bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antepartum haemorrhage
Authors: Okunoye Gbemisola , Konje Justin C.
Published: February 2020

Antepartum haemorrhage (APH) remains a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality across the world. As a key component of obstetric haemorrhage, it features high on the list of near-miss obstetric events; thus highlighting the continued importance of developing strategies aimed at reducing the negative impact on maternal and fetal outcome. The causes of APH include placenta praevia, placenta accreta, placenta abruption, vasa praevia, and local genital causes. Some cases of APH would be retrospectively classified as of unknown origin. Placenta praevia, placenta abruption, and vasa praevia have the greatest impact on maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The impact of APH on pregnancy outcome is more pronounced in low-resourced countries when compared to developed economies; therefore, a system-oriented approach based on sound evidence and multidisciplinary involvement with regularly rehearsed drills is required to drive a sustained improvement in the management of APH across the world. The rising incidence of placenta accreta, with the associated risk and complexity, presents an ongoing challenge, and the adoption of a composite care bundle that incorporates key components of multidisciplinary care is highly recommended.
Induction of labour
Authors: Weeks Andrew , Polk Julia P.
Published: February 2020

Induction of labour has been described for many centuries. However, as fetal outcomes improve in general and the safety of the induction process increases, it is increasingly used to reduce the risk of adverse fetal outcomes in late pregnancy. Common obstetric indications include postdates pregnancy, hypertension, spontaneous membrane rupture, fetal growth restriction, and reduced fetal movements. Increased background risk is also an indication with potential benefits for women with increased age, body mass index, and a ‘bad obstetric history’. Induction without medical indication also appears to be safe and does not increase maternal or fetal adverse outcomes. A wide variety of induction methods are available and the choice between them depends on availability and setting. Vaginal dinoprostone, oral misoprostol, and the balloon catheter are all effective and safe methods.
Violence against women and girls
Authors: Wokoma Tonye , Lindow Stephen
Published: February 2020

Violence against women and girls is defined as ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life’. In this definition, violence is given its gender-related status and constructed as a problem which facilitates the enduring subjugation of women in society. As well as being a violation of individual rights, violence against women and girls prevents them from flourishing and contributing to their families and communities. It thus has an impact on the economic and social well-being of any society. It also holds back progress on international development targets. Violence against women and girls encompasses rape in conflict, female genital mutilation, stalking and harassment, child sexual abuse, ‘honour’-based violence, forced marriage, and domestic violence. It has physical, sexual, psychological, and economic consequences. This chapter examines the health issues relating to violence against women and girls, the steps taken so far to prevent and cater for health implications, and suggests a way forward.
Pelvic organ prolapse
Authors: Rachaneni Suneetha , Dua Anupreet , Freeman Robert
Published: February 2020

Pelvic organ prolapse is a departure from normal sensation, structure, or function, experienced by the woman in reference to the position of her pelvic organs. Symptoms such as the feeling of a bulge, vaginal heaviness, or ‘something coming down’, are generally worse after long periods of standing or exercise and better when lying supine. Other symptoms include bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction. Prolapse may be more prominent with a full bladder and/or rectum and at times of abdominal straining, for example, defecation. Pelvic organ prolapse is not just a problem in older women and represents a health economic challenge for the future due to the costs of surgery, the longer life expectancy, and an increasing demand for a better quality of life.
Urinary incontinence
Authors: Iyer Jay , Rane Ajay
Published: February 2020

According to the most recent definition of the International Continence Society, urinary incontinence (UI), a symptom of impaired storage, is ‘the complaint of any involuntary leakage of urine’. A condition that primarily affects women, UI is not a lethal condition; however, it significantly affects quality of life. Three types of incontinence are generally distinguished: stress urinary incontinence, urgency urinary incontinence, and mixed urinary incontinence, which associates with the first two. Prevalence varies significantly due to variations in definitions and measurement, methodology of data collection, lack of self-reporting, and sampling/non-response issues. Age, parity, vaginal childbirth, and body mass index are important factors that affect the prevalence of urinary incontinence. In 2005, the ‘Evaluation of the Prevalence of urinary InContinence’ (EPIC) study, which was the largest population-based survey of 19,165 individuals, was conducted in five developed countries to assess the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms in men and women. Prevalence of overactive bladder overall was 11.8%; rates were similar in men and women and increased with age. Overactive bladder was more prevalent than all types of UI combined (9.4%). Besides the obvious issue of hygiene, UI results in ramifications that extend to the sufferer’s social and sexual life. This chapter focuses on mainly three types of female urinary incontinence commonly encountered in clinical practice—stress urinary incontinence, urgency urinary incontinence, and mixed urinary incontinence—and discusses the anatomy and physiology of the continence apparatus, and the classification, evaluation, and management of urinary incontinence.
Cancer screening and prevention in gynaecology
Authors: Denny Lynette , Sankaranarayan Rengaswamy
Published: February 2020

In 1968, the World Health Organization published guidelines on the principles and practice of screening for disease, which are often referred to as the ‘Wilson and Jungner criteria’. These principles are still applicable today. With the onset of genetic screening, new controversies around screening emerged and in 2008, Andermann et al. synthesized and modified the Wilson criteria. Screening is a systematic attempt to select those who are at high risk of a specific disease from among apparently healthy individuals. The ultimate aim of screening is prevention of disease or to detect disease at an early, curable stage. There are many controversies about screening for cancer, such as the use of prostatic-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer, mammography screening for breast cancer, and debates around current screening for colorectal, lung, and cervical cancers. Controversies also exist with regard to the level of evidence required before screening for a disease is initiated. Even if there is a high level of evidence for efficacy and effectiveness, how the programme should be implemented needs careful consideration, particularly a clear understanding of benefits versus harms, potential or actual. In some countries, mass population screening programmes are implemented and in others, screening is dependent on access to health insurance. This chapter explores past and current screening activities among women for early detection and prevention of gynaecological cancers including cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers and discusses screening for vulval and vaginal cancer.
Uterine cancer
Authors: Mbatani Nomonde H. , Richards Dominic G.D.
Published: February 2020

Uterine cancers are the most common female genital cancer in the developed world and the fourth most common malignancy in women. In South Africa and most developing countries it is the second most common genital tract malignancy after cervical carcinoma. While the incidence of uterine cancers is marginally higher in developed countries (5.9 vs 4 per 100,000), the disease-specific mortality rate is higher in developing countries. Uterine cancers include tumours that develop in the endometrium (carcinomas), the endometrial support cells (endometrial stromal sarcomas), and the myometrium (sarcomas). Endometrial carcinomas represent over 90% of uterine cancers, the incidence of which is increasing and is most likely driven by longer life expectancy, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. Most endometrial carcinomas present in postmenopausal women; however, in women with significant risk factors (such as unopposed endogenous oestrogen production as occurs in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome) or a genetic predisposition such as hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC)/Lynch 2 syndrome, tumours may present before the age of 40 years. Sarcomas constitute less than 10% of uterine cancers, the majority of which are leiomyosarcomas. Only 2% of uterine sarcomas originate in the endometrial stromal tissue. Most sarcomas present between the age of 40 and 60 years. For the purpose of this chapter, endometrial carcinomas and sarcomas will be discussed separately.
Premalignant disease of the genital tract in pregnancy
Authors: Nordin Andy , Chakrabarti Manas
Published: February 2020

The age of women at the time of delivery of their first child has been steadily increasing in the developed world for several generations. In the United States, the average age of first-time mothers increased by 3.6 years from 21.4 years in 1970 to 25.0 years in 2006. Globally, the use of modern contraception methods has risen slightly, from 54% in 1990 to 57.4% in 2014. There remains inequality in the access to contraception in the developing world, with access remaining low in sub-Saharan Africa, and teenage pregnancy remains a major international public health problem. However, increasing contraceptive use in many parts of the developing world, especially in Asia and Latin America, enables women to delay childbirth, leading to a relative rise in the maternal age of first pregnancy. As women extend their reproductive lives into their 30s and 40s, more pregnancies will be complicated by comorbidities of premalignant diseases of the genital tract. National cervical screening programmes are generally initiated at the age of 20 or 25 years, and in many countries opportunistic screening is performed during antenatal visits. It is therefore essential that clinicians understand the natural history, risk of progression to malignancy, and pregnancy implications of premalignant disease of the genital tract, in order to guide patients through difficult management decisions regarding treatment options.
Genetics
Authors: Bayeva Marina , Cook Edwin H.
Published: February 2020

Early in psychiatric genetic research, the field was drawn into the ‘nature versus nurture’ controversy in which the contribution of heritable factors was argued to be negligible to sufficient. This debate was fuelled by divergent conceptualizations of mental disorders as biological entities or psychological phenomena. A complex pattern of inheritance which did not obey simple Mendelian rules further added to the confusion about the role of genetics in psychiatry in the first half of the twentieth century. Two landmark papers discussed in this chapter (one by Seymour Kety and colleagues from 1968, the other by Robert Plomin and colleagues from 1994) were instrumental in establishing and contributing substantially to the study of genetics in mental disorders. The third paper by Irving Gottesman and James Shields (1967) clarified the polygenic nature of psychiatric disorders. Finally, the recent multinational collaborative efforts of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and Autism Sequencing Consortium (exemplified by papers from Ripke et al., 2014; Marshall et al., 2017; and Sanders et al., 2015) reveal the genetic architecture of common psychiatric conditions.
Inflammatory mechanisms, the immune system, and psychiatric illness
Authors: Toy Ozan , Boyle Emmalee , DeLisi Lynn E.
Published: February 2020

The association between the immune system and mental illnesses has been studied extensively over the years. Specifically, inflammation or abnormalities in immune system factors have been linked to stress, depression, and schizophrenia. The incidence of schizophrenia has been observed to be increased following viral epidemics, and the presence of increased antibodies to viral and other infectious agents has been linked to the illness. In this chapter, the landmark studies supporting the association between inflammation and mental illness are cited, from the early epidemiological studies of viral epidemics, to searches in post-mortem brains for gliosis, to genetic predisposition, and, most recently, to direct evidence of inflammation by measurement of free-water content in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Ultimately, medications that restore the immune system may lead to improvement of the major psychiatric disorders.
Pharmacotherapy in child and adolescent psychiatry
Authors: Farrow Jenni E. , Romo-Nava Francisco , DelBello Melissa
Published: February 2020

This chapter examines papers that have shaped the prescribing landscape in pediatric psychiatry. It reviews methodology, results, and conclusions for each paper, while also providing a historical context and critique for each. It begins by discussing the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention-Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA). It then evaluates the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) and the Treatment of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI)-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) study. It also reviews a comparative analysis of antipsychotics and mood stabilizers in manic pediatric and adult patients with bipolar I disorder and the Child-Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS). Finally, it examines the US Food and Drug Administration’s decision to add a black-box warning for suicidality to antidepressants. It concludes with a discussion of future research directions in child and adolescent psychiatry.
Social and community psychiatry
Authors: Jordan Neil
Published: February 2020

Social and community psychiatry is a subspecialty within psychiatry focused on identifying and treating mental health disorders in community-based settings. This subspecialty emerged as a direct consequence of several factors including deinstitutionalization, increased focus on biological aetiologies and treatment of mental health disorders, and the change in the nature of funding for mental healthcare. This chapter highlights several important issues related to community-based delivery of psychiatric care including: accurate assessment of the prevalence of mental health disorders and use of mental health services across all components of the mental health system of care; the evolution of office-based psychiatric practice, from lengthier psychotherapy visits toward shorter visits and greater use of psychotropic medications; the evolution of depression treatment in primary care; and understanding the relationship between culture and psychiatric illness.
Psychiatric ethics
Authors: Zettl Rachel E. , Sadler John Z.
Published: February 2020

As psychiatric practice becomes more embedded in social, cultural, and financial networks, it is hardly surprising that the scrutiny of psychiatrists by organizations and institutions grows almost daily. This chapter focuses on the scrutiny of psychiatric ethics. Seven papers are reviewed, ranging from the mid-1950s up to 2009. Topics considered include: professional relationships between psychiatrists, physician impairment, confidentiality in the context of dangerousness, standard-of-care disputes, assessments of competency and decision-making capacity, the history and ethics of psychosurgery and neuromodulation, treatment refusal in chronically mentally ill patients, and conflicts of interest in clinical practice guideline authorship. Each paper is summarized with background information, methods, results, and a critical discussion of its significance.
Histoplasma capsulatum chemotypes I and II induce IL-8 secretion in lung epithelial cells in distinct manners
Authors: Alcantara Cristiane , Almeida Bruna Rocha , Barros Bianca Carla Silva Campitelli , Orikaza Cristina Mary , Toledo Marcos Sergio , Suzuki Erika
Published: February 2020

The cell wall is one of the most important structures of pathogenic fungi, enabling initial interaction with the host and consequent modulation of immunological responses. Over the years, some researchers have shown that cell wall components of Histoplasma capsulatum vary among fungal isolates, and one of the major differences is the presence or absence of α-(1,3)-glucan, classifying wild-type fungi as chemotypes II or I, respectively. The present work shows that an isolate of H. capsulatum chemotype I induced lower levels of interleukin (IL)-8 secretion by the lung epithelial cell line A549, when compared to chemotype II yeasts. Thus, we expected that the absence of α-glucan in spontaneous variant yeasts, which were isolated from chemotype II cultures, would modify IL-8 secretion by A549 cells, but surprisingly, these fungi promoted similar levels of IL-8 secretion as their wild-type counterpart. Furthermore, when using a specific inhibitor for Syk activation, we observed that this inhibitor reduced IL-8 levels in A549 cell cultures infected with wild type chemotype I fungi. This inhibitor failed to reduce this cytokine levels in A549 cell cultures infected with chemotype II and their spontaneous variant yeasts, which also do not present α-glucan on their surface. The importance of SFKs and PKC δ in this event was also analyzed. Our results show that different isolates of H. capsulatum modulate distinct cell signaling pathways to promote cytokine secretion in host epithelial cells, emphasizing the existence of various mechanisms for Histoplasma pathogenicity.
Scalable end-to-end recurrent neural network for variable star classification
Authors: Becker I , Pichara K , Catelan M , Protopapas P , Aguirre C , Nikzat F
Published: February 2020

During the last decade, considerable effort has been made to perform automatic classification of variable stars using machine-learning techniques. Traditionally, light curves are represented as a vector of descriptors or features used as input for many algorithms. Some features are computationally expensive, cannot be updated quickly and hence for large data sets such as the LSST cannot be applied. Previous work has been done to develop alternative unsupervised feature extraction algorithms for light curves, but the cost of doing so still remains high. In this work, we propose an end-to-end algorithm that automatically learns the representation of light curves that allows an accurate automatic classification. We study a series of deep learning architectures based on recurrent neural networks and test them in automated classification scenarios. Our method uses minimal data pre-processing, can be updated with a low computational cost for new observations and light curves, and can scale up to massive data sets. We transform each light curve into an input matrix representation whose elements are the differences in time and magnitude, and the outputs are classification probabilities. We test our method in three surveys: OGLE-III, Gaia, and WISE. We obtain accuracies of about $95{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in the main classes and $75{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in the majority of subclasses. We compare our results with the Random Forest classifier and obtain competitive accuracies while being faster and scalable. The analysis shows that the computational complexity of our approach grows up linearly with the light-curve size, while the traditional approach cost grows as Nlog (N).
Considerations When Writing and Presenting Consent Forms for Clients
Authors: Behrens Gene Ann
Published: February 2020

While the writing and presentation of most general consent forms can be accomplished using a checklist of what to include and say, different nuances and considerations enter the process when the participants of a research study involve present or past clients who retain their legal rights. This process is even more challenging for student music therapists conducting research as part of a school-related project. While the Belmont Report1 and the American Music Therapy Association’s (AMTA) Code of Ethics (https://www.musictherapy.org/about/ethics/) provide some insights and direction for many ethical research decisions, music therapy researchers also must be aware of their values, morals, and integrity, as well as various ethical considerations. Based on an example scenario, six ethical questions related to writing and presenting a consent form for a past client are discussed along with references to the Belmont Report and AMTA’s Code of Ethics.
Multiplex accurate sensitive quantitation (MASQ) with application to minimal residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Moffitt Andrea B , Spector Mona S , Andrews Peter , Kendall Jude , Alexander Joan , Stepansky Asya , Ma BeiCong , Kolitz Jonathan , Chiorazzi Nicholas , Allen Steven L , Krasnitz Alex , Wigler Michael , Levy Dan , Wang Zihua
Published: February 2020

Measuring minimal residual disease in cancer has applications for prognosis, monitoring treatment and detection of recurrence. Simple sequence-based methods to detect nucleotide substitution variants have error rates (about 10−3) that limit sensitive detection. We developed and characterized the performance of MASQ (multiplex accurate sensitive quantitation), a method with an error rate below 10−6. MASQ counts variant templates accurately in the presence of millions of host genomes by using tags to identify each template and demanding consensus over multiple reads. Since the MASQ protocol multiplexes 50 target loci, we can both integrate signal from multiple variants and capture subclonal response to treatment. Compared to existing methods for variant detection, MASQ achieves an excellent combination of sensitivity, specificity and yield. We tested MASQ in a pilot study in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who entered complete remission. We detect leukemic variants in the blood and bone marrow samples of all five patients, after induction therapy, at levels ranging from 10−2 to nearly 10−6. We observe evidence of sub-clonal structure and find higher target variant frequencies in patients who go on to relapse, demonstrating the potential for MASQ to quantify residual disease in AML.
Polymerase μ in non-homologous DNA end joining: importance of the order of arrival at a double-strand break in a purified system
Authors: Zhao Bailin , Watanabe Go , Lieber Michael R
Published: February 2020

During non-homologous DNA end joining (NHEJ), bringing two broken dsDNA ends into proximity is an essential prerequisite for ligation by XRCC4:Ligase IV (X4L4). This physical juxtaposition of DNA ends is called NHEJ synapsis. In addition to the key NHEJ synapsis proteins, Ku, X4L4, and XLF, it has been suggested that DNA polymerase mu (pol μ) may also align two dsDNA ends into close proximity for synthesis. Here, we directly observe the NHEJ synapsis by pol μ using a single molecule FRET (smFRET) assay where we can measure the duration of the synapsis. The results show that pol μ alone can mediate efficient NHEJ synapsis of 3′ overhangs that have at least 1 nt microhomology. The abundant Ku protein in cells limits the accessibility of pol μ to DNA ends with overhangs. But X4L4 can largely reverse the Ku inhibition, perhaps by pushing the Ku inward to expose the overhang for NHEJ synapsis. Based on these studies, the mechanistic flexibility known to exist at other steps of NHEJ is now also apparent for the NHEJ synapsis step.
Poly-Enrich: count-based methods for gene set enrichment testing with genomic regions
Authors: Lee Christopher T , Cavalcante Raymond G , Lee Chee , Qin Tingting , Patil Snehal , Wang Shuze , Tsai Zing T Y , Boyle Alan P , Sartor Maureen A
Published: February 2020

Gene set enrichment (GSE) testing enhances the biological interpretation of ChIP-seq data and other large sets of genomic regions. Our group has previously introduced two GSE methods for genomic regions: ChIP-Enrich for narrow regions and Broad-Enrich for broad regions. Here, we introduce Poly-Enrich, which has wider applicability, additional capabilities and models the number of peaks assigned to a gene using a generalized additive model with a negative binomial family to determine gene set enrichment, while adjusting for gene locus length. As opposed to ChIP-Enrich, Poly-Enrich works well even when nearly all genes have a peak, illustrated by using Poly-Enrich to characterize pathways and types of genic regions enriched with different families of repetitive elements. By comparing Poly-Enrich and ChIP-Enrich results with ENCODE ChIP-seq data, we found that the optimal test depends more on the pathway being regulated than on properties of the transcription factors. Using known transcription factor functions, we discovered clusters of related biological processes consistently better modeled with Poly-Enrich. This suggests that the regulation of certain processes may be modified by multiple binding events, better modeled by a count-based method. Our new hybrid method automatically uses the optimal method for each gene set, with correct FDR-adjustment.
John Hopcroft's views on China's education
Authors: Zhao Weijie , Hu Zhenjiang
Published: February 2020

Professor John Hopcroft at Cornell University is a Turing Prize winner (1986) and an educator with more than 55 years of teaching experience. For the past 10 years, Hopcroft has been coming to China to give courses to undergraduate students at Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU) and has helped SJTU to improve the quality of computer-science education. He also chairs the Center on Frontiers of Computing Studies at Peking University (PKU), the Turing Class at PKU and the Hopcroft Center at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, and is engaged in many other projects aiming to upgrade China's computer-science undergraduate education. Recently, NSR talked with Professor Hopcroft to learn his views on education in China.
Independent Associations Between Different Measures of Socioeconomic Position and Smoking Status: A Cross-Sectional Study of Adults in England
Authors: Beard Emma , Brown Jamie , Jackson Sarah E , West Robert , Kock Loren , Boniface Sadie , Shahab Lion
Published: February 2020

Introduction

To gain a better understanding of the complex and independent associations between different measures of socioeconomic position (SEP) and smoking in England.

Aims and Methods

Between March 2013 and January 2019 data were collected from 120 496 adults aged 16+ in England taking part in the Smoking Toolkit Study. Of these, 18.04% (n = 21 720) were current smokers. Six indicators of SEP were measured: social grade, employment status, educational qualifications, home and car ownership and income. Models were constructed using ridge regression to assess the contribution of each measure of SEP, taking account of high collinearity.

Results

The strongest predictor of smoking status was housing tenure. Those who did not own their own home had twice the odds of smoking compared with homeowners (odds ratio [OR] = 2.01). Social grade, educational qualification, and income were also good predictors. Those in social grades C1 (OR = 1.04), C2 (OR = 1.29), D (OR = 1.39), and E (OR = 1.78) had higher odds of smoking than those in social grade AB. Similarly, those with A-level/equivalent (OR = 1.15), GCSE/vocational (OR = 1.48), other/still studying (OR = 1.12), and no post-16 qualifications (OR = 1.48) had higher odds of smoking than those with university qualifications, as did those who earned in the lowest (OR = 1.23), third (OR = 1.18), and second quartiles (OR = 1.06) compared with those earning in the highest. Associations between smoking and employment (OR = 1.03) and car ownership (OR = 1.05) were much smaller.

Conclusions

Of a variety of socioeconomic measures, housing tenure appears to be the strongest independent predictor of smoking in England, followed by social grade, educational qualifications, and income. Employment status and car ownership have the lowest predictive power.

Implications

This study used ridge regression, a technique which takes into account high collinearity between variables, to gain a better understanding of the independent associations between different measures of SEP and smoking in England. The findings provide guidance as to which SEP measures one could use when trying to identifying individuals most at risk from smoking, with housing tenure identified as the strongest independent predictor.
Emotional Experiences in Moral Contexts
Authors: Malti Tina , Peplak Joanna , Acland Erinn
Published: February 2020

Moral deeds often require sacrificing time, effort, and resources, yet we are still motivated to engage in such behaviors. What drives us to enact these positive, prosocial behaviors and to leave our selfish desires behind? Developmental scientists consider emotions in contexts of morality (i.e., moral emotions) important drivers behind other-oriented, fair, and responsible behaviors. In this chapter, the authors outline the core moral emotions, how they develop, and how they link to prosocial and antisocial behaviors across development. They begin by discussing their integrative theoretical framework for conceptualizing moral emotions. Afterwards, they introduce a taxonomy that distinguishes four key moral emotions based on two dimensions: valence (positive and negative) and orientation (self and other). Next, current cross-cultural research on the development of these emotions is discussed, followed by a review of research on how the four emotions are associated with prosocial and antisocial behaviors from infancy to adolescence. The authors then outline the fundamental components that are involved in emotional experiences and conclude by highlighting promising future directions for developmental research.
Moral Flourishing in Later Life Through Purpose Beyond the Self
Authors: Colby Anne , Bundick Matthew , Remington Kathleen , Morton Emily
Published: February 2020

This chapter considers several conceptions of successful aging, analyzing the morally relevant aspects of these models and their missed opportunities to illuminate moral flourishing in older adults. The authors review evidence that engagement with self-transcendent goals and contributions enhances deep well-being for older people, as well as contributing to the well-being of others and the common good. They briefly report their own research on purpose beyond the self, which indicates that almost one-third of a US national sample of older people is purposeful and that purpose in later life doesn’t require economic or educational privilege or even good health. The authors suggest that the moral development field should explore ways to expand conceptions of positive aging to take account of moral dimensions of flourishing and extend insights about moral maturity into the later stages of life.
Play Groups as Contexts for Moral Development
Authors: Bergen Doris , Davis Darrel R.
Published: February 2020

Many theorists and researchers have discussed the importance of play in fostering children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development. Others, however, have stressed that moral development also is affected by play opportunities, especially by play within various types of groups. Play within family groups involving parents and siblings, play with friends at school and during recess, and play in larger settings especially designed for certain types of play (playgrounds, amusement parks) have all been discussed. Moral aspects of play groups within different cultural settings and with players of older ages also have been the focus of study. Thus, there is a long history in developmental psychology of regarding play groups as important for moral development. Yet, play itself has changed as society has changed, and presently play groups also include ones defined by technological and media play environments that have enlarged the possibility of play across cultures. These more recent play group experiences also have implications for the development of moral emotions, behaviors, and reasoning. This chapter discusses these varied aspects of play groups as contexts for moral development.
The Development of Prosocial Motives
Authors: Carlo Gustavo , Pierotti Sarah L.
Published: February 2020

Prosocial behaviors are inclusive of a wide range of specific forms of behaviors. Prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions that benefit others) are generally linked to individuals’ well-being and healthy adaptation, and they are fundamental events that foster more cooperative and harmonious societies. However, prosocial behaviors can be motivated by selfish motives, which can undermine their beneficial consequences. Therefore, research is needed to understand the correlates of distinctly motivated forms of prosocial behaviors. This chapter reviews theories and research on the development of prosocial motives across childhood to adulthood. Gaps in our understanding are identified and future directions for research are suggested.
The Energy Politics of Brazil
Authors: Massi Eliza , Nem Singh Jewellord
Published: February 2020

This chapter examines energy governance in Brazil. It shows that energy security, defined in terms of national security and economic modernization, historically played a significant role in shaping debates on Brazilian political economy. State-owned enterprises were created, notably Petrobras in oil and gas and Eletrobras in power generation, to respond to growing energy consumption and the country’s industrial ambitions. Ethanol politics, on the other hand, was shaped by contending interests of sugar producers as they negotiated and bargained with the Brazilian state. Despite efforts to open the energy market for private competition, the state remains an important player. Privatization has been limited and heavily guided by the state. The Brazilian state emphasizes the strategic nature of energy and has remained key in securing its energy needs and attempts at energy diversification. Future studies should focus on how far the state is willing to rely on market mechanisms to develop the energy sector as well as explore the link between energy security and national development.
Light and Dark in Prehistoric Malta
Authors: Stoddart Simon , Malone Caroline , Anderson Michael , Barratt Robert
Published: February 2020

The Maltese islands offer an unusual opportunity for the analysis of the interplay of light and dark in a prehistoric context. The potential is provided by the excellent preservation of the architectural monuments which permit the framing of different scenarios of light and dark, tempered by the need to reconstruct tentatively some missing elements such as the roofs. A number of features, such as the intense sunshine and the dramatic storms, have probably remained reasonably constant since prehistory although the modern pluvial patterns may have only developed from about 2200 bc. Other components such as sources of artificial light require archaeological information for their reconstruction. The most difficult task, however, is to understand the reception of light and dark by the prehistoric communities; but the detailed evidence that survives has offered the best possible chance to achieve this objective.
Coffee Machine as a mediating technology of organization
Authors: Bachmann Götz , Bialski Paula
Published: February 2020

Technologies of coffee making and drinking at the workplace and in break rooms provide us with field-internal analytical devices for organizational research. Drawing on five ethnographic stories—prohibited coffee cups in an insurance office; coffee machine battles in a TV studio; the simulation of coffee sociality in a software company; turbulences between two work break shifts in a department store; and the exclusive coffee club in a data services company—this chapter argues that analysing organizational life through the lens of coffee provision is not without pitfalls, but can nevertheless give us useful access to an organization’s inner workings.
Acoustic Tile as a mediating technology of organization
Authors: Martin Reinhold
Published: February 2020

This chapter considers the history and organizational effects of the suspended acoustical tile ceiling in terms of the difference between ‘space’ (below) and ‘plenum’ (above). Reviewing the development of the acoustic tile since the early twentieth century, and the construction systems with which it was suspended to create a plenum between ceiling below and floor above, the chapter argues that this separation gave the ceiling new meaning. Increasingly, by isolating the mechanical hum of environmental technologies within the plenum, the suspended acoustical tile ceiling maintains a difference between the silence of ‘space’ and the noise of the mechanical systems that serve it.
Copy Machine as a mediating technology of organization
Authors: Dommann Monika
Published: February 2020

At the margins of media and organization studies, the copy machine has occasionally appeared as an agent of media change in various forms: as technology of empowerment, as technology of control, as alternative technology to letterpress printing, and as transitional technology leading to the computer. This chapter discusses first how Marshall McLuhan, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, James R. Beniger, Jean Baudrillard, and Lisa Gitelman contributed to a media theory of the copy machine. Based on historical documents, it then analyses the history of the development of the copy machine and its uses in libraries, administration, business, education, and social movements. While photocopiers in libraries undermined the authors’ copyrights privileges, those in state administration challenged the internal power structures in bureaucracy.
By Means of Which: Media, Technology, Organization
Authors: Beyes Timon , Holt Robin , Pias Claus
Published: February 2020

This chapter traces and interrogates media, technology, and organization in their foundational relations, their forms, and their constraining and loosening effects and affects. The folding of humans and technology works both ways: human bodies can, too, be apprehended prosthetically as extensions of technologies. The notion of media then applies to any object that conditions the structure of a certain situation and the specific possibilities of perceiving, acting, and thinking in it. If we begin with this understanding of technology and media as fundamental, conditional, and infrastructural, then how organization takes place is predicated upon such apparatuses. The task is then not one of finding better uses of desks, smartphones, presentation software, or high heels, for all of these have modes of subjectification scripted into them. Rather, it is remaining alive to the hesitations already provided: the glitches, accidents, misuses, and alternative projections, and to wander and wonder with them.
Dating App as a mediating technology of organization
Authors: Thylstrup Nanna Bonde , Veel Kristin
Published: February 2020

Coupling media theories on hook-up and dating apps with theoretical works on cultural technique, this chapter shows that placing dating apps not in the discourse of love but instead in the cultural history of flirtation allows us to explore the ways in which dating apps use uncertainty as an organizational logic with specific properties and implications. This allows us to regard dating apps as part of fundamental questions of the organization of life itself under neoliberalism and the productive tensions between control and uncertainty.
‘Identity Work’
Authors: Oswick Rosie , Oswick Cliff
Published: February 2020

This chapter explores the use of metaphor in identity-related research in organization studies via a systematic analysis of five key review articles. In total, 137 different identity metaphors were identified. It is posited that the existence of a vast array of identity metaphors increases complexity, ambiguity, and indeterminacy rather than producing definitional clarity or meaningful insights. In order to enhance identity research, the authors advocate a focus on three specific forms of metaphor-based inquiry: (1) a deductive approach using metaphors as analytic tools in data gathering (i.e. a projective empirical focus) rather than simply using them as a means of interpreting or framing data (a reflective conceptual emphasis); (2) exposing embedded identity metaphors through inductive epistemologies (e.g. via deconstruction and critical discursive techniques); and (3) the investigation of ‘dormant identity metaphors’ (such as ‘identity work’) using correspondence-based approaches to metaphor via processes of conceptual blending.
Identities, Digital Nomads, and Liquid Modernity
Authors: Ahuja Sumati , Nikolova Natalia , Clegg Stewart
Published: February 2020

This chapter explores the identity implications for people who inhabit the liquid world of organizations. It draws upon Zygmunt Bauman’s notion of liquid modernity and suggests that traditional conceptions may constrain new ways of thinking about identity and identity tensions in increasingly liquidly modern organizational contexts. The authors focus on literature that discusses identity tensions in the workplace and the responses of individuals as they seek to negotiate and/or manage these tensions. In so doing, the authors draw attention to how the nature of liquid modernity challenges existing conceptions of identity work and raise issues and questions for further research.
A Psychodynamic Perspective on Identity as Fabrication
Authors: Petriglieri Gianpiero
Published: February 2020

This chapter reviews psychodynamic perspectives on the emergence and function of individuals’ identities. It draws on traditional psychodynamic theories, which focus on identifications with early caregivers, and systems psychodynamic ones, which focus on work groups and organizations, to put forward the idea of identity as a fabrication. That is, a process of positioning the self in (existential) time and (social) space in ways that fulfil its longings, sustain its beliefs, and bolsters its relations. The chapter argues that a psychodynamic lens can enrich other perspectives on identity, and concludes with some suggestions for future research.
Historical Methods for Researching Identities in Organizations
Authors: Rowlinson Michael , Heller Michael
Published: February 2020

The historic turn in organization studies has given rise to increasing interest in historical methods. In parallel, the cultural turn in business history is associated with concerns beyond narratives of corporate success or failure. But as yet there has been limited historical research on identities in organizations. This chapter sets out historical methods appropriate for examining identities, focusing on exemplars of ethnographic historical research. Whereas corporate history prizes historical sources such as company board minutes, and organizational identity can be researched from corporate communications such as company magazines, it is more difficult to compile a checklist of historical sources for examining identities in organizations. Historical research on clerks and entrepreneurs illustrates the range of sources that could be considered. However, the focus on such literate groups in society also highlights the problem of survivor bias in sources, which historians describe as the silence of the archives.
How Can I Study Who You Are?
Authors: Gill Michael J.
Published: February 2020

Qualitative researchers have employed a variety of distinct methodologies to examine individuals’ identities in organizations. There is, however, limited guidance to help researchers choose between these methodologies to select the approach that is best suited to answer their research questions. Compounding the methodological complexity facing researchers is the growing variation within each existing methodology. This diversity remains under-examined in the limited scholarship that compares methodologies. The purpose of this chapter is, therefore, to consider the variation between and within two distinct methodological approaches to the study of identity work: grounded theory and phenomenology. The chapter establishes some of the key similarities and differences in terms of these methodologies. It then offers guidelines to support researchers in making informed methodological choices to better address the needs of their research.
Real, Fake, and Crystallized Identities
Authors: Tracy Sarah J. , Town Sophia
Published: February 2020

‘Why, even with the proliferation of poststructuralist theoretical understandings of identity, do people routinely talk in terms of “real” and “fake” selves?’ (Tracy and Trethewey, 2005: 168). This chapter examines the deeply rooted assumption and sedimented way of talking about selves as essentialized, authentic, and real. Such viewpoints, along with the tendency to pit ‘real selves’ against ‘fake selves’ are often promulgated even in social constructionist, poststructuralist, and critical work, leading to a number of unintended and problematic consequences. The authors review research related to real and fake selves, and expand upon how Tracy and Trethewey’s (2005) metaphor of the ‘crystallized self’ has extended and opened up additional research that explores: (1) the discursive struggles of resistance and self-disciplining in relation to the preferred self; (2) the difficulty of viewing multiple facets of identity as valuable rather than contradictory; (3) the gendered work involved in boundary-spanning; (4) critical intersectionality; and (5) qualitative research. The authors close the chapter by discussing how the new materialism in organizational studies might extend and inspire future research in terms of crystallized identities and organizations.
Stigmatized Identities in Organizations
Authors: Kreiner Glen E. , Mihelcic Christine A.
Published: February 2020

The notion of stigma refers to a perceived blemish or devaluation of a person or group, based upon a characteristic that a society (or a significant subset of it) deems unworthy. Individual-level stigma within organizations can arise from many different sources—the organization (e.g. corporate scandal, tainted products/services), the occupation (e.g. dirty work jobs), or the person him/herself (e.g. disabilities, mental illness, obesity). Given that stigma can underpin workplace interactions, the authors explore how it may have considerable consequences for an individual’s identity and perceived image. Indeed, they argue that stigma can affect all three levels of individual identity (collective, relational, and personal). They show how individual- and group-level stigma has been treated in the organizational literature, including research on individual-level and collective-level tactics to counteract the image and/or the effects of stigma at work. They also suggest how stigma research might move forward, especially in light of its close conceptual relations to identity and image.
Patronage and Slavery in the Roman World: The Circle of Power
Authors: López Barja de Quiroga Pedro
Published: February 2020

From a patron’s vantage point, slaves, freedmen, clients, and parasites constituted his circle of power. The power an aristocrat had was measured by the number and quality of people belonging to it, and by their status. The composition of this circle changed over time: the proud aristocracy of the Roman Republic, which had ample powers over its dependants, was replaced under the Empire by a ‘service aristocracy’ which had to tolerate imperial meddling into its domestic affairs. Imperium (command) was replaced by beneficium (favour) as the catchword of the time. The most important of all beneficia, manumission, contributed to enhancing and completing the aristocratic circle of power.