Measuring dominance certainty and assessing its impact on individual and societal health in a nonhuman primate model: a network approach

The notion of dominance is ubiquitous across the animal kingdom, wherein some species/groups such relationships are strictly hierarchical and others are not. Modern approaches for measuring dominance have emerged in recent years taking advantage of increased computational power. One such technique, named Percolation and Conductance (Perc), uses both direct and indirect information about the flow of dominance relationships to generate hierarchical rank order that makes no assumptions about the linearity of these relationships. It also provides a new metric, known as ‘dominance certainty’, which is a complimentary measure to dominance rank that assesses the degree of ambiguity of rank relationships at the individual, dyadic and group levels. In this focused review, we will (i) describe how Perc measures dominance rank while accounting for both nonlinear hierarchical structure as well as sparsity in data—here we also provide a metric of dominance certainty estimated by Perc, which can be used to compliment the information dominance rank supplies; (ii) summarize a series of studies by our research team reflecting the importance of ‘dominance certainty’ on individual and societal health in large captive rhesus macaque breeding groups; and (iii) provide some concluding remarks and suggestions for future directions for dominance hierarchy research. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

Recognizing careworkers’ contributions to improving the social determinants of health: A call for supporting healthy carework

Workers engaged in reproductive labor—the caring work that maintains society and supports its growth—contribute to societal health while also enduring the harms of precarious labor and substantial work stress. How can we conceptualize the effects of reproductive labor on workers and society simultaneously? In this commentary, we analyze four types of more relational and less relational careworkers—homeless shelter workers, school food workers, home care aides, and household cleaners—during the COVID-19 pandemic. We then make a case for a new model of societal health that recognizes the contributions of careworkers and healthy carework. Our model includes multi-sectoral social policies supporting both worker health and societal health and acknowledges several dimensions of work stress for careworkers that have received insufficient attention. Ultimately, we argue that the effects of reproductive labor on workers and society must be considered jointly, a recognition that offers an urgent vision for repairing and advancing societal health.

Perceived Health Concerns During COVID 19 Crisis Amongst Jamaicans

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis affecting several countries, including Jamaica. The risk perception of a crisis is shaped by both real hazards and perceived threats. Therefore, a cross-sectional research survey was conducted in August 2020 to evaluate Jamaicans' perceived health concerns during COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional randomized online questionnaire survey was sent to a total of 268 participants. As a result, 92 people (34%) responded to the online questionnaire survey in August 2020, and SPSS analyzed the data. Results and Discussion: Out of 92 respondents, 78% were females, 22% were males, and more than 70% of participants were over 35 yrs. old. 52% of participants perceived the country was not prepared for a crisis such as COVID-19. The biggest concerns during this crisis were family health (39%), economic hardship (28%), societal health (20%), and personal health (13%). In personal health, the majority of Jamaicans were concerned about physical and mental health during this crisis. Conclusion: The responding and understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are functions of both natural threats and perceived risks. The interaction of physical health and risk perception is complex and dependent on understanding the crisis, uncertainty, and destructive potential. The results suggest a crisis burden on mental health in addition to physical health; therefore, an effective campaign should be planned to prevent a deepening mental health crisis. This research study suggests a potential burden on societal health in healthcare delivery systems and other public health services. The awareness program should be promoted to motivate and help the Jamaicans to handle the crisis. The policymakers should consider working with government, science, and faith-based institutions to develop a multidisciplinary framework to control the COVID-19 pandemic's negative impact on Jamaican society.

The role of service firms in societal health: the case for symbiotic value

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to highlight the role that service firms can play to improve societal health and create symbiotic value, defined as value created as a result of collaborative relationships between the firm, its employees, customers and the communities in which it operates.Design/methodology/approachThis manuscript examines the case of Millennials as they make up a dominant portion of the current workforce in society and proposes a conceptual framework for symbiotic value creation.FindingsThis study identifies the need to develop supporting mechanisms for the growing role of Millennials as employees and members of society that ultimately, in turn, create symbiotic value.Originality/valueThe paper proposes an integrative framework beyond the traditional and siloed examination of linkages between employee, customer, firm and society, creating new opportunities for extending a service theory and practice.

Ixekizumab Improves Functioning and Health in the Treatment of Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis: Week 52 Results from 2 Pivotal Studies

Objective This study evaluated the effect of ixekizumab (IXE) on self-reported functioning and health in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) who were either biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD)–naïve or failed at least 1 tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi). Methods In 2 multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and active‑controlled (bDMARD-naïve only) trials, patients with r-axSpA were randomly assigned to receive 80 mg of IXE [every 2 weeks (Q2W) or every 4 weeks (Q4W)], placebo (PBO), or adalimumab (ADA; bDMARD-naïve only). After 16 weeks, patients who received PBO or ADA were rerandomized to receive IXE (Q2W or Q4W) up to Week 52. Functioning and health were measured by the generic 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF‑36) and the disease-specific Assessment of Spondyloarthritis international Society Health Index (ASAS HI). Societal health utility was assessed by the 5-level EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D-5L). Results At Week 16, both doses of IXE in bDMARD-naïve and TNFi-experienced patients resulted in larger improvement in SF-36, ASAS HI, and EQ-5D-5L versus placebo. For SF-36, the largest improvements were seen for the domains of bodily pain, physical function, and role physical. A larger proportion of patients reaching improvement in ASAS HI ≥ 3 as well as an achievement of ASAS HI good health status was reported in patients treated with IXE. Improvements were maintained through Week 52. Conclusion IXE significantly improved functioning and health as assessed by both generic and disease-specific measures, as well as societal health utility values in patients with r-axSpA, as measured by SF-36, ASAS HI, and EQ-5D-5L at Week 16, and improvements were sustained through 52 weeks.

Understanding Empathy

Empathy, one of the most studied and most multidisciplinary theoretical constructs, has garnered the attention of scholars from psychology as well as the social and biological sciences. The scholarship of empathy has developed significantly in the past century, with the most notable knowledge emerging in the areas of the neuroscience of empathy and the interplay between race/culture and empathy in recent decades. The positive psychology of empathy also continues to occupy researchers, as the links between empathy and individual and societal health abound. Future empathy research by socially and scholastically responsible scientists must overcome a long history of Euro-ethnocentric biases and integrate social justice into the understanding of this important construct. The scholarship and application of empathy will continue to be an important source of positivity for humans and for society as a whole.