Developing Global Leader Self-Complexity through International Experience

Globalization introduces new challenges related to increased levels of diversity and complexity that organizations cannot meet without capable global leaders. Such leaders are currently lacking, so a theory-based approach to global leader development is needed. As a critical intermediary outcome, global leader self-complexity enables competent global leadership performance and develops through identity construction during international experiences. This research aims to generate and test a theory of the development of global leader self-complexity. In Study 1, I gathered qualitative data through retrospectively interviewing 27 global leaders about identity-related changes following their international experiences. Using a grounded theory approach, I developed a theoretical model of global leader identity construction during international experiences, which I empirically tested using quantitative data in Study 2. Specifically, I tested the hypothesized relationships through structural equation modeling with cross-sectional survey data from a sample of 610 global leaders and found support for some of the theorized relationships. Findings from both studies indicate global leader identity construction during international experiences primarily occurs through interacting with locals and local culture over a sustained period, motivated by appreciation of cultural differences, and resulting in increased global leader self-complexity. These results advance understanding of the global leader self-complexity construct (i.e., what develops) and global leader development processes (i.e., how it develops). Additionally, the findings have practical implications for the design and delivery of global leader development initiatives, including the preparation of participating global leaders and how organizations can support them for maximal development

Emergence of the L phenotype in Group B Streptococci in the South of Ireland

Group B Streptococcal isolates (n = 235) from the South of Ireland were characterised by serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility and determination of the phenotypic and genotypic mechanisms of resistance. Resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin was observed in 21·3% and 20·4% of the total population, respectively. The c-MLSB phenotype was the most common phenotype detected (62%), with ermB being the predominant genetic determinant, present in 84% of resistant isolates. The rare L phenotype was observed in 2·9% (n = 7) of isolates, four of which harboured the lsaC gene responsible for clindamycin resistance. Serotypes Ia, III and II were the most common amongst the entire study population (28·1%, 24·7% and 14%, respectively). Four of the seven L phenotype isolates were serotype III and two of these strains were confirmed as the hypervirulent clone, ST-17 and harboured the hvgA gene. This is the first documented case of the L phenotype in Ireland to date and the study findings emphasise the need for continued monitoring of antibiotic resistance and serotype distribution in GBS isolates from Ireland

Living with chronic neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of community experience.

Purpose: This article presents an in-depth, idiographic study examining the lived experience of chronic pain following spinal cord injury (SCI). Neuropathic pain (NP) occurs in a large majority of the SCI population and is particularly intractable to treatment. It can be both psychologically and physically debilitating. This study examines how the experience of NP is mediated by its meaning to the sufferer. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight people with SCI and chronic NP, attending outpatient clinics at a specialist SCI Centre in the UK. Verbatim transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis to further understand the experience. Results: Analysis suggested that NP has powerful consequences upon the sufferer's physical, psychological and social well-being, in line with a biopsychosocial understanding of pain. Three super-ordinate themes were identified: a perceived gap between treatments received and participants' views of what they wanted and needed; a fight for life control and acceptance; and feeling understood by others with SCI, but isolated from the non-understanding able-bodied. Conclusions: The results are discussed in terms of the possible application of acceptance-based therapy to NP and the potential for the alleviation of the debilitating consequences of NP. Implications for Rehabilitation Chronic NP after SCI is often described as worse than the injury itself, often impacting upon the sufferers physical and psychological health. The experiences of persons with SCI-specific NP highlight the impact of pain on their physical, psychological and social health. This indicates that healthcare professionals should incorporate a biopsychosocial approach for managing pain post-SCI. Routine clinical follow-up of SCI patients with chronic NP, as well as comprehensive pain management treatment programmes, could address the three themes evidenced in the current study, by moving routine intervention with NP away from pain relief, towards pain management. Continued education for patients, friends, family members and healthcare professionals may be beneficial in promoting understanding and awareness of NP and its consequences following SCI

Efficacy of Internet-Delivered Mindfulness for Improving Depression in Caregivers of People With Spinal Cord Injuries and Chronic Neuropathic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial

Objectives To explore the feasibility and efficacy of web-based mindfulness training for carers of people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design Randomized controlled feasibility study with 3-month follow-up. Setting Community setting. Participants Spouses or family caregivers (N=55) of people with SCI and chronic neuropathic pain were recruited via the direct care team and advertisements. Participants were older than 18 years (no upper age limit), with Internet access for the duration of the study. Participants were randomly allocated to an 8-week online mindfulness training intervention (n=28), or to receive 8 weeks of psychoeducational materials on SCI and chronic pain (n=27). Interventions An established web-based, mindfulness training course was delivered over 8 weeks. Participants completed 10 minutes of mindfulness practices, twice per day, 6 days per week, totaling 960 minutes. The control group received a weekly e-mail with psychoeducational materials (based on the established elements) on SCI and pain for 8 weeks. Main Outcome Measure Depression severity. Results Mindfulness reduced depression severity more than psychoeducation at T2 (mean difference= −.891; 95% confidence interval,−1.48 to −.30) and T3 (mean difference=−1.96; 95% confidence interval, −2.94 to −.97). Mindfulness training also reduced anxiety at T2 (mean difference=−.888; 95% confidence interval, −1.40 to −.38) and T3 (mean difference=−2.44; 95% confidence interval, −3.20 to −1.69). Conclusions Results indicate that Internet-delivered mindfulness training offers unique benefits and is viable for caregivers of people with SCI and chronic neuropathic pain. Further work should explore the feasibility of combined education and mindfulness training incorporating both patient and caregiver, for optimum benefit

Mental control of musical imagery: combining behavioral and experience-sampling approaches

Mental control of musical imagery is a complex, but understudied, process that consists of two components: initiation—whether the musical imagery experience began voluntarily or involuntarily—and management—whether instances of control occur after the experience has begun (e.g., changing the song, stopping the experience). The present research examined these two components of mental control using both behavioral lab-based musical imagery tasks and self-reports of mental control in daily life using experience sampling methods. Both music students and members of the general university community participated. This project had four primary aims: (1) examining the relationship between initiation and management of musical imagery; (2) assessing how mental control abilities differ as a function of stimulus type; (3) describing perceptions of initiation and management in daily life; and (4) evaluating how well performance on lab-based behavioral tasks aligns with self-reported mental control in daily life. The findings suggest that initiation and management abilities are closely related, people perform equivalently when asked to control tonal stimuli and song stimuli, people generally report the ability to control musical imagery in daily life, and self-report and behavioral assessments of mental control of musical imagery show a modest association. These findings have implications for current understandings of control of musical imagery and identify several avenues for future research

Understanding inner music: a dimensional approach to musical imagery

Inner music—hearing music inside your head that isn’t playing in the environment—is a common experience that takes many forms. Research on inner music, however, has primarily emphasized instances of involuntary, aversive musical imagery, such as “earworms.” The present research develops a new conceptual framework, consisting of five fundamental dimensions, that can advance our understanding of inner music. In an experience-sampling study, a sample of musicians and people from the general university community (N = 132) was recruited to examine inner music as it occurs in-the-moment in everyday life. Over the course of a week, participants were contacted throughout the day and asked about their experiences with inner music, with an emphasis on the five dimensions: Affective Valence, Repetitiveness, Vividness, Mental Control, and Length. The results showed that there is variability at both the within-person and between-person levels on each of the proposed dimensions—people have a variety of musical imagery experiences, not just a few different types. Additionally, these dimensions were related to three different individual difference factors: personality, musical expertise, and auditory imagery ability. Openness to experience and extraversion, musical training, and the ability to form vivid auditory images were the primary predictors of the qualities of inner music. Additionally, the present research has implications for how musical imagery is measured—retrospective and in-the-moment reports differed considerably, suggesting people cannot accurately recall their inner music experiences. Overall, the findings show considerable variability in musical imagery and that focusing on specific types of inner music (e.g., earworms) ignores many other experiences. Looking at the qualities of inner music will be fruitful for future work and broaden the scope of research

Understanding inner music: A dimensional approach to musical imagery

Musical imagery—hearing music inside your head that isn’t playing in the environment—is a common yet complex experience. To capture the diversity of musical imagery, the present research develops a new conceptual framework consisting of five dimensions, including a distinction between initiation and management as different ways in which musical imagery can be voluntary. A dimensional approach can represent both common and unusual forms of musical imagery, and it can highlight conceptual similarities between seemingly different experiences. In an experience-sampling study, musicians and people from the university community (n = 132) were contacted throughout the day via a smartphone app and asked about their in vivo experiences with musical imagery, with an emphasis on five dimensions: valence, repetitiveness, vividness, length, and mental control. The results indicated substantial variability at both the within-person and between-person levels on each dimension—people have a wide variety of musical imagery experiences, not a few types. A within-person network model illustrated that the dimensions were internally coherent and distinct from each other. Taken together, the findings reveal rich heterogeneity in musical imagery and indicate that mental control over musical imagery is both common and multifaceted

Creative fixation is no laughing matter: The effects of funny and unfunny examples on humor production

How do people come up with humorous ideas? In creative cognition research, exposure to good examples sometimes causes fixation (people get “stuck” on the examples) but other times sparks inspiration (people's responses are more creative). The present research examined the effects of funny and unfunny examples on joke production. A sample of 175 adults read scenarios that they completed with funny responses. All participants were instructed to be funny, but before responding they read (a) funny responses as examples of good responses to emulate, (b) unfunny responses as examples of poor responses to avoid, or (c) no examples. The participants’ own responses were rated for funniness and for similarity to the example responses, and response times were recorded. Reading either funny or unfunny examples, compared to no examples, caused people to come up with funnier jokes. Similarity to the examples was low in all conditions, so fixation was relatively modest, but people who saw unfunny examples spent more time coming up with their responses. Taken together, the findings support the growing literature showing that examples are often inspiring rather than constraining, and they imply that good and bad examples spark creative thought via different paths

Rates and characteristics of radiographically detected intracerebral cavernous malformations after cranial radiation therapy in pediatric cancer patients.

Rates and characteristics of intracerebral cavernous malformations after cranial radiation therapy remain poorly understood. Herein we report on intracerebral cavernous malformations detected on follow-up imaging in pediatric cancer patients who received cranial radiation therapy at age ≤18 years from 1980 to 2009. Through chart reviews (n = 362) and phone interviews (n = 104) of a retrospective cohort, we identified 10 patients with intracerebral cavernous malformations. The median latency time for detection of intracerebral cavernous malformations after cranial radiation therapy was 12 years (range 1-24 years) at a median age of 21.4 years (interquartile range = 15-28). The cumulative incidence was 3% (95% confidence interval 1%-8%) at 10 years post cranial radiation therapy and 14% (95% confidence interval 7%-26%) at 15 years. Three patients underwent surgical resection. Two surgical specimens were pathologically similar to sporadically occurring intracerebral cavernous malformations; one was consistent with capillary telangiectasia. Intracerebral cavernous malformations are common after cranial radiation therapy and can show a spectrum of histologic features

Radio galaxy evolution: what you can learn from a Brief Encounter

We describe the pitfalls encountered in deducing from classical double radio source observables (luminosity, spectral index, redshift and linear size) the essential nature of how these objects evolve. We discuss the key role played by hotspots in governing the energy distribution of the lobes they feed, and subsequent spectral evolution. We present images obtained using the new 74 MHz receivers on the VLA and discuss constraints which these enforce on models of the backflow and ages in classical doubles.Comment: invited talk at `Lifecycles of Radio Galaxies' workshop; eds John Biretta et a