Do STEM women feel ethically and emotionally better prepared for their careers than men?

Despite a growing imperative for graduates to possess STEM skills, both to boost their employability prospects and their perceived economic value, it is critical to also consider the professional or 'soft skills' that will enable these graduates to thrive in their careers. Ironically, gender differences in personality and occupational choice are larger, not smaller, in more gender-equal countries. This is known as the gender equality paradox and in STEM it highlights the importance of purposeful initiatives throughout the educational trajectory, even in countries with higher levels of gender equality. This study employed an online self-assessment of perceived employability (PE) using a validated instrument and analyzed the data from 2493 STEM students studying at multiple Australian universities. The findings, underpinned by Social Cognitive Careers Theory, indicate that female report greater confidence than their male peers in ethical literacy and in some emotional literacy skills; these are understood to be critical soft skills for STEM graduates. This distinction is more pronounced in the natural and physical sciences and within information technology fields. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Cognitive analytic therapy for borderline personality disorder: therapist competence and therapeutic effectiveness in routine practice.

This study sought to examine the competency of cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) delivered under routine care conditions and to identify the effectiveness of CAT for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Ten cognitive analytic therapists in six National Health Service Trust sites treated 19 patients with BPD using the standard CAT BPD contract of 24 sessions plus four follow-ups. The methodology was small N repeated measures deign, with patients interviewed at the third follow-up session using the Change Interview. Results indicate a high treatment and follow-up compliance rate (89.47%). Significant reductions in psychological distress, risk and dissociation over the time course of the CAT occurred, with a significant increase in personality integration. Most sessions (92.85%) were delivered in a competent manner. Reductions to psychological distress occurred early in treatment and were sustained, whereas increases in personality integration typically occurred later on in treatment. Patients tended to attribute change to the therapy received. Benchmarking against extant CAT BPD evidence notes a moderate effect size across routine care and trial contexts. The results are discussed in terms of identified methodological shortcomings, clinical implications and the contribution made by the CAT model to the treatment of BPD.

Targeting the Tyrosine Kinase 2 (TYK2) Pseudokinase Domain: Discovery of the Selective TYK2 Inhibitor ABBV-712.

Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that belongs to the JAK family also comprising JAK1, JAK2, and JAK3. TYK2 is an attractive target for various autoimmune diseases as it regulates signal transduction downstream of IL-23 and IL-12 receptors. Selective TYK2 inhibition offers a differentiated clinical profile compared to currently approved JAK inhibitors. However, selectivity for TYK2 versus other JAK family members has been difficult to achieve with small molecules that inhibit the catalytically active kinase domain. Successful targeting of the TYK2 pseudokinase domain as a strategy to achieve isoform selectivity was recently exemplified with deucravacitinib. Described herein is the optimization of selective TYK2 inhibitors targeting the pseudokinase domain, resulting in the discovery of the clinical candidate ABBV-712 (21).

Developing Familiarity in a New Duo: Rehearsal Talk and Performance Cues.

Context and Aims: Social and cognitive processes underlying individual classical musicians' and duo performers' preparation for performance have been explored using longitudinal case studies. Social processes can be inferred from rehearsal talk and recent studies have focused on its content and nature. Cognitive processes can be inferred from score annotations representing musicians' thoughts while practicing, rehearsing (rehearsal features), and playing or singing from memory (performance cues). We report three studies conducted by two practitioner-researchers: (1) of rehearsal talk; (2) of rehearsal features and thoughts while performing; and (3) a triangulation (as it were) of the two kinds of data to gauge the potential for rehearsal talk to predict the use of performance cues. Methods: A singer and viola player formed a new duo to prepare two songs, new to them both, for two performances on the same day and a third performance 10 months later. Their practice and rehearsal sessions, over the course of seven days, were recorded and transcribed. The musicians annotated copies of the scores after rehearsing and after each performance. Each musician performed one of the two songs from memory. First, verbal data were coded and analyzed using two frameworks for categorizing socio-emotional interactions and musical dimensions, respectively. Second, their annotations were categorized and compared, and finally the frameworks were combined so that correlations between rehearsal talk and performance cues could be calculated. Results: The musicians' verbal interactions were positive and task-related; significant changes over time were observed only in the extent to which they showed solidarity toward each other. Analysis of their annotations illustrates similarities and differences between their attention to specific features of the music while rehearsing and performing, particularly from memory. Rehearsal talk predicted performance cues in the third performance, but not the first or second. Conclusion: Musicians' talk cannot be assumed to reflect musicians' actions. The study of musicians' verbal interactions may be less useful for determining cognitive than social processes underlying preparation for performance. Nevertheless, the study provides a detailed snapshot of classical musicians' "real world" preparation for performance, highlighting the role of spontaneity in performance, and underlining differences between what happens in the studio and what can happen on stage.

Developing a competence framework for cognitive analytic therapy.

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the development and summarizes the content of a competence framework for delivery of cognitive analytic therapy (CAT). DESIGN: The framework was developed using the evidence-based method developed by Roth and Pilling (2008, Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 36, 129). METHODS: A review of the CAT outcome literature identified where CAT interventions had evidence of efficacy. Standard texts on CAT were primary sources for details of theory and practice. This process was supported by an expert reference group (ERG). The role of the ERG was to provide professional advice on areas where the evidence base was lacking, but where CAT interventions were commonly used by therapists trained in the model. RESULTS: A framework was produced and structured in terms of core knowledge, core skills, and meta-competences (which require therapeutic judgement rather than simple adherence to a treatment protocol). CONCLUSIONS: The framework enables trainees, service users, service managers, and commissioners to better understand a) the core features of CAT and b) what competences need to be in place for CAT to be skilfully delivered in practice. PRACTITIONER POINTS: It is possible to define the core competences of CAT. Whilst generic competences are important, there are five CAT-specific domains of competence. The CAT-specific competences reflect the three-phase structure of the therapy: reformulation, recognition, and revision.

Chaotic mixing in microchannels via low frequency switching transverse electroosmotic flow generated on integrated microelectrodes.

In this paper we present a numerical and experimental investigation of a chaotic mixer in a microchannel via low frequency switching transverse electroosmotic flow. By applying a low frequency, square-wave electric field to a pair of parallel electrodes placed at the bottom of the channel, a complex 3D spatial and time-dependence flow was generated to stretch and fold the fluid. This significantly enhanced the mixing effect. The mixing mechanism was first investigated by numerical and experimental analysis. The effects of operational parameters such as flow rate, frequency, and amplitude of the applied voltage have also been investigated. It is found that the best mixing performance is achieved when the frequency is around 1 Hz, and the required mixing length is about 1.5 mm for the case of applied electric potential 5 V peak-to-peak and flow rate 75 microL h(-1). The mixing performance was significantly enhanced when the applied electric potential increased or the flow rate of fluids decreased.

Developing a Framework for the Analysis of Program Notes Written for Contemporary Classical Music Concerts.

At classical music concerts, a program note is the usual medium for communicating information about the music to be heard and performed. Although there may be crossover of information, the program note is distinct from the CD cover note, from notes contained within a musical score note, and from a composer's directions for performers. With a focus on contemporary classical works in the Australian context, the researchers' aim in this study was to develop and test an analytical frame of informational categories with which to examine program note content. Three extant studies - one scientific, one phenomenological and one semiotic - informed the development of an initial theoretical framework for program note analysis. This was tested through the analysis of program notes (n = 30) from each of three writer cohorts: composers, professional writers, and higher education students. The analytical frame revealed different emphases of information categories among the three program note writer groups, with a more sophisticated combination of categories used by the professional writers and composers. This has implications for the teaching of program note writing in tertiary performance institutions, encouraging diversity of student content without extinguishing personal insights.

Resolving threats to the therapeutic alliance in cognitive analytic therapy of borderline personality disorder: a task analysis.

BACKGROUND: Alliance ruptures and premature drop out from psychotherapy are very common with patients who have a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, limiting the clinical effectiveness of treatment. AIM: To test and refine a model of how therapists successfully resolve threats to the therapeutic alliance involving enactment of problematic relationship patterns in the cognitive analytic therapy of borderline personality disorder. METHOD: Task analysis (Greenberg, 1984a) of 107 enactments from 66 sessions in four good outcome cases, compared with 35 enactments from 16 sessions in two poor outcome cases. This systematically compares a rational model of process with empirically coded transcripts of therapy sessions where independent raters have identified an alliance threat event. RESULTS: The process stages of the rational model were observed, and 20 refinements were made, including a new process stage, heuristic principles and 'when-then' steps. Therapists were found to cycle between stages. Therapists in good outcome cases recognized the majority of these enactments and focused attention to them in contrast to poor outcome cases where therapists usually failed to notice or draw attention to the alliance threat and did not adhere to the model. CONCLUSION: Competent resolution of alliance-threatening events is crucially dependent on therapists' ability to recognize them, and secondarily on their adherence to the principles in the refined model. The model is consistent with prior research and can be used in supervision and quality improvement strategies.

The Composer's Program Note for Newly Written Classical Music: Content and Intentions.

In concerts of western classical music the provision of a program note is a widespread practice dating back to the 18th century and still commonly in use. Program notes tend to inform listeners and performers about historical context, composer biographical details, and compositional thinking. However, the scant program note research conducted to date reveals that program notes may not foster understanding or enhance listener enjoyment as previously assumed. In the case of canonic works, performers and listeners may already be familiar with much of the program note information. This is not so in the case of newly composed works, which formed the basis of the exploratory study reported here. This article reports the views of 17 living contemporary composers on their writing of program notes for their own works. In particular, the study sought to understand the intended recipient, role and the content of composer-written program notes. Participating composers identified three main roles for their program notes: to shape a performer's interpretation of the work; to guide, engage or direct the listener and/or performer; and as collaborative mode of communication between the composer, performer, and listener. For some composers, this collaboration was intended to result in "performative listening" in which listeners were actively engaged in bringing each composition to life. This was also described as a form of empathy that results in the co-construction of the musical experience. Overall, composers avoided giving too much personal information and they provided performers with more structural information. However, composers did not agree on whether the same information should be provided to both performers and listeners. Composers' responses problematize the view of a program note as a simple statement from writer to recipient, indicating instead a more complex set of relations at play between composer, performer, listener, and the work itself. These relations are illustrated in a model. There are implications for program note writers and readers, and for educators. Future research might seek to enhance understanding of program notes, including whether the written program note is the most effective format for communications about music.