LGBTQ+ Leadership: Benefits of Breaking Boundaries in the Workplace

With the increasing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at work, it is imperative to learn about the experiences of LGBTQ+ leaders, about which there is still a dearth of research. Most of the existing literature has focused on the challenges members of the LGBTQ+ community face at work. In this study, we wanted to identify both the positive aspects of being an LGBTQ+ leader and the benefits brought to the workplace by individuals that hold both leadership positions and an LGBTQ+ identity. This study was a part of a larger project examining the experiences of LGBTQ+ leaders. We conducted 51 qualitative interviews with individuals who self-identified as belonging to the LGBTQ+ community as well as holding leadership positions. The goal of the interviews was to gain a sense of participants’ overall experience at work, focusing on the interaction of their identity and their leadership roles as well as emphasizing the advantages they experience. The interviews were qualitatively analyzed and coded into themes. Using thematic analysis, we were able to identify patterns that emerged addressing the advantages of holding a leadership position as an LGBTQ+ individual. Though there were several common barriers identified, many of the participants had overwhelmingly positive experiences at work; these positive experiences were the focus of our analysis. Most interestingly, many of the positive themes identified focused on building and supporting an environment that is inclusive of all people, not only members of the LGBTQ+ community. Some of these themes were the ability to promote change, greater emotional intelligence and empathy, strengthened interpersonal and advocacy skills, and the opportunity to be a role model and provide and receive social support. Most of the interviewees stated their identity as an LGBTQ+ individual makes them more accepting of others and better able to support and advocate for all people from underrepresented groups. Many workplace DEI initiatives focus on improving representation and providing leadership opportunities, so understanding the benefits that LGBTQ+ leaders inherently bring to the role might help in furthering that cause. Additionally, LGBTQ+ leaders’ ability to foster connectedness in the workplace owing to their strengthened skills of social support, advocacy, and forming interpersonal relationships underscores the importance of promoting LGBTQ+ leadership

I-O Graduate Program Rankings: Update

In the summer 2016 issue of TIP (Salter et al., 2016), we put out a Call for Proposals for updated I-O graduate program rankings. In this call, we were looking for new and unique methodologies for ranking I-O graduate programs that reflect the diversity of values and strengths across our field. We are pleased to announce we have conditionally accepted five proposals. Each of these teams will now conduct their project (which we hope all SIOP members will help with once data collection begins); we anticipate the final rankings will be published in the summer 2018 issue of TIP. Please note that the goal of this project is to make our methodologies public before data collection to reduce the likelihood of researcher degrees of freedom influencing the results. Although frequently unintentional, it is all too common for analytic decisions to be driven in part by the results that follow. Our goal is to achieve transparency in the way rankings were conducted and to present multiple methodologies, to aid students and educators in their decision making

Call for Proposals for I-O Graduate Program Rankings

Are you part of an I-O graduate program that is truly excellent, but the typical ranking systems do not necessarily show that? Would you like to help I-O psychologists (current as well as those who will be entering our field in the future) develop a better understanding of the different strengths of various graduate programs? We are issuing a Call for Proposals for rankings of I-O graduate programs. This is an excellent opportunity for graduate programs to highlight the ways in which they excel, and for individual SIOP members to help contribute to our field. In this Call for Proposals, we are seeking proposals for new and unique methodologies for ranking I-O PhD and MA/MS programs that reflect the diversity of values and strengths across the field of I-O. Multiple ranking methodology submissions will be accepted for publication, resulting in multiple rankings featured in an upcoming issue of TIP. We have developed this call in consultation with the TIP editor, in response to a need for more comprehensive and updated information about graduate programs

The Results Are In! Updated Alternative I-O Graduate Program Rankings

In the summer of 2016, we issued a Call for Proposals to submit unique and innovative methodologies to rank I-O graduate programs. In response to this, many projects were proposed to us. After much hard work (and the broader SIOP community’s help), the five selected projects have been completed. Each of these five papers are included in the current issue of TIP. We believe each of these papers will be an important contribution to our field and will guide individuals in the future – as well as generate much thought and discussion about the state of our field and the programs that educate the future of IO Psychology. In particular, we hope that these rankings will result in graduate programs examining them-selves and thinking about ways they excel, as well as areas they could improve. Additionally, we hope that future undergraduate students applying to I-O programs will use these rankings, not to determine what the “best” programs are, but which programs are the best fit for them

A systematic review of the physical activity assessment tools used in primary care

Background: Primary care is an ideal setting for physical activity interventions to prevent and manage common long-term conditions. To identify those who can benefit from such interventions and to deliver tailored support, primary care professionals (e.g. general practitioners, practice nurses, physiotherapists, healthcare assistants) need reliable and valid tools to assess physical activity. However, there is uncertainty about the best performing tool. Objective: To identify the tools used in the literature to assess the physical activity in primary care and describe their psychometric properties. Method: A systematic review of published and unpublished literature was undertaken up to 1st December 2016). Papers detailing physical activity measures, tools or approaches used in primary care consultations were included. A synthesis of the frequency and context of their use, and their psychometric properties, was undertaken. Studies were appraised using the Downs and Black critical appraisal tool and the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) initiative checklist. Results: Fourteen papers reported 10 physical activity assessment tools. The General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ) was most frequently reported. None of the assessment tools identified showed high reliability and validity. Intra-rater reliability ranged from Kappa: 0.53 (Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool (BPAAT)) to 0.67 (GPPAQ). Criterion validity ranged from Pearson’s Rho: 0.26 (GPPAQ) to 0.52 (Physical Activity Vital Sign). Concurrent validity ranged from Kappa: 0.24 (GPPAQ) to 0.64 (BPAAT). Conclusion: The evidence base about physical activity assessment in primary care is insufficient to inform current practice

Managerial Work in a Practice-Embodying Institution - The role of calling, the virtue of constancy

What can be learned from a small scale study of managerial work in a highly marginal and under-researched working community? This paper uses the ‘goods-virtues-practices-institutions’ framework to examine the managerial work of owner-directors of traditional circuses. Inspired by MacIntyre’s arguments for the necessity of a narrative understanding of the virtues, interviews explored how British and Irish circus directors accounted for their working lives. A purposive sample was used to select subjects who had owned and managed traditional touring circuses for at least 15 years, a period in which the economic and reputational fortunes of traditional circuses have suffered badly. This sample enabled the research to examine the self-understanding of people who had, at least on the face of it, exhibited the virtue of constancy. The research contributes to our understanding of the role of the virtues in organizations by presenting evidence of an intimate relationship between the virtue of constancy and a ‘calling’ work orientation. This enhances our understanding of the virtues that are required if management is exercised as a domain-related practice

A Longitudinal Study of Streptococcus pneumoniae Carriage in a Cohort of Infants and Their Mothers on the Thailand-Myanmar Border

Background Pneumococcal disease is a major cause of childhood death. Almost a third of the world's children live in Southeast Asia, but there are few data from the region on pneumococcal colonization or disease. Our aim was to document the dynamics of pneumococcal carriage in a rural SE Asian birth cohort. Methods We studied 234 Karen mother-infant pairs in Northwestern Thailand. Infants were followed from birth and nasopharyngeal swabs were taken from mother and infant at monthly intervals until 24 months old. Results 8,386 swabs were cultured and 4,396 pneumococci characterized. Infants became colonized early (median 45.5 days; 95% confidence interval [CI] 44.5-46.0) and by 24 months had a median of seven (range 0–15) carriage episodes. Maternal smoking and young children in the house were associated with earlier colonization (hazard ratio [HR] 1.5 (95% CI 1.1–2.1) and 1.4 (95% CI 1.0–1.9)). For the four commonest serotypes and non-typeable pneumococci, previous exposure to homologous or heterologous serotypes resulted in an extended interval to reacquisition of the same serotype. Previous colonization by serotypes 14 and 19F was also associated with reduced carriage duration if subsequently reacquired (HR [first reacquisition] 4.1 (95% CI 1.4–12.6) and 2.6 (1.5–4.7)). Mothers acquired pneumococci less frequently, and carried them for shorter periods, than infants (acquisition rate 0.5 vs. 1.1 /100 person-days, p<0.001; median duration 31.0 vs. 60.5 days, p = 0.001). 55.8% of pneumococci from infants were vaccine serotypes (13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PCV13), compared with 27.5% from mothers (p<0.001). Non-typeable pneumococcal carriage was common, being carried at least once by 55.1% of infants and 32.0% of mothers. Conclusions Pneumococcal carriage frequency and duration are influenced by previous exposure to both homologous and heterologous serotypes. These data will inform vaccination strategies in this population

Comprehensive identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with beta-lactam resistance within pneumococcal mosaic genes.

Traditional genetic association studies are very difficult in bacteria, as the generally limited recombination leads to large linked haplotype blocks, confounding the identification of causative variants. Beta-lactam antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae arises readily as the bacteria can quickly incorporate DNA fragments encompassing variants that make the transformed strains resistant. However, the causative mutations themselves are embedded within larger recombined blocks, and previous studies have only analysed a limited number of isolates, leading to the description of "mosaic genes" as being responsible for resistance. By comparing a large number of genomes of beta-lactam susceptible and non-susceptible strains, the high frequency of recombination should break up these haplotype blocks and allow the use of genetic association approaches to identify individual causative variants. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and indels that could confer beta-lactam non-susceptibility using 3,085 Thai and 616 USA pneumococcal isolates as independent datasets for the variant discovery. The large sample sizes allowed us to narrow the source of beta-lactam non-susceptibility from long recombinant fragments down to much smaller loci comprised of discrete or linked SNPs. While some loci appear to be universal resistance determinants, contributing equally to non-susceptibility for at least two classes of beta-lactam antibiotics, some play a larger role in resistance to particular antibiotics. All of the identified loci have a highly non-uniform distribution in the populations. They are enriched not only in vaccine-targeted, but also non-vaccine-targeted lineages, which may raise clinical concerns. Identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms underlying resistance will be essential for future use of genome sequencing to predict antibiotic sensitivity in clinical microbiology

Identification and characterisation of a rare MTTP variant underlying hereditary non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Background and aimsNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex trait with an estimated prevalence of 25% globally. We aimed to identify the genetic variant underlying a four-generation family with progressive NAFLD leading to cirrhosis, decompensation and development of hepatocellular carcinoma in the absence of common risk factors such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.MethodsExome sequencing and genome comparisons were used to identify the likely causal variant. We extensively characterised the clinical phenotype and post-prandial metabolic responses of family members with the identified novel variant in comparison to healthy non-carriers and wild-type patients with NAFLD. Variant-expressing hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) were derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells generated from homozygous donor skin fibroblasts and restored to wild-type using CRISPR-Cas9. The phenotype was assessed using imaging, targeted RNA analysis and molecular expression arrays.ResultsWe identified a rare causal variant c.1691T>C p.I564T (rs745447480) in MTTP, encoding microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP), associated with progressive NAFLD, unrelated to metabolic syndrome and without characteristic features of abetalipoproteinemia. HLCs derived from a homozygote donor had significantly lower MTP activity and lower lipoprotein ApoB secretion compared to wild-type cells, while having similar levels of MTP mRNA and protein. Cytoplasmic triglyceride accumulation in HLCs triggered endoplasmic reticulum stress, secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators and production of reactive oxygen species.ConclusionWe have identified and characterized a rare causal variant in MTTP and homozygosity for MTTP p.I564T is associated with progressive NAFLD without any other manifestations of abetalipoproteinemia. Our findings provide insights into mechanisms driving progressive NAFLD

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead