Relational practices and reflexivity: Exploring the responses of women entrepreneurs to changing household dynamics

This qualitative study explores how and why women, positioned as mothers, wives, or carers, navigate changing household dynamics, related to care and reproductive resources, and become entrepreneurial. Drawing on relational reflexivity, we show how women’s embodied, intimate relations with important others in the household form the focal point for entrepreneurial activities and offer evidence of their entrepreneurial agency. Our analysis reveals the emergence of three relational practices that result in a new venture as the entrepreneurial response of women. We critically evaluate normative analyses on gender, entrepreneurship, and household

Раневые покрытия и синдром диабетической стопы

Materials and Methods. There was proposed an original algorithm for a comprehensive assessment of the wound process and methods of using modern wound coatings. It was based on the results of examination and treatment of 102 patients with purulent-necrotic complications of diabetic foot syndrome (DFS), who were treated at the clinic of General surgery of the Military medical Academy from 2015 to 2017.Results. The data obtained after planimetric, bacteriological and cytological research fully confirm the effectiveness of modern wound coatings.Conclusion. The suggested algorithm provides an objective assessment of wound process, also demonstrates its dynamics, allows to compare different methods of local treatment, as well as to adjust the treatment regimen of patients with purulent-necrotic complications of DFS.Материалы и методы. На основе результатов обследования и лечения 102 пациентов с гнойно-некротическими осложнениями синдрома диабетической стопы (СДС), находившихся на лечении в клинике общей хирургии Военно-медицинской академии с 2015 по 2017 год, с целью улучшения результатов лечения был предложен оригинальный алгоритм комплексной оценки течения раневого процесса и методики применения современных раневых покрытий.Результаты. Полученные в результате планиметрических, бактериологических и цитологических методов исследования данные полностью подтверждают эффективность современных раневых покрытий.Заключение. Предложенный алгоритм обеспечивает объективизацию оценки раневого процесса, демонстрирует его динамику, позволяет сравнить различные методы местного лечения, а также корректировать схему ведения пациентов с гнойно-некротическими осложнениями СДС

Open Problems on Central Simple Algebras

We provide a survey of past research and a list of open problems regarding central simple algebras and the Brauer group over a field, intended both for experts and for beginners.Comment: v2 has some small revisions to the text. Some items are re-numbered, compared to v

Social work and gender::An argument for practical accounts

This article contributes to the debate on gender and social work by examining dominant approaches within the field. Anti-discriminatory, woman-centered and intersectional accounts are critiqued for reliance upon both reification and isolation of gender. Via examination of poststructural, queer and trans theories within social work, the author then presents accounts based upon structural/materialist, ethnomethodological and discursive theories, in order to open up debates about conceptualization of gender. These are used to suggest that social work should adopt a focus on gender as a practical accomplishment that occurs within various settings or contexts

Exome Sequencing in Suspected Monogenic Dyslipidemias

Abstract BACKGROUND: -Exome sequencing is a promising tool for gene mapping in Mendelian disorders. We utilized this technique in an attempt to identify novel genes underlying monogenic dyslipidemias. METHODS AND RESULTS: -We performed exome sequencing on 213 selected family members from 41 kindreds with suspected Mendelian inheritance of extreme levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (after candidate gene sequencing excluded known genetic causes for high LDL cholesterol families) or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. We used standard analytic approaches to identify candidate variants and also assigned a polygenic score to each individual in order to account for their burden of common genetic variants known to influence lipid levels. In nine families, we identified likely pathogenic variants in known lipid genes (ABCA1, APOB, APOE, LDLR, LIPA, and PCSK9); however, we were unable to identify obvious genetic etiologies in the remaining 32 families despite follow-up analyses. We identified three factors that limited novel gene discovery: (1) imperfect sequencing coverage across the exome hid potentially causal variants; (2) large numbers of shared rare alleles within families obfuscated causal variant identification; and (3) individuals from 15% of families carried a significant burden of common lipid-related alleles, suggesting complex inheritance can masquerade as monogenic disease. CONCLUSIONS: -We identified the genetic basis of disease in nine of 41 families; however, none of these represented novel gene discoveries. Our results highlight the promise and limitations of exome sequencing as a discovery technique in suspected monogenic dyslipidemias. Considering the confounders identified may inform the design of future exome sequencing studies

Exome sequencing in suspected monogenic dyslipidemias

Exome sequencing is a promising tool for gene mapping in Mendelian disorders. We used this technique in an attempt to identify novel genes underlying monogenic dyslipidemias

Family as a eudaimonic bubble:women entrepreneurs mobilizing resources of care during persistent financial crisis and austerity

Drawing on the conceptualization of family as a eudaimonic bubble the study explores how women entrepreneurs mobilize familial resources to navigate the gendered challenges faced during persistent financial crisis and austerity in Greece, a country affected by acute socio‐economic crisis. Through qualitative interviews with women who started their own business during the financial crisis it investigates how the allocation of resources and opportunities built on care enabled women to start and sustain their own business and achieve a degree of normative conformity, creating social cohesion in the here and now. The analysis reveals the transformational potential of familial care by illustrating three modes of resources of care that contribute to business viability, and positions the family, an organizing principle, in the centre of research on gendered mobilizations in crisis economies. In that way the study critically contributes to debates regarding gender, entrepreneurship, and austerity

How well do European child-related leave policies support the caring role of fathers?

Our chapter analyses the extent to which European countries (1) recognize the caring responsibilities of fathers toward their children and (2) value fathers' caring role. To do so, we analyze the designs of individual leave policies and reflect on them by assessing available data on leave uptake by fathers in 13 European countries. Our results show that there is great variation in child-related leave designs across Europe. Our findings, in line with previous work, underscore the importance of generous individual non-transferable leave entitlements. Moreover, our findings bring forward aspects of leave designs that are rarely discussed when considering fathers' leave uptake. Our results indicate that generous non-transferable leave rights should be paired with (a) clearly defined leave periods for fathers, (b) individual entitlement to benefits, and (c) greater scope for flexibility to increase the attractiveness of child-related leave and to strengthen fathers' position when negotiating their childcare leave.</p

Male/Female Is Not Enough: Adding Measures of Masculinity and Femininity to General Population Surveys

Survey research and sociological theory each provide insights into how and why people and groups act, think, and feel. Sociological theories identify what concepts are important for understanding and representing the social world. That is, sociological theories inform what to measure in surveys, and, to a certain extent, how to measure it. Survey research permits sociologists to carefully specify what is to be measured vis a vis sociological theory, setting surveys apart as a social research tool. It is this level of specification of concepts and measures that allow surveys to provide continued value at a time when “big data” proliferate. High quality survey measurement and estimation is necessary for sociologists to evaluate sociological theory among generalizable samples with well-developed questions, leading to further refinement and improvement of the theory and improved understanding of the social world. High quality surveys also provide insights into where sociological theories fail and where they must be adjusted for different subgroups, as well as basic insights into the prevalence of outcomes of interest. Together, sociological theory and survey methods produce insights about society that can inform decision-making and social policy. This mutually reinforcing relationship between sociological theory and survey methods requires sociological theory to evolve from insights obtained using survey methods and survey measurement to evolve with advances in in sociological theory. The measurement of sex and gender in surveys is one area where the development of survey measures has not kept pace with sociological theory and empirical, largely qualitative, findings. Contemporary gender theory sees sex and gender as separate concepts, both of which are important for understanding behaviors and outcomes. Yet, virtually all contemporary surveys measure sex as a binary “male” versus “female” categorization and fail to measure gender, ignoring important heterogeneity in gender identification that may exist within sex categories and any overlap that may occur across categories. Both gender scholars and survey researchers are potentially affected by this shortcoming of modern survey measurement. Gender scholars lose an important tool for assessing gender theories, especially on generalizable samples, risking conclusions that are specific to a small group of individuals rather than the population at large. Survey researchers risk producing theoretically obsolete data, limiting the utility of the data or potentially generating misleading conclusions. Survey data that fail to capture and reflect modern and complex understandings of our social realities also face increased risk of being replaced by “big data” such as administrative and social media data. Survey data that do reflect modern and complex understandings can bring value not available in administrative or other data and are therefore unlikely to be replaced. This paper is part of a growing chorus advocating for updates to how modern surveys measure sex and gender. We argue that the reliance on a single binary measure of sex (male or female) is out of step with current sociological understandings of sex and gender. In response, we propose and test a new theoretically-informed gradational measure of gender identification in a nationally representative mail survey. We evaluate whether respondents answer the gender measure and examine the reliability and predictive validity of the measure. In particular, we examine whether measuring gender gradationally adds explanatory value beyond sex on important social outcomes such as sexuality, childcare, grocery shopping, housework, working for pay, and military service. We also examine whether sex moderates the effect of gender identification in the ways that sociological theory would suggest on these outcomes