Multiple Love as Affect: An Element of Subversion in Neoliberal Society?

This article investigates the role of affect in non-monogamous relationships and in associated concepts of love and sexuality. Based on interview material generated in an empirical scene study, it pursues the question to what extent the models in question, which resort to poststructural concepts such as affect, network, synergy, intensity and processuality, reproduce or disrupt neoliberal mechanisms and assumptions about subject and society.This article investigates the role of affect in non-monogamous relationships and in associated concepts of love and sexuality. Based on interview material generated in an empirical scene study, it pursues the question to what extent the models in question, which resort to poststructural concepts such as affect, network, synergy, intensity and processuality, reproduce or disrupt neoliberal mechanisms and assumptions about subject and society.This article investigates the role of affect in non-monogamous relationships and in associated concepts of love and sexuality. Based on interview material generated in an empirical scene study, it pursues the question to what extent the models in question, which resort to poststructural concepts such as affect, network, synergy, intensity and processuality, reproduce or disrupt neoliberal mechanisms and assumptions about subject and society

Coping with Rapid Changes in IT: An Update

Dealing with rapid changes in technology within and outside of their company is a constant challenge for IT managers. About two decades ago, a series of studies and in particular Benamati & Lederer (2001) showed that a range of coping strategies to deal with such rapid changes exists. These coping strategies range from the use of external support by consultants or vendors, or IT education and training to keep up with the demands of new technologies, to simply enduring change and trying to weather technological trends in the belief that they may not have a substantial impact on the company\u27s business. We argue that the current trend towards digital transformation further accelerates technological change in many companies. In this study, we therefore present a conceptual replication of the original series of studies on coping mechanisms and strategies to deal with the challenges of rapid technological change. Our findings indicate that the variety of coping strategies and mechanisms employed by IT managers has become more diverse. In particular, we find that today IT managers try to prepare their companies more proactively for technological change by providing the necessary resources and by creating an appropriate organizational environment, rather than by relying on external support by consultants or vendors, or even by simply ignoring technological developments altogether

Wie informell ist die Professionalisierung von Lehrpersonen?

Die Weiterbildung bzw. Professionalisierung von Lehrpersonen in Schulen und Hochschulen findet in beträchtlichem Ausmaß jenseits formaler Bildungsmaßnahmen statt. Dieses Lernen wird generell als "informelle Weiterbildung" bezeichnet, obwohl manche Teilaspekte der damit verbundenen Lernprozesse eher dem formalen Lernen zugerechnet werden könnten. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird ein Modell präsentiert, das die Professionalisierung von Lehrpersonen als Formalisierungsmuster interpretiert. Die Basis dieses Modells bilden die der informellen Weiterbildung von Lehrpersonen zugeordneten Aktivitäten.&nbsp

The interplay of Criterion A of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders, mentalization and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background and aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a worsening of mental health levels in some, while others manage to adapt or recover relatively quickly. Transdiagnostic factors such as personality functioning are thought to be involved in determining mental health outcomes. The present study focused on two constructs of personality functioning, Criterion A of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD, DSM-5) and mentalization, as predictors of depressive symptoms and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. A second focus of the study was to examine whether this relationship was mediated by resilience. Methods: Linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between personality functioning measured by Criterion A (AMPD, DSM-5) and mentalizing abilities as predictors, and depression and life satisfaction as mental health outcomes. To assess the hypothesis that this relationship is mediated by resilience a structural equation modeling approach was conducted. Data from N = 316 individuals from the general population were collected. Results: Linear regression models revealed highly significant associations between Criterion A/mentalization and both outcome measures. Structural equation models showed a significant partial mediation by resilience of these relationships. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that mentalizing serves as a protective function by promoting resilience to the impact of stress and threats. Criterion A and mentalization performed similarly as predictors of mental health outcomes, providing empirically overlapping operationalizations of personality functioning. This finding emphasizes the importance of personality functioning in positive and negative mental health outcomes. Furthermore, our results are consistent with a mediating role of resilience

Effects of an online information tool on post-traumatic stress disorder in relatives of intensive care unit patients: a multicenter double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (ICU-Families-Study).

PURPOSE Intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization is challenging for the family members of the patients. Most family members report some level of anxiety and depression, sometimes even resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An association has been reported between lack of information and PTSD. This study had three aims: to quantify the psychological burden of family members of critically ill patients, to explore whether a website with specific information could reduce PTSD symptoms, and to ascertain whether a website with information about intensive care would be used. METHOD A multicenter double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was carried out in Austria and Switzerland. RESULTS In total, 89 members of families of critically ill patients (mean age 47.3 ± 12.9 years, female n = 59, 66.3%) were included in the study. 46 relatives were allocated to the intervention website and 43 to the control website. Baseline Impact of Event Scale (IES) score was 27.5 ± 12.7. Overall, 50% showed clinically relevant PTSD symptoms at baseline. Mean IES score for the primary endpoint (~ 30 days after inclusion, T1) was 24 ± 15.8 (intervention 23.9 ± 17.9 vs. control 24.1 ± 13.5, p = 0.892). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS - Deutsch (D)) score at T1 was 12.2 ± 6.1 (min. 3, max. 31) and did not differ between groups. Use of the website differed between the groups (intervention min. 1, max. 14 vs. min. 1, max. 3; total 1386 "clicks" on the website, intervention 1021 vs. control 365). Recruitment was prematurely stopped in February 2020 due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). CONCLUSION Family members of critically ill patients often have significant PTSD symptoms and online information on critical illness did not result in reduced PTSD symptoms

Learning outcomes physiotherapy in neurology – a structured consensus finding of the Austrian University Network Physiotherapy in Neurology (ÖHPN)

Gesundhei

The Spin Structure Function g1pg_1^{\rm p} of the Proton and a Test of the Bjorken Sum Rule

New results for the double spin asymmetry $A_1^{\rm p}$ and the proton longitudinal spin structure function $g_1^{\rm p}$ are presented. They were obtained by the COMPASS collaboration using polarised 200 GeV muons scattered off a longitudinally polarised NH$_3$ target. The data were collected in 2011 and complement those recorded in 2007 at 160\,GeV, in particular at lower values of $x$. They improve the statistical precision of $g_1^{\rm p}(x)$ by about a factor of two in the region $x\lesssim 0.02$. A next-to-leading order QCD fit to the $g_1$ world data is performed. It leads to a new determination of the quark spin contribution to the nucleon spin, $\Delta \Sigma$ ranging from 0.26 to 0.36, and to a re-evaluation of the first moment of $g_1^{\rm p}$. The uncertainty of $\Delta \Sigma$ is mostly due to the large uncertainty in the present determinations of the gluon helicity distribution. A new evaluation of the Bjorken sum rule based on the COMPASS results for the non-singlet structure function $g_1^{\rm NS}(x,Q^2)$ yields as ratio of the axial and vector coupling constants $|g_{\rm A}/g_{\rm V}| = 1.22 \pm 0.05~({\rm stat.}) \pm 0.10~({\rm syst.})$, which validates the sum rule to an accuracy of about 9\%.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures and table

The presence of HIV-1 Tat protein second exon delays fas protein-mediated apoptosis in CD4+ T lymphocytes: a potential mechanism for persistent viral production

HIV-1 replication is efficiently controlled by the regulator protein Tat (101 amino acids) and codified by two exons, although the first exon (1-72 amino acids) is sufficient for this process. Tat can be released to the extracellular medium, acting as a soluble pro-apoptotic factor in neighboring cells. However, HIV-1-infected CD4(+) T lymphocytes show a higher resistance to apoptosis. We observed that the intracellular expression of Tat delayed FasL-mediated apoptosis in both peripheral blood lymphocytes and Jurkat cells, as it is an essential pathway to control T cell homeostasis during immune activation. Jurkat-Tat cells showed impairment in the activation of caspase-8, deficient release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, and delayed activation of both caspase-9 and -3. This protection was due to a profound deregulation of proteins that stabilized the mitochondrial membrane integrity, such as heat shock proteins, prohibitin, or nucleophosmin, as well as to the up-regulation of NF-κB-dependent anti-apoptotic proteins, such as BCL2, c-FLIPS, XIAP, and C-IAP2. These effects were observed in Jurkat expressing full-length Tat (Jurkat-Tat101) but not in Jurkat expressing the first exon of Tat (Jurkat-Tat72), proving that the second exon, and particularly the NF-κB-related motif ESKKKVE, was necessary for Tat-mediated protection against FasL apoptosis. Accordingly, the protection exerted by Tat was independent of its function as a regulator of both viral transcription and elongation. Moreover, these data proved that HIV-1 could have developed strategies to delay FasL-mediated apoptosis in infected CD4(+) T lymphocytes through the expression of Tat, thus favoring the persistent replication of HIV-1 in infected T cells.This work was supported in part by Fundación para la Investigación y la Prevención del Sida en España Grant 360924/10, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Grant SAF2010-18388), Spanish Ministry of Health Grant EC11-285, AIDS Network Instituto del Salud Carlos III-Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativa Grant RD06/0006, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Grant Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias PI080752, and the Network of Excellence EUROPRISE.S