The making of a classic ethnography: notes on Alice Goffman's On the Run

[book review

Three boundary conditions for computing the fixed-point property in binary mixture data

The notion of “mixtures” has become pervasive in behavioral and cognitive sciences, due to the success of dual-process theories of cognition. However, providing support for such dual-process theories is not trivial, as it crucially requires properties in the data that are specific to mixture of cognitive processes. In theory, one such property could be the fixed-point property of binary mixture data, applied–for instance- to response times. In that case, the fixed-point property entails that response time distributions obtained in an experiment in which the mixture proportion is manipulated would have a common density point. In the current article, we discuss the application of the fixed-point property and identify three boundary conditions under which the fixed-point property will not be interpretable. In Boundary condition 1, a finding in support of the fixed-point will be mute because of a lack of difference between conditions. Boundary condition 2 refers to the case in which the extreme conditions are so different that a mixture may display bimodality. In this case, a mixture hypothesis is clearly supported, yet the fixed-point may not be found. In Boundary condition 3 the fixed-point may also not be present, yet a mixture might still exist but is occluded due to additional changes in behavior. Finding the fixed-property provides strong support for a dual-process account, yet the boundary conditions that we identify should be considered before making inferences about underlying psychological processes

Bodyspace at the pub: sexual orientations and organizational space

In this article we argue that sexuality is not only an undercurrent of service environments, but is integral to the way that these workspaces are experienced and negotiated. Through drawing on Sara Ahmed’s (2006a) ‘orientation’ thesis, we develop a concept of ‘bodyspace’ to suggest that individuals understand, shape and make meaning of work spaces through complex sexually-orientated negotiations. Presenting analysis from a study of UK pubs, we explore bodyspace in the lived experience of workplace sexuality through three elements of orientation: background; bodily dwelling; and lines of directionality. Our findings show how organizational spaces afford or mitigate possibilities for particular bodies, which simultaneously shape expectations and experiences of sexuality at work. Bodyspace therefore provides one way of exposing the connection between sexual ‘orientation’ and the lived experience of service sector work

The undervalued potential of positional therapy in position-dependent snoring and obstructive sleep apnea—a review of the literature

PURPOSE: Research during the past 10–20 years shows that positional therapy (PT) has a significant influence on the apnea–hypopnea index. These studies are predominantly performed as case series on a comparably small number of patients. Still, results have not found their way into the daily diagnostic and treatment routine. An average of 56 % of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have position-dependent OSA (POSA), commonly defined as a difference of 50 % or more in apnea index between supine and non-supine positions. A great deal could be gained in treating patients with POSA with PT. The aim of this paper was to perform a thorough review of the literature on positional sleep apnea and its therapy. METHODS: A broad search strategy was run electronically in the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases using synonyms for position and sleep apnea. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were found which examined the effect of PT on OSA. In this literature review, we discuss the various techniques, results, and compliance rates. CONCLUSION: Long-term compliance for PT remains an issue, and although remarkable results have been shown using innovative treatment concepts for PT, there is room for both technical improvement of the devices and for further research

Конференции

Background Polypharmacy poses threats to patients’ health. The Systematic Tool to Reduce Inappropriate Prescribing (STRIP) is a drug optimization process for conducting medication reviews in primary care. To effectively and efficiently incorporate this method into daily practice, the STRIP Assistant—a decision support system that aims to assist physicians with the pharmacotherapeutic analysis of patients’ medical records—has been developed. It generates context-specific advice based on clinical guidelines. Objective The aim of this study was to validate the STRIP Assistant’s usability as a tool for physicians to optimize medical records for polypharmacy patients. Methods In an online experiment, 42 physicians were asked to optimize medical records for two comparable polypharmacy patients, one in their usual manner and one using the STRIP Assistant. Changes in effectiveness were measured by comparing respondents’ optimized medicine prescriptions with medication prepared by an expert panel of two geriatrician-pharmacologists. Efficiency was operationalized by recording the time the respondents took to optimize the two cases. User satisfaction was measured with the System Usability Scale (SUS). Independent and paired t tests were used for analysis. Results Medication optimization significantly improved with the STRIP Assistant. Appropriate decisions increased from 58 % without the STRIP Assistant to 76 % with it (p < 0.0001). Inappropriate decisions decreased from 42 % without the STRIP Assistant to 24 % with it (p < 0.0001). Participants spent significantly more time optimizing medication with the STRIP Assistant (24 min) than without it (13 min; p < 0.0001). They assigned it a below-average SUS score of 63.25. Conclusion The STRIP Assistant improves the effectiveness of medication reviews for polypharmacy patients

Inaugurating a Dutch Napoleon? Conservative criticism of the 1815 constitution of the United Kingdom of The Netherlands

International audienc

Modelling job crafting behaviours: Implications for work engagement

In this study among 206 employees (103 dyads), we followed the job demands–resources approach of job crafting to investigate whether proactively changing one’s work environment influences employee’s (actor’s) own and colleague s (partner’s) work engagement. Using social cognitive theory, we hypothesized that employees would imitate each other’s job crafting behaviours, and therefore influence each other’s work engagement. Results showed that the crafting of social and structural job resources, and the crafting of challenge job demands was positively related to own work engagement, whereas decreasing hindrance job demands was unrelated to own engagement. As predicted, results showed a reciprocal relationship between dyad members’ job crafting behaviours – each of the actor’s job crafting behaviours was positively related to the partner’s job crafting behaviours. Finally, employee’s job crafting was related to colleague’s work engagement through colleague’s job crafting, suggesting a modelling process

Estimation of the basic reproduction number for Streptococcus equi spp. equi outbreaks by meta-analysis of strangles outbreak reports

Background Streptococcus equi spp. equi (S. equi), the cause of strangles in horses, is considered a highly contagious pathogen affecting equines and the equine industry worldwide. Fundamental epidemiological characteristics of outbreaks, such as the basic reproduction number (R-0), are not well described. Objectives Estimate R-0 for S. equi in equine populations from outbreak data. Study design Systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished data. Methods A literature search for outbreak reports was carried out. Depending on data available in the reports, the early epidemic growth rate or final attack rate (AR) approach was used to estimate the basic reproduction number for that outbreak. Other recorded outbreak characteristics were the type of housing (group vs. individual). An overall estimate for R-0 was computed by meta-analysis. Results Data from eight outbreaks were extracted from peer-reviewed publications. Data from two additional, non-published outbreaks was also included in the meta-analysis. A conservative estimate for R-0 was 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9-2.5). A less conservative estimate, including outbreaks with a 100% AR for which a lower limit R-0 was estimated, was 2.7 (95% CI 2.1-3.3). Main limitations Few papers describing longitudinal incidence data were found so most estimates were based on the outbreaks' final size. Several outbreaks had a 100% attack rate and could therefore only be included as a lower limit estimate in the meta-analysis. The reported result therefore may be an underestimation. Conclusions This estimate for R-0 for S. equi informs parameters for future mathematical modelling, quantifies desired preventive vaccine coverage and helps evaluate the effect of prevention strategies through future modelling studies