Mediamusic (E-Journal)
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Work capacity assessments and efforts to achieve a job match for claimants in a social security setting:an international inventory
No full textPurpose: Many high-income countries are witnessing a shift of focus on eligibility for disability benefits towards promotion of work reintegration. However, little is known about how countries assess work capacity, and how a job match is then obtained. The current study aims to compare work capacity assessments and available efforts to achieve a job match in eight high-income OECD countries. Methods: A survey was conducted among key stakeholders concerning organization of work capacity assessments in social security settings, and efforts made to obtain a job, across eight OECD countries: Australia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Results: In most countries, work capacity is assessed at several time points, with variations in moments and in information used for job matching. In countries obtaining information on personal and work levels, the search to find a job match usually begins with the persons who have disabilities. Conclusion: Although a shift towards a holistic focus in work capacity assessment has been recognized, medical factors still prevail. Limited emphasis is placed on the implications of functional limitations for the possibilities of work. A holistic approach to assessment needs to be coupled with holistic support measures through provision of coordinated and high quality job matching services.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Besides determining eligibility for benefits the outcome of the work capacity assessment can also be used for other purposes such as reintegration and should not result in a static description of work capacity but also deliver insight in support needs. Involving multiple institutions and disciplines in work capacity assessments may result in a broader overview of the claimants’ capacities, however this places high demands on cooperation and data sharing of all those involved. Incorporating the claimants own perspective on work capacity and possibilities to work might improve the legitimacy of the process and reasonably also the achievement of a good and sustainable job match. This can be achieved by using self reported questionnaires and interviews in the assessments.</p
Interpreting Customary International Law:You’ll Never Walk Alone
No full textCustomary international law is one of the formal sources of international law and plays a pivotal role in the existence and functioning of the international legal system. Although for a rule of CIL to emerge a widespread, representative, constant and virtually uniform state practice is required, accompanied by the requisite opinio juris, that does not necessarily mean that CIL is a slow and archaic process, which has been overcome by extensive treaty-making. On the contrary, CIL remains a vital element in the corpus of international law that is open to refinement, clarification, development and evolution. This process does not happen only through the classical emergence and/or subsequent modification of the rule, but also and perhaps most importantly through the process of interpretation. This chapter demonstrates this by showing that CIL interpretation is neither problematic from a theoretical perspective, nor is it the only example of interpretation of unwritten rules. This is further reinforced by jurisprudence taken from both the domestic and the international legal system, although such interpretative exercises are not without their limits. What emerges from this analysis is that CIL interpretation, as Sur has beautifully noted, is of a negentropic nature that constantly nourishes and updates CIL
White Matter Microstructure in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder:A Systematic Tractography Study in 654 Individuals
No full textBACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by age-inappropriate levels of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity. ADHD has been related to differences in white matter (WM) microstructure. However, much remains unclear regarding the nature of these WM differences and which clinical aspects of ADHD they reflect. We systematically investigated whether fractional anisotropy (FA) is associated with current and/or lifetime categorical diagnosis, impairment in daily life, and continuous ADHD symptom measures.METHODS: Diffusion-weighted imaging data were obtained from 654 participants (322 unaffected, 258 affected, 74 subthreshold; 7-29 years of age). We applied automated global probabilistic tractography on 18 major WM pathways. Linear mixed-effects regression models were used to examine associations of clinical measures with overall brain and tract-specific FA.RESULTS: There were significant interactions of tract with all ADHD variables on FA. There were no significant associations of FA with current or lifetime diagnosis, nor with impairment. Lower FA in the right cingulum angular bundle was associated with higher hyperactivity-impulsivity symptom severity (pfamilywise error = .045). There were no significant effects for other tracts.CONCLUSIONS: This is the first time global probabilistic tractography has been applied to an ADHD dataset of this size. We found no evidence for altered FA in association with ADHD diagnosis. Our findings indicate that associations of FA with ADHD are not uniformly distributed across WM tracts. Continuous symptom measures of ADHD may be more sensitive to FA than diagnostic categories. The right cingulum angular bundle in particular may play a role in symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity.</p
Greater male than female variability in regional brain structure across the lifespan
No full textFor many traits, males show greater variability than females, with possible implications for understanding sex differences in health and disease. Here, the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium presents the largest-ever mega-analysis of sex differences in variability of brain structure, based on international data spanning nine decades of life. Subcortical volumes, cortical surface area and cortical thickness were assessed in MRI data of 16,683 healthy individuals 1-90 years old (47% females). We observed significant patterns of greater male than female between-subject variance for all subcortical volumetric measures, all cortical surface area measures, and 60% of cortical thickness measures. This pattern was stable across the lifespan for 50% of the subcortical structures, 70% of the regional area measures, and nearly all regions for thickness. Our findings that these sex differences are present in childhood implicate early life genetic or gene-environment interaction mechanisms. The findings highlight the importance of individual differences within the sexes, that may underpin sex-specific vulnerability to disorders.</p
The unique and common effects of emotional intelligence dimensions on job satisfaction and facets of job performance:an exploratory study in three countries
No full textPrevious empirical studies have either used a unidimensional or a multidimensional analytical approach to examine the consequences of emotional intelligence (EI). In this exploratory study we integrate and extend these two approaches, using a novel perspective to better understand the structure of the EI-job satisfaction and the EI-job performance relationship. Using commonality analysis and data from Germany, India, as well as the U.S. we partition the explained variance for job satisfaction, in- role performance, and extra-role performance into the variance that is uniquely explained by the individual EI dimensions and the variance that is common to sets of EI dimensions. We provide evidence that the EI dimensions are differently related to job satisfaction and job performance facets. Furthermore, the findings offer insights on how unique and common effects vary across countries. Partitioning the unique and commonly shared variance allows us to assess the true predictive power of individual EI dimensions and of sets of EI dimensions. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for theory development and provide future research directions.</p
Target language use of Dutch EFL student teachers:Three longitudinal case studies
No full textThis longitudinal research presents case studies of three English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers showing their development regarding target language (TL) use, taking into account both the amount of TL use and the classroom situations the TL is used in. Additionally, the factors that influence their TL use are discussed. The data consist of four questionnaires, three classroom observations, and a written reflection on TL use. Results show that – similar to experienced teachers – these student teachers used the TL more in senior than in junior classes and mainly in linguistically predictable situations. On the other hand, the amount of their TL use was high, especially in senior classes, compared to earlier studies in the Dutch context. The student teachers displayed different developmental patterns concerning TL use during teacher education: two of them increased their use of English, mainly in junior classes; TL use of the other student remained stable. Teacher education appeared to mediate TL use one year after graduation for two students. TL use had changed after finishing teacher education but no coherent developments could be discerned
Engaging city residents in climate action:Addressing the personal and group value-base behind residents' climate actions
No full textCities can play a pivotal role in accelerating climate action (i.e., climate mitigation and adaption). Yet, the success of cities’ climate strategies strongly depends on the cities’ residents, as city residents often have to accept, adopt, undertake and participate in climate actions. In the current paper, we discuss how better understanding city residents’ motives – and particularly the personal and group values that underlie city residents’ climate actions – could foster climate action in cities. Importantly, we discuss the rich literature in social sciences on personal values, which – though typically overlooked by policy makers – highlights the relevance of focusing on personal biospheric values (i.e., caring about nature and environment) in explaining and promoting individuals’ climate actions. Additionally, we provide novel insights in how perceived biospheric group values (i.e., the extent in which relevant groups are perceived to endorse biospheric values) can strengthen the value-base for climate actions, particularly among those residents who weakly endorse biospheric values themselves. Critically, we provide concrete examples of how cities can strengthen the group value-base for climate actions, thereby showing how cities can play a unique role in engaging residents in climate action
Conversational functions of ‘I know’, ‘you know’ and ‘we know’ in collaborative writing of primary school children
No full textThis paper discusses how primary school students, who are writing together in the context of inquiry learning, explicitly orient to knowing of oneself and others within the peer group. Using Conversation Analysis, we disclose the conversational functions of assertions holding ‘I know’, ‘you know’ and ‘we know’. First, students position themselves as knowledgeable, to (i) express a preannouncement of a proposal, (ii) respond to a request for information and (iii) reinforce an assertion with use of an evidential. Second, students claim equal epistemic access, as a response to an action that conveys epistemic authority of a peer. Third, students indicate shared knowledge with other participants, to (i) pursue agreement, (ii) check the epistemic status of a co-participant, (iii) reject a proposal for grounds of relevance and (iv) mark shared, newfound knowledge. The different practices are discussed in terms of epistemics in conversation and dialogic writing
Cryo-EM structure of a tetrameric photosystem I from Chroococcidiopsis TS-821, a thermophilic, unicellular, non-heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium
No full textPhotosystem I (PSI) is one of two photosystems involved in oxygenic photosynthesis. PSI of cyanobacteria exists in monomeric, trimeric, and tetrameric forms, in contrast to the strictly monomeric form of PSI in plants and algae. The tetrameric organization raises questions about its structural, physiological, and evolutionary significance. Here we report the ∼3.72 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of tetrameric PSI from the thermophilic, unicellular cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis sp. TS-821. The structure resolves 44 subunits and 448 cofactor molecules. We conclude that the tetramer is arranged via two different interfaces resulting from a dimer-of-dimers organization. The localization of chlorophyll molecules permits an excitation energy pathway within and between adjacent monomers. Bioinformatics analysis reveals conserved regions in the PsaL subunit that correlate with the oligomeric state. Tetrameric PSI may function as a key evolutionary step between the trimeric and monomeric forms of PSI organization in photosynthetic organisms
Can GDP Measurement Be Further Improved? Data Revision and Reconciliation
No full textRecent years have seen many attempts to combine expenditure-side estimates of U.S. real output (GDE) growth with income-side estimates (GDI) to improve estimates of real GDP growth. We show how to incorporate information from multiple releases of noisy data to provide more precise estimates while avoiding some of the identifying assumptions required in earlier work. This relies on a new insight: using multiple data releases allows us to distinguish news and noise measurement errors in situations where a single vintage does not. We find that (a) the data prefer averaging across multiple releases instead of discarding early releases in favor of later ones, and (b) that initial estimates of GDI are quite informative. Our new measure, GDP(++), undergoes smaller revisions and tracks expenditure measures of GDP growth more closely than either the simple average of the expenditure and income measures published by the BEA or the GDP growth measure of Aruoba et al. published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.</p