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The publication, in 1958, of Charles Elton's book The ecology of invasions by animals and plants launched the systematic study of biological invasions. Invasion ecology has grown to become an important multi-disciplinary subfield of ecology with growing links to many other disciplines. This paper examines the citation history of Elton's book using the Web of Science. We also examine Elton's influence in shaping the current research agenda in invasion ecology, for which we use the 28 papers in a special issue of Diversity and Distributions (Volume 14: 2) as a representative sample. After 50 years, Elton's book remains the most cited single source in the field (> 1500 citations), and is cited more often every year (> 100 times) than any other invasion-related publication, including influential papers in journals. Most citations to Elton's book refer to particular topics/concepts covered in the book, rather than citing it as a general reference about invasions. The shift in the distribution of topics/concepts cited with reference to Elton over time follows the same trend as for biogeography and ecology in general (increasing emphasis on analytical studies, multi-scale analyses, multi-disciplinary studies, etc.). Some topics emphasized by Elton are still the focus of current research (dispersal and spread of invasive organisms, impact on biodiversity, role of disturbance and enemy release) but several prominent themes in modern studies were not addressed by Elton. The emergence of new themes can be attributed to a general change in approach and emphasis underpinning research questions in conservation biogeography and applied ecology over the last half century (risk analysis, multi-scale comparisons, propagule pressure, experimental approaches) and to the recent emergence and increasing availability of large data sets on the distribution of introduced species and to the emergence of key technologies (e.g. geographic information systems, modelling techniques, including niche-based modelling, and molecular methods). Half a century after its publication, Charles Elton's book on invasions remains influential, but massive changes in the status of invasions and other environmental issues worldwide, together with advances in technology, are reshaping the game rules and priorities of invasion ecology.

Objectives: Studies of storytelling (ST) used as a research tool to extract information and/or as an intervention to effect change in the public knowledge, attitudes, and behavior/practice (KAB/P) were sought and analyzed. Methods: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ERIC, Web of Science, Art and Humanities database, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched, and a basic and broad quantitative analysis was performed, followed by an in-depth narrative synthesis of studies on carefully selected topics. Results: From this search, 3,077 studies were identified. 145 studies entered quantitative analysis [cancer and cancer screening (32/145), HIV (32/145), mental health (10/145), vaccination (8/145), and climate change (3/145)]. Ten studies entered final analysis [HIV/AIDs (5), climate change (1), sexual health (3), and croup (1)]. ST techniques included digital ST (DST), written ST, verbal ST, and use of professional writers. Of the ten studies, seven used ST to change KAB/P; the remainder used ST to extract insights. Follow-up and evaluation were very limited. Conclusion: ST reveals insights and serves as an intervention in public health. Benefits of ST largely outweigh the limitations, but more follow-up/evaluation is needed. ST should play a more significant role in tackling public health issues. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019124704

Objectives This research-on-research substudy uses a data-driven approach to investigate the range of appraisal tools in non-Cochrane systematic reviews and meta-analyses registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). Study design and setting A comprehensive web scraping of all completed non-Cochrane registrations in PROSPERO from February 2011 to December 2017 was performed. The focus was classifying the appraisal tools based on study type, assessment aspects, and research topics. Results After analyzing 17,708 complete records, we found a predominant use of methodological quality assessment tools compared to those for reporting quality or risk of bias (RoB). This indicates a greater emphasis on methodological rigor in the studied protocols. Various tools for assessing methodological quality were observed, reflecting the complexity of such evaluations. Instruments designed for evaluating methodological or reporting quality were mainly intended for non-randomized clinical trials or observational studies, unlike RoB tools more commonly used in randomized clinical trials. No distinct trends in tool usage were observed in specific research conditions or domains, suggesting that tool choice is influenced more by study design than research topic. Conclusion This study provides insights into the preferential use of various assessment tools in conducting non-Cochrane systematic reviews, as evidenced in PROSPERO records. The findings reveal various methodological assessment tools, underscoring their versatility across different study designs and research areas.

The article is devoted to the problem of the further methodological toolkit development for an enterprise economic security comprehensive assessment of by introducing new evaluation indicators. Various existing methodological approaches, as well as indicators used to assess the level of economic security, are analyzed. It is established that currently there is no generally accepted methodology for integrated assessment, difficulties remain in determining the composition of the evaluation criteria. In order to develop the existing methodological tools, the specified indicators of the rates of development intensity and economic growth are proposed and justified, the risk of return, the calculation of which allows for a generalized assessment of the economic security of the enterprise and is based not on expert estimates but on financial and management reporting data of the enterprise.

Understanding participants’ preferences for the return of individual research results (IRR) in genomic research may allow for the implementation of more beneficial result disclosure methods. We tested four preference-setting models through cognitive interviews of parents to explore how parents conceptualize the process of setting preferences and which disease characteristics they believe to be most important when deciding what results to receive on their child. Severity and preventability of a condition were highly influential in decision making and certain groups of research results were anticipated by participants to have negative psychological effects. These findings informed the development of an educational tool and preference-setting model that can be scaled for use in the return of IRR from large biobank studies.

The conceptual complexity of the term voluntariness has resulted in relatively few empirical studies of the voluntariness component of consent to research. As the call for a formal assessment of voluntariness to be incorporated into the consent process intensifies, more researchers are responding to the challenge of developing a valid and reliable measure of voluntariness. The purpose of this article was to summarize and describe the empirical literature on voluntariness of consent. As part of a broader study on the voluntariness of consent to research, existing empirical studies of voluntariness of consent to research were reviewed to establish how voluntariness of consent to research has been assessed to date. Fifteen studies using different voluntariness assessment instruments were identified and included in the review. The review found that little attempt has been made to systematically collect data on the reliability and validity of voluntariness assessment instruments. No two instruments reviewed were found to be based on a shared conceptualization of voluntary consent to research.

Nowadays, the sustainability of the health care system is a relevant research topic. The works of Russian scientists demonstrate the lack of a systematic approach to determining the efficiency and sustainability of the Russian health care. International experience and the data of the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO) show that, despite extensive research, efficiency indicators of the health care system have been insufficiently developed. Using the methods of multidimensional comparative analysis, determined factor analysis, structural analysis, expert assessment, statistical modelling and forecasting methods, we developed a methodology for the comprehensive assessment of the efficiency and sustainability of the regional health care system. The methodological toolkit includes the comprehensive assessment of the relative efficiency and relative sustainability of the regional health care system based on the established integral indicators. We tested this methodology on the example of the health care system of Sverdlovsk Oblast in the period 2017–2018. Integral indicators of the relative efficiency are directly influenced by the indicators of medical and social performance, which largely depend on the funding and management of the health care system. Simultaneously, the indicators of the relative efficiency can be high even if the indicators of the relative sustainability did not reach the established threshold. An integral indicator of the risk level considers the need to maintain the sustainability of the health care system for its functioning and development. Further, we constructed an interactive model for determining the risk zone and safe zone of the health care system. Due to its versatility, the proposed methodological toolkit allows an objective assessment of the efficiency and sustainability of the regional health care system.

The literacy in the early childhood education has been considered through the perspective of inclusive education. The study highlights the importance of a strategic integrated approach to literacy, even direct to children with disabilities, promoting the full inclusion in the early childhood services and the bill of right communication. Educazione inclusiva per la prima infanzia e diritto alla lettura, anche per i bambini con disabilità La questione dell’apprendimento della lettura, per la primissima e prima infanzia, viene analizzata utilizzando la lente dell’educazione inclusiva. Lo studio suggerisce un approccio strategico integrato diretto ai bambini con disabilità, per promuovere la piena inclusione e il diritto alla comunicazione.

Through an analysis of personal research diaries maintained during a prolonged period spent working in Palestine, this article analyses the importance of maintaining research diaries when on fieldwork. The evidence produced stems from a content analysis of fieldwork diaries kept while researching commemorative events in the West Bank, Palestine, during a period of global uncertainty and at a time of much change in the region. In espousing the benefits of the fieldwork diary it is shown that diaries assume a more important role than acting as a mere logging device; they have the capacity to allow for personal reflection and to help with the development of strategic responses to the inevitable challenges one would expect to face when working far from the relative comfort of home. The research diary as a cathartic tool for researchers to record fears and shortcomings in their work is discussed and personal insights into some of the challenges this researcher faced when engaged in ethnographic work in Ramallah, Palestine are provided. In summarising the benefits of maintaining research diaries, the author, lamenting the lack of transparency in the literature to date on the practicalities of fieldwork, calls for more open and honest reflection on the challenges associated with conducting fieldwork, particularly that which takes place in volatile or unstable regions.

Analiza višestrukih podudaranja je jedan od oblika faktorske multivarijantne analize podataka koji nam pomaže da uz pomoć savremenih statističkih programa rezimiramo veliku količinu informacija. Na taj način se utvrðuju sociološke korelacije - koje se zatim vizuelno predstavljaju na dvodimenzionalnom grafiku - izmeðu odreðenog broja aktivnih i dopunskih varijabli, odnosno izmeðu pozicija, dispozicija i zauzimanja pozicija analiziranih dejstvenika. U pitanju je istraživačko oruðe koje je u društvene i humanističke nauke 1960-ih godina prvi uveo statističar Žan-Pol Benzekri. Od početka 1970- ih, zahvaljujući Pjeru Burdijeu, ovaj metodološki postupak postaje nezaobilazan instrument u empirijskim istraživanjima sociologa kojima je bio blizak objektivistički pristup u sociologiji. Rad se sastoji od dva sistemska odeljka. U prvom se izlažu osnovne teorijske pretpostavke i metodološka svojstva analize višestrukih podudaranja. Ideja drugog odeljka je da se kroz kratak prikaz jednog konkretnog istraživanja - tj. njegovih svojstava i rezultata - zainteresovanoj sociološkoj javnosti dodatno približi ovo metodološko oruðe u društvenim naukama.