Managing and temporality

This special issue is the third in the Scandinavian Journal of Management (SJM) to focus exclusively on the processual nature of managing and organizing. These three special issues offer an approximate genealogy of recent developments in process thinking in the field of management and organization

Low Resource Multi-Task Sequence Tagging -- Revisiting Dynamic Conditional Random Fields

We compare different models for low resource multi-task sequence tagging that leverage dependencies between label sequences for different tasks. Our analysis is aimed at datasets where each example has labels for multiple tasks. Current approaches use either a separate model for each task or standard multi-task learning to learn shared feature representations. However, these approaches ignore correlations between label sequences, which can provide important information in settings with small training datasets. To analyze which scenarios can profit from modeling dependencies between labels in different tasks, we revisit dynamic conditional random fields (CRFs) and combine them with deep neural networks. We compare single-task, multi-task and dynamic CRF setups for three diverse datasets at both sentence and document levels in English and German low resource scenarios. We show that including silver labels from pretrained part-of-speech taggers as auxiliary tasks can improve performance on downstream tasks. We find that especially in low-resource scenarios, the explicit modeling of inter-dependencies between task predictions outperforms single-task as well as standard multi-task models

Parameter Estimation of Linear Dynamical Systems with Gaussian Noise

We present a novel optimization-based method for parameter estimation of a time-varying dynamic linear system. This method optimizes the likelihood of the parameters given measured data using an optimization algorithm tailored to the structure of this maximum likelihood estimation problem. Some parameters of the covariance of process and measurement noise can also be estimated. This is particularly useful when offset-free Model Predictive Control with a linear disturbance model is performed. To reduce the complexity of the maximum likelihood estimation problem we also propose an approximate formulation and show how it is related to the actual problem. We present the advantages of the proposed approach over commonly used methods in the framework of Moving Horizon Estimation. We also present how to use Sequential Quadratic Programming efficiently for the optimization of our formulations. Finally, we show the performance of the proposed methods through numerical simulations. First, on a minimal example with only one parameter to be estimated, and second, on a system with heat and mass transfer. Both methods can successfully estimate the model parameters in these examples.Comment: Submitted to IEEE European Control Conference 2023 (ECC23). Contains 8 pages including 6 figure

Knowledge as Embodied, Imaginative and Foolish Enactment: Exploring Dementia Experiences through Theater

In this article, we provide an example of a performance-research project to advance understandings of the ways artistic and scientific processes work in conversation. Drawing on the research-informed play Cracked: New Light on Dementia, we consider the interrelationship among cultural narratives (including the perpetuation of oppressive narratives of marginalized people), aesthetic and artistic exploration (sensory and emotional exploration together with dramaturgy and theatricality), and social critique for the purposes of broader social change. By explicating three interrelated "acts" of our process, including preparation, execution and exhibition (THOMPSON, 2015), we share the ways artistic practices were flexibly used to generate new cultural knowledge about the ways we think, feel, and sense about dementia to mobilize social good. With our work we criticize institutional and research structures that deny arts processes the status of "research," as well as challenge traditional modes of knowledge and knowledge production.In diesem Beitrag berichten wir über ein Beispiel performativer Forschung mit dem Ziel, künstlerische und wissenschaftliche Prozesse besser zu verstehen. Ausgehend von dem Theaterstück "Cracked: New Light on Dementia" beleuchten wir die Beziehung zwischen kulturellen Narrativen (inkl. der Verfestigung unterdrückerischer Narrative über marginalisierte Menschen), ästhetischer und künstlerischer Forschung (sensorisches und emotionales Involvement sowie Dramaturgie und Theatralität) und sozialer Kritik mit dem Ziel breiterer sozialer Veränderungen. An drei miteinander verknüpften "Akten" unseres Forschungsprozesses - Vorbereitung, Ausführung und Ausstellung (THOMPSON 2015) - veranschaulichen wir, wie künstlerische Praktiken flexibel genutzt wurden, um neues kulturelles Wissen darüber zu erzeugen, wie wir Demenz denken, erleben und wahrnehmen, und so ein soziales Gut zu initiieren. Mit unserer Arbeit kritisieren wir institutionelle und wissenschaftliche Strukturen, die Kunst den Status von Forschung absprechen, und wir fordern traditionelle Weisen von Wissen und Wissensproduktion heraus

PsychoPy2: experiments in behavior made easy

PsychoPy is an application for the creation of experiments in behavioral science (psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, etc.) with precise spatial control and timing of stimuli. It now provides a choice of interface; users can write scripts Python if they choose, while those that prefer to construct experiments graphically can use the new Builder interface. Here we describe the features that have been added over the last 10 years of its development. The most notable addition has been that Builder interface, allowing users to create studies with minimal or no programming, while also allowing the insertion of Python code for maximal flexibility. We also present some of the other new features, including further stimulus options, asynchronous timestamped hardware polling, and better support for open science and reproducibility. Tens of thousands of users now launch PsychoPy every month and more than 90 people have contributed to the code. We discuss the current state of the project, as well as plans for the future

Seeing and holding baby: Systematic review of clinical management and parental outcomes following stillbirth

Background - In 2009 there were an estimated 2.6 million stillbirths worldwide. In the United States, a 2007 systematic review found little consensus about professional behaviours perceived by parents to be most helpful or most distressing. In the United Kingdom a bereaved parents’ organisation has highlighted discordance between parental views and clinical guidelines that recommend clinicians’ do not encourage parents to see and hold their baby. The objective of this review was to identify and synthesise available research reporting parental outcomes relating to seeing and holding. Method(s) - We undertook a systematic review. We included studies of any design, reporting parental experiences and outcomes. Electronic searches (PubMed, PsychINFO) were conducted in January 2014. Three authors independently screened and assessed the quality of the studies, before abstracting data and undertaking thematic analysis. Results - We reviewed 741 records and included 23 studies (10 quantitative,12 qualitative,1 mixed-method). Twenty-one studies suggested positive outcomes for parents who saw or held their baby. Increased psychological morbidity was associated with current pregnancy, choice not to see their baby, lack of time with their baby and/or insufficient mementos. Three themes were formulated “Positive effects of contact within a traumatic life event”, “Importance of role of health professionals”; and “Impact on Mothers and Fathers: Similarities and differences”. Conclusions - Stillbirth is a risk factor for increased psychological morbidity. Parents’ seeing and holding their stillborn baby can be beneficial to their future wellbeing. Since 2007, there has been a proliferation of studies that challenge clinical guidelines recommending clinicians do not encourage parental contact

A short report on knowledge exchange through research-based theatre: ‘Inside out of mind’

The short report describes the development from page to stage of a work of theatre based on an ethnographic study. The originating research focused on the work of health care assistants (nurse's aides) whose direct impact on the quality of life of highly dependent people is often overlooked. The research followed hospital personnel on wards specialising in the 'challenging behaviour' associated with dementia in central England. Conventional research outputs failed to engage the health care assistants themselves, so we turned to theatre to remedy this. The development of the field notes into theatre was characterised by the artistic freedom given to the playwright, in contrast to more data-led approaches to theatre making. The account of the process of creating the play, Inside Out of Mind, is followed a description of how the work was received by specialist and general audiences totalling 2000+. The discussion seeks to locate the whole enterprise in relation to the field of research-based theatre and explores how the production and its associated learning events relate to definitions of research-based theatre in the light of recent attempts to encapsulate this broad and diverse methodology

Multiplex Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay for Simultaneous Detection of Treponema pallidum and Haemophilus ducreyi in Yaws-Like Lesions

Yaws is a skin debilitating disease caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue with most cases reported in children. World Health Organization (WHO) aims at total eradication of this disease through mass treatment of suspected cases followed by an intensive follow-up program. However, effective diagnosis is pivotal in the successful implementation of this control program. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), an isothermal nucleic acid amplification technique offers a wider range of differentiation of pathogens including those isolated from chronic skin ulcers with similar characteristics such as Haemophilus ducreyi (H. ducreyi). We have developed a RPA assay for the simultaneous detection of Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum) and H. ducreyi (TPHD-RPA). The assay demonstrated no cross-reaction with other pathogens and enable detection of T. pallidum and H. ducreyi within 15 min at 42 °C. The RPA assay was validated with 49 clinical samples from individuals confirmed to have yaws by serological tests. Comparing the developed assay with commercial multiplex real-time PCR, the assay demonstrated 94% and 95% sensitivity for T. pallidum and H. ducreyi, respectively and 100% specificity. This simple novel TPHD-RPA assay enables the rapid detection of both T. pallidum and H. ducreyi in yaws-like lesions. This test could support the yaws eradication efforts by ensuring reliable diagnosis, to enable monitoring of program success and planning of follow-up interventions at the community level