Communicative coworkership

Communicative coworkership is an area with great potential for both organizations and communicators. Communicative coworkership is also an area where there is a clear link between the core operation and the communication of the organization. It is fairly easy to demonstrate the value of communicative coworkership for an organisation, for example in terms of crisis aversion, innovation, listening, learning, branding, trust and other aspects that have an important strategic value for organisations in general.In this report, we present previous research on communicative coworkership and propose a definition of the concept. We provide a model that shows three areas of responsibility for communicative coworkership. In addition, we discuss obstacles to communicative coworkership and the support that the organization can provide to employees.In the final discussion, we present the wheel of communicative coworkership with six factors that must exist in order to realise the idea of communicative coworkership: (1) sensemaking approach to communication, (2) communicative leadership, (3) decentralised organizational philosophy, (4) open communication climate, (5) internal trust and (6) identification with the organization

Excessive milk production during breast-feeding prior to breast cancer diagnosis is associated with increased risk for early events

Breast-feeding is a known protective factor against breast cancer. Breast-feeding duration is influenced by hormone levels, milk production, and lifestyle factors. The aims were to investigate how breast-feeding duration and milk production affected tumor characteristics and risk for early breast cancer events in primary breast cancer patients. Between 2002 and 2008, 634 breast cancer patients in Lund, Sweden, took part in an ongoing prospective cohort study. Data were extracted from questionnaires, pathology reports, and patients’ charts from 592 patients without preoperative treatment. Breast-feeding duration ≤12 months of the first child was associated with higher frequency of ER+/PgR+ tumors (P=0.02). Median follow-up time was 4.9 years. Higher risk for early events was observed for breast-feeding duration of first child >12 months (LogRank P=0.001), total breast-feeding duration >12 months (LogRank P=0.008), as well as ‘excessive milk production’ during breast-feeding of the first child (LogRank P=0.001). Patients with ‘almost no milk production’ had no events. In a multivariable model including both ‘excessive milk production’ and breast-feeding duration of the first child >12 months, both were associated with a two-fold risk for early events, adjusted HRs 2.33 (95% CI: 1.25-4.36) and 2.39 (0.97-5.85), respectively, while total breast-feeding duration was not. ‘Excessive milk production’ was associated with a two-fold risk of early distant metastases, adjusted HR 2.59 (1.13-5.94), but not duration. In conclusion, ‘excessive milk production’ during breast-feeding was associated with higher risk for early events independent of tumor characteristics, stressing the need to consider host factors in the evaluation of prognostic markers. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-298) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Study protocol for locoregional precision treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with transarterial chemoembolisation (TACTida), a clinical study:idarubicin dose selection, tissue response and survival

INTRODUCTION: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cause of cancer-related death, often detected in the intermediate stage. The standard of care for intermediate-stage HCC is transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE), where idarubicin (IDA) is a promising drug. Despite the fact that TACE has been used for several decades, treatment success is unpredictable. This clinical trial has been designed believing that further improvement might be achieved by increasing the understanding of interactions between local pharmacology, tumour targeting, HCC pathophysiology, metabolomics and molecular mechanisms of drug resistance. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study population of this single-centre clinical trial consists of adults with intermediate-stage HCC. Each tumour site will receive TACE with two different IDA doses, 10 and 15 mg, on separate occasions. Before and after each patient's first TACE blood samples, tissue and liquid biopsies, and positron emission tomography (PET)/MRI will be performed. Blood samples will be used for pharmacokinetics (PK) and liver function evaluation. Tissue biopsies will be used for histopathology analyses, and culturing of primary organoids of tumour and non-tumour tissue to measure cell viability, drug response, multiomics and gene expression. Multiomics analyses will also be performed on liquid biopsies. PET/MRI will be used to evaluate tumour viability and liver metabolism. The two doses of IDA will be compared regarding PK, antitumour effects and safety. Imaging, molecular biology and multiomics data will be used to identify HCC phenotypes and their relation to drug uptake and metabolism, treatment response and survival. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Participants give informed consent. Personal data are deidentified. A patient will be withdrawn from the study if considered medically necessary, or if it is the wish of the patient. The study has been approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Dnr. 2021-01928) and by the Medical Product Agency, Uppsala, Sweden. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: EudraCT number: 2021-001257-31

Putting co-workers in the limelight: New challenges for communication professionals

The status of co-workers has increased due to the expansion of post-bureaucratic and knowledge-intensive organizations. In organization studies the importance of co-workers has for a rather long time been acknowledged. Remarkably has co-workers more or less been neglected in research as well as in practice within the field of strategic communication. In research the overall focus is mainly on the practice of communication pro-fessionals or at a management or strategic level. In practice many professionals still today operates at a tactical level and is rather loosely coupled to the actual work processes in the organization. At the same time we can identify a trend where communication professionals in a greater extend operates as coaches supporting managers in their communication roles. In this conceptual paper we argue that also co-workers must be put in the limelight, and we discuss some challenges for communication professional. Changes in organizational life have result in new demands on co-workers communication practice and skills. In the article we discuss the concept co-workership and those practices and attitudes that co-workers develop in relation to managers, colleagues and organization, and we give examples of communication implications. Finally, we discuss practical implications and present the 5C’s – challenges for communication professionals

Exploring the vertical communication chain in the light of post-bureaucracy

Whereas bureaucracy and vertical pyramid-like organization structures have been criticized for decades, most organizations still work as complex hybrids rather than full-fledged post-bureaucratic organizations. The hierarchical decision-structure and the accompanying top-down oriented vertical communication chain is still highly alive in conjunction with an aspiration for post-bureaucratic principles such as co-leadership, participation and teamwork. This chapter aims to contribute with a better understanding of the complexity of vertical line communication and how it can be developed to better support the post-bureaucratic approach. The theoretical argumentation is exemplified by insights from the research project “The Communicative Organization”– a project based on survey data and semi-structured interviews in eleven organizations. The chapter concludes that the idea of vertical line communication as a process of cascading information via different management levels needs to be shifted to an idea of line communication as a dynamic arena for strategic conversations between managers and coworkers