Group performance and group learning at dynamic system control tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drewes, Sylvana

2013-01-01

Proper management of dynamic systems (e.g. cooling systems of nuclear power plants or production and warehousing) is important to ensure public safety and economic success. So far, research has provided broad evidence for systematic shortcomings in individuals' control performance of dynamic systems. This research aims to investigate whether groups manifest synergy (Larson, 2010) and outperform individuals and if so, what processes lead to these performance advantages. In three experiments - including simulations of a nuclear power plant and a business setting - I compare the control performance of three-person-groups to the average individual performance and to nominal groups (N = 105 groups per experiment). The nominal group condition captures the statistical advantage of aggregated group judgements not due to social interaction. First, results show a superior performance of groups compared to individuals. Second, a meta-analysis across all three experiments shows interaction-based process gains in dynamic control tasks: Interacting groups outperform the average individual performance as well as the nominal group performance. Third, group interaction leads to stable individual improvements of group members that exceed practice effects. In sum, these results provide the first unequivocal evidence for interaction-based performance gains of groups in dynamic control tasks and imply that employers should rely on groups to provide opportunities for individual learning and to foster dynamic system control at its best.

A recommendation of the National Board for Atomic Safety and Radiation Protection for the appointment of Nuclear Safety Control Officers for research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adler, B.

1990-01-01

The Ordinance on the Implementation of Atomic Safety and Radiation Protection of the GDR requires that the managers of plants where nuclear facilities are operated appoint Control Officers for the fields of radiation protection, nuclear safety, physical protection, and accounting for and control of nuclear materials. The Control Officers are staff members of the operating organization but their appointment is subject to approval by the National Board and requires adequate qualification. The main task of the Control Officers as specialists is to give advice to the plant manager who retains responsibility for the safety of nuclear facilities, and to verify on his behalf that all requirements within their competence are met by the operating group. For this reason the Control Officer has to be absolutely independent of the head of the operating group. To enable the Control Officers to accomplish all necessary control activities and to guarantee independence from the head of the operating group, the plant manager has to establish adequate regulations of operation. As a pattern for such regulations the National Board has issued a Recommendation for the Appointment of Nuclear Safety Control Officers for Research Reactors, which provides a comprehensive survey of the requisite qualification features as well as the duties and rights of these Control Officers. This recommendation will be dealt with in the presentation

Email for the coordination of healthcare appointments and attendance reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

Atherton, Helen; Sawmynaden, Prescilla; Meyer, Barbara; Car, Josip

2012-08-15

Email is a popular and commonly-used method of communication, but its use in health care is not routine. Where email communication has been utilised in health care, its purposes have included the coordination of healthcare appointments and attendance reminders, but the effects of using email in this way are not known. This review considers the use of email for the coordination of healthcare appointments and reminders for attendance; particularly scheduling, rescheduling and cancelling healthcare appointments, and providing prompts/reminders for attendance at appointments. To assess the effects of using email for the coordination of healthcare appointments and attendance reminders, compared to other forms of coordinating appointments and reminders, on outcomes for health professionals, patients and carers, and health services, including harms. We searched: the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, Issue 1 2010), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (1950 to January 2010), EMBASE (OvidSP) (1980 to January 2010), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (1967 to January 2010), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (1982 to February 2010),and ERIC (CSA) (1965 to January 2010). We searched grey literature: theses/dissertation repositories, trials registers and Google Scholar (searched July 2010). We used additional search methods: examining reference lists and contacting authors. Randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised trials, controlled before and after studies and interrupted time series studies of interventions that use email for scheduling health appointments, for reminders for a scheduled health appointment or for ongoing coordination of health appointments and that took the form of 1) unsecured email 2) secure email or 3) web messaging. All healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers in all settings were considered. Two review authors independently assessed the titles and abstracts of retrieved

5 CFR 316.402 - Procedures for making temporary appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... appointments. Such appointments are not VRA appointments and do not lead to conversion to career-conditional appointment; (3) Career-conditional appointment under § 315.601, 315.604, 315.605, 315.606, 315.607, 315.608... the General Accounting Office; (6) Appointment under 28 U.S.C. 602 for current and former employees of...

EXTENSION EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM: Getting the most out of your extension appointment and still having a life.

Science.gov (United States)

Powers, W; Cockett, N; Lardy, G

2017-04-01

Managing the demands of an academic appointment in extension can be a challenging task. Demands from constituent groups, expectations of supervisors, and rigors of promotion and tenure processes can create pressures that young faculty did not expect. Throw in spousal and family duties and you have created a situation that many will find hard to navigate. However, there are ways to cope and, even better news, there are ways to excel in meeting the demands of an academic appointment and enjoying life. Because many new extension faculty members do not have prior experience in extension, best practices in documenting programs and extension scholarship over the pretenure period are provided in this paper. Appointments that include both research and extension are quite common at many land grant universities. The advantages of joint appointments are numerous and include the fact that more and more grant agencies are seeking integrated research, teaching, and/or extension projects. However, the time demands of joint appointments can be challenging. Joint appointments can be designed to help faculty members conduct important translational research and have it be applied in a production setting. By seeking commonalities in research and extension efforts, joint appointments can be very synergistic. Development of highly successful programs requires planning on the front end with an emphasis on an in-depth needs assessment to determine stakeholder needs for both research and extension. Impact assessment should be part of this planning effort. Performing as a successful extension faculty member while maintaining relationships outside of work is challenging and requires deliberate effort on the part of employees and supervisors to realize there is more to life than work. Some authors have referred to this as work-life balance, but it may be more helpful to think of it as work-life effectiveness. To do this, one needs to 1) define what success looks like, 2) set boundaries and

Minimal groups increase young children's motivation and learning on group-relevant tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Master, Allison; Walton, Gregory M

2013-01-01

Three experiments (N = 130) used a minimal group manipulation to show that just perceived membership in a social group boosts young children's motivation for and learning from group-relevant tasks. In Experiment 1, 4-year-old children assigned to a minimal "puzzles group" persisted longer on a challenging puzzle than children identified as the "puzzles child" or children in a control condition. Experiment 2 showed that this boost in motivation occurred only when the group was associated with the task. In Experiment 3, children assigned to a minimal group associated with word learning learned more words than children assigned an analogous individual identity. The studies demonstrate that fostering shared motivations may be a powerful means by which to shape young children's academic outcomes. © 2012 The Authors. Child Development © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Group therapy task training versus individual task training during inpatient stroke rehabilitation: a randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Renner, Caroline Ie; Outermans, Jacqueline; Ludwig, Ricarda; Brendel, Christiane; Kwakkel, Gert; Hummelsheim, Horst

2016-07-01

To compare the efficacy of intensive daily applied progressive group therapy task training with equally dosed individual progressive task training on self-reported mobility for patients with moderate to severe stroke during inpatient rehabilitation. Randomized controlled clinical trial. In-patient rehabilitation center. A total of 73 subacute patients with stroke who were not able to walk without physical assistance at randomisation. Patients were allocated to group therapy task training (GT) or individual task training (IT). Both interventions were intended to improve walking competency and comprised 30 sessions of 90 minutes over six weeks. Primary outcome was the mobility domain of the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS-3.0). Secondary outcomes were the other domains of SIS-3.0, standing balance, gait speed, walking distance, stair climbing, fatigue, anxiety and depression. No adverse events were reported in either arm of the trial. There were no significant differences between groups for the SIS mobility domain at the end of the intervention (Z= -0.26, P = 0.79). No significant differences between groups were found in gait speed improvements (GT:0.38 ±0.23; IT:0.26±0.35), any other gait related parameters, or in non-physical outcomes such as depression and fatigue. Inpatient group therapy task training for patients with moderate to severe stroke is safe and equally effective as a dose-matched individual task training therapy. Group therapy task training may be delivered as an alternative to individual therapy or as valuable adjunct to increase time spent in gait-related activities. © The Author(s) 2015.

Appointment scheduling on computer.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercando, A D

1997-07-01

The program is well-written, intuitive, and easy to use once initial data, such as the available appointment slots, has been entered. While the effort may not seem worthwhile initially, the ability to access an office appointment book from several locations simultaneously and the reporting capabilities of the software make MEDSched a useful addition to any busy office practice or clinic. Please send your comments and suggestions to me at adm4@columbia.edu.

Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; de Jongh, Thyra; Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; Atun, Rifat; Car, Josip

2013-12-05

review author. Study design features, characteristics of target populations, interventions and controls, and results data were extracted by two review authors and confirmed by a third author. Two authors assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. As the intervention characteristics and outcome measures were similar across included studies, we conducted a meta-analysis to estimate an overall effect size. We included eight randomised controlled trials involving 6615 participants. Four of these studies were newly identified during this update.We found moderate quality evidence from seven studies (5841 participants) that mobile text message reminders improved the rate of attendance at healthcare appointments compared to no reminders (risk ratio (RR) 1.14 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03 to 1.26)). There was also moderate quality evidence from three studies (2509 participants) that mobile text message reminders had a similar impact to phone call reminders (RR 0.99 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.02). Low quality evidence from one study (291 participants) suggests that mobile text message reminders combined with postal reminders improved the rate of attendance at healthcare appointments compared to postal reminders alone (RR 1.10 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.19)). Overall, the attendance to appointment rates were 67.8% for the no reminders group, 78.6% for the mobile phone messaging reminders group and 80.3% for the phone call reminders group. One study reported generally that there were no adverse effects during the study period; none of the studies reported in detail on specific adverse events such as loss of privacy, data misinterpretation, or message delivery failure. Two studies reported that the costs per text message per attendance were respectively 55% and 65% lower than costs per phone call reminder. The studies included in the review did not report on health outcomes or people's perceptions of safety related to receiving reminders by text message. Low to moderate quality evidence

Multi-task learning with group information for human action recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Li; Wu, Song; Pu, Nan; Xu, Shulin; Xiao, Guoqiang

2018-04-01

Human action recognition is an important and challenging task in computer vision research, due to the variations in human motion performance, interpersonal differences and recording settings. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-task learning framework with group information (MTL-GI) for accurate and efficient human action recognition. Specifically, we firstly obtain group information through calculating the mutual information according to the latent relationship between Gaussian components and action categories, and clustering similar action categories into the same group by affinity propagation clustering. Additionally, in order to explore the relationships of related tasks, we incorporate group information into multi-task learning. Experimental results evaluated on two popular benchmarks (UCF50 and HMDB51 datasets) demonstrate the superiority of our proposed MTL-GI framework.

One-appointment endodontic therapy: biological considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Louis M; Lin, Jarshen; Rosenberg, Paul A

2007-11-01

The authors conducted a literature review to present the best available biological evidence concerning one-appointment endodontic therapy for asymptomatic teeth with apical periodontitis. Because of recent advances in technology, such as rotary engines and nickel-titanium instruments, some practitioners are performing one-appointment endodontic therapy for asymptomatic teeth with apical periodontitis. The authors reviewed the literature, which revealed only a small number of randomized, controlled clinical trials that have been conducted on one-appointment versus multiple-appointment endodontic therapy. As the apical canal preparation is enlarged, a greater percentage of bacteria is eradicated from infected root canals. In addition, sufficiently large apical root canal enlargement facilitates the delivery of antimicrobial irrigant to the apical portion of the canal. However, an association between positive or negative preobturation root canal culture results and the outcome of endodontic treatment has not been well-established. The best available evidence, based on a systematic literature review, indicates that one-appointment endodontic therapy may be feasible in selected cases of apical periodontitis in asymptomatic teeth. However, additional randomized, controlled clinical trials are required.

25 CFR 11.610 - Appointment of guardians.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Appointment of guardians. 11.610 Section 11.610 Indians... ORDER CODE Domestic Relations § 11.610 Appointment of guardians. The court shall have the jurisdiction to appoint or remove legal guardians for minors and for persons who are incapable of managing their...

Patients’ Perspective on the Value of Medication Management Appointments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Cruz

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives: There is ongoing concern that psychiatric medication management appointments add little value to care. The present study attempted to address this concern by capturing depressed patients’ views and opinions about the value of psychiatric medication management appointments. Methods: Seventy-eight semi-structured interviews were performed with white and African American depressed patients post medication management appointments. These interviews tapped patients’ views and opinions about the value of attending medication management appointments. Analysis: An iterative thematic analysis was performed. Findings: Patients reported greater appointment value when appointments included obtaining medications, discussing the need for medication changes or dose adjustments, and discussing the impact of medications on their illness. Additionally, greater appointment value was perceived by patients when there were non-medical conversations about life issues, immediate outcomes from the appointment such as motivation to continue in care, and specific qualities of providers that were appealing to patients. Conclusions: Patients’ perceived value of psychiatric medication management appointments is complex. Though important patient outcomes are obtaining medicine and perceiving improvement in their mental health, there are other valued appointment and provider factors. Some of these other valued factors embedded within medication management appointments could have therapeutic properties. These findings have implications for future clinical research and service delivery.

Task complexity and task, goal, and reward interdependence in group performance : a prescriptive model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vijfeijken, van H.T.G.A.; Kleingeld, P.A.M.; Tuijl, van H.F.J.M.; Algera, J.A.; Thierry, H.

2002-01-01

A prescriptive model on how to design effective combinations of goal setting and contingent rewards for group performance management is presented. The model incorporates the constructs task complexity, task interdependence, goal interdependence, and reward interdependence and specifies optimal fit

Common region wins the competition between extrinsic grouping cues: Evidence from a task without explicit attention to grouping.

Science.gov (United States)

Montoro, Pedro R; Villalba-García, Cristina; Luna, Dolores; Hinojosa, José A

2017-12-01

The competition between perceptual grouping factors is a relatively ignored topic, especially in the case of extrinsic grouping cues (e.g., common region or connectedness). Recent studies have examined the integration of extrinsic cues using tasks that induce selective attention to groups based on different grouping cues. However, this procedure could generate alternative strategies for task performance, which are non-related to the perceptual grouping operations. In the current work, we used an indirect task, i.e. repetition discrimination task, without explicit attention to grouping cues to further examine the rules that govern dominance between competing extrinsic grouping factors. This procedure allowed us to obtain an unbiased measure of the competition between common region and connectedness cues acting within the same display. The results corroborate previous data showing that grouping by common region dominated the perceived organization of the display, even though the phenomenological strength of the grouping cues was equated for each participant by means of a preliminary scaling task. Our results highlight the relevance of using indirect tasks as an essential tool for the systematic study of the integration of extrinsic grouping cues.

Objectives and tasks for sub-group B: Plutonium management and recycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-01-01

The paper restates the prime objectives of Working Group 4 and explains that in order to accomplish their objectives two sub-groups (A and B) have been established. The Co-Chairmen suggested that sub group B take as their terms of reference those tasks remitted to them by Working Group 4 as a whole. The paper identifies and comments on 11 tasks into which the work of the sub-group is divided. The paper also includes a number of annexes giving the guidelines for data input to each task

Task dynamics in self-organising task groups : expertise, motivational, and performance differences of specialists and generalists

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zoethout, Kees; Jager, Wander; Molleman, Eric

Multi-agent simulation is applied to explore how different types of task variety cause workgroups to change their task allocation accordingly. We studied two groups, generalists and specialists. We hypothesised that the performance of the specialists would decrease when task variety increases. The

Predicting appointment misses in hospitals using data analytics

Science.gov (United States)

Karpagam, Sylvia; Ma, Nang Laik

2017-01-01

Background There is growing attention over the last few years about non-attendance in hospitals and its clinical and economic consequences. There have been several studies documenting the various aspects of non-attendance in hospitals. Project Predicting Appoint Misses (PAM) was started with the intention of being able to predict the type of patients that would not come for appointments after making bookings. Methods Historic hospital appointment data merged with “distance from hospital” variable was used to run Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine and Recursive Partitioning to decide the contributing variables to missed appointments. Results Variables that are “class”, “time”, “demographics” related have an effect on the target variable, however, prediction models may not perform effectively due to very subtle influence on the target variable. Previously assumed major contributors like “age”, “distance” did not have a major effect on the target variable. Conclusions With the given data it will be very difficult to make any moderate/strong prediction of the Appointment misses. That being said with the help of the cut off we are able to capture all of the “appointment misses” in addition to also capturing the actualized appointments. PMID:28567409

Task complexity and task, goal, and reward interdependence in group performance management : A prescriptive model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Vijfeijken, H.; Kleingeld, A.; van Tuijl, H.; Algera, J.A.; Thierry, Hk.

2002-01-01

A prescriptive model on how to design effective combinations of goal setting and contingent rewards for group performance management is presented. The model incorporates the constructs task complexity, task interdependence, goal interdependence, and reward interdependence and specifies optimal fit

48 CFR 1401.603-3 - Appointment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Responsibilities 1401.603-3 Appointment. Purchase card holders may be appointed in writing or in accordance with the bureau/office procedures within the constraints of DOI Integrated Charge Card Program Policy Manual located at http://www.doi.gov/pam/chargecard. Additional guidance is available in the GSA Smart...

Appointment, qualifications and responsibilities of ventilation officers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

The Code provides for the appointment of a ventilation officer when required by the appropriate authority. This guideline offers comment on the appointment, qualifications, training and responsibilities of that person

Factors influencing non-attendance of clinic appointments in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

without an appointment, with an average of eight patients per day missing their appointment. The low rate of compliance with clinic appointments was of concern for the physicians at both the diabetes clinics. Prior to the current study, the reasons for non-attendance had not been examined. Materials and methods. A sample ...

Impact of health portal enrollment with email reminders on adherence to clinic appointments: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Horvath, Monica; Levy, Janet; L'Engle, Pete; Carlson, Boyd; Ahmad, Asif; Ferranti, Jeffrey

2011-05-26

Internet portal technologies that provide access to portions of electronic health records have the potential to revolutionize patients' involvement in their care. However, relatively few descriptions of the demographic characteristics of portal enrollees or of the effects of portal technology on quality outcomes exist. This study examined data from patients who attended one of seven Duke Medicine clinics and who were offered the option of enrolling in and using the Duke Medicine HealthView portal (HVP). The HVP allows patients to manage details of their appointment scheduling and provides automated email appointment reminders in addition to the telephone and mail reminders that all patients receive. Our objective was to test whether portal enrollment with an email reminder functionality is significantly related to decreases in rates of appointment "no-shows," which are known to impair clinic operational efficiency. Appointment activity during a 1-year period was examined for all patients attending one of seven Duke Medicine clinics. Patients were categorized as portal enrollees or as nonusers either by their status at time of appointment or at the end of the 1-year period. Demographic characteristics and no-show rates among these groups were compared. A binomial logistic regression model was constructed to measure the adjusted impact of HVP enrollment on no-show rates, given confounding factors. To demonstrate the effect of HVP use over time, monthly no-show rates were calculated for patient appointment keeping and contrasted between preportal and postportal deployment periods. Across seven clinics, 58,942 patients, 15.7% (9239/58,942) of whom were portal enrollees, scheduled 198,199 appointments with an overall no-show rate of 9.9% (19,668/198,199). We found that HVP enrollees were significantly more likely to be female, white, and privately insured compared with nonusers. Bivariate no-show rate differences between portal enrollment groups varied widely according

Group cohesion, task performance, and the experimenter expectancy effect.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogstraten, J.; Vorst, H.C.M.

1978-01-01

Studied the effects of cohesion on task fulfillment and explored the influence of task fulfillment on the initial level of cohesion. Within 4-person groups of undergraduates, cohesion was manipulated successfully by a triple procedure. The level of cohesion was ascertained directly after the

Qualitative Study of Foster Caregivers’ Views on Adherence to Pediatric Appointments

Science.gov (United States)

Schneiderman, Janet U.; Kennedy, Andrea K.; Sayegh, Caitlin S.

2016-01-01

The current study is a qualitative investigation of how foster caregivers, primarily Latinos, view adherence to pediatric appointments with the purpose of identifying how the child welfare system, pediatric clinics, and pediatric health providers serving foster children might promote appointment attendance. Participants in the study had a return appointment at an outpatient pediatric clinic that only served children in the child welfare system. Twenty-eight caregivers (13 related and 15 unrelated) participated in telephone interviews after the date of their scheduled pediatric appointment (32% missed their return appointment). Semistructured interview guides included general questions about what promotes attending the pediatric appointment, what makes it difficult to attend the pediatric appointment, and how pediatric care affects the foster child. Analysis of qualitative data using content analysis identified three themes: (a) multiple methods to attend appointments, which included caregivers’ organizational and problem-solving skills; (b) positive health care experiences, which consisted of caregivers’ personal relationships with providers and staff members and clinic organization; and (c) necessity of pediatric care, which included recognition of the need for health care, especially timely immunizations. All caregivers also reported that appointments reminders would be helpful. Unrelated caregivers more often said that appointment attendance was facilitated by clinic organization compared to related caregivers. Nonadherent caregivers mentioned their need to solve problems to attend appointments or reschedule appointments more than attenders. In summary, caregivers said they valued regular pediatric health care to treat their child’s chronic conditions and prevent illnesses, but they acknowledged that their home lives were hectic and attending scheduled appointments was sometimes difficult. Foster caregivers in this study identified the ideal pediatric

Effect of second timed appointments for non-attenders of breast cancer screening in England: a randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Allgood, Prue C; Maroni, Roberta; Hudson, Sue; Offman, Judith; Turnbull, Anne E; Peacock, Lesley; Steel, Jim; Kirby, Geraldine; Ingram, Christine E; Somers, Julie; Fuller, Clare; Threlfall, Anthony G; Gabe, Rhian; Maxwell, Anthony J; Patnick, Julietta; Duffy, Stephen W

2017-07-01

In England, participation in breast cancer screening has been decreasing in the past 10 years, approaching the national minimum standard of 70%. Interventions aimed at improving participation need to be investigated and put into practice to stop this downward trend. We assessed the effect on participation of sending invitations for breast screening with a timed appointment to women who did not attend their first offered appointment within the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP). In this open, randomised controlled trial, women in six centres in the NHSBSP in England who were invited for routine breast cancer screening were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive an invitation to a second appointment with fixed date and time (intervention) or an invitation letter with a telephone number to call to book their new screening appointment (control) in the event of non-attendance at the first offered appointment. Randomisation was by SX number, a sequential unique identifier of each woman within the NHSBSP, and at the beginning of the study a coin toss decided whether women with odd or even SX numbers would be allocated to the intervention group. Women aged 50-70 years who did not attend their first offered appointment were eligible for the analysis. The primary endpoint was participation (ie, attendance at breast cancer screening) within 90 days of the date of the first offered appointment; we used Poisson regression to compare the proportion of women who participated in screening in the study groups. All analyses were by intention to treat. This trial is registered with Barts Health, number 009304QM. We obtained 33 146 records of women invited for breast cancer screening at the six centres between June 2, 2014, and Sept 30, 2015, who did not attend their first offered appointment. 26 054 women were eligible for this analysis (12 807 in the intervention group and 13 247 in the control group). Participation within 90 days of the first offered appointment was

Designing the Widget: A Group Decision and Negotiation Task

Science.gov (United States)

Delise, Lisa A.; Mello, Abby L.

2017-01-01

The Widget design task is an in-class, experiential exercise that affords students the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills in group negotiation. Students engage in new product design in committees of two dyads where one dyad represents Consumer Research and the other represents Strategic Management. Task information creates different…

Investor Response to Appointment of Female CEOs and CFOs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholtens, Lambertus; Brinkhuis, Eline

2018-01-01

We study the impact of appointing women to top executive positions from an investor perspective. We analyze whether shareholders value announcement of appointment of women to top positions differently than they do appointment of men. This study uses an international sample of 100 announcements of

Report on US-DOE/OHER Task Group on modelling and scaling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mewhinney, J.A.; Griffith, W.C.

1989-01-01

In early 1986, the DOE/OHER Task Group on Modeling and Scaling was formed. Membership on the Task Group is drawn from staff of several laboratories funded by the United States Department of Energy, Office of Health and Environmental Research. The primary goal of the Task Group is to promote cooperation among the laboratories in analysing mammalian radiobiology studies with emphasis on studies that used beagle dogs in linespan experiments. To assist in defining the status of modelling and scaling in animal data, the Task Group served as the programme committee for the 26th Hanford Life Sciences symposium entitled Modeling for Scaling to Man held in October 1987. This symposium had over 60 oral presentations describing current research in dosimetric, pharmacokinetic, and dose-response modelling and scaling of results from animal studies to humans. A summary of the highlights of this symposium is presented. The Task Group also is in the process of developing recommendations for analyses of results obtained from dog lifespan studies. The goal is to provide as many comparisons as possible between these studies and to scale the results to humans to strengthen limited epidemiological data on exposures of humans to radiation. Several methods are discussed. (author)

Behavioral changes during dental appointments in children having tooth extractions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Gonzalez Cademartori

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Tooth extractions are associated with anxiety-related situations that can cause behavioral problems in pediatric dental clinics. Aim: We aimed to describe the behavior of children during tooth extraction appointments, compare it to their behavior in preceding and subsequent dental appointments, and assess the behavioral differences according to gender, age, type of dentition, and reason for extraction. Settings and Design: This was a retrospective study based on information obtained from records of children between 6 and 13 years of age who were cared for at the Dentistry School in Pelotas, Brazil. Materials and Methods: Child behavior was assessed during the dental appointment that preceded the tooth extraction, during the tooth extraction appointment, and in the subsequent dental appointment using the Venham Behavior Rating Scale. Statistical Analysis: Results were analyzed using the Pearson Chi-square and McNemar tests. Results: Eighty-nine children were included. Cooperative behavior prevailed in all the dental appointments. The prevalence of “mild/intense protest” was higher in the tooth extraction appointments than in the previous or subsequent dental appointments (P < 0.001. No significant differences in behavior were detected between the type of dentition (primary or permanent teeth, reason for extraction or gender. Conclusion: In this sample of children treated at a dental school, the occurrence of uncooperative behavior was higher during the tooth extraction appointments than in the preceding and subsequent dental appointments.

48 CFR 245.7001 - Selection, appointment, and termination.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... REGULATIONS SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT GOVERNMENT PROPERTY Appointment of Property... officers, the appointment authority shall consider experience, training, education, business acumen, judgment, character, and ethics. ...

Audiologist-patient communication profiles in hearing rehabilitation appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Carly; Barr, Caitlin; Khan, Asaduzzaman; Hickson, Louise

2017-08-01

To profile the communication between audiologists and patients in initial appointments on a biomedical-psychosocial continuum; and explore the associations between these profiles and 1) characteristics of the appointment and 2) patients' decisions to pursue hearing aids. Sixty-three initial hearing assessment appointments were filmed and audiologist-patient communication was coded using the Roter Interaction Analysis System. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to profile audiologist-patient communication, after which regression modelling and Chi-squared analyses were conducted. Two distinct audiologist-patient communication profiles were identified during both the history taking phase (46=biopsychosocial profile, 15=psychosocial profile) and diagnosis and management planning phase (45=expanded biomedical profile, 11=narrowly biomedical profile). Longer appointments were significantly more likely to be associated with an expanded biomedical interaction during the diagnosis and management planning phase. No significant associations were found between audiologist-patient communication profile and patients' decisions to pursue hearing aids. Initial audiology consultations appear to remain clinician-centred. Three quarters of appointments began with a biopsychosocial interaction; however, 80% ended with an expanded biomedical interaction. Findings suggest that audiologists could consider modifying their communication in initial appointments to more holistically address the needs of patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Decision-Making Process of a Small Task Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Roderick, Joan C.

1985-01-01

This article focuses on the following areas of group process: the nature of the task group, the steps taken to reach a decision, and the ways in which a leader can effectively manage the inevitable conflict that emerges within groups as the problem-solving process progresses. (CT)

Using the 5 P Relay in Task Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Paula Helen

2006-01-01

This article describes the 5 P Relay, a group exercise that can increase the effectiveness of task groups. The 5 P Relay is based on the principles and concepts of the Invitational Model, which emphasizes the importance of assessing the effectiveness or health of five aspects of an organization's environment: people, places, programs, processes,…

25 CFR 11.706 - Appointment and duties of appraiser.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Appointment and duties of appraiser. 11.706 Section 11... OFFENSES AND LAW AND ORDER CODE Probate Proceedings § 11.706 Appointment and duties of appraiser. (a) Upon ordering an estate to be probated, the court shall appoint a disinterested and competent person as an...

Modeling Patient No-Show History and Predicting Future Outpatient Appointment Behavior in the Veterans Health Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Goffman, Rachel M; Harris, Shannon L; May, Jerrold H; Milicevic, Aleksandra S; Monte, Robert J; Myaskovsky, Larissa; Rodriguez, Keri L; Tjader, Youxu C; Vargas, Dominic L

2017-05-01

Missed appointments reduce the efficiency of the health care system and negatively impact access to care for all patients. Identifying patients at risk for missing an appointment could help health care systems and providers better target interventions to reduce patient no-shows. Our aim was to develop and test a predictive model that identifies patients that have a high probability of missing their outpatient appointments. Demographic information, appointment characteristics, and attendance history were drawn from the existing data sets from four Veterans Affairs health care facilities within six separate service areas. Past attendance behavior was modeled using an empirical Markov model based on up to 10 previous appointments. Using logistic regression, we developed 24 unique predictive models. We implemented the models and tested an intervention strategy using live reminder calls placed 24, 48, and 72 hours ahead of time. The pilot study targeted 1,754 high-risk patients, whose probability of missing an appointment was predicted to be at least 0.2. Our results indicate that three variables were consistently related to a patient's no-show probability in all 24 models: past attendance behavior, the age of the appointment, and having multiple appointments scheduled on that day. After the intervention was implemented, the no-show rate in the pilot group was reduced from the expected value of 35% to 12.16% (p value < 0.0001). The predictive model accurately identified patients who were more likely to miss their appointments. Applying the model in practice enables clinics to apply more intensive intervention measures to high-risk patients. Reprint & Copyright © 2017 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Effect of calcium hydroxide and triple antibiotic paste as intracanal medicaments on the incidence of inter-appointment flare-up in diabetic patients: An in vivo study

Science.gov (United States)

Pai, Swathi; Vivekananda Pai, A. R.; Thomas, Manuel S.; Bhat, Vishal

2014-01-01

Aim: To evaluate and compare the effect of antibacterial intracanal medicaments on inter-appointment flare-up in diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: Fifty diabetic patients requiring root canal treatment were assigned into groups I, II, and III. In group I, no intracanal medicament was placed. In groups II and III, calcium hydroxide and triple antibiotic pastes were placed as intracanal medicaments, respectively. Patients were instructed to record their pain on days 1, 2, 3, 7, and 14. Inter-appointment flare-up was evaluated using verbal rating scale (VRS). Results: Overall incidence of inter-appointment flare-up among diabetic patients was found to be 16%. In group I, 50% of the patients and in group II, 15% of the patients developed inter-appointment flare-up. However, no patients in group III developed inter-appointment flare-up. The comparison of these results was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.002; χ2 = 12.426). However, with respect to intergroup comparison, only the difference between groups I and III was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.002; χ2 = 12.00). Conclusions: Calcium hydroxide and triple antibiotic paste are effective for managing inter-appointment flare-ups in diabetic patients. Triple antibiotic paste is more effective than calcium hydroxide in preventing the occurrence of flare-up in diabetic patients. PMID:24944440

Task Performance in Small Group Settings: The Role of Group Members' Self-Efficacy And Collective Efficacy and Group's Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Khong, Jerrine Z. N.; Liem, Gregory Arief D.; Klassen, Robert M.

2017-01-01

The present study extends the literature by investigating the relative salience of self- and collective efficacy in predicting group performance among early adolescents in Indonesia. A total of 435 early adolescents (mean age 11.70 years, 53% female) were randomly assigned to groups of three to four and completed three group tasks (task 1:…

39 CFR 5.1 - Establishment and appointment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Establishment and appointment. 5.1 Section 5.1 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE COMMITTEES (ARTICLE V) § 5.1 Establishment and appointment. From time to time the Board may establish by resolution...

Group social rank is associated with performance on a spatial learning task.

Science.gov (United States)

Langley, Ellis J G; van Horik, Jayden O; Whiteside, Mark A; Madden, Joah R

2018-02-01

Dominant individuals differ from subordinates in their performances on cognitive tasks across a suite of taxa. Previous studies often only consider dyadic relationships, rather than the more ecologically relevant social hierarchies or networks, hence failing to account for how dyadic relationships may be adjusted within larger social groups. We used a novel statistical method: randomized Elo-ratings, to infer the social hierarchy of 18 male pheasants, Phasianus colchicus , while in a captive, mixed-sex group with a linear hierarchy. We assayed individual learning performance of these males on a binary spatial discrimination task to investigate whether inter-individual variation in performance is associated with group social rank. Task performance improved with increasing trial number and was positively related to social rank, with higher ranking males showing greater levels of success. Motivation to participate in the task was not related to social rank or task performance, thus indicating that these rank-related differences are not a consequence of differences in motivation to complete the task. Our results provide important information about how variation in cognitive performance relates to an individual's social rank within a group. Whether the social environment causes differences in learning performance or instead, inherent differences in learning ability predetermine rank remains to be tested.

"Nudge" and the epidemic of missed appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Aggarwal, Ajay; Davies, Joanna; Sullivan, Richard

2016-06-20

Purpose - Missed appointments constitute a significant problem in the UK National Health Service (NHS) and this remains an area where improvements could yield substantial efficiency savings. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that nudge policies based on behavioural theories may help target interventions to improve patient motivation to attend appointments. Design/methodology/approach - The authors propose two policies to reduce missed appointments. The first attempts to empower patients through making the appointment system more individualised to them and utilising their intrinsic feelings of social responsibility. The second policy utilises a financial commitment given by the patient at the time of booking. The different mechanisms of influencing patient behaviour are based on two different views of what motivates individuals' actions. The first policy is based on individuals being "knights". They are altruistic and have well-intentioned values. The second policy option is constructed on the premise that an individual is governed by self-interest, and they are in fact "knaves". Findings - A policy, which avoids the use of financial penalties is likely to be more culturally acceptable within the NHS. It could also prevent the phenomenon of "crowding out" whereby the desire to act dutifully gets displaced by the motivation to avoid incurring a monetary fine. Originality/value - Testing both strategies would provide insight into patient attitudes towards health care and society. This would help optimise behavioural strategies which may influence not only appointment attendances but also have wider implications for encouraging rational health care consumption.

Impact of Delayed Time to Advanced Imaging on Missed Appointments Across Different Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Daye, Dania; Carrodeguas, Emmanuel; Glover, McKinley; Guerrier, Claude Emmanuel; Harvey, H Benjamin; Flores, Efrén J

2018-05-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of wait days (WDs) on missed outpatient MRI appointments across different demographic and socioeconomic factors. An institutional review board-approved retrospective study was conducted among adult patients scheduled for outpatient MRI during a 12-month period. Scheduling data and demographic information were obtained. Imaging missed appointments were defined as missed scheduled imaging encounters. WDs were defined as the number of days from study order to appointment. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to assess the contribution of race and socioeconomic factors to missed appointments. Linear regression was performed to assess the relationship between missed appointment rates and WDs stratified by race, income, and patient insurance groups with analysis of covariance statistics. A total of 42,727 patients met the inclusion criteria. Mean WDs were 7.95 days. Multivariate regression showed increased odds ratio for missed appointments for patients with increased WDs (7-21 days: odds ratio [OR], 1.39; >21 days: OR, 1.77), African American patients (OR, 1.71), Hispanic patients (OR, 1.30), patients with noncommercial insurance (OR, 2.00-2.55), and those with imaging performed at the main hospital campus (OR, 1.51). Missed appointment rate linearly increased with WDs, with analysis of covariance revealing underrepresented minorities and Medicaid insurance as significant effect modifiers. Increased WDs for advanced imaging significantly increases the likelihood of missed appointments. This effect is most pronounced among underrepresented minorities and patients with lower socioeconomic status. Efforts to reduce WDs may improve equity in access to and utilization of advanced diagnostic imaging for all patients. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Report of the Census Task Force on beamline control system requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barsotti, E.J.; Bartlett, J.F.; Bogert, V.D.; Borcherding, F.O.; Butler, J.; Czarapata, P.C.; Spalding, W.J.; Thomas, A.D.

1986-01-01

A special task force was appointed to study the experience with the present beamline control system at Fermilab and to make recommendations in this area. The charge of the committee and the list of its members are appended. In order to carry out its assignment, the committee conducted a series of meetings in which it discussed the controls situation in general and the best way to approach the user community. The various groups of users were identified, and a letter was written to representatives of these groups asking questions concerning the present system and future needs. The committee met with each group to discuss the response to these questions. Written summaries of the discussions are appended. Conclusions are drawn regarding current problems, systematic upgrades and specific recommendations

Appointment attendance at a remote rural dental training facility in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalloo, Ratilal; McDonald, Jenny M

2013-08-02

Non-attended appointments have impacts on the operations of dental clinics. These impacts vary from lost productivity, loss of income and loss of clinical teaching hours. Appointment data were analysed to assess the percentage of completed, failed to attend (FTA) and cancelled appointments at an Australian remote rural student dental clinic training facility. The demographic and time characteristics of FTA and cancelled appointments were analysed using simple and multivariate multinomial regression analysis, to inform interventions that may be necessary. Over the 2-year study period a total of 3,042 appointments were made. The percentage of FTA was 21.3% (N = 648) and cancelled appointments 13.7% (N = 418). The odds of an FTA were in excess of 4 times higher in patients aged 19-25 years (OR = 4.1; 95% CI = 2.3-7.3) and 26-35 years (OR = 4.4; 95% CI = 2.5-7.9) compared to patients 65 years and older. The odds of an FTA was 2.3 (95% CI = 1.8-3.1) times higher in public patients compared to private patients. The odds of a cancellation was 1.7 (95% CI = 1.1-2.6) times higher on a Friday compared to a Monday and 1.8 (95% CI = 1.1-2.9) times higher on the last appointment of the day compared to the first appointment. For cancelled appointments, 71.3% were cancelled on the day of the appointment and 16.6% on the day before. Non-attended appointments (FTA or cancelled) were common at this remote rural dental clinic training facility. Efforts to reduce these need to be implemented; including telephonic reminders, educating the community on the importance of attending their appointments, block booking school children and double booking or arranging alternative activities for the students at times when non-attendance is common.

26 CFR 25.2514-1 - Transfers under power of appointment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... power of appointment. (a) Introductory. (1) Section 2514 treats the exercise of a general power of... section also treats as a transfer of property the exercise or complete release of a general power of... power of appointment is not treated as a general power of appointment merely by reason of the fact that...

Atypical subtrochanteric and diaphyseal femoral fractures: report of a task force of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shane, Elizabeth; Burr, David; Ebeling, Peter R

2010-01-01

Reports linking long-term use of bisphosphonates (BPs) with atypical fractures of the femur led the leadership of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) to appoint a task force to address key questions related to this problem. A multidisciplinary expert group reviewed pertinent...... published reports concerning atypical femur fractures, as well as preclinical studies that could provide insight into their pathogenesis. A case definition was developed so that subsequent studies report on the same condition. The task force defined major and minor features of complete and incomplete...

The IUGS/IAGC Task Group on Global Geochemical Baselines

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, David B.; Wang, Xueqiu; Reeder, Shaun; Demetriades, Alecos

2012-01-01

The Task Group on Global Geochemical Baselines, operating under the auspices of both the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the International Association of Geochemistry (IAGC), has the long-term goal of establishing a global geochemical database to document the concentration and distribution of chemical elements in the Earth’s surface or near-surface environment. The database and accompanying element distribution maps represent a geochemical baseline against which future human-induced or natural changes to the chemistry of the land surface may be recognized and quantified. In order to accomplish this long-term goal, the activities of the Task Group include: (1) developing partnerships with countries conducting broad-scale geochemical mapping studies; (2) providing consultation and training in the form of workshops and short courses; (3) organizing periodic international symposia to foster communication among the geochemical mapping community; (4) developing criteria for certifying those projects whose data are acceptable in a global geochemical database; (5) acting as a repository for data collected by those projects meeting the criteria for standardization; (6) preparing complete metadata for the certified projects; and (7) preparing, ultimately, a global geochemical database. This paper summarizes the history and accomplishments of the Task Group since its first predecessor project was established in 1988.

On appointment of Courts presidents - some open questions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mijo Galiot

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In their paper, the authors analyse the legal position of the judiciary within the framework of the separation of powers in the Republic of Croatia, as well as the procedure of the election of the members and president, and the scope and manner of operation of the State Judiciary Council on a principal level. The authors especially deal with and analyse the 2010 constitutional changes and the State Judiciary Council Act from 2010 (SJCA, which introduced significant novelties in the appointment of presidents of courts in the normative and institutional sense as well as in practical applications. Separately, an integral historical overview is given of the appointment of presidents of courts from the gaining of Croatian independency until the SJCA became effective, as well as a comparative overview of the manner of appointment of presidents of courts in elected, related European legal systems. Moreover, the authors break down and analyse the procedures of the appointment of presidents of courts with a special reference to each phase. Here, special emphasis is given to the candidate valuation manner and criteria and the legal protection of candidates after the decision on appointment, both in the normative sense and in practice, all this accompanied by authors’ suggestions de lege ferenda.

A web-based appointment system to reduce waiting for outpatients: a retrospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Wenjun; Wan, Yi; Tu, Haibo; Shang, Fujun; Liu, Danhong; Tan, Zhijun; Sun, Caihong; Ye, Qing; Xu, Yongyong

2011-11-22

Long waiting times for registration to see a doctor is problematic in China, especially in tertiary hospitals. To address this issue, a web-based appointment system was developed for the Xijing hospital. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the web-based appointment system in the registration service for outpatients. Data from the web-based appointment system in Xijing hospital from January to December 2010 were collected using a stratified random sampling method, from which participants were randomly selected for a telephone interview asking for detailed information on using the system. Patients who registered through registration windows were randomly selected as a comparison group, and completed a questionnaire on-site. A total of 5641 patients using the online booking service were available for data analysis. Of them, 500 were randomly selected, and 369 (73.8%) completed a telephone interview. Of the 500 patients using the usual queuing method who were randomly selected for inclusion in the study, responses were obtained from 463, a response rate of 92.6%. Between the two registration methods, there were significant differences in age, degree of satisfaction, and total waiting time (P0.05). Being ignorant of online registration, not trusting the internet, and a lack of ability to use a computer were three main reasons given for not using the web-based appointment system. The overall proportion of non-attendance was 14.4% for those using the web-based appointment system, and the non-attendance rate was significantly different among different hospital departments, day of the week, and time of the day (Pweb-based appointment system could significantly increase patient's satisfaction with registration and reduce total waiting time effectively. However, further improvements are needed for broad use of the system.

[Judicial and medical/legal aspects of the responsibility of workers appointed to carry out first aid].

Science.gov (United States)

Caprioli, L C; Ciavarella, M; Sacco, A

2005-01-01

One of the innovations introduced by law 626/94 [the Italian law on occupational health and safety of workers] is the obligation of the employer to designate workers responsible for first aid. To identify and discuss the duties, the role and the medical and legal responsibility of workers appointed to carry out first aid measures. Analysis of legislation and current practice concerning medical and legal responsibility in first aid procedures. The worker appointed to carry out first aid measures is, by virtue of his appointment, obliged to take action. Therefore, he could commit an illegitimate act both by "acting" and by "omitting" to carry out a duty that is his responsibility. In the first case the worker could be accused of committing an unpremeditated criminal offence when his actions involve negligence, imprudence, inexperience or violation of regulations concerning his duties. A "serious criminal offence" is committed when the most elementary rules of diligence, prudence and skill are violated; the offence is "slight" when negligence, imprudence or inexperience are involved in particularly complex situations. The reference parameter for inexperience is not a first aid volunteer, nor a member of the public, but a worker designated to carry out first aid possessing "average" attitudes, training and ability. Briefly, a guilty error by the appointed worker consists of the following: i) the professional conduct of the operator was clearly wrong, serious and unjustifiable; ii) the operator clearly omitted doing his/her duty; iii) the consequence of the error is physical personal damage. The observations made clearly illustrate the delicacy of the tasks of the worker appointed to carry out first aid measures. Essential elements for minimizing wrong and/or negligent conduct are appropriate choice of the designated workers and their adequate training.

The Emergence of Individual and Collective Leadership in Task Groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paunova, Minna

2015-01-01

leader emergence in task groups as influenced by individual traits, states, and behaviors. However, current approaches to leadership in groups rely on functional achievement explanations of how collective leadership emerges, influenced by positive states and behaviors. Attention to ascription......This review synthesizes conceptual and empirical research on the emergence of individual and collective leadership in task groups, and proposes avenues for leadership research. To advance multilevel study of leadership emergence, including emergence of distributed and shared leadership, the paper...... reviews research on individual leader emergence, structured around two identified theoretical mechanisms—one of leadership achievement (i.e., based on functional behaviors) and another of leadership ascription (i.e., based on nominal characteristics). These approaches compete to elucidate individual...

Hans Blix appointed Director General

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

On 1 December 1981, Dr Hans Blix took office as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency in succession to Dr Sigvard Eklund who has headed the IAEA since 1961. The Agency's Board of Governors nominated Dr Blix by acclamation on 26 September. His appointment was unanimously approved by the final session of the 25th regular session of the General Conference of the IAEA the same day. The President of the Conference, Ambassador Manaspas Xuto, administered the oath of office to Dr Blix at the final plenary meeting that day. Hans Blix was born in 1928 in Uppsala He studied at the University of Uppsala, at Columbia University, where he was also a research graduate and at Cambridge, where he received his Ph D In 1959 he became Doctor of Laws at the Stockholm University and in 1960 was appointed associate professor in international law. From 1963 to 1976 Dr Blix was Head of Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and served as Legal Adviser on International Law. In 1976 he became Undersecretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in charge of international development co-operation He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in October 1978 In September 1979 he was again appointed Undersecretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in charge of international development co-operation. Since 1961 he has been a member of Sweden's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, and from 1962 to 1978 a member of the Swedish delegation to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He has written several books on subjects associated with international and constitutional law and was leader of the Liberal Campaign Committee in favour of retention of the Swedish nuclear energy program in the referendum in 1980

QA for helical tomotherapy: Report of the AAPM Task Group 148

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langen, Katja M.; Papanikolaou, Niko; Balog, John; Crilly, Richard; Followill, David; Goddu, S. Murty; Grant, Walter III; Olivera, Gustavo; Ramsey, Chester R.; Shi Chengyu [Department of Radiation Oncology, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando, Orlando, Florida 32806 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Therapy and Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229 (United States); Mohawk Valley Medical Physics, Rome, New York 13440 (United States); Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239 (United States); Section of Outreach Physics, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 (United States); Department of Radiology/Section of Radiation Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine, Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); TomoTherapy, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin 53717 and Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Thompson Cancer Survival Center, Knoxville, Tennessee 37916 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Therapy and Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229 (United States)

2010-09-15

Helical tomotherapy is a relatively new modality with integrated treatment planning and delivery hardware for radiation therapy treatments. In view of the uniqueness of the hardware design of the helical tomotherapy unit and its implications in routine quality assurance, the Therapy Physics Committee of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine commissioned Task Group 148 to review this modality and make recommendations for quality assurance related methodologies. The specific objectives of this Task Group are: (a) To discuss quality assurance techniques, frequencies, and tolerances and (b) discuss dosimetric verification techniques applicable to this unit. This report summarizes the findings of the Task Group and aims to provide the practicing clinical medical physicist with the insight into the technology that is necessary to establish an independent and comprehensive quality assurance program for a helical tomotherapy unit. The emphasis of the report is to describe the rationale for the proposed QA program and to provide example tests that can be performed, drawing from the collective experience of the task group members and the published literature. It is expected that as technology continues to evolve, so will the test procedures that may be used in the future to perform comprehensive quality assurance for helical tomotherapy units.

Measuring Chemotherapy Appointment Duration and Variation Using Real-Time Location Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Barysauskas, Constance M; Hudgins, Gina; Gill, Katie Kupferberg; Camuso, Kristen M; Bagley, Janet; Rozanski, Sheila; Kadish, Sarah

Clinical schedules drive resource utilization, cost, and patient wait time. Accurate appointment duration allocation ensures appropriate staffing ratios to daily caseloads and maximizes scarce resources. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) infusion appointment duration is adjusted by regimen using a consensus method of experts including pharmacists, nurses, and administrators. Using real-time location system (RTLS), we examined the accuracy of observed appointment duration compared with the scheduled duration. Appointment duration was calculated using RTLS at DFCI between August 1, 2013, and September 30, 2013. Duration was defined as the total time a patient occupied an infusion chair. The top 10 administered infusion regimens were investigated (n = 805). Median observed appointment durations were statistically different than the scheduled durations. Appointment durations were shorter than scheduled 98% (C), 95% (I), and 75% (F) of the time and longer than scheduled 77% (A) and 76% (G) of the time. Fifty-six percent of the longer than scheduled (A) appointments were at least 30 minute longer. RTLS provides reliable and unbiased data to improve schedule accuracy. Replacing consensus with system-based data may improve clinic flow, relieve staff stress, and increase patient satisfaction. Further investigation is warranted to elucidate factors that impact variation in appointment duration.

How within-group behavioural variation and task efficiency enhance fitness in a social group.

Science.gov (United States)

Pruitt, Jonathan N; Riechert, Susan E

2011-04-22

How task specialization, individual task performance and within-group behavioural variation affects fitness is a longstanding and unresolved problem in our understanding of animal societies. In the temperate social spider, Anelosimus studiosus, colony members exhibit a behavioural polymorphism; females either exhibit an aggressive 'asocial' or docile 'social' phenotype. We assessed individual prey-capture success for both phenotypes, and the role of phenotypic composition on group-level prey-capture success for three prey size classes. We then estimated the effect of group phenotypic composition on fitness in a common garden, as inferred from individual egg-case masses. On average, asocial females were more successful than social females at capturing large prey, and colony-level prey-capture success was positively associated with the frequency of the asocial phenotype. Asocial colony members were also more likely to engage in prey-capture behaviour in group-foraging situations. Interestingly, our fitness estimates indicate females of both phenotypes experience increased fitness when occupying colonies containing unlike individuals. These results imply a reciprocal fitness benefit of within-colony behavioural variation, and perhaps division of labour in a spider society.

Divided-attention task on driving simulator: comparison among three groups of drivers

OpenAIRE

FREYDIER, Chloé; PAXION, Julie; BERTHELON, Catherine; Bastien-Toniazzo, Mireille

2013-01-01

Introduction: Driving is a complex and dynamic task that requires performing simultaneously several sub-tasks, as traffic management and vehicle control. Driving involves both automatic and controlled processing depending on situation met and drivers’ experience. Method: Three groups of drivers with different driving experience were submitted to a divided-attention task in order to assess the interference linked to a secondary task on driving behaviour. The main task was a car-following...

38 CFR 17.100 - Refusal of treatment by unnecessarily breaking appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... and satisfactory reasons are advanced for breaking the appointment and circumstances were such that... unnecessarily breaking appointments. 17.100 Section 17.100 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL Breaking Appointments § 17.100 Refusal of treatment by unnecessarily breaking...

Scheduling rules to achieve lead-time targets in outpatient appointment systems

OpenAIRE

Sivakumar, Appa Iyer; Nguyen, Thu Ba Thi; Graves, Stephen C

2015-01-01

This paper considers how to schedule appointments for outpatients, for a clinic that is subject to appointment lead-time targets for both new and returning patients. We develop heuristic rules, which are the exact and relaxed appointment scheduling rules, to schedule each new patient appointment (only) in light of uncertainty about future arrivals. The scheduling rules entail two decisions. First, the rules need to determine whether or not a patient's request can be accepted; then, if the req...

25 CFR 140.1 - Sole power to appoint.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Sole power to appoint. 140.1 Section 140.1 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES LICENSED INDIAN TRADERS § 140.1 Sole power to appoint. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall have the sole power and authority to...

Capacity of small groups of muscles to accomplish precision grasping tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Towles, Joseph D; Valero-Cuevas, Francisco J; Hentz, Vincent R

2013-01-01

An understanding of the capacity or ability of various muscle groups to generate endpoint forces that enable grasping tasks could provide a stronger biomechanical basis for the design of reconstructive surgery or rehabilitation for the treatment of the paralyzed or paretic hand. We quantified two-dimensional endpoint force distributions for every combination of the muscles of the index finger, in cadaveric specimens, to understand the capability of muscle groups to produce endpoint forces that accomplish three common types of grasps-tripod, tip and lateral pinch-characterized by a representative level of Coulomb friction. We found that muscle groups of 4 or fewer muscles were capable of generating endpoint forces that enabled performance of each of the grasping tasks examined. We also found that flexor muscles were crucial to accomplish tripod pinch; intrinsic muscles, tip pinch; and the dorsal interosseus muscle, lateral pinch. The results of this study provide a basis for decision making in the design of reconstructive surgeries and rehabilitation approaches that attempt to restore the ability to perform grasping tasks with small groups of muscles.

NCRP soil contamination task group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, D.G.

1987-01-01

The National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has recently established a Task Group on Soil Contamination to describe and evaluate the migration pathways and modes of radiation exposure that can potentially arise due to radioactive contamination of soil. The purpose of this paper is to describe the scientific principles for evaluation of soil contamination which can be used as a basis for derivation of soil contamination limits for specific situations. This paper describes scenarios that can lead to soil contamination, important characteristics of soil contamination, the subsequent migration pathways and exposure modes, and the application of principles in the report in deriving soil contamination limits. The migration pathways and exposure modes discussed in this paper include: direct radiation exposure; and exhalation of gases

Automated detection of follow-up appointments using text mining of discharge records.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruud, Kari L; Johnson, Matthew G; Liesinger, Juliette T; Grafft, Carrie A; Naessens, James M

2010-06-01

To determine whether text mining can accurately detect specific follow-up appointment criteria in free-text hospital discharge records. Cross-sectional study. Mayo Clinic Rochester hospitals. Inpatients discharged from general medicine services in 2006 (n = 6481). Textual hospital dismissal summaries were manually reviewed to determine whether the records contained specific follow-up appointment arrangement elements: date, time and either physician or location for an appointment. The data set was evaluated for the same criteria using SAS Text Miner software. The two assessments were compared to determine the accuracy of text mining for detecting records containing follow-up appointment arrangements. Agreement of text-mined appointment findings with gold standard (manual abstraction) including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV). About 55.2% (3576) of discharge records contained all criteria for follow-up appointment arrangements according to the manual review, 3.2% (113) of which were missed through text mining. Text mining incorrectly identified 3.7% (107) follow-up appointments that were not considered valid through manual review. Therefore, the text mining analysis concurred with the manual review in 96.6% of the appointment findings. Overall sensitivity and specificity were 96.8 and 96.3%, respectively; and PPV and NPV were 97.0 and 96.1%, respectively. of individual appointment criteria resulted in accuracy rates of 93.5% for date, 97.4% for time, 97.5% for physician and 82.9% for location. Text mining of unstructured hospital dismissal summaries can accurately detect documentation of follow-up appointment arrangement elements, thus saving considerable resources for performance assessment and quality-related research.

Task Group on Strengthening the DoD Enterprise Governance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2008-01-01

.... The Task group was asked to: Analyze senior governance models that could help the Department align strategy with outcomes and create a decision framework that will enable strategic choices at the senior governance levels of the Department...

Multi-agent Pareto appointment exchanging in hospital patient scheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

I.B. Vermeulen (Ivan); S.M. Bohte (Sander); D.J.A. Somefun (Koye); J.A. La Poutré (Han)

2007-01-01

htmlabstractWe present a dynamic and distributed approach to the hospital patient scheduling problem, in which patients can have multiple appointments that have to be scheduled to different resources. To efficiently solve this problem we develop a multi-agent Pareto-improvement appointment

Multi-agent Pareto appointment exchanging in hospital patient scheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, I.B.; Bohté, S.M.; Somefun, D.J.A.; Poutré, La J.A.

2007-01-01

We present a dynamic and distributed approach to the hospital patient scheduling problem, in which patients can have multiple appointments that have to be scheduled to different resources. To efficiently solve this problem we develop a multi-agent Pareto-improvement appointment exchanging algorithm:

25 CFR 11.704 - Appointment and duties of executor or administrator.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Appointment and duties of executor or administrator. 11... executor or administrator. (a) Upon ordering the estate to be probated, the court shall appoint an... be the executor of the estate shall be so appointed, provided such person is willing to serve in such...

45 CFR 211.5 - Action under State law; appointment of guardian.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Action under State law; appointment of guardian... Action under State law; appointment of guardian. Whenever an eligible person is incapable of giving his... appointment of a legal guardian, to ensure the proper planning for and provision of such care and treatment. ...

Chemotherapy appointment scheduling under uncertainty using mean-risk stochastic integer programming.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarado, Michelle; Ntaimo, Lewis

2018-03-01

Oncology clinics are often burdened with scheduling large volumes of cancer patients for chemotherapy treatments under limited resources such as the number of nurses and chairs. These cancer patients require a series of appointments over several weeks or months and the timing of these appointments is critical to the treatment's effectiveness. Additionally, the appointment duration, the acuity levels of each appointment, and the availability of clinic nurses are uncertain. The timing constraints, stochastic parameters, rising treatment costs, and increased demand of outpatient oncology clinic services motivate the need for efficient appointment schedules and clinic operations. In this paper, we develop three mean-risk stochastic integer programming (SIP) models, referred to as SIP-CHEMO, for the problem of scheduling individual chemotherapy patient appointments and resources. These mean-risk models are presented and an algorithm is devised to improve computational speed. Computational results were conducted using a simulation model and results indicate that the risk-averse SIP-CHEMO model with the expected excess mean-risk measure can decrease patient waiting times and nurse overtime when compared to deterministic scheduling algorithms by 42 % and 27 %, respectively.

Bilevel Fuzzy Chance Constrained Hospital Outpatient Appointment Scheduling Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoyang Zhou

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hospital outpatient departments operate by selling fixed period appointments for different treatments. The challenge being faced is to improve profit by determining the mix of full time and part time doctors and allocating appointments (which involves scheduling a combination of doctors, patients, and treatments to a time period in a department optimally. In this paper, a bilevel fuzzy chance constrained model is developed to solve the hospital outpatient appointment scheduling problem based on revenue management. In the model, the hospital, the leader in the hierarchy, decides the mix of the hired full time and part time doctors to maximize the total profit; each department, the follower in the hierarchy, makes the decision of the appointment scheduling to maximize its own profit while simultaneously minimizing surplus capacity. Doctor wage and demand are considered as fuzzy variables to better describe the real-life situation. Then we use chance operator to handle the model with fuzzy parameters and equivalently transform the appointment scheduling model into a crisp model. Moreover, interactive algorithm based on satisfaction is employed to convert the bilevel programming into a single level programming, in order to make it solvable. Finally, the numerical experiments were executed to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

An Agent-Based Simulation for Investigating the Impact of Stereotypes on Task-Oriented Group Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Maghami, Mahsa; Sukthankar, Gita

In this paper, we introduce an agent-based simulation for investigating the impact of social factors on the formation and evolution of task-oriented groups. Task-oriented groups are created explicitly to perform a task, and all members derive benefits from task completion. However, even in cases when all group members act in a way that is locally optimal for task completion, social forces that have mild effects on choice of associates can have a measurable impact on task completion performance. In this paper, we show how our simulation can be used to model the impact of stereotypes on group formation. In our simulation, stereotypes are based on observable features, learned from prior experience, and only affect an agent's link formation preferences. Even without assuming stereotypes affect the agents' willingness or ability to complete tasks, the long-term modifications that stereotypes have on the agents' social network impair the agents' ability to form groups with sufficient diversity of skills, as compared to agents who form links randomly. An interesting finding is that this effect holds even in cases where stereotype preference and skill existence are completely uncorrelated.

Indiana University High Energy Physics Group, Task C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bower, C.; Heinz, R.; Mufson, S.; Musser, J.

1993-01-01

The Indiana University Task C group is participating in the experiments GEM at the SSC and MACRO at the Gran Sasso. After an introduction to GEM in paragraph II, a detailed report is presented on the work done during the current contract period on the design of the outer region of the GEM Central Tracker. The Central Tracker Monte Carlo, which was the other significant GEM activity by the group, is included. In paragraph III is introduced MACRO and a brief status report is given. Muon Astronomy analysis done using MACRO data is also presented

New appointment at the IAEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

The document gives short information on the biography of Professor Dr. Werner Burkart from Germany who was appointed (as of July 2000) as Deputy Director General, Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, IAEA

Does the medium matter? The interaction of task type and technology on group performance and member reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Straus, S G; McGrath, J E

1994-02-01

The authors investigated the hypothesis that as group tasks pose greater requirements for member interdependence, communication media that transmit more social context cues will foster group performance and satisfaction. Seventy-two 3-person groups of undergraduate students worked in either computer-mediated or face-to-face meetings on 3 tasks with increasing levels of interdependence: an idea-generation task, an intellective task, and a judgment task. Results showed few differences between computer-mediated and face-to-face groups in the quality of the work completed but large differences in productivity favoring face-to-face groups. Analysis of productivity and of members' reactions supported the predicted interaction of tasks and media, with greater discrepancies between media conditions for tasks requiring higher levels of coordination. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of using computer-mediated communications systems for group work.

Small, Task-Oriented Groups: Conflict, Conflict Management, Satisfaction, and Decision Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Wall, Victor D., Jr.; And Others

1987-01-01

Examined relationship among amount of conflict experienced, the style of its management, individual satisfaction, and decision quality of small, task-oriented groups using 129 college student subjects in 24 groups. Data suggest a curvilinear relationship between the number of conflict episodes experienced by group members and the subsequent…

Appointment reminder systems are effective but not optimal: results of a systematic review and evidence synthesis employing realist principles.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Sionnadh Mairi; Booth, Andrew; Gee, Melanie; Salway, Sarah; Cobb, Mark; Bhanbhro, Sadiq; Nancarrow, Susan A

2016-01-01

Missed appointments are an avoidable cost and resource inefficiency which impact upon the health of the patient and treatment outcomes. Health care services are increasingly utilizing reminder systems to manage these negative effects. This study explores the effectiveness of reminder systems for promoting attendance, cancellations, and rescheduling of appointments across all health care settings and for particular patient groups and the contextual factors which indicate that reminders are being employed sub-optimally. We used three inter-related reviews of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Firstly, using pre-existing models and theories, we developed a conceptual framework to inform our understanding of the contexts and mechanisms which influence reminder effectiveness. Secondly, we performed a review following Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines to investigate the effectiveness of different methods of reminding patients to attend health service appointments. Finally, to supplement the effectiveness information, we completed a review informed by realist principles to identify factors likely to influence non-attendance behaviors and the effectiveness of reminders. We found consistent evidence that all types of reminder systems are effective at improving appointment attendance across a range of health care settings and patient populations. Reminder systems may also increase cancellation and rescheduling of unwanted appointments. "Reminder plus", which provides additional information beyond the reminder function may be more effective than simple reminders (ie, date, time, place) at reducing non-attendance at appointments in particular circumstances. We identified six areas of inefficiency which indicate that reminder systems are being used sub-optimally. Unless otherwise indicated, all patients should receive a reminder to facilitate attendance at their health care appointment. The choice of reminder system should be tailored to the individual service

7 CFR 1260.145 - Appointment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BEEF PROMOTION AND RESEARCH Beef Promotion and Research Order Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board § 1260.145 Appointment. (a) From...

7 CFR 1221.103 - Appointment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS... INFORMATION ORDER Sorghum Promotion, Research, and Information Order Sorghum Promotion, Research, and Information Board § 1221.103 Appointment. From the nominations made pursuant to § 1221.101, the Secretary...

5 CFR 330.1106 - Appointment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND PLACEMENT (GENERAL) Federal Employment Priority Consideration Program for Displaced Employees of the... under Public Law 105-274. For employees appointed before October 21, 1998, the conversion will be...

7 CFR 1280.204 - Appointment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Appointment. 1280.204 Section 1280.204 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS... INFORMATION ORDER Lamb Promotion, Research, and Information Order Lamb Promotion, Research, and Information...

Practical principles in appointment scheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuiper, A.; Mandjes, M.

2015-01-01

Appointment schedules aim at achieving a proper balance between the conflicting interests of the service provider and her clients: a primary objective of the service provider is to fully utilize her available time, whereas clients want to avoid excessive waiting times. Setting up schedules that

Scheduling patient appointments via multilevel template: a case study in chemotherapy

OpenAIRE

Condotta, A; Shakhlevich, NV

2014-01-01

This paper studies a multi-criteria optimization problem which appears in the context of booking chemotherapy appointments. The main feature of the model under study is the requirement to book for each patient multiple appointments which should follow a pre-specified multi-day pattern. Each appointment involves several nurse activities which should also follow a pre-specified intra-day pattern. The main objectives are to minimize patients’ waiting times and peaks of nurses’ workload for an ou...

Text messages to increase attendance to follow-up cervical cancer screening appointments among HPV-positive Tanzanian women (Connected2Care)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Linde, Ditte S; Andersen, Marianne S; Mwaiselage, Julius D

2017-01-01

group (standard care). In a period of 10 months, the intervention group will receive 15 one-directional health educative text messages and SMS reminders for their appointment. The total sample size will be 700 with 350 women in each study arm. Primary outcome is attendance rate for follow-up. Secondary...... on how such interventions may perform in relation to cervical cancer screening in low-income settings. This study aims to assess the degree to which a Short Message Service (SMS) intervention can increase attendance at appointments among women who have tested positive for high-risk (HR) Human...

Primary care patients' expectations regarding medical appointments and their experiences during a visit: does age matter?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaworski M

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Mariusz Jaworski,1 Marta Rzadkiewicz,1 Miroslawa Adamus,1 Joanna Chylinska,1 Magdalena Lazarewicz,1 Gørill Haugan,2 Monica Lillefjell,3 Geir Arild Espnes,2 Dorota Wlodarczyk1 1Department of Medical Psychology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; 2Department of Public Health and Nursing, 3Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, NTNU Center for Health Promotion Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway Introduction: There is evidence that meeting patients’ expectations toward health care correlates with involvement in the treatment they receive. The most important patient expectations concern certain types of information: explanation of disease and treatment, health promotion, and improvement in quality of life. Other demands include proper rapport and emotional support. The aim of this paper was to examine different patient groups over the age of 50 years and their expectations toward medical visits, evaluated before a visit and after the visit.Patients and methods: The study group consisted of 4,921 primary health-care patients. The patients received self-administered questionnaires that they filled in before and after the appointment with the doctor. Interviews with patients were conducted individually by specially trained interviewers. The PRACTA Patient Expectations Scale was used to measure the appointment-related expectations of the patients.Results: We observed differences related to age in patients’ expectations before medical visits regarding the following factors: disease explanation, treatment explanation, quality of life, rapport, and emotional support. The same differences were not observed on health promotion. Evaluation of patients’ appointment-related experiences after the visit showed that there were significant differences between the age-groups regarding all types of expectations included in the study. Differences between previsit and

Illusory conjunctions and perceptual grouping in a visual search task in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, V J; Dewis, S A; Lewin, T J

1998-07-27

This report describes part of a series of experiments, conducted within the framework of feature integration theory, to determine whether patients with schizophrenia show deficits in preattentive processing. Thirty subjects with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia and 30 age-, gender-, and education-matched normal control subjects completed two computerized experimental tasks, a visual search task assessing the frequency of illusory conjunctions (i.e. false perceptions) under conditions of divided attention (Experiment 3) and a task which examined the effects of perceptual grouping on illusory conjunctions (Experiment 4). We also assessed current symptomatology and its relationship to task performance. Contrary to our hypotheses, schizophrenia subjects did not show higher rates of illusory conjunctions, and the influence of perceptual grouping on the frequency of illusory conjunctions was similar for schizophrenia and control subjects. Nonetheless, specific predictions from feature integration theory about the impact of different target types (Experiment 3) and perceptual groups (Experiment 4) on the likelihood of forming an illusory conjunction were strongly supported, thereby confirming the integrity of the experimental procedures. Overall, these studies revealed no firm evidence that schizophrenia is associated with a preattentive abnormality in visual search using stimuli that differ on the basis of physical characteristics.

Predictors of missed appointments in patients referred for congenital or pediatric cardiac magnetic resonance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Jimmy C.; Dorfman, Adam L. [C.S. Mott Children' s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Michigan Health System, University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); C.S. Mott Children' s Hospital, Department of Radiology, University of Michigan Health System, Section of Pediatric Radiology, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Lowery, Ray; Yu, Sunkyung [C.S. Mott Children' s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Michigan Health System, University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Ghadimi Mahani, Maryam [C.S. Mott Children' s Hospital, Department of Radiology, University of Michigan Health System, Section of Pediatric Radiology, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Agarwal, Prachi P. [University of Michigan Health System, Department of Radiology, Division of Cardiothoracic Radiology, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2017-07-15

Congenital cardiac magnetic resonance is a limited resource because of scanner and physician availability. Missed appointments decrease scheduling efficiency, have financial implications and represent missed care opportunities. To characterize the rate of missed appointments and identify modifiable predictors. This single-center retrospective study included all patients with outpatient congenital or pediatric cardiac MR appointments from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2015. We identified missed appointments (no-shows or same-day cancellations) from the electronic medical record. We obtained demographic and clinical factors from the medical record and assessed socioeconomic factors by U.S. Census block data by patient ZIP code. Statistically significant variables (P<0.05) were included into a multivariable analysis. Of 795 outpatients (median age 18.5 years, interquartile range 13.4-27.1 years) referred for congenital cardiac MR, a total of 91 patients (11.4%) missed appointments; 28 (3.5%) missed multiple appointments. Reason for missed appointment could be identified in only 38 patients (42%), but of these, 28 (74%) were preventable or could have been identified prior to the appointment. In multivariable analysis, independent predictors of missed appointments were referral by a non-cardiologist (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 5.8, P=0.0002), referral for research (AOR 3.6, P=0.01), having public insurance (AOR 2.1, P=0.004), and having scheduled cardiac MR from November to April (AOR 1.8, P=0.01). Demographic factors can identify patients at higher risk for missing appointments. These data may inform initiatives to limit missed appointments, such as targeted education of referring providers and patients. Further data are needed to evaluate the efficacy of potential interventions. (orig.)

Approximate dynamic programming approaches for appointment scheduling with patient preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xin; Wang, Jin; Fung, Richard Y K

2018-04-01

During the appointment booking process in out-patient departments, the level of patient satisfaction can be affected by whether or not their preferences can be met, including the choice of physicians and preferred time slot. In addition, because the appointments are sequential, considering future possible requests is also necessary for a successful appointment system. This paper proposes a Markov decision process model for optimizing the scheduling of sequential appointments with patient preferences. In contrast to existing models, the evaluation of a booking decision in this model focuses on the extent to which preferences are satisfied. Characteristics of the model are analysed to develop a system for formulating booking policies. Based on these characteristics, two types of approximate dynamic programming algorithms are developed to avoid the curse of dimensionality. Experimental results suggest directions for further fine-tuning of the model, as well as improving the efficiency of the two proposed algorithms. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Directors General appointed

CERN Multimedia

1975-01-01

At a special session on 21 March, presided over by P. Levaux, the Council of the European Organization for Nuclear Research appointed J . B. Adams and L . Van Hove as Directors General of the Organization for a period of five years beginning 1 January 1976. Dr. Adams will be responsible for the administration of CERN, for the operation of the equipment and services and for the construction of buildings and major equipment. Professor Van Hove will be responsible for the research activities of the Organization.

26 CFR 20.2041-1 - Powers of appointment; in general.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Powers of appointment; in general. (a) Introduction. A decedent's gross estate includes under section... beneficiary of a trust to assent to a periodic accounting, thereby relieving the trustee from further... 26 Internal Revenue 14 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Powers of appointment; in general. 20.2041-1...

10 CFR 1045.33 - Appointment of restricted data management official.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Appointment of restricted data management official. 1045... DECLASSIFICATION Generation and Review of Documents Containing Restricted Data and Formerly Restricted Data § 1045.33 Appointment of restricted data management official. (a) Each agency with access to RD or FRD shall...

Designing cyclic appointment schedules for outpatient clinics with scheduled and unscheduled patient arrivals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kortbeek, Nikky; Zonderland, Maartje E.; Braaksma, Aleida; Vliegen, Ingrid M. H.; Boucherie, Richard J.; Litvak, Nelly; Hans, Erwin W.

2014-01-01

We present a methodology to design appointment systems for outpatient clinics and diagnostic facilities that offer both walk-in and scheduled service. The developed blueprint for the appointment schedule prescribes the number of appointments to plan per day and the moment on the day to schedule the

Designing cyclic appointment schedules for outpatient clinics with scheduled and unscheduled patient arrivals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kortbeek, Nikky; Zonderland, Maartje Elisabeth; Boucherie, Richardus J.; Litvak, Nelli; Hans, Elias W.

2011-01-01

We present a methodology to design appointment systems for outpatient clinics and diagnostic facilities that offer both walk-in and scheduled service. The developed blueprint for the appointment schedule prescribes the number of appointments to plan per day and the moment on the day to schedule the

Health Beliefs and Co-morbidities Associated with Appointment-Keeping Behavior Among HCV and HIV/HCV Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Pundhir, Pooja; North, Carol S; Fatunde, Oluwatomilade; Jain, Mamta K

2016-02-01

Appointment-keeping behavior is an important requisite for HCV linkage and treatment initiation. In this study we examine what impact hepatitis C (HCV) knowledge and attitudes has on appointment-keeping behavior among a cohort of HCV and HCV/HIV patients. Knowledge scores and attitude scales, obtained from a cross-sectional survey, were correlated with proportion of appointments kept 1 year prior to taking the survey. Independent risk factors for missing appointments were examined by multiple regression analysis. 292 HCV patients completed the survey, and 149 (51%) were co-infected with HIV. HCV patients kept 67.5 ± 17.4% of their total appointments and a similar proportion (67 ± 38.2) of Liver Clinic appointments, but they attended a higher proportion (73 ± 24.4) of Primary Care Clinic appointments. However, certain health beliefs, psychiatric illness, and HIV co-infection were independently associated with lower levels of appointment-keeping behavior. HCV knowledge was not associated with appointment-keeping behavior. Health beliefs, psychiatric illness, and HIV co-infection are associated with missing appointments, but no link between knowledge and appointment keeping behavior is apparent. In order to increase engagement into HCV care, HCV care coordination programs need to focus on addressing health beliefs and providing resources to those at highest risk for missing appointments.

An Effective Outpatient Appointment System for General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital

Science.gov (United States)

1990-07-13

collection, donated many hours. She asked patients about the appointment system and personally observed clinic personnel. Additionally, as a consumer ...appointment system which must satisfy both the demands 0of external ( patients ) and internal (physicians) customers . At the o0 C 0 same time, the...its health care environment. A variable that can effect patient flow is centralization or decentralization of the registration and appointment system

The respiratory tract deposition model proposed by the ICRP Task Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, A.C.; Briant, J.K.; Stahlhofen, W.; Rudolf, G.; Gehr, P.

1990-11-01

The Task Group has developed a new model of the deposition of inhaled aerosols in each anatomical region of the respiratory tract. The model is used to evaluate the fraction of airborne activity that is deposited in respiratory regions having distinct retention characteristics and clearance pathways: the anterior nares, the extrathoracic airways of the naso- and oropharynx and larynx, the bronchi, the bronchioles, and the alveolated airways of the lung. Drawn from experimental data on total and regional deposition in human subjects, the model is based on extrapolation of these data by means of a detailed theoretical model of aerosol transport and deposition within the lung. The Task Group model applies to all practical conditions, and for aerosol particles and vapors from atomic size up to very coarse aerosols with an activity median aerodynamic diameter of 100 μm. The model is designed to predict regional deposition in different subjects, including adults of either sex, children of various ages, and infants, and also to account for anatomical differences among Caucasian and non-Caucasian subjects. The Task Group model represents aerosol inhalability and regional deposition in different subjects by algebraic expressions of aerosol size, breathing rates, standard lung volumes, and scaling factors for airway dimensions. 35 refs., 13 figs., 2 tabs

Pengaruh Appointment Registration System terhadap Waktu Tunggu dan Kepuasan Pasien

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuli Susanti

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Abstrak Peningkatan derajat kesehatan dapat dicapai melalui kemudahan akses terhadap fasilitas kesehatan. Peningkatan peserta pada program Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN mengakibatkan antrian panjang di sarana pelayanan kesehatan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh metode appointment registration system (ARS terhadap waktu tunggu dan kepuasan pasien. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah survei dengan sampel 380 orang dan observasi pada bulan Desember 2014 di RS Al-Islam Bandung. Analisis menggunakan structural equation modeling (SEM dan production operation management-quantitative methods (POMQM. Hasil penelitian diperoleh kondisi pelaksanaan ARS (60,7%, waktu tunggu (59,1%, dan kepuasan pasien (67,3% termasuk dalam kategori cukup. Terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan ARS terhadap waktu tunggu (51,84%, pengaruh positif dan signifikan waktu tunggu terhadap kepuasan pasien (25%, dan total pengaruh ARS terhadap kepuasan pasien (16,79%. ARS dapat menurunkan waktu tunggu secara efektif tetapi tidak semua metode ARS dapat menurunkan waktu tunggu. Simpulan, pasien RS Al-Islam Bandung merasa cukup puas terhadap pendaftaran appointment dan waktu tunggu. Kata kunci: Appointment registration system, kepuasan pasien, waktu tunggu   The Influence of Outpatient Appointment Registration System to Waiting Time and Patient Satisfications Abstract Health improvement can be achieved through accessibility to health services. An increased participants in the Health Insurance Program (HIP resulted in a long queue in the hospital. This research aim was to analize influence of appointment registration system (ARS to waiting time and patient satisfaction. Research method using patient satisfaction survey in 380 subjects and observation on December 2014 at Al-Islam Bandung Hospital. The result was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM and production operation management-quantitative methods (POMQM. The results showed that the

Report of the first interim meeting of the Seabed Working Group Engineering Studies Task Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talbert, D.M.

1982-02-01

The first interim meeting of the Engineering Studies Task Group (ESTG) was held at the Delft Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Delft, The Netherlands, on 21-24 September 1981. The main business of the meeting was the development of a network analysis for the ESTG. Significant progress was made; however, substantial further development remains to be accomplished. Other items discussed were (1) progress relevant to engineering studies made in the various national programs since the sixth annual meeting of the Seabed Working Group (SWG) held in Paris, February, 1981; (2) the ESTG Boundary Conditions and Scope of Work as previously defined at the Paris meeting; (3) the Draft II SWG Five-Year Plan; (4) the deep ocean drilling proposal made by the Site Selection Task Group at the Paris meeting and expanded upon at their May, 1981, meeting; and (5) a recent compilation of data from the Nares Abyssal Plain arising from the US Program studies. Finally, consideration was given to a plan for continued work by the ESTG. A brief discussion of the principal items is given. The current state of the network analysis is shown

Cycling in the Absence of Task-related Feedback: Effects on Pacing and Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Smits

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction. To achieve personal goals in exercise task completion, exercisers have to regulate, distribute and manage their effort. In endurance sports, it has become very commonplace for athletes to consult task-related feedback on external devices to do so. The aim of the present study was to explore the importance of the presence of this information by examining the influence of the absence of commonly available task-related feedback on effort distribution and performance in experienced endurance athletes.Methods. A 20-km cycling time trial was performed. 20 Participants from a homogenous cyclist population were appointed to a group that did not receive any feedback (NoF, or a group that could consult task-related feedback (i.e., speed, heart rate, power output, cadence, elapsed time and elapsed distance continuously during their trial (FF.Results. The distribution of power output (PO differed between groups. Most evident is the spurt at the end of the trial of FF, which was not incorporated by NoF. Nevertheless, no between-group differences were found in performance time (FF: 28.86 +/- 3.68 min vs. NoF: 30.95 +/- 2.77 min and mean PO controlled by body mass (FF: 3.61 +/- .60 W/kg vs. NoF: 3.43 +/- .38 W/kg. Also, no differences in rating of perceived exertion scores were found.Conclusion. The current study provides a first indication that prior knowledge of task demands together with reliance on bodily and environmental information can be sufficient for experienced athletes to come to comparable time trial performances. This questions the necessity of the presence of in-race instantaneous task-related feedback via external devices for maximising performance. Moreover, it seems that different pacing strategies emerge depending on sources of information available to experienced athletes.

How Knowledge Worker Teams Deal Effectively with Task Uncertainty: The Impact of Transformational Leadership and Group Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Leuteritz, Jan-Paul; Navarro, José; Berger, Rita

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to clarify how leadership is able to improve team effectiveness, by means of its influence on group processes (i.e., increasing group development) and on the group task (i.e., decreasing task uncertainty). Four hundred and eight members of 107 teams in a German research and development (R&D) organization completed a web-based survey; they provided measures of transformational leadership, group development, 2 aspects of task uncertainty, task interdependence, and team effectiveness. In 54 of these teams, the leaders answered a web-based survey on team effectiveness. We tested the model with the data from team members, using structural equations modeling. Group development and a task uncertainty measurement that refers to unstable demands from outside the team partially mediate the effect of transformational leadership on team effectiveness in R&D organizations ( p transformational leaders reduce unclarity of goals ( p transformational leadership and team processes on team effectiveness considering the task characteristics uncertainty and interdependence.

The Interaction of Publications and Appointments: New Evidence on Academic Economists in Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Beckmann, Klaus; Schneider, Andrea

2013-01-01

Using a new panel data set comprising publication and appointment data for 889 German academic economists over a quarter of a century, we confirm the familiar hypothesis that publications are important for professorial appointments, but find only a small negative effect of appointments on subsequent research productivity, in particular if one…

Control system of the inspection robots group applying auctions and multi-criteria analysis for task allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Panfil, Wawrzyniec; Moczulski, Wojciech

2017-10-01

In the paper presented is a control system of a mobile robots group intended for carrying out inspection missions. The main research problem was to define such a control system in order to facilitate a cooperation of the robots resulting in realization of the committed inspection tasks. Many of the well-known control systems use auctions for tasks allocation, where a subject of an auction is a task to be allocated. It seems that in the case of missions characterized by much larger number of tasks than number of robots it will be better if robots (instead of tasks) are subjects of auctions. The second identified problem concerns the one-sided robot-to-task fitness evaluation. Simultaneous assessment of the robot-to-task fitness and task attractiveness for robot should affect positively for the overall effectiveness of the multi-robot system performance. The elaborated system allows to assign tasks to robots using various methods for evaluation of fitness between robots and tasks, and using some tasks allocation methods. There is proposed the method for multi-criteria analysis, which is composed of two assessments, i.e. robot's concurrency position for task among other robots and task's attractiveness for robot among other tasks. Furthermore, there are proposed methods for tasks allocation applying the mentioned multi-criteria analysis method. The verification of both the elaborated system and the proposed tasks' allocation methods was carried out with the help of simulated experiments. The object under test was a group of inspection mobile robots being a virtual counterpart of the real mobile-robot group.

Managing Uncertainties Associated With Radioactive Waste Disposal: Task Group 4 Of The IAEA PRISM Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seitz, R.

2011-01-01

It is widely recognized that the results of safety assessment calculations provide an important contribution to the safety arguments for a disposal facility, but cannot in themselves adequately demonstrate the safety of the disposal system. The safety assessment and a broader range of arguments and activities need to be considered holistically to justify radioactive waste disposal at any particular site. Many programs are therefore moving towards the production of what has become known as a Safety Case, which includes all of the different activities that are conducted to demonstrate the safety of a disposal concept. Recognizing the growing interest in the concept of a Safety Case, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is undertaking an intercomparison and harmonization project called PRISM (Practical Illustration and use of the Safety Case Concept in the Management of Near-surface Disposal). The PRISM project is organized into four Task Groups that address key aspects of the Safety Case concept: Task Group 1 - Understanding the Safety Case; Task Group 2 - Disposal facility design; Task Group 3 - Managing waste acceptance; and Task Group 4 - Managing uncertainty. This paper addresses the work of Task Group 4, which is investigating approaches for managing the uncertainties associated with near-surface disposal of radioactive waste and their consideration in the context of the Safety Case. Emphasis is placed on identifying a wide variety of approaches that can and have been used to manage different types of uncertainties, especially non-quantitative approaches that have not received as much attention in previous IAEA projects. This paper includes discussions of the current results of work on the task on managing uncertainty, including: the different circumstances being considered, the sources/types of uncertainties being addressed and some initial proposals for approaches that can be used to manage different types of uncertainties.

Integrative and distributive negotiation in small groups : Effects of task structure, decision rule, and social motive

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beersma, Bianca; De Dreu, Carsten K W

2002-01-01

This study examined the interactive effects of task structure, decision rule, and social motive on small-group negotiation processes and outcomes. Three-person groups negotiated either within an asymmetrical task structure (in which a majority of group members have compatible interests) or within a

Seminar Cum Meeting Report: Codata Task Group for Exchangeable Material Data Representation to Support Research and Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T Ashino

2008-11-01

Full Text Available On March 4-5, 2008, the CODATA Task Group for Exchangeable Material Data Representation to Support Research and Education held a two day seminar cum meeting at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL, New Delhi, India, with NPL materials researchers and task group members representing material activities and databases from seven countries: European Union (The Czech Republic, France, and the Netherlands, India, Korea, Japan, and the United States. The NPL seminar included presentations about the researchers' work. The Task Group meeting included presentations about current data related activities of the members. Joint discussions between NPL researchers and CODATA task group members began an exchange of viewpoints among materials data producers, users, and databases developers. The seminar cum meeting included plans to continue and expand Task Group activities at the 2008 CODATA 21st Meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine.

EU-US standards harmonization task group report : stakeholder engagement and comment resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-01

Harmonization Task Groups 1 and 3 (HTG1 and 3) were established by the EU-US International Standards Harmonization Working Group to attempt to harmonize standards (including ISO, CEN, ETSI, IEEE) on security (HTG1) and communications protocols (HTG3)...

EU-US standards harmonization task group report : status of ITS communication standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-01

Harmonization Task Groups 1 and 3 (HTG1 and 3) were established by the EU-US International Standards Harmonization Working Group to attempt to harmonize standards (including ISO, CEN, ETSI, IEEE) on security (HTG1) and communications protocols (HTG3)...

Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Car, Josip; Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; de Jongh, Thyra; Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; Atun, Rifat

2012-07-11

Missed appointments are a major cause of inefficiency in healthcare delivery, with substantial monetary costs for the health system, leading to delays in diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Patients' forgetfulness is one of the main reasons for missed appointments, and reminders may help alleviate this problem. Modes of communicating reminders for appointments to patients include face-to-face communication, postal messages, calls to landlines or mobile phones, and mobile phone messaging. Mobile phone messaging applications such as Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS) could provide an important, inexpensive delivery medium for reminders for healthcare appointments. To assess the effects of mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments. Secondary objectives include assessment of patients' and healthcare providers' evaluation of the intervention; costs; and possible risks and harms associated with the intervention. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL,The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 2), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), EMBASE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (January 1993 to June 2009), LILACS (January 1993 to June 2009) and African Health Anthology (January 1993 to June 2009). We also reviewed grey literature (including trial registers) and reference lists of articles. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-randomised controlled trials (QRCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies, or interrupted time series (ITS) studies with at least three time points before and after the intervention. We included studies assessing mobile phone messaging as reminders for healthcare appointments. We only included studies in which it was possible to assess effects of mobile phone messaging independent of other technologies or interventions.   Two review authors independently assessed all

5 CFR 9901.511 - Appointing authorities.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9901.511 Administrative Personnel DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS SYSTEMS (DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE-OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NATIONAL SECURITY... these authorities will be given career, career conditional, term or temporary appointments in the...

Self-management model in the scheduling of successive appointments in rheumatology.

Science.gov (United States)

Castro Corredor, David; Cuadra Díaz, José Luis; Mateos Rodríguez, Javier José; Anino Fernández, Joaquín; Mínguez Sánchez, María Dolores; de Lara Simón, Isabel María; Tébar, María Ángeles; Añó, Encarnación; Sanz, María Dolores; Ballester, María Nieves

2018-01-08

The rheumatology service of Ciudad Real Hospital, located in an autonomous community of that same name that is nearly in the center of Spain, implemented a self-management model of successive appointments more than 10 years ago. Since then, the physicians of the department schedule follow-up visits for their patients depending on the disease, its course and ancillary tests. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the self-management model for successive appointments in the rheumatology service of Ciudad Real Hospital versus the model of external appointment management implemented in 8 of the hospital's 15 medical services. A comparative and multivariate analysis was performed to identify variables with statistically significant differences, in terms of activity and/or performance indicators and quality perceived by users. The comparison involved the self-management model for successive appointments employed in the rheumatology service of Ciudad Real Hospital and the model for external appointment management used in 8 hospital medical services between January 1 and May 31, 2016. In a database with more than 100,000 records of appointments involving the set of services included in the study, the mean waiting time and the numbers of non-appearances and rescheduling of follow-up visits in the rheumatology department were significantly lower than in the other services. The number of individuals treated in outpatient rheumatology services was 7,768, and a total of 280 patients were surveyed (response rate 63.21%). They showed great overall satisfaction, and the incidence rate of claims was low. Our results show that the self-management model of scheduling appointments has better results in terms of activity indicators and in quality perceived by users, despite the intense activity. Thus, this study could be fundamental for decision making in the management of health care organizations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de

Missed medical appointment among hypertensive and diabetic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Keywords: Missed medical appointments, Hypertensive, Diabetic outpatients, Medication adherence, ... 12 weeks, at 95 % confidence level and 5 % error margin, 300 hypertensive ... monthly income and health insurance status of respondents ...

Group Adlerian Play Therapy with Children with Off-Task Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Meany-Walen, Kristin K.; Bullis, Quinn; Kottman, Terry; Dillman Taylor, Dalena

2015-01-01

Children who are off-task in schools struggle with completing their work and engage in disruptive behaviors. Without intervention, these behaviors tend to worsen, putting them at risk for more serious, ongoing problems throughout life. Group counseling provides opportunities for people to practice socially useful behaviors. Using a single case…

Juan Antonio Rubio appointed as Director-General of CIEMAT

CERN Multimedia

2004-01-01

Juan Antonio Rubio, Head of CERN's ETT unit (Education and Technology Transfer) has been appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science as the Director General of the Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology, CIEMAT. Dr Rubio's career began at the Spanish Nuclear Energy Commission where he held the posts of Investigator, Head of the High Energy Group and Head of Nuclear Physics and High Energy Division. Later, he was named Director of the Department of Basic Investigation and Scientific Director of the CIEMAT. In 1987 he joined CERN as Scientific Adviser to the Director General and Group Leader of the Scientific Assessment Group. Up to now, Dr Rubio has been the Head of the ETT unit, as well as Coordinator for Latin America and Commissioner for the 50th Anniversary of the Organization. He was born on 4 June 1944 in Madrid, and holds a Doctorate in Physical Sciences from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Statement delivered in the Board of Governors on 28 November 2008 by the Resident Representative of Zimbabwe on behalf of the group of members of the African Union concerning the appointment of the Director General

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

On 28 November 2008, the Resident Representative of Zimbabwe to the Agency delivered a statement in the Board of Governors, on behalf of the group of members of the African Union, concerning the appointment of the Director General. As requested in the statement, the statement is herewith circulated for the information of Member States

CNPC Appoints Chief Experts for Important Technological Projects

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zhao Jianzhong

2006-01-01

@@ On June 27th, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) held a public recruitment to appoint chief experts in Beijing for its important technological projects, which is the first time for CNPC to appoint chief managers by the means of competitive recruitment. This recruitment covers four projects, such as drilling, logging, geophysical survey and ground engineering with 15 projects. Of those,there are 8 drilling projects, which make up 50 percent of all the important technological projects for public recruitment. CNPC expects to further boost the chief expert responsibility system and promote the research and development (R&D) of technological project on the basis of the public recruitment. The company completes the recruitment following the procedure of making announcement, conducting competitive recruitment and giving publicity. On July 25th, the appointment ceremony was held by CNPC and 15 experts were awarded the certificates. CNPC is entering a new stage for the implementation of the technology and talent strategy for the 11th Five-Year Plan. What's more, a new management mode is taking shape for the technological project and for the construction of technological personnel pool.

Progress in lung modelling by the ICRP Task Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, A.C.; Birchall, A.

1989-01-01

The Task Group has reviewed the data on: (a) morphology and physiology of the human respiratory tract; (b) inspirability of aerosols and their deposition in anatomical regions as functions of respiratory parameters; (c) clearance of particles within and from the respiratory tract; (d) absorption of different materials into the blood in humans and in animals. The Task Group proposes a new model which predicts the deposition, retention and systemic uptake of materials, enabling doses absorbed by different respiratory tissues and other body organs to be evaluated. In the proposed model, clearance is described in terms of competition between the processes moving particles to the oropharynx or to lymph nodes and that of absorption into the blood. From studies with human subjects, characteristic rates and pathways are defined to represent mechanical clearance of particles from each region, which do not depend on the material. Conversely, the absorption rate is determined solely by the material: it is assumed to be the same in all parts of the respiratory tract and in other animal species. For several of the radiologically important forms of actinides, absorption rates can be derived from animal experiments, or, in some cases, directly from human data. Otherwise, default values are used, based on the current D, W and Y classification system. (author)

Report of the Task Group on Electrical Safety of Department of Energy facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1993-01-01

The Task Group on Electrical Safety at DOE Facilities (Task Group), which was formally established on October 27, 1992. The Task Group reviewed the electrical safety-related occurrence history of, and conducted field visits to, seven DOE sites chosen to represent a cross section of the Department`s electrical safety activities. The purpose of the field visits was to review, firsthand, electrical safety programs and practices and to gain greater insight to the root causes and corrective actions taken for recently reported incidents. The electrical safety environment of the DOE complex is extremely varied, ranging from common office and industrial electrical systems to large high-voltage power distribution systems (commercial transmission line systems). It includes high-voltage/high-power systems associated with research programs such as linear accelerators and experimental fusion confinement systems. Age, condition, and magnitude of the facilities also varies, with facilities dating from the Manhattan Project, during World War II, to the most modem complexes. The complex is populated by Federal (DOE and other agencies) and contractor employees engaged in a wide variety of occupations and activities in office, research and development, and industrial settings. The sites visited included all of these variations and are considered by the Task Group to offer a valid representation of the Department`s electrical safety issues. The sites visited were Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), Nevada Test Site (NTS), Savannah River Site (SRS), Hanford Reservation (Hanford), and the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (UMTRA) located at Grand Junction, Colorado.

New appointments at the IAEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

The document shortly presents the following new appointments: the Deputy Director General, Head of the Department of Safeguards (effective as of 1 May 1999), the Director of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology in the Department of Nuclear Energy, and the Director of the Division of Conference and Document Services in the Department of Administration (effective as of 1 April 1999)

Impact of Checklist Use on Wellness and Post-Elective Surgery Appointments in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruch-Gallie, Rebecca; Weir, Heather; Kogan, Lori R

Cognitive functioning is often compromised with increasing levels of stress and fatigue, both of which are often experienced by veterinarians. Many high-stress fields have implemented checklists to reduce human error. The use of these checklists has been shown to improve the quality of medical care, including adherence to evidence-based best practices and improvement of patient safety. Although it has been recognized that veterinary medicine would likely demonstrate similar benefits, there have been no published studies to date evaluating the use of checklists for improving quality of care in veterinary medicine. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the impact of checklists during wellness and post-elective surgery appointments conducted by fourth-year veterinary students within their Community Practice rotation at a US veterinary teaching hospital. Students were randomly assigned to one of two groups: those who were specifically asked to use the provided checklists during appointments, and those who were not asked to use the checklists but had them available. Two individuals blinded to the study reviewed the tapes of all appointments in each study group to determine the amount and type of medical information offered by veterinary students. Students who were specifically asked to use the checklists provided significantly more information to owners, with the exception of keeping the incision clean. Results indicate the use of checklists helps students provide more complete information to their clients, thereby potentially enhancing animal care.

Principal working group No. 1 on operating experience and human factors (PWG1). Report of the task group on reviewing the activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-02-01

A Task Group was formed by PWG-1 in the latter part of 1999 to review the mandate of PWG1 in light of new directions and assignments from CSNI, and to prepare a report that suggests future directions of the Working Group, in harmony with directions from CSNI. This report is the response of the Task Group. Principal Working Group no.1 was organized in September 1982. The group formed its charter, which included: - reviewing periodically activities for the collection, dissemination, storage and analysis of incidents reported under the IRS; - examining annually the incidents reported during the previous year in order to select issues (either technical or human-factor-oriented) with major safety significance and report them to CSNI; - encouraging feed-back through CSNI of lessons derived from operating experience to nuclear safety research programmes, including human factors studies; - providing a forum to exchange information in the field of human factors studies; - establishing short-term task forces, when necessary to carry out information exchange, special studies or any other work within its mandate; - making recommendations to CSNI for improving and encouraging these activities. The mandate of the working group was systematically re-examined in 1994. The purpose was to determine whether changes since the formation of the original mandate would indicate some need to refocus the directions of the working group. It was concluded that the main line of work (sometimes called the core business) of PWG1, which was shown to be an efficient tool for exchanging safety-significant operating experience and lessons learned from safety-significant issues, remained as valid and necessary in 1994 as it was in 1982. Some recommendations for improvement of efficiency were made, but the core business was unchanged. Very little of the mandate needed modification. With little change over nearly 20 years, these six items have constituted the mandate of PWG1. There have been twenty

EU-US standards harmonization task group report : feedback to standards development organizations - security

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-12

Harmonization Task Groups 1 and 3 (HTG1 and 3) were established by the EU-US International Standards Harmonization Working Group to attempt to harmonize standards (including ISO, CEN, ETSI, IEEE) on security (HTG1) and communications protocols (HTG3)...

Factors related to missing and rescheduling pharmaceutical care appointments by aged outpatients in a Brazilian public health setting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thiago Vinícius Nadaleto Didone

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To uncover reasons why patients missed pharmaceutical care (PC appointments, identify predictive factors to miss at least one appointment and to reschedule after a miss, and compare the rescheduling behavior of patients receiving different types of PC. Methods: All elderly patients who had at least one scheduled appointment in the PC service of a health setting of São Paulo city, Brazil, from January to December/2011 were included. Chi-square analysis compared categorical data between groups; multivariate logistic regression models predicted attendance and rescheduling behavior. Results: We identified 421 patients, being 221 (52.5% non-attenders. Forgetting the appointment was the most common patient-related reason (56.3%. Illiteracy was a risk factor to be a non-attender [OR(95%CI=2.27(1.17:4.40, p=0.015]. Patients having previous knowledge of the pharmacist presented more chance to rescheduled an appointment after the first miss compared to those who had not [OR(95%CI=3.57(1.90:6.71, p<0.001]. Further, non-attenders who had knowledge of the pharmacist and received Medication Review with Follow-up rescheduled more than the ones receiving other types of PC (p=0.035. Conclusion: Illiteracy predicted non-attendance in PC to aged outpatients and forgetfulness was the main reason for that. The previous acquaintance of the pharmacist and the provision of pharmaceotherapeutic follow-up explained the rescheduling behavior, which indicates the establishment of a patient-centered patient-pharmacist relationship plays a pivotal role in the continuity of the PC.

Appointment reminder systems are effective but not optimal: results of a systematic review and evidence synthesis employing realist principles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McLean SM

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Sionnadh Mairi McLean,1 Andrew Booth,2 Melanie Gee,3 Sarah Salway,2 Mark Cobb,4 Sadiq Bhanbhro,3 Susan A Nancarrow5 1Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK; 2School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK; 3Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK; 4Therapeutics & Palliative Care, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK; 5School of Health and Human Science, Southern Cross University, East Lismore, NSW, Australia Abstract: Missed appointments are an avoidable cost and resource inefficiency which impact upon the health of the patient and treatment outcomes. Health care services are increasingly utilizing reminder systems to manage these negative effects. This study explores the effectiveness of reminder systems for promoting attendance, cancellations, and rescheduling of appointments across all health care settings and for particular patient groups and the contextual factors which indicate that reminders are being employed sub-optimally. We used three inter-related reviews of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Firstly, using pre-existing models and theories, we developed a conceptual framework to inform our understanding of the contexts and mechanisms which influence reminder effectiveness. Secondly, we performed a review following Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines to investigate the effectiveness of different methods of reminding patients to attend health service appointments. Finally, to supplement the effectiveness information, we completed a review informed by realist principles to identify factors likely to influence non-attendance behaviors and the effectiveness of reminders. We found consistent evidence that all types of reminder systems are effective at improving appointment attendance across a range of health care settings and patient populations. Reminder systems may also increase cancellation and

Equal Opportunity? Gender Gaps in CEO Appointments and Executive Pay

OpenAIRE

Keloharju, Matti; Knüpfer, Samuli; Tåg, Joacim

2016-01-01

This paper uses exceptionally rich data on Swedish corporate executives and their personal characteristics to study gender gaps in CEO appointments and pay. Both gaps are sizeable: 18% for CEO appointments and 27% for pay. At most one-eight of the gaps can be attributed to observable gender differences in executives' and their firms' characteristics. Further tests suggest that unobservable gender differences in characteristics are unlikely to account for the remaining gaps. Instead, our resul...

University of North Carolina Council on Biotechnology Patent Task Group Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Journal of College and University Law, 1982

1982-01-01

A report of a task group on biomedical patents summarizes the context in which technological innovation involving research institutions and industry takes place and the interests and concerns of various participants. Suggestions are given for accommodating these concerns through institutional policies and procedures. (MSE)

Attendance at Mental Health Appointments by Women Who Were Referred During Pregnancy or the Postpartum Period.

Science.gov (United States)

Albaugh, Avril S; Friedman, Susan Hatters; Yang, Sarah Nagle; Rosenthal, Miriam

2018-01-01

To describe characteristics of women referred to mental health care during pregnancy or the year after giving birth and to identify characteristics associated with attendance at mental health intake visits. Retrospective record review of referral documentation. Women's health practices and perinatal mental health clinics in urban areas. The sample included 647 women during pregnancy or the year after giving birth who were referred for mental health treatment. We reviewed the referral data sent from women's health care providers to perinatal mental health clinics to determine if mental health visits occurred. Fifty percent of the 647 women who accepted perinatal mental health referrals had intake appointments. Women were more likely to participate in an intake appointment if in-home services were offered (p women who accepted referrals to mental health services, only half attended intake appointments. For this group of pregnant women and those in the first year after birth, in-home mental health visits were most likely to result in care engagement, which has important implications for service delivery. Copyright © 2018 AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Joint utility task group CGI data-base procurement history module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosch, F.

1993-01-01

The purpose of the procurement history record module of the Joint Utility Task Group's (JUTG's) commercial-grade item (CGI) data base is to assist utilities to cost effectively implement the dedication methodology provided in the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI's) report NP-5652, open-quotes Guidelines for the Utilization of Commercial Grade Items in Nuclear Safety-Related Applications.close quotes

[Principles of nutrition in patients with newly appointed stoma].

Science.gov (United States)

Pachocka, Lucyna Małgorzata; Urbanik, Anna

2016-01-01

The treatment of intestinal stoma is often a difficult experience for patients and results in numerous problems in the physical, psychological and social aspects. Therefore, post-operative care of the patient with the newly appointed stoma should be taken by therapeutic team consisting of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians, psychologists and social workers. Appropriate nutritional education of patients aims to improve their quality of life and to prevent from unpleasant ailments formed after the operation. The specific type of stoma may decide about certain dietary recommendations. The presented work provides a practical dietary recommendations for patients with newly appointed stoma.

Assessment of the Correlation between Appointment Scheduling and Patient Satisfaction in a Pediatric Dental Setup

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amar N. Katre

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The practice of modern pediatric dentistry requires delivery of quality care in combination with adherence to excellent business as well as time management principles. A definite appointment schedule should be presented to the parents on the first or second appointment. More importantly, the prescribed schedule should be followed to the best of the professional abilities of the pediatric dentist. Aims. The aim of the study was to assess the co-relation between appointment scheduling and patient satisfaction in a pediatric dental setup with the objective of understanding the parameters related to appointment scheduling to increase patient satisfaction. Method. A total of 40 patients, who visited the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, YMT Dental College & Hospital, for dental treatment were selected on a random basis. A questionnaire with a set of 6 questions with a rating scale of 1–5 to assess the patient satisfaction related to appointment scheduling was prepared. Results. A significant number of the patients were happy with the existing appointment scheduling system barring a few exceptions.

Factors predicting adherence with psychiatric follow-up appointments for patients assessed by the liaison psychiatric team in the emergency department.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Agyapong, Vincent I O

2010-01-01

Several factors may predict adherence with psychiatric follow-up appointment for patients seen in the emergency department (ED) by liaison psychiatric teams. Awareness of these factors would allow for interventions targeted at vulnerable groups.

Maintenance Appointments in Railway Rolling Stock Rescheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.C. Wagenaar (Joris); L.G. Kroon (Leo); M.E. Schmidt (Marie)

2016-01-01

textabstractThis paper addresses the Rolling Stock Rescheduling Problem (RSRP), while taking maintenance appointments into account. After a disruption, the rolling stock of the disrupted passenger trains has to be rescheduled in order to restore a feasible rolling stock circulation. Usually, a

77 FR 62490 - Performance Review Board Appointments

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-15

... Board Appointments AGENCY: Office of Human Resource Management, Departmental Management. ACTION: Notice..., Director, Office of Human Resources Management, telephone: (202) 690-2994, email: [email protected] has a total of seven PRBs: The Secretary's PRB; Career Agency Head's PRB; Departmental Management and...

5 CFR 317.501 - Recruitment and selection for initial SES career appointment be achieved from the brightest and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

.... OPM may review proposed career appointments to ensure that they comply with all merit staffing... career appointment be achieved from the brightest and most diverse pool possible. 317.501 Section 317.501... EXECUTIVE SERVICE Career Appointments § 317.501 Recruitment and selection for initial SES career appointment...

Optimisation and decisions in radiological protection - A report of the work of an ICRP task group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webb, G.A.M.

1988-01-01

In 1984 the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) established a Task Group of Committee 4 to produce a report on methods for optimisation of protection other than cost-benefit analysis. As the work of the task group progressed it became clear that it would be more useful to produce a report on the entire field of application of optimisation, mainly to show how the various techniques including cost-benefit analysis could be applied appropriately to problems at different levels of complexity. This paper reports on the main ideas that have been developed by the task group. It must be emphasised that these ideas have not been endorsed by Committee 4 nor approved by the Commission so they can not yet be considered as recommendations

Effects of shared medical appointments on quality of life and cost-effectiveness for patients with a chronic neuromuscular disease. Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van der Wilt Gert-Jan

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Shared medical appointments are a series of one-to-one doctor-patient contacts, in presence of a group of 6-10 fellow patients. This group visits substitute the annual control visits of patients with the neurologist. The same items attended to in a one-to- one appointment are addressed. The possible advantages of a shared medical appointment could be an added value to the present management of neuromuscular patients. The currently problem-focused one-to-one out-patient visits often leave little time for the patient's psychosocial needs, patient education, and patient empowerment. Methods/design A randomized, prospective controlled study (RCT with a follow up of 6 months will be conducted to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of shared medical appointments compared to usual care for 300 neuromuscular patients and their partners at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center. Every included patient will be randomly allocated to one of the two study arms. This study has been reviewed and approved by the medical ethics committee of the region Arnhem-Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The primary outcome measure is quality of life as measured by the EQ-5D, SF-36 and the Individualized neuromuscular Quality of Life Questionnaire. The primary analysis will be an intention-to-treat analysis on the area under the curve of the quality of life scores. A linear mixed model will be used with random factor group and fixed factors treatment, baseline score and type of neuromuscular disease. For the economic evaluation an incremental cost-effectiveness analysis will be conducted from a societal perspective, relating differences in costs to difference in health outcome. Results are expected in 2012. Discussion This study will be the first randomized controlled trial which evaluates the effect of shared medical appointments versus usual care for neuromuscular patients. This will enable to determine if there is additional value of shared

Atypical subtrochanteric and diaphyseal femoral fractures: report of a task force of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shane, Elizabeth; Burr, David; Ebeling, Peter R

2010-01-01

Reports linking long-term use of bisphosphonates (BPs) with atypical fractures of the femur led the leadership of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) to appoint a task force to address key questions related to this problem. A multidisciplinary expert group reviewed pertinent...... to designate a femoral fracture as atypical. Minor features include their association with cortical thickening, a periosteal reaction of the lateral cortex, prodromal pain, bilaterality, delayed healing, comorbid conditions, and concomitant drug exposures, including BPs, other antiresorptive agents...... published reports concerning atypical femur fractures, as well as preclinical studies that could provide insight into their pathogenesis. A case definition was developed so that subsequent studies report on the same condition. The task force defined major and minor features of complete and incomplete...

Practical quantum appointment scheduling

Science.gov (United States)

Touchette, Dave; Lovitz, Benjamin; Lütkenhaus, Norbert

2018-04-01

We propose a protocol based on coherent states and linear optics operations for solving the appointment-scheduling problem. Our main protocol leaks strictly less information about each party's input than the optimal classical protocol, even when considering experimental errors. Along with the ability to generate constant-amplitude coherent states over two modes, this protocol requires the ability to transfer these modes back-and-forth between the two parties multiple times with very low losses. The implementation requirements are thus still challenging. Along the way, we develop tools to study quantum information cost of interactive protocols in the finite regime.

76 FR 78225 - Notice of Appointment of Members to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-16

... (Appointment--3 years); Category H. ``National Food Science Organization, Dr. Mark R. McLellan, Member... specific category related to agriculture. The Board was first appointed in September 1996 and at the time... member is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to a specific category on the Board, including...

Mentorship for newly appointed physicians: a strategy for enhancing patient safety?

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Reema; McClean, Serwaa; Lawton, Rebecca; Wright, John; Kay, Clive

2014-09-01

Mentorship is an increasingly popular innovation from business and industry that is being applied in health-care contexts. This paper explores the concept of mentorship for newly appointed physicians in their first substantive senior post, and specifically its utilization to enhance patient safety. Semi-structured face to face and telephone interviews with Medical Directors (n = 5), Deputy Medical Directors (n = 4), and Clinical Directors (n = 6) from 9 acute NHS Trusts in the Yorkshire and Humber region in the north of England. A focused thematic analysis was used. A number of beneficial outcomes were associated with mentorship for newly appointed physicians including greater personal and professional support, organizational commitment, and general well-being. Providing newly appointed senior physicians with support through mentorship was considered to enhance the safety of patient care. Mentorship may prevent or reduce active failures, be used to identify threats in the local working environment, and in the longer term, address latent threats to safety within the organization by encouraging a healthier safety culture. Offering mentorship to all newly appointed physicians in their first substantive post in health care may be a useful strategy to support the development of their clinical, professional, and personal skills in this transitional period that may also enhance the safety of patient care.

Working Memory Training Improves Dual-Task Performance on Motor Tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Takehide; Kaneko, Fuminari; Nagahata, Keita; Shibata, Eriko; Aoki, Nobuhiro

2017-01-01

The authors investigated whether working memory training improves motor-motor dual-task performance consisted of upper and lower limb tasks. The upper limb task was a simple reaction task and the lower limb task was an isometric knee extension task. 45 participants (age = 21.8 ± 1.6 years) were classified into a working memory training group (WM-TRG), dual-task training group, or control group. The training duration was 2 weeks (15 min, 4 times/week). Our results indicated that working memory capacity increased significantly only in the WM-TRG. Dual-task performance improved in the WM-TRG and dual-task training group. Our study provides the novel insight that working memory training improves dual-task performance without specific training on the target motor task.

The Impact of Health Care Appointment Non-Adherence on Graft Outcomes in Kidney Transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Taber, David J; Fleming, James N; Fominaya, Cory E; Gebregziabher, Mulugeta; Hunt, Kelly J; Srinivas, Titte R; Baliga, Prabhakar K; McGillicuddy, John W; Egede, Leonard E

2017-01-01

Non-adherence to medication is a well-studied and known cause of late allograft loss, but it is difficult to measure and prospectively monitor. The aim of this study was to assess if appointment non-adherence was correlated with medication non-adherence and a predictor of graft outcomes. This was a longitudinal cohort study that used the National United States Renal Data System and veterans affairs health records data with time-to-event analyses conducted to assess the impact on graft and patient survival. The number of transplants that were included in the analysis was 4,646 (3,656 with complete records); 14.6% of patients had an appointment no show rate of ≥12% (non-adherence). Appointment and medication non-adherence were highly correlated and both were significant independent predictors of outcomes. Those with appointment non-adherence had 1.5 times the risk of acute rejection (22.0 vs. 14.7%, p adherence; those with appointment and medication non-adherence were at very high risk of graft loss (aHR 4.18, 95% CI 3.39-5.15, p adherence (aHR 1.39, 95% CI 0.97-2.01, p = 0.0766) or only medication non-adherence (aHR 2.44, 95% CI 2.11-2.81, p adherence to health care appointments is a significant and independent risk factor for graft loss. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

EU-US standards harmonization task group report : feedback to ITS standards development organizations communications.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-01

Harmonization Task Groups 1 and 3 (HTG1 and 3) were established by the EU-US International Standards Harmonization Working Group to attempt to harmonize standards (including ISO, CEN, ETSI, IEEE) on security (HTG1) and communications protocols (HTG3)...

Court Appointed Volunteers for Abused and Neglected Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Justin, Renate G.

2002-02-01

A court appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteer is a trained citizen who is appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of an abused and neglected child in court. An independent voice, the volunteer gathers information and reports to the court. The CASA volunteer works in close cooperation with other professionals, physicians, lawyers, social workers, and teachers to find the most suitable permanent placement for a victimized child, whether it be a foster home, parental home, or adoptive home. Another function for CASA volunteers is to be supportive to the child during a time of uncertainty in his or her life and to help the youngster adjust to new and changing situations; the CASA volunteer may be the only consistent adult presence during this difficult period of transition.

Vocabulary Learning in Collaborative Tasks: A Comparison of Pair and Small Group Work

Science.gov (United States)

Dobao, Ana Fernández

2014-01-01

This study examined the opportunities that pair and small group interaction offer for collaborative dialogue and second language (L2) vocabulary learning. It compared the performance of the same collaborative writing task by learners working in groups of four (n = 60) and in pairs (n = 50), focusing on the occurrence of lexical language-related…

Prevalence and Correlates of Missed First Appointments among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In Nigeria, where mental health services are poorly organized, missed appointments and its resultant consequences may be burdensome. Aim: This ... However, having received previous treatment for a psychiatric illness (P = 0.02) and having ...

Positive is usually good, negative is not always bad: The effects of group affect on social integration and task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Andrew P; Eisenkraft, Noah

2015-07-01

Grounded in a social functional perspective, this article examines the conditions under which group affect influences group functioning. Using meta-analysis, the authors leverage heterogeneity across 39 independent studies of 2,799 groups to understand how contextual factors-group affect source (exogenous or endogenous to the group) and group life span (one-shot or ongoing)-moderate the influence of shared feelings on social integration and task performance. As predicted, results indicate that group positive affect has consistent positive effects on social integration and task performance regardless of contextual idiosyncrasies. The effects of group negative affect, on the other hand, are context-dependent. Shared negative feelings promote social integration and task performance when stemming from an exogenous source or experienced in a 1-shot group, but undermine social integration and task performance when stemming from an endogenous source or experienced in an ongoing group. The authors discuss implications of their findings and highlight directions for future theory and research on group affect. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

A review of the work of the Task Group on Behind Armour Blunt Trauma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anderson, I.B.; Knudsen, P.J.T.; Sarron, J.C.; Bree, J.L.M.J. van; Gotts, P.; Waclawik, S.

2002-01-01

Over the past four years several countries and national laboratories have collaborated within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Research and Technology Organization as a Task Group. The purpose was to continue the research of an earlier NATO sponsored group and so explain the pathophysiology

Tom Brown appointed Dean of Students

OpenAIRE

Williams, Meghan

2007-01-01

James Thomas "Tom" Brown, former senior associate dean of the Dean of Students office, has been appointed as the Dean of Students. The Dean of Students office is responsible for the coordination of student advocacy, new student orientation and parent programs, and responding to student emergencies in collaboration with Judicial Affairs, Residence Life, Cook Counseling Center, Schiffert Health Center, and other departments and agencies.

Assessment of the Correlation between Appointment Scheduling and Patient Satisfaction in a Pediatric Dental Setup

OpenAIRE

Katre, Amar N.

2014-01-01

Introduction. The practice of modern pediatric dentistry requires delivery of quality care in combination with adherence to excellent business as well as time management principles. A definite appointment schedule should be presented to the parents on the first or second appointment. More importantly, the prescribed schedule should be followed to the best of the professional abilities of the pediatric dentist. Aims. The aim of the study was to assess the co-relation between appointment schedu...

Prevalence and Correlates of Missed First Appointments among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

quality of care, results in poor treatment outcomes and drains financial resources. In Nigeria, where mental .... and physical aggression. Each subscale has four .... missed first appointments observed in this study falls within the range of 17 and ...

A TIMELY APPOINTMENT – SAMA'S NEW CEO

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nicky

Her middle name might mean 'the one who came before her time', but Dr. Aquina Motlakapele Thulare, 42, the new CEO of the South African Medical. Association, is determined to see doctors better paid and properly valued during her tenure. Ratified by the full board last month, her historic appointment follows the.

Imitation of in-group versus out-group members' facial expressions of anger: a test with a time perception task.

Science.gov (United States)

Mondillon, Laurie; Niedenthal, Paula M; Gil, Sandrine; Droit-Volet, Sylvie

2007-01-01

This research investigated the automatic imitation of facial expressions of anger by in-group and out-group members, using a temporal estimation task. Individuals typically overestimate duration represented by angry faces, probably due to increases in arousal (Droit-Volet, Brunot, & Niedenthal, 2004). Overestimation is not observed when imitation of the facial expressions is inhibited, suggesting that embodied simulation mediates the changes in arousal (Effron, Niedenthal, Gil, & Droit-Volet, 2006). This method thus provides an implicit measure of imitation and was used to test the hypothesis that individuals imitate in-group, but not out-group members' facial expressions of emotion. In separate studies Chinese and French Caucasian participants were presented with short (400 ms) and long (1600 ms) standard durations in a temporal bisection task. They then categorized standard and intermediate durations, represented by angry and neutral faces, in terms of similarity to the short and long standard durations. Half of the face stimuli were Chinese, and half Caucasian. Results revealed a bias in the temporal perception of emotion for the Caucasian participants when they were presented with Caucasian facial expressions and not Chinese ones. In contrast, this bias in time perception was observed when Chinese individuals imitated faces of both in- and out-group members. The results of the Chinese participants are interpreted in terms of familiarity with and motivations to understand the emotional expressions of members of a host culture.

Task reports of INFCE Working Group 6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Task 1 Report summarizes on a country-by-country basis the data supplied by the participating states related to nuclear power forecast, spent fuel generation, AR storage capacity, AFR storage capacity, AFR storage and transport systems. Task Reports 2-5 analyse the spent fuel storage and transport situation according to reactor types. Information on the technical description of spent fuel existing storage and transport techniques and techniques under development and on costs is given. Task 6 summarizes the present legal framework for spent fuel management related to licensing, safety, environmental and physical protection, accounting and control of nuclear material by states, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, assurances for national access to nuclear material contained in spent fuel, and protection of technology. The institutional practice for spent fuel storage and transport is described. For the period up to the year 2025 a prognosis and recommendations related to legal framework and institutional models are given. The special needs of developing countries and industrialized countries with a limited nuclear power programme with respect to spent fuel management are analysed in Task Reports 7 and 8

TPMG Northern California appointments and advice call center.

Science.gov (United States)

Conolly, Patricia; Levine, Leslie; Amaral, Debra J; Fireman, Bruce H; Driscoll, Tom

2005-08-01

Kaiser Permanente (KP) has been developing its use of call centers as a way to provide an expansive set of healthcare services to KP members efficiently and cost effectively. Since 1995, when The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) began to consolidate primary care phone services into three physical call centers, the TPMG Appointments and Advice Call Center (AACC) has become the "front office" for primary care services across approximately 89% of Northern California. The AACC provides primary care phone service for approximately 3 million Kaiser Foundation Health Plan members in Northern California and responds to approximately 1 million calls per month across the three AACC sites. A database records each caller's identity as well as the day, time, and duration of each call; reason for calling; services provided to callers as a result of calls; and clinical outcomes of calls. We here summarize this information for the period 2000 through 2003.

78 FR 75948 - Senior Executive Service; Appointment of Members to the Performance Review Board

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-13

... Resources Center--Sydney T. Rose Executive Secretary--Director, Executive Resources--Kim L.H. Green... H. Moore, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations and Analysis--appointment expires on 09/30/16..., New York--appointment expires on 09/30/16 OLMS Stephen J. Willertz, Director, Office of Enforcement...

Papike appointed Director of IOM

Science.gov (United States)

James Papike was appointed director of the Institute of Meteoritics in the Department of Geology and Presidential Professor at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, on July 1, 1990. Papike succeeded Klaus Keil, who moved to the University of Hawaii to direct the Planetary Geoscience Division at the Hawaii Institute of Geosciences.The newly constituted IOM will emphasize planetary volcanic processes through the study of achondritic meteorites, the Moon, and Earth, and the origin of primitive solar system materials and planetary formation through the study of chondritic meteorites.

Statement by Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei Director General elect of the IAEA on the Occasion of the approval of his appointment by the General Conference, 29 September 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ElBaradei, M.

1997-01-01

The document reproduces the text of the Statement of the Director General of the IAEA at the IAEA General Conference on 29 september 1997, on the occasion of the approval of his appointment by the General Conference. The Statement focuses on the challenging and complex tasks of the Agency for the safe and exclusively peaceful use of e nuclear energy to satisfy people's needs

Disruption management for truck appointment system at a container terminal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, N.; Chen, Gang; Jin, Z.

2016-01-01

-appointed arrivals at a container terminal that is running an appointment system. Second, we propose some response strategies to cope with different levels of disruptions, and evaluate their resilience ability with two Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): total waiting time of on-time trucks and total idling emissions...... of all trucks, in order to balance the service quality to punctual arrivals and green performance of the whole system. Third, we conduct a sensitivity analysis using a discrete event simulation to understand the performance of the proposed strategies. Considering both KPIs, the best strategy in most......-crane moving distance, especially when the first KPI is given lower weight than the second one....

TU-AB-BRD-00: Task Group 100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2015-06-15

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before a failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process Learn how to

TU-AB-BRD-00: Task Group 100

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before a failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process Learn how to

IEA SHC Task 42/ECES Annex 29–Working Group B

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Helden, Wim; Yamaha, Motoi; Rathgeber, Christoph

2016-01-01

The IEA joint Task 42 / Annex 29 is aimed at developing compact thermal energy storage materials and systems. In Working Group B, experts are working on the development of compact thermal energy storage applications, in the areas cooling, domestic heating and hot water and industry. The majority...... challenges like the occurrence of non-condensable gases and thermo-mechanical effects and that standardized and simplified system approaches are needed....

76 FR 38348 - Notice of Appointment of Committee Members to the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-30

... Service Notice of Appointment of Committee Members to the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st.... ACTION: Notice of Appointment of Committee Members to the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st... the appointment of members to the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture...

Group-based exercise combined with dual-task training improves gait but not vascular health in active older adults without dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Michael A; Gill, Dawn P; Zou, Guangyong; Liu-Ambrose, Teresa; Shigematsu, Ryosuke; Fitzgerald, Clara; Hachinski, Vladimir; Shoemaker, Kevin; Petrella, Robert J

2016-01-01

Gait abnormalities and vascular disease risk factors are associated with cognitive impairment in aging. To determine the impact of group-based exercise and dual-task training on gait and vascular health, in active community-dwelling older adults without dementia. Participants [n=44, mean (SD) age: 73.5 (7.2) years, 68% female] were randomized to either intervention (exercise+dual-task; EDT) or control (exercise only; EO). Each week, for 26 weeks, both groups accumulated 50 or 75 min of aerobic exercise from group-based classes and 45 min of beginner-level square stepping exercise (SSE). Participants accumulating only 50 min of aerobic exercise were instructed to participate in an additional 25 min each week outside of class. The EDT group also answered cognitively challenging questions while performing SSE (i.e., dual-task training). The effect of the interventions on gait and vascular health was compared between groups using linear mixed effects models. At 26 weeks, the EDT group demonstrated increased dual-task (DT) gait velocity [difference between groups in mean change from baseline (95% CI): 0.29 m/s (0.16-0.43), pexercise combined with dual-task training can improve DT gait characteristics in active older adults without dementia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scheduling with Group Dynamics: a Multi-Robot Task Allocation Algorithm based on Vacancy Chains

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dahl, Torbjorn S; Mataric, Maja J; Sukhatme, Gaurav S

2002-01-01

.... We present a multi-robot task allocation algorithm that is sensitive to group dynamics. Our algorithm is based on vacancy chains, a resource distribution process common in human and animal societies...

An investigation into why patients do not attend for out-patient radiology appointments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, Rebecca; Reeves, Pauline J.

2006-01-01

Introduction: Patients who do not attend (DNA) for out-patient hospital appointments cause delays in the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of their own, and other patient's, illnesses, with potentially hazardous consequences. This also impacts upon waiting lists. Failure to attend is viewed as a specific type of non-compliance and social cognition theories have been applied to previous studies in an attempt to uncover the reasons why patients choose not to keep their appointments. Methods: A case-control study was conducted throughout the X-ray departments of a District General type of NHS Trust, using telephone interview questionnaires based on the Health Belief Model, in an attempt to identify any significant differences between attenders and non-attenders, so that likely non-attenders could be targeted. Results: Principal reasons for non-attendance were that the patient forgot or that they did not receive their appointment. The results differed from previous research, in that specific health beliefs were not the primary reasons for non-attendance. Departments that gave patients the opportunity to arrange their appointments for a mutually convenient time had exceptionally low DNA rates, as did those which had rigorous confirmation systems in place

When sad groups expect to meet again : Interactive affective sharing and future interaction expectation as determinants of work groups' analytical and creative task performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klep, Annefloor H. M.; Wisse, Barbara; van der Flier, Henk

2013-01-01

The present study examines the moderating role of future interaction expectation in the relationship between affective sharing and work groups' task performance. We argue that group affect, a group defining characteristic, becomes more salient to its members when it is interactively shared, and that

Council appoints CERN’s next Director General

CERN Multimedia

Maximilien Brice

2007-01-01

On 14 December 2007, CERN Council appointed Professor Rolf-Dieter Heuer to succeed Dr Robert Aymar as CERN Director General. Professor Heuer will serve a five-year term, taking office on 1 January 2009. From Left to right: Dr Robert Aymar, current CERN Director General, Professor Torsten Åkesson, President of CERN Council, and Professor Rolf-Dieter Heuer, CERN's next Director General.

77 FR 21109 - Senior Executive Service; Appointment of Members to the Performance Review Board

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-09

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Senior Executive Service; Appointment of Members to the Performance Review Board Title 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4) provides that Notice of the Appointment of an individual to serve as a member of the Performance Review Board of the Senior Executive Service shall be...

78 FR 24749 - Health Information Technology Policy Committee Appointment

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-26

... GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Health Information Technology Policy Committee Appointment AGENCY... Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) established the Health Information Technology Policy Committee to make recommendations on the implementation of a nationwide health information technology...

76 FR 26771 - NASA Advisory Council; Task Group of the Science Committee; Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-09

... of the Science Committee; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as... the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee. This Task Group reports to the Science Committee of...

76 FR 21073 - NASA Advisory Council; Task Group of the Science Committee; Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-14

... of the Science Committee; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as... the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee. This Task Group reports to the Science Committee of...

The effects of proportional representation and gender orientation of the task on emergent leadership behavior in mixed-gender work groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Karakowsky, L; Siegel, J P

1999-08-01

Much of the research that has examined the behavioral consequences of membership in mixed-gender work groups suggests that men are more participative and influential in task-related behavior. Drawing from elements of sociological, structural, and psychological perspectives, this study examined the effects of group gender composition and gender orientation of the group's task on patterns of emergent leadership behavior. Participants were assigned to male-dominated, female-dominated, or balanced-gender groups for the purpose of discussing and generating solutions for two business-related cases--each case emphasized either male-oriented or female-oriented expertise. The findings suggest that the proportional representation of men and women in a work group, along with the gender orientation of the group's task, can significantly influence the level of leadership behavior exhibited in group activity.

Lead Time to Appointment and No-Show Rates for New and Follow-up Patients in an Ambulatory Clinic.

Science.gov (United States)

Drewek, Rupali; Mirea, Lucia; Adelson, P David

High rates of no-shows in outpatient clinics are problematic for revenue and for quality of patient care. Longer lead time to appointment has variably been implicated as a risk factor for no-shows, but the evidence within pediatric clinics is inconclusive. The goal of this study was to estimate no-show rates and test for association between appointment lead time and no-show rates for new and follow-up patients. Analyses included 534 new and 1920 follow-up patients from pulmonology and gastroenterology clinics at a freestanding children's hospital. The overall rate of no-shows was lower for visits scheduled within 0 to 30 days compared with 30 days or more (23% compared with 47%, P < .0001). Patient type significantly modified the association of appointment lead time; the rate of no-shows was higher (30%) among new patients compared with (21%) follow-up patients with appointments scheduled within 30 days (P = .004). For appointments scheduled 30 or more days' lead time, no-show rates were statistically similar for new patients (46%) and follow-up patients (0.48%). Time to appointment is a risk factor associated with no-shows, and further study is needed to identify and implement effective approaches to reduce appointment lead time, especially for new patients in pediatric subspecialties.

The semantic category-based grouping in the Multiple Identity Tracking task.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Liuqing; Zhang, Xuemin; Li, Zhen; Liu, Jingyao

2018-01-01

In the Multiple Identity Tracking (MIT) task, categorical distinctions between targets and distractors have been found to facilitate tracking (Wei, Zhang, Lyu, & Li in Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 589, 2016). The purpose of this study was to further investigate the reasons for the facilitation effect, through six experiments. The results of Experiments 1-3 excluded the potential explanations of visual distinctiveness, attentional distribution strategy, and a working memory mechanism, respectively. When objects' visual information was preserved and categorical information was removed, the facilitation effect disappeared, suggesting that the visual distinctiveness between targets and distractors was not the main reason for the facilitation effect. Moreover, the facilitation effect was not the result of strategically shifting the attentional distribution, because the targets received more attention than the distractors in all conditions. Additionally, the facilitation effect did not come about because the identities of targets were encoded and stored in visual working memory to assist in the recovery from tracking errors; when working memory was disturbed by the object identities changing during tracking, the facilitation effect still existed. Experiments 4 and 5 showed that observers grouped targets together and segregated them from distractors on the basis of their categorical information. By doing this, observers could largely avoid distractor interference with tracking and improve tracking performance. Finally, Experiment 6 indicated that category-based grouping is not an automatic, but a goal-directed and effortful, strategy. In summary, the present findings show that a semantic category-based target-grouping mechanism exists in the MIT task, which is likely to be the major reason for the tracking facilitation effect.

Developmental changes in using verbal self-cueing in task-switching situations: the impact of task practice and task-sequencing demands

Science.gov (United States)

Kray, Jutta; Gaspard, Hanna; Karbach, Julia; Blaye, Agnès

2013-01-01

In this study we examined whether developmental changes in using verbal self-cueing for task-goal maintenance are dependent on the amount of task practice and task-sequencing demands. To measure task-goal maintenance we applied a switching paradigm in which children either performed only task A or B in single-task blocks or switched between them on every second trial in mixed-task blocks. Task-goal maintenance was determined by comparing the performance between both blocks (mixing costs). The influence of verbal self-cueing was measured by instructing children to either name the next task aloud or not to verbalize during task preparation. Task-sequencing demands were varied between groups whereas one group received spatial task cues to support keeping track of the task sequence, while the other group did not. We also varied by the amount of prior practice in task switching while one group of participants practiced task switching first, before performing the task naming in addition, and the other group did it vice versa. Results of our study investigating younger (8–10 years) and older children (11–13 years) revealed no age differences in beneficial effects of verbal self-cueing. In line with previous findings, children showed reduced mixing costs under task-naming instructions and under conditions of low task-sequence demands (with the presence of spatial task cues). Our results also indicated that these benefits were only obtained for those groups of children that first received practice in task switching alone with no additional verbalization instruction. These findings suggest that internal task-cueing strategies can be efficiently used in children but only if they received prior practice in the underlying task so that demands on keeping and coordinating various instructions are reduced. Moreover, children benefitted from spatial task cues for better task-goal maintenance only if no verbal task-cueing strategy was introduced first. PMID:24381566

Appointment Template Redesign in a Women's Health Clinic Using Clinical Constraints to Improve Service Quality and Efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Y; Verduzco, S

2015-01-01

Patient wait time is a critical element of access to care that has long been recognized as a major problem in modern outpatient health care delivery systems. It impacts patient and medical staff productivity, stress, quality and efficiency of medical care, as well as health-care cost and availability. This study was conducted in a Women's Health Clinic. The objective was to improve clinic service quality by redesigning patient appointment template using the clinical constraints. The proposed scheduling template consisted of two key elements: the redesign of appointment types and the determination of the length of time slots using defined constraints. The re-classification technique was used for the redesign of appointment visit types to capture service variation for scheduling purposes. Then, the appointment length was determined by incorporating clinic constraints or goals, such as patient wait time, physician idle time, overtime, finish time, lunch hours, when the last appointment was scheduled, and the desired number of appointment slots, to converge the optimal length of appointment slots for each visit type. The redesigned template was implemented and the results indicated a 73% reduction in average patient waiting from the reported 40 to 11 minutes. The patient no-show rate was reduced by 4% from 24% to 20%. The morning section on average finished about 11:50 am. The clinic day was finished around 4:45 pm. Provider average idle time was estimated to be about 5 minutes, which can be used for charting/documenting patients. This study provided an alternative method of redesigning appointment scheduling templates using only the clinical constraints rather than the traditional way that required an objective function. This paper also documented the employed methods step by step in a real clinic setting. The implementation results concluded a significant improvement on patient wait time and no-show rate.

Fit for the frontline? A focus group exploration of auditory tasks carried out by infantry and combat support personnel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoë L Bevis

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In order to preserve their operational effectiveness and ultimately their survival, military personnel must be able to detect important acoustic signals and maintain situational awareness. The possession of sufficient hearing ability to perform job-specific auditory tasks is defined as auditory fitness for duty (AFFD. Pure tone audiometry (PTA is used to assess AFFD in the UK military; however, it is unclear whether PTA is able to accurately predict performance on job-specific auditory tasks. The aim of the current study was to gather information about auditory tasks carried out by infantry personnel on the frontline and the environment these tasks are performed in. The study consisted of 16 focus group interviews with an average of five participants per group. Eighty British army personnel were recruited from five infantry regiments. The focus group guideline included seven open-ended questions designed to elicit information about the auditory tasks performed on operational duty. Content analysis of the data resulted in two main themes: (1 the auditory tasks personnel are expected to perform and (2 situations where personnel felt their hearing ability was reduced. Auditory tasks were divided into subthemes of sound detection, speech communication and sound localization. Reasons for reduced performance included background noise, hearing protection and attention difficulties. The current study provided an important and novel insight to the complex auditory environment experienced by British infantry personnel and identified 17 auditory tasks carried out by personnel on operational duties. These auditory tasks will be used to inform the development of a functional AFFD test for infantry personnel.

Fit for the frontline? A focus group exploration of auditory tasks carried out by infantry and combat support personnel.

Science.gov (United States)

Bevis, Zoe L; Semeraro, Hannah D; van Besouw, Rachel M; Rowan, Daniel; Lineton, Ben; Allsopp, Adrian J

2014-01-01

In order to preserve their operational effectiveness and ultimately their survival, military personnel must be able to detect important acoustic signals and maintain situational awareness. The possession of sufficient hearing ability to perform job-specific auditory tasks is defined as auditory fitness for duty (AFFD). Pure tone audiometry (PTA) is used to assess AFFD in the UK military; however, it is unclear whether PTA is able to accurately predict performance on job-specific auditory tasks. The aim of the current study was to gather information about auditory tasks carried out by infantry personnel on the frontline and the environment these tasks are performed in. The study consisted of 16 focus group interviews with an average of five participants per group. Eighty British army personnel were recruited from five infantry regiments. The focus group guideline included seven open-ended questions designed to elicit information about the auditory tasks performed on operational duty. Content analysis of the data resulted in two main themes: (1) the auditory tasks personnel are expected to perform and (2) situations where personnel felt their hearing ability was reduced. Auditory tasks were divided into subthemes of sound detection, speech communication and sound localization. Reasons for reduced performance included background noise, hearing protection and attention difficulties. The current study provided an important and novel insight to the complex auditory environment experienced by British infantry personnel and identified 17 auditory tasks carried out by personnel on operational duties. These auditory tasks will be used to inform the development of a functional AFFD test for infantry personnel.

22 CFR 11.30 - Senior Foreign Service officer career candidate and limited non-career appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Senior Foreign Service officer career candidate... PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS § 11.30 Senior Foreign Service officer career candidate and limited non-career appointments. (a) General considerations. (1) Career officers at the Senior...

AAPM/SNMMI Joint Task Force: report on the current state of nuclear medicine physics training

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, Jerry D.; Clements, Jessica B.; Coffey, Charles W.; Fahey, Frederic H.; Gress, Dustin A.; Kinahan, Paul E.; Nickoloff, Edward L.; Mawlawi, Osama R.; MacDougall, Robert D.; Pizzuitello, Robert J.

2015-01-01

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) recognized the need for a review of the current state of nuclear medicine physics training and the need to explore pathways for improving nuclear medicine physics training opportunities. For these reasons, the two organizations formed a joint AAPM/SNMMI Ad Hoc Task Force on Nuclear Medicine Physics Training. The mission of this task force was to assemble a representative group of stakeholders to: Estimate the demand for board‐certified nuclear medicine physicists in the next 5–10 years,Identify the critical issues related to supplying an adequate number of physicists who have received the appropriate level of training in nuclear medicine physics, andIdentify approaches that may be considered to facilitate the training of nuclear medicine physicists. As a result, a task force was appointed and chaired by an active member of both organizations that included representation from the AAPM, SNMMI, the American Board of Radiology (ABR), the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine (ABSNM), and the Commission for the Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP). The Task Force first met at the AAPM Annual Meeting in Charlotte in July 2012 and has met regularly face‐to‐face, online, and by conference calls. This manuscript reports the findings of the Task Force, as well as recommendations to achieve the stated mission. PACS number: 01.40.G‐ PMID:26699325

EFNS Task Force on Teaching of Neuroimaging in Neurology Curricula in Europe : present status and recommendations for the future

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pantano, P; Chollet, F; Paulson, O; von Kummer, R; Laihinen, A; Leenders, K; Yancheva, S

A Task Force on 'Teaching of Neuroimaging in Neurology Curricula in Europe' was appointed in September 1998 by the education committee of the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) in order to: (1) examine the present status of teaching of neuroimaging in the training of neurology in

EFNS Task Force on Teaching of Neuroimaging in Neurology Curricula in Europe : present status and recommendations for the future

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pantano, P; Chollet, F; Paulson, O; von Kummer, R; Laihinen, A; Leenders, K; Yancheva, S

2001-01-01

A Task Force on 'Teaching of Neuroimaging in Neurology Curricula in Europe' was appointed in September 1998 by the education committee of the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) in order to: (1) examine the present status of teaching of neuroimaging in the training of neurology in

Non-English speakers attend gastroenterology clinic appointments at higher rates than English speakers in a vulnerable patient population

Science.gov (United States)

Sewell, Justin L.; Kushel, Margot B.; Inadomi, John M.; Yee, Hal F.

2009-01-01

Goals We sought to identify factors associated with gastroenterology clinic attendance in an urban safety net healthcare system. Background Missed clinic appointments reduce the efficiency and availability of healthcare, but subspecialty clinic attendance among patients with established healthcare access has not been studied. Study We performed an observational study using secondary data from administrative sources to study patients referred to, and scheduled for an appointment in, the adult gastroenterology clinic serving the safety net healthcare system of San Francisco, California. Our dependent variable was whether subjects attended or missed a scheduled appointment. Analysis included multivariable logistic regression and classification tree analysis. 1,833 patients were referred and scheduled for an appointment between 05/2005 and 08/2006. Prisoners were excluded. All patients had a primary care provider. Results 683 patients (37.3%) missed their appointment; 1,150 (62.7%) attended. Language was highly associated with attendance in the logistic regression; non-English speakers were less likely than English speakers to miss an appointment (adjusted odds ratio 0.42 [0.28,0.63] for Spanish, 0.56 [0.38,0.82] for Asian language, p gastroenterology clinic appointment, not speaking English was most strongly associated with higher attendance rates. Patient related factors associated with not speaking English likely influence subspecialty clinic attendance rates, and these factors may differ from those affecting general healthcare access. PMID:19169147

The Development Needs of Newly Appointed Senior School Leaders in the Western Cape South Africa: A Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelius Jansen van Vuuren

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The essential role that senior school leaders play in school leadership teams to ensure effective strategic leadership in schools has been the subject of intense discussion for many years. Crucial to this debate is the establishment of professional learning and leadership approaches for newly appointed senior school leaders. Recommendations for policy and practice highlight the importance of appropriate, multifaceted, developmental support initiatives for newly appointed school leaders. In many countries, including South Africa, a teaching qualification and, in most cases, extensive teaching experience is the only requirement for being appointed as a senior school leader in a school. This tends to suggest that no further professional development is required for newly appointed school leaders, the problem addressed in this paper. This paper reports on the main findings of the perceived development needs of newly appointed senior school leaders in the Western Cape, South Africa, and suggests that school leaders occupy a unique and specialist role in education, which requires relevant and specific preparation to support effective leadership. The respondents of this study report a lack of contextualised training and support before and after their appointment in their new roles creating unique development needs. This paper, therefore, employs a mixed-method approach to gather data to understand the perceived needs of twenty newly appointed senior school leaders in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Cortisol responses to a group public speaking task for adolescents: variations by age, gender, and race.

Science.gov (United States)

Hostinar, Camelia E; McQuillan, Mollie T; Mirous, Heather J; Grant, Kathryn E; Adam, Emma K

2014-12-01

Laboratory social stress tests involving public speaking challenges are widely used for eliciting an acute stress response in older children, adolescents, and adults. Recently, a group protocol for a social stress test (the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups, TSST-G) was shown to be effective in adults and is dramatically less time-consuming and resource-intensive compared to the single-subject version of the task. The present study sought to test the feasibility and effectiveness of an adapted group public speaking task conducted with a racially diverse, urban sample of U.S. adolescents (N=191; 52.4% female) between the ages of 11 and 18 (M=14.4 years, SD=1.93). Analyses revealed that this Group Public Speaking Task for Adolescents (GPST-A) provoked a significant increase in cortisol production (on average, approximately 60% above baseline) and in self-reported negative affect, while at the same time avoiding excessive stress responses that would raise ethical concerns or provoke substantial participant attrition. Approximately 63.4% of participants exhibited an increase in cortisol levels in response to the task, with 59.2% of the total sample showing a 10% or greater increase from baseline. Results also suggested that groups of five adolescents might be ideal for achieving more uniform cortisol responses across various serial positions for speech delivery. Basal cortisol levels increased with age and participants belonging to U.S. national minorities tended to have either lower basal cortisol or diminished cortisol reactivity compared to non-Hispanic Whites. This protocol facilitates the recruitment of larger sample sizes compared to prior research and may show great utility in answering new questions about adolescent stress reactivity and development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Appointment keeping for medical review among patients with selected chronic diseases in an urban area of Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalyango, Joan Nakayaga; Hall, Maurice; Karamagi, Charles

2014-01-01

Proper management of chronic diseases is important for prevention of disease complications and yet some patients miss appointments for medical review thereby missing the opportunity for proper monitoring of their disease conditions. There is limited information on missed appointments among chronic disease patients in resource limited settings. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of missed appointments for medical review and associated factors among chronic disease patients in an urban area of Uganda. Patients or caregivers of children with chronic diseases were identified as they bought medicines from a community pharmacy. They were visited at home to access their medical documents and those whose chronic disease status was ascertained were enrolled. The data was collected using: questionnaires, review of medical documents, and in-depth interviews with chronic disease patients. The prevalence of missed appointments was 42% (95%CI = 35-49%). The factors associated with missed appointments were: monthly income ≤30US Dollars (OR = 2.56, CI = 1.25-5.26), affording less than half of prescribed drugs (OR = 3.92, CI = 1.64-9.40), not experiencing adverse events (OR = 2.66, CI = 1.26-5.61), not sure if treatment helps (OR = 2.84, CI = 1.047.77), not having a medicines administration schedule (OR = 6.77, CI = 2.11-21.68), and increasing number of drugs (OR = 0.72, CI = 0.53-0.98). Patients missed appointments mainly due to: financial and health system barriers, conflicting commitments with appointments, and perceptions of the disease condition. Patients should be supported with accessible and affordable health services.

Status Report on Activities of the Systems Assessment Task Force, OECD-NEA Expert Group on Accident Tolerant Fuels for LWRs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon Michelle [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-09-01

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development /Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) Nuclear Science Committee approved the formation of an Expert Group on Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) for LWRs (EGATFL) in 2014. Chaired by Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, INL Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Science and Technology, the mandate for the EGATFL defines work under three task forces: (1) Systems Assessment, (2) Cladding and Core Materials, and (3) Fuel Concepts. Scope for the Systems Assessment task force (TF1) includes definition of evaluation metrics for ATF, technology readiness level definition, definition of illustrative scenarios for ATF evaluation, and identification of fuel performance and system codes applicable to ATF evaluation. The Cladding and Core Materials (TF2) and Fuel Concepts (TF3) task forces will identify gaps and needs for modeling and experimental demonstration; define key properties of interest; identify the data necessary to perform concept evaluation under normal conditions and illustrative scenarios; identify available infrastructure (internationally) to support experimental needs; and make recommendations on priorities. Where possible, considering proprietary and other export restrictions (e.g., International Traffic in Arms Regulations), the Expert Group will facilitate the sharing of data and lessons learned across the international group membership. The Systems Assessment task force is chaired by Shannon Bragg-Sitton (Idaho National Laboratory [INL], U.S.), the Cladding Task Force is chaired by Marie Moatti (Electricite de France [EdF], France), and the Fuels Task Force is chaired by a Masaki Kurata (Japan Atomic Energy Agency [JAEA], Japan). The original Expert Group mandate was established for June 2014 to June 2016. In April 2016 the Expert Group voted to extend the mandate one additional year to June 2017 in order to complete the task force deliverables; this request was subsequently approved by the Nuclear Science Committee. This

Status Report on Activities of the Systems Assessment Task Force, OECD-NEA Expert Group on Accident Tolerant Fuels for LWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon Michelle

2016-01-01

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development /Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) Nuclear Science Committee approved the formation of an Expert Group on Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) for LWRs (EGATFL) in 2014. Chaired by Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, INL Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Science and Technology, the mandate for the EGATFL defines work under three task forces: (1) Systems Assessment, (2) Cladding and Core Materials, and (3) Fuel Concepts. Scope for the Systems Assessment task force (TF1) includes definition of evaluation metrics for ATF, technology readiness level definition, definition of illustrative scenarios for ATF evaluation, and identification of fuel performance and system codes applicable to ATF evaluation. The Cladding and Core Materials (TF2) and Fuel Concepts (TF3) task forces will identify gaps and needs for modeling and experimental demonstration; define key properties of interest; identify the data necessary to perform concept evaluation under normal conditions and illustrative scenarios; identify available infrastructure (internationally) to support experimental needs; and make recommendations on priorities. Where possible, considering proprietary and other export restrictions (e.g., International Traffic in Arms Regulations), the Expert Group will facilitate the sharing of data and lessons learned across the international group membership. The Systems Assessment task force is chaired by Shannon Bragg-Sitton (Idaho National Laboratory [INL], U.S.), the Cladding Task Force is chaired by Marie Moatti (Electricite de France [EdF], France), and the Fuels Task Force is chaired by a Masaki Kurata (Japan Atomic Energy Agency [JAEA], Japan). The original Expert Group mandate was established for June 2014 to June 2016. In April 2016 the Expert Group voted to extend the mandate one additional year to June 2017 in order to complete the task force deliverables; this request was subsequently approved by the Nuclear Science Committee. This

The unilateral appointment of co-arbitrators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tufte-Kristensen, Johan

2016-01-01

on some important aspects of the procedure but leaves certain aspects and arguments unconsidered. The article approaches the appointment procedure from a neutral position. It identifies and considers the relevant rules, practices, and arguments in order to discuss the procedure’s implications...... of experienced arbitration practitioners have advocated against the procedure for some of the reasons above, whereas other experienced arbitration practitioners have defended the procedure because of its practical advantages and underlying rationales. Each of the previous contributions to the debate sheds light...

Methods of appointment and qualifications of club doctors and physiotherapists in English professional football: some problems and issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Waddington, I; Roderick, M; Naik, R

2001-02-01

To examine the methods of appointment, experience, and qualifications of club doctors and physiotherapists in professional football. Semistructured tape recorded interviews with 12 club doctors, 10 club physiotherapists, and 27 current and former players. A questionnaire was also sent to 90 club doctors; 58 were returned. In almost all clubs, methods of appointment of doctors are informal and reflect poor employment practice: posts are rarely advertised and many doctors are appointed on the basis of personal contacts and without interview. Few club doctors had prior experience or qualifications in sports medicine and very few have a written job description. The club doctor is often not consulted about the appointment of the physiotherapist; physiotherapists are usually appointed informally, often without interview, and often by the manager without involving anyone who is qualified in medicine or physiotherapy. Half of all clubs do not have a qualified (chartered) physiotherapist; such unqualified physiotherapists are in a weak position to resist threats to their clinical autonomy, particularly those arising from managers' attempts to influence clinical decisions. Almost all aspects of the appointment of club doctors and physiotherapists need careful re-examination.

Use of Six Sigma Methodology to Reduce Appointment Lead-Time in Obstetrics Outpatient Department.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz Barrios, Miguel A; Felizzola Jiménez, Heriberto

2016-10-01

This paper focuses on the issue of longer appointment lead-time in the obstetrics outpatient department of a maternal-child hospital in Colombia. Because of extended appointment lead-time, women with high-risk pregnancy could develop severe complications in their health status and put their babies at risk. This problem was detected through a project selection process explained in this article and to solve it, Six Sigma methodology has been used. First, the process was defined through a SIPOC diagram to identify its input and output variables. Second, six sigma performance indicators were calculated to establish the process baseline. Then, a fishbone diagram was used to determine the possible causes of the problem. These causes were validated with the aid of correlation analysis and other statistical tools. Later, improvement strategies were designed to reduce appointment lead-time in this department. Project results evidenced that average appointment lead-time reduced from 6,89 days to 4,08 days and the deviation standard dropped from 1,57 days to 1,24 days. In this way, the hospital will serve pregnant women faster, which represents a risk reduction of perinatal and maternal mortality.

Philip II’s Quest. The Appointment of Governors-General during the Dutch Revolt (1559-1598

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Soen

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Philip II’s Quest: The Appointment of Governors-General during the Dutch Revolt (1559-1598Recent historiographical studies have presented the Habsburg appointment of governors-general during the Dutch Revolt as the outcome of factional infighting at the Spanish Court. While this so-called ‘faction model’ has yielded new insights, it also raises a number of problems. Firstly, in the new model, the role of the dynasty is unduly relegated to the background – even though Philip II’s appointment decisions were mainly driven by dynastic considerations. Secondly, the power struggle at the Spanish Court was not only a conflict between court factions, but also between noble houses vying for prestige and trying to secure positions for their offspring. Thirdly, there is an excessive focus on the Spanish Court, while the feuds between noble houses in the Low Countries also played a role in the interim appointments made during the Revolt. Finally, Philip II always looked for the most suitable candidate in terms of administration and warfare during the Dutch Revolt, in accordance with the constraints of the composite Spanish monarchy. Only the combination of these four (frequently contradictory motives reveals how Philip II’s appointment of governors can be seen as a quest for the right man or woman in the right place.

Interagency task force on the health effects of ionizing radiation: report of the work group on public information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-06-01

The health effects of ionizing radiation recently have been the focus of increased public concern. In response to this concern, in a May 9, 1978, memorandum the White House requested the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to coordinate an interagency program that would, among other things, ensure public awareness and knowledge of the health effects of ionizing radiation. As a result, the Interagency Task Force on Ionizing Radiation was formed. The Information Work Group of the Task Force was asked to outline a public information program to meet the needs of the general public, the health and scientific community, workers, and other persons exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation in the past and at present or who may be exposed in the future. The Work Group is composed of 16 members, each representing an agency participating on the Interagency Task Force on Ionizing Radiation. The Work Group members used the draft Reports of the Science Work Group, the Radiation Exposure Reduction Work Group, the Care and Benefits Work Group, and the Privacy Work Group as a basis for developing the Information Report. In addition, the Information Work Group conducted a preliminary review of existing federal information programs. Meetings were held with representatives of environmental and trade groups, unions, and professional societies to help define the dimensions and priorities of a public information program

Location based mobile app for doctor's appointment inSaudi Arabia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences ... Reducing waiting times and surgeon idle time improves the quality of service and efficiency ... to develop an appointment management application for mobile devices using the Android platform.

Endodontic inter-appointment flare-ups: An example of chaos?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Poorya Jalali

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Pain and/or swelling after instrumentation of a root canal constitute a significant complication during endodontic treatment. Despite a large number of articles discussing the causative factors behind endodontic flare-ups, the exact mechanism is still not understood. The Hypothesis: The seemingly irrational behavior of endodontic inter-appointment flare-ups may be due to sensitive dependence on initial conditions. A model based on Lorenz′ chaos theory is presented as a possible explanation for the sudden emergence and unpredictability of flare-ups. Evaluation of the Hypothesis: All studies agree on some common traits regarding inter-appointment flare-ups: Careful instrumentation can still cause flare-up; the host inflammatory response behaves as a complex nonlinear network; and also the poly-etiologic nature of this phenomenon all illustrate the sensitive dependence on initial conditions of the system. Integrating more variables (e.g., different species of bacteria into this already complex system will make it increasingly chaotic reflecting its unpredictable behavior.

25 CFR 291.10 - What is the role of the mediator appointed by the Secretary?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What is the role of the mediator appointed by the... ENTERPRISES CLASS III GAMING PROCEDURES § 291.10 What is the role of the mediator appointed by the Secretary? (a) The mediator must ask the Indian tribe and the State to submit their last best proposal for Class...

78 FR 14071 - Notice of Appointment of Members to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-04

...,'' Charles Boyer, Dean, Jordan College of Agriculture and Technology, California State University-Fresno... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Office of the Secretary Notice of Appointment of Members to the National... Act, 5 U.S.C. App 2, the United States Department of Agriculture announces the appointments made by...

Why Patients Miss Follow-Up Appointments: A Prospective Control ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Reasons include: transport (19 responses), ill-health (6) and financial constraints (5). State transport was unavailable to almost twothirds of the responders who cited transport as a problem. Conclusions: The 17% missed appointment rate is largely due to transport constraints. The commonest time for patients to miss ...

Council Appointed Mayors in Spain: Effects on Local Democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Jesús García García

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the influence of having council appointed mayors on local governments. Five elements of local government systems are considered: the electoral system and its influence on the political composition of the local government; the local government structure and the distribution of functions and powers between mayor and council; the role of political parties; scrutiny of the executive and accountability; and citizen participation. This analysis highlights the effect that a council appointed mayor system has in terms of accountability and legitimacy, transparency and efficiency. KEYWORDS Local government systems, directly elected mayors, local governance, council appointed mayors, Local Government Structure; Political Parties; Citizen Participation; Accountability. El presente artículo toma en consideración los efectos que el sistema de elección del Alcalde tiene sobre la democracia local, basándose en la consideración cinco aspectos: el sistema electoral y su influencia en la composición política de las administraciones locales; la estructura de la administración local y la distribución de funciones entre los alcaldes y el pleno municipal; el papel de los partidos políticos; los mecanismos de control del ejecutivo local y la participación ciudadana. El estudio subraya especialmente la incidencia que el sistema de elección del alcalde por los concejales tiene en relación con los principios de responsabilidad, legitimidad, transparencia y eficiencia de la gestión local. PALABRAS CLAVE Gobierno local, elección directa de los alcaldes, elección indirecta de los alcaldes, estructura del gobierno local, partidos políticos, participación ciudadana, responsabilidad política.

Improving access to health care in a rural regional hospital in South Africa: Why do patients miss their appointments?

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Lucy; Jenkins, Louis S; Emmink, Benjamin

2017-03-30

Access to health services is one of the Batho Pele ('people first') values and principles of the South African government since 1997. This necessitated some changes around public service systems, procedures, attitudes and behaviour. The challenges of providing health care to rural geographically spread populations include variations in socio-economic status, transport opportunities, access to appointment information and patient perceptions of costs and benefits of seeking health care. George hospital, situated in a rural area, serves 5000 outpatient visits monthly, with non-attendance rates of up to 40%. The aim of this research was to gain a greater understanding of the reasons behind non-attendance of outpatient department clinics to allow locally driven, targeted interventions. This was a descriptive study. We attempted to phone all patients who missed appointments over a 1-month period (n = 574). Only 20% were contactable with one person declining consent. Twenty-nine percent had no telephone number on hospital systems, 7% had incorrect numbers, 2% had died and 42% did not respond to three attempts. The main reasons for non-attendance included unaware of appointment date (16%), out of area (11%), confusion over date (11%), sick or admitted to hospital (10%), family member sick or died (7%), appointment should have been cancelled by clerical staff (6%) and transport (6%). Only 9% chose to miss their appointment. The other 24% had various reasons. Improved patient awareness of appointments, adjustments in referral systems and enabling appointment cancellation if indicated would directly improve over two-thirds of reasons for non-attendance. Understanding the underlying causes will help appointment planning, reduce wasted costs and have a significant impact on patient care.

Text messages to increase attendance to follow-up cervical cancer screening appointments among HPV-positive Tanzanian women (Connected2Care)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Linde, Ditte S; Andersen, Marianne S; Mwaiselage, Julius D

2017-01-01

Background: Cervical cancer is a major health concern in Tanzania, caused by poor attendance for cervical cancer screening and follow-up of women at risk. Mobile telephone health interventions are proven effective tools to improve health behaviour in African countries. So far, no knowledge exists...... on how such interventions may perform in relation to cervical cancer screening in low-income settings. This study aims to assess the degree to which a Short Message Service (SMS) intervention can increase attendance at appointments among women who have tested positive for High-Risk (HR) Human Papiloma...... (standard care). In a period of 10 months, the intervention group will receive 15 one-directional health educative text messages and SMS-reminders for their appointment. The total sample size will be 700 with 350 women in each study arm. Primary outcome is attendance rate for follow-up. Secondary objectives...

Experiences and reflections of patients with motor neuron disease on breaking the news in a two-tiered appointment: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Seeber, Antje A; Pols, A Jeannette; Hijdra, Albert; Grupstra, Hepke F; Willems, Dick L; de Visser, Marianne

2016-02-02

Breaking bad news should be fine-tuned to the individual patient, contain intelligible information, include emotional support and offer a tailor-made treatment plan. To achieve this goal in motor neuron disease (MND), neurologists of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) centre Amsterdam deliver the message on 2 separate visits within 14 days. To evaluate how patients with MND react to and view disclosure of the diagnosis, in this 2-tiered approach. Non-participating observations and in-depth interviews with patients were conducted in 1 tertiary ALS referral centre. Qualitative analysis consisted of inductive analysis of observation reports and verbatim typed out interviews. 10 2-tiered appointments were observed and 21 Dutch patients with MND interviewed. They experienced the straightforward message to be suffering from a fatal disease as devastating, yet unavoidable. The prospect of a short-term second appointment offered structure for the period immediately following the diagnosis. The time between appointments provided the opportunity for a first reorientation on their changed perspective on their life. The second appointment allowed for detailed discussions about various aspects of MND and a tailor-made treatment plan. The 2-tiered approach fits well with the way in which Dutch patients with MND process the disclosure of their diagnosis, gather information and handle the changed perspective on their life. It may serve as a model for other life-limiting diseases. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Significant Factors Related to Failed Pediatric Dental General Anesthesia Appointments at a Hospital-based Residency Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Emhardt, John R; Yepes, Juan F; Vinson, LaQuia A; Jones, James E; Emhardt, John D; Kozlowski, Diana C; Eckert, George J; Maupome, Gerardo

2017-05-15

The purposes of this study were to: (1) evaluate the relationship between appointment failure and the factors of age, gender, race, insurance type, day of week, scheduled time of surgery, distance traveled, and weather; (2) investigate reasons for failure; and (3) explore the relationships between the factors and reasons for failure. Electronic medical records were accessed to obtain data for patients scheduled for dental care under general anesthesia from May 2012 to May 2015. Factors were analyzed for relation to appointment failure. Data from 3,513 appointments for 2,874 children were analyzed. Bivariate associations showed statistically significant (Pgeneral anesthesia face specific barriers to care.

5 CFR 315.603 - Appointment based on former incumbency of a position brought into the competitive service.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS CAREER AND CAREER-CONDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT Career or Career-Conditional Appointment Under Special Authorities § 315.603 Appointment based on former... type of case from this requirement. (b) Review of disapproved recommendations. Agencies shall establish...

Joint Optimization of Preventive Maintenance and Spare Parts Inventory with Appointment Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Cai

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Under the background of the wide application of condition-based maintenance (CBM in maintenance practice, the joint optimization of maintenance and spare parts inventory is becoming a hot research to take full advantage of CBM and reduce the operational cost. In order to avoid both the high inventory level and the shortage of spare parts, an appointment policy of spare parts is first proposed based on the prediction of remaining useful lifetime, and then a corresponding joint optimization model of preventive maintenance and spare parts inventory is established. Due to the complexity of the model, the combination method of genetic algorithm and Monte Carlo is presented to get the optimal maximum inventory level, safety inventory level, potential failure threshold, and appointment threshold to minimize the cost rate. Finally, the proposed model is studied through a case study and compared with both the separate optimization and the joint optimization without appointment policy, and the results show that the proposed model is more effective. In addition, the sensitivity analysis shows that the proposed model is consistent with the actual situation of maintenance practices and inventory management.

[Analysis of the patients who missed their appointments at the neurology clinic of the Marina Alta].

Science.gov (United States)

Morera-Guitart, J; Mas-Server, M A; Más-Sesé, G

To analyze the frequency, reasons and characteristics of patients who missed their appointments (NP) at the Neurology Clinic (CEN). To compare the characteristics of the NP with the patients who did not miss their appointment. Suggest measures to reduce avoidable causes of NP. During the period 1/10/99 to 30/4/2000 the cases of NP were prospectively recorded and compared with a sample of patients who attended the CEN during the same period. We analyze the data on age, sex, distance of home from CEN, diagnosis, type of consultation and date of last consultation. The NP were contacted by phone and asked why they had not gone for their appointments. The reasons given were then classified as avoidable or unavoidable. Of the 1,842 consultations scheduled, 19% were NP. When the NP and the patients who did attend were compared we found statistically significant differences regarding the distance home/CEN. According to the diagnosis, the NP had more 'symptoms/signs' and other MIA, whilst those who attended the clinic had more 'neuropathies' and 'awaiting diagnosis'. The commonest avoidable reasons (55.8%) for NP were forgetting, administrative error and communication failure, and for unavoidable reasons (44.2%) physical disability, other priorities and improvement. There is a large proportion of NP in the CEN of the Marina Alta. The distance from home to CEN (over 25 km) was the main factor affecting the rate of NP. Since 56% of the NP were due to avoidable causes, strategies could be designed to reduce this percentage. In the NP group, the main causes were forgetting, administrative errors and communication failure.

Predictors of Missed Research Appointments in a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stéphanie J.E. Becker

2014-09-01

 Younger patients with no college education, who believe their health can be controlled, are more likely to miss a research appointment when enrolled in a randomized placebo injection-controlled trial. 

Indiana University High Energy Physics Group, Task C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinz, R.M.; Mufson, S.L.; Musser, J.

1991-01-01

The Indiana University High Energy Physics Group, Task C has been actively involved in the MACRO experiment at Gran Sasso and the SSC experiment L during the current contract year. MACRO is a large US-Italian Monopole, Astrophysics, and Cosmic Ray Observatory being built under the Gran Sasso Mountain outside of Rome. Indiana University is in charge of organizing the United States software effort. We have built a state-of-the-art two-meter spectrophotometer for the MACRO liquid scintillator. We are in charge of ERP, the Event Reconstruction Processor online trigger processor for muons and stellar collapse. We are designing an air Cerenkov array to be placed on top of the Gran Sasso. Our other activity involves participation in the SSC experiment L. As long-standing members of L we have done proposal writing and have worked on important L planning and organization matters. We are now doing development work on the L Central Tracker straw drift tubes, including gas optimization, readout, and Monte Carlos. 12 refs., 20 figs., 1 tab

Indiana University High Energy Physics Group, Task C

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinz, R.M.; Mufson, S.L.; Musser, J.

1991-01-01

The Indiana University High Energy Physics Group, Task C has been actively involved in the MACRO experiment at Gran Sasso and the SSC experiment L during the current contract year. MACRO is a large US-Italian Monopole, Astrophysics, and Cosmic Ray Observatory being built under the Gran Sasso Mountain outside of Rome. Indiana University is in charge of organizing the United States software effort. We have built a state-of-the-art two-meter spectrophotometer for the MACRO liquid scintillator. We are in charge of ERP, the Event Reconstruction Processor online trigger processor for muons and stellar collapse. We are designing an air Cerenkov array to be placed on top of the Gran Sasso. Our other activity involves participation in the SSC experiment L. As long-standing members of L we have done proposal writing and have worked on important L planning and organization matters. We are now doing development work on the L Central Tracker straw drift tubes, including gas optimization, readout, and Monte Carlos. 12 refs., 20 figs., 1 tab.

Stock Market Reaction to CEO Appointment – Preliminary Results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna Byrka-Kita

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine shareholders’ reaction to the decision of the supervisory board to appoint a CEO in companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Methodology: An event study and the mean-adjusted model were applied. The abnormal returns were measured as the CAAR in the entire (-60, + 60 window and selected sub-windows. Findings: The obtained values of abnormal returns indicate the shareholder’s negative reaction. Throughout the observation window, they oscillate slightly below zero, and in the window (0, +20 they are negative at -1.566%. Irrespective of the observation window, negative abnormal returns were obtained for over half of the observation (52–57%. Therefore, preliminary results indicate the predominance of the information effect over the real one. The decrease in market value as a result of the event may result from an increase in investors’ uncertainty as to the effects of changes in strategy and skills of the new CEO. Originality: The research is a unique one. To date, no one has carried out research into shareholders’ reaction to a CEO appointment in either the Polish or Central and Eastern European capital markets. They primarily bring the value of cognition of shareholders’ behaviour in the analysed event, which is reflected in share prices. They extend the literature on the signalization instruments, i.e. the activities that boards can undertake due to the new information transmitted to the capital market participants and stakeholders. The market reaction to a CEO appointment will without a doubt interest investors; the institutions responsible for supervision (which in the case of Poland is the Financial Oversight Commission and the legislator in charge of regulations that prevent insider trading while promoting corporate disclosure transparency.

Predictors of full-time faculty appointment among MD–PhD program graduates: a national cohort study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorothy A. Andriole

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The authors sought to identify variables associated with MD–PhD program graduates’ academic medicine careers. Methods: We analyzed data for a national cohort of MD–PhD program graduates from 2000 to 2005, using multivariable logistic regression to identify independent predictors of full-time academic medicine faculty appointment through 2013. Results: Of 1,860 MD–PhD program graduates in 2000–2005, we included 1,846 (99.2% who had completed residency training before 2014. Of these 1,846 graduates, 968 (52.4% held full-time faculty appointments. Graduates who attended schools with Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP funding (vs. no MSTP funding; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14–1.74 and participated in ≥1 year of research during residency (vs. no documented research year; aOR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.50–2.28 were more likely to have held full-time faculty appointments. Asian/Pacific Islander (aOR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.60–0.93 and under-represented minority (URM; aOR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.48–0.98 graduates (each vs. white graduates, graduates who reported total debt of ≥$100,000 (vs. no debt at graduation (aOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.39–0.88, and graduates in surgical practice (aOR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.48–0.84 and other practice (aOR, 0.66, 95% CI, 0.54–0.81 specialties (each vs. ‘medicine, pediatrics, pathology, or neurology’ were less likely to have held full-time faculty appointments. Gender was not independently associated with likelihood of full-time faculty appointment. Conclusions: Over half of all MD–PhD program graduates in our study had full-time faculty appointments. Our findings regarding variables independently associated with full-time faculty appointments can inform the design of strategies to promote academic medicine career choice among MD–PhD program graduates. Further research is warranted to identify other factors amenable to intervention, in addition to those included in

Steam generator group project: Task 13 final report: Nondestructive examination validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bradley, E.R.; Doctor, P.G.; Ferris, R.H.; Buchanan, J.A.

1988-08-01

The Steam Generator Group Project (SGGP) was a multi-task effort using the retired-from-service Surry 2A pressurized water reactor steam generator as a test bed to investigate the reliability and effectiveness of in-service nondestructive eddy current (EC) inspection equipment and procedures. The information developed provided the technical basis for recommendations for improved in- service inspection and tube plugging criteria of steam generators. This report describes the results and analysis from Task 13--NDE Validation. The primary objective of Task 13 was to validate the EC inspection to detect and size tube defects. Additional objectives were to assess the nature and severity of tube degradation from all regions of the generator and to measure the remaining integrity of degraded specimens by burst testing. More than 550 specimens were removed from the generator and included in the validation studies. The bases for selecting the specimens and the methods and procedures used for specimen removal from the generator are reported. Results from metallurgical examinations of these specimens are presented and discussed. These examinations include visual inspection of all specimens to locate and identify tube degradation, metallographic examination of selected specimens to establish defect severity and burst testing of selected specimens to establish the remaining integrity of service-degraded tubes. Statistical analysis of the combined metallurgical and EC data to determine the probability of detection (POD) and sizing accuracy are reported along with a discussion of the factors which influenced the EC results. Finally, listings of the metallurgical and corresponding EC data bases are given. 12 refs., 141 figs., 24 tabs

22 CFR 11.20 - Foreign Service specialist career candidate appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., background investigation, and final review process required of career candidates, but normally they will not... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Foreign Service specialist career candidate... SERVICE OFFICERS § 11.20 Foreign Service specialist career candidate appointments. (a) General...

76 FR 10945 - San Luis Trust Bank, FSB, San Luis Obispo, CA; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-28

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision San Luis Trust Bank, FSB, San Luis Obispo, CA; Notice of Appointment of Receiver Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the authority... appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for San Luis Trust Bank, FSB, San Luis...

Status Report on Activities of the Systems Assessment Task Force, OECD-NEA Expert Group on Accident Tolerant Fuels for LWRs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon Michelle [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-09-01

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development /Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) Nuclear Science Committee approved the formation of an Expert Group on Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) for LWRs (EGATFL) in 2014. Chaired by Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, INL Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Science and Technology, the mandate for the EGATFL defines work under three task forces: (1) Systems Assessment, (2) Cladding and Core Materials, and (3) Fuel Concepts. Scope for the Systems Assessment task force includes definition of evaluation metrics for ATF, technology readiness level definition, definition of illustrative scenarios for ATF evaluation, parametric studies, and selection of system codes. The Cladding and Core Materials and Fuel Concepts task forces will identify gaps and needs for modeling and experimental demonstration; define key properties of interest; identify the data necessary to perform concept evaluation under normal conditions and illustrative scenarios; identify available infrastructure (internationally) to support experimental needs; and make recommendations on priorities. Where possible, considering proprietary and other export restrictions (e.g., International Traffic in Arms Regulations), the Expert Group will facilitate the sharing of data and lessons learned across the international group membership. The Systems Assessment Task Force is chaired by Shannon Bragg-Sitton (INL), while the Cladding Task Force will be chaired by a representative from France (Marie Moatti, Electricite de France [EdF]) and the Fuels Task Force will be chaired by a representative from Japan (Masaki Kurata, Japan Atomic Energy Agency [JAEA]). This report provides an overview of the Systems Assessment Task Force charter and status of work accomplishment.

Harmonization of nuclear codes and standards, pacific nuclear council working and task group report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dua, S.S.

2006-01-01

Full text: The codes and standards, both at the national and international level, have had a major impact on the industry worldwide and served it well in maintaining the performance and safety of the nuclear reactors and facilities. The codes and standards, in general, are consensus documents and do seek public input at various levels before they are finalized and rolled out for use by the nuclear vendors, consultants, utilities and regulatory bodies. However, the extensive development of prescriptive national standards if unchecked against the global environment and trade agreements (NAFTA, WTO, etc.) can also become barriers and cause difficulties to compete in the world market. During the last decade, the national and international writing standards writing bodies have recognized these issues and are moving more towards the rationalization and harmonization of their standards with the more widely accepted generic standards. The Pacific Nuclear Council (PNC) recognized the need for harmonization of the nuclear codes and standards for its member countries and formed a Task Group to achieve its objectives. The Task Group has a number of members from the PNC member countries. In 2005 PNC further raised the importance of this activity and formed a Working Group to cover a broader scope. The Working Group (WG) mandate is to identify and analyze the different codes and standards introduced to the Pacific Basin region, in order to achieve mutual understanding, harmonization and application in each country. This o requires the WG to develop and encourage the use of reasonably consistent criteria for the design and development, engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, testing, operations, maintenance, waste management, decommissioning and the management of the commercial nuclear power plants in the Pacific Basin so as to: Promote consistent safety, quality, environmental and management standards for nuclear energy and other peaceful applications of nuclear

76 FR 73521 - Statutory Bar to Appointment of Persons Who Fail To Register Under Selective Service Law

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-29

... 3206-AM06 Statutory Bar to Appointment of Persons Who Fail To Register Under Selective Service Law... statutory bar on employment in an Executive agency of an individual who was required to register with the... as follows: Subpart G--Statutory Bar to Appointment of Persons Who Fail To Register Under the...

Hardships of end-of-life care with court-appointed guardians.

Science.gov (United States)

Hastings, Kylie B

2014-02-01

In the United States, the court-appointed guardians do not have the ability to make decisions regarding end-of-life (EOL) care for their clients. Additionally, the process of initiating EOL care measures can be slow and cumbersome, despite an existing process of getting approval for such care. This process has the potential to prolong suffering and delay imperative decisions. This article reviews the hardships that patients, court-appointed guardians, and health care staff endure while moving through the oppressive process of obtaining EOL care orders through the court. This article also proposes ways of tuning up the laws, regulations, and communications to make it easier and faster to obtain orders regarding EOL care to preserve the dignity of our patients and loved ones. "A guardianship is a legal relationship created when a person or institution named in a will or assigned by the court to take care of minor children or incompetent adults."

Optimization and decision making in radiological protection: a report of the work of an ICRP task group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webb, G.A.M.

1989-01-01

In 1984 the International Commission on Radiological Protection established a task group to a report on optimization of protection. This paper outlines the current state of work of the task group, with particular emphasis on the development of various techniques to assist with optimization analyses. It is shown that these quantitative techniques fit within the concept of optimization as a structured approach to problems, and that appropriate technique depends on the level of complexity of the problem. This approach is illustrated by applying a range of different techniques to the same example problem. Finally some comments are made on the application of the procedure, noting the importance of identifying responsibilities from those of individuals to those of competent authorities

Performance Assessment and the Components of the Oral Construct across Different Tasks and Rater Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Chalhoub-Deville, Micheline

This study investigated whether different groups of native speakers assess second language learners' language skills differently for three elicitation techniques. Subjects were six learners of college-level Arabic as a second language, tape-recorded performing three tasks: participating in a modified oral proficiency interview, narrating a picture…

Approaches taken by South African advertisers to select and appoint ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Pitch and industry guidelines play an important role in awarding advertising agency contracts, but agencies must take into account that not all advertisers will adhere to these guidelines. The exploratory research study on which this article reports provides insight into the appointment process and selection criteria applied ...

41 CFR 102-3.130 - What policies apply to the appointment, and compensation or reimbursement of advisory committee...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... committee staff person who is not a current Federal employee serving under an assignment must be appointed... the appointment, and compensation or reimbursement of advisory committee members, staff, and experts... compensation or reimbursement of advisory committee members, staff, and experts and consultants? In developing...

31 CFR 370.5 - How can I appoint a financial institution to receive payments on my behalf?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Entries § 370.5 How can I appoint a financial institution to receive payments on my behalf? You must name a financial institution to receive payments through credit entries using the ACH method. You also... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How can I appoint a financial...

Steam Generator Group Project. Task 6. Channel head decontamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, R.P.; Clark, R.L.; Reece, W.D.

1984-08-01

The Steam Generator Group Project utilizes a retired-from-service pressurized-water-reactor steam generator as a test bed and source of specimens for research. An important preparatory step to primary side research activities was reduction of the radiation field in the steam generator channel head. This task report describes the channel head decontamination activities. Though not a programmatic research objective it was judged beneficial to explore the use of dilute reagent chemical decontamination techniques. These techniques presented potential for reduced personnel exposure and reduced secondary radwaste generation, over currently used abrasive blasting techniques. Two techniques with extensive laboratory research and vendors prepared to offer commercial application were tested, one on either side of the channel head. As indicated in the report, both techniques accomplished similar decontamination objectives. Neither technique damaged the generator channel head or tubing materials, as applied. This report provides details of the decontamination operations. Application system and operating conditions are described

26 CFR 25.2523(e)-1 - Marital deduction; life estate with power of appointment in donee spouse.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... satisfied and S is treated as having a general power to appoint 100/250 of the entire interest in the 250... 26 Internal Revenue 14 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Marital deduction; life estate with power of... Deductions § 25.2523(e)-1 Marital deduction; life estate with power of appointment in donee spouse. (a) In...

Effects of Task Complexity, Task Conditions, and Task Difficulty on the Grammatical Accuracy of EFL Learners in Written Discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeideh Ahangari

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Different methods of language teaching have tried to help EFL learners to develop good language skills based on their various perspectives. Research findings have underscored the effect of using task types in promoting language skills in terms of accuracy in written discourse. Therefore, this study set out to investigate whether there is an evidence of correct use of simple past tense (Accuracy based on Task Complexity (Task type :Here-and now & There-and-then,Task Conditions (Gender: Male & Female, and Task Difficulty (Proficiency: Lower-intermediate & Intermediate. Sixty Iranian English learners in a language institute participated in the study and were assigned to four groups of lower-intermediate male, lower-intermediate female, intermediate male and intermediate female. Initial homogeneity of the groups was verified using two general proficiency tests; KET for lower-intermediate and PET for intermediate. All groups in here-and-now task type were asked to write a story using simple past based on a picture strip while for there-and-then task type the participants were supposed to write about their last birthday. The results from paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test and two-way ANOVA analysis of the written data revealed significant differences in performing task types, at different proficiency levels and interaction between them. The findings have significant pedagogical implications for EFL learners to understand the relationship among Task Complexity,Task Conditions, Task Difficulty and L2 written production leading to various degrees of Accuracy.

Report of Task Group on Ex-Vessel Thermal-Hydraulics Corium/concrete interactions and combustible gas distribution in large dry containments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-11-01

The Task Group on Ex-Vessel Thermal-Hydraulics was established by the PWG 2 to address the physical processes that occur in the ex-vessel phase of severe accidents, to study their impact on containment loading and failure, and to assess the available calculation methods. This effort is part of an overall CSNI effort to come to an international understanding of the issues involved. The Task Group decided to focus its initial efforts on the Large Dry Containment used extensively to contain the consequences of postulated (design basis) accidents in Light Water Reactors (LWR). Although such containments have not been designed with explicit consideration of severe accidents, recent assessments indicate a substantial inherent capability for these accidents. The Task Group has examined the loads likely to challenge the integrity of the containment, and considered the calculation of the containment's response. This report is the outcome of this effort

Servant as leader: Critical requirements for the appointment and training of retirement fund trustees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L.M. Magda Hewitt

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Orientation: The South African retirement fund industry ranks among the 15 largest retirement fund industries internationally, with some 8 million members and assets under management of close to R2 trillion. However, to be successful, retirement funds need good governance. Research purpose: To explore the most critical servant leadership qualities required that can serve as profile in the selection, appointment and training of retirement fund trustees (RFTs to serve on boards of trustees of retirement funds in the South African context. Motivation for the study: The South African National Treasury’s retirement reform proposal clearly articulates government’s concern for the poor governance of retirement fund assets by appointed boards of trustees and the broader implications on social and economic security in retirement. It promotes the regulation of standards relating to the minimum qualifications and expertise needed to be appointed to serve on a board of trustees (BoTs. Although the measures proposed by government to improve fund governance and the role of the RFTs are sound in principle, it does not inform the character, leadership qualities or leadership competence desired for RFTs, thus leaving the management of funds in the hands of people who must make investment decisions when they themselves are not fully committed. Research design, approach and method: The research question was addressed through an extensive literature review and a qualitative methodology using a semi-structured interview; fieldwork that included personal observations; and notes with six active, high-profile, respected, purposefully selected RFTs. An interpretive approach was adopted to provide elaborative interpretations of phenomena without having to rely on numerical measurement. Main findings: A strong similitude exists between servant leader qualities, as found in the literature, and those qualities identified and required to be appointed as a RFT. Literature

The effectiveness of SMS Reminders and the impact of patient characteristics on missed appointments in a public dental outpatient clinic

OpenAIRE

Emilia Bellucci; Lasitha Dharmasena; Lemai Nguyen; Hanny Calache

2017-01-01

This paper reports on the Failure To Attend (FTA) rate of appointments as well as patients following the implementation of SMS reminders in a public dental outpatient service.  Given the ineffectiveness of the intervention and a highly representative patient’s profile, this paper identifies the demographic characteristics of patients who miss all of their appointments.  Data on appointment attendance, patient demographics and dental service type was collected over a time period of 46 consecut...

Task group of international union of radioecology 'ecosystem approach to environment protection'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuma, Shoichi

2011-01-01

An ecosystem approach is a holistic (i.e., top-down) strategy for protection of ecosystem structures and functions from perturbations. A task group of International Union of Radioecology 'Ecosystem Approach to Environment Protection' was launched in April, 2010. This task group is preparing a report on the following topics: (1) goals of environmental protection; (2) legislation about environmental protection; (3) assessment of the Reference Animals and Plants (RAP) concept in the general context of environmental protection; (4) limitations and uncertainties of the RAPs concept; (5) justification and merits of the ecosystem approach; (6) assessing the feasibility of the ecosystem approach; (7) research and development required for the ecosystem approach; and (8) recommendations with respect to radiation protection. The topics 1, 3, 4 and 5 have been almost completely prepared, and demonstrate that the ecosystem approach is required for radiation protection of the environment. On the other hand, methods of the ecosystem approach which should be adopted for radiation protection of the environment are not clear in the current draft report. They should be specified by reviewing the Convention on Biological Diversity, fish stock management and other activities where the ecosystem approach is already adopted. (author)

NASA Engineering Safety Center NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Working Group 2007 Proactive Task Status

Science.gov (United States)

Manzo, Michelle A.

2007-01-01

In 2007, the NASA Engineering Safety Center (NESC) chartered the NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Working Group to bring forth and address critical battery-related performance/manufacturing issues for NASA and the aerospace community. A suite of tasks identifying and addressing issues related to Ni-H2 and Li-ion battery chemistries was submitted and selected for implementation. The current NESC funded are: (1) Wet Life of Ni-H2 Batteries (2) Binding Procurement (3) NASA Lithium-Ion Battery Guidelines (3a) Li-Ion Performance Assessment (3b) Li-Ion Guidelines Document (3b-i) Assessment of Applicability of Pouch Cells for Aerospace Missions (3b-ii) High Voltage Risk Assessment (3b-iii) Safe Charge Rates for Li-Ion Cells (4) Availability of Source Material for Li-Ion Cells (5) NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop This presentation provides a brief overview of the tasks in the 2007 plan and serves as an introduction to more detailed discussions on each of the specific tasks.

Responses to task 1 questionnaire of INFCE Working Group 6 supplied by participating states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Responses to Task 1 Questionnaire of INFCE Working Group 6 supplied by participating states (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, USSR, United Kingdom, United States, Yugoslavia). Data and information are given on nuclear power forecast, spent fuel requirements for AR and AFR storage, current programmes for storage, future spent fuel disposition plans and transport

Implicit and Explicit Knowledge Both Improve Dual Task Performance in a Continuous Pursuit Tracking Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Ewolds, Harald E; Bröker, Laura; de Oliveira, Rita F; Raab, Markus; Künzell, Stefan

2017-01-01

The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of predictability on dual-task performance in a continuous tracking task. Participants practiced either informed (explicit group) or uninformed (implicit group) about a repeated segment in the curves they had to track. In Experiment 1 participants practices the tracking task only, dual-task performance was assessed after by combining the tracking task with an auditory reaction time task. Results showed both groups learned equally well and tracking performance on a predictable segment in the dual-task condition was better than on random segments. However, reaction times did not benefit from a predictable tracking segment. To investigate the effect of learning under dual-task situation participants in Experiment 2 practiced the tracking task while simultaneously performing the auditory reaction time task. No learning of the repeated segment could be demonstrated for either group during the training blocks, in contrast to the test-block and retention test, where participants performed better on the repeated segment in both dual-task and single-task conditions. Only the explicit group improved from test-block to retention test. As in Experiment 1, reaction times while tracking a predictable segment were no better than reaction times while tracking a random segment. We concluded that predictability has a positive effect only on the predictable task itself possibly because of a task-shielding mechanism. For dual-task training there seems to be an initial negative effect of explicit instructions, possibly because of fatigue, but the advantage of explicit instructions was demonstrated in a retention test. This might be due to the explicit memory system informing or aiding the implicit memory system.

Adaptive resource allocation for efficient patient scheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, Ivan B.; Bohte, Sander M.; Elkhuizen, Sylvia G.; Lameris, Han; Bakker, Piet J. M.; La Poutré, Han

2009-01-01

Efficient scheduling of patient appointments on expensive resources is a complex and dynamic task. A resource is typically used by several patient groups. To service these groups, resource capacity is often allocated per group, explicitly or implicitly. Importantly, due to fluctuations in demand,

Supreme Court Appointment Process: Roles of the President, Judiciary Committee, and Senate

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rutkus, Denis S

2007-01-01

.... Under the Constitution, Justices on the Supreme Court receive lifetime appointments. Such job security in the government has been conferred solely on judges and, by constitutional design, helps insure the Court's independence from the President...

75 FR 8731 - Proposed Appointment to the National Indian Gaming Commission

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-25

... National Indian Gaming Commission ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act provides for a three-person National Indian Gaming Commission. One member, the chairman, is appointed by the President... as an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Commission for a term of 3 years. DATES...

12 CFR 509.101 - Appointment of Office of Financial Institution Adjudication.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Appointment of Office of Financial Institution... Office of Financial Institution Adjudication. Unless otherwise directed by the Office, all hearings under... direction of the Office of Financial Institution Adjudication, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552. ...

The ames network and the task group on WWER's

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, L.M.; Duysen, J.C. van; Estorff, U. von; Sycamore, D.

1997-01-01

The European Network on 'Ageing Materials Evaluation and Studies' (AMES) was created in 1993. Its main objectives are (a) to provide information and understanding on neutron irradiation effects in reactor materials in support of designers, operators, regulators and researchers and (b) to establish and discharge projects in the above areas. The Steering Committee is composed of at least one participant from each nuclear European Union country. The JRC's Institute for Advanced Materials of the European Commission plays the role of Operating Agent and Manager of the AMES Network. This paper describes the structure, objectives, and major projects of the AMES network. Particular emphasis is placed upon the work it is intended to perform within the Task Group on 'WWER's of the first AMES project (AMES1) on 'Validation of surveillance practice and mitigation methods'. EC DGXVII is addressing the question of how to facilitate contacts between EU and Russian industries in the framework of nuclear Industrial co-operation, and this project may provide a suitable starting point upon which to develop a basis for further work of mutual interest. (author)

Harnessing the Benefits of Bimanual and Multi-finger Input for Supporting Grouping Tasks on Interactive Tabletops

OpenAIRE

Geyer, Florian; Höchtl, Anita; Reiterer, Harald

2012-01-01

In this paper we describe an experimental study investigating the use of bimanual and multi-finger input for grouping items spatially on a tabletop interface. In a singleuser setup, we compared two typical interaction techniques supporting this task. We studied the grouping and regrouping performance in general and the use of bimanual and multi-finger input in particular. Our results show that the traditional container concept may not be an adequate fit for interactive tabletops. Rather, we d...

78 FR 18363 - Proposed Appointment to the National Indian Gaming Commission

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-26

... Gaming Commission AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Before appointing a member to the National Indian Gaming Commission, the Secretary must provide public notice and allow a... member of the National Indian Gaming Commission for a term of 3 years. DATES: Comments must be received...

IEA SHC Task 42 / ECES Annex 29 - Working Group B: Applications of Compact Thermal Energy Storage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Helden, W. van; Yamaha, M.; Rathgeber, C.; Hauer, A.; Huaylla, F.; Le Pierrès, N.; Stutz, B.; Mette, B.; Dolado, P.; Lazaro, A.; Mazo, J.; Dannemand, M.; Furbo, S.; Campos-Celador, A.; Diarce, G.; Cuypers, R.; König-Haagen, A.; Höhlein, S.; Brüggemann, D.; Fumey, B.; Weber, R.; Köll, R.; Wagner, W.; Daguenet-Frick, X.; Gantenbein, P.; Kuznik, F.

2016-01-01

The IEA joint Task 42 / Annex 29 is aimed at developing compact thermal energy storage materials and systems. In Working Group B, experts are working on the development of compact thermal energy storage applications, in the areas cooling, domestic heating and hot water and industry. The majority of

The reason for appointing more women to top positions

OpenAIRE

Hansson, Martina; Kalantari, Leila

2015-01-01

Objective: Our main objective is to identify why the executive management positions of most companies in Europe are not moderately genders diverse. Within this objective we study the pattern of gender representation and diversity in a specific company (named Company A) and investigate theoretically why more women should be appointed to the top positions. Research and practical implications: This thesis contributes to a better understanding of the reason behind not having moderately gender div...

New Editors Appointed for Water Resources Research

Science.gov (United States)

2009-03-01

Praveen Kumar (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), the newly appointed editor in chief of Water Resources Research (WRR), heads the new team of editors for the journal. The other editors are Tom Torgersen (University of Connecticut, Groton), who continues his editorship; Tissa Illangasekare (Colorado School of Mines, Golden); Graham Sander (Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK); and John Selker (Oregon State University, Corvallis). Hoshin Gupta (University of Arizona, Tucson) will join WRR at the end of 2009. The new editors will begin receiving submissions immediately. The incoming editorial board thanks outgoing editors Marc Parlange, Brian Berkowitz, Amilcare Porporato, and Scott Tyler, all of whom will assist during the transition.

Some remarks regarding the procedure of the appointment of the secretary general of the United Nations

OpenAIRE

Novaković Marko

2016-01-01

Appointing Secretary-General is a process that has always been enshrined in secrecy. In 2016, due to reforms in the appointment process instigated by the president of the Security Council Mogens Lykketoft, more inclusion and transparency have been achieved, with the non-state actors being much more involved in the process. In the procedure itself, first five straw polls suggested that Antonio Guterres will be the new Secretary-General and this proved to be truth. Will this more transparent sy...

TU-EF-210-04: AAPM Task Groups in Interventional Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farahani, K. [National Cancer Institute (United States)

2015-06-15

The use of therapeutic ultrasound to provide targeted therapy is an active research area that has a broad application scope. The invited talks in this session will address currently implemented strategies and protocols for both hyperthermia and ablation applications using therapeutic ultrasound. The role of both ultrasound and MRI in the monitoring and assessment of these therapies will be explored in both pre-clinical and clinical applications. Katherine Ferrara: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, Drug Delivery, and Immunotherapy Rajiv Chopra: Translating Localized Doxorubicin Delivery to Pediatric Oncology using MRI-guided HIFU Elisa Konofagou: Real-time Ablation Monitoring and Lesion Quantification using Harmonic Motion Imaging Keyvan Farahani: AAPM Task Groups in Interventional Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy Learning Objectives: Understand the role of ultrasound in localized drug delivery and the effects of immunotherapy when used in conjunction with ultrasound therapy. Understand potential targeted drug delivery clinical applications including pediatric oncology. Understand the technical requirements for performing targeted drug delivery. Understand how radiation-force approaches can be used to both monitor and assess high intensity focused ultrasound ablation therapy. Understand the role of AAPM task groups in ultrasound imaging and therapies. Chopra: Funding from Cancer Prevention and Research Initiative of Texas (CPRIT), Award R1308 Evelyn and M.R. Hudson Foundation; Research Support from Research Contract with Philips Healthcare; COI are Co-founder of FUS Instruments Inc Ferrara: Supported by NIH, UCDavis and California (CIRM and BHCE) Farahani: In-kind research support from Philips Healthcare.

TU-EF-210-04: AAPM Task Groups in Interventional Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farahani, K.

2015-01-01

The use of therapeutic ultrasound to provide targeted therapy is an active research area that has a broad application scope. The invited talks in this session will address currently implemented strategies and protocols for both hyperthermia and ablation applications using therapeutic ultrasound. The role of both ultrasound and MRI in the monitoring and assessment of these therapies will be explored in both pre-clinical and clinical applications. Katherine Ferrara: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, Drug Delivery, and Immunotherapy Rajiv Chopra: Translating Localized Doxorubicin Delivery to Pediatric Oncology using MRI-guided HIFU Elisa Konofagou: Real-time Ablation Monitoring and Lesion Quantification using Harmonic Motion Imaging Keyvan Farahani: AAPM Task Groups in Interventional Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy Learning Objectives: Understand the role of ultrasound in localized drug delivery and the effects of immunotherapy when used in conjunction with ultrasound therapy. Understand potential targeted drug delivery clinical applications including pediatric oncology. Understand the technical requirements for performing targeted drug delivery. Understand how radiation-force approaches can be used to both monitor and assess high intensity focused ultrasound ablation therapy. Understand the role of AAPM task groups in ultrasound imaging and therapies. Chopra: Funding from Cancer Prevention and Research Initiative of Texas (CPRIT), Award R1308 Evelyn and M.R. Hudson Foundation; Research Support from Research Contract with Philips Healthcare; COI are Co-founder of FUS Instruments Inc Ferrara: Supported by NIH, UCDavis and California (CIRM and BHCE) Farahani: In-kind research support from Philips Healthcare

The Effect of Task Type and Pre-task Planning Condition on the Accuracy of Intermediate EFL Learners' Writing Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyeed Mohammad Alavi

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Task-based language teaching, which requires learners to transact tasks resembling their real life language needs, demands language learners to perform planning at different stages of their learning. Since various types of tasks can be used in task-based instruction, the present study examined the effect of task types and various participatory structures during pre-task planning on the quality of learners' writing performance, (i.e., accuracy. Towards this end, 120 intermediate EFL students were randomly assigned to 3 experimental groups and one control group. While the experimental groups were subjected to different pre-task planning conditions, (i.e., individual, pair, and group, the control group performed tasks without any planning. During the treatment, they experienced task modeling, presentation and completion. A factorial design was followed in the present study, and the collected data were analyzed through ANOVAs that revealed task type and pre-task planning condition influenced the writing accuracy of the participants in a way that resulted in greater accuracy in the decision-making task in the experimental groups, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the treatment in mitigating the long-standing problem of EFL learners in achieving higher levels of accuracy when a specific task type is concerned.

Application of the transtheoretical model of behaviour change for identifying older clients' readiness for hearing rehabilitation during history-taking in audiology appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekberg, Katie; Grenness, Caitlin; Hickson, Louise

2016-07-01

The transtheoretical model (TTM) of behaviour change focuses on clients' readiness for adopting new health behaviours. This study explores how clients' readiness for change can be identified through their interactions with audiologists during history-taking in initial appointments; and whether clients' readiness has consequences for the rehabilitation decisions they make within the initial appointment. Conversation analysis (CA) was used to examine video-recorded initial audiology appointments with older adults with hearing impairment. The data corpus involved 62 recorded appointments with 26 audiologists and their older adult clients (aged 55+ years). Companions were present in 17 appointments. Clients' readiness for change could be observed through their interaction with the audiologist. Analysis demonstrated that the way clients described their hearing in the history-taking phase had systematic consequences for how they responded to rehabilitation recommendations (in particular, hearing aids) in the management phase of the appointment. In particular, clients identified as being in a pre-contemplation stage-of-change were more likely to display resistance to a recommendation of hearing aids (80% declined). The transtheoretical model of behaviour change can be useful for helping audiologists individualize management planning to be congruent with individual clients' needs, attitudes, desires, and psychological readiness for action in order to optimize clients' hearing outcomes.

The Effects of Group Relaxation Training/Large Muscle Exercise, and Parental Involvement on Attention to Task, Impulsivity, and Locus of Control among Hyperactive Boys.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Sally S.; Omizo, Michael M.

1984-01-01

The study examined the effects of group relaxation training/large muscle exercise and parental involvement on attention to task, impulsivity, and locus of control among 34 hyperactive boys. Following treatment both experimental groups recorded significantly higher attention to task, lower impulsivity, and lower locus of control scores. (Author/CL)

Individualized tracking of self-directed motor learning in group-housed mice performing a skilled lever positioning task in the home cage.

Science.gov (United States)

Silasi, Gergely; Boyd, Jamie D; Bolanos, Federico; LeDue, Jeff M; Scott, Stephen H; Murphy, Timothy H

2018-01-01

Skilled forelimb function in mice is traditionally studied through behavioral paradigms that require extensive training by investigators and are limited by the number of trials individual animals are able to perform within a supervised session. We developed a skilled lever positioning task that mice can perform within their home cage. The task requires mice to use their forelimb to precisely hold a lever mounted on a rotary encoder within a rewarded position to dispense a water reward. A Raspberry Pi microcomputer is used to record lever position during trials and to control task parameters, thus making this low-footprint apparatus ideal for use within animal housing facilities. Custom Python software automatically increments task difficulty by requiring a longer hold duration, or a more accurate hold position, to dispense a reward. The performance of individual animals within group-housed mice is tracked through radio-frequency identification implants, and data stored on the microcomputer may be accessed remotely through an active internet connection. Mice continuously engage in the task for over 2.5 mo and perform ~500 trials/24 h. Mice required ~15,000 trials to learn to hold the lever within a 10° range for 1.5 s and were able to further refine movement accuracy by limiting their error to a 5° range within each trial. These results demonstrate the feasibility of autonomously training group-housed mice on a forelimb motor task. This paradigm may be used in the future to assess functional recovery after injury or cortical reorganization induced by self-directed motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We developed a low-cost system for fully autonomous training of group-housed mice on a forelimb motor task. We demonstrate the feasibility of tracking both end-point, as well as kinematic performance of individual mice, with each performing thousands of trials over 2.5 mo. The task is run and controlled by a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, which allows for cages to be

The work of the task group of committee 2 of ICRP on age-dependent dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stather, J.W.; Kaul, A.; Metivier, H.

1996-01-01

With the accident at Chernobyl and developing concern in regard to the consequences of discharging radionuclides into the environment has come increasing awareness of the need to assess radiation doses to all age groups in the population. In 1987, ICRP set up a Task Group of Committee 2 on Age-dependent Dosimetry with the responsibility for calculating internationally agreed dose coefficients for members of the public. This covered the calculation and ingestion, as well as doses to the embryo and fetus from intakes of radionuclides by the mother. This paper reviews the programme of work.(authors). 17 refs., 6 tabs

Sports Direct to appoint full-time nurse after inquiry into employment practices.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-14

Retailer Sports Direct is to appoint a full-time nurse at its vast warehouse in response to concerns about health and safety. The firm was the subject of a House of Commons business, innovation and skills select committee inquiry into its employment practices.

Planning and task management in Parkinson's disease: differential emphasis in dual-task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Bialystok, Ellen; Craik, Fergus I M; Stefurak, Taresa

2008-03-01

Seventeen patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease completed a complex computer-based task that involved planning and management while also performing an attention-demanding secondary task. The tasks were performed concurrently, but it was necessary to switch from one to the other. Performance was compared to a group of healthy age-matched control participants and a group of young participants. Parkinson's patients performed better than the age-matched controls on almost all measures and as well as the young controls in many cases. However, the Parkinson's patients achieved this by paying relatively less attention to the secondary task and focusing attention more on the primary task. Thus, Parkinson's patients can apparently improve their performance on some aspects of a multidimensional task by simplifying task demands. This benefit may occur as a consequence of their inflexible exaggerated attention to some aspects of a complex task to the relative neglect of other aspects.

Effects of task-irrelevant grouping on visual selection in partial report

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lunau, Rasmus; Habekost, Thomas

2017-01-01

and the selection criterion was luminance. This effect was accompanied by impaired selectivity in unsorted-color trials. Overall, the results suggest that the benefit of task-irrelevant color grouping of targets is contingent on the processing locus of the selection criterion....... the color of the elements in these trials. In the sorted-color condition, the color of the display elements was arranged according to the selection criterion, and in the unsorted-color condition, colors were randomly assigned. The distractor cost was inferred by subtracting performance in partial......-report trials from performance in a control condition that had no distractors in the display. Across five experiments, we manipulated trial order, selection criterion, and exposure duration, and found that attentional selectivity was improved in sorted-color trials when the exposure duration was 200 ms...

mHealth Clinic Appointment PC Tablet: Implementation, Challenges and Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Carol E.; Spaulding, Ryan; Piamjariyakul, Ubolrat; Werkowitch, Marilyn; Yadrich, Donna Macan; Hooper, Dedrick; Moore, Tyson; Gilroy, Richard

2015-01-01

Background Patients requiring daily intravenous (IV) home parenteral nutrition (HPN) would benefit from in-home professional observation to improve self-care, to assess, detect and prevent serious complications. Aims The study aims are to assess the viability and utility of conducting mobile healthcare (mHealth) videoconference assessments with patients managing lifelong daily 12-hour IV nutrition infusions in their homes. The challenges and solutions to implementing mobile personal computer (PC) tablet based clinic appointments are described. Methods A wireless Apple iPad Mini™ mobile touch-screen tablet computer with 5 mega-pixel camera was loaned to patients. Each tablet had Polycom RealPresence software and a fourth generation (4G) mobile telecommunications data plan. These supported audio-visual mobile videoconferencing encrypted connections between health professionals in their offices and HPN patients and their family members in their homes. Patients’ and professionals’ evaluations of their mHealth clinic experiences are collected. Results Patients (mean age = 41.9, SD = 2.8 years) had been prescribed 12-hour home parenteral nutrition (HPN) infusions daily due short bowel disorders. Patients had been on HPN from 1 to 10 years (M=4, SD=3.6). Evaluation of clinic appointments revealed that 100% of the patients (n=45) and the professionals (n=6) indicated that they can clearly hear and easily see one another. The mHealth audio-visual interactions were highly rated by patients and family members. Professionals highly rated their ability to obtain a medical history and visual inspection of patients. Several challenges were identified and recommendations for resolutions are described. Discussion All patients and professionals highly rated the iPad mHealth clinic appointments for convenience and ease of communicating between homes and offices. An important challenge for all mHealth visits is the clinical professional’s ability to make clinically accurate

Treatment dropout and missed appointments among adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: associations with patient- and disorder-related factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Soendergaard, Helle M; Thomsen, Per H; Pedersen, Pernille; Pedersen, Erik; Poulsen, Agnethe E; Nielsen, Jette M; Winther, Lars; Henriksen, Anne; Rungoe, Berit; Soegaard, Hans J

2016-02-01

Knowledge of factors associated with treatment dropout and missed appointments in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is very limited. On the basis of proposed hypotheses that past behavior patterns are more predictive of current behaviors of treatment dropout and missed appointments than are sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, we examined the associations of sociodemographic variables, clinical variables, risk-taking behavior, educational and occupational instability, and behaviors during mandatory schooling with the primary outcome measures of treatment dropout and missed appointments. In a naturalistic cohort study of 151 adult outpatients with ADHD initiating assessment in a Danish ADHD unit from September 1, 2010, to September 1, 2011, the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale v1.1 symptom checklist (ASRS) and a thorough clinical interview were used to assess ADHD according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to estimate reported associations. A total of 27% of patients dropped out of treatment and a total of 42% had ≥ 3 missed appointments during treatment. Mood and anxiety disorders significantly lowered the odds of treatment dropout (odds ratio [OR] = 0.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.05-0.65), whereas having started but not completed 2 or more educational programs apart from mandatory schooling significantly increased the odds of dropout (OR = 3.01; 95% CI, 1.32-6.89). Variables significantly associated with most missed appointments were low educational level (OR = 2.19; 95% CI, 1.12-4.31), 3 or more employments of less than 3 months' duration (OR = 2.86; 95% CI, 1.30-6.28), and having skipped class often/very often during mandatory schooling (OR = 2.65; 95% CI, 1.29-5.43). Additionally, the predominantly inattentive ADHD (ADHD-I) subtype lowered the odds of missed appointments (OR = 0.17; 95% CI, 0.05-0.62). Our results suggest that past behavior in terms of highest dropout rates in the

Not all choices are created equal: Task-relevant choices enhance motor learning compared to task-irrelevant choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Michael J; Ste-Marie, Diane M

2017-12-01

Lewthwaite et al. (2015) reported that the learning benefits of exercising choice (i.e., their self-controlled condition) are not restricted to task-relevant features (e.g., feedback). They found that choosing one's golf ball color (Exp. 1) or choosing which of two tasks to perform at a later time plus which of two artworks to hang (Exp. 2) resulted in better retention than did being denied these same choices (i.e., yoked condition). The researchers concluded that the learning benefits derived from choice, whether irrelevant or relevant to the to-be-learned task, are predominantly motivational because choice is intrinsically rewarding and satisfies basic psychological needs. However, the absence of a group that made task-relevant choices and the lack of psychological measures significantly weakened their conclusions. Here, we investigated how task-relevant and task-irrelevant choices affect motor-skill learning. Participants practiced a spatiotemporal motor task in either a task-relevant group (choice over feedback schedule), a task-irrelevant group (choice over the color of an arm-wrap plus game selection), or a no-choice group. The results showed significantly greater learning in the task-relevant group than in both the task-irrelevant and no-choice groups, who did not differ significantly. Critically, these learning differences were not attributed to differences in perceptions of competence or autonomy, but instead to superior error-estimation abilities. These results challenge the perspective that motivational influences are the root cause of self-controlled learning advantages. Instead, the findings add to the growing evidence highlighting that the informational value gained from task-relevant choices makes a greater relative contribution to these advantages than motivational influences do.

5 CFR 315.705 - Employees serving under transitional or veterans recruitment appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Employees serving under transitional or veterans recruitment appointments. 315.705 Section 315.705 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL...-Conditional Employment From Other Types of Employment § 315.705 Employees serving under transitional or...

The impact of case mix on timely access to appointments in a primary care group practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozen, Asli; Balasubramanian, Hari

2013-06-01

At the heart of the practice of primary care is the concept of a physician panel. A panel refers to the set of patients for whose long term, holistic care the physician is responsible. A physician's appointment burden is determined by the size and composition of the panel. Size refers to the number of patients in the panel while composition refers to the case-mix, or the type of patients (older versus younger, healthy versus chronic patients), in the panel. In this paper, we quantify the impact of the size and case-mix on the ability of a multi-provider practice to provide adequate access to its empanelled patients. We use overflow frequency, or the probability that the demand exceeds the capacity, as a measure of access. We formulate problem of minimizing the maximum overflow for a multi-physician practice as a non-linear integer programming problem and establish structural insights that enable us to create simple yet near optimal heuristic strategies to change panels. This optimization framework helps a practice: (1) quantify the imbalances across physicians due to the variation in case mix and panel size, and the resulting effect on access; and (2) determine how panels can be altered in the least disruptive way to improve access. We illustrate our methodology using four test practices created using patient level data from the primary care practice at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. An important advantage of our approach is that it can be implemented in an Excel Spreadsheet and used for aggregate level planning and panel management decisions.

Mindfulness Training Improves Attentional Task Performance in Incarcerated Youth: A Group Randomized Controlled Intervention Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noelle R Leonard

2013-11-01

Full Text Available We investigated the impact of cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness training (CBT/MT on attentional task performance in incarcerated adolescents. Attention is a cognitive system necessary for managing cognitive demands and regulating emotions. Yet persistent and intensive demands, such as those experienced during high-stress intervals like incarceration and the events leading to incarceration, may deplete attention resulting in cognitive failures, emotional disturbances, and impulsive behavior. We hypothesized that CBT/MT may mitigate these deleterious effects of high stress and protect against degradation in attention over the high-stress interval of incarceration. Using a group randomized controlled trial design, we randomly assigned dormitories of incarcerated youth, ages 16 to 18, to a CBT/MT intervention (youth n = 147 or an active control intervention (youth n = 117. Both arms received approximately 750 minutes of intervention in a small-group setting over a 3-5 week period. Youth in the CBT/MT arm also logged the amount of out-of-session time spent practicing MT exercises. The Attention Network Test was used to index attentional task performance at baseline and 4 months post-baseline. Overall, task performance degraded over time in all participants. The magnitude of performance degradation was significantly less in the CBT/MT vs. control arm. Further, within the CBT/MT arm, performance degraded over time in those with no outside-of-class practice time, but remained stable over time in those who practiced mindfulness exercises outside of the session meetings. Thus, these findings suggest that sufficient CBT/MT practice may protect against functional attentional impairments associated with high-stress intervals. Keywords: adolescent development, incarcerated adolescents, detained adolescents, stress, attention, mindfulness meditation.

77 FR 63872 - Senior Executive Service; Appointment of Members to the Performance Review Board

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-17

... Resources--Kim L.H. Green. Rotating Membership ASP Kathleen E. Franks, Director, Office of Regulatory and... OLMS Stephen J. Willertz, Director, Office of Enforcement and International Union Audits--appointment...

42 CFR 52h.4 - Composition of peer review groups.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Composition of peer review groups. 52h.4 Section... PEER REVIEW OF RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT PROJECTS § 52h.4 Composition of peer review groups. (a) To the extent applicable, the selection and appointment of members of...

20 CFR 408.1101 - Can you appoint someone to represent you?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... WORLD WAR II VETERANS Representation of Parties § 408.1101 Can you appoint someone to represent you? (a... clause in paragraph (b), the second sentences in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2), and paragraph (c)(2) do... this part, the rules on representation of parties in §§ 416.1500-416.1505, 416.1507-416.1515 and 416...

75 FR 44853 - Woodlands Bank, Bluffton, SC; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-29

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Woodlands Bank, Bluffton, SC; Notice of... the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Woodlands Bank, Bluffton, South Carolina (OTS No. 08464), as of...

75 FR 45012 - Turnberry Bank, Aventura, FL; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-30

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Turnberry Bank, Aventura, FL; Notice of... the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Turnberry Bank, Aventura, Florida (OTS No. 08087), on July 16...

Report of the Fourth interim meeting of the Seabed Working Group Engineering Studies Task Group, 3-6 October 1983, at Rijks Geologische Dienst, Haarlem, The Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talbert, D.M.

1984-06-01

This report presents the results of the fourth interim meeting of the Seabed Working Group's (SWG) Engineering Studies Task Group (ESTG). This task group is charged with determining whether the engineering technology exists to emplace waste canisters in deep ocean sediments. The fourth interim meeting, held at Rijks Geologische Dienst, Haarlem, The Netherlands, 3-6 October 1983, reviewed progress made by the various national programs since the ESTG third interim meeting (July 1982) and developed a table of requirements for processing samples for a geotechnical properties data base. Other items addressed were (1) potential methods of instrumenting penetrators to obtain in situ measurements, (2) procedures for evaluating and quantifying the disturbed zone created by an emplaced penetrator, (3) review and modification of the current draft version of the SWG Five-Year Plan, (4) review and extension of the ESTG detailed plan for penetrator tests, and (5) details of the penetrator tests scheduled for March 1984 in the Nares Abyssal Plain using the research vessel M/V TYRO. The review of the national programs indicated significant progress when measured against the integrated ESTG five-year plan which results in a joint evaluation of engineering feasibility of subseabed disposal based upon (1) a demonstration of an emplacement capability, (2) an evaluation of the zone of sediment disturbance created during emplacement, (3) the existence of acceptable emplacement models, and (4) an acceptable engineering data base. A table of geotechnical sample-processing requirements is being developed to provide guidance for the other task groups that may have the opportunity to furnish suitable geotechnical samples to the ESTG as well as to provide some measure of consistency within the ESTG for the development of the engineering data base for the SWG study areas

The first antenatal appointment: An exploratory study of the experiences of women with a diagnosis of mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Louise; Thomas, Dona

2015-08-01

to explore and gain insight into the expectations and experiences of women with a pre-existing diagnosis of mental illness, of their first booking appointment; to make recommendations for practice development and collaborative partnership working between healthcare professionals. a qualitative design using semi structured interviews and thematic analysis of the data. QSR NVivo 10 software is used to organise the data into themes. the interviews took place either at the women׳s homes, or within the antenatal service with the consent of the woman and relevant practitioners. twelve participants were selected from one antenatal clinic and one perinatal mental health service. the themes identified within the data included the lack of information prior to the initial midwife booking appointment; the perception of too much information at the initial booking appointment and women not being clear about their mental health needs at this time; a general positivity about disclosing mental illness diagnoses; overall positive thoughts about midwives although some midwives appeared less knowledgeable about bipolar disorder, and perceptions about a lack of joined up working between antenatal and perinatal mental health services. it is recommended that GPs receive adequate training in order to equip them with the skills needed to discuss sensitive issues around perinatal mental illness and the impact on pregnancy and childbirth. Women require more information about their booking appointment, and it would be beneficial for their emotional and physical health needs to be assessed at each follow-up antenatal appointment. Midwives need to be facilitated to receive up-to-date knowledge of antenatal and postnatal mental illness and treatments, and the referral process to perinatal mental health services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Response to Vogelstein: How the 2012 AAP Task Force on circumcision went wrong.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Howe, Robert S

2018-01-01

Vogelstein cautions medical organizations against jumping into the fray of controversial issues, yet proffers the 2012 American Academy of Pediatrics' Task Force policy position on infant male circumcision as 'an appropriate use of position-statements.' Only a scratch below the surface of this policy statement uncovers the Task Force's failure to consider Vogelstein's many caveats. The Task Force supported the cultural practice by putting undeserved emphasis on questionable scientific data, while ignoring or underplaying the importance of valid contrary scientific data. Without any effort to quantitatively assess the risk/benefit balance, the Task Force concluded the benefits of circumcision outweighed the risks, while acknowledging that the incidence of risks was unknown. This Task Force differed from other Academy policy-forming panels by ignoring the Academy's standard quality measures and by not appointing members with extensive research experience, extensive publications, or recognized expertise directly related to this topic. Despite nearly 100 publications available at the time addressing the substantial ethical issues associated with infant male circumcision, the Task Force chose to ignore the ethical controversy. They merely stated, with minimal justification, the opinion of one of the Task Force members that the practice of infant male circumcision is morally permissible. The release of the report has fostered an explosion of academic discussion on the ethics of infant male circumcision with a number of national medical organizations now decrying the practice as a human rights violation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

75 FR 74748 - Senior Executive Service; Appointment of Members to the Performance Review Board

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-01

... Commissioner, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics--appointment expires on 09/30/2013 EBSA Sharon S... 9/30/12 OLMS Stephen J. Willertz, Director, Office of Enforcement and International Union Audits...

19 CFR 141.14 - Deceased or insolvent consignees and court-appointed administrators.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Deceased or insolvent consignees and court-appointed administrators. 141.14 Section 141.14 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION... administrators. The executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased consignee, the receiver or other legal...

Improving multi-tasking ability through action videogames.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiappe, Dan; Conger, Mark; Liao, Janet; Caldwell, J Lynn; Vu, Kim-Phuong L

2013-03-01

The present study examined whether action videogames can improve multi-tasking in high workload environments. Two groups with no action videogame experience were pre-tested using the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB). It consists of two primary tasks; tracking and fuel management, and two secondary tasks; systems monitoring and communication. One group served as a control group, while a second played action videogames a minimum of 5 h a week for 10 weeks. Both groups returned for a post-assessment on the MATB. We found the videogame treatment enhanced performance on secondary tasks, without interfering with the primary tasks. Our results demonstrate action videogames can increase people's ability to take on additional tasks by increasing attentional capacity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Psychiatrist-patient verbal and nonverbal communications during split-treatment appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Mario; Roter, Debra; Cruz, Robyn Flaum; Wieland, Melissa; Cooper, Lisa A; Larson, Susan; Pincus, Harold Alan

2011-11-01

This study characterized psychiatrist and patient communication behaviors and affective voice tones during pharmacotherapy appointments with depressed patients at four community-based mental health clinics where psychiatrists provided medication management and other mental health professionals provided therapy ("split treatment"). Audiorecordings of 84 unique pairs of psychiatrists and patients with a depressive disorder were analyzed with the Roter Interaction Analysis System, which identifies 41 discrete speech categories that can be grouped into composites representing broad conceptual communication domains. Cluster analysis identified psychiatrist communication patterns. T test and chi square analyses compared the clusters for verbal dominance, affective voice tone, and characteristics of psychiatrist and patients. On average, 53% of psychiatrist talk was devoted to partnering and relationship building, and 67% of patient talk was about biomedical subjects, such as depression symptoms, and psychosocial information giving. Psychiatrist communication patterns were characterized by two clusters, a biomedical-centered cluster that emphasized biomedical questions (η²=.22, df=82, prelationship building while maintaining a focus on symptoms or psychosocial issues. However, patient behaviors did not reflect a similar level of partnering. Future studies should identify psychiatrist communication behaviors that activate collaborative patient communications or improve treatment outcomes.

Examining Preschoolers' Nutrition Knowledge Using a Meal Creation and Food Group Classification Task: Age and Gender Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Holub, Shayla C.; Musher-Eizenman, Dara R.

2010-01-01

Eating behaviours begin to develop during early childhood, but relatively little is known about preschoolers' nutrition knowledge. The current study examined age and gender differences in this knowledge using two tasks: food group classification and the creation of unhealthy, healthy and preferred meals. Sixty-nine three- to six-year-old children…

Social Network Analysis as an Analytic Tool for Task Group Research: A Case Study of an Interdisciplinary Community of Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Lockhart, Naorah C.

2017-01-01

Group counselors commonly collaborate in interdisciplinary settings in health care, substance abuse, and juvenile justice. Social network analysis is a methodology rarely used in counseling research yet has potential to examine task group dynamics in new ways. This case study explores the scholarly relationships among 36 members of an…

Improving feedback from outpatient medical appointments attended by escorted psychiatric patients in the North London Forensic Service.

Science.gov (United States)

McCurdy, Kathleen; Croxford, Anna

2015-01-01

It is well established that patients with mental illness are known to have a high level of morbidity and mortality compared to the general population. This is particularly prominent in long-stay psychiatric patients, such as those in secure settings. The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that psychiatrists should promote the physical health of their patients and liaise with other specialties. However, there is evidence that communication between psychiatry and other specialties is poor. A survey was carried out at the North London Forensic Service in June 2014. This looked at the views of clinical staff about the frequency and quality of feedback obtained when inpatients attend outpatient hospital appointments at local general hospitals. This survey highlighted the general perception among staff that feedback is poor, with 68.43% of respondents saying that they were "very unsatisfied" or "unsatisfied" with the level and quality of feedback. Clinical staff felt that many patients who attended hospital outpatient appointments, even when escorted by staff, returned with little or no feedback. This was confirmed by a baseline audit across 3 wards showing that details of the appointment (date, time, hospital, and specialty) were only documented in 54.5% of cases and the content of the appointment documented in even fewer cases. A form was designed by junior doctors that provided a simple framework of 6 questions to be answered at the outpatient clinic about the problem, diagnosis, and further actions needed. This was introduced and its impact assessed with a 3-month and 6-month audit of electronic notes, as well as a follow-up survey after 6 months. The audit showed significant improvement in the quality of feedback about the appointment at both the 3-month and 6-month point. The follow-up survey showed that 70% of respondents were aware of the form and 100% of those who were aware of the form had used it at least once and found it helpful. The general

A Comparative Study of Task-based vs. Task- supported Teaching Approaches in an EFL Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdieh Shafipoor

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In spite of the numerous merits of task-based language instruction as claimed by its supporters in the last few decades, task-supported teaching approach as an alternative was introduced. Since then, there have been controversial debates over the superiority of each of these two approaches. Thus, in the current research project, the purpose was to consider these two teaching approaches in the scope of English language teaching, with the purpose of exploring the most efficient one in an Iranian EFL context. To this end, 120 sophomore students, majoring in English language translation course at Islamic Azad University, Shar-e-Qods branch were selected among 4 intact reading comprehension II classes. Next, they were divided into two experimental groups. The first experimental group received task-based instruction and for the second experimental group, task-trusted teaching approach was applied. The results of the data analyses turned out that task-trusted teaching approach was superior to task-based teaching in teaching reading to EFL learners.

Are pregnant women receiving support for smoking dependence when attending routine antenatal appointments?

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Cully, G

2010-09-01

Early and consistent intervention with pregnant smokers can reduce the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with smoking during pregnancy. A survey of 470 pregnant women was conducted to establish the care they received in relation to smoking whilst attending routine public antenatal appointments. The overall prevalence of smoking was 23.5%. Age, level of education and nationality were associated with smoking status with younger, less educated Irish women being most likely to smoke. Women attending for their first visit were much more likely to be asked about their smoking status 71 (85.5) versus 68 (17.8) and advised to quit if they were smokers 11 (73.3) versus 11 (15.7). None of the women were offered specific assistance to help them stop smoking or had a follow-up appointment arranged specifically to do with smoking. 167 women (35.6) were exposed to passive smoking in their own homes.

Getting behind the Scenes of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours": Using a Documentary on the Making of a Music Album to Learn about Task Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Comer, Debra R.; Holbrook, Robert L., Jr.

2012-01-01

The authors present an efficient and easy-to-implement experiential exercise that reinforces for students key concepts about task groups (i.e., group cohesiveness, conflict within groups, group effectiveness, group norms, and group roles). The exercise, which uses a documentary about the making of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" album to demonstrate the…

Beads task vs. box task: The specificity of the jumping to conclusions bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Balzan, Ryan P; Ephraums, Rachel; Delfabbro, Paul; Andreou, Christina

2017-09-01

Previous research involving the probabilistic reasoning 'beads task' has consistently demonstrated a jumping-to-conclusions (JTC) bias, where individuals with delusions make decisions based on limited evidence. However, recent studies have suggested that miscomprehension may be confounding the beads task. The current study aimed to test the conventional beads task against a conceptually simpler probabilistic reasoning "box task" METHODS: One hundred non-clinical participants completed both the beads task and the box task, and the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI) to assess for delusion-proneness. The number of 'draws to decision' was assessed for both tasks. Additionally, the total amount of on-screen evidence was manipulated for the box task, and two new box task measures were assessed (i.e., 'proportion of evidence requested' and 'deviation from optimal solution'). Despite being conceptually similar, the two tasks did not correlate, and participants requested significantly less information on the beads task relative to the box task. High-delusion-prone participants did not demonstrate hastier decisions on either task; in fact, for box task, this group was observed to be significantly more conservative than low-delusion-prone group. Neither task was incentivized; results need replication with a clinical sample. Participants, and particularly those identified as high-delusion-prone, displayed a more conservative style of responding on the novel box task, relative to the beads task. The two tasks, whilst conceptually similar, appear to be tapping different cognitive processes. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the JTC bias and the theoretical mechanisms thought to underlie it. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Treatment Availability Influences Physicians' Portrayal of Robotic Surgery During Clinical Appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Scherr, Karen A; Fagerlin, Angela; Wei, John T; Williamson, Lillie D; Ubel, Peter A

2017-01-01

In order to empower patients as decision makers, physicians must educate them about their treatment options in a factual, nonbiased manner. We propose that site-specific availability of treatment options may be a novel source of bias, whereby physicians describe treatments more positively when they are available. We performed a content analysis of physicians' descriptions of robotic prostatectomy within 252 appointments at four Veterans Affairs medical centers where robotic surgery was either available or unavailable. We coded how physicians portrayed robotic versus open prostatectomy across specific clinical categories and in the appointment overall. We found that physicians were more likely to describe robotic prostatectomy as superior when it was available [F(1, 42) = 8.65, p = .005]. We also provide initial qualitative evidence that physicians may be shaping their descriptions of robotic prostatectomy in an effort to manage patients' emotions and demand for the robotic technology. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide empirical evidence that treatment availability influences how physicians describe the advantages and disadvantages of treatment alternatives to patients during clinical encounters, which has important practical implications for patient empowerment and patient satisfaction.

Exploring Audiologists' Language and Hearing Aid Uptake in Initial Rehabilitation Appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Sciacca, Anna; Meyer, Carly; Ekberg, Katie; Barr, Caitlin; Hickson, Louise

2017-06-13

The study aimed (a) to profile audiologists' language during the diagnosis and management planning phase of hearing assessment appointments and (b) to explore associations between audiologists' language and patients' decisions to obtain hearing aids. Sixty-two audiologist-patient dyads participated. Patient participants were aged 55 years or older. Hearing assessment appointments were audiovisually recorded and transcribed for analysis. Audiologists' language was profiled using two measures: general language complexity and use of jargon. A binomial, multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the associations between these language measures and hearing aid uptake. The logistic regression model revealed that the Flesch-Kincaid reading grade level of audiologists' language was significantly associated with hearing aid uptake. Patients were less likely to obtain hearing aids when audiologists' language was at a higher reading grade level. No associations were found between audiologists' use of jargon and hearing aid uptake. Audiologists' use of complex language may present a barrier for patients to understand hearing rehabilitation recommendations. Reduced understanding may limit patient participation in the decision-making process and result in patients being less willing to trial hearing aids. Clear, concise language is recommended to facilitate shared decision making.

[Autoimmune pancreatitis. Evidence based management guidelines of the Hungarian Pancreatic Study Group].

Science.gov (United States)

Dubravcsik, Zsolt; Farkas, Gyula; Hegyi, Péter; Hritz, István; Kelemen, Dezső; Lásztity, Natália; Morvay, Zita; Oláh, Attila; Pap, Ákos; Párniczky, Andrea; Sahin-Tóth, Miklós; Szentkereszti, Zsolt; Szmola, Richárd; Takács, Tamás; Tiszlavicz, László; Szücs, Ákos; Czakó, László

2015-02-22

Autoimmune pancreatitis is a rare disease which can even mimic pancreatic tumor, however, unlike the latter, it requires not surgical but conservative management. Correct diagnosis and differential diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis and treatment of these patients requires up-to-date and evidence based management guidelines. The Hungarian Pancreatic Study Group proposed to prepare an evidence based guideline based on the available international guidelines and evidences. The preparatory and consultation task force appointed by the Hungarian Pancreatic Study Group translated and complemented and/or modified the international guidelines if it was necessary. 29 relevant clinical questions in 4 topics were defined (Basics; Diagnosis; Differential diagnostics; Therapy). Evidence was classified according to the UpToDate(®) grading system. The draft of the guidelines was presented and discussed at the consensus meeting on September 12, 2014. All clinial questions were accepted with almost total (more than 95%) agreement. The present guideline is the first evidence based autoimmune pancreatitis guideline in Hungary. The guideline may provide very important and helpful data for tuition of autoimmune pancreatitis, for everyday practice and for establishing proper finance. Therefore, the authors believe that these guidelines will widely become a basic reference in Hungary.

Cognitive and motor dual task gait training improve dual task gait performance after stroke - A randomized controlled pilot trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yan-Ci; Yang, Yea-Ru; Tsai, Yun-An; Wang, Ray-Yau

2017-06-22

This study investigated effects of cognitive and motor dual task gait training on dual task gait performance in stroke. Participants (n = 28) were randomly assigned to cognitive dual task gait training (CDTT), motor dual task gait training (MDTT), or conventional physical therapy (CPT) group. Participants in CDTT or MDTT group practiced the cognitive or motor tasks respectively during walking. Participants in CPT group received strengthening, balance, and gait training. The intervention was 30 min/session, 3 sessions/week for 4 weeks. Three test conditions to evaluate the training effects were single walking, walking while performing cognitive task (serial subtraction), and walking while performing motor task (tray-carrying). Parameters included gait speed, dual task cost of gait speed (DTC-speed), cadence, stride time, and stride length. After CDTT, cognitive-motor dual task gait performance (stride length and DTC-speed) was improved (p = 0.021; p = 0.015). After MDTT, motor dual task gait performance (gait speed, stride length, and DTC-speed) was improved (p = 0.008; p = 0.008; p = 0.008 respectively). It seems that CDTT improved cognitive dual task gait performance and MDTT improved motor dual task gait performance although such improvements did not reach significant group difference. Therefore, different types of dual task gait training can be adopted to enhance different dual task gait performance in stroke.

17 CFR 249.250 - Form F-X, for appointment of agent for service of process by issuers registering securities on...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Form F-X, for appointment of agent for service of process by issuers registering securities on Form F-8, F-9, F-10 or F-80 (§ 239.38... F-X, for appointment of agent for service of process by issuers registering securities on Form F-8...

76 FR 28130 - Coastal Bank, Cocoa Beach, Florida; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-13

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Coastal Bank, Cocoa Beach, Florida; Notice of Appointment of Receiver Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the authority contained in... Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Coastal Bank, Cocoa Beach, Florida, (OTS No...

76 FR 35086 - Atlantic Bank & Trust, Charleston, SC; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-15

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Atlantic Bank & Trust, Charleston, SC... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Atlantic Bank & Trust, Charleston, South...

Jump starting shared medical appointments for diabetes with weight management: Rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowley, Matthew J; Edelman, David; Voils, Corrine I; Maciejewski, Matthew L; Coffman, Cynthia J; Jeffreys, Amy S; Turner, Marsha J; Gaillard, Leslie A; Hinton, Teresa A; Strawbridge, Elizabeth; Zervakis, Jennifer; Barton, Anna Beth; Yancy, William S

2017-07-01

Rates of glycemic control remain suboptimal nationwide. Medication intensification for diabetes can have undesirable side effects (weight gain, hypoglycemia), which offset the benefits of glycemic control. A Shared Medical Appointment (SMA) intervention for diabetes that emphasizes weight management could improve glycemic outcomes and reduce weight while simultaneously lowering diabetes medication needs, resulting in less hypoglycemia and better quality of life. We describe the rationale and design for a study evaluating a novel SMA intervention for diabetes that primarily emphasizes low-carbohydrate diet-focused weight management. Jump Starting Shared Medical Appointments for Diabetes with Weight Management (Jump Start) is a randomized, controlled trial that is allocating overweight Veterans (body mass index≥27kg/m 2 ) with type 2 diabetes into two arms: 1) a traditional SMA group focusing on medication management and self-management counseling; or 2) an SMA group that combines low-carbohydrate diet-focused weight management (WM/SMA) with medication management. Hemoglobin A1c reduction at 48weeks is the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include hypoglycemic events, diabetes medication use, weight, medication adherence, diabetes-related quality of life, and cost-effectiveness. We hypothesize that WM/SMA will be non-inferior to standard SMA for glycemic control, and will reduce hypoglycemia, diabetes medication use, and weight relative to standard SMA, while also improving quality of life and costs. Jump Start targets two common problems that are closely related but infrequently managed together: diabetes and obesity. By focusing on diet and weight loss as the primary means to control diabetes, this intervention may improve several meaningful patient-centered outcomes related to diabetes. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

22 CFR 11.5 - Certification for appointment to class 7 or 8.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... abroad (to a maximum of 2 years of such civilian service), or Peace Corps volunteer service, will be... examination in a foreign language, but the appointment will be subject to the condition that the newly..., adequate proficiency in a foreign language is achieved. (22 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) [37 FR 19356, Sept. 20...

The effectiveness of SMS Reminders and the impact of patient characteristics on missed appointments in a public dental outpatient clinic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilia Bellucci

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on the Failure To Attend (FTA rate of appointments as well as patients following the implementation of SMS reminders in a public dental outpatient service.  Given the ineffectiveness of the intervention and a highly representative patient’s profile, this paper identifies the demographic characteristics of patients who miss all of their appointments.  Data on appointment attendance, patient demographics and dental service type was collected over a time period of 46 consecutive months.  Using descriptive and inferential statistics (chi-square, two sample tests and Marascuilo procedure we found the SMS intervention was ineffective in reducing the FTA rates. Further, patients associated with high rates of non-attendance exhibited one or more of the following characteristics: male; age 26 – 44; non-concession card holders; a person of Indigenous, local, Asian or African descent, and of refugee status, persons living in low socio-economic areas; and appointments in General Care and Student Clinics. Whilst the literature overwhelmingly attributes SMS reminders to improving the attendance rate of patients in outpatient clinics, our contradictory findings suggest a more targeted approach in settings whose patients exhibit strong characteristics associated with non-attendance.

76 FR 5432 - United Western Bank Denver, Colorado; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-31

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision United Western Bank Denver, Colorado... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for United Western Bank, Denver, Colorado, (OTS No...

78 FR 12219 - Excepted Service-Appointment of Persons With Intellectual Disabilities, Severe Physical...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-22

...;Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each #0;week. #0; #0; #0; #0;#0... appointment of people with mental retardation, severe physical disabilities, and psychiatric disabilities. As... a particular work environment. Persons with disabilities today, however, often have work...

41 CFR 302-2.4 - What is my effective transfer or appointment date?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What is my effective transfer or appointment date? 302-2.4 Section 302-2.4 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES INTRODUCTION 2-EMPLOYEES ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS General...

17 CFR 269.5 - Form F-X, for appointment of agent for service of process by issuers registering securities on...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Form F-X, for appointment of agent for service of process by issuers registering securities on Form F-8, F-9, F-10 or F-80 (§§ 239... INDENTURE ACT OF 1939 § 269.5 Form F-X, for appointment of agent for service of process by issuers...

Final report on development evaluation of Task Group 3 pressure tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleck, R.G.; Price, E.G.; Cheadle, B.A.

1983-11-01

This report describes the production and evaluation of pressure tubes manufactured to the recommendations of Task Group 3 (TG3) of the Creep Engineering Design Plan. The Zr-2.5 wt percent Nb tubes were manufactured by modified production route to change their metallurgical structure and so reduce the in-service elongation rates. Three modified routes were investigated and a total of twenty-eight tubes produced. There were no difficulties in manufacture and the tubes satisfied the quality assurance and design specifications of reactor grade tubes. Metallurgical evaluation showed that the expected changes in microstructure had occurred but not to the extent anticipated. The TG3 tubes were found to have comparable properties to current tubes when tested for: tensile strength (irradiated and unirradiated); hydride cracking; stress to reorient hydrides; hydrogen diffusion; flaw tolerance; corrosion (irradiated and unirradiated); wear; rolled joint characteristics; irradiation creep and growth. Lower in-service elongation rates are expected for tubes produced by two of the modified routes

75 FR 33389 - TierOne Bank Lincoln, Nebraska; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-11

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision TierOne Bank Lincoln, Nebraska; Notice of... the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for TierOne Bank, Lincoln, Nebraska, (OTS No. 03309), on June 4, 2010...

48 CFR 1815.207-71 - Appointing non-Government evaluators as special Government employees.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

...; (2) Unsolicited proposals; and (3) SBIR and STTR proposals. [63 FR 9954, Feb. 27, 1998, as amended at... BY NEGOTIATION Solicitation and Receipt of Proposals and Information 1815.207-71 Appointing non... employee shall be made by: (1) The NASA Headquarters personnel office when the release of proposal...

A model for mentoring newly-appointed nurse educators in nursing education institutions in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Seekoe, Eunice

2014-04-24

South Africa transformed higher education through the enactment of the Higher Education Act (No. 101 of 1997). The researcher identified the need to develop a model for the mentoring of newly-appointed nurse educators in nursing education institutions in South Africa.  To develop and describe the model for mentoring newly-appointed nurse educators in nursing education institutions in South Africa.  A qualitative and theory-generating design was used (following empirical findings regarding needs analysis) in order to develop the model. The conceptualisation of the framework focused on the context, content, process and the theoretical domains that influenced the model. Ideas from different theories were borrowed from and integrated with the literature and deductive and inductive strategies were applied.  The structure of the model is multidimensional and complex in nature (macro, mesoand micro) based on the philosophy of reflective practice, competency-based practice andcritical learning theories. The assumptions are in relation to stakeholders, context, mentoring, outcome, process and dynamic. The stakeholders are the mentor and mentee within an interactive participatory relationship. The mentoring takes place within the process with a sequence of activities such as relationship building, development, engagement, reflective process and assessment. Capacity building and empowerment are outcomes of mentoring driven by motivation.  The implication for nurse managers is that the model can be used to develop mentoring programmes for newly-appointed nurse educators.

A CRISE DO MEIO AMBIENTE ENTRE AS VÁRIAS AGENDAS CONTEMPORÂNEAS / THE CRISIS OF ENVIROMENT BETWEEN DIFERENT APPOINTMENTS CONTEMPORARY

OpenAIRE

Boaz Antonio de Vasconcelos Lopes

2009-01-01

In this paper are showing the main appointments for the management of natural resources while uncovering the internal contradictions of the whole process of socio-environmental. was chosen an approach which identifies the following categories of analysis: vision, procedure, instrument, key players and space. then, with the referrals are characterized as follows appointments of environmental management: theory of pigou, coase's thesis, thesis of the integrated management of natural resources a...

Stereotype-based faultlines and out-group derogation in diverse teams: The moderating roles of task stereotypicality and need for cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanciu, Adrian

2017-01-01

Alignment of individuals on more than one diversity attribute (i.e., faultlines) may lead to intergroup biases in teams, disrupting the efficiency expectancies. Research has yet to examine if this can be a consequence of a stereotypical consistency between social and information attributes of diversity. The present study tests the hypothesis that, in a team with a stereotype-based faultline (a stereotypical consistency between gender and skills), there is increased out-group derogation compared to a team with a stereotype-inconsistent faultline. Furthermore, the study proposes that tasks can activate stereotypes, and the need for cognition dictates whether stereotypes are applied. The findings confirm the hypothesis and additionally provide evidence that tasks that activate gender stereotypes emphasize out-group derogation, especially for team members with low need for cognition.

A missed primary care appointment correlates with a subsequent emergency department visit among children with asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

McGovern, Colleen Marie; Redmond, Margaret; Arcoleo, Kimberly; Stukus, David R

2017-11-01

Since the Affordable Care Act's implementation, emergency department (ED) visits have increased. Poor asthma control increases the risk of acute exacerbations and preventable ED visits. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services support the reduction of preventable ED visits to reduce healthcare spending. Implementation of interventions to avoid preventable ED visits has become a priority for many healthcare systems yet little data exist examining children's missed asthma management primary care (PC) appointments and subsequent ED visits. Longitudinal, retrospective review at a children's hospital was conducted for children with diagnosed asthma (ICD-9 493.xx), ages 2-18 years, scheduled for a PC visit between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012 (N = 3895). Records were cross-referenced with all asthma-related ED visits from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012. Logistic regression with maximum likelihood estimation was conducted. None of the children who completed a PC appointment experienced an ED visit in the subsequent 6 months whereas 2.7% of those with missed PC appointments had an ED visit (χ 2 = 64.28, p asthma as one mechanism for preventing ED visits was demonstrated. Interventions targeting missed visits could decrease asthma-related morbidity, preventable ED visits, and healthcare costs.

77 FR 40341 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Application for Appointment in the NOAA...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-09

... Collection; Comment Request; Application for Appointment in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Department... and instructions should be directed to Eric Johnson, (301) 713-7727 or [email protected]noaa.gov...

Report of the task group on the seismic behaviour of structures: status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-04-01

In 1995, the CSNI Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations) approved a new mandate for PWG-3 and the new title 'Integrity of Components and Structures'. The PWG-3 is assisted by three task groups, one of which is addressing the problem of seismic behavior of structures. Ten topics were identified: engineering characterization of seismic input, site response, soil structure interaction, identification of functions and classification of systems, structures and components, structural response and capacity evaluation (including effects of aging and degradation), component and equipment response and capacity evaluation (including effects of aging and degradation), response and capacity evaluation of distribution systems (piping, cable trays, conduit, HVAC), load combination and acceptance criteria, uncertainties (PSA and margins), plant seismic instrumentation and trip. This report summarizes the seismic issues and activities in various member countries (Canada, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States) and international organizations (IAEA), provides a summary of the important issues that are of collective interest to the group members, and recommends a future programme of work to address these issues

New Editors Appointed for Sections of Journal of Geophysical Research

Science.gov (United States)

2009-04-01

New editors have been appointed for the Atmospheres, Biogeosciences, and Oceans sections of the Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR). Joost de Gouw (NOAA, Boulder, Colo.) and Renyi Zhang (Texas A&M, College Station) are filling the vacancies of retiring Atmospheres section editors John Austin and Jose Fuentes. De Gouw and Zhang join the continuing editors Steven Ghan and Yinon Rudich. Sara Pryor (Indiana University, Bloomington) is joining the Atmospheres section editorial board as an associate editor now; she will transition to editor in January 2010.

The ICRP task group respiratory tract model - an age-dependent dosimetric model for general application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, M.R.; Birchall, A.

1992-01-01

The ICRP Task Group on Human Respiratory Tract Models for Radiological Protection has developed a revised dosimetric model for the respiratory tract. Papers outlining the model, and describing each aspect of it were presented at the Third International Workshop on Respiratory Tract Dosimetry (Albuquerque 1-3 July 1990), the Proceedings of which were recently published in Radiation Protection Dosimetry Volume 38 Nos 1-3 (1991). Since the model had not changed substantially since the Workshop at Albuquerque, only a summary of the paper presented at Schloss Elmau is included in these Proceedings. (author)

Administrative circular No. 2 (Rev. 5) – Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members

CERN Document Server

HR Department

2011-01-01

Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 5) entitled "Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members", approved by the Director-General following discussion in the Standing Concertation Committee meeting on 1 September 2011, is available on the intranet site of the Human Resources Department: https://cern.ch/hr-docs/admincirc/admincirc.asp It cancels and replaces Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 4) entitled "Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members" of September 2009. Department Head Office

Recommendations concerning Tennessee's hazardous waste management policies by a task force representing generators, environmentalists, and other key constituencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colglazier, E.W.; English, M.R.

1987-01-01

Four recommendations are proposed. 1) A Governor's Roundtable on Hazardous and Solid Wastes should be established to ensure that Tennessee have sound policies and plans for waste management, adequate waste treatment and disposal capacity, and the means to meet the October, 1989 deadline for certification of hazardous waste capacity. 2) Opportunities for early public information and participation in Tennessee's RCRA permitting process should be improved. 3) A Superfund Public Involvement Task Force should be appointed by the Commissioner of Health and Environment to find ways to ensure that a community affected by a Tennessee Superfund site has early and adequate opportunities for information and involvement. 4) Communications about hazardous waste issues should be improved by the appointment of a hazardous waste information officer, the establishment of a Speakers Bureau, the funding of the UT Center for Industrial Services' Hazardous Waste Extension Program, establishment of a crisis situation network of consultants for communities, and exploration of the possibility of Amnesty Days for household hazardous waste and for small-quantity generators waste

A model for mentoring newly-appointed nurse educators in nursing education institutions in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eunice Seekoe

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Background: South Africa transformed higher education through the enactment of the Higher Education Act (No. 101 of 1997. The researcher identified the need to develop a model for the mentoring of newly-appointed nurse educators in nursing education institutions in South Africa. Objectives: To develop and describe the model for mentoring newly-appointed nurse educators in nursing education institutions in South Africa. Method: A qualitative and theory-generating design was used (following empirical findings regarding needs analysis in order to develop the model. The conceptualisation of the framework focused on the context, content, process and the theoretical domains that influenced the model. Ideas from different theories were borrowed from and integrated with the literature and deductive and inductive strategies were applied. Results: The structure of the model is multidimensional and complex in nature (macro, mesoand micro based on the philosophy of reflective practice, competency-based practice andcritical learning theories. The assumptions are in relation to stakeholders, context, mentoring, outcome, process and dynamic. The stakeholders are the mentor and mentee within an interactive participatory relationship. The mentoring takes place within the process with a sequence of activities such as relationship building, development, engagement, reflective process and assessment. Capacity building and empowerment are outcomes of mentoring driven by motivation. Conclusion: The implication for nurse managers is that the model can be used to develop mentoring programmes for newly-appointed nurse educators.

75 FR 45011 - Olde Cypress Community Bank, Clewiston, FL; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-30

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Olde Cypress Community Bank, Clewiston, FL... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Olde Cypress Community Bank, Clewiston, Florida...

75 FR 65404 - Security Savings Bank, FSB; Olathe, KS; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-22

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Security Savings Bank, FSB; Olathe, KS... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Security Savings Bank, FSB, Olathe...

75 FR 41927 - Ideal Federal Savings Bank, Baltimore, Maryland; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-19

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Ideal Federal Savings Bank, Baltimore... contained in section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Ideal Federal Savings Bank...

12 CFR 1777.28 - Appointment of conservator for a significantly undercapitalized or critically undercapitalized...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... appointment of a conservator would have serious adverse effects on economic conditions of national financial markets or on the financial stability of the housing finance market; and (ii) The public interest would be... FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE OVERSIGHT, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SAFETY AND SOUNDNESS...

Age-related decrements in dual-task performance: Comparison of different mobility and cognitive tasks. A cross sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Brustio, Paolo Riccardo; Magistro, Daniele; Zecca, Massimiliano; Rabaglietti, Emanuela; Liubicich, Monica Emma

2017-01-01

This cross-sectional study investigated the age-related differences in dual-task performance both in mobility and cognitive tasks and the additive dual-task costs in a sample of older, middle-aged and young adults. 74 older adults (M = 72.63±5.57 years), 58 middle-aged adults (M = 46.69±4.68 years) and 63 young adults (M = 25.34±3.00 years) participated in the study. Participants performed different mobility and subtraction tasks under both single- and dual-task conditions. Linear regressions, repeated-measures and one-way analyses of covariance were used, The results showed: significant effects of the age on the dual and mobility tasks (ptask costs (pperformance under dual-task conditions in all groups (pperformance in the older group (ptask activity affected mobility and cognitive performance, especially in older adults who showed a higher dual-task cost, suggesting that dual-tasks activities are affected by the age and consequently also mobility and cognitive tasks are negatively influenced.

Dual-task performance involving hand dexterity and cognitive tasks and daily functioning in people with schizophrenia: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Keh-chung; Wu, Yi-fang; Chen, I-chen; Tsai, Pei-luen; Wu, Ching-yi; Chen, Chia-ling

2015-01-01

This study investigated separate and concurrent performance on cognitive and hand dexterity tasks and the relationship to daily functioning in 16 people with schizophrenia and 16 healthy control participants. Participants performed the Purdue Pegboard Test and the Serial Seven Subtraction Test under single- and dual-task conditions and completed two daily functioning evaluations. The hand dexterity of all participants declined in the dual-task condition, but the discrepancy between single-task and dual-task hand dexterity was greater in the schizophrenia group than in the control group (p.70, for all). The extent of discrepancy in hand dexterity was negatively correlated with daily functioning in the schizophrenia group (rs=-.3 to -.5, ps=.04-.26). Ability to perform dual tasks may be an indicator of daily functioning in people with schizophrenia. Use of dual-task training may be considered as a therapeutic activity with these clients. Copyright © 2015 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Minutes and group memories from all NERBC/USGS-RPA power plant siting task force meetings through October, 1980. Appendix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-11-01

The New England River Basins Commission/United States Geological Survey-Resource Planning Analysis Office (NERBC/USGS-RPA) Power Plant Siting Task Force has formerly met seven times between July 1979 and August 1980. At the first meeting on July 13, 1979, the members agreed that there were many problems with the current process of selecting sites for power plants in New England, and that they would work by consensus to find solutions for these problems. At the second meeting on October 19, 1979, NERBC staff presented information on the site selection and approval processes in New England. The Task Force began a preliminary discussion of problems in these processes, and agreed that the initial scope of work of the Task Force would focus on issues in site selection. At the third meeting on January 18, 1980, the Task Force began initial discussions in three areas: imperfections in the site selection process, stakeholders in the site selection process, and principles to guide solutions to the problems in site selection. On March 7, 1980, at the fourth meeting, the Task Force continued discussions on imperfections, stakeholders, and principles. At the fifth meeting on May 2, 1980, the Task Force reached a wide range of agreements on the difficulties encountered in the site selection process and on the principles guiding problem solving in site selection. At the sixth meeting on May 29, 1980, the Task Force focused on solutions to the problems identified at earlier meetings. Groups of Task Force members constructed eight different scenarios describing alternative power plant siting processes. In July 1980, the Task Force met for the seventh time and refined the eight scenarios, paring them down to five. An attempt was made to develop two scenarios using the common elements from the five. One of these two graphic models was based on government involvement in the site selection process, and the other was based on stakeholder involvement in the process

What makes a 'good group'? Exploring the characteristics and performance of undergraduate student groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Channon, S B; Davis, R C; Goode, N T; May, S A

2017-03-01

Group work forms the foundation for much of student learning within higher education, and has many educational, social and professional benefits. This study aimed to explore the determinants of success or failure for undergraduate student teams and to define a 'good group' through considering three aspects of group success: the task, the individuals, and the team. We employed a mixed methodology, combining demographic data with qualitative observations and task and peer evaluation scores. We determined associations between group dynamic and behaviour, demographic composition, member personalities and attitudes towards one another, and task success. We also employed a cluster analysis to create a model outlining the attributes of a good small group learning team in veterinary education. This model highlights that student groups differ in measures of their effectiveness as teams, independent of their task performance. On the basis of this, we suggest that groups who achieve high marks in tasks cannot be assumed to have acquired team working skills, and therefore if these are important as a learning outcome, they must be assessed directly alongside the task output.

Highly task-related diversity vs. less task-related diversity among university staff

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

2013-01-01

from 489 university staff members showed that age diversity and cultural diversity, representing highly task-related diversity, were positively associated with most of the variables depicting group cohesiveness. On the other hand, gender diversity, illustrating less task-related diversity, seemed......As only very few large-scale studies have investigated multi-cultural university staff and as none of these studies have dealt with diversity and group processes, this survey was directed toward staffs in 16 science departments from three large universities in Denmark. Results based on the response...

Quantifying Appointments, Treatment Time, Impressions, and Diagnostic Data of Cases Staffed by General Dentists and Prosthodontists in a Dental School Clinic.

Science.gov (United States)

Imbery, Terence A; Greenfield, Kristy; Diaz, Nicholas; Janus, Charles; Best, Al M

2016-10-01

The aim of this retrospective study was to quantify differences between general dentists and prosthodontists regarding appointments, treatment time, impressions, and preoperative diagnostic data in teaching predoctoral clinical fixed prosthodontics. Electronic dental records (n=356) of patients treated at one dental school in academic year 2012 were randomly selected for review to obtain the following data: faculty and student demographics, number of appointments and treatment time from preparation to cementation, number of impressions made, completion of oral disease control treatment (ODCT), and presence of preoperative periapical radiographs and diagnostic casts. The results showed that ODCT was completed in 78%, preoperative radiographs were present in 76%, and diagnostic casts made in 53% of the cases reviewed. There was no statistically significant difference in number of appointments, treatment time, or number of final impressions when students were staffed by general dentists or prosthodontists. When students were supervised by multiple faculty members, there was generally an increase in treatment time and number of appointments and final impressions. Although this study found no statistically significant differences between general dentists and prosthodontists regarding the criteria evaluated, the results suggest that faculty development and calibration are needed to ensure ODCT is completed and preoperative radiographs are present prior to initiating fixed prosthodontic procedures.

5 CFR 330.504 - Special restrictions after appointment under Part-time Direct Hire Program.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... under Part-time Direct Hire Program. 330.504 Section 330.504 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF... To Protect Competitive Principles § 330.504 Special restrictions after appointment under Part-time Direct Hire Program. (a) A person hired under the Part-time Direct Hire Program may not be changed to...

Development and application of a new tool in driver task analysis; Entwicklung und Anwendung einer neuen Methodik zur Fahreraufgabenanalyse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fastenmeier, W.; Gstalter, H. [mensch-verkehr-umwelt Institut fuer Angewandte Psychologie, Muenchen (Germany)

2003-07-01

A framework for driver task analysis is derived from a model of the drivers information processing. The first step of the procedure (SAFE) is to divide a given driving task (e.g. left turning in a signalised intersection of a certain type) into subtasks. These subtasks are appointed to defined stretches of the road and the time structure of the subtasks is determined. For each subtask an analysis format is used, that organizes different requirements into perception, expectation, judgement, memory, decision and driver action. In a next step, typical driver errors are appointed to the subtasks. Afterwards the information gathered in the analysis procedure is compressed to ratings of the complexity and risk included in each subtask. After the crucial subtasks of a driving task have been determined, a list of those requirements that led to that rating can be compiled. These lists give the potential for aiding the driver e.g. by use of driver assistance systems. (orig.) [German] In den Verkehrswissenschaften existieren bislang keine verkehrsspezifischen Standardverfahren, die eine Anforderungsanalyse auf der Ebene der Fahraufgaben erlauben. Dieser Beitrag stellt die Grundzuege eines Verfahrens zur Fahraufgabenanalyse dar (SAFE: Situative Anforderungsanalyse von Fahraufgaben). Es basiert auf einer Modellvorstellung zu den Informationsverarbeitungsprozessen, die waehrend der Bewaeltigung der Fahraufgabe eine Rolle spielen. Der erste Schritt der Aufgabenanalyse besteht darin, eine ausgewaehlte Fahraufgabe (z.B. Linksabbiegen in einer ampelgeregelten Kreuzung bestimmten Typs) in Teilaufgaben zu zerlegen und eine zeitliche Strukturierung dieser Teilaufgaben vorzunehmen. Diese werden raeumlichen Segmenten zugeordnet, die nacheinander durchfahren werden muessen. Fuer jede Teilaufgabe erfolgt dann die eigentliche Anforderungsanalyse, die nach den Kapiteln Wahrnehmung, Erwartungsbildung, Beurteilung, Gedaechtnisprozesse, Entscheidung/Planung sowie Fahrzeugbedienung mit jeweils

Improving the patient booking service to reduce the number of missed appointments at East London NHS Foundation Trust Community Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Service.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Elizabeth; Shah, Amar; De Souza, Warren; Harrison, Mark; Chettur, Chris; Onathukattil, Maimoona; Smart, Michelle; Mata, Marlon; Chitewe, Auzewell; Binley, Emma

2017-01-01

The East London National Health Service Foundation Trust (ELFT) Community Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapy Service had reported a high rate of non-attendance at scheduled appointments. This was leading to delayed access to treatment for patients and a reduced capacity for service users, as well as a waste of clinical resources. The aim of this quality improvement project was therefore to reduce the percentage of missed appointments within this department. This study was undertaken by the ELFT community MSK service, with support from the ELFT Quality Improvement team. To begin with, patient complaints were explored; these indicated that the main reason for missing appointments was due to issues with the patient booking service. Baseline data were initially collected for both new referrals and follow-up patients. The proposed changes were then introduced, which included text message reminders, first via a manual platform and then via an automated system. Ongoing data were recorded to note the effectiveness of these changes. Following the intervention, non-attendance of newly referred patients reduced by 43.35% (23.76%-13.46%) after both cycles. Non-attendance of follow-up patients reduced by 44.14% (23.74%-13.26%) after the second cycle alone. By listening to the opinions of service users, it was possible to improve the patient booking system and the flexibility of appointments. This resulted in a reduction in the percentage of appointments missed. These changes will continue to be monitored within this department to ensure sustainability but there is also now potential for similar interventions to be trialled in other health service departments.

Michel Spiro is appointed director of the IN2P3 and the Department of Nuclear and Particle Physics of the CNRS

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

"Michel Spiro was appointed director of the IN2P3, by order of the Minister of Youth, National Education and Research and the Minister of Research and New Technologies on February 17, 2003. He was also appointed director of the Department of Nuclear and Particle Physics of the CNRS by decision of the CNRS Director General on February 21, 2003" (1/2 page).

The birth of NASA the work of the Space Task Group, America's first true space pioneers

CERN Document Server

von Ehrenfried, Dutch

2016-01-01

This is the story of the work of the original NASA space pioneers; men and women who were suddenly organized in 1958 from the then National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) into the Space Task Group. A relatively small group, they developed the initial mission concept plans and procedures for the U. S. space program. Then they boldly built hardware and facilities to accomplish those missions. The group existed only three years before they were transferred to the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, in 1962, but their organization left a large mark on what would follow. Von Ehrenfried's personal experience with the STG at Langley uniquely positions him to describe the way the group was structured and how it reacted to the new demands of a post-Sputnik era. He artfully analyzes how the growing space program was managed and what techniques enabled it to develop so quickly from an operations perspective. The result is a fascinating window into history, amply backed up by first person documentation ...

75 FR 17463 - Key West Bank, Key West, Florida; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-06

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Key West Bank, Key West, Florida; Notice... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Key West Bank, Key West, Florida, (OTS No...

75 FR 4909 - Charter Bank: Santa Fe, New Mexico; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-29

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Charter Bank: Santa Fe, New Mexico; Notice... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Charter Bank, Santa Fe, New Mexico, (OTS No...

Do fights prohibit helping? : the influence of task interdependence and conflict norms on helping behavior during task conflict

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rispens, S.

2009-01-01

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of group conflict norms and task interdependence on individuals' willingness to help others under conditions of task conflict to better understand how group characteristics influence individual helping behavior.

A CRISE DO MEIO AMBIENTE ENTRE AS VÁRIAS AGENDAS CONTEMPORÂNEAS / THE CRISIS OF ENVIROMENT BETWEEN DIFERENT APPOINTMENTS CONTEMPORARY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boaz Antonio de Vasconcelos Lopes

2009-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper are showing the main appointments for the management of natural resources while uncovering the internal contradictions of the whole process of socio-environmental. was chosen an approach which identifies the following categories of analysis: vision, procedure, instrument, key players and space. then, with the referrals are characterized as follows appointments of environmental management: theory of pigou, coase's thesis, thesis of the integrated management of natural resources and the radical critique of the model of production and current consumption.

Harmonization of nuclear codes and standards. Pacific nuclear council working and task group report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dua, Shami

2008-01-01

Nuclear codes and standards have been an integral part of the nuclear industry since its inception. As the industry came into the main stream over the 2nd half of the 20th century, a number of national and international standards were developed to support a specific nuclear reactor concept. These codes and standards have been a key component of the industry to maintain its focus on nuclear safety, reliability and quality. Both national and international standards have served the industry well in obtaining public, shareholder and regulatory acceptance. The existing suite of national and international standards is required to support the emerging nuclear renaissance. However as noted above under Pacific Nuclear Council (PNC), Manufacturing Design Evaluation Program (MDEP) and SMiRT discussions, the time has come now for the codes and standards writing bodies and the industry to take the next step to examine the relevance of existing suite in view of current needs and challenges. This review must account for the changing global environment including global supply chain and regulatory framework, resources, deregulation, free trade, and industry need for competitiveness and performance excellence. The Task Group (TG) has made limited progress in this review period as no additional information on the listing of codes and standards have been received from the members. However, TG Chair has been successful in obtaining considerable interest from some additional individuals from the member countries. It is important that PNC management seek additional participation from the member countries and asks for their active engagement in the Working Group (WG) TG activities to achieve its mandate and deliverables. The harmonization of codes and standards is a key area for the emerging nuclear renaissance and as noted by a number of international organizations (refer to MDEP action noted above) that these tasks can not be completed unless we have the right level of resources and

Prevalence of inter-appointment endodontic flare-ups and host-related factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Azim, Adham A; Azim, Katharina A; Abbott, Paul V

2017-04-01

The aims of this study were to report the prevalence of inter-appointment flare-ups following adequate root canal disinfection and to investigate the host factors contributing to its occurrence. One thousand five hundred patient records were reviewed and the prevalence of flare-up was recorded. Patients' root canal space status (vital, non-vital or retreatment), medical condition and demographics (age, gender, tooth type and position) were recorded from their dental records. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the impact of the recorded factors on flare-up occurrence. Nine hundred fifty-one patient records met the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of flare-up was 2.3 %. There was a correlation between the canal space status and patient's age with flare-up development (P flare-up occurrence and tooth type, location, gender or medical condition (P > 0.5). The root canal space status was the primary factor affecting flare-up occurrence. Patients >50 years had the highest risk in developing flare-ups. This article provides evidence that patients suffering from inflamed pulp will not develop flare-up if adequate cleaning and shaping of the root canal space was performed. It also shows that patients above the age of 50 are a high-risk group that is prone to flare-up development.

Report and recommendations of the task force on tree and shrub planting on active oil sands tailings dams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-02-15

In oil sands reclamation operations in Canada there is a conflict between dam safety and the planting of trees and woody shrubs. Indeed, tree planting is being restricted on the downstream slopes of dams to avoid damage to drains and to ensure the integrity of visual and instrumentation monitoring conflicting thus with progressive reclamation. Alberta Environment hired the Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN), an independent organization which analyzes and interprets available knowledge on soil and water reclamation in the oil sands mining sector, to address this issue and make recommendations. The organization appointed a Task Force which presented its final report in March 2011. The Task Force recommended that the Engineer of Record should be responsible for determining the tree and shrub planting zones and that he should submit his plans to Alberta Environment for approval.

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huq, M. Saiful; Fraass, Benedick A.; Dunscombe, Peter B.; Gibbons, John P.; Ibbott, Geoffrey S.; Mundt, Arno J.; Mutic, Sasa; Palta, Jatinder R.; Rath, Frank; Thomadsen, Bruce R.; Williamson, Jeffrey F.; Yorke, Ellen D.

2016-01-01

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact of possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for “intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)” as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huq, M. Saiful, E-mail: HUQS@UPMC.EDU [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC CancerCenter, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232 (United States); Fraass, Benedick A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California 90048 (United States); Dunscombe, Peter B. [Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary T2N 1N4 (Canada); Gibbons, John P. [Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, Louisiana 70121 (United States); Ibbott, Geoffrey S. [Department of Radiation Physics, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Mundt, Arno J. [Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California 92093-0843 (United States); Mutic, Sasa [Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 (United States); Palta, Jatinder R. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 980058, Richmond, Virginia 23298 (United States); Rath, Frank [Department of Engineering Professional Development, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Thomadsen, Bruce R. [Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53705-2275 (United States); Williamson, Jeffrey F. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0058 (United States); Yorke, Ellen D. [Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Center, New York, New York 10065 (United States)

2016-07-15

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact of possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for “intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)” as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management

Science.gov (United States)

Huq, M. Saiful; Fraass, Benedick A.; Dunscombe, Peter B.; Gibbons, John P.; Mundt, Arno J.; Mutic, Sasa; Palta, Jatinder R.; Rath, Frank; Thomadsen, Bruce R.; Williamson, Jeffrey F.; Yorke, Ellen D.

2016-01-01

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact of possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for “intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)” as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation

75 FR 82146 - Appalachian Community Bank, FSB, McCaysville, GA, Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-29

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Appalachian Community Bank, FSB... contained in section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Appalachian Community Bank, FSB...

Task-irrelevant emotion facilitates face discrimination learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzino, Martina; Caudek, Corrado

2015-03-01

We understand poorly how the ability to discriminate faces from one another is shaped by visual experience. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether face discrimination learning can be facilitated by facial emotions. To answer this question, we used a task-irrelevant perceptual learning paradigm because it closely mimics the learning processes that, in daily life, occur without a conscious intention to learn and without an attentional focus on specific facial features. We measured face discrimination thresholds before and after training. During the training phase (4 days), participants performed a contrast discrimination task on face images. They were not informed that we introduced (task-irrelevant) subtle variations in the face images from trial to trial. For the Identity group, the task-irrelevant features were variations along a morphing continuum of facial identity. For the Emotion group, the task-irrelevant features were variations along an emotional expression morphing continuum. The Control group did not undergo contrast discrimination learning and only performed the pre-training and post-training tests, with the same temporal gap between them as the other two groups. Results indicate that face discrimination improved, but only for the Emotion group. Participants in the Emotion group, moreover, showed face discrimination improvements also for stimulus variations along the facial identity dimension, even if these (task-irrelevant) stimulus features had not been presented during training. The present results highlight the importance of emotions for face discrimination learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste Area Grouping 2 Remedial Investigation Phase 1 Seep Task data report: Contaminant source area assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hicks, D.S.

1996-03-01

This report presents the findings of the Waste Area Grouping (WAG) 2, Phase 1 Remedial Investigation (RI) Seep Task efforts during 1993 and 1994 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The results presented here follow results form the first year of sampling, 1992, which are contained in the Phase 1 RI report for WAG 2 (DOE 1995a). The WAG 2 Seep Task efforts focused on contaminants in seeps, tributaries, and main streams within the White Oak Creek (WOC) watershed. This report is designed primarily as a reference for contaminants and a resource for guiding remedial decisions. Additional in-depth assessments of the Seep Task data may provide clearer understandings of contaminant transport from the different source areas in the WOC watershed. WAG 2 consists of WOC and its tributaries downstream of the ORNL main plant area, White Oak Lake, the White Oak Creek Embayment of the Clinch River, and the associated flood plains and subsurface environment. The WOC watershed encompasses ORNL and associated WAGs. WAG 2 acts as an integrator for contaminant releases from the contaminated sites at ORNL and as the conduit transporting contaminants to the Clinch River. The main objectives of the Seep Task were to identify and characterize seeps, tributaries and source areas that are responsible for the contaminant releases to the main streams in WAG 2 and to quantify their input to the total contaminant release from the watershed at White Oak Dam (WOD). Efforts focused on 90 Sr, 3 H, and 137 Cs because these contaminants pose the greatest potential human health risk from water ingestion at WOD. Bimonthly sampling was conducted throughout the WOC watershed beginning in March 1993 and ending in August 1994. Samples were also collected for metals, anions, alkalinity, organics, and other radionuclides

Training experience and views of recently appointed consultants in geriatric medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandler, M

1992-01-01

A postal survey of 71 recently appointed consultant geriatricians was undertaken in spring 1991. Several respondents were concerned about the adequacy of training in domiciliary visiting and continuing care, and about the time allocated for research and study. A high proportion felt they had been poorly prepared for the administrative and organisational components of their consultant post, and 75% of respondents advocated training in managerial skills for senior registrars. These findings are relevant to the planning of future training for senior registrars in geriatric medicine.

Report on the joint meeting of the Division of Development and Technology Plasma Wall Interaction and High Heat Flux Materials and Components task groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nygren, R.E.

1992-04-01

The Plasma/Wall Interaction and High Heat Flux Materials and Components Task Groups typically hold a joint meeting each year to provide a forum for discussion of technical issues of current interest as well as an opportunity for program reviews by the Department of Energy (DOE). At the meeting in September 1990, reported here, research programs in support of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) were highlighted. The first part of the meeting was devoted to research and development (R ampersand D) for ITER on plasma facing components plus introductory presentations on some current projects and design studies. The balance of the meeting was devoted to program reviews, which included presentations by most of the participants in the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Programs with activities related to plasma wall interactions. The Task Groups on Plasma/Wall Interaction and on High Heat Flux Materials and Components were chartered as continuing working groups by the Division of Development and Technology in DOE's Magnetic Fusion Program. This report is an addition to the series of ''blue cover'' reports on the Joint Meetings of the Plasma/Wall Interaction and High Heat Flux Materials and Components Task Groups. Among several preceding meetings were those in October 1989 and January 1988

The effect of single-task and dual-task balance exercise programs on balance performance in adults with osteoporosis: a randomized controlled preliminary trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Konak, H E; Kibar, S; Ergin, E S

2016-11-01

Osteoporosis is a serious disease characterized by muscle weakness in the lower extremities, shortened length of trunk, and increased dorsal kyphosis leading to poor balance performance. Although balance impairment increases in adults with osteoporosis, falls and fall-related injuries have been shown to occur mainly during the dual-task performance. Several studies have shown that dual-task performance was improved with specific repetitive dual-task exercises. The aims of this study were to compare the effect of single- and dual-task balance exercise programs on static balance, dynamic balance, and activity-specific balance confidence in adults with osteoporosis and to assess the effectiveness of dual-task balance training on gait speed under dual-task conditions. Older adults (N = 42) (age range, 45-88 years) with osteoporosis were randomly assigned into two groups. Single-task balance training group was given single-task balance exercises for 4 weeks, whereas dual-task balance training group received dual-task balance exercises. Participants received 45-min individualized training session, three times a week. Static balance was evaluated by one-leg stance (OLS) and a kinesthetic ability trainer (KAT) device. Dynamic balance was measured by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Time Up and Go (TUG) test, and gait speed. Self-confidence was assessed with the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC-6) scale. Assessments were performed at baseline and after the 4-week program. At the end of the treatment periods, KAT score, BBS score, time in OLS and TUG, gait speeds under single- and dual-task conditions, and ABC-6 scale scores improved significantly in all patients (p gait speeds under single- and dual-task conditions showed significantly greater improvement in the dual-task balance training group than in the single-task balance training group (p gait speeds showed greater improvement following the application of a specific type of dual-task exercise programs

Second statement of the working group on electrocardiographic diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bacharova, Ljuba; Estes, E Harvey; Bang, Lia E

2011-01-01

The Working Group on Electrocardiographic Diagnosis of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy, appointed by the Editor of the Journal of Electrocardiology, presents the alternative conceptual model for the ECG diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). It is stressed that ECG is a record of electrica...

Form-based Approaches vs. Task-Based Approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Talebi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating whether task-based approaches bear any superiority to that of more traditional ones evident in presentation-practice- and production phase .to fulfill the purpose of the study, the participants within the age range of 11-19, took part in the study. Following a pretest, treatment, and a posttest, the obtained data was analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA to examine the effects of the variables. The results of the analysis showed that participants in the PPP group did significantly better in the grammar recognition of the posttest than that of the task group. However, their counterparts in the task group gained better scores in the writing section of the test .this research study provided evidence in support of task proponents' claim in the merit of task-based activity in raising learners' implicit knowledge claiming to play the primary role in spontaneous speech.

[Requests for emergency appointments with dermatologists in private practice in France: the ETude Urgences en DErmatologie libérale (ET.U.DE) study].

Science.gov (United States)

Penso-Assathiany, D; Bourdon-Lanoy, E; Derancourt, C; Roujeau, J-C; Bastuji-Garin, S

2007-01-01

Requests for emergency appointments are fairly common in private dermatologic practice in France. To our knowledge the frequency and reasons for such requests have not yet been evaluated. The primary objective of our study was to provide a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of such requests and to assess the underlying reasons. The secondary aim was to investigate for an association between emergency requests where response was justified within 48 hours and the symptoms reported by patients in order to establish a predictive score for the validity of requests. The study took place during one week in April 2004. Forty French dermatologists took part on a voluntary basis. They deliberately reduced their ongoing schedule to accommodate patients seeking an urgent appointment. We collected data regarding the normal professional activity of each dermatologist, reasons for appointments, symptoms, diagnosis and evaluation of the degree of emergency by the attending dermatologist. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed and a score was attributed based on the results for the variables used in the logistic regression model. The mean number of patients seen at emergency appointments during the study week doubled in comparison with a normal period. During the week, 613 patients phoned and all questionnaires were completed for 538 (88%) patients. The most common reasons for requesting an appointment were: rash, eczema, pruritus, tumour modification, localized lesion and allergy. The most frequent diagnoses were: eczema, bacterial and viral infection, atopic dermatitis, mycosis and naevus. The dermatologists considered that the consultations were justified within 48 hours for one third of patients. In the multivariate analysis, factors significantly associated with a justified request were of a general medical rather than a dermatological nature: enlarged cysts, blisters, insomnia, impaired activity, onset or aggravation within the previous 7 days, inability to

Task-based incidental vocabulary learning in L2 Arabic: The role of proficiency and task performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayman A. Mohamed

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This study tests the claim that word learning in a second language are contingent upon a task’s involvement load (i.e. the amount of need, search, and evaluation it imposes, as proposed by Laufer and Hulstijn (2001. Fifty-three English-speaking learners of Arabic were assigned to one of three vocabulary learning tasks that varied in the degree of involvement: reading comprehension with glosses (low, fill-in-the-gap task (medium, and sentence writing (high. Ten words, selected based on a pretest, were targeted in the tasks. Results showed a main effect of task, with the sentence writing task yielding the highest rates of vocabulary learning, followed by the gap-fill task, and finally the reading comprehension task. A significant correlation was found between accuracy of performance across participants and their subsequent vocabulary acquisition in the immediate posttest. Within groups, only the performance of the writing group correlated significantly with their posttest scores. Results of the present study validate the hypothesis and point to multiple factors at play in incidental vocabulary acquisition. The study provides further arguments to refine the hypothesis and implement pedagogical practices that accommodate incidental learning in foreign language settings.

75 FR 45011 - MainStreet Savings Bank, FSB, Hastings, MI; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-30

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision MainStreet Savings Bank, FSB, Hastings, MI... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for MainStreet Savings Bank, Hastings, Michigan...

75 FR 47899 - Bayside Savings Bank, Port St. Joe, FL; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-09

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Bayside Savings Bank, Port St. Joe, FL... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for Bayside Savings Bank, Port St. Joe, Florida...

5 CFR 230.402 - Agency authority to make emergency-indefinite appointments in a national emergency.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...) Definition. A national emergency must meet all of the following conditions: (i) It was declared by the... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agency authority to make emergency-indefinite appointments in a national emergency. 230.402 Section 230.402 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF...

Scientific profile and professional responsibility of Court-appointed Medical Technical Consultants in Italy: time for a specific educational curriculum?

Science.gov (United States)

Conti, Andrea Alberto

2014-08-20

Court-appointed Technical Consultants (CTCs) are fundamental figures in the Italian judicial system. CTCs are experts appointed by judges in order to supplement their activities by ascertaining, collecting and analyzing facts concerning the specific subject of a lawsuit. These experts formulate opinions, gather motivations and perform checks to provide clear, objective and irrefutable answers to the questions posed by judges. With direct reference to the medical field, while police doctors (specialists in forensic medicine) follow an academic, dedicated, well-structured educational curriculum, the University specialty school in Forensic Medicine, other medical CTCs, though not infrequently luminaries with one or many medical specialties and professional acknowledgments, may have no specific legal-medicine and juridical expertise, precisely because a similar expertise is not formally required of them. In the light of these considerations, in Italy some professionals of the legal world, and of the health context too, have proposed for medical CTCs targeted educational pathways, which would provide these experts with formal specific qualifications. In synthesis and in conclusion, a full knowledge and a rigorous respect of the rules of legal proceedings emerge as increasingly important characteristics for current and future Court-appointed Technical Consultants, together with a specific educational curriculum.

Dynamic, continuous multitasking training leads to task-specific improvements but does not transfer across action selection tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Bender, Angela D.; Filmer, Hannah L.; Naughtin, Claire K.; Dux, Paul E.

2017-12-01

The ability to perform multiple tasks concurrently is an ever-increasing requirement in our information-rich world. Despite this, multitasking typically compromises performance due to the processing limitations associated with cognitive control and decision-making. While intensive dual-task training is known to improve multitasking performance, only limited evidence suggests that training-related performance benefits can transfer to untrained tasks that share overlapping processes. In the real world, however, coordinating and selecting several responses within close temporal proximity will often occur in high-interference environments. Over the last decade, there have been notable reports that training on video action games that require dynamic multitasking in a demanding environment can lead to transfer effects on aspects of cognition such as attention and working memory. Here, we asked whether continuous and dynamic multitasking training extends benefits to tasks that are theoretically related to the trained tasks. To examine this issue, we asked a group of participants to train on a combined continuous visuomotor tracking task and a perceptual discrimination task for six sessions, while an active control group practiced the component tasks in isolation. A battery of tests measuring response selection, response inhibition, and spatial attention was administered before and immediately after training to investigate transfer. Multitasking training resulted in substantial, task-specific gains in dual-task ability, but there was no evidence that these benefits generalized to other action control tasks. The findings suggest that training on a combined visuomotor tracking and discrimination task results in task-specific benefits but provides no additional value for untrained action selection tasks.

The integrity of persons elected, appointed or exercising public functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agathi Nano

2017-07-01

On 17 December 2015, Members of the Albanian Parliament adopt by consensus the constitutional amendments and legislative framework which are necessary to introduce in our country a clear mechanism for the exclusion of criminal offenders from public offices. In this paper we examine regulatory issues relating to the legal framework necessary to guarantee the integrity of public officials, the verification and ascertainment of the prohibition of exercising public functions and the implementation of the prohibitive measures provided for by law no. 138/2015 “On guaranteeing the integrity of the persons elected and/or appointed to, or exercising public functions”, the so called “decriminalisation” law.

31 CFR 363.27 - What do I need to know about accounts for minors who have not had a legal guardian appointed by a...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What do I need to know about accounts for minors who have not had a legal guardian appointed by a court? 363.27 Section 363.27 Money and... minors who have not had a legal guardian appointed by a court? (a) We do not permit a minor to purchase...

Operation REDWING Commander Task Group 7.3, Operation Plan Number 1-56.

Science.gov (United States)

1956-01-24

Radio Circuit Description SI. Tab B - Radio Frequency Plan 7:: Tab C - Aircraft Radio Frequency List Tab D - Radio Circuit Diagram Appendix 2 - Radio...Frequency Plan C Aircraft Radio Frequency List D Radio Circuit Diagrams 2 - Radio Call Signs and Code ’Words N. ROHI5BE2 E LCDR, U. S. Navy Flag...appendix. TABS: A Radio Circuit Description B Radio Frequency Plan C Aircraft Radio Frequency List D Radio Circuit Diagrams Joint Task Force SEVEN Task

Nonattendance to medical specialists’ appointments and its relation to regional environmental and socioeconomic indicators in the Chilean public health system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Angélica Salinas Rebolledo

2014-10-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION Medical care provided by medical specialists is one of the scarcest resources in the public system. It is costly and difficult to access for the general population. Availability and accessibility of specialized care is related to economic, social and cultural aspects that vary among geographical areas. An aggravating factor for this situation is patients’ failure to appear on the date of their appointment, which is defined as the nonattendance of patients to medical specialist appointments without notice. OBJECTIVES To measure and analyze the phenomenon of nonattendance of patients to medical appointments with specialists in the public healthcare system of Chile and its relationship with environmental and socioeconomic regional indicators. METHODS Ecological design study, using medical care records in the public system and environmental and socioeconomic regional indicators potentially related to the absence of patients, between the years 2005-2010. Poisson regression models with random components were used for assessing associations. RESULTS There is 16.5% of nonattendance of patients, with a range between regions from 8.8 to 20.2%. Nonattendance is higher in the specialties of dermatology, geriatrics and nutrition (20.0%, in children (3.1% more than in adults, in areas with highest indigenous population (RR=1.3, in areas with low diversity of specialties (RR=1.1 and in the months of February, July, November and December (RR>1.1. CONCLUSIONS In Chile, socioeconomic factors and the management of healthcare resources have greater influence on the nonattendance of patients to medical specialists’ appointments than environmental factors; therefore, this phenomenon may be avoidable.

20 CFR 422.515 - Forms used for withdrawal, reconsideration and other appeals, and appointment of representative.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Forms used for withdrawal, reconsideration... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES Applications and Related Forms § 422.515 Forms used for withdrawal, reconsideration and other appeals, and appointment of representative. The...

75 FR 9646 - La Jolla Bank, FSB, La Jolla, CA; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-03

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision La Jolla Bank, FSB, La Jolla, CA; Notice... section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for La Jolla Bank, FSB, La Jolla...

Exploring the disruptive effects of psychopathy and aggression on group processes and group effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Baysinger, Michael A; Scherer, Kelly T; LeBreton, James M

2014-01-01

The present research examines the influence of implicit and explicit personality characteristics on group process and effectiveness. Individuals from 112 groups participated in 2 problem-solving tasks and completed measures of group process and effectiveness. Results indicated that groups characterized by higher levels of psychopathy and implicit aggression tended to have more dysfunctional interactions and negative perceptions of the group. In addition, task participation and negative socioemotional behaviors fully mediated the relationship between group personality traits and group commitment and cohesion, and negative socioemotional behaviors fully mediated the relationship between group personality and performance on both tasks. Implications of antisocial traits for group interactions and performance, as well as for future theory and research, are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved

Cognitive Therapy and Task Concentration Training Applied as Intensified Group Therapies for Social Anxiety Disorder with Fear of Blushing-A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Härtling, Samia; Klotsche, Jens; Heinrich, Anke; Hoyer, Jürgen

2016-11-01

The current study examines the efficacy of intensified group therapy for social anxiety disorder with fear of blushing. Task concentration training (TCT) and cognitive therapy (CT) were applied during one weekend and compared with a waiting list condition in a randomized controlled trial including 82 patients. On a second weekend, another intervention was added (resulting in TCT-CT and CT-TCT sequences) to examine order effects. Task concentration training and CT were both superior to the waiting list and equally effective after the first therapy weekend. Also, no differences were found between the sequences TCT-CT and CT-TCT at post-assessment. At 6- and 12-month follow-up, effects remained stable or further improved. At the 6-month follow-up, remission rates in completers, established by diagnostic status, were between 69% and 73%. Intensified group therapy is highly effective in treating social anxiety disorder with fear of blushing. Group formats for patients sharing a common primary concern may contribute to the dissemination of cognitive-behavioural therapy. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: This study focuses on blushing from fearful individuals within the SAD spectrum to improve evidence for treatment efficacy in those whose social fears are centred around observable bodily sensations. This study integrates task concentration training into the SAD model of Clark and Wells to combine two evidence-based treatments for SAD under one treatment model. This study uses an innovative format of brief, intensified group therapy, conducted on two full-day weekend group sessions delivered over two weekends, with strong observed effect sizes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 263: Standardizing Nomenclatures in Radiation Oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, Charles S; Moran, Jean M; Bosch, Walter; Xiao, Ying; McNutt, Todd; Popple, Richard; Michalski, Jeff; Feng, Mary; Marks, Lawrence B; Fuller, Clifton D; Yorke, Ellen; Palta, Jatinder; Gabriel, Peter E; Molineu, Andrea; Matuszak, Martha M; Covington, Elizabeth; Masi, Kathryn; Richardson, Susan L; Ritter, Timothy; Morgas, Tomasz; Flampouri, Stella; Santanam, Lakshmi; Moore, Joseph A; Purdie, Thomas G; Miller, Robert C; Hurkmans, Coen; Adams, Judy; Jackie Wu, Qing-Rong; Fox, Colleen J; Siochi, Ramon Alfredo; Brown, Norman L; Verbakel, Wilko; Archambault, Yves; Chmura, Steven J; Dekker, Andre L; Eagle, Don G; Fitzgerald, Thomas J; Hong, Theodore; Kapoor, Rishabh; Lansing, Beth; Jolly, Shruti; Napolitano, Mary E; Percy, James; Rose, Mark S; Siddiqui, Salim; Schadt, Christof; Simon, William E; Straube, William L; St James, Sara T; Ulin, Kenneth; Yom, Sue S; Yock, Torunn I

2018-03-15

A substantial barrier to the single- and multi-institutional aggregation of data to supporting clinical trials, practice quality improvement efforts, and development of big data analytics resource systems is the lack of standardized nomenclatures for expressing dosimetric data. To address this issue, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 263 was charged with providing nomenclature guidelines and values in radiation oncology for use in clinical trials, data-pooling initiatives, population-based studies, and routine clinical care by standardizing: (1) structure names across image processing and treatment planning system platforms; (2) nomenclature for dosimetric data (eg, dose-volume histogram [DVH]-based metrics); (3) templates for clinical trial groups and users of an initial subset of software platforms to facilitate adoption of the standards; (4) formalism for nomenclature schema, which can accommodate the addition of other structures defined in the future. A multisociety, multidisciplinary, multinational group of 57 members representing stake holders ranging from large academic centers to community clinics and vendors was assembled, including physicists, physicians, dosimetrists, and vendors. The stakeholder groups represented in the membership included the AAPM, American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), NRG Oncology, European Society for Radiation Oncology (ESTRO), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), Children's Oncology Group (COG), Integrating Healthcare Enterprise in Radiation Oncology (IHE-RO), and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine working group (DICOM WG); A nomenclature system for target and organ at risk volumes and DVH nomenclature was developed and piloted to demonstrate viability across a range of clinics and within the framework of clinical trials. The final report was approved by AAPM in October 2017. The approval process included review by 8 AAPM committees, with additional review by ASTRO

Overview of the ID, EPI and REL tasks of BioNLP Shared Task 2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pyysalo Sampo

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract We present the preparation, resources, results and analysis of three tasks of the BioNLP Shared Task 2011: the main tasks on Infectious Diseases (ID and Epigenetics and Post-translational Modifications (EPI, and the supporting task on Entity Relations (REL. The two main tasks represent extensions of the event extraction model introduced in the BioNLP Shared Task 2009 (ST'09 to two new areas of biomedical scientific literature, each motivated by the needs of specific biocuration tasks. The ID task concerns the molecular mechanisms of infection, virulence and resistance, focusing in particular on the functions of a class of signaling systems that are ubiquitous in bacteria. The EPI task is dedicated to the extraction of statements regarding chemical modifications of DNA and proteins, with particular emphasis on changes relating to the epigenetic control of gene expression. By contrast to these two application-oriented main tasks, the REL task seeks to support extraction in general by separating challenges relating to part-of relations into a subproblem that can be addressed by independent systems. Seven groups participated in each of the two main tasks and four groups in the supporting task. The participating systems indicated advances in the capability of event extraction methods and demonstrated generalization in many aspects: from abstracts to full texts, from previously considered subdomains to new ones, and from the ST'09 extraction targets to other entities and events. The highest performance achieved in the supporting task REL, 58% F-score, is broadly comparable with levels reported for other relation extraction tasks. For the ID task, the highest-performing system achieved 56% F-score, comparable to the state-of-the-art performance at the established ST'09 task. In the EPI task, the best result was 53% F-score for the full set of extraction targets and 69% F-score for a reduced set of core extraction targets, approaching a level

The Relationship between Task Cohesion and Competitive State Anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Eys, Mark A.; Hardy, James; Carron, Albert V.; Beauchamp, Mark R.

2003-01-01

Examined the association between athlete perceptions of task cohesiveness (Individual Attractions to the Group-Task and Group Integration-Task) and the degree to which they viewed their perceptions of the presence of pre-competition anxiety symptoms as facilitative or debilitative. Survey data indicated that the more positive their perceptions of…

Shared medical appointments: improving access, outcomes, and satisfaction for patients with chronic cardiac diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartley, Kelly Bauer; Haney, Rebecca

2010-01-01

Improving access to care, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction are primary objectives for healthcare practices. This article outlines benefits, concerns, and possible challenges of shared medical appointments (SMAs) for patients and providers. The SMA model was designed to support providers' demanding schedules by allowing patients with the same chronic condition to be seen in a group setting. By concentrating on patient education and disease management, interactive meetings provide an opportunity for patients to share both successes and struggles with others experiencing similar challenges. Studies demonstrated that SMAs improved patient access, enhanced outcomes, and promoted patient satisfaction. This article describes the potential benefits of SMAs for patients with chronic heart disease, which consumes a large number of healthcare dollars related to hospital admissions, acute exacerbations, and symptom management. Education for self-management of chronic disease can become repetitive and time consuming. The SMA model introduces a fresh and unique style of healthcare visits, allowing providers to devote more time and attention to patients and improve productivity. The SMA model provides an outstanding method for nurse practitioners to demonstrate their role as a primary care provider, by leading patients in group discussions and evaluating their current health status. Patient selection, preparation, and facilitation of an SMA are discussed to demonstrate the complementary nature of an SMA approach in a healthcare practice.

Shared and individual medical appointments for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: differences in topics discussed?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rijswijk, C.; Zantinge, E.; Seesing, F.; Raats, I.; Dulmen, S. van

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the type of topics discussed during shared medical appointments (SMAs) and traditional individual outpatient visits for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. In addition, differences between the conversational contributions

Experimental facilities for gas-cooled reactor safety studies. Task group on Advanced Reactor Experimental Facilities (TAREF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

In 2007, the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) completed a study on Nuclear Safety Research in OECD Countries: Support Facilities for Existing and Advanced Reactors (SFEAR) which focused on facilities suitable for current and advanced water reactor systems. In a subsequent collective opinion on the subject, the CSNI recommended to conduct a similar exercise for Generation IV reactor designs, aiming to develop a strategy for ' better preparing the CSNI to play a role in the planned extension of safety research beyond the needs set by current operating reactors'. In that context, the CSNI established the Task Group on Advanced Reactor Experimental Facilities (TAREF) in 2008 with the objective of providing an overview of facilities suitable for performing safety research relevant to gas-cooled reactors and sodium fast reactors. This report addresses gas-cooled reactors; a similar report covering sodium fast reactors is under preparation. The findings of the TAREF are expected to trigger internationally funded CSNI projects on relevant safety issues at the key facilities identified. Such CSNI-sponsored projects constitute a means for efficiently obtaining the necessary data through internationally co-ordinated research. This report provides an overview of experimental facilities that can be used to carry out nuclear safety research for gas-cooled reactors and identifies priorities for organizing international co-operative programmes at selected facilities. The information has been collected and analysed by a Task Group on Advanced Reactor Experimental Facilities (TAREF) as part of an ongoing initiative of the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) which aims to define and to implement a strategy for the efficient utilisation of facilities and resources for Generation IV reactor systems. (author)

75 FR 21391 - First Federal Bank of North Florida; Palatka, FL; Notice of Appointment of Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-23

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision First Federal Bank of North Florida... contained in section 5(d)(2) of the Home Owners' Loan Act, the Office of Thrift Supervision has duly appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as sole Receiver for First Federal Bank of North Florida...

Intraoperative radiation therapy using mobile electron linear accelerators: Report of AAPM Radiation Therapy Committee Task Group No. 72

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sam Beddar, A.; Biggs, Peter J.; Chang Sha; Ezzell, Gary A.; Faddegon, Bruce A.; Hensley, Frank W.; Mills, Michael D.

2006-01-01

Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) has been customarily performed either in a shielded operating suite located in the operating room (OR) or in a shielded treatment room located within the Department of Radiation Oncology. In both cases, this cancer treatment modality uses stationary linear accelerators. With the development of new technology, mobile linear accelerators have recently become available for IORT. Mobility offers flexibility in treatment location and is leading to a renewed interest in IORT. These mobile accelerator units, which can be transported any day of use to almost any location within a hospital setting, are assembled in a nondedicated environment and used to deliver IORT. Numerous aspects of the design of these new units differ from that of conventional linear accelerators. The scope of this Task Group (TG-72) will focus on items that particularly apply to mobile IORT electron systems. More specifically, the charges to this Task Group are to (i) identify the key differences between stationary and mobile electron linear accelerators used for IORT (ii) describe and recommend the implementation of an IORT program within the OR environment, (iii) present and discuss radiation protection issues and consequences of working within a nondedicated radiotherapy environment, (iv) describe and recommend the acceptance and machine commissioning of items that are specific to mobile electron linear accelerators, and (v) design and recommend an efficient quality assurance program for mobile systems

Ongoing quality control in digital radiography: Report of AAPM Imaging Physics Committee Task Group 151

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, A. Kyle; Geiser, William; Heintz, Philip; Goldman, Lee; Jerjian, Khachig; Martin, Melissa; Peck, Donald; Pfeiffer, Douglas; Ranger, Nicole; Yorkston, John

2015-01-01

Quality control (QC) in medical imaging is an ongoing process and not just a series of infrequent evaluations of medical imaging equipment. The QC process involves designing and implementing a QC program, collecting and analyzing data, investigating results that are outside the acceptance levels for the QC program, and taking corrective action to bring these results back to an acceptable level. The QC process involves key personnel in the imaging department, including the radiologist, radiologic technologist, and the qualified medical physicist (QMP). The QMP performs detailed equipment evaluations and helps with oversight of the QC program, the radiologic technologist is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the QC program. The continued need for ongoing QC in digital radiography has been highlighted in the scientific literature. The charge of this task group was to recommend consistency tests designed to be performed by a medical physicist or a radiologic technologist under the direction of a medical physicist to identify problems with an imaging system that need further evaluation by a medical physicist, including a fault tree to define actions that need to be taken when certain fault conditions are identified. The focus of this final report is the ongoing QC process, including rejected image analysis, exposure analysis, and artifact identification. These QC tasks are vital for the optimal operation of a department performing digital radiography

Equal task, equal exposure? Are men and women with the same tasks equally exposed to awkward working postures?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hooftman, W.E.; Beek, A.J. van der; Wal, B.G. van de; Knol, D.L.; Bongers, P.M.; Burdorf, A.; Mechelen, M. van

2009-01-01

The aim of the study was to determine whether men and woman with equal tasks perform these tasks in the same way. Video recordings of 37 male and 43 female workers in six task groups were observed, from which data regarding frequency and duration of exposure to awkward postures were derived. These

Error Sonification of a Complex Motor Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riener Robert

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Visual information is mainly used to master complex motor tasks. Thus, additional information providing augmented feedback should be displayed in other modalities than vision, e.g. hearing. The present work evaluated the potential of error sonification to enhance learning of a rowing-type motor task. In contrast to a control group receiving self-controlled terminal feedback, the experimental group could not significantly reduce spatial errors. Thus, motor learning was not enhanced by error sonification, although during the training the participant could benefit from it. It seems that the motor task was too slow, resulting in immediate corrections of the movement rather than in an internal representation of the general characteristics of the motor task. Therefore, further studies should elaborate the impact of error sonification when general characteristics of the motor tasks are already known.

Peer Assessment and Compliance Review (PACR) Innovative Strategies Report. California Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Macro, Bronwen; Huang, Lee Ann

2005-01-01

This report focuses on the innovative strategies study component of the Peer Assessment and Compliance Review (PACR) project. California (Court Appointed Special Advocates) CASA programs have developed many innovative strategies to serve children in their communities. At each of the programs visited during the PACR project, the team identified at…

78 FR 65290 - Request for Applicants for the Appointment to the United States-India CEO Forum

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-31

... Appointment to the United States- India CEO Forum AGENCY: Global Markets, International Trade Administration... President (or have a comparable level of responsibility) of a U.S.-owned or controlled company that is... doing business in both India and the United States. Each candidate also must be a U.S. citizen or...

SU-E-P-22: AAPM Task Group 263 Tackling Standardization of Nomenclature for Radiation Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matuszak, M; Feng, M [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Moran, J [Univ Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Xiao, Y [Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Mayo, C; Miller, R [Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (United States); Bosch, W [Washington Univ, Saint Louis, MO (United States); Popple, R [Univ Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (United States); Marks, L [UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Wu, Q [Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States); Molineu, A; Martel, M [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States); Yock, T [Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (United States); McNutt, T [Johns Hopkins University, Severna Park, MD (United States); Brown, N [Baptist Medical Center, Jacksonville, FL (United States); Purdie, T [Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, ON (Canada); Yorke, E [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (United States); Santanam, L [Washington University School of Medicine, St.louis, MO (United States); Gabriel, P [University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Michalski, J [Washington University, Saint Louis, MO (United States); and others

2015-06-15

Purpose: There is growing recognition of need for increased clarity and consistency in the nomenclatures used for body and organ structures, DVH metrics, toxicity, dose and volume units, etc. Standardization has multiple benefits; e.g. facilitating data collection for clinical trials, enabling the pooling of data between institutions, making transfers (i.e. hand-offs) between centers safer, and enabling vendors to define “default” settings. Towards this goal, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) formed a task group (TG263) in July of 2014, operating under the Work Group on Clinical Trials to develop consensus statements. Guiding principles derived from the investigation and example nomenclatures will be presented for public feedback. Methods: We formed a multi-institutional and multi-vendor collaborative group of 39 physicists, physicians and others involved in clinical use and electronic transfer of information. Members include individuals from IROC, NRG, IHE-RO, DICOM WG-7, ASTRO and EORTC groups with overlapping interests to maximize the quality of the consensus and increase the likelihood of adoption. Surveys of group and NRG members were used to define current nomenclatures and requirements. Technical requirements of vendor systems and the proposed DICOM standards were examined. Results: There is a marked degree of inter and intra institutional variation in current approaches, resulting from inter-vendor differences in capabilities, clinic specific conceptualizations and inconsistencies. Using a consensus approach, the group defined optimal formats for the naming of targets and normal structures. A formal objective assessment of 13 existing clinically-used software packages show that all had capabilities to accommodate these recommended nomenclatures. Conclusions: A multi-stakeholder effort is making significant steps forward in developing a standard nomenclature that will work across platforms. Our current working list includes > 550

Age-related Multiscale Changes in Brain Signal Variability in Pre-task versus Post-task Resting-state EEG.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hongye; McIntosh, Anthony R; Kovacevic, Natasa; Karachalios, Maria; Protzner, Andrea B

2016-07-01

Recent empirical work suggests that, during healthy aging, the variability of network dynamics changes during task performance. Such variability appears to reflect the spontaneous formation and dissolution of different functional networks. We sought to extend these observations into resting-state dynamics. We recorded EEG in young, middle-aged, and older adults during a "rest-task-rest" design and investigated if aging modifies the interaction between resting-state activity and external stimulus-induced activity. Using multiscale entropy as our measure of variability, we found that, with increasing age, resting-state dynamics shifts from distributed to more local neural processing, especially at posterior sources. In the young group, resting-state dynamics also changed from pre- to post-task, where fine-scale entropy increased in task-positive regions and coarse-scale entropy increased in the posterior cingulate, a key region associated with the default mode network. Lastly, pre- and post-task resting-state dynamics were linked to performance on the intervening task for all age groups, but this relationship became weaker with increasing age. Our results suggest that age-related changes in resting-state dynamics occur across different spatial and temporal scales and have consequences for information processing capacity.

Effects of task and category membership on representation stability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Céline Manetta

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This study examined the within-subject stability of 150 participants who performed both a sorting task and a property-generation task over multiple sessions, focusing on three concrete concept categories (food, animals and bathroom products. We hypothesized that (1 the within-subject stability would be higher in the sorting task than in the property-generation task and (2 the nature of the category would influence both the within-subject stability of the classification groups in the sorting task and the properties generated to define these groups. The results show that the within-subject stability of conceptual representations depends both on the task and on the nature of the category. The stability of the representations was greater in the sorting task than in the property-generation task and in the food category. These results are discussed from a longitudinal perspective.

A metaanalysis of perceptual organization in schizophrenia, schizotypy, and other high-risk groups based on variants of the Embedded Figures Task.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten Rebecca Panton

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Current research on perceptual organization in schizophrenia frequently employs shapes with regularly sampled contours (fragmented stimuli, in noise fields composed of similar elements, to elicit visual abnormalities. However, perceptual organization is multi-factorial and, in earlier studies, continuous contours have also been employed in tasks assessing the ability to extract shapes from a background. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies using closed-contour stimuli, including the Embedded Figures Test (EFT and related tasks, both in people with schizophrenia and in healthy schizotypes and relatives, considered at increased risk for psychosis. Eleven studies met the selection criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis, including six that used a between-groups study design (i.e. perceptual organization abilities of schizophrenia/high-risk groups were compared to healthy or clinical controls, and five that treated schizophrenia symptoms or schizotypy traits and indices of perceptual organization as continuous variables. Effect sizes and heterogeneity statistics were calculated, and the risk of publication bias was explored. A significant, moderate effect for EFT performance was found with studies that compared performance of schizophrenia/high-risk groups to a healthy or patient comparison group (d = -.523, p<.001. However, significant heterogeneity was also found amongst the schizotypy, but not schizophrenia studies, as well as studies using accuracy, but not reaction time as a measure of performance. A non-significant correlation was found for the studies that examined schizophrenia symptoms or schizotypy traits as continuous variables (r = .012, p = .825. These results suggest that deficits in perceptual organization of non-fragmented stimuli are found when differences between schizophrenia/high-risk groups and comparison groups are maximized. These findings should motivate further investigation of perceptual

What Is a Group? Young Children's Perceptions of Different Types of Groups and Group Entitativity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Plötner

Full Text Available To date, developmental research on groups has focused mainly on in-group biases and intergroup relations. However, little is known about children's general understanding of social groups and their perceptions of different forms of group. In this study, 5- to 6-year-old children were asked to evaluate prototypes of four key types of groups: an intimacy group (friends, a task group (people who are collaborating, a social category (people who look alike, and a loose association (people who coincidently meet at a tram stop. In line with previous work with adults, the vast majority of children perceived the intimacy group, task group, and social category, but not the loose association, to possess entitativity, that is, to be a 'real group.' In addition, children evaluated group member properties, social relations, and social obligations differently in each type of group, demonstrating that young children are able to distinguish between different types of in-group relations. The origins of the general group typology used by adults thus appear early in development. These findings contribute to our knowledge about children's intuitive understanding of groups and group members' behavior.

Exploratory Study of Children's Task Groups: Instructional Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Keyton, Joann; Dodson, Nancy L.

Despite the increasing popularity of cooperative learning techniques in elementary instruction, many educators believe that children do not possess effective group interaction skills and advocate that children be taught the group communication skills necessary for group interaction as a separate instructional component. Unfortunately,…

Task Group on Computer/Communication Protocols for Bibliographic Data Exchange. Interim Report = Groupe de Travail sur les Protocoles de Communication/Ordinateurs pour l'Exchange de Donnees Bibliographiques. Rapport d'Etape. May 1983.

Science.gov (United States)

Canadian Network Papers, 1983

1983-01-01

This preliminary report describes the work to date of the Task Group on Computer/Communication protocols for Bibliographic Data Interchange, which was formed in 1980 to develop a set of protocol standards to facilitate communication between heterogeneous library and information systems within the framework of Open Systems Interconnection (OSI). A…

Age-Related Differences in Multiple Task Monitoring

OpenAIRE

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Mäntylä, Timo

2014-01-01

Coordinating multiple tasks with narrow deadlines is particularly challenging for older adults because of age related decline in cognitive control functions. We tested the hypothesis that multiple task performance reflects age- and gender-related differences in executive functioning and spatial ability. Young and older adults completed a multitasking session with four monitoring tasks as well as separate tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. For both age groups, men excee...

Allocation algorithm for athletes group to form tactical tasks in game team sports using the methods of multivariate analysis (illustrated women Ukrainian team basketball with hearing impairments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zh.L. Kozina

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose : develop and prove experimentally allocation algorithm athletes in groups to form a tactical tasks in team sports game using methods of multivariate analysis. Material : The study involved 12 basketball hearing impaired 20-25 years old - female players team of Ukraine on basketball. Analyzed the results of testing and competitive activity 12 basketball players with hearing impairments - Lithuanian team players. Results : An algorithm for distribution by groups of athletes for the formation of tactical tasks. The algorithm consists of the following steps: 1 - testing of athletes; 2 - A hierarchical cluster analysis performance testing; 3 - Distribution of sportsmen groups, analysis of the characteristics of athletes, the formation of tactical tasks. Found higher rates of reaction rate at the offensive players. We pivot revealed a higher level of absolute strength. The defenders found a higher frequency of movement and jumping. Conclusions : The algorithm is the basis for determining the best options mutual combination players in the development and implementation of tactical combinations, the selection of partners when working in pairs and triples in training.

Role of the Frontal Cortex in Standing Postural Sway Tasks While Dual-Tasking: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study Examining Working Memory Capacity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroyuki Fujita

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Posture control during a dual-task involves changing the distribution of attention resources between the cognitive and motor tasks and involves the frontal cortex working memory (WM. The present study aimed to better understand the impact of frontal lobe activity and WM capacity in postural control during a dual-task. High and low WM-span groups were compared using their reading span test scores. High and low WM capacity were compared based on cognitive and balance performance and hemoglobin oxygenation (oxyHb levels during standing during single (S-S, standing during dual (S-D, one leg standing during single (O-S, and one leg standing during dual (O-D tasks. For sway pass length, significant difference in only the O-D task was observed between both groups. oxyHb levels were markedly increased in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and supplementary motor area in the high-span group during a dual-task. Therefore, WM capacity influenced the allocation of attentional resources and motor performance.

Musical Training, Bilingualism, and Executive Function: A Closer Look at Task Switching and Dual-Task Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Moradzadeh, Linda; Blumenthal, Galit; Wiseheart, Melody

2015-01-01

This study investigated whether musical training and bilingualism are associated with enhancements in specific components of executive function, namely, task switching and dual-task performance. Participants (n = 153) belonging to one of four groups (monolingual musician, bilingual musician, bilingual non-musician, or monolingual non-musician)…

Classroom Interactions in a Cooperative Translation Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui chuan Wang

2013-03-01

Full Text Available For the past decade, translation learning has become one of the main foci for university language students in Taiwan. However, many studies have shown that translation teachers tend to adopt traditional teaching methods without considering class dynamics and student interactions. This paper therefore looks into the interactions in the researcher’s designed cooperative translation task, the Cooperative Translation Task, to see how these interactions helped or hindered students’ translation learning. A small class of 25 translation students and two translation teachers were participants. Videotaping and interviews were conducted in order to investigate the interaction modes and student participants’ perspectives toward each interaction mode. Six interaction modes were found in this task: within group, between group, translator group and comment-giver group, instructor and students, guest teacher and students, and instructor and guest teacher. Based on the results and participants’ responses, suggested teaching guidelines are provided.

Musical expertise has minimal impact on dual task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cocchini, Gianna; Filardi, Maria Serena; Crhonkova, Marcela; Halpern, Andrea R

2017-05-01

Studies investigating effect of practice on dual task performance have yielded conflicting findings, thus supporting different theoretical accounts about the organisation of attentional resources when tasks are performed simultaneously. Because practice has been proven to reduce the demand of attention for the trained task, the impact of long-lasting training on one task is an ideal way to better understand the mechanisms underlying dual task decline in performance. Our study compared performance during dual task execution in expert musicians compared to controls with little if any musical experience. Participants performed a music recognition task and a visuo-spatial task separately (single task) or simultaneously (dual task). Both groups showed a significant but similar performance decline during dual tasks. In addition, the two groups showed a similar decline of dual task performance during encoding and retrieval of the musical information, mainly attributed to a decline in sensitivity. Our results suggest that attention during dual tasks is similarly distributed by expert and non-experts. These findings are in line with previous studies showing a lack of sensitivity to difficulty and lack of practice effect during dual tasks, supporting the idea that different tasks may rely on different and not-sharable attentional resources.

Terminal Appointment System Design by Non-stationary M(t)/Ek/c(t) Queueing Model and Genetic Algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Gang; Govindan, Kannan; Yang, Zhong-Zhen

2013-01-01

Long truck queue is a common problem at big marine container terminals, where the resources and equipment are usually scheduled to serve ships prior to trucks. To reduce truck queues, some container terminals adopt terminal appointment system (TAS) to manage truck arrivals. This paper addresses two...

TH-A-BRC-00: New Task Groups for External Beam QA: An Overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

AAPM TG-135U1 QA for Robotic Radiosurgery - Sonja Dieterich Since the publication of AAPM TG-135 in 2011, the technology of robotic radiosurgery has rapidly developed. AAPM TG-135U1 will provide recommendations on the clinical practice for using the IRIS collimator, fiducial-less real-time motion tracking, and Monte Carlo based treatment planning. In addition, it will summarize currently available literature about uncertainties. Learning Objectives: Understand the progression of technology since the first TG publication Learn which new QA procedures should be implemented for new technologies Be familiar with updates to clinical practice guidelines AAPM TG-178 Gamma Stereotactic Radiosurgery Dosimetry and Quality Assurance - Steven Goetsch Purpose: AAPM Task Group 178 Gamma Stereotactic Radiosurgery Dosimetry and Quality Assurance was formed in August, 2008. The Task Group has 12 medical physicists, two physicians and two consultants. Methods: A round robin dosimetry intercomparison of proposed ionization chambers, electrometer and dosimetry phantoms was conducted over a 15 month period in 2011 and 2012 (Med Phys 42, 11, Nov, 2015). The data obtained at 9 institutions (with ten different Elekta Gamma Knife units) was analyzed by the lead author using several protocols. Results: The most consistent results were obtained using the Elekta ABS 16cm diameter phantom, with the TG-51 protocol modified as recommended by Alfonso et al (Med Phys 35, 11, Nov 2008). A key white paper (Med Phys, in press) sponsored by Elekta Corporation, was used to obtain correction factors for the ionization chambers and phantoms used in this intercomparison. Consistent results were obtained for both Elekta Gamma Knife Model 4C and Gamma Knife Perfexion units as measured with each of two miniature ionization chambers. Conclusion: The full report gives clinical history and background of gamma stereotactic radiosurgery, clinical examples and history, quality assurance recommendations and outline

TH-A-BRC-00: New Task Groups for External Beam QA: An Overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2016-06-15

AAPM TG-135U1 QA for Robotic Radiosurgery - Sonja Dieterich Since the publication of AAPM TG-135 in 2011, the technology of robotic radiosurgery has rapidly developed. AAPM TG-135U1 will provide recommendations on the clinical practice for using the IRIS collimator, fiducial-less real-time motion tracking, and Monte Carlo based treatment planning. In addition, it will summarize currently available literature about uncertainties. Learning Objectives: Understand the progression of technology since the first TG publication Learn which new QA procedures should be implemented for new technologies Be familiar with updates to clinical practice guidelines AAPM TG-178 Gamma Stereotactic Radiosurgery Dosimetry and Quality Assurance - Steven Goetsch Purpose: AAPM Task Group 178 Gamma Stereotactic Radiosurgery Dosimetry and Quality Assurance was formed in August, 2008. The Task Group has 12 medical physicists, two physicians and two consultants. Methods: A round robin dosimetry intercomparison of proposed ionization chambers, electrometer and dosimetry phantoms was conducted over a 15 month period in 2011 and 2012 (Med Phys 42, 11, Nov, 2015). The data obtained at 9 institutions (with ten different Elekta Gamma Knife units) was analyzed by the lead author using several protocols. Results: The most consistent results were obtained using the Elekta ABS 16cm diameter phantom, with the TG-51 protocol modified as recommended by Alfonso et al (Med Phys 35, 11, Nov 2008). A key white paper (Med Phys, in press) sponsored by Elekta Corporation, was used to obtain correction factors for the ionization chambers and phantoms used in this intercomparison. Consistent results were obtained for both Elekta Gamma Knife Model 4C and Gamma Knife Perfexion units as measured with each of two miniature ionization chambers. Conclusion: The full report gives clinical history and background of gamma stereotactic radiosurgery, clinical examples and history, quality assurance recommendations and outline

IMRT commissioning: Multiple institution planning and dosimetry comparisons, a report from AAPM Task Group 119

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ezzell, Gary A.; Burmeister, Jay W.; Dogan, Nesrin [Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, 5777 East Mayo Boulevard, MCSB Concourse, Phoenix, Arizona 89054 (United States); and others

2009-11-15

AAPM Task Group 119 has produced quantitative confidence limits as baseline expectation values for IMRT commissioning. A set of test cases was developed to assess the overall accuracy of planning and delivery of IMRT treatments. Each test uses contours of targets and avoidance structures drawn within rectangular phantoms. These tests were planned, delivered, measured, and analyzed by nine facilities using a variety of IMRT planning and delivery systems. Each facility had passed the Radiological Physics Center credentialing tests for IMRT. The agreement between the planned and measured doses was determined using ion chamber dosimetry in high and low dose regions, film dosimetry on coronal planes in the phantom with all fields delivered, and planar dosimetry for each field measured perpendicular to the central axis. The planar dose distributions were assessed using gamma criteria of 3%/3 mm. The mean values and standard deviations were used to develop confidence limits for the test results using the concept confidence limit=|mean|+1.96{sigma}. Other facilities can use the test protocol and results as a basis for comparison to this group. Locally derived confidence limits that substantially exceed these baseline values may indicate the need for improved IMRT commissioning.

Diversity begets diversity? The effects of board composition on the appointment and success of women CEOs.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Alison; Glass, Christy

2015-09-01

Previous research on the effects of leadership diversity on firm outcomes has produced inconsistent and inconclusive findings. While some scholars argue that diversity increases organizational equity and enhances performance, others argue that diversity increases conflict, reduces cooperation and harms performance. This study tests the impact of a variety of compositional factors on firm outcomes. Specifically, we analyze whether and how board composition affects the advancement and mobility of women CEOs and firm performance. Our analysis relies on a unique data set of all Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Board of Directors (BODs) in Fortune 500 companies over a ten-year period. We find a marginally significant positive relationship between board diversity and the likelihood of a woman being appointed CEO. We further find that board diversity significantly and positively influences the post-promotion success of women CEOs. Our findings suggest that board composition is critical for the appointment and success of women CEOs, and increasing board diversity should be central to any organizational diversity efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is a Group? Young Children’s Perceptions of Different Types of Groups and Group Entitativity

Science.gov (United States)

Plötner, Maria; Over, Harriet; Carpenter, Malinda; Tomasello, Michael

2016-01-01

To date, developmental research on groups has focused mainly on in-group biases and intergroup relations. However, little is known about children’s general understanding of social groups and their perceptions of different forms of group. In this study, 5- to 6-year-old children were asked to evaluate prototypes of four key types of groups: an intimacy group (friends), a task group (people who are collaborating), a social category (people who look alike), and a loose association (people who coincidently meet at a tram stop). In line with previous work with adults, the vast majority of children perceived the intimacy group, task group, and social category, but not the loose association, to possess entitativity, that is, to be a ‘real group.’ In addition, children evaluated group member properties, social relations, and social obligations differently in each type of group, demonstrating that young children are able to distinguish between different types of in-group relations. The origins of the general group typology used by adults thus appear early in development. These findings contribute to our knowledge about children's intuitive understanding of groups and group members' behavior. PMID:27010484

Key criteria in appointment of arbitrators in international arbitration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bazil Oglindă

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Maybe in all situations the most important factor is the decision making person. In arbitration this person is the arbitrator. Knowing how to choose your arbitrator is the first step in knowing how to win your case. There are some important criteria that needs to be taken into account when appointing an arbitrator, like the independence and impartiality of the arbitrator, the experience in similar cases, knowledge of the system of law applicable to the contract and other backgrounds.Another important aspect is the number of arbitrators and the advantages and disadvantages of having one, three or more arbitrators. All those issues are very important when drafting the arbitration agreement and in matters of complex contracts it is of high importance to have legal advisors that will help you draft an agreement that will minimize risks and favor efficient arbitral proceedings.

Driving after brain injury: Does dual-task modality matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Vickers, Kayci L; Schultheis, Maria T; Manning, Kevin J

2018-01-01

Virtual reality technology allows neuropsychologists to examine complex, real-world behaviors with high ecological validity and can provide an understanding of the impact of demanding dual-tasks on driving performance. We hypothesized that a task imposing high cognitive and physical demands (coin-sorting) would result in the greatest reduction in driving maintenance performance. Twenty participants with acquired brain injury and 28 healthy controls were included in the current study. All participants were licensed and drove regularly. Participants completed two standardized VRDS drives: (1) a baseline drive with no distractions, and (2) the same route with three, counterbalanced dual-tasks representing differing demands. A series of 3 (Task)×2 (Group) ANOVAs revealed that the ABI group tended to go slower than the HC group in the presence of a dual-task, F (1, 111) = 6.24, p = 0.01. Importantly, the ABI group also showed greater variability in speed, F (1, 110) = 10.97, p < 0.01, and lane position, F (1, 108) = 7.81, p < 0.01, an effect driven by dual-tasks with both a cognitive and motor demand. These results indicate that long-term driving difficulties following ABI are subtle and likely due to reduced cognitive resources.

Activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force, December 1990--February 1991; Contracts for field projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery, April--June 1990

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiedemann, H.A. (ed.) (USDOE Bartlesville Project Office, OK (USA))

1991-03-01

The Oil Implementation Task Force was appointed to implement the US DOE's new oil research program directed toward increasing domestic oil production by expanded research on near- or mid-term enhanced oil recovery methods. An added priority is to preserve access to reservoirs that have the largest potential for oil recovery, but that are threatened by the large number of wells abandoned each year. This report describes the progress of research activities in the following areas: chemical flooding; gas displacement; thermal recovery; resource assessment; microbial technology; geoscience technology; and environmental technology. (CK)

Effects of dual-task training on balance and executive functions in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Ângela; Rocha, Nuno; Santos, Rubim; Tavares, João Manuel R S

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of cognitive-motor dual-task training compared with single-task training on balance and executive functions in individuals with Parkinson's disease. Fifteen subjects, aged between 39 and 75 years old, were randomly assigned to the dual-task training group (n = 8) and single-task training group (n = 7). The training was run twice a week for 6 weeks. The single-task group received balance training and the dual-task group performed cognitive tasks simultaneously with the balance training. There were no significant differences between the two groups at baseline. After the intervention, the results for mediolateral sway with eyes closed were significantly better for the dual-task group and anteroposterior sway with eyes closed was significantly better for the single-task group. The results suggest superior outcomes for the dual-task training compared to the single-task training for static postural control, except in anteroposterior sway with eyes closed.

Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 7) - Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members

CERN Multimedia

2015-01-01

Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 7), entitled "Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members", approved by the Director-General following discussion at the Standing Concertation Committee meeting held on 17 February 2015 is available via the following link: AC No. 2 (Rev.7).   This revised circular cancels and replaces Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 6), entitled "Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members" and dated January 2015. The circular was revised in order to implement the amendment to Article R II 1.17 of the Staff Regulations, which introduces the possibility of extending limited-duration (LD) contracts up to a maximum total duration of eight years from the previous duration of five years. The award of indefinite contracts will continue to be subject to the outcome of a competitive process. Department Head Of...

Administrative Circular No. 30 (Rev. 3) - “Financial benefits on taking up appointment and on termination of contract”

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

Administrative Circular No. 30 (Rev. 3) entitled “Financial benefits on taking up appointment and on termination of contract”, approved by the Director-General following discussion at the Standing Concertation Committee meeting of 27 June 2013 and entering into force on 1 August 2013, is available on the intranet site of the Human Resources Department (see here).   Administrative Circular No. 30 (Rev. 3) is applicable to all members of the personnel. It cancels and replaces Administrative Circular No. 30 (Rev. 2/Corr.) entitled "Financial benefits on taking up appointment and on termination of contract” of September 2009. This circular was revised in order to implement the modifications introduced into the Staff Rules and Regulations in January 2013 relating to the introduction of the status of Associate Member States and new categories of associated members of the personnel. In particular, the notion of “Member State” in Annexe II (&a...

Orienting task effects on text recall in adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, E W; Dixon, R A; Nowak, C A; Hultsch, D F

1982-09-01

This investigation examined the effects of orienting task-controlled processing on the text recall of younger (18 to 32 years), middle-aged (39 to 51 years), and older (59 to 76 years) adults. The participants were presented with a 500-word narrative text. Three groups performed orienting tasks (syntactic, stylistic, advice) within an incidental memory paradigm. A fourth group was asked for intentional recall. Analysis indicated a significant age by orienting task interaction. Younger adults recalled more propositions when recall was intentional or when it was preceded by a deep-orienting task than when it was preceded by a shallow-orienting task. Middle-aged and older adults recalled more propositions when recall was intentional than when it was incidental, regardless of the depth of the orienting task. There were no significant differences in intentional recall. In addition, a significant age x orienting task x propositional level interaction indicated that younger adults recalled more of the main ideas of the text following deep processing, whereas the middle-aged and older adults recalled more of these ideas following intentional processing.

Computer task performance by subjects with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Science.gov (United States)

Malheiros, Silvia Regina Pinheiro; da Silva, Talita Dias; Favero, Francis Meire; de Abreu, Luiz Carlos; Fregni, Felipe; Ribeiro, Denise Cardoso; de Mello Monteiro, Carlos Bandeira

2016-01-01

Two specific objectives were established to quantify computer task performance among people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). First, we compared simple computational task performance between subjects with DMD and age-matched typically developing (TD) subjects. Second, we examined correlations between the ability of subjects with DMD to learn the computational task and their motor functionality, age, and initial task performance. The study included 84 individuals (42 with DMD, mean age of 18±5.5 years, and 42 age-matched controls). They executed a computer maze task; all participants performed the acquisition (20 attempts) and retention (five attempts) phases, repeating the same maze. A different maze was used to verify transfer performance (five attempts). The Motor Function Measure Scale was applied, and the results were compared with maze task performance. In the acquisition phase, a significant decrease was found in movement time (MT) between the first and last acquisition block, but only for the DMD group. For the DMD group, MT during transfer was shorter than during the first acquisition block, indicating improvement from the first acquisition block to transfer. In addition, the TD group showed shorter MT than the DMD group across the study. DMD participants improved their performance after practicing a computational task; however, the difference in MT was present in all attempts among DMD and control subjects. Computational task improvement was positively influenced by the initial performance of individuals with DMD. In turn, the initial performance was influenced by their distal functionality but not their age or overall functionality.

Indiana University high energy physics group, task C: Technical progress report, December 1, 1987-November 30, 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bower, C.R.; Heinz, R.M.; Mufson, S.L.

1988-01-01

The Indiana University High Energy Physics Group, Task C has been actively involved in the MACRO experiment at Gran Sasso during the current contract year. MACRO is a large US-Italian Monopole, Astrophysics, and Cosmic Ray Observatory being built under the Gran Sasso Mountain outside of Rome. Indiana University is in charge of the US software effort. We have been performing extensive Monte Carlo design and data analysis calculations. We are also doing development work on the MACRO liquid scintillator. We are setting up a Quality Assurance liquid scintillator laboratory in Frascati, Italy. We are producing vertical scintillator tank endplates and calibration boats in our machine shop

Musical training, bilingualism, and executive function: a closer look at task switching and dual-task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Moradzadeh, Linda; Blumenthal, Galit; Wiseheart, Melody

2015-07-01

This study investigated whether musical training and bilingualism are associated with enhancements in specific components of executive function, namely, task switching and dual-task performance. Participants (n = 153) belonging to one of four groups (monolingual musician, bilingual musician, bilingual non-musician, or monolingual non-musician) were matched on age and socioeconomic status and administered task switching and dual-task paradigms. Results demonstrated reduced global and local switch costs in musicians compared with non-musicians, suggesting that musical training can contribute to increased efficiency in the ability to shift flexibly between mental sets. On dual-task performance, musicians also outperformed non-musicians. There was neither a cognitive advantage for bilinguals relative to monolinguals, nor an interaction between music and language to suggest additive effects of both types of experience. These findings demonstrate that long-term musical training is associated with improvements in task switching and dual-task performance. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Obtaining a follow-up appointment before discharge protects against readmission for patients with acute coronary syndrome and heart failure: A quality improvement project.

Science.gov (United States)

Baky, Vidagay; Moran, Dane; Warwick, Tessa; George, Alice; Williams, Tammy; McWilliams, Eric; Marine, Joseph E

2018-04-15

Cardiac patients have a high risk of readmission following hospital discharge. The aim of our project was to examine the factors associated with increased readmission rate, with a view to eventually decrease the rate of readmission for patients admitted to the hospital due to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or heart failure. Patients admitted to the cardiac step-down unit at a single private hospital from 2015 to 2016 were included in our study. Interventions that were employed included: (1) improved pre-discharge follow-up appointment scheduling, (2) medication education by a pharmacist, and (3) timely discharge planning. Our primary outcome of interest was all-cause rate of hospital readmission within 30days. We conducted a multivariate analysis to determine the factors that were predictive of readmission rate. 578 patients were included in the study and 402 were diagnosed with ACS (69.9%). The rate of readmission was 14.2% for patients with heart failure, compared to 7.5% for patients with ACS. Following the bundle of interventions, patients were significantly more likely to receive an appointment (45.6% vs. 75.4%, pReadmission rate was comparable following the intervention (8.6% vs. 9.7%), but patients that received an appointment had 0.374 times lower odds of being readmitted (p=0.004). While our package of interventions did not lead to a significant decline in our readmission rate, patients who received a follow-up appointment prior to discharge were strongly protected against readmission. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Single-Task and Dual-Task Gait Among Collegiate Athletes of Different Sport Classifications: Implications for Concussion Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, David R; Oldham, Jessie R; DiFabio, Melissa; Vallabhajosula, Srikant; Hall, Eric E; Ketcham, Caroline J; Meehan, William P; Buckley, Thomas A

2017-02-01

Gait impairments have been documented following sport-related concussion. Whether preexisting gait pattern differences exist among athletes who participate in different sport classifications, however, remains unclear. Dual-task gait examinations probe the simultaneous performance of everyday tasks (ie, walking and thinking), and can quantify gait performance using inertial sensors. The purpose of this study was to compare the single-task and dual-task gait performance of collision/contact and noncontact athletes. A group of collegiate athletes (n = 265) were tested before their season at 3 institutions (mean age= 19.1 ± 1.1 years). All participants stood still (single-task standing) and walked while simultaneously completing a cognitive test (dual-task gait), and completed walking trials without the cognitive test (single-task gait). Spatial-temporal gait parameters were compared between collision/contact and noncontact athletes using MANCOVAs; cognitive task performance was compared using ANCOVAs. No significant single-task or dual-task gait differences were found between collision/contact and noncontact athletes. Noncontact athletes demonstrated higher cognitive task accuracy during single-task standing (P = .001) and dual-task gait conditions (P = .02) than collision/contact athletes. These data demonstrate the utility of a dual-task gait assessment outside of a laboratory and suggest that preinjury cognitive task performance during dual-tasks may differ between athletes of different sport classifications.

SU-E-T-181: Clinical Implementation of Task Group 176

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burgdorf, B [University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Yeager, C; Zhou, F; Hand, C [Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: The implementation of TG-176 with regards to immobilization devices and couch tops as they effect dosimetric treatment planning. Methods: The external devices used clinically were scanned to measure their HU values. Plans were created in the Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) using these devices, one that accounted for the correct HU value of the each device and another that did not include the device as a structure. A dose subtraction was performed between the two plans to evaluate the dosimetric differences. The metrics used for evaluation included attenuation and surface dose. Plan parameters were varied to evaluate the impact of the devices in different clinical scenarios. Results: While the exact HU values of our results are clinic-dependent, the protocol being implemented is widely applicable. We recommend a four step process for implementing this task group. First, physics should scan each treatment device to determine accurate HU values. Second, CT therapists should include in the setup note which table top was used during patient CT simulation and are asked to make immobilization devices as uniform in thickness as possible. Therapists should also index the devices whenever possible so beam will traverse the same area of the device. Third, the dosimetrist should manually correct the HU value for any external device, including the couch. For H&N cases, the rails must be removed from the couch structure. When rails are used during treatments, it is important to make note of their exact position in the setup notes. Finally, physicians should be made aware that there could be changes in surface doses depending on whether or not immobilization devices or couch tops are in the beam path. Conclusion: The protocol outlined above was implemented to reduce the errors that arise from ignoring effects of external devices, thus ensuring safer, more accurate patient treatments.

Official News - Governing Board of the Pension Fund

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

The Governing Board of the Pension Fund held its one-hundred-and-fiftieth meeting on 24 January 2007. The Chairman, Professor F. Ferrini, welcomed the new elected members, M. Goossens and H. Vestergard, and the new observer for the pensioners, J.-C. Gouache. He also welcomed Mrs D. Duret and Mr S. Lettow, announcing that, at its December 2006 session, the Council had appointed them as Vice-Chairmen of the Board, as proposed by the latter at its 148th meeting on 28 November 2006. The Governing Board also appointed Mrs Duret Chairman of the Working Group on Actuarial Matters, whose task it will be to prepare the next three-yearly actuarial review based on data as at 1.1.2007. Finally, the Chairman informed the Board that the Council had appointed him Chairman ad interim of the Fund's Investment Committee. The Chairman then reported on the other decisions taken by the Council at its December 2006 session, noting in particular that a Council Study Group had been set up to elaborate a new governance structure fo...

Shared Medical Appointments marginally enhance interaction between patients: an observational study on children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noordman, J.; Dulmen, S. van

2013-01-01

Objective: To examine informational and emotional patient–provider and patient–patient communication sequences (i.e. cues and subsequent responses) during Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) for children and adolescents with type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) and their parents. Methods: 57

Does the mask govern the mind?: effects of arbitrary gender representation on quantitative task performance in avatar-represented virtual groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jong-Eun Roselyn; Nass, Clifford I; Bailenson, Jeremy N

2014-04-01

Virtual environments employing avatars for self-representation-including the opportunity to represent or misrepresent social categories-raise interesting and intriguing questions as to how one's avatar-based social category shapes social identity dynamics, particularly when stereotypes prevalent in the offline world apply to the social categories visually represented by avatars. The present experiment investigated how social category representation via avatars (i.e., graphical representations of people in computer-mediated environments) affects stereotype-relevant task performance. In particular, building on and extending the Proteus effect model, we explored whether and how stereotype lift (i.e., a performance boost caused by the awareness of a domain-specific negative stereotype associated with outgroup members) occurred in virtual group settings in which avatar-based gender representation was arbitrary. Female and male participants (N=120) were randomly assigned either a female avatar or a male avatar through a process masked as a random drawing. They were then placed in a numerical minority status with respect to virtual gender-as the only virtual female (male) in a computer-mediated triad with two opposite-gendered avatars-and performed a mental arithmetic task either competitively or cooperatively. The data revealed that participants who were arbitrarily represented by a male avatar and competed against two ostensible female avatars showed strongest performance compared to others on the arithmetic task. This pattern occurred regardless of participants' actual gender, pointing to a virtual stereotype lift effect. Additional mediation tests showed that task motivation partially mediated the effect. Theoretical and practical implications for social identity dynamics in avatar-based virtual environments are discussed.

AAPM and GEC-ESTRO guidelines for image-guided robotic brachytherapy: Report of Task Group 192

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Podder, Tarun K., E-mail: tarun.podder@uhhospitals.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44122 (United States); Beaulieu, Luc [Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Univ de Quebec, Quebec G1R 2J6 (Canada); Caldwell, Barrett [Schools of Industrial Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 (United States); Cormack, Robert A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (United States); Crass, Jostin B. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232 (United States); Dicker, Adam P.; Yu, Yan [Department of Radiation Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107 (United States); Fenster, Aaron [Department of Imaging Research, Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario N6A 5K8 (Canada); Fichtinger, Gabor [School of Computer Science, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6 (Canada); Meltsner, Michael A. [Philips Radiation Oncology Systems, Fitchburg, Wisconsin 53711 (United States); Moerland, Marinus A. [Department of Radiotherapy, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, 3508 GA (Netherlands); Nath, Ravinder [Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States); Rivard, Mark J. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111 (United States); Salcudean, Tim [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4 (Canada); Song, Danny Y. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21231 (United States); Thomadsen, Bruce R. [Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53705 (United States)

2014-10-15

In the last decade, there have been significant developments into integration of robots and automation tools with brachytherapy delivery systems. These systems aim to improve the current paradigm by executing higher precision and accuracy in seed placement, improving calculation of optimal seed locations, minimizing surgical trauma, and reducing radiation exposure to medical staff. Most of the applications of this technology have been in the implantation of seeds in patients with early-stage prostate cancer. Nevertheless, the techniques apply to any clinical site where interstitial brachytherapy is appropriate. In consideration of the rapid developments in this area, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) commissioned Task Group 192 to review the state-of-the-art in the field of robotic interstitial brachytherapy. This is a joint Task Group with the Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie-European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (GEC-ESTRO). All developed and reported robotic brachytherapy systems were reviewed. Commissioning and quality assurance procedures for the safe and consistent use of these systems are also provided. Manual seed placement techniques with a rigid template have an estimated in vivo accuracy of 3–6 mm. In addition to the placement accuracy, factors such as tissue deformation, needle deviation, and edema may result in a delivered dose distribution that differs from the preimplant or intraoperative plan. However, real-time needle tracking and seed identification for dynamic updating of dosimetry may improve the quality of seed implantation. The AAPM and GEC-ESTRO recommend that robotic systems should demonstrate a spatial accuracy of seed placement ≤1.0 mm in a phantom. This recommendation is based on the current performance of existing robotic brachytherapy systems and propagation of uncertainties. During clinical commissioning, tests should be conducted to ensure that this level of accuracy is achieved. These tests

AAPM and GEC-ESTRO guidelines for image-guided robotic brachytherapy: Report of Task Group 192

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podder, Tarun K.; Beaulieu, Luc; Caldwell, Barrett; Cormack, Robert A.; Crass, Jostin B.; Dicker, Adam P.; Yu, Yan; Fenster, Aaron; Fichtinger, Gabor; Meltsner, Michael A.; Moerland, Marinus A.; Nath, Ravinder; Rivard, Mark J.; Salcudean, Tim; Song, Danny Y.; Thomadsen, Bruce R.

2014-01-01

In the last decade, there have been significant developments into integration of robots and automation tools with brachytherapy delivery systems. These systems aim to improve the current paradigm by executing higher precision and accuracy in seed placement, improving calculation of optimal seed locations, minimizing surgical trauma, and reducing radiation exposure to medical staff. Most of the applications of this technology have been in the implantation of seeds in patients with early-stage prostate cancer. Nevertheless, the techniques apply to any clinical site where interstitial brachytherapy is appropriate. In consideration of the rapid developments in this area, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) commissioned Task Group 192 to review the state-of-the-art in the field of robotic interstitial brachytherapy. This is a joint Task Group with the Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie-European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (GEC-ESTRO). All developed and reported robotic brachytherapy systems were reviewed. Commissioning and quality assurance procedures for the safe and consistent use of these systems are also provided. Manual seed placement techniques with a rigid template have an estimated in vivo accuracy of 3–6 mm. In addition to the placement accuracy, factors such as tissue deformation, needle deviation, and edema may result in a delivered dose distribution that differs from the preimplant or intraoperative plan. However, real-time needle tracking and seed identification for dynamic updating of dosimetry may improve the quality of seed implantation. The AAPM and GEC-ESTRO recommend that robotic systems should demonstrate a spatial accuracy of seed placement ≤1.0 mm in a phantom. This recommendation is based on the current performance of existing robotic brachytherapy systems and propagation of uncertainties. During clinical commissioning, tests should be conducted to ensure that this level of accuracy is achieved. These tests

Effects of dual-task training on balance and executive functions in Parkinson's disease: a pilot study

OpenAIRE

Ângela Fernandes; Nuno Rocha; Rubim Santos; João Manuel R. S. Tavares

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of cognitive-motor dual-task training compared with single-task training on balance and executive functions in individuals with Parkinson's disease. Fifteen subjects, aged between 39 and 75 years old, were randomly assigned to the dual-task training group (n = 8) and single-task training group (n = 7). The training was run twice a week for 6 weeks. The single-task group received balance training and the dual-task group performed cognitive task...

What would you do? The effect of verbal persuasion on task choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamarche, Larkin; Gionfriddo, Alicia M; Cline, Lindsay E; Gammage, Kimberley L; Adkin, Allan L

2014-01-01

Verbal persuasion has been shown to influence psychological and behavioral outcomes. The present study had two objectives: (1) to examine the effect of verbal persuasion on task choice in a balance setting and (2) to evaluate the use of verbal persuasion as an approach to experimentally induce mismatches between perceived and actual balance. Healthy young adults (N=68) completed an 8-m tandem walk task without vision and then were randomly assigned to a feedback group (good, control, or poor), regardless of actual balance. Following the feedback, participants chose to perform the task in one of three conditions differing in level of challenge and also were required to perform the task under the same pre-feedback conditions. Balance efficacy and perceived stability were rated before and after each pre- and post-feedback task, respectively. Balance performance measures were also collected. Following the feedback, participants in the good group were more likely to choose the most challenging task while those in the poor group were more likely to choose the least challenging task. Following the feedback, all groups showed improved balance performance. However, balance efficacy and perceived stability increased for the good and control groups but balance efficacy decreased and perceived stability was unchanged for the poor group. Thus, these findings demonstrate that verbal persuasion can influence task choice and may be used as an approach to experimentally create mismatches between perceived and actual balance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Speech fluency profile on different tasks for individuals with Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Juste, Fabiola Staróbole; Andrade, Claudia Regina Furquim de

2017-07-20

To characterize the speech fluency profile of patients with Parkinson's disease. Study participants were 40 individuals of both genders aged 40 to 80 years divided into 2 groups: Research Group - RG (20 individuals with diagnosis of Parkinson's disease) and Control Group - CG (20 individuals with no communication or neurological disorders). For all of the participants, three speech samples involving different tasks were collected: monologue, individual reading, and automatic speech. The RG presented a significant larger number of speech disruptions, both stuttering-like and typical dysfluencies, and higher percentage of speech discontinuity in the monologue and individual reading tasks compared with the CG. Both groups presented reduced number of speech disruptions (stuttering-like and typical dysfluencies) in the automatic speech task; the groups presented similar performance in this task. Regarding speech rate, individuals in the RG presented lower number of words and syllables per minute compared with those in the CG in all speech tasks. Participants of the RG presented altered parameters of speech fluency compared with those of the CG; however, this change in fluency cannot be considered a stuttering disorder.

Radiation dosimetry in digital breast tomosynthesis: Report of AAPM Tomosynthesis Subcommittee Task Group 223

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sechopoulos, Ioannis, E-mail: isechop@emory.edu [Departments of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Hematology and Medical Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, 1701 Uppergate Drive Northeast, Suite 5018, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (United States); Sabol, John M. [GE Healthcare, Global Diagnostic X-Ray, Mailstop W-701, 3000 North Grandview Boulevard, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53188 (United States); Berglund, Johan [Research and Development, Philips Women' s Healthcare, Solna (Sweden); Bolch, Wesley E. [J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (United States); Brateman, Libby [University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (United States); Christodoulou, Emmanuel; Goodsitt, Mitchell [Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (United States); Flynn, Michael [Department of Radiology, Henry Ford Health System, Radiology Research 2F, 1 Ford Place, Detroit, Michigan 48202 (United States); Geiser, William [Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030-4009 (United States); Kyle Jones, A. [Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Lo, Joseph Y.; Paul Segars, W. [Department of Radiology, Medical Physics Graduate Program, and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27705 (United States); Maidment, Andrew D. A. [Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4206 (United States); Nishino, Kazuyoshi [R and D X-ray Products Group, Shimadzu Corporation, Tokyo (Japan); Nosratieh, Anita [Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group, Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis, California 95817 (United States); and others

2014-09-15

The radiation dose involved in any medical imaging modality that uses ionizing radiation needs to be well understood by the medical physics and clinical community. This is especially true of screening modalities. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has recently been introduced into the clinic and is being used for screening for breast cancer in the general population. Therefore, it is important that the medical physics community have the required information to be able to understand, estimate, and communicate the radiation dose levels involved in breast tomosynthesis imaging. For this purpose, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 223 on Dosimetry in Tomosynthesis Imaging has prepared this report that discusses dosimetry in breast imaging in general, and describes a methodology and provides the data necessary to estimate mean breast glandular dose from a tomosynthesis acquisition. In an effort to maximize familiarity with the procedures and data provided in this Report, the methodology to perform the dose estimation in DBT is based as much as possible on that used in mammography dose estimation.

Radiation dosimetry in digital breast tomosynthesis: Report of AAPM Tomosynthesis Subcommittee Task Group 223

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sechopoulos, Ioannis; Sabol, John M.; Berglund, Johan; Bolch, Wesley E.; Brateman, Libby; Christodoulou, Emmanuel; Goodsitt, Mitchell; Flynn, Michael; Geiser, William; Kyle Jones, A.; Lo, Joseph Y.; Paul Segars, W.; Maidment, Andrew D. A.; Nishino, Kazuyoshi; Nosratieh, Anita

2014-01-01

The radiation dose involved in any medical imaging modality that uses ionizing radiation needs to be well understood by the medical physics and clinical community. This is especially true of screening modalities. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has recently been introduced into the clinic and is being used for screening for breast cancer in the general population. Therefore, it is important that the medical physics community have the required information to be able to understand, estimate, and communicate the radiation dose levels involved in breast tomosynthesis imaging. For this purpose, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 223 on Dosimetry in Tomosynthesis Imaging has prepared this report that discusses dosimetry in breast imaging in general, and describes a methodology and provides the data necessary to estimate mean breast glandular dose from a tomosynthesis acquisition. In an effort to maximize familiarity with the procedures and data provided in this Report, the methodology to perform the dose estimation in DBT is based as much as possible on that used in mammography dose estimation

A Randomized Controlled ERP Study on the Effects of Multi-Domain Cognitive Training and Task Difficulty on Task Switching Performance in Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Küper, Kristina; Gajewski, Patrick D.; Frieg, Claudia; Falkenstein, Michael

2017-01-01

Executive functions are subject to a marked age-related decline, but have been shown to benefit from cognitive training interventions. As of yet, it is, however, still relatively unclear which neural mechanism can mediate training-related performance gains. In the present electrophysiological study, we examined the effects of multi-domain cognitive training on performance in an untrained cue-based task switch paradigm featuring Stroop color words: participants either had to indicate the word meaning of Stroop stimuli (word task) or perform the more difficult task of color naming (color task). One-hundred and three older adults (>65 years old) were randomly assigned to a training group receiving a 4-month multi-domain cognitive training, a passive no-contact control group or an active (social) control group receiving a 4-month relaxation training. For all groups, we recorded performance and EEG measures before and after the intervention. For the cognitive training group, but not for the two control groups, we observed an increase in response accuracy at posttest, irrespective of task and trial type. No training-related effects on reaction times were found. Cognitive training was also associated with an overall increase in N2 amplitude and a decrease of P2 latency on single trials. Training-related performance gains were thus likely mediated by an enhancement of response selection and improved access to relevant stimulus-response mappings. Additionally, cognitive training was associated with an amplitude decrease in the time window of the target-locked P3 at fronto-central electrodes. An increase in the switch positivity during advance task preparation emerged after both cognitive and relaxation training. Training-related behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) effects were not modulated by task difficulty. The data suggest that cognitive training increased slow negative potentials during target processing which enhanced the N2 and reduced a subsequent P3-like

Task conflicts and exclusive professionalism in nursing in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Minsoo

2014-01-01

Task conflicts among medical professions are essential problems to be solved in health care organizations. This study examined job conflicts between practical nurses (PNs) and registered nurses (RNs) in their duties and tasks with representative panelists from South Korea. This qualitative study used the Dacum Task Analysis process. Subject-matter experts in practical nursing were recruited utilizing stratified sampling: Ten experts developed job descriptions of PNs, and 20 validated the descriptions. The on-site tasks and duties of the PNs were measured by means of Dacum, and the results were reviewed by RNs using 3 focus-group interviews. The job description of PNs consisted of 10 duties and 117 tasks, overlapping with some tasks of RNs. Core tasks performed by PNs, such as invasive activities, led to task conflicts between the 2 groups, as these activities were regarded as the inherent duty of nursing professions. Thus, the RNs did not concede the expanded job scope of the PNs in terms of exclusive professionalism. To reduce task conflict, there is a need for the balanced development of nursing professionalism.

Collaborative drawing with interactive table in physics: Groups’ regulation and task interpretation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mykkanen, A.; Gijlers, Aaltje H.; Jarvenoja, H.; Jarvela, S.; Bollen, Lars

2015-01-01

This study explores the relationship between secondary school students’ (N=36, nine groups) group members’ task interpretation and individual and group level regulation during collaborative computer- supported drawing task. Furthermore, it investigates how these factors are related to students

Quality assurance for computed-tomography simulators and the computed-tomography-simulation process: Report of the AAPM Radiation Therapy Committee Task Group No. 66

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mutic, Sasa; Palta, Jatinder R.; Butker, Elizabeth K.; Das, Indra J.; Huq, M. Saiful; Loo, Leh-Nien Dick; Salter, Bill J.; McCollough, Cynthia H.; Van Dyk, Jacob

2003-01-01

This document presents recommendations of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) for quality assurance of computed-tomography- (CT) simulators and CT-simulation process. This report was prepared by Task Group No. 66 of the AAPM Radiation Therapy Committee. It was approved by the Radiation Therapy Committee and by the AAPM Science Council

How much does a diabetes out-patient appointment actually cost? An argument for PLICS.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Paul

2015-01-01

The national tariff system for clinical processes and procedures aims to put a discrete unit cost on clinical activity. Calculating such costs can be subject to a great deal of local variation and interpretation. Given the rising costs of diabetes the purpose of this paper is to ask the question what does a diabetes outpatient appointment in the UK NHS actually cost? This is important in a time of financial austerity and healthcare rationing because it can be difficult to decipher the attribution of costs within the acute hospital setting. Exploring this question, the author considers the present cost model and analyse in terms of the language of unit model cost; the basic tariff system and how it works in diabetes and looking at internal cost information the author attempts to unbundle the cost to provide a more accurate value for the cost object. One major finding is that costs and overheads are divided arbitrarily as opposed to being distributed on the basis of measured relative consumption. Alternative costing methods are appraised to demonstrate that a patient level episodic costing approach such as patient level information and costing system (PLICS) which incorporates aspects of activity-based costing (ABC) would be far more appropriate. Using time driven ABC (TDABC), a new patient appointment costs £162 for 30 minutes and a follow-up appointment costs £81 for 15 minutes. PLICS has the added benefit of greater financial and clinical transparency and this goes some way towards the holy grail of greater engagement with the doctors delivering clinical care. It would appear that there are different purposes of different costing systems. One can argue that a costing system is there to both contain costs and divide overheads and demonstrate activity. Depending on how data are interpreted costing information can be an agent of enlightenment and behavioural modification for healthcare professionals to show them their direct and indirect costs, their capacity and

A Decade beyond the Doctorate: The Influence of a US Postdoctoral Appointment on Faculty Career, Productivity, and Salary

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lijing; Webber, Karen L.

2015-01-01

The number of postdoctoral researchers has increased dramatically in the past decade. Because of the limited number of academic staff openings and the general levels of salary, the role and value of the postdoctoral appointment are changing. Using a sample of respondents with continuous data in the 1999 through 2008 "Survey of Doctoral…

Decision-making under risk conditions is susceptible to interference by a secondary executive task.

Science.gov (United States)

Starcke, Katrin; Pawlikowski, Mirko; Wolf, Oliver T; Altstötter-Gleich, Christine; Brand, Matthias

2011-05-01

Recent research suggests two ways of making decisions: an intuitive and an analytical one. The current study examines whether a secondary executive task interferes with advantageous decision-making in the Game of Dice Task (GDT), a decision-making task with explicit and stable rules that taps executive functioning. One group of participants performed the original GDT solely, two groups performed either the GDT and a 1-back or a 2-back working memory task as a secondary task simultaneously. Results show that the group which performed the GDT and the secondary task with high executive load (2-back) decided less advantageously than the group which did not perform a secondary executive task. These findings give further evidence for the view that decision-making under risky conditions taps into the rational-analytical system which acts in a serial and not parallel way as performance on the GDT is disturbed by a parallel task that also requires executive resources.

Townes Group Activities from 1983-2000: Personal Recollections of William Danchi

Science.gov (United States)

Danchi, William C.

2015-01-01

I arrived in Berkeley in October 1983 as a post-doc, and my appointment was at the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL). During that time the group was very large, with multiple activities led by Charlie himself and also by Senior Fellows such as John Lacy, Dan Jaffe, and Al Betz at the top of the hill at Space Sciences. Another significant contingent of the Townes group was housed in Birge Hall on campus, led by Reinhard Genzel when he was an Assistant Professor in the Physics Department. Although the group encompassed two separate locations, it functioned as one large group. Either we rode with Charlie up and down the hill, or (if we were concerned about our safety!) we took the bus.

Affordances and synchronization in collective creative construction tasks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tylén, Kristian; Fusaroli, Riccardo

What does it mean to cooperate? How do we share meanings and actions in order to reach a common goal? In this paper we explore the relation between cooperative coordination and heart rate. We argue that in cooperative contexts participants synchronize their heart rhythms according to two factors......: the affordances of the task at hand and the gradual consolidation of collaborative practices. Six groups of participants were instructed to construct LEGO models of six abstract notions (“responsibility”, “knowledge”, “justice” etc.), both individually and in groups. We combine video analysis and heart rate...... measurements and employ recurrence analysis techniques to quantify the mutual adaptability of heart rates among the participants in the different tasks. We show that during individual tasks individual heart rates synchronize both within and between groups (but not with controls) plausibly due...

Image enhancement of digital periapical radiographs according to diagnostic tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jin Woo; Han, Won Jeong; Kim, Eun Kyung

2014-01-01

his study was performed to investigate the effect of image enhancement of periapical radiographs according to the diagnostic task. Eighty digital intraoral radiographs were obtained from patients and classified into four groups according to the diagnostic tasks of dental caries, periodontal diseases, periapical lesions, and endodontic files. All images were enhanced differently by using five processing techniques. Three radiologists blindly compared the subjective image quality of the original images and the processed images using a 5-point scale. There were significant differences between the image quality of the processed images and that of the original images (P<0.01) in all the diagnostic task groups. Processing techniques showed significantly different efficacy according to the diagnostic task (P<0.01). Image enhancement affects the image quality differently depending on the diagnostic task. And the use of optimal parameters is important for each diagnostic task.

Image enhancement of digital periapical radiographs according to diagnostic tasks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jin Woo; Han, Won Jeong; Kim, Eun Kyung [Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Dankook University College of Dentistry, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

2014-03-15

his study was performed to investigate the effect of image enhancement of periapical radiographs according to the diagnostic task. Eighty digital intraoral radiographs were obtained from patients and classified into four groups according to the diagnostic tasks of dental caries, periodontal diseases, periapical lesions, and endodontic files. All images were enhanced differently by using five processing techniques. Three radiologists blindly compared the subjective image quality of the original images and the processed images using a 5-point scale. There were significant differences between the image quality of the processed images and that of the original images (P<0.01) in all the diagnostic task groups. Processing techniques showed significantly different efficacy according to the diagnostic task (P<0.01). Image enhancement affects the image quality differently depending on the diagnostic task. And the use of optimal parameters is important for each diagnostic task.

Poorer divided attention in children born very preterm can be explained by difficulty with each component task, not the executive requirement to dual-task.

Science.gov (United States)

Delane, Louise; Campbell, Catherine; Bayliss, Donna M; Reid, Corinne; Stephens, Amelia; French, Noel; Anderson, Mike

2017-07-01

Children born very preterm (VP, ≤ 32 weeks) exhibit poor performance on tasks of executive functioning. However, it is largely unknown whether this reflects the cumulative impact of non-executive deficits or a separable impairment in executive-level abilities. A dual-task paradigm was used in the current study to differentiate the executive processes involved in performing two simple attention tasks simultaneously. The executive-level contribution to performance was indexed by the within-subject cost incurred to single-task performance under dual-task conditions, termed dual-task cost. The participants included 77 VP children (mean age: 7.17 years) and 74 peer controls (mean age: 7.16 years) who completed Sky Search (selective attention), Score (sustained attention) and Sky Search DT (divided attention) from the Test of Everyday Attention for Children. The divided-attention task requires the simultaneous performance of the selective- and sustained-attention tasks. The VP group exhibited poorer performance on the selective- and divided-attention tasks, and showed a strong trend toward poorer performance on the sustained-attention task. However, there were no significant group differences in dual-task cost. These results suggest a cumulative impact of vulnerable lower-level cognitive processes on dual-tasking or divided attention in VP children, and fail to support the hypothesis that VP children show a separable impairment in executive-level abilities.

Are women better than men at multi-tasking?

OpenAIRE

Stoet, Gijsbert; O’Connor, Daryl B.; Conner, Mark; Laws, Keith R.

2013-01-01

Background: There seems to be a common belief that women are better in multi-tasking than men, but there is practically no scientific research on this topic. Here, we tested whether women have better multi-tasking skills than men.\\ensuremath\\ensuremath Methods: In Experiment 1, we compared performance of 120 women and 120 men in a computer-based task-switching paradigm. In Experiment 2, we compared a different group of 47 women and 47 men on "paper-and-pencil" multi-tasking tests.\\ensuremath\\...

Teachers' Attitudes toward the Appointment of Women as School Leaders: The Case of the Arab Education System in Israel

Science.gov (United States)

Arar, Khalid; Abramovitz, Ruth

2013-01-01

The trend towards gender equality in principalship appointments continues to interest researchers, especially when it appears in traditional societies that maintain patriarchal, anti-feminist attitudes and values. Arab society in Israel is undergoing transition from traditionalism to modernism. Arab women hold the majority of Arab school teaching…

Thoughts on implementation of the recommendations of the GBIF Task Group on a Global Strategy and Action Plan for Mobilisation of Natural History Collections Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas King

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF has a mandate to facilitate free and open access to primary biodiversity data worldwide. This Special Issue of Biodiversity Informatics publishes the findings of the recent GBIF Task Group on a Global Strategy and Action Plan for Mobilisation of Natural History Collections Data (GSAP-NHC. The GSAP-NHC Task Group has made three primary recommendations dealing with discovery, capture, and publishing of natural history collections data. This overview article provides insight on various activities initiated by GBIF to date to assist with an early uptake and implementation of these recommendations. It calls for proactive participation by all relevant players and stakeholder communities. Given recent technological progress and growing recognition and attention to biodiversity science worldwide, we think rapid progress in discovery, publishing and access to large volumes of useful collection data can be achieved for the immediate benefit of science and society.

Robotics/Automated Systems Task Analysis and Description of Required Job Competencies Report. Task Analysis and Description of Required Job Competencies of Robotics/Automated Systems Technicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, Daniel M.; Lovett, James E.

This task analysis report for the Robotics/Automated Systems Technician (RAST) curriculum project first provides a RAST job description. It then discusses the task analysis, including the identification of tasks, the grouping of tasks according to major areas of specialty, and the comparison of the competencies to existing or new courses to…

Nuclear Energy Agency task group on Radiological Characterisation for Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsson, Arne; Weber, Inge

2016-01-01

Radiological characterisation plays a significant role in the process of decommissioning of shut-down nuclear facilities in order to ensure the protection of the environment and radiation safety. At all stages of a decommissioning programme or project, adequate radiological characterisation is of crucial importance, not least from a material and waste perspective. The radiological characterisation is a key element for planning, controlling and optimising decommissioning and dismantling activities. Experience has shown that data and information from the operation of a facility can - supplemented by recently collected and analysed data and information - be of crucial importance for decisions on waste management and for characterisation of radioactive waste. Once the dismantling has been done, some information may be hard, costly or even impossible to obtain later in the waste management process. This was the reason why the Working Party on Decommissioning and Dismantling (WPDD) of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) decided in late 2013 to extend the mandate of the Task Group on Radiological Characterisation and Decommissioning (TGRCD) for a second phase focusing on nuclear facility characterisation from a waste and material end-state perspective whereas the first phase focused on overall strategies of radiological characterisation. This paper gives an overview of the activities and findings within both phases up to now. (authors)

Horace Lamb and the circumstances of his appointment at Owens College

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Launder, Brian

2013-01-01

This paper examines a succession of incidents at a critical juncture in the life of Professor Horace Lamb FRS, a highly regarded classical fluid mechanicist, who, over a period of some 35 years at Manchester, made notable contributions in research, in education and in wise administration at both national and university levels. Drawing on archived documents from the universities of Manchester and Adelaide, the article presents the unusual sequence of events that led to his removing from Adelaide, South Australia, where he had served for nine years as the Elder Professor of Mathematics, to Manchester. In 1885 he was initially appointed to the vacant Chair of Pure Mathematics at Owens College and then, in 1888, as an outcome of his proposal for rearranging professorial responsibilities, to the Beyer Professorship of Pure and Applied Mathematics.

Comparative assessment of efficacy of two different pretreatment single oral doses of betamethasone on inter-appointment and postoperative discomfort: An in vivo clinical evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gyanani, Hitesh; Chhabra, Naveen; Parmar, Ghanshyam R

2016-01-01

Study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of two different pretreatment single oral doses of betamethasone on the incidence of inter-appointment flare up and postoperative discomfort. Fifty-four patients aged 18-59 years requiring endodontic treatment were selected and randomly assigned to three groups; single pretreatment oral dose of placebo or betamethasone in two different oral doses of 0.5 mg and 1 mg, respectively. Endodontic therapy was completed in two visits using triple antibiotic paste as intracanal medicament. Patients were given a questionnaire to record their pain at 1, 2, 3, and 7 days after treatment. In the second visit, obturation was done, and the patients were again instructed to record their pain scores after treatment and discharged. The verbal rating scale was used for recording the pain scores. Statistical analysis was done using ANOVA and the Friedman test. 0.5 mg betamethasone group showed least mean pain scores among all experimental groups; however, there was no statistically significant difference between any of the groups ( P > 0.05). Pretreatment single oral dose of betamethasone is an effective in managing endodontic flare-ups; however, the results were statistically insignificant.

Performance in a blocked versus randomized emotional Stroop task in an aged, early traumatized group with and without posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Wittekind, Charlotte E; Muhtz, Christoph; Moritz, Steffen; Jelinek, Lena

2017-03-01

Attentional biases (AB) for trauma-related stimuli have been examined in many studies assessing different trauma samples. In emotional Stroop tasks (EST), blocked and single-trial formats are used almost interchangeably in clinical research. There is reason to believe that different designs yield different results and assess different processes, which, however, has been hardly examined in studies. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information about AB in older trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress symptoms. Older adults with (n = 20) and without PTSD symptoms (n = 26) as well as non-traumatized controls (n = 21) completed an EST, in which words were presented both blocked and randomized. Analyses revealed that individuals with PTSD symptoms showed AB for trauma- and depression-related words; however, mode of administration did not significantly influence reaction times. The emotional Stroop task cannot disentangle the underlying cognitive mechanism (i.e., facilitation, interference, avoidance). PTSD symptoms in older trauma survivors are associated with AB. Overall, participants with PTSD symptoms did not show greater impairment of cognitive control in comparison to both control groups. Results also illustrate that methodological differences between task versions need to be considered more thoroughly. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring the role of task performance and learning style on prefrontal hemodynamics during a working memory task.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Afrouz A; Parsa, Kian; Geiger, Sydney; Zaragoza, Rachel; Kermanian, Riley; Miguel, Helga; Dashtestani, Hadis; Chowdhry, Fatima A; Smith, Elizabeth; Aram, Siamak; Gandjbakhche, Amir H

2018-01-01

Existing literature outlines the quality and location of activation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during working memory (WM) tasks. However, the effects of individual differences on the underlying neural process of WM tasks are still unclear. In this functional near infrared spectroscopy study, we administered a visual and auditory n-back task to examine activation in the PFC while considering the influences of task performance, and preferred learning strategy (VARK score). While controlling for age, results indicated that high performance (HP) subjects (accuracy > 90%) showed task dependent lower activation compared to normal performance subjects in PFC region Specifically HP groups showed lower activation in left dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) region during performance of auditory task whereas during visual task they showed lower activation in the right DLPFC. After accounting for learning style, we found a correlation between visual and aural VARK score and level of activation in the PFC. Subjects with higher visual VARK scores displayed lower activation during auditory task in left DLPFC, while those with higher visual scores exhibited higher activation during visual task in bilateral DLPFC. During performance of auditory task, HP subjects had higher visual VARK scores compared to NP subjects indicating an effect of learning style on the task performance and activation. The results of this study show that learning style and task performance can influence PFC activation, with applications toward neurological implications of learning style and populations with deficits in auditory or visual processing.

Thrive or overload? The effect of task complexity on novices' simulation-based learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Haji, Faizal A; Cheung, Jeffrey J H; Woods, Nicole; Regehr, Glenn; de Ribaupierre, Sandrine; Dubrowski, Adam

2016-09-01

Fidelity is widely viewed as an important element of simulation instructional design based on its purported relationship with transfer of learning. However, higher levels of fidelity may increase task complexity to a point at which novices' cognitive resources become overloaded. In this experiment, we investigate the effects of variations in task complexity on novices' cognitive load and learning during simulation-based procedural skills training. Thirty-eight medical students were randomly assigned to simulation training on a simple or complex lumbar puncture (LP) task. Participants completed four practice trials on this task (skill acquisition). After 10 days of rest, all participants completed one additional trial on their assigned task (retention) and one trial on a 'very complex' simulation designed to be similar to the complex task (transfer). We assessed LP performance and cognitive load on each trial using multiple measures. In both groups, LP performance improved significantly during skill acquisition (p ≤ 0.047, f = 0.29-0.96) and was maintained at retention. The simple task group demonstrated superior performance compared with the complex task group throughout these phases (p ≤ 0.002, d = 1.13-2.31). Cognitive load declined significantly in the simple task group (p Education.

Computerized management of plant intervention tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Remacle, J.; Quoidbach, G.

1993-01-01

The concept of 'computerized management' of plant intervention tasks was developed by TRACTEBEL in 1983 for the Belgian power plants of ELECTRABEL. The main objective of the 'Computerized Management of Plant Intervention Tasks' is to help the staff of a nuclear or a conventional power plant in planning, organizing, and carrying out any (preventive or corrective) maintenance task. It consists of a group of interconnected functional modules acting on a unique and homogeneous data base. A short description of 3 modules is given, i.e., the 'User' Module, the 'Equipment' Module and the 'Periodic Procedure' Module. (Z.S.)

Dynamical signatures of isometric force control as a function of age, expertise, and task constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Vieluf, Solveig; Sleimen-Malkoun, Rita; Voelcker-Rehage, Claudia; Jirsa, Viktor; Reuter, Eva-Maria; Godde, Ben; Temprado, Jean-Jacques; Huys, Raoul

2017-07-01

From the conceptual and methodological framework of the dynamical systems approach, force control results from complex interactions of various subsystems yielding observable behavioral fluctuations, which comprise both deterministic (predictable) and stochastic (noise-like) dynamical components. Here, we investigated these components contributing to the observed variability in force control in groups of participants differing in age and expertise level. To this aim, young (18-25 yr) as well as late middle-aged (55-65 yr) novices and experts (precision mechanics) performed a force maintenance and a force modulation task. Results showed that whereas the amplitude of force variability did not differ across groups in the maintenance tasks, in the modulation task it was higher for late middle-aged novices than for experts and higher for both these groups than for young participants. Within both tasks and for all groups, stochastic fluctuations were lowest where the deterministic influence was smallest. However, although all groups showed similar dynamics underlying force control in the maintenance task, a group effect was found for deterministic and stochastic fluctuations in the modulation task. The latter findings imply that both components were involved in the observed group differences in the variability of force fluctuations in the modulation task. These findings suggest that between groups the general characteristics of the dynamics do not differ in either task and that force control is more affected by age than by expertise. However, expertise seems to counteract some of the age effects. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Stochastic and deterministic dynamical components contribute to force production. Dynamical signatures differ between force maintenance and cyclic force modulation tasks but hardly between age and expertise groups. Differences in both stochastic and deterministic components are associated with group differences in behavioral variability, and observed behavioral

Ramifications of single-port laparoscopic surgery: measuring differences in task performance using simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Conway, Nathan E; Romanelli, John R; Bush, Ron W; Seymour, Neal E

2014-02-01

Single-port laparoscopic surgery imposes unique psychomotor challenges. We used surgical simulation to define performance differences between surgeons with and without single-port clinical experience and examined whether a short course of training resulted in improved performance. Study participants were assigned to 3 groups: resident group (RES), experienced laparoscopic surgeons with (SP) and without (LAP) prior single-port laparoscopic experience. Participants performed the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery precision cutting task on a ProMIS trainer through conventional ports or with articulating instruments via a SILS Port (Covidien, Inc). Two iterations of each method were performed. Then, 6 residents performed 10 successive single-port iterations to assess the effect of practice on task performance. The SP group had faster task times for both laparoscopic (P = .0486) and single-port (P = .0238) methods. The LAP group had longer path lengths for the single-port task than for the laparoscopic task (P = .03). The RES group was slower (P = .0019), with longer path length (P = .0010) but with greater smoothness (P = .0186) on the single-port task than the conventional laparoscopic task. Resident performance task time (P = .005) and smoothness (P = .045) improved with successive iterations. Our data show that surgeons with clinical single-port surgery experience perform a simulated single-port surgical task better than inexperienced single-port surgeons. Furthermore, this performance is comparable to that achieved with conventional laparoscopic techniques. Performance of residents declined dramatically when confronted with the challenges of the single-port task but improved with practice. These results suggest a role for lab-based single-port training.

Effects of reading-oriented tasks on students' reading comprehension of geometry proof

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Kai-Lin; Lin, Fou-Lai

2012-06-01

This study compared the effects of reading-oriented tasks and writing-oriented tasks on students' reading comprehension of geometry proof (RCGP). The reading-oriented tasks were designed with reading strategies and the idea of problem posing. The writing-oriented tasks were consistent with usual proof instruction for writing a proof and applying it. Twenty-two classes of ninth-grade students ( N = 683), aged 14 to 15 years, and 12 mathematics teachers participated in this quasi-experimental classroom study. While the experimental group was instructed to read and discuss the reading tasks in two 45-minute lessons, the control group was instructed to prove and apply the same propositions. Generalised estimating equation (GEE) method was used to compare the scores of the post-test and the delayed post-test with the pre-test scores as covariates. Results showed that the total scores of the delayed post-test of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Furthermore, the scores of the experimental group on all facets of reading comprehension except the application facet were significantly higher than those of the control group for both the post-test and delayed post-test.

The control of deliberate waiting strategies in a stop-signal task