40 research outputs found

    Overview of Reporting

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    The Hard-To-Measure Aspects Of Firms

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    This dissertation explores the aspects of firms that are hard-to-measure, hard-to-observe, and hard-to-quantify. Chapter 3 investigates amenities of work that go beyond a wage. Using matched employee-employer data for the United States, this chapter estimates the joint distribution of wages, amenities, and job satisfaction across firms. There are three main findings. First, high-paying firms are high-satisfaction firms because they offer better amenities. Second, workers, especially high-earners, are willing to pay for job satisfaction, gaining in amenity value at least 50 percent of the average wage when moving from the worst- to the best-amenity firms. Third, since the elasticity of total compensation inclusive of amenity value to wages across firms exceeds one, incorporating non-wage amenities raises total compensation variance across firms by at least 52 percent. Chapter 4 investigates firm reputation. Using workers\u27 volunteered reviews on the platform Glassdoor, we find that the content most valuable to jobseekers (negative information) is the kind most risky to supply, pointing to a Catch-22. Higher ratings increase labor supply to less well-known firms, creating an incentive for smaller firms to discourage negative reviews. Concerns about employer retaliation discourage negative reviews and motivate employees who do disclose to conceal aspects of their identity, degrading the information’s value. Reputation institutions provide valuable but partial solutions to workers\u27 information problems. Chapter 5 investigates firm culture. Using a sample of corporate scandals and data from the website Glassdoor, we study how negative reputation shocks affect the relationship between firms and their employees. Worker sentiment declines sharply and persistently following scandals, driven by diminished perceptions of management and culture. While base earnings and fringe benefits remain unchanged, variable compensation falls 10 percent. Our results demonstrate that rank-and-file employees are adversely impacted by corporate misconduct

    Future Perspectives on Positive Psychology:A Research Agenda

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    Future Perspectives on Positive Psychology:A Research Agenda

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    Just over two decades ago, Martin Seligman's inaugural lecture as the new president of the APA marked the dawn of Positive Psychology. Seligman called for a science of positive subjective experiences, positive individual states/traits/behaviours, and positive societal factors that improves the quality of life and wellbeing. Since then, this sub-discipline of psychology has shown extraordinary and inspiring growth in both the academy (e.g. research papers/books) and practice (e.g. establishment of professional associations, annual conferences). Positive psychology has increased our collective understanding of the factors that make life worth living, the drivers that enhance wellbeing and the elements that undermine them. It has given birth to many new theories, research models and methodologies that aim to measure, interpret, model and optimize the conditions that lead to flourishing individuals and thriving societies. It has also spawned a magnitude of sub-disciplines ranging from positive ageing, positive coaching, wellbeing therapies, positive relationships, positive health, positive organizational psychology etc. Despite building out its own identity, positive psychology has also been adopted in many adjacent fields like organizational studies, education, health, risk management, and even architectural sciences.In its relatively short life, positive psychology has provided new insights into the human condition and innovative means to solve complex individual, organizational and societal problems. Positive psychology has brought balance to psychology by establishing a platform to focus on more than just "fixing what is wrong" through focusing on optimizing what already works well. As a collective, we believe that positive psychology can continue to play a vital role in the future by deepening our understanding of 'positivity' and developing practical tools, methodologies, and interventions to enhance people, organizations, and societies' functioning.But what does the future of positive psychology hold? What are the strengths, opportunities, aspirations and results of positive psychology? And how can we, as a collective, build out the credibility and impact of the discipline's future? For us, these are some of the most challenging goals of positive psychology. With the rapid development of the field, detailed research and practice 'roadmaps' are required to direct the discipline's collective energies.This book address such by collating a series of research agendas about the future of positive psychology in different speciality areas. Specifically, the aim was to identify the limitations in our current understanding of the different theories, models, methods and interventions on which positive psychology is built and propose a roadmap for addressing such in the future. This aided in setting a specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound research agenda to direct the future development of positive psychology. Contributions discuss the current state of theory and research in positive psychology and presents a research agenda for future research

    Harms of Antiepileptic Drugs: Issues in Reporting and Systematic Reviews

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    Aims In this thesis, we shall discus the reporting of harms in randomised controlled trials using the CONSORT statement for harms 2004. To determine if reporting has changed since the introduction of this standard. To evaluate the effects of lacosamide when used as an add-on for drug resistant epilepsy in a systematic review and use it as a model to test hypothesis if harms. Develop new tools and methodologies in analysing harms in systematic reviews and to test of harms across indications can be used for antiepileptic drugs in systematic reviews Methods Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 17, RevMan version 5.0 and Comprehensive Meta-analysis version 3.0 to analyses data. Continuous variables were compared with means using the Student t-tests analyses of variance (ANOVA). Proportion data were compared using relative risks. These were calculated using either and random or fixed effects models where appropriate. Heterogeneity was explored using statistical tests of heterogeneity and meta-regression. One hundred and fifty two RCTs published between 1999 and 2008 were included for analysis. Three epilepsy RCTs published between 2007 and 2010 were include for systematic reviews of lacosamide and an additional four neuropathy trials were included. One hundred and six randomised controlled trials of antiepileptic drugs were included to analyses harms across indications. Results We identified 23 criteria in the CONSORT statements. The mean number of criteria met per trial was 11.3 (95%CI 10.6—12.0). Commercially funded studies met 12.6 and non-commercially funded met 9.4 (p < 0.001). Trials recruiting adults met 12.5 and trials recruiting children met 9.3 (p < 0.001). Trials published before 2004 met 11.6 and trials published after 2004 met 11.1 (p = 0.53). Commercially funded trials met the majority of criteria more than non-commercially sponsored trials, particularly for definition of AEs (RR 3.15, CI 1.67—5.95) and the use of a validated dictionary of terms (RR 3.46, CI 1.41—8.44). Definitions for AEs (RR 2.32, CI 1.07—5.02) and details of analyses (RR 2.05, CI 1.01—4.15) were reported in adult trials more often than trials in children. Three lacosamide trials were included in systematic reviews. The overall risk ratio for a 50% or greater reduction in seizure frequency for all doses of lacosamide compared to placebo was 1.70 (CI 1.38 to 2.10). The overall risk ratio for seizure freedom for all doses of lacosamide compared to placebo was 2.50 (CI 0.85 to 7.34). The overall risk ratio for treatment withdrawal for all doses of lacosamide compared to placebo was 1.88 (CI 1.40 to 2.52). Adverse effects, which were significantly associated with lacosamide, were abnormal coordination, blurred vision, diplopia, dizziness, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. Four lacosamide trials of neuropathy were selected and harms data form these were incorporated to data from epilepsy trials. The following harms outcomes: Any adverse events, dizziness, fatigue, headache, nasophryngitis, nausea, somnolence, tremor, vertigo, vision blurred, vomiting and withdraws due to adverse events were meta-analyzed. Only tremor (I2 of 0-64%) and nasophryngitis (I2 of 27-64%) showed significant heterogeneity in statistical tests. only outcome that changed effect size to yield a significant result when neuropathy trials were combined was fatigue. For the 400mg dose of lacosamide, the summary measures were 2.0 (95% CI of 1.0 to 4.03) and this changed to 1.98 (95% CI of 1.11 to 3.52) when neuropathy trials were combined. Therefore, harms across indications could be used for lacosamide. To test the hypothesis if harms across indications such as headache and neuropathy trials of other antiseptic drugs, meta-regression was used to further explore heterogeneity. Only lacosamide and lamotrigine could have harms across indications summated in systematic reviews but not for pregabalin and gabapentin due to significant heterogeneity, which could be explained by dose effects. Conclusion Reporting of AEs in RCTs of AEDs is poor and has not improved since the publication of the CONSORT guidelines on the reporting of harms. Commercially funded trials were better reported than non-commercially funded trials and trials recruiting adults were better reported than trials recruiting children. These findings have serious implications as poor reporting precludes bias being detected and hinders adequate risk benefit analyses. Journal editors, authors and reviewers should be encouraged to follow current guidance. Lacosamide is effective in treating partial epilepsy versus placebo for the 200mg, 400mg and 600mg doses. Harms from neuropathy trials can be used to improve harms reporting in systematic reviews of lacosamide. Harms across indications could also be used for lamotrigine but not for pregabalin and gabapentin. Novel methods need to be developed for incorporating observational studies in systemic reviews. Clinicians and Journal Editors need to have a greater awareness of poor harms reporting in RCTs and this needs to be more transparent

    Psychosocial interventions for supporting women to stop smoking in pregnancy

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    Background: Tobacco smoking remains one of the few preventable factors associated with complications in pregnancy, and has serious long-term implications for women and babies. Smoking in pregnancy is decreasing in high-income countries, but is strongly associated with poverty and is increasing in low- to middle-income countries. Objectives: To assess the effects of smoking cessation interventions during pregnancy on smoking behaviour and perinatal health outcomes. Search methods: In this sixth update, we searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (13 November 2015), checked reference lists of retrieved studies and contacted trial authors. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials, cluster-randomised trials, and quasi-randomised controlled trials of psychosocial smoking cessation interventions during pregnancy. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently assessed trials for inclusion and trial quality, and extracted data. Direct comparisons were conducted in RevMan, with meta-regression conducted in STATA 14. Main results: The overall quality of evidence was moderate to high, with reductions in confidence due to imprecision and heterogeneity for some outcomes. One hundred and two trials with 120 intervention arms (studies) were included, with 88 trials (involving over 28,000 women) providing data on smoking abstinence in late pregnancy. Interventions were categorised as counselling, health education, feedback, incentives, social support, exercise and dissemination. In separate comparisons, there is high-quality evidence that counselling increased smoking cessation in late pregnancy compared with usual care (30 studies; average risk ratio (RR) 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19 to 1.73) and less intensive interventions (18 studies; average RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.47). There was uncertainty whether counselling increased the chance of smoking cessation when provided as one component of a broader maternal health intervention or comparing one type of counselling with another. In studies comparing counselling and usual care (largest comparison), it was unclear whether interventions prevented smoking relapse among women who had stopped smoking spontaneously in early pregnancy. However, a clear effect was seen in smoking abstinence at zero to five months postpartum (11 studies; average RR 1.59, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.01) and 12 to 17 months (two studies, average RR 2.20, 95% CI 1.23 to 3.96), with a borderline effect at six to 11 months (six studies; average RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.77). In other comparisons, the effect was unclear for most secondary outcomes, but sample sizes were small. Evidence suggests a borderline effect of health education compared with usual care (five studies; average RR 1.59, 95% CI 0.99 to 2.55), but the quality was downgraded to moderate as the effect was unclear when compared with less intensive interventions (four studies; average RR 1.20, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.70), alternative interventions (one study; RR 1.88, 95% CI 0.19 to 18.60), or when smoking cessation health education was provided as one component of a broader maternal health intervention. There was evidence feedback increased smoking cessation when compared with usual care and provided in conjunction with other strategies, such as counselling (average RR 4.39, 95% CI 1.89 to 10.21), but the confidence in the quality of evidence was downgraded to moderate as this was based on only two studies and the effect was uncertain when feedback was compared to less intensive interventions (three studies; average RR 1.29, 95% CI 0.75 to 2.20). High-quality evidence suggests incentive-based interventions are effective when compared with an alternative (non-contingent incentive) intervention (four studies; RR 2.36, 95% CI 1.36 to 4.09). However pooled effects were not calculable for comparisons with usual care or less intensive interventions (substantial heterogeneity, I2 = 93%). High-quality evidence suggests the effect is unclear in social support interventions provided by peers (six studies; average RR 1.42, 95% CI 0.98 to 2.07), in a single trial of support provided by partners, or when social support for smoking cessation was provided as part of a broader intervention to improve maternal health. The effect was unclear in single interventions of exercise compared to usual care (RR 1.20, 95% CI 0.72 to 2.01) and dissemination of counselling (RR 1.63, 95% CI 0.62 to 4.32). Importantly, high-quality evidence from pooled results demonstrated that women who received psychosocial interventions had a 17% reduction in infants born with low birthweight, a significantly higher mean birthweight (mean difference (MD) 55.60 g, 95% CI 29.82 to 81.38 g higher) and a 22% reduction in neonatal intensive care admissions. However the difference in preterm births and stillbirths was unclear. There did not appear to be adverse psychological effects from the interventions. The intensity of support women received in both the intervention and comparison groups has increased over time, with higher-intensity interventions more likely to have higher-intensity comparisons, potentially explaining why no clear differences were seen with increasing intervention intensity in meta-regression analyses. Among meta-regression analyses: studies classified as having 'unclear' implementation and unequal baseline characteristics were less effective than other studies. There was no clear difference between trials implemented by researchers (efficacy studies), and those implemented by routine pregnancy staff (effectiveness studies), however there was uncertainty in the effectiveness of counselling in four dissemination trials where the focus on the intervention was at an organisational level. The pooled effects were similar in interventions provided for women classified as having predominantly low socio-economic status, compared to other women. The effect was significant in interventions among women from ethnic minority groups; however not among indigenous women. There were similar effect sizes in trials with biochemically validated smoking abstinence and those with self-reported abstinence. It was unclear whether incorporating use of self-help manuals or telephone support increased the effectiveness of interventions. Authors' conclusions: Psychosocial interventions to support women to stop smoking in pregnancy can increase the proportion of women who stop smoking in late pregnancy and the proportion of infants born low birthweight. Counselling, feedback and incentives appear to be effective, however the characteristics and context of the interventions should be carefully considered. The effect of health education and social support is less clear. New trials have been published during the preparation of this review and will be included in the next update

    Phosphate anion adsorption properties of copper-exchanged zeolites and their utility as a probe for active site structure

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    Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and a key element in all biological systems. Zeolites—microporous, crystalline aluminosilicates amenable to modification through green chemical techniques—are one proposed class of material for the recovery of phosphate through adsorption. In this work, copper ZSM-5 zeolites with varying Si/Al ratios were synthesized using an ion exchange method and systematically studied for their performance in adsorbing inorganic dissolved phosphate from synthetic solutions. Maximum orthophosphate uptake of greater than 70% was reported at process-relevant conditions. Copper ZSM-5 with lower Si/Al ratios exhibited the greatest adsorption capacity, with higher pH enhancing uptake. On balance metal-exchanged zeolites were found to present a promising direction in the development of highly tunable synthetic sorbents for inorganic dissolved phosphate. Metal-exchanged zeolites have long been of interest due to their catalytic activity. In particular, copper ZSM-5 has been studied intensely because of its activity in treating automotive exhaust gases. However, the exact nature of the catalytic sites—generally considered to be Cu dimers of the form [Cu–O–Cu]2+—has never been fully understood. Quantifying the active site structures in metal-exchanged zeolites has represented one particular challenge in overcoming the gaps in understanding between material properties and their fundamental structure. Traditional methods used to titrate these sites have relied on gaseous probes combined with complex spectroscopic analysis. In this work, liquid phase phosphate anion adsorption is proposed as a unique, simpler alternative to probe and quantify the Cu sites in copper ZSM-5. Equilibrium and kinetic data for phosphate adsorption was considered together with the copper loadings of Cu-ZSM-5 prepared at several Si/Al ratios to investigate the zeolite structure. Phosphate adsorption property parameters were found to show strong linear correlations with the Cu density, facilitating quantification of the copper dimer fraction through analysis of the adsorption site capacity at low concentrations. It was concluded that liquid phase phosphate anion adsorption could represent a simple tool for probing and quantifying the copper speciation in copper ZSM-5. This presents a new and unique direction for understanding the active site structures in metal-exchanged zeolites

    Rituals of the Past

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    Through the study of archaeological, ethnographic, linguistic, and historical evidence from northern Peru to northern Chile, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina, the authors in this volume show the significance of ritual from pre-contact to present day in the Andes. These volume essays deal with theoretical and methodological concerns in anthropology and archaeology including non-human and human agency, the development and maintenance of political and religious authority, ideology, cosmologies, and social memory, and their relationships with ritual action. By providing a diachronic and widely regional perspective on ritual in the Andes, this volume shows how ritual is both persistent and dynamic and is key in understanding many aspects of the formation, reproduction, and change of life in past Andean societies
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