Interplay between telecommunications and face-to-face interactions - a study using mobile phone data

In this study we analyze one year of anonymized telecommunications data for over one million customers from a large European cellphone operator, and we investigate the relationship between people's calls and their physical location. We discover that more than 90% of users who have called each other have also shared the same space (cell tower), even if they live far apart. Moreover, we find that close to 70% of users who call each other frequently (at least once per month on average) have shared the same space at the same time - an instance that we call co-location. Co-locations appear indicative of coordination calls, which occur just before face-to-face meetings. Their number is highly predictable based on the amount of calls between two users and the distance between their home locations - suggesting a new way to quantify the interplay between telecommunications and face-to-face interactions

Popularity versus Similarity in Growing Networks

Popularity is attractive -- this is the formula underlying preferential attachment, a popular explanation for the emergence of scaling in growing networks. If new connections are made preferentially to more popular nodes, then the resulting distribution of the number of connections that nodes have follows power laws observed in many real networks. Preferential attachment has been directly validated for some real networks, including the Internet. Preferential attachment can also be a consequence of different underlying processes based on node fitness, ranking, optimization, random walks, or duplication. Here we show that popularity is just one dimension of attractiveness. Another dimension is similarity. We develop a framework where new connections, instead of preferring popular nodes, optimize certain trade-offs between popularity and similarity. The framework admits a geometric interpretation, in which popularity preference emerges from local optimization. As opposed to preferential attachment, the optimization framework accurately describes large-scale evolution of technological (Internet), social (web of trust), and biological (E.coli metabolic) networks, predicting the probability of new links in them with a remarkable precision. The developed framework can thus be used for predicting new links in evolving networks, and provides a different perspective on preferential attachment as an emergent phenomenon

The relationship between priestly motivational styles and personal wellbeing in ministry : exploring the connection between religious orientation and purpose in life among Catholic priests serving in Italy

This study examines the association between priestly motivation (accessed via the psychological notion of religious orientation) and personal wellbeing (accessed via the psychological notion of purpose in life) among a sample of 155 Catholic priests serving in Italy. The data confirm a positive association between intrinsic religious orientation and purpose in life, but a negative association between quest religious orientation and purpose in life. These findings are discussed in light of the expectations placed on Catholic priests by the Church and by society

Bilateral Multi-Electrode Neurophysiological Recordings Coupled to Local Pharmacology in Awake Songbirds

Here we describe a protocol for bilateral multielectrode neurophysiological recordings during intracerebral pharmacological manipulations in awake songbirds. This protocol encompasses fitting adult animals with head-posts and recording chambers, and acclimating them to periods of restraint. The adaptation period is followed by bilateral penetrations of multiple electrodes to obtain acute, sensory-driven neurophysiological responses before versus during the application of pharmacological agents of interest. These local manipulations are achieved by simultaneous and restricted drug infusions carried out independently for each hemisphere. We have used this protocol to elucidate how neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine systems shape the auditory and perceptual processing of natural, learned communication signals. However, this protocol can be used to explore the neurochemical basis of sensory processing in other small vertebrates. Representative results and troubleshooting of key steps of this protocol are presented. Following the animal\u27s recovery from head-post and recording chamber implantation surgery, the length of the procedure is 2 d

Physician and Clinical Integration Among Rural Hospitals

The pressures for closer alignment between physicians and hospitals in both rural and urban areas are increasing. This study empirically specifies independent dimensions of physician and clinical integration and compares the extent to which such activities are practiced between rural and urban hospitals and among rural hospitals in different organizational and market contexts. Results suggest that both rural and urban hospitals practice physician integration, although each emphasizes different types of strategies. Second, urban hospitals engage in clinical integration with greater frequency than their rural counterparts. Finally, physician integration approaches in rural hospitals are more common among larger rural hospitals, those proximate to urban facilities, those with system affiliations, and those not under public control.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72074/1/j.1748-0361.1998.tb00637.x.pd

Effects of a refugee elective on medical student perceptions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are growing numbers of refugees throughout the world. Refugee health is a relatively unstudied and rarely taught component of medical education. In response to this need, a Refugee Health Elective was begun. Medical student perceptions toward cultural aspects of medicine and refugee health before and after participation in the elective were measured.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Preliminary questionnaires were given to all preclinical students at the academic year commencement with follow-up questionnaires at the refugee elective's conclusion. Both questionnaires examined students' comfort in interacting with patients and familiarity with refugee medical issues, alternative medical practices, and social hindrances to medical care. The preliminary answers served as a control and follow-up questionnaire data were separated into participant/non-participant categories. All preclinical medical students at two Midwestern medical schools were provided the opportunity to participate in the Refugee Health Elective and surveys. The 3 data groups were compared using unadjusted and adjusted analysis techniques with the Kruskall-Wallis, Bonferroni and ANCOVA adjustment. P-values < 0.05 were considered significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>408 and 403 students filled out the preliminary and follow-up questionnaires, respectfully, 42 of whom participated in the elective. Students considering themselves minorities or multilingual were more likely to participate. Elective participants were more likely to be able to recognize the medical/mental health issues common to refugees, to feel comfortable interacting with foreign-born patients, and to identify cultural differences in understanding medical/mental health conditions, after adjusting for minority or multilingual status.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As medical schools integrate a more multicultural curriculum, a Refugee Health Elective for preclinical students can enhance awareness and promote change in attitude toward medical/mental health issues common to refugees. This elective format offers tangible and effective avenues for these topics to be addressed.</p

Maternal hormone levels among populations at high and low risk of testicular germ cell cancer

Ethnic differences in maternal oestrogen levels have been suggested as explaining the significantly higher risk of testicular germ cell tumours (TGCT) of white men than black men in the United States. We therefore examined levels of maternal oestrogens, as well as testosterone and alphafetoprotein (AFP), in 150 black and 150 white mothers in the Collaborative Perinatal Project. Serum levels of estradiol (total, free and bioavailable), estriol, testosterone (total, free and bioavailable), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and AFP were examined during first and third trimesters. We found that the black mothers, rather than the white mothers, had significantly higher estradiol levels in first trimester (P=0.05). Black mothers also had significantly higher levels of all testosterone (P<0.001) and AFP (P<0.001) in both trimesters. In addition, the ratios of sex hormones (estradiol/testosterone) were significantly lower among black mothers. These findings provide little support to the oestrogen hypothesis, but are consistent with higher levels of testosterones and/or AFP being associated with reduced risk of TGCT; alternatively, lower oestrogen/androgen ratios may be associated with reduced risk

Strategies to overcome physician shortages in northern Ontario: A study of policy implementation over 35 years

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Shortages and maldistibution of physicians in northern Ontario, Canada, have been a long-standing issue. This study seeks to document, in a chronological manner, the introduction of programmes intended to help solve the problem by the provincial government over a 35-year period and to examine several aspects of policy implementation, using these programmes as a case study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A programme analysis approach was adopted to examine each of a broad range of programmes to determine its year of introduction, strategic category, complexity, time frame, and expected outcome. A chronology of programme initiation was constructed, on the basis of which an analysis was done to examine changes in strategies used by the provincial government from 1969 to 2004.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Many programmes were introduced during the study period, which could be grouped into nine strategic categories. The range of policy instruments used became broader in later years. But conspicuous by their absence were programmes of a directive nature. Programmes introduced in more recent years tended to be more complex and were more likely to have a longer time perspective and pay more attention to physician retention. The study also discusses the choice of policy instruments and use of multiple strategies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings suggest that an examination of a policy is incomplete if implementation has not been taken into consideration. The study has revealed a process of trial-and-error experimentation and an accumulation of past experience. The study sheds light on the intricate relationships between policy, policy implementation and use of policy instruments and programmes.</p