‘Living at the border of poverty’: How theater actors maintain their calling through narrative identity work

People who have a sense of calling to their work are more inspired, motivated and engaged with what they do. But how is calling constructed and maintained within organizations? More importantly, how do people maintain a sense of calling to their work when this is a source of ongoing material and existential hardships? This paper seeks to address these questions by looking at the artistic setting of theater where actors maintain their calling despite their precarious work situation. The study employs a narrative approach to illustrate how three dominant narratives-religious, political and therapeutic-are central in constructing theater work as deeply meaningful. Specifically, each narrative explains how theater actors maintain their calling through different processes of identity work enacted through sacrifice (religious), responsibility (political) and self-care (therapeutic), with corresponding role identities as martyrs (religious), citizens (political) and self-coaches (therapeutic). We contribute to the literature on callings by: (a) showing how different processes of identity work are central to maintaining callings in precarious work situations, (b) exploring the role played by the 'other' as an interlocutor in accounting for and maintaining callings, and (c) advancing a theoretical explanation of callings that illustrates how callings contingently emerge as acts of elevation, resistance or resilience within contemporary society

Self-discipline and identity work in theatre: a study of an Italian theatre production

This thesis is the product of a four-year PhD research project grounded in Organisation and Management Theory (OMT). The project examines the relationship between self-discipline and identity work in the precarious and economically challenging setting of theatre through the analytical lens of narrative. The arguments are theoretically informed by a Foucauldian reading of discipline and identity, and they build on the existing critical and interpretivist accounts that discuss these two constructs. Empirically, the inquiry draws on evidence collected in a theatre production. Specifically, the investigation shadowed a newly established theatre company as its members rehearsed to stage their first play. The aim of the empirical work was to examine how the actors, both those in the theatre and more generally, under precarious conditions, dealt with the tensions inherent in their work; tensions which stimulated their identity work. Information in the fieldwork was accessed through interviews and observations and analysed through a relatively open grounded approach followed by narrative analysis. The findings indicate the presence of several contradictions in theatre, many of which can be understood as tributaries of the dominant overarching tension between the craft (theatre-as-a-craft) and the job (theatre-as-a-job). This is also a fundamental identity tension that stimulates an active work upon one’s sense of self and identity. The findings also expose three central narratives – religious, therapeutic and political – through which the actors deal with this meaningful existential tension permeating their work and lives. Through these narratives the actors attempt to manage the ‘craft-job’ tension, while disciplining their selves through sacrifice, self-care and responsibility. This inquiry extends our current understanding of the relationship between self-discipline and identity work by i) interrogating what stimulates identity work in the artistic setting of theatre, and what is the nature of this identity tension; ii) describing how the actors do identity work through different organisational and personal narratives; iii) discussing why and with what implications they do identity work for their selves and the organisation. In doing so, the study offers an opportunity to understand different disciplinary movements of the self at work and how these are coupled with different and overlapping identity narratives. The study theoretically contributes to our understanding of identity work as a form of self-discipline, or in Foucauldian terms as a ‘technology of the self’. This self-discipline is teleological and it is associated with a movement of identity work that is permanent in the sense it is ongoing and never-ending. Empirically, the three narratives of theatre and the actor expose different forms of self-disciplinary identity work, which shed light on the relationship between constraining and enabling forms of discipline. Practically, this inquiry exposes the cultural foundations of religious, therapeutic and political narratives of work and self, showing the implications these have in precarious, ambiguous, yet highly meaningful settings. The focus on the actors’ narratives reveals what it means to construct one’s self and one’s work in terms of sacrifice, self-care and responsibility, as well as the struggles individuals do in being, at one time, martyrs, patients and citizens

Behavioral Phenotyping of Dopamine Transporter Knockout Rats: Compulsive Traits, Motor Stereotypies, and Anhedonia

Alterations in dopamine neurotransmission are generally associated with diseases such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Such diseases typically feature poor decision making and lack of control on executive functions and have been studied through the years using many animal models. Dopamine transporter (DAT) knockout (KO) and heterozygous (HET) mice, in particular, have been widely used to study ADHD. Recently, a strain of DAT KO rats has been developed (1). Here, we provide a phenotypic characterization of reward sensitivity and compulsive choice by adult rats born from DAT-HET dams bred with DAT-HET males, in order to further validate DAT KO rats as an animal model for preclinical research. We first tested DAT KO rats' sensitivity to rewarding stimuli, provided by highly appetitive food or sweet water; then, we tested their choice behavior with an Intolerance-to-Delay Task (IDT). During these tests, DAT KO rats appeared less sensitive to rewarding stimuli than wild-type (WT) and HET rats: they also showed a prominent hyperactive behavior with a rigid choice pattern and a wide number of compulsive stereotypies. Moreover, during the IDT, we tested the effects of amphetamine (AMPH) and RO-5203648, a trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) partial agonist. AMPH accentuated impulsive behaviors in WT and HET rats, while it had no effect in DAT KO rats. Finally, we measured the levels of tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine receptor 2 (D2), serotonin transporter, and TAAR1 mRNA transcripts in samples of ventral striatum, finding no significant differences between WT and KO genotypes. Throughout this study, DAT KO rats showed alterations in decision-making processes and in motivational states, as well as prominent motor and oral stereotypies: more studies are warranted to fully characterize and efficiently use them in preclinical research

Full-length soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor down-modulates nephrin expression in podocytes

Increased plasma level of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) was associated recently with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). In addition, different clinical studies observed increased concentration of suPAR in various glomerular diseases and in other human pathologies with nephrotic syndromes such as HIV and Hantavirus infection, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. Here, we show that suPAR induces nephrin down-modulation in human podocytes. This phenomenon is mediated only by full-length suPAR, is time-and dose-dependent and is associated with the suppression of Wilms' tumor 1 (WT-1) transcription factor expression. Moreover, an antagonist of alpha v beta 3 integrin RGDfv blocked suPAR-induced suppression of nephrin. These in vitro data were confirmed in an in vivo uPAR knock out Plaur(-/-) mice model by demonstrating that the infusion of suPAR inhibits expression of nephrin and WT-1 in podocytes and induces proteinuria. This study unveiled that interaction of full-length suPAR with alpha v beta 3 integrin expressed on podocytes results in down-modulation of nephrin that may affect kidney functionality in different human pathologies characterized by increased concentration of suPAR

Full-length soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor down-modulates nephrin expression in podocytes

Increased plasma level of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) was associated recently with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). In addition, different clinical studies observed increased concentration of suPAR in various glomerular diseases and in other human pathologies with nephrotic syndromes such as HIV and Hantavirus infection, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. Here, we show that suPAR induces nephrin down-modulation in human podocytes. This phenomenon is mediated only by full-length suPAR, is time-and dose-dependent and is associated with the suppression of Wilms' tumor 1 (WT-1) transcription factor expression. Moreover, an antagonist of alpha v beta 3 integrin RGDfv blocked suPAR-induced suppression of nephrin. These in vitro data were confirmed in an in vivo uPAR knock out Plaur(-/-) mice model by demonstrating that the infusion of suPAR inhibits expression of nephrin and WT-1 in podocytes and induces proteinuria. This study unveiled that interaction of full-length suPAR with alpha v beta 3 integrin expressed on podocytes results in down-modulation of nephrin that may affect kidney functionality in different human pathologies characterized by increased concentration of suPAR

Urinary Metabolic Profile of Patients with Transfusion-Dependent β-Thalassemia Major Undergoing Deferasirox Therapy

Introduction: Renal dysfunction is a frequent complication in patients suffering from β-thalassemia major (β-TM). The aim of this study was to analyze the renal function and urine metabolomic profile of β-TM patients undergoing transfusions and deferasirox (DFX) therapy, in order to better characterize and shed light on the pathogenesis of renal disease in this setting. Methods and Subjects: 40 patients affected by β-TM treated with DFX and 35 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Renal function was assessed. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated with CKD-EPI and Schwartz formula for adults and children, respectively. Renal tubular function and maximal urine concentration ability were tested. Urine specimens were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify the urinary metabolite profiles. Results: The study of renal function in β-TM patients revealed normal estimated (e)GFR mean values and the albumin-to-creatinine ratio was <30 mg/g. The analysis of tubular function showed normal basal plasma electrolyte levels; 60% of patients presented hypercalciuria and many subjects showed defective urine concentration. Several amino acids, N-methyl compounds, and organic acids were overexcreted in the urine of thalassemic patients compared with controls. Discussion: The major finding of this work is that β-TM patients and controls exhibit different concentrations of some metabolites in the urine. Early recognition of urinary abnormalities may be useful to detect and prevent kidney damage

Treating Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy With Interleukin 7 and Vaccination With JC Virus Capsid Protein VP1

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is a currently untreatable infection of the brain. Here, we demonstrate in 2 patients that treatment with interleukin 7, JC polyomavirus (JCV) capsid protein VP1, and a Toll-like receptor 7 agonist used as adjuvant, was well tolerated, and showed a very favorable safety profile and unexpected efficacy that warrant further investigatio

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

High Risk of Secondary Infections Following Thrombotic Complications in Patients With COVID-19

Background. This study’s primary aim was to evaluate the impact of thrombotic complications on the development of secondary infections. The secondary aim was to compare the etiology of secondary infections in patients with and without thrombotic complications. Methods. This was a cohort study (NCT04318366) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients hospitalized at IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital between February 25 and June 30, 2020. Incidence rates (IRs) were calculated by univariable Poisson regression as the number of cases per 1000 person-days of follow-up (PDFU) with 95% confidence intervals. The cumulative incidence functions of secondary infections according to thrombotic complications were compared with Gray’s method accounting for competing risk of death. A multivariable Fine-Gray model was applied to assess factors associated with risk of secondary infections. Results. Overall, 109/904 patients had 176 secondary infections (IR, 10.0; 95% CI, 8.8–11.5; per 1000-PDFU). The IRs of secondary infections among patients with or without thrombotic complications were 15.0 (95% CI, 10.7–21.0) and 9.3 (95% CI, 7.9–11.0) per 1000-PDFU, respectively (P = .017). At multivariable analysis, thrombotic complications were associated with the development of secondary infections (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.788; 95% CI, 1.018–3.140; P = .043). The etiology of secondary infections was similar in patients with and without thrombotic complications. Conclusions. In patients with COVID-19, thrombotic complications were associated with a high risk of secondary infections