88 research outputs found
Parasyntax and the sentential level in axiomatic functionalism
No full textThis thesis is presented as a contribution to the St Andrews School
of Linguistics, Axiomatic Functionalism, as developed by Mulder and
Hervey. It is essentially a piece of Theoretical Linguistics which
outlines an approach to the hitherto undeveloped areas of Parasyntax
and the Sentential Level in Axiomatic Functionalism.
The theoretical arguments are supported by descriptive hypotheses
concerning the nature of Spoken English. These descriptions are
corpus-based.
The conclusion reached by the author is that not only are Parasyntax
and the Sentential Level distinct in theory (this is axiomatic), but
they are also distinct in their application as regards methodology
and description. This conclusion will undoubtedly prove to be
controversial in the light of recent developments in Axiomatic
Functionalism concerning the Postulates in particular (of which the
author was at the time of writing unaware), and in the light of
other Functionalist approaches to the nature of intonation and
sentences.
It is anticipated that this thesis will be of value to those
interested in Functionalism as well as those concerned with
intonation and the levels of language beyond syntax
Qualities of communication in palliative care conversations in dialysis
No full textUndergraduateKatharine L Cheung, Samantha Smoger, Manjula Kurella Tamura, Michael LaMantia, Terry Rabinowitz, Renee D. Stapleton, Robert Gramling Abstract: Background: Little is known about the content of communication in palliative care telehealth conversations, particularly in a population of patients receiving dialysis. Understanding the content and process of these conversations through qualitative analyses may lead to insights about how palliative care improves quality of life. Methods: We conducted a qualitative analysis of video-recordings obtained during a pilot palliative teleconsultation program. Patient participants were recruited from five dialysis facilities affiliated with an academic medical center. The target population included patients with kidney failure receiving in-center dialysis. Palliative care clinicians conducted teleconsultation using a large wall-mounted screen with a camera mounted on a pole and positioned mid-screen in the line of sight to facilitate direct eye contact. Patients used an iPad that was attached to an IV pole positioned next to the dialysis chair. Conversations were coded for using a pre-existing framework of themes and content from the Serious Illness Conversation Guide and revised Edmonton Symptom Assessment System-renal. Results: We recruited 39 patients to undergo a telepalliative care consultation while receiving dialysis, 34 of whom ultimately completed the teleconsultation. Four specialty palliative care clinicians (three physicians and one nurse practitioner) conducted 35 visits with 34 patients. Median (IQR) duration of conversation was 42 (28, 57) minutes. Most frequently discussed content included sources of strength (91%), critical abilities (88%), illness understanding (85%), fears and worries (85%), what family knows (85%), fatigue (77%) and pain (65%). Process features such as summarizing statements (85%) and making a recommendation (82%) were common, while connectional silence (56%), and emotion expression (21%) occurred less often. Conclusions: Unscripted palliative care conversations in outpatient dialysis units via telemedicine exhibited many domains recommended by the Serious Illness Conversation Guide, with less frequent discussion of symptoms. Emotion expression was uncommon for these conversations that occurred in an open setting. This study was funded by the National Palliative Care Research Center
Impact of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis/Still’s disease on adolescents as evidenced through social media posts
No full textRenee F Modica,1 Kathleen G Lomax,2 Pamela Batzel,3 Armelle Cassanas3 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; 2Immunology, Hepatology and Dermatology Medical Affairs, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA; 3Treato, Princeton, NJ, USA Purpose: To understand the experience of adolescent systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) patients and those of their parents based on their social media posts.Methods: English language posts related to SJIA, Still’s disease, or juvenile arthritis were collected and analyzed.Results: In total, 71 posts created between 2009 and 2015 on 15 websites were identified in November 2015. Of the 32 unique authors, 17 were SJIA patients aged 13–20 years (40 posts), 7 were mothers of SJIA patients (12 posts), and 8 patients had unspecified forms of juvenile arthritis (19 posts). Many patients posted about similar diagnostic experiences marked by 5 phases: 1) early prediagnosis: pain and fatigue overlooked until crisis occurred, 2) first misdiagnosis: doctors talked about “growing pains” and psychosocial problems (“fake pains” to avoid school), 3) second misdiagnosis: severity acknowledged, but diagnosed as leukemia or another cancer, 4) tests: tests leading to diagnosis and treatment conducted, and 5) cognitive identity: patient accepted the diagnosis and its implications. Many adolescent patients, looking back at disease onset in their childhood, described themselves as a “sleeping child” rather than the typical active child. Several patients tried to hide their illness from friends, but expressed concerns openly online. Many patients described SJIA as a powerful external enemy, using terms like “bulldozer,” “dragon,” and “monster.” Many posts from patients and their mothers used superhero language/imagery to help “fight” SJIA. Some patients also posted about the risk of death.Conclusion: Although most adolescent SJIA patients openly posted about the difficulties of their disease online, they made efforts to hide their disease in the real world. They frequently used superhero words and images in describing their fight for better health. Physicians can use these insights when counseling SJIA patients to provide a narrative that meshes with the patients’ worldview and perhaps to improve physician–patient communication to increase treatment adherence. Keywords: adolescents, juvenile arthritis, SJIA, social media, Still’s disease, superheroe
Effects of a 10-week multimodal dance and art intervention program leading to a public performance in persons with multiple sclerosis - A controlled pilot-trial
No full textBackground: : Dance therapy is increasingly reported in neurological diseases for improving several motor and cognitive functions, but was mostly studied in partner dance. No individual choreo-based dance program has ever been reported in MS. Objectives: : The aim of this pilot study is to investigate effects of a ten-week choreo-based dance intervention on different impairments in MS. Participants: : Seventeen participants with MS were allocated to a dance group (DG) or an art group (AG) for a ten-week intervention program, with a public live performance at the end of the intervention. Methods: : The DG received choreo-based dance courses twice a week for 90 min, while the active control AG weekly contributed to the production by painting, music, spoken word and photo- or videography. Measurements for fatigue and fatigability, physical capacity and coordination, sensory function, cognitive capacity, quality of life and dual task performance took place before and after the intervention. Differences were analysed with Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. Results: : Both groups improved significantly on executive cognitive performance during dual task and fatigue. Only the DG improved significantly on functional lower limb strength, hand function, coordination, self-reported balance and walking, and showed a trend towards improving on cognition (PASAT). The AG showed significant improvements in on cognitive function (SDMT). Conclusion: : A ten-week multimodal dance intervention has positive effects on impact of fatigue, physical capacity and coordination, and cognitive performance during a dual task. Larger samples, follow-up measurements and research in different disability groups is recommended.We would like to acknowledge and thank all the participants/dancers/artists that contributed to this performance and new research data. Besides, we would also like to thank Linda Ramon, Yves Van Geel, the research team of Prof. Dr. Peter Feys and the physiotherapist of Fit Up for their constant guidance, presence and support during this project. We also acknowledge the support of Fit Up Plus and Altena (Kontich) for allowing us to use their space and rooms to prepare this project. Lastly, we would like to sincerely thank the masterthesis students Katrien Van Den Broeck and Sofie Cardeynaels, for their assistance in testing, data curation, data digitalisation, data analysis and interpretation, for which without them this study and data analysis could not have been possible.Van Geel, F (corresponding author), Hasselt Univ, Fac Rehabil Sci, REVAL Rehabil Res Ctr, Hasselt, Belgium.
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
The family journey-to-diagnosis with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a cross-sectional study of the changing social media presence
No full textRenee F Modica,1 Kathleen Graham Lomax,2 Pamela Batzel,3 Leah Shapardanis,3 Kimberly Compton Katzer,3 Melissa E Elder1 1Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; 2Immunology and Dermatology Medical Affairs, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, USA; 3Treato, Princeton, NJ, USA Background: Children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) often encounter a delay between symptom onset and disease diagnosis, partly due to the broad differential of fever and lack of symptom recognition by providers. Families often seek multiple medical opinions and post on social media about their frustrations. This linguistic analysis observed the changing language patterns and social media posting behaviors of parents in the time leading to, during, and after SJIA diagnosis. Methods: Public social media sites were manually reviewed by a linguistic team to evaluate posts about SJIA from US-based parents. Results: A total of 3,979 posts between July 2001 and January 2015 were reviewed from 108 sites. Pre-SJIA diagnosis parents sought answers and shared status updates on social media, focusing primarily on the following three site types: alternative/natural lifestyle forums (39%), Facebook (27%), and disease-specific forums (17%). Posts during early prediagnosis phases were characterized by expressive language showing confidence in health care providers and trust in parental instincts. At later prediagnosis stages, parents continued to use social media, but the posts demonstrated increased frustration with delays in diagnosis and gaps in communication with providers. More objective symptom descriptions and a greatly reduced child-centered emotional focus were observed as parents shifted into caregiving roles. Once the diagnosis of SJIA was confirmed, parents used straightforward, less expressive language, and Facebook (47%) to make "announcement" posts and increased their use of SJIA websites (30%). With treatment initiation, the posts demonstrated a slow return of expressive language and an increased parental understanding of the "new normal". Conclusion: Parents use different language styles, frames of reference, and websites before and after SJIA diagnosis. Gaps in parent–provider communication, especially before diagnosis, and their new roles as caregivers lead to parental use of social media to express frustration with the health care process. Providers should tailor their discussions with parents to address these issues. Keywords: systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, social media, linguistics, language frames, diagnostic proces
Uncertainty and the price for crude oil reserves
No full textInnovations in futures, options, and derivative instruments permit active trading, speculating and hedging - linking markets for physical petroleum products with financial markets. These derivative markets continuously value petroleum delivered today and for future dates, providing a market price for inventories. Underground petroleum reserves are also an inventory defined by exploration surveys and development drilling. Thus, observable market information can be used to value these reserves. Option - valuation models can be used to price reserves using observable markets, but are dependent on unexplained convenience yields revealed by the term structure of futures prices. The authors apply a general inventory pricing model to petroleum inventories and generate an empirical model of the returns to storage for petroleum markets. They examine the determinants of the crude oil convenience yield using a stochastic control model. They specify optimal production and inventory conditions using a third-order cost function and estimate them using monthly observations. Their inventory arbitrage condition embodies the Hotelling principle and Kaldor's convenience yield, and includes a premium on the dispersion in crude oil prices. The empirical results suggest that returns to storage contain both a cost-reducing component and often sizable premiums associated with the dispersion of petroleum prices. Their findings suggest that crude oil markets differentiated by quality and location provide similar premiums. The premiums associated with the dispersion of petroleum prices may account for persistent backwardation in crude oil prices. This finding may also explain the wide discrepancies between Hotelling values and transaction prices found in previous studies.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Markets and Market Access,Labor Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Oil Refining&Gas Industry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research
Unemployment insurance in Algeria : implications for a labor market in transition
No full textTo predict how Algeria's unemployment crisis will evolve, the author evaluates the Algerian unemployment insurance system's ability to finance itself, to affect employment decisions, and promote enterprise restructuring. The main conclusion is that industrial restructuring has serious and persistent implications for the labor market. In an environment where many equilibria are possible, there is a real danger of reaching a high unemployment equilibrium. The big-bang experience of structural adjustment in Central and Eastern Europe transition economies resulted in large-scale unemployment. Despite considerable restructuring progress, structural rigidities still exist in the labor market, and long-term unemployment has persisted. One advantage of the big-bang approach is adjustment speed, but the resulting unemployment may be too costly for Algeria's economy, especially if it persists. A more modern mixed bang approach would incorporate active employment measures to mitigate entrenched unemployment. The policies will maintain or enhance human capital through work, so idle workers don't lose their skills. Flex-time arrangements would help workers maintain an attachment to the labor force. However minor, such work would help workers avoid the traps of long-term unemployment. Two striking conclusions emerge from the Central and Eastern European experience: a) unemployment is not essential to enterprise restructuring and labor market adjustment;and b) growing long-term unemployment is self-fulfilling and results in higher and persistence unemployment. Although active employment measures are costly and have relatively low rates of return in the short run, they can be marginally effective as part of a long-term strategy.Health Economics&Finance,Labor Policies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform
MyFutures: Imagining speculative care and support futures in The Netherlands
No full textIn many Western societies, decisions about leaving home and spending your last years in a care home are often taken suddenly. Immediate health issues force family, friends and neighbours who offer informal support to ask for immediate formal support. Such urgent situations do not lead to the best solutions.Design Conceptualization and Communicatio
A Case of Polyarteritis Nodosa Associated with Vertebral Artery Vasculitis Treated Successfully with Tocilizumab and Cyclophosphamide
No full textPediatric polyarteritis nodosa is rare systemic necrotizing arteritis involving small- and medium-sized muscular arteries characterized by aneurysmal dilatations involving the vessel wall. Aneurysms associated with polyarteritis nodosa are common in visceral arteries; however intracranial aneurysms have also been reported and can be associated with central nervous system symptoms, significant morbidity, and mortality. To our knowledge extracranial involvement of the vertebral arteries has not been reported but has the potential to be deleterious due to fact that they supply the central nervous system vasculature. We present a case of a 3-year-old Haitian boy with polyarteritis nodosa that presented with extracranial vessel involvement of his vertebral arteries. After thorough diagnostic imaging, including a bone scan, ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance Imaging/Angiography, and Computed Tomography Angiography, he was noted to have vertebral artery vasculitis, periostitis, subacute epididymoorchitis, arthritis, and myositis. He met diagnostic criteria for polyarteritis nodosa and was treated with cyclophosphamide, methylprednisolone, and tocilizumab, which resulted in improvement of his inflammatory markers, radiographic findings, and physical symptoms after treatment. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of vertebral artery vasculitis in polyarteritis nodosa as well as successful treatment of the condition using the combination cyclophosphamide and tocilizumab for this condition
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