How Much Digital is Too Much? A Study on Employees’ Hybrid Workplace Preferences

How post-pandemic workplaces will evolve is one challenging decision organizations must consider. Prior studies have explored remote work and digital workplace transformations. However, literature offers only little insight into the status quo of employees\u27 preferences for their future workplace and its consequences. This paper posits that employees\u27 openness to digital change influences hybrid workplace preference. Performance and personal outcome expectations further have a mediating role in this relationship. Finally, hybrid workplace preferences can lead to office resistance and the intention to leave. This paper draws on social cognitive theory and sheds light on the interplay of employees\u27 preferences and potential consequences for businesses. We empirically tested the proposed model with survey data from U.S. employees. Findings show that hybrid settings are critical to attracting talent open to digital change. The contribution to IS literature is manifold and contains implications on how to envision the future workplace successfully

What are the main symptoms and concerns reported by patients with advanced chronic heart failure?—a secondary analysis of the Palliative care Outcome Scale (POS) and Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS)

© Annals of Palliative Medicine. All rights reserved. There is a lack of valid disease-specific patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for detecting symptoms and concerns in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF). The Palliative care Outcome Scale (POS) and Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) are specifically developed to capture the main symptoms and concerns of people severely affected by advanced disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether POS and IPOS captures the main symptoms and concerns self-reported by patients with advanced CHF. A secondary analysis of existing POS/IPOS data collected in three longitudinal studies was conducted. POS and IPOS start with an open-ended question for patients to report their main problems and concerns, followed by subsequent closed questions on a range of symptoms and other concerns. Descriptive statistics were used to report the results. The 102 participants from the three datasets had median age 81 years (SD ±9.84 years); 62% male; 87% white. A total of 107 concerns were reported in the first, open POS/IPOS question seeking the patient’s main concerns. Of these, 83 (77%) were reflected in the subsequent IPOS/POS closed questions. The high correspondence between the free-text responses and the closed questions indicates that most issues are captured by the POS/IPOS items. In conclusion, the generic versions of POS and IPOS do capture the main problems and concerns of patients with advanced CHF. Minor adaptations and further psychometric validation of POS and IPOS are needed in this population

Evaluation of Flying Start NHS

Introduction In January 2006 “Flying Start NHS”, a national web-based educational resource to support the transition from student to qualified practitioner for all newly qualified nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (NMAHP) joining NHS Scotland was launched. This report brings together the findings from a two-year evaluation which focussed on the impact and effectiveness of Flying Start NHS in supporting the recruitment, confidence and skills development of newly qualified nurses, midwives and allied health professionals within NHS Scotland. The evaluation was carried out be a research team from the University of the West of Scotland, the University of Stirling, and the University of Dundee

Profil épidémiologique de la Tuberculose, Sénégal, 2009-2018: Epidemiological profile of Tuberculosis, Senegal, 2009-2018

Introduction: Le fardeau de la tuberculose (TB) pose un grave problème de santé publique au Sénégal. Nous avons analysé les données de surveillance de la tuberculose pour décrire le poids et la tendance de la tuberculose au Sénégal. Méthodes: Nous avons effectué une analyse secondaire des données de surveillance de la tuberculose du 1er janvier 2009 au 31 décembre 2018 du programme national de lutte contre la tuberculose (PNT). Résultats: Au total, 128 836 cas de tuberculose toutes formes ont été analysées dont 67,42% de nouveaux cas de TB pulmonaire confirmée par microscopie. Les personnes âgées de 25-34 ans représentaient 29,66%. Le sex-ratio H/F était de 2,33. Dakar avait rapporté la plupart des cas 44,17%. L'incidence pour 100 000 habitants était de 91, 87 et 86 en 2009, 2008 et 2011, de 93, 95 et 95 en 2012, 2013 et 2014 et de 92, 86, 87 et 84 en 2015, 2016, 2017 et 2018. La majorité des cas (77%) avaient été testés pour le VIH, dont 6,84% co-infectés. Le taux de TB multirésistante (TB-MR) était de 11%. Conclusion: Au Sénégal, l'incidence de la tuberculose a légèrement diminué en raison du faible taux de détection qui était de 62% en 2018. Le nombre de cas détecté a augmenté entre 2013 et 2014, mais elle restait inférieure à celle estimée par l'organisation mondiale de la santé. Une surveillance accrue de la tuberculose et un suivi des tuberculeux pour éviter la pharmaco-résistance sont nécessaires. Introduction: The burden of tuberculosis (TB) is a serious public health problem in Senegal. We analysed TB surveillance data to describe the burden and trend of TB in Senegal. Method: We conducted a secondary analysis of TB surveillance data from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2018 from the national TB control programme (NTP). Results: A total of 128,836 cases of all forms of tuberculosis were analysed, of which 67.42% were new cases of microscopically confirmed pulmonary TB. Persons aged 25-34 years accounted for 29.66%. The sex ratio M/F was 2.33. Dakar reported most cases 44.17%. The incidence per 100 000 populations was 91, 87 and 86 in 2009, 2008 and 2011, 93, 95 and 95 in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and 92, 86, 87 and 84 in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The majority of cases (77%) had tested positive for HIV, with 6.84% co-infected. The rate of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) was 11%. Conclusion: In Senegal, the incidence of TB has slightly decreased due to the low detection rate which was 62% in 2018. The number of detected cases increased between 2013 and 2014, but it remained below that estimated by the World Health Organization. Increased surveillance of TB and monitoring of TB patients to avoid drug resistance is needed. &nbsp

Initial Teacher Education Policy and Practice

The purpose of this study was to generate a systematic description of policy and practice across qualifications of initial teacher education in Aotearoa New Zealand. The study was conducted in two phases. Data from publicly-available documentation of the 27 providers of initial teacher education were recorded in an electronic data base as a means of compiling individual profiles of each qualification. Subsequently, twenty-five providers participated in interviews to ensure that profiles accurately reflected the policy and practice of the qualification. Qualification profiles were reviewed to identify common and distinctive characteristics of initial teacher education according to sector (early childhood, primary and secondary), type of qualification and type of provider. Findings were considered within a framework of contemporary national and international research and implications identified for future research, policy and practice in initial teacher education. This project confirms that initial teacher education is incredibly complex and multi-faceted and that New Zealand qualifications reflect many of the achievements and the challenges of implementing quality teacher education that are experienced internationally. The official documentation reveals that there is a general lack of explicit coherence among components of many qualifications, that in some cases there is no clearly articulated conceptual or theoretical base underpinning qualifications, and, that, in the documentation of many qualifications, there are conspicuous silences surrounding aspects of initial teacher education critical to the New Zealand context. There is also evidence that the regulatory and compliance environment within which providers operate is sometimes perceived as distracting, rather than ensuring quality. This national project has enabled us to identify key areas for further and ongoing attention both by individual providers of initial teacher education and, more importantly, by the professional community of teacher education in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the New Zealand Teachers Council and others. We need to determine, and thence articulate more clearly, the fundamental goals of initial teacher education and to demonstrate how programmes of ITE are coherent in their underlying values, goals, design, curriculum, pedagogy and implementation. There is a need also to consider how current external quality assurance processes can be made more coherent with fundamental goals of initial teacher education and the research on theory and practice that underpins these goals

Strategies to address the shortcomings of commonly used advanced chronic heart failure descriptors to improve recruitment in palliative care research: A parallel mixed-methods feasibility study

Background:Recruitment challenges contribute to the paucity of palliative care research with advanced chronic heart failure patients.Aim:To describe the challenges and outline strategies of recruiting advanced chronic heart failure patients.Design:A feasibility study using a pre–post uncontrolled design.Setting:Advanced chronic heart failure patients were recruited at two nurse-led chronic heart failure disease management clinics in IrelandResults:Of 372 patients screened, 81 were approached, 38 were recruited (46.9% conversion to consent) and 25 completed the intervention. To identify the desired population, a modified version of the European Society of Cardiology definition was used together with modified New York Heart Association inclusion criteria to address inter-study site New York Heart Association classification subjectivity. These modifications substantially increased median monthly numbers of eligible patients approached (from 8 to 20) and median monthly numbers recruited (from 4 to 9). Analysis using a mortality risk calculator demonstrated that recruited patients had a median 1-year mortality risk of 22.7 and confirmed that the modified eligibility criteria successfully identified the population of interest. A statistically significant difference in New York Heart Association classification was found in recruited patients between study sites, but no statistically significant difference was found in selected clinical parameters between these patients.Conclusion:Clinically relevant modifications to the European Society of Cardiology definition and strategies to address New York Heart Association subjectivity may help to improve advanced chronic heart failure patient recruitment in clinical settings, thereby helping to address the paucity of palliative care research this population

Confirmation of TNIP1 and IL23A as susceptibility loci for psoriatic arthritis

Objectives: To investigate a shared genetic aetiology for skin involvement in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) by genotyping single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), reported to be associated in genome-wide association studies of psoriasis, in patients with PsA. Methods: SNPs with reported evidence for association with psoriasis were genotyped in a PsA case and control collection from the UK and Ireland. Genotype and allele frequencies were compared between PsA cases and controls using the Armitage test for trend. Results: Seven SNPs mapping to the IL1RN, TNIP1, TNFAIP3, TSC1, IL23A, SMARCA4 and RNF114 genes were successfully genotyped. The IL23A and TNIP1 genes showed convincing evidence for association (rs2066808, p = 9.1 x 10 ?7 ; rs17728338, p = 3.5 x 10 ?5 , respectively) whilst SNPs mapping to the TNFAIP3, TSC1 and RNF114 genes showed nominal evidence for association (rs610604, p = 0.03; rs1076160, p = 0.03; rs495337, p = 0.0025). No evidence for association with IL1RN or SMARCA4 was found but the power to detect association was low. Conclusions: SNPs mapping to previously reported psoriasis loci show evidence for association to PSA, thus supporting the hypothesis that the genetic aetiology of skin involvement is the same in both PsA and psoriasi

Nonmalignant portal vein thrombi in patients with cirrhosis consist of intimal fibrosis with or without a fibrin-rich thrombus

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a common complication of cirrhosis. The exact pathophysiology remains largely unknown, and treatment with anticoagulants does not lead to recanalization of the portal vein in all patients. A better insight into the structure and composition of portal vein thrombi may assist in developing strategies for the prevention and treatment of PVT. APPROACH AND RESULTS: Sixteen prospectively and 63 retrospectively collected nonmalignant portal vein thrombi from patients with cirrhosis who underwent liver transplantation were included. Histology, immunohistochemistry, and scanning electron microscopy were used to assess structure and composition of the thrombi. Most recent CT scans were reanalyzed for thrombus characteristics. Clinical characteristics were related to histological and radiological findings. All samples showed a thickened, fibrotic tunica intima. Fibrin-rich thrombi were present on top of the fibrotic intima in 9/16 prospective cases and in 21/63 retrospective cases. A minority of the fibrotic areas stained focally positive for fibrin/fibrinogen (16% of cases), von Willebrand factor (VWF; 10%), and CD61 (platelets, 21%), while most of the fibrin-rich areas stained positive for those markers (fibrin/fibrinogen, 100%; VWF, 77%; CD61, 100%). No associations were found between clinical characteristics including estimated thrombus age and use of anticoagulants and presence of fibrin-rich thrombi. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that PVT in patients with cirrhosis consists of intimal fibrosis with an additional fibrin-rich thrombus in only one-third of cases. We hypothesize that our observations may explain why not all portal vein thrombi in patients with cirrhosis recanalize by anticoagulant therapy

Evidence to support IL-13 as a risk locus for psoriatic arthritis but not psoriasis vulgaris

Objective: There is great interest in the identification of genetic factors that differentiate psoriatic arthritis (PsA) from psoriasis vulgaris (PsV), as such discoveries could lead to the identification of distinct underlying aetiological pathways. Recent studies identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin 13 (IL-13) gene region as risk factors for PsV. Further investigations in one of these studies found the effect to be primarily restricted to PsA, thus suggesting the discovery of a specific genetic risk factor for PsA. Given this intriguing evidence, association to this gene was investigated in large collections of PsA and PsV patients and healthy controls. Methods: Two SNPs (rs20541 and rs1800925) mapping to the IL-13 gene were genotyped in 1057 PsA and 778 type I PsV patients using the Sequenom genotyping platform. Genotype frequencies were compared to those of 5575 healthy controls. Additional analyses were performed in phenotypic subgroups of PsA (type I or II PsV and in those seronegative for rheumatoid factor). Results: Both SNPs were found to be highly associated with susceptibility to PsA (rs1800925 ptrend = 6.1×10−5 OR 1.33, rs20541 ptrend = 8.0×10−4 OR 1.27), but neither SNP was significantly associated with susceptibility to PsV. Conclusions: This study confirms that the effect of IL-13 risk locus is specific for PsA, thus highlighting a key biological pathway that differentiates PsA from PsV. The identification of markers that differentiate the two diseases raises the possibility in future of allowing screening of PsV patients to identify those at risk of developing PsA