mental de las personas pertenecientes a diversos grupos estigmatizados. El objetivo del presente estudio es investigar la relación entre la discriminación percibida y el balance entre emociones positivas y negativas en personas con discapacidad física. Asimismo, se analiza el papel mediador de una variable especialmente relevante en relación con las personas con discapacidad física, el dominio del entorno (Ryff, 1989a), como factor protector de la influencia negativa de la discriminación. En el estudio participaron 52 personas con discapacidad física. Los resultados mostraron que la relación negativa entre la discriminación percibida y el balance afectivo se reduce significativamente al introducir el dominio del entorno en la ecuación. Asimismo, se encontró que la edad de los participantes está positivamente relacionada, tanto con el balance afectivo, como con el dominio del entorno. Esta investigación demuestra que en la medida en que las personas con discapacidad física se sienten con la habilidad personal de elegir o crear entornos favorables, los efectos negativos del estigma disminuyen.Numerosas pesquisas põem em evidência que a discriminação percebida tem um efeito negativo grande na saúde física e mental das pessoas pertencentes a diversos grupos estigmatizados. O objetivo do presente estudo é pesquisar a relação entre a discriminação percebida e o balanço entre emoções positivas e negativas em pessoas com deficiência física. Da mesma forma, analisa-se o papel mediador de uma variável especialmente relevante em relação com as pessoas com deficiência física, o domínio do ambiente (Ryff, 1989a), como fator protetor da influência negativa da discriminação. No estudo participaram 52 pessoas com deficiência física. Os resultados mostraram que a relação negativa entre a discriminação percebida e o balanço afetivo se reduz significativamente ao introduzir o domínio do ambiente na equação. Da mesma forma, encontrou-se que a idade dos participantes está positivamente relacionada, tanto com o balanço afetivo, como com o domínio do ambiente. Esta pesquisa demonstra que na medida em que as pessoas com deficiência física sentem-se com a habilidade pessoal de escolher ou criar ambientes favoráveis, os efeitos negativos do estigma diminuem

Semi-inclusive cross sections for deep-inelastic neutrino scattering on hydrogen and deuterium

The production of low energy protons observed in recent deep-inelastic (anti-)neutrino scattering on hydrogen and deuteron targets is interpreted in terms of fragmentation of the spectator di-quark and emission of nuclear spectators

The invisible enemy. Public knowledge of microplastics is needed to face the current microplastics crisis

Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [GLOBALHAKE PID2019-108347RB-I00, EIN2019-103189

On the way to reduce marine microplastics pollution. Research landscape of psychosocial drivers

This study was supported from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Grants GLOBALHAKE PID2019-108347RB-I00 and EIN2019-103189

Question Generation for Writers

The Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence fields have made possible tools that make writing easier and faster, like Grammarly, Google autocomplete, et

Investigating the relationship between stress and self-rated health during the financial crisis and recession in 2008: The mediating role of job satisfaction and social support in Spain

Background: the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession had a strong impact on employment and certain health indicators, such as mental health. Many studies carried out with diverse samples attest to the negative influence of stress on health. However, few studies focus on stress and self-rated health among the Spanish workforce, or analyse which variables can act as a buffer against the negative effects of stress on self-perceived health. Aim: to analyse the mediator role of social support and job satisfaction in the relationship between work-related stress and self-rated health among the Spanish working population between 2006 and 2017. Method: repeated cross-sectional study using Spanish Surveys from 2006 to 2017, a total of 32.105 participants (47.4% women) aged 16 years and over (M = 42.3, SD = 10.7) answered a series of questions about work-related stress (PV), self-rated health (CV), job satisfaction, and social support (mediator variables) through the National Health Survey (NHS) prevalences of work-related stress, self-rated health, job satisfaction, and social support were calculated (standardised by age). We performed mediation/moderation analysis with Macro Process for SPSS to analyse the role of social support and job satisfaction in the relationship between self-rated health and work-related stress among the Spanish working population. Results: three mediation analyses were conducted, one for each time point in the study period. The results revealed a significant direct association between stress and job satisfaction. In the 2006 model, both job satisfaction and social support acted as mediators between stress and self-rated health, while in the 2011 and 2017 models, only job satisfaction acted as a mediator. The data reveal that the working population in Spain has a good capacity for resilience, since no drop in health indicators was observed. Conclusion: following the economic recession, employment has partially recovered. However, social and employment policies are required to help the population face the recent situation triggered by the Coronavirus crisis. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Influence of gender determinants on informal care and health service utilization in Spain: Ten years after the approval of the equality law

The existence of gender inequalities in health, in the use of health services, and in the development of informal care has been demonstrated throughout scientific literature. In Spain, a law was passed in 2007 to promote effective equality between men and women. Despite this, different studies have shown that the previous gender inequalities are still present in Spanish society. For all these reasons, the objective of this paper is to study the differences by sex in informal care and in the use of emergency care, and to identify the existence of gender inequalities in Spain 10 years after the adoption of the aforementioned equality law. In this case, we development a cross-sectional study based on the 2017 Spanish National Health Survey of the Spanish population aged 16 and over. To analyze the influence of gender determinants on informal care and emergency care utilization, logistic regressions were performed, model 1 was adjusted for age, and model 2 was further adjusted too by the variables of the Andersen care demand model. The results showed that informal care and the use of the emergency care continues to be higher in women than in men. Informal care in women was related to a higher level of education. In emergency care, the older the age, the lower the probability of utilization, and living in a rural municipality was related to a higher probability of utilization for both sexes. Finally, we concluded that there is still a need for studies that analyze gender inequalities in different contexts, such as the informal care and the use of health services. This is especially relevant in Spain, where economic changes have led to a change in roles, mainly for women, and new management strategies are needed to achieve equity in care and effective equality between men and women