Public policies contribute to structural racism and health inequities. To dismantle structural racism and advance health equity, methods aligning scientific evidence, community priorities, and political will are needed to implement equity-focused interventions. This study combined community-based participatory research and legal epidemiology methods to inform local policy in East Point, Georgia. The community informed a comprehensive policy approach to address social determinants of health (SDOH) and advance health equity and identified East Point’s Comprehensive Plan Update as an opportunity to advance health equity through policy. Key findings informed a legal epidemiology study to assess variation in including equity and health equity in comprehensive plans across 32 jurisdictions. Limited adoption of equity and health equity provisions were found, revealing opportunities to inform the East Point policymaking process. Research findings were summarized and disseminated to the community and policymakers. In 2023, East Point adopted equity, health, and health equity into its comprehensive plan for the first time. This case study demonstrates that collaborative, multi-sector, community-centered approaches can support policy interventions that address historical race-based, health-harming policies, and thereby dismantle structural racism. Inclusion of health equity in East Point’s comprehensive plan provides a foundation for future implementation of policies that address SDOH and health inequities.

This paper explores a dilemma often faced by marginalized groups: how to cope with oppression when doing so necessitates a choice between safeguarding immediate personal well-being and fighting for structural change. While mainstream conceptions of coping take it to be an individual-level phenomenon aimed at maintaining/restoring personal well-being through emotion regulation processes, a recent plea in psychology calls for the “decolonization” of coping, such that collective efforts aimed at liberatory change be construed as genuine instances of coping as well. We provide the first philosophical treatment of “decolonial coping” and assess its merits and drawbacks as compared to mainstream coping. Our focus on coping double binds contributes to the philosophical literature on double binds by broadening the range of scenarios that can plausibly be understood as instances of double binds and the normative analysis of the costs associated with each horn of the dilemma and with the double bind itself. We identify the affective injustice of apt ambivalence, thereby also addressing for the first time the relation between double binds and affective injustice.

People with complex emotional needs (CEN) often receive poor care and struggle to access the evidence-based therapy they require. As part of community transformation, the Help to Overcome Personal and Emotional problems (H.O.P.E) team in Northumberland, and the Relational and Emotional Difficulties Service (REDS) in Cambridge, were set up to ensure that people with CEN could receive timely therapy without accessing secondary or tertiary services. Both services focus on providing adapted versions of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). The present study aims to understand the process followed to establish the two teams, identify whether they have been able to deliver accessible and acceptable treatment, and reflect on shared learning points for other services to consider. The study provides descriptions of the two service designs, further to quantitative and qualitative feedback from participants that completed treatment with the services. The results confirm that people in Northumberland and Cambridgeshire who accessed the services found the therapy to be acceptable and reported significant improvement in their ability to regulate their emotions, a decrease in symptoms associated with CEN, and a greater sense of progress towards achieving meaningful goals in their lives. However, in line with the broader literature, a high number of people dropped out and did not complete the interventions. The results suggest that the H.O.P.E team and REDS are providing acceptable and accessible evidence-based treatment for people with CEN. Reflections for future services to consider regarding reducing drop-out rates, the length of treatment, inclusion criteria, engaging people from minority groups and the use of online vs face-to-face therapy are provided.

Key learning aims

1. (1) Understand the process followed to establish two different CEN services in primary care settings.

2. (2) Identify whether two CEN services have delivered accessible and acceptable treatment.

3. (3) Compare how two CEN services are structured, and highlight shared learning points for other services.

Listening ability in second language (L2) assessment is elicited through test methods that often require other abilities, which may introduce construct-irrelevant variance and threaten the validity of the test. While previous research has examined the effects of item presentation and item format on test performance, studies on test-takers’ cognitive processing remain exploratory. This study investigates the effects of two test method variables, item presentation (operationalized as while-listening performance [WLP] vs. post-listening performance [PLP]) and item format (operationalized as multiple-choice questions [MCQs] vs. open-ended questions [OEQs]), on test-takers’ cognitive processing, using gaze behaviors as real-time indicators. A Graeco-Latin square design was employed to administer four psychometrically validated short-talk listening testlets across the test conditions. Eye-tracking data were collected while controlling for word count and typing speed as covariates. Linear mixed-effects modeling revealed higher total fixation duration, fixation counts, total visit duration, and visit counts in the WLP condition than in the PLP condition. Interaction effects for all four metrics further indicated that these differences were more pronounced for MCQs than for OEQs. Additionally, typing speed and word count contributed to the variance in eye-tracking measures. The findings contribute to our growing understanding of how test methods shape listening processes and offer implications for the design and interpretation of L2 listening assessments.

How do European Union (EU) fiscal allocations affect the electoral performance of corrupt incumbent governments? While existing research links EU funds to governance quality and corruption, less is known about how these resources interact with domestic political incentives to shape electoral outcomes. This article advances a theory of corruption compensation, arguing that EU transfers provide politically vulnerable incumbents with discretionary resources that can be redirected to consolidate electoral support. Using data on EU fiscal allocations and electoral outcomes in twenty-six member states between 2000 and 2015, the analysis shows that higher levels of EU funding are associated with larger electoral margins for governing parties in countries with high executive corruption. These effects are absent in less corrupt contexts. The findings suggest that, under weak domestic accountability and limited enforcement, EU fiscal instruments unintentionally reinforce illiberal governance and weaken the regulatory objectives of cohesion policy. The article highlights the need to integrate political risk considerations more systematically into the design and implementation of EU spending conditionality.

Once a focus of political science, interest group studies lost prominence before a resurgence over the past 25 years. Today, scholars around the globe are paying more attention to interest groups, and studies of interest group politics in the American states are leading the way due to uniquely transparent disclosure regulations for lobbyists and institutional variation across state governments. This review charts the theoretical and methodological contributions that fueled this evolution and highlights lessons to be gleaned from contemporary American state scholarship. Findings include how structural power is a source of leverage for lobbyists, how interest groups venue shop within a state government from the legislature to bureaucracy and even elected agencies, and how sometimes the enactment of legislation is only the beginning of group influence.

Since the early centuries of Christianity, the pope has had help in governing the universal church. Throughout history, the power of the Roman Curia has been centralized in a curia of cardinals—at the expense of diminishing the role of the college of bishops. The Second Vatican Council’s contributions to the episcopate and the role of the laity inspired, if only in part, the reforms of Paul V and John Paul II. Praedicate Evangelium, the apostolic constitution authored by Pope Francis, emphasizes the pastoral dimension of the curia, the participation of the bishops, and the co-responsibility of all the faithful. It recognizes, for the first time in church history, the possibility that lay people can, in some cases, direct dicasteries. This historic statement is, however, a starting point for reform. Synodality and decentralization may require further changes both in the Roman Curia and at the diocesan level. In addition, there is an urgent need for the institutions and individuals involved in the central governance of the Catholic Church to ensure respect for the law, transparency, accountability, and anything that could constitute an abuse of power.

NHS Talking Therapies (TT) is England’s main service for treating people with common mental disorders. Prior research has shown that a high proportion of people receiving TT ‘high intensity’ treatment have concurrent personality difficulties and that these are associated with poorer TT treatment outcomes. We developed a training workshop to enhance the skills, knowledge, and confidence of TT therapists in the treatment of this population and conducted a mixed methods evaluation to investigate whether the training was acceptable to staff and whether it had any impact on client outcomes. A quantitative survey (n=46) and qualitative interviews (n=6) were undertaken with staff and in parallel, we analysed the anonymised health outcomes of two client cohorts, treated pre-training (n=2434) and post-training (n=2358). Multi-level, difference-in-differences analyses revealed statistically significant cohort differences between the last and first scores on the domains of depression (–2.53, 95% CI: –3.02, –2.04), anxiety (–2.70, 95% CI: –3.15, –2.20), social functioning (–2.17, 95% CI: –2.88, –1.47), and phobia (–1.19; 95% CI: –0.29, –0.17). Therapists reported finding the training helpful, particularly in managing therapeutic alliances and enhancing the interpersonal effectiveness of their clients. Furthermore, the survey revealed a positive change in therapist attitudes to, skills related to, and knowledge of personality difficulties post-training. However, staff also suggested that broader structural changes and more resources are needed for TT services to better support clients with personality difficulties. Training initiatives such as this appear to be feasible and helpful for therapists, and may help to optimise client outcomes.

Key learning aims

1. (1) To understand the potential utility of online training for therapists, in their management of clients with concurrent personality difficulties.

2. (2) To understand high intensity therapist perspectives on attending a workshop to support tailoring treatments for depression and anxiety in the context of personality difficulties.

3. (3) To reflect on enhancing treatment for clients with personality difficulties via training workshops.

The genus Populus (poplar) plays a major ecological role and is one of the fastest-growing woody species worldwide. Consequently, it serves as a model for genetic studies in woody plants. Identifying superior clones requires assessing genetic diversity, for which cytogenetic and karyotypic studies are essential. This study investigated 40 clones from 10 species. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) were observed among clones for most chromosomal traits, indicating considerable karyotypic diversity. The base chromosome number was x = 19, with both diploid (2n = 2x = 38) and triploid (2n = 3x = 57) ploidy levels present. The clones P. euramericana var. vernirubensis (P. canadensis var. vernirubensis): 1(16) and P. nigra var. 63/135: 20(5) exhibited the most symmetric and most asymmetric karyotypes, respectively. The clones P. canadensis var. vernirubensis: 1(16) and P. caspica: (35) possessed the largest and smallest chromosomes, respectively. Quantitative analysis revealed that while individual chromosome volume was similar between ploidy levels (0.56–0.65 µm3 in triploids vs. 0.52–0.81 µm3 in diploids), the total chromosomal volume per cell was significantly greater in triploids (31.92–37.05 µm3) than in diploids (19.76–30.80 µm3). This ∼1.4-fold increase closely matched the theoretical 1.5-fold expectation based on chromosome number, indicating strict genomic additivity. Principal component analysis identified four main components: intra-chromosomal symmetry, chromosome length, inter-chromosomal symmetry and ploidy level. Cluster analysis grouped the 40 clones into 19 distinct classes, with different clones from the same species often classified separately, highlighting extensive intra-specific karyotypic diversity. The study demonstrates that triploid clones maintain diploid-scale chromosome dimensions, suggesting their possible phenotypic superiority stems from stable genome duplication rather than structural change, making them predictable candidates for breeding.

Internal security has been a governance priority under Xi Jinping. How does China’s budget reflect this prioritization? This research report presents updated data on China’s internal security spending, 1992–2022, revealing a mix of continuity and change. Domestic security expenditure continues to rise, more than doubling from 2012 to 2022, but has risen mostly in proportion to the People’s Republic of China’s overall expenditure. The balance between central and local expenditure has shifted further towards local spending, which, in the context of rising local fiscal constraint, may increase pressure on local public security bureaus. The Ministry of Public Security continues to receive the largest share of domestic security spending, while the proportion of internal security spending allocated to the People’s Armed Police (PAP) has decreased, probably reflecting the reorganization of the PAP in 2017–2018. Spending per capita and relative to GDP continues to be higher in locations that are politically sensitive, including Beijing, Tibet and Xinjiang.

The planetary health diet (PHD) is a mostly plant-based diet that aims to optimise human health while minimising the environmental impact of food production. Limited data exist on whether the PHD fulfils key nutritional requirements during pregnancy. This research aimed to examine the PHD in early pregnancy and how it aligns with daily nutrient intake and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) dietary guidelines. Pregnant women (n 678) from two Irish cohorts (ROLO and MicrobeMom) were analysed, and PHD index (PHDI) scores were assigned based on data from 3-d food diaries. Women were dichotomised by the median score to create a ‘High PHDI’ (> 88·99) and a ‘Low PHDI’ group (≤ 88·99). Differences in nutrient intakes and adherence to dietary guidelines between ‘High’ and ‘Low’ PHDI groups were explored. Compared with those with a ‘Low’ score, those with a ‘High’ PHDI score reported higher intakes of dietary fibre (g/d) (17·32 (13·39, 21·08) v. 21·74 (18·28, 25·88), P < 0·001), Fe (mg/d) (10·48 (8·48, 12·82) v. 12·06 (9·48, 14·60), P < 0·001), folate (µg dietary folate equivalent per d) (250·73 (193·88, 312·45) v. 279·57 (219·43, 356·81), P < 0·001) and Ca (mg/d) (837·75 (695·36, 1056·72) v. 956·57 (751·84, 1155·03), P < 0·001). A greater proportion of women in the ‘High PHDI’ group met EFSA recommendations for dietary fibre intake (10·3 % v. 28·9 %, P < 0·001). The PHD may support maternal nutritional adequacy in pregnancy while promoting environmental sustainability. Our findings provide valuable insights that can inform future dietary recommendations for pregnancy, contributing to both maternal health and planetary well-being.

This Forum focuses on the many and diverse smaller polities in a region spanning lands from Bengal and Assam in the west to Yunnan in the east, and from the eastern Himalayas in the north to Thailand in the south. From the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries, these polities underwent dramatic transformations when they faced the impact of Chinese and European encroachments. The ambition of this Forum is to reconnect academic research across the region. Even though this may be a new field of study for contemporary scholars, it is one that the smaller polities actively shaped long before the imperial onslaught. It is diverse, yet tied together by a multitude of interconnections, mobility, and integration through kinship, exchange, shared experiences, and warfare. Scholars of this region, who still work mostly from separate area-studies perspectives, face a challenge. The task ahead is to reconnect their conversations.