Cliophysics: Socio-political Reliability Theory, Polity Duration and African Political (In)stabilities

Quantification of historical sociological processes have recently gained attention among theoreticians in the effort of providing a solid theoretical understanding of the behaviors and regularities present in sociopolitical dynamics. Here we present a reliability theory of polity processes with emphases on individual political dynamics of African countries. We found that the structural properties of polity failure rates successfully capture the risk of political vulnerability and instabilities in which 87.50%, 75%, 71.43%, and 0% of the countries with monotonically increasing, unimodal, U-shaped and monotonically decreasing polity failure rates, respectively, have high level of state fragility indices. The quasi-U-shape relationship between average polity duration and regime types corroborates historical precedents and explains the stability of the autocracies and democracies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Expert Status and Performance

Expert judgements are essential when time and resources are stretched or we face novel dilemmas requiring fast solutions. Good advice can save lives and large sums of money. Typically, experts are defined by their qualifications, track record and experience [1], [2]. The social expectation hypothesis argues that more highly regarded and more experienced experts will give better advice. We asked experts to predict how they will perform, and how their peers will perform, on sets of questions. The results indicate that the way experts regard each other is consistent, but unfortunately, ranks are a poor guide to actual performance. Expert advice will be more accurate if technical decisions routinely use broadly-defined expert groups, structured question protocols and feedback

Real patient learning integrated in a preclinical block musculoskeletal disorders. Does it make a difference?

Although musculoskeletal disorders are the most common reason for general practitioner visits, training did not keep pace. Implementation of learning from patients with rheumatologic disorders linked together with the teaching of theoretical knowledge in the preclinical medical education might be an important step forward in the improvement of quality of care for these patients. The Leiden Medical School curriculum has implemented two non-obligatory real patient learning (RPL) practicals integrated within the preclinical block musculoskeletal disorders. This study investigates the educational effectiveness of the practicals, the expectations students have of RPL, and students’ satisfaction. Participants’ grades on the end-of-block test served as the test results of the educational effectiveness of the practicals and were compared with those of the non-participants. Qualitative data was collected by means of questionnaires generated by focus groups. The participants in practicals scored significantly higher at the end-of-block test. The expected effects of the contact with real patients concerned positive effects on cognition and skills. ‘Contextualizing of the theory’, ‘better memorizing of clinical pictures’, and ‘understanding of the impact of the disease’ were the most frequently mentioned effects of the practicals. Overall, the participants were (very) enthusiastic about this educational format. The RPL practicals integrated within a preclinical block musculoskeletal disorders are a valuable addition to the Leiden medical curriculum. This relatively limited intervention exhibits a strong effect on students’ performance in tests. Future research should be directed towards the long-term effects of this intervention

Convergent functional genomic studies of omega-3 fatty acids in stress reactivity, bipolar disorder and alcoholism

Omega-3 fatty acids have been proposed as an adjuvant treatment option in psychiatric disorders. Given their other health benefits and their relative lack of toxicity, teratogenicity and side effects, they may be particularly useful in children and in females of child-bearing age, especially during pregnancy and postpartum. A comprehensive mechanistic understanding of their effects is needed. Here we report translational studies demonstrating the phenotypic normalization and gene expression effects of dietary omega-3 fatty acids, specifically docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in a stress-reactive knockout mouse model of bipolar disorder and co-morbid alcoholism, using a bioinformatic convergent functional genomics approach integrating animal model and human data to prioritize disease-relevant genes. Additionally, to validate at a behavioral level the novel observed effects on decreasing alcohol consumption, we also tested the effects of DHA in an independent animal model, alcohol-preferring (P) rats, a well-established animal model of alcoholism. Our studies uncover sex differences, brain region-specific effects and blood biomarkers that may underpin the effects of DHA. Of note, DHA modulates some of the same genes targeted by current psychotropic medications, as well as increases myelin-related gene expression. Myelin-related gene expression decrease is a common, if nonspecific, denominator of neuropsychiatric disorders. In conclusion, our work supports the potential utility of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically DHA, for a spectrum of psychiatric disorders such as stress disorders, bipolar disorder, alcoholism and beyond

The Future of Work, Digital Labor, and Business Legitimacy

The increasing trend of Internet technology platforms and its offerings of digital labor have revolutionized the world of work. Companies that compete in this so-called gig economy are breaking away from traditional work arrangements and using a business model that challenges current employment and labor laws. While gig economy employers boast the benefit of work flexibility, their workers face compromised fairness in regard to compensation, working conditions, and career development. This chapter discusses how the gig economy redefines the future of work, by focusing on the current state of gig workers, and then explores opportunities for ways in which the gig economy can mutually benefit the employers and its workers

The Quakers and the Joint Stock Company:Uneasy Bedfellows

The twenty-first century has witnessed a number of corporate scandals and private-sector take-overs that have called into question the shareholder-focused economy. By way of contrast, this chapter focuses on the Quakers as a (largely forgotten) exemplar of good organisation and good governance that has traditionally distinguished itself from the shareholder model. Since their origins in the mid-seventeenth century, the Quakers were known for their honest and honorable business practices, their enlightened approach to employee welfare, their concern for wider society, and their willingness to innovate. Today, most of these ‘Quaker’ businesses are no longer either owned or controlled by Quakers, and have almost invariably adopted the conventional shareholder model of corporate governance. In this chapter, we identify innovations in corporate law in the mid-nineteenth century and especially the introduction of limited liability as important, though largely overlooked, reasons for their demise. These changes provided the legal basis for the Quaker family firms to incorporate, which many of them did in the late nineteenth century. We argue that this change inexorably decanted the unique Quaker ethos out of these companies during the twentieth century as the Quakers slowly lost both ownership and control of their businesses. We then inquire into how the Quaker story might help us reimagine the theory and practice of corporate governance and management

Children's views and strategies for making friends in linguistically diverse English medium instruction settings

Despite one in four children in Australia entering preschool using English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2017), Australian classrooms are predominantly monolingual English-speaking. This mismatch in languages may affect how participation and relationships are established. This chapter explores children’s strategies for making friends in settings characterised by linguistic diversity but where the medium of instruction is English. Child friendly interviews (video recorded) with 72 preschool-aged children, 3-4 years, were conducted in at a preschool in inner-city centre. Children were asked to talk and draw a picture about making friends when there are language differences. Children’s responses not only revealed their competencies in using non-verbal strategies to communicate with each other but also reflected inclusive attitudes. The importance of using a variety of languages as media of instruction, such as including songs and words representative of the minority languages of the classroom, and having conversations about language difference are highlighted