What's age got to do with it? On the critical analysis of age and organisations

Age, as an embodied identity and as an organizing principle, has received scant attention in organization studies. There is a lack of critical appreciation of how age plays out in organizational settings, the material and discursive dynamics of age practices, how age discourses impact on the body, and how age and ageing intersect with other identity categories. This is curious since age works as a master signifier in contemporary society and is something that affects us all. In this introductory essay, we show how the papers in this special issue redress this lacuna by enhancing and challenging what we know about age and organizations. We also set out an agenda for stimulating research conversations to bring an age-sensitive lens to organizational analysis. We structure our analysis around two focal points: age as an embodied identity, and the symbolic meanings of age within organizing practices. In doing so, we aim to provide a catalyst not only for research on age in organizations but also about the aged nature of organizing

A Framework for Analyzing and Measuring Usage and Engagement Data (AMUsED) in Digital Interventions:Viewpoint

Trials of digital interventions can yield extensive, in-depth usage data, yet usage analyses tend to focus on broad descriptive summaries of how an intervention has been used by the whole sample. This paper proposes a novel framework to guide systematic, fine-grained usage analyses that better enables understanding of how an intervention works, when, and for whom. The framework comprises three stages to assist in the following: (1) familiarization with the intervention and its relationship to the captured data, (2) identification of meaningful measures of usage and specifying research questions to guide systematic analyses of usage data, and (3) preparation of datasheets and consideration of available analytical methods with which to examine the data. The framework can be applied to inform data capture during the development of a digital intervention and/or in the analysis of data after the completion of an evaluation trial. We will demonstrate how the framework shaped preparation and aided efficient data capture for a digital intervention to lower transmission of cold and flu viruses in the home, as well as how it informed a systematic, in-depth analysis of usage data collected from a separate digital intervention designed to promote self-management of colds and flu. The Analyzing and Measuring Usage and Engagement Data (AMUsED) framework guides systematic and efficient in-depth usage analyses that will support standardized reporting with transparent and replicable findings. These detailed findings may also enable examination of what constitutes effective engagement with particular interventions

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Expectant mothers and absent fathers: paid maternity leave in Australia.

In this paper we explore how reluctance to introduce a national paid maternity leave scheme in Australia reflects gendered norms and constructions of parenthood and work. We report on findings of a study of selected media texts that show how the public discourse that surrounded proposals to introduce such a scheme exhibited deep-seated resistance to women combining motherhood with continued attachment to the paid workforce. Drawing on Kress and van Leeuwen’s (1998) multi-modal approach to discourse analysis we show how gender and maternity are constructed using cultural and historical discursive resources that reinforce a conservative national identity. By focusing on what is both absent and present in the media texts we show how ‘actual fathers’ are rendered invisible and the space filled in by the government as ‘symbolic fathers’ impregnating a production line of maternal citizens

Ideas that work: mobilizing Australian workers using a discourse of rights.

In this paper we focus on a potential mechanism for revitalizing unions’ influence as broader political actors: their use of familiar and appealing discourses to frame political campaigns. Through a discursive analysis of campaign texts, we show how the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) successfully promoted a counter discourse, which operated as a collective action frame to mobilize alternative meanings, identities and possibilities for agency that preceded the eventual repeal of radical employment relations legislation. In doing so, we demonstrate the role and potential of discourse in revitalization strategies available to the union movement. We conclude by arguing that the ability of unions to challenge and shape discourses to their advantage can be a powerful force in the regulation of labour markets and in the shaping of employment relations

The rare oak polypore Piptoporus quercinus: Population structure, spore germination and growth

Piptoporus quercinus, the rare oak polypore, is one of only four non-lichenised fungi listed on Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, in the UK. It is thereby accorded the highest level of legal protection in the UK. It fruits exclusively on oak (Quercus spp.), primarily veteran trees in old growth wood pasture and parkland in the midlands and southern England. Beyond information on fruit body occurrence, little is known of the ecology of this species. Germination of chlamydospores and basidiospores was investigated under a range of conditions (temperature, pH, different media). The mating system was ascertained by pairing single spore derived isolates, and somatic compatibility investigated by pairing fruit body isolates. Germination of basidiospores was consistently below 1 % with most success occurring on 2 % malt extract agar adjusted to pH 4 at 20 °C. Chlamydospores had a much higher average percentage of germination (47 % ± 22), and germinated even after prolonged exposure to extreme conditions (desiccation or exposure to −20 °C or 40 °C for 48 h, 7 d or 14 d). The mating system was unifactorial (bipolar), although only four mating alleles were discovered in the six populations sampled, two alleles being unique to one fruit body. There were no signs of somatic incompatibility between the majority of isolates, exceptions being an isolate from Wentwood, South Wales, and an isolate from Germany collected in 1975, both of which displayed apparent signs of somatic incompatibility in all experimental pairings. The lack of somatic incompatibility between the majority of UK isolates, together with the low number of mating alleles, may point to inbreeding within the UK population. Apparently compatible isolates were not, however, clonal, as shown by variation in their mycelial extension rates on agar at various temperatures

Process evaluations of a web-based intervention to increase handwashing during a pandemic: Moving Germ Defence from a randomised controlled trial to public dissemination

Background: Washing hands helps prevent transmission of seasonal and pandemic respiratory viruses. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT) during the swine flu outbreak, participants with access to a fully automated, digital intervention promoting handwashing reported washing their hands more often and experienced fewer respiratory tract infections than those without access to the intervention. Based on these findings, the intervention was adapted, renamed as "Germ Defence," and a study was designed to assess the preliminary dissemination of the intervention to the general public to help prevent the spread of seasonal colds and flu. Objective: This study compares the process evaluations of the RCT and Germ Defence dissemination to examine (1) how web-based research enrollment procedures affected those who used the intervention, (2) intervention usage in the 2 contexts, and (3) whether increased intentions to wash hands are replicated once disseminated. Methods: The RCT ran between 2010 and 2012 recruiting participants offline from general practices, with restricted access to the intervention (N=9155). Germ Defence was disseminated as an open access website for use by the general public from 2016 to 2019 (N=624). The process evaluation plan was developed using Medical Research Council guidance and the framework for Analyzing and Measuring Usage and Engagement Data. Both interventions contained a goal-setting section where users self-reported current and intended handwashing behavior across 7 situations. Results: During web-based enrolment, 54.3% (17,511/32,250) of the RCT participants dropped out of the study compared to 36.5% (358/982) of Germ Defence users. Having reached the start of the intervention, 93.8% (8586/9155) of RCT users completed the core section, whereas 65.1% (406/624) of Germ Defence users reached the same point. Users across both studies selected to increase their handwashing in 5 out of 7 situations, including before eating snacks (RCT mean difference 1.040, 95% CI 1.016-1.063; Germ Defence mean difference 0.949, 95% CI 0.766-1.132) and after blowing their nose, sneezing, or coughing (RCT mean difference 0.995, 95% CI 0.972-1.019; Germ Defence mean difference 0.842, 95% CI 0.675-1.008). Conclusions: By comparing the preliminary dissemination of Germ Defence to the RCT, we were able to examine the potential effects of the research procedures on uptake and attrition such as the sizeable dropout during the RCT enrolment procedure that may have led to a more motivated sample. The Germ Defence study highlighted the points of attrition within the intervention. Despite sample bias in the trial context, the intervention replicated increases in intentions to handwash when used "in the wild." This preliminary dissemination study informed the adaptation of the intervention for the COVID-19 health emergency, and it has now been disseminated globally.</p