Uncertainty Cycle Research Articles

“I’m Getting Violated … for My Health”: Experiences of Pelvic Exams among Women With Low Incomes

The pelvic exam (PE) has long been a core component of women’s preventive healthcare. Although PEs are routine, some women experience exam-related pain and psychological distress, which are associated with intermittent use of healthcare. We conducted in-depth interviews with 12 cisgender women to explore their knowledge, perceptions, and experiences of PEs. Four themes were generated: (1) experiences of objectification, (2) a cycle of uncertainty, (3) negotiation of agency, and (4) potential for positive experiences. Future research is necessary to assess the direct impact of PE experiences on reproductive health equity and to inform communication-focused interventions and patient-centered best-practice guidelines.

Entropy Method for Decision-Making: Uncertainty Cycles in Tourism Demand.

A new methodology is presented for measuring, classifying and predicting the cycles of uncertainty that occur in temporary decision-making in the tourist accommodation market (apartments and hotels). Special attention is paid to the role of entropy and cycles in the process under the Adaptive Markets Hypothesis. The work scheme analyses random cycles from time to time, and in the frequency domain, the linear and nonlinear causality relationships between variables are studied. The period analysed is from January 2005 to December 2018; the following empirical results stand out: (1) On longer scales, the periodicity of the uncertainty of decision-making is between 6 and 12 months, respectively, for all the nationalities described. (2) The elasticity of demand for tourist apartments is approximately 1% due to changes in demand for tourist hotels. (3) The elasticity of the uncertainty factor is highly correlated with the country of origin of tourists visiting Spain. For example, it has been empirically shown that increases of 1% in uncertainty cause increases in the demand for apartments of 2.12% (worldwide), 3.05% (UK), 1.91% (Germany), 1.78% (France), 7.21% (Ireland), 3.61% (The Netherlands) respectively. This modelling has an explanatory capacity of 99% in all the models analysed.

Private equity as a commodification of companies: the case of the German automotive supply industry

ABSTRACT Private equity is a form of financialization in which companies become commodities. This paper examines for the first time the impact of private equity on a single sector, the automotive supply industry, in a coordinated market economy. It demonstrates that companies hereby entered a cycle of uncertainty: many were taken over by financial investors several times, they were divorced from their regional production ties, and were given international owners. In addition, corporate governance changed, keeping employees away from traditional information and decision-making channels

The cycle of uncertainty: parents' experiences of childhood epilepsy.

Uncertainty has been highlighted as an important aspect of experiences of chronic conditions generally and epilepsy in particular. However, there is little research exploring the extent to which uncertainty features in the experiences of family members or the form that this uncertainty may take. Drawing on in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 27 parents who had a child with epilepsy, this article explores parents’ experiences of uncertainty and the way in which their views on childhood and epilepsy interacted and contributed to the uncertainties they experienced. It is argued that the occurrence of epilepsy during childhood shaped parents’ experiences as they used their ‘social clocks’ in order to interpret symptoms. Furthermore, parents described what has been termed a ‘cycle of uncertainty’. Indeed, the combination of epilepsy (a condition with various inherent forms of uncertainty) and childhood (a period in the life course that is seen as a time of development) meant that parents could not be sure which changes in their child were a result of the condition and which were a normal part of the ageing process. Overall, this article demonstrates that it is important to contextualise experiences of chronic conditions in relation to different stages in the life course.

International Crises and China's Rise: Comparing the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the 2017 Global Political Crisis

Abstract The profound political uncertainties in international politics created by developments in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and North Korea (DPRK) are similar in some respects to the economic uncertainties created by the global financial crisis of 2008. In both crises there is a sudden and general awareness of vulnerability, and it is unclear how long the current uncertainty will last. With the election of Donald Trump, the United States is again at the centre of a global crisis. China is again the least vulnerable of the major states. Everyone including China is disadvantaged by the current political crisis. However, in relative terms China stands to gain, as it did in 2008. The relative change in international relationships will be most obvious in Asia. The focus here is on the cycle of uncertainty that characterizes both crises. However, the effects of the current political crisis are likely to contrast with the effects of the earlier economic crisis. From 2008 to 2014, other countries were worried about their own economies and about the world economy in general, and also about what China’s arrival as a regional and global economic power might mean for them. Meanwhile, American leadership under Obama seemed less assertive, while China appeared to be more assertive. By contrast, in 2015, China’s economy had already entered a ‘new normal’ of slower economic growth, while its consolidated political leadership supports multilateral globalization. American political leadership is unpredictable in both general strategic terms and in terms of crisis management. Just as the world needed the economic lift provided by China in 2008, it now needs the political reassurance of stability that China appears to provide. However, the United States may find it difficult to adjust to the shift in political influence.