Singular Focus Research Articles

Renewable energy, sustainability paradox and the post-urban question

Amidst the hype of a ‘new’ energy regime in India with a singular focus on renewable energy, this paper offers a more scrupulous reading of renewables to set up a critical energy discourse. It offers a three-part analysis where it begins by questioning the entrenched idea of ‘renewables as science’ and its instrumental use of metrics and measurements to convey an unbelievable reach and significance. Highlighting the consistent invocation of a calculative ethos, it shows how an ‘empirics of targets’ relying largely on the lure and lore of a single numeric, installed capacity, is persuasively employed to gloss over the crucial distinction between the potential and reality of renewables. An associated consequence is not only its pegging to the speculative value of market-based energy production but also that it remains rooted in the assumptions of an existing system, that is, the logic of a carbon lifeworld. Renewables, as a result, display the tell-tale sign of a sustainability paradox, raising questions about their ability to master a transition to a post-fossil performativity, exasperated as they are by internal contradictions embedded within their core characteristics – efficiency/sufficiency and, more importantly, tensions between utilities and infrastructure. With loose connections to parallel initiatives such as the Smart Cities Mission, the transformative potential of renewables is undercut as it remains embedded within an abstract grid imaginary, challenging any effort to actualise it in and through the urban.

Assemblages of Production: Capitalist Colonial Labor Regimes and other Productive Practices in Highland Guatemala

The consequences of Spanish colonial/capitalist intrusions in highland Guatemala are an emerging focus of archaeological investigation. While providing insight into the entanglements between colonialism and capitalism and their effects on Maya communities, it is critical not to fixate only on extractive and exploitative labor regimes to the exclusion of other patterns of practice and production central to the experience of people in the past. In our analyses, a singular focus on capitalist colonialism reifies the suffocating ubiquity of abstract processes, foreclosing the possibility of other ways of being in the world that were not capitalist, colonial, or formed in relation or opposition to them. Instead, a holistic approach to the assemblage of production practices in capitalist colonial contexts allows for analyses of “capitalist” practices that exist side side-by-side and/or articulated with other practices—traditional and innovative—outside the unproductive two-step of either resistance to or engagement with capitalism or colonialism. In this article we use archival and archaeological research on colonial Maya sites in the piedmont and highland regions of Guatemala to piece together the spectrum of economic and productive practices carried out by colonial Maya communities: some coerced, some opportunistic of the emerging colonial economic landscape, and others having little to do with the intrusions of capitalist/colonial practices and effects.

Gender, race/ethnicity, and entrepreneurship: women entrepreneurs in a US south city

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how gender, interacting with race and ethnicity, plays a role in women entrepreneurship process and how women entrepreneurs’ experiences shape and are shaped by their communities.Design/methodology/approachFirst, five-year 2010-2014 American Community Survey data are analyzed. Then, in-depth interview and focus groups discussion are conducted with 40 women business owners and the data are analyzed using the software package QSR Nvivo.FindingsWomen entrepreneurs face the challenges and the difficulties of managing both family roles and work. However, they have strategically negotiating with their multiple roles through entrepreneurship to gain independence and purpose, as well as the opportunity to contribute to society. In particular, their embeddedness within local communities provides meanings, opportunities, and functional strategies for their entrepreneurial activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on only one study area. A larger sample size with more cases from multiple study areas can provide further insights.Practical implicationsFindings from this study have profound implications for practices of equitable growth, community development, and urban planning under the rapid growth of immigration.Originality/valueFirst, extending focus on the social identity of “motherhood,” this study argues for considering multiple social identities of women entrepreneurs and the intersectionality of multiple identities. Second, it extends the traditional focus of entrepreneurship studies from a singular focus on economic growth to include additional dimensions of work-life balance and sense of community. Third, place is not only a context but also acts powerfully into the entrepreneurial process. It argues that women entrepreneurs and their businesses are deeply embedded in local communities as their multiple identities are shaped at both home and work.

Frank Bowling’s White Paintings

Frank Bowling’s white paintings span a period of some forty years in his practice, resulting in an eponymously titled exhibition The White Paintings (2006). As a body of work, the paintings occupy the longest period within Bowling’s career yet are largely absent from his historiography and are the least referenced, either as single works or as a series. The paradox of Bowling’s white paintings is that they are not all merely white nor are they all monochromes. A consideration of them presents an opportunity to resituate Bowling from a singular focus of formalism and to convey his deep relation to the world around him via a mode of abstraction that is layered with meanings. This investigation follows by centering upon a single painting from Bowling’s white series, Icarus (2005), produced after the death of his eldest son. Icarus explores themes of time, death, and spiritual release that are constant throughout the series. Bowling undercuts attendant ideas of purity and singleness, both in his exploration of whiteness and within the “tradition” of monochrome painting, and exposes its fallacies. Bowling’s white paintings thus mediate the way both modernity and history may be otherwise deployed, speaking inevitably to how the myth of whiteness is imbricated within the construction of modernism.

Frank Bowling’s White Paintings

Frank Bowling’s white paintings span a period of some forty years in his practice, resulting in an eponymously titled exhibition The White Paintings (2006). As a body of work, the paintings occupy the longest period within Bowling’s career yet are largely absent from his historiography and are the least referenced, either as single works or as a series. The paradox of Bowling’s white paintings is that they are not all merely white nor are they all monochromes. A consideration of them presents an opportunity to resituate Bowling from a singular focus of formalism and to convey his deep relation to the world around him via a mode of abstraction that is layered with meanings. This investigation follows by centering upon a single painting from Bowling’s white series, Icarus (2005), produced after the death of his eldest son. Icarus explores themes of time, death, and spiritual release that are constant throughout the series. Bowling undercuts attendant ideas of purity and singleness, both in his exploration of whiteness and within the “tradition” of monochrome painting, and exposes its fallacies. Bowling’s white paintings thus mediate the way both modernity and history may be otherwise deployed, speaking inevitably to how the myth of whiteness is imbricated within the construction of modernism.

Pursuing Public Health Accreditation: A Focus on HOW.

Balancing competing imperatives of conserving scarce resources while improving organizational performance and community health, many local health departments (LHDs) have decided to pursue national, voluntary public health accreditation as a guide to improvement, but how to do so in the most efficient way possible remains a question for many. This study employed a participatory action research approach in which LHD directors and accreditation coordinators from 7 accredited and 3 late-stage accreditation ready Kentucky LHD jurisdictions participated. Participants organized a set of accreditation deliverables into a chronological sequencing of each site's accreditation readiness process, which was then coded by researchers to identify similarities and differences. All participating jurisdictions had all-hazards emergency operations plans and public health emergency operations plans while none had workforce development plans, quality improvement plans, or performance management plans before launching accreditation readiness activities. Also identified were the number of accreditation deliverables attempted, simultaneously, by each site and the importance of specific deliverables having a singular focus. Sequences of work on specific deliverables by the majority of participants included completing work on the quality improvement plan immediately, followed by the performance management plan, the Community Health Assessment before the Community Health Improvement Plan, and a strategic plan, followed by a workforce development plan. Factors influencing accreditation readiness processes, elements for sustaining processes, and lessons learned throughout the pursuit of accreditation were also provided by participants. Recognizing the impact of staff availability, staff skill sets, training, and available financial resources on the pursuit of accreditation, participants determined that aggregating lessons learned into a flowchart highlighting the interconnectedness of accreditation deliverables could produce a road map for LHDs. Accreditation deliverables could be attempted in a logical, efficient order particularly valuable to small LHDs with limited resources and yet adaptable for those jurisdictions able to devote more resources to the process.

The Effect of Leader Rapport-Management Feedback on Leader–Member Relationship Quality and Perceived Group Effectiveness in Student Teams

Background: Preparing students to work on teams in the workplace is both important and challenging. The transfer of learning from school to work requires that faculty provide guidance to support teamwork processes, including team communication. Literature review: Leader communication, especially when nondirective, has been associated with team success. Nondirective leaders influence others and develop quality relationships through personal rather than position power. Personal power is created partly through interactions in which a leader's linguistic behavior effectively manages rapport with team members. Research questions: We wanted to explore the influence of team member feedback on leader rapport management, leader-member relationship quality, and perceived team effectiveness. Research methodology: We designed a feedback intervention that was delivered to team leaders within multidisciplinary student teams in a technical writing course. The study was a traditional, intervention-based, between-subjects quasi-experiment. Results/discussion: Despite its singular focus on team leader behavior, the intervention resulted in higher perceived group effectiveness. Although leader rapport management and leader-member relationship quality were higher in teams with feedback intervention, the effects were not statistically significant. Conclusion: We discuss several potential causes of our results, including several options for future research. Ultimately, because the intervention is simple to create and efficient to share, we conclude that it can supply instructors with one useful tool for intervening in student teamwork processes to improve team outcomes and for emphasizing the importance of interpersonal communication and leadership in teams.

Putting the “A” into WaSH: a call for integrated management of water, animals, sanitation, and hygiene

Putting the “A” into WaSH: a call for integrated management of water, animals, sanitation, and hygiene

Resisting gentrification: The theoretical and practice contributions of social work

Summary Gentrification is changing the landscape of many cities worldwide, exacerbating economic and racial inequality. Despite its relevance to social work, the field has been conspicuously absent from scholarship related to gentrification. This paper introduces the dominant view of gentrification (a political economic lens), highlighting its contributions and vulnerabilities, then introduces four case studies that illuminate the distinct contributions of social work to broaden the ways in which gentrification is theorized and responded to within communities. Findings When gentrification is analyzed exclusively through a political economy lens, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners are likely to focus on changes in land and home values, reducing the adverse effects of gentrification to a loss of affordable housing. A singular focus on affordable housing risks paying insufficient attention to racial struggle, perpetuating damage-based views of poor people and neighborhoods, and obfuscating political, social, and cultural displacements. Social work practice—including social action group work, community organizing, community development, and participatory research and planning—offers a holistic approach to understanding, resisting, and responding to gentrification and advance equitable development in the city. Applications By exploring social work practice that amplifies residents’ and change makers’ efforts, advances existing community organizing, produces new insights, builds inter-neighborhood and interdisciplinary collaborations, and facilitates social action and policy change, this paper helps community practitioners to reimagine the role of social work research and practice in gentrifying neighborhoods.

<p>Voice treatment in Parkinson’s disease: patient perspectives</p>

Voice treatment in Parkinson’s disease: patient perspectives Patricia Gillivan-Murphy,1 Nick Miller,2 Paul Carding31Speech and Language Therapy Department, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; 2Newcastle University Institute for Ageing, Speech and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK; 3Midwifery and Allied Health Research, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Institute of Nursing, Oxford, UKAbstract: Speech and voice changes are a central feature of the symptom complex of people with Parkinson’s disease (pwPD). Speaking is a social activity involving the pwPD, family, and the wider communicative context. Sensory-motor, cognitive-linguistic, and affective changes in Parkinson’s disease (PD) combine to alter communication, impacting on psycho-social quality-of-life, leading to risks of social withdrawal and increased depression and anxiety. The underlying pathophysiology of speech, voice, and communication difficulties in pwPD is multi-factorial and complex. Sensory-motor changes in the respiratory, phonatory, and articulatory subsystems, underscaling of effort, and central processing problems are further affected by broader cognitive-linguistic difficulties, and non-speech motor deficits. Many studies show that, when pwPD are asked to rate their own voice and how it functions in everyday situations, they show increased voice-related disability and negative impact relative to healthy controls. Voice treatment is integral to improving communication in pwPD. Studies show positive benefits from the perspective of pwPD and carers. Treatment approaches vary from one-to-one to group interventions, a singular focus on increasing loudness to more general voice exercises, and choral singing. The nature and underlying pathophysiology of speech, voice, and communication changes in pwPD are reviewed before exploring the effects of voice treatment programs and pwPD and carer perceptions of their effect. Larger scale, better powered, controlled trials of intervention for voice and speech that measure clinically and socially relevant outcomes are finally underway. Future research should also focus on issues of treatment compliance, practicality (for service delivery and use), and long-term follow-up outcomes. The role of carers in longer-term maintenance represents a further important area of exploration.Keywords: voice, speech, treatment, quality-of-life, patient perspectives

Escaping from the City Means More than a Cheap House and a 10-Minute Commute

Escaping from the City Means More than a Cheap House and a 10-Minute Commute

Probabilistic depth–damage curves for assessment of flood-induced building losses

The most common and internationally accepted method of assessing building damage due to flooding is through the application of a depth–damage curve (DDC). A DDC relates the percent damage or estimated economic loss to a buildings’ structural integrity and/or contents directly to a given water level (depth). The DDC generally represents an average structure within a given building category, e.g. one-storey single-family residence. Given the great variability across any given structural category, the variation in building materials, construction quality across communities and the singular focus on depth for estimation of losses, it is important to communicate the uncertainty and potential variability of the expected losses in any assessment. In this paper, probabilistic depth–damage curves (PDDCs) are developed based on synthetically derived DDCs from communities in southern Ontario. The generated PDDCs are based on assumed loss thresholds for minor and major loss levels, as spent in Canadian dollars. The economic loss estimates obtained in this way and their likelihood of being exceeded at any given flood depth express more transparently the potential building losses. An applied example of this method is included for both aggregate and building-by-building loss estimation.

Are causal beliefs associated with stigma? A test of the impact of biogenetic versus psychosocial explanations on stigma and internalized stigma in people experiencing psychosis.

Individuals with psychosis are often subject to external stigma and discrimination and commonly also experience internalized stigma. Attempts to improve attitudes have tended to medicalize the experiences associated with psychosis; however, research increasingly indicates an association between biogenetic attitudes and stigma. This study aims to evaluate this approach by investigating the impact of two different etiological explanations on both internalized and external stigma in people experiencing psychosis. A total of 60 participants who have a diagnosis of schizophrenia or meet criteria for early intervention services for psychosis were randomly allocated to one of two conditions (psychosocial vs. biogenetic). Attitudes were assessed before and after the intervention. Both interventions resulted in a decrease in internalized stigma. Only the psychosocial intervention decreased external stigma. Although further research is necessary, providing education to individuals could be an effective way to reduce internal stigma. Antistigma campaigns should avoid a singular focus on biogenetic explanations of psychosis, and a psychosocial viewpoint may be a suitable alternative.

Identification of a mesenchymal progenitor cell hierarchy in adipose tissue.

Metabolic health depends on the capacity of adipose tissue progenitor cells to undergo de novo adipogenesis. The cellular hierarchy and mechanisms governing adipocyte progenitor differentiation are incompletely understood. Through single-cell RNA sequence analyses, we show that the lineage hierarchy of adipocyte progenitors consists of distinct mesenchymal cell types that are present in both mouse and human adipose tissues. Cells marked by dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4)/CD26 expression are highly proliferative, multipotent progenitors. During the development of subcutaneous adipose tissue in mice, these progenitor cells give rise to intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1)/CD54-expressing (CD54+) committed preadipocytes and a related adipogenic cell population marked by Clec11a and F3/CD142 expression. Transforming growth factor-β maintains DPP4+ cell identity and inhibits adipogenic commitment of DPP4+ and CD142+ cells. Notably, DPP4+ progenitors reside in the reticular interstitium, a recently appreciated fluid-filled space within and between tissues, including adipose depots.

A singular focus on fat

Developmental Biology Fatty tissue can expand in two ways: through increases in the size of individual adipocytes or through increases in the number of adipocytes. The former process promotes metabolic disease, and the latter protects against it. Merrick et al. used single-cell RNA sequencing to define the hierarchy of mesenchymal progenitor cells that give rise to adipose tissue in mice and humans (see the Perspective by Chau and Cawthorn). They found that progenitor cells expressing a protein called DPP4 give rise to two distinct types of preadipocytes in response to different signals. The DPP4 progenitors reside in a fluid-filled network of collagen and elastin fibers surrounding adipose tissue. In principle, therapeutic interventions that increase progenitor cell differentiation into adipocytes could ameliorate metabolic disease. Science , this issue p. [eaav2501][1]; see also p. [328][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aav2501 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aax2967

Incremental Prognostic Value of Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy, Transradial Access, and Door-to-Balloon Time on Outcomes in ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Systems to improve ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) care have traditionally focused on improving door-to-balloon time. However, prompt guideline-directed medical therapy and transradial primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are also associated with reduced STEMI mortality. The incremental prognostic value of each facet of STEMI care on clinical outcomes within a STEMI system of care is unknown. We implemented systems-based strategies at our hospital to improve 3 STEMI care metrics: (1) prompt guideline-directed medical therapy before sheath insertion for PCI, (2) use of transradial primary PCI, and (3) door-to-balloon time. We assessed the incremental association of metrics achieved with in-hospital adverse events and 30-day mortality. Of 1272 consecutive patients with STEMI treated with PCI at our hospital (January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2016), the percentage with achievement of zero, 1, 2, or 3 STEMI care metrics was 7.1%, 24.1%, 43.8%, and 25.1%; and 30-day mortality was 15.6%, 8.6%, 3.6%, and 3.2%, respectively (log-rank P<0.001). After adjusting for known clinical predictors of STEMI in-hospital mortality, achievement of at least 2 STEMI care metrics was associated with significantly reduced in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.16-0.96; P=0.041). Each metric provided incremental prognostic value when modeled in stepwise order of their occurrence in clinical practice (final model C statistic, 0.677; P<0.001). Prompt guideline-directed medical therapy before sheath insertion for PCI, transradial primary PCI, and door-to-balloon time add incremental prognostic value in STEMI care. Expanding STEMI systems of care from a singular focus on door-to-balloon time to a comprehensive focus on multifaceted STEMI care offers an opportunity to further improve STEMI outcomes.

Disciplinary boundaries and integrating care: using Q-methodology to understand trainee views on being a good doctor

BackgroundRising numbers of patients with multiple-conditions and complex care needs mean that it is increasingly important for doctors from different specialty areas to work together, alongside other members of the multi-disciplinary team, to provide patient centred care. However, intra-professional boundaries and silos within the medical profession may challenge holistic approaches to patient care.MethodsWe used Q methodology to examine how postgraduate trainees (n = 38) on a range of different specialty programmes in England and Wales could be grouped based on their rankings of 40 statements about ‘being a good doctor’. Themes covered in the Q-set include: generalism (breadth) and specialism (depth), interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinary team working, patient-centredness, and managing complex care needs.ResultsA by-person factor analysis enabled us to map distinct perspectives within our participant group (P-set). Despite high levels of overall commonality, three groups of trainees emerged, each with a clear perspective on being a good doctor. We describe the first group as ‘generalists’: team-players with a collegial and patient-centred approach to their role. The second group of ‘general specialists’ aspired to be specialists but with a generalist and patient-centred approach to care within their specialty area. Both these two groups can be contrasted to those in the third ‘specialist’ group, who had a more singular focus on how their specialty can help the patient.ConclusionsWhilst distinct, the priorities and values of trainees in this study share some important aspects. The results of our Q-sort analysis suggest that it may be helpful to understand the relationship between generalism and specialism as less of a dichotomy and more of a continuum that transcends primary and secondary care settings. A nuanced understanding of trainee views on being a good doctor, across different specialties, may help us to bridge gaps and foster interdisciplinary working.

Book Review: Assessing Library Space for Learning

In Assessing Library Space for Learning, Susan E. Montgomery has assembled a collection of articles from a broad range of practitioners, including educational development, psychology, architecture, user experience, and librarianship generally. The rich mixture of backgrounds delivers more than the promise of its title, offering the reader deep insight into the practical aspects of academic libraries. A welcome contribution in the field, addressing what is largely a dearth in the library literature regarding library space assessment generally—much less, its use for learning. What is available is generally not reflective of the substantial change that has been underway for decades: the “big shift” from a formerly “singular focus on books to a much more dynamic and ever-fluid emphasis on user experience” (53). This book brings together a working understanding of the role of library as place, with practical assessment along multiple learning axes.

Consequences of Pathogen Lists: Why Some Diseases May Continue to Plague Us.

.The current strategy used by many funding agencies for determining how money is spent on research to help prevent infectious disease outbreaks is based on pathogen-specific priority lists. Listing disease threats provides focus for business and research planning conducive to specific goals of developing a drug, or a vaccine, or other particular product. But, this singular type of focus has consequences. This perspective explores the consequences of lists, and describes how parallel programming independent of disease lists that address what we need to do to prevent and mitigate emerging disease risks may provide benefits out of reach of a singular focus on what products we need to have.

Environmental risk narratives in historical perspective: from early warnings to ‘risk society’ blame

The ‘storying’ of risk is an important and neglected dimension and narratives such as ‘nuclear catastrophism’ have powerfully framed experience and acquired considerable independence, with ‘what might have been’ becoming inseparable from as real as what actually did. This article builds upon limited earlier risk narrative research, focusing upon their historical development in the United States and UK. Analysis proceeds from an understanding of risk as a tool that brings together an understanding of threats, what is threatened and how that might be remedied in the future, increasingly based upon past experience. Risk narratives emerge historically with the growth of concern for the public impact of environmental events, through individuals recognising these in secular terms, prepared to warn others and, later, challenge denial of institutional responsibility. But the explicit language of environmental risk only emerges in post-war America through public challenges to fluoridation, pesticides and consumer safety, the article arguing that we can approximately distinguish ‘risk society’ narratives concerned with human-made threat and an assumption of corporate and institutional responsibility, focused upon victims and blame for their condition. This singular focus can be problematic in its impact upon victims themselves in the case of nuclear catastrophism, however. A concluding suggestion is that if narrative is to be used in risk communication, it will require more sophisticated forms that go beyond only exposing risk, insisting upon blame and inferring limitless harm.