Short-staffing and increases in workload demands within long-term care (LTC) homes may result in rushed and unfinished care, which has been consistently linked to adverse outcomes including falls, infections, pressure ulcers, reduced resident satisfaction, and unnecessary hospital admissions. This mixed-methods study combined quantitative survey data from care aides (Wave 1: n = 198; Wave 2: n = 249) with qualitative interviews from seven administrators. Multilevel logistic regressions clustered care aides within facilities. Our analysis shows a higher perceived staffing capacity in 2024 compared to 2021. In both years, better staffing was strongly associated with lower odds of reporting rushed or unfinished care tasks. Task prioritization favoured critical elements of care over social aspects. Qualitative interviews confirmed improvements and revealed key structural changes enabling these improvements. Rushed and unfinished care in lower priority domains remains a concern and may function as a latent hazard.

There is a widespread belief that the excessive leniency of the justice system undermines its legitimacy as well as the confidence of the public. By comparing general and specific punitive attitudes in particular criminal cases within the population in France, this article sheds new light on this observed discrepancy. A mixed-research design combining focus groups and a questionnaire enables researchers to better grasp punitive attitudes by fostering reflexivity. The article delineates and weighs some factors contributing to these differing assessments by replacing them in a bigger picture. Both general and concrete punitive attitudes are nuanced. First, political orientation and experiences with the police (rather than courts) influence general views on punitiveness but not specific punitive attitudes. In contextualized situations, a more pragmatic, rather than ideological, reasoning enables individuals to distance themselves from certain media narratives or political statements. Second, the public’s concern to balance firmness with educational objectives—retribution and rehabilitation—also explains a more moderate punitivism in practice. Third, shared penal norms (gradation, individualization, and so on) are implemented in contextualized cases. Our findings yield evidence that the distrust of the judiciary is not as pronounced as implied by opinion polls. It would likely diminish if the public had a deeper understanding of judges’ actual practices.

Switching from regular salt to potassium-enriched salt lowers blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, but this intervention is underutilised by healthcare professionals. We assessed Australian healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding regular salt and potassium-enriched salt for hypertension management. We used mixed-methods research including surveys to quantify KAP towards regular salt and potassium-enriched salt and semi-structured interviews to gather in-depth information about knowledge, attitudes and the barriers and opportunities for recommending potassium-enriched salt use in clinical practice. Participants were general practitioners, medical specialists and allied health professionals working in Australia and caring for individuals with hypertension. Ninety-nine participants completed the survey, and thirty-six participants completed interviews. Survey participants generally had high knowledge related to regular salt; most were aware of potassium-enriched salt (94 %), but only 49 % reported familiarity with it. Of those aware, 73 % considered it safe to use and 66 % knew of the blood pressure-lowering benefits. Only 14 % had recommended it in the previous 12 months, though most interview participants were willing to recommend it in the future. Key barriers to recommendation were limited knowledge about potassium-enriched salt, insufficient time to discuss use with patients and concerns about taste, availability and affordability. The key opportunity identified was incorporating recommendations and information about potassium-enriched salt into existing resources supporting hypertension management by clinicians. Healthcare professionals are mostly aware and supportive of recommending potassium-enriched salt but lack in-depth knowledge. Advice about using potassium-enriched salt needs incorporation into clinical education programmes and hypertension management systems.

Free press protections are fundamental to constitutional democracy, yet their enforcement varies when judges themselves face media scrutiny. Drawing on 658 decisions from eight democratic countries and the European Court of Human Rights, we show that judges are significantly less likely to uphold press rights when coverage targets the judiciary rather than elected officials or bureaucrats. This pattern persists across different constitutional systems and legal traditions, even after accounting for legal doctrine, coverage tone and institutional strength. Using regression analysis, sentiment scoring and qualitative case studies, we demonstrate that judges often invoke distinct justifications when limiting press freedom in these cases. By examining judicial decision-making through the lens of institutional self-interest, this article contributes to scholarship on judicial behavior, comparative constitutional law and freedom of expression. Our findings reveal a fundamental limitation in constitutional governance: rights enforcement weakens when judges face accountability pressures. These dynamics raise serious questions about whether judges can reliably protect critical oversight as democracies worldwide increasingly entrust unelected judges with decisions that shape citizens’ lives.

This mixed-methods study validated an environmental character education model for upper-secondary students and examined short-term score change after a Telegram-based learning programme. The qualitative phase used thematic analysis of environmental education, character education, and environmental ethics texts, followed by three Delphi rounds with 20 experts. The resulting 11-component framework informed a 76-item questionnaire administered to 384 upper-secondary students in northwestern Iran selected through multistage cluster random sampling. Factor analyses supported the 11-component structure (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) = 0.850; explained variance = 61.89%; root mean square error of approximation = 0.056), although patience and tolerance showed a weak higher-order loading. A one-month Telegram-based programme was then implemented using component-aligned persuasive statements, short stories, animations, films, music, and environmental prompts. Mean scores increased from pretest (M = 3.83, SD = 1.17) to posttest (M = 3.92, SD = 1.19), t (383) = 8.86, p < 0.001, dz = 0.45. The raw change was small and is interpreted cautiously as short-term score responsiveness rather than causal proof of character development.

South Asians experience a disproportionate burden of early and aggressive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD)(1). Their diets are typically high in refined carbohydrates and saturated fats, and epidemiological evidence suggests a link between high saturated fat intake and increased ASCVD risk(2). This study aimed to explore the knowledge and dietary behaviours related to saturated fat among SAs who self-reported hypercholesterolemia. Twenty South Asian adults who self-reported hypercholesterolemia were recruited through stakeholder engagement and advertisements in cultural and religious organisations. Demographic and dietary information were collected via an online Qualtrics survey (n = 20), and knowledge and behaviours related to saturated fat were explored through semi-structured telephone interviews (n = 19), which were thematically analysed. Participants included 12 of Indian ethnicity (India, Fiji, and NZ-born), five Sri Lankan, two Nepali, and one Afghan. Fourteen were male and six were female, with a mean age of 40 years (SD 9.8). Most expressed concern about their elevated cholesterol levels, particularly concerning family histories of cardiac events. Interview data revealed widespread confusion about whether saturated fats were harmful. Dairy products, particularly milk and yoghurt, were the main sources of saturated fat. Following diagnosis, many participants switched from standard (blue top) to reduced fat (light blue top) milk after receiving general advice from their health professional. Nevertheless, few recognised that frequently consumed yoghurts (e.g., Gopala) were high in saturated fat. Ghee use was also prevalent, motivated either by cultural practices or beliefs that it is a healthier fat. Coconut oil consumption was less common, but coconut milk consumption, especially among Sri Lankan and South Indian participants was widespread, with limited awareness of its saturated fat content. Knowledge of saturated fat sources was generally low, contributing to continued consumption of high-saturated-fat foods. These findings highlight the need for culturally tailored dietary education and resources to improve awareness and reduce ASCVD risk in South Asian populations.

This paper examines why voters of radical parties do not experience an increase in satisfaction with democracy (SWD) after their electoral entry. Drawing on evidence that radical party voters are among the most affectively polarized, we argue that negative affect towards the out-group winner may outweigh the utility gains from in-group results, thus counterbalancing any entry-driven SWD boost. To evaluate our theory, we combine observational, experimental, and qualitative evidence from two studies of Éric Zemmour voters, the radical right candidate who disrupted the 2022 French elections. Our findings confirm that Zemmour voters did not experience the expected boost in SWD after their first election and provide evidence of a negative affective response to the out-group (Macron) win as the driving mechanism. The qualitative analysis further supports a causal path from negative feelings towards the winner to questioning the democratic system. Contrary to representation theories, our paper suggests that the institutional inclusion of marginalized political groups may not correct democratic dissatisfaction in highly polarized contexts.

The use of observational methodology has become increasingly more common in psychological research, highlighting the need for tools that ensure methodological rigor. This study presents evidence of convergent/discriminant validity for the Methodological Quality Scale for Studies Based on Observational Methodology (MQSOM). A multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) analysis with Spearman’s correlations was used to examine the relationship between MQSOM dimensions and those of three instruments: the Methodological Rigor in Mixed Methods (MRMM), the Guidelines for Reporting Evaluations Based on Observational Methodology (GREOM), and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Ninety-six articles were coded using MQSOM and the instruments for comparison. The MQSOM’s design converged with the MRMM’s mixed-methods design (ρ = .217, p = .034), GREOM’s design (ρ = .217, p = .034), and MMAT’s qualitative (QUAL) component (ρ = .212, p = .038). The MQSOM’s measurement and analysis aligned with MRMM’s data analysis (ρ = .611, p < .001), GREOM’s data quality control (ρ = .423, p < .001) and results (ρ = .328, p = .001), and MMAT’s quantitative (QUANT) (ρ = .214, p = .037) and mixed-methods (ρ = .643, p < .001) components. MQSOM’s design exhibited discriminant validity from MRMM’s data collection (ρ = .025, p = .807) and data analysis (ρ = −.051, p = .620), GREOM’s data quality control (ρ = .025, p = .812) and results (ρ = −.032, p = .759), and MMAT’s QUANT component (ρ = −.035, p = .733). This study reinforces the validity of MQSOM as a useful methodological quality scale.

This paper presents an illustrated tutorial for conducting an embedded Mixed-Method Social Network Analysis (MMSNA) to examine the dynamic interplay between human agency and social networks. We draw on an empirical study in education that investigated how teachers enact relational agency within their school networks to support the integration of migrant students. We propose a replicable method and stepwise procedure for designing, implementing and evaluating an embedded MMSNA. While the potential of MMSNA has long been recognized across disciplines, its purpose and operationalization are often underexplained. We illustrate how MMSNA can be used to analyze both network structures and the agency of actors embedded within them, in alignment with specific research objectives and theoretical perspectives.

Expert-produced information and data hold significant potential for adoption by decision-makers; however, this potential can be compromised by barriers related to language, communication channels, and formats. The literature emphasizes the differing languages, timelines, and incentives between specialists and lay decision-makers who seek practical solutions to real-world issues, rather than theoretical dilemmas. We conducted a mixed-method study, based on a survey and interviews with Italian regional lawmakers and local decision-makers in land-use planning. This is an area characterized by high levels of technicality and hence appears challenging to most decision-makers. We discovered that when they easily grasp the meaning and implications of policy documents, their understanding seems more influential in their legislative behavior. Consequently, a key challenge in promoting evidence-informed policy-making seems to translate expert knowledge into accessible languages and codes for laypeople and to present it in practical and concise ways.