An Investigation into the Phenomenon and Discourse of Working Out Loud.

Working Out Loud is a recent phenomenon that refers to a range of digital and networked practices that purportedly offer a range of benefits to both individuals and organisations. Within the changing context of work, emphasis is placed on digital skills, networks and learning, with individuals increasingly assuming responsibility. Within this, Working Out Loud has been hailed as an essential 21st century digital workplace skill (Hinchcliffe, 2015). Given such claims, and that knowledge of the phenomenon is nascent within the literature, Working Out Loud is deemed a suitable topic of research. Review of the literature and scrutiny of the phenomenon’s claims revealed a number of what might be termed ‘structural tensions’ that were seemingly presented as unproblematic. Given that the phenomenon is situated in a historically antagonistic relationship of capital and labour, matters of power are implicated. To understand how the phenomenon of Working Out Loud has emerged, what is meant by it and what the implications are for the relationship between individuals and organisations, a genealogical method of discourse analysis inspired by Michel Foucault was adopted to investigate matters of discourse/knowledge/power relative to Working Out Loud. Analysis revealed that the discourse of Working Out Loud is constructed through unification of a discourse of social business and a discourse of personal development/self-actualisation. By conflating different meanings of the word help across the two discourses, the primary subject position created in the discourse effectively aligns individuals’ personal development/self-actualisation with the realisation of business goals. Reconceptualised in the context of business organisations (Fleming, 2014), this study contends that such a position presents Working Out Loud as an expression of what Foucault calls biopower, wherein the everyday life qualities of individuals are increasingly indexed to the needs of the organisation

Living with cardiovascular disease (CVD): Exploring the biggest challenges for people affected by CVD in the UK, and their use (or not) of online resources

As death rates decrease, people affected by cardiovascular disease (CVD) continue to live with these diseases and the associated challenges, long-term. We aimed to identify the biggest challenges for people affected by CVD in the UK and explore the sources of support and information used to help manage conditions, to inform future service provision. An online questionnaire was sent and advertised to people over 16 years old in the UK self-identifying as affected by CVD (living with CVD, had risk factors, or a carer). There were 13,885 responses. The top five challenges were: feeling down, sad, or depressed; making changes to the way or amount of exercise; anxiety, fear, and uncertainty about the future; having one member of staff to speak to about all aspects of care; and being given information on the side effects of medications. Key challenges were not restricted to a particular condition, indicated by minimal variation between types of CVD. One-quarter of respondents indicated they do not use online resources or digital technologies to help manage their health. The volume and inconsistency of online sources were reported as barriers to using these. The results highlight the psychological and physical consequences of living with CVD. Fragmented care and variable access to information and support further compound these issues. Providing holistic care needs attention; the acknowledgement of psychological needs and access to support, alongside physical challenges is necessary. Stakeholders in healthcare and information technology should work together to ensure online information and support is clear, consistent, and reliable. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Innovation & Technology lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework) Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this len

Open Education as a threshold concept in Teacher Education: a theoretical framework for further research

Threshold concept framework: A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress. As a consequence of comprehending a threshold concept there may thus be a transformed internal view of subject matter, subject landscape, or even worldview (Meyer and Land, 2003). Threshold concepts have been explored in many disciplines (Bradbeer, 2006) and may have a key role for the transformation of the students? learning experience (Cousin, 2006). Since open education has implications for innovation and change (Peter and Deimann, 2013), we suggest exploring it as a threshold concept. There are five main attributes defined originally by Meyer and Land (2003) and three more have also been listed stemming from comments made by the authors (UCL, 2013): transformative, troublesome, irreversible, integrative, bounded, discursive, reconstitutive and liminal. Openness as a threshold concept: 1. Transformative - Is openness transformative for students involved in open educational practices? 2. Troublesome - What difficulties do students face when being involved in open educational practices? 3. Irreversible - How do students? perceptions change when being involved in open educational practices? How do these changes impact visions of their own future professional careers? 4. Liminality - How can the progressive change towards the open movement be scaffolded? How can feedback help in the construction of authentic open educational practices? 5. Discursive - What kind of narrative do students involved in open educational practices develop? Does it reflect authentic construction of the open movement understanding? This is the theoretical framework for future research about openness as a threshold concept. More research is needed to obtain data that would throw light on how to address each particular attribute. This is an open call to those interested in going further in this line of research

Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows

Allowing dairy cattle to access pasture can promote natural behaviour and improve their health. However, the psychological benefits are poorly understood. We compared a cognitive indicator of emotion in cattle either with or without pasture access. In a crossover experiment, 29 Holstein–Friesian dairy cows had 18 days of overnight pasture access and 18 days of full-time indoor housing. To assess emotional wellbeing, we tested cows on a spatial judgement bias task. Subjects learnt to approach a rewarded bucket location, but not approach another, unrewarded bucket location. We then presented cows with three “probe” buckets intermediate between the trained locations. Approaching the probes reflected an expectation of reward under ambiguity—an “optimistic” judgement bias, suggesting positive emotional states. We analysed the data using linear mixed-effects models. There were no treatment differences in latency to approach the probe buckets, but cows approached the known rewarded bucket slower when they had pasture access than when they were indoors full-time. Our results indicate that, compared to cattle housed indoors, cattle with pasture access display less anticipatory behaviour towards a known reward. This reduced reward anticipation suggests that pasture is a more rewarding environment, which may induce more positive emotional states than full-time housing

Gender Differences in the Risk of HIV Infection among Persons Reporting Abstinence, Monogamy, and Multiple Sexual Partners in Northern Tanzania

BACKGROUND: Monogamy, together with abstinence, partner reduction, and condom use, is widely advocated as a key behavioral strategy to prevent HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the association between the number of sexual partners and the risk of HIV seropositivity among men and women presenting for HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) in northern Tanzania. METHODOLOGY/ PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Clients presenting for HIV VCT at a community-based AIDS service organization in Moshi, Tanzania were surveyed between November 2003 and December 2007. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, reasons for testing, sexual behaviors, and symptoms were collected. Men and women were categorized by number of lifetime sexual partners, and rates of seropositivity were reported by category. Factors associated with HIV seropositivity among monogamous males and females were identified by a multivariate logistic regression model. Of 6,549 clients, 3,607 (55%) were female, and the median age was 30 years (IQR 24-40). 939 (25%) females and 293 (10%) males (p<0.0001) were HIV seropositive. Among 1,244 (34%) monogamous females and 423 (14%) monogamous males, the risk of HIV infection was 19% and 4%, respectively (p<0.0001). The risk increased monotonically with additional partners up to 45% (p<0.001) and 15% (p<0.001) for women and men, respectively with 5 or more partners. In multivariate analysis, HIV seropositivity among monogamous women was most strongly associated with age (p<0.0001), lower education (p<0.004), and reporting a partner with other partners (p = 0.015). Only age was a significant risk factor for monogamous men (p = 0.0004). INTERPRETATION: Among women presenting for VCT, the number of partners is strongly associated with rates of seropositivity; however, even women reporting lifetime monogamy have a high risk for HIV infection. Partner reduction should be coupled with efforts to place tools in the hands of sexually active women to reduce their risk of contracting HIV

A systematic analysis of host factors reveals a Med23-interferon-λ regulatory axis against herpes simplex virus type 1 replication

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a neurotropic virus causing vesicular oral or genital skin lesions, meningitis and other diseases particularly harmful in immunocompromised individuals. To comprehensively investigate the complex interaction between HSV-1 and its host we combined two genome-scale screens for host factors (HFs) involved in virus replication. A yeast two-hybrid screen for protein interactions and a RNA interference (RNAi) screen with a druggable genome small interfering RNA (siRNA) library confirmed existing and identified novel HFs which functionally influence HSV-1 infection. Bioinformatic analyses found the 358 HFs were enriched for several pathways and multi-protein complexes. Of particular interest was the identification of Med23 as a strongly anti-viral component of the largely pro-viral Mediator complex, which links specific transcription factors to RNA polymerase II. The anti-viral effect of Med23 on HSV-1 replication was confirmed in gain-of-function gene overexpression experiments, and this inhibitory effect was specific to HSV-1, as a range of other viruses including Vaccinia virus and Semliki Forest virus were unaffected by Med23 depletion. We found Med23 significantly upregulated expression of the type III interferon family (IFN-λ) at the mRNA and protein level by directly interacting with the transcription factor IRF7. The synergistic effect of Med23 and IRF7 on IFN-λ induction suggests this is the major transcription factor for IFN-λ expression. Genotypic analysis of patients suffering recurrent orofacial HSV-1 outbreaks, previously shown to be deficient in IFN-λ secretion, found a significant correlation with a single nucleotide polymorphism in the IFN-λ3 (IL28b) promoter strongly linked to Hepatitis C disease and treatment outcome. This paper describes a link between Med23 and IFN-λ, provides evidence for the crucial role of IFN-λ in HSV-1 immune control, and highlights the power of integrative genome-scale approaches to identify HFs critical for disease progression and outcome

Gender Differences in the Risk of HIV Infection among Persons Reporting Abstinence, Monogamy, and Multiple Sexual Partners in Northern Tanzania

Background: Monogamy, together with abstinence, partner reduction, and condom use, is widely advocated as a key behavioral strategy to prevent HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the association between the number of sexual partners and the risk of HIV seropositivity among men and women presenting for HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) in northern Tanzania. Methodology/ Principal Findings: Clients presenting for HIV VCT at a community-based AIDS service organization in Moshi, Tanzania were surveyed between November 2003 and December 2007. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, reasons for testing, sexual behaviors, and symptoms were collected. Men and women were categorized by number of lifetime sexual partners, and rates of seropositivity were reported by category. Factors associated with HIV seropositivity among monogamous males and females were identified by a multivariate logistic regression model. Of 6,549 clients, 3,607 (55%) were female, and the median age was 30 years (IQR 24–40). 939 (25%) females and 293 (10%) males (p,0.0001) were HIV seropositive. Among 1,244 (34%) monogamous females and 423 (14%) monogamous males, the risk of HIV infection was 19% and 4%, respectively (p,0.0001). The risk increased monotonically with additional partners up to 45% (p,0.001) and 15% (p,0.001) for women and men, respectively with 5 or more partners. In multivariate analysis, HIV seropositivity among monogamous women was most strongly associated with age (p,0.0001), lower education (p,0.004), and reporting a partner with other partners (p = 0.015). Only age was a significant risk factor for monogamous men (p = 0.0004). Interpretation: Among women presenting for VCT, the number of partners is strongly associated with rates of seropositivity; however, even women reporting lifetime monogamy have a high risk for HIV infection. Partner reduction should be coupled with efforts to place tools in the hands of sexually active women to reduce their risk of contracting HIV

Budding of filamentous and non-filamentous influenza A virus occurs via a VPS4 and VPS28-independent pathway

The mechanism of membrane scission during influenza A virus budding has been the subject of controversy. We confirm that influenza M1 binds VPS28, a subunit of the ESCRT-1 complex. However, confocal microscopy of infected cells showed no marked colocalisation between M1 and VPS28 or VPS4 ESCRT proteins, or relocalisation of the cellular proteins. Trafficking of HA and M1 appeared normal when endosomal sorting was impaired by expression of inactive VPS4. Overexpression of either isoform of VPS28 or wildtype or dominant negative VPS4 proteins did not alter production of filamentous virions. SiRNA depletion of endogenous VPS28 had no significant effect on influenza virus replication. Furthermore, cells expressing wildtype or dominant-negative VPS4 replicated filamentous and non-filamentous strains of influenza to similar titres, indicating that influenza release is VPS4-independent. Overall, we see no role for the ESCRT pathway in influenza virus budding and the significance of the M1-VPS28 interaction remains to be determined. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved