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The term ‘in the moment’ has received growing interest in the context of music programmes for people living with dementia, with music therapists, family carers, health-care professionals and people living with dementia themselves reporting the value of framing musical experiences in the ‘here and now’. Although this term is being used more frequently within the literature, there has yet to be a formal examination of such ‘in the moment’ musical experiences and how they might benefit a person living with dementia. We used a multiple-case study approach to develop a thematic framework of ‘in the moment’ musical experiences within the context of a music-making programme for people living with dementia. The research followed six people living with dementia and four family carers, and used video-observation and video-elicitation interviews to capture and analyse ‘in the moment’ experiences. Four thematic observations were developed which captured ‘in the moment’ musical experiences: Sharing a life story through music, Musical agency ‘in the moment’, Feeling connected ‘in the moment’ and Musical ripples into everyday life. These findings showcase the creativity and musical abilities of people living with dementia whilst affirming music as a medium to connect people living with dementia with their own life story, other people and the environments in which music-making takes place.
Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) after cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) shunt surgery is thought to be acquired intraoperatively. Biomaterial-associated infection can present up to 1 year after surgery, but many national systems have shortened follow-up to 90 days. We compared 3- versus 12-month follow-up periods to determine the nature of case ascertainment in the 2 periods. Methods: Participants of any age with placement of an internal CSF shunt or revision surgical manipulation of an existing internal shunt identified in the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP) participating hospitals between 2006 and 2018 were eligible. We excluded patients with external shunting devices or culture-positive CSF at the time of surgery. Patients were followed for 12 months after surgery for the primary outcome of a CSF infection with a positive CSF culture by review of laboratory and health records. Patients were categorized as adult (aged ≥18 years) or pediatric (aged < 18 years). The infection rate was expressed as the number of CSF shunt-associated infections divided by the number of shunt surgeries per 100 procedures. Results: In total, 325 patients (53% female) met inclusion criteria in 14 hospitals from 7 provinces were identified. Overall, 46.1% of surgeries were shunt revisions and 90.3% of shunts were ventriculoperitoneal. For pediatric patients, the median age was 0.7 years (IQR, 0.2–7.0). For adult patients, the median age was 47.9 years (IQR, 29.6–64.6). The SSI rates per 100 procedures were 3.69 for adults and 3.65 for pediatrics. The overall SSI rates per 100 procedures at 3 and 12 months were 2.74 (n = 265) and 3.48 (n = 323), respectively. By 3 months (90 days), 82% of infection cases were identified (Fig. 1). The median time from procedure to SSI detection was 30 days (IQR, 10–65). No difference was found in the microbiology of the shunt infections at 3- and 12-month follow-ups. The most common pathogens were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (43.6 %), followed by S. aureus (24.8 %) and Propionibacterium spp (6.5 %). No differences in age distribution, gender, surgery type (new or revision), shunt type, or infecting organisms were observed when 3- and 12-month periods were compared. Conclusions: CSF-SSI surveillance for 3 versus 12 months would capture 82.0% (95% CI, 77.5–86.0) of cases, with no significant differences in the patient characteristics, surgery types, or pathogens. A 3-month follow-up can reduce resources and allow for more timely reporting of infection rates.
This article draws upon six social research studies completed by members of the Dementia and Ageing Research Team at The University of Manchester and their associated networks over an eight-year period (2011–2019) with the aim of constructing a definition of ‘being in the moment’ and situating it within a continuum of moments that could be used to contextualise and frame the lived experience of dementia. Using the approach formulated by Pound et al. (2005) in synthesising qualitative studies, we identified this continuum of moments as comprising four sequential and interlinked steps: (a) ‘creating the moment’, defined as the processes and procedures necessary to enable being in the moment to take place – the time necessary for this to occur can range from fleeting to prolonged; (b) ‘being in the moment’, which refers to the multi-sensory processes involved in a personal or relational interaction and embodied engagement – being in the moment can be sustained through creativity and flow; (c) ‘ending the moment’, defined as when a specific moment is disengaged – this can be triggered by the person(s) involved consciously or subconsciously, or caused by a distraction in the environment or suchlike; and (d) ‘reliving the moment’, which refers to the opportunity for the experience(s) involved in ‘being in the moment’ to be later remembered and shared, however fragmentary, supported or full the recall.
Obesity indicators are known to predict the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, evidence for which indicator best identifies undiagnosed T2DM in the Indian population is still very limited. In the present study we examined the utility of different obesity indicators to identify the presence of undiagnosed T2DM and determined their appropriate cut point for each obesity measure. Individuals were recruited from the large-scale population-based Kerala Diabetes Prevention Program. Oral glucose tolerance tests was performed to diagnose T2DM. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to compare the association of different obesity indicators with T2DM and to determine the optimal cut points for identifying T2DM. A total of 357 new cases of T2DM and 1352 individuals without diabetes were identified. The mean age of the study participants was 46⋅4 (sd 7⋅4) years and 62 % were men. Waist circumference (WC), waist:hip ratio (WHR), waist:height ratio (WHtR), BMI, body fat percentage and fat per square of height were found to be significantly higher (P < 0⋅001) among those with diabetes compared with individuals without diabetes. In addition, ROC for WHR (0⋅67; 95 % 0⋅59, 0⋅75), WHtR (0⋅66; 95 % 0⋅57, 0⋅75) and WC (0⋅64; 95 % 0⋅55, 0⋅73) were shown to better identify patients with T2DM. The proposed cut points with an optimal sensitivity and specificity for WHR, WHtR and WC were 0⋅96, 0⋅56 and 86 cm for men and 0⋅88, 0⋅54 and 83 cm for women, respectively. The present study has shown that WHR, WHtR and WC are better than other anthropometric measures for detecting T2DM in the Indian population. Their utility in clinical practice may better stratify at-risk patients in this population than BMI, which is widely used at present.
Dietary patterns describe the combination of foods and beverages in a diet and the frequency of habitual consumption. Better understanding of childhood dietary patterns and antenatal influences could inform intervention strategies to prevent childhood obesity. We derived empirical dietary patterns in 1142 children (average age 6·0 (sd 0·2) years) in New Zealand, whose mothers had participated in the Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) cohort study and explored associations with measures of body composition. Participants (Children of SCOPE) had their diet assessed by FFQ, and dietary patterns were extracted using factor analysis. Three distinct dietary patterns were identified: ‘Healthy’, ‘Traditional’ and ‘Junk’. Associations between dietary patterns and measures of childhood body composition (waist, hip, arm circumferences, BMI, bioelectrical impedance analysis-derived body fat % and sum of skinfold thicknesses (SST)) were assessed by linear regression, with adjustment for maternal influences. Children who had higher ‘Junk’ dietary pattern scores had 0·24 (sd 0·08; 95 % CI 0·04, 0·13) cm greater arm and 0·44 (sd 0·05; 95 % CI 0·01, 0·10) cm greater hip circumferences and 1·13 (sd 0·07; 95 % CI 0·03, 0·12) cm greater SST and were more likely to be obese (OR 1·74; 95 % CI 1·07, 2·82); those with higher ‘Healthy’ pattern scores were less likely to be obese (OR 0·62; 95 % CI 0·39, 1·00). In a large mother–child cohort, a dietary pattern characterised by high-sugar and -fat foods was associated with greater adiposity and obesity risk in children aged 6 years, while a ‘Healthy’ dietary pattern offered some protection against obesity. Targeting unhealthy dietary patterns could inform public health strategies to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity.
Disasters pose a documented risk to mental health, with a range of peri- and post-disaster factors (both pre-existing and disaster-precipitated) linked to adverse outcomes. Among these, increasing empirical attention is being paid to the relation between disasters and violence.
Aims
This study examined self-reported experiences of assault or violence victimisation among communities affected by high, medium, and low disaster severity following the 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia. The association between violence, mental health outcomes and alcohol misuse was also investigated.
Method
Participants were 1016 adults from high-, medium- and low-affected communities, 3–4 years after an Australian bushfire disaster. Rates of reported violence were compared by areas of bushfire-affectedness. Logistic regression models were applied separately to men and women to assess the experience of violence in predicting general and fire-related post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and alcohol misuse.
Results
Reports of experiencing violence were significantly higher among high bushfire-affected compared with low bushfire-affected regions. Analyses indicated the significant relationship between disaster-affectedness and violence was observed for women only, with rates of 1.0, 0 and 7.4% in low, medium and high bushfire-affected areas, respectively. Among women living in high bushfire-affected areas, negative change to income was associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing violence (odds ratio, 4.68). For women, post-disaster violence was associated with more severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms.
Conclusions
Women residing within high bushfire-affected communities experienced the highest levels of violence. These post-disaster experiences of violence are associated with post-disaster changes to income and with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms among women. These findings have critical implications for the assessment of, and interventions for, women experiencing or at risk of violence post-disaster.
On January 13, 2018, a false ballistic missile alert that lasted 38 minutes was issued across Oahu, Hawaii, United States. As a result of a system failure, an erroneous text message was sent that stated, “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter.”
Aim:
The research team wanted to know the degree of reported anxiety triggered by the event and if knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors for individual/family emergency preparedness (EP) changed post-event.
Methods:
A 50-question survey that asked about individual and family EP pre- and post-event, and the level of anxiety triggered by the event, was administered to a convenience sample of full-time adult residents of Oahu. The study was conducted over a 6-8 week period post-event. Statistical analysis was used to identify factors associated with an increasing level of EP post-event and reported event-triggered anxiety.
Results:
209 participants completed the survey (29% male, 71% female) with about one half living with children. One third were essential workers. Key factors that correlate with increasing various areas of EP post-event include higher educational, receipt of electronic emergency alerts, prior emergency training, and higher reported connectedness to community. Those with higher event anxiety were more likely to develop and practice an EP plan post-event, encourage EP with friends, and report a higher level of community connectedness. The elderly were more likely to have higher levels of EP before and after the event but were less likely to receive emergency alert notifications or have EP training.
Discussion:
While the event was very unfortunate, it did seem to stimulate citizen disaster EP among some groups. Additional research should explore the utility of increasing EP education for communities immediately after disasters, tailoring this education for groups, and targeting the elderly for participation in the emergency alert system.
Using the recently developed techniques of electron tomography, we have explored the first stages of disfiguring formation of zinc soaps in modern oil paintings. The formation of complexes of zinc ions with fatty acids in paint layers is a major threat to the stability and appearance of many late 19th and early 20th century oil paintings. Moreover, the occurrence of zinc soaps in oil paintings leading to defects is disturbingly common, but the chemical reactions and migration mechanisms leading to large zinc soap aggregates or zones remain poorly understood. State-of-the-art scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy techniques, primarily developed for biological specimens, have enabled us to visualize the earliest stages of crystalline zinc soap growth in a reconstructed zinc white (ZnO) oil paint sample. In situ sectioning techniques and sequential imaging within the SEM allowed three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of sample morphology. Improvements in the detection and discrimination of backscattered electrons enabled us to identify local precipitation processes with small atomic number contrast. The SEM images were correlated to low-dose and high-sensitivity TEM images, with high-resolution tomography providing unprecedented insight into the structure of nucleating zinc soaps at the molecular level. The correlative approach applied here to study phase separation, and crystallization processes specific to a problem in art conservation creates possibilities for visualization of phase formation in a wide range of soft materials.
Hip and knee arthroplasty infections are associated with considerable healthcare costs. The merits of reducing the postoperative surveillance period from 1 year to 90 days have been debated.
OBJECTIVES
To report the first pan-Canadian hip and knee periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) rates and to describe the implications of a shorter (90-day) postoperative surveillance period.
METHODS
Prospective surveillance for infection following hip and knee arthroplasty was conducted by hospitals participating in the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP) using standard surveillance definitions.
RESULTS
Overall hip and knee PJI rates were 1.64 and 1.52 per 100 procedures, respectively. Deep incisional and organ-space hip and knee PJI rates were 0.96 and 0.71, respectively. In total, 93% of hip PJIs and 92% of knee PJIs were identified within 90 days, with a median time to detection of 21 days. However, 11%–16% of deep incisional and organ-space infections were not detected within 90 days. This rate was reduced to 3%–4% at 180 days post procedure. Anaerobic and polymicrobial infections had the shortest median time from procedure to detection (17 and 18 days, respectively) compared with infections due to other microorganisms, including Staphylococcus aureus.
CONCLUSIONS
PJI rates were similar to those reported elsewhere, although differences in national surveillance systems limit direct comparisons. Our results suggest that a postoperative surveillance period of 90 days will detect the majority of PJIs; however, up to 16% of deep incisional and organ-space infections may be missed. Extending the surveillance period to 180 days could allow for a better estimate of disease burden.
Animal-source foods (ASF) have the potential to enhance the nutritional adequacy of cereal-based diets in low- and middle-income countries, through the provision of high-quality protein and bioavailable micronutrients. The development of guidelines for including ASF in local diets requires an understanding of the nutrient content of available resources. This article reviews food composition tables (FCT) used in sub-Saharan Africa, examining the spectrum of ASF reported and exploring data sources for each reference. Compositional data are shown to be derived from a small number of existing data sets from analyses conducted largely in high-income nations, often many decades previously. There are limitations in using such values, which represent the products of intensively raised animals of commercial breeds, as a reference in resource-poor settings where indigenous breed livestock are commonly reared in low-input production systems, on mineral-deficient soils and not receiving nutritionally balanced feed. The FCT examined also revealed a lack of data on the full spectrum of ASF, including offal and wild foods, which correspond to local food preferences and represent valuable dietary resources in food-deficient settings. Using poultry products as an example, comparisons are made between compositional data from three high-income nations, and potential implications of differences in the published values for micronutrients of public health significance, including Fe, folate and vitamin A, are discussed. It is important that those working on nutritional interventions and on developing dietary recommendations for resource-poor settings understand the limitations of current food composition data and that opportunities to improve existing resources are more actively explored and supported.
To be effective, performance and reward management systems should encourage employees to demonstrate consistently those types of work behaviour and results that are deemed necessary to support the organisation’s strategic objectives and desired corporate culture. More so than other human resource practices, performance and reward management systems also exist to shape and reshape employee work behaviour in ways desired by the organisation. The shorthand practitioner term for this is employee engagement. Yet establishing and maintaining employee engagement is no simple matter. Performance and reward practices sometimes go badly awry, eliciting not the wanted work behaviour but, rather, systemic misbehaviour and disengagement. The means to avoiding such unfortunate behavioural consequences lie not in the behaviour itself but in understanding and influencing the factors that help to shape work behaviour – and, above all else, this requires close consideration of employee work attitudes and what has come to be known as the employee ‘psychological contract’.
In this chapter, we explore the complex links between employee attitudes and behaviour (i.e. engagement) with particular focus on the attitude that is generally accorded greatest importance as a determinant of employee performance; that is, work (or task) motivation. We shall see that, for all of its importance, and despite it being one of the most closely researched topics in the social sciences, the sources of task motivation remain a matter of long-standing and continuing debate in Western management thought. The chapter will also draw on the concept of the employee-centred ‘psychological contract’ to present a basic employee-centred framework for better understanding and influencing employee attitudes and behaviour in ways beneficial to both the organisation and the employees themselves. The chapter opens with a discussion of the three main categories of work behaviour, then moves to an overview of the three key attitudinal categories, as well as considering some of the possible associations between the two sets of categories. With these propositions in mind, the chapter next introduces the nature and practical significance of the notion of the ‘psychological contract’. This is followed by consideration of the set of perceptual factors that are widely regarded as lying at the centre of the employee psychological contract, namely, perceptions of ‘organisational justice’ and injustice.
Now in its second edition, Managing Employee Performance and Reward continues to offer comprehensive coverage of employee performance and reward, presenting the material in a conceptually integrated way. This new edition has been substantially updated and revised by a team of specialist contributors, and includes: An increased focus on employee engagement and the alignment between the organisation's goals and the personal goals of employeesExpanded coverage of coaching, now a leading-edge performance enhancement practiceExtensive updates reflecting the major changes in employee benefits in recent years, as organisations strive to attract and retain talentUpdated coverage of executive salaries and incentives in the contemporary post-GFC environment.This popular text is an indispensable resource for both students and managers alike. Written for a global readership, the book will continue to have particular appeal to those studying and practising people management in the Asia-Pacific region.
It is appropriate that we begin our journey by considering those ideas, concepts, propositions and debates that are fundamental to a rounded understanding of employee performance and reward management and, equally, to well-informed and effective practice in these fields.
The three chapters in part 1 are devoted to this end. Chapter 1 seeks to clarify the meaning, nature and purpose of our two focal human resource processes: performance management and reward management. While our treatment of the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of performance and reward management is written from an explicitly prescriptive-descriptive perspective, the treatment is neither wholly management-centred nor uncritical.
Building on this foundational knowledge, the two accompanying chapters consider, respectively, the psychological, motivational and strategic basics of performance and reward management. These chapters offer frameworks for practising performance and reward management in both a psychologically aware and a strategically informed manner. The development, implementation and maintenance of effective performance and reward management systems require simultaneous attention to each of these fundamental dimensions.
By ‘psychological’ dimensions we mean the attitudes, perceptions, values and emotional (or ‘affective’) states that prefi gure the observable actions-or behaviour-of individual employees, or at least that seem to predispose individuals towards certain behavioural actions rather than others. While ‘motivation’ is undoubtedly the most widely acknowledged and theorised of all work attitudes, as we shall see, there are others that may be no less salient or infl uential, including those that are grounded more in perception and in deeply held values and emotions than in dispassionate or rational cognition.
The three chapters in part 2 examine the key concepts, techniques and processes associated with the management of employee performance. In chapter 1 we observed that, from a descriptive ‘cybernetic’ (i.e. systems) perspective, work performance may be thought of as having three horizontal or process dimensions – that is, inputs (knowledge, skills and abilities), task effort and other types of work behaviour, and outcomes or results; and three vertical or scalar dimensions – that is, individual, group and organisation-wide performance. By definition, the methods that accentuate behaviour and competency have an individual focus.
Chapters 4 and 5 examine the main performance management methods or techniques associated with each of these dimensions. Chapter 4 considers those approaches to performance management that are results-focused. Chapter 5 will then consider the methods and techniques that are behaviourally focused and examine the concepts and techniques that emphasise performance inputs or capacities in the form of performance competencies. Chapter 6 , the fi nal chapter in part 2 , examines both the provision of performance feedback to individual employees and practices directed towards performance development, including coaching.
Having now laid out all of the pieces of the performance and reward puzzle, it is time for us to consider how to go about assembling these elements into a coherent whole. In this concluding chapter, we detail the alignment model approach to assembling the various concepts, practices and strategies explored in parts 1–4 into an integrated and strategically aligned whole. Specifically, we examine the requirements for and challenges associated with performance and reward system review and the steps involved in system change and development. Although our approach here is primarily prescriptive in nature, our prescriptions also draw on a range of insights available in the empirical or descriptive and critical literatures that have been referred to at various points throughout the text.
Having considered the key psychological and strategic dimensions to understanding the employment relationship, as well as the three main approaches to managing employee performance, we can now turn our attention to the second of the two human resource management processes with which this book is concerned, namely, the management of employee reward and, in particular, the management of employee pay or remuneration. A remuneration system typically comprises three main elements: base pay, benefits and performance-related pay. In designing any remuneration system careful attention should be paid to three key considerations: first, the relative role that each of these three components will play in total remuneration; second, the practices that will be drawn on to configure each component; and third, the target level of total remuneration for each position.
The four chapters in part 3 cover base pay and benefi ts. Chapter 7 considers the rationale for base pay, the main options for confi guring base pay, the general strengths and weaknesses of each approach, and the incidence of each. It then details the pay structures associated with each option, while chapters 8 and 9 discuss the evaluation methods and processes associated with the development of pay systems based on each of these approaches. Chapter 10 then examines the logic of employee benefit plans and the main options for confi guring such plans.