Nottingham Trent University

Burnout among Algerian public healthcare workers remains understudied despite staffing shortages, limited resources, and heavy workloads. The present study examined the prevalence and predictors of burnout, focusing on self-compassion and communication skills. A cross-sectional survey of 387 practitioners from public hospitals used validated Arabic measures: Burnout Assessment Tool-Short Version, Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form, and Health Professionals Communication Skills Scale-Short Form. Practitioners aged 31-40 reported the highest burnout and exhaustion (p<0.05). Females showed greater exhaustion than males (p<0.05). Emergency/ICU/surgery staff reported lower burnout (p<0.05). Burnout correlated positively with self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification, and negatively with empathy, respect, and social skills (p<0.05). In regressions, self-judgment (β=0.21) and over-identification (β=0.12) predicted burnout, while empathy (β=-0.14) and social skills (β=-0.10) were protective. Self-judgment was the strongest risk factor, while empathy and social skills were protective. Interventions fostering self-compassion and communication skills may help reduce burnout.

Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primarily presenting as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gut leading to increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). IBD-induced CRC, termed colitis-associated cancer (CAC), with earlier onset and higher mortality rate than sporadic CRC, follows a flat inflammation-to-dysplasia-to-carcinoma path of tumorigenesis with a mixed immune and stromal cell-rich tumour microenvironment. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of non-protein-coding RNA molecules more than 200 nucleotides long are expressed in a high tissue- and disease-specific manner and may represent promising targets for therapy. We aimed to identify a lncRNA that is dysregulated in CAC patients and can be targeted as a therapy to block the development of CAC from IBD. We have identified an endothelial cell-enriched lncRNA, provisionally named LINC-ECER, that is upregulated in both colon cancer and IBD. Knockdown of LINC-ECER and functional assays in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) and lymphatic endothelial cells (HLECs) in vitro revealed that LINC-ECER is an important regulator of endothelial cell survival, growth and angiogenesis. Overall, our data proposes that LINC-ECER is a critical regulator of endothelial cell properties and can be targeted in IBD patients to specifically block angiogenesis and prevent CAC development.

This study evaluated the effects of different environmental enrichment tools on broiler chickens from 1 to 21 days of age. A total of 120,000 one-day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to five treatments, each consisting of four replicates with 6000 birds per replicate. Replicates were housed in pens measuring approximately 362 m2. The treatments included: T1, green balls (approximately 40 balls per pen); T2, hanging toys (8-10 toys per pen); T3, hanging strings (8-10 string bundles per pen); T4, rotational use of green balls, hanging toys, and strings at equivalent densities; and T5, a control group without enrichment. Data were collected on growth performance, foot health, behavioral activity, serum biochemical parameters, and carcass and meat quality traits. Birds provided with hanging enrichment tools showed significantly improved growth performance (p ≤ 0.05) compared with the control group. Among enriched treatments, T2 yielded the highest body weight and weight gain, as well as the lowest feed conversion ratio. Enrichment treatments also resulted in significant improvements (p ≤ 0.05) in carcass characteristics and selected meat quality parameters, including lightness (L*) and pH stability. Behavioral observations indicated substantially higher activity levels in enriched groups relative to the control. Toe damage scores differed significantly among treatments (p = 0.004), with the lowest scores observed in T1 and the highest in T4; however, no significant differences were detected in footpad dermatitis or hock burn scores (p > 0.05). In conclusion, hanging environmental enrichment tools, particularly hanging toys, can effectively enhance growth performance, behavioral activity, and selected carcass and meat quality traits in broiler production systems, while their effects on footpad health appear limited under the conditions of this study.

In this Perspective article, I look to go beyond the arguably legitimate pessimism of Brewster and Brookes critique of human resources (HR) not enacting the UN SDGs in HRM. Using publicly available secondary data, I cautiously offer a different and arguably more optimistic perspective. Drawing on Legge’s Deviant Innovator (power relations) and Ulrich’s HR Champions (HR roles) classic texts, I argue that HR might perhaps occupy a new role, in becoming a green business partner. In doing so, I theoretically advocate adopting systems thinking and research co-creation between HRM academics (rigour) and HR practitioners (relevance). I reflect on the context which sets the regulatory framework for workplace HR (in)action regarding the UN SDGs, and discuss what such context means for everyday HRM greening. Lastly, I offer future research ideas and implications for HRM theory and practice before concluding.

Abstract Background: Condoms remain the only widely available multipurpose prevention technology that simultaneously protects against HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and unintended pregnancies. Despite promotion efforts and free and subsidised availability, condom uptake in India remains low, contributing to a high prevalence of HIV and STIs and continued population growth. While previous studies have identified some barriers to condom use, comprehensive research examining structural barriers and how they impede adoption remains limited. Drawing on institutional theory, this study explores how structural barriers influence condom adoption in India. Methods: We employed a qualitative, exploratory approach using purposive sampling to recruit system level actors such as managers and leaders from organisations that design and implement condom promotion and behaviour change initiatives. In-depth interviews were conducted with these actors from government agencies, NGOs, and social marketing organisations in New Delhi who possess a system level understanding of barriers gained through engagement with communities, regulators, and supply chains. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three categories of structural barriers emerged, aligned with institutional pillars: regulative, normative, and socio-cultural. The regulative barriers highlight how rules, regulations, and bureaucratic procedures impede behaviour change. Normative barriers reflect the influence of prevailing norms and beliefs that discourage condom use. Socio-cultural barriers capture the meanings, symbols, and associations surrounding condoms that hinder adoption. Conclusion This study demonstrates that structural barriers, shaped by regulative, normative, and socio-cultural institutions, significantly hinder condom adoption in India.

ABSTRACT This paper draws on various data from long‐term immersion in combat sports to explore the period experiences of cis women fighters. We blend theoretical ideas from the social scientific literature on menstruation and the sociology of medicalization, pain and injury. Based on rich empirical data and theoretical tools, we argue that the “ontological pervasiveness” of periods resulted in women “fighting” parts of their own biology within traditional male‐dominated spaces—by mitigating, managing and minimizing their periods through various strategies. There were specific and potentially damaging consequences that flowed from this. While we center women's bodies, we argue that a key problem is not the bleeding body per se, but rather the way female biology is hidden and ignored. This is particularly evident in how period blood is marked out as symbolically different—rendered shameful and in need of concealment—in contrast to the routinized, accepted and even valorized forms of bleeding that occur through participation in such sports. By “suffering in silence,” the tensions between their roles as fighters—as constructed following latent masculinized norms that still frame most sports—and women remained largely unacknowledged.

As retailers increasingly deploy AI-based systems to manage customer complaints, fundamental questions arise regarding how such technologies shape customer evaluations, the psychological mechanisms through which they operate, and the boundary conditions under which they are most effective. This study investigates the impact of an AI-enabled complaint-handling system introduced by a large UK omnichannel retailer that automates triage, routing, and structured process updates, focusing on customers' likelihood-to-recommend (LR; 0–10) and unit-month Net Promoter Score (NPS), perceived provider competence, and the moderating role of complaint affective intensity. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, we first conduct semi-structured interviews with customers and frontline managers to explore competence cues, emotional expectations, and perceptions of AI-human role allocation. Building on these insights, we analyse customer-level survey data and administrative records through a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences (DiD) framework exploiting the retailer's staggered AI rollout. Quantitative results show that AI adoption increases LR by 0.38 points, equivalent to a 5.1% improvement over the pre-treatment mean. At the unit-month level, AI raises NPS by 4.1 points, a 22% relative increase. Perceived provider competence increases by 0.28 standard deviations post-AI adoption and mediates 45% of the total effect on LR, confirming competence as a central psychological mechanism. However, AI's impact is moderated by affective intensity: gains in LR are 37% smaller for high-affect complaints compared with low-affect complaints, indicating that AI-driven informational support is less effective when customers express intense negative emotion. Event-study analyses and robustness checks confirm the validity of the causal estimates. The findings provide practical guidance for retailers designing AI-enabled complaint-handling systems by highlighting when automation can enhance customer advocacy and when timely escalation to human agents is essential, particularly for emotionally intense complaints. These findings advance service recovery theory by identifying the conditions under which AI enhances customer evaluations and offer guidance for designing hybrid AI–human systems that balance efficiency with emotional responsiveness.

Background Delayed return-to-work is common after serious injury. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) supports people to return to/remain in work. We developed training for occupational therapists (OTs) and clinical psychologists (CPs) to deliver a VR intervention (Return to Work After Trauma-ROWTATE) to UK trauma patients within a large-scale randomised controlled trial. Objectives Evaluate the training, OT/CP competence and confidence to deliver ROWTATE, attitudes/confidence in evidence-based practice (EBP). Methods Competency was assessed through Team Objective Structured Clinical Examination and two tasks (management plan, employer letter). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) estimated inter-rater reliability. Questionnaires measured EBP attitudes (EBPAS-36) and confidence (EPIC) pre and post-training and confidence in ROWTATE delivery post-training. Semi-structured interviews captured training experiences and confidence. Results 47 OTs and 16 CPs completed training. Competency scores were high (OT range=27.5–37.5; CP range=28.5–37; maximum=38). Inter-rater reliability was moderate (OT ICC=0.56, 95%CI 0.18,0.77; CP ICC=0.73, 95%CI −0.22,0.93). EBPAS-36 scores were high pre and post-training with no significant increase post-training. OT confidence in applying evidence (P = 0.01) and evaluating effect of their actions (P = 0.04) increased significantly post-training. OTs and CPs had high confidence (80–100% across questions) in delivering ROWTATE. Conclusions VR training resulted in high competency scores, improvements in EBP confidence and high confidence in delivering ROWTATE.

The present study adapted the Social Media Flow Scale (SMFS), developed by Brailovskaia et al. (2020), into Turkish and evaluated its psychometric properties. Data from 732 social media users (N = 732; 65.4% female; Mage = 31.19 years, SDage = 11.13) were collected by an online survey. A standard procedure, including forward and back translation, was used to ensure the linguistic validity of the Turkish SMFS. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original five-factor structure, comprising focused attention, enjoyment, curiosity, telepresence, and time distortion. Fit indices revealed a good fit of the model (comparative fit index = .975, Tucker-Lewis index = .960, root mean square error of approximation = .066, and standardized root mean square residual = .033). All subscales demonstrated acceptable to excellent internal consistency (α = 0.789–0.888; ω = 0.791–0.942). Convergent and discriminant validity of the SMFS were supported by average variance extraction, composite reliability, and heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlations. Analyses of concurrent validity showed that total scores on the SMFS were significantly positively related to social media continuance, social media-related fear of missing out, social media addiction, and problematic smartphone use (r = .515 to .689). The findings suggest that flow in social media use acts as a double-edged sword by both maintaining engagement and being associated with problematic use. In sum, the results indicate that the Turkish SMFS is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing multidimensional flow experiences in social media contexts and can be utilized in research on digital well-being and addictive behaviors.