Conformarse con la nada: la materialización de lo digital

Aquest article explora el comportament de les partícules subatòmiques amb l'objectiu de reconceptualitzar el suposat no-ser o el «no-res» del que és digital. A partir de les forces imperceptibles però creatives que hi ha en joc en l'univers subatòmic dels circuits electrònics, es reconeixen les formes de vida no orgàniques i les forces més que humanes que componen la matèria o, per a ser més exactes, el procés de materialitzacióThis article explores the behaviour of subatomic particles in order to reconceptualize the presumed non-being or ‘nothingness’ of the digital. Drawing attention to the imperceptible yet creative forces at play in the subatomic universe inside electronic circuits, it advocates an appreciation of non-organic life forms as well as the more-than-human forces that constitute matter or – to be more precise – the process of materialization.Este artículo explora el comportamiento de las partículas subatómicas con el objetivo de reconceptualizar el supuesto no-ser o la «nada» de lo digital. A partir de las fuerzas imperceptibles pero creativas que están en juego en el universo subatómico de los circuitos electrónicos, se reconocen las formas de vida no orgánicas, así como las fuerzas más que humanas que componen la materia o, para ser más exactos, el proceso de materialización.&nbsp

Fronto-Temporal Dementia: a clinical and genetic-epidemiological study

At the turn of the nineteenth century into the 20th century many leading neurologists were active to devise new pathological or clinical classifications of the large group of dementing illnesses in later life, the 'dementia senilis' . Until then that eponym included every psychiatrie, behavioral and cognitive disturbance, occurring after middle age and leading to complete deterioration of the mental functions. In 1892, Arnold Piek (1851-1924), professor in neurology and psychiatry at the German University of Prague, reported a patient with a two-year history of progressive 'feeble-mindedness' , behavioral disturbances and eventually aphasia. Focal temporal atrophy of the brain was found at autopsy. Piek subsequently described a few more cases with frontal and temporal atrophy and considered this focal pathology as a localized type of 'seniIe dementia' and not a distinct disease-entity. However he suggested a possible clinical-pathological relation without being specific. Alois Alzheimer (1911) described the microscopical findings to become associated with 'Piek's disease": neuronalloss, spongiosis and gliosis in the frontal and temporal cortex, argentophilic granules in the neuronal cytoplasm pushing the nucleus towards the cell body (Pick bodies), and swollen neurons (Piek cells) in the absence of neurofibrillary tangles and plaques. Van Mansvelt (1953), in a review, classified Pick's disease according to the localization of atrophy into three types: frontal, temporal and mixed' Piek bodies were reported in only one third of the cases. For a diagnosis of Piek' s disease at that time, Piek bodies were not essential. Constantinidis (1974) classified frontotemporal atrophy into three types based on the presence of Piek bodies and Piek cells: (1) cases with: Piek bodies and swollen neurons, (2) cases with only swollen neurons, and cases without Pick bodies and Piek cells.' Fronto-temporal dementia in the absence of Piek bodies became also described by Brun as 'frontal lobe degeneration of non-Alzheimer type'

From ‘if only’ to ‘what if’:An ethnographic study into design thinking and organizational change

We aim to understand how public sector organizations practise ‘design thinking’ to respond to changing demands and develop alternative courses of action. The literature on design thinking is largely prescriptive; few studies analyse how change is actually brought about through situated design practices. Design scholars have therefore argued that such practices themselves should take centre stage as objects of analysis. We take an ethnographic approach to studying the design thinking journey of the Dutch Health Inspectorate, using participatory observations and interviews to collect our data. Drawing on the anthropological concept of ritualization, we identify two important mechanisms through which design thinking helped the Inspectorate disrupt existing organizational strategies and engage with stakeholders in a fundamentally new way.</p

Studying media events in the European social surveys across research designs, countries, time, issues, and outcomes

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave via the DOI in this record.Scholars often study isolated media effects using one method at one time point in one country. We seek to generalise the research in this area by examining hundreds of press-worthy events across dozens of countries at various points in time with an array of techniques and outcome measures. In particular, we merge a database containing thousands of events with five waves of the European Social Survey to conduct analyses across countries and individuals as well as within countries and for specific respondents. The results suggest that there is an impressive degree of heterogeneity when it comes to how citizens react to political developments. Some events generate significant opinion changes when groups of individuals who are 'treated' are compared with 'control' cases. However, other events produce modest or even null findings with methods that employ different counterfactuals. Thus, findings of both strong and weak media effects that scholars have uncovered over the years could be a function of methodological choices as well as context-specific factors such as institutional arrangements, media systems, eras, or event characteristics. Data limitations also make some research designs possible while they preclude others. We conclude with advice for others who wish to study political events in this manner as well as discussion of media effects, broadly construed

Manipulated vs. measured: Using an experimental benchmark to investigate the performance of self-reported media exposure

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Media exposure is one of the most important concepts in the social sciences, and yet scholars have struggled with how to operationalize it for decades. Some researchers have focused on the effects of variously worded self-report measures. Others advocate the use of aggregate and/or behavioral data that does not rely on a person’s ability to accurately recall exposure. The present study introduces the prototype of an experimental design that can be used to improve measures of exposure. In particular, we show how an experimental benchmark can be employed to (1) compare actual (i.e., manipulated) and self-reported values of news exposure; (2) assess how closely the self-reported measures approximates the performance of “true” exposure in an empirical application, and (3) leverage the experimental benchmark to investigate whether a variation in question wording improves the accuracy of self-reported exposure measures

From ‘if only’ to ‘what if’: An ethnographic study into design thinking and organizational change

We aim to understand how public sector organizations practise ‘design thinking’ to respond to changing demands and develop alternative courses of action. The literature on design thinking is largely prescriptive; few studies analyse how change is actually brought about through situated design practices. Design scholars have therefore argued that such practices themselves should take centre stage as objects of analysis. We take an ethnographic approach to studying the design thinking journey of the Dutch Health Inspectorate, using participatory observations and interviews to collect our data. Drawing on the anthropological concept of ritualization, we identify two important mechanisms through which design thinking helped the Inspectorate disrupt existing organizational strategies and engage with stakeholders in a fundamentally new way

High prevalence of mutations in the microtubule-associated protein tau in a population study of frontotemporal dementia in the Netherlands

Mutations in microtubule-associated protein tau recently have been identified in familial cases of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We report the frequency of tau mutations in a large population-based study of FTD carried out in the Netherlands from January 1994 to June 1998. Thirty-seven patients had >/=1 first-degree relative with dementia. A mutation in the tau gene was found in 17.8% of the group of patie

Diagnostic accuracy of consensus diagnostic criteria for frontotemporal dementia in a memory clinic population

Background/Aims: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the core diagnostic criteria for frontotemporal dementia (FTD) [Neary D, et al: Neurology 1998;51:1546-1554] within a memory clinic population. Methods: The 5 core diagnostic criteria for FTD were operationalised in an informant-based written questionnaire. For a diagnosis of FTD the total clinical picture was weighted with findings on additional investigations and possible exclusion criteria, with follow-up of at least 1 year. Results: The operationalised core criteria for FTD had a sensitivity of 79% (95% CI = 57-92) and a specificity of 90% (95% CI = 85-94). Conclusion: The core diagnostic criteria for FTD applied in a caregiver questionnaire have good diagnostic accuracy among subjects without advanced dementia attending a memory clinic. This stresses the importance of the informant-based history in the differential diagnosis of dementia. Copyrigh