Factors influencing willingness to participate in ophthalmic clinical trials and strategies for effective recruitment

AIM:To explore the factors influencing individuals’willingness to participate in ophthalmic clinical trials.METHODS:A questionnaire survey was conducted from January to April 2021 among patients and their family members at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center,Sun Yat-sen University,in Guangzhou,China.The survey gathered data on respondents’willingness,demographic and socioeconomic profiles,as well as their reasons and concerns regarding engagement in clinical trials.RESULTS:Of the 1078 residents surveyed(mean age 31.2±13.1y;65.8%females)in Guangzhou,749(69.5%)expressed a willingness to participate in future ophthalmic clinical trials.Specific characteristics associated with greater willingness included a younger age,lower annual income,higher education,prior participation experience,previous ophthalmic treatment,and a better understanding of clinical trials.With the exception of age,these characteristics were significantly linked to a higher willingness.The primary barrier to participation,expressed by 64.8%of those willing and 54.4%of those unwilling,was“Uncertain efficacy”.In terms of motivations,the willing group ranked“Better therapeutic benefits”(35.0%),“Professional monitoring”(34.3%),and“Trust in healthcare professionals”(33.1%)as their top three reasons,whereas the unwilling participants indicated“Full comprehension of the protocol”(46.2%)as the key facilitator.CONCLUSION:This study reveals a substantial willingness to participate in ophthalmic clinical trials and demonstrates the predictive role of demographic and socioeconomic factors.Variations in motivators and concerns between willing and unwilling participants highlight the significance of tailored recruitment strategies.Importantly,the need for and trust in healthcare professionals stand out as powerful motivations,underscoring the importance of enhancing physician-patient relationships,adopting patient-centered communication approaches,and addressing individualized needs to improve accrual rates.

Network analysis of the relationships between depressive symptoms and social participation activities among Chinese older adults and its implications for nursing

Objective:Network analysis was used to explore the complex inter-relationships between social participation activities and depressive symptoms among the Chinese older population,and the differences in network structures among different genders,age groups,and urban-rural residency would be compared.Methods:Based on the 2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey(CLHLS),12,043 people aged 65 to 105 were included.The 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression(CESD)Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms and 10 types of social participation activities were collected,including housework,tai-chi,square dancing,visiting and interacting with friends,garden work,reading newspapers or books,raising domestic animals,playing cards or mahjong,watching TV or listening to radio,and organized social activities.R 4.2.1 software was used to estimate the network model and calculate strength and bridge strength.Results:21.60%(2,601/12,043)of the participants had depressive symptoms.The total social participation score was negatively associated with depressive symptoms after adjusting for sociodemographic factors.The network of social participation and depressive symptoms showed that“D9(Inability to get going)”and“S9(Watching TV and/or listening to the radio)”had the highest strength within depressive symptoms and social participation communities,respectively,and“S1(Housework)”,“S9(Watching TV and/or listening to the radio)”,and“D5(Hopelessness)”were the most prominent bridging nodes between the two communities.Most edges linking the two communities were negative.“S5(Graden work)-D5(Hopelessness)”and“S6(Reading newspapers/books)-D4(Everything was an effort)”were the top 2 strongest negative edges.Older females had significantly denser network structures than older males.Compared to older people aged 65e80,the age group 81e105 showed higher network global strength.Conclusions:This study provides novel insights into the complex relationships between social participation and depressive symptoms.Except for doing housework,other social participation activities were found to be protective for depression levels.Different nursing strategies should be taken to prevent and alleviate depressive symptoms for different genders and older people of different ages.

Participatory Technique Supporting Environmental Management: A Systematic and Bibliometric Review

The increasing need to manage natural resources sustainably, driven by population growth, requires the simultaneous use of Participatory Techniques (PT) and landscape planning for structured decision-making. We conducted a bibliometric and systematic review to provide an overview of PT usage, identifying evolution in scientific production. We considered the number of publications and citations, prominent journals, and highly cited articles on scientific papers published in the Web of Science database between 1993 and 2023. A total of 415 articles related to PT were identified. After content evaluation, 19 critical articles were selected that underpin the growing combined use of models and indices with PT, enhancing the robustness and credibility of decision-making processes.

Participatory Land Rehabilitation Strategies in Angacha District, Kembata Zone, Central Ethiopia Region

Community participation has become widely incorporated into policies of many soil and water conservation organizations. The purpose of this study was to assess the community participation in the rehabilitation of degraded land. In order to achieve the objective of the study, both primary and secondary data were generated by employing qualitative and quantitative data. Purposive sampling was employed to select three study kebeles (the smallest administrative structure of the country) from 16 rural kebeles in Angecha District. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 183 household heads from the lists of farmers in the selected kebeles for detailed household survey. In addition to household survey, field observation and key informant interview were also conducted to collect the necessary data. The data were presented using descriptive statistic such as percentage, frequency, tables and figure. The data collected through the use of household survey questionnaires were analyzed using logit regression while data collected through field observation and key informant interview were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative description. The findings of the present study revealed that population pressure, soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, and over cultivation were the major causes for land degradation. Moreover, the results of this study indicated that the main causes of the low productivity of farmland were farmers’ involvement in off-farm activities, increase in size of human population, lack of full cooperation of family members to involve in land rehabilitation practices. Households participated in rehabilitation practices at different levels, with 43.7% respondents showing intermediate participation. However, 22.4% of the farm households clarified that there is low experience sharing and motivation to participate in the process of implementation of rehabilitation programs. It is recommended that, continuous training and experience sharing program, immediate action to increase the number of literate persons, to practicing compatible practices for the agro climatic zone such as soil bund, Fanyaaju, stone bunds, and tree planting, extending effective practices, create opportunities for alternative means of livelihood and promoting NGOs effort to involve in land rehabilitation practices in the highly degraded area.

Factors Impacting Benefits of Participatory Forest Management in Upper Imenti Forest, Meru County, Kenya

This study focused on identifying factors affecting the benefits of Participatory Forestry Management (PFM) income generating activities in Upper Imenti Forest and whether they are dependent on status of participation in forest management through membership of Community Forest Association (CFA) or not. Cross-sectional survey research design was applied for collecting quantitative data using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 384 households stratified on the basis of PFM participation status. Qualitative data was collected through focused group discussions using a checklist and key informant interviews using an interview schedule. Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25, Binomial regression with Wald Chi-square was analyzed to identify factors perceived to be significantly influencing benefits for PFM participants and Pearson Chi-square to compare factors perceived to be affecting PFM and non-PFM participants. CFA members participation in PFM was significantly and positively affected by benefits of PFM income generating activities and forest products accessed in the forest. Benefits linked to Plantation Establishment for Livelihood Improvement System (PELIS) for CFA members were significantly reduced by enforcement of moratorium policy since February 2018, diseases and pests, poor PELIS guideline adherence and animal damage. Benefits related to state forest access for firewood by the CFA members were negatively influenced by the moratorium policy. Diseases and pests affected benefits associated with bee keeping significantly. Comparing factors under different PFM participation status, crop production was significantly affected by policy changes, pest and diseases, animal damage and PELIS guideline adherence for CFA members than for Non-CFA members. Policy changes also affected the CFA members significantly in firewood collection and access to fodder in the state forest than the Non-CFA members. Hence, sustainable community participation in Upper Imenti Forest management requires: increasing PFM benefits, addressing factors reducing benefits and enhancing active participation of CFA members in PFM related decision-making processes.

Preserving environmental quality of ecotourism sites through community participation in Purulia District of West Bengal,India

The importance of valuing environmental resources,especially in ecotourism sites,has become increasingly important over the last two decades.Ecotourism is now considered as an important source of livelihood of local stakeholders in backward regions.Therefore,the preservation of ecotourism sites through community participation seems very important to maintain continued flow of tourists.This study aimed at recognizing the importance of community participation for the preservation of ecotourism sites.For this,this study executed a survey based on non-probability sampling in two ecotourism sites(Garpanchkot and Baranti)covering 100 respondents in Purulia District,West Bengal of India.The central issue of this study was to assess the tendency of community participation for the conservation of ecotourism sites and find the optimum condition for offering participatory labour time.This study showed that the participation of young people is high,and the majority of respondents are aware of the importance in protecting ecotourism sites.Because respondents were too poor to offer money,the contingent valuation method(CVM)was used to elicit their willingness to pay(WTP)participatory labour time for the conservation of ecotourism sites.Respondents’age,income,education level,caste,and their perceived environmental quality had significant relationship with their WTP participatory labour time by applying the ordinary least square(OLS)model.It was found that the mean WTP participatory labour time of each respondent in a month is approximately 3.64 h.The significance of this study is that community participation can improve the sense of belonging,trust,and credibility of ecotourism sites,making them more appreciative of the value and protection of these sites.

Problems and Countermeasures to Improve Clinical Trial Participants’Compensation Rights in China

Objective To discuss the problems existing in the compensation of Chinese clinical trial participants and propose some suggestions for improving their rights.Methods The literature related to the participants’right to compensation at home and abroad was searched to study the inadequacy of the compensation right for clinical trial participants in China from four aspects:insurance system,principle of attribution,legal relationship and compensation regulations.Then,some suggestions to improve the participants’right to compensation were proposed.Results and Conclusion China lacks clear legal norms for participants’right to compensation.There are problems such as unclear insurance rules and compensation rules,unclear contractual relationships between parties to clinical trials,and no laws and regulations to rely on for attribution and compensation.China should issue regulatory guidelines related to the right to compensation of participants in clinical trials,so that all parties in clinical trials can have rules to follow if there is the occurrence of injury,which can better protect the rights and interests of the participants.

The Contribution of Vocal Music Education in Colleges and Universities to Cultural Inheritance and Innovation

The importance of education and cultural inheritance is becoming increasingly prominent.Through literature review and empirical research,combining quantitative data and qualitative analysis,this paper assesses the teaching methods,curriculum,and student interest and participation in vocal music education in colleges and universities.The study found that vocal music education played a positive role in increasing students’participation in cultural activities,enhancing their identification with traditional music and improving their skills,despite problems such as inadequate teaching systems and homogenized curricula.In particular,the participation rate of students in cultural activities before and after the educational changes increased significantly from 31–54.7%to 62.4–83.6%,indicating that vocal music education can effectively stimulate students’enthusiasm for cultural participation.In addition,the strengthening of the teaching staff and innovations in teaching methods,such as the application of multimedia and virtual reality technologies,provide students with richer learning experiences and personalized learning paths.

基于TOPSIS和CRITIC的齿轮坯闭式热模锻工艺方案评估

目的基于热力耦合机理,应用模型数值仿真和多参数化的评价机制,实施方案寻优,从而提升齿轮坯闭式热锻工艺的设计效率和成形质量。方法基于DEFORM仿真软件对某工程齿轮坯锻件的3种闭式热模锻成形工艺方案进行CAE仿真分析,研究其金属塑性流动规律,并采用TOPSIS(Technique for Order Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solution)和CRITIC(Criteria Importance Though Intercrieria Correlation)相结合的方法,构建以应变、应力、载荷、充填性、磨损等8个评价指标的评估模型及权值计算方法,进行工艺方案评估。结果通过仿真可以发现不同的预锻方案,金属塑性流动方式不同,成形结果不同,其中方案1未填满,成形有毛刺,受载不均匀,模具损伤值较大;方案2受载均匀,填充饱满,模具磨损深度大,等效应力大;方案3成形质量较好,但受载不均匀,且同样模具磨损深度大,等效应力大;综合考虑锻件成形质量和模具使用寿命,通过指标同向标准化处理、权重计算,得到方案1、2、3贴近程度分别为0.446、0.511、0.556,方案3值最大,结果最优。对方案3进行工艺试验,获得的齿轮坯充填饱满、无折叠缺陷。结论通过数值模拟与评估模型相结合的方法,可以精确、高效地评估闭式热锻造工艺方案的优劣,提高设计效率与成形质量。

Community Tourism in Changxi Village:Research based on Community-participated Village Tourism

On the basis of investigating community participation in tourism development of Changxi Village,Wuyuan County,the study pictures a reasonable image for the community participation in tourism village,proposes the problems and corresponding suggestions.

Willingness of farmers to participate in food traceability systems:improving the level of food safety

In order to solve frequently emerging food safety problems and adapt to the developing trends in the international food safety field, the Chinese government is establishing and developing food traceability systems. Whether or not food traceability sys- tems can guarantee food safety is a problem well worth discussing. Hence, we constructed a theoretical model to explore the effect of incentives in a food traceability system in order to improve food safety levels. The following results were obtained： enhancing the ef- fectiveness of a food traceability system, increasing the payment to farmers who supply safe agricultural products and strengthening the penalty for unsafe food supply actions are necessary conditions to improve the level of food safety. How to encourage farmers to use food traceability systems is another problem explored in our investigation. Based on a field survey on the willingness of vegetable growers to participate using a vegetable traceability system in Beijing, the first city in China to develop such a system, we used a de- scriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model to investigate the factors which dominate the decision on the part of farmers to participate in a food safety system. The results indicate that i： younger farmers are more likely to get involved in a food traceability system than older farmers, ii： income from non-agricultural activities decreases the willingness of farmers to participate, iii： the high- er the cost-benefit ratio of growing vegetables, the more likely for farmers to engage in a food traceability system, iv： farmers with a great concern for food safety information have a high propensity to participate and v： increased penalties against unsafe food supply actions and high-risk expectation are adverse incentives. In contrast, high-price expectation is a positive incentive for farmers to par- ticipate, while agricultural training, government subsidies and being part of an industrial organization will significantly strengthen the confidence of farmers to participate in a food safety system.

Analyzing Factors Contributing to Farmers' Willingness to Participate in Rural Cooperative Finance Organizations

It has been commonly recognized that the cooperative finance organizations in China's rural areas have been playing an important role in spreading farm production risks, increasing farmers' income, as well as stimulating the overall rural economic growth. This paper attempted to identify the key factors which potentially contributed to the farmers' willingness to participate in the new-form of the rural cooperative finance organizations sponsored by the Chinese governments. In the process, a total of 442 farmer households as well as small-micro farming enterprises were sampled from the villages in Panjin municipality of Liaoning Province in China, where the new form of the rural cooperative finance organization(NFRCFO) experiment was under way. Those potential factors were classified into the four categories, including the characteristics of the famer households, the reputation of the rural finance cooperatives, transaction costs paid, as well as service quality. A discrete Logit model was used for parameter estimations. The results showed that most of the factors being considered exhibited statistically significant effects on the farmers' willingness to take part in NFRCFO, but with each presenting different levels of impacts. The causes and effects for those uncovered empirical results were fully discussed following by policy implication discussion.

Research on the Public Behaviors to Participate in the Lake Chief System-Based on the Survey of Hengshui City, China

Lake chief system is an innovative measure of ecological civilization construction in lake governance and protection in China. Due to the complexity and openness of lake resources, it is difficult for the government and the market to properly handle the arduous task of lake governance, and public participation is an effective remedy for the failure of the government and the market. In order to know the public participation in the protection lakes, this paper selected 318 citizens from Hengshui city and uses the questionnaire survey to understand the public’s participation attitude, approach and behavior of the lake chief system. The research results show that the public’s education level, length of residence and understanding of the lake chief system have a positive impact on their participation.

Factors Influencing Residents’ Decision to Participate in Health Screening in Taiwan: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Chronic diseases have affected the health and quality of life of people in a vast number of countries. Critically, chronic diseases have been rapidly increasing worldwide and inflicting a heavy burden on society. As such, health screening has been applied to reduce individuals’ risks of developing chronic diseases and to initiate health promotion or disease prevention. However, the participant rate is low, especially for people living in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence people’s decisions to undergo health screening. Method: Semi-structured interviews were undertaken for 16 people aged between 30 - 60 years, and all interviewees had never attended health screening at our hospital despite being invited. Interviewees were from four districts in Taiwan: Anle District of Keelung City;and Ruifang, Gongliao, and Wanli Districts of New Taipei City. These districts were sampled to represent urban and rural areas, respectively, and people in these rural areas were suspected to have high risk of metabolic diseases, kidney and lung diseases or cancers. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and NVivo 11 was used for data management. Result: Six motivating factors or barriers were identified: 1) Health attitudes and beliefs about the benefits of participating in health screening;2) expectation of health screening from the perspective of participants;3) cost consideration;4) impact of social influence on willingness to participate in health screening;5) the experiences of health screening;and 6) practical motivations or barriers of undergoing health screening. Conclusion: Health attitudes and beliefs about the benefits of having a health screening, personal health expectations, and free health services were identified as the top three important factors that influence a resident’s decision to undergo health screening for chronic diseases in Taiwan.

The Modified Contingent Valuation Method for Evaluating the Willingness of the Citizenry to Participate in Excavation and the Restoration of the Ancient Theatre of Lefkada

This proposed project is not viable in profitable terms to private enterprise, so it applied a modified version of the CVM （Contingent Valuation Method） to realize this project. A survey was conducted in Lefkada Island in Greece, where 200 interviewees took part in order to consider whether they wish to voluntarily participate in the excavation and restoration of the ancient theater of Lefkada. Half of the interviewees were given information on the history of the site and then were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The other half of the interviewees were given no historical information on the archeological site and also were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The interviewees who were not given any information on the history of the site briefed on the history and then were asked to fill out another questionnaire. The purpose was to observe the different responses that the interviewees gave before and after being informed. This study aims to compare the WTP （Willingness To Participate） for this public good among those who were informed and those who were not.

Exploration on college students＇ reluctance to participate in group discussion in EFL listening and speaking classes

Motivation has long been argued and studied both at home and abroad; however most researches stressed the linear, casual relationship between motivation and students achievement through interaction of group discussion. This paper tended to explore the factors that influenced students＇ motivation to participate in group discussion in EFL listening and speaking class. A questionnaire was designed and adopted to figure out the factors By analyzing the data, this paper would provide some suggestions to the research problem.

China FAW Participates in The China Auto International(Syria)Tour

At the beginning of the new year, a new message was released from the Organization Committee of China Auto International Tour --China FAW Group Corporation and China League of Machinery Industry will jointly sponsor the 4nd China Auto International (Syria) Tour.

China Confirms to Participate in 2017 Astana Expo Held In Kazakhstan

On August 24,Jiang Zengwei-Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT),officially submitted in Beijing the confirmation documents for China’s participation in Astana Expo to Kazakh First Deputy Foreign Minister Rapil Zhoshybayev,which signals that the preparation work for China to participate in Astana Expo has been officially initiated.

The impact of organizational resources and managerial interpretation on willingness to participate in carbon market

On the basis of resource-based view and managerial cognition,this research aims to explore which and how organizational resources facilitate organizational willingness to participate in carbon market(WTP-CM).In particular,it classifies resources into two dimensions,general resources(GR)and professional resources(PR),and investigates how these two types of resources interact with managerial interpretation and then influence organizational WTP-CM using a sample of 222 Chinese industrial firms.The findings show that environmental talents(PR)and low-carbon technologies(PR)have positive influences on organizational WTP-CM not only directly,but also indirectly through accelerating managers to interpret carbon trading as an opportunity,rather than a threat.On the contrary,only via managerial interpretation can capital reserve(GR)and environmental practices(PR)affect organizational WTP_CM positively.Furthermore,the impact of environmental practices on managerial interpretation does not depend on the performance of environmental practices(i.e.,success or failure).It means,regardless of environmental performance,the cumulation of environmental experience would promote managers to interpret carbon market as an opportunity and then advance their WTP-CM.Last,this partial mediating role of managerial interpretation between organizational resources and WTP-CM varies depending on organizational social position.Compared to centralfirms,peripheralfirms tend to be more responsive to managerial interpretation.The chain from organizational resources,to interpretation of carbon market as an opportunity,andfinally to the willingness to participate is stronger for peripheralfirms than for central ones.