140 research outputs found

    Recovering the mundane practices of economic time

    Get PDF
    How exactly did the neoliberal imaginary that Konings describes gain so much traction? Was its speculative temporality smoothly translated into practice from the writings of Hayek and others as he suggests, or was its production a messier, more contested, and more contingent affair? In this brief commentary, I go back to one of the key historical moments that he examines, the Volcker shock of 1979-82, and examine some of the more mundane political and technical struggles that defined the early Reagan Administration’s efforts to put the neoliberal speculative logic into practice. By revealing the often-flawed material efforts that go into producing speculative temporalities, I argue that such struggles might allow us to arrive at a less teleological account of the resilience of neoliberalism

    A Search for Variability in Exoplanet Analogues and Low-Gravity Brown Dwarfs

    Get PDF
    We report the results of a JJ-band survey for photometric variability in a sample of young, low-gravity objects using the New Technology Telescope (NTT) and the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT). Surface gravity is a key parameter in the atmospheric properties of brown dwarfs and this is the first large survey that aims to test the gravity dependence of variability properties. We do a full analysis of the spectral signatures of youth and assess the group membership probability of each target using membership tools from the literature. This results in a 30 object sample of young low-gravity brown dwarfs. Since we are lacking in objects with spectral types later than L9, we focus our statistical analysis on the L0-L8.5 objects. We find that the variability occurrence rate of L0-L8.5 low-gravity brown dwarfs in this survey is 30−8+16%30^{+16}_{-8}\%. We reanalyse the results of Radigan 2014 and find that the field dwarfs with spectral types L0-L8.5 have a variability occurrence rate of 11−4+13%11^{+13}_{-4}\%. We determine a probability of 98%98\% that the samples are drawn from different distributions. This is the first quantitative indication that the low-gravity objects are more likely to be variable than the field dwarf population. Furthermore, we present follow-up JSJ_S and KSK_S observations of the young, planetary-mass variable object PSO 318.5-22 over three consecutive nights. We find no evidence of phase shifts between the JSJ_S and KSK_S bands and find higher JSJ_S amplitudes. We use the JSJ_S lightcurves to measure a rotational period of 8.45±0.05 8.45\pm0.05~hr for PSO 318.5-22.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

    Decoding the Persistence and Engagement Patterns of Doctoral Students Who Finish

    Get PDF
    Doctoral attrition rates are alarmingly high, causing concern to university leaders and students alike. These constituents seek solutions to address the troubling phenomenon of doctoral students dropping out of their programs of study. This article discusses persistence patterns of doctoral students who finish. The authors matriculated in a hybrid Ph.D. cohort program consisting of a residency requirement, coupled with online coursework. Cohort engagement, collaboration, vertical teaming, academic productivity, and networking are among the strategies discussed as effective in persistence to program completion.https://openriver.winona.edu/educationeddfacultyworks/1010/thumbnail.jp

    Advanced cancer patient preferences for receiving molecular profiling results

    Get PDF
    Objective: This study aimed to discern preferences for receiving somatic molecular profiling (MP) results in cancer patients who have given consent to undergo testing. Methods: We conducted a mixed‐methods study to explore patients’ views on which MP results they would like to receive and why. Advanced cancer patients (n=1299) completed questionnaires after giving consent to participate in a parent genomics study and undergoing MP. A subset of patients (n=20) participated in qualitative interviews. Results: Almost all (96%) participants were interested in receiving results which would direct cancer treatment (i.e. were actionable). A smaller majority wanted to access results which were not actionable (64%) or were variants of unknown significance (60%). Most (86%) were interested in finding out about germline findings, though not as a priority. Themes identified in interview data were: 1) Cancer is the focus; 2) Trust in clinicians; and 3) Respect for a right not to know. Conclusions: The majority of advanced cancer patients undergoing MP prioritised results which would lead to treatment options. They trusted their oncologists to help them navigate the results return process. While there was interest in knowing about other results, this was a lesser priority. Nevertheless, given high levels of interest in receiving all results, ethical aspects of not providing uninformative results requires further research, including a consideration of patient rationales for desiring this information and what health professionals can and should do to support patients in the absence of meaningful information being available. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

    Does temporal and spatial segregation explain the complex population structure of humpback whales on the coast of West Africa?

    Get PDF
    Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Southeastern Atlantic Ocean (International Whaling Commission ‘Breeding Stock B’—BSB) are distributed from the Gulf of Guinea to Western South Africa. Genetic data suggest that this stock may be sub-structured, but it remains unknown if this is due to reproductive segregation. This paper evaluates the spatial and temporal population structure of BSB humpback whales using a combination of maternally and bi-parentally inherited markers. The genetic differentiation that we identify in this study could be due to a combination of (1) spatial and/or temporal segregation on breeding grounds in the greater Gulf of Guinea, (2) the possibility of maternally inherited site fidelity to specific feeding grounds and (3) the use of two generalized but exclusive migratory routes (coastal and offshore) between feeding and breeding areas. Further, photo-identification and genetic sampling efforts in other areas of the Sub-Saharan Western Africa winter range and targeted deployment of satellite tags would help to clarify some of the apparent complexity in the population structure of animals biopsied in this region.National Research Foundation (South Africa) under Grant Number 2053539. I. Carvalho was supported by a PhD scholarship (SFRH/BD/18049/2004), from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e Tecnologia—FCT).http://link.springer.com/journal/227hb201

    Audit and feedback and clinical practice guideline adherence: Making feedback actionable

    Get PDF
    BACKGROUND: As a strategy for improving clinical practice guideline (CPG) adherence, audit and feedback (A&F) has been found to be variably effective, yet A&F research has not investigated the impact of feedback characteristics on its effectiveness. This paper explores how high performing facilities (HPF) and low performing facilities (LPF) differ in the way they use clinical audit data for feedback purposes. METHOD: Descriptive, qualitative, cross-sectional study of a purposeful sample of six Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) with high and low adherence to six CPGs, as measured by external chart review audits. One-hundred and two employees involved with outpatient CPG implementation across the six facilities participated in one-hour semi-structured interviews where they discussed strategies, facilitators and barriers to implementing CPGs. Interviews were analyzed using techniques from the grounded theory method. RESULTS: High performers provided timely, individualized, non-punitive feedback to providers, whereas low performers were more variable in their timeliness and non-punitiveness and relied on more standardized, facility-level reports. The concept of actionable feedback emerged as the core category from the data, around which timeliness, individualization, non-punitiveness, and customizability can be hierarchically ordered. CONCLUSION: Facilities with a successful record of guideline adherence tend to deliver more timely, individualized and non-punitive feedback to providers about their adherence than facilities with a poor record of guideline adherence. Consistent with findings from organizational research, feedback intervention characteristics may influence the feedback's effectiveness at changing desired behaviors
    • 

    corecore