WorldWideScience

Sample records for ephcom practical ephemeral

  1. From Ephemerizer to Timed-Ephemerizer: Achieve Assured Lifecycle Enforcement for Sensitive Data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tang, Qiang

    2010-01-01

    The concept of Ephemerizer, proposed by Perlman, is a cryptographic primitive for assured data deletion. With an Ephemerizer protocol, data in persistent storage devices will always be encrypted simultaneously using an ephemeral public key of the Ephemerizer (an entity which will publish a set of

  2. Defining perennial, intermittent and ephemeral channels in eastern Kentucky: application to forestry best management practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    J. R. Svec; R. K. Kolka; J. W. Stringer

    2003-01-01

    In Kentucky stream classification is used to determine which forestry best management practice (BMP) to apply in riparian zones. Kentucky defines stream classes as follows (Stringer and others 1998): a) perennial streams that hold water throughout the year, b) intermittent streams that hold water during wet portions of the year, and c) ephemeral channels that hold...

  3. Agricultural intensification and drought frequency increases may have landscape-level consequences for ephemeral ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalu, Tatenda; Wasserman, Ryan J; Dalu, Mwazvita T B

    2017-03-01

    Ephemeral wetlands in arid regions are often degraded or destroyed through poor land-use practice long before they are ever studied or prioritized for conservation. Climate change will likely also have implications for these ecosystems given forecast changes in rainfall patterns in many arid environments. Here, we present a conceptual diagram showing typical and modified ephemeral wetlands in agricultural landscapes and how modification impacts on species diversity and composition. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Integrated process-based hydrologic and ephemeral gully modeling for better assessment of soil erosion in small watersheds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheshukov, A. Y.; Karimov, V. R.

    2017-12-01

    Excessive soil erosion in agriculturally dominated watersheds causes degradation of arable land and affects agricultural productivity. Structural and soil-quality best management practices can be beneficial in reducing sheet and rill erosion, however, larger rills, ephemeral gullies, and concentrated flow channels still remain to be significant sources of sediment. A better understanding of channelized soil erosion, underlying physical processes, and ways to mitigate the problem is needed to develop innovative approaches for evaluation of soil losses from various sediment sources. The goal of this study was to develop a novel integrated process-based catchment-scale model for sheet, rill, and ephemeral gully erosion and assess soil erosion mitigation practices. Geospatially, a catchment was divided into ephemeral channels and contributing hillslopes. Surface runoff hydrograph and sheet-rill erosion rates from contributing hillslopes were calculated based on the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model. For ephemeral channels, a dynamic ephemeral gully erosion model was developed. Each channel was divided into segments, and channel flow was routed according to the kinematic wave equation. Reshaping of the channel profile in each segment (sediment deposition, soil detachment) was simulated at each time-step according to acting shear stress distribution along the channel boundary and excess shear stress equation. The approach assumed physically-consistent channel shape reconfiguration representing channel walls failure and deposition in the bottom of the channel. Soil erodibility and critical shear stress parameters were dynamically adjusted due to seepage/drainage forces based on computed infiltration gradients. The model was validated on the data obtained from the field study by Karimov et al. (2014) yielding agreement with NSE coefficient of 0.72. The developed model allowed to compute ephemeral gully erosion while accounting for antecedent soil moisture

  5. The Allure of Privacy or the Desire for Self-Expression? Identifying Users' Gratifications for Ephemeral, Photograph-Based Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waddell, T Franklin

    2016-07-01

    Temporary messaging programs continue to rise in popularity, due in large part to the perceived privacy that they afford. However, recent controversies have revealed that messages shared on ephemeral messaging services are persistent and potentially retrieval, thus undermining the privacy they are assumed to provide. Given this paradox, why are temporary messaging services so popular? Does the allure of privacy still motivate the use of temporary messaging programs? Or, if privacy is no longer afforded by ephemeral messaging, what other psychological gratifications do these applications fulfill that might account for their continued use? Informed by the Modality-Agency-Interactivity-Navigability (MAIN) model and the uses and gratifications tradition, the current study conducted qualitative interviews to identify the gratifications that individuals derive from the popular ephemeral messaging application, Snapchat. Study results show that the visual affordances of ephemeral messaging have legitimized photographic communication, providing self-expression and relational gratifications that are unfulfilled by text-based applications. By comparison, users report low levels of trust in the privacy affordances of ephemeral messaging, and instead projecting negative effects of temporary messaging on other users rather than self. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

  6. 37 CFR 384.3 - Royalty fees for ephemeral recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Royalty fees for ephemeral... BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT SERVICES § 384.3 Royalty fees for ephemeral recordings. (a) Basic royalty rate. For... minimum fees shall be nonrefundable, but shall be fully creditable to royalty payments due under paragraph...

  7. Evaluating ephemeral gully erosion impact on Zea mays L. yield and economics using AnnAGNPS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ephemeral gully erosion causes serious water quality and economic problems in the Midwest United States. A critical barrier to soil conservation practice adoption is often the implementation cost, although it is recognized that erosion reduces farm income. Yet few, if any, understand the relationshi...

  8. Ephemeral-fluvial sediments as potential hydrocarbon reservoirs. Vol. 1: Sedimentology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, K.S.

    1994-12-31

    Although reservoirs formed from ephemeral-fluvial sandstones have previously been considered relatively simple, unresolved problems of sandbody correlation and production anomalies demonstrate the need for improved understanding of their internal complexity. Outcropping ephemeral-fluvial systems have been studied in order to determine the main features and processes occurring in sand-rich ephemeral systems and to identify which features will be of importance in a hydrocarbon reservoir. The Lower Jurassic Upper Moenave and Kayenta Formations of south-eastern Utah and northern Arizona comprise series of stacked, sand-dominated sheet-like palaeochannels suggestive of low sinuosity, braided systems. Low subsidence rates and rapid lateral migration rates enabled channels to significantly modify their widths during high discharge. (author)

  9. Wubbles: A Collaborative Ephemeral Musical Instrument

    OpenAIRE

    Berthaut, Florent; Knibbe, Jarrod

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a collaborative digital musical instrument that uses the ephemeral and physical properties of soap bubbles to explore the complexity layers and oscillating parameters of electronic (bass) music. This instrument, called Wubbles, aims at encouraging both individual and collaborative musical manipulations.

  10. The Permanence of Ephemeral: Tsoi Wall 23 years after

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oksana Zaporozhets

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available It became an academic convention to refer to ephemerality and temporality of graffiti and street-art. However studying some places as shaped by and known for these urban visuals, it is possible to consider them as con- stant and ever-present element of a city. A case under analysis is the Tsoi Wall, people’s memorial appeared in Moscow in 1990. The paper discusses how this city site gains its right to exist in multitude of cultural practices, interactions, and meanings assigned. The article reveals the role of creative sites for Soviet and Post-Soviet cities and explores who and why has been maintaining and protecting the Tsoi Wall for almost two decades.

  11. GridFactory - Distributed computing on ephemeral resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Orellana, Frederik; Niinimaki, Marko

    2011-01-01

    A novel batch system for high throughput computing is presented. The system is specifically designed to leverage virtualization and web technology to facilitate deployment on cloud and other ephemeral resources. In particular, it implements a security model suited for forming collaborations...

  12. Let´s go to the cinema! A movie recommender system for ephemeral groups of users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillermo Fernández

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Going to the cinema or watching television are social activities that generally take place in groups. In these cases, a recommender system for ephemeral groups of users is more suitable than (well-studied recommender systems for individuals. In this paper we present a recommendation system for groups of users that go to the cinema. The system uses the Slope One algorithm for computing individual predictions and the Multiplicative Utilitarian Strategy as a model to make a recommendation to an entire group. We show how we solved all practical aspects of the system; including its architecture and a mobile application for the service, the lack of user data (ramp-up and cold-start problems, the scaling fit of the group model strategy, and other improvements in order to reduce the response time. Finally, we validate the performance of the system with a set of experiments with 57 ephemeral groups.

  13. Classification and prediction of river network ephemerality and its relevance for waterborne disease epidemiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Saez, Javier; Mande, Theophile; Larsen, Joshua; Ceperley, Natalie; Rinaldo, Andrea

    2017-12-01

    The transmission of waterborne diseases hinges on the interactions between hydrology and ecology of hosts, vectors and parasites, with the long-term absence of water constituting a strict lower bound. However, the link between spatio-temporal patterns of hydrological ephemerality and waterborne disease transmission is poorly understood and difficult to account for. The use of limited biophysical and hydroclimate information from otherwise data scarce regions is therefore needed to characterize, classify, and predict river network ephemerality in a spatially explicit framework. Here, we develop a novel large-scale ephemerality classification and prediction methodology based on monthly discharge data, water and energy availability, and remote-sensing measures of vegetation, that is relevant to epidemiology, and maintains a mechanistic link to catchment hydrologic processes. Specifically, with reference to the context of Burkina Faso in sub-Saharan Africa, we extract a relevant set of catchment covariates that include the aridity index, annual runoff estimation using the Budyko framework, and hysteretical relations between precipitation and vegetation. Five ephemerality classes, from permanent to strongly ephemeral, are defined from the duration of 0-flow periods that also accounts for the sensitivity of river discharge to the long-lasting drought of the 70's-80's in West Africa. Using such classes, a gradient-boosted tree-based prediction yielded three distinct geographic regions of ephemerality. Importantly, we observe a strong epidemiological association between our predictions of hydrologic ephemerality and the known spatial patterns of schistosomiasis, an endemic parasitic waterborne disease in which infection occurs with human-water contact, and requires aquatic snails as an intermediate host. The general nature of our approach and its relevance for predicting the hydrologic controls on schistosomiasis occurrence provides a pathway for the explicit inclusion of

  14. Tools for Ephemeral Gully Erosion Process Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Techniques to quantify ephemeral gully erosion have been identified by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as one of gaps in current erosion assessment tools. One reason that may have contributed to this technology gap is the difficulty to quantify changes in channel geometry to asses...

  15. Shallow and Deep Groundwater Contributions to Ephemeral Streamflow Generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmer, M. A.; McGlynn, B. L.

    2016-12-01

    Our understanding of streamflow generation processes in low relief, humid landscapes is limited. To address this, we utilized an ephemeral-to-intermittent drainage network in the Piedmont region of the United States to gain new understanding about the drivers of ephemeral streamflow generation, stream-groundwater interactions, and longitudinal expansion and contraction of the stream network. We used hydrometric and chemical data collected within zero through second order catchments to characterize streamflow and overland, shallow soil, and deep subsurface flow across landscape positions. Results showed bi-directionality in stream-groundwater gradients that were dependent on catchment storage state. This led to annual groundwater recharge magnitudes that were similar to annual streamflow. Perched shallow and deep water table contributions shifted dominance with changes in catchment storage state, producing distinct stream hydrograph recession constants. Active channel length versus runoff followed a consistent relationship independent of storage state, but exhibited varying discharge-solute hysteresis directions. Together, our results suggest that temporary streams can act as both important groundwater recharge and discharge locations across the landscape, especially in this region where ephemeral drainage densities are among the highest recorded. Our results also highlight that the internal catchment dynamics that generate temporary streams play an important role in dictating biogeochemical fluxes at the landscape scale.

  16. Flooding in ephemeral streams: incorporating transmission losses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stream flow in semiarid lands commonly occurs as a form of flash floods in dry ephemeral stream beds. The goal of this research is to couple hydrological and hydraulic models treats channel transmission losses and test the methodology in the USDA-ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW). For h...

  17. Biomonitoring of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams in Europe: Current practice and priorities to enhance ecological status assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stubbington, Rachel; Chadd, Richard; Cid, Núria; Csabai, Zoltán; Miliša, Marko; Morais, Manuela; Munné, Antoni; Pařil, Petr; Pešić, Vladimir; Tziortzis, Iakovos; Verdonschot, Ralf C M; Datry, Thibault

    2018-03-15

    Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) are common across Europe and dominate some Mediterranean river networks. In all climate zones, IRES support high biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. As dynamic ecosystems that transition between flowing, pool, and dry states, IRES are typically poorly represented in biomonitoring programmes implemented to characterize EU Water Framework Directive ecological status. We report the results of a survey completed by representatives from 20 European countries to identify current challenges to IRES status assessment, examples of best practice, and priorities for future research. We identify five major barriers to effective ecological status classification in IRES: 1. the exclusion of IRES from Water Framework Directive biomonitoring based on their small catchment size; 2. the lack of river typologies that distinguish between contrasting IRES; 3. difficulties in defining the 'reference conditions' that represent unimpacted dynamic ecosystems; 4. classification of IRES ecological status based on lotic communities sampled using methods developed for perennial rivers; and 5. a reliance on taxonomic characterization of local communities. Despite these challenges, we recognize examples of innovative practice that can inform modification of current biomonitoring activity to promote effective IRES status classification. Priorities for future research include reconceptualization of the reference condition approach to accommodate spatiotemporal fluctuations in community composition, and modification of indices of ecosystem health to recognize both taxon-specific sensitivities to intermittence and dispersal abilities, within a landscape context. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Effects of Intra-Storm Soil Moisture and Runoff Characteristics on Ephemeral Gully Development: Evidence from a No-Till Field Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir R. Karimov

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Ephemeral gully erosion, prevalent on agricultural landscapes of the Great Plains, is recognized as a large source of soil loss and a substantial contributor to the sedimentation of small ponds and large reservoirs. Multi-seasonal field studies can provide needed information on ephemeral gully development and its relationship to physical factors associated with field characteristics, rainfall patterns, runoff hydrograph, and management practices. In this study, an ephemeral gully on a no-till cultivated crop field in central Kansas, U.S., was monitored in 2013 and 2014. Data collection included continuous sub-hourly precipitation, soil moisture, soil temperature, and 15 field surveys of cross-sectional profiles in the headcut and channelized parts of the gully. Rainfall excess from a contributing catchment was calculated with the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP model for all storm events and validated on channel flow measurements. Twelve significant runoff events with hydraulic shear stresses higher than the critical value were identified to potentially cause soil erosion in three out of fourteen survey periods. Analysis of shear stress imposed by peak channel flow on soil surface, antecedent soil moisture condition, and channel shape at individual events provided the basis on which to extend the definition of the critical shear stress function by incorporating the intra-storm changes in soil moisture content. One potential form of this function was suggested and tested with collected data. Similar field studies in other agriculturally-dominated areas and laboratory experiments can develop datasets for a better understanding of the physical mechanisms associated with ephemeral gully progression.

  19. The non-layering of gravel streambeds under ephemeral flood regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laronne, Jonathan B.; Reid, Ian; Yitshak, Yitshak; Frostick, Lynne E.

    1994-07-01

    The two-layer format common to perennial streambeds, in which a relatively coarse armour overlies a finer subarmour, develops as a function of both the ingress and subsequent near-surface winnowing of interstitial material and the selective non-entrainment or slower transport velocity of coarse clasts. Ephemeral streams appear to lack such vertical layering or are characterized by weak layer development. Some of this may be due to the degree of mixing associated with the scour-and-fill process. However, continuous monitoring of bedload discharge in the Nahal Yatir in the northern Negev Desert reveals that sediment transport rates are extremely high so that the chance of armour layer development through selective non-entrainment is much reduced. Indeed, a comparison of the bedload and bed material size-distributions confirms a high degree of similarity and hints at equal mobility regardless of clast size. The monitoring programme also indicates that the bed becomes highly mobile at comparatively modest fluid shear, so that practically all floods are associated with high transport rates. Consequently, the winnowing that might be brought about by low transport-rate events does not occur. Even within a single event, winnowing is precluded by the rapid nature of flow recession that is so characteristic of flash-floods. The high degree of bed material mobility is attributable, in part, to the lack of strength that would otherwise be a corollary of armour development. However, it also highlights the divergent nature of the feedback loops that govern the relationship between flow and channel deposit in ephemeral and perennial systems.

  20. Mining Contextual Information for Ephemeral Digital Video Preservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chirag Shah

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 For centuries the archival community has understood and practiced the art of adding contextual information while preserving an artifact. The question now is how these practices can be transferred to the digital domain. With the growing expansion of production and consumption of digital objects (documents, audio, video, etc. it has become essential to identify and study issues related to their representation. A cura­tor in the digital realm may be said to have the same responsibilities as one in a traditional archival domain. However, with the mass production and spread of digital objects, it may be difficult to do all the work manually. In the present article this problem is considered in the area of digital video preservation. We show how this problem can be formulated and propose a framework for capturing contextual infor­mation for ephemeral digital video preservation. This proposal is realized in a system called ContextMiner, which allows us to cater to a digital curator's needs with its four components: digital video curation, collection visualization, browsing interfaces, and video harvesting and monitoring. While the issues and systems described here are geared toward digital videos, they can easily be applied to other kinds of digital objects.

  1. Flaser and wavy bedding in ephemeral streams: a modern and an ancient example

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, A. J.

    2000-10-01

    Flaser and wavy bedding are sedimentary structures characterized by alternating rippled sand and mud layers. These structures often are considered to form mostly in tidally influenced environments; published examples from fluvial environments are rare. Flaser and wavy bedding were found in two ephemeral stream deposits: the Jurassic Kayenta Formation and the modern wash in Seven Mile Canyon, both located in southeastern Utah, USA. These examples demonstrate that flaser bedding can form and be preserved in ephemeral streams.

  2. Biomonitoring of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stubbington, Rachel; Chadd, Richard; Cid, Núria; Csabai, Zoltán; Miliša, Marko; Morais, Manuela; Munné, Antoni; Pařil, Petr; Pešić, Vladimir; Tziortzis, Iakovos; Verdonschot, Ralf C.M.; Datry, Thibault

    2018-01-01

    Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) are common across Europe and dominate some Mediterranean river networks. In all climate zones, IRES support high biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. As dynamic ecosystems that transition between flowing, pool, and dry states, IRES are

  3. 37 CFR 262.3 - Royalty fees for public performances of sound recordings and for ephemeral recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Royalty fees for public... MAKING OF EPHEMERAL REPRODUCTIONS § 262.3 Royalty fees for public performances of sound recordings and for ephemeral recordings. (a) Basic royalty rate. Royalty rates and fees for eligible nonsubscription...

  4. Ephemeral China/Handmade China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xing Ruan

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available A China that is in a frenzied state of economic boom and potential social instability, which is most vividly represented in its architectural and urban developments, is, I hope I will convince you, ephemeral. A quite different China, perhaps is not so visible as its new buildings and cities, is metaphorically ‘handmade’. I should like to extend the meanings of the handmade to the more stable and long lasting attitudes towards social life, and even mortality. My sources for the second China are partially from literature (not from architecture. With the construction boom since the mid-1990s, mainstream Western architectural journals and galleries have been racing to expose new architecture in China; celebrity Western architects have been winning major commissions in China: the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is a case in point. The sheer quantity and speed of China’s development, as evidenced in architecture and urbanisation, causes an ‘unbearable lightness of being’ (to paraphrase Milan Kundera. Does all this then suggest that China, as solidified in its buildings and cities, is no longer ‘handmade’ in the sense that memory and a sense of history are redundant (particularly for a country that has a recorded history of more than 5000 years, which have been so lovingly recorded in handmade artefacts? The true meaning of the handmade, which absorbs labour — an ‘honourable labour’ as Joseph Conrad lovingly put it in his Mirror of the Sea, as well as memory, like that of a home, is a static artefact, which harbours our changing emotion, the frailties of human life, and indeed, the growing awareness that comes with time of our mortality: the handmade offers the necessary enshrinement of life’s vulnerability. Let me assure you, the seemingly fast-changing China, as represented in its new architecture and city forms, as well in its frenzied urbanisation and booming economy, is but a smoke screen. It is, in other words, ephemeral. The

  5. 37 CFR 380.3 - Royalty fees for the public performance of sound recordings and for ephemeral recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Royalty fees for the public... EPHEMERAL REPRODUCTIONS § 380.3 Royalty fees for the public performance of sound recordings and for ephemeral recordings. (a) Royalty rates and fees for eligible digital transmissions of sound recordings made...

  6. Governance, legislation and protection of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Institutions and processes governing the conveyance and control of water have a long history. In this chapter, we discuss the extent to which water governance systems consider the management of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) and identify where research could inf...

  7. Hydroregime prediction models for ephemeral groundwater-driven sinkhole wetlands: a planning tool for climate change and amphibian conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    C. H. Greenberg; S. Goodrick; J. D. Austin; B. R. Parresol

    2015-01-01

    Hydroregimes of ephemeral wetlands affect reproductive success of many amphibian species and are sensitive to altered weather patterns associated with climate change.We used 17 years of weekly temperature, precipitation, and waterdepth measurements for eight small, ephemeral, groundwaterdriven sinkhole wetlands in Florida sandhills to develop a hydroregime predictive...

  8. The Peronist festival: pathways and appropriations between photography, ephemeral architecture and political power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franco Marchionni Sánchez

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is analyzing some of the scenarios, photos, and posters used by the Peronist administration and explain their incidence in wine festivals and their imaginary construction after World War II. This proposal examines the relation between photography and ephemeral architecture mediated by political power, as a part of the strategies developed by the Peronist propaganda apparatus to feed the imaginary surrounding the ‘New Argentina.’ At this particular historical moment, the graphic and photographic records taken into account are a gateway to analyze the ephemeral phenomena that cannot be resumed otherwise. The methodological strategy used is qualitative and exploratory, and its design has a flexible nature. Although these testimonies, reflected in the sources described, do not give us back the possibility of being in direct contact to these experiences, they do allow us to access the set of desires, tensions, frustrations, expectations, debates, the achievements and failures, through which the scenic architecture projects were formulated and developed.   Keywords: Photographic Archives; Ephemeral Architecture; Harvest Festival; Power Relationships; Peronism.   Original title: La fiesta peronista: recorridos y apropiaciones entre fotografía, arquitectura efímera y poder político.

  9. Accuracy of topographic index models at identifying ephemeral gully trajectories on agricultural fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheshukov, Aleksey Y.; Sekaluvu, Lawrence; Hutchinson, Stacy L.

    2018-04-01

    Topographic index (TI) models have been widely used to predict trajectories and initiation points of ephemeral gullies (EGs) in agricultural landscapes. Prediction of EGs strongly relies on the selected value of critical TI threshold, and the accuracy depends on topographic features, agricultural management, and datasets of observed EGs. This study statistically evaluated the predictions by TI models in two paired watersheds in Central Kansas that had different levels of structural disturbances due to implemented conservation practices. Four TI models with sole dependency on topographic factors of slope, contributing area, and planform curvature were used in this study. The observed EGs were obtained by field reconnaissance and through the process of hydrological reconditioning of digital elevation models (DEMs). The Kernel Density Estimation analysis was used to evaluate TI distribution within a 10-m buffer of the observed EG trajectories. The EG occurrence within catchments was analyzed using kappa statistics of the error matrix approach, while the lengths of predicted EGs were compared with the observed dataset using the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) statistics. The TI frequency analysis produced bi-modal distribution of topographic indexes with the pixels within the EG trajectory having a higher peak. The graphs of kappa and NSE versus critical TI threshold showed similar profile for all four TI models and both watersheds with the maximum value representing the best comparison with the observed data. The Compound Topographic Index (CTI) model presented the overall best accuracy with NSE of 0.55 and kappa of 0.32. The statistics for the disturbed watershed showed higher best critical TI threshold values than for the undisturbed watershed. Structural conservation practices implemented in the disturbed watershed reduced ephemeral channels in headwater catchments, thus producing less variability in catchments with EGs. The variation in critical thresholds for all

  10. The traditional, the innovative, the ephemeral: conception, realization, intervention in contemporary art

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salvatore Lorusso

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available The traditional, the innovative, the ephemeral: conception, realization, intervention in contemporary art. One must consider the traditional, the innovative and also the ephemeral related to the artistic intentions and thus to the interventions on works of contemporary art, for which the concepts of originality and authenticity do not always correspond. The Brandian vision and point of view do not completely resolve the problematics relative to restoration and conservation: artists realize their artifacts with the intention of undermining tradition or, however, of interpreting it in an unusual way. There are, therefore, cases when a diagnostic-analytical and conservative intervention is possible correspondently to the different and numerous typologies of the materials (poor, plastic, industrial and techniques (collage, enamel on rubber foam, paint on textile or plastic, neon. A vocation for the ephemeral can be transformed into the adoption of deteriorated materials or into the realization of works of conceptual art and net-art. Some case studies are treated in the comparison of art works of different age. The solutions to the aforementioned problematics are offered and the importance of the involvement of the historical-technical experts, authors and manufacturers of the materials used in the artifacts is highlighted. Finally the procedure of intervention cannot be the same for all works of contemporary art. One must employ a methodology based on the critical study, not only of the materials used but also of the philosophy and creative conceptual intentions of the artist.

  11. Evaluating sediment transport in flood-driven ephemeral tributaries using direct and acoustic methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stark, K.

    2017-12-01

    One common source of uncertainty in sediment transport modeling of large semi-arid rivers is sediment influx delivered by ephemeral, flood-driven tributaries. Large variations in sediment delivery are associated with these regimes due to the highly variable nature of flows within them. While there are many sediment transport equations, they are typically developed for perennial streams and can be inaccurate for ephemeral channels. Discrete, manual sampling is labor intensive and requires personnel to be on site during flooding. In addition, flooding within these tributaries typically last on the order of hours, making it difficult to be present during an event. To better understand these regimes, automated systems are needed to continuously sample bedload and suspended load. In preparation for the pending installation of an automated site on the Arroyo de los Piños in New Mexico, manual sediment and flow samples have been collected over the summer monsoon season of 2017, in spite of the logistical challenges. These data include suspended and bedload sediment samples at the basin outlet, and stage and precipitation data from throughout the basin. Data indicate a complex system; flow is generated primarily in areas of exposed bedrock in the center and higher elevations of the watershed. Bedload samples show a large coarse-grained fraction, with 50% >2 mm and 25% >6 mm, which is compatible with acoustic measuring techniques. These data will be used to inform future site operations, which will combine direct sediment measurement from Reid-type slot samplers and non-invasive acoustic measuring methods. Bedload will be indirectly monitored using pipe-style microphones, plate-style geophones, channel hydrophones, and seismometers. These instruments record vibrations and acoustic signals from bedload impacts and movement. Indirect methods for measuring of bedload have never been extensively evaluated in ephemeral channels in the southwest United States. Once calibrated

  12. Investigation of the dynamics of ephemeral gully erosion on arable land of the forest-steppe and steppe zone of the East of the Russian Plain from remote sensing data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Platoncheva, E. V.

    2018-01-01

    Spatio-temporal estimation of the erosion of arable soils is still an urgent task, in spite of the numerous methods of such assessments. Development of information technologies, the emergence of high and ultra-high resolution images allows reliable identification of linear forms of erosion to determine its dynamics on arable land. The study drew attention to the dynamics of the most active erosion unit - an ephemeral gully. The estimation of the dynamics was carried out on the basis of different space images for the maximum possible period (from 1986 to 2016). The cartographic method was used as the main research method. Identification of a belt of ephemeral gully erosion based on materials of multi-zone space surveys and GIS-technology of their processing was carried out. In the course of work with satellite imagery and subsequent verification of the received data on the ground, the main signs of deciphering the ephemeral gully network were determined. A methodology for geoinformation mapping of the dynamics of ephemeral gully erosion belt was developed and a system of indicators quantitatively characterizing its development on arable slopes was proposed. The evaluation of the current ephemeral gully network based on the interpretation of space images includes the definition of such indicators of ephemeral gully erosion as the density of the ephemeral gully net, the density of the ephemeral gullies, the area and linear dynamics of the ephemeral gully network. Preliminary results of the assessment of the dynamics of the belt erosion showed an increase in all quantitative indicators of ephemeral gully erosion for the observed period.

  13. Modeling ephemeral gully erosion from unpaved roads: Equifinality and implications for scenario analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modeling gully erosion in urban areas is challenging due to difficulties with equifinality and parameter identification, which complicates quantification of management impacts on runoff and sediment production. We calibrated a model (AnnAGNPS) of an ephemeral gully network that formed on unpaved ro...

  14. Estimating groundwater-ephemeral stream exchange in hyper-arid environments: Field experiments and numerical simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ping; Pozdniakov, Sergey P.; Vasilevskiy, Peter Yu.

    2017-12-01

    Surface water infiltration from ephemeral dryland streams is particularly important in hyporheic exchange and biogeochemical processes in arid and semi-arid regions. However, streamflow transmission losses can vary significantly, partly due to spatiotemporal variations in streambed permeability. To extend our understanding of changes in streambed hydraulic properties, field investigations of streambed hydraulic conductivity were conducted in an ephemeral dryland stream in north-western China during high and low streamflow periods. Additionally, streamflow transmission losses were numerically estimated using combined stream and groundwater hydraulic head data and stream and streambed temperature data. An analysis of slug test data at two different river flow stages (one test was performed at a low river stage with clean water and the other at a high river stage with muddy water) suggested that sedimentation from fine-grained particles, i.e., physical clogging processes, likely led to a reduction in streambed hydraulic properties. To account for the effects of streambed clogging on changes in hydraulic properties, an iteratively increasing total hydraulic resistance during the slug test was considered to correct the estimation of streambed hydraulic conductivity. The stream and streambed temperature can also greatly influence the hydraulic properties of the streambed. One-dimensional coupled water and heat flux modelling with HYDRUS-1D was used to quantify the effects of seasonal changes in stream and streambed temperature on streamflow losses. During the period from 6 August 2014 to 4 June 2015, the total infiltration estimated using temperature-dependent hydraulic conductivity accounted for approximately 88% of that using temperature-independent hydraulic conductivity. Streambed clogging processes associated with fine particle settling/wash up cycles during flow events, and seasonal changes in streamflow temperature are two considerable factors that affect water

  15. Understanding and quantifying focused, indirect groundwater recharge from ephemeral streams using water table fluctuations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuthbert, M. O.; Acworth, R. I.; Andersen, M. S.; Larsen, J. R.; McCallum, A. M.; Rau, G. C.; Tellam, J. H.

    2016-02-01

    Understanding and managing groundwater resources in drylands is a challenging task, but one that is globally important. The dominant process for dryland groundwater recharge is thought to be as focused, indirect recharge from ephemeral stream losses. However, there is a global paucity of data for understanding and quantifying this process and transferable techniques for quantifying groundwater recharge in such contexts are lacking. Here we develop a generalized conceptual model for understanding water table and groundwater head fluctuations due to recharge from episodic events within ephemeral streams. By accounting for the recession characteristics of a groundwater hydrograph, we present a simple but powerful new water table fluctuation approach to quantify focused, indirect recharge over both long term and event time scales. The technique is demonstrated using a new, and globally unparalleled, set of groundwater observations from an ephemeral stream catchment located in NSW, Australia. We find that, following episodic streamflow events down a predominantly dry channel system, groundwater head fluctuations are controlled by pressure redistribution operating at three time scales from vertical flow (days to weeks), transverse flow perpendicular to the stream (weeks to months), and longitudinal flow parallel to the stream (years to decades). In relative terms, indirect recharge decreases almost linearly away from the mountain front, both in discrete monitored events as well as in the long-term average. In absolute terms, the estimated indirect recharge varies from 80 to 30 mm/a with the main uncertainty in these values stemming from uncertainty in the catchment-scale hydraulic properties.

  16. Relative contributions of transient and steady state infiltration during ephemeral streamflow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blasch, Kyle W.; Ferré, Ty P.A.; Hoffmann, John P.; Fleming, John B.

    2006-01-01

    Simulations of infiltration during three ephemeral streamflow events in a coarse‐grained alluvial channel overlying a less permeable basin‐fill layer were conducted to determine the relative contribution of transient infiltration at the onset of streamflow to cumulative infiltration for the event. Water content, temperature, and piezometric measurements from 2.5‐m vertical profiles within the alluvial sediments were used to constrain a variably saturated water flow and heat transport model. Simulated and measured transient infiltration rates at the onset of streamflow were about two to three orders of magnitude greater than steady state infiltration rates. The duration of simulated transient infiltration ranged from 1.8 to 20 hours, compared with steady state flow periods of 231 to 307 hours. Cumulative infiltration during the transient period represented 10 to 26% of the total cumulative infiltration, with an average contribution of approximately 18%. Cumulative infiltration error for the simulated streamflow events ranged from 9 to 25%. Cumulative infiltration error for typical streamflow events of about 8 hours in duration in is about 90%. This analysis indicates that when estimating total cumulative infiltration in coarse‐grained ephemeral stream channels, consideration of the transient infiltration at the onset of streamflow will improve predictions of the total volume of infiltration that may become groundwater recharge.

  17. Bovine Ephemeral Fever pada ternak sapi potong di Kabupaten Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta (Laporan Kasus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfarisa Nururrozi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Bovine Ephemeral Fever (BEF or three days sickness is one of the most common disease in cattle. The disease is caused by rhabdoviridae virus transmitted through mosquito as a vectors. This paper aims to determine the incidence of BEF cases in Gunungkidul district, Yogyakarta. Diagnoses BEF based on information collected through the anamnesis from owner and the results of clinical examination. 134 (48% from 277 cows were examined in the Gunungkidul district period October-November 2016 diagnosed BEF. Clinical signs were found consist of anorexia 111 cases (34%, hyperthermia 99 cases (31%, lameness 42 cases (13%, cow downer 31 cases (10%, nasal discharge 35 cases (11% and hypersalivation 6 cases (2%. Bovine Ephemeral Fever mayority reported on the second day of the disease progression by 67 cases (42%. The most common therapy used combinations of antipyretics, antibiotics and vitamins were 45 cases (33%. Based on the information from the farmers, the treatment has given good results and absence of the absence of post-treatment recurrence

  18. Hindcasting Historical Breeding Conditions for an Endangered Salamander in Ephemeral Wetlands of the Southeastern USA: Implications of Climate Change.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Houston C Chandler

    Full Text Available The hydroperiod of ephemeral wetlands is often the most important characteristic determining amphibian breeding success, especially for species with long development times. In mesic and wet pine flatwoods of the southeastern United States, ephemeral wetlands were a common landscape feature. Reticulated flatwoods salamanders (Ambystoma bishopi, a federally endangered species, depend exclusively on ephemeral wetlands and require at least 11 weeks to successfully metamorphose into terrestrial adults. We empirically modeled hydroperiod of 17 A. bishopi breeding wetlands by combining downscaled historical climate-model data with a recent 9-year record (2006-2014 of observed water levels. Empirical models were subsequently used to reconstruct wetland hydrologic conditions from 1896-2014 using the downscaled historical climate datasets. Reconstructed hydroperiods for the 17 wetlands were highly variable through time but were frequently unfavorable for A. bishopi reproduction (e.g., only 61% of years, using a conservative estimate of development time [12 weeks], were conducive to larval development and metamorphosis. Using change-point analysis, we identified significant shifts in average hydroperiod over the last century in all 17 wetlands. Mean hydroperiods were shorter in recent years than at any other point since 1896, and thus less suitable for A. bishopi reproduction. We suggest that climate change will continue to impact the reproductive success of flatwoods salamanders and other ephemeral wetland breeders by reducing the number of years these wetlands have suitable hydroperiods. Consequently, we emphasize the importance of conservation and management for mitigating other forms of habitat degradation, especially maintenance of high quality breeding sites where reproduction can occur during appropriate environmental conditions.

  19. Channel dynamics and geomorphic resilience in an ephemeral Mediterranean river affected by gravel mining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calle, Mikel; Alho, Petteri; Benito, Gerardo

    2017-05-01

    Gravel mining has been a widespread activity in ephemeral rivers worldwide whose long-lasting hydrogeomorphological impacts preclude effective implementation of water and environmental policies. This paper presents a GIS-based method for temporal assessment of morphosedimentary changes in relation to in-channel gravel mining in a typical ephemeral Mediterranean stream, namely the Rambla de la Viuda (eastern Spain). The aims of this work were to identify morphosedimentary changes and responses to human activities and floods, quantify river degradations and analyze factors favoring fluvial recovery for further applications in other rivers. Aerial photographs and LiDAR topography data were studied to analyze geomorphic evolution over the past 70 years along a 7.5-km reach of an ephemeral gravel stream that has been mined intensively since the 1970s. To evaluate changes in the riverbed, we mapped comparable units applying morphological, hydraulic, and stability (based on vegetation density and elevation) criteria to 13 sets of aerial photographs taken from 1946 to 2012. A detailed spatiotemporal analysis of comparable units revealed a 50% reduction in the active section and a 20% increase in stable areas, compared to the conditions observed prior to gravel mining. Instream mining was first observed in 1976 aerial photograph covering already up to 50% of the 1956 riverbed area. River degradation since then was quantified by means of a LiDAR DTM and RTK-GPS measurements, which revealed a 3.5-m incision that had started simultaneously with gravel mining. Climate and land use changes were present but the effects were completely masked by changes produced by instream gravel mining. Therefore, river incision/degradation was triggered by scarcity of sediment and lack of longitudinal sedimentary connection, creating an unbalanced river system that is still adjusting to the present hydrosedimentary conditions.

  20. New empirical relationship between grain size distribution and hydraulic conductivity for ephemeral streambed sediments

    KAUST Repository

    Rosas, Jorge

    2014-07-19

    Grain size distribution, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity were determined for 39 sediment samples collected from ephemeral streams (wadis) in western Saudi Arabia. The measured hydraulic conductivity values were then compared to values calculated using 20 different empirical equations commonly used to estimate hydraulic conductivity from grain size analyses. It was found that most of the hydraulic conductivity values estimated from the empirical equations correlated very poorly with the measured hydraulic conductivity values. Modifications of the empirical equations, including changes to special coefficients and statistical offsets, were made to produce modified equations that considerably improved the hydraulic conductivity estimates from grain size data for wadi sediments. The Chapuis, Hazen, Kozeny, Slichter, Terzaghi, and Barr equations produced the best correlations, but still had relatively high predictive errors. The Chapius equation was modified for wadi sediments by incorporating mud percentage and the standard deviation (in phi units) into a new equation that reduced the predicted hydraulic conductivity error to ±14.1 m/day. The equation is best applied to ephemeral stream samples that have hydraulic conductive values greater than 2 m/day.

  1. New empirical relationship between grain size distribution and hydraulic conductivity for ephemeral streambed sediments

    KAUST Repository

    Rosas, Jorge; Jadoon, Khan; Missimer, Thomas M.

    2014-01-01

    Grain size distribution, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity were determined for 39 sediment samples collected from ephemeral streams (wadis) in western Saudi Arabia. The measured hydraulic conductivity values were then compared to values calculated using 20 different empirical equations commonly used to estimate hydraulic conductivity from grain size analyses. It was found that most of the hydraulic conductivity values estimated from the empirical equations correlated very poorly with the measured hydraulic conductivity values. Modifications of the empirical equations, including changes to special coefficients and statistical offsets, were made to produce modified equations that considerably improved the hydraulic conductivity estimates from grain size data for wadi sediments. The Chapuis, Hazen, Kozeny, Slichter, Terzaghi, and Barr equations produced the best correlations, but still had relatively high predictive errors. The Chapius equation was modified for wadi sediments by incorporating mud percentage and the standard deviation (in phi units) into a new equation that reduced the predicted hydraulic conductivity error to ±14.1 m/day. The equation is best applied to ephemeral stream samples that have hydraulic conductive values greater than 2 m/day.

  2. An ecohydrological stream type cassification of intermittent and ephemeral streams in the Southwestern United States 2397

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ephemeral and intermittent streams are the predominant fluvial forms in arid and semi-arid environments. Various studies have shown biological and habitat diversity in these lands to be considerably higher along stream corridors in comparison to adjacent uplands, yet knowledge of how these streams f...

  3. Folklore and the Internet: The Challenge of an Ephemeral Landscape1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trevor J. Blank

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Through the lens of memetic folk humor, this essay examines the slippery, ephemeral nature of hybridized forms of contemporary digital folklore. In doing so, it is argued that scholars should not be distracted by the breakneck speed in which expressive materials proliferate and then dissipate but should instead focus on the overarching ways that popular culture and current news events infiltrate digital folk culture in the formation of individuals' cultural inventories. The process of transmission and variation that shapes the resulting hybridized folklore requires greater scrutiny and contextualization.

  4. From an Enclosure to the Corraleja. An Analysis of the Genesis of an Ephemeral and Vernacular Colombian Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimo Leserri

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In the Colombian Caribbean region, human extraordinary ability to interpret nature’s functioning and mechanical language, has allowed man to manage and use, throughout history, natural elements to improve living conditions. In Architecture, technical-constructive knowledge development has enabled constructions of a temporary and stable nature. In fact, this research project begins with the relationship between the understanding of nature and the creation of Colombian vernacular architecture, which has led to a special and unique form of architecture such as the Corraleja. In this architecture, vernacular constructive tradition and ephemeral character are concurremt. This has been an object of interest due to its folkloric aspects, however, it has rarely been researched for its architecture. Currently, it is usually built only when its real spatial function is needed, becoming a place destined to contain the annual bullfighting-like festivities. In fact, its limited and cyclical permanence, gives it an ephemeral and also nomadic character since it is not always built, necessarily, in the same place. This research study begins by means of the importance of the vertical balance control of the alive branches nailed in the ground, still present in the whole Caribbean region through enclosures. This can be considered as a primordial action and conquest, and has allowed the realization of every vernacular construction. In Europe, the tradition of ephemeral architecture when there are some civil and religious festivities becomes stable architecture over time; bullfighting party in Spain is an emblematic case which is transformed into stable spaces such as bullrings. This tradition extends to the Spanish colony in America in the eighteenth century. In the Colombian Caribbean, for example, the bullfighting festival keeps an ephemeral character that is fed by a vernacular architectural tradition. In addition, existing literature on the vernacular theme

  5. 37 CFR 261.3 - Royalty fees for public performances of sound recordings and for ephemeral recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Royalty fees for public... § 261.3 Royalty fees for public performances of sound recordings and for ephemeral recordings. (a) For the period October 28, 1998, through December 31, 2002, royalty rates and fees for eligible digital...

  6. Distinctive channel geometry and riparian vegetation: A geomorphic classification for arid ephemeral streams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutfin, N.; Shaw, J. R.; Wohl, E. E.; Cooper, D.

    2012-12-01

    Interactions between hydrology, channel form, and riparian vegetation along arid ephemeral streams are not thoroughly understood and current stream classifications do not adequately represent variability in channel geometry and associated riparian communities. Relatively infrequent hydrologic disturbances in dryland environments are responsible for creation and maintenance of channel form that supports riparian communities. To investigate the influence of channel characteristics on riparian vegetation in the arid southwestern United States, we develop a geomorphic classification for arid ephemeral streams based on the degree of confinement and the composition of confining material that provide constraints on available moisture. Our conceptual model includes five stream types: 1) bedrock channels entirely confined by exposed bedrock and devoid of persistent alluvium; 2) bedrock with alluvium channels at least partially confined by bedrock but containing enough alluvium to create bedforms that persist through time; 3) incised alluvium channels bound only by unconsolidated alluvial material into which they are incised; 4) braided washes that exhibit multi-thread, braided characteristics regardless of the composition of confining material; and 5) piedmont headwater 0-2nd order streams (Strahler) confined only by unconsolidated alluvium and which initiate as secondary channels on piedmont surfaces. Eighty-six study reaches representing the five stream types were surveyed on the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona. Non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) indicates significant differences between the five stream types with regards to channel geometry (i.e., stream gradient, width-to-depth ratio, the ratio between valley width and channel width (Wv/Wc), shear stress, and unit stream power) and riparian vegetation (i.e., presence and canopy coverage by species, canopy stratum, and life form). Discriminant analysis

  7. The elephant in the prayer room. Exploring the non/ephemeral effects of racialized atmospheres and mood politics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Staunæs, Dorthe; Hvenegaard-Lassen, Kirsten

    The elephant in the prayer-room. Exploring the non/ephemeral effects of racialized atmospheres and mood politics by Kirsten Hvenegård-Lassen, kirs@ruc.dk and Dorthe Staunæs dost@edu.au.dk In this paper, we zoom in on atmosphere and mood politics in order to discuss the dismissal of race and racism...... in a Danish context. We use the recent debate in the Danish Parliament concerning a state ban on “prayer-rooms” or multifaith-rooms in educational institutions as our point of departure. The now retired Vice-chancellor of Copenhagen University, declared that banning prayer-rooms was an example of what he...... in these debates. The naming of the prayer-room ban as ‘mood politics’ is worth pursuing: how is it that race matters become ephemeral and perhaps atmospheric? (Ahmed, 2014). We read the debate diffractively through the metaphor The elephant in the room (Barad, 2007; Haraway, 1997). This metaphor hints towards...

  8. An Ephemeral Dinoflagellate Bloom during Summer Season in Nearshore Water of Puri, East Coast of India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baliarsingh, Sanjiba Kumar; Dwivedi, Rashmin; Lotliker, Aneesh A.; Jayashankar, Reeta; Sahu, Biraja Kumar; Srichandan, Suchismita; Samanta, Alakes; Parida, Chandanlal; Srinivasakumar, Tummala; Sahu, Kali Charan

    2018-03-01

    The present paper reports on the phenomenon of pinkish-red discoloration of the nearshore water of Puri, Odisha on 12th May 2016. Many local newspapers covered this event, as Puri city is a major tourist and pilgrimage place on the east coast of India. Field observations were carried out in order to provide a scientific basis to the event and to elicit possible causes of this discoloration. Taxonomic analysis of the phytoplankton samples revealed the dominance of red colored dinoflagellate species Gonyaulax polygramma, contributing 90% to total phytoplankton population. The localized concentration of G. polygramma was responsible for the pinkish-red discoloration of nearshore water. The exact factor that lay behind the genesis of this bloom could not be delineated due to the short period of its persistence. But two factors - upwelling and anthropogenic nutrient influx - can be viewed as the main cause for this ephemeral bloom. Non-hypoxic conditions in the coastal water following the ephemeral bloom event indicated no significant risk of ecological deterioration to the ambient medium.

  9. The impact of sexually abstaining groups on persistence of sexually transmitted infections in populations with ephemeral pair bonds

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Maxin, D.; Berec, Luděk; Covello, M.; Jessee, J.; Zimmer, M.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 292, - (2012), s. 1-10 ISSN 0022-5193 Grant - others:NSF Grant(US) DMS-0851721 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50070508 Keywords : ephemeral pair bond * population dynamics * promiscuous mating system Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 2.351, year: 2012

  10. Destituent Spaces, Fugitive Practices and Improvised Institutions between collectivity and critique: Searching for the threshold of articulability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Gigi Argyropoulou

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the critical relationship between self-organisation, modes of social improvisation and sedimental societal practices in order to consider how emergent practices may ephemerally contested the dominant production of space by enforcing, destabilising and initiating new modes of organisation. Focusing on the cultural and political landscape of Athens during the years of crisis this article will discuss practices that appeared in unexpected forms engaging with cultural production, research cultures and social solidarity in relation to the changing socio-political landscape. While social frameworks collapsed, cultural workers questioned the limits of their praxes and a diversity of self-instituted forms emerged such as occupations, interventions, acts of institutional critique, emergent DIY performance praxes, curatorial and research platforms. I argue that such praxes could be understood and examined as forms of ‘instituting otherwise’ in relation to social and material contexts. Specifically, this article will discuss two cultural occupancies that took place in recent years: Embros Theatre occupancy in 2011 and Green Park Occupancy in 2015. These ephemeral experiments as instances of study engaged simultaneously with theoretical production, performance practice, spatial organisation, and social action which seemed to reinforce each other through public programs/actions. Examining curatorial practices, political methods, research clusters, modus operandi and public participation I will work from specific conditions in order to offer wider considerations on imaginative destituent strategies that bear the potential to criticality devise ephemeral forms of instituting otherwise. This article problematises the relation between art and activism, resistance and incorporation, collectivity and disintegration in order to theorise potential positions we might seek to institute in the coming years.

  11. Sensitivity of growth and biomass allocation patterns to increasing nitrogen: a comparison between ephemerals and annuals in the Gurbantunggut Desert, north-western China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiaobing; Zhang, Yuanming; Niklas, Karl J

    2014-02-01

    Biomass accumulation and allocation patterns are critical to quantifying ecosystem dynamics. However, these patterns differ among species, and they can change in response to nutrient availability even among genetically related individuals. In order to understand this complexity further, this study examined three ephemeral species (with very short vegetative growth periods) and three annual species (with significantly longer vegetative growth periods) in the Gurbantunggut Desert, north-western China, to determine their responses to different nitrogen (N) supplements under natural conditions. Nitrogen was added to the soil at rates of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 6.0 and 24.0 g N m(-2) year(-1). Plants were sampled at various intervals to measure relative growth rate and shoot and root dry mass. Compared with annuals, ephemerals grew more rapidly, increased shoot and root biomass with increasing N application rates and significantly decreased root/shoot ratios. Nevertheless, changes in the biomass allocation of some species (i.e. Erodium oxyrrhynchum) in response to the N treatment were largely a consequence of changes in overall plant size, which was inconsistent with an optimal partitioning model. An isometric log shoot vs. log root scaling relationship for the final biomass harvest was observed for each species and all annuals, while pooled data of three ephemerals showed an allometric scaling relationship. These results indicate that ephemerals and annuals differ observably in their biomass allocation patterns in response to soil N supplements, although an isometric log shoot vs. log root scaling relationship was maintained across all species. These findings highlight that different life history strategies behave differently in response to N application even when interspecific scaling relationships remain nearly isometric.

  12. Characterization of the cyanobacteria and associated bacterial community from an ephemeral wetland in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Secker, Nick H; Chua, Jocelyn P S; Laurie, Rebecca E; McNoe, Les; Guy, Paul L; Orlovich, David A; Summerfield, Tina C

    2016-10-01

    New Zealand ephemeral wetlands are ecologically important, containing up to 12% of threatened native plant species and frequently exhibiting conspicuous cyanobacterial growth. In such environments, cyanobacteria and associated heterotrophs can influence primary production and nutrient cycling. Wetland communities, including bacteria, can be altered by increased nitrate and phosphate due to agricultural practices. We have characterized cyanobacteria from the Wairepo Kettleholes Conservation Area and their associated bacteria. Use of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing identified several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) representing filamentous heterocystous and non-heterocystous cyanobacterial taxa. One Nostoc OTU that formed macroscopic colonies dominated the cyanobacterial community. A diverse bacterial community was associated with the Nostoc colonies, including a core microbiome of 39 OTUs. Identity of the core microbiome associated with macroscopic Nostoc colonies was not changed by the addition of nutrients. One OTU was highly represented in all Nostoc colonies (27.6%-42.6% of reads) and phylogenetic analyses identified this OTU as belonging to the genus Sphingomonas. Scanning electron microscopy showed the absence of heterotrophic bacteria within the Nostoc colony but revealed a diverse community associated with the colonies on the external surface. © 2016 Phycological Society of America.

  13. Quantifying geomorphic change at ephemeral stream restoration sites using a coupled-model approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norman, Laura M.; Sankey, Joel B.; Dean, David; Caster, Joshua J.; DeLong, Stephen B.; Henderson-DeLong, Whitney; Pelletier, Jon D.

    2017-01-01

    Rock-detention structures are used as restoration treatments to engineer ephemeral stream channels of southeast Arizona, USA, to reduce streamflow velocity, limit erosion, retain sediment, and promote surface-water infiltration. Structures are intended to aggrade incised stream channels, yet little quantified evidence of efficacy is available. The goal of this 3-year study was to characterize the geomorphic impacts of rock-detention structures used as a restoration strategy and develop a methodology to predict the associated changes. We studied reaches of two ephemeral streams with different watershed management histories: one where thousands of loose-rock check dams were installed 30 years prior to our study, and one with structures constructed at the beginning of our study. The methods used included runoff, sediment transport, and geomorphic modelling and repeat terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) surveys to map landscape change. Where discharge data were not available, event-based runoff was estimated using KINEROS2, a one-dimensional kinematic-wave runoff and erosion model. Discharge measurements and estimates were used as input to a two-dimensional unsteady flow-and-sedimentation model (Nays2DH) that combined a gridded flow, transport, and bed and bank simulation with geomorphic change. Through comparison of consecutive DEMs, the potential to substitute uncalibrated models to analyze stream restoration is introduced. We demonstrate a new approach to assess hydraulics and associated patterns of aggradation and degradation resulting from the construction of check-dams and other transverse structures. Notably, we find that stream restoration using rock-detention structures is effective across vastly different timescales.

  14. Rehanging Reynolds at the British Institution: Methods for Reconstructing Ephemeral Displays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Roach

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Reconstructions of historic exhibitions made with current technologies can present beguiling illusions, but they also put us in danger of recreating the past in our own image. This article and the accompanying reconstruction explore methods for representing lost displays, with an emphasis on visualizing uncertainty, illuminating process, and understanding the mediated nature of period images. These issues are highlighted in a partial recreation of a loan show held at the British Institution, London, in 1823, which featured the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds alongside continental old masters. This recreation demonstrates how speculative reconstructions can nonetheless shed light on ephemeral displays, revealing powerful visual and conceptual dialogues that took place on the crowded walls of nineteenth-century exhibitions.

  15. Activation of a small ephemeral lake in southern Jordan during the last full glacial period and its paleoclimatic implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catlett, Gentry A.; Rech, Jason A.; Pigati, Jeffrey S.; Al Kuisi, Mustafa; Li, Shanying; Honke, Jeffrey S.

    2017-01-01

    Playas, or ephemeral lakes, are one of the most common depositional environments in arid and semiarid lands worldwide. Playa deposits, however, have mostly been avoided as paleoclimatic archives because they typically contain exceptionally low concentrations of organic material, making 14C dating difficult. Here, we describe a technique for concentrating

  16. Crustacean communities in coastal ephemeral pools in the Araucanía region (38° S, Chile).

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Los Ríos-Escalante, P; Acevedo, P

    2016-01-01

    The fauna communities of ephemeral pools in southern Chile are characterized by heterogeneity of crustacean taxa; nevertheless, no detailed studies exist of their community structure. The aim of the present study was to analyze the crustacean community structure in two groups of ephemeral pools (Puaucho and Nigue pools) in the coastal zone of the Araucanía region. A correlation matrix was made by species abundance against temperature, conductivity, pH and total dissolved solids. In a second step, a null model for species co-occurrence was applied to the total data and to each group. The results for total data revealed a significant direct relation between the abundance of H. costera, C. dubia and Mesocyclops. For the Puaucho pools, the same results were found together with direct associations with total dissolved solids, conductivity and pH. Finally, different results were found for the Nigue pools, with no clear significant associations, either direct or indirect, between the abundance of different crustacean taxa and abiotic parameters. These results were supported by the co-occurrence null model analysis, which revealed the presence of regulator factors for the total data, and for each of the two groups. Ecological topics are discussed with emphasis on meta-community dynamics.

  17. Modeling the Contribution of Ephemeral Gully Erosion Under Different Soil Management in An Olive Orchard Microcatchment Using AnnAGNPS Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    In Spain, few studies have been carried out to explore the erosion caused by processes other than interrill and rill erosion, such as gully and ephemeral gully erosion, especially because most of the available studies have evaluated the erosion at plot scale. A study about the en...

  18. Identifying ephemeral and perennial stream reaches using apparent thermal inertia for an ungauged basin: The Rio Salado, Central New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Night and day temperature images from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) remote sensing images are used to identify ephemeral and perennial stream reaches for use in the calibration of an integrated hydrologic model of an ungauged basin. The concept is based on a...

  19. Quantifying uncertainty in high-resolution remotely sensed topographic surveys for ephemeral gully channel monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, Robert R.; Momm, Henrique G.; Castillo, Carlos

    2017-07-01

    Spatio-temporal measurements of landform evolution provide the basis for process-based theory formulation and validation. Over time, field measurements of landforms have increased significantly worldwide, driven primarily by the availability of new surveying technologies. However, there is no standardized or coordinated effort within the scientific community to collect morphological data in a dependable and reproducible manner, specifically when performing long-term small-scale process investigation studies. Measurements of the same site using identical methods and equipment, but performed at different time periods, may lead to incorrect estimates of landform change as a result of three-dimensional registration errors. This work evaluated measurements of an ephemeral gully channel located on agricultural land using multiple independent survey techniques for locational accuracy and their applicability in generating information for model development and validation. Terrestrial and unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry platforms were compared to terrestrial lidar, defined herein as the reference dataset. Given the small scale of the measured landform, the alignment and ensemble equivalence between data sources was addressed through postprocessing. The utilization of ground control points was a prerequisite to three-dimensional registration between datasets and improved the confidence in the morphology information generated. None of the methods were without limitation; however, careful attention to project preplanning and data nature will ultimately guide the temporal efficacy and practicality of management decisions.

  20. Observational Constraints on Ephemeral Wind Gusts that MobilizeSoil Dust Aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, R. L.; Leung, M. F.

    2017-12-01

    Dust aerosol models resolve the planetary scale winds that disperse particles throughout the globe, but the winds raising dust are often organized on smaller scales that are below the resolution of the model. These winds, including ephemeral wind gusts associated with boundary layer mixing, are typically parameterized. For example, gusts by dry convective eddies are related to the sensible heat flux. What remains is to constrain the magnitude of the wind gusts using boundary layer measurements, so that dust emission has the correct sensitivity to these gusts, relative to the resolved wind. Here, we use a year of ARM measurements with high temporal resolution from Niamey, Niger in the Sahel to evaluate our parameterization. This evaluation is important for dust aerosol models that use 'nudging' to reproduce observed transport patterns.

  1. Ephemeral Channel Modelling at Historic timescales in Semi-arid Environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hutton, C. J.; Nicholas, A. P.; Nearing, M. A.; Brazier, R. E.

    2009-01-01

    There is an increasing need to understand how ephemeral channels mediate the movement of water through catchment systems, both to identify the quantity of groundwater and reservoir recharge and to inform flash flood prediction. At historic timescales (10 1 -10 2 years) it is recognised that this requires an understanding of the interactions between flow, sediment and vegetation which feedback to control morphological change and future flood wave propagation. Reduced-complexity models provide a means to develop such understanding. This paper presents a couple 1D-2D numerical model that can be applied at the catchment scale to account for transmission losses and flood wave propagation (1D model), but which also simulates local-scale flow patterns that may be applied to simulate geomorphic response to flood inundation (2D model). The initial model evaluation, conducted at the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed, Arizona is presented. (Author) 6 refs.

  2. 37 CFR 382.12 - Royalty fees for the public performance of sound recordings and the making of ephemeral recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Royalty fees for the public... Preexisting Satellite Digital Audio Radio Services § 382.12 Royalty fees for the public performance of sound recordings and the making of ephemeral recordings. (a) In general. The monthly royalty fee to be paid by a...

  3. Ephemeral-stream channel and basin-floor infiltration and recharge in the Sierra Vista subwatershed of the Upper San Pedro Basin, Southeastern Arizona: Chapter J in Ground-water recharge in the arid and semiarid southwestern United States (Professional Paper 1703)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coes, A.L.; Pool, D.R.; Stonestrom, David A.; Constantz, Jim; Ferré, Ty P.A.; Leake, Stanley A.

    2007-01-01

    The timing and location of streamflow in the San Pedro River are partially dependent on the aerial distribution of recharge in the Sierra Vista subwatershed. Previous investigators have assumed that recharge in the subwatershed occurs only along the mountain fronts by way of stream-channel infiltration near the contact between low-permeability rocks of the mountains and the basin fill. Recent studies in other alluvial basins of the Southwestern United States, however, have shown that significant recharge can occur through the sediments of ephemeral stream channels at locations several kilometers distant from the mountains. The purpose of this study was to characterize the spatial distribution of infiltration and subsequent recharge through the ephemeral channels in the Sierra Vista subwatershed.Infiltration fluxes in ephemeral channels and through the basin floor of the subwatershed were estimated by using several methods. Data collected during the drilling and coring of 16 boreholes included physical, thermal, and hydraulic properties of sediments; chloride concentrations of sediments; and pore-water stable-isotope values and tritium activity. Surface and subsurface sediment temperatures were continuously measured at each borehole.Twelve boreholes were drilled in five ephemeral stream channels to estimate infiltration within ephemeral channels. Active infiltration was verified to at least 20 meters at 11 of the 12 borehole sites on the basis of low sediment-chloride concentrations, high soil-water contents, and pore-water tritium activity similar to present-day precipitation. Consolidated sediments at the twelfth site prevented core recovery and estimation of infiltration. Analytical and numerical methods were applied to determine the surface infiltration flux required to produce the observed sediment-temperature fluctuations at six sites. Infiltration fluxes were determined for summer ephemeral flow events only because no winter flows were recorded at the sites

  4. Desert potholes: Ephemeral aquatic microsystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, M.A.; Moser, K.; Davis, J.M.; Southam, G.; Hughes, K.; Graham, T.

    2005-01-01

    An enigma of the Colorado Plateau high desert is the "pothole", which ranges from shallow ephemeral puddles to deeply carved pools. The existence of prokaryotic to eukaryotic organisms within these pools is largely controlled by the presence of collected rainwater. Multivariate statistical analysis of physical and chemical limnologic data variables measured from potholes indicates spatial and temporal variations, particularly in water depth, manganese, iron, nitrate and sulfate concentrations and salinity. Variation in water depth and salinity are likely related to the amount of time since the last precipitation, whereas the other variables may be related to redox potential. The spatial and temporal variations in water chemistry affect the distribution of organisms, which must adapt to daily and seasonal extremes of fluctuating temperature (0-60 ??C), pH changes of as much as 5 units over 12 days, and desiccation. For example, many species become dormant when potholes dry, in order to endure intense heat, UV radiation, desiccation and freezing, only to flourish again upon rehydration. But the pothole organisms also have a profound impact on the potholes. Through photosynthesis and respiration, pothole organisms affect redox potential, and indirectly alter the water chemistry. Laboratory examination of dried biofilm from the potholes revealed that within 2 weeks of hydration, the surface of the desiccated, black biofilm became green from cyanobacterial growth, which supported significant growth in heterotrophic bacterial populations. This complex biofilm is persumably responsible for dissolving the cement between the sandstone grains, allowing the potholes to enlarge, and for sealing the potholes, enabling them to retain water longer than the surrounding sandstone. Despite the remarkable ability of life in potholes to persist, desert potholes may be extremely sensitive to anthropogenic effects. The unique limnology and ecology of Utah potholes holds great scientific

  5. Ephemeral architecture and scenographies of francoist propaganda during the Spanish Civil War

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amparo Bernal López-Sanvicente

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In Franco’s provisional government established during the war, the Department of Plastic Arts of the National Propaganda Service brought together a small group of plastic artists who had the opportunity of being relieved of military duty in order to create the image of the “New State”. The Architecture Section of this department was in charge of designing the architecture and scenography required for the acts and ceremonies of the government in order to show a city dignified by the new social order. This architecture of propaganda designed during the war was ephemeral and a mere stage setting, but likewise during this period another architecture was built under military initiative, aimed at consolidating the formal stereotype of Franco period propaganda architecture.

  6. Angiosperms, Hydrophytes of five ephemeral lakes of Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Udayakumar, M.

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to document the Angiosperm diversity of five ephemeral lakes of ThiruvallurDistrict of Tamil Nadu South India. Qualitative floristic surveys were carried out during 2005-2007. Herbarium specimenswith voucher number, taxonomical and ecological information were deposited to the herbarium, Pachaiyappa’s College(PCH Chennai, Tamilnadu. Forty five species of hydrophytes belonging to 21 families and 34 genera were documented.Most speciose families were Poaceae with 5 species followed by Polygalaceae and Nymphaeaceae (4 Cyperaceae,Hydrocharitaceae, Najadaceae, and Scrophulariaceae (3 species each. Mean depth of all five lakes shrinking gradually dueto severe anthropogenic pressure. Conservation of wetlands is the need of the hour to protect the biota as well as quality ofdrinking water.

  7. Intermittent ephemeral river-breaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reniers, A. J.; MacMahan, J. H.; Gallagher, E. L.; Shanks, A.; Morgan, S.; Jarvis, M.; Thornton, E. B.; Brown, J.; Fujimura, A.

    2012-12-01

    In the summer of 2011 we performed a field experiment in Carmel River State Beach, CA, at a time when the intermittent natural breaching of the ephemeral Carmel River occurred due to an unusually rainy period prior to the experiment associated with El Nino. At this time the river would fill the lagoon over the period of a number of days after which a breach would occur. This allowed us to document a number of breaches with unique pre- and post-breach topographic surveys, accompanying ocean and lagoon water elevations as well as extremely high flow (4m/s) velocities in the river mouth during the breaching event. The topographic surveys were obtained with a GPS-equipped backpack mounted on a walking human and show the evolution of the river breaching with a gradually widening and deepening river channel that cuts through the pre-existing beach and berm. The beach face is qualified as a steep with an average beach slope of 1:10 with significant reflection of the incident waves (MacMahan et al., 2012). The wave directions are generally shore normal as the waves refract over the deep canyon that is located offshore of the beach. The tide is mixed semi-diurnal with a range on the order of one meter. Breaching typically occurred during the low-low tide. Grain size is highly variable along the beach with layers of alternating fine and coarse material that could clearly be observed as the river exit channel was cutting through the beach. Large rocky outcroppings buried under the beach sand are also present along certain stretches of the beach controlling the depth of the breaching channel. The changes in the water level measured within the lagoon and the ocean side allows for an estimate of the volume flux associated with the breach as function of morphology, tidal elevation and wave conditions as well as an assessment of the conditions and mechanisms of breach closure, which occurred on the time scale of O(0.5 days). Exploratory model simulations will be presented at the

  8. Topographical change caused by moderate and small floods in a gravel bed ephemeral river - a depth-averaged morphodynamic simulation approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lotsari, Eliisa S.; Calle, Mikel; Benito, Gerardo; Kukko, Antero; Kaartinen, Harri; Hyyppä, Juha; Hyyppä, Hannu; Alho, Petteri

    2018-03-01

    In ephemeral rivers, channel morphology represents a snapshot at the end of a succession of geomorphic changes caused by floods. In most cases, the channel shape and bedform migration during different phases of a flood hydrograph cannot be identified from field evidence. This paper analyses the timing of riverbed erosion and deposition of a gravel bed ephemeral river channel (Rambla de la Viuda, Spain) during consecutive and moderate- (March 2013) and low-magnitude (May 2013) discharge events, by applying a morphodynamic model (Delft3D) calibrated with pre- and post-event surveys by RTK-GPS points and mobile laser scanning. The study reach is mainly depositional and all bedload sediment supplied from adjacent upstream areas is trapped in the study segment forming gravel lobes. Therefore, estimates of total bedload sediment mass balance can be obtained from pre- and post-field survey for each flood event. The spatially varying grain size data and transport equations were the most important factors for model calibration, in addition to flow discharge. The channel acted as a braided channel during the lower flows of the two discharge events, but when bars were submerged in the high discharges of May 2013, the high fluid forces followed a meandering river planform. The model results showed that erosion and deposition were in total greater during the long-lasting receding phase than during the rising phase of the flood hydrographs. In the case of the moderate-magnitude discharge event, deposition and erosion peaks were predicted to occur at the beginning of the hydrograph, whereas deposition dominated throughout the event. Conversely, the low-magnitude discharge event only experienced the peak of channel changes after the discharge peak. Thus, both type of discharge events highlight the importance of receding phase for this type of gravel bed ephemeral river channel.

  9. A critical discussion on the applicability of Compound Topographic Index (CTI) for predicting ephemeral gully erosion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casalí, Javier; Chahor, Youssef; Giménez, Rafael; Campo-Bescós, Miguel

    2016-04-01

    The so-called Compound Topographic Index (CTI) can be calculated for each grid cell in a DEM and be used to identify potential locations for ephemeral gullies (e. g.) based on land topography (CTI = A.S.PLANC, where A is upstream drainage area, S is local slope and PLANC is planform curvature, a measure of the landscape convergence) (Parker et al., 2007). It can be shown that CTI represents stream power per unit bed area and it considers the major parameters controlling the pattern and intensity of concentrated surface runoff in the field (Parker et al., 2007). However, other key variables controlling e.g. erosion (e. g. e.) such as soil characteristics, land-use and management, are not had into consideration. The critical CTI value (CTIc) "represents the intensity of concentrated overland flow necessary to initiate erosion and channelised flow under a given set of circumstances" (Parker et al., 2007). AnnAGNPS (Annualized Agriculture Non-Point Source) pollution model is an important management tool developed by (USDA) and uses CTI to locate potential ephemeral gullies. Then, and depending on rainfall characteristics of the period simulated by AnnAGNPS, potential e. g. can become "actual", and be simulated by the model accordingly. This paper presents preliminary results and a number of considerations after evaluating the CTI tool in Navarre. CTIc values found are similar to those cited by other authors, and the e. g. networks that on average occur in the area have been located reasonably well. After our experience we believe that it is necessary to distinguish between the CTIc corresponding to the location of headcuts whose migrations originate the e. g. (CTIc1); and the CTIc necessary to represent the location of the gully networks in the watershed (CTIc2), where gully headcuts are located in the upstream end of the gullies. Most scientists only consider one CTIc value, although, from our point of view, the two situations are different. CTIc1 would represent the

  10. Topographical change caused by moderate and small floods in a gravel bed ephemeral river – a depth-averaged morphodynamic simulation approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. S. Lotsari

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In ephemeral rivers, channel morphology represents a snapshot at the end of a succession of geomorphic changes caused by floods. In most cases, the channel shape and bedform migration during different phases of a flood hydrograph cannot be identified from field evidence. This paper analyses the timing of riverbed erosion and deposition of a gravel bed ephemeral river channel (Rambla de la Viuda, Spain during consecutive and moderate- (March 2013 and low-magnitude (May 2013 discharge events, by applying a morphodynamic model (Delft3D calibrated with pre- and post-event surveys by RTK-GPS points and mobile laser scanning. The study reach is mainly depositional and all bedload sediment supplied from adjacent upstream areas is trapped in the study segment forming gravel lobes. Therefore, estimates of total bedload sediment mass balance can be obtained from pre- and post-field survey for each flood event. The spatially varying grain size data and transport equations were the most important factors for model calibration, in addition to flow discharge. The channel acted as a braided channel during the lower flows of the two discharge events, but when bars were submerged in the high discharges of May 2013, the high fluid forces followed a meandering river planform. The model results showed that erosion and deposition were in total greater during the long-lasting receding phase than during the rising phase of the flood hydrographs. In the case of the moderate-magnitude discharge event, deposition and erosion peaks were predicted to occur at the beginning of the hydrograph, whereas deposition dominated throughout the event. Conversely, the low-magnitude discharge event only experienced the peak of channel changes after the discharge peak. Thus, both type of discharge events highlight the importance of receding phase for this type of gravel bed ephemeral river channel.

  11. Differential effects of ephemeral colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in two Cuscuta species with different ecology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behdarvandi, Behrang; Guinel, Frédérique C; Costea, Mihai

    2015-10-01

    Seedlings of parasitic Cuscuta species are autotrophic but can survive only a short period of time, during which they must locate and attach to a suitable host. They have an ephemeral root-like organ considered not a "true" root by most studies. In the present study, two species with contrasting ecology were examined: Cuscuta gronovii, a North American riparian species, and Cuscuta campestris, an invasive dodder that thrives in disturbed habitats. The morphology, structure, and absorptive capability of their root-like organ were compared, their potential for colonization by two species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was assessed, and the effect of the AMF on seedling growth and survival was determined. The root of both species absorbed water and interacted with AMF, but the two species exhibited dissimilar growth and survival patterns depending on the colonization level of their seedlings. The extensively colonized seedlings of C. gronovii grew more and survived longer than non-colonized seedlings. In contrast, the scarce colonization of C. campestris seedlings did not increase their growth or longevity. The differential growth responses of the AMF-colonized and non-colonized Cuscuta species suggest a mycorrhizal relationship and reflect their ecology. While C. gronovii roots have retained a higher ability to interact with AMF and are likely to take advantage of fungal communities in riparian habitats, the invasive C. campestris has largely lost this ability possibly as an adaptation to disturbed ecosystems. These results indicate that dodders have a true root, even if much reduced and ephemeral, that can interact with AMF.

  12. Ephemeral seafloor sedimentation during dam removal: Elwha River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Melissa M.; Warrick, Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    The removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams from the Elwha River in Washington, USA, resulted in the erosion and transport of over 10 million m3 of sediment from the former reservoirs and into the river during the first two years of the dam removal process. Approximately 90% of this sediment was transported through the Elwha River and to the coast at the Strait of Juan de Fuca. To evaluate the benthic dynamics of increased sediment loading to the nearshore, we deployed a tripod system in ten meters of water to the east of the Elwha River mouth that included a profiling current meter and a camera system. With these data, we were able to document the frequency and duration of sedimentation and turbidity events, and correlate these events to physical oceanographic and river conditions. We found that seafloor sedimentation occurred regularly during the heaviest sediment loading from the river, but that this sedimentation was ephemeral and exhibited regular cycles of deposition and erosion caused by the strong tidal currents in the region. Understanding the frequency and duration of short-term sediment disturbance events is instrumental to interpreting the ecosystem-wide changes that are occurring in the nearshore habitats around the Elwha River delta.

  13. Ephemeral seafloor sedimentation during dam removal: Elwha River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Melissa M.; Warrick, Jonathan A.

    2017-11-01

    The removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams from the Elwha River in Washington, USA, resulted in the erosion and transport of over 10 million m3 of sediment from the former reservoirs and into the river during the first two years of the dam removal process. Approximately 90% of this sediment was transported through the Elwha River and to the coast at the Strait of Juan de Fuca. To evaluate the benthic dynamics of increased sediment loading to the nearshore, we deployed a tripod system in ten meters of water to the east of the Elwha River mouth that included a profiling current meter and a camera system. With these data, we were able to document the frequency and duration of sedimentation and turbidity events, and correlate these events to physical oceanographic and river conditions. We found that seafloor sedimentation occurred regularly during the heaviest sediment loading from the river, but that this sedimentation was ephemeral and exhibited regular cycles of deposition and erosion caused by the strong tidal currents in the region. Understanding the frequency and duration of short-term sediment disturbance events is instrumental to interpreting the ecosystem-wide changes that are occurring in the nearshore habitats around the Elwha River delta.

  14. Hydraulic Geometry, GIS and Remote Sensing, Techniques against Rainfall-Runoff Models for Estimating Flood Magnitude in Ephemeral Fluvial Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Garcia-Lorenzo

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper shows the combined use of remotely sensed data and hydraulic geometry methods as an alternative to rainfall-runoff models. Hydraulic geometric data and boolean images of water sheets obtained from satellite images after storm events were integrated in a Geographical Information System. Channel cross-sections were extracted from a high resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM and superimposed on the image cover to estimate the peak flow using HEC-RAS. The proposed methodology has been tested in ephemeral channels (ramblas on the coastal zone in south-eastern Spain. These fluvial systems constitute an important natural hazard due to their high discharges and sediment loads. In particular, different areas affected by floods during the period 1997 to 2009 were delimited through HEC-GeoRAs from hydraulic geometry data and Landsat images of these floods (Landsat‑TM5 and Landsat-ETM+7. Such an approach has been validated against rainfall-surface runoff models (SCS Dimensionless Unit Hydrograph, SCSD, Témez gamma HU Tγ and the Modified Rational method, MRM comparing their results with flood hydrographs of the Automatic Hydrologic Information System (AHIS in several ephemeral channels in the Murcia Region. The results obtained from the method providing a better fit were used to calculate different hydraulic geometry parameters, especially in residual flood areas.

  15. Potential impacts of global climate change on the hydrology and ecology of ephemeral freshwater systems of the forests of the northeastern United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert T. Brooks

    2009-01-01

    Global, national, and regional assessments of the potential effects of Global Climate Change (GCC) have been recently released, but not one of these assessments has specifically addressed the critical issue of the potential impacts of GCC on ephemeral freshwater systems (EFS). I suggest that this is a major oversight as EFS occur in various forms across the globe. In...

  16. Bovine Ephemeral Fever As A Disease Related To Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Indrawati Sendow

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Bovine Ephemeral Fever (BEF is one of arbovirus diseases infecting in ruminants especially cattle and buffaloes, which is transmitted by mosquito vectors. In general, vector borne disease is also related to climate change, that mosquito as a vector will significantly increase when the environment temperature increases. The disease was found in many countries in Asia, Africa and Australia. The clinical sign of the disease such as fever to paralysis causes economical impact to the farmer, eventhough the mortality is very low. This review will discuss the disease in relation to climate change, which affects vector population that spread the disease. The more population of vector is the higher chance of animal to be infected. This condition describes that the spread of BEF will depend on some factors included the increase of vectors, the availability of susceptible host and vector media facilities, climate condition and supportive ecology. This paper will discuss the feature of BEF, mode of transmission, the impact of environment and climate change, disease prevention and control, and other aspects to prevent further economical impact. It will also discuss how to the transmission, prevention and control of disease BEF. The information can be taken as an input for policy makers to prevent BEF infection in Indonesia.

  17. Longitudinal tests of competing factor structures for the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: traits, ephemeral artifacts, and stable response styles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, Herbert W; Scalas, L Francesca; Nagengast, Benjamin

    2010-06-01

    Self-esteem, typically measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), is one of the most widely studied constructs in psychology. Nevertheless, there is broad agreement that a simple unidimensional factor model, consistent with the original design and typical application in applied research, does not provide an adequate explanation of RSE responses. However, there is no clear agreement about what alternative model is most appropriate-or even a clear rationale for how to test competing interpretations. Three alternative interpretations exist: (a) 2 substantively important trait factors (positive and negative self-esteem), (b) 1 trait factor and ephemeral method artifacts associated with positively or negatively worded items, or (c) 1 trait factor and stable response-style method factors associated with item wording. We have posited 8 alternative models and structural equation model tests based on longitudinal data (4 waves of data across 8 years with a large, representative sample of adolescents). Longitudinal models provide no support for the unidimensional model, undermine support for the 2-factor model, and clearly refute claims that wording effects are ephemeral, but they provide good support for models positing 1 substantive (self-esteem) factor and response-style method factors that are stable over time. This longitudinal methodological approach has not only resolved these long-standing issues in self-esteem research but also has broad applicability to most psychological assessments based on self-reports with a mix of positively and negatively worded items.

  18. Observation and modeling of the evolution of an ephemeral storm-induced inlet: Pea Island Breach, North Carolina, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velasquez Montoya, Liliana; Sciaudone, Elizabeth J.; Mitasova, Helena; Overton, Margery F.

    2018-03-01

    The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a wave-dominated barrier island system that has experienced the opening and closure of numerous inlets in the last four centuries. The most recent of those inlets formed after the breaching of Pea Island during Hurricane Irene in 2011. The Pea Island Breach experienced a rapid evolution including episodic curvature of the main channel, rotation of the ebb channel, shoaling, widening by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and finally closing before the summer of 2013. Studying the life cycle of Pea Island Breach contributes to understanding the behavior of ephemeral inlets in breaching-prone regions. This topic has gained relevance due to rising sea levels, a phenomenon that increases the chances of ephemeral inlet formation during extreme events. This study explores the spatiotemporal effects of tides, waves, and storms on flow velocities and morphology of the breach by means of remotely sensed data, geospatial metrics, and a numerical model. The combined use of observations and results from modeling experiments allowed building a conceptual model to explain the life cycle of Pea Island Breach. Wave seasonality dominated the morphological evolution of the inlet by controlling the magnitude and direction of the longshore current that continuously built transient spits at both sides of the breach. Sensitivity analysis to external forcings indicates that ocean waves can modify water levels and velocities in the back barrier. Sound-side storm surge regulates overall growth rate, duration, and decay of peak water levels entering the inlet during extreme events.

  19. The bricoleur’s figure in artistic practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Resende Côrrea

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Art as process and reflection of the lived moment deals many times with issues that refers to its context and with the available materials in the current scenario. In a society marked by consumption and ephemerality, this article promotes a reflection on the use of disposed and collected products in works of visual artists. The bricoleur appears in this context as a central figure for the understanding and the analysis of some of the many artistic practices realized recently. By bricolage, artists like Joseph Cornell, Farnese de Andrade, Amanda Mei and Courtney Smith performed works with hybrid content that reflect the lived moment and issues contained in the materials available in the current scenario.

  20. Ephemeral wetland communities of Isoëto-Nano-Juncetea class – new data from south-eastern Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krawczyk Rafał

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Vegetation data (70 relevés of ephemeral wetlands collected in both permanent and temporal water basins were analyzed. Numerical classification of the data revealed two distinct subsets, the first comprised communities of Eleocharition ovatae Philippi 1968 alliance, the second combined communities dominated by Alisma lanceolatum, Isolepis supina or Elatine alsinastrum (Alisma lanceolatum group. Phytocoenoses of Eleocharition ovatae were widely distributed in the study area and developed, most frequently, on exposed bottoms of fishponds. This group could be divided into four types of communities. Patches representing Alisma lanceolatum group were found only in mid-field depressions periodically filled with water and concentrated in Volhynian Upland. In this group, two lower vegetation units were distinguished.

  1. Interpretation of massive sandstones in ephemeral fluvial settings: A case study from the Upper Candelária Sequence (Upper Triassic, Paraná Basin, Brazil)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, Bruno Ludovico Dihl; Goldberg, Karin; Schultz, Cesar Leandro

    2018-01-01

    Ephemeral rivers display a wide range of upper- and lower-flow regime structures due to great flow-velocity changes during the floods. The development of flow structures in these setting is yet to be understood, especially in the formation of thick, massive sandstones. The Upper Triassic of Southern Gondwana was marked by a climate with great seasonal changes, yet there is no description of river systems with seasonal characteristics in Southern Gondwana. This work aims to characterize a ephemeral alluvial system of the Upper Triassic of the Paraná Basin. The characteristics of the deposits are discussed in terms of depositional processes through comparison with similar deposits from literature, flow characteristics and depositional signatures compared to flume experiments. The alluvial system is divided in four facies associations: (1) channels with wanning fill, characterized by low width/thickness ratio, tabular bodies, scour-and-fill structures with upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms; (2) channels with massive fill, characterized by low w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies, scour-and-fill structures with massive sandstones; (3) proximal sheetfloods, characterized by moderate w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies with upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms and (4) distal sheetfloods, characterized by high w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies with lower-flow regime bedforms. Evidence for the seasonal reactivation of the riverine system includes the scarcity of well-developed macroforms and presence of in-channel mudstones, thick intraformational conglomerates, and the occurrence of well- and poorly-preserved vertebrate bones in the same beds. The predominantly massive sandstones indicate deposition from a hyperconcentrated flow during abrupt changes in flow speed, caused by de-confinement or channel avulsion, whereas turbulent portions of the flow formed the upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms after the deposition of the massive layers. The upper portion of the Candelária Sequence

  2. Assessing the seasonal variability of ephemeral gully erosion using high-frequency monitoring: case study in a fully cultivated catchment (The Pommeroye, Northern France)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patault, E.; Alary, C.; Franke, C.; Gauthier, A.; Abriak, N. E.

    2017-12-01

    Gully erosion results in on-site and off-site problems including the loss of cultivated soils, the silting of riverbeds and dams as well as infrastructure and property damage by muddy floods. Regions of intensive agricultural production situated on the European loess belt are particularly affected. Recently a growing interest has focused on ephemeral gullies since there have been recognized as a major contributor to the sediment yield in small agricultural catchment in this area. The aims of this case study are (i) to quantify the sediment yield transported by ephemeral gullies, (ii) to identify parameters that control the function of the hydro-sedimentary response and (iii) to evaluate the influence of seasonal variability on the ephemeral gully erosion. For this study a high-frequency monitoring station was implemented. For each flood event, 8 variables related to hydro-sedimentary and rainfall dynamics are calculated and the relationships between these variables are analyzed using the Pearson correlation matrix and Principal Component Analysis. During the first year of monitoring (03/2016-03/2017), 22 flood events were recorded of which 75% occurred in spring and winter. The specific sediment yield was evaluated to 30 t km-2 yr-1 which is conventional for the study region but the results show a highly variable seasonal distribution; 90% of the sedimentary transfer occurred in winter and autumn. The main reasons were a high cumulative rainfall and a long duration for the events. The maximum suspended sediment concentration at the catchment outlet was observed in spring, likely due to maximum rainfall intensities in that season. Also, a huge variability between the events is observed; e.g. one exceptional rain storm in 11/2016 represents 45% of the total sediment yield of the study period. For the monitored 22 events, 2 different types of hysteresis behavior were observed: (i) clockwise and (ii) complex. In winter, only clockwise hysteresis was observed. These

  3. Design of a sediment-monitoring gaging network on ephemeral tributaries of the Colorado River in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons, Arizona

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Ronald E.; Topping, David J.; Anderson, Robert S.; Hancock, Gregory S.; Melis, Theodore S.

    2014-01-01

    Management of sediment in rivers downstream from dams requires knowledge of both the sediment supply and downstream sediment transport. In some dam-regulated rivers, the amount of sediment supplied by easily measured major tributaries may overwhelm the amount of sediment supplied by the more difficult to measure lesser tributaries. In this first class of rivers, managers need only know the amount of sediment supplied by these major tributaries. However, in other regulated rivers, the cumulative amount of sediment supplied by the lesser tributaries may approach the total supplied by the major tributaries. The Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon has been hypothesized to be one such river. If this is correct, then management of sediment in the Colorado River in the part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area downstream from the dam and in Grand Canyon National Park may require knowledge of the sediment supply from all tributaries. Although two major tributaries, the Paria and Little Colorado Rivers, are well documented as the largest two suppliers of sediment to the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, the contributions of sediment supplied by the ephemeral lesser tributaries of the Colorado River in the lowermost Glen Canyon, and Marble and Grand Canyons are much less constrained. Previous studies have estimated amounts of sediment supplied by these tributaries ranging from very little to almost as much as the amount supplied by the Paria River. Because none of these previous studies relied on direct measurement of sediment transport in any of the ephemeral tributaries in Glen, Marble, or Grand Canyons, there may be significant errors in the magnitudes of sediment supplies estimated during these studies. To reduce the uncertainty in the sediment supply by better constraining the sediment yield of the ephemeral lesser tributaries, the U.S. Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center established eight sediment-monitoring gaging

  4. Precipitation and runoff simulations of select perennial and ephemeral watersheds in the middle Carson River basin, Eagle, Dayton, and Churchill Valleys, west-central Nevada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeton, Anne E.; Maurer, Douglas K.

    2011-01-01

    The effect that land use may have on streamflow in the Carson River, and ultimately its impact on downstream users can be evaluated by simulating precipitation-runoff processes and estimating groundwater inflow in the middle Carson River in west-central Nevada. To address these concerns, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, began a study in 2008 to evaluate groundwater flow in the Carson River basin extending from Eagle Valley to Churchill Valley, called the middle Carson River basin in this report. This report documents the development and calibration of 12 watershed models and presents model results and the estimated mean annual water budgets for the modeled watersheds. This part of the larger middle Carson River study will provide estimates of runoff tributary to the Carson River and the potential for groundwater inflow (defined here as that component of recharge derived from percolation of excess water from the soil zone to the groundwater reservoir). The model used for the study was the U.S. Geological Survey's Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System, a physically based, distributed-parameter model designed to simulate precipitation and snowmelt runoff as well as snowpack accumulation and snowmelt processes. Models were developed for 2 perennial watersheds in Eagle Valley having gaged daily mean runoff, Ash Canyon Creek and Clear Creek, and for 10 ephemeral watersheds in the Dayton Valley and Churchill Valley hydrologic areas. Model calibration was constrained by daily mean runoff for the 2 perennial watersheds and for the 10 ephemeral watersheds by limited indirect runoff estimates and by mean annual runoff estimates derived from empirical methods. The models were further constrained by limited climate data adjusted for altitude differences using annual precipitation volumes estimated in a previous study. The calibration periods were water years 1980-2007 for Ash Canyon Creek, and water years 1991-2007 for Clear Creek. To

  5. High-resolution melting (HRM) for genotyping bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erster, Oran; Stram, Rotem; Menasherow, Shopia; Rubistein-Giuni, Marisol; Sharir, Binyamin; Kchinich, Evgeni; Stram, Yehuda

    2017-02-02

    In recent years there have been several major outbreaks of bovine ephemeral disease in the Middle East, including Israel. Such occurrences raise the need for quick identification of the viruses responsible for the outbreaks, in order to rapidly identify the entry of viruses that do not belong to the Middle-East BEFV lineage. This challenge was met by the development of a high-resolution melt (HRM) assay. The assay is based on the viral G gene sequence and generation of an algorithm that calculates and evaluates the GC content of various fragments. The algorithm was designed to scan 50- to 200-base-long segments in a sliding-window manner, compare and rank them using an Order of Technique of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution technique, according to the differences in GC content of homologous fragments. Two fragments were selected, based on a match to the analysis criteria, in terms of size and GC content. These fragments were successfully used in the analysis to differentiate between different virus lineages, thus facilitating assignment of the viruses' geographical origins. Moreover, the assay could be used for differentiating infected from vaccinated animales (DIVA). The new algorithm may therefore be useful for development of improved genotyping studies for other viruses and possibly other microorganisms. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  6. The Fiera del Mediterraneo of Palermo 1946–1975 Ephemeral Architecture and Apparatuses during the Years of the Artistic Metamorphosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Fatta

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The Fiera del Mediterraneo Exhibition Centre of Palermo, in its original layout realized in 1946, is an interesting laboratory of visually striking ephemeral architecture and apparatuses. The whole fairgrounds lends itself to an analysis focusing on its dual image: one, “external”, because urban, territorial, Mediterranean, and another, “internal”, unfolding amidst the boulevards, the pavilions and the exhibits on display. For both images, there is a communicative project rightfully belonging to the period of the “Italian Metamorphosis” (1945/1968, the years in which Italian culture was invested by a renewed renaissance, even in the so-called minor arts such as graphics and visual communication.

  7. Bacterial succession within an ephemeral hypereutrophic mojave desert playa lake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, J.B.; Moser, D.P.; Flores, A.; Ross, C.; Rosen, Michael R.; Dong, H.; Zhang, G.; Hedlund, B.P.

    2009-01-01

    Ephemerally wet playas are conspicuous features of arid landscapes worldwide; however, they have not been well studied as habitats for microorganisms. We tracked the geochemistry and microbial community in Silver Lake playa, California, over one flooding/desiccation cycle following the unusually wet winter of 2004-2005. Over the course of the study, total dissolved solids increased by 10-fold and pH increased by nearly one unit. As the lake contracted and temperatures increased over the summer, a moderately dense planktonic population of 1 ?????106 cells ml-1 of culturable heterotrophs was replaced by a dense population of more than 1????????109 cells ml-1, which appears to be the highest concentration of culturable planktonic heterotrophs reported in any natural aquatic ecosystem. This correlated with a dramatic depletion of nitrate as well as changes in the microbial community, as assessed by small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of bacterial isolates and uncultivated clones. Isolates from the early-phase flooded playa were primarily Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes, yet clone libraries were dominated by Betaproteobacteria and yet uncultivated Actinobacteria. Isolates from the late-flooded phase ecosystem were predominantly Proteobacteria, particularly alkalitolerant isolates of Rhodobaca, Porphyrobacter, Hydrogenophaga, Alishwenella, and relatives of Thauera; however, clone libraries were composed almost entirely of Synechococcus (Cyanobacteria). A sample taken after the playa surface was completely desiccated contained diverse culturable Actinobacteria typically isolated from soils. In total, 205 isolates and 166 clones represented 82 and 44 species-level groups, respectively, including a wide diversity of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, Acidobacteria, and Cyanobacteria. ?? 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

  8. High pH microbial ecosystems in a newly discovered, ephemeral, serpentinizing fluid seep at Yanartaş (Chimera), Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer-Dombard, D'Arcy R; Woycheese, Kristin M; Yargıçoğlu, Erin N; Cardace, Dawn; Shock, Everett L; Güleçal-Pektas, Yasemin; Temel, Mustafa

    2014-01-01

    Gas seeps emanating from Yanartaş (Chimera), Turkey, have been documented for thousands of years. Active serpentinization produces hydrogen and a range of carbon gases that may provide fuel for life. Here we report a newly discovered, ephemeral fluid seep emanating from a small gas vent at Yanartaş. Fluids and biofilms were sampled at the source and points downstream. We describe site conditions, and provide microbiological data in the form of enrichment cultures, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of solids, and PCR screens of nitrogen cycle genes. Source fluids are pH 11.95, with a Ca:Mg of ~200, and sediments under the ignited gas seep measure 60°C. Collectively, these data suggest the fluid is the product of active serpentinization at depth. Source sediments are primarily calcite and alteration products (chlorite and montmorillonite). Downstream, biofilms are mixed with montmorillonite. SEM shows biofilms distributed homogeneously with carbonates. Organic carbon accounts for 60% of the total carbon at the source, decreasing downstream to <15% as inorganic carbon precipitates. δ(13)C ratios of the organic carbon fraction of solids are depleted (-25 to -28‰) relative to the carbonates (-11 to -20‰). We conclude that heterotrophic processes are dominant throughout the surface ecosystem, and carbon fixation may be key down channel. δ(15)N ratios ~3‰, and absence of nifH in extracted DNA suggest that nitrogen fixation is not occurring in sediments. However, the presence of narG and nirS at most locations and in enrichments indicates genomic potential for nitrate and nitrite reduction. This small seep with shallow run-off is likely ephemeral, but abundant preserved microterracettes in the outflow and the surrounding area suggest it has been present for some time. This site and others like it present an opportunity for investigations of preserved deep biosphere signatures, and subsurface-surface interactions.

  9. High pH microbial ecosystems in a newly discovered, ephemeral, serpentinizing fluid seep at Yanartaş (Chimaera, Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D'Arcy Renee Meyer-Dombard

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Gas seeps emanating from ophiolites at Yanartaş (Chimaera, Turkey, have been documented for thousands of years. Active serpentinization produces hydrogen and a range of carbon gases that may provide fuel for life. Here we report a newly discovered, ephemeral fluid seep emanating from a small gas vent at Yanartaş. Fluids and biofilms were sampled at the source and points downstream. We describe site conditions, and provide microbiological data in the form of enrichment cultures, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of solids, and PCR screens of nitrogen cycle genes. Source fluids are pH 11.95, with a Ca:Mg of ~200, and sediments under the ignited gas seep measure 60°C. Collectively, these data suggest the fluid is the product of active serpentinization at depth. Source sediments are primarily calcite and alteration products (chlorite and montmorillonite. Downstream, biofilms are mixed with montmorillonite. SEM shows biofilms distributed homogeneously with carbonates. Organic carbon accounts for 60% of the total carbon at the source, decreasing downstream to <15% as inorganic carbon precipitates. δ13C ratios of the organic carbon fraction of solids are depleted (−25 to −28 ‰ relative to the carbonates (−11 to −20‰. We conclude that heterotrophic processes are dominant throughout the surface ecosystem, and carbon fixation may be key down channel. δ15N ratios ~ 3‰, and absence of nifH in extracted DNA suggest that nitrogen fixation is not occurring in sediments. However, the presence of narG and nirS at most locations and in enrichments indicates genomic potential for nitrate and nitrite reduction. This small seep with shallow run-off is likely ephemeral, but abundant preserved microterracettes in the outflow and the surrounding area suggest it has been present for some time. This site and others like it present an opportunity for investigations of preserved deep biosphere signatures, and

  10. Succession of Ephemeral Secondary Forests and Their Limited Role for the Conservation of Floristic Diversity in a Human-Modified Tropical Landscape

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Breugel, Michiel; Hall, Jefferson S.; Craven, Dylan

    2013-01-01

    of these secondary forests to conserve tree species diversity, we also evaluated the diversity of species that can persist as viable metapopulations in a dynamic patchwork of short-lived successional forests, using different assumptions about the average relative size at reproductive maturity. We found...... niche operate simultaneously and shape successional dynamics of the metacommunity of these early secondary forests. A high diversity of plant species across the metacommunity of early secondary forests shows a potential for restoration of diverse forests through natural succession, when trees....... This implies that ephemeral secondary forests have a limited role in the long-term conservation of tree species diversity in human-modified tropical landscapes....

  11. Organizations as real and ephemeral

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elkjær, Bente

    2017-01-01

    . On the other hand, another contemporary movement may be observed within organization studies, which is to defend the use of general theories of the social sciences. This latter trend is represented through the language of organizations as processes and practices, sometimes termed the ‘process-’ and ‘practice......-turn’. Although I tend to subscribe to the latter position, I aim to illustrate the value of bridging the dilemma of a canon of history and tradition and the inclusion of more general social science theories within organization studies. I also argue that it is beneficial to hold the eye both on organizations...

  12. High-Frequency Nitrous Oxide Dynamics in an Ephemeral Agricultural Wetland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, N.; Hall, S. J.

    2017-12-01

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas and major contributor to climate change, and soil microbes are the largest source of N2O globally. Top-down measurements of N2O do not agree with scaled up estimations using local measurements, suggesting missing sources of N2O. Hot-spots and hot-moments are often invoked to explain missing emissions, but we lack a conceptual framework to predict when and where they will occur. We hypothesize that intensively farmed ephemeral wetlands with temporally variable moisture, which drives fluctuations in redox potential, provide ideal conditions for N2O production that may have been overlooked in previous field-scale research. Using high-frequency automated chamber measurements across a topographical gradient in a Midwestern agricultural field (in the southern Prairie Pothole region, Iowa), we have observed both spatial and temporal hotspots. After approximately five months of observation, the wetland soils had cumulative N2O emissions 71% higher than surrounding uplands. We also find strong evidence for the importance of hot moments, in that measurements representing the highest 20% of emissions make up 67% of the total N2O flux. These values correspond to heightened emissions in the days following spring thaw or fertilization and the 8 hours following rain events, after which N2O emissions typically returned to baseline levels. In addition to N2O emissions, we have also measured a suite of potential microbial drivers to inform a predictive framework for hotspots and moments in the context of topographic complexity and hydric soils. Our preliminary findings suggest that farmed wetlands representing 10% of the study region may contribute disproportionately to N2O emissions and could contribute to discrepancies in top-down and bottom-up budgets.

  13. Desobedient and Walking Practices as a Form of Independent Public Art

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Casado da Rocha

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available By pointing to the origin of some disobedient and walking practices in the life and works of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862, this paper describes its development in contemporary culture by means of a comparison with independent public art (street art and walking experiences understood as mobile happenings in private spaces. Those forms of art are ephemeral and subjected to prosecution, since they often involve trespassing, which is used as the starting point of action-research in which the artist requires and is open to public attention. Looking at his experiment in Walden as a form of performance, Thoreau gave up artworks in the usual sense and instead called for an appropriation of landscape by means of a reconnection between ethics and aesthetics.

  14. Longitudinal distribution and parameters of large wood in a Mediterranean ephemeral stream

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galia, T.; Škarpich, V.; Tichavský, R.; Vardakas, L.; Šilhán, K.

    2018-06-01

    Although large wood (LW) has been intensively studied in forested basins of humid temperate climates, data on LW patterns in different fluvial environments are rather scarce. Therefore, we investigated the dimensions, characteristics, longitudinal distribution, and dynamics of LW along a 4.05-km-long reach of an ephemeral channel typical of European Mediterranean mountainous landscape (Sfakiano Gorge, Crete, Greece). We analysed a total of 795 LW pieces, and the mean observed abundance of LW was generally lower (14.3 m3/ha of active valley floor or 19.6 LW pieces/100 m of stream length) than is usually documented for more humid environments. The number of LW pieces was primarily controlled by trees growing on the valley floor. These living trees acted as important LW supply agents (by tree throws or the supply of individual branches with sufficient LW dimensions) and flow obstructions during large flood events, causing storage of transported LW pieces in jams. However, the downstream transport of LW is probably episodic, and large jams are likely formed only during major floods; after >15 years, we still observed significant imprints of the last major flood event on the present distribution of LW. The geomorphic function of LW in the studied stream can only be perceived to be a spatially limited stabilising element for sediments, which was documented by a few accumulations of coarse clastic material by LW steps and jams.

  15. The efficiency of bees in pollinating ephemeral flowers of Jacquemontia bracteosa (Convolvulaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sílvia K. D. Santos

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The family Convolvulaceae is widely distributed in tropical regions, mainly in open areas. Convolvulaceae flowers are characterized mainly by being beautiful and ephemeral, attracting many flower visitors that belong to different taxonomic groups. This work aimed to investigate the interactions between insects and flowers of Jacquemontia bracteosa (Convolvulaceae, focusing on the pollination efficiency, in an area in the Brazilian semiarid. From November 2011 to October 2012, floral biology of J. bracteosa was investigated as well as the flower visit frequency, behavior, and morphology of floral visitors. The flowers of J. bracteosa are white, showy and open early in the morning, lasting less than 12 hours, with fruiting occurring both by selfing and outcrossing fecundation. A total of 337 specimens insects were collected on J. bracteosa flowers during the field observations. The Neotropical bee, Ancyloscelis apiformis, was considered the most efficient pollinator of J. bracteosa. This bee showed appropriate behavior, high frequency (64% of the total sample, and was constant on the flowers. Furthermore, they arrived soon when the flowers began to open and presented 90% of efficiency in tests of flower pollination of J. bracteosa. Other native bee species also visited the flowers of J. bracteosa and may be considered potential pollinators because they presented behavior and morphology compatible with the flowers. This study suggests that maintenance of weeds or ruderal plants, especially those that also have ornamental potential in anthropic area, may be an option for the preservation of local native pollinators, which are threatened by environmental degradation.

  16. Evaluating recharge to an ephemeral dryland stream using a hydraulic model and water, chloride and isotope mass balance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dogramaci, Shawan; Firmani, Giovanni; Hedley, Paul; Skrzypek, Grzegorz; Grierson, Pauline F.

    2015-02-01

    Dewatering associated with mining below water table to achieve dry mining conditions may exert significant pressure on water balance in terms of lowering the water table and change in the dynamics of interactions between surface water and groundwater. The discharge of surplus mine water into ephemeral streams may also affect the water balance, by elevating groundwater levels and altering the exchange rate between streams and underlying aquifers. However, it is unclear whether volumes and recharge processes are within the range of natural variability. Here, we present a case study of an ephemeral creek in the semi-arid Hamersley Basin of northwest Australia that has received continuous mine discharge for more than six years. We used a numerical model coupled with repeated measurements of water levels, chloride concentrations and the hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope composition (δ2H and δ18O) to estimate longitudinal evapotranspiration and recharge rates along a 27 km length of Weeli Wolli Creek. We found that chloride increased from 73 to 120 mg/L across this length, while δ18O increased from -8.2‰ to -7.00‰. Groundwater is directly connected to the creek for the first 13 km and recharge rates are negligible. Below this point, the creek flows over a highly permeable aquifer and water loss by recharge increases to a maximum rate of 4.4 mm/d, which accounts for ∼65% of the total water discharged to the creek. Evapotranspiration losses account for the remaining ∼35%. The calculated recharge from continuous flow due to surplus water discharge is similar to that measured for rainfall-driven flood events along the creek. Groundwater under the disconnected section of the creek is characterised by a much lower Cl concentration and more depleted δ18O value than mining discharge water but is similar to flood water generated by large episodic rainfall events. Our results suggest that the impact of recharge from continuous flow on the water balance of the creek

  17. Hashtagging Politics: Transnational Anti-Fracking Movement Twitter Practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jill E. Hopke

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available I examine a 2-week window into an environmental movement trying to gain traction in the public sphere, centered on a transnational day of action calling for a ban on the drilling technology, high-volume hydraulic fracturing, the Global Frackdown. Twitter serves a different purpose for the anti-fracking Global Frackdown movement than other Internet-based communications, most notably email listservs. Findings show that Global Frackdown tweeters engage in framing practices of movement convergence and solidarity, declarative and targeted engagement, prefabricated messaging, and multilingual tweeting. In contrast to Global Frackdown tweeters’ use of the platform for in-the-moment communication, Global Frackdown activists report in in-depth interviews that they place more emphasis on private (i.e., listservs communication channels for longer term, durable movement building. The episodic, crowdsourced, and often personalized, transnational framing practices of Global Frackdown tweeters support core organizers’ goal of promoting the globalness of activism to ban fracking. This research extends past scholarship on socially mediated activism by providing a case study of how environmental activists use Twitter for ephemeral movement communication during a pre-planned transnational day of action, blurring internal movement collective identity-building and affirmation with publicly enacted strategic framing.

  18. Solving the puzzle of yeast survival in ephemeral nectar systems: exponential growth is not enough.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hausmann, Sebastian L; Tietjen, Britta; Rillig, Matthias C

    2017-12-01

    Flower nectar is a sugar-rich ephemeral habitat for microorganisms. Nectar-borne yeasts are part of the microbial community and can affect pollination by changing nectar chemistry, attractiveness to pollinators or flower temperature if yeast population densities are high. Pollinators act as dispersal agents in this system; however, pollination events lead potentially to shrinking nectar yeast populations. We here examine how sufficiently high cell densities of nectar yeast can develop in a flower. In laboratory experiments, we determined the remaining fraction of nectar yeast cells after nectar removal, and used honeybees to determine the number of transmitted yeast cells from one flower to the next. The results of these experiments directly fed into a simulation model providing an insight into movement and colonization ecology of nectar yeasts. We found that cell densities only reached an ecologically relevant size for an intermediate pollination probability. Too few pollination events reduce yeast inoculation rate and too many reduce yeast population size strongly. In addition, nectar yeasts need a trait combination of at least an intermediate growth rate and an intermediate remaining fraction to compensate for highly frequent decimations. Our results can be used to predict nectar yeast dispersal, growth and consequently their ecological effects. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. The Impact of a Check Dam on Groundwater Recharge and Sedimentation in an Ephemeral Stream

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hakan Djuma

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Despite the widespread presence of groundwater recharge check dams, there are few studies that quantify their functionality. The objectives of this study are (i to assess groundwater recharge in an ephemeral river with and without a check dam and (ii to assess sediment build-up in the check-dam reservoir. Field campaigns were carried out to measure water flow, water depth, and check-dam topography to establish water volume, evaporation, outflow, and recharge relations, as well as sediment build-up. To quantify the groundwater recharge, a water-balance approach was applied at two locations: at the check dam reservoir area and at an 11 km long natural stretch of the river upstream. Prediction intervals were computed to assess the uncertainties of the results. During the four years of operation, the check dam (storage capacity of 25,000 m3 recharged the aquifer with an average of 3.1 million m3 of the 10.4 million m3 year−1 of streamflow (30%. The lower and upper uncertainty limits of the check dam recharge were 0.1 and 9.6 million m3 year−1, respectively. Recharge from the upstream stretch was 1.5 million m3 year−1. These results indicate that check dams are valuable structures for increasing groundwater resources in semi-arid regions.

  20. Rainfall-runoff modelling and palaeoflood hydrology applied to reconstruct centennial scale records of flooding and aquifer recharge in ungauged ephemeral rivers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Benito

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study we propose a multi-source data approach for quantifying long-term flooding and aquifer recharge in ungauged ephemeral rivers. The methodology is applied to the Buffels River, at 9000 km2 the largest ephemeral river in Namaqualand (NW South Africa, a region with scarce stream flow records limiting research investigating hydrological response to global change. Daily discharge and annual flood series (1965–2006 were estimated from a distributed rainfall-runoff hydrological model (TETIS using rainfall gauge records located within the catchment. The model was calibrated and validated with data collected during a two year monitoring programme (2005–2006 at two stream flow stations, one each in the upper and lower reaches of the catchment. In addition to the modelled flow records, non-systematic flood data were reconstructed using both sedimentary and documentary evidence. The palaeoflood record identified at least 25 large floods during the last 700 yr; with the largest floods reaching a minimum discharge of 255 m3 s−1 (450 yr return period in the upper basin, and 510 m3 s−1 (100 yr return period in the lower catchment. Since AD 1925, the flood hydrology of the Buffels River has been characterised by a decrease in the magnitude and frequency of extreme floods, with palaeoflood discharges (period 1500–1921 five times greater than the largest modelled floods during the period 1965–2006. Large floods generated the highest hydrograph volumes, however their contribution to aquifer recharge is limited as this depends on other factors such as flood duration and storage capacity of the unsaturated zone prior to the flood. Floods having average return intervals of 5–10 yr (120–140 m3 s−1 and flowing for 12 days are able to fully saturate the Spektakel aquifer in the lower Buffels River basin. Alluvial aquifer storage capacity limiting potential recharge

  1. Experimental and Numerical Study of Bottom Rack Occlusion by Flow with Gravel-Sized Sediment. Application to Ephemeral Streams in Semi-Arid Regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis G. Castillo

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Rainfall runoff collection in ephemeral streams is an objective in semi-arid zones. Rack intake systems are proposed to collect these flash floods with intensive sediment transport. The design parameters address the problem of clogging the spacing between bars. Experiments for two different void ratio racks are shown. Flows, longitudinal slopes in the rack, and water with three gravel-sized sediments were tested. Results such as effective void ratio due to the gravel deposition over the rack, the evolution of the flow rejected during each test, and the quantification of materials collected and deposited, are presented. The optimal longitudinal rack slope seems to be close to 30%. The effective void ratio is related to several hydraulic parameters calculated at the beginning of the rack. Some adjustments were proposed to predict the effective void ratio.

  2. Reconstruction of paleo-inlet dynamics using sedimentologic analyses, geomorphic features, and benthic foraminiferal assemblages: former ephemeral inlets of Cedar Island, Virginia, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBride, R.; Wood, E. T.

    2017-12-01

    Cedar Island, VA is a low-profile, washover-dominated barrier island that has breached at least three times in the past sixty years. Cedar Island Inlet, a former wave-dominated tidal inlet, was open for the following time periods: 1) 1956-1962, 2) 1992-1997, and 3) 1998-2007. Air photos, satellite imagery, and geomorphic features (i.e., relict flood tidal deltas, recurved-spit ridges) record the spatial and temporal extent of the three ephemeral inlets. Based on three sediment vibracores, benthic foraminiferal and sedimentologic analyses offer high resolution insights of inlet dynamics and lifecycle evolution. Four foraminiferal biofacies are completely dominated by Elphidium excavatum (54-100%) and contain unique assemblages of accessory species based on cluster analyses: tidal inlet floor (low abundance estuarine and shelf species; 23% Haynesina germanica); flood tidal delta/inlet fill (high abundance estuarine and shelf species; 2% Buccella frigida, 2% Ammonia parkinsoniana, and 2% Haynesina germanica); high-energy inlet fill (low abundance, low diversity shelf species; 9% Elphidium gunteri); and washover/beach/aeolian (low abundance, predominantly shelf species; 3% Buccella frigida and 3% Ammonia parkinsoniana). The estuarine biofacies is barren of all foraminifera. Grain size trends indicate a first order coarsening-upward succession with second order coarsening- and fining-upwards packages in inlet throat deposits, while a first order fining-upward succession is observed in flood tidal delta deposits with two second order coarsening-upward packages in the proximal flood tidal delta. Contrary to typical wave-dominated tidal inlets that open, migrate laterally in the direction of net longshore transport, and close, the 1998-2007 tidal inlet, and possibly the 1956-1962 inlet, migrated laterally and rotated, whereas the 1992-1997 inlet remained stationary and did not rotate. In the vicinity of the vibracores, preserved deposits are attributed to the 1956-1962 and

  3. Mining Contextual Information for Ephemeral Digital Video Preservation

    OpenAIRE

    Shah, Chirag

    2009-01-01

    For centuries the archival community has understood and practiced the art of adding contextual information while preserving an artifact. The question now is how these practices can be transferred to the digital domain. With the growing expansion of production and consumption of digital objects (documents, audio, video, etc.) it has become essential to identify and study issues related to their representation. A cura­tor in the digital realm may be said to have the same responsibilities as on...

  4. Safety, immunogenicity and duration of immunity elicited by an inactivated bovine ephemeral fever vaccine.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orly Aziz-Boaron

    Full Text Available Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF is an economically important viral vector-borne cattle disease. Several live-attenuated, inactivated and recombinant vaccines have been tested, demonstrating varying efficacy. However, to the best of our knowledge, duration of immunity conferred by an inactivated vaccine has never been reported. In the last decade, Israel has faced an increasing number of BEF outbreaks. The need for an effective vaccine compatible with strains circulating in the Middle East region led to the development of a MONTANIDE™ ISA 206 VG (water-in-oil-in-water, inactivated vaccine based on a local strain. We tested the safety, immunogenicity and duration of immunity conferred by this vaccine. The induced neutralizing antibody (NA response was followed for 493 days in 40 cows vaccinated by different protocols. The vaccine did not cause adverse reactions or a decrease in milk production. All cows [except 2 (6.7% which did not respond to vaccination] showed a significant rise in NA titer of up to 1:256 following the second, third or fourth booster vaccination. Neutralizing antibody levels declined gradually to 1:16 up to 120 days post vaccination. This decline continued in cows vaccinated only twice, whereas cows vaccinated 3 or 4 times showed stable titers of approximately 1:16 for up to 267 days post vaccination. At least three vaccinations with the inactivated BEF vaccine were needed to confer long-lasting immunity. These results may have significant implications for the choice of vaccination protocol with inactivated BEF vaccines. Complementary challenge data should however be added to the above results in order to determine what is the minimal NA response conferring protection from clinical disease.

  5. Comparison of groundwater recharge estimation techniques in an alluvial aquifer system with an intermittent/ephemeral stream (Queensland, Australia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Adam C.; Raiber, Matthias; Cox, Malcolm E.; Cendón, Dioni I.

    2017-09-01

    This study demonstrates the importance of the conceptual hydrogeological model for the estimation of groundwater recharge rates in an alluvial system interconnected with an ephemeral or intermittent stream in south-east Queensland, Australia. The losing/gaining condition of these streams is typically subject to temporal and spatial variability, and knowledge of these hydrological processes is critical for the interpretation of recharge estimates. Recharge rate estimates of 76-182 mm/year were determined using the water budget method. The water budget method provides useful broad approximations of recharge and discharge fluxes. The chloride mass balance (CMB) method and the tritium method were used on 17 and 13 sites respectively, yielding recharge rates of 1-43 mm/year (CMB) and 4-553 mm/year (tritium method). However, the conceptual hydrogeological model confirms that the results from the CMB method at some sites are not applicable in this setting because of overland flow and channel leakage. The tritium method was appropriate here and could be applied to other alluvial systems, provided that channel leakage and diffuse infiltration of rainfall can be accurately estimated. The water-table fluctuation (WTF) method was also applied to data from 16 bores; recharge estimates ranged from 0 to 721 mm/year. The WTF method was not suitable where bank storage processes occurred.

  6. Interactions between Point Bar Growth and Bank Erosion on a Low Sinuosity Meander Bend in an Ephemeral Channel: Insights from Repeat Topographic Surveys and Numerical Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ursic, M.; Langendoen, E. J.

    2017-12-01

    Interactions between point bar growth, bank migration, and hydraulics on meandering rivers are complicated and not well understood. For ephemeral streams, rapid fluctuations in flow further complicate studying and understanding these interactions. This study seeks to answer the following `cause-and-effect' question: Does point bar morphologic adjustment determine where bank erosion occurs (for example, through topographic steering of the flow), or does local bank retreat determine where accretion/erosion occurs on the point bar, or do bank erosion and point bar morphologic adjustment co-evolve? Further, is there a response time between the `cause-and-effect' processes and what variables determine its magnitude and duration? In an effort to answer these questions for an ephemeral stream, a dataset of forty-eight repeat topographic surveys over a ten-year period (1996-2006) of a low sinuosity bend within the Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed, located near Batesville, MS, were utilized in conjunction with continuous discharge measurements to correlate flow variability and erosional and depositional zones, spatially and temporally. Hydraulically, the bend is located immediately downstream of a confluence with a major tributary. Supercritical flumes on both the primary and tributary channels just upstream of the confluence provide continuous measured discharges to the bend over the survey period. In addition, water surface elevations were continuously measured at the upstream and downstream ends of the bend. No spatial correlation trends could be discerned between reach-scale bank retreat, point bar morphologic adjustment, and flow discharge. Because detailed flow patterns were not available, the two-dimensional computer model Telemac2D was used to provide these details. The model was calibrated and validated for a set of runoff events for which more detailed flow data were available. Telemac2D simulations were created for each topographic survey period. Flows

  7. The opportunistic feeding and reproduction strategies of the annual fish Cynopoecilus melanotaenia (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae inhabiting ephemeral habitats on southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina da Silva Gonçalves

    Full Text Available Most Rivulidae fishes are popularly known as annual fishes which live in ephemeral environments such as pools, that obligatorily dry out seasonally causing the death of adult individuals. They have unique biological characteristics such as small body size, early sexual maturation, continuous reproduction, an elaborated courtship behavior, and a great reproductive capacity among fishes. The rivulids are widely distributed in North, Central and South America. In this study, the diet and reproductive biology of Cynopoecilus melanotaenia was analyzed. A total of 263 specimens were collected and the analysis of 233 gastrointestinal contents revealed an invertivorous diet composed mainly of small crustaceans (Cladocera, Amphipoda, and Ostracoda and immature insects (Chaoboridae, Culicidae, Syrphidae, but mainly Chironomidae larvae. Lepidophagy on male's diet was also registered. Fecundity was estimated by analyzing 59 pairs of mature ovaries and ranged from 2 to 157 oocytes (mean, 19 ± 26[SD]. The species has fractional spawning, a strategy to increase the chance of survival to prolonged depletions. This study is the first to investigate the reproductive biology of C. melanotaenia. The results confirmed the opportunistic character of the rivulid C. melanotaenia and provided unreported reproductive information that may aid conservation of the species.

  8. Adaptation to ephemeral habitat may overcome natural barriers and severe habitat fragmentation in a fire-dependent species, the Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerame, Blain; Cox, James A; Brumfield, Robb T; Tucker, James W; Taylor, Sabrina S

    2014-01-01

    Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) is a fire-dependent species that has undergone range-wide population declines in recent decades. We examined genetic diversity in Bachman's Sparrows to determine whether natural barriers have led to distinct population units and to assess the effect of anthropogenic habitat loss and fragmentation. Genetic diversity was examined across the geographic range by genotyping 226 individuals at 18 microsatellite loci and sequencing 48 individuals at mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Multiple analyses consistently demonstrated little genetic structure and high levels of genetic variation, suggesting that populations are panmictic. Based on these genetic data, separate management units/subspecies designations or translocations to promote gene flow among fragmented populations do not appear to be necessary. Panmixia in Bachman's Sparrow may be a consequence of an historical range expansion and retraction. Alternatively, high vagility in Bachman's Sparrow may be an adaptation to the ephemeral, fire-mediated habitat that this species prefers. In recent times, high vagility also appears to have offset inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity in highly fragmented habitat.

  9. First record of a Late Holocene fauna associated with an ephemeral fluvial sequence in La Pampa Province, Argentina. Taphonomy and paleoenvironment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montalvo, Claudia I.; Fernández, Fernando J.; Bargo, M. Susana; Tomassini, Rodrigo L.; Mehl, Adriana

    2017-07-01

    The first Late Holocene mammal assemblage (mainly micromammals) of La Pampa Province was found in Quehué paleontological site, associated with an ephemeral fluvial sequence. Taphonomical features of the collected materials were evaluated in order to increase the knowledge of the ancient vertebrate communities of this area and to interpret the origin of the assemblages. Field data and taphonomic analysis of the specimens, suggested the recognition of three assemblages with different taphonomic histories: 1) large to medium sized mammals; 2) micromammals found inside burrows or associated with them; and 3) discrete accumulations of micromammals and other microvertebrates (amphibians, reptiles and birds). Additionally, the paleoenvironmental analysis based mainly on the record of small mammals reflected the predominance of semi-arid conditions associated with a mosaic of open shrub steppe, grasslands and xerophytic forests of Espinal, similar to the present one in the Quehué valley area. However, the presence of Lestodelphys halli in the Quehué site during the Late Holocene (∼1.2 ky BP), suggests a more heterogeneous environment and perhaps relative colder and drier than current times, which are featured by more mesic conditions and anthropic activities, mainly agriculture and livestock during the last centuries.

  10. Super-Eddington Accretion in the Ultraluminous X-Ray Source NGC 1313 X-2: An Ephemeral Feast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Shan-Shan; Zhang, Shuang-Nan; Zhao, Hai-Hui

    2014-01-01

    We investigate the X-ray spectrum, variability, and the surrounding ionized bubble of NGC 1313 X-2 to explore the physics of super-Eddington accretion. Beyond the Eddington luminosity, the accretion disk of NGC 1313 X-2 is truncated at a large radius (~50 times the innermost stable circular orbit), and displays the similar evolution track with both luminous Galactic black-hole and neutron star X-ray binaries (XRBs). In super-critical accretion, the speed of radiatively driven outflows from the inner disk is mildly relativistic. Such ultra-fast outflows would be overionized and might produce weak Fe K absorption lines, which may be detected by the coming X-ray mission Astro-H. If NGC 1313 X-2 is a massive stellar XRB, the high luminosity indicates that an ephemeral feast is held in the source. That is, the source must be accreting at a hyper-Eddington mass rate to give the super-Eddington emission over ~104-105 yr. The expansion of the surrounding bubble nebula with a velocity of ~100 km s-1 might indicate that it has existed over ~106 yr and is inflated by the radiatively driven outflows from the transient with a duty cycle of activity of ~ a few percent. Alternatively, if the surrounding bubble nebula is produced by line-driven winds, less energy is required than the radiatively driven outflow scenario, and the radius of the Strömgren radius agrees with the nebula size. Our results are in favor of the line-driven winds scenario, which can avoid the conflict between the short accretion age and the apparently much longer bubble age inferred from the expansion velocity in the nebula.

  11. Spatial and temporal transcriptome changes occurring during flower opening and senescence of the ephemeral hibiscus flower, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trivellini, Alice; Cocetta, Giacomo; Hunter, Donald A; Vernieri, Paolo; Ferrante, Antonio

    2016-10-01

    Flowers are complex systems whose vegetative and sexual structures initiate and die in a synchronous manner. The rapidity of this process varies widely in flowers, with some lasting for months while others such as Hibiscus rosa-sinensis survive for only a day. The genetic regulation underlying these differences is unclear. To identify key genes and pathways that coordinate floral organ senescence of ephemeral flowers, we identified transcripts in H. rosa-sinensis floral organs by 454 sequencing. During development, 2053 transcripts increased and 2135 decreased significantly in abundance. The senescence of the flower was associated with increased abundance of many hydrolytic genes, including aspartic and cysteine proteases, vacuolar processing enzymes, and nucleases. Pathway analysis suggested that transcripts altering significantly in abundance were enriched in functions related to cell wall-, aquaporin-, light/circadian clock-, autophagy-, and calcium-related genes. Finding enrichment in light/circadian clock-related genes fits well with the observation that hibiscus floral development is highly synchronized with light and the hypothesis that ageing/senescence of the flower is orchestrated by a molecular clock. Further study of these genes will provide novel insight into how the molecular clock is able to regulate the timing of programmed cell death in tissues. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  12. Installation Art and the Museum. Presentation and Conservation of Changing Artworks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Saaze, V.E.J.P.

    2013-01-01

    Installation art has become mainstream in artistic practices. However, acquiring and displaying such artworks implies that curators and conservators are challenged to deal with obsolete technologies, ephemeral materials and other issues concerning care and management of these artworks. By analysing

  13. Phylogenetic relationships of the glycoprotein gene of bovine ephemeral fever virus isolated from mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey, Israel and Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Fuying

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The glycoprotein (G gene sequences of bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV strains derived from mainland China have not been compared with those of the isolates from other countries or areas. Therefore, the G genes of four BEFV isolates obtained from mainland China were amplified and sequenced. A phylogenetic tree was constructed in order to compare and analyze the genetic relationships of the BEFV isolates derived from mainland China and different countries and areas. Results The complete BEFV G gene was successfully amplified and sequenced from four isolates that originated from mainland China. A total of fifty-one BEFV strains were analyzed based on the G gene sequence and were found to be highly conserved. A phylogenetic tree showed that the isolates were grouped into three distinct lineages depending on their source of origin. The antigenic sites of G1, G2 and G3 are conserved among the isolates, except for several substitutions in a few strains. Conclusions The phylogenetic relationships of the BEFV isolates that originated from mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey, Israel and Australia were closely related to their source of origin, while the antigenic sites G1, G2 and G3 are conserved among the BEFV isolates used in this work.

  14. Super-eddington accretion in the ultraluminous x-ray source NGC 1313 X-2: An ephemeral feast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weng, Shan-Shan [Department of Physics, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 411105 (China); Zhang, Shuang-Nan; Zhao, Hai-Hui, E-mail: wengss@ihep.ac.cn, E-mail: zhangsn@ihep.ac.cn, E-mail: zhaohh@ihep.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China)

    2014-01-10

    We investigate the X-ray spectrum, variability, and the surrounding ionized bubble of NGC 1313 X-2 to explore the physics of super-Eddington accretion. Beyond the Eddington luminosity, the accretion disk of NGC 1313 X-2 is truncated at a large radius (∼50 times the innermost stable circular orbit), and displays the similar evolution track with both luminous Galactic black-hole and neutron star X-ray binaries (XRBs). In super-critical accretion, the speed of radiatively driven outflows from the inner disk is mildly relativistic. Such ultra-fast outflows would be overionized and might produce weak Fe K absorption lines, which may be detected by the coming X-ray mission Astro-H. If NGC 1313 X-2 is a massive stellar XRB, the high luminosity indicates that an ephemeral feast is held in the source. That is, the source must be accreting at a hyper-Eddington mass rate to give the super-Eddington emission over ∼10{sup 4}-10{sup 5} yr. The expansion of the surrounding bubble nebula with a velocity of ∼100 km s{sup –1} might indicate that it has existed over ∼10{sup 6} yr and is inflated by the radiatively driven outflows from the transient with a duty cycle of activity of ∼ a few percent. Alternatively, if the surrounding bubble nebula is produced by line-driven winds, less energy is required than the radiatively driven outflow scenario, and the radius of the Strömgren radius agrees with the nebula size. Our results are in favor of the line-driven winds scenario, which can avoid the conflict between the short accretion age and the apparently much longer bubble age inferred from the expansion velocity in the nebula.

  15. Super-eddington accretion in the ultraluminous x-ray source NGC 1313 X-2: An ephemeral feast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weng, Shan-Shan; Zhang, Shuang-Nan; Zhao, Hai-Hui

    2014-01-01

    We investigate the X-ray spectrum, variability, and the surrounding ionized bubble of NGC 1313 X-2 to explore the physics of super-Eddington accretion. Beyond the Eddington luminosity, the accretion disk of NGC 1313 X-2 is truncated at a large radius (∼50 times the innermost stable circular orbit), and displays the similar evolution track with both luminous Galactic black-hole and neutron star X-ray binaries (XRBs). In super-critical accretion, the speed of radiatively driven outflows from the inner disk is mildly relativistic. Such ultra-fast outflows would be overionized and might produce weak Fe K absorption lines, which may be detected by the coming X-ray mission Astro-H. If NGC 1313 X-2 is a massive stellar XRB, the high luminosity indicates that an ephemeral feast is held in the source. That is, the source must be accreting at a hyper-Eddington mass rate to give the super-Eddington emission over ∼10 4 -10 5 yr. The expansion of the surrounding bubble nebula with a velocity of ∼100 km s –1 might indicate that it has existed over ∼10 6 yr and is inflated by the radiatively driven outflows from the transient with a duty cycle of activity of ∼ a few percent. Alternatively, if the surrounding bubble nebula is produced by line-driven winds, less energy is required than the radiatively driven outflow scenario, and the radius of the Strömgren radius agrees with the nebula size. Our results are in favor of the line-driven winds scenario, which can avoid the conflict between the short accretion age and the apparently much longer bubble age inferred from the expansion velocity in the nebula.

  16. Practical guidance on representing the heteroscedasticity of residual errors of hydrological predictions

    Science.gov (United States)

    McInerney, David; Thyer, Mark; Kavetski, Dmitri; Kuczera, George

    2016-04-01

    Appropriate representation of residual errors in hydrological modelling is essential for accurate and reliable probabilistic streamflow predictions. In particular, residual errors of hydrological predictions are often heteroscedastic, with large errors associated with high runoff events. Although multiple approaches exist for representing this heteroscedasticity, few if any studies have undertaken a comprehensive evaluation and comparison of these approaches. This study fills this research gap by evaluating a range of approaches for representing heteroscedasticity in residual errors. These approaches include the 'direct' weighted least squares approach and 'transformational' approaches, such as logarithmic, Box-Cox (with and without fitting the transformation parameter), logsinh and the inverse transformation. The study reports (1) theoretical comparison of heteroscedasticity approaches, (2) empirical evaluation of heteroscedasticity approaches using a range of multiple catchments / hydrological models / performance metrics and (3) interpretation of empirical results using theory to provide practical guidance on the selection of heteroscedasticity approaches. Importantly, for hydrological practitioners, the results will simplify the choice of approaches to represent heteroscedasticity. This will enhance their ability to provide hydrological probabilistic predictions with the best reliability and precision for different catchment types (e.g. high/low degree of ephemerality).

  17. Fruit and seed heteromorphism in the cold desert annual ephemeral Diptychocarpus strictus (Brassicaceae) and possible adaptive significance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Juanjuan; Tan, Dunyan; Baskin, Jerry M; Baskin, Carol C

    2010-06-01

    Diptychocarpus strictus is an annual ephemeral in the cold desert of northwest China that produces heteromorphic fruits and seeds. The primary aims of this study were to characterize the morphology and anatomy of fruits and seeds of this species and compare the role of fruit and seed heteromorphism in dispersal and germination. Shape, size, mass and dispersal of siliques and seeds and the thickness of the mucilage layer on seeds were measured, and the anatomy of siliques and seeds, the role of seed mucilage in water absorption/dehydration, germination and adherence of seeds to soil particles, the role of pericarp of lower siliques in seed dormancy and seed after-ripening and germination phenology were studied using standard procedures. Plants produce dehiscent upper siliques with a thin pericarp containing seeds with large wings and a thick mucilage layer and indehiscent lower siliques with a thick pericarp containing nearly wingless seeds with a thin mucilage layer. The dispersal ability of seeds from the upper siliques was much greater than that of intact lower siliques. Mucilage increased the amount of water absorbed by seeds and decreased the rate of dehydration. Seeds with a thick mucilage layer adhered to soil particles much better than those with a thin mucilage layer or those from which mucilage had been removed. Fresh seeds were physiologically dormant and after-ripened during summer. Non-dormant seeds germinated to high percentages in light and in darkness. Germination of seeds from upper siliques is delayed until spring primarily by drought in summer and autumn, whereas the thick, indehiscent pericarp prevents germination for >1 year of seeds retained in lower siliques. The life cycle of D. strictus is morphologically and physiologically adapted to the cold desert environment in time and space via a combination of characters associated with fruit and seed heteromorphism.

  18. Polyphyly, gene-duplication and extensive allopolyploidy framed the evolution of the ephemeral Vulpia grasses and other fine-leaved Loliinae (Poaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz-Pérez, A J; Sharifi-Tehrani, M; Inda, L A; Catalán, P

    2014-10-01

    The fine-leaved Loliinae is one of the temperate grass lineages that is richest in number of evolutionary switches from perennial to annual life-cycle, and also shows one of the most complex reticulate patterns involving distinct diploid and allopolyploid lineages. Eight distinct annual lineages, that have traditionally been placed in the genus Vulpia and in other fine-leaved ephemeral genera, have apparently emerged from different perennial Festuca ancestors. The phenotypically similar Vulpia taxa have been reconstructed as polyphyletic, with polyploid lineages showing unclear relationships to their purported diploid relatives. Interspecific and intergeneric hybridization is, however, rampant across different lineages. An evolutionary analysis based on cloned nuclear low-copy GBSSI (Granule-Bound Starch Synthase I) and multicopy ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) sequences has been conducted on representatives of most Vulpia species and other fine-leaved lineages, using Bayesian consensus and agreement trees, networking split graphs and species tree-based approaches, to disentangle their phylogenetic relationships and to identify the parental genome donors of the allopolyploids. Both data sets were able to reconstruct a congruent phylogeny in which Vulpia was resolved as polyphyletic from at least three main ancestral diploid lineages. These, in turn, participated in the origin of the derived allopolyploid Vulpia lineages together with other Festuca-like, Psilurus-like and some unknown genome donors. Long-distance dispersal events were inferred to explain the polytopic origin of the Mediterranean and American Vulpia lineages. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. The significance and lag-time of deep through flow: an example from a small, ephemeral catchment with contrasting soil types in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. VanLeeuwen

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available The importance of deep soil-regolith through flow in a small (3.4 km2 ephemeral catchment in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia was investigated by detailed hydrochemical analysis of soil water and stream flow during autumn and early winter rains. In this Mediterranean climate with strong summer moisture deficits, several significant rainfalls are required to generate soil through flow and stream flow [in ephemeral streams]. During autumn 2007, a large (127 mm drought-breaking rain occurred in April followed by significant May rains; most of this April and May precipitation occurred prior to the initiation of stream flow in late May. These early events, especially the 127 mm April event, had low stable water isotope values compared with later rains during June and July and average winter precipitation. Thus, this large early autumn rain event with low isotopic values (δ18O, δD provided an excellent natural tracer. During later June and July rainfall events, daily stream and soil water samples were collected and analysed. Results from major and trace elements, water isotopes (δ18O, δD, and dissolved organic carbon analysis clearly demonstrate that a large component of this early April and May rain was stored and later pushed out of deep soil and regolith zones. This pre-event water was identified in the stream as well as identified in deep soil horizons due to its different isotopic signature which contrasted sharply with the June–July event water. Based on this data, the soil-regolith hydrologic system for this catchment has been re-thought. The catchment area consists of about 60% sandy and 40% clayey soils. Regolith flow in the sandy soil system and not the clayey soil system is now thought to dominate the deep subsurface flow in this catchment. The clayey texture contrast soils had rapid response to rain events and saturation excess overland flow. The sandy soils had delayed soil through flow and

  20. Assessment of veterinary drugs in plants using pharmacokinetic approaches: The absorption, distribution and elimination of tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole in ephemeral vegetables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hui-Ru; Rairat, Tirawat; Loh, Shih-Hurng; Wu, Yu-Chieh; Vickroy, Thomas W.

    2017-01-01

    The present study was carried out to demonstrate novel use of pharmacokinetic approaches to characterize drug behaviors/movements in the vegetables with implications to food safety. The absorption, distribution, metabolism and most importantly, the elimination of tetracycline (TC) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in edible plants Brassica rapa chinensis and Ipomoea aquatica grown hydroponically were demonstrated and studied using non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis. The results revealed drug-dependent and vegetable-dependent pharmacokinetic differences and indicated that ephemeral vegetables could have high capacity accumulating antibiotics (up to 160 μg g-1 for TC and 38 μg g-1 for SMX) within hours. TC concentration in the root (Cmax) could reach 11 times higher than that in the cultivation fluid and 3–28 times higher than the petioles/stems. Based on the volume of distribution (Vss), SMX was 3–6 times more extensively distributed than TC. Both antibiotics showed evident, albeit slow elimination phase with elimination half-lives ranging from 22 to 88 hours. For the first time drug elimination through the roots of a plant was demonstrated, and by viewing the root as a central compartment and continuous infusion without a loading dose as drug administration mode, it is possible to pharmacokinetically monitor the movement of antibiotics and their fate in the vegetables with more detailed information not previously available. Phyto-pharmacokinetic could be a new area worth developing new models for the assessment of veterinary drugs in edible plants. PMID:28797073

  1. Dune communities of SE Colorado: Patterns of rarity, disjunction and succession

    Science.gov (United States)

    T. Kelso; N. Bower; P. Halteman; K. Tenney; S. Weaver

    2007-01-01

    Dune communities occur across the western Great Plains and in isolated spots in eastern Colorado. They are biologically important due to their endemic nature, their rapid succession, and their ephemeral abundance in response to climate, grazing practices, and ranchland management. The abundance of these terrestrial islands has changed considerably over scales from tens...

  2. "The silly pictures disappear": Ephemeral social media as boundary play

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shklovski, Irina; Bruun Hervik, Simon

    2015-01-01

    , informal conversations, and focus group interviews. We discuss the reasons our participants propose for using Snapchat and its role in student social practice. We find that our participants use Snapchat alongside rather than instead of Facebook and Instagram and argue that much of Snapchat use can...

  3. 'Trust my doctor, trust my pancreas': trust as an emergent quality of social practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Simon

    2015-06-11

    Growing attention is being paid to the importance of trust, and its corollaries such as mistrust and distrust, in health service and the central place they have in assessments of quality of care. Although initially focussing on doctor-patient relationships, more recent literature has broadened its remit to include trust held in more abstract entities, such as organisations and institutions. There has consequently been growing interest to develop rigorous and universal measures of trust. Drawing on illustrative ethnographic material from observational research in a UK diabetes clinic, this paper supports an approach that foregrounds social practice and resists conceiving trust as solely a psychological state that can be divorced from its context. Beyond exploring the less-than-conscious nature of trust, the interpretations attend to the extent to which trust practices are distributed across a range of actors. Data from clinical encounters reveal the extent to which matters of trust can emerge from the relationships between people, and sometimes people and things, as a result of a wide range of pragmatic concerns, and hence can usefully be conceived of as an extended property of a situation rather than a person. Trust is rarely explicitly articulated, but remains a subtle feature of experience that is frequently ineffable. A practice approach highlights some of the problems with adopting a general psychological or intellectualist conception of trust. In particular, assuming it is a sufficiently stable internal state that can be stored or measured not only transforms a diffuse and often ephemeral quality into a durable thing, but ultimately presents it as a generic state that has meaning independent of the specific relationships and context that achieve it. Emphasising the context-specific nature of trust practices does not dismiss the potential of matters of trust, when they emerge, to be transposed to other contexts. But it does highlight how, on each occasion

  4. Urbanism of Detachment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahul Mehrotra

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, there has been an ex¬traordinary intensification of pilgrimage practices, which has translated into the need of larger and more frequently constructed urban structures for hosting massive gatherings. The case of the Kumbh Mela, a legendary Hindu festival in India, sets the standards for understanding alternative ways of building cities that are transitory and with a temporality aligned with the ephemeral nature of massive human flows. This massive cultural gathering, resulting in the biggest ephemeral mega city in the world accommodating 3 million pilgrims every 12 years, generates an extreme case that forces us to reflect deeply about the way we may think of future cities more broadly and from which we can extrapolate several lessons regarding more resilient, “open concept” of architecture, urban design and planning policy.

  5. Privatization, commodification and transformation in Japanese housing : Ephemeral house - eternal home

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ronald, R.

    2009-01-01

    The space and place of the Japanese home holds an iconic status in both foreign and indigenous understandings of Japanese life. The architectural forms and bounded spaces of Japanese houses have historically been embedded in social practices that integrate individuals with hierarchical orders of

  6. Temporal dynamics of tree source water in sky island ecosystems with ephemeral snow pack: a case study using Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papuga, S. A.; Hamann, L.

    2017-12-01

    In semiarid regions, such as the desert southwest, water is a scarce resource that demands careful attention to its movement throughout the environment for accurate accounting in regional water budgets. Ephemeral snow pack in sky island ecosystems delivers a large fraction of the water resources to communities lower in the watershed. Because the major source of loss to those water resources is evapotranspiration (ET), any change in ET in these ecosystems will have major implications downstream. Climate scientists predict more intense and less frequent precipitation events in the desert southwest, which will alter the existing soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC). Therefore, understanding how water currently moves within that continuum is imperative in preparing for these predicted changes. This study used stable isotopes (δ18O and δD) to study the SPAC that exists in the Santa Catalina Mountain Critical Zone Observatory (SCM-CZO) to determine where the dominant tree species (Pseudotsuga menziesii, a.k.a., Douglas Fir) retrieves its water from and whether that source varies with season. We hypothesize that the Douglas Fir uses shallow soil water (season and deeper soil water (> 40 cm) during the snowmelt season. The findings of this work will help to better account for water losses due to ET and the movement of water throughout the environment. With a shift in the SPAC dynamics, the Douglas Fir may become increasingly water stressed effecting its ability to survive in the desert southwest which will have important consequences for water resources in this region.

  7. Leaf-jams - A new and unique leaf deposit in the ephemeral Hoanib River, NW Namibia: Origin and plant taphonomic implications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hofmann, Christa-Ch. [University of Vienna, Department of Palaeontology, Palaeobotany Studies Group, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna (Austria); Rice, A. Hugh N. [University of Vienna, Department of Geodynamics and Sedimentology, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna (Austria)

    2010-08-01

    This paper documents a previously unrecorded type of leaf deposit, comprising essentially monospecific linear accumulations of Colophospermum mopane leaves on a point bar of the ephemeral Hoanib River, NW Namibia. In these 'leaf-jams', leaf laminae stand on edge, orientated more-or-less normal to bedding. Leaf-jams, which formed upstream of cobbles, clumps of grass and sticks wedged against the former two, were orientated subparallel to the adjacent meandering river-bed, such that over the 40 m of their occurrence, their mean azimuth changed by 59 anticlockwise downstream. The longest leaf-jam was 50 cm and contained approximately 500 leaves, as well as grass culms, twigs (C. mopane, Tamarix usneoides and unidentified) and medium- to fine-grained sand and silt. Individual leaf-jams were partially buried in the point bar sediments up to a depth of 3 cm. Leaf-jam formation occurred in the austral summer of 2006, during the waning stage of a major flood caused by anomalous tropical to extra-tropical storms. Their monospecifity is due to the overwhelming preponderance of the zonal taxon C. mopane in the catchment area, although the Khowarib Gorge contains a quite diverse azonal plant association due to the presence of a permanent water-seep. During leaf-jam formation, the water depth was less than the height of the cobbles (0.1 m), with stream flow-rates competent to transport medium-grained sand (velocity estimated at 0.5 m s{sup -} {sup 1}). Leaves must have been partially or fully waterlogged to inhibit buoyancy forces tending to lift them out of the developing leaf-jams, which propagated upstream in a manner comparable to longitudinal bars in a braided river. If fossilised, such deposits would probably lead to a very biased interpretation of the composition of the surrounding flora; the correct interpretation would be the one least favoured by palaeobotanists. (author)

  8. A distributed water level network in ephemeral river reaches to identify hydrological processes within anthropogenic catchments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarrazin, B.; Braud, I.; Lagouy, M.; Bailly, J. S.; Puech, C.; Ayroles, H.

    2009-04-01

    In order to study the impact of land use change on the water cycle, distributed hydrological models are more and more used, because they have the ability to take into account the land surface heterogeneity and its evolution due to anthropogenic pressure. These models provide continuous distributed simulations of streamflow, runoff, soil moisture, etc, which, ideally, should be evaluated against continuous distributed measurements, taken at various scales and located in nested sub-catchments. Distributed network of streamflow gauging stations are in general scarce and very expensive to maintain. Furthermore, they can hardly be installed in the upstream parts of the catchments where river beds are not well defined. In this paper, we present an alternative to these standard streamflow gauging stations network, based on self powered high resolution water level sensors using a capacitive water height data logger. One of their advantages is that they can be installed even in ephemeral reaches and from channel head locations to high order streams. Furthermore, these innovative and easily adaptable low cost sensors offer the possibility to develop in the near future, a wireless network application. Such a network, including 15 sensors has been set up on nested watersheds in small and intermittent streams of a 7 km² catchment, located in the mountainous "Mont du Lyonnais" area, close to the city of Lyon, France. The land use of this catchment is mostly pasture, crop and forest, but the catchment is significantly affected by human activities, through the existence of a dense roads and paths network and urbanized areas. The equipment provides water levels survey during precipitation events in the hydrological network with a very accurate time step (2 min). Water levels can be related to runoff production and catchment response as a function of scale. This response will depend, amongst other, on variable soil water storage capacity, physiographic data and characteristics of

  9. Bright point study. [of solar corona

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, F.; Harvey, K.; Bruner, M.; Kent, B.; Antonucci, E.

    1982-01-01

    Transition region and coronal observations of bright points by instruments aboard the Solar Maximum Mission and high resolution photospheric magnetograph observations on September 11, 1980 are presented. A total of 31 bipolar ephemeral regions were found in the photosphere from birth in 9.3 hours of combined magnetograph observations from three observatories. Two of the three ephemeral regions present in the field of view of the Ultraviolet Spectrometer-Polarimeter were observed in the C IV 1548 line. The unobserved ephemeral region was determined to be the shortest-lived (2.5 hr) and lowest in magnetic flux density (13G) of the three regions. The Flat Crystal Spectrometer observed only low level signals in the O VIII 18.969 A line, which were not statistically significant to be positively identified with any of the 16 ephemeral regions detected in the photosphere. In addition, the data indicate that at any given time there lacked a one-to-one correspondence between observable bright points and photospheric ephemeral regions, while more ephemeral regions were observed than their counterparts in the transition region and the corona.

  10. Bright point study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, F.; Harvey, K.; Bruner, M.; Kent, B.; Antonucci, E.

    1982-01-01

    Transition region and coronal observations of bright points by instruments aboard the Solar Maximum Mission and high resolution photospheric magnetograph observations on September 11, 1980 are presented. A total of 31 bipolar ephemeral regions were found in the photosphere from birth in 9.3 hours of combined magnetograph observations from three observatories. Two of the three ephemeral regions present in the field of view of the Ultraviolet Spectrometer-Polarimeter were observed in the C IV 1548 line. The unobserved ephemeral region was determined to be the shortest-lived (2.5 hr) and lowest in magnetic flux density (13G) of the three regions. The Flat Crystal Spectrometer observed only low level signals in the O VIII 18.969 A line, which were not statistically significant to be positively identified with any of the 16 ephemeral regions detected in the photosphere. In addition, the data indicate that at any given time there lacked a one-to-one correspondence between observable bright points and photospheric ephemeral regions, while more ephemeral regions were observed than their counterparts in the transition region and the corona

  11. Succession of ephemeral secondary forests and their limited role for the conservation of floristic diversity in a human-modified tropical landscape.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michiel van Breugel

    Full Text Available Both local- and landscape-scale processes drive succession of secondary forests in human-modified tropical landscapes. Nonetheless, until recently successional changes in composition and diversity have been predominantly studied at the patch level. Here, we used a unique dataset with 45 randomly selected sites across a mixed-use tropical landscape in central Panama to study forest succession simultaneously on local and landscape scales and across both life stages (seedling, sapling, juvenile and adult trees and life forms (shrubs, trees, lianas, and palms. To understand the potential of these secondary forests to conserve tree species diversity, we also evaluated the diversity of species that can persist as viable metapopulations in a dynamic patchwork of short-lived successional forests, using different assumptions about the average relative size at reproductive maturity. We found a deterministic shift in the diversity and composition of the local plant communities as well as the metacommunity, driven by variation in the rate at which species recruited into and disappeared from the secondary forests across the landscape. Our results indicate that dispersal limitation and the successional niche operate simultaneously and shape successional dynamics of the metacommunity of these early secondary forests. A high diversity of plant species across the metacommunity of early secondary forests shows a potential for restoration of diverse forests through natural succession, when trees and fragments of older forests are maintained in the agricultural matrix and land is abandoned or set aside for a long period of time. On the other hand, during the first 32 years the number of species with mature-sized individuals was a relatively small and strongly biased sub-sample of the total species pool. This implies that ephemeral secondary forests have a limited role in the long-term conservation of tree species diversity in human-modified tropical landscapes.

  12. Abstração inicial da precipitação em microbacia hidrográfica com escoamento efêmero Initial abstraction of small watersheds of ephemeral flood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos R. de Mello

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available O uso do método CN (Curve Number em bacias hidrográficas no Brasil é comum, porém sua precisão pode ser questionável, em especial para bacias com escoamento efêmero, onde as respostas hidrológicas possuem comportamento diferenciado. Este trabalho objetiva estudar as abstrações iniciais das precipitações ocorridas em uma microbacia hidrográfica com escoamento efêmero, propondo um modelo para cálculo da lâmina de abstração, que é uma das variáveis de entrada do método CN. Foram analisados 25 eventos de chuva-escoamento durante o ano hidrológico 2002/2003, determinando-se os valores da abstração inicial para cada evento e, pelo método CN, o armazenamento potencial da microbacia. A abstração (lâmina e tempo foi correlacionada a variáveis hidrológicas, comprovando a influência destas no seu valor. O modelo foi gerado por regressão múltipla linear em função das variáveis hidrológicas. As características estatísticas do modelo permitem o seu emprego. A razão entre a lâmina de abstração e o armazenamento potencial produziu resultados que mostram uma constante bastante inferior ao valor de 0,2 sugerido pelo método CN, encontrando-se valor médio de 0,0155, além de alta variabilidade nos valores desta constante (0 a 0,081, revelando não ser possível uma boa estimativa da abstração baseada apenas no armazenamento potencial do solo.The curve number - CN Method (SCS-USDA is widely applied for small watersheds in Brazil, although its precision can be questionable, specially for small watersheds of ephemeral flood that are different from watersheds of perennial flood. The objective of this work is to study the initial abstraction of watershed of ephemeral flood and suggest a mathematical model to calculate this parameter which is an important variable of CN-Method. In all 25 events of rainfall-runoff evaluated during the hydrologic year 2002/2003 in order to determine the initial abstraction values for each

  13. L EVENEMENT URBAIN FESTIF: VERS UNE GESTION DE SITE EXPLORATOIRE SUR L ESPACE PUBLIC

    OpenAIRE

    MIRANDA, MONICA; MIRANDA, MONICA

    2010-01-01

    “Festive urban events” (EUF) stand out not only as new social practices, but also as urban actions providing a basis for urban research. Compared to "traditional" urban actions and current methods of public space management, “Festive urban events” in public spaces follow different dynamics; they are ephemeral, cyclic, and immaterial. This research examines the management implications of “Festive urban events” and attempts to determine if these events‟ dynamics can unlock new perspectives f...

  14. Situating digital storytelling within African communities

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Reitmaier, T

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available their identity and not threaten social structures in the way that elders attribute to American movies. Our insights into their communication practice and technology-access suggested the suitability of cell-phones to record and share stories using audio... 1) to link our more ephemeral experience of participants? worlds, through their photos and stories, to concrete interactions with technology; and, generate usage scenarios and less palpable ideas, such as integrating features and the general feel...

  15. Proximity: representations of fragile space through hapticity and vision

    OpenAIRE

    Garrett, Stephen Francis

    2017-01-01

    This research paper investigates the phenomenology of touch and its relationship to my sculptural practice. My studio research has been engaged in site-responsive interventions developed as a series of ephemeral artworks. Core to this is the relationship between vision and touch. My paper charts the evolution of this and how I consider these factors when making art. My process stems from my engagement with the notion of hapticity-how we understand the tactile experience of space and place ...

  16. 78 FR 73092 - Special Regulations; Areas of the National Park System, New River Gorge National River, Bicycling

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-05

    ... impacts, such as erosion and stream sedimentation. Of the eight comments received in opposition to the... construction plans that will minimize erosion and protect streams from sedimentation. Additionally, the Trails... crossings of ephemeral channels would be minimized, and if an ephemeral stream crossing is unavoidable...

  17. ”Digital Culture?”

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristiansen, Anders Emil Wulff; Jensen, Tine

    2018-01-01

    Abstract: This article describes how human body boundaries are destabilized to include ’digital-technology-as-connectivity’ by simultaneously becoming entangled with and immersed in an ephemeral digital realm. Blending Karen Barad’s Agential Realism and understandings of subjectivity from German......-Danish Critical Psychology to investigate how human subjects are created, changed and maintained, we will re-conceptualize Communities of Practice as Affinity Spaces and enact an allegory to destabilize the “virtual-real” dichotomy often reproduced in literature discussing a new and special ‘Digital Generation’....

  18. The Transect as a Method for Mapping and Narrating Water Landscapes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Diedrich, Lisa; Lee, Gini; Braae, Ellen Marie

    2014-01-01

    In current urban design and landscape architecture practice, designers often address sites from static and material perspectives: as empty grounds where new design inventions are played out at the whim of their creators. Despite such design works claiming site specificity as their guide, generic...... outcomes that ignore or overlook local conditions abound, lacking response to ephemeral yet essential site properties such as temporal dynamics and atmospheric encounters. The focus of this NANO note seeks methods for site exploration to inform site transformation through representing the narrative...

  19. Complexity of the Ephemeral

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ekman, Ulrik

    2015-01-01

    This brief article presents the everyday cultural use of the Snapchat instant messaging application for video chats as an exemplary case of the challenges confronting studies of cinematics in an epoch marked by the rise in network societies of ubiquitous mobile and social media and technics...

  20. Improving probabilistic prediction of daily streamflow by identifying Pareto optimal approaches for modelling heteroscedastic residual errors

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, McInerney; Mark, Thyer; Dmitri, Kavetski; George, Kuczera

    2017-04-01

    This study provides guidance to hydrological researchers which enables them to provide probabilistic predictions of daily streamflow with the best reliability and precision for different catchment types (e.g. high/low degree of ephemerality). Reliable and precise probabilistic prediction of daily catchment-scale streamflow requires statistical characterization of residual errors of hydrological models. It is commonly known that hydrological model residual errors are heteroscedastic, i.e. there is a pattern of larger errors in higher streamflow predictions. Although multiple approaches exist for representing this heteroscedasticity, few studies have undertaken a comprehensive evaluation and comparison of these approaches. This study fills this research gap by evaluating 8 common residual error schemes, including standard and weighted least squares, the Box-Cox transformation (with fixed and calibrated power parameter, lambda) and the log-sinh transformation. Case studies include 17 perennial and 6 ephemeral catchments in Australia and USA, and two lumped hydrological models. We find the choice of heteroscedastic error modelling approach significantly impacts on predictive performance, though no single scheme simultaneously optimizes all performance metrics. The set of Pareto optimal schemes, reflecting performance trade-offs, comprises Box-Cox schemes with lambda of 0.2 and 0.5, and the log scheme (lambda=0, perennial catchments only). These schemes significantly outperform even the average-performing remaining schemes (e.g., across ephemeral catchments, median precision tightens from 105% to 40% of observed streamflow, and median biases decrease from 25% to 4%). Theoretical interpretations of empirical results highlight the importance of capturing the skew/kurtosis of raw residuals and reproducing zero flows. Recommendations for researchers and practitioners seeking robust residual error schemes for practical work are provided.

  1. Habitual Tastes and Embedded Taste

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hedegaard, Liselotte

    2016-01-01

    The interest of this paper is to position taste within the framework of time. This might seem peculiar given that taste, in its physical sense, is referred to as an ephemeral experience taking place in the mouth. Taste, however, is more than that. It is the transient experience that infiltrates...... may be bridged by story-telling or other ways of handing over historically embedded practices, but this leaves a more fundamental question unanswered. Namely, that given that all remembrance has individual recollection as the point of departure, then how does individual recollection of tastes...

  2. Incorporation of groundwater losses and well level data in rainfall-runoff models illustrated using the PDM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. J. Moore

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Intermittent streamflow is a common occurrence in permeable catchments, especially where there are pumped abstractions to water supply. Many rainfall-runoff models are not formulated so as to represent ephemeral streamflow behaviour or to allow for the possibility of negative recharge arising from groundwater pumping. A groundwater model component is formulated here for use in extending existing rainfall-runoff models to accommodate such ephemeral behaviour. Solutions to the Horton-Izzard equation resulting from the conceptual model of groundwater storage are adapted and the form of nonlinear storage extended to accommodate negative inputs, water storage below which outflow ceases, and losses to external springs and underflows below the gauged catchment outlet. The groundwater model component is demonstrated through using it as an extension of the PDM rainfall-runoff model. It is applied to the River Lavant, a catchment in Southern England on the English Chalk, where it successfully simulates the ephemeral streamflow behaviour and flood response together with well level variations. Keywords: groundwater, rainfall-runoff model, ephemeral stream, well level, spring, abstraction

  3. Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation, Colorado Plateau, United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanabria, Diego Ignacio

    2001-07-01

    Detailed outcrop analysis of the Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation provides the basis for the formulation of a new sequence stratigraphic model for arid to semi-arid continental deposits and the generation of a comprehensive set of sedimentologic criteria for the recognition of ephemeral stream deposits. Criteria for the recognition of ephemeral deposits in the ancient record were divided into three categories according to the scale of the feature being considered. The first category takes into account sedimentary structures commonly found in the record of ephemeral stream deposits including hyperconcentrated and debris flow deposits, planar parallel bedding, sigmoidal cross-bedding, hummocky cross-bedding, climbing ripple lamination, scour-and-fill structures, convolute bedding, overturned cross-bedding, ball-and-pillow structures, pocket structures, pillars, mud curls, flaser lamination, algal lamination, termite nests, and vertebrate tracks. The second category is concerned with the mesoscale facies architecture of ephemeral stream deposits and includes waning flow successions, bedform climb, downstream accretion, terminal wadi splays, and channel-fill successions indicating catastrophic flooding. At the large-scale facies architecture level, the third category, ephemeral stream deposits are commonly arranged in depositional units characterized by a downstream decrease in grain size and scale of sedimentary structures resulting from deposition in terminal fan systems. Outcrops of the Kayenta Formation and its transition to the Navajo Sandstone along the Vermilion and Echo Cliffs of Northern Arizona indicate that wet/dry climatic cyclicity exerted a major control on regional facies architecture. Two scales of wet/dry climatic cyclicity can be recognized in northern Arizona. Three sequence sets composed of rocks accumulated under predominantly dry or wet conditions are the expression of long-term climatic cyclicity. Short-term climatic cyclicity, on the other hand

  4. The traveling transect

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Braae, Ellen Marie; Diedrich, Lisa; Lee, Gini

    2013-01-01

    , when working with the more unpredictable qualities of sites as in water-made landscapes, designers often lack mapping and representational tools capable of capturing and expressing ephemeral qualities - dynamics, relationships and atmospheres. These abstract qualities, that exist over physical site...... in everyday practice, the Canarysect project negotiates testing and capture of the dynamic, relational and atmospheric qualities encountered along lines of transect across island lands and waters. Individual sketching, photography and modelling gestures merge into a common archipelago of thinking around......The practice of landscape architecture is most often a cultivation of open space alongside an open-ended dialogue with the presence and complexities of the cultural and natural features of places, usually resulting in projects generating site resolution rather than pure invention ex nihilo. However...

  5. Efficient Maintenance of Ephemeral Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Albrecht; Jensen, Christian Søndergaard

    2006-01-01

    and algorithms for online management of data stamped with expiration times. The algorithms are based on fully functional treaps, which are a combination of binary search trees with respect to a primary attribute and heaps with respect to a secondary attribute. The primary attribute implements primary keys...

  6. Off-label drug promotion and the ephemeral line between marketing and education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Joan H

    2015-11-01

    Fueled by massive settlements and concerns about pharmaceutical company influence over medical practice, the fight over off-label promotion has become a rancorous one with little middle ground. For some, off-label restrictions are both bad law and bad medicine, violating the First Amendment while denying physicians access to crucial information. For others, the battle pits the very soul of the FDA against the excesses of a profit-driven marketplace. Far from ameliorating concerns over manufacturer influence, the New Model proposed by Bennett et al. would exacerbate them. The Model would limit FDA authority to core communications proposing immediate commercial transactions, giving manufacturers unfettered discretion over scientific exchanges and nearly free rein over truthful quasi-commercial communications. Most problematically, the New Model relies on the longstanding assumption that truly educational and scientific activities can be distinguished from simple product promotion - a dichotomy that exists not only in federal law and professional association codes, but also underlies the jurisdiction of the federal agencies overseeing the pharmaceutical sector. Experience invites skepticism that these activities can be cleanly separated, suggesting that the New Model may simply perpetuate abusive behaviors without offering concomitant benefits to physicians or patients.

  7. SHAMROCK: A Synthesizable High Assurance Cryptography and Key Management Coprocessor

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-11-01

    cryptographic functions such as Advanced Encryption Standard ( AES ) [5] to produce keywraps to orchestrate key exchanges between groups of devices. These...Storage (MPMS). This is done for two reasons: first, the mission package is encrypted using AES keywrap mode with the CEK [7], which is a special version...Zone 1) denoting ephemeral secrets such as dynamic keys. AES encryption is employed as a one-way function leading from the ephemeral Zone 1 to the

  8. 'Ephemerality’ in game development: opportunitiees and challenges

    OpenAIRE

    Fernández-Leiva, Antonio J.; Vázquez-Núñez, Ariel Eduardo

    2016-01-01

    Ephemeral Computation (Eph-C) is a newly created computation paradigm, the purpose of which is to take advantage of the ephemeral nature (limited lifetime) of computational resources. First we speak of this new paradigm in general terms, then more specifically in terms of videogame development. We present possible applications and benefits for the main research fields associated with videogame development. This is a preliminary work which aims to investigate the possibilities of applyin...

  9. Instituciones Evanescentes : consideraciones políticas sobre la arquitectura itinerante

    OpenAIRE

    Otero Verzier, Marina Teresa

    2017-01-01

    Built architecture is generally conceived to be either ephemeral or permanent. However, there are architectures that are temporal without being ephemeral and permanent without remaining in place. Street markets, circuses and traveling theaters, portable or mobile structures, Archigram’s Ideas Circus and Instant City, Renzo Piano’s IBM Traveling Pavilion, as well as the most recent examples of traveling architectures— including the Chanel Mobile Art by Zaha Hadid and the BMW Guggenheim Lab by ...

  10. Examining the role of management practices and landscape context on methane dynamics from subtropical wetlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLucia, Nicholas; Gomez-Casanovas, Nuria; Boughton, Elizabeth; Yang, Wendy; Bernacchi, Carl

    2017-04-01

    Globally, wetlands are the largest natural source of atmospheric CH4, an important GHG with a warming potential 25 times stronger than CO2 (IPCC 2008; Forster et al. 2013). In sub-tropical climates where precipitation and temperatures are high, land-use change and agricultural management practices often intersect with extensive wetland systems. The Everglades watershed in South Central Florida represents a large areal extent characterized by a high density of wetlands nested within agricultural fields dominated to a large extent by grazed rangelands. Soils are primarily Spodosols and Histosols and sustain a relatively high water table, even during the dry season. Here, rangelands dominated by native vegetation have been converted to agronomically 'improved pastures' suitable for large scale cattle ranching through high intensive agronomic practices including vegetation homogenization, fertilization and drainage. In this study we first tested the hypothesis that CH4 fluxes from small ephemeral wetlands are indirectly influenced by management practices associated with the agricultural fields in which they are nested. We found that wetlands embedded in agronomically 'Improved' pastures exhibit significantly higher CH4 fluxes compared to wetlands embedded in 'Native' pastures. Next, we sought to determine the mechanisms by which the surrounding landscapes affect methane production processes to better predict how expanding or intensifying agriculture will affect wetland methane fluxes. We focus on substrate supply in the form of substrate quality and quantity available to methanogens as it is a principle control over CH4 production and susceptible to ecosystem perturbations. This research was conducted at the McArthur Agro-Ecology Research Center on Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, Florida. Wetland CH4 fluxes were measured using static canopy chambers coupled with infrared gas analysis of CH4, CO2 and water vapor. Additionally, soil manipulation incubations were prepared

  11. The success of recent land management efforts to reduce soil erosion in northern France

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankl, Amaury; Prêtre, Vincent; Nyssen, Jan; Salvador, Pierre-Gil

    2018-02-01

    Soil erosion is an important problem in open-field agricultural landscapes. With almost no permanent vegetation in small headwater catchments, and with few physical obstacles to reduce runoff velocities, runoff concentration along linear landscape elements (plot boundaries) or thalwegs frequently causes ephemeral gullies to form - the latter reflecting the poor hydrogeomorphic condition of the land- and soilscape. To address this problem, and to remediate negative on- and off-site effects, land management efforts have multiplied over the past decades in many regions. This includes, amongst other measures, the implementation of vegetation barriers called 'fascines'. In the loess-dominated Aa River basin of northern France, where cropland accounts for 67% of the cover, we investigated the effect of fascines on ephemeral gully erosion dynamics, together with rainfall characteristics and cropland management. This was accomplished through a spatially explicit study of 269 sites prone to ephemeral gullying using a diachronic analysis of historical aerial photographs. Between 1947 and 2012, ephemeral gully densities at the scale of the Aa River basin (643 km2) varied between 0.39 and 1.31 m ha- 1 (long-term average of 0.68 m ha- 1 (with local maxima up to 9.35 m ha- 1). Densities are, however, much higher when only considering the most erosion-vulnerable municipalities (long-term average of 2.23-4.30 m ha- 1); those values should be used when comparing results from this study to other reports of ephemeral gully erosion. Fascines were introduced in 2001 and were present in 30% of the gully erosion sites by 2012. Although the presence of fascines has an effect on gully length reduction, spatial and temporal variations in gully length were mainly driven by cumulative precipitation. Measurement of sediment deposition at 29 fascines in 2016 showed that only 47% of the fascines functioned as sediment sinks. They stored on average 1.7 Mg of sediment per winter half

  12. Civic ecology practices: insights from practice theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianne E. Krasny

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Our aim was to explore the use of practice theory as an approach to studying urban environmental stewardship. Urban environmental stewardship, or civic ecology practice, contributes to ecosystem services and community well-being and has been studied using social-ecological systems resilience, property rights, communities of practice, and governance frameworks. Practice theory, which previously has been applied in studies of consumer behaviors, adds a new perspective to urban stewardship research, focusing on how elements of a practice, such as competencies, meanings, and physical resource, together define the practice. We applied practice theory to eight different civic ecology practices, including oyster gardening in New York City, a civil society group engaged in litter cleanup in Iran, and village grove restoration in South Korea. Our analysis suggests that in applying practice theory to the civic ecology context, consideration should be given to social and communication competencies, how meanings can motivate volunteers and sustain practice, and the nature of the resource that is being stewarded. Future studies may want to focus on how practice elements interact within and vary across practices and may be used to more systematically analyze and share ideas among diverse civic ecology practices.

  13. Clinical Psychology and Research: epistemological notes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emanuela Coppola

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper proposes a reflection on the relationship between clinical psychology and research, highlighting the constant epistemological crossing the two practices, empirical and professional. The paper warns against the pitfalls of reductionism that, in both cases, may impact the effectiveness of therapeutic results. In fact, both in clinical practice and is in psychological research, the mere application of techniques contradicts the specificity of the object of study (the mind which, rather, requires the constant attention to a complexity of variables and contextual elements essential for the understanding the psychic. Qualitative research has been a prolific space for dialogue and joint trials between research and clinical practice that has rehabilitated scientific dignity of affective and subjective for a long time confined to the ephemeral world of poetry and literature. It must therefore be a further extension of the convergence not only of qualitative and quantitative methods but also of training modules for researchers and practitioners are able to stimulate, in daily practice, confidence in the utility of scientific monitoring and detection of inter-subjective variables in research devices.

  14. Practice Location Characteristics of Non-Traditional Dental Practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solomon, Eric S; Jones, Daniel L

    2016-04-01

    Current and future dental school graduates are increasingly likely to choose a non-traditional dental practice-a group practice managed by a dental service organization or a corporate practice with employed dentists-for their initial practice experience. In addition, the growth of non-traditional practices, which are located primarily in major urban areas, could accelerate the movement of dentists to those areas and contribute to geographic disparities in the distribution of dental services. To help the profession understand the implications of these developments, the aim of this study was to compare the location characteristics of non-traditional practices and traditional dental practices. After identifying non-traditional practices across the United States, the authors located those practices and traditional dental practices geographically by zip code. Non-traditional dental practices were found to represent about 3.1% of all dental practices, but they had a greater impact on the marketplace with almost twice the average number of staff and annual revenue. Virtually all non-traditional dental practices were located in zip codes that also had a traditional dental practice. Zip codes with non-traditional practices had significant differences from zip codes with only a traditional dental practice: the populations in areas with non-traditional practices had higher income levels and higher education and were slightly younger and proportionally more Hispanic; those practices also had a much higher likelihood of being located in a major metropolitan area. Dental educators and leaders need to understand the impact of these trends in the practice environment in order to both prepare graduates for practice and make decisions about planning for the workforce of the future.

  15. Are family practice trainers and their host practices any better? Comparing practice trainers and non-trainers and their practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Hombergh, Pieter; Schalk-Soekar, Saskia; Kramer, Anneke; Bottema, Ben; Campbell, Stephen; Braspenning, Jozé

    2013-02-21

    Family Physician (FP) trainees are expected to be provided with high quality training in well organized practice settings. This study examines differences between FP trainers and non-trainers and their practices to see whether there are differences in trainers and non-trainers and in how their practices are organized and their services are delivered. 203 practices (88 non-training and 115 training) with 512 FPs (335 non-trainers and 177 trainers) were assessed using the "Visit Instrument Practice organization (VIP)" on 369 items (142 FP-level; 227 Practice level). Analyses (ANOVA, ANCOVA) were conducted for each level by calculating differences between FP trainees and non-trainees and their host practices. Trainers scored higher on all but one of the items, and significantly higher on 47 items, of which 13 remained significant after correcting for covariates. Training practices scored higher on all items and significantly higher on 61 items, of which 23 remained significant after correcting for covariates. Trainers (and training practices) provided more diagnostic and therapeutic services, made better use of team skills and scored higher on practice organization, chronic care services and quality management than non-training practices. Trainers reported more job satisfaction and commitment and less job stress than non-trainers. There are positive differences between FP trainers and non-trainers in both the level and the quality of services provided by their host practices. Training institutions can use this information to promote the advantages of becoming a FP trainer and training practice as well as to improve the quality of training settings for FPs.

  16. The influence of castanhão reservoir on nutrient and suspended matter transport during rainy season in the ephemeral Jaguaribe river (CE, Brazil Influência do açude Castanhão no transporte de nutrientes e materiais em suspensão durante a estação chuvosa no intermitente rio Jaguaribe (CE, Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MM. Molisani

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Measurements of nutrient and suspended matter concentrations and loads entering and leaving the Castanhão reservoir during the rainy season were carried out to assess the influence of this large reservoir on land-sea fluvial transport in the ephemeral Jaguaribe river basin. Spatial variation indicated statistically significant attenuation of concentrations only for total phosphorous and suspended matter across the reservoir. Strong retention of nutrients and suspended matter loads by the reservoir was observed with average trapping efficiency of 89% for dissolved silicon, 98% of soluble reactive phosphorus, 71% for ammonium, 87% for total nitrogen, 98% for total phosphorus and 97% for suspended matter compared to the reservoir inflow. The dam operational procedure defined by the ephemeral conditions of the river reduced water releases compared to reservoir inflow and induced strong retention of nutrient and suspended matter loads within the reservoir when fluvial transfer occurs in this semiarid watershed.Medidas de concentrações e fluxos de nutrientes e material particulado em suspensão de entrada e saída do Açude Castanhão foram efetuadas para determinar a influência de um grande reservatório no transporte fluvial entre o continente e o oceano na bacia hidrográfica intermitente do Rio Jaguaribe. A variação espacial indicou uma atenuação estatisticamente significativa ao longo do reservatório somente para as concentrações de fósforo total e material particulado em suspensão. Os resultados indicam uma forte retenção de nutrientes e do material particulado em suspensão com eficiências de retenção de 89% para sílica dissolvida, 98% para fósforo solúvel reativo, 71% para amônia, 87% para nitrogênio total, 98% para fósforo total e 97% para o material particulado em suspensão em relação aos fluxos de entrada no reservatório. A rotina de operação da barragem definida pela condição intermitente do Rio Jaguaribe

  17. Advanced practice nurses: starting an independent practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lambert, V A; Lambert, C E

    1996-01-01

    Independent or private practice is the delivery of nursing services provided by nurses over which nurses have full control. With a changing healthcare system, nurses are in a prime position to negotiate the delivery of appropriate, acceptable, and cost-effective health care as independent practitioners. This article addresses the mission and goals of independent practice, community need, business structure of the practice, housing the practice, legal considerations, financing the practice, marketing issues, clientele, record keeping, and reimbursement.

  18. Representation of activity in images using geospatial temporal graphs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brost, Randolph; McLendon, III, William C.; Parekh, Ojas D.; Rintoul, Mark Daniel; Watson, Jean-Paul; Strip, David R.; Diegert, Carl

    2018-05-01

    Various technologies pertaining to modeling patterns of activity observed in remote sensing images using geospatial-temporal graphs are described herein. Graphs are constructed by representing objects in remote sensing images as nodes, and connecting nodes with undirected edges representing either distance or adjacency relationships between objects and directed edges representing changes in time. Activity patterns may be discerned from the graphs by coding nodes representing persistent objects like buildings differently from nodes representing ephemeral objects like vehicles, and examining the geospatial-temporal relationships of ephemeral nodes within the graph.

  19. Holography: Art in an Ephemeral Medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buterbaugh, James G.

    1979-01-01

    The science of holography provides an opportunity to see reality by illusion using laser light, lenses, and mirrors. To develop as holographic artists, students must first gain proficiency in using its techniques, equipment, and materials. (Author/CMV)

  20. The utility of state parks as a conservation tool for isolated and ephemeral wetlands: A case study from the southern Blue Ridge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, J. H.; Baldwin, R.; Pitt, A. L.; Baldwin, E. D.

    2013-12-01

    were deeper on average than park pools. We found significant differences in total taxonomic richness, invertebrate tolerance values and wetland depth between park and non-park wetlands. We relied heavily on local ecological knowledge (LEK) for identification and information on wetlands within parks. Furthermore, state parks played a vital role in the development of this project and our study was enriched as a result of utilizing state park personnel and their LEK. We were also able to interact with the public during our site visits and this two-way dialogue between scientists and the general public was useful for educating citizens about the importance of isolated/ephemeral wetlands and helped us better understand public perceptions of wetlands. State parks provided a number of study sites, various personnel who were knowledgeable about the locations and dynamics of wetlands and an a priori framework for conservation at the local scale which can help bolster conservation efforts at larger scales. We posit that state parks are an under-utilized but extremely important resource for filling the gaps in conservation.

  1. Port practices

    OpenAIRE

    Grigorut Cornel; Anechitoae Constantin; Grigorut Lavinia-Maria

    2011-01-01

    Commercial practices are practices or rules applicable to contractual relations between the participants to international trade activities. Commercial practices require a determined objective element of a particular practice, attitude or behavior. They are characterized by: continuity, consistency and uniformity and require duration, repeatability and stability. Depending on how many partners apply them, practices differ from the habits established between certain contracting parties

  2. Entering the prayer room

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Staunæs, Dorthe; Hvenegaard-Lassen, Kirsten

    & New York: Routledge. Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Durham: Duke University Press. Haraway, D. (1997). Modest_Witness@Second_Millenium.FemaleMan_Meets_OncoMouse. New York: Routledge. Hvenegård-Lassen, K., & Staunæs, D. (2015......Our main question in this paper concerns how we may investigate the appearance as well as the disappearance of race through the ephemerality of moods. How may the performative effect of mood politics be investigated? How may we explore the non/ephemeral effects of racialized atmospheres and mood...

  3. Characterisation of karst hydrogeology in Western Ireland using geophysical and hydraulic modelling techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. McCormack

    2017-04-01

    New hydrological insights for the region: Results suggest two primary pathways of northwards groundwater flow in the catchment, a fault which discharges offshore, and a ∼2 m diameter karst conduit running underneath the catchment lowlands against the prevailing geological dip. This conduit, whose existence was suspected but never confirmed, links a large ephemeral lake to the coast where it discharges intertidally. Hydraulic modelling indicates that the conduit network is a complex mixture of constrictions with multiple inlets and outlets. Two ephemeral lakes are shown to be hydraulically discontinuous, either drained separately or linked by a low pressure channel.

  4. Clinical practice: new challenges for the advanced practice nurse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartel, J C; Buturusis, B

    2000-12-01

    This report describes the challenges for advanced practice nurses (APNs) relative to supply and demand issues. The article also includes opportunities with the Balanced Budget Act, physician acceptance of Advanced Practice Nurses, and expanding practice opportunities. The challenges include the nursing shortage (both in nursing students and faculty), the aging of the nursing workforce, and a lag in nursing salaries; increased demand for nursing based on aging baby boomers, increasing patient acuity and technology, and new arenas for practice. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 provided new opportunities for advanced practice nurses, including enhanced autonomy to provide services and bill independently of physicians. With these changes come new opportunities for advanced practice nurse entrepreneurs in the areas of independent practice, including opportunities to positively impact the health of families and communities in alignment with the Federal government's vision for "Healthy People 2010." As physician acceptance of advanced practice nurses continues to grow and in light of the changes in medical practice and education (residency reduction), opportunities to expand collaborative practice arrangements also exist. APNs are best suited to make the most of these changes. One example of an opportunity for independent practice, a Community Wellness Center, is developed as an entrepreneurial venture benefiting both the APN and the health of a community. Who better than registered nurses (RNs), especially those practicing at the advanced level, can ensure that these opportunities and challenges are addressed in an ethical manner and focused on the needs and health of the community?

  5. Exploration and practice in-class practice teaching mode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, Xue-Ping; Wu, Wei-Feng

    2017-08-01

    According to the opto-electronic information science and engineering professional course characteristics and cultivate students' learning initiative, raised the teaching of photoelectric professional course introduce In-class practice teaching mode. By designing different In-class practice teaching content, the students' learning interest and learning initiative are improved, deepen students' understanding of course content and enhanced students' team cooperation ability. In-class practice teaching mode in the course of the opto-electronic professional teaching practice, the teaching effect is remarkable.

  6. Concentrations and characteristics of organic carbon in surface water in Arizona: Influence of urbanization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westerhoff, P.; Anning, D.

    2000-01-01

    resources was studied. DOC concentration and composition, seasonal watershed runoff events, streamflow variations, water management practices, and urban infrastructure in several Arizona watersheds were monitored. Ephemeral sites had the highest DOC levels, and unregulated perennial sites and lower concentrations than unregulated intermittent sites, regulated sites, and sites downstream from wastewater treatment plants. Reservoir outflows and wastewater treatment plant effluent had higher and less variable DOC concentrations than inflows to reservoirs. UV absorbance values, fluorescence measurements, and other indicators suggest that urban water systems (reservoirs and wastewater treatment plants) affect temporal variability in DOC concentration and composition.

  7. Practical theology: A critically engaged practical reason approach of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article seeks to present a critically engaged practical reasoning approach in which theory and practice have an in-ter-dependent relationship. Practical reason is an activity in which engagement happens at every stage. For this to happen, theory and practice interact as equal variables that have a bearing on each other ...

  8. PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE WAY OF CONNECTING PEDAGOGICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Božo Obradović

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The issue of linking educational theory to educational practice (educational work with young people is highly topical and important issue for the science of pedagogy. One way of achieving this task is a pedagogical practice (PP students. In paper we deal with identifying, comparing, and analyzing the curricula of vocational (Curriculum for Preschool Teacher (2007 and academic (Curriculum for Educators (2007. Studies Teacher Training in Serbia, as well as educational disciplines and areas of pedagogical science derived from them. The results showed many similarities, but also differences when it comes to educational disciplines that are taught, the name of pedagogical practice, the number of classes to implement, ECTS (European Credit Transfer System, which affect the quality and coherence of educational theory and educational practice. In order to identify similarities and overcome weaknesses that accompany the pedagogical practice analysis, we came to know about the specifics of each of the six pedagogical practice. For each pedagogical practice defined specific goals and tasks arising from the curriculum, and in particular pedagogical disciplines taught at university. Each of these pedagogical practices is the ability to connect educational theory and educational practice and direct way to increase the quality of training and competence of future teachers for direct work with children.

  9. Models of invasion and establishment of African Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Kristin H.; Gowan, Timothy A.; Miller, David M.; Brooks, Matthew L.

    2015-01-01

    Introduced exotic plants can drive ecosystem change. We studied invasion and establishment ofBrassica tournefortii (African mustard), a noxious weed, in the Chemehuevi Valley, western Sonoran Desert, California. We used long-term data sets of photographs, transects for biomass of annual plants, and densities of African mustard collected at irregular intervals between 1979 and 2009. We suggest that African mustard may have been present in low numbers along the main route of travel, a highway, in the late 1970s; invaded the valley along a major axial valley ephemeral stream channel and the highway; and by 2009, colonized 22 km into the eastern part of the valley. We developed predictive models for invasibility and establishment of African mustard. Both during the initial invasion and after establishment, significant predictor variables of African mustard densities were surficial geology, proximity to the highway and axial valley ephemeral stream channel, and number of small ephemeral stream channels. The axial valley ephemeral stream channel was the most vulnerable of the variables to invasions. Overall, African mustard rapidly colonized and quickly became established in naturally disturbed areas, such as stream channels, where geological surfaces were young and soils were weakly developed. Older geological surfaces (e.g., desert pavements with soils 140,000 to 300,000 years old) were less vulnerable. Microhabitats also influenced densities of African mustard, with densities higher under shrubs than in the interspaces. As African mustard became established, the proportional biomass of native winter annual plants declined. Early control is important because African mustard can colonize and become well established across a valley in 20 yr.

  10. Feminist Social Work: Practice and Theory of Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyal-Lubling, Roni; Krumer-Nevo, Michal

    2016-07-01

    Although feminist social work has been practiced in Israel since the 1970s, little has been written about it. This qualitative study aims to fill this gap by documenting and conceptualizing feminist theory of practice and actual practice based on interviews with 12 feminist social workers. Findings reveal that the interviewees perceive feminist practice as significantly different from traditional social work practice based on four analytical principles: (1) gender analysis, (2) awareness of power relations, (3) analysis of welfare services as structures of oppression, and (4) utilization of feminist language, as well as 10 principles of action. The principles are discussed in the context of feminist social work in Israel and in light of feminist principles described in international literature.

  11. A method for estimating spatially variable seepage and hydrualic conductivity in channels with very mild slopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanafield, Margaret; Niswonger, Richard G.; Prudic, David E.; Pohll, Greg; Susfalk, Richard; Panday, Sorab

    2014-01-01

    Infiltration along ephemeral channels plays an important role in groundwater recharge in arid regions. A model is presented for estimating spatial variability of seepage due to streambed heterogeneity along channels based on measurements of streamflow-front velocities in initially dry channels. The diffusion-wave approximation to the Saint-Venant equations, coupled with Philip's equation for infiltration, is connected to the groundwater model MODFLOW and is calibrated by adjusting the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the channel bed. The model is applied to portions of two large water delivery canals, which serve as proxies for natural ephemeral streams. Estimated seepage rates compare well with previously published values. Possible sources of error stem from uncertainty in Manning's roughness coefficients, soil hydraulic properties and channel geometry. Model performance would be most improved through more frequent longitudinal estimates of channel geometry and thalweg elevation, and with measurements of stream stage over time to constrain wave timing and shape. This model is a potentially valuable tool for estimating spatial variability in longitudinal seepage along intermittent and ephemeral channels over a wide range of bed slopes and the influence of seepage rates on groundwater levels.

  12. [Practice marketing. Data analysis of a urological group practice].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, T; Schneider, B; Eisenhardt, A; Sperling, H

    2009-07-01

    The urological practice setting in Germany has changed tremendously over the last years. Group practices with two or more urologists working together are becoming more and more popular. At the same time, marketing has become essential even for urologists. To evaluate the patient flow to our group practice, we asked all new patients to fill out a questionnaire (n=2112). We also evaluated the efficacy of our recall system. The analysis showed that patients were 18-93 years old (mean 57 years), 68% being male and 32% female. The largest age group consisted of 41-50-year-olds. The most important reasons for choosing our practice were recommendations by general practitioners in 38%, recommendations by specialists in 11%, and recommendations by friends and relatives in 27%. Five percent of the patients chose the practice because of the Internet home page and 10% because of entries in various phone books. Three percent of the patients came because of newspaper articles about the practice owners, and advertising for a urological practice. Phone books are increasingly becoming less important, and the Internet is increasingly attractive to the younger population. Recall systems can also be useful for urological practices.

  13. The development of professional practice standards for Australian general practice nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halcomb, Elizabeth; Stephens, Moira; Bryce, Julianne; Foley, Elizabeth; Ashley, Christine

    2017-08-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the current role of general practice nurses and the scope of nursing practice to inform the development of national professional practice standards for Australian general practice nurses. Increasing numbers of nurses have been employed in Australian general practice to meet the growing demand for primary care services. This has brought significant changes to the nursing role. Competency standards for nurses working in general practice were first developed in Australia in 2005, but limited attention has been placed on articulating the contemporary scope of practice for nurses in this setting. Concurrent mixed methods design. Data collection was conducted during 2013-2014 and involved two online surveys of Registered and Enrolled Nurses currently working in general practice, a series of 14 focus groups across Australia and a series of consultations with key experts. Data collection enabled the development of 22 Practice Standards separated into four domains: (i) Professional Practice; (ii) Nursing Care; (iii) General Practice Environment and (iv) Collaborative Practice. To differentiate the variations in enacting these Standards, performance indicators for the Enrolled Nurse, Registered Nurse and Registered Nurse Advanced Practice are provided under each Standard. The development of national professional practice standards for nurses working in Australian general practice will support ongoing workforce development. These Standards are also an important means of articulating the role and scope of the nurses' practice for both consumers and other health professionals, as well as being a guide for curriculum development and measurement of performance. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. The theory–practice distinction and the complexity of practical knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bonnie Miller-McLemore

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Over the past few decades, theologians have recognised the value of practice but have been optimistic about the ease with which practice is incorporated into theology. People use all sorts of adjectives to characterise the complex relationship – ‘integrally related’, a ‘deeper reciprocity’, ‘bound up in thickly intertwined ways’ – but connecting the two is not as easy as these words suggest. This article returns to the age-old question about the relationship between theory and practice. But it studies this question from the angle of practice. Although many scholars have analysed the distinction between theory and practice as it functions conceptually, few have examined challenges in relating the two as they emerge in practice. The article argues that there is an inevitable distinction between theory and practice that receives considerably less attention and needs more understanding and even respect. It also argues that the discipline of practical theology adds a distinctive angle on this discussion because it considers how the concepts function practically.

  15. Protecting your practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Joseph

    2015-01-01

    Dentists have much invested in their practices. They need to protect their practices from fraud and noncompliance. The author provides practical suggestions for how to significantly reduce the risk of fraud and theft in the practice without disrupting day-to-day operations. By adhering to nonintrusive policy and procedure changes, dental practice owners can reduce inherent risks of fraud and theft, while increasing financial and human resource knowledge regarding their practice. Practice owners with the appropriate policies and procedures benefit from significantly lower risk of loss from fraud and theft. Furthermore, they have a better understanding of their practice's finances and human resources. Copyright © 2015 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. EIA practice

    OpenAIRE

    Wärnbäck, Antoienette

    2012-01-01

    This thesis is about Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) practice in Sweden. Impact Assessment (IA) is expected to play a crucial role in enabling democratic and enlightened decision making. EIA practice seems however not to be in accordance with best IA practice norms and legislation in many countries. We therefore need a more thorough understanding of IA practice and its outcomes and about what is gained through EIA and thus also be able to suggest, on a more profound basis...

  17. Practice management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Althausen, Peter L; Mead, Lisa

    2014-07-01

    The practicing orthopaedic traumatologist must have a sound knowledge of business fundamentals to be successful in the changing healthcare environment. Practice management encompasses multiple topics including governance, the financial aspects of billing and coding, physician extender management, ancillary service development, information technology, transcription utilization, and marketing. Some of these are universal, but several of these areas may be most applicable to the private practice of medicine. Attention to each component is vital to develop an understanding of the intricacies of practice management.

  18. [Revised practice guideline 'Anaemia in midwifery practice'

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beentjes, M.; Jans, S.M.P.J.

    2012-01-01

    The practice guideline of the Royal Dutch Organization of Midwives 'Anaemia in primary care midwifery practice' published in 2000, has recently been revised. The revised guideline takes physiological haemodilution during pregnancy into consideration and provides gestation specific reference values

  19. Orthodontic practices in Australasia: practice activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathew, Rachael; Sampson, Wayne J; Spencer, A John

    2005-05-01

    To collect baseline data on practice types and services provided by orthodontists in Australia and New Zealand. A total of 510 questionnaires was sent and 258 were returned. The response rate was 53 per cent. The average age of respondents was 50 years (SD: 9.8 years) with female orthodontists being younger (Mean: 42.3 years; SD: 6.5). The ratio of responding female to male orthodontists was 1:8.8. Overall, more orthodontists were in solo private practice than associateships or partnerships. New Zealand orthodontists were more likely to be in associateships. Australian orthodontists had twice the number of practices (Mean: 2.4; SD: 1.4) than their New Zealand counterparts (Mean: 1.1; SD: 0.3). Orthodontists estimated they saw a mean of 21.3 (SD: 11.3) patients per day. Older orthodontists saw few patients in a day and spent fewer hours in any practice activity in a week. The mean waiting time for a consultation appointment in the private sector in New Zealand was nearly twice that in Australia. There was a significant association between male orthodontists and referral of patients by general dental practitioners. More than three quarters of respondents incorporated retention fees into the treatment fee. Overall, orthodontists were satisfied with the workload and did not want more orthodontists in their geographical area. This study provides a sound basis for consideration of challenges in practice and changes over time.

  20. Practical theology: A critically engaged practical reason approach of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-04-11

    Apr 11, 2014 ... His correlation of theory and practice in his three stages of theory, practice and theory is also critiqued .... The revised method of correlation takes cultural practices seriously, not .... Moral thinking or moral reasoning as used by Browning refers .... universal amidst the relativism, prevalent in post-modernity.

  1. Practicing physiotherapy in Danish private practice: an ethical perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Præstegaard, Jeanette; Gard, Gunvor; Glasdam, Stinne

    2013-01-01

    Despite an increasingly growth of professional guidelines, textbooks and research about ethics in Health care, awareness about ethics in Danish physiotherapy private practice seen vague. This article explores how physiotherapists in Danish private practice, from an ethical perspective, perceive...... to practice physiotherapy. The empirical data consists of interviews with twenty-one physiotherapists. The interviews are analysed from a hermeneutic approach, inspired by Ricoeur’s textual interpretation of distanciation. The analysis follows three phases: naı¨ve reading, structural analysis...... and comprehensive analysis. Four main themes are constructed: Beneficence as the driving force; Disciplining the patient through the course of physiotherapy; Balancing between being a trustworthy professional and a businessperson; The dream of a code of practice. Private practice physiotherapy is embedded...

  2. Social Practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Kirsten

    2013-01-01

    The present understanding of LCM as a product management system supported by a number of tools and methods does not pay attention to the importance of social practices that the employees develop in relation to the systematic approach. A new conceptual model of LCM including the social practices i...... company serves as case for the empirical analyses of the formalized structures and their interaction with the social practices developed by the employees over time.......The present understanding of LCM as a product management system supported by a number of tools and methods does not pay attention to the importance of social practices that the employees develop in relation to the systematic approach. A new conceptual model of LCM including the social practices...... is presented and discussed from theoretical and empirical perspectives. Theoretically, the analyses cover the formalized structures related to the division of labor and the coordination of the tasks on the one hand, and the social practices as meanings, values and priorities on the other hand. A larger Danish...

  3. High Resolution Mapping of Drought Impacts on Small Waterbodies using Sentinel 1 SAR and Landsat Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slinski, K.; Hogue, T. S.; McCray, J. E.

    2017-12-01

    Drought in semi-arid areas can have substantial impact on ephemeral and small water bodies, which provide critical ecological habitat and have important socio-economic value. This is particularly true in the pastoral areas of East Africa, where these ecosystems provide local communities with water for human and animal consumption and pasture for livestock. However, monitoring the impact of drought on ephemeral and small water bodies in East Africa is challenging because of sparse in situ observational systems. Satellite remote sensing observations have been shown to be a viable option for monitoring surface water change in data-poor regions. Landsat data is widely used to detect open water, but the use of Landsat data in small waterbody studies is limited by its 30-meter spatial resolution. New remote sensing-based tools are necessary to better understand the vulnerability of ephemeral and small waterbodies in semi-arid areas to drought and to monitor drought impacts. This study combines Landsat and Sentinel 1 SAR observations to create a series of monthly waterbody maps over the Awash River basin in Ethiopia depicting the change in surface water from October 2014 to March 2017. The study time period corresponds with a major drought event in the area. Waterbody maps were generated using a 10-meter resolution and utilized to monitor drought impacts on ephemeral and small waterbodies in the Awash River basin over the course of the drought event. Initial results show that surface waterbodies in the lower catchments of the Awash basin were more severely impacted by the drought event than the upper catchments. It is anticipated that the new information provided by this tool will inform decisions affecting the water, energy, agriculture and other sectors in East Africa reliant on water resources, enabling water authorities to better manage future drought events.

  4. Deliberate practice theory: relevance, effort, and inherent enjoyment of music practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyllegard, Randy; Bories, Tamara L

    2008-10-01

    This study examined three assumptions of the theory of deliberate practice for practice playing music on an electronic keyboard. 40 undergraduate students, divided into two separate groups, practiced one of two music sequences and rated the relevance of practice for improving performance on the sequences, the amount of effort needed to learn the sequences, and the inherent enjoyment of practice sessions. Findings for each assumption were consistent with those suggested by theory but also showed that perceptions are affected by the amount of practice completed and performance of the skill.

  5. How practice breakdowns disclose existing structures and contribute to practice innovation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loohuis, Raymond Petrus Antonius

    2015-01-01

    Practice breakdowns provide fertile ground for practice innovation because they demand a shift from structure to process. Practice breakdowns are fruitful subjects for research and practice because they disclose existing structures by prompting situated actors to become reflective on the otherwise

  6. Practicing leadership-as-practice in content and manner

    OpenAIRE

    Raelin, Joe; Kempster, Stephen John; Youngs, Howard; Caroll, Brigid; Jackson, Brad

    2018-01-01

    A collective and collaborative response to an article appearing in Leadership’s “Leading Questions” department is prepared by a team subscribing to the leadership-as-practice approach. The focus is to represent the manner in which leadership-as-practice operates as a leadership theory and in its communal practice orientation. Among the themes addressed are leadership-as-practice’s theory development, its contribution in comparison to critical leadership theory, its approach to power, and its ...

  7. Experimenting with practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Hanne; Adriansen, Hanne Kirstine

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Purpose Teaching executive courses always raises the challenge of how to deal with the tension between theory and practice. The present chapter analyses the use of experiments in practice as a pedagogical approach to deal with this tension in Master’s programmes. Design/methodology/appro......Abstract Purpose Teaching executive courses always raises the challenge of how to deal with the tension between theory and practice. The present chapter analyses the use of experiments in practice as a pedagogical approach to deal with this tension in Master’s programmes. Design...... that it is important to observe the distinction between the role of the manager and the role of the student in order to meet ethical challenges, inevitably raised by experimenting with practice. Finally we argue that the experimental teaching practice can be conceptualised as a monstrous pedagogy, as the pedagogy...... pedagogy they use fort dealing with this tension. Practical implications Many Master’s programmes draw empirical data from the students’ own practice into the teaching. We argue that using experiments is highly useful to identify some of the general challenges inherent in analyses of one’s own practice...

  8. Are family practice trainers and their host practices any better? comparing practice trainers and non-trainers and their practices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hombergh, P. van den; Schalk-Soekar, S.; Kramer, A.; Bottema, B.J.; Campbell, S.M.; Braspenning, J.C.

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Family Physician (FP) trainees are expected to be provided with high quality training in well organized practice settings. This study examines differences between FP trainers and non-trainers and their practices to see whether there are differences in trainers and non-trainers and in how

  9. Studying Engineering Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buch, Anders

    2015-01-01

    The study of engineering practices has been the focus of Engineering Studies over the last three decades. Theses studies have used ethnographic and grounded methods in order to investigate engineering practices as they unfold in natural settings - in workplaces and engineering education. However......, engineering studies have not given much attention to conceptually clarifying what should be understood by 'engineering practices' and more precisely account for the composition and organization of the entities and phenomena that make up the practices. This chapter investigates and discusses how a 'practice...... will draw out some methodological consequences and discuss the ramifications of a practice theoretical approach for Engineering Studies....

  10. Bioenergy good practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birse, J.; Chambers, K.

    2000-07-01

    This report gives details of a project to make the Good Practice Guidelines, which were developed to help the UK Bioenergy industry, the national and local governments, and the public, more widely available. Details concerning the designing of a Good Practice Programme, and the proposed codes of Good Practice programme are given, and general relevant good practice guidance documents are discussed. The stakeholder survey and workshop, and the proposed codes of a Good Practice Programme are presented in Annexes. (UK)

  11. The History of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing Education and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackey, April; Bassendowski, Sandra

    Beginning with Florence Nightingale in the 1800s and evolving again within the medical community, evidence-based practice continues to advance along with the nursing discipline. Evidence-based practice is foundational to undergraduate and graduate nursing education and is a way for the nursing discipline to minimize the theory to practice gap. This article discusses the concept of evidence-based practice from a historical perspective as it relates to nursing in the educational and practice domains. The concept evidence-based practice is defined, and the similarities and differences to evidence-based medicine are discussed. It is crucial that registered nurses be proactive in their quest for research knowledge, so the gap between theory and practice continues to close. Utilizing nursing best practice guidelines, reviewing and implementing applicable research evidence, and taking advantage of technological advances are all ways in which nursing can move forward as a well-informed discipline. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Advancing nursing practice: redefining the theoretical and practical integration of knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Martin

    2011-03-01

    The aim of this paper is to offer an alternative knowing-how knowing-that framework of nursing knowledge, which in the past has been accepted as the provenance of advanced practice. The concept of advancing practice is central to the development of nursing practice and has been seen to take on many different forms depending on its use in context. To many it has become synonymous with the work of the advanced or expert practitioner; others have viewed it as a process of continuing professional development and skills acquisition. Moreover, it is becoming closely linked with practice development. However, there is much discussion as to what constitutes the knowledge necessary for advancing and advanced practice, and it has been suggested that theoretical and practical knowledge form the cornerstone of advanced knowledge. The design of this article takes a discursive approach as to the meaning and integration of knowledge within the context of advancing nursing practice. A thematic analysis of the current discourse relating to knowledge integration models in an advancing and advanced practice arena was used to identify concurrent themes relating to the knowing-how knowing-that framework which commonly used to classify the knowledge necessary for advanced nursing practice. There is a dichotomy as to what constitutes knowledge for advanced and advancing practice. Several authors have offered a variety of differing models, yet it is the application and integration of theoretical and practical knowledge that defines and develops the advancement of nursing practice. An alternative framework offered here may allow differences in the way that nursing knowledge important for advancing practice is perceived, developed and coordinated. What has inevitably been neglected is that there are various other variables which when transposed into the existing knowing-how knowing-that framework allows for advanced knowledge to be better defined. One of the more notable variables is

  13. Work Practice Characteristics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pors, Jens Kaaber; Simonsen, Jesper

    2003-01-01

    and work practice. To understand these issues a framework of characteristics is identified and termed work practice characteristics to describe important aspects of the hybrid configuration of groupware and situated work practices. Drawing on concepts and work practice studies in the field of computer...... investigation of how groupware is employed to support new ways of working in a large European financial organisation are analysed to illustrate situations with high and low integration of groupware. The framework of work practice characteristics is discussed in the light of these findings and implications...

  14. Oncology practice trends from the national practice benchmark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Thomas R; Towle, Elaine L

    2012-09-01

    In 2011, we made predictions on the basis of data from the National Practice Benchmark (NPB) reports from 2005 through 2010. With the new 2011 data in hand, we have revised last year's predictions and projected for the next 3 years. In addition, we make some new predictions that will be tracked in future benchmarking surveys. We also outline a conceptual framework for contemplating these data based on an ecological model of the oncology delivery system. The 2011 NPB data are consistent with last year's prediction of a decrease in the operating margins necessary to sustain a community oncology practice. With the new data in, we now predict these reductions to occur more slowly than previously forecast. We note an ease to the squeeze observed in last year's trend analysis, which will allow more time for practices to adapt their business models for survival and offer the best of these practices an opportunity to invest earnings into operations to prepare for the inevitable shift away from historic payment methodology for clinical service. This year, survey respondents reported changes in business structure, first measured in the 2010 data, indicating an increase in the percentage of respondents who believe that change is coming soon, but the majority still have confidence in the viability of their existing business structure. Although oncology practices are in for a bumpy ride, things are looking less dire this year for practices participating in our survey.

  15. Practice management companies improve practices' financial position.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupell, T

    1997-11-01

    To maintain control over healthcare delivery and financial decisions, as well as increase access to capital markets, some group practices are forming their own physician practice management companies. These companies should be organized to balance the expectations of physicians with the values of capital markets. This organization should include retained earnings, financial reporting in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), predictable earnings and cash flow, physician ownership and leadership, and incentives for high-quality management. Three large, primary care and multispecialty clinics that merged to form a new physician practice management company increased their access to capital markets and improved their overall financial position, which will help them achieve long-term survival.

  16. A resuscitation "dilemma" theory-practice-ethics. Is there a theory-practice-ethics gap?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortell, Manfred

    2009-07-01

    The theory-practice-ethics gap - a new paradigm to contemplate. Practices based on tradition, rituals and outdated information are placed into a nonscientific paradigm called the theory-practice gap. Within this paradigm there is often a gap between theoretical knowledge and its application in practice. This theory-practice gap has always existed [Allmark, P., 1995. A classical view of the theory-practice gap in nursing. J. Adv. Nurs. 22 (1), 18-23; Hewison, A. et al., 1996. The theory-practice gap in nursing: a new dimension. J. Adv. Nurs. 24 (4), 754-761]. Its creation is often sited as a culmination of theory being idealistic and impractical, even if practical and beneficial, are often ignored. Most of the evidence relating to the non integration of theory and practice makes the assumption that environmental factors are responsible and will affect learning and practice outcomes, hence the "gap". In fact, it is the author's belief, that to "bridge the gap" between theory and practice an additional component is required, called ethics. A moral duty and obligation ensuring theory and practice integrate. In order to effectively implement new practices, one must deem these practices are worthy and relevant to their role as healthcare providers. Otherwise, we fall victims to providing nothing more than a lip service. This introduces a new concept which the author refers to as the theory-practice-ethics gap. This theory-practice-ethics gap must be considered when reviewing some of the unacceptable outcomes in health care practice. The author believes that there is a crisis of ethics where theory and practice integrate, and as a consequence, malfeasance. We are failing to fulfill our duty as healthcare providers and as patient advocates. One practice of major concern, which the author will endeavor to unfold relates to adult and pediatric resuscitation.

  17. Adapting research instruction to support the scholarship of practice: practice-scholar partnerships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crist, Patricia A

    2010-01-01

    ABSTRACT Evidence-based practice (EBP) is crucial to the success of delivering quality occupational therapy services. The skill to engage in the scholarship of practice is central to being able to create evidence specific to one's everyday practice and leads to an emerging role within occupational therapy called the practice-scholar. The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the effectiveness of an instructional approach that engaged the scholarship of practice and the functions of a practice-scholar. Occupational therapy graduate students and practitioners collaborated to develop a practice-based study proposal during a traditional experimental research class. The objective was to apply research concepts contextualized within the natural practice context while developing the role of the practice-scholar in designing outcomes studies. As part of an entry-level research course, students (n == 39) and practitioners (n == 14) were grouped into learning teams and discussed two self-assessments to reflect on their self-efficacy perceptions of practice-scholarship research at the beginning and the end of a series of guided sessions to design a research proposal. Postcourse results show that students' perceptions of self-efficacy improved regarding their abilities to participate in practice-scholarship as a result of the learning partnerships. Anecdotal similarities were found for practitioners. As an instructional method, the learning partnership facilitated the development of foundational knowledge and skills related to becoming practice-scholars through increased self-efficacy in using proposal design. This educational approach proactively used the scholarship of practice research to bridge practice and education using a meaningful, partnership-based model for entry-level graduate students and occupational therapy practitioners.

  18. Cultivating Mathematical Skills: From Drill-and-Practice to Deliberate Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehtinen, Erno; Hannula-Sormunen, Minna; McMullen, Jake; Gruber, Hans

    2017-01-01

    Contemporary theories of expertise development highlight the crucial role of deliberate practice in the development of high level performance. Deliberate practice is practice that intentionally aims at improving one's skills and competencies. It is not a mechanical or repetitive process of making performance more fluid. Instead, it involves a…

  19. Practical theories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Klaus Bruhn

    2016-01-01

    This article revisits the place of normative and other practical issues in the wider conceptual architecture of communication theory, building on the tradition of philosophical pragmatism. The article first characterizes everyday concepts of communication as the accumulated outcome of natural...... evolution and history: practical resources for human existence and social coexistence. Such practical concepts have served as the point of departure for diverse theoretical conceptions of what communication is. The second part of the article highlights the past neglect and current potential of normative...... communication theories that ask, in addition, what communication ought to be, and what it could be, taking the relationship between communication and justice as a case in point. The final section returns to empirical conceptualizations of different institutions, practices and discourses of communication...

  20. Best Management Practice Fact Sheet. 12, Filtering Practices

    OpenAIRE

    Sample, David; Barlow, Stefani

    2013-01-01

    This fact sheet is one of a 15-part series on urban stormwater management practices. This fact sheet discusses filtering practices, what they are, where they are used, how they work, maintenance, limitations, performance, expected costs and includes a glossary of terms.

  1. The Strategic Implications of the Rise of Populism in Europe and South America

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ropp, Steve C

    2005-01-01

    .... policy community who deal with political issues. Furthermore, as a dynamic, unstable, and ephemeral phenomenon within seemingly stable representative democracies, it is hard to see and hence to study...

  2. Expense comparison of a telemedicine practice versus a traditional clinical practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Gail P; Krupinski, Elizabeth A; Schellenberg, Bonnie; Weinstein, Ronald S

    2004-01-01

    This paper compares the expenses of a telemedicine program to those of a traditional clinical practice using data from two fiscal years (FY) 1998/1999 and 2000/2001. As part of that evaluation, we compared expenses of the University of Arizona's clinical practice group, the University Physicians Incorporated (UPI), to those of the Arizona Telemedicine Program (ATP) practice. For this study, we used the reporting categories published in the year-end UPI financial statement. These categories included clinical services, administration, equipment depreciation, and overhead. Results showed that clinical service expenses and administrative expenses for FY 2000/2001 were higher in the traditional UPI practice, whereas equipment depreciation and overhead expenses are higher in the telemedicine practice. This differs somewhat from FY 1998/1999, where clinical expenses and overhead were higher in the UPI practice and administration and equipment depreciation were higher in the telemedicine practice. We will discuss the relevance of these results and the critical factors that contribute to these differences.

  3. The role of practical wisdom in nurse manager practice: why experience matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cathcart, Eloise Balasco; Greenspan, Miriam

    2013-10-01

    To illustrate through the interpretation of one representative nurse manager's narrative how the methodology of practice articulation gives language to the ways practical wisdom develops in leadership practice and facilitates learning. Patricia Benner's corpus of research has demonstrated that reflection on clinical narratives comes closer than other pedagogical methods to replicating and enhancing the experiential learning required for the development of practical wisdom. Using Benner's methodology of practice articulation, 91 nurse managers wrote and read to a peer group a narrative of their lived experience in the role. The groups interpreted the narratives to extract the skilled knowledge and ethics embedded in the practice of the nurse manager authors. One narrative was chosen for this paper because it is a particularly clear exemplar of how practical wisdom develops in nurse manager practice. Articulating and reflecting on experiential learning led to an understanding of how practical wisdom developed in one nurse manager's practice. Interpretation of the narrative of one nurse manager illustrated how reflection on a complex ethical dilemma was a source of character development for the individual and the peer group. Describing and interpreting how practical wisdom develops for individual nurse managers can be a source of learning for the narrative author and other role incumbents who need to make sound decisions and take prudent action in ethically challenging situations. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. An Academic-Practice Partnership to Advance DNP Education and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Patricia B; Williams, Tracy E

    During the past decade, the growth of doctor of nursing practice (DNP) programs in the United States has been phenomenal, with most focusing on the preparation of advanced practice registered nurses. Simultaneously, academic-practice partnerships have been a frequent subject of discussion for nursing's leading academic, administrative, and practice organizations. Numerous reports about academic-practice partnerships concerning aspects of baccalaureate nursing education exist, but partnership accounts for DNP programs are essentially nonexistent. The purpose of this article is to describe the initial phase of an academic-practice partnership between a multisystem health care organization and a college of nursing in a public land-grant university in the southeastern United States. The 7-year partnership agreement between Norton Healthcare and the University of Kentucky College of Nursing was designed to prepare 5 cohorts of 20 to 30 baccalaureate-prepared staff nurses as DNP graduates for advanced practice registered nurse eligibility. The description of partnering institution characteristics frames an emphasis on elements of the partnership proposal, contractual agreement, and partner responsibilities along with the logic model evaluation plan. Lessons learned include the importance of proposals and contracts to sustain the partnership, frequent communication to build trust, and strategic analysis for rapid response to challenging situations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. General practice registrars' intentions for future practice: implications for rural medical workforce planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harding, Catherine; Seal, Alexa; McGirr, Joe; Caton, Tim

    2016-11-01

    The models of practice that general practice registrars (GPRs) envisage undertaking will affect workforce supply. The aim of this research was to determine practice intentions of current GPRs in a regional general practice training program (Coast City Country General Practice Training). Questionnaires were circulated to 220 GPRs undertaking general practice placements to determine characteristics of ideal practice models and intentions for future practice. Responses were received for 99 participants (45%). Current GPRs intend to work an average of less than eight half-day sessions/week, with male participants intending to work more hours (t(91)=3.528, P=0.001). More than one-third of this regional cohort intends to practice in metropolitan centres. Proximity to family and friends was the most important factor influencing the choice of practice location. Men ranked remuneration for work as more important (t (88)=-4.280, Pmedical graduates intend to own their own practice compared with 52% of international medical graduates (χ 2 (1)=8.498, P=0.004). Future general practitioners (GPs) intend to work fewer hours than current GPs. Assumptions about lifestyle factors, practice models and possible professional roles should be carefully evaluated when developing strategies to recruit GPs and GPRs into rural practice.

  6. Practicing the practice: Learning to guide elementary science discussions in a practice-oriented science methods course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Ashima Mathur

    University methods courses are often criticized for telling pre-service teachers, or interns, about the theories behind teaching instead of preparing them to actually enact teaching. Shifting teacher education to be more "practice-oriented," or to focus more explicitly on the work of teaching, is a current trend for re-designing the way we prepare teachers. This dissertation addresses the current need for research that unpacks the shift to more practice-oriented approaches by studying the content and pedagogical approaches in a practice-oriented, masters-level elementary science methods course (n=42 interns). The course focused on preparing interns to guide science classroom discussions. Qualitative data, such as video records of course activities and interns' written reflections, were collected across eight course sessions. Codes were applied at the sentence and paragraph level and then grouped into themes. Five content themes were identified: foregrounding student ideas and questions, steering discussion toward intended learning goals, supporting students to do the cognitive work, enacting teacher role of facilitator, and creating a classroom culture for science discussions. Three pedagogical approach themes were identified. First, the teacher educators created images of science discussions by modeling and showing videos of this practice. They also provided focused teaching experiences by helping interns practice the interactive aspects of teaching both in the methods classroom and with smaller groups of elementary students in schools. Finally, they structured the planning and debriefing phases of teaching so interns could learn from their teaching experiences and prepare well for future experiences. The findings were analyzed through the lens of Grossman and colleagues' framework for teaching practice (2009) to reveal how the pedagogical approaches decomposed, represented, and approximated practice throughout course activities. Also, the teacher educators

  7. Job satisfaction of practice assistants in general practice in Germany: an observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goetz, Katja; Campbell, Stephen; Broge, Bjoern; Brodowski, Marc; Steinhaeuser, Jost; Wensing, Michel; Szecsenyi, Joachim

    2013-08-01

    Job satisfaction of practice staff is important for optimal health care delivery and for minimizing the turnover of non-medical professions. To document the job satisfaction of practice assistants in German general practice and to explore associations between job satisfaction, staff characteristics and culture in general practice organizations. The study was based on data from the European Practice Assessment accreditation scheme for general practices and used an observational design. The study population consisted of 1158 practice assistants from 345 general practices across Germany. Job satisfaction was measured with the 10-item Warr-Cook-Wall questionnaire. Organizational culture was evaluated with four items. A linear regression analysis was performed in which each of the job satisfaction items was handled as dependent variable. Out of 1716 staff member questionnaires handed out to practice assistants, 1158 questionnaires were completed (response rate: 67.5%). Practice assistants were most satisfied with their colleagues and least satisfied with their income. Higher job satisfaction was associated with issues of organizational culture, particularly a good working atmosphere, opportunities to suggest and influence areas for improvement and clear responsibilities within the practice team. Prioritizing initiatives to maintain high levels of, or to improve the job satisfaction of practice assistants, is important for recruitment and retention. It will also help to improve working conditions for both practice assistants and GPs and create an environment to provide better quality care.

  8. Innovation in clinical pharmacy practice and opportunities for academic--practice partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gubbins, Paul O; Micek, Scott T; Badowski, Melissa; Cheng, Judy; Gallagher, Jason; Johnson, Samuel G; Karnes, Jason H; Lyons, Kayley; Moore, Katherine G; Strnad, Kyle

    2014-05-01

    Clinical pharmacy has a rich history of advancing practice through innovation. These innovations helped to mold clinical pharmacy into a patient-centered discipline recognized for its contributions to improving medication therapy outcomes. However, innovations in clinical pharmacy practice have now waned. In our view, the growth of academic–practice partnerships could reverse this trend and stimulate innovation among the next generation of pioneering clinical pharmacists. Although collaboration facilitates innovation,academic institutions and health care systems/organizations are not taking full advantage of this opportunity. The academic–practice partnership can be optimized by making both partners accountable for the desired outcomes of their collaboration, fostering symbiotic relationships that promote value-added clinical pharmacy services and emphasizing continuous quality improvement in the delivery of these services. Optimizing academic–practice collaboration on a broader scale requires both partners to adopt a culture that provides for dedicated time to pursue innovation, establishes mechanisms to incubate ideas, recognizes where motivation and vision align, and supports the purpose of the partnership. With appropriate leadership and support, a shift in current professional education and training practices, and a commitment to cultivate future innovators, the academic–practice partnership can develop new and innovative practice advancements that will improve patient outcomes.

  9. Planetary geomorphology field studies: Washington and Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malin, M. C.

    1984-01-01

    Field studies of terrestrial landforms and the processes that shape them provide new directions to the study of planetary features. Investigations discussed address principally mudflow phenomena and drainage development. At the Valley of 10,000 Smokes (Katmai, AK) and Mount St. Helens, WA, studies of the development of erosional landforms (in particular, drainage) on fresh, new surfaces permitted analysis of the result of competition between geomorphic processes. Of specific interest is the development of stream pattern as a function of the competition between perennial seepage overland flow (from glacial or groundwater sources), ephemeral overland flow (from pluvial or seasonal melt sources), and ephemeral/perennial groundwater sapping, as a function of time since initial resurfacing, material properties, and seasonal/annual environmental conditions.

  10. Why practice yoga? Practitioners' motivations for adopting and maintaining yoga practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Crystal L; Riley, Kristen E; Bedesin, Elena; Stewart, V Michelle

    2016-06-01

    We examined motives for adopting and maintaining yoga practice in a national survey of yoga practitioners (360 yoga students, 156 yoga teachers). Both students and teachers adopted yoga practice primarily for exercise and stress relief, but reported many other reasons, including flexibility, getting into shape, and depression/anxiety relief. Over 62 percent of students and 85 percent of teachers reported having changed their primary reason for practicing or discovering other reasons; for both, the top changed primary reason was spirituality. Findings suggest that most initiate yoga practice for exercise and stress relief, but for many, spirituality becomes their primary reason for maintaining practice. © The Author(s) 2014.

  11. Evaluation of pesticides in vernal pools of the Central Valley, California

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Interior — Vernal pools are a unique ephemeral wetland feature of California’s native landscape which has been heavily impacted over the past century by agricultural and urban...

  12. The practice portrait

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Rie

    2016-01-01

    The ability of the individual practitioner to grasp how her own practice is interwoven with different societal structures and interests can be seen as the first step on the way to social justice. This article investigates how the practice portrait can be used as an analytical and practical method...

  13. Modern wiring practice

    CERN Document Server

    Steward, W E

    2012-01-01

    Continuously in print since 1952, Modern Wiring Practice has now been fully revised to provide an up-to-date source of reference to building services design and installation in the 21st century. This compact and practical guide addresses wiring systems design and electrical installation together in one volume, creating a comprehensive overview of the whole process for contractors and architects, as well as electricians and other installation engineers. Best practice is incorporated throughout, combining theory and practice with clear and accessible explanation, all

  14. Technical attainment, practical success and practical knowledge: hermeneutical bases for child nursing care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Mello, Débora Falleiros; de Lima, Regina Aparecida Garcia

    2009-01-01

    This reflective study aimed to present some aspects of the concepts technical attainment, practical success and practical knowledge, with a view to a broader understanding of child nursing care. Health care is considered in the perspective of reconstructive practices, characterized as contingencies, highlighting the importance of the connection between technical attainment and practical success and the valuation of practical knowledge, based on philosophical hermeneutics, in the context of practical philosophy. Child health nursing can deal with technical attainment and practical success jointly, and also understand practical knowledge in the longitudinality of care. Health promotion, disease prevention, recovery and rehabilitation of child health should be indissociably associated with contextualized realities, shared between professionals and families, aiming to follow the child's growth and development, produce narratives, identify experiences, choices and decision making to broaden health care.

  15. Improving probabilistic prediction of daily streamflow by identifying Pareto optimal approaches for modeling heteroscedastic residual errors

    Science.gov (United States)

    McInerney, David; Thyer, Mark; Kavetski, Dmitri; Lerat, Julien; Kuczera, George

    2017-03-01

    Reliable and precise probabilistic prediction of daily catchment-scale streamflow requires statistical characterization of residual errors of hydrological models. This study focuses on approaches for representing error heteroscedasticity with respect to simulated streamflow, i.e., the pattern of larger errors in higher streamflow predictions. We evaluate eight common residual error schemes, including standard and weighted least squares, the Box-Cox transformation (with fixed and calibrated power parameter λ) and the log-sinh transformation. Case studies include 17 perennial and 6 ephemeral catchments in Australia and the United States, and two lumped hydrological models. Performance is quantified using predictive reliability, precision, and volumetric bias metrics. We find the choice of heteroscedastic error modeling approach significantly impacts on predictive performance, though no single scheme simultaneously optimizes all performance metrics. The set of Pareto optimal schemes, reflecting performance trade-offs, comprises Box-Cox schemes with λ of 0.2 and 0.5, and the log scheme (λ = 0, perennial catchments only). These schemes significantly outperform even the average-performing remaining schemes (e.g., across ephemeral catchments, median precision tightens from 105% to 40% of observed streamflow, and median biases decrease from 25% to 4%). Theoretical interpretations of empirical results highlight the importance of capturing the skew/kurtosis of raw residuals and reproducing zero flows. Paradoxically, calibration of λ is often counterproductive: in perennial catchments, it tends to overfit low flows at the expense of abysmal precision in high flows. The log-sinh transformation is dominated by the simpler Pareto optimal schemes listed above. Recommendations for researchers and practitioners seeking robust residual error schemes for practical work are provided.

  16. Runoff thresholds and land-to-marine ecosystem connectivity in a dry tropical setting: St. John, US Virgin Islands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos-Scharron, C. E.; LaFevor, M. C.; Roy, J.

    2017-12-01

    Developing a conceptually sound yet practical understanding of runoff and sediment delivery from human occupied lands to tropical ocean waters still represents a pivotal need of coral reef management worldwide. In the dry tropical and ephemeral streamflow setting that typifies the small watersheds ( 1s km2) draining the US Virgin Islands, changes in hydrologic and sediment delivery dynamics provoked by unsurfaced road networks represent a major threat to coral reefs and other sensitive marine ecosystems. Through a combined empirical and modeling approach, this study evaluates how road building and associated stormflow restoration strategies affect rainfall thresholds for runoff generation at varying spatial scales and their impact on land-to-sea connectivity. Rainfall thresholds and runoff coefficients for precipitation excess on unpaved roads are 2-3 mm and 22-30% (respectively) or a full order of magnitude different from those for undisturbed hillslopes and watersheds. Here we discuss the use of a `volume-to-breakthrough' inspired index to predict the potential of road runoff to reach downslope portions of the watershed and the coastline as runon. The index integrates the effects of storm-by-storm runoff accumulation for every road drainage point with its flow distance to specific locations along the stream network. While large runoff volumes and short flow distances imply a relatively high connectivity potential, small volumes and long distances are associated to low delivery potential. The index has proven able to discern observed runoff responses under a variety of road-stream network scenarios and rainfall conditions. These results enhance our understanding of ephemeral stream hydrology and are serving to improve coral reef management strategies throughout the Northeastern Caribbean.

  17. Agile practice guide

    CERN Document Server

    2017-01-01

    Agile Practice Guide – First Edition has been developed as a resource to understand, evaluate, and use agile and hybrid agile approaches. This practice guide provides guidance on when, where, and how to apply agile approaches and provides practical tools for practitioners and organizations wanting to increase agility. This practice guide is aligned with other PMI standards, including A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, and was developed as the result of collaboration between the Project Management Institute and the Agile Alliance.

  18. Practical radiation monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keightley, Lynsey; Burgess, Peter; Delahunty, Denise; Richards, Tony; Simpson, John; Woods, Mike

    2002-01-01

    This Good Practice Guide has been written by a working party of experts from the UK Ionising Radiation Metrology Forum. It describes procedures and methods for assessing radiation levels, outlines the thought processes needed to carry out the measurements and gives practical advice. The methods described are general and based on currently accepted good practice

  19. Racial-Equity Policy as Leadership Practice: Using Social Practice Theory to Analyze Policy as Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldman, Sue; Winchester, Ilana

    2015-01-01

    This, primarily theoretical, paper takes up the longstanding problem of the disconnection between education policy and leadership practice. The authors propose the use of social practice theory as a tool for educational leaders at the state, school district, and school levels, to eliminate the disconnection between policy design and leadership…

  20. Referrals and relationships: in-practice referrals meetings in a general practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowlands, G; Willis, S; Singleton, A

    2001-08-01

    GP referrals to secondary care are an important factor in the cost of running the NHS. The known variation in referral rates between doctors has the potential to cause tension within primary care which will be exacerbated by the latest reorganization of primary care and the trend towards capitation-based budgets. The importance of postgraduate learning for GPs has been recognized; continuing professional development is moving towards self-directed practice-based learning programmes. Educational interventions have been shown to alter doctors' prescribing behaviour. This, together with the pressure on accounting for referral activity, makes the prospect of improving, and possibly reducing, referral activity through educational interventions very attractive. This study complemented a randomized controlled trial (RCT) which investigated whether an intervention of the type which had reduced prescribing costs would have a similar effect on referral activity. The context of the study, description of the characteristics of the practice and the issues seen as important by the doctors and practice manager were identified through preliminary semi-structured interviews. The practice then held a series of educational in-practice meetings to discuss referrals and issues arising from referrals. The audio- and videotaped transcripts were interpreted using content and group dynamic analysis. Participants commented upon our preliminary findings. In addition, we used dimensional analysis to induce a preliminary theory describing the effect of the intervention on this general practice which enabled us to review the findings of the parallel RCT. The educational value of the meetings and the learning needs of the participants were also assessed. Our complementary study showed no alteration of practice referral rates following the educational intervention. The qualitative study, unencumbered by the assumptions inherent in the development of the hypothesis tested in the RCT, highlighted

  1. Thinking about changing mobility practices: how a social practice approach can help.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nettleton, Sarah; Green, Judith

    2014-02-01

    Policy efforts directed at encouraging physical activity have had minimal success to date. Drawing on Bourdieu's theory of practice, we suggest that a social practice framing might provide useful ways of thinking about why and how some practices do and could change. This article takes three case studies of transformations in mobility practices to explore conditions of possibility for change, using a secondary analysis of qualitative data from studies on cycling in London and fell running in the English Lake District. Three modes of transformation: unthinkable, thwarted and resisted, are rooted in differential interrelationships of field, habitus and doxa in these contrasting cases. We suggest that the notion of tacit, practical knowledge is more useful to understanding why change is thinkable or unthinkable than participants' reasoned accounts of their practice; that where new social fields are available that are congruent with habitus, change is possible and that where field and habitus are tightly aligned, the conditions of possibility for change are reduced. Efforts directed at changing practice might usefully focus not on behaviour or environments but on identifying the social fields in which mobility practices are likely to be malleable. The sociology of public health needs to focus less on health behaviour and more on social practice. © 2013 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2013 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Sounding Out IS?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bødker, Mads; Jensen, Tina Blegind

    2017-01-01

    How do we experience living in a world in which soundscapes from digital technologies are increasingly pervading our everyday lives? In this paper, we pay attention to moods, ambiances, and other ephemeral aspects that give shape to how working with digital technology feels. Too often glossed over...... in search of more concrete narratives of ‘effect’ or ‘impact’ of digital technology, we argue that the socio-materiality of practice can be complemented by a notion of affective entanglement; i.e., the embodied materiality of feeling. Highlighting in particular how soundscapes and noise from ubiquitous...... or perform certain kinds of subjectivities and felt, embodied dispositions. Based on these everyday narratives, we analyse the different ways in which soundscapes from digital technology shape the body’s ability to act, feel, think, and experience. We conclude this research in progress paper by suggesting...

  3. Studies in ephemera text and image in eighteenth-century print

    CERN Document Server

    Murphy, Kevin

    2013-01-01

    The book offers new perspectives on works that were central to the visual and literary culture of the Anglo-American world-ephemeral print-but which have received little scholarly attention in the past.

  4. 78 FR 52762 - Notice of Intent To Prepare A Draft Environment Impact Statement for the Proposed Ray Mine...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-26

    ... would infiltrate the alluvial deposits located within Ripsey Wash and its tributaries. Therefore, a... pipeline, and deposited in slurry form at a discharge point east of Ripsey Wash, an ephemeral wash that is...

  5. Changing Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Chris, Ed.

    1999-01-01

    This serial issue contains nine articles all on the subject of "changing practice," i.e., innovative practices of rural English teachers in the Bread Loaf Rural Teacher Network. "Byte-ing into Medieval Literature" (John Fyler) describes an online conference on medieval literature for rural high school students. "Literacy…

  6. Practicing Humanities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gimmler, Antje

    2016-01-01

    and self-reflective democracy. Contemporary humanities have adopted a new orientation towards practices, and it is not clear how this fits with the ideals of ‘Bildung’ and ‘pure science’. A possible theoretical framework for this orientation towards practices could be found in John Dewey’s pragmatic...

  7. Ophthalmic practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sue Stevens

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Eye health workers carry out many basic routine procedures. Sometimes bad practice develops and this, in turn, may lead to new members of staff learning unsafe methods. Community Eye Health Journal plans to run a series on practical procedures, when applicable, relating to the theme.

  8. Practical concerns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steve; Harmsworth, Andrew; Knight, Jenny; Bhulai, Alfred; g-moore

    2014-06-01

    In reply to the physicsworld.com blog post “Why axing physics practicals from exams is a bad idea” (10 April, http://ow.ly/vDYlM), which criticized the decision to remove marks for practical lab exercises from the final grades of A-level science students in England.

  9. Deliberate practice theory: perceived relevance, effort, and inherent enjoyment of music practice: study II.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyllegard, Randy; Bories, Tamara L

    2009-10-01

    This study, based on the theory of deliberate practice, examined the practice relevance, effort, and inherent enjoyment aspects of the theory. 25 college undergraduates practiced playing a melody on an electronic keyboard for three 20-min. practice sessions. Following each session, the perceived relevance of the practice for improving performance of the melody, the effort needed to learn the melody, and the inherent enjoyment of the practice were each rated on 10-point scales. Findings were consistent with theory and similar to previous studies also involving music practice and other tasks.

  10. Aligning Responsible Business Practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weller, Angeli E.

    2017-01-01

    This article offers an in-depth case study of a global high tech manufacturer that aligned its ethics and compliance, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability practices. Few large companies organize their responsible business practices this way, despite conceptual relevance and calls t...... and managers interested in understanding how responsible business practices may be collectively organized.......This article offers an in-depth case study of a global high tech manufacturer that aligned its ethics and compliance, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability practices. Few large companies organize their responsible business practices this way, despite conceptual relevance and calls...... to manage them comprehensively. A communities of practice theoretical lens suggests that intentional effort would be needed to bridge meaning between the relevant managers and practices in order to achieve alignment. The findings call attention to the important role played by employees who broker...

  11. Evidence-Based Practice and School Nurse Practice: A Review of Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yonkaitis, Catherine F.

    2018-01-01

    School nurses report that evidence-based practice (EBP) is not a part of their daily practice, and most have had no formal education regarding EBP or its implementation. The purpose of this review is to identify what strategies might be effective to educate school nurses about EBP as a first step toward establishing EBP in school nurse practice.…

  12. Education for Sustainability (EfS): Practice and Practice Architectures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemmis, Stephen; Mutton, Rebecca

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports some findings from an investigation of educational practice in ten (formal and informal) education for sustainability (EfS) initiatives, to characterise exemplary practice in school and community education for sustainability, considered crucial to Australia's future. The study focused on rural/regional Australia, specifically…

  13. NPP Grassland: Badkhyz, Turkmenistan, 1948-1982, R1

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data set provides two data files in text format (.txt). One file contains estimates of above-ground live phytomass for an ephemeral desert steppe located in the...

  14. Resisting Best-Practice in Australian Practice-Based Jazz Doctorates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coady, Christopher; Webb, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Recent research on practice-based doctorates in Australia has revealed an institutional preference for "theorised" research approaches aimed at situating studies of practice within established academic paradigms. In this article we examine how the aim of communicating with artistic peers steers the research design and the production of…

  15. Pro NET Best Practices

    CERN Document Server

    Ritchie, Stephen D

    2011-01-01

    Pro .NET Best Practices is a practical reference to the best practices that you can apply to your .NET projects today. You will learn standards, techniques, and conventions that are sharply focused, realistic and helpful for achieving results, steering clear of unproven, idealistic, and impractical recommendations. Pro .NET Best Practices covers a broad range of practices and principles that development experts agree are the right ways to develop software, which includes continuous integration, automated testing, automated deployment, and code analysis. Whether the solution is from a free and

  16. A Mystic in English Literature: William Blake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Fahri DOĞAN

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Human beings have never been satisfied with this ephemeral world. Perhaps, yearning and desire of rejoining −stemming from the descent from the heaven to the earth− are the emotions felt by the members of both celestial and non-celestial religions. Mysticism, having started with the zeal of people who weren‘t satisfied with this ephemeral world towards the eternal world, aimed at the love of God in the religions where there is a belief of single God. In this article, glancing at the life of a Christian mystic William Blake, we will try to shed light into his mystic thoughts. While studying Blake‘s mystic thoughts, there will be common points with Sufism. Nevertheless, analysis of these common points has been assigned to other studies.

  17. 75 FR 16345 - Administrative Practices and Procedures; Good Guidance Practices; Technical Amendment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    .... FDA-1999-N-3539] (formerly Docket No. 1999N-4783) Administrative Practices and Procedures; Good Guidance Practices; Technical Amendment AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Final rule... Subjects in 21 CFR Part 10 Administrative practice and procedure, News media. 0 Therefore, under the...

  18. Drawing Between Practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wallace, Jamie

    The fusion of art making and research enables the artist's practice to be understood as a unique form of enquiry.  Notions such as 'material thinking' go some way to explain complex creative phenomena normally shrouded within the peculiarities of individual practice. But, are such notions useful...... is that the reflexive personal interaction of art practice adopted within professional inquiry can offer new inspirations, new creative contradictions and ways of thinking...

  19. An Academic-Practice Partnership Model to Grow and Sustain Advanced Practice Nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Tracy E; Howard, Patricia B

    2017-12-01

    The aims of this article were to describe the implementation of an academic-practice partnership for healthcare system workforce development and provide preliminary outcomes of the associated pilot study. The demand for cross-continuum healthcare delivery models necessitates creation of workforce development structures for advanced practice nursing. An academic-practice partnership specified enrollment of 5 cohorts of BSN staff nurses in a 3-year DNP program. Qualitative methods were used to explore pilot data at midpoint of cohort 1 student progression to determine learning outcomes and DNP projects with potential for impact on organization goals. Partnership implementation experiences indicate that contractual agreements and an established evaluation plan are keys to academic-practice partnership success. Pilot study findings suggest that curriculum core courses provide a foundation for designing DNP projects congruent with acute and primary care health system goals. Implementing an academic-practice partnership is a strategy for workforce development to increase retention of advanced practice nurses. Academic-practice partnerships can serve as a catalyst for a paradigm shift for changing models of care, thus enhancing workforce development succession planning for sustainable growth in healthcare systems.

  20. Phytoplankton community in relation to physico-chemical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Michael Horsfall

    distribution of the plankton of reservoirs is stable or ephemeral. ... Length of Talar river in Caspian beach is more than .... abundance of Copepoda and Crustacean larvae. (Table 5). .... to understand more about plankton diversity and.

  1. Dvojí Triumf. Slavobrána olomouckých jezuitů z roku 1699

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Dolejší, Kateřina

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 65, č. 1 (2016), s. 34-55 ISSN 1211-7390 Institutional support: RVO:68378033 Keywords : Jesuit Order * baroque festivities * ephemeral architecture Subject RIV: AL - Art, Architecture, Cultural Heritage OBOR OECD: Arts, Art history

  2. Clinical Practice in Teacher Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidayet Tok

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Recently, it seems that there has been a concept change in the aspect of teaching practice course which is regarded as one of the most significant course in teacher education program. This new concept requires the increase period of teaching practice in teacher education program and parallel to this, it also requires the change in the function of practice schools and highlighted “clinical practice in teacher education” concept. In this study, “clinical practice in teacher education” concept and its implementation processes were explained. Furthermore, clinical practice and traditional school practices were presented and the parallels between teaching and clinical practices were explained as well

  3. The Association between Preschool Teachers' Beliefs and Practices about Developmentally Appropriate Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamed, Ahmed Hassan Hemdan; Al-Qaryouti, Ibrahim Amin

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore whether preschool teachers' self-reported beliefs could predict their self-reported practices about developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A related purpose was to examine whether classroom size and teachers' experience are significant predictors of their self-reported beliefs and practices. A total…

  4. Management of venous leg ulcers in general practice - a practical guideline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinha, Sankar; Sreedharan, Sadhishaan

    2014-09-01

    Chronic venous leg ulcers are the most common wounds seen in general practice. Their management can be both challenging and time-consuming. To produce a short practical guideline incorporating the TIME concept and A2BC2D approach to help general practitioners and their practice nurses in delivering evidence-based initial care to patients with chronic venous leg ulcers. Most chronic venous leg ulcers can be managed effectively in the general practice setting by following the simple, evidence-based approach described in this article. Figure 1 provides a flow chart to aid in this process. Figure 2 illustrates the principles of management in general practice. Effective management of chronic ulcers involves the assessment of both the ulcer and the patient. The essential requirements of management are to debride the ulcer with appropriate precautions, choose dressings that maintain adequate moisture balance, apply graduated compression bandage after evaluation of the arterial circulation and address the patient's concerns, such as pain and offensive wound discharge.

  5. Evidence-based practice curriculum in allied health professions for teaching-research-practice nexus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asokan, G V

    2012-11-01

    Allied healthcare workers are from diverse professions and the key skill required is providing evidence-based care but this concept has not permeated enough for using it skillfully in their professions. A well structured curriculum in allied health professions is needed to strengthen concerted teaching, research, and practice to empower their professionals and make considerable differences in the lives of people by adopting evidence-based practice. Information sources for allied health professionals have relied on advice of their supervisors and colleagues, personal experiences, authoritative theory and texts for practice. Because of "research-practice" gap, often the use of evidence is not reflected in an individual day to day professional practice. Although allied health professionals work in resource and evidence challenged settings, there are certain barriers and facilitators, which need to be addressed. To implement practice-related research findings and uptake of evidence requires two essential components, namely, practical component and knowledge component. Research bench marking and research metrics for quality assurance and standardization through evidence-based practice will promote academic status and credibility of allied health profession. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd and Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University.

  6. Branchipodopsis species — specialists of ephemeral rock pools ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Such rock pools were studied in the Drakensberg region, in the eastern Free State and in south-eastern Botswana. Common features ... While short-range dispersal of floating eggs by overflows is common, long-range dispersal (e.g. by wind) seems to be rare and to be restricted to shallow pools with little vegetation. Limited ...

  7. Getting to uptake: do communities of practice support the implementation of evidence-based practice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barwick, Melanie A; Peters, Julia; Boydell, Katherine

    2009-02-01

    Practitioners are increasingly encouraged to adopt evidence-based practices (EBP) leading to a need for new knowledge translation strategies to support implementation and practice change. This study examined the benefits of a community of practice in the context of Ontario's children's mental health sector where organizations are mandated to adopt a standardized outcome measure to monitor client response to treatment. Readiness for change, practice change, content knowledge, and satisfaction with and use of implementation supports were examined among practitioners newly trained on the measure who were randomly assigned to a community of practice (CoP) or a practice as usual (PaU) group. CoP practitioners attended 6 sessions over 12 months; PaU practitioners had access to usual implementation supports. Groups did not differ on readiness for change or reported practice change, although CoP participants demonstrated greater use of the tool in practice, better content knowledge and were more satisfied with implementation supports than PaU participants. CoPs present a promising model for translating EBP knowledge and promoting practice change in children's mental health that requires further study.

  8. Distributed Practice and Retrieval Practice in Primary School Vocabulary Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    N.A.M.C. Goossens (Nicole)

    2015-01-01

    markdownabstractThe aim of this thesis was to investigate whether particular memory strategies stemming from cognitive and educational psychology, enhance primary school vocabulary learning. Th e memory strategies investigated in this thesis were distributed practice and retrieval practice. Th e

  9. Value of wireless personal digital assistants for practice: perceptions of advanced practice nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrett, Bernard; Klein, Gerri

    2008-08-01

    The aims were to explore advanced practice nurses' perceptions on wireless Personal Digital Assistant technologies, to establish the type and range of tools that would be useful to support their practice and to identify any requirements and limitations that may impact the implementation of wireless Personal Digital Assistants in practice. The wireless Personal Digital Assistant is becoming established as a hand-held computing tool for healthcare professionals. The reflections of advanced practice nurses' about the value of wireless Personal Digital Assistants and its potential to contribute to improved patient care has not been investigated. A qualitative interpretivist design was used to explore advanced practice nurses' perceptions on the value of wireless Personal Digital Assistant technologies to support their practice. The data were collected using survey questionnaires and individual and focus group interviews with nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and information technology managers based in British Columbia, Canada. An open-coding content analysis was performed using qualitative data analysis software. Wireless Personal Digital Assistant's use supports the principles of pervasivity and is a technology rapidly being adopted by advanced practice nurses. Some nurses indicated a reluctance to integrate wireless Personal Digital Assistant technologies into their practices because of the cost and the short technological life cycle of these devices. Many of the barriers which precluded the use of wireless networks within facilities are being removed. Nurses demonstrated a complex understanding of wireless Personal Digital Assistant technologies and gave good rationales for its integration in their practice. Nurses identified improved client care as the major benefit of this technology in practice and the type and range of tools they identified included clinical reference tools such as drug and diagnostic/laboratory reference applications and wireless

  10. Spiritual practices of taoism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulia L. Butko

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In the article the spiritual practices of Taoism. Established that the spiritual path in Taoism is the main ultimate goal - achieving eternal, indestructible personality transformation through meditation and the reduction of lower mental strength to their upper classes. To achieve this, the Taoist practices, special practices that include, along with the meditative contemplation technique classes and various gymnastics, breathing exercises and the like, and (for a significant period of its history - Laboratory (“foreign” alchemy. Among the spiritual practices of Taoism is the main meditation that has little to do with certain external techniques. Taoist meditation leads people to unity, the only person that connects with the cosmos and society. The author concluded that the path of self-improvement Taoist, under the guidance of a teacher, is a series of distinct stages, gaining purely individual instruction. Spiritual practices like Taoist, were widely known in other religious and philosophical systems. However, the semantics of Taoist practices are significantly different, as well as their function in the structure of religious practices in general.

  11. Knowledge and Architectural Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Verbeke, Johan

    2017-01-01

    of the level of research methods and will explain that the research methods and processes in creative practice research are very similar to grounded theory which is an established research method in the social sciences. Finally, an argument will be made for a more explicit research attitude in architectural......This paper focuses on the specific knowledge residing in architectural practice. It is based on the research of 35 PhD fellows in the ADAPT-r (Architecture, Design and Art Practice Training-research) project. The ADAPT-r project innovates architectural research in combining expertise from academia...... and from practice in order to highlight and extract the specific kind of knowledge which resides and is developed in architectural practice (creative practice research). The paper will discuss three ongoing and completed PhD projects and focusses on the outcomes and their contribution to the field...

  12. Presenting practice financial information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Lee Ann H

    2007-01-01

    Medical practice leadership teams, often consisting primarily of physicians with limited financial backgrounds, must make important business decisions and continuously monitor practice operations. In order to competently perform this duty, they need financial reports that are relevant and easy to understand. This article explores financial reporting and decision-making in a physician practice. It discusses reports and tools, such as ratios, graphs, and comparisons, that practices typically include in their reports. Because profitability and cash flow are often the most important financial considerations for physician practices, reports should generally focus on the impact of various activities and potential decisions upon these concerns. This article also provides communication tips for both those presenting practice financial information and those making the decisions. By communicating effectively, these leaders can best use financial information to improve decision-making and maximize financial performance.

  13. Effectiveness of motor practice in lucid dreams: a comparison with physical and mental practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stumbrys, Tadas; Erlacher, Daniel; Schredl, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Motor practice in lucid dreams is a form of mental rehearsal where the dreamer can consciously rehearse motor skills in the dream state while being physically asleep. A previous pilot study showed that practice in lucid dreams can improve subsequent performance. This study aimed to replicate those findings with a different task (finger-tapping) and compare the effectiveness of lucid dream practice (LDP) not only to physical but also to mental practice (MP) in wakefulness. An online experiment was completed by 68 participants within four groups: LDP group, MP group, physical practice (PP) group and control (no practice) group. Pre-test was accomplished in the evening, post-test in the next morning, while the practice was done during the night. All three practice groups significantly improved their performance from pre-test to post-test, but no significant improvements were observed for the control group. Subjective sleep quality was not affected by night practice. This study thus corroborates the previous findings that practice in lucid dreams is effective in improving performance. Its effects seem to be similar to actual PP and MP in wakefulness. Future studies should establish reliable techniques for lucid dream induction and verify the effects of LDP in sleep laboratory conditions.

  14. Aural Image in Practice: A Multicase Analysis of Instrumental Practice in Middle School Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oare, Steve

    2016-01-01

    This multiple case study examined six adolescent band students engaged in self-directed practice. The students' practice sessions were videotaped. Students provided verbal reports during their practice and again retrospectively while reviewing their video immediately after practice. Students were asked to discuss their choice of practice…

  15. Engagement and practical wisdom in clinical practice: a phenomenological study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saraga, Michael; Boudreau, Donald; Fuks, Abraham

    2018-05-08

    In order to understand the lived experiences of physicians in clinical practice, we interviewed eleven expert, respected clinicians using a phenomenological interpretative methodology. We identified the essence of clinical practice as engagement. Engagement accounts for the daily routine of clinical work, as well as the necessity for the clinician to sometimes trespass common boundaries or limits. Personally engaged in the clinical situation, the clinician is able to create a space/time bubble within which the clinical encounter can unfold. Engagement provides an account of clinical practice as a unitary lived experience. This stands in stark contrast to the prevailing notion, referred to as a dual discourse, that describes medicine as the addition of humanism to science. Drawing on Aristotle's notion of phronesis and Sartre's definition of the situation, we illustrate how this novel perspective entwines clinical practice, the person of the clinician, and the clinician's situation.

  16. From Process to Practice: Towards a Practice-Based Model of Digital Innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ciriello, Raffaele; Richter, Alexander; Schwabe, Gerhard

    2017-01-01

    companies and an extensive set of empirical data, this paper conceptualizes four interrelated digital innovation practices, namely making sense of an idea, aligning mental models, negotiating solution paths, and crafting an idea. We suggest a practice-based model of digital innovation, specify a set......The ongoing digitalization of many corporate functions, including the innovation process, brings about fundamental changes that urge us to rethink established theories. Facilitating digital innovation requires a deep understanding of the actual practices that are carried out by innovating people...... with the help of artifacts. In this paper, we study the use of artifacts and illustrate their different roles in the underlying innovation practices to provide rich insights into digital innovation from a practice perspective. Grounded in a nearly three year-long, qualitative case study at two Swiss software...

  17. Engaging Primary Care Practices in Studies of Improvement: Did You Budget Enough for Practice Recruitment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagnan, Lyle J; Walunas, Theresa L; Parchman, Michael L; Dickinson, Caitlin L; Murphy, Katrina M; Howell, Ross; Jackson, Kathryn L; Madden, Margaret B; Ciesla, James R; Mazurek, Kathryn D; Kho, Abel N; Solberg, Leif I

    2018-04-01

    The methods and costs to enroll small primary care practices in large, regional quality improvement initiatives are unknown. We describe the recruitment approach, cost, and resources required to recruit and enroll 500 practices in the Northwest and Midwest regional cooperatives participating in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)-funded initiative, EvidenceNOW: Advancing Heart Health in Primary Care. The project management team of each cooperative tracked data on recruitment methods used for identifying and connecting with practices. We developed a cost-of-recruitment template and used it to record personnel time and associated costs of travel and communication materials. A total of 3,669 practices were contacted during the 14- to 18-month recruitment period, resulting in 484 enrolled practices across the 6 states served by the 2 cooperatives. The average number of interactions per enrolled practice was 7, with a total of 29,100 hours and a total cost of $2.675 million, or $5,529 per enrolled practice. Prior partnerships predicted recruiting almost 1 in 3 of these practices as contrasted to 1 in 20 practices without a previous relationship or warm hand-off. Recruitment of practices for large-scale practice quality improvement transformation initiatives is difficult and costly. The cost of recruiting practices without existing partnerships is expensive, costing 7 times more than reaching out to familiar practices. Investigators initiating and studying practice quality improvement initiatives should budget adequate funds to support high-touch recruitment strategies, including building trusted relationships over a long time frame, for a year or more. © 2018 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

  18. Supporting Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices through Practice-Based Coaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Patricia A.; Hemmeter, Mary Louise; Fox, Lise

    2015-01-01

    In active implementation science frameworks, coaching has been described as an important competency "driver" to ensure evidence-based practices are implemented as intended. Empirical evidence also has identified coaching as a promising job-embedded professional development strategy to support implementation of quality teaching practices.…

  19. Diversity in marketing practice

    OpenAIRE

    Torres, Ann Marie

    2009-01-01

    Theory development in marketing has received periodic debate. In the spirit of reappraisal, this thesis endeavours to explain the nature of diversity in marketing practice found among firms and the manner in which marketing practice is related to organisational performance. The specific research goals are to explore: the nature of diversity in marketing practice, as linked to strategic archetypes; whether there is evidence of order in the diversity of marketing practice that can be linked to ...

  20. The Tectonic Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Anne Marie Due

    has the consequence that it is difficult to create architecture where the technical concerns are an inherent part of the architectural expression. The aim of the thesis is to discuss the role of digital tools in overcoming the distance between the professional specializations and thereby support...... a tectonic practice. The project develops a framework to understand the role of digital tools in the tectonic practice from and discusses how and in which areas the tectonic practice could become supported by digital tools....

  1. Pragmatism and practice theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buch, Anders; Elkjær, Bente

    Proponents of the ‘practice turn’ in the social sciences rarely mention American pragmatism as a source of inspiration or refer to pragmatist philosophy. This strikes us as not only odd, but also a disadvantage since the pragmatist legacy has much to offer practice theory in the study of organiza......Proponents of the ‘practice turn’ in the social sciences rarely mention American pragmatism as a source of inspiration or refer to pragmatist philosophy. This strikes us as not only odd, but also a disadvantage since the pragmatist legacy has much to offer practice theory in the study...... of organizations. In this paper we want to spell out the theoretical similarities and divergences between practice theory and pragmatism to consider whether the two traditions can find common ground when gazing upon organization studies. We suggest that pragmatism should be included in the ‘tool-kit’ of practice...

  2. Learning in Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helth, Poula

    on theories of aesthetic performance and transformative learning, and on empirical studies through interventive methods within action research and ethnography. Transformative learning in my study has been developed based on aesthetic performance addressing leaders’ learning in practice. This kind of learning......The thesis presents the essence of my study of how leaders transform their practice through aesthetic performance. The background of the study is leaders' need for learning in and through practice, as an alternative to learning in classrooms and to leadership education programs. The study is based...... happens when leaders become aware of the potential for transformation of their leadership practice when they experiment with aesthetic performance integrated in a learning process. The greatest impact in relation to organisational transformation is, when leaders base their learning on a collective...

  3. Diffusing Best Practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pries-Heje, Jan; Baskerville, Richard

    2014-01-01

    approach. The study context is a design case in which an organization desires to diffuse its best practices across different groups. The design goal is embodied in organizational mechanisms to achieve this diffusion. The study used Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a kernel theory. The artifacts...... resulting from the design were two-day training workshops conceptually anchored to TBP. The design theory was evaluated through execution of eight diffusion workshops involving three different groups in the same company. The findings indicate that the match between the practice and the context materialized...... that the behavior will be effective). These two factors were especially critical if the source context of the best practice is qualitatively different from the target context into which the organization is seeking to diffuse the best practice....

  4. A practice-centered intervention to increase screening for domestic violence in primary care practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Palla Shana L

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Interventions to change practice patterns among health care professionals have had mixed success. We tested the effectiveness of a practice centered intervention to increase screening for domestic violence in primary care practices. Methods A multifaceted intervention was conducted among primary care practice in North Carolina. All practices designated two individuals to serve as domestic violence resources persons, underwent initial training on screening for domestic violence, and participated in 3 lunch and learn sessions. Within this framework, practices selected the screening instrument, patient educational material, and content best suited for their environment. Effectiveness was evaluated using a pre/post cross-sectional telephone survey of a random selection of female patients from each practice. Results Seventeen practices were recruited and fifteen completed the study. Baseline screening for domestic violence was 16% with a range of 2% to 49%. An absolute increase in screening of 10% was achieved (range of increase 0 to 22%. After controlling for clustering by practice and other patient characteristics, female patients were 79% more likely to have been screened after the intervention (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.43–2.23. Conclusion An intervention that allowed practices to tailor certain aspects to fit their needs increased screening for domestic violence. Further studies testing this technique using other outcomes are needed.

  5. Infusing Theory into Practice, Practice into Theory: Small Wins and Big Gains for Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rog, Debra J.

    2015-01-01

    This article illustrates the synergistic role between practice and theory in evaluation. Using reflective practice, the author reviews her own work as well as the work of other evaluators to illustrate how theory can influence practice and, in turn, how evaluation practice can inform and grow theory, especially evaluation theory. The following…

  6. General practice training and virtual communities of practice - a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnett, Stephen; Jones, Sandra C; Bennett, Sue; Iverson, Don; Bonney, Andrew

    2012-08-21

    Good General Practice is essential for an effective health system. Good General Practice training is essential to sustain the workforce, however training for General Practice can be hampered by a number of pressures, including professional, structural and social isolation. General Practice trainees may be under more pressure than fully registered General Practitioners, and yet isolation can lead doctors to reduce hours and move away from rural practice. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) in business have been shown to be effective in improving knowledge sharing, thus reducing professional and structural isolation. This literature review will critically examine the current evidence relevant to virtual communities of practice in General Practice training, identify evidence-based principles that might guide their construction and suggest further avenues for research. Major online databases Scopus, Psychlit and Pubmed were searched for the terms "Community of Practice" (CoP) AND (Online OR Virtual OR Electronic) AND (health OR healthcare OR medicine OR "Allied Health"). Only peer-reviewed journal articles in English were selected. A total of 76 articles were identified, with 23 meeting the inclusion criteria. There were no studies on CoP or VCoP in General Practice training. The review was structured using a framework of six themes for establishing communities of practice, derived from a key study from the business literature. This framework has been used to analyse the literature to determine whether similar themes are present in the health literature and to identify evidence in support of virtual communities of practice for General Practice training. The framework developed by Probst is mirrored in the health literature, albeit with some variations. In particular the roles of facilitator or moderator and leader whilst overlapping, are different. VCoPs are usually collaborations between stakeholders rather than single company VCoPs. Specific goals are important

  7. Practical compassions: repertoires of practice and compassion talk in acute mental healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Brian; Crawford, Paul; Gilbert, Paul; Gilbert, Jean; Gale, Corinne

    2014-03-01

    This article reports an exploratory study of the concept of compassion in the work of 20 mental health practitioners in a UK Midlands facility. Using notions of practice derived from phenomenology and Bourdieusian sociology and notions of emotional labour we identify two contrasting interpretive repertoires in discussions of compassion. The first, the practical compassion repertoire, evokes the practical, physical and bodily aspects of compassion. It involves organising being with patients, playing games, anticipating disruption and taking them outside for cigarettes. Practitioners described being aware that these practical, bodily activities could lead to patients 'opening up', disclosing their interior concerns and enabling practical, compassionate mental health work to take place. In contrast, the second, organisational repertoire, concerns organisational constraints on compassionate practice. The shortage of staff, the record-keeping and internal processes of quality control were seen as time-greedy and apt to detract from contact with patients. The findings are discussed in relation to Bourdieu and Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological accounts of practice and habit and set in context in the growing interest in placing compassion centrally in healthcare. We also explore how the exercise of compassion in the way our participants describe it can afford the more effective exercise of medical power. © 2013 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2013 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Physicians' perceptions of autonomy across practice types: Is autonomy in solo practice a myth?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Katherine Y

    2014-01-01

    Physicians in the United States are now less likely to practice in smaller, more traditional, solo practices, and more likely to practice in larger group practices. Though older theory predicts conflict between bureaucracy and professional autonomy, studies have shown that professions in general, and physicians in particular, have adapted to organizational constraints. However, much work remains in clarifying the nature of this relationship and how exactly physicians have adapted to various organizational settings. To this end, the present study examines physicians' autonomy experiences in different decision types between organization sizes. Specifically, I ask: In what kinds of decisions do doctors perceive autonomous control? How does this vary by organizational size? Using stacked "spell" data constructed from the Community Tracking Study (CTS) Physician Survey (1996-2005) (n = 16,519) I examine how physicians' perceptions of autonomy vary between solo/two physician practices, small group practices with three to ten physicians, and large practices with ten or more physicians, in two kinds of decisions: logistic-based and knowledge-based decisions. Capitalizing on the longitudinal nature of the data I estimate how changes in practice size are associated with perceptions of autonomy, accounting for previous reports of autonomy. I also test whether managed care involvement, practice ownership, and salaried employment help explain part of this relationship. I find that while physicians practicing in larger group practices reported lower levels of autonomy in logistic-based decisions, physicians in solo/two physician practices reported lower levels of autonomy in knowledge-based decisions. Managed care involvement and ownership explain some, but not all, of the associations. These findings suggest that professional adaptation to various organizational settings can lead to varying levels of perceived autonomy across different kinds of decisions. Copyright © 2013

  9. Physicians’ Perceptions of Autonomy across Practice Types: Is Autonomy in Solo Practice a Myth?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Katherine Y.

    2013-01-01

    Physicians in the United States are now less likely to practice in smaller, more traditional, solo practices, and more likely to practice in larger group practices. Though older theory predicts conflict between bureaucracy and professional autonomy, studies have shown that professions in general, and physicians in particular, have adapted to organizational constraints. However, much work remains in clarifying the nature of this relationship and how exactly physicians have adapted to various organizational settings. To this end, the present study examines physicians’ autonomy experiences in different decision types between organization sizes. Specifically, I ask: In what kinds of decisions do doctors perceive autonomous control? How does this vary by organizational size? Using stacked “spell” data constructed from the Community Tracking Study (CTS) Physician Survey (1996–2005) (n=16,519) I examine how physicians’ perceptions of autonomy vary between solo/two physician practices, small group practices with three to ten physicians, and large practices with ten or more physicians, in two kinds of decisions: logistic-based and knowledge-based decisions. Capitalizing on the longitudinal nature of the data I estimate how changes in practice size are associated with perceptions of autonomy, accounting for previous reports of autonomy. I also test whether managed care involvement, practice ownership, and salaried employment help explain part of this relationship. I find that while physicians practicing in larger group practices reported lower levels of autonomy in logistic-based decisions, physicians in solo/two physician practices reported lower levels of autonomy in knowledge-based decisions. Managed care involvement and ownership explain some, but not all, of the associations. These findings suggest that professional adaptation to various organizational settings can lead to varying levels of perceived autonomy across different kinds of decisions. PMID:24444835

  10. Job satisfaction of practice assistants in general practice in Germany: an observational study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goetz, K.; Campbell, S.; Broge, B.; Brodowski, M.; Steinhaeuser, J.; Wensing, M.; Szecsenyi, J.

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Job satisfaction of practice staff is important for optimal health care delivery and for minimizing the turnover of non-medical professions. OBJECTIVE: To document the job satisfaction of practice assistants in German general practice and to explore associations between job satisfaction,

  11. Early human speciation, brain expansion and dispersal influenced by African climate pulses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susanne Shultz

    Full Text Available Early human evolution is characterised by pulsed speciation and dispersal events that cannot be explained fully by global or continental paleoclimate records. We propose that the collated record of ephemeral East African Rift System (EARS lakes could be a proxy for the regional paleoclimate conditions experienced by early hominins. Here we show that the presence of these lakes is associated with low levels of dust deposition in both West African and Mediterranean records, but is not associated with long-term global cooling and aridification of East Africa. Hominin expansion and diversification seem to be associated with climate pulses characterized by the precession-forced appearance and disappearance of deep EARS lakes. The most profound period for hominin evolution occurs at about 1.9 Ma; with the highest recorded diversity of hominin species, the appearance of Homo (sensu stricto and major dispersal events out of East Africa into Eurasia. During this period, ephemeral deep-freshwater lakes appeared along the whole length of the EARS, fundamentally changing the local environment. The relationship between the local environment and hominin brain expansion is less clear. The major step-wise expansion in brain size around 1.9 Ma when Homo appeared was coeval with the occurrence of ephemeral deep lakes. Subsequent incremental increases in brain size are associated with dry periods with few if any lakes. Plio-Pleistocene East African climate pulses as evinced by the paleo-lake records seem, therefore, fundamental to hominin speciation, encephalisation and migration.

  12. Mercury and Dissolved Organic Matter Dynamics During Snowmelt in the Upper Provo River, Utah, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Packer, B. N.; Carling, G. T.; Nelson, S.; Aanderud, Z.; Shepherd Barkdull, N.; Gabor, R. S.

    2017-12-01

    Mercury (Hg) is deposited to mountains by atmospheric deposition and mobilized during snowmelt runoff, leading to Hg contamination in otherwise pristine watersheds. Mercury is typically transported with dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soils to streams and lakes. This study focused on Hg and DOM dynamics in the snowmelt-dominated upper Provo River watershed, northern Utah, USA. We sampled Hg, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, and DOM fluorescence in river water, snowpack, and ephemeral streams over four years from 2014-2017 to investigate Hg transport mechanisms. During the snowmelt season (April through June), Hg concentrations typically increased from 1 to 8 ng/L showing a strong positive correlation with DOC. The dissolved Hg fraction was dominant in the river, averaging 75% of total Hg concentrations, suggesting that DOC is more important for transport than suspended particulate matter. Ephemeral channels, which represent shallow flow paths with strong interactions with soils, had the highest Hg (>10 ng/L) and DOC (>10 mg/L) concentrations, suggesting a soil water source of Hg and organic matter. Fluorescence spectroscopy results showed important changes in DOM type and quality during the snowmelt season and the soil water flow paths are activated. Changes in DOM characteristics during snowmelt improve the understanding of Hg dynamics with organic matter and elucidate transport pathways from the soil surface, ephemeral channels and groundwater to the Provo River. This study has implications for understanding Hg sources and transport mechanisms in mountain watersheds.

  13. Flow Regime Classification and Hydrological Characterization: A Case Study of Ethiopian Rivers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belete Berhanu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The spatiotemporal variability of a stream flow due to the complex interaction of catchment attributes and rainfall induce complexity in hydrology. Researchers have been trying to address this complexity with a number of approaches; river flow regime is one of them. The flow regime can be quantified by means of hydrological indices characterizing five components: magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, and rate of change of flow. Similarly, this study aimed to understand the flow variability of Ethiopian Rivers using the observed daily flow data from 208 gauging stations in the country. With this process, the Hierarchical Ward Clustering method was implemented to group the streams into three flow regimes (1 ephemeral, (2 intermittent, and (3 perennial. Principal component analysis (PCA is also applied as the second multivariate analysis tool to identify dominant hydrological indices that cause the variability in the streams. The mean flow per unit catchment area (QmAR and Base flow index (BFI show an incremental trend with ephemeral, intermittent and perennial streams. Whereas the number of mean zero flow days ratio (ZFI and coefficient of variation (CV show a decreasing trend with ephemeral to perennial flow regimes. Finally, the streams in the three flow regimes were characterized with the mean and standard deviation of the hydrological variables and the shape, slope, and scale of the flow duration curve. Results of this study are the basis for further understanding of the ecohydrological processes of the river basins in Ethiopia.

  14. Early human speciation, brain expansion and dispersal influenced by African climate pulses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shultz, Susanne; Maslin, Mark

    2013-01-01

    Early human evolution is characterised by pulsed speciation and dispersal events that cannot be explained fully by global or continental paleoclimate records. We propose that the collated record of ephemeral East African Rift System (EARS) lakes could be a proxy for the regional paleoclimate conditions experienced by early hominins. Here we show that the presence of these lakes is associated with low levels of dust deposition in both West African and Mediterranean records, but is not associated with long-term global cooling and aridification of East Africa. Hominin expansion and diversification seem to be associated with climate pulses characterized by the precession-forced appearance and disappearance of deep EARS lakes. The most profound period for hominin evolution occurs at about 1.9 Ma; with the highest recorded diversity of hominin species, the appearance of Homo (sensu stricto) and major dispersal events out of East Africa into Eurasia. During this period, ephemeral deep-freshwater lakes appeared along the whole length of the EARS, fundamentally changing the local environment. The relationship between the local environment and hominin brain expansion is less clear. The major step-wise expansion in brain size around 1.9 Ma when Homo appeared was coeval with the occurrence of ephemeral deep lakes. Subsequent incremental increases in brain size are associated with dry periods with few if any lakes. Plio-Pleistocene East African climate pulses as evinced by the paleo-lake records seem, therefore, fundamental to hominin speciation, encephalisation and migration.

  15. 50 CFR 17.96 - Critical habitat-plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF... protection from development and weed sources. (B) The hydrologically and ecologically functional system of... features that support systems of hydrologically interconnected pools and other ephemeral wetlands (which...

  16. Top-down control as important as nutrient enrichment for eutrophication effects in North Atlantic coastal ecosystems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ostman, Orjan; Eklof, Johan; Eriksson, Britas Klemens; Olsson, Jens; Moksnes, Per-Olav; Bergstrom, Ulf

    Seagrass and seaweed habitats constitute hotspots for diversity and ecosystem services in coastal ecosystems. These habitats are subject to anthropogenic pressures, of which eutrophication is one major stressor. Eutrophication favours fast-growing ephemeral algae over perennial macroalgae and

  17. Practice in TESOL

    CERN Document Server

    Farr, Fiona

    2015-01-01

    Do you want to improve your teaching practice? Do you need to know more about getting the most out of student feedback? This textbook covers all topics in preparing TESOL teachers for the practical component of their programme.

  18. A new material practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tamke, Martin; Nicholas, Paul; Ramsgaard Thomsen, Mette

    2012-01-01

    The first generation of digital architecture was fascinated with the extension of digital possibilities into the physical world. Today, we are seeing the emergence of a new material practice. This practice is focusing on a design and production process that is seeking an understanding of the aggr......The first generation of digital architecture was fascinated with the extension of digital possibilities into the physical world. Today, we are seeing the emergence of a new material practice. This practice is focusing on a design and production process that is seeking an understanding...... of the aggregated behavior of matter in an environment. Advances in material science and in computational tools are creating new opportunities within architectural design. However, these approaches are challenging the current practices of design and representation....

  19. Communication as practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gholamian, Jamshid

    2014-01-01

    sort of human activity also include communication as practice. Inspired by Bakhtin, I believe that dialogical relationship is almost a universal phenomenon that permeates all human speech and in general all relationships and manifestations of human life, and "everything in life is dialogue", (Dysthe...... of communicational practices within conversations contexts. Based on Bakhtin’s thought, I understand any conversation as a sociocultural communicative practice. In this concept, the focus will be on how participants via interaction create meaning. In order to elaborate and examine these notions, I will include some......According to Schatzki "Practice" brings into view activities which are situated, corporeal, and shaped by habits without reflection. This notion has been extraordinarily successful and has now been extended to cover every sort of human activity” (Schatzki 2001:2). And I would like to add that every...

  20. Practicing (Dis)connections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The paper addresses the reciprocal notions of mobility and mobilisation in medical imaging practice, in view of the contingent and multiple character of the knowledge-practices involving such images – and their interpretation – within and across situated settings. Based on an ethnographically......’s development of in-house examination protocols as a consequence of its having replaced an older, pre-existing MRI scanner with a new model. This re-domestication of MRI as occasioned by the replacement scanner offers a range of sociomaterial and sociotechnical contingencies in the practice to come to light...... of the epistemic underpinnings which render, and condition, how connections are mediated across extended settings of practice (in the MRI unit, at interdisciplinary case conferences, and at other hospitals, etc.). This relational view allows for the heterogeneity entailed in the domestication of the MRI scanner...

  1. Exemplary Design Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Niels

    The didactic principle of exemplary learning may be defined briefly as 'learning by example'. In design education, working with a practical example is particularly appropriate, because design by definition is about creating a solution to a practical problem. Indeed, some design theorists claim......, including: If design knowing is bound to a given practical design context, how is it possible to generalize such knowing, as presumably required by an exemplary learning approach? To explore these questions, an account is given of the theories of exemplary learning proposed by Martin Wagenschein and Oskar...

  2. The Oral Paradigm and Snapchat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oren Soffer

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In this short essay, I argue that the ephemeral nature of emerging instant-messaging applications, such as Snapchat, applies an oral paradigm. While online discourse of computer-mediated communication shares many qualities with oral communication, the case of ephemeral applications is unique, as the oral features are already integrated in the application technology design and as orality is often implemented on highly visual products. Snapchat applies technology that fades visual contents as if they were spoken words fading in the air after utterance. Moreover, Snapchat’s promise to delete all messages from its database after they are viewed echoes a key characteristic of primary oral culture: that is, the inability (and in our case, the obligation not to store knowledge. In this, Snapchat demonstrates counter-logic to the contemporary grammar of new media, which is based on information aggregation.

  3. Shielding practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sauermann, P.F.

    1985-08-01

    The basis of shielding practice against external irradiation is shown in a simple way. For most sources of radiation (point sources) occurring in shielding practice, the basic data are given, mainly in the form of tables, which are required to solve the shielding problems. The application of these data is explained and discussed using practical examples. Thickness of shielding panes of glove boxes for α and β radiation; shielding of sealed γ-radiography sources; shielding of a Co-60 radiation source, and of the manipulator panels for hot cells; damping factors for γ radiation and neutrons; shielding of fast and thermal neutrons, and of bremsstrahlung (X-ray tubes, Kr-85 pressure gas cylinders, 42 MeV betatrons, 20 MeV linacs); two-fold shielding (lead glass windows for hot cells, 14 MeV neutron generators); shielding against scattered radiation. (orig./HP) [de

  4. Building chronic disease management capacity in General Practice: The South Australian GP Plus Practice Nurse Initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuller, Jeffrey; Koehne, Kristy; Verrall, Claire C; Szabo, Natalie; Bollen, Chris; Parker, Sharon

    2015-01-01

    This paper draws on the implementation experience of the South Australian GP Plus Practice Nurse Initiative in order to establish what is needed to support the development of the chronic disease management role of practice nurses. The Initiative was delivered between 2007 and 2010 to recruit, train and place 157 nurses across 147 General Practices in Adelaide. The purpose was to improve chronic disease management in General Practice, by equipping nurses to work as practice nurses who would coordinate care and establish chronic disease management systems. Secondary analysis of qualitative data contained in the Initiative evaluation report, specifically drawing on quarterly project records and four focus groups conducted with practice nurses, practice nurse coordinators and practice nurse mentors. As evidenced by the need to increase the amount of support provided during the implementation of the Initiative, nurses new to General Practice faced challenges in their new role. Nurses described a big learning curve as they dealt with role transition to a new work environment and learning a range of new skills while developing chronic disease management systems. Informants valued the skills development and support offered by the Initiative, however the ongoing difficulties in implementing the role suggested that change is also needed at the level of the Practice. While just over a half of the placement positions were retained, practice nurses expressed concern with having to negotiate the conditions of their employment. In order to advance the role of practice nurses as managers of chronic disease support is needed at two levels. At one level support is needed to assist practice nurses to build their own skills. At the level of the Practice, and in the wider health workforce system, support is also needed to ensure that Practices are organisationally ready to include the practice nurse within the practice team.

  5. Unfair commercial practices in european and czech legal regulations and in practice of the courts

    OpenAIRE

    Štouračová, Vanda

    2010-01-01

    The bachelor thesis deals with charting of unfair commercial practices on consumer. Initially there are described unfair commercial practices in legal regulations of EU and Czech Republic and distinguished into misleading and agressive practices. There is also included description of misleading advertising. Besides unfair commercial practices there are described businessunlike commercial practices boundaring with legal regulations. Lastly there are stated chosen European and Czech court decis...

  6. Community of Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Busch-Jensen, Peter

    2012-01-01

    A clear and informative description of the theoretical and methodological content and implications of the concept of Community of Practice......A clear and informative description of the theoretical and methodological content and implications of the concept of Community of Practice...

  7. Materiality, Practice and Body

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Stine Liv; Skovbjerg-Karoff, Helle

    2009-01-01

    In order to understand the interaction between human and technology, the relationship must be emphasized as a triangulation between materiality, body and practice. By introducing play situations from a just finished empirical study in three bigger cities in Denmark, this paper will address...... the interplay from the human‟s point of view, as a body doing a certain practice, which is constantly produced by taking approaches which comes from phenomenology and practice theory. We introduce aspects of play understood as a dynamic between materiality, body and practice with the goal of inspiring not only...

  8. General practice training and virtual communities of practice - a review of the literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barnett Stephen

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Good General Practice is essential for an effective health system. Good General Practice training is essential to sustain the workforce, however training for General Practice can be hampered by a number of pressures, including professional, structural and social isolation. General Practice trainees may be under more pressure than fully registered General Practitioners, and yet isolation can lead doctors to reduce hours and move away from rural practice. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs in business have been shown to be effective in improving knowledge sharing, thus reducing professional and structural isolation. This literature review will critically examine the current evidence relevant to virtual communities of practice in General Practice training, identify evidence-based principles that might guide their construction and suggest further avenues for research. Methods Major online databases Scopus, Psychlit and Pubmed were searched for the terms “Community of Practice” (CoP AND (Online OR Virtual OR Electronic AND (health OR healthcare OR medicine OR “Allied Health”. Only peer-reviewed journal articles in English were selected. A total of 76 articles were identified, with 23 meeting the inclusion criteria. There were no studies on CoP or VCoP in General Practice training. The review was structured using a framework of six themes for establishing communities of practice, derived from a key study from the business literature. This framework has been used to analyse the literature to determine whether similar themes are present in the health literature and to identify evidence in support of virtual communities of practice for General Practice training. Results The framework developed by Probst is mirrored in the health literature, albeit with some variations. In particular the roles of facilitator or moderator and leader whilst overlapping, are different. VCoPs are usually collaborations between stakeholders

  9. Practicing on Newly Dead

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jewel Abraham

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available A newly dead cadaver simulation is practiced on the physical remains of the dead before the onset of rigor mortis. This technique has potential benefits for providing real-life in-situ experience for novice providers in health care practices. Evolving ethical views in health care brings into question some of the ethical aspects associated with newly dead cadaver simulation in terms of justification for practice, autonomy, consent, and the need of disclosure. A clear statement of policies and procedures on newly dead cadaver simulation has yet to be implemented. Although there are benefits and disadvantages to an in-situ cadaver simulation, such practices should not be carried out in secrecy as there is no compelling evidence that suggests such training as imperative. Secrecy in these practices is a violation of honor code of nursing ethics. As health care providers, practitioners are obliged to be ethically honest and trustworthy to their patients. The author explores the ethical aspects of using newly dead cadaver simulation in training novice nursing providers to gain competency in various lifesaving skills, which otherwise cannot be practiced on a living individual. The author explores multiple views on cadaver simulation in relation to ethical theories and practices such as consent and disclosure to family.

  10. Why Macro Practice Matters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reisch, Michael

    2016-01-01

    This article asserts that macro practice is increasingly important in today's rapidly changing and complex practice environment. It briefly explores the history of macro practice in U.S. social work, summarizes its major contributions to the profession and to U.S. society, and provides some suggestions for how social work programs can expand…

  11. The Effects of Practice-Based Training on Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Classroom Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Erin A.; Easlon, Erin J.; Potter, Sarah C.; Guzman-Alvarez, Alberto; Spear, Jensen M.; Facciotti, Marc T.; Igo, Michele M.; Singer, Mitchell; Pagliarulo, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    Evidence-based teaching is a highly complex skill, requiring repeated cycles of deliberate practice and feedback to master. Despite existing well-characterized frameworks for practice-based training in K–12 teacher education, the major principles of these frameworks have not yet been transferred to instructor development in higher educational contexts, including training of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). We sought to determine whether a practice-based training program could help GTAs learn and use evidence-based teaching methods in their classrooms. We implemented a weekly training program for introductory biology GTAs that included structured drills of techniques selected to enhance student practice, logic development, and accountability and reduce apprehension. These elements were selected based on their previous characterization as dimensions of active learning. GTAs received regular performance feedback based on classroom observations. To quantify use of target techniques and levels of student participation, we collected and coded 160 h of video footage. We investigated the relationship between frequency of GTA implementation of target techniques and student exam scores; however, we observed no significant relationship. Although GTAs adopted and used many of the target techniques with high frequency, techniques that enforced student participation were not stably adopted, and their use was unresponsive to formal feedback. We also found that techniques discussed in training, but not practiced, were not used at quantifiable frequencies, further supporting the importance of practice-based training for influencing instructional practices. PMID:29146664

  12. Effect of overstory on the seasonal variability of understory herbs in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In order to study the structure of herbaceous biodiversity and its effect factors in ... The highest species richness was in June, when spring ephemeral, early and ... PPFD, soil water was the key connection between the tree- and shrub layer.

  13. Microcontrollers in practice

    CERN Document Server

    Susnea, Ioan

    2006-01-01

    Stressing common characteristics and real applications of the most used microcontrollers, this practical guide provides readers with hands-on knowledge of how to implement three families of microcontrollers (HC11, AVR, and 8051). It has practical examples and exercises, including several extended projects.

  14. From research to practice: one organisational model for promoting research based practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitson, A

    1997-01-01

    This paper describes a framework used by the National Institute for Nursing in Oxford to integrate research, development and practice. With the increasing attention given to the topic of how research findings are implemented into clinical practice, it was felt important to share the challenges that have arisen in attempting to combine traditional research activities with more practice based development work. The emerging conceptual framework, structures and functions are described highlighting the variety of partnerships to be established in order to achieve the goal of integrating research into practice. While the underpinning principles of the framework--generating knowledge, implementing research into practice and evaluating the effectiveness of programmes--are not new, it is the way they have been combined within an organisational structure that could be helpful to others considering such a strategy. Both the strengths and weaknesses of the model are discussed, a number of conclusions drawn as to its robustness and consideration given to its replication.

  15. Ethics and health promotion practice: exploring attitudes and practices in Western Australian health organisations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reilly, T; Crawford, G; Lobo, R; Leavy, J; Jancey, J

    2016-04-01

    Issue addressed Evidence-informed practice underpinned by ethics is fundamental to developing the science of health promotion. Knowledge and application of ethical principles are competencies required for health promotion practice. However, these competencies are often inconsistently understood and applied. This research explored attitudes, practices, enablers and barriers related to ethics in practice in Western Australian health organisations. Methods Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 health promotion practitioners, purposefully selected to provide a cross-section of government and non-government organisations. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and then themed. Results The majority of participants reported consideration of ethics in their practice; however, only half reported seeking Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval for projects in the past 12 months. Enablers identified as supporting ethics in practice and disseminating findings included: support preparing ethics applications; resources and training about ethical practice; ability to access HRECs for ethics approval; and a supportive organisational culture. Barriers included: limited time; insufficient resourcing and capacity; ethics approval not seen as part of core business; and concerns about academic writing. Conclusion The majority of participants were aware of the importance of ethics in practice and the dissemination of findings. However, participants reported barriers to engaging in formal ethics processes and to publishing findings. So what? Alignment of evidence-informed and ethics-based practice is critical. Resources and information about ethics may be required to support practice and encourage dissemination of findings, including in the peer-reviewed literature. Investigating the role of community-based ethics boards may be valuable to bridging the ethics-evidence gap.

  16. Using MIQUEST in General Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoria Hammersley

    1998-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes ten months' experience with MIQUEST software used for the collection of data from computerised databases in General Practice. We report on the following: the MIQUEST software in use, the time costs to the practice, the completeness of confidentiality barriers and the accuracy of data collected using MIQUEST compared with similar data collected by the practice system (EMIS. There were no problems encountered with installation of MIQUEST-related software. With experience, MIQUEST was equal to the practice system for speed and ease of use. The confidentiality safeguards were found to be in accordance with the GMSC/RCGP Guidelines - patients could not be directly, or indirectly, identified from the data extracted by external searches. Inaccuracies in the data collected using MIQUEST were identified, but these were largely attributable to problems with the EMIS-written interpreter available on the practice system at the time, or with the coding schemes used by the practice. In an individual practice, MIQUEST represents an alternative data collection method to the practice-based software. For data collection from multiple general practices it should prove an invaluable tool for Health Authorities and research organisations.

  17. Doctor of Nursing Practice: The Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Deborah Kirk; Polancich, Shea

    2015-11-01

    To explore the evolution and emerging roles of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Advanced Practice Nurse (APN). Published peer reviewed literature, cancer-related professional resources, and Web-based resources. The DNP education has prepared the APN for process improvement initiatives, providing quality care, and evidence-based practice translation, which are critical with the emerging trends in this complex health care environment. DNP-prepared APNs have the opportunity to impact oncology care across the cancer trajectory, in various settings, and in various innovative roles as entrepreneurs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Reflective practice in ESL teacher development groups from practices to principles

    CERN Document Server

    Farrell, T

    2013-01-01

    Reflective Practise in ESL Teacher Development Groups  discusses the concept of reflective practice in ESL teachers using data from a 3-year collaborative partnership in which three ESL teachers in Canada explored their professional development through reflective practice.

  19. Quality of stroke prevention in general practice: relationship with practice organization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.S. de Koning (Johan); N.S. Klazinga (Niek); P.J. Koudstaal (Peter Jan); A. Prins (Ad); G.J.J.M. Borsboom (Gerard); J.P. Mackenbach (Johan)

    2005-01-01

    textabstractOBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between elements of practice organization related to stroke prevention in general practice, and suboptimal preventive care preceding the occurrence of stroke. DESIGN: This study was conducted among 69 Dutch general practitioners in the

  20. Best practices in nursing homes. Clinical supervision, management, and human resource practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dellefield, Mary Ellen

    2008-07-01

    Human resource practices including supervision and management are associated with organizational performance. Evidence supportive of such an association in nursing homes is found in the results of numerous research studies conducted during the past 17 years. In this article, best practices related to this topic have been culled from descriptive, explanatory, and intervention studies in a range of interdisciplinary research journals published between 1990 and 2007. Identified best practices include implementation of training programs on supervision and management for licensed nurses, certified nursing assistant job enrichment programs, implementation of consistent nursing assignments, and the use of electronic documentation. Organizational barriers and facilitators of these best practices are described. Copyright 2009, SLACK Incorporated.

  1. One More Time - what is practice?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonacopoulou, Elena P.

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite the recent hype what practice means remains unclear at best. This paper presents a fresh perspective on practice as a social phenomenon in Management and Organization Studies. It focuses on the dynamic nature of practice and draws attention to the power of tensions within and between practices as a reflection of the social complexity of organizing. The dynamic nature of practice reveals how tensions create ex-tensions stretching the boundaries of organizing. The analysis reveals the importance of embodying practice, the role of intentionality in the way practice is performed and conceptualizes the dynamic nature of practice in relation to the interconnections between internal and external goods of a practice. Tensions between internal and external goods within and between practices in an organizational field explain the ongoing reconfiguration of practice. A focus on practising provides an avenue for engaging with the fluid and emergent nature of practice as it is formed, performed and constantly transformed. The discussion explores the value added contribution of a practice perspective to our understanding of organizing and outlines ways of rethinking the practitioner by drawing attention to the role of practical judgment, passion and personality. The paper concludes by examining the implications for future research providing specific suggestions for the ways in which researchers engage with the world of practice, the methodological tools for capturing the immediacy of practice and further research avenues that this inquiry opens up.

  2. Quality of stroke prevention in general practice: relationship with practice organization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Koning, Johan S.; Klazinga, Niek; Koudstaal, Peter J.; Prins, A. D.; Borsboom, Gerard J. J. M.; Mackenbach, Johan P.

    2005-01-01

    Objective. To investigate the relationship between elements of practice organization related to stroke prevention in general practice, and suboptimal preventive care preceding the occurrence of stroke. Design. This study was conducted among 69 Dutch general practitioners in the Rotterdam region.

  3. Practicing induction:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sprogøe, Jonas; Rohde, Nicolas

    2009-01-01

    We claim that induction potentially triggers both individual and organizational learning and by drawing on practice-based theory we discuss how the interplay between individual and organization, what we call a generative dance, ignites both kinds of learning.......We claim that induction potentially triggers both individual and organizational learning and by drawing on practice-based theory we discuss how the interplay between individual and organization, what we call a generative dance, ignites both kinds of learning....

  4. Clinical Nurse Leader Integration Into Practice: Developing Theory To Guide Best Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bender, Miriam

    2016-01-01

    Numerous policy bodies have identified the clinical nurse leader (CNL) as an innovative new role for meeting higher health care quality standards. Although there is growing evidence of improved care environment and patient safety and quality outcomes after redesigning care delivery microsystems to integrate CNL practice, significant variation in CNL implementation has been noted across reports, making it difficult to causally link CNL practice to reported outcomes. This variability reflects the overall absence in the literature of a well-defined CNL theoretical framework to help guide standardized application in practice. To address this knowledge gap, an interpretive synthesis with a grounded theory analysis of CNL narratives was conducted to develop a theoretical model for CNL practice. The model clarifies CNL practice domains and proposes mechanisms by which CNL-integrated care delivery microsystems improve health care quality. The model highlights the need for a systematic approach to CNL implementation including a well-thought out strategy for care delivery redesign; a consistent, competency-based CNL workflow; and sustained macro-to-micro system leadership support. CNL practice can be considered an effective approach to organizing nursing care that maximizes the scope of nursing to influence the ways care is delivered by all professions within a clinical microsystem. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE WAY OF CONNECTING PEDAGOGICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE

    OpenAIRE

    Božo Obradović

    2013-01-01

    The issue of linking educational theory to educational practice (educational work with young people) is highly topical and important issue for the science of pedagogy. One way of achieving this task is a pedagogical practice (PP) students. In paper we deal with identifying, comparing, and analyzing the curricula of vocational (Curriculum for Preschool Teacher (2007) and academic (Curriculum for Educators (2007). Studies Teacher Training in Serbia, as well as educational disciplines and areas ...

  6. The assessment of practical skills

    OpenAIRE

    Reiss, M. J.; Abrahams, I.

    2015-01-01

    Major changes are currently afoot as to how practical work will be assessed in high status examinations (GCSEs for 16 year-olds and ‘A’ levels for 18 year-olds) in England. We explore here how practical skills might best be assessed in school science and introduce two terms: direct assessment of practical skills (DAPS) and indirect assessment of practical skills (IAPS). We conclude that both the direct and indirect assessment of practical skills have their place in effective assessment of sch...

  7. Medical Physics Practice Guidelines - the AAPM's minimum practice recommendations for medical physicists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Michael D; Chan, Maria F; Prisciandaro, Joann I; Shepard, Jeff; Halvorsen, Per H

    2013-11-04

    The AAPM has long advocated a consistent level of medical physics practice, and has published many recommendations and position statements toward that goal, such as Science Council Task Group reports related to calibration and quality assurance, Education Council and Professional Council Task Group reports related to education, training, and peer review, and Board-approved Position Statements related to the Scope of Practice, physicist qualifications, and other aspects of medical physics practice. Despite these concerted and enduring efforts, the profession does not have clear and concise statements of the acceptable practice guidelines for routine clinical medical physics. As accreditation of clinical practices becomes more common, Medical Physics Practice Guidelines (MPPGs) will be crucial to ensuring a consistent benchmark for accreditation programs. To this end, the AAPM has recently endorsed the development of MPPGs, which may be generated in collaboration with other professional societies. The MPPGs are intended to be freely available to the general public. Accrediting organizations, regulatory agencies, and legislators will be encouraged to reference these MPPGs when defining their respective requirements. MPPGs are intended to provide the medical community with a clear description of the minimum level of medical physics support that the AAPM would consider prudent in clinical practice settings. Support includes, but is not limited to, staffing, equipment, machine access, and training. These MPPGs are not designed to replace extensive Task Group reports or review articles, but rather to describe the recommended minimum level of medical physics support for specific clinical services. This article has described the purpose, scope, and process for the development of MPPGs.

  8. Riparian trees as common denominators across the river flow spectrum: are ecophysiological methods useful tools in environmental flow assessments?

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Schachtschneider, K

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available physiological differences for trees occurred along rivers of the drier flow regime spectrum (seasonal and ephemeral). As such, this physiological measurement may be a valuable indicator for water stress, while the other measurements might provide more conclusive...

  9. Ethnography and organizational processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Hulst, M..; Ybema, S.B.; Yanow, D.; Tsoukas, H.; Langley, A.

    2017-01-01

    In recent decades, organizational scholars have set out to explore the processual character of organizations. They have investigated both the overtly ephemeral and sometimes dramatically unstable aspects of contemporary organizing and the social flux and flow of everyday organizing hiding beneath

  10. Innate Mammalian Immune Response to Culicoides Feeding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hematophagous Culicoides spp. biting midges are of great agricultural importance as livestock and wildlife pests and as vectors of orbiviruses such as bluetongue, epizootic hemorrhagic disease, and African horse sickness viruses, as well as vesicular stomatitis, bovine ephemeral fever and Schmallenb...

  11. Offering offspring as food to cannibals: oviposition strategies of Amazonian poison frogs (Dendrobates ventrimaculatus)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poelman, E.H.; Dicke, M.

    2007-01-01

    Species utilizing distinct resources for offspring production often show plasticity in reproductive strategies as a function of resource quality. For species using ephemeral pools, strategies are mainly shaped by a time constraint related to pool stability, resource availability and the colonizing

  12. Mortality hotspots: nitrogen cycling in forest soils during vertebrate decomposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decomposing plants and animals fundamentally transform their surrounding environments, and serve as a critical source of limiting nutrients for macro- and micro-fauna. Animal mortality hotspots alter soil biogeochemical cycles, and these natural ephemeral nutrient patches are important for maintaini...

  13. To practice mobility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Winther, Ida Wentzel

    2015-01-01

    Children’s perspectives are practically absent in new mobility studies. In this article, I wish to describe and analyze how a number of children handle having to move between homes, parents and siblings, and how they practically, emotionally and socially navigate in this changeable landscape. My...

  14. Beyond competencies: using a capability framework in developing practice standards for advanced practice nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connell, Jane; Gardner, Glenn; Coyer, Fiona

    2014-12-01

    This paper presents a discussion on the application of a capability framework for advanced practice nursing standards/competencies. There is acceptance that competencies are useful and necessary for definition and education of practice-based professions. Competencies have been described as appropriate for practice in stable environments with familiar problems. Increasingly competencies are being designed for use in the health sector for advanced practice such as the nurse practitioner role. Nurse practitioners work in environments and roles that are dynamic and unpredictable necessitating attributes and skills to practice at advanced and extended levels in both familiar and unfamiliar clinical situations. Capability has been described as the combination of skills, knowledge, values and self-esteem which enables individuals to manage change, be flexible and move beyond competency. A discussion paper exploring 'capability' as a framework for advanced nursing practice standards. Data were sourced from electronic databases as described in the background section. As advanced practice nursing becomes more established and formalized, novel ways of teaching and assessing the practice of experienced clinicians beyond competency are imperative for the changing context of health services. Leading researchers into capability in health care state that traditional education and training in health disciplines concentrates mainly on developing competence. To ensure that healthcare delivery keeps pace with increasing demand and a continuously changing context there is a need to embrace capability as a framework for advanced practice and education. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Sites of theory and practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kamstrup, Anne Katrine

    2015-01-01

    The connection between theory and practice is an established challenge in professional education. In much of the literature on the area, theory and practice are considered a dichotomy with specific understandings of what they each contain. With a point of departure in an extensive fieldwork at bo...... theory and practice are being enacted in multiple ways. Through that analysis I show that enactments of theory and practice are simultaneously connected and disconnected.......The connection between theory and practice is an established challenge in professional education. In much of the literature on the area, theory and practice are considered a dichotomy with specific understandings of what they each contain. With a point of departure in an extensive fieldwork at both...

  16. Practical analog electronics for technicians

    CERN Document Server

    Kimber, W A

    2013-01-01

    'Practical Analog Electronics for Technicians' not only provides an accessible introduction to electronics, but also supplies all the problems and practical activities needed to gain hands-on knowledge and experience. This emphasis on practice is surprisingly unusual in electronics texts, and has already gained Will Kimber popularity through the companion volume, 'Practical Digital Electronics for Technicians'. Written to cover the Advanced GNVQ optional unit in electronics, this book is also ideal for BTEC National, A-level electronics and City & Guilds courses. Together with 'Practical Digit

  17. Modelling Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cameron, Ian; Gani, Rafiqul

    2011-01-01

    This chapter deals with the practicalities of building, testing, deploying and maintaining models. It gives specific advice for each phase of the modelling cycle. To do this, a modelling framework is introduced which covers: problem and model definition; model conceptualization; model data...... requirements; model construction; model solution; model verification; model validation and finally model deployment and maintenance. Within the adopted methodology, each step is discussedthrough the consideration of key issues and questions relevant to the modelling activity. Practical advice, based on many...

  18. Experience in control of avian influenza in Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sims, L D

    2007-01-01

    Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses have been circulating in Asia for over ten years, providing considerable experience on which to base appropriate long-term strategies for their control. Experience in Hong Kong SAR demonstrates that existing production and marketing practices should be changed and a range of parallel measures used. It also shows the extent of surveillance required to ensure continuing freedom from infection. Certain high-risk practices should be changed or otherwise overcome in order to control and prevent disease, including intensive rearing of large numbers of poultry in premises without biosecurity commensurate with the level of risk for exposure; complex market chains involving many smallholders selling poultry through large numbers of transporters and middlemen in poorly regulated live poultry markets; and rearing of large numbers of ducks outdoors. These high-risk practices are compounded by weak veterinary services and poor reporting systems. In many parts of Asia, these methods of rearing and marketing are an integral way of life, support the poorest members of the community or cannot be changed quickly without severe socioeconomic consequences. The gains made so far will be ephemeral unless there is a shift from an emergency focus to one of consolidation in which these high-risk practices are identified and sustainable measures implemented to minimize the risks they pose, taking account of the socioeconomic effects of interventions. Vaccination will play a key role, as it currently does in China and Viet Nam.

  19. Practical RF system design

    CERN Document Server

    Egan, William F

    2003-01-01

    he ultimate practical resource for today's RF system design professionals Radio frequency components and circuits form the backbone of today's mobile and satellite communications networks. Consequently, both practicing and aspiring industry professionals need to be able to solve ever more complex problems of RF design. Blending theoretical rigor with a wealth of practical expertise, Practical RF System Design addresses a variety of complex, real-world problems that system engineers are likely to encounter in today's burgeoning communications industry with solutions that are not easily available in the existing literature. The author, an expert in the field of RF module and system design, provides powerful techniques for analyzing real RF systems, with emphasis on some that are currently not well understood. Combining theoretical results and models with examples, he challenges readers to address such practical issues as: * How standing wave ratio affects system gain * How noise on a local oscillator will affec...

  20. Costing Practices in Healthcare

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chapman, Christopher; Kern, Anja; Laguecir, Aziza

    2014-01-01

    .e., Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) systems, and costing practices. DRG-based payment systems strongly influence costing practices in multiple ways. In particular, setting DRG tariffs requires highly standardized costing practices linked with specific skill sets from management accountants and brings other...... jurisdictions (e.g., clinical coding) to bear on costing practice. These factors contribute to the fragmentation of the jurisdiction of management accounting.......The rising cost of healthcare is a globally pressing concern. This makes detailed attention to the way in which costing is carried out of central importance. This article offers a framework for considering the interdependencies between a dominant element of the contemporary healthcare context, i...

  1. Practicing field hockey skills along the contextual interference continuum: a comparison of five practice schedules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheong, Jadeera Phaik Geok; Lay, Brendan; Grove, J Robert; Medic, Nikola; Razman, Rizal

    2012-01-01

    To overcome the weakness of the contextual interference (CI) effect within applied settings, Brady, 2008 recommended that the amount of interference be manipulated. This study investigated the effect of five practice schedules on the learning of three field hockey skills. Fifty-five pre-university students performed a total of 90 trials for each skill under blocked, mixed or random practice orders. Results showed a significant time effect with all five practice conditions leading to improvements in acquisition and learning of the skills. No significant differences were found between the groups. The findings of the present study did not support the CI effect and suggest that either blocked, mixed, or random practice schedules can be used effectively when structuring practice for beginners. Key pointsThe contextual interference effect did not surface when using sport skills.There appears to be no difference between blocked and random practice schedules in the learning of field hockey skills.Low (blocked), moderate (mixed) or high (random) interference practice schedules can be used effectively when conducting a multiple skill practice session for beginners.

  2. Compatibility of Adlerian Theory and Practice with the Philosophy and Practices of Alcoholics Anonymous.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, Jane J.

    1999-01-01

    Tenets of Adlerian theory and practice are compatible with the philosophy and practices of Alcoholics Anonymous. Counselors can expect treatment approaches based on Adlerian counseling theory to be congruent with 12-step practices of individuals who are in recovery from alcohol dependence. (Author)

  3. practice managers in Scotland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Hanna

    2011-03-01

    Conclusion Practice managers are likely to play a central role in the introduction of new consultation/ communication technologies within general practice. They hold varying views on the appropriateness of these technologies, influenced by a complex mix of contextual characteristics.Managers from areas in which the ethos of the practice prioritises personalised care in service delivery are less enthusiastic about the adoption of remote consultation/ communication technologies.

  4. Deconstructing medical practice marketing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasbo, Abe

    2010-01-01

    The healthcare marketing game has radically changed. Medical practices must rely on strategies instead of tactics to better separate themselves from the competition. The Internet has become a disruptive force in marketing, tipping the balance and control of the reputations of medical practices to the patient. Done right, medical practices can harness this new energy to attract new patients and keep current patients loyal.

  5. Nigerian Hospital Practice

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives. Journal Homepage Image. The aim of the Nigerian Hospital Practice Journal is to aid in enhancing the advancement of medicine globally by acting as a medium for disseminating information on current clinical and drug practices in ...

  6. International Good Practice on Practical Implementation of Characterisation in Decommissioning. Radiological Characterization in Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities: International Good Practice on Practical Implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larsson, A.; Empdage, M.; Weber, I.; )

    2017-01-01

    Within the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the Working Party on Decommissioning and Dismantling (WPDD) operates under the umbrella of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC). The WPDD provides a focus for the analysis of decommissioning policy, strategy and regulation, including the related issues of waste management, release of buildings and sites from regulatory control and associated cost estimation and funding. WPDD also convenes task groups comprised of experts from the NEA member countries to review related topics such as characterisation techniques which support decommissioning and associated waste management. The Task Group on Radiological Characterisation and Decommissioning was established in 2011 to identify and present characterisation good practice at different stages of decommissioning and to identify areas that could, or should, be developed further through international cooperation and coordination. By the end of 2016 two phases of work will be complete. The first phase developed strategic guidance for decision makers on the selection and tailoring of strategies for radiological characterisation, which gives an overview of good practice for radiological characterisation at different phases of the life cycle of a nuclear installation. The second phase has focused on strategies for practical implementation of radiological characterisation from a waste and materials end-state perspective. This paper provides a summary of the phase 2 findings, covering: -) a major international survey (questionnaire) to elicit the views of characterisation experts regarding good practice; -) Learning drawn from recent international case studies; -) The collation and analysis of regulations, standards and guidance documents; -) Learning distilled from an international conference on characterisation co-organised by the task group; and -) Overall conclusions regarding characterisation good practice, recommendations and identified areas for further international

  7. Practice improvement, part II: trends in employment versus private practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Mary Thoesen; Roett, Michelle A

    2013-11-01

    A growing percentage of physicians are selecting employment over solo practice, and fewer family physicians have hospital admission privileges. Results from surveys of recent medical school graduates indicate a high value placed on free time. Factors to consider when choosing a practice opportunity include desire for independence, decision-making authority, work-life balance, administrative responsibilities, financial risk, and access to resources. Compensation models are evolving from the simple fee-for-service model to include metrics that reward panel size, patient access, coordination of care, chronic disease management, achievement of patient-centered medical home status, and supervision of midlevel clinicians. When a practice is sold, tangible personal property and assets in excess of liabilities, patient accounts receivable, office building, and goodwill (ie, expected earnings) determine its value. The sale of a practice includes a broad legal review, addressing billing and coding deficiencies, noncompliant contractual arrangements, and potential litigations as well as ensuring that all employment agreements, leases, service agreements, and contracts are current, have been executed appropriately, and meet regulatory requirements. Written permission from the American Academy of Family Physicians is required for reproduction of this material in whole or in part in any form or medium.

  8. Inter-practice variation in diagnosing hypertension and diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study in general practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nielen, M.M.J.; Schellevis, F.G.; Verheij, R.A.

    2009-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Previous studies of inter-practice variation of the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus showed wide variations between practices. However, in these studies inter-practice variation was calculated without controlling for clustering of patients within practices and without

  9. Inter-practice variation in diagnosing hypertension and diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study in general practice.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nielen, M.M.J.; Schellevis, F.G.; Verheij, R.A.

    2009-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Previous studies of inter-practice variation of the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus showed wide variations between practices. However, in these studies inter-practice variation was calculated without controlling for clustering of patients within practices and without

  10. Theories of Practice in Tourism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    themes and fields which are usually addressed separately within tourism research: consumption and production; travel and the everyday; governance and policy; technology and the social. The book critically engages with practices as a fruitful approach to tourism research as well as how the particularities......Tourism research that is inspired by theories of practice is currently gaining in prominence. This book provides a much-needed introduction to the potential applications of theories of practice in tourism studies. It brings together a variety of approaches exploring how theories of practice bridge...... of tourism might inform our understanding of practice theories. This book contributes to conceptual and methodological debates providing insights from authors who have engaged with practice theory as an entry point to researching tourism. It offers a solid starting point for researchers and students alike...

  11. Truth telling in medical practice: students' opinions versus their observations of attending physicians' clinical practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Woung-Ru; Fang, Ji-Tseng; Fang, Chun-Kai; Fujimori, Maiko

    2013-07-01

    Truth telling or transmitting bad news is a problem that all doctors must frequently face. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate if medical students' opinions of truth telling differed from their observations of attending physicians' actual clinical practice. The subjects were 275 medical clerks/interns at a medical center in northern Taiwan. Data were collected on medical students' opinions of truth telling, their observations of physicians' clinical practice, students' level of satisfaction with truth telling practiced by attending physicians, and cancer patients' distress level when they were told the truth. Students' truth-telling awareness was significantly higher than the clinical truth-telling practice of attending physicians (pmedical students' opinions on truth telling and attending physicians' actual clinical practice. More research is needed to objectively assess physicians' truth telling in clinical practice and to study the factors affecting the method of truth telling used by attending physicians in clinical practice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Operations Strategy in practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rytter, Niels Gorm; Koch, Christian; Boer, Harry

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, we describe and illustrate a new, action-based longitudinal case study approach, which aims at helping scholars narrow the gap between the theory and practice of Operations Strategy (OS). First, we elaborate on the need for new research methods for studying OS in practice. Then, we...... and disadvantages of the method. Finally, we draw conclusions on its potential for operations strategy and operations management studies.......In this paper, we describe and illustrate a new, action-based longitudinal case study approach, which aims at helping scholars narrow the gap between the theory and practice of Operations Strategy (OS). First, we elaborate on the need for new research methods for studying OS in practice. Then, we...

  13. Interkingdom cues by bacteria associated with conspecific and heterospecific eggs of Cochliomyia macellaria and Chrysomya rufifacies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) potentially govern succession on carrion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deciphering the mechanisms that regulate animal behavior related to succession on ephemeral resources is critical for elucidating food web dynamics and nutrient recycling. Blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) colonization and utilization of vertebrate carrion serve as a model for such studies, as the...

  14. Hydrological and Water Quality Characteristics of Rivers Feeding ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    declining water flows, making most rivers ephemeral or intermittent resulting into water reservoirs storing ... bearing system in the district (Malawi Government, 2006). .... Methodology (BBM) is used and in this methodology, assessments are based on videographic ...... Dams and Development, A New Framework for Decision.

  15. Small seed size increases the potential for dispersal of wetland plants by ducks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soons, M.B.; van der Vlugt, C.; van Lith, B.; Heil, G.W.; Klaassen, M.R.J.

    2008-01-01

    1. Long-distance dispersal (LDD) is important in plants of dynamic and ephemeral habitats. For plants of dynamic wetland habitats, waterfowl are generally considered to be important LDD vectors. However, in comparison to the internal (endozoochorous) dispersal of terrestrial plants by birds,

  16. Methodologies in forensic and decomposition microbiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culturable microorganisms represent only 0.1-1% of the total microbial diversity of the biosphere. This has severely restricted the ability of scientists to study the microbial biodiversity associated with the decomposition of ephemeral resources in the past. Innovations in technology are bringing...

  17. Flow intermittence and ecosystem services in rivers of the Anthropocene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) are watercourses that cease flow at some point in time and space. Arguably Earth's most widespread type of flowing water, IRES are expanding where Anthropocenic climates grow drier and human demands for water escalate. However, IRE...

  18. Site Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wahedi, Haseebullah

    2016-01-01

    different practices in the construction phase. The research is based on an ethnographic study of a case in Denmark. The empirical data were collected through direct observations and semi-structured interviews with site managers, contract managers, foremen and craftsmen. Findings revealed...... that the construction phase comprises several communities and practices, leading to various uses of the drawings. The results indicated that the craftsmen used drawings to position themselves in the correct location, and that the site managers and contract managers used them as management tools and legal documents...

  19. Prototyping Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ramsgaard Thomsen, Mette; Tamke, Martin

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines the role of the prototyping in digital architecture. During the past decade, a new research field has emerged exploring the digital technology’s impact on the way we think, design and build our environment. In this practice the prototype, the pavilion, installation or demonstr......This paper examines the role of the prototyping in digital architecture. During the past decade, a new research field has emerged exploring the digital technology’s impact on the way we think, design and build our environment. In this practice the prototype, the pavilion, installation...

  20. Nearshoring Practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Slepniov, Dmitrij; Brazinskas, Sigitas; Wæhrens, Brian Vejrum

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: The principal objective of this paper is to unravel and assess current nearshoring practices and their outlook in the Baltic region. Design/methodology/approach: We draw on the offshoring and outsourcing literature and use mixed methods of enquiry, including case studies, survey techniques...... and secondary statistical data. Part of the empirical base of the study is an examination of three Scandinavian firms that offshore their operations to vendors in the Baltics. To provide a more complete view of the practices and processes of offshoring in the region, we complement the case studies of Swedish...

  1. High workload and job stress are associated with lower practice performance in general practice: an observational study in 239 general practices in the Netherlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grol Richard

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The impact of high physician workload and job stress on quality and outcomes of healthcare delivery is not clear. Our study explored whether high workload and job stress were associated with lower performance in general practices in the Netherlands. Methods Secondary analysis of data from 239 general practices, collected in practice visits between 2003 to 2006 in the Netherlands using a comprehensive set of measures of practice management. Data were collected by a practice visitor, a trained non-physician observer using patients questionnaires, doctors and staff. For this study we selected five measures of practice performance as outcomes and six measures of GP workload and job stress as predictors. A total of 79 indicators were used out of the 303 available indicators. Random coefficient regression models were applied to examine associations. Results and discussion Workload and job stress are associated with practice performance. Workload: Working more hours as a GP was associated with more positive patient experiences of accessibility and availability (b = 0.16. After list size adjustment, practices with more GP-time per patient scored higher on GP care (b = 0.45. When GPs provided more than 20 hours per week per 1000 patients, patients scored over 80% on the Europep questionnaire for quality of GP care. Job stress: High GP job stress was associated with lower accessibility and availability (b = 0.21 and insufficient practice management (b = 0.25. Higher GP commitment and more satisfaction with the job was associated with more prevention and disease management (b = 0.35. Conclusion Providing more time in the practice, and more time per patient and experiencing less job stress are all associated with perceptions by patients of better care and better practice performance. Workload and job stress should be assessed by using list size adjusted data in order to realise better quality of care. Organisational development using

  2. High workload and job stress are associated with lower practice performance in general practice: an observational study in 239 general practices in the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Hombergh, Pieter; Künzi, Beat; Elwyn, Glyn; van Doremalen, Jan; Akkermans, Reinier; Grol, Richard; Wensing, Michel

    2009-07-15

    The impact of high physician workload and job stress on quality and outcomes of healthcare delivery is not clear. Our study explored whether high workload and job stress were associated with lower performance in general practices in the Netherlands. Secondary analysis of data from 239 general practices, collected in practice visits between 2003 to 2006 in the Netherlands using a comprehensive set of measures of practice management. Data were collected by a practice visitor, a trained non-physician observer using patients questionnaires, doctors and staff. For this study we selected five measures of practice performance as outcomes and six measures of GP workload and job stress as predictors. A total of 79 indicators were used out of the 303 available indicators. Random coefficient regression models were applied to examine associations. Workload and job stress are associated with practice performance.Workload: Working more hours as a GP was associated with more positive patient experiences of accessibility and availability (b = 0.16). After list size adjustment, practices with more GP-time per patient scored higher on GP care (b = 0.45). When GPs provided more than 20 hours per week per 1000 patients, patients scored over 80% on the Europep questionnaire for quality of GP care.Job stress: High GP job stress was associated with lower accessibility and availability (b = 0.21) and insufficient practice management (b = 0.25). Higher GP commitment and more satisfaction with the job was associated with more prevention and disease management (b = 0.35). Providing more time in the practice, and more time per patient and experiencing less job stress are all associated with perceptions by patients of better care and better practice performance. Workload and job stress should be assessed by using list size adjusted data in order to realise better quality of care. Organisational development using this kind of data feedback could benefit both patients and GP.

  3. Channel sandstone and bar morphology of the Beaufort group uranium district near Beaufort West

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stear, W.M.

    1980-01-01

    Sheet-like and lenticular sandstone bodies in the Lower Beaufort Group (Adelaide Subgroup) uranium district occur in megacyclic repetition as superimposed systems of ephemeral fluvial channels that display characteristics of complex lateral and vertical accretion. Channel sandstone bodies are defined on morphological grounds into two types. Sheet sandstone bodies are the commonest type and comprise the bulk of sandstone packages in arenaceous zones of megacycles. Composite sandstone sheets result from multilateral coalescence of individual sandstone bodies. Isolated lenticular sandstone units in argillaceous zones of megacycles comprise sheet and ribbon sandstone types. Multi-storeying is a prominent feature of most channel sandstone bodies and often results in local sandstone thickening. Bedforms relate to the formation of compound bars and record periods of dynamic accretion and erosion. Rarely preserved palaeosurfaces vividly illustrate the fluctuating hydrodynamic conditions that typified ephemeral fluvial sedimentation in a semi-arid environment during Lower Beaufort times

  4. Channel sandstone and bar morphology of the Beaufort group uranium district near Beaufort West

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stear, W M

    1980-01-01

    Sheet-like and lenticular sandstone bodies in the Lower Beaufort Group (Adelaide Subgroup) uranium district occur in megacyclic repetition as superimposed systems of ephemeral fluvial channels that display characteristics of complex lateral and vertical accretion. Channel sandstone bodies are defined on morphological grounds into two types. Sheet sandstone bodies are the commonest type and comprise the bulk of sandstone packages in arenaceous zones of megacycles. Composite sandstone sheets result from multilateral coalescence of individual sandstone bodies. Isolated lenticular sandstone units in argillaceous zones of megacycles comprise sheet and ribbon sandstone types. Multi-storeying is a prominent feature of most channel sandstone bodies and often results in local sandstone thickening. Bedforms relate to the formation of compound bars and record periods of dynamic accretion and erosion. Rarely preserved palaeosurfaces vividly illustrate the fluctuating hydrodynamic conditions that typified ephemeral fluvial sedimentation in a semi-arid environment during Lower Beaufort times.

  5. Impact of the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative on Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobi, Judith; Ray, Shaunta'; Danelich, Ilya; Dodds Ashley, Elizabeth; Eckel, Stephen; Guharoy, Roy; Militello, Michael; O'Donnell, Paul; Sam, Teena; Crist, Stephanie M; Smidt, Danielle

    2016-05-01

    This paper describes the goals of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI) and its recommendations for health-system pharmacy practice transformation to meet future patient care needs and elevate the role of pharmacists as patient care providers. PPMI envisions a future in which pharmacists have greater responsibility for medication-related outcomes and technicians assume greater responsibility for product-related activities. Although the PPMI recommendations have elevated the level of practice in many settings, they also potentially affect existing clinical pharmacists, in general, and clinical pharmacy specialists, in particular. Moreover, although more consistent patient care can be achieved with an expanded team of pharmacist providers, the role of clinical pharmacy specialists must not be diminished, especially in the care of complex patients and populations. Specialist practitioners with advanced training and credentials must be available to model and train pharmacists in generalist positions, residents, and students. Indeed, specialist practitioners are often the innovators and practice leaders. Negotiation between hospitals and pharmacy schools is needed to ensure a continuing role for academic clinical pharmacists and their contributions as educators and researchers. Lessons can be applied from disciplines such as nursing and medicine, which have developed new models of care involving effective collaboration between generalists and specialists. Several different pharmacy practice models have been described to meet the PPMI goals, based on available personnel and local goals. Studies measuring the impact of these new practice models are needed. © 2016 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.

  6. Toward an Ontology of Practices in Educational Administration: Theoretical Implications for Research and Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newton, Paul; Riveros, Augusto

    2015-01-01

    In this article, we argue for a study of educational administration centered on an "ontology of practices." This is an initial proposal for thinking about and conceptualizing practices in educational administration. To do this, first, we explore how practices are constituted and how they configure the social realities of practitioners.…

  7. Quality in Human Resource Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Kjeld

    Abstract: Quality in Human Resource Practice – a process perspective The purpose of this article is to establish criteria for what quality in human resource practice (HRP) actually means. The general thesis is that quality in human resource practices is shaped within social processes in the HRM...... areas (recruitment, training, work environment etc.). Initially the concept of quality is defined in general on the basis of selections from the HRM literature, and then related to human resource practice. The question posed in the article is then answered using examples from case studies of human...... resource practice in industrial and service-related work processes. The focus in these studies is directed at behavioural processes between managers and employees, especially at individual and group level. The conclusion is that quality in human resource practice can be considered to be a social process...

  8. Dentists' dietary perception and practice patterns in a dental practice-based research network.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoko Yokoyama

    Full Text Available Dental caries are largely preventable, and epidemiological evidence for a relationship between diet and oral health is abundant. To date, however, dentists' perceptions about the role of diet and dentists' practice patterns regarding diet counseling have not been clarified.THE PURPOSES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO: (1 examine discordance between dentists' perception of the importance of diet in caries treatment planning and their actual provision of diet counseling to patients, and (2 identify dentists' characteristics associated with their provision of diet counseling.The study used a cross-sectional study design consisting of a questionnaire survey in Japan.The study queried dentists working in outpatient dental practices who were affiliated with the Dental Practice-Based Research Network Japan (JDPBRN, which aims to allow dentists to investigate research questions and share experiences and expertise (n = 282.Dentists were asked about their perceptions on the importance of diet and their practice patterns regarding diet counseling, as well as patient, practice, and dentist background data.The majority of participants (n = 116, 63% recognized that diet is "more important" to oral health. However, among participants who think diet is "more important" (n = 116, only 48% (n = 56 provide diet counseling to more than 20% of their patients. Multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that several variables were associated with providing diet counseling; dentist gender, practice busyness, percentage of patients interested in caries prevention, caries risk assessment, and percentage of patients who receive blood pressure screening.Some discordance exists between dentists' perception of the importance of diet in caries treatment planning and their actual practice pattern regarding diet counseling to patients. Reducing this discordance may require additional dentist education, including nutritional and systemic disease concepts; patient

  9. The role of advanced practice providers in pediatric otolaryngology academic practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reilly, Brian K; Brandon, Gretchen; Shah, Rahul; Preciado, Diego; Zalzal, George

    2013-01-01

    The goal of this study was to examine the roles of Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) in pediatric academic otolaryngology programs to provide a better understanding of their scope of practice, levels of autonomy, clinical duties, teaching opportunities and research participation. An anonymous web-based electronic survey tool was sent to all pediatric otolaryngology fellowship program directors in the United States. Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants are utilized in approximately 3 out of every 4 pediatric otolaryngology practices. The top three job activities of both the PA and NP were: (1) seeing patients independently, (2) working alongside doctors in clinic, and (3) answering phone lines/parental calls. A higher percentage of PAs (83%), worked alongside doctors in clinic, as compared to NPs, where only 55% work alongside MDs. Over half of PAs round with the in-patient team and see consults as compared to just over one third of NPs who participate in such activities. Twenty-five percent of practices reported that PAs cover call and assist in the OR. Most PAs/NPs saw between 11 and 15 patients per clinic which provides a clear productivity advantage when looking to screen patients, provide medical care, generate surgical cases, and maximize billings. NPs and PAs have complimentary skill sets ideal for the pediatric otolaryngology workplace, although job activities and "best fit" are hospital and practice dependent. Our study suggests that the use of PAs and NPs will continue to grow to meet increased demand for services in the field of pediatric otolaryngology. Employing advanced practice providers enables academic centers to improve access, provide additional financial remuneration, reduce wait times for new patients, and allow attending physicians to meet increased practice demands. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Manage indirect practice expense the way you practice medicine: with information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeller, T L; Senagore, A J; Siegel, G

    1999-05-01

    Surgeons are increasingly faced with the pressures of maintaining the highest quality of patient care, while at the same time maintaining financial viability. The purpose of this project was to provide a framework for analyzing practice costs for colorectal surgeons using an activity-based cost accounting model. A survey of 11 practices that were diverse in terms of geography, managed care penetration, academic vs. private practice style, and case distribution was performed. In activity-based costing the assignment of typical costs such as staff salaries are assigned to the appropriate business process. The business processes employed in this study were service patients in the office, perform in-office procedures, schedule cases in facilities, service patients in the hospital, insurance authorization, maintain medical records, billing, collections, resolve billing disputes, interaction with third parties, maintain professional education, sustain and manage the practice, maintain the facility, teaching and research, and performing drug studies. The final step is to assign the cost associated with all appropriate business processes to the appropriate cost object. The cost objects in this study were defined as a charge office visit, no-charge office visit, charge hospital visit, in-office procedures, in-facility procedures, and performing drug studies. The data were then analyzed to allow a comparison of four similar practices within the study group. The data demonstrated that the cost of seeing a charge office visit ranged from $55 to $105. Similarly, the cost of seeing a no-charge office visit during the global period ranged from $43 to $100. The study analyzed possible explanations for the wide variability in these costs. It is essential that physicians clearly understand the sources of expenses generated by the operation of their practices. A clear comprehension of costs will lead colorectal surgeons to make appropriate decisions regarding such important issues as

  11. Creative Digital Media Practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frølunde, Lisbeth

    , 2006, 2009), machinima (machine + cinema + anime, real-time animation captured in games etc.), and the digital storytelling movement. A dialogic perspective on the diversity of digital media practices opens up for understanding the complex evolution of language on socio-historical, cultural......The presentation reviews the interplay of dialogic (Bakhtin, 1981) and multimodal theories on media production practices, with attention to visual communication (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2001, 2006). This theoretical approach aids in reflecting on digital media practices as novel (new) sign systems...... develop a collaborative digital storytelling showcase for their own digital stories about Roskilde University. This course is intended to bring up reflections on the wider phenomenon of contemporary media practices, such as: YouTube, DIY (do-it-yourself) filmmaking or homemade, garage cinema (Jenkins...

  12. Solar energy development and aquatic ecosystems in the southwestern United States: potential impacts, mitigation, and research needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grippo, Mark; Hayse, John W; O'Connor, Ben L

    2015-01-01

    The cumulative impacts of utility-scale solar energy facilities on aquatic ecosystems in the Southwestern United States are of concern, considering the many existing regional anthropogenic stressors. We review the potential impacts of solar energy development on aquatic habitat and biota. The greatest potential for impacts is related to the loss, fragmentation, or prolonged drying of ephemeral water bodies and drainage networks resulting from the loss of desert washes within the construction footprint of the facility. Groundwater-dependent aquatic habitat may also be affected by operational groundwater withdrawal in the case of water-intensive solar technologies. Solar panels have also been found to attract aquatic insects and waterbirds, potentially resulting in mortality. Avoiding construction activity near perennial and intermittent surface waters is the primary means of reducing impacts on aquatic habitats, followed by measures to minimize erosion, sedimentation, and contaminant inputs into waterways. Currently, significant data gaps make solar facility impact assessment and mitigation more difficult. Examples include the need for more regional and site-specific studies of surface-groundwater connectivity, more detailed maps of regional stream networks and riparian vegetation corridors, as well as surveys of the aquatic communities inhabiting ephemeral streams. In addition, because they often lack regulatory protection, there is also a need to develop valuation criteria for ephemeral waters based on their ecological and hydrologic function within the landscape. By addressing these research needs, we can achieve the goal of greater reliance on solar energy, while at the same time minimizing impacts on desert ecosystems.

  13. Soil seed-bank germination patterns in natural pastures under different mineral fertilizer treatments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Iannucci

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Degraded native grasslands in Mediterranean areas can be improved by encouraging seedling regeneration from soil seed banks using chemical fertilization. The effect of mineral fertilizers on soil seed banks was studied in natural pastures at two locations in southern Italy: Carpino and Rignano Garganico. The aim was to determine if nitrogen (N, phosphorus (P and combined nitrogen and phosphorus (NP fertilization can promote increased soil seed density. The seed-bank size and composition were analysed over two growth cycles (2004-2006 at two periods of the year: at the early summer and at the early autumn. The plant species were classified into three functional groups: grasses, legumes and other species (all other dicots. A two-pool model (ephemeral and base pools derived from the germination patterns was developed to quantify the dynamics of the germinated seed populations. The mean total seed number in the seed bank ranged from 2,915 to 4,782 seed m-2 with higher values in early summer than in early autumn. Mineral fertilizer applications increased the seed-bank size (by 27%, 23% and 46%, for N, P and NP, respectively and modified the composition in both localities. The three plant functional groups showed different potentials for ephemeral and persistent seed-bank production; however, within each plant group, the proportion between the ephemeral and base pool fractions did not change with fertilizer application. These data show that mineral fertilization can have positive effects on the seed-bank size of ungrazed natural pastures, and can be used to improve degraded Mediterranean pastures.

  14. Standards of practice for forensic mental health nurses--identifying contemporary practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Trish; Maguire, Tessa; Quinn, Chris; Ryan, Jo; Bawden, Louise; Summers, Monica

    2013-01-01

    Forensic mental health nursing is a recognized field of nursing in most countries. Despite a growing body of literature describing aspects of practice, no publication has been found that captures the core knowledge, skills, and attitudes of forensic mental health nurses. One group of nurses in Australia have pooled their knowledge of relevant literature and their own clinical experience and have written standards of practice for forensic mental health nursing. This paper identifies the need for standards, provides a summary of the standards of practice for forensic mental health nurses, and concludes with how these standards can be used and can articulate to others the desired and achievable level of performance in the specialty area.

  15. A practice scaffolding interactive platform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bundsgaard, Jeppe

    2009-01-01

    A Practice Scaffolding Interactive Platform (PracSIP) is a social learning platform which supports students in collaborative project based learning by simulating a professional practice. A PracSIP puts the core tools of the simulated practice at the students' disposal, it organizes collaboration...

  16. THE DYNAMICS OF BEST MANUFACTURING PRACTICES

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Timenes Laugen, Bjørge; Acur, Nuran; Boer, Harry

    and manufacturing, and improving manufacturing process maintain their status as best practices, while servitization and supply chain management are new best practices. Globalization and responsibility are proposed as promising practices, and technology is suggested as a qualifying practice....

  17. Practical data analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Cuesta, Hector

    2013-01-01

    Each chapter of the book quickly introduces a key 'theme' of Data Analysis, before immersing you in the practical aspects of each theme. You'll learn quickly how to perform all aspects of Data Analysis.Practical Data Analysis is a book ideal for home and small business users who want to slice & dice the data they have on hand with minimum hassle.

  18. Theorizing practice research in social work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Uggerhøj, Lars

    2011-01-01

    . To elaborate and define practice research in social work, it is necessary to consider connected approaches and theories. The article will show that practice research is both connected to and can use the theoretical frames of Actual science and Mode 2 knowledge production. To understand and develop research......The article focuses on theories, definitions, interests, possibilities and barriers in practice research in social work. It points out that both practice and research will be influenced by participating in and developing practice research. – and that both parts must and will learn from the process...... closely connected to practice it is necessary to define it in three different ways: practice research, practitioner research and user-controlled research. Examples from different Nordic approaches connected to these definitions will be presented. Although practice and research both need to develop...

  19. Combining accounting approaches to practice valuation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartzben, D; Finkler, S A

    1998-06-01

    Healthcare organizations that wish to acquire physician or ambulatory care practices can choose from a variety of practice valuation approaches. Basic accounting methods assess the value of a physician practice on the basis of a historical, balance-sheet description of tangible assets. Yet these methods alone are inadequate to determine the true financial value of a practice. By using a combination of accounting approaches to practice valuation that consider factors such as fair market value, opportunity cost, and discounted cash flow over a defined time period, organizations can more accurately assess a practice's actual value.

  20. Optimizing Team Dynamics: An Assessment of Physician Trainees and Advanced Practice Providers Collaborative Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Cortney B; Simone, Shari; Bagdure, Dayanand; Garber, Nan A; Bhutta, Adnan

    2016-09-01

    The presence of advanced practice providers has become increasingly common in many ICUs. The ideal staffing model for units that contain both advanced practice providers and physician trainees has not been described. The objectives of this study were to evaluate ICU staffing models that include physician trainees and advanced practice providers and their effects on patient outcomes, resident and fellow education, and training experience. A second aim was to assess strategies to promote collaboration between team members. PubMed, CINAHL, OVID MEDLINE, and Cochrane Review from 2002 to 2015. Experimental study designs conducted in an ICU setting. Two reviewers screened articles for eligibility and independently abstracted data using the identified search terms. We found 21 articles describing ICU team structure and outcomes. Four articles were found describing the impact of advanced practice providers on resident or fellow education. Two articles were found discussing strategies to promote collaboration between advanced practice providers and critical care fellows or residents. Several articles were identified describing the utilization of advanced practice providers in the ICU and the impact of models of care on patient outcomes. Limited data exist describing the impact of advanced practice providers on resident and fellow education and training experience. In addition, there are minimal data describing methods to enhance collaboration between providers. Future research should focus on determining the optimal ICU team structure to improve patient outcomes, education of trainees, and job satisfaction of team members and methods to promote collaboration between advanced practice providers and physicians in training.

  1. The Making of Practical Optics : Mathematical Practitioners’ Appropriation of Optical Knowledge between Theory and Practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dupré, S.; Cormack, L.B.; Walton, S.A.; Schuster, J.A.

    2017-01-01

    The discussion of the differing practices of mathematical practitioners’ appropriation of the optical tradition in this essay brings out a variety among mathematical practitioners and within the tradition of practical mathematics. This diversity is difficult to grasp in accounts of practical

  2. Process evaluation of a practice nurse-led smoking cessation trial in Australian general practice: views of general practitioners and practice nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halcomb, Elizabeth J; Furler, John S; Hermiz, Oshana S; Blackberry, Irene D; Smith, Julie P; Richmond, Robyn L; Zwar, Nicholas A

    2015-08-01

    Support in primary care can assist smokers to quit successfully, but there are barriers to general practitioners (GPs) providing this support routinely. Practice nurses (PNs) may be able to effectively take on this role. The aim of this study was to perform a process evaluation of a PN-led smoking cessation intervention being tested in a randomized controlled trial in Australian general practice. Process evaluation was conducted by means of semi-structured telephone interviews with GPs and PNs allocated in the intervention arm (Quit with PN) of the Quit in General Practice trial. Interviews focussed on nurse training, content and implementation of the intervention. Twenty-two PNs and 15 GPs participated in the interviews. The Quit with PN intervention was viewed positively. Most PNs were satisfied with the training and the materials provided. Some challenges in managing patient data and follow-up were identified. The Quit with PN intervention was acceptable to participating PNs and GPs. Issues to be addressed in the planning and wider implementation of future trials of nurse-led intervention in general practice include providing ongoing mentoring support, integration into practice management systems and strategies to promote greater collaboration in GPs and PN teams in general practice. The ongoing feasibility of the intervention was impacted by the funding model supporting PN employment and the competing demands on the PNs time. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. 1 Evaluating Biophysical Attributes of Environmentally Degraded ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    `123456789jkl''''#

    Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management Vol.4 No. 1 2011. 1 Department of .... land cover types and other physical attributes. (soils and landform ..... Natural water bodies (Rivers). Figure 4: .... permanent or ephemeral rivers. .... evaluating land use/land cover change using participatory ... First Edition.

  4. Flânerie and Acrophilia in the Postmetropolis: Rooftops in Hong Kong Cinema

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chow, Y.F.; de Kloet, J.

    2014-01-01

    Living in the spectacle of Hong Kong's skyscape, how often do its dwellers actually see, not to mention reach, its rooftops? Intriguingly, despite their apparent ephemerality and inaccessibility, the vertical fringes of the city feature frequently in Hong Kong cinema: the rooftop. In this article,

  5. Bed topography and sand transport responses to a step change in discharge and water depth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ephemeral streams with sand and gravel beds may inherit bed topography caused by previous flow events, resulting in bed topography that is not in equilibrium with flow conditions, complicating the modeling of flow and sediment transport. Major flow events, resulting from rainfall with high intensity...

  6. Coordination models Orc and Reo compared

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.M.P. Proença (Jose); D.G. Clarke (David)

    2008-01-01

    htmlabstractOrc and Reo are two complementary approaches to the problem of coordinating components or services. On one hand, Orc is highly asynchronous, dynamic, and based on ephemeral connections to services. On the other hand, Reo is based on the interplay between synchronization and mutual

  7. Patient safety in practical nurses' education: A cross-sectional survey of newly registered practical nurses in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanDenKerkhof, Elizabeth; Sears, Nancy; Edge, Dana S; Tregunno, Deborah; Ginsburg, Liane

    2017-04-01

    Practical nurses have experienced an increasing scope of practice, including an expectation to care for complex patients and function on interdisciplinary teams. Little is known about the degree to which patient safety principles are addressed in practical nursing education. To examine self-reported patient safety competencies of practical nurses. A cross-sectional online survey (July 2014) and face-to-face interviews (June 2015). Ontario, Canada. Survey participants were practical nurses newly registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario between January 2012 and December 2013. Interview participants were faculty and students in a practical nursing program in Ontario. Survey respondents completed the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey online. Self-reported competencies in various patient safety domains were compared between classroom and clinical settings. Faculty members were interviewed about educational preparation of practical nurses and students were interviewed to provide insight into interpretation of survey questions. The survey response rate was 28.4% (n=1104/3883). Mean domain scores indicated a high level of confidence in patient safety competence (Nurses of Ontario >2years and in those who obtained their education outside of Canada. Faculty believed their approach to teaching and learning instilled a deep understanding of the limits to practical nurse autonomous practice. Practical nurses were confident in what they learned about patient safety in their educational programs. The high degree of patient safety competence may be a true reflection of practical nurses understanding of, and comfort with, the limits of their knowledge and, ultimately, the limits of their individual autonomous practice. Further exploration as to whether the questionnaire requires additional modification for use with practical nurse populations is warranted. However, this study provides the first examination of practical nurses' perspectives and

  8. A Practice-Based Theory of Healing Through Therapeutic Touch: Advancing Holistic Nursing Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanley, Mary Anne; Coppa, Denise; Shields, Deborah

    2017-08-01

    For nearly 50 years, Therapeutic Touch (TT) has contributed to advancing holistic nursing practice and has been recognized as a uniquely human approach to healing. This narrative explores the development of a practice-based theory of healing through TT, which occurred between 2010 and 2016. Through the in-depth self-inquiry of participatory reflective dialogue in concert with constant narrative analysis, TT practitioners revealed the meaning of healing within the context of their TT practice. As the community of TT experts participated in an iterative process of small group and community dialogues with analysis and synthesis of emerging themes, the assumptions and concepts central to a theory of healing emerged, were clarified and verified. Exemplars of practice illustrate the concepts. A model of the theory of healing illuminates the movement and relationship among concepts and evolved over time. Feedback from nursing and inter-professional practitioners indicate that the theory of healing, while situated within the context of TT, may be useful in advancing holistic nursing practice, informing healing and caring approaches, stimulating research and education, and contributing to future transformations in health care.

  9. Male Body Practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefkowich, Maya; Oliffe, John L; Hurd Clarke, Laura; Hannan-Leith, Madeline

    2017-03-01

    The pressure on boys and men to engage in extensive body practices (e.g., closely monitored eating and exercise habits) and achieve ideal male bodies has grown significantly over the past 20 years. Central to the depiction of ideal male bodies and body practices are both the pursuit and achievement of lean and well-defined muscles. The labels "pitches," "purchases," and "performativities" were inductively derived from the literature, and used to describe the multifaceted connections between masculinities, muscularity, and idealized male body practices. "Pitches" distil how popular culture posture norms of masculinity, and manly bodies and behaviors attainable and necessary. "Purchases" refer to men's diverse buy-in to dominant discourses about acceptable male bodies and practices. "Performativities" chronicle how men embody and navigate gender norms as they evaluate their own bodies, behaviors, and eating habits and those of their peers. Based on findings from the current scoping review, future research could benefit from fully linking masculinities with the drive for muscularity to address health and social risks associated with the pursuit of the idealized male body. In highlighting the plurality of masculinities and the complexity of men's diverse identities, health care providers can better reach and support men. Focusing on, and celebrating, a wider range of male bodies could help recenter dominant discourses about how and whose bodies and experiences are idealized. The current scoping review article offers an overview of how masculinities and muscularity have been linked to male body practices, and recommendations to advance this emergent field.

  10. Teachers, Arts Practice and Pedagogy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franks, Anton; Thomson, Pat; Hall, Chris; Jones, Ken

    2014-01-01

    What are possible overlaps between arts practice and school pedagogy? How is teacher subjectivity and pedagogy affected when teachers engage with arts practice, in particular, theatre practices? We draw on research conducted into the Learning Performance Network (LPN), a project that involved school teachers working with the Royal Shakespeare…

  11. Getting practical in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pol, Hendrik Jan; Sonneveld, Wim; Fatih Taşar, M.

    2012-01-01

    Practical work is essential in secondary school science education. Although there is no doubt about that statement, for example in the Netherlands, there is a discussion going on about the efficiency of practical work: what do students learn when they work on practicals, and is this the most

  12. Literacy testing practices in transition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Lars

    Literacy testing has been researched as a social practice from different perspectives (McNamara & Roewer, 2006; Shohamy, 2001). Drawing on a Faucault inspired concept og governmentality in which literacy testing practices are seen as social technologies (Dean, 1999) and as a phenomenon closely...... related to supra- and transnational agencies this paper investigates the relation between state, pedagogy and conceptualizations of literacy. Drawing on data and findings from three ethnographic oriented studies of institutional testing practices of literacy in preschool, primary school and adult second...... language teaching in Denmark (Holm, 2004; 2007; 2009) this paper reveals the construction of values, ideologies and practices around institutional testing of litaracy in education. The analyses of testing instruments and assessment practices indicate among other things that testing of literacy have become...

  13. Manufacturing best practices and performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Szász, Levente; Demeter, Krisztina; Boer, Harry

    2014-01-01

    whether a) home and host country characteristics moderate the association between manufacturing practices and performance, and, thus, whether b) there are manufacturing practices that are universally best. Manufacturing practices and performance are measured using data collected through the fifth round...... analysis is used to develop groups of companies based on home and host country development. Exploratory factor analysis is applied to create bundles of manufacturing practices and performance measures. Then, using moderated multiple regressions (MMR) with interaction factor, and separate multiple...... regression analyses for each group of companies, bundles of manufacturing practices are identified that lead to best-in-class performance improvements. A range of control variables is introduced to help interpret the results. The study shows that home and host country context does affect the association...

  14. Radioimmunoassay in clinical practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ametov, A S

    1982-01-01

    A wide application of radioimmunoassay in clinical practice is shown. The main theoretical aspects of radioimmunoassay and the fields of application in clinical practice - endocrinology, oncology, allergology, cardiology, pharmacology, pediatrics, hematology, obstetrics and gynecology, are presented.

  15. The lost history of American veterinary medicine: the need for preservation*†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyd, C. Trenton

    2011-01-01

    Objective: The objective of this study was to survey holdings of ephemeral veterinary literature. Methods: WorldCat OCLC catalog, the Library of Congress online catalog, the US National Agricultural Library online catalog, and the Dictionary Catalog of the National Agricultural Library, 1862–1965, were used to determine current library holdings of materials published by veterinary schools that are no longer in existence and veterinary associations that are defunct, veterinary supply catalogs, veterinary house organs, patent medicine publications, and veterinary advertisements. Individual library catalogs were also consulted. In addition, the practice of removing advertisements from bound volumes was examined. Results: There are many gaps in the cataloged library holdings of primary source materials relating to the history of the education of veterinarians in the United States. Conclusions: A proactive action plan needs to be designed and activated to locate, catalog, and preserve this primary source material of veterinary medicine for posterity. PMID:21243050

  16. À PROCURA DA FELICIDADE PLENA NA CULTURA CONSUMISTA CONTEMPORÂNEA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Mariani Casadore

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Consumption went through several changes over the years, following closely the economic models and state politics in the societies. Currently, acquired a different character associated mainly to the sensations, to the body and entertainment, increasingly ephemeral and always remains parallel and directly bonded to identity and social status. Within the neoliberal capitalist system, is really significant in relation to men and their work, their experiences and even with the sense of being almost inseparable from the "take". This article concerns about contemporary society of consumption through readings in psychoanalysis and sociology texts; examines thereby the practice with the current consumer market surrounded by objects of fantasy, their relationship with the person waiting, passively, what all that purchase and the illusory ideal of happiness that surrounds the activities of the market, confusing desires, needs, and promising the eternal satisfaction to consumers. The text was composed from a bibliographical study, theoretical and speculative, in addition to understanding and reflection of the authors on the subject.

  17. Estrategias de colonización efímera: tácticas informales en la reconfiguración de un terrain-vague

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enrique Venegas Flores

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo parte de la investigación titulada “ESTRATEGIAS DE COLONIZACIÓN EFÍMERA: Tácticas informales en la reconfiguración de un terrain-vague”, en la cual se propone que, los aspectos reconfiguracionales, definidos por tácticas de ocupación y de posicionamiento de prácticas informales presentes en terrenos vagos (vacíos, pueden ser utilizadas como herramientas para comprender, proponer y proyectar arquitectónicamente una serie de estrategias de colonización que permitan mantener y potenciar la vitalidad contenida en tales áreas. This article, part of the research entitled “EPHEMERAL COLONIZATION STRATEGIES: Informal reconfiguration tactics on a “terrain-vague”, in which redefines aspects, defined by occupation tactics and informal positioning practices present in vacant lots, are proposed to be used as tools to understand, propose and architecturally project a series of colonization strategies which could allow to maintain and enhance the vitality contained in such areas.

  18. Domestic food preparation practices: a review of the reasons for poor home hygiene practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Sakkaf, Ali

    2015-09-01

    New Zealand has a much higher rate of reported campylobacteriosis cases than the rest of the developed world. It has been suggested that New Zealanders have worse home hygiene practices during food preparation than the citizens of other developed countries. Thus, it is necessary to recognize and understand the reasons for consumer's poor practices in order to help develop a more effective message to improve New Zealanders' practices in the domestic environment. This could in turn lead to a reduction in the number of campylobacteriosis cases. The objective is to review cited literature on consumer practices which is related to food poisoning and to attempt to list the factors related to poor consumer practice. There are many internationally identifiable reasons for the poor practices of consumers. These reasons include psychological, demographic and socioeconomic variables; personal interest in new information; prior knowledge; cultural influence; educational background; perception of risk, control and liability; and attitude towards the addressed practices or hazards. The results have indicated that 'optimistic bias', the 'illusion of control', habits and lack of knowledge concerning food safety during domestic food preparation are prevalent among consumers. The research indicated the influence of demographic factors (age, gender, level of education, income, work hours, race, location, culture), as they play a potential role in determining domestic food safety behaviour. It appears that all these factors are applicable for New Zealand consumers and should be addressed in any future education strategy aimed at improving New Zealanders' food handling practices. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. Practice settings and dentists' job satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo Sasso, Anthony T; Starkel, Rebecca L; Warren, Matthew N; Guay, Albert H; Vujicic, Marko

    2015-08-01

    The nature and organization of dental practice is changing. The aim of this study was to explore how job satisfaction among dentists is associated with dental practice setting. A survey measured satisfaction with income, benefits, hours worked, clinical autonomy, work-life balance, emotional exhaustion, and overall satisfaction among dentists working in large group, small group, and solo practice settings; 2,171 dentists responded. The authors used logistic regression to measure differences in reported levels of satisfaction across practice settings. Dentists working in small group settings reported the most satisfaction overall. Dentists working in large group settings reported more satisfaction with income and benefits than dentists in solo practice, as well as having the least stress. Findings suggest possible advantages and disadvantages of working in different types of practice settings. Dentists working in different practice settings reported differences in satisfaction. These results may help dentists decide which practice setting is best for them. Copyright © 2015 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Psychotherapy in Contemporary Psychiatric Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjipavlou, George; Hernandez, Carlos A Sierra; Ogrodniczuk, John S

    2015-06-01

    American data suggest a declining trend in the provision of psychotherapy by psychiatrists. Nevertheless, the extent to which such findings generalize to psychiatric practice in other countries is unclear. We surveyed psychiatrists in British Columbia to examine whether the reported decline in psychotherapy provision extends to the landscape of Canadian psychiatric practice. A survey was mailed to the entire population of fully licensed psychiatrists registered in British Columbia (n = 623). The survey consisted of 30 items. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and psychotherapy practice patterns. Associations between variables were evaluated using nonparametric tests. A total of 423 psychiatrists returned the survey, yielding a response rate of 68%. Overall, 80.9% of psychiatrists (n = 342) reported practicing psychotherapy. A decline in the provision of psychotherapy was not observed; in fact, there was an increase in psychotherapy provision among psychiatrists entering practice in the last 10 years. Individual therapy was the predominant format used by psychiatrists. The most common primary theoretical orientation was psychodynamic (29.9%). Regarding actual practice, supportive psychotherapy was practiced most frequently. Professional time constraints were perceived as the most significant barrier to providing psychotherapy. The majority (85%) of clinicians did not view remuneration as a significant barrier to treating patients with psychotherapy. Our findings challenge the prevailing view that psychotherapy is in decline among psychiatrists. Psychiatrists in British Columbia continue to integrate psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in clinical practice, thus preserving their unique place in the spectrum of mental health services.

  1. Power in Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adler-Nissen, Rebecca; Pouliot, Vincent

    2014-01-01

    , in practice, state representatives translate their skills into actual influence and generate a power politics that eschews structural analysis. We argue that seemingly trivial struggles over diplomatic competence within these three multilateral organizations played a crucial role in the intervention in Libya......How does power work in practice? Much of the “stuff” that state agents and other international actors do, on an everyday basis, remains impenetrable to existing IR theory. This is unfortunate, as the everyday performance of international practices actually helps shape world policy outcomes....... In this article we develop a framework to grasp the concrete workings of power in international politics. The notion of “emergent power” bridges two different understandings of power: as capability or relation. Emergent power refers to the generation and deployment of endogenous resources – social skills...

  2. The business of dental practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niken Widyanti Sriyono

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Globalization including General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS and Asia Fair Trade Agreement (AFTA are a new free trade system. In globalization era, there will be an intense and free competition in looking for jobs throughout the world. This new system will affect the health services system in which health services tend to follow an industrial model. Meaning that dentistry or dental health services tend to be part of a business system, and this system has caused controversy among the community and the profession itself. The results of the discussion revealed that professional and business of dentistry is compatible and complementary. The tendency of increasing number of legal form of practice (group and a professional corporation and the worldwide advertisement of these practices supported the premise that delivering dental practice tends to follow the industrial model. Dentists should not only more focus on achieving financial success in running the business of practice but profession should have the most concern for the people who seek their services. Delivering quality of dental care depends on the high skill of the dentist and on the satisfactory income for the survival of the practice in the long run, and this make the practice will be viewed by the public and profession as being appropriate and of high quality. Facing the globalization, besides possessing high clinical skill, dentists must have a firm understanding of management concepts and apply them in their practice. In conclusion: The profession and the business of dentistry are compatible and complementary. The delivery of the dental services tends to follow the industrial model, which is a current reality. Dentist should concern more on the delivering high quality of dental services, not only focus on the business of the practice, although the satisfactory income is important for the survival growth of the practice in the long run. It is suggested for dentists to follow as

  3. Integrated Practice Improvement Solutions-Practical Steps to Operating Room Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chernov, Mikhail; Pullockaran, Janet; Vick, Angela; Leyvi, Galina; Delphin, Ellise

    2016-10-01

    Perioperative productivity is a vital concern for surgeons, anesthesiologists, and administrators as the OR is a major source of hospital elective admissions and revenue. Based on elements of existing Practice Improvement Methodologies (PIMs), "Integrated Practice Improvement Solutions" (IPIS) is a practical and simple solution incorporating aspects of multiple management approaches into a single open source framework to increase OR efficiency and productivity by better utilization of existing resources. OR efficiency was measured both before and after IPIS implementation using the total number of cases versus room utilization, OR/anesthesia revenue and staff overtime (OT) costs. Other parameters of efficiency, such as the first case on-time start and the turnover time (TOT) were measured in parallel. IPIS implementation resulted in increased numbers of surgical procedures performed by an average of 10.7%, and OR and anesthesia revenue increases of 18.5% and 6.9%, respectively, with a simultaneous decrease in TOT (15%) and OT for anesthesia staff (26%). The number of perioperative adverse events was stable during the two-year study period which involved a total of 20,378 patients. IPIS, an effective and flexible practice improvement model, was designed to quickly, significantly, and sustainably improve OR efficiency by better utilization of existing resources. Success of its implementation directly correlates with the involvement of and acceptance by the entire OR team and hospital administration.

  4. Cooling towers principles and practice

    CERN Document Server

    Hill, G B; Osborn, Peter D

    1990-01-01

    Cooling Towers: Principles and Practice, Third Edition, aims to provide the reader with a better understanding of the theory and practice, so that installations are correctly designed and operated. As with all branches of engineering, new technology calls for a level of technical knowledge which becomes progressively higher; this new edition seeks to ensure that the principles and practice of cooling towers are set against a background of up-to-date technology. The book is organized into three sections. Section A on cooling tower practice covers topics such as the design and operation of c

  5. Kant and the practical man

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Carsten Fogh

    2017-01-01

    The Appendix to Kant’s Toward perpetual peace is commonly viewed as an explication of the systematic relations between political practice and normative political theory. This paper provides an alternative interpretation to Kant’s main aim in the Apendix which is to provide an argument against...... that Kant’s argument against the practical man is based on a proto-phenomenological analysis of moral experience. The practical man’s attempt to describe political practice in purely non-normative terms is, Kant believes, necessarily self-undermining because it denies one of the most basic aspects of human...

  6. Recruitment Practices And Institutional Change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Anna; Ulhøi, John Parm

    Up to now, there has been little research on recruitment practices from an organizational perspective, and in part it lags behind practice. This paper attempts to rectify this by studying recent changes in the recruitment practices of Danish organizations. We employ new institutional theory......, and individuals’ social cognition. Among other things, this is reflected in the use of online recruitment and employer branding. The study concludes that the recruitment field has transformed and reviewed its practices due to institutional changes in how individuals search for employment and expect to be hired....

  7. Japanese Nursery and Kindergarten Teachers' Beliefs and Practices Regarding Developmentally Appropriate Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegde, Archana V.; Sugita, Chisato; Crane-Mitchell, Linda; Averett, Paige

    2014-01-01

    This study explored Japanese day nursery and kindergarten teachers' beliefs and practices regarding developmentally appropriate practices. Data were collected using in-depth interviews. Teacher interviews provided insights into the merger of the childcare and education systems of Japan. Six themes emerged from the analysis of the day nursery and…

  8. Best Practice Life Expectancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Medford, Anthony

    2017-01-01

    been reported previously by various authors. Though remarkable, this is simply an empirical observation. Objective: We examine best-practice life expectancy more formally by using extreme value theory. Methods: Extreme value distributions are fit to the time series (1900 to 2012) of maximum life......Background: Whereas the rise in human life expectancy has been extensively studied, the evolution of maximum life expectancies, i.e., the rise in best-practice life expectancy in a group of populations, has not been examined to the same extent. The linear rise in best-practice life expectancy has...... expectancies at birth and age 65, for both sexes, using data from the Human Mortality Database and the United Nations. Conclusions: Generalized extreme value distributions offer a theoretically justified way to model best-practice life expectancies. Using this framework one can straightforwardly obtain...

  9. Clinical Practice in Portuguese Sexology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alarcão, Violeta; Ribeiro, Sofia; Almeida, Joana; Giami, Alain

    2017-11-17

    Few studies explore the clinicians' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding sexuality, despite their role in the sexual-health socialization process. This study focuses on Portuguese sexologists engaged in clinical practice. It aims to characterize sexologists' sex education and training and their clinical practices, including diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. This research followed the methodology of an European survey on sexology as a profession (Euro-Sexo). From the 91 respondents who completed questionnaires, 51 (56%) were active in clinical practice. Results indicate that the Portuguese clinical sexologist is significantly older, predominantly male, has had training in sexology, performs more scientific research, and is more engaged in teaching activities when compared to nonclinical working sexologists. This article describes the main sexual problems presented by patients to Portuguese clinical sexologists and highlights differences in the professional groups and approaches toward treating these problems by medical doctors and nonmedical professionals. Results reinforce the idea that there are intra-European differences in the educational background of sexologists and reveal important variations in Portuguese sexologists' education, training, and clinical practice. The representations and practices of the sexologists in Portugal, as in other European countries, are embedded in cultural scenarios and sexual cultures, with implications for the clinical practice.

  10. Between Theory and Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dindler, Christian; Dalsgaard, Peter

    2014-01-01

    We present the notion of ‘bridging concepts’ as a particular form of intermediary knowledge in HCI research, residing between theory and practice. We argue that bridging concepts address the challenge of facilitating exchange between theory and practice in HCI, and we compare it to other....... These constituents specify how bridging concepts, as a form of knowledge, are accountable to both theory and practice. We present an analysis of the concept of ‘peepholes’ as an example of a bridging concept aimed at spurring user curiosity and engagement....

  11. Creating a practice website.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downes, P K

    2007-05-26

    A website is a window to the outside world. For a dental practice, it may be the first point of contact for a prospective new patient and will therefore provide them with their 'first impression'; this may be days or weeks before actually visiting the practice. This section considers the different ways of creating a dental practice website and lists some of the main dental website design companies. It also describes what factors make a successful website and offers advice on how to ensure that it complies with current regulations and recommendations.

  12. PRACTICING FIELD HOCKEY SKILLS ALONG THE CONTEXTUAL INTERFERENCE CONTINUUM: A COMPARISON OF FIVE PRACTICE SCHEDULES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jadeera Phaik Geok Cheong

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available To overcome the weakness of the contextual interference (CI effect within applied settings, Brady, 2008 recommended that the amount of interference be manipulated. This study investigated the effect of five practice schedules on the learning of three field hockey skills. Fifty-five pre-university students performed a total of 90 trials for each skill under blocked, mixed or random practice orders. Results showed a significant time effect with all five practice conditions leading to improvements in acquisition and learning of the skills. No significant differences were found between the groups. The findings of the present study did not support the CI effect and suggest that either blocked, mixed, or random practice schedules can be used effectively when structuring practice for beginners

  13. 42 CFR 438.236 - Practice guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Practice guidelines. 438.236 Section 438.236 Public... Improvement Standards § 438.236 Practice guidelines. (a) Basic rule: The State must ensure, through its...) Adoption of practice guidelines. Each MCO and, when applicable, each PIHP and PAHP adopts practice...

  14. Practice Theory: Viewing Leadership as Leading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, Jane; Kemmis, Stephen

    2015-01-01

    Inspired by Theodore Schatzki's "societist" approach--in which he advocates a notion of "site ontologies"--in this article, we outline our theory of practice architectures (a theory about what practices are composed of) and ecologies of practices (how practices relate to one another). Drawing on case studies of four Australian…

  15. Gaming practices in everyday life. An analytical operationalization of field theory by means of practice theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claus Toft-Nielsen

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This article investigates digital game play (gaming as a specific media field (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 72, in which especially gaming capital (Consalvo, 2007 functions as a theoretical lens. We aim to analyse the specific practices that constitute and are constituted in and around gaming. This multitude of practices is theoretically qualified by the second generation of practice theorists, including (Bruchler & Postill, 2010; Reckwitz, 2002; Schatzki, 2008; Warde, 2005. The empirical data are drawn from qualitative studies of gamers and gaming practices (focus groups as well as participant observations, and function as exemplary cases that illustrate our theoretical arguments. Our purpose is to analytically operationalize field theory, by means of practice theory, to enhance our understanding of digital games as new media and the specific contexts and media practices herein.

  16. Gaming practices in everyday life. An analytical operationalization of field theory by means of practice theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toft-Nielsen, Claus; Krogager, Stinne Gunder Strøm

    2015-01-01

    This article investigates digital game play (gaming) as a specific media field (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 72), in which especially gaming capital (Consalvo, 2007) functions as a theoretical lens. We aim to analyse the specific practices that constitute and are constituted in and around gaming....... This multitude of practices is theoretically qualified by the second generation of practice theorists, including (Bruchler & Postill, 2010; Reckwitz, 2002; Schatzki, 2008; Warde, 2005). The empirical data are drawn from qualitative studies of gamers and gaming practices (focus groups as well as participant...... observations), and function as exemplary cases that illustrate our theoretical arguments. Our purpose is to analytically operationalize field theory, by means of practice theory, to enhance our understanding of digital games as new media and the specific contexts and media practices herein....

  17. Practices, patients and (imperfect data - feasibility of a randomised controlled clinical drug trial in German general practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hummers-Pradier Eva

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Randomised controlled clinical (drug trials supply high quality evidence for therapeutic strategies in primary care. Until now, experience with drug trials in German general practice has been sparse. In 2007/2008, the authors conducted an investigator-initiated, non-commercial, double-blind, randomised controlled pilot trial (HWI-01 to assess the clinical equivalence of ibuprofen and ciprofloxacin in the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI. Here, we report the feasibility of this trial in German general practices and the implementation of Good Clinical Practice (GCP standards as defined by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH in mainly inexperienced general practices. Methods This report is based on the experience of the HWI-01 study conducted in 29 German general practices. Feasibility was defined by 1 successful practice recruitment, 2 sufficient patient recruitment, 3 complete and accurate data collection and 4 appropriate protection of patient safety. Results The final practice recruitment rate was 18%. In these practices, 79 of 195 screened UTI patients were enrolled. Recruitment differed strongly between practices (range 0-12, mean 2.8 patients per practice and was below the recruitment goal of approximately 100 patients. As anticipated, practice nurses became the key figures in the screening und recruitment of patients. Clinical trial demands, in particular for completing symptom questionnaires, documentation of source data and reporting of adverse events, did not agree well with GPs' documentation habits and required support from study nurses. In many cases, GPs and practice staff seemed to be overwhelmed by the amount of information and regulations. No sudden unexpected serious adverse reactions (SUSARs were observed during the trial. Conclusions To enable drug trials in general practice, it is necessary to adapt the setup of clinical research infrastructure to the needs of GPs and

  18. Valuing and selling a practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Walter

    2012-11-01

    Surgeons, as they contemplate retirement, wrongly believe that their practices do not have financial value. In fact, a well-organized efficiently functioning office with an emphasis on excellent service in combination with a constant stream of patients make it financially ideal for the new surgeon. Being able to assume such a practice can be a very smart financial decision. The practice's worth can be determined by a careful analysis of the practice financials and an evaluation of the functioning of the office and employees. Purchasing such a practice can be, economically, a very smart move by a new surgeon. Payments are made over time at a rate that allows the surgeon to make a good living, leaving him with real equity once the payments are complete. The departing surgeon, who had spent years building this successful practice, gets some of this value back in the form of an income stream to supplement his retirement. This process should be considered in virtually every case. Do not just "close the door."

  19. Starting a nursing consultation practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulmeister, L

    1999-03-01

    Because the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) role has been changed or eliminated in many hospital organizations, many CNSs in career transition are considering establishing collaborative or independent nursing consultation practices. Opportunities for consultants exist in diverse practice settings and specialties. Before starting a consultation practice, the CNS should carefully examine goals, identify resources, and begin contacting potential referral sources. He or she must also decide what form of business organization to establish and write a business plan to solidify ideas and prepare for the unexpected. Most CNS consultants rely on personal savings to cover initial business and personal expenses, and many continue working as a CNS until the consultation practice is established. Fees can be set based on community standards, what the market will bear, desired projected income, or a third-party payor's fee schedule. The consultation practice can be marketed by word of mouth, inexpensive advertising techniques such as distributing flyers and business cards, direct mall, and media advertising. In today's healthcare marketplace, opportunities abound for the CNS risk-taker interested in starting a nursing consultation practice.

  20. Practice transition with intelligence and grace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyd, Marcia A

    2014-01-01

    Viable practices change with the professional and personal needs of dentists and with trends in society. There is no single way for transitioning out of practice--concluding a direct sale, remaining as an associate, and even purchasing a new practice to better match one's more mature lifestyle and practiced preferences. Changing ratios of dentists to patients currently favor a seller's market and emergence of corporate models provide new options. An analysis is given of the Canadian practice market. Planning advice is also offered.

  1. How do technical improvements change radiographers' practice – A practice theory perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lundvall, L.-L.; Abrandt-Dahlgren, M.; Wirell, S.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: The two plane imaging techniques are gradually being replaced by multidimensional imaging. How it affects radiographers' professional practice has not been investigated. Aim: To explore how technical development affects the relations between different actors and their actions in the practice of Computer Tomography. Method: A qualitative design with data collection by open interviews (n = 8) and open observations (n = 10) of radiographers during their work with Computer Tomography. Data was first analyzed inductively resulting in seven codes. Secondly abduction was carried out by interpreting the content in the codes with a practice theory. This resulted in four themes. Result: First theme: Changed materiality makes the practical action easier. The actual image production has become practically easier. Second theme: Changed machines cause conflict between the arrangements of the work and the patients' needs. The time for the machine to carry out image production is easy to foresee, but information about the patient's individual status and needs is missing and this leads to difficulties in giving individual planned care. Third theme: Changing materiality prefigure learning. The different apparatus in use and the continuously changing methods of image production is co-constitutive of the practitioners' activities and learning. Fourth theme: Radiography is arranged for patient safety in relation to radiation doses and medical security risks. But the radiographers, who meet the patients, have to check the accuracy of the planned examination in relation to the clinical observed information about patient safety risks with the examination. - Highlights: • The arrangements of CT practice make it difficult to achieve individual planned care. • Continuously learning has become an essential part of radiographers' practice. • Radiographers' planning of each examination is important for secure patient safety

  2. Dentists’ practice patterns regarding caries prevention: results from a dental practice-based research network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yokoyama, Yoko; Kakudate, Naoki; Sumida, Futoshi; Matsumoto, Yuki; Gilbert, Gregg H; Gordan, Valeria V

    2013-01-01

    Objective The purposes of this study were to (1) quantify dentists' practice patterns regarding caries prevention and (2) test the hypothesis that certain dentists' characteristics are associated with these practice patterns. Design The study used a cross-sectional study design consisting of a questionnaire survey. Participants The study queried dentists who worked in outpatient dental practices who were affiliated with the Dental Practice-Based Research Network Japan, which seeks to engage dentists in investigating research questions and sharing experiences and expertise (n=282). Measurement Dentists were asked about their practice patterns regarding caries preventive dentistry. Background data on patients, practice and dentist were also collected. Results 38% of dentists (n=72) provided individualised caries prevention to more than 50% of their patients. Overall, 10% of the time in daily practice was spent on caries preventive dentistry. Dentists who provided individualised caries prevention to more than 50% of their patients spent significantly more time on preventive care and less time on removable prosthetics treatment, compared to dentists who did not provide individualised caries prevention. Additionally, they provided oral hygiene instruction, patient education, fluoride recommendations, intraoral photographs taken and diet counselling to their patients significantly more often than dentists who did not provide individualised caries prevention. Multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that the percentage of patients interested in caries prevention and the percentage of patients who received hygiene instruction, were both associated with the percentage of patients who receive individualised caries prevention. Conclusions We identified substantial variation in dentists' practice patterns regarding preventive dentistry. Individualised caries prevention was significantly related to provision of other preventive services and to having a higher percentage

  3. General practice registrars' views on maternity care in general practice in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preston, Hanna; Jaye, Chrystal; Miller, Dawn L

    2015-12-01

    The number of general practitioners (GPs) providing maternity care in New Zealand has declined dramatically since legislative changes of the 1990s. The Ministry of Health wants GPs to provide maternity care again. To investigate New Zealand general practice registrars' perspectives on GPs' role in maternity care; specifically, whether maternity services should be provided by GPs, registrars' preparedness to provide such services, and training opportunities available or required to achieve this. An anonymous online questionnaire was distributed to all registrars enrolled in The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners' (RNZCGP's) General Practice Education Programme (GPEP) in 2012, via their online learning platform OWL. 165 of the 643 general practice registrars responded (25.7% response rate). Most (95%) believe that GPs interested and trained in maternity care should consider providing antenatal, postnatal or shared care with midwives, and 95% believe women should be able to access maternity care from their general practice. When practising as a GP, 90% would consider providing antenatal and postnatal care, 47.3% shared care, and 4.3% full pregnancy care. Professional factors including training and adequate funding were most important when considering providing maternity care as a GP. Ninety-five percent of general practice registrars who responded to our survey believe that GPs should provide some maternity services, and about 90% would consider providing maternity care in their future practice. Addressing professional issues of training, support and funding are essential if more GPs are to participate in maternity care in New Zealand.

  4. Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Sadhana. M BALAMURUGAN. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 41 Issue 7 July 2016 pp 771-785. Flood routing in an ephemeral channel with compound cross-section · M BALAMURUGAN S MURTY BHALLAMUDI · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. Natural phenomenon of surface and subsurface ...

  5. When the number crunchers took on the particle smashers in a race to expose the naked quark, the stakes could hardly have been higher

    CERN Multimedia

    MacKenzie, Dana

    2005-01-01

    It was a true clash of the titans. In the blue corner: a multimilliion-dollar particle accelerator. In the red: one of the world's most powerful supecomputers. Both were battling to pin down the lifetime of an ephemeral subatomic particle known as the D-meson (3 pages)

  6. Extended KCI attack against two-party key establishment protocols

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tang, Qiang; Chen, Liqun

    2011-01-01

    We introduce an extended Key Compromise Impersonation (KCI) attack against two-party key establishment protocols, where an adversary has access to both long-term and ephemeral secrets of a victim. Such an attack poses serious threats to both key authentication and key confirmation properties of a

  7. The emergence and consolidation of the Urban-Rural Region

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fertner, Christian

    2013-01-01

    of a wider metropolitan region. Most recently, however, a shift of migration towards the urban centre has occurred. Was the emergence of the urban-rural region just an ephemeral phenomenon? Migration patterns are used to analyse urban-rural relationships. Generally, in-migration was concentrated in areas...

  8. On Emotion and Rationality: A Response to Barrett.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steutel, Jan; Dam, Ellis van

    1996-01-01

    Maintains that recent criticism of cognitive psychologists' conception of irrational emotions as marginal and ephemeral is misguided and inaccurate. Argues that this interpretation is a misstatement of the psychologists' position and analyzes the process resulting in this misinterpretation. Discusses the implications of these arguments for moral…

  9. Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Sadhana. S MURTY BHALLAMUDI. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 41 Issue 7 July 2016 pp 771-785. Flood routing in an ephemeral channel with compound cross-section · M BALAMURUGAN S MURTY BHALLAMUDI · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. Natural phenomenon of surface and ...

  10. 78 FR 10449 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Astragalus...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-13

    ... Creek and Morongo Wash (Unit 3), and unnamed channels through the alluvial valley floor deposits... ephemeral washes that carry substrates from alluvial deposits to alluvial fan areas where they can be... alluvial sand deposits that support the fluvial and aeolian sand transport processes crucial to the...

  11. Incorporating seepage losses into a 1D unsteady model of floods in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Zangemar River is an ephemeral river located in the northwestern part of Iran. Maku and Poldasht are hydrometric stations located upstream and downstream of Zangemar River, respectively. The measured flood hydrograph indicates that the output hydrograph volume from Poldasht station is significantly less than the input ...

  12. Distribution and community structure of Ostracoda (Crustacea) in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The current study presents the ostracod communities recovered from 26 shallow waterbodies in southern Kenya, combined with an ecological assessment of habitat characteristics. A total of 37 waterbodies were sampled in 2001 and 2003, ranging from small ephemeral pools to large permanent lakes along broad ...

  13. Planetary dune workshop expands to include subaqueous processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Titus, Timothy N.; Bryant, Gerald; Rubin, David M.

    2018-01-01

    Dune-like structures appear in the depths of Earth’s oceans, across its landscapes, and in the extremities of the solar system beyond. Dunes rise up under the thick dense atmosphere of Venus, and they have been found under the almost unimaginably ephemeral atmosphere of a comet.

  14. Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 124; Issue 3 .... Assessment of the regional water balance of the limestone subaquifers of Cyprus ... characterized by its small watersheds and the lack of ephemeral surface water resources. .... Optimization method for quantitative calculation of clay minerals in soil.

  15. Psychotherapy in Contemporary Psychiatric Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjipavlou, George; Hernandez, Carlos A Sierra; Ogrodniczuk, John S

    2015-01-01

    Objective: American data suggest a declining trend in the provision of psychotherapy by psychiatrists. Nevertheless, the extent to which such findings generalize to psychiatric practice in other countries is unclear. We surveyed psychiatrists in British Columbia to examine whether the reported decline in psychotherapy provision extends to the landscape of Canadian psychiatric practice. Method: A survey was mailed to the entire population of fully licensed psychiatrists registered in British Columbia (n = 623). The survey consisted of 30 items. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and psychotherapy practice patterns. Associations between variables were evaluated using nonparametric tests. Results: A total of 423 psychiatrists returned the survey, yielding a response rate of 68%. Overall, 80.9% of psychiatrists (n = 342) reported practicing psychotherapy. A decline in the provision of psychotherapy was not observed; in fact, there was an increase in psychotherapy provision among psychiatrists entering practice in the last 10 years. Individual therapy was the predominant format used by psychiatrists. The most common primary theoretical orientation was psychodynamic (29.9%). Regarding actual practice, supportive psychotherapy was practiced most frequently. Professional time constraints were perceived as the most significant barrier to providing psychotherapy. The majority (85%) of clinicians did not view remuneration as a significant barrier to treating patients with psychotherapy. Conclusions: Our findings challenge the prevailing view that psychotherapy is in decline among psychiatrists. Psychiatrists in British Columbia continue to integrate psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in clinical practice, thus preserving their unique place in the spectrum of mental health services. PMID:26175328

  16. The educational practice of preceptors in healthcare residencies: a study on reflective practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kátia Regina Barros RIBEIRO

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article was to reflect on the practice of preceptorship as an educational practice in the training and qualifications of professional health information for the public health system. This is a theoretical reflection with support in the literature. The teacher addresses the teaching-learning process and transforms the activities in the work on educational moments. In this area arise questions about what is being preceptor and their role in health education. It is necessary to teach knowledge beyond the content of the discipline, and reflecting about preceptorship as an educational practice in the workplace, the preceptor needs pedagogical preparation. Herewith, being a preceptor means being a teacher? This reflection places us in front of a problem present in our daily exercise, which is the pedagogical training of those who teach for a transformation of practice in health.

  17. Design methods as discourse on practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cohn, Marisa

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we present a view of design methods as discourse on practice. We consider how the deployment of a particular set of design methods enables and constrains not only practical action but also discursive action within the design practice. A case study of agile software development meth...... of practices. We then discuss implications of this view on methods for CSCW research on the relationship between methods and practice as well as implications for participation in the design process.......In this paper, we present a view of design methods as discourse on practice. We consider how the deployment of a particular set of design methods enables and constrains not only practical action but also discursive action within the design practice. A case study of agile software development...... methods illustrates the ways that methods establish conditions for who can speak in the design process and how. We indentify three main kinds of discourse work performed in the invoking of design methods. These are the establishing of ontologies, the authorizing of voices, and the legitimizing...

  18. The case for full practice authority.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Olivia; Kinsey-Weathers, Shanieka

    2016-03-01

    The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended in its 2010 report on the future of nursing that advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) should factor prominently in providing care to the millions of Americans who access healthcare services under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The IOM also recommended that APRNs practice to the full extent of their education and training.However, many states have laws in place that limit full practice authority for APRNs, specifically NPs, in providing basic health services such as primary care. These laws place restrictions on independent practice and Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, which prevent nurses from “responding effectively to rapidly changing health care settings and an evolving health care system.” Less than half of the United States has adopted full practice authority licensure and practice laws (see APRN practice authority at a glance). This article discusses how the primary care needs of millions of Americans can be met by granting full practice authority to APRNs nationwide and provides evidence to support the high level of care these practitioners can provide independently.

  19. Practical electrical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    N Makarov, Sergey; Bitar, Stephen J

    2016-01-01

    This textbook provides comprehensive, in-depth coverage of the fundamental concepts of electrical and computer engineering. It is written from an engineering perspective, with special emphasis on circuit functionality and applications. Reliance on higher-level mathematics and physics, or theoretical proofs has been intentionally limited in order to prioritize the practical aspects of electrical engineering. This text is therefore suitable for a number of introductory circuit courses for other majors such as robotics, mechanical, biomedical, aerospace, civil, architecture, petroleum, and industrial engineering. The authors’ primary goal is to teach the aspiring engineering student all fundamental tools needed to understand, analyze and design a wide range of practical circuits and systems. Their secondary goal is to provide a comprehensive reference, for both major and non-major students as well as practicing engineers. Provides a self-contained, fundamental textbook on electric circuits and basic electronic...

  20. Teaching Engineering Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Christine M.; Carlsen, William S.

    2014-03-01

    Engineering is featured prominently in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and related reform documents, but how its nature and methods are described is problematic. This paper is a systematic review and critique of that representation, and proposes that the disciplinary core ideas of engineering (as described in the NGSS) can be disregarded safely if the practices of engineering are better articulated and modeled through student engagement in engineering projects. A clearer distinction between science and engineering practices is outlined, and prior research is described that suggests that precollege engineering design can strengthen children's understandings about scientific concepts. However, a piecemeal approach to teaching engineering practices is unlikely to result in students understanding engineering as a discipline. The implications for science teacher education are supplemented with lessons learned from a number of engineering education professional development projects.

  1. Building perservation practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pilegaard, Marie Kirstine

    , and they indicate the importance of this story to be preserved. The professionals, who cooperate on the preservation efforts for the cultural environments today, all emphasizes the communication of the story, but using different approaches towards the processes of reading, interpreting and communicating. The role...... planning? In this paper I will focus on the communication of the architects working with building preservation and planning, how they communicate the building, the interventions and the storytelling in practice. The methods used by the architects are based on a practice, where some skills are learned...... through education, such as documentation of buildings and the restoration as a way of communicating the architect's intervention on the building, meanwhile the communication of the buildings history is seen as a "natural" skill and the methods are not questioned in the practice. The storytelling has today...

  2. Benchmarking on Inspection Practices. First Triennial Report of the Working Group on Inspection Practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2017-01-01

    The WGIP Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Observed Inspection Practices Program is intended to promote co-operation and learning among member countries and to collect and provide them with information for improving the effectiveness of existing regulatory inspection practices. This is accomplished by observing how inspections are carried out by other member countries and issuing a WGIP observed inspection report that includes observations (e.g. inspection techniques, obstacles encountered), lessons learnt and potential commendable practices that could be used by a regulatory body. This first triennial report documents the results of a consistency check performed between all six WGIP observed inspection reports and ratifies certain observations, lessons learnt and potential commendable practices identified by WGIP observed inspection participants

  3. Game-Based Practice versus Traditional Practice in Computer-Based Writing Strategy Training: Effects on Motivation and Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proske, Antje; Roscoe, Rod D.; McNamara, Danielle S.

    2014-01-01

    Achieving sustained student engagement with practice in computer-based writing strategy training can be a challenge. One potential solution is to foster engagement by embedding practice in educational games; yet there is currently little research comparing the effectiveness of game-based practice versus more traditional forms of practice. In this…

  4. Practical applications of phosphors

    CERN Document Server

    Yen, William M; Yamamoto, Hajime

    2006-01-01

    Drawn from the second edition of the best-selling Phosphor Handbook, Practical Applications of Phosphors outlines methods for the production of various phosphors and discusses a broad spectrum of applications. Beginning with methods for synthesis and related technologies, the book sets the stage by classifying and then explaining practical phosphors according to usage. It describes the operating principle and structure of phosphor devices and the phosphor characteristics required for a given device, then covers the manufacturing processes and characteristics of phosphors. The book discusses research and development currently under way on phosphors with potential for practical usage and touches briefly on phosphors that have played a historical role, but are no longer of practical use. It provides a comprehensive treatment of applications including lamps and cathode-ray tubes, x-ray and ionizing radiation, and for vacuum fluorescent and field emission displays and covers inorganic and organic electroluminescen...

  5. AAGL Practice Report

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Munro, Malcolm G; Storz, Karl; Abbott, Jason A

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this guideline is to provide clinicians with evidence-based information about commonly used and available hysteroscopic distending media to guide them in their performance of both diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy. While necessary for the performance of hysteroscopy and hyste...... is critical for the safe performance of hysteroscopic procedures. This report was developed under the direction of the Practice Committee of the AAGL as a service to their members and other practicing clinicians....

  6. Photosynthetic response of two seaweed species along an urban pollution gradient: evidence of selection of pollution-tolerant species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherner, F; Bonomi Barufi, J; Horta, P A

    2012-11-01

    Urbanization leads to the expansion of ephemeral seaweed species and the decline of important perennial, canopy-forming seaweed species. Understanding the mechanisms that lead to these changes is a current challenge. In the present study, laboratory assays and field transplantations were performed with two seaweed species: the perennial, canopy-forming seaweed Sargassum stenophyllum and the ephemeral seaweed Ulva lactuca. Photosynthetic efficiency was assessed using modulated chlorophyll fluorometry. Brief exposure to urban waters does not appear to be a major stressor to the photosynthetic efficiency of either species. However, after 26 days of transplantation in urban waters, S. stenophyllum declined, whereas U. lactuca had enhanced photosynthetic efficiency. This difference reflects their divergent abilities to regulate the energy distribution at the PSII and shows that urban stressors alter these mechanisms. Our results provide evidence of the physiological causes for the decline of Sargassum species and the expansion of Ulva species in impacted urban areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Amphibians in the climate vise: loss and restoration of resilience of montane wetland ecosystems in the western US

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Maureen E.; Palen, Wendy J.; Adams, Michael J.; Rochefort, Regina M.

    2014-01-01

    Wetlands in the remote mountains of the western US have undergone two massive ecological “experiments” spanning the 20th century. Beginning in the late 1800s and expanding after World War II, fish and wildlife managers intentionally introduced millions of predatory trout (primarily Oncorhynchus spp) into fishless mountain ponds and lakes across the western states. These new top predators, which now occupy 95% of large mountain lakes, have limited the habitat distributions of native frogs, salamanders, and wetland invertebrates to smaller, more ephemeral ponds where trout do not survive. Now a second “experiment” – anthropogenic climate change – threatens to eliminate many of these ephemeral habitats and shorten wetland hydroperiods. Caught between climate-induced habitat loss and predation from introduced fish, native mountain lake fauna of the western US – especially amphibians – are at risk of extirpation. Targeted fish removals, guided by models of how wetlands will change under future climate scenarios, provide innovative strategies for restoring resilience of wetland ecosystems to climate change.

  8. Restaurant food cooling practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Laura Green; Ripley, Danny; Blade, Henry; Reimann, Dave; Everstine, Karen; Nicholas, Dave; Egan, Jessica; Koktavy, Nicole; Quilliam, Daniela N

    2012-12-01

    Improper food cooling practices are a significant cause of foodborne illness, yet little is known about restaurant food cooling practices. This study was conducted to examine food cooling practices in restaurants. Specifically, the study assesses the frequency with which restaurants meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations aimed at reducing pathogen proliferation during food cooling. Members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Environmental Health Specialists Network collected data on food cooling practices in 420 restaurants. The data collected indicate that many restaurants are not meeting FDA recommendations concerning cooling. Although most restaurant kitchen managers report that they have formal cooling processes (86%) and provide training to food workers on proper cooling (91%), many managers said that they do not have tested and verified cooling processes (39%), do not monitor time or temperature during cooling processes (41%), or do not calibrate thermometers used for monitoring temperatures (15%). Indeed, 86% of managers reported cooling processes that did not incorporate all FDA-recommended components. Additionally, restaurants do not always follow recommendations concerning specific cooling methods, such as refrigerating cooling food at shallow depths, ventilating cooling food, providing open-air space around the tops and sides of cooling food containers, and refraining from stacking cooling food containers on top of each other. Data from this study could be used by food safety programs and the restaurant industry to target training and intervention efforts concerning cooling practices. These efforts should focus on the most frequent poor cooling practices, as identified by this study.

  9. Practice Teachers’ Role in Teacher Education – Individual Practices across Educational Curricula

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsten Elisabeth Thorsen

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Praksislærere har en sentral rolle i lærerutdanning. Forskning peker imidlertid på at både tilfeldigheter og uklarheter er knyttet til utøvelse av rollen. Forskningsprosjektet “Teachers` Professional Qualifications” (TPQ, undersøker intensjoner med den nye lærerutdannings­reformen i Norge i et bredt perspektiv. Denne artikkelen undersøker hvordan praksislærere oppfatter sin rolle og sine oppgaver på bakgrunn av at reformen har ambisjoner om praksis­lærere som likeverdige samarbeidspartnere i lærerutdanning. Studien har utgangspunkt i en spørreundersøkelse med 45 praksislærere i tillegg til dybdeintervju med åtte andre.Resultatene viser at det som kjennetegner rollen som praksislærer, først og fremst er lang erfaring som lærer. I tillegg viser resultatene at generelle læreroppgaver har mer oppmerk­somhet i praksisperioder enn det som er mål i lærerutdanningsprogrammet. På den måten legitimerer praksislærere sin rolle ut av en lærerutdanningskontekst. Studien bekrefter også det internasjonal forskning viser: behovet for å involvere praksislærere i felles prosesser for å utvikle sammenhenger mellom teoristudier og praksisopplæring i lærerutdanning.Fire år etter implementering av lærerutdanningsreformen i Norge er det grunn til å stille spørsmål ved i hvilken grad intensjonene i reformen har blitt realisert. Diskusjonen er i hovedsak knyttet til profesjonalisering av praksislærerrollen og praksislærere som likeverdige samarbeidspartnere i lærerutdanning.Nøkkelord: lærerutdanning, lærerutdannere, praksislærere, forholdet teori-praksisAbstractPractice teachers have a central role in teacher education. However, research indicates ran­domness and obscurity in performing this role. The research project “Teachers’ Professional Qualifications” (TPQ examines objectives regarding the new Teacher Education Reform in Norway from 2010 in a broad perspective. As the reform places high demands on practice

  10. Advanced practice nursing in child maltreatment: practice characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hornor, Gail; Herendeen, Pamela

    2014-01-01

    Child maltreatment is a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States. Pediatric nurse practitioners and other advanced practice nurses (APNs) have been caring for maltreated children for decades, yet to date no comprehensive assessment of their practice characteristics or their clinical and academic contributions to the field has been performed. The purpose of this study is to describe the practice characteristics of APNs who care for maltreated children. A descriptive design was used for this study. Child advocacy centers and children's hospitals were contacted to inquire about employment of child maltreatment APNs in their institution, and contact information for the lead APN was obtained. The Nurse Practitioner Survey was then sent to lead APNs by e-mail. The majority of APNs who work primarily in child maltreatment are pediatric nurse practitioners who work in child advocacy centers. They are providing care to children with physical and/or sexual abuse concerns; however, APNs provide care for children with all types of child maltreatment concerns. APNs play a vital role in the care of abused/neglected children. Their important contributions include not only clinical care but also the provision of clinical and didactic education to other professionals, parents, and the public. Research and publication are also essential to their role. Copyright © 2014 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Learning Patterns in Music Practice: Links between Disposition, Practice Strategies and Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    StGeorge, Jennifer Mary; Holbrook, Allyson Patricia; Cantwell, Robert H.

    2012-01-01

    Research into musical practice has over recent decades focused on the technical and organisational strategies employed by novices and experts. What has been less studied are the background factors or influences on the quality of this music practice. Drawing on interview data collected from 66 children and adults from a mixed methods project, we…

  12. Pedagogical practices in VET

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Louw, Arnt Vestergaard

    2013-01-01

    This article deals with pedagogical practices on the basic carpentry VET programme in Denmark. On the basis of an anthropologically inspired study among carpentry students at two VET schools, the prime objective of analysis is to understand the various pedagogical practices from the students...

  13. How to share inspection practices internationally?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zerger, B.

    2009-01-01

    ASN strives to share practices with its foreign counterparts in order to develop and adopt best practice worldwide. With regard to inspection practices, the exchanges are made with AEN, in particular within the context of the Working Group on Inspection Practices (WGIP). As well as being very rewarding, the exchanges sometimes come up against marked differences in terms of inspection organisation and even in the meaning given to the inspections. The WGIP endeavors, however, to make inspection practice recommendations that are as functional and feasible as possible. (author)

  14. Energy Therapies in Advanced Practice Oncology: An Evidence-Informed Practice Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potter, Pamela J.

    2013-01-01

    Advanced practitioners in oncology want patients to receive state-of-the-art care and support for their healing process. Evidence-informed practice (EIP), an approach to evaluating evidence for clinical practice, considers the varieties of evidence in the context of patient preference and condition as well as practitioner knowledge and experience. This article offers an EIP approach to energy therapies, namely, Therapeutic Touch (TT), Healing Touch (HT), and Reiki, as supportive interventions in cancer care; a description of the author’s professional experience with TT, HT, and Reiki in practice and research; an overview of the three energy healing modalities; a review of nine clinical studies related to oncology; and recommendations for EIP. These studies demonstrate a response to previous research design critiques. Findings indicate a positive benefit for oncology patients in the realms of pain, quality of life, fatigue, health function, and mood. Directionality of healing in immune response and cell line studies affirms the usual explanation that these therapies bring harmony and balance to the system in the direction of health. Foremost, the research literature demonstrates the safety of these therapies. In order to consider the varieties of evidence for TT, HT, and Reiki, EIP requires a qualitative examination of patient experiences with these modalities, exploration of where these modalities have been integrated into cancer care and how the practice works in the oncology setting, and discovery of the impact of implementation on provider practice and self-care. Next steps toward EIP require fleshing out the experience of these modalities by patients and health-care providers in the oncology care setting. PMID:25031994

  15. What results when firms implement practices: the differential relationship between specific practices, firm financial performance, customer service, and quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Cristina B; Porath, Christine L; Benson, George S; Lawler, Edward E

    2007-11-01

    Previous research on organizational practices is replete with contradictory evidence regarding their effects. Here, the authors argue that these contradictory findings may have occurred because researchers have often examined complex practice combinations and have failed to investigate a broad variety of firm-level outcomes. Thus, past research may obscure important differential effects of specific practices on specific firm-level outcomes. Extending this research, the authors develop hypotheses about the effects of practices that (a) enable information sharing, (b) set boundaries, and (c) enable teams on 3 different firm-level outcomes: financial performance, customer service, and quality. Relationships are tested in a sample of observations from over 200 Fortune 1000 firms. Results indicate that information-sharing practices were positively related to financial performance 1 year following implementation of the practices, boundary-setting practices were positively related to firm-level customer service, and team-enabling practices were related to firm-level quality. No single set of practices predicted all 3 firm-level outcomes, indicating practice-specific effects. These findings help resolve the theoretical tension in the literature regarding the effects of organizational practices and offer guidance as to how to best target practices to increase specific work-related outcomes. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed. (c) 2007 APA

  16. Turn to Practice Within Working Life Studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buch, Anders; Andersen, Vibeke; Klemsdal, Lars

    2015-01-01

    practice theoretical approaches can help working life studies in better understanding work practices and the material, technological, economic, organizational, and societal conditions that shape and are shaped by these practices. In addition, this issue contains three reviews of recent practice theoretical......What does practice theory and practice-based studies have to offer working life studies? This is the seminal question this special issue poses. In seven articles, researchers with an affiliation to Nordic working life studies and with a background in practice theory illustrate and reflect on how...

  17. Application of The APA Practice Guidelines on Suicide to Clinical Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Douglas G; Brewer, Margaret L

    2006-06-01

    This article presents charts from The American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Treatment of Patients with Suicidal Behaviors, part of the Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders Compendium, and a summary of the assessment information in a format that can be used in routine clinical practice. Four steps in the assessment process are presented: the use of a thorough psychiatric examination to obtain information about the patient's current presentation, history, diagnosis, and to recognize suicide risk factors therein; the necessity of asking very specific questions about suicidal ideation, intent, plans, and attempts; the process of making an estimation of the patient's level of suicide risk is explained; and the use of modifiable risk and protective factors as the basis for treatment planning is demonstrated. Case reports are used to clarify use of each step in this process.

  18. Business ethics as practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Clegg, S.R.; Kornberger, M.; Rhodes, C.

    2007-01-01

    In this article we develop a conceptualization of business ethics as practice. Starting from the view that the ethics that organizations display in practice will have been forged through an ongoing process of debate and contestation over moral choices, we examine ethics in relation to the ambiguous,

  19. Academic Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sandro; Heine, Carmen

    Vejledning i at undgå plagiering ved at følge de normer, der gælder for good academic practice. Dette indebærer at man angiver kilder korrekt, og når det er nødvendigt, og at man har en korrekt udformet fortegnelse over referencer. Vejledningen indeholder konkrete eksempler på korrekt kildeangive......Vejledning i at undgå plagiering ved at følge de normer, der gælder for good academic practice. Dette indebærer at man angiver kilder korrekt, og når det er nødvendigt, og at man har en korrekt udformet fortegnelse over referencer. Vejledningen indeholder konkrete eksempler på korrekt...

  20. Multiple Logics as a Source of New Practices and Variations in Employee Recruitment Practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Anna

    Academic research in recruitment lacks insights into why there are variations in organizations’ recruitment strategies and practices. The contribution of this research is to address this question from the perspective of institutional logic at the organizational level of analysis and thereby go some...... way to filling this gap. The data for the research were collected from a population of organizations in Denmark in 2008-2009, mainly by means of qualitative interviews. Three major institutional logics which guide recruitment practices were identified and are presented in this paper. These logics...... - administration, efficiency and effectiveness – suggest that organizations’ recruitment practices are dominated by diverse goals and different means of achieving them, which can explain the variations in recruitment strategies and practices....

  1. Code of Practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doyle, Colin; Hone, Christopher; Nowlan, N.V.

    1984-05-01

    This Code of Practice introduces accepted safety procedures associated with the use of alpha, beta, gamma and X-radiation in secondary schools (pupils aged 12 to 18) in Ireland, and summarises good practice and procedures as they apply to radiation protection. Typical dose rates at various distances from sealed sources are quoted, and simplified equations are used to demonstrate dose and shielding calculations. The regulatory aspects of radiation protection are outlined, and references to statutory documents are given

  2. Investigating Philosophies Underpinning Dietetic Private Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Harper

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available There is limited theory or knowledge regarding dietitians’ practice philosophies and how these philosophies are generated and incorporated into their professional practices. For the purposes of this study, a conceptual framework will explain and define the ‘philosophies’ as three different types of knowledge; episteme, techne, and phronesis. This study aimed to develop an explanatory theory of how dietitians in private practice source, utilise, and integrate practice philosophies. A grounded theory qualitative methodology was used to inform the sampling strategy, data collection, and analytical processes. Semi-structured interviews with dietitians in private practice were undertaken and data were collected and analysed concurrently. The results show that dietitians form collaborative relationships with their clients, in order to nurture change over time. They use intrinsic and intertwined forms of episteme, techne, and phronesis, which allow them to respond both practically and sensitively to their clients’ needs. The learning and integration of these forms of knowledge are situated in their own practice experience. Dietitians adapt through experience, feedback, and reflection. This study highlights that private practice offers a unique context in which dietitians deal with complex issues, by utilising and adapting their philosophies.

  3. Identifying Student Competencies in Macro Practice: Articulating the Practice Wisdom of Field Instructors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regehr, Cheryl; Bogo, Marion; Donovan, Kirsten; Lim, April; Anstice, Susan

    2012-01-01

    Although a growing literature examines competencies in clinical practice, competencies of students in macro social work practice have received comparatively little attention. A grounded-theory methodology was used to elicit field instructor views of student competencies in community, organization, and policy contexts. Competencies described by…

  4. Constructivism and Reflective Practice in Practice: Challenges and Dilemmas of a Mathematics Educator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frid, Sandra

    2000-01-01

    Examines some reasons for the gap between teacher education and school practices, a potential conflict between teacher educator's views and pre-service teacher's own views of their learning, and negligence in examining the discourses within which educational practices are constituted. (Contains 37 references.) (Author/ASK)

  5. [General practice research units in Denmark: multidisciplinary research in support of practical work].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reventlow, Susanne; Broholm, Katalin Alexa Király; Mäkelä, Marjukka

    2014-01-01

    In Denmark the general practice research units operating in connection with universities provide a home base, training and methodology support for researchers in the field from medical students to general practitioners carrying out practical work. Research issues frequently require a multidisciplinary approach and use of different kinds of materials. Problems arising from the practical work of general practitioners take priority in the wide selection of topics. The units have networked efficiently with organizations of general practitioners and medical education. The combination of research environments has created synergy benefiting everybody and increased the scientific productivity and visibility of the field.

  6. Identifying the factors influencing practice variation in thrombosis medicine: A qualitative content analysis of published practice-pattern surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skeith, Leslie; Gonsalves, Carol

    2017-11-01

    Practice variation, the differences in clinical management between physicians, is one reason why patient outcomes may differ. Identifying factors that contribute to practice variation in areas of clinical uncertainty or equipoise may have implications for understanding and improving patient care. To discern what factors may influence practice variation, we completed a qualitative content analysis of all practice-pattern surveys in thrombosis medicine in the last 10years. Out of 2117 articles screened using a systematic search strategy, 33 practice-pattern surveys met eligibility criteria. Themes were identified using constant comparative analysis of qualitative data. Practice variation was noted in all 33 practice-pattern surveys. Contributing factors to variation included lack of available evidence, lack of clear and specific guideline recommendations, past experience, patient context, institutional culture and the perceived risk and benefit of a particular treatment. Additional themes highlight the value placed on expertise in challenging clinical scenarios, the complexity of practice variation and the value placed on minimizing practice variation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Meaningful and Purposeful Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clementi, Donna

    2014-01-01

    This article describes a graphic, designed by Clementi and Terrill, the authors of "Keys to Planning for Learning" (2013), visually representing the components that contribute to meaningful and purposeful practice in learning a world language, practice that leads to greater proficiency. The entire graphic is centered around the letter…

  8. Primary Care Practice: Uncertainty and Surprise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crabtree, Benjamin F.

    I will focus my comments on uncertainty and surprise in primary care practices. I am a medical anthropologist by training, and have been a full-time researcher in family medicine for close to twenty years. In this talk I want to look at primary care practices as complex systems, particularly taking the perspective of translating evidence into practice. I am going to discuss briefly the challenges we have in primary care, and in medicine in general, of translating new evidence into the everyday care of patients. To do this, I will look at two studies that we have conducted on family practices, then think about how practices can be best characterized as complex adaptive systems. Finally, I will focus on the implications of this portrayal for disseminating new knowledge into practice.

  9. A Causal Relationship between Quality Management Practices, Supply-Chain Practices, Demand-Chain Practices, and Company Performance: Evidence from the Indonesia’s Oil and Gas Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Ciptono, Wakhid Slamet

    2015-01-01

    Studi ini mengembangkan suatu hubungan kausal antara lima konstruk penelitian QualityManagement Practices (QMP), Supply-Chain Practices (SCP), Demand-Chain Practices (DCP), CompanyPerformance (Value-Gain Performance atau VGP dan Monetary-Gain Performance atau MGP) denganmenggunakan Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)—studi kasus pada industri migas di Indonesia. Modelkonseptual penelitian ini merupakan kolaborasi dari berbagai penelitian sebelumnya yang terkait denganenam dimensi praktik manaj...

  10. Herbaceous vegetation in thinned and defoliated forest stands in north central West Virginia

    Science.gov (United States)

    S. L. C. Fosbroke; D. Feicht; R. M. Muzika

    1995-01-01

    Herbaceous vegetation was inventoried in 1992 and 1993 in eight Appalachian mixed hardwood stands ( 50% basal area/acre in oak species) in north central West Virginia. Vegetation was sampled on 20 6-foot radius plots per stand twice each growing season (once during late spring to sample spring ephemeral...

  11. The Changing Challenges of Transformational Resistance. A Response to "Building the Dream: Transformational Resistance, Community-Based Organizations, and the Civic Engagement of Latinos in the New South"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamann, Edmund T.

    2016-01-01

    A long-time researcher of "education in the New Latino Diaspora" considers how ephemeral the demographic and sociopolitical contexts were for the endeavors captured in "Building the Dream" but concurs with the aptness of considering the five focal students' participation in a local Spanish radio program as acts of…

  12. Environnement d'apprentissage flexible pour la génération ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The main idea of our approach consists, starting from an aggregation of a set of Small Fragments of Pedagogical Documents FDP, that we will justify their granularities, semantically annotated to produce ephemeral customizable documents, to provide several access modes To the content: course mode, concept mode and ...

  13. "Snapchat," Youth Subjectivities and Sexuality: Disappearing Media and the Discourse of Youth Innocence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charteris, Jennifer; Gregory, Sue; Masters, Yvonne

    2018-01-01

    Research on youth subjectivities and disappearing media is still in its infancy. Ephemeral technologies such as Snapchat, Frankly and Wickr offer young people opportunities for discursive agency, harnessing teenage discourses of social positioning. These media facilitate social mobility in teen peer contexts by providing a medium for dynamic and…

  14. Vegetation and Species Diversity in the Northern Sector of Eastern ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    glaucus showed the highest presence estimates among annuals (P = 38.3%, 31.7% ... the most diverse group followed by group A and C in the present study. ... vegetation into two groups: ephemerals and ... their life are dependent on the chance .... Nomenclature, identification and floristic ... variables, on the other hand.

  15. Pushing toward cogongrass (Imperata cylindrical) patch eradication: the influence of herbicide treatment and application timing on cogongrass rhizome elimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jatinder S. Aulakh; Stephen F. Enloe; Nancy J. Loewenstein; Andrew J. Price; Glenn Wehtje; James Miller

    2014-01-01

    Cogongrass, an invasive grass native to Asia, has infested thousands of hectares in the southeastern United States. Although numerous studies have examined cogongrass control, no published studies, to our knowledge, have tested strategies for cogongrass eradication. Cogongrass has a persistent, thick rhizome mat but an ephemeral seedbank; therefore, successful...

  16. It Doesn't Matter What Is in Their Hands: Understanding How Students Use Technology to Support, Enhance and Expand Their Learning in a Complex World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Perspectives on the use of technology in teaching and learning have been increasing polarised, with positions entrenched around the efficacy of using technology in lectures, the distractions assumed to arise from social media and the temporality and ephemerality of knowledge located outside the academy. This paper presents the preliminary…

  17. Partnership for practice change and knowledge development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Stina Meyer; Stokholm, Gitte; Madsen, Anette Judithe

    2014-01-01

    and various practice fi elds and (B) to develop students ’ competences in practice research and collaboration, thus building up a framework in which research-based change in occupational therapy practice can be pursued through students ’ practice research. The practice research undertaken in the students...... and the students ’ bachelor ’ s theses. Results of the evaluations showed that (A) the developed institutional partnerships promoted the goals of the initiative, including research-based proposals for change in the practice fi eld and that (B) the students acquired competences in practice research and collaboration....... Conclusions. On top of what students learned through the initiative, all of this was to the bene fi t of the university college, the occupational therapy program, and the practice fi elds and citizens. The results point toward a continuation of the educational initiative. Key words: theory – practice relation...

  18. Team and Project Work in Engineering Practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anders Buch

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we investigate teamwork amongst professionals in engineering consultancy companies in order to discern how teamwork affects the collaboration and work practices of the professionals. The article investigates how professional engineering practices are enacted in two engineering consultancy companies in Denmark where teamwork has been or is an ideal for organizing work. Through a practice-based lens, the article sets out to investigate, firstly, how discourses about team and project work affect engineering work practices; secondly, how technologymediated management is reconciled in teamwork practices; and thirdly, how team and project work affect engineering professionalism and collaborative work practices. A practice theoretical framework informs the analysis. Teamwork is investigated as a phenomenon enacted through the sayings, doings and relatings of practitioners in landscapes of practices and the interconnectedness of the practices is traced through the setup of specific ecologies in the sites.

  19. Child obesity prevention in primary health care: investigating practice nurse roles, attitudes and current practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Alison; Denney-Wilson, Elizabeth; Laws, Rachel; Harris, Mark

    2013-04-01

    Overweight and obesity affects approximately 20% of Australian pre-schoolers. The general practice nurse (PN) workforce has increased in recent years; however, little is known of PN capacity and potential to provide routine advice for the prevention of child obesity. This mixed methods pilot study aims to explore the current practices, attitudes, confidence and training needs of Australian PNs surrounding child obesity prevention in the general practice setting. PNs from three Divisions of General Practice in New South Wales were invited to complete a questionnaire investigating PN roles, attitudes and practices in preventive care with a focus on child obesity. A total of 59 questionnaires were returned (response rate 22%). Semi-structured qualitative interviews were also conducted with a subsample of PNs (n = 10). Questionnaire respondent demographics were similar to that of national PN data. PNs described preventive work as enjoyable despite some perceived barriers including lack of confidence. Number of years working in general practice did not appear to strongly influence nurses' perceived barriers. Seventy per cent of PNs were interested in being more involved in conducting child health checks in practice, and 85% expressed an interest in taking part in child obesity prevention training. Findings from this pilot study suggest that PNs are interested in prevention of child obesity despite barriers to practice and low confidence levels. More research is needed to determine the effect of training on PN confidence and behaviours in providing routine healthy life-style messages for the prevention of child obesity. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2013 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

  20. An online community of practice to support evidence-based physiotherapy practice in manual therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Cathy; Yeung, Euson; Markoulakis, Roula; Guilcher, Sara

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore how a community of practice promoted the creation and sharing of new knowledge in evidence-based manual therapy using Wenger's constructs of mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire as a theoretical framework. We used a qualitative approach to analyze the discussion board contributions of the 19 physiotherapists who participated in the 10-week online continuing education course in evidence-based practice (EBP) in manual therapy. The course was founded on community of practice, constructivism, social, and situated learning principles. The 1436 postings on 9 active discussion boards revealed that the community of practice was a social learning environment that supported strong participation and mutual engagement. Design features such as consistent facilitation, weekly guiding questions, and collaborative assignments promoted the creation and sharing of knowledge. Participants applied research evidence to the contexts in which they worked through reflective comparison of what they were reading to its applicability in their everyday practice. Participants' shared goals contributed to the common ground established in developing collective knowledge about different study designs, how to answer research questions, and the difficulties of conducting sound research. An online longitudinal community of practice utilized as a continuing education approach to deliver an online course based on constructivist and social learning principles allowed geographically dispersed physiotherapists to be mutually engaged in a joint enterprise in evidence-based manual therapy. Advantages included opportunity for reflection, modeling, and collaboration. Future studies should examine the impact of participation on clinical practice. © 2014 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on Continuing Medical Education, Association for Hospital

  1. Impact evaluation of the Masters Courses on the Science Teachers’ professional practices – best practices examples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lúcia Pombo

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available This study intends to (i evaluate the impact of the Master Courses’ attendance on the professional practices of Science teachers, in Portugal, (ii to disseminate examples of good practices of teaching with a strong impact on the Master Course (MC, and (iii to present suggestions to improve the articulation between Training, Research and Practices, in the post-graduation context. Semi-structured interviews were made to 5 Biology/Geology Master Teachers (MT of primary or secondary education. Two of this 5 MT were deepened studied as examples of good practices through classes’ observation and documental analysis. There were evidences of strong impact of the MC in all interviewed teachers, mainly in the classroom level, as the impact on peers was only evidenced by the two case studies. It is suggested that collaborative practices, involving teachers and researchers, namely as a result of post-graduation contexts, would promote the changing of the existent teachers’ practices.

  2. Evidence-based clinical practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gluud, Christian

    2002-01-01

    , and single clinics. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to improve this situation. Guidelines for Good Clinical (Research) Practice, conduct of more trials as multicentre trials, The Consort Statement, and The Cochrane Collaboration may all help in the application of the best research evidence in clinical......Evidence-based medicine combines the patient's preferences with clinical experience and the best research evidence. Randomized clinical trials are considered the most valid research design for evaluating health-care interventions. However, empirical research shows that intervention effects may...... practice. By investments in education, applied research, and The Cochrane Collaboration, evidence-based medicine may form a stronger basis for clinical practice....

  3. Vaccines and Immunization Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogue, Michael D; Meador, Anna E

    2016-03-01

    Vaccines are among most cost-effective public health strategies. Despite effective vaccines for many bacterial and viral illnesses, tens of thousands of adults and hundreds of children die each year in the United States from vaccine-preventable diseases. Underutilization of vaccines requires rethinking the approach to incorporating vaccines into practice. Arguably, immunizations could be a part all health care encounters. Shared responsibility is paramount if deaths are to be reduced. This article reviews the available vaccines in the US market, as well as practice recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Comparative EMP design practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, L.C.

    1975-01-01

    A large amount of effort is devoted to the hardening of systems against various effects. The nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) creates potentially severe protection problems in hardening against electromagnetic effects. Each hardening effort is usually supported through development or application of sets of rules, practices, constraints, etc., which aid in decision-making throughout the design process. Several excerpts from a few sets of EMP design rules and practices taken from relatively independent sources are presented for comparison of essential features and mode of expression. A general objective is to clarify some of the EMP practices present in general EMC work and to encourage further interchange of relevant information. (auth)

  5. Rural general practice training: experience of a rural general practice team and a postgraduate year two registrar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott-Jones, Joseph; Lucas, Sarah

    2013-09-01

    Undertaking training in rural areas is a recognised way of helping recruit staff to work in rural communities. Postgraduate year two medical doctors in New Zealand have been able to undertake a three-month placement in rural practice as part of their pre-vocational training experience since November 2010. To describe the experience of a rural general practice team providing training to a postgraduate year two medical trainee, and to describe the teaching experience and range of conditions seen by the trainee. A pre- and post-placement interview with staff, and analysis of a logbook of cases and teaching undertaken in the practice. The practice team's experience of having the trainee was positive, and the trainee was exposed to a wide range of conditions over 418 clinical encounters. The trainee received 22.5 hours of formal training over the three-month placement. Rural general practice can provide a wide range of clinical experience to a postgraduate year two medical trainee. Rural practices in New Zealand should be encouraged to offer teaching placements at this training level. Exposure to rural practice at every level of training is important to encourage doctors to consider rural practice as a career.

  6. Practical knowledge engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Kelly, Richard

    1991-01-01

    This book provides knowledge engineers with practical methods for initiating, designing, building, managing, and demonstrating successful commercial expert systems. It is a record of what actually works (and does not work) in the construction of expert systems, drawn from the author's decade of experience in building expert systems in all major areas of application for American, European, and Japanese organizations.The book features:* knowledge engineering programming techniques* useful skills for demonstrating expert systems * practical costing and metrics* guidelines for using knowledge repr

  7. Examining inclusive practices in Nicaraguan schools

    OpenAIRE

    Delkamiller, Julie; Swain, Kristine; Leader-Janssen, Elizabeth M.; Ritzman, Mitzi J.

    2013-01-01

    Inkliuzinis praktikos nagrinėjimas Nikaragvos mokyklose. The purpose of this study was to examine Nicaraguan teachers’ efficacy for inclusive practices and current teaching practices in Nicaraguan schools as the first step in developing a special education training program. Sixty-one teachers in 15 schools completed the Teacher Efficacy of Inclusive Practice (TEIP) survey to determine their confidence in inclusive practices, collaboration and dealing with disruptive behaviors. Classroom ob...

  8. Software ``Best'' Practices: Agile Deconstructed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, Steven

    Software “best” practices depend entirely on context - in terms of the problem domain, the system constructed, the software designers, and the “customers” ultimately deriving value from the system. Agile practices no longer have the luxury of “choosing” small non-mission critical projects with co-located teams. Project stakeholders are selecting and adapting practices based on a combina tion of interest, need and staffing. For example, growing product portfolios through a merger or the acquisition of a company exposes legacy systems to new staff, new software integration challenges, and new ideas. Innovation in communications (tools and processes) to span the growth and contraction of both information and organizations, while managing the adoption of changing software practices, is imperative for success. Traditional web-based tools such as web pages, document libraries, and forums are not suf ficient. A blend of tweeting, blogs, wikis, instant messaging, web-based confer encing, and telepresence creates a new dimension of communication “best” practices.

  9. Evidence based practice readiness: A concept analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaefer, Jessica D; Welton, John M

    2018-01-15

    To analyse and define the concept "evidence based practice readiness" in nurses. Evidence based practice readiness is a term commonly used in health literature, but without a clear understanding of what readiness means. Concept analysis is needed to define the meaning of evidence based practice readiness. A concept analysis was conducted using Walker and Avant's method to clarify the defining attributes of evidence based practice readiness as well as antecedents and consequences. A Boolean search of PubMed and Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature was conducted and limited to those published after the year 2000. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria for this analysis. Evidence based practice readiness incorporates personal and organisational readiness. Antecedents include the ability to recognize the need for evidence based practice, ability to access and interpret evidence based practice, and a supportive environment. The concept analysis demonstrates the complexity of the concept and its implications for nursing practice. The four pillars of evidence based practice readiness: nursing, training, equipping and leadership support are necessary to achieve evidence based practice readiness. Nurse managers are in the position to address all elements of evidence based practice readiness. Creating an environment that fosters evidence based practice can improve patient outcomes, decreased health care cost, increase nurses' job satisfaction and decrease nursing turnover. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Industrial practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Velasquez Torrez, Patricia Irma

    1999-01-01

    This document reports the industrial practices carried out by the author viewing the requirements fulfilled for obtention the academic degree in chemical engineering of the San Andres University - Bolivia

  11. Musical practices and social identifications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo Vila

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents a theoretical proposal for the relationship between musical practices and social identifications. Looking to differentiate himself from homological theories on this relationship, Vila proposes that musical practices articulate an identification anchored on the body, through the different alliances we establish between our diverse, fragmented, situational and imaginary narrative identities, and the diverse, fragmented, situational and imaginary narrative identities different musical practices attempt to materialize.

  12. Partnership for practice change and knowledge development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Stina Meyer; Stokholm, Gitte; Madsen, Anette Judithe

    2013-01-01

    and various practice fields and (B) to develop students' competences in practice research and collaboration, thus building up a framework in which research-based change in occupational therapy practice can be pursued through students' practice research. The practice research undertaken in the students...... and the students' bachelor's theses. Results of the evaluations showed that (A) the developed institutional partnerships promoted the goals of the initiative, including research-based proposals for change in the practice field and that (B) the students acquired competences in practice research and collaboration....... CONCLUSIONS: On top of what students learned through the initiative, all of this was to the benefit of the university college, the occupational therapy program, and the practice fields and citizens. The results point toward a continuation of the educational initiative....

  13. From Action Research to Practice Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goran Goldkuhl

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Action research (AR has gained more acceptance as an approach to qualitative research in information systems (IS. The complexities of organisational and technical change makes this approach a suitable one in IS research. There are, however, still some controversies and confusions about the relation between “action” and “research”. The many types of AR and similar approaches (not labelled as AR that have emerged demands further conceptual clarification of AR. A conceptual inquiry of AR, presented in the paper, has led to the identification of several unresolved issues concerning intervention research like AR. An alternative research approach is presented: practice research. This research approach is well founded in pragmatism and it builds on the two premises: 1 to contribute to general practice through abstract and useful knowledge and 2 to study the empirical field as interconnected practices. Several important concepts of practice research are described as: local practice contribution vs. general practice contribution; theorizing vs. situational inquiry. Practice research is seen as a broader notion encompassing AR and other research approaches as e.g. design research and evaluation research. Two case examples of practice research are briefly presented and compared: one AR-based study in the social welfare sector and one evaluation study of a taxation e-service.

  14. European Educational Systems and Assessment Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Evans, Robert Harry; Cross, David; Grangeat, Michel

    2018-01-01

    Abstract This chapter surveys the status of educational systems and assessment practices across eight European countries that are part of the ASSIST-ME project. First, variations in country educational systems are examined to identify possible connections between systems and educational practices....... Such associations are useful both for understanding different existing assessment conditions as well as for providing possible pathways for change. Next, the chapter takes a closer look at teacher practices in these educational systems in order to identify the actual assessment practices of teachers in each country....... With these understandings of the systems and current uses of assessment, it is possible to identify affordances and challenges for improving assessment practices....

  15. Physician Asthma Management Practices in Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Jin

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To establish national baseline information on asthma management practices of physicians, to compare the reported practices with the Canadian Consensus recommendations and to identify results potentially useful for interventions that improve physician asthma management practices.

  16. Contemporary management of pericardial effusion: practical aspects for clinical practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imazio, Massimo; Gaido, Luca; Battaglia, Alberto; Gaita, Fiorenzo

    2017-03-01

    A pericardial effusion (PE) is a relatively common finding in clinical practice. It may be either isolated or associated with pericarditis with or without an underlying disease. The aetiology is varied and may be either infectious (especially tuberculosis as the most common cause in developing countries) or non-infectious (cancer, systemic inflammatory diseases). The management is essentially guided by the hemodynamic effect (presence or absence of cardiac tamponade), the presence of concomitant pericarditis or underlying disease, and its size and duration. The present paper reviews the current knowledge on the aetiology, classification, diagnosis, management, therapy, and prognosis of PE in clinical practice.

  17. Principles and practice of psychopharmacotherapy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Janicak, Philip G; Marder, Stephen R; Pavuluri, Mani N

    2011-01-01

    "Fully updated for its Fifth Edition, Principles and Practice of Psychopharmacotherapy summarizes the latest data on hundreds of drug and device-based therapies and offers practical, evidence-based...

  18. Human Resource Management Practices and Innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laursen, Keld; Foss, Nicolai Juul

    We survey, organize, and discuss the literature on the role of organizational practices for explaining innovation outcomes. We discuss how individual practices influence innovation, and how the clustering of specific practices matters for innovation outcomes. Relatedly, we discuss various possibl...

  19. Organisational development in general practice: lessons from practice and professional development plans (PPDPs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hocking Paul

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Improving the quality and effectiveness of clinical practice is becoming a key task within all health services. Primary medical care, as organised in the UK is composed of clinicians who work in independent partnerships (general practices that collaborate with other health care professionals. Although many practices have successfully introduced innovations, there are no organisational development structures in place that support the evolution of primary medical care towards integrated care processes. Providing incentives for attendance at passive educational events and promoting 'teamwork' without first identifying organisational priorities are interventions that have proved to be ineffective at changing clinical processes. A practice and professional development plan feasibility study was evaluated in Wales and provided the experiential basis for a summary of the lessons learnt on how best to guide organisational development systems for primary medical care. Results Practice and professional development plans are hybrids produced by the combination of ideas from management (the applied behavioural science of organisational development and education (self-directed adult learning theories and, in conceptual terms, address the lack of effectiveness of passive educational strategies by making interventions relevant to identified system wide needs. In the intervention, each practice participated in a series of multidisciplinary workshops (minimum 4 where the process outcome was the production of a practice development plan and a set of personal portfolios, and the final outcome was a realised organisational change. It was apparent during the project that organisational admission to a process of developmental planning needed to be a stepwise process, where initial interest can lead to a fuller understanding, which subsequently develops into motivation and ownership, sufficient to complete the exercise. The advantages of

  20. Intercultural Training in Business Practice

    OpenAIRE

    Neznajová, Kateřina

    2012-01-01

    Master's thesis on Intercultural Training in Business Practice deals with the intercultural communication, opportunities for its improvement through intercultural training and actual practices in czech companies when using it. The theoretical part defines the concepts of culture, intercultural communication and intercultural training. The practical part includes research in firms in the czech market through a survey and case study in a chosen company. Based on the findings, the last part of t...

  1. Improving practical reasoning and argumentation

    OpenAIRE

    Baumtrog, Michael David

    2015-01-01

    This thesis justifies the need for and develops a new integrated model of practical reasoning and argumentation. After framing the work in terms of what is reasonable rather than what is rational (chapter 1), I apply the model for practical argumentation analysis and evaluation provided by Fairclough and Fairclough (2012) to a paradigm case of unreasonable individual practical argumentation provided by mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik (chapter 2). The application shows that by following t...

  2. Cybernetics of practice

    OpenAIRE

    Sweeting, Ben

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore ways in which cybernetics leads to distinctive ways of acting. Design/methodology/approach – Paralleling von Foerster's argument that it makes more sense to speak of the cybernetics of epistemology than the epistemology of cybernetics, the author argues that cybernetics is not one form of practice amongst others but an account of what it is to practice, understood as where we relate how we act to how we understand so that each informs the o...

  3. Practice nurses and obesity: professional and practice-based factors affecting role adequacy and role legitimacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolan, Christine; Deehan, Ann; Wylie, Ann; Jones, Roger

    2012-10-01

    This qualitative study explored the professional and practice-based factors affecting the role legitimacy and adequacy of practice nurses in managing obese patients. There are strong clinical, financial and practical reasons for tackling obesity in UK general practice. Although practice nurses may seem to be in an ideal position to manage obesity, there remain questions about their role adequacy (sense of self-efficacy in responding to patients' problems) and role legitimacy (their perceived boundaries of professional responsibility and right to intervene). Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 22 practice nurses in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham in South London. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. Key themes were identified following coding of the data. Findings Factors that positively affected nurses' role adequacy and legitimacy were: their belief that obesity management was part of their chronic disease management and health promotion remit; their confidence in their own communication skills and ability to build rapport with patients; having attended training and being supported to take extra time for obesity management. Factors negatively affecting their role legitimacy and adequacy were: their low awareness and use of guidance; lack of knowledge of referral options; limited knowledge and use of non-medical and non-persuasive approaches; perceived lack of expertise in motivating patients, as well as in nutrition, child obesity and assessment; belief that there were some contexts in which it was more appropriate to raise the issue than others; lack of culturally appropriate materials and language barriers; belief that they had limited impact on outcome and that the patient is responsible for lack of success. Other factors negatively affecting their role adequacy and legitimacy included their ambivalence about the effectiveness of the interventions offered; perceived lack of priority for obesity management within practices

  4. Using Reflective Practice to Facilitate Conversations and Transform Instructional Practice for Middle School Science Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higdon, Robbie L.

    The process of teaching, especially inquiry, is complex and requires extended time for developing one's instructional practice (Loucks-Horsley, Stiles, Mundry, Love, & Hewson, 2010). The implementation of a continued cycle of self-reflection can engage teachers in analyzing their prior experiences and understandings about their instructional practice to promote the accommodation of new concepts and transform their practice. However, many teachers have difficulty engaging in the cognitive dissonance needed to identify those problems and promote their own growth without support. As one's professional practice becomes more repetitive and routine, it is difficult for the practitioner to recognize opportunities in which to contemplate one's habitual actions (Schon, 1983). In this multi-case study, two middle school science teachers who were engaged within a sustained professional development initiative participated in a series of one-on-one reflective dialogues regarding the decisions they made about the utilization of inquiry-based instruction. In addition, these teachers were asked to reflect upon the criteria used to determine how and when to implement these inquiry-based practices. These reflective dialogue sessions provided the opportunity to observe teacher conceptions and stimulate teacher cognitive dissonance about instructional practice. Qualitative analysis of data collected from these reflective dialogues along with informal and formal classroom observations of instructional practice uncovered diverse perceptions regarding the implementation of inquiry-based methods into present teaching practice. The use of reflective dialogue within the existing structure of the professional development initiative allowed for the facilitators of the professional development initiative to tailor ongoing support and their effective implementation of inquiry-based instruction. Additional research is needed to investigate the impact of reflective dialogue in achieving

  5. Effectiveness of an Online Educational Module in Improving Evidence-Based Practice Skills of Practicing Registered Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Lora

    2017-10-01

    Implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) at the bedside has been difficult to achieve. Significant gaps between current research and actual practice have been identified and must be addressed in effort to increase utilization of EBP. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an online EBP educational intervention and to examine the relationship between educational preparation and years of nursing experience on nurses' practice, attitudes, and knowledge and skills of EBP. An experimental pretest-posttest design study with three randomized groups utilizing the EBPQ instrument was conducted. No significant differences were noted in EBPQ subscale scores of practice, attitude, or knowledge and skills from pre- to posttest. In addition, no statistical difference in EBPQ subscale scores regarding educational preparation or years of experience were noted. While nurses report positive attitudes toward EBP, their perceptions of practice and knowledge and skills score much lower. Educational interventions are needed for practicing nurses to overcome this knowledge deficit to successfully implement EBP. However, the use of online, independent, computer-based learning modules, while cost-efficient and offer several benefits when educating nurses, may not necessarily be the most effective method for teaching EBP knowledge and skills to practicing nurses. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  6. Professional knowledge and interprofessional practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milburn, Peter C.; Colyer, Hazel

    2008-01-01

    Interprofessional education (IPE) is well-established in the professional discipline of radiography and other health and social care professions, driven by central government policies promoting interprofessional, collaborative working. The development of an appropriate knowledge base for interprofessional work is therefore important and, as a starting point, the article investigates the concept and significance of professional knowledge as a means to unravel and shed light on the potential emergence of a new body of knowledge, 'interprofessional knowledge'. The paper discusses whether the term 'interprofessional knowledge' (IPK) is meaningful and its utility for interprofessional practice, arguing that such knowledge is located within the discourse of interprofessional learning and practice. As such it is fluid and contextualised. The implications of this for all health and social care professionals, including radiographers, are elaborated to assist in future curriculum development and enhance understanding of the knowledge that underpins effective, collaborative, interprofessional practice. The paper concludes by suggesting there are a number of key implications for professional practice namely, IPE cannot teach interprofessional knowledge, rather it should facilitate interprofessional practice, through which such knowledge is construed, and person-centred care can be more effectively achieved. Second, interprofessional practice is highly contextualised by practice setting and point of service delivery. Any attempt to decontextualise it for the purpose of curriculum development would be illogical; interprofessional knowledge is in a symbiotic relationship with its prior professional knowledge. Third, the organisation of IPE would be better driven by alliances of complementary professions in order to maximise its potential effectiveness and credibility with practitioners

  7. Transforming practice into clinical scholarship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limoges, Jacqueline; Acorn, Sonia

    2016-04-01

    The aims of this paper were to explicate clinical scholarship as synonymous with the scholarship of application and to explore the evolution of scholarly practice to clinical scholarship. Boyer contributed an expanded view of scholarship that recognized various approaches to knowledge production beyond pure research (discovery) to include the scholarship of integration, application and teaching. There is growing interest in using Boyer's framework to advance knowledge production in nursing but the discussion of clinical scholarship in relation to Boyer's framework is sparse. Discussion paper. Literature from 1983-2015 and Boyer's framework. When clinical scholarship is viewed as a synonym for Boyer's scholarship of application, it can be aligned to this well established framework to support knowledge generated in clinical practice. For instance, applying the three criteria for scholarship (documentation, peer review and dissemination) can ensure that the knowledge produced is rigorous, available for critique and used by others to advance nursing practice and patient care. Understanding the differences between scholarly practice and clinical scholarship can promote the development of clinical scholarship. Supporting clinical leaders to identify issues confronting nursing practice can enable scholarly practice to be transformed into clinical scholarship. Expanding the understanding of clinical scholarship and linking it to Boyer's scholarship of application can assist nurses to generate knowledge that addresses clinical concerns. Further dialogue about how clinical scholarship can address the theory-practice gap and how publication of clinical scholarship could be expanded given the goals of clinical scholarship is warranted. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Peer Review of Best Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearlman, J.; Buttigieg, P. L.; Simpson, P.; Munoz, C.; Dufois, F.; Heslop, E. E.

    2017-12-01

    To ensure the quality of oceanographic data, there is a clear need to employ best practices (BPs) for ocean observation and information management. However, effectively discovering these BPs is a challenge, hindering harmonized quality assurance across projects and programmes. To remedy this, we are prototyping a resource for the stable archiving and efficient discovery of BPs through a granular, semantically indexed, and consistently formatted web resource. While these technical advances have value, they cannot ensure improved oceanographic data quality without effective and inclusive peer review processes. Peer review of digitized best practices can take a number of forms from traditional (blind) peer review as practiced by journal publishers through to the evolving "open" approach where community reviews have both the authors and reviewers identified. This presentation will discuss the options for peer review mechanisms for best practices, including a hybrid approach where both expert panels and open community review are used to improve methodologies and thus downstream data quality. It is not yet clear if the ocean community prefers open versus blind reviews for best practices. It is also unclear the extent to which innovation versus solid technical base should have a higher priority in the reviews. Further, it is not clear whether the reviews should use an internal expert panel of the IODE OceanBestPractices Repository (http://www.oceanbestpractices.net/) or should be done as part of a journal publications process or both, as mentioned above. Thus, we will also describe our future approach to `field test' these review models on a multi-stakeholder compendium of digitized best practice documents.

  9. The Role of Health Services Research in Developing Practice Policy: Development of Practice Guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crall, James J.

    1990-01-01

    The paper offers guidance for the incorporation of treatment effectiveness research into clinical dental practice guidelines. Recommended is inclusion of patients' preferences for different outcomes as well as of clinical outcomes in development of valid practice guidelines. (DB)

  10. Rural general practice training: experience of a rural general practice team and a postgraduate year two registrar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott-Jones J

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Undertaking training in rural areas is a recognised way of helping recruit staff to work in rural communities. Postgraduate year two medical doctors in New Zealand have been able to undertake a three-month placement in rural practice as part of their pre-vocational training experience since November 2010. AIM: To describe the experience of a rural general practice team providing training to a postgraduate year two medical trainee, and to describe the teaching experience and range of conditions seen by the trainee. METHODS: A pre- and post-placement interview with staff, and analysis of a logbook of cases and teaching undertaken in the practice. RESULTS: The practice team's experience of having the trainee was positive, and the trainee was exposed to a wide range of conditions over 418 clinical encounters. The trainee received 22.5 hours of formal training over the three-month placement. DISCUSSION: Rural general practice can provide a wide range of clinical experience to a postgraduate year two medical trainee. Rural practices in New Zealand should be encouraged to offer teaching placements at this training level. Exposure to rural practice at every level of training is important to encourage doctors to consider rural practice as a career.

  11. Resources to Manage a Private Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aigner, John; Cheek, Fredricka; Donati, Georgia; Zuravicky, Dori

    1997-01-01

    Includes four theme articles: "The Digital Toolkit: Electronic Necessities for Private Practice" (John Aigner); "Organizing a Private Practice: Forms, Fees, and Physical Set-up (Fredricka Cheek); "Career Development Resources: Guidelines for Setting Up a Private Practice Library" (Georgia Donati); and "Books to…

  12. 48 CFR 203.170 - Business practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Business practices. 203..., DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE GENERAL IMPROPER BUSINESS PRACTICES AND PERSONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Safeguards 203.170 Business practices. To ensure the separation of functions for oversight, source selection...

  13. HRM Practices and MNC knowledge Transfer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Minbaeva, Dana

    2004-01-01

    and support organizational learning environment, is positively related to the degree ofknowledge transfer to the subsidiary. Moreover, the higher degree of knowledge transfer isexpected when human resource management practices are applied as an integrated system ofinterdependent practices. Hypotheses derived......The purpose of the paper is to determine and empirically examine the effect of human resourcemanagement practices on knowledge transfer within multinational corporations. It is suggested thatthe employment of human resource practices, which affect absorptive capacity of knowledgereceivers...

  14. Planning Practice and Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2013-01-01

    Urban planning has dramatically shifted when compared with its former logics and styles. Increasingly, the dynamics of large urban agglomerations spanning multiple boundaries put significant pressure on planning institutions to scale up. In this shifting context, how can both planning theory...... and practice co- evolve in adapting to the ever-increasing transformation of cities and urban regions? In this context, Planning Practice and Research (PPR) is seeking perspectives from the young academic community in planning. We propose to publish at least one special edition of PPR with a number of short...... papers from Young Academics. The contributions should address the question of how planning theory and practice can respond to the increasing complexity of cities and regions....

  15. Tasting in mundane practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mann, Anna

    2015-01-01

    This thesis presents an ethnographic investigation into practices of tasting. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in various Western Europe settings in which people sensually engaged with food and drinks, the chapters show how tasting is done by research subjects in sensory science laboratories; guests...... response to a food object, leading on to a multi-sensory experience of its qualities, that do not just emerge from the food but are co-shaped by the context and that give rise to sensorial knowledge. By investigating specificities, articulating alternatives, showing construction processes, and typecasting...... particular practices, the chapters unpack each of these assumptions. What emerges is an alternative, composite understanding of tasting as variously done in varied mundane practices....

  16. 31 CFR 8.42 - Practice of law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Practice of law. 8.42 Section 8.42... ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS Duties and Restrictions Relating to Practice § 8.42 Practice of law. Nothing... practice law. ...

  17. Hollow Nodules Gas Escape Sedimentary Structures in Lacustrine Deposits on Earth and Gale Crater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonaccorsi, R.; Willson, D.; Fairen, A. G.; Baker, L.; McKay, C.; Zent, A.; Mahaffy, P. R.

    2015-12-01

    Curiosity's Mastcam and MAHLI instruments in Gale Crater (GC) imaged mm-sized circular rimmed hollow nodules (HNs) (Figure 1A), pitting the Sheepbed mudstone of Yellowknife Bay Formation [1,2]. HNs are significantly smaller than the solid nodules within the outcrop, with an external mean diameter of 1.2 mm and an interior one of 0.7 mm [2] Several formation mechanisms of HNs have been discussed, such as: (1) Diagenetic dissolution of soluble mineral phases; or, (2) Gas bubbles released shortly after sediment deposition [1-3]. In an ephemeral pond in Ubehebe Crater (Death Valley, CA) we observed the formation of hollow nodule sedimentary structures produced by gas bubbles (Figure 1C) preserved in smectite-rich mud that are strikingly similar to those imaged in GC (Figure 1A). This finding supports the gas bubble hypothesis [2]. Ubehebe Crater (UC) surface sediment hollow nodules were sampled, imaged, and their internal diameter measured (200 hollow structures) showing similar shape, distribution, and composition to those imaged by Curiosity in GC. UC in-situ observations suggest the gas bubbles were generated within the slightly reducing ephemerally submerged mud. These intra-crater deposits remain otherwise extremely dry year round, i.e., Air_rH ~2-5%; ground H2O wt%: 1-2%; Summer air/ground T: 45-48ºC/67-70ºC [4-5]. Data from the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), CheMin, and ChemCam instruments onboard the rover revealed that HNs-bearing mudstone are rich in smectite clay e.g., ~18-20% [6,7] deposited in a neutral to mildly alkaline environment, capturing a period when the surface was potentially habitable [1]. The UC HNs-hosting deposits are also rich in smectite clays (~30%) and occur in an ephemeral shallow freshwater setting [4-5]. If present, surface hollow nodules are easy to find in dry clay-rich mud in lacustrine sediments, so they could represent a new indicator of ephemeral but habitable/inhabited environments on both Earth and early Mars. References: [1

  18. Description of a practice model for pharmacist medication review in a general practice setting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandt, Mette; Hallas, Jesper; Hansen, Trine Graabæk

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Practical descriptions of procedures used for pharmacists' medication reviews are sparse. OBJECTIVE: To describe a model for medication review by pharmacists tailored to a general practice setting. METHODS: A stepwise model is described. The model is based on data from the medical chart...... no indication (n=47, 23%). Most interventions were aimed at cardiovascular drugs. CONCLUSION: We have provided a detailed description of a practical approach to pharmacists' medication review in a GP setting. The model was tested and found to be usable, and to deliver a medication review with high acceptance...

  19. Pedagogical Practices in Early Childhood Education and Care in Tanzania: Policy and Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mligo, Ignasia; Mitchell, Linda; Bell, Beverley

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine current pedagogical practices in early childhood education and care in Tanzania, a reflection from policy and practices to the implementation of Learner-Centred Pedagogy and to put forward possible improvements for the future. In 2005 a new pre-school education curriculum introduced a learner-centred…

  20. A Reflection upon the "Getting Practical" Programme: Rethinking How We Teach Practical Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, Nikki

    2010-01-01

    In this article, the author provides an overview of the "Getting Practical" training programme of professional development for all those involved with teaching practical science at primary, secondary, and post-16 levels. The programme is being led by the ASE, working with its co-ordinating partners: the Centre for Science Education,…