Making sense of sensemaking in organization studies

types: Article© 2014 Annie Pye. Post print version deposited in accordance with SHERPA RoMEO guidelines. The definitive version is available at:http://oss.sagepub.com/content/36/2/265'Sensemaking’ is an extraordinarily influential perspective with a substantial following among management and organization scholars interested in how people appropriate and enact their ‘realities’. Organization Studies has been and remains one of the principal outlets for work that seeks either to draw on or to extend our understanding of sensemaking practices in and around organizations. The contribution of this paper is fourfold. First, we review briefly what we understand by sensemaking and some key debates which fracture the field. Second, we attend critically to eight papers published previously in Organization Studies which we discuss in terms of five broad themes: (i) how sense is made through discourse; (ii) the politics from which social forms of sensemaking emerge and the power that is inherent in it; (iii) the intertwined and recursive nature of micro-macro sensemaking processes; (iv) the strong ties which bind sensemaking and identities; and (v) the role of sensemaking processes in decision making and change. Third, while not designed to be a review of extant literature, we discuss these themes with reference to other related work, notably that published in this journal. Finally, we raise for consideration a number of potentially generative topics for further empirical and theory-building research

Methodological issues of using placebos in interventions based on digital technology

Background/Aims: Use of placebo is the ideal for comparison in clinical trials to reduce biases. With digital technology being used more frequently in healthcare interventions, how do we determine the placebo effect where interventions exploit technology? If placebo in medicine is traditionally defined by a lack of pharmacological agents, how might we begin to move towards controlling for effects of digital technology? Method: This paper explores the traditional placebo effect and discusses its impact in healthcare contexts with digital technology with reference to a particular trial. Different meanings of placebo in the context of evaluating technology suggest new challenges and positive consequences. Results: Methodological considerations are discussed, which enabled the development of a placebo-controlled evaluation of a digital technology in healthcare and rehabilitation. Conclusion: Digital placebo was controlled in our trial by employing technology across all groups in the absence of evidence-based practice and shows how to control for unknown and hidden effects of technology

Therapeutic potential and ownership of commercially available consoles in children with cerebral palsy

Introduction: We conducted a survey amongst families of children with cerebral palsy (CP) to ascertain the ownership and therapeutic use and potential of commercial games consoles to improve motor function. Method: 300 families in southeast England were identified through clinical records,and were requested to complete an anonymised questionnaire. Results: A total of 61 families (20% response) returned a completed questionnaire with 41 (68%) males and 19 (32%) females with Cerebral Palsy, with a mean age of 11Y5M (SD 3Y 7M). The large majority of families, 59 (97%), owned a commercial console and the child used this for 50-300 minutes a week. Returns by severity of motor impairment were: Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) I (21%), II (31%), III (13%), IV (15%), V (18%). Consoles were used regularly for play across all GMFCS categories. Conclusion: The potential of games consoles, as home-based virtual reality therapy (VRT), in improving the motor function of children with cerebral palsy should be appropriately tested in randomised controlled trial. Wide ownership, and the relative ease with which children engage in the use of commercial-based VRT systems suggests potential as a means of augmenting therapy protocols,taking advantage of interest and participation patterns of families. What the study has added: This study shows that there is wide ownership/use of commercial games consoles amongst children with CP; and this offers great potential to test therapeutic efficacy of home-based virtual reality therapy to improve motor function in children. Key messages: Children with Cerebral Palsy frequently access and use commercial consoles during play at home. Consoles are used by children across severity of gross motor function levels. Some families had utilized the consoles for therapeutic purposes, with anecdotal improvements in motor function. Opportunity exists for using commercial consoles within home based therapy protocols and for recreational participation across all GMFCS levels

Genotype-phenotype characterisation of long survivors with motor neuron disease in Scotland

Background: We investigated the phenotypes and genotypes of a cohort of ‘long-surviving’ individuals with motor neuron disease (MND) to identify potential targets for prognostication. Methods: Patients were recruited via the Clinical Audit Research and Evaluation for MND (CARE-MND) platform, which hosts the Scottish MND Register. Long survival was defined as > 8 years from diagnosis. 11 phenotypic variables were analysed. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed and variants within 49 MND-associated genes examined. Each individual was screened for C9orf72 repeat expansions. Data from ancestry-matched Scottish populations (the Lothian Birth Cohorts) were used as controls. Results: 58 long survivors were identified. Median survival from diagnosis was 15.5 years. Long survivors were significantly younger at onset and diagnosis than incident patients and had a significantly longer diagnostic delay. 42% had the MND subtype of primary lateral sclerosis (PLS). WGS was performed in 46 individuals: 14 (30.4%) had a potentially pathogenic variant. 4 carried the known SOD1 p.(Ile114Thr) variant. Significant variants in FIG4, hnRNPA2B1, SETX, SQSTM1, TAF15, and VAPB were detected. 2 individuals had a variant in the SPAST gene suggesting phenotypic overlap with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). No long survivors had pathogenic C9orf72 repeat expansions. Conclusions: Long survivors are characterised by younger age at onset, increased prevalence of PLS and longer diagnostic delay. Genetic analysis in this cohort has improved our understanding of the phenotypes associated with the SOD1 variant p.(Ile114Thr). Our findings confirm that pathogenic expansion of C9orf72 is likely a poor prognostic marker. Genetic screening using targeted MND and/or HSP panels should be considered in those with long survival, or early-onset slowly progressive disease, to improve diagnostic accuracy and aid prognostication

MRI-derived g-ratio and lesion severity in newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis

Myelin loss is associated with axonal damage in established multiple sclerosis. This relationship is challenging to study in vivo in early disease. Here, we ask whether myelin loss is associated with axonal damage at diagnosis, by combining non-invasive neuroimaging and blood biomarkers. We performed quantitative microstructural MRI and single molecule ELISA plasma neurofilament measurement in 73 patients with newly diagnosed, immunotherapy naïve relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Myelin integrity was evaluated using aggregate g-ratios, derived from magnetization transfer saturation (MTsat) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) diffusion data. We found significantly higher g-ratios within cerebral white matter lesions (suggesting myelin loss) compared with normal-appearing white matter (0.61 vs 0.57, difference 0.036, 95% CI 0.029 to 0.043, p < 0.001). Lesion volume (Spearman’s rho rs= 0.38, p < 0.001) and g-ratio (rs= 0.24 p < 0.05) correlated independently with plasma neurofilament. In patients with substantial lesion load (n = 38), those with higher g-ratio (defined as greater than median) were more likely to have abnormally elevated plasma neurofilament than those with normal g-ratio (defined as less than median) (11/23 [48%] versus 2/15 [13%] p < 0.05). These data suggest that, even at multiple sclerosis diagnosis, reduced myelin integrity is associated with axonal damage. MRI-derived g-ratio may provide useful additional information regarding lesion severity, and help to identify individuals with a high degree of axonal damage at disease onset. York, Martin et al. simultaneously measured g-ratio and plasma neurofilament in 73 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients at diagnosis using advanced MRI and single molecule ELISA. They demonstrate that g-ratio of cerebral white matter lesions varies at diagnosis, and show that high g-ratio of lesions is associated with elevated plasma neurofilament

Analysis of shared common genetic risk between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and epilepsy

Because hyper-excitability has been shown to be a shared pathophysiological mechanism, we used the latest and largest genome-wide studies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 36,052) and epilepsy (n = 38,349) to determine genetic overlap between these conditions. First, we showed no significant genetic correlation, also when binned on minor allele frequency. Second, we confirmed the absence of polygenic overlap using genomic risk score analysis. Finally, we did not identify pleiotropic variants in meta-analyses of the 2 diseases. Our findings indicate that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and epilepsy do not share common genetic risk, showing that hyper-excitability in both disorders has distinct origins