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This article presents an in-class exercise for teaching theories of the presentation of self that is organized around two key concepts, impression management and impression formation. By highlighting the interpretive, interactive aspects of the presentation of self, this exercise is also useful for teaching the major principles of symbolic interactionism. The exercise is a modified form of speed dating in which students are paired together in a rapid succession of brief interactions (three to five minutes). Rather than seeking a date, however, students are participant-observers paying careful attention to how they form impressions of others and manage the impressions others are forming of them. Because of its brief and repeated interactions, speed dating puts students in a good position to observe their interactions with some analytical distance. With this exercise, students become active learners, which has been found to improve engagement and retention. Drawing on students' essays, we present evidence that the exercise helps students to develop a basic understanding of presentation-of-self concepts and symbolic interactionism more generally as well as an ability to apply them to their experience.

Objective To evaluate the outcomes of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy RAPN after major prior abdominal surgery ( PAS) using a large multicentre database. Patients and methods We identified 1 686 RAPN from five academic centres between 2006 and 2014. In all, 216 patients had previously undergone major PAS, defined as having an open upper midline/ipsilateral incision. Perioperative outcomes were compared with those 1 470 patients who had had no major PAS. The chi-squared test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Results There was no statistically significant difference in Charlson comorbidity index, tumour size, R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score or preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate ( eGFR) between the groups. Age and body mass index were higher in patients with PAS. The PAS group had a higher estimated blood loss ( EBL) but this did not lead to a higher transfusion rate. A retroperitoneal approach was used more often in patients with major PAS (11.2 vs 5.4%), although this group did not have a higher percentage of posterior tumours (38.8 vs 43.3%, P = 0.286). Operative time, warm ischaemia time, length of stay, positive surgical margin, percentage change in eGFR, and perioperative complications were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusions RAPN in patients with major PAS is safe and feasible, with increased EBL but no increased rate of transfusion. Patients with major PAS had almost twice the likelihood of having a retroperitoneal approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For much of the past 40 years, the study of social movement tactics has viewed organizers' choices as driven by a desire to maximize efficacy and efficiency within a context of scarce resources and structural constraints. As sociologists increasingly turned toward culture, a new orientation emerged to view tactical choice as a process of gathering, interpreting, and evaluating information within dynamic, uncertain, and often-contradictory contexts. The importance of the cultural turn has been amply demonstrated in studies of such things as identities, emotions, and collective action frames, but the full implications of its insights continue to be discovered. Four insights in particular warrant greater attention: many core concepts in the study of social movements have an interpretive, subjective, and contingent nature; tactics are a means of communication; social structures are imbued with culture, and culture is thoroughly structured; and social movements sometimes behave irrationally, and what appears to be irrational behavior often is in fact rational. I briefly discuss three areas of scholarship - collective identities, diffusion, and institutional fields - that demonstrate innovative ways that sociologists continue to combine and incorporate these insights and point the way toward a more sophisticated understanding of social movements and tactical choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explain varying levels of collective action by social movement organizations in the United States operating during the height of the 1960s protest cycle, this article examines social movement sector-level dynamics alongside indicators of resources and political opportunities. Drawing on hypotheses from neoinstitutional, organizational ecology, and embeddedness perspectives, the paper emphasizes the importance of understanding the sector-level dynamics of legitimacy, competition, and embeddedness when explaining levels of collective action. Results show strong support for neoinstitutional, organizational ecology, and embeddedness theories, but more mixed support for arguments about how political opportunities and resources affect levels of collective action by social movement organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological studies have consistently reported that younger organizations are more likely to close or disband than older organizations. This article uses neo-institutional theory and social capital theory to explore this finding. We derive hypotheses from these perspectives and test them on a panel of nonprofit organizations in Minneapolis-St Paul (USA) using event history analysis. We find that larger organizations and organizations more dependent upon private donations are less likely to close, and government funding reduces the age effect on mortality; that is, older and younger publicly funded organizations are equally likely to survive or fail. However, among older organizations, not having government funding increases chances of survival. In contrast, volunteer staffing accentuates the age effect. Older organizations that were more dependent on volunteers had a lower likelihood of closure than younger organizations dependent on volunteers, while age had no effect on closure for organizations not dependent on volunteers. We conclude by examining our findings in light of the extant thinking on the liability of newness and the role of institutional and network embeddedness on the chances of organizational survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We sought to evaluate the association of obesity with surgical outcomes of robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) using a large, multicentre database., Methods: We identified 1836 patients who underwent RPN from five academic centres from 2006-2014. A total of 806 patients were obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥30 kg/m(2)). Patient characteristics and outcomes were compared between obese and non-obese patients. Multivariable analysis was used to assess the association of obesity on RPN outcomes., Results: A total of 806 (44%) patients were obese with median BMI of 33.8kg/m(2). Compared to non-obese patients, obese patients had greater median tumour size (2.9 vs. 2.5cm, p<0.001), mean RENAL nephrometry score (7.3 vs. 7.1, p=0.04), median operating time (176 vs. 165 min, p=0.002), and median estimated blood loss (EBL, 150 vs. 100 ml, p=0.002), but no difference in complications. Obesity was not an independent predictor of operative time or EBL on regression analysis. Among obese patients, males had a greater EBL (150 vs. 100 ml, p<0.001), operative time (180 vs. 166 min, p<0.001) and warm ischemia time (WIT, 20 vs. 18, p=0.001), and male sex was an independent predictor of these outcomes on regression analysis., Conclusions: In this large, multicentre study on RPN, obesity was not associated with increased complications and was not an independent predictor of operating time or blood loss. However, in obese patients, male gender was an independent predictor of greater EBL, operative time, and WIT. Our results indicate that obesity alone should not preclude consideration for RPN.

A plasmid encoding the human developmentally regulated endothelial locus-1 (hDel-1) protein formulated with poloxamer 188 is a potential gene therapy for peripheral arterial disease in man. As a prelude to clinical trials, the biodistribution and safety of this therapy were evaluated after intramuscular and intravenous administration in mice and rabbits. In mice, plasmid DNA persisted at the intramuscular injection site for at least 28 days, but was barely detectable in distal tissues by 24 h and essentially cleared by 28 days. By 24 h after intravenous administration, plasmid DNA was readily detected in blood, muscle, and lungs but sporadically and at low levels in other tissues. At 28 days, plasmid DNA was readily detectable only at the intravenous injection site (tail) after low- and high-dose administration, and sporadically in blood and muscle after high-dose administration. In rabbits, the highest intramuscular (4.2 mg kg(-1)) or intravenous (3.7 mg kg(-1)) dose caused no deaths; no treatment-related clinical signs; no changes in body weight, clinical pathology parameters, ophthalmology, ECG, or histopathology; and no detectable increase in antinuclear antibodies by 28 days. The results supported testing of hDel-1 plasmid-based gene therapy in phase I clinical trials.