Multimodality offers anthropologists an inflection on the way we do research, produce scholarship, teach students, and relate to diverse publics. Advancing an expanding array of tools, practices,... Show moreMultimodality offers anthropologists an inflection on the way we do research, produce scholarship, teach students, and relate to diverse publics. Advancing an expanding array of tools, practices, and concepts, multimodality signals a change in the way we pay attention and attend to the diverse possibilities for understanding the human experience. Multimodality recognizes the way smartphones, social media, and digital software transform research dynamics in unprecedented ways, while also drawing upon long-standing practices of recording and presenting research through images, sounds, objects, and text. Rather than flatten out ethnographic participant observation into logocentric practices of people-writing, multimodal ethnographies diversify their modes of inquiry to produce more-than-textual mediations of sensorial research experiences. By emphasizing kaleidoscopic qualities that give shape to an emergent, multidimensional, and diversifying anthropology, multimodality proposes alternatives to enduring and delimiting dichotomies, particularly text/image. These new configurations invite unrealized disciplinary constellations and research collaborations to emerge, but also require overhauling the infrastructures that support training, dissemination, and assessment. Show less
Background: Adults with a history of childhood maltreatment are more likely to experience distrust, feel distant from others, and develop an insecure attachment style which may also affect... Show moreBackground: Adults with a history of childhood maltreatment are more likely to experience distrust, feel distant from others, and develop an insecure attachment style which may also affect relationship quality. Furthermore, childhood maltreatment has been linked to several mental health problems; including, depression, anxiety, and alcohol dependance severity, that are also known to relationship quality. Objective: The current study was designed to investigate to what extent childhood maltreatment is associated with adult insecure attachment and intimate relationships and whether this association is mediated by psychopathology. Participants and Method: In a study comprised of 2035 adults aged 18-65, we investigated whether childhood maltreatment was associated with insecure adult attachment styles and the quality of intimate relationships and whether this was mediated by depression, anxiety, and alcohol dependence severity (based on repeated assessments of the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report, Beck Anxiety Index, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test respectively). Results: The path model showed an acceptable fit, RMSEA = 0.05, and suggested full mediation of the association of childhood maltreatment with quality of intimate relationships by depression severity and a) anxious attachment (13 = -4.0 * 10-2; 95% CI = -5.5 * 10-2, -2.7 * 10-2) and b) avoidant attachment (13 = -7.2 * 10-2; 95% CI = -9.6 * 10-2, -4.9 * 10-2). Anxiety and alcohol dependence severity were not significant mediators. Conclusions: Childhood maltreatment is associated with a lower quality of intimate relationships, which is fully mediated by depression severity and insecure attachment styles. Show less
Conflict management literature has primarily investigated traditional mediation strategies typically aimed at resolving resource conflicts. Recently, however, researchers have increasingly explored... Show moreConflict management literature has primarily investigated traditional mediation strategies typically aimed at resolving resource conflicts. Recently, however, researchers have increasingly explored a particularly challenging type of conflict: value conflicts. Over the course of four chapters—using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies—the studies presented in this dissertation expand our understanding of the development, escalation and resolution of value-based disputes. The findings show that, despite being faced with conflicts that have repeatedly been termed difficult, if not impossible to resolve, mediators are currently approaching value conflicts with the intention to reach sustainable resolutions. In doing so, however, mediators should be aware of techniques that—while beneficial when intervening in resource conflicts—may prove unsuccessful when employed in value conflicts. Specifically, threatening litigation may be best framed as a loss of control of the outcome versus incurring increased costs, as the former may motivate intransigent parties to continue the mediation session while the latter may decrease avoidance behavior. Moreover, mediators who may strategically employ displays of anger, should only consider this if they hold a position of power and prioritize the resolution of the dispute above the disputants’ evaluation of the mediator and the mediation process. Show less
Advice regarding the analysis of observational studies of exposure effects usually is against adjustment for factors that occur after the exposure, as they may be caused by the exposure (or mediate... Show moreAdvice regarding the analysis of observational studies of exposure effects usually is against adjustment for factors that occur after the exposure, as they may be caused by the exposure (or mediate the effect of exposure on outcome), so potentially leading to collider stratification bias. However, such factors could also be caused by unmeasured confounding factors, in which case adjusting for them will also remove some of the bias due to confounding. We derive expressions for collider stratification bias when conditioning and confounding bias when not conditioning on the mediator, in the presence of unmeasured confounding (assuming that all associations are linear and there are no interactions). Using simulations, we show that generally neither the conditioned nor the unconditioned estimate is unbiased, and the trade-off between them depends on the magnitude of the effect of the exposure that is mediated relative to the effect of the unmeasured confounders and their relations with the mediator. We illustrate the use of the bias expressions via three examples: neuroticism and mortality (adjusting for the mediator appears the least biased option), glycated hemoglobin levels and systolic blood pressure (adjusting gives smaller bias), and literacy in primary school pupils (not adjusting gives smaller bias). Our formulae and simulations can inform quantitative bias analysis as well as analysis strategies for observational studies in which there is a potential for unmeasured confounding. Show less
Velde, L.A. van der; Nyns, C.J.; Engel, M.D.; Neter, J.E.; Meer, I.M. van der; Numans, M.E.; Kiefte-de Jong, J.C. 2020
BackgroundFood insecurity is related to risk of adverse health outcomes such as obesity, but the explanatory factors underlying this association are still unclear. This study aimed to assess the... Show moreBackgroundFood insecurity is related to risk of adverse health outcomes such as obesity, but the explanatory factors underlying this association are still unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between food insecurity and obesity, and to explore potential mediation by sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 participants in a deprived urban area in the Netherlands. Data on sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, food insecurity status and diet quality were collected using questionnaires. Diet quality was determined based on current national dietary guidelines. BMI was calculated from self-reported height and weight. Regression analyses were performed to explore the association between food insecurity and BMI status. Mediation analyses were performed to estimate the total-, direct-, and indirect effect and proportion of total effect mediated of the food insecurity-obesity association.ResultsThe overall prevalence of food insecurity was 26%. Food insecurity was associated with obesity (OR=2.49, 95%CI=1.16, 5.33), but not with overweight (OR=1.15, 95%CI=0.54, 2.45) in the unadjusted model. The food insecurity-obesity association was partially mediated by living situation (proportion mediated: 15.4%), diet quality (-18.6%), and smoking status (-15.8%) after adjustment for other covariates.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest an association between food insecurity and obesity. Living situation, diet quality and smoking status explained part, but not all, of the total association between food insecurity and obesity. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to examine the temporal order of the food insecurity-obesity association and potential mediators in this relationship. In addition, food insecurity and its potential consequences need to be taken into account in obesity prevention programs and policies. Show less
Christen, T.; Trompet, S.; Rensen, P.C.N.; Dijk, K.W. van; Lamb, H.J.; Jukema, J.W.; ... ; Mutsert, R. de 2019
Background and objectives: Comorbidity among anxiety and depression disorders and their symptoms is high. Rumination and worry have been found to mediate prospective cross-disorder relations... Show moreBackground and objectives: Comorbidity among anxiety and depression disorders and their symptoms is high. Rumination and worry have been found to mediate prospective cross-disorder relations between anxiety and depression disorders and their symptoms in adolescents and adults. We examined whether generic repetitive negative thinking (RNT), that is content- and disorder-independent, also mediates prospective cross-disorder associations between anxiety and depressions disorders and their symptoms.Methods: This was studied using a 5-year prospective cohort study. In a mixed sample of 1859 adults (persons with a prior history of or a current affective disorder and healthy individuals), we assessed DSM-IV affective disorders (Composite Interview Diagnostic Instrument), anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory) and depression symptoms (Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology) and RNT (Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire).Results: We found that baseline depression disorders and symptom severity have predictive value for anxiety disorders and symptom severity five years later (and vice versa) and that these associations were significantly mediated by level of RNT as assessed two years after baseline. The significant and rather large mediation effects seemed mainly due to the mental capacity captured by RNT, especially in the prospective relation of anxiety with future depression.Limitations: The mediation effects were greatly attenuated or even nullified after rigorously controlling for concomitant psychopathology at two years after baseline.Conclusions: From these results it can be concluded that repetitive negative thinking could be an important transdiagnostic factor, that may constitute a suitable target for treatment. Show less
Wahl, A.; Kasela, S.; Carnero-Montoro, E.; Iterson, M. van; Stambuk, J.; Sharma, S.; ... ; B I O S Consortium 2018
Worldwide, refugees are increasingly living in uncertainty for undetermined periods of time, waiting for an enduring legal and social solution. In this article, I consider how this experience of... Show moreWorldwide, refugees are increasingly living in uncertainty for undetermined periods of time, waiting for an enduring legal and social solution. In this article, I consider how this experience of waiting is perceived through and influenced by the ubiquity of transnational digital connections, which play a central role in Iraqi refugee households in Jordan. I draw on ethnographic fieldwork conducted among Iraqi refugees in Jordan’s capital Amman to further understand the use of digital technologies in everyday experiences of prolonged displacement. Waiting is an intrinsic affective phenomenon, colored by hope and anxiety. I argue that affective affordances—the potential of different media forms to bring about affects like hope and anxiety—enable Iraqi refugees to reorient themselves to particular places and people. As “no futures” are deemed possible in Jordan or Iraq, digital technologies serve as orientation devices enabling them to imagine futures elsewhere. Through the interplay of media forms, the Iraqi refugees refract their own lives via the experiences of friends and family members who have already traveled onward and who in their perception are able to rebuild a dignified life. Transnational digital connections not only provide a space for hope and optimistic ideas of futures elsewhere but also help to sustain one’s experience of immobility. I argue that using the imagination can be understood as an act of not giving in to structural constraints and might be crucial to making Iraqi refugee life in Jordan bearable. Show less
Child maltreatment is a global phenomenon affecting a significant number of the world’s children. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of self-reported childhood maltreatment... Show moreChild maltreatment is a global phenomenon affecting a significant number of the world’s children. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of self-reported childhood maltreatment among university students in Kenya, Zambia, and The Netherlands. We also sought to compare the psychopathological sequelae of child maltreatment in the three samples. In addition, we sought to find out whether PTSS mediated the association between child maltreatment and the psychopathological symptoms. The results of our study showed that neglect in childhood was the most prevalent of all forms of child maltreatment across the three samples. Physical abuse and sexual abuse was most prevalent in Kenya and Zambia while witnessing interparental violence was the least prevalent in the two samples. Child maltreatment was differentially associated with psychopathological symptoms in the three samples of our study. Notably, neglect was the most predictive of psychopathology symptoms. The cross-validation results of our study showed that there were no significant differences in the predictive patterns of PTSS from child maltreatment in the three samples. PTSS mediated the association between child maltreatment and psychopathology symptoms albeit differentially. The results of our study show that there is need to mitigate the prevalence and sequelae of child maltreatment. Show less
This thesis describes the outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) intervention for patients who engage in Deliberate Self-Harm (DSH). The CBT intervention... Show moreThis thesis describes the outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) intervention for patients who engage in Deliberate Self-Harm (DSH). The CBT intervention was designed to supplement usual care following an episode of DSH. The study involved 90 people (95% females), aged 15–35 years, who were randomly assigned to CBT in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) or to treatment as usual only. The main study hypothesis, that CBT in addition to TAU would be more effective in reducing repetition of DSH than TAU only, was supported. Furthermore, those who received CBT in addition to TAU were shown to have significantly greater reductions in depression, anxiety and suicidal cognitions, and significantly greater improvements in self-esteem and problem solving ability. It is reasonable to assume that these positive findings are attributable to the effect of the CBT, given the random assignment as well as the absence of between group differences with respect to demographics, DSH, history of DSH, psychopathology and use of health care services. It is encouraging that these results are found for people with recurrent and chronic DSH, with high risk of repetition, and with high levels of psychiatric co-morbidity. Show less
Currently, in many countries - both in Europe and far beyond - existing insolvency legislation is being improved. These changes are often nurtured by the wish to prevent liquidation of companies as... Show moreCurrently, in many countries - both in Europe and far beyond - existing insolvency legislation is being improved. These changes are often nurtured by the wish to prevent liquidation of companies as much as possible. Legislation aimed at deferment or remission of payment is introduced or relaxed in order to give companies a chance to become viable again. A more efficient possibility - in the form of an informal reorganisation - seems to be often overlooked by the legislators. This phenomenon of Restructuring in the shadow of the law - during which a company, in cooperation with its direct interested parties, makes an attempt at reorganisation outside the legal frameworks - takes centre stage in this study. Relatively little is known about informal reorganisations. This can be explained by the fact that they often take place away from the public domain. By means of literary search, interviews, surveys and 35 case studies - carried out at so-called Intensive Care Departments of banks and at consultancy agencies - this book provides an insight into the practice of these rescue operations. It discusses causes of financial difficulties and measures which are taken within the framework of strategic and operational business and financial restructuring. Furthermore, it exposes bottlenecks and distinguishes success and failure factors. It also discusses international developments in the field of Voluntary rescue frameworks. It argues that considerable value can be created when companies reorganise in an informal manner. In order to remove bottlenecks in practice and to stimulate informal reorganisations, codes of conduct must be introduced - in the Netherlands at least - and mediation during informal reorganisations must be institutionalised. Relevant ideas are worked out (in greater detail) on the basis of the study results. Although it is based on the situation in the Netherlands, this study could be of interest to a large group of interested parties in international practice. Not only those involved with the daily prevention and solving of financial problems, but particularly also those who - intentionally or unintentionally - have been or are at times confronted with a deteriorated state of affairs in companies will find information of their interest. They may include accountants, auditors, management consultants, lawyers, politicians, civil servants, bankers, managers and entrepreneurs. Place of business hardly plays a role in this respect: after all, the laws of business economics are universal. Show less
