I would urge anyone with an interest in managing organisations, whether they be students or practising managers, to buy this - Bernard Burnes, Professor of Organisational Change, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester Change is truly the one constant in business. As such, the ability to manage change and its drivers of innovation and creativity is essential. Thankfully, Andriopoulos and Dawson offer an exceptional treatise on this domain, insightful and engaging. I encourage management students at all levels to explore this work - Marianne W. Lewis, Director of Kolodzik Business Scholars, University of Cincinnati Managing Change, Creativity and Innovation brings together comprehensive aspects of change management and creativity management, providing management and HR students with an accessible and wide-ranging resource for study, debate and inspiration. Balancing theory with practice, this book looks at the human side of managing change and creativity, treating them as interdependent aspects of management and organizations. Topics include: - Historical overview of business practice and theory - Understanding creativity and change - Managing individuals, teams and nurturing creativity - The creative economy and future of organizations Features include: - Coverage of all the important recent research in the field - Real-life topical case studies taken from the Financial Times - Interactive resources at the end of each chapter, including questions, exercises, topics for debate, recommended reading and web resources

How do boundary spanners, through processes of temporal sensemaking, use established and newly forming relationships to create value in science-based SMEs? In addressing this question, we examine the creation of social capital arising from the activities that boundary spanners use in establishing 'ties that bind' people together. We show how effective boundary-spanning activities are able to promote collaborations across scientific and related disciplines, supporting knowledge generation and innovation. Sensemaking is central to this process. We illustrate how retrospective sensemaking draws on knowledge, skills and experiences, often triggered through historical connections and personal contacts, whilst prospective sensemaking often arose in the search for new customers and in the ongoing assessment of future potential markets. We reveal how combining individual and collective boundary spanning with a continual movement between the backward glance (retrospective) and more future-oriented (prospective) sensemaking was particularly effective in generating new understandings and opportunities. We use our findings to present an inductive model of value creation that frames the dynamic interplay between individual and collective boundary-spanning activities and temporal sensemaking in the generation of social capital that acts as a knowledge resource for identifying and evaluating ideas for innovation and future pathways to value creation.

We assessed mpox virus prevalence in blood, pharyngeal, and rectal specimens among persons without characteristic rash presenting for JYNNEOS vaccine. Our data indicate that the utility of risk-based screening for mpox in persons without skin lesions or rash via pharyngeal swabs, rectal swabs, and/or blood is likely limited.

Objective: High-quality scientific evidence underpins public health decision making. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agency provides scientific data, including during public health emergencies. To understand CDC’s contributions to COVID-19 science, we conducted a bibliometric evaluation of publications authored by CDC scientists from January 20, 2020, through January 20, 2022, by using a quality improvement approach (SQUIRE 2.0). Methods: We catalogued COVID-19 articles with ≥1 CDC-affiliated author published in a scientific journal and indexed in the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 database. We identified priority topic areas from the agency’s COVID-19 Public Health Science Agenda by using keyword scripts in EndNote and then assessed the impact of the published articles by using Scopus and Altmetric. Results: During the first 2 years of the agency’s pandemic response, CDC authors contributed to 1044 unique COVID-19 scientific publications in 208 journals. Publication topics included testing (n = 853, 82%); prevention strategies (n = 658, 63%); natural history, transmission, breakthrough infections, and reinfections (n = 587, 56%); vaccines (n = 567, 54%); health equity (n = 308, 30%); variants (n = 232, 22%); and post–COVID-19 conditions (n = 44, 4%). Publications were cited 40 427 times and received 81 921 news reports and 1 058 893 social media impressions. As the pandemic evolved, CDC adapted to address new scientific questions, including vaccine effectiveness, safety, and access; viral variants, including Delta and Omicron; and health equity. Conclusion: The agency’s COVID-19 Public Health Science Agenda helped guide impactful scientific activities. CDC continues to evaluate COVID-19 priority topic areas and contribute to development of new scientific work. CDC is committed to monitoring emerging issues and addressing gaps in evidence needed to improve health.

Monkeypox (mpox) cases in the 2022 outbreak have primarily occurred among adult gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM); however, other populations have also been affected (1). To date, data on mpox in cisgender women and pregnant persons have been limited. Understanding transmission in these populations is critical for mpox prevention. In addition, among pregnant persons, Monkeypox virus can be transmitted to the fetus during pregnancy or to the neonate through close contact during or after birth (2-5). Adverse pregnancy outcomes, including spontaneous abortion and stillbirth, have been reported in previous mpox outbreaks (3). During May 11-November 7, 2022, CDC and U.S. jurisdictional health departments identified mpox in 769 cisgender women aged ≥15 years, representing 2.7% of all reported mpox cases.† Among cases with available data, 44% occurred in cisgender women who were non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black), 25% who were non-Hispanic White (White), and 23% who were Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic). Among cisgender women with available data, 73% reported sexual activity or close intimate contact as the likely route of exposure, with mpox lesions most frequently reported on the legs, arms, and genitals. Twenty-three mpox cases were reported in persons who were pregnant or recently pregnant§; all identified as cisgender women based on the mpox case report form. Four pregnant persons required hospitalization for mpox. Eleven pregnant persons received tecovirimat, and no adverse reactions were reported. Continued studies on mpox transmission risks in populations less commonly affected during the outbreak, including cisgender women and pregnant persons, are important to assess and understand the impact of mpox on sexual, reproductive, and overall health.

Since 2004, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Influenza Division (ID) has supported seven countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean to establish and strengthen influenza surveillance. The substantial growth of influenza surveillance capacities in the region demonstrates a commitment by governments to strengthen national programs and contribute to global surveillance. The full value of surveillance data is in its use to guide local public health decisions. CDC ID remains committed to supporting the region and supporting partners to translate surveillance data into policies and programs effectively.

Melioidosis, caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial disease endemic to tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It is typically acquired through contact with contaminated soil or fresh water. Before this investigation, B. pseudomallei was not known to have been isolated from the environment in the continental United States. Here, we report on three patients living in the same Mississippi Gulf Coast county who presented with melioidosis within a 3-year period. They were infected by the same Western Hemisphere B. pseudomallei strain that was discovered in three environmental samples collected from the property of one of the patients. These findings indicate local acquisition of melioidosis from the environment in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region.

Background In November 2020, during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Missouri allowed local public health jurisdictions the option to implement a modified quarantine policy allowing kindergarten through 12 (K-12) students with low-risk exposures to continue in-person learning. We assessed adherence to quarantine among participants in modified quarantine and standard home quarantine and the psychosocial impacts of quarantine on students and families. Methods In January-March 2021, as part of an investigation of in-school transmission of SARS-CoV-2, parents of 586 participating K-12 students identified as a close contact with a person with SARS-CoV-2 were sent a survey to assess their activities and psychosocial impacts to the child and family. Results Among the 227 (39%) survey respondents, 26 (11%) participated in modified quarantine and 201 (89%) participated in standard home quarantine. Forty-six percent of students in modified quarantine and 72% of students in standard home quarantine reported abstaining from non-school activities during quarantine. Parents of 17 (65%) students in modified quarantine and 80 (40%) in standard home quarantine reported low or neutral levels of stress in their children. Parents of students in standard home quarantine described greater stress, negative impacts to family functioning, and interruptions to educational opportunities for students. Conclusions Students in modified quarantine reported lower adherence to quarantine recommendations but lower daily impact and stressors than those in standard home quarantine. Because in-school transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to be low when layered prevention strategies are in place regardless of the use of modified or standard home quarantine, this modified quarantine approach provides a reasonable option for balancing the needs of students and families with SARS-CoV-2 prevention measures.

The extent to which the 2022 mpox outbreak has affected persons without a recent history of male-to-male sexual contact (MMSC) is not well understood. During November 1-December 14, 2022, CDC partnered with six jurisdictional health departments to characterize possible exposures among mpox patients aged ≥18 years who did not report MMSC during the 3 weeks preceding symptom onset. Among 52 patients included in the analysis, 14 (27%) had a known exposure to a person with mpox, including sexual activity and other close intimate contact (eight) and household contact (six). Among 38 (73%) patients with no known exposure to a person with mpox, self-reported activities before illness onset included sexual activity and other close intimate contact (17; 45%), close face-to-face contact (14; 37%), attending large social gatherings (11; 29%), and being in occupational settings involving close skin-to-skin contact (10; 26%). These findings suggest that sexual activity remains an important route of mpox exposure among patients who do not report MMSC.

Bacillus cereus group bacteria containing the anthrax toxin genes can cause fatal anthrax pneumonia in welders. Two welder’s anthrax cases identified in 2020 were investigated to determine the source of each patient’s exposure. Environmental sampling was performed at locations where each patient had recent exposure to soil and dust. Samples were tested for the anthrax toxin genes by real-time PCR, and culture was performed on positive samples to identify whether any environmental isolates matched the patient’s clinical isolate. A total of 185 environmental samples were collected in investigation A for patient A and 108 samples in investigation B for patient B. All samples from investigation B were real-time PCR-negative, but 14 (8%) samples from investigation A were positive, including 10 from patient A’s worksite and 4 from his work-related clothing and gear. An isolate genetically matching the one recovered from patient A was successfully cultured from a worksite soil sample. All welder’s anthrax cases should be investigated to determine the source of exposure, which may be linked to their worksite. Welding and metalworking employers should consider conducting a workplace hazard assessment and implementing controls to reduce the risk of occupationally associated illnesses including welder’s anthrax.

Data on monkeypox in children and adolescents aged <18 years are limited (1,2). During May 17–September 24, 2022, a total of 25,038 monkeypox cases were reported in the United States,† primarily among adult gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (3). During this period, CDC and U.S. jurisdictional health departments identified Monkeypox virus (MPXV) infections in 83 persons aged <18 years, accounting for 0.3% of reported cases. Among 28 children aged 0–12 years with monkeypox, 64% were boys, and most had direct skin-to-skin contact with an adult with monkeypox who was caring for the child in a household setting. Among 55 adolescents aged 13–17 years, most were male (89%), and male-to-male sexual contact was the most common presumed exposure route (66%). Most children and adolescents with monkeypox were non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black) (47%) or Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) (35%). Most (89%) were not hospitalized, none received intensive care unit (ICU)–level care, and none died. Monkeypox in children and adolescents remains rare in the United States. Ensuring equitable access to monkeypox vaccination, testing, and treatment is a critical public health priority. Vaccination for adolescents with risk factors and provision of prevention information for persons with monkeypox caring for children might prevent additional infections.

Objective: Saliva specimens collected in school populations may offer a more feasible, noninvasive alternative to nasal swabs for large-scale COVID-19 testing efforts in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) schools. We investigated acceptance of saliva-based COVID-19 testing among quarantined K-12 students and their parents, teachers, and staff members who recently experienced a SARS-CoV-2 exposure in school. Methods: We surveyed 719 participants, in person or by telephone, who agreed to or declined a free saliva-based COVID-19 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test as part of a surveillance investigation about whether they would have consented to testing if offered a nasal swab instead. We conducted this investigation in 6 school districts in Greene County (n = 3) and St. Louis County (n = 3), Missouri, from January 25 through March 23, 2021. Results: More than one-third (160 of 446) of K-12 students (or their parents or guardians), teachers, and staff members who agreed to a saliva-based COVID-19 test indicated they would have declined testing if specimen collection were by nasal swab. When stratified by school level, 51% (67 of 132) of elementary school students or their parents or guardians would not have agreed to testing if a nasal swab was offered. Conclusions: Some students, especially those in elementary school, preferred saliva-based COVID-19 testing to nasal swab testing. Use of saliva-based testing might increase voluntary participation in screening efforts in K-12 schools to help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Gossip is pervasive at the workplace, yet receives scant attention in the sensemaking literature and stands on the periphery of organization studies. We seek to reveal the non-triviality of gossip in processes of sensemaking. In drawing on empirical data from an observational study of a British Media firm, we adopt a processual perspective in showing how people produce, understand, and enact their sense of what is occurring through gossip as an evaluative and distinct form of informal communication. Our research draws attention to the importance of gossip in the routines of daily practice and the need to differentiate general from confidential gossip. We discuss how gossip continuously informs learning as evaluative sensemaking processes that encourages critiques and evaluation to shape future action and behavior. Within this, we argue how confidential gossip can challenge power relations while remaining part of formal authority structures, constituting forms of pragmatic and micro-resistance. This shadowland resistance provides terrain for learning that both criticizes and preserves espoused values and cultural norms. We conclude that confidential gossip as an evaluative and secretive process provokes a learning paradox that both enables and constrains forms of resistance in reinforcing and simultaneously questioning power relations at work.

Bacillus anthracis has traditionally been considered the etiologic agent of anthrax. However, anthrax-like illness has been documented in welders and other metal workers infected with Bacillus cereus group spp. harboring pXO1 virulence genes that produce anthrax toxins. We present 2 recent cases of severe pneumonia in welders with B. cereus group infections and discuss potential risk factors for infection and treatment options, including antitoxin.

Objective To determine whether modified K–12 student quarantine policies that allow some students to continue in-person education during their quarantine period increase schoolwide SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk following the increase in cases in winter 2020–2021. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study of COVID-19 cases and close contacts among students and staff (n = 65,621) in 103 Missouri public schools. Participants were offered free, saliva-based RT-PCR testing. The projected number of school-based transmission events among untested close contacts was extrapolated from the percentage of events detected among tested asymptomatic close contacts and summed with the number of detected events for a projected total. An adjusted Cox regression model compared hazard rates of school-based SARS-CoV-2 infections between schools with a modified versus standard quarantine policy. Results From January–March 2021, a projected 23 (1%) school-based transmission events occurred among 1,636 school close contacts. There was no difference in the adjusted hazard rates of school-based SARS-CoV-2 infections between schools with a modified versus standard quarantine policy (hazard ratio = 1.00; 95% confidence interval: 0.97–1.03). Discussion School-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission was rare in 103 K–12 schools implementing multiple COVID-19 prevention strategies. Modified student quarantine policies were not associated with increased school incidence of COVID-19. Modifications to student quarantine policies may be a useful strategy for K–12 schools to safely reduce disruptions to in-person education during times of increased COVID-19 community incidence.

Since 1997, nine cases of severe pneumonia, caused by species within the B. cereus group and with a presentation similar to that of inhalation anthrax, were reported in seemingly immunocompetent metalworkers, with most being welders. In seven of the cases, isolates were found to harbor a plasmid similar to the B. anthracis pXO1 that encodes anthrax toxins. In this paper, we review the literature on the B. cereus group spp. pneumonia among welders and other metalworkers, which we term welder's anthrax. We describe the epidemiology, including more information on two cases of welder's anthrax in 2020. We also describe the health risks associated with welding, potential mechanisms of infection and pathological damage, prevention measures according to the hierarchy of controls, and clinical and public health considerations. Considering occupational risk factors and controlling exposure to welding fumes and gases among workers, according to the hierarchy of controls, should help prevent disease transmission in the workplace.

Objectives: Classroom layout plays a central role in maintaining physical distancing as part of a multicomponent prevention strategy for safe in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a school investigation to assess layouts and physical distancing in classroom settings with and without in-school SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Methods: We assessed, measured, and mapped 90 K-12 (kindergarten through grade 12) classrooms in 3 Missouri public school districts during January–March 2021, prior to widespread prevalence of the Delta variant; distances between students, teachers, and people with COVID-19 and their contacts were analyzed. We used whole-genome sequencing to further evaluate potential transmission events. Results: The investigation evaluated the classrooms of 34 students and staff members who were potentially infectious with COVID-19 in a classroom. Of 42 close contacts (15 tested) who sat within 3 ft of possibly infectious people, 1 (2%) probable transmission event occurred (from a symptomatic student with a longer exposure period [5 days]); of 122 contacts (23 tested) who sat more than 3 ft away from possibly infectious people with shorter exposure periods, no transmission events occurred. Conclusions: Reduced student physical distancing is one component of mitigation strategies that can allow for increased classroom capacity and support in-person learning. In the pre–Delta variant period, limited physical distancing (<6 ft) among students in K-12 schools was not associated with increased SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

As of November 9, 2022, a total of 28,730 cases of monkeypox (mpox) had been reported in the United States,* primarily among adult cisgender men reporting recent male-to-male sexual contact (1). Transgender and gender-diverse persons, who constitute an estimated 0.5% of the U.S. adult population,† face unique health disparities and barriers to care (2-4). However, data on the epidemiologic and clinical features of Monkeypox virus infections in this population are limited (5). CDC analyzed U.S. case surveillance data on mpox cases in transgender and gender-diverse adults reported during May 17-November 4, 2022. During this period, 466 mpox cases in transgender and gender-diverse adults were reported, accounting for 1.7% of reported cases among adults. Most were in transgender women (43.1%) or gender-diverse persons (42.1%); 14.8% were in transgender men. Among 374 (80.3%) mpox cases in transgender and gender-diverse adults with information available on sexual or close intimate contact, 276 (73.8%) reported sexual or close intimate contact with a cisgender male partner during the 3 weeks preceding symptom onset. During the ongoing outbreak, transgender and gender-diverse persons have been disproportionately affected by mpox. Members of this population frequently reported recent sexual or close intimate contact with cisgender men, who might be in sexual networks experiencing the highest incidence of mpox. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring public health prevention and outreach efforts to transgender and gender-diverse communities and could guide strategies to reduce mpox transmission.

Background Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has principally been performed through the use of real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction testing. Results of such tests can be reported as cycle threshold (Ct) values, which may provide semi-quantitative or indirect measurements of viral load. Previous reports have examined temporal trends in Ct values over the course of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods Using testing data collected during a prospective household transmission investigation of outpatient and mild coronavirus disease 2019 cases, we examined the relationships between Ct values of the viral RNA N1 target and demographic, clinical, and epidemiological characteristics collected through participant interviews and daily symptom diaries. Results We found that Ct values are lowest (corresponding to a higher viral RNA concentration) soon after symptom onset and are significantly correlated with the time elapsed since onset (P < .001); within 7 days after symptom onset, the median Ct value was 26.5, compared with a median Ct value of 35.0 occurring 21 days after onset. Ct values were significantly lower among participants under 18 years of age (P = .01) and those reporting upper respiratory symptoms at the time of sample collection (P = .001), and were higher among participants reporting no symptoms (P = .05). Conclusions These results emphasize the importance of early testing for SARS-CoV-2 among individuals with symptoms of respiratory illness, and allow cases to be identified and isolated when their viral shedding may be highest.