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Tyred out: natural ageing and aesthetic labour in Pirelli’s 2017 calendar
Get PDFWe review how natural ageing is constructed in contemporary media discourse by examining coverage of the 2017 Pirelli calendar. While highly digitized and provocative representations of youthfulness might be readily associated with this calendar, the 2017 edition featured actors aged 28-71, shot in black and white with limited makeup and apparently no digitization. As older women we reflexively examine its exposure of how women might age naturally; and discursively unpack tensions surrounding understandings of beauty and empowerment across media coverage. We suggest the Pirelli calendar is a complex media production, with impact that extends far beyond the product itself, spreading through the economic system and connecting tyres to art in the process. We progress
understandings of aesthetic labour across the lifecourse, offer further development of the beauty and empowerment tensions embedded in the aesthetics of natural ageing and explain how natural ageing facilitates a multi-layered process of binding
Across and along-strike crustal structure variations of the western Afar margin and adjacent plateau: insights from receiver functions analysis
Get PDFWe used teleseismic receiver function analysis to image the crustal structure beneath 24 broadband seismic stations densely deployed along two profiles traversing different structural units across the western Afar margin. Our high-resolution receiver function results image pronounced spatial variations in the crustal structure along the profiles and provide improved insights to understand how strain is partitioned in the crust during rifting. Beneath the western plateau next to northern Afar, the crust is likely felsic-to-intermediate in composition (average Vp/Vs 1.74), with a step like thinning of the crust from an average of 38 km beneath the western plateau to an average of 22 km beneath the marginal graben. Consistently thicker crust is observed beneath the southern profile (central Afar), showing four distinct regions of uniform crustal thickness: 1) an average crustal thickness of 42 km beneath the western plateau; 2) 34 km beneath the foothills area; 3) 28 km beneath the marginal graben and the wide extensional basin and 4) 21 km beneath the central rift axis. We use crustal thickness results to estimate a stretching factor β of 2.2 and 2.7 for central Afar and northern Afar respectively. Our estimated values are lower than β > 3.0 predicted from plate reconstructions, and we interpret that the variations are best explained by 2–5 km magmatic addition into the crust. The crustal composition beneath the southern profile is more complex with elevated Vp/Vs ratios ranging between 1.79 and 1.85 beneath the western plateau and marginal graben. This is consistent with a greater mafic component and best explained by crust altered by intrusions due to significant pre and syn-rift magmatic activity. Abnormally high Vp/Vs ratios of more than 1.90 are observed beneath the axial rift zone of central Afar, which most likely suggests the localization of partial melt within the crust
What does it mean to #believewomen? popular feminism and survivor narratives
Get PDFThe hashtag #BelieveWomen emerged on Twitter in the aftermath of #MeToo and the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation in 2018. I argue that the hashtag can be read as an attempt to counter the historical denial of women’s narratives of sexual violence by restoring the autobiographical pact between a narrator who tells the truth and an audience who believes them. I contest criticisms of the hashtag as promoting unqualified belief and threatening due process to argue instead that an orientation towards belief is a necessary step towards offering survivor narratives a fair hearing and the possibility of a just outcome.
Book synopsis: The Routledge Companion to Narrative Theory brings together top scholars in the field to explore the significance of narrative to pressing social, cultural and theoretical issues. How does narrative both inform and limit the way we think today? From conspiracy theories and social media movements to racial politics and climate change future scenarios, the reach is broad. This volume is distinctive for addressing the complicated relations between the interdisciplinary narrative turn in the academy and the contemporary boom of instrumental storytelling in the public sphere. The scholars collected here explore new theories of causality, experientiality, and fictionality, challenge normative modes of storytelling, and offer polemical accounts of narrative fiction, nonfiction, and video games. Drawing upon the latest research in areas from cognitive sciences to complexity theory the volume provides an accessible entry point for those new to the myriad applications of narrative theory, and a point of departure for new scholarship
Size constancy mechanisms: empirical evidence from touch
Get PDFSeveral studies have shown the presence of large anisotropies for tactile distance perception across several parts of the body. Tactile distance between two touches on the dorsum of the hand is perceived as larger when they are oriented mediolaterally (across the hand) than proximo-distally (along the hand). This effect can be partially explained by the characteristics of primary somatosensory cortex representations. However, this phenomenon is significantly attenuated relative to differences in acuity and cortical magnification suggesting a process of tactile size constancy. It is unknown whether the same kind of compensation takes place also when estimating the size of a continuous object. Here, we investigated whether the tactile anisotropy that typically emerges when participants have to estimate the distance between two touches is also present when a continuous object touches the skin and participants have to estimate its size. In separate blocks, participants judged which of two tactile distances or objects on the dorsum of their hand felt larger. One stimulation (first or second) was aligned with the proximo-distal axis (along the hand), the other with the mediolateral axis (across the hand). Results showed a clear anisotropy for distances between two distinct points, with across distances consistently perceived as larger than along distance, as in previous studies. Critically, however, this bias was significantly reduced or absent for judgments of the length of continuous objects. These results suggest that a tactile size constancy process is more effective when the tactile size of an object has to be approximated compared to when the distance between two touches has to be determined. The possible mechanism subserving these results is described and discussed. We suggest that a lateral inhibition mechanism, when an object touches the skin, provides information through the distribution of the inhibitory subfields of the RF about the shape of the tactile RF itself. Such process allows an effective tactile size compensatory mechanism where a good match between the physical and perceptual dimension of the object is achieved
Death
No full textThis is a witness statement about the making and use of witness statements in the asylum appeals process before the British immigration tribunal system
Using administrative data to examine telemedicine usage among Medicaid beneficiaries during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic
No full textBackground:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic necessitated the replacement of in-person physician consultations with telemedicine. During the pandemic, Medicaid covered the cost of telemedicine visits.
Objectives:
The aim was to measure the adoption of telemedicine during the pandemic. We focus on key patient subgroups including those with chronic conditions, those living in urban versus rural areas, and different age groups.
Methods:
This study examined the universe of claims made by Florida Medicaid beneficiaries (n=2.4 million) between January 2019 and July 2020. Outpatient visits were identified as in-person or telemedicine. Telemedicine visits were classified into audio-visual or audio-only visits.
Results:
We find that telemedicine offsets much of the decline in in-person outpatient visits among Florida’s Medicaid enrollees, however, uptake differs by enrollee type. High utilizers of care and beneficiaries with chronic conditions were significantly more likely to use telemedicine, while enrollees living in rural areas and health professional shortage areas were moderately less likely to use telemedicine. Elderly Medicaid recipients (dual-eligibles) used audio-only telemedicine visits at higher rates than other age groups, and the demand for these consultations is more persistent.
Conclusions:
Telemedicine offset the decline in health care utilization among Florida’s Medicaid-enrolled population during the novel coronavirus pandemic, with particularly high uptake among those with prior histories of high utilization. Audio-only visits are a potentially important method of delivery for the oldest Medicaid beneficiaries
Managing minds at work: development of a digital line manager training program
Get PDFMental ill-health is the leading cause of sickness absence, creating a high economic burden. Workplace interventions aimed at supporting employers in the prevention of mental ill-health in the workforce are urgently required. Managing Minds at Work is a digital intervention aimed at supporting line managers in promoting better mental health at work through a preventative approach. This intervention was developed as part of the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot, a wider initiative aimed at supporting employers across the Midlands region of the United Kingdom to improve the future of workplace mental health and wellbeing. The aim of the study is to describe the design and development of the Managing Minds at Work digital training program, prior to feasibility testing. We adopted a collaborative participatory design involving co-design (users as partners) and principles of user-centred design (pilot and usability testing). An agile methodology was used to co-create intervention content with a stakeholder virtual community of practice. Development processes were mapped to core elements of the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions. The program covers five broad areas: (i) promoting self-care techniques among line managers; (ii) designing work to prevent work-related stress; (iii) management competencies to prevent and reduce stress; (iv) having conversations with employees about mental health; (v) building a psychologically safe work environment. It was considered by stakeholders to be appropriate for any type of organization, irrespective of their size or resources. Pilot and usability testing (n = 37 surveys) aligned with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) demonstrated that the program was perceived to be useful, relevant, and easy to use by managers across sectors, organization types, and sizes. We identified positive impacts on manager attitudes and behavioral intentions related to preventing mental ill-health and promoting good mental wellbeing at work. The next step is to explore the feasibility and acceptability of Managing Minds at Work with line managers in diverse employment settings
Antisemitism, racism, revolution
Get PDFIn this essay, I respond to Alana Lentin, Yair Wallach, David Renton and Andrew Sloin, who have each written reviews of my book Antisemitism and the Russian Revolution for this symposium. Taken together, I suggest that their contributions raise important issues in the study of antisemitism past and present. In particular, their commentaries draw attention to the ever-pressing issue of the relationship between antisemitism and other forms of racism. Further, they touch on the importance of understanding the role of identity (in this case, Jewish identity) in political confrontations with antisemitism and in anti-racism more broadly. Finally, through a discussion of the work of Moishe Postone, I discuss the limits and possibilities of deploying theories of antisemitism across time and space in empirically driven historical sociology
Stimulating innovation on social product development: an analysis of social behaviors in online innovation communities
No full textWith firms’ increasing adoption of social product development strategies, such as mass collaboration and crowdsourcing, online users are actively participating in the development of new products and services via social media platforms. Online innovation communities (OICs), one representative of such social media platforms, have been used by large firms to collect ideas from their users and facilitate the product development process. While it is extensively studied that product ideas with high popularity on OICs are of great importance to the product development, research on what social behaviors of online users lead to the high popularity is largely unclear. This article conducts an empirical study by collecting a large-scale, quantitative dataset from an OIC between 2014 and 2018. With the analysis of users’ online idea posting and commenting behaviors, our results reveal that the idea contribution experience, together with comment diversity, positively influence the overall popularity of an individual's ideas, while the motivation of providing comments is negatively related. Moreover, user's innovation capability poses a positive effect on both overall and average popularity of ideas. These findings can help firms better incentivise their users on OICs to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of social product development
Addressing resistance to change through a micro interpersonal lens: an investigation into the coaching process
Get PDFResearch Design: We drew upon critical realism and abductive research methodology to understand connections between coaching intervention and individual change resistance through 21 in-depth interviews with independent coaches listed in coaching associations in Germany.
Purpose: This study investigated resistance to change and change management through a micro-level interpersonal perspective. Specifically, this paper addresses in what way external change experts, such as coaches, identify distinctive emotional and behavioural indicators of resistance and facilitate individuals to develop positive strengths and motivation to change.
Findings: This study first re-evaluates the implications of resistance and extends its meaning from negative obstacles into natural emotional responses of individuals and constructive resources for change. In addition, the study results indicate resistance can be distinguished through both explicit behaviours, body language along with implicit emotional reactions, like being tiredness or making small jokes. Moreover, several micro-level interpersonal approaches for coaches to apply in dealing with resistance, including understanding coachees’ cognitive status and working environment, adapting varied communication styles as well as drawing upon coachees’ strengths.
Originality: Overall, this study demonstrates that external coaching is one of the valuable approaches in responding to individual resistance in organisational change management. The research findings widen existing bipolar paradigms of resistance (either change obstacles or positive resource) into a neutral spectrum which holds impartial view on emotional reactions to change. Furthermore, individual differences and contextual factors play essential roles in change process, for instance, coachees’ personality, personal experiences, knowledge, interpretations to change process and topics as well as organisational context (e.g., power, hierarchy and culture) need to be considered into change management strategy.
Practical Implications: The research results offer organisations (e.g., managers and HR professionals) essential guidelines in micro-level change management strategy by considering external coaching as a valuable option to deal with varied individual, social and contextual factors (e.g., organisational power and politics). From the organisational investment perspective, indicators of resistance and approaches to facilitate coachees’ emotional reactions can be served as a preliminary protocol for stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of their change management schemes. Moreover, the framework outlined in this research can be considered in the future coaching education and professional development programmes
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