Industrial and organisational psychology

Industrial and organisational (I/0) psychology is concerned with people’s work-related values, attitudes and behaviours, and how these are influenced by the conditions in which they work. I/O psychologists contribute to both the effectiveness of organisations (e.g. improving productivity) and the health and well-being of people working within organisations. The field is related to other disciplines, such as organisational behaviour and human resource management, and also has close links with other sub-disciplines within psychology, especially social psychology and some aspects of human experimental psychology (e.g. cognition)

The Mass Profile of the Milky Way to the Virial Radius from the Illustris Simulation

We use particle data from the Illustris simulation, combined with individual kinematic constraints on the mass of the Milky Way (MW) at specific distances from the Galactic center, to infer the radial distribution of the MW's dark matter halo mass. Our method allows us to convert any constraint on the mass of the MW within a fixed distance to a full circular velocity profile to the MW's virial radius. As primary examples, we take two recent (and discrepant) measurements of the total mass within 50 kpc of the Galaxy and find they imply very different mass profiles and stellar masses for the Galaxy. The dark-matter-only version of the Illustris simulation enables us to compute the effects of galaxy formation on such constraints on a halo-by-halo basis; on small scales, galaxy formation enhances the density relative to dark-matter-only runs, while the total mass density is approximately 20% lower at large Galactocentric distances. We are also able to quantify how current and future constraints on the mass of the MW within specific radii will be reflected in uncertainties on its virial mass: even a measurement of M(<50 kpc) with essentially perfect precision still results in a 20% uncertainty on the virial mass of the Galaxy, while a future measurement of M(<100 kpc) with 10% errors would result in the same level of uncertainty. We expect that our technique will become even more useful as (1) better kinematic constraints become available at larger distances and (2) cosmological simulations provide even more faithful representations of the observable Universe.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures; matches version published in MNRA

Visual cortical excitability in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Alterations in the visual system may underlie visual hallucinations in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). However, cortical excitability as measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation of lower visual areas (V1-3) to visual stimuli appear normal in DLB. We explored the relationship between TMS-determined phosphene threshold and fMRI-related visual activation and found a positive relationship between the two in controls but a negative one in DLB. This double dissociation suggests a loss of inhibition in the visual system in DLB, which may predispose individuals to visual dysfunction and visual hallucinations.The research was funded by an Intermediate Clinical Fellowship to J.-P.T. (WT088441MA) and also supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Unit based at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Royal College of Psychiatrists via http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.114.15273

Hyper-efficient model-independent Bayesian method for the analysis of pulsar timing data

A new model independent method is presented for the analysis of pulsar timing data and the estimation of the spectral properties of an isotropic gravitational wave background (GWB). We show that by rephrasing the likelihood we are able to eliminate the most costly aspects of computation normally associated with this type of data analysis. When applied to the International Pulsar Timing Array Mock Data Challenge data sets this results in speedups of approximately 2 to 3 orders of magnitude compared to established methods. We present three applications of the new likelihood. In the low signal to noise regime we sample directly from the power spectrum coefficients of the GWB signal realization. In the high signal to noise regime, where the data can support a large number of coefficients, we sample from the joint probability density of the power spectrum coefficients for the individual pulsars and the GWB signal realization. Critically in both these cases we need make no assumptions about the form of the power spectrum of the GWB, or the individual pulsars. Finally we present a method for characterizing the spatial correlation between pulsars on the sky, making no assumptions about the form of that correlation, and therefore providing the only truly general Bayesian method of confirming a GWB detection from pulsar timing data.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Does Devolution Make a Difference? Legislative Output and Policy Divergence in Scotland

Devolution provides large scope for Scotland to make its own policy. Primary legislation is one measure of this. Scottish legislation before devolution tended to replicate measures for the rest of the United Kingdom, with differences of style. Scottish legislation in the first four-year term of the Parliament shows a big increase in output. There is an autonomous sphere, in which Scotland has gone its own way without reference to the rest of the UK. In other areas, there is evidence of joint or parallel policy-making, with Scottish legislation meeting the same goals by different means. Finally there is a sphere in which Scottish legislation is essentially the same as that in England and Wales. Sewel motions have not been used to impose policy uniformity on Scotland. There is evidence that devolution has shifted influence both vertically, between the UK and Scottish levels, and horizontally, within a Scottish legislative system that has been opened up

Challenges for the cataract surgeon treating people with dementia: a qualitative study exploring anesthetic choices

Background: In light of the growing number of people with dementia and age-related cataract, as well as changing anesthetic practices for cataract surgery, this study aimed to explore the experiences of cataract surgeons in managing patients with dementia and making anesthetic decisions. Methods: This was a qualitative study using semistructured interviews with senior cataract surgeons from two centers in England. Fourteen surgeons were interviewed, and a thematic approach informed by grounded theory was used for the analysis. Results: Choice of anesthesia for people with dementia was a central theme arising from the data. Surgeons varied in their thresholds for using general anesthesia. Decisions about suitability for local anesthesia were limited by time constraints and generally made rapidly and based on instinct; dementia was not always apparent at the point of preassessment. Surgeons used a variety of topical, sub-Tenon’s, and sharp needle blocks for people with dementia. Surgeons discussed techniques to help patients tolerate local anesthesia, such as clear communication, a primary nurse, hand-holding, and support from an anesthetist. However, within our sample, some surgeons had had negative experiences of operating on people with dementia, where an incorrect judgment had been made that they could tolerate local anesthetic cataract surgery. Conclusion: This study highlights the differing practices of cataract surgeons when making anesthetic choices for people with dementia and the challenges they face. In order to avoid the situation of a patient with dementia becoming distressed during awake surgery, increased time at preassessment and anesthetic support may be beneficial

Coherent Control and Entanglement in the Attosecond Electron Recollision Dissociation of D2+

We examine the attosecond electron recollision dissociation of D2+ recently demonstrated experimentally [H. Niikura et al., Nature (London) 421, 826 (2003)] from a coherent control perspective. In this process, a strong laser field incident on D2 ionizes an electron, accelerates the electron in the laser field to eV energies, and then drives the electron to recollide with the parent ion, causing D2+ dissociation. A number of results are demonstrated. First, a full dimensional Strong Field Approximation (SFA) model is constructed and shown to be in agreement with the original experiment. This is then used to rigorously demonstrate that the experiment is an example of coherent pump-dump control. Second, extensions to bichromatic coherent control are proposed by considering dissociative recollision of molecules prepared in a coherent superposition of vibrational states. Third, by comparing the results to similar scenarios involving field-free attosecond scattering of independently prepared D2+ and electron wave packets, recollision dissociation is shown to provide an example of wave-packet coherent control of reactive scattering. Fourth, this analysis makes clear that it is the temporal correlations between the continuum electron and D2+ wave packet, and not entanglement, that are crucial for the sub-femtosecond probing resolution demonstrated in the experiment. This result clarifies some misconceptions regarding the importance of entanglement in the recollision probing of D2+. Finally, signatures of entanglement between the recollision electron and the atomic fragments, detectable via coincidence measurements, are identified