Task Switching and Distractibility

In this thesis I examined the effects of task switching on people’s ability to ignore irrelevant distractors. Load theory proposes that distractor interference critically depends on the availability of executive control to minimise the effects of irrelevant stimuli (e.g. Lavie, 2000). Much work on task switching suggests that task switching demands executive control in order to prepare for and implement a switch between tasks (e.g. Monsell, 2003; Rubinstein, Meyer, & Evans, 2001). I therefore hypothesised that the executive demand of a task switch will result in reduced ability to reject irrelevant distractors in selective attention tasks. The research reported provided support for this hypothesis by showing that task switching results in greater distractor interference as measured with the “flanker task” (e.g. Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974) and with the attentional capture task (e.g. Theeuwes, 1990), even when there was no overlap between the stimuli and responses for the two tasks, and when task-repeated and switch trials were presented within the same block (in AAABBB designs). This research also showed that dissociable executive demands were involved in switching tasks (AAABBB), compared with mixing tasks (ABAB versus AAA), and these executive demands were found to control rejection of distractors in the flanker task and attentional capture task, respectively. In addition, task switching reduced internal distraction by task-unrelated thoughts. The contrast between the effects of task switching on internal versus external sources of distraction further supported the involvement of executive control in task switching. Finally, individual differences in operational span capacity predicted the magnitude of task switching costs and flanker interference effects, suggesting the involvement of executive control in both abilities. Overall, this research highlights a new consequence of task switching on selective attention and distractibility, supporting predictions derived from prevalent views on the role of executive control in task switching and selective attention

Mathematical Modeling Experiences: Narratives from a Preservice Teacher and an Instructor

Regardless of the benefits of engaging in mathematical modeling, few preservice teachers (PTs) have experienced mathematical modeling firsthand. This study offers an example of how to make sense of the interaction between the teaching and learning of mathematical modeling by examining a teacher educator’s decision making, her analysis of 36 PTs’ learning, and an in-depth narrative from a PT. Findings show the value of engaging with structurally relevant mathematical modeling tasks and considering social issues via mathematical modeling, resulting in task designs which aim to deepen students’ understanding of society and mathematics

Patient-shared knowledge and information in clinical decision-making : an international survey of the perspectives and experiences of naturopathic practitioners

Introduction Most knowledge translation models pay relatively little attention to patient-held knowledge and are largely based on the premise that researchers and clinicians hold all valuable knowledge, and patients are passive recipients of such knowledge. Counter to this clinician- and researcher-centred lens is a growing interest and awareness of patients as experts in their health. While naturopathic medicine is described and experienced as a patient-centred system of traditional medicine, the position of patient-held knowledge is unclear particularly when considered alongside their use of other more objective forms of knowledge such as research evidence. Methods This international online cross-sectional survey aimed to explore naturopathic practitioners’ perceptions of the value and contribution of patient-shared knowledge and information within the context of naturopathic clinical consultations. Results The survey was completed by 453 naturopathic practitioners (response rate: 74.3%). Approximately two-thirds (68.2%) of respondents reported using information shared by the patient. Most rated ‘information provided by the patient’ as either ‘extremely important’ (60.7%) or ‘very important’ (31.4%) to patients. Highest levels of trust were reported for information provided by the patient (‘completely’: 9.9%; ‘a lot’: 53.6%). Most practitioners indicated they trusted knowledge and information derived from the patient’s personal health history ‘completely’(n=79; 21.8%) or ‘a lot’(n=226; 62.4%) from the patient’s perspective of living with a health condition (‘completely’[n=63, 17.4%]; ‘a lot’[n=224, 61.9%]). Patients were the highest ranked stakeholder group (mean: 1.5) perceived to influence NP use of patient experience of living with a health condition to inform clinical decision-making. Conclusion Researchers and policy makers are increasingly focused on the value of the ‘expert patient’ in clinical decision-making, yet health professionals’ report challenges and, in some cases, resistance to meaningfully engaging with patient-shared knowledge in practice. However, our study has found patient-shared knowledge – inclusive of patient experience of their health condition – is among the knowledge used and trusted by naturopathic practitioners to inform their clinical decision-making. This study both offers insights into the knowledge translation behaviours of an under-researched health profession and provides a novel contribution to the wider aim of adopting patient shared knowledge into clinical care more generally.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Long term condition management: an expert partnership?

Management of long term conditions is seen as one of the greatest challenges facing the English National Health Service currently (House of Commons Select Committee, 2014). One of the proposed solutions for this growing crisis is to support patients to manage their conditions themselves, thereby reducing hospital visits and lowering costs to the NHS overall (NHS England, 2013). Self-management necessarily involves the patient having some level of knowledge regarding their condition. In addition, there is a commitment within healthcare for patients to be involved in decision making regarding their healthcare needs with the mantra “no decision about me without me” (Department of Health, 2010) as well as development of the ‘expert patient’ agenda within healthcare (NHS Choices, 2014). In order for knowledge to be shared between health care professionals, patients and carers, knowledge boundaries must be managed within the process of knowledge sharing. This ethnographic study takes as it starting point, literature concerned with knowledge boundaries specifically, but highlights how current understanding of these boundaries is limited in some ways. In particular, issues of power and choice within the management of knowledge boundaries are inadequately explored within this body of literature which limits its applicability to contexts such as healthcare, in which power dynamics are endemic. In addition, the concepts of identity and expertise are implicated in issues of power and therefore this study seeks to explore the relationships between power, identity, expertise and knowledge in order to better understand the nature of knowledge boundaries and the dynamics of their management. This study found that issues of power were fundamentally implicated in knowledge sharing and the management of knowledge boundaries. Knowledge boundaries were found to be not only sites of struggle over knowledge, but also sites of struggle for control more generally. Whilst knowledge and power have long been associated, this study found that this relationship was complex and greater knowledge did not necessarily confer greater power on the social actor. Despite being evident in the rhetoric of healthcare, as a basis for power, expertise was redundant as more embedded social discourses remained prevalent. It is proposed that bases of social power are hierarchical in some respects as power based on one foundation can be rendered ineffective if faced with opposing power exerted by another social actor based on an alternative and more efficacious basis. This study emphasises the pervasive nature of embedded power dynamics within healthcare which concurrently facilitate conventional knowledge sharing processes and impede the development of new processes which would encourage the increased involvement of patients

Reduced Polymorphism Associated with X Chromosome Meiotic Drive in the Stalk-Eyed Fly Teleopsis dalmanni

Sex chromosome meiotic drive has been suggested as a cause of several evolutionary genetic phenomena, including genomic conflicts that give rise to reproductive isolation between new species. In this paper we present a population genetic analysis of X chromosome drive in the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni, to determine how this natural polymorphism influences genetic diversity. We analyzed patterns of DNA sequence variation at two X-linked regions (comprising 1325 bp) approximately 50 cM apart and one autosomal region (comprising 921 bp) for 50 males, half of which were collected in the field from one of two allopatric locations and the other half were derived from lab-reared individuals with known brood sex ratios. These two populations are recently diverged but exhibit partial postzygotic reproductive isolation, i.e. crosses produce sterile hybrid males and fertile females. We find no nucleotide or microsatellite variation on the drive X chromosome, whereas the same individuals show levels of variation at autosomal regions that are similar to field-collected flies. Furthermore, one field-caught individual collected 10 years previously had a nearly identical X haplotype to the drive X, and is over 2% divergent from other haplotypes sampled from the field. These results are consistent with a selective sweep that has removed genetic variation from much of the drive X chromosome. We discuss how this finding may relate to the rapid evolution of postzygotic reproductive isolation that has been documented for these flies

The Datafied Workplace and Trade Unions in the UK

From concerns about job losses to increased surveillance and work intensification to the creation of novel forms of gig work and platform labour, the advancement in data-driven technologies is now a key part of the future of work, working conditions and workers’ rights. Trade unions are central to this discussion, but it is not always clear how they understand and engage with these developments. This working paper sets out a brief overview of how trade unions in the UK understand the challenges of the datafied workplace and how they are responding to them. It is based on interviews with officials from 15 different trade unions in the UK carried out during 2021, and forms part of a larger project on the social justice implications of datafication1 . For simplicity, we have structured our findings according to three themes for each section that highlight the dominant responses we received in our interview

Dissociative Symptoms and Self-Reported Childhood and Current Trauma in Male Incarcerated People with Borderline Personality Disorder - Results from a Small Cross-Sectional Study in Iran

There is evidence that incarcerated people show higher rates of symptoms of psychopathology. In the present study, we assessed male Iranian incarcerated people with borderline personality disorders (BPD) and investigated the occurrence of past and current trauma and their associations with dissociative experiences.; A total of 69 male Iranian incarcerated people (mean age: 33.76 years) diagnosed with PBD completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, dissociative experiences, and past and current traumatic events.; Participants reporting the occurrence of childhood trauma also reported the occurrence of adulthood trauma. Dissociation and adulthood trauma were associated in a U-shaped, non-linear fashion: Low and high adulthood trauma were associated with higher dissociation. Younger age, the presence of childhood trauma, and being single or divorced predicted adulthood trauma.; The pattern of results suggests that both childhood and adulthood trauma are highly prevalent among male incarcerated people, while the association between adulthood trauma and dissociation appeared to be more complex. When treating male incarcerated people, a complex interplay between past and current traumas and dissociation should be considered