It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, January 05, 2026
Narrative-based performance reviews deemed fairest by employees
ITHACA, N.Y. – Shifting from numerical to narrative-based performance reviews can significantly impact employees’ perceptions of fairness and their likelihood of improving performance based on the feedback, according to Cornell University-led research.
The study, published in the Academy of Management Discoveries, compared responses to performance feedback delivered in one of three formats: numerical-only, narrative-only or a combination of both. Their findings suggest that narrative-only feedback was generally perceived as the fairest, and gives recipients a clearer understanding of how to enhance their future performance.
“When we started this project, we thought that combined feedback might be best,” said Emily Zitek, a professor in Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
“But what we ended up finding was that the narrative-only condition was the best in terms of fairness perceptions and preventing people from feeling negatively evaluated.”
To examine the impact of various performance feedback formats on employees’ responses, they conducted four experiments in which they manipulated the format of the feedback given to 1,600 participants. Participants received the same evaluations in either numerical-only, narrative-only or a combined format.
The researchers concluded that purely numerical feedback without narrative components is not ideal, as even mid-range numerical ratings can make employees feel negatively evaluated, and that the review was unfair. The lack of context also may make it difficult for employees to understand how to improve.
“If someone did only OK, they’re probably going to feel worse about it if they have numbers in their feedback than if they don’t,” Zitek said. “So if you don’t want them to feel bad, give them the information in just a narrative.”
The research offers practical implications to organizations by laying out the costs and benefits of removing numbers from performance feedback so that organizations can best decide how to proceed.
“We are hesitant to suggest that employers go to completely narrative-based performance reviews,” Zitek said, “because if you don’t have numbers, there can be some other disadvantages when you are trying to do things like administer bonuses or promotions.”
Decades of research show that early psychosocial stress, including chronic exposure to adversity, can shape how a child’s brain develops, with effects that last well beyond childhood. But families rarely experience just one source of stress at a time. Financial strain, caregiving stress, and other challenges often overlap, making it difficult to identify which factors matter most for early brain development.
New research led by Boston Children’s Hospital and published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences takes a different approach. Instead of examining risk factors one by one, the team used a novel, network-based approach to examine how multiple family conditions interact and which ones are most strongly related to brain development.
The study team followed families during routine 4-, 9-, and 12-month well-child visits at a primary care clinic serving mostly low-income communities. Parents completed brief surveys about household income, whether that income felt sufficient to meet their family’s needs, and levels of caregiver stress. During the same visits, researchers recorded infants’ brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG), a noninvasive procedure that took about 10 minutes.
A clear pattern emerged. Caregivers who reported that their income was never sufficient to meet their household needs were also more likely to experience higher financial stress, lower educational attainment, and greater exposure to adverse life events. Notably, when looking at all these related stressors together, one factor stood out as most influencing their child’s brain development: caregiver-reported income sufficiency.
Infants growing up in households where caregivers felt their income was never adequate showed signs of delayed brain maturation across the first year of life. These differences were most apparent in EEG measures of alpha and beta brain activity—features known to track early brain development and later cognitive functioning.
“Children grow up in complex, dynamic environments where stressors are interconnected,” said Haerin Chung, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital and co-first author of the study. “By using a network approach, we can identify which factors are most central—much like identifying influential nodes in a social network. Changing those central factors may have ripple effects across a child’s developmental environment.”
The findings also raise important questions about how families’ ability to meet basic needs becomes biologically embedded during infancy. The study was not designed to pinpoint specific pathways, but researchers note that multiple, overlapping mechanisms are likely involved.
Meeting basic needs may shape brain development through factors such as nutrition and housing stability, as well as through caregivers’ time, stress levels, and capacity to engage in developmentally supportive interactions. When families experience chronic financial strain, parents may have less time or energy for activities that support early learning, such as play, language exposure, and social interaction.
“Early brain development is shaped not only by biology, but by the everyday experiences infants have with their caregivers and their environment,” said Carol Wilkinson, MD, PhD, an attending physician and neuroscientist in the Division of Developmental Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and co-first author of the study. “Understanding which pathways matter most is an important next step for future research. Policies that strengthen supports affecting day-to-day financial stability during infancy may have lasting developmental benefits.”
Taken together, the findings suggest that policies and programs that strengthen families’ ability to meet basic needs during the first year of life may have lasting developmental benefits.
Credit: Muhammad Saddam Hussain, Meng Shi, Shiyu Zhang, Yeshui Zhang, Xuan Bie, Qinghai Li, Yanguo Zhang, Sebastian Lubjuhn, Sandra Venghaus, & Hui Zhou
A new comprehensive review highlights how converting biomass into gaseous fuels such as hydrogen, methane, and syngas could play a critical role in the global transition to low-carbon energy systems. By combining techno-economic analysis with life-cycle assessment, the study provides one of the clearest pictures to date of when and where biomass-based gaseous fuels can be both climate-friendly and economically viable.
The review, published in Energy & Environment Nexus, examines thermochemical conversion pathways that transform agricultural residues, forestry waste, and other non-food biomass into clean gaseous fuels. These fuels can be used for electricity generation, industrial heat, transportation, and as building blocks for chemicals and synthetic fuels.
“Biomass is unique among renewable energy sources because it can store carbon-based chemical energy,” said corresponding author Hui Zhou. “If designed properly, biomass conversion systems can not only replace fossil fuels but also achieve net negative greenhouse gas emissions when paired with carbon capture.”
The authors analyzed dozens of previous studies to identify the main factors shaping performance and cost. Feedstock type, moisture content, local supply chains, and technology maturity all strongly influence outcomes. High moisture biomass, common in tropical regions, can significantly increase energy use and operating costs, while locally sourced feedstocks can improve both economics and emissions performance.
A key contribution of the review is its integration of techno-economic analysis with life-cycle assessment. Techno-economic analysis evaluates capital costs, operating expenses, and market competitiveness, while life-cycle assessment measures environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions across the full production chain.
“Looking at cost or emissions alone can be misleading,” said co-corresponding author Sandra Venghaus. “Our review shows that some pathways that look expensive today may become highly competitive under carbon pricing or supportive policy frameworks, while others only deliver climate benefits under specific regional conditions.”
The analysis reveals that several biomass-to-gas pathways can outperform fossil fuels in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, especially when combined with carbon capture and storage. In some cases, these systems can remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit over their life cycle. However, the authors caution that uncertainties in modeling assumptions and data quality remain a major challenge.
Technology readiness also varies widely. Some gasification and methanation systems are already operating at near-commercial scale, while others, such as supercritical water gasification, remain at early demonstration stages. Catalyst degradation, system integration, and high capital costs continue to limit large-scale deployment.
Beyond technical and economic factors, the review highlights social and environmental trade-offs. Expanding biomass supply chains can create rural jobs and support local economies, but may also intensify land-use pressures and fuel concerns about competition between food and energy production if not carefully managed.
The authors emphasize the importance of modular, locally adapted biorefineries that use regionally available residues rather than dedicated energy crops. They also call for stronger policy support, standardized assessment methods, and better integration of social considerations into energy planning.
“Biomass-based gaseous fuels are not a silver bullet,” Zhou said. “But with the right technology choices, sustainable feedstocks, and consistent policies, they can become a powerful part of a diversified, low-carbon energy portfolio.”
The review provides a roadmap for researchers, industry stakeholders, and policymakers seeking to scale biomass-derived gaseous fuels in ways that are both economically sound and environmentally responsible.
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Journal reference: Hussain MS, Shi M, Zhang S, Zhang Y, Bie X, et al. 2025. Techno-economic and life-cycle assessments of biomass thermochemical conversion into gaseous fuels. Energy & Environment Nexus 1: e014
About Energy & Environment Nexus: Energy & Environment Nexus (e-ISSN 3070-0582) is an open-access journal publishing high-quality research on the interplay between energy systems and environmental sustainability, including renewable energy, carbon mitigation, and green technologies.
Scientists have taken a major step toward improving how wastewater treatment systems deal with emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, and endocrine disrupting chemicals. In a new perspective article published in New Contaminants, researchers present a comprehensive framework explaining how advanced oxidation processes, or AOPs, remove these hard to eliminate pollutants from water.
Emerging contaminants are often present at very low concentrations, but they can pose long term risks to ecosystems and human health. Many conventional treatment technologies struggle to remove them completely or efficiently. Advanced oxidation processes have attracted growing attention because they generate highly reactive chemical species that can break down even persistent organic compounds.
The new study reviews AOPs based on three powerful oxidants: persulfate, peracetic acid, and periodate. Among these, persulfate based systems receive special focus due to their stability, flexibility, and strong oxidation capability. The authors identify four major reaction pathways that govern how these systems work: radical oxidation, nonradical oxidation, electron transfer, and polymerization.
“Understanding which pathway dominates under specific conditions is essential for designing treatment systems that are both effective and practical,” said lead author Maoxi Ran of Southwest University. “Without this mechanistic clarity, it is difficult to optimize catalysts, control byproducts, or scale up these technologies for real wastewater.”
The paper highlights that traditional radical based oxidation, while powerful, can be easily disrupted by natural organic matter and common ions in water. In contrast, nonradical pathways such as singlet oxygen and high valent metal oxo species offer higher selectivity and stability, making them especially promising for complex water matrices.
Another emerging concept discussed in the article is polymerization driven removal, in which pollutants are transformed into larger, more stable compounds that can be captured on catalyst surfaces. This approach challenges the long held assumption that complete mineralization is always the ideal goal, and opens new possibilities for low energy and resource efficient water treatment.
“This perspective is not just about reviewing what has been done,” said corresponding author Zhenwu Tang. “We aim to guide future research toward smarter catalyst design, better control of reaction pathways, and real world applicability.”
Looking ahead, the authors emphasize the need for data driven catalyst design, studies involving multiple coexisting pollutants, and systematic evaluation of environmental impacts. Together, these advances could help move advanced oxidation processes from the laboratory to full scale wastewater treatment plants, supporting cleaner water and more sustainable environmental management.
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Journal reference: Ran M, Gong T, Tang ZW. 2025. Removal of new contaminants from wastewater through advanced oxidation processes - a perspective. New Contaminants 1: e020
