Sample records for reinforcing therapist performance
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kristensen, Hanne Kaae; Borg, Tove; Hounsgaard, Lise
2012-01-01
, and six focus-group interviews. RESULTS: New knowledge concerning the substantial influence of professional values in the occupational therapists' local cultures was indicated. It was of importance that the therapists as a group are given the opportunity to explicit and critically appraise values...... and knowledge use in order to develop their practice knowledge and new skills. Moreover personal values and clinical experiences influenced clinical reasoning. Current knowledge of the importance of local cultures and leadership was reinforced. CONCLUSION: The influence of professional values...... in the occupational therapists' local cultures was a substantial factor in the implementation processes. In addition personal values and clinical experiences influenced professional decision-making. Furthermore, the study reinforced current knowledge of the importance of culture and leadership in implementation...
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Bullying among radiation therapists: effects on job performance and work environment.
Trad, Megan; Johnson, Jordan
2014-01-01
To identify the effects of workplace bullying in the radiation therapy department on job performance and explore the environment and morale of individuals who work with a bully. A quantitative research study was designed to assess the prevalence and effects of bullying in the radiation therapy workplace. A total of 308 radiation therapists participated in the study for a return rate of 46%. Of those, 194 indicated that workplace bullying was present either in their current workplace or in a previous radiation therapy environment and that it negatively affected job performance and satisfaction. Findings of this study indicate a need for evaluation of the radiation therapy workplace, education on how to identify and prevent bullying behavior, and better communication among members of the radiation therapy environment. Participants indicated that working in a hostile environment led to forgetfulness, ineffective communication, and perceived discrepancies in promotion and treatment by management. Any bullying behavior contributes to an overall toxic work environment, which is unhealthy and unsafe for patients and therapists. Those who manage therapists should promote a culture of safety and embrace their staff's independence.
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The values of occupational therapy: Perceptions of occupational therapists in Quebec.
Drolet, Marie-Josée; Désormeaux-Moreau, Marjorie
2016-07-01
Recently, there has been increasing interest in the values of occupational therapy and the values held by occupational therapists. A wide range of values has been reported in the literature. Furthermore, despite the fact that values are an important part of professional identity, empirical studies have demonstrated that several occupational therapists possess an ambiguous professional identity. This study was undertaken to explore the values of Canadian occupational therapists, specifically French-speaking occupational therapists in Quebec. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 occupational therapists. Their narratives were subject to hermeneutic analysis, a method of textual analysis common in philosophical research. A total of 16 values were identified in the discourses of the occupational therapists interviewed: autonomy; human dignity; occupational participation; social justice and equity; professionalism; holism; partnership, environment, or ecological approach; quality of life; solicitude; honesty; integrity; health; creativity; professional autonomy; effectiveness; and spirituality. The results of this study are, in general, consistent with those reported in the few other empirical studies that have documented the values perceptions of occupational therapists. Finally, the explanation of the values of occupational therapists may reinforce their professional identity and favour best, or at least desirable, professional practices related to ethics and culture.
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Cooper, Zafra; Doll, Helen; Bailey-Straebler, Suzanne; Bohn, Kristin; de Vries, Dian; Murphy, Rebecca; O'Connor, Marianne E; Fairburn, Christopher G
2017-10-31
Recent research interest in how best to train therapists to deliver psychological treatments has highlighted the need for rigorous, but scalable, means of measuring therapist competence. There are at least two components involved in assessing therapist competence: the assessment of their knowledge of the treatment concerned, including how and when to use its strategies and procedures, and an evaluation of their ability to apply such knowledge skillfully in practice. While the assessment of therapists' knowledge has the potential to be completed efficiently on the Web, the assessment of skill has generally involved a labor-intensive process carried out by clinicians, and as such, may not be suitable for assessing training outcome in certain circumstances. The aims of this study were to develop and evaluate a role-play-based measure of skill suitable for assessing training outcome and to compare its performance with a highly scalable Web-based measure of applied knowledge. Using enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-E) for eating disorders as an exemplar, clinical scenarios for role-play assessment were developed and piloted together with a rating scheme for assessing trainee therapists' performance. These scenarios were evaluated by examining the performance of 93 therapists from different professional backgrounds and at different levels of training in implementing CBT-E. These therapists also completed a previously developed Web-based measure of applied knowledge, and the ability of the Web-based measure to efficiently predict competence on the role-play measure was investigated. The role-play measure assessed performance at implementing a range of CBT-E procedures. The majority of the therapists rated their performance as moderately or closely resembling their usual clinical performance. Trained raters were able to achieve good-to-excellent reliability for averaged competence, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from .653 to 909. The measure was
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The Family Therapist as Intermediary
Hurvitz, Nathan
1974-01-01
The family therapist performs specific activities associated with his functions as a therapist, consultant, and intermediary. The intermediary function is based upon concepts associated with symbolic interactionism. (Author)
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Ohtake, Patricia J; Lazarus, Marcilene; Schillo, Rebecca; Rosen, Michael
2013-02-01
Rehabilitation of patients in critical care environments improves functional outcomes. This finding has led to increased implementation of intensive care unit (ICU) rehabilitation programs, including early mobility, and an associated increased demand for physical therapists practicing in ICUs. Unfortunately, many physical therapists report being inadequately prepared to work in this high-risk environment. Simulation provides focused, deliberate practice in safe, controlled learning environments and may be a method to initiate academic preparation of physical therapists for ICU practice. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of participation in simulation-based management of a patient with critical illness in an ICU setting on levels of confidence and satisfaction in physical therapist students. A one-group, pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental design was used. Physical therapist students (N=43) participated in a critical care simulation experience requiring technical (assessing bed mobility and pulmonary status), behavioral (patient and interprofessional communication), and cognitive (recognizing a patient status change and initiating appropriate responses) skill performance. Student confidence and satisfaction were surveyed before and after the simulation experience. Students' confidence in their technical, behavioral, and cognitive skill performance increased from "somewhat confident" to "confident" following the critical care simulation experience. Student satisfaction was highly positive, with strong agreement the simulation experience was valuable, reinforced course content, and was a useful educational tool. Limitations of the study were the small sample from one university and a control group was not included. Incorporating a simulated, interprofessional critical care experience into a required clinical course improved physical therapist student confidence in technical, behavioral, and cognitive performance measures and was associated with high
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Long-term performance of GFRP reinforcement : technical report.
2009-12-01
Significant research has been performed on glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) concrete reinforcement. : This research has shown that GFRP reinforcement exhibits high strengths, is lightweight, can decrease time of : construction, and is corrosion ...
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STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF DEGRADED REINFORCED CONCRETE MEMBERS
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Braverman, J.I.; Miller, C.A.; Ellingwood, B.R.; Naus, D.J.; Hofmayer, C.H.; Bezler, P.; Chang, T.Y.
2001-01-01
This paper describes the results of a study to evaluate, in probabilistic terms, the effects of age-related degradation on the structural performance of reinforced concrete members at nuclear power plants. The paper focuses on degradation of reinforced concrete flexural members and shear walls due to the loss of steel reinforcing area and loss of concrete area (cracking/spalling). Loss of steel area is typically caused by corrosion while cracking and spalling can be caused by corrosion of reinforcing steel, freeze-thaw, or aggressive chemical attack. Structural performance in the presence of uncertainties is depicted by a fragility (or conditional probability of failure). The effects of degradation on the fragility of reinforced concrete members are calculated to assess the potential significance of various levels of degradation. The fragility modeling procedures applied to degraded concrete members can be used to assess the effects of degradation on plant risk and can lead to the development of probability-based degradation acceptance limits
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Jette, Diane U; Bertoni, Alicia; Coots, Renee; Johnson, Heidi; McLaughlin, Catherine; Weisbach, Cody
2007-07-01
The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore clinical instructors' (CIs) perceptions of students' behaviors that comprise entry-level clinical performance, as well as how those perceptions were integrated into their decision making. The participants were 21 physical therapists who were CIs for physical therapist students. Using a grounded theory approach, we conducted interviews, asking the question, "What is it about students' performance that makes you see them as entry-level therapists?" We determined common themes among the interviews and developed a schema to explain the decision-making process. Participants identified 7 attributes that, when demonstrated to a sufficient degree, illustrated to them students' ability to practice at the entry level. Those attributes were knowledge, clinical skills, safety, clinical decision making, self-directed learning, interpersonal communication, and professional demeanor. Participants viewed these attributes in concert to form a subjective "gut feeling" that a student demonstrated entry-level performance. A final theme emerged suggesting a definition of entry-level performance as "mentored independence." Participants reported evaluating students' performance based on attributes similar to those suggested by the American Physical Therapy Association's Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument and previous research. However, subjectivity also was involved in their decision about whether students were able to practice at the entry level. Participants also concluded that entry-level students need not be independent in all clinical situations.
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Performance based design of reinforced concrete beams under impact
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. Tachibana
2010-06-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to collect fundamental data and to establish a performance-based design method for reinforced concrete beams under perpendicular impact load.
Series of low speed impact experiments using reinforced concrete beams were performed varying span length, cross section and main reinforcement.
The experimental results are evaluated focusing on the impact load characteristics and the impact behaviours of reinforced concrete beams. Various characteristic values and their relationships are investigated such as the collision energy, the impact force duration, the energy absorbed by the beams and the beam response values. Also the bending performance of the reinforced concrete beams against perpendicular impact is evaluated.
An equation is proposed to estimate the maximum displacement of the beam based on the collision energy and the static ultimate bending strength. The validity of the proposed equation is confirmed by comparison with experimental results obtained by other researchers as well as numerical results obtained by FEM simulations. The proposed equation allows for a performance based design of the structure accounting for the actual deformation due to the expected impact action. -
High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites 6 HPFRCC 6
Reinhardt, Hans; Naaman, A
2012-01-01
High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites (HPFRCC) represent a class of cement composites whose stress-strain response in tension undergoes strain hardening behaviour accompanied by multiple cracking, leading to a high strain prior to failure. The primary objective of this International Workshop was to provide a compendium of up-to-date information on the most recent developments and research advances in the field of High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites. Approximately 65 contributions from leading world experts are assembled in these proceedings and provide an authoritative perspective on the subject. Special topics include fresh and hardening state properties; self-compacting mixtures; mechanical behavior under compressive, tensile, and shear loading; structural applications; impact, earthquake and fire resistance; durability issues; ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete; and textile reinforced concrete. Target readers: graduate students, researchers, fiber producers, desi...
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Clinical experience of rehabilitation therapists with chronic diseases: a quantitative approach.
Rijken, P.M.; Dekker, J.
1998-01-01
Objectives: To provide an overview of the numbers of patients with selected chronic diseases treated by rehabilitation therapists (physical therapists, occupational therapists, exercise therapists and podiatrists). The study was performed to get quantitative information on the degree to which
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Matsuo, Toyofumi; Matsumura, Takuro; Miyagawa, Yoshinori
2009-01-01
This paper discusses applicability of material degradation model due to reinforcing steel corrosion for RC box-culverts with corroded reinforcement and an estimation method for threshold value in performance verification reflecting reinforcing steel corrosion. First, in FEM analyses, loss of reinforcement section area and initial tension strain arising from reinforcing steel corrosion, and deteriorated bond characteristics between reinforcement and concrete were considered. The full-scale loading tests using corroded RC box-culverts were numerically analyzed. As a result, the analyzed crack patterns and load-strain relationships were in close agreement with the experimental results within the maximum corrosion ratio 15% of primary reinforcement. Then, we showed that this modeling could estimate the load carrying capacity of corroded RC box-culverts. Second, a parametric study was carried out for corroded RC box culverts with various sizes, reinforcement ratios and levels of steel corrosion, etc. Furthermore, as an application of analytical results and various experimental investigations, we suggested allowable degradation ratios for a modification of the threshold value, which corresponds to the chloride induced deterioration progress that is widely accepted in maintenance practice for civil engineering reinforced concrete structures. Finally, based on these findings, we developed two estimation methods for threshold value in performance verification: 1) a structural analysis method using nonlinear FEM included modeling of material degradation, 2) a practical method using a threshold value, which is determined by structural analyses of RC box-culverts in sound condition, is multiplied by the allowable degradation ratio. (author)
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Silvestre, Rafaela Luisa Silva; Vandenberghe, Luc
2008-01-01
The present article discusses possible uses of the therapist's feelings to enhance treatment following Kohlenberg and Tsai's conceptualization of the therapist-client relationship. Four vignettes from a case study involving a couple are used as illustrative material. It is argued that the therapist's feelings can serve as clues for identifying…
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The concept of caring: Perceptions of radiation therapists
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bolderston, Amanda; Lewis, Donna; Chai, Martin J.
2010-01-01
Aims: This study explores radiation therapists' understanding and interpretations of the concept of caring within their profession. Background: Health professions' concepts of care have been explored in disciplines such as nursing and medicine. However, there has been little previous attempt to describe what caring means to radiation therapists. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological approach was used and 27 radiation therapists were interviewed in four focus groups. Discussions were transcribed and analysis was performed to identify themes from the data. Results: Three overarching themes emerged from the data: human connection established between radiation therapists and patients, technical care as the use of technology and procedures in treatment planning and delivery, and the therapist's unique identity as compared to other professions. Conclusions: The concept of care was seen by radiation therapists primarily as a supportive relationship with the patient but they were unable to agree if the technical aspects and procedures were considered a part of caring. Further research is needed to further examine the connection between technology and care.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wu Xu
2016-02-01
Full Text Available Beam-column joints which shoulders high-level and vertical shearing effect that maintains balance of beam and column end is the major component influencing the performance of the whole framework. Post earthquake investigation suggests that collapse of frame structure is induced by failure of joints in most cases. Thus, beam-column joints must have strong bearing capacity and good ductility, and reinforced concrete structure just meets the above requirement. But corrosion caused by long time use of reinforced concrete framework will lead to degeneration of mechanical performance of joints. To find out the rule of effect of steel reinforcement with different corrosion rate on degeneration of bearing capacity of reinforced concrete framework joints, this study made a nonlinear numerical analysis on fifteen models without stirrup in the core area of reinforced concrete frame joints using displacement method considering axial load ratio of column end and constraint condition. This work aims to find out the key factor that influences mechanical performance of joints, thus to provide a basis for repair and reinforcement of degenerated framework joints.
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Zuroff, David C; McBride, Carolina; Ravitz, Paula; Koestner, Richard; Moskowitz, D S; Bagby, R Michael
2017-10-01
Differences between therapists in the average outcomes their patients achieve are well documented, and researchers have begun to try to explain such differences (Baldwin & Imel, 2013). Guided by Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), we examined the effects on outcome of differences between therapists in their patients' average levels of autonomous and controlled motivation for treatment, as well as the effects of differences among the patients within each therapist's caseload. Between and within-therapist differences in the SDT construct of perceived relational support were explored as predictors of patients' motivation. Nineteen therapists treated 63 patients in an outpatient clinic providing manualized interpersonal therapy (IPT) for depression. Patients completed the BDI-II at pretreatment, posttreatment, and each treatment session. The Impact Message Inventory was administered at the third session and scored for perceived therapist friendliness, a core element of relational support. We created between-therapists (therapist-level) scores by averaging over the patients in each therapist's caseload; within-therapist (patient-level) scores were computed by centering within each therapist's caseload. As expected, better outcome was predicted by higher levels of therapist-level and patient-level autonomous motivation and by lower levels of therapist-level and patient-level controlled motivation. In turn, autonomous motivation was predicted by therapist-level and patient-level relational support (friendliness). Controlled motivation was predicted solely by patient self-critical perfectionism. The results extend past work by demonstrating that both between-therapists and within-therapist differences in motivation predict outcome. As well, the results suggest that therapists should monitor their interpersonal impact so as to provide relational support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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High-performance carbon nanotube-reinforced bioplastic
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Ramontja, J
2009-12-01
Full Text Available -1 High-Performance Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Bioplastic 1. James Ramontja1,2, 2. Suprakas Sinha Ray1,*, 3. Sreejarani K. Pillai1, 4. Adriaan S. Luyt2 1. 1 DST/CSIR Nanotechnology Innovation Centre, National Centre for Nano-Structured Materials...
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The meanings of craft to an occupational therapist.
Harris, Emma
2008-06-01
Craft was the first therapeutic occupation of occupational therapy. Since the early days of the profession, the value of craft in practice is a topic that has been discussed with fluctuating interest. Recent discussions by occupational therapists have reinforced that although craft is relevant to occupational therapy, there are uncertainties about its place in contemporary practice. Presently, scholars have identified that occupation is both the center of human experience and the core of our profession. Therefore, this study aimed to begin to clarify the meaning of craft to practice today by gaining a deep understanding of the meanings that one occupational therapist attributes to craft. Using narrative inquiry, data were gathered through a conversation held between the research participant and myself. A reflexive journal was also kept to support this data gathering process. Narrative analysis enabled intimate engagement with the data and the emergence of themes and sub-themes. The findings, in the form of an interpretive story, suggest first, that craft-making has therapeutic value; second, that reasoning about the therapeutic use of craft is similar to reasoning about other therapeutic activities; and third, that personal experience with craft-making can influence the selection of craft as therapeutic media. From this study, further research into the impact personal and professional experiences can have on choice of therapeutic media and an analysis of the sociopolitical context of the meanings that occupational therapists attribute to craft-making is suggested.
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Differential reinforcement and resistance to change of divided-attention performance.
Podlesnik, Christopher A; Thrailkill, Eric; Shahan, Timothy A
2012-06-01
Behavioral momentum theory provides a framework for understanding how conditions of reinforcement influence instrumental response strength under conditions of disruption (i.e., resistance to change). The present experiment examined resistance to change of divided-attention performance when different overall probabilities of reinforcement were arranged across two components of a multiple schedule. Pigeons responded in a delayed-matching-to-sample procedure with compound samples (color + line orientation) and element comparisons (two colors or two line orientations). Reinforcement ratios of 1:9, 1:1, and 9:1 for accurate matches on the two types of comparison trials were examined across conditions using reinforcement probabilities (color/lines) of .9/.1, .5/.5, and .1/.9 in the rich component and .18/.02, .1/.1, and .02/.18 in the lean component. Relative accuracy with color and line comparisons was an orderly function of relative reinforcement, but this relation did not depend on the overall rate of reinforcement between components. The resistance to change of divided-attention performance was greater for both trial types in the rich component with presession feeding and extinction, but not with decreases in sample duration. These findings suggest promise for the applicability of quantitative models of operant behavior to divided-attention performance, but they highlight the need to further explore conditions impacting the resistance to change of attending.
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Manduchi, Katia; Schoendorff, Benjamin
2012-01-01
Practicing Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) for the first time can seem daunting to therapists. Establishing a deep and intense therapeutic relationship, identifying FAP's therapeutic targets of clinically relevant behaviors, and using contingent reinforcement to help clients emit more functional behavior in the therapeutic relationship all…
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Virues-Ortega, Javier; Montaño-Fidalgo, Montserrat; Froján-Parga, María Xesús; Calero-Elvira, Ana
2011-12-01
This study analyzes the interobserver agreement and hypothesis-based known-group validity of the Therapist's Verbal Behavior Category System (SISC-INTER). The SISC-INTER is a behavioral observation protocol comprised of a set of verbal categories representing putative behavioral functions of the in-session verbal behavior of a therapist (e.g., discriminative, reinforcing, punishing, and motivational operations). The complete therapeutic process of a clinical case of an individual with marital problems was recorded (10 sessions, 8 hours), and data were arranged in a temporal sequence using 10-min periods. Hypotheses based on the expected performance of the putative behavioral functions portrayed by the SISC-INTER codes across prevalent clinical activities (i.e., assessing, explaining, Socratic method, providing clinical guidance) were tested using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. Known-group validity analyses provided support to all hypotheses. The SISC-INTER may be a useful tool to describe therapist-client interaction in operant terms. The utility of reliable and valid protocols for the descriptive analysis of clinical practice in terms of verbal behavior is discussed. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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The Effects of Response Effort on Safe Performance by Therapists at an Autism Treatment Facility
Casella, Sarah E.; Wilder, David A.; Neidert, Pamela; Rey, Catalina; Compton, Megan; Chong, Ivy
2010-01-01
The effects of response effort on safe behaviors (i.e., glove wearing, hand sanitizing, and electrical outlet replacement) exhibited by therapists at an autism treatment center were examined. Participants were exposed to 2 or 3 levels of effort (i.e., high, medium, low) for each dependent variable. Results showed increased safe performance during…
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Performance evaluation of corrosion-affected reinforced concrete ...
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
M B Anoop
Abstract. A methodology for performance evaluation of reinforced concrete bridge girders in corrosive ... concrete (RC) members of infrastructural systems, espe- ... bility will be useful for making engineering decisions for ...... Water-cement ratio.
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Corrosion performance tests for reinforcing steel in concrete : test procedures.
2009-09-01
The existing test method to assess the corrosion performance of reinforcing steel embedded in concrete, mainly : ASTM G109, is labor intensive, time consuming, slow to provide comparative results, and often expensive. : However, corrosion of reinforc...
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The Fuel Performance Analysis of LWR Fuel containing High Thermal Conductivity Reinforcements
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kim, Seung Su; Ryu, Ho Jin
2015-01-01
The thermal conductivity of fuel affects many performance parameters including the fuel centerline temperature, fission gas release and internal pressure. In addition, enhanced safety margin of fuel might be expected when the thermal conductivity of fuel is improved by the addition of high thermal conductivity reinforcements. Therefore, the effects of thermal conductivity enhancement on the fuel performance of reinforced UO2 fuel with high thermal conductivity compounds should be analyzed. In this study, we analyzed the fuel performance of modified UO2 fuel with high thermal conductivity reinforcements by using the FRAPCON-3.5 code. The fissile density and mechanical properties of the modified fuel are considered the same with the standard UO2 fuel. The fuel performance of modified UO2 with high thermal conductivity reinforcements were analyzed by using the FRAPCON-3.5 code. The thermal conductivity enhancement factors of the modified fuels were obtained from the Maxwell model considering the volume fraction of reinforcements
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rybovic, Michala; Halkett, Georgia K.; Banati, Richard B.; Cox, Jennifer
2008-01-01
Background and purpose: Our aim was to explore radiation therapists' views on the level of experience necessary to undertake portal image analysis and clinical decision making. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was developed to determine the availability of portal imaging equipment in Australia and New Zealand. We analysed radiation therapists' responses to a specific question regarding their opinion on the minimum level of experience required for health professionals to analyse portal images. We used grounded theory and a constant comparative method of data analysis to derive the main themes. Results: Forty-six radiation oncology facilities were represented in our survey, with 40 questionnaires being returned (87%). Thirty-seven radiation therapists answered our free-text question. Radiation therapists indicated three main themes which they felt were important in determining the minimum level of experience: 'gaining on-the-job experience', 'receiving training' and 'working as a team'. Conclusions: Radiation therapists indicated that competence in portal image review occurs via various learning mechanisms. Further research is warranted to determine perspectives of other health professionals, such as radiation oncologists, on portal image review becoming part of radiation therapists' extended role. Suitable training programs and steps for implementation should be developed to facilitate this endeavour
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Kota, Munetsugu; Kudo, Hiroyuki; Okita, Kazuhiko
2018-04-01
[Purpose] The survey aimed to clarify the factors that affect physiotherapists' job satisfaction. [Subjects and Methods] To examine factors affecting physical therapists' job satisfaction using a cross-sectional study with a questionnaire survey. Subjects were 193 first-year physical therapists who participated in a newcomer orientation at Hiroshima Prefectural Physical Therapy Association. The questionnaire comprised items concerning physical therapists' satisfaction with their work, motives for becoming physical therapists, education in school, internships, the workplace, and comfort in the workplace. [Results] Subjects were divided into two groups according to their satisfaction with their occupation. The "high satisfaction" group included 157 subjects, and the group "low satisfaction" group included 36 subjects. Using logistic regression analysis, items concerning comfort in the workplace, motives for becoming physical therapists, and learning in school were analysed. [Conclusion] Factors affecting physical therapists' job satisfaction were primarily influenced by previous experience and working conditions.
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Understanding paediatric rehabilitation therapists' lack of use of outcome measures.
King, Gillian; Wright, Virginia; Russell, Dianne J
2011-01-01
Despite widespread educational and promotional efforts, paediatric rehabilitation therapists still do not systematically or routinely use outcome measures. A review of contextual and psychosocial factors affecting therapists' use of outcome measures was performed, incorporating information from past studies of barriers to therapists' use of measures and more recent information about measure use, knowledge brokering and expert practice. This cumulative and contextual overview provided insights into how many therapists may approach practice. Therapists' beliefs in the importance of establishing effective relationships may lead them to place less value on formal measurement, to adopt a less rigorous and more pragmatic approach to ascertaining whether outcomes are achieved, and to avoid measures that may show little improvement. A relational goal-oriented approach to practice is proposed in which therapists adopt a broader facilitative and educational role with families about the importance of the measurement process.
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Mechanical Performance versus Corrosion Damage Indicators for Corroded Steel Reinforcing Bars
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Silvia Caprili
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The experimental results of a testing campaign including tensile and low-cycle fatigue tests on different reinforcing steel bar types in the as-delivered and corroded condition are presented. Experimental data were statistically analyzed adopting ANOVA technique; Performance Indicators (PIs, describing the mechanical performance characteristics of reinforcements, and Corrosion Damage Indicators (CDIs, describing the detrimental effects of corrosion phenomena, were determined and correlated in order to evaluate the influence of corrosion on the behaviour of reinforcing steels, providing useful information for designers in addition to what is presented in current standards.
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High performance co-polyimide nanofiber reinforced composites
Yao, Jian; Li, Guang; Bastiaansen, Cees; Peijs, Ton
2015-01-01
Electrospun co-polyimide BPDA (3, 3′, 4, 4′-Biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride)/PDA (p-Phenylenediamine)/ODA (4, 4′-oxydianiline) nanofiber reinforced flexible composites were manufactured by impregnating these high performance nanofibers with styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) triblock copolymer
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Choun, Young Sun; Park, Hyung Kui [Integrated Safety Assessment Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)
2015-12-15
Fibers in concrete resist the growth of cracks and enhance the postcracking behavior of structures. The addition of fibers into a conventional reinforced concrete can improve the structural and functional performance of safety-related concrete structures in nuclear power plants. The influence of fibers on the ultimate internal pressure capacity of a prestressed concrete containment vessel (PCCV) was investigated through a comparison of the ultimate pressure capacities between conventional and fiber-reinforced PCCVs. Steel and polyamide fibers were used. The tension behaviors of conventional concrete and fiber-reinforced concrete specimens were investigated through uniaxial tension tests and their tension-stiffening models were obtained. For a PCCV reinforced with 1% volume hooked-end steel fiber, the ultimate pressure capacity increased by approximately 12% in comparison with that for a conventional PCCV. For a PCCV reinforced with 1.5% volume polyamide fiber, an increase of approximately 3% was estimated for the ultimate pressure capacity. The ultimate pressure capacity can be greatly improved by introducing steel and polyamide fibers in a conventional reinforced concrete. Steel fibers are more effective at enhancing the containment performance of a PCCV than polyamide fibers. The fiber reinforcement was shown to be more effective at a high pressure loading and a low prestress level.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Choun, Young Sun; Park, Hyung Kui
2015-01-01
Fibers in concrete resist the growth of cracks and enhance the postcracking behavior of structures. The addition of fibers into a conventional reinforced concrete can improve the structural and functional performance of safety-related concrete structures in nuclear power plants. The influence of fibers on the ultimate internal pressure capacity of a prestressed concrete containment vessel (PCCV) was investigated through a comparison of the ultimate pressure capacities between conventional and fiber-reinforced PCCVs. Steel and polyamide fibers were used. The tension behaviors of conventional concrete and fiber-reinforced concrete specimens were investigated through uniaxial tension tests and their tension-stiffening models were obtained. For a PCCV reinforced with 1% volume hooked-end steel fiber, the ultimate pressure capacity increased by approximately 12% in comparison with that for a conventional PCCV. For a PCCV reinforced with 1.5% volume polyamide fiber, an increase of approximately 3% was estimated for the ultimate pressure capacity. The ultimate pressure capacity can be greatly improved by introducing steel and polyamide fibers in a conventional reinforced concrete. Steel fibers are more effective at enhancing the containment performance of a PCCV than polyamide fibers. The fiber reinforcement was shown to be more effective at a high pressure loading and a low prestress level
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Cooper, Zafra; Doll, Helen; Bailey-Straebler, Suzanne; Bohn, Kristin; de Vries, Dian; Murphy, Rebecca; O'Connor, Marianne E; Fairburn, Christopher G
2017-01-01
BACKGROUND: Recent research interest in how best to train therapists to deliver psychological treatments has highlighted the need for rigorous, but scalable, means of measuring therapist competence. There are at least two components involved in assessing therapist competence: the assessment of their
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Mason, Liam; Grey, Nick; Veale, David
2016-03-01
Allocation of trainee therapist cases is often performed based on intuition and clinical circumstances, with lack of empirical evidence on the role of severity of presenting problem. This has the potential to be anxiety-provoking for supervisors, trainees and service users themselves. To determine how therapist experience interacts with symptom severity in predicting client outcomes. An intention-to-treat analysis of annual outcome data for primary and secondary care clients seen by a specialist anxiety disorders service. 196 clients were stratified into mild, moderate and baseline severe symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7) and depression (PHQ-9). We measured percentage change on these measures, as well as number of sessions and therapy dropout. We also examined rates of reliable and clinically significant change on disorder-specific measures. We hypothesized that qualified therapists would achieve better outcomes than trainees, particularly for severe presentations. Overall, outcomes were comparable between trainee and qualified therapists on all measures, and trainees additionally utilized fewer therapy sessions. There was however an interaction between anxiety severity (GAD-7) and therapist group, such that severely anxious clients achieved greater symptom improvement with qualified as compared to trainee therapists. Further, for trainee but not qualified therapists, baseline anxiety was negatively associated with rate of reliable and clinically significant change on disorder-specific measures. These findings indicate generally favourable outcomes for trainee therapists delivering manualized treatments for anxiety disorders. They additionally suggest that trainee therapists may benefit from additional support when working with clients that present with severe anxiety.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Rybovic, Michala [Discipline of Medical Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, PO Box 170, Lidcombe, NSW 1825 (Australia)], E-mail: mryb6983@mail.usyd.edu.au; Halkett, Georgia K. [Western Australia Centre for Cancer and Palliative Care, Curtin University of Technology, Health Research Campus, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845 (Australia)], E-mail: g.halkett@curtin.edu.au; Banati, Richard B. [Faculty of Health Sciences, Brain and Mind Research Institute - Ramaciotti Centre for Brain Imaging, University of Sydney, PO Box 170, Lidcombe, NSW 1825 (Australia)], E-mail: r.banati@usyd.edu.au; Cox, Jennifer [Discipline of Medical Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, PO Box 170, Lidcombe, NSW 1825 (Australia)], E-mail: jenny.cox@usyd.edu.au
2008-11-15
Background and purpose: Our aim was to explore radiation therapists' views on the level of experience necessary to undertake portal image analysis and clinical decision making. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was developed to determine the availability of portal imaging equipment in Australia and New Zealand. We analysed radiation therapists' responses to a specific question regarding their opinion on the minimum level of experience required for health professionals to analyse portal images. We used grounded theory and a constant comparative method of data analysis to derive the main themes. Results: Forty-six radiation oncology facilities were represented in our survey, with 40 questionnaires being returned (87%). Thirty-seven radiation therapists answered our free-text question. Radiation therapists indicated three main themes which they felt were important in determining the minimum level of experience: 'gaining on-the-job experience', 'receiving training' and 'working as a team'. Conclusions: Radiation therapists indicated that competence in portal image review occurs via various learning mechanisms. Further research is warranted to determine perspectives of other health professionals, such as radiation oncologists, on portal image review becoming part of radiation therapists' extended role. Suitable training programs and steps for implementation should be developed to facilitate this endeavour.
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Performance of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soils Under Static and Cyclic Loading
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Touahmia
2017-04-01
Full Text Available This paper investigates and discusses the composite behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil mass. It presents the results of a series of large-scale laboratory tests supported by analytical methods to examine the performance of geogrid reinforcement subjected to static and cyclic pullout loading. The testing equipment and procedures used for this investigation are outlined. The results show that geosynthetic reinforcement can mobilize great resistance to static pulling load under high confining pressures. The reinforcement exhibits gradual deformation under cyclic loading showing no sign of imminent pullout failure for all levels of applied loads. In general, the results demonstrate that geosynthetic can be used in situations where loads are non-static, although care will be required in ensuring that appropriate factors of safety are applied to control the resulting deformation. A simplified analytical model for calculating the pulling capacity of geosynthetic reinforcement is proposed.
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Keng, Shian-Ling; Waddington, Emma; Lin, Xiangting Bernice; Tan, Michelle Su Qing; Henn-Haase, Clare; Kanter, Jonathan W
2017-07-01
Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) is a behavioral psychotherapy intervention that emphasizes the development of an intimate and intense therapeutic relationship as the vehicle of therapeutic change. Recently, research has provided preliminary support for a FAP therapist training (FAPTT) protocol in enhancing FAP competency. The present study aimed to expand on this research by examining the effects of FAPTT on FAP-specific skills and competencies and a set of broadly desirable therapist qualities (labelled awareness, courage and love in FAPTT) in a sample of therapist trainees in Singapore. The study also evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of FAP in the Singaporean context. Twenty-five students enrolled in a master's in clinical psychology program were recruited and randomly assigned to receive either eight weekly sessions of a FAPTT course or to a waitlist condition. All participants completed measures assessing empathy, compassionate love, trait mindfulness, authenticity and FAP-specific skills and competencies pre- and post-training, and at 2-month follow-up. A post-course evaluation was administered to obtain participants' qualitative feedback. Results indicated that compared with the waitlisted group, FAPTT participants reported significant increases in overall empathy, FAP skill and treatment acceptability from pre- to post-training. Improvements were observed on several outcome variables at 2-month follow-up. Participants reported finding the training to be both feasible and acceptable, although several raised issues related to the compatibility of the treatment with the local cultural context. Overall, the findings suggest that FAPTT is effective for improving specific FAP competencies and selected broadly desirable therapist qualities among therapist trainees. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Functional Analytic Therapy (FAP) therapist training protocol was effective in improving empathy and FAP skills among Singaporean therapist
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Myers, David; Hayes, Jeffrey A
2006-01-01
Therapist decisions about self-disclosure depend theoretically upon both content and context, such as the quality of the therapeutic relationship. In this analogue study, 224 undergraduates viewed 1 of 3 videos for which the working alliance was described as positive or negative and in which a therapist made general self-disclosures, countertransference disclosures, or no disclosures. Interaction effects indicated that participants rated sessions as deeper and the therapist as more expert when the therapist made general disclosures compared to no disclosures, but only when the alliance was positive. When the alliance was negative, participants perceived sessions as shallower and the therapist as less expert when the therapist made either general or countertransference disclosures compared to no disclosures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hulin, Thomas; Lauridsen, Dan H.; Hodicky, Kamil
2015-01-01
A basalt fiber–reinforced polymer (BFRP) mesh was introduced as reinforcement in high-performance concrete (HPC) thin plates (20–30 mm) for implementation in precast sandwich panels. An experimental program studied the BFRP mesh influence on HPC exposed to high temperature. A set of standard...... furnace tests compared performances of HPC with and without BFRP mesh, assessing material behavior; another set including polypropylene (PP) fibers to avoid spalling compared the performance of BFRP mesh reinforcement to that of regular steel reinforcement, assessing mechanical properties......, requiring the use of steel. Microscope observations highlighted degradation of the HPC-BFRP mesh interface with temperature due to the melting polymer matrix of the mesh. These observations call for caution when using fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement in elements exposed to fire hazard....
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Effect of reinforcer magnitude on performance maintained by progressive-ratio schedules.
Rickard, J F; Body, S; Zhang, Z; Bradshaw, C M; Szabadi, E
2009-01-01
This experiment examined the relationship between reinforcer magnitude and quantitative measures of performance on progressive-ratio schedules. Fifteen rats were trained under a progressive-ratio schedule in seven phases of the experiment in which the volume of a 0.6-M sucrose solution reinforcer was varied within the range 6-300 microl. Overall response rates in successive ratios conformed to a bitonic equation derived from Killeen's (1994) Mathematical Principles of Reinforcement. The "specific activation" parameter, a, which is presumed to reflect the incentive value of the reinforcer, was a monotonically increasing function of reinforcer volume; the "response time" parameter, delta, which defines the minimum response time, increased as a function of reinforcer volume; the "currency" parameter, beta, which is presumed to reflect the coupling of responses to the reinforcer, declined as a function of volume. Running response rate (response rate calculated after exclusion of the postreinforcement pause) decayed monotonically as a function of ratio size; the index of curvature of this function increased as a function of reinforcer volume. Postreinforcement pause increased as a function of ratio size. Estimates of a derived from overall response rates and postreinforcement pauses showed a modest positive correlation across conditions and between animals. Implications of the results for the quantification of reinforcer value and for the use of progressive-ratio schedules in behavioral neuroscience are discussed.
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Dental therapists: a global perspective.
Nash, David A; Friedman, Jay W; Kardos, Thomas B; Kardos, Rosemary L; Schwarz, Eli; Satur, Julie; Berg, Darren G; Nasruddin, Jaafar; Mumghamba, Elifuraha G; Davenport, Elizabeth S; Nagel, Ron
2008-04-01
In 1921, New Zealand began training school dental nurses, subsequently deploying them throughout the country in school-based clinics providing basic dental care for children. The concept of training dental nurses, later to be designated dental therapists, was adopted by other countries as a means of improving access to care, particularly for children. This paper profiles six countries that utilise dental therapists, with a description of the training that therapists receive in these countries, and the context in which they practice. Based on available demographic information, it also updates the number of dental therapists practising globally, as well as the countries in which they practice. In several countries, dental therapy is now being integrated with dental hygiene in training and practice to create a new type of professional complementary to a dentist. Increasingly, dental therapists are permitted to treat adults as well as children. The paper also describes the status of a current initiative to introduce dental therapy to the United States. It concludes by suggesting that dental therapists can become valued members of the dental team throughout the world, helping to improve access to care and reducing existing disparities in oral health.
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The Effects of Work-Reinforcer Schedules on Performance and Preference in Students with Autism
Bukala, Magdalena; Hu, Meng Yao; Lee, Ronald; Ward-Horner, John C.; Fienup, Daniel M.
2015-01-01
This study investigated performance under and preference for continuous and discontinuous work-reinforcer schedules in 3 students who had been diagnosed with autism. Under continuous schedules, participants completed all work and consumed all reinforcers in contiguous units. Under discontinuous schedules, work and reinforcer access were broken up…
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Hara, Kimberley M; Aviram, Adi; Constantino, Michael J; Westra, Henny A; Antony, Martin M
2017-09-01
Although client-perceived therapist empathy relates to positive therapy outcomes, including in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), little is known about how empathy exerts its ameliorative effect. One possible way is by promoting clients' subsequent homework compliance, a variable that also predicts positive outcomes in CBT. The present study sought to investigate simultaneously, in the context of 43 therapist-client dyads receiving 15 sessions of CBT for generalized anxiety disorder, (1) the association of early client-perceived therapist empathy (averaged over sessions 1, 3, 5) with mid-treatment client homework compliance (averaged over sessions 6, 8, 10); (2) the association of mid-treatment homework compliance on client posttreatment worry severity; and (3) the indirect effect of early perceived therapist empathy on posttreatment worry through mid-treatment homework compliance. Given that clients were nested within therapists, we examined both within- and between-therapist differences in clients' ratings of therapist empathy and homework compliance, and tested both of these indices as predictors of the relevant dependent variables in a multilevel model. At the within-therapist level (i.e., differences between clients within a given therapist's caseload), greater early empathy was associated with greater mid-treatment homework compliance. At the between-therapist level (i.e., differences between therapists across all of their cases), greater between-therapist homework compliance was related to lower posttreatment worry. Finally, homework compliance was not found to mediate the relationship between empathy and posttreatment outcome. The results underscore the importance of parsing client and therapist effects, and are discussed with regard to their training and research implications.
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The working practices and job satisfaction of dental therapists: findings of a national survey.
Gibbons, D E; Corrigan, M; Newton, J T
2000-10-28
To describe the working practices and level of job satisfaction of dental therapists in the United Kingdom. Postal questionnaire survey of 380 dental therapists registered with the General Dental Council. Only 13% of dental therapists are also qualified as dental hygienists. Around 75% of those registered with the GDC are currently employed as dental therapists. Of those not currently working as dental therapists most were either working as hygienists or caring for their children at home. Over 90% of those working as therapists are employed within the Community Dental Service. About half work part-time. Part-time working is more common among respondents with childcare responsibilities. Most dental therapists are employed in clinical roles, and perform a limited range of treatments. A small proportion appear to have been asked to undertake duties which are not currently legal for them to perform. Three-quarters of those who were currently working as dental therapists had taken career breaks at some point, the most common reasons for such a break being a change in career and/or child rearing. The respondents expressed a high level of job satisfaction, particularly among older dental therapists. Dental therapy offers a potentially rewarding career in terms of job satisfaction. Any planned increase in the numbers of training places for dental therapists should their role be expanded, for example to include working in general dental practice, would need to take cognisance of the high rate of part-time working and the proportion who could be expected to take career breaks at some point in their working lives, as is the case with female dental practitioners.
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Melnick, Barry
1972-01-01
The results of the study confirmed the hypothesis that greater patient identification with the therapist, as defined by increased similarity between the patient's and therapist's semantic differential ratings, moderately correlated with more successful therapy outcome. (Author)
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Kelly, Jennifer F; Greene, Beverly
2010-06-01
Despite the presence of some literature that has addressed the characteristics of the African American female therapist, most psychotherapy training proceeds with the assumption that therapists are members of dominant groups, and most of the psychological and psychotherapy literature has been written by therapists and psychologists who come from dominant cultural perspectives. Not as much has been written about psychological paradigms or the process of psychotherapy from the perspective of the therapist who is not a dominant group member. This article explores both the common and divergent experiences that we, the authors, share as African American female therapists and the different reactions we frequently elicit in clients. We also explore how individual differences in our physical appearances, personal backgrounds, and different characteristics of our respective practices elicit distinct responses from clients that we believe are based on differences between us, despite the fact that we are both African American women. We believe that many of the stereotypes that affect perceptions of African American female clients also exist for African American female therapists. We will address how the intersection of gender, race, and sexual orientation of the client highlights the complexity of culturally competent practice. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.
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Fatigue Performance of Fiber Reinforced Concrete
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jun, Zhang; Stang, Henrik
1996-01-01
The objective of the present study is to obtain basic data of fibre reinforced concrete under fatigue load and to set up a theoretical model based on micromechanics. In this study, the bridging stress in fiber reinforced concrete under cyclic tensile load was investigted in details. The damage...... mechanism of the interface between fiber and matrix was proposed and a rational model given. Finally, the response of a steel fiber reinforced concrete beam under fatigue loading was predicted based on this model and compared with experimental results....
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Development and performance evaluation of fiber reinforced polymer bridge.
2014-03-01
Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) have become more popular construction materials in the last decade due to the reduction of : material costs. The installation and performance evaluation of the first FRP-wrapped balsa wood bridge in Louisiana is descri...
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Viney, L L
1994-11-01
When clients come to psychotherapy they are distressed, this distress usually being expressed in the form of anxiety, hostility, depression and helplessness. This study explored the sequences of emotional distress expressed by clients and acknowledged by therapists, and examined their associations with other factors. The transcripts of five therapists (two single sessions each) were content-analysed: they used personal construct, client centered, rational-emotive, Gestalt and transactional analysis therapy. Log-linear analyses of appropriate contingency table cell frequencies were conducted to test associations between identified sequences and the two variables of therapist and timing of completion of the sequence. Therapist-client sequences of Anxiety-Anxiety, Anxiety-Hostility and Helplessness-Hostility were found to be associated more with the personal construct and client centred therapists than with the rational-emotive therapist. Client-therapist sequences of Anxiety-Anxiety, Helplessness-Anxiety and Helplessness-Helplessness were more often found with the client centred therapist than the other therapists. For most of these sequences timing had an effect, yet timing rarely interacted with the therapist variable. The findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to the theoretical positions represented, the shortcomings of the research and the value of this methodology in studies linking therapy process with outcome.
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2014-12-01
In reinforced concrete systems, ensuring that a good bond between the concrete and the embedded reinforcing steel is critical to : long-term structural performance. Without good bond between the two, the system simply cannot behave as intended. The b...
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Rahman, AKM Samsur
Geopolymers have the potential to cross the process performance gap between polymer matrix and ceramic matrix composites (CMC), enabling high temperature capable composites that are manufactured at relatively low temperatures. Unfortunately, the inherently low toughness of these geopolymers limits the performance of the resulting fiber reinforced geopolymer matrix composites. Toughness improvements in composites can be addressed through the adjustments in the fiber/matrix interfacial strength and through the improvements in the inherent toughness of the constituent materials. This study investigates the potential to improve the inherent toughness of the geopolymer matrix material through the addition of nanofillers, by considering physical dimensions, mechanical properties, reinforcing capability and interfacial bond strength effects. A process optimization study was first undertaken to develop the ability to produce consistent, neat geopolymer samples, a critical precursor to producing nano-filled geopolymer for toughness evaluation. After that, single edge notched bend beam fracture toughness and un-notched beam flexural strength were evaluated for silicon carbide, alumina and carbon nanofillers reinforced geopolymer samples treated at various temperatures in reactive and inert environments. Toughness results of silicon carbide and carbon nanofillers reinforced geopolymers suggested that with the improved baseline properties, high aspect ratio nanofillers with high interfacial bond strength are the most capable in further improving the toughness of geopolymers. Among the high aspect ratio nanofillers i.e. nanofibers, 2vol% silicon carbide whicker (SCW) showed the highest improvement in fracture toughness and flexural strength of ~164% & ~185%, respectively. After heat treatment at 650 °C, SCW reinforcement was found to be effective, with little reduction in the performance, while the performance of alumina nanofiber (ANF) reinforced geopolymer significantly
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ji-Hua Zhu
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP is recognized as a promising anode material to prevent steel corrosion in reinforced concrete. However, the electrochemical performance of CFRP itself is unclear. This paper focuses on the understanding of electrochemical and mechanical properties of CFRP in an oxygen evolution environment by conducting accelerated polarization tests. Different amounts of current density were applied in polarization tests with various test durations, and feeding voltage and potential were measured. Afterwards, tensile tests were carried out to investigate the failure modes for the post-polarization CFRP specimens. Results show that CFRP specimens had two typical tensile-failure modes and had a stable anodic performance in an oxygen evolution environment. As such, CFRP can be potentially used as an anode material for impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP of reinforced concrete structures, besides the fact that CFRP can strengthen the structural properties of reinforced concrete.
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Phillips, Benjamin U; Heath, Christopher J; Ossowska, Zofia; Bussey, Timothy J; Saksida, Lisa M
2017-09-01
Operant testing is a widely used and highly effective method of studying cognition in rodents. Performance on such tasks is sensitive to reinforcer strength. It is therefore advantageous to select effective reinforcers to minimize training times and maximize experimental throughput. To quantitatively investigate the control of behavior by different reinforcers, performance of mice was tested with either strawberry milkshake or a known powerful reinforcer, super saccharin (1.5% or 2% (w/v) saccharin/1.5% (w/v) glucose/water mixture). Mice were tested on fixed (FR)- and progressive-ratio (PR) schedules in the touchscreen-operant testing system. Under an FR schedule, both the rate of responding and number of trials completed were higher in animals responding for strawberry milkshake versus super saccharin. Under a PR schedule, mice were willing to emit similar numbers of responses for strawberry milkshake and super saccharin; however, analysis of the rate of responding revealed a significantly higher rate of responding by animals reinforced with milkshake versus super saccharin. To determine the impact of reinforcer strength on cognitive performance, strawberry milkshake and super saccharin-reinforced animals were compared on a touchscreen visual discrimination task. Animals reinforced by strawberry milkshake were significantly faster to acquire the discrimination than animals reinforced by super saccharin. Taken together, these results suggest that strawberry milkshake is superior to super saccharin for operant behavioral testing and further confirms that the application of response rate analysis to multiple ratio tasks is a highly sensitive method for the detection of behavioral differences relevant to learning and motivation.
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Therapist qualities preferred by sexual-minority individuals.
Burckell, Lisa A; Goldfried, Marvin R
2006-01-01
Psychotherapy research concerning lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has focused on matching clients on gender and sexual orientation, yet has not considered how factors such as therapeutic skill, presenting problem, and cohort membership may influence preference for therapists. This study was designed to identify those therapist qualities that sexual-minority individuals prefer and to determine how the presenting problem influences therapist choice. Forty-two nonheterosexual adults between 18 and 29 years old ranked 63 therapist characteristics from "Extremely Uncharacteristic" to "Extremely Characteristic" when seeking treatment for a problem in which their sexual orientation was salient and one in which it was not. The analyses of both conditions yielded clusters of items reflecting therapist characteristics that participants considered unfavorable, neutral, beneficial, and essential. Participants valued therapists who had LGB-specific knowledge as well as general therapeutic skills, whereas they indicated that they would avoid therapists who held heterocentric views. Application of these findings to clinical practice and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
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Riendeau, Catherine; Parent-Houle, Valérie; Lebel-Gabriel, Marie Eve; Gauvin, Patrick; Liu, Le Yu; Pearson, Isabelle; Hunt, Matthew R
2015-03-01
Qualitative study using interpretive description methodology. The purpose of this study was to better understand how ethical issues are experienced by university sports team athletic therapists and physical therapists. In clinical practice, sports teams are associated with a range of ethical issues. Issues commonly reported in the literature include confidentiality, return-to-play decisions, conflicts of interest, advertising, doping, and use of local anesthetic. To date, there has been limited examination of how athletic therapists and physical therapists involved with sports teams experience these ethical issues, and limited exploration of how these ethical issues, when encountered, are shaped by therapists' professional roles and responsibilities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 athletic or physical therapists working with sports teams in 5 Canadian provinces. The data were analyzed inductively, using a recursive approach and constant comparative techniques. Four key themes were developed relating to the participants' experiences of ethical issues: establishing and maintaining professional boundaries, striving for respectful and effective collaboration, seeking answers to ethical concerns, and living with the repercussions of challenging decisions. While many ethical issues reported by participants resemble those faced by sports medicine physicians, they are experienced in distinctive ways, due to differences in professional roles and identities. Issues concerning professional boundaries were also more prominent for the study participants than the literature has reported them to be for sports medicine physicians. Effective communication and enhanced collaboration appear to be key elements in managing these ethical challenges.
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PERFORMANCE OF RC AND FRC WALL PANELS REINFORCED WITH MILD STEEL AND GFRP COMPOSITES IN BLAST EVENTS
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Timothy Garfield; William D. Richins; Thomas K. Larson; Chris P. Pantelides; James E. Blakeley
2011-06-01
The structural integrity of reinforced concrete structures in blast events is important for critical facilities. This paper presents experimental data generated for calibrating detailed finite element models that predict the performance of reinforced concrete wall panels with a wide range of construction details under blast loading. The test specimens were 1.2 m square wall panels constructed using Normal Weight Concrete (NWC) or Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC). FRC consists of macro-synthetic fibers dispersed in NWC. Five types of panels were tested: NWC panels with steel bar reinforcement (Type A); FRC panels without additional reinforcement (Type B); FRC panels with steel bar reinforcement (Type C); NWC panels with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bar reinforcement (Type D); and NWC panels reinforced with steel bar reinforcement and external bidirectional GFRP overlays on both faces (Type E). An additional three Type C panels were used as control specimens (CON). Each panel type was constructed with three thicknesses: 152 mm, 254 mm, and 356 mm. The panels were instrumented with strain gauges, and accelerometers; in addition, pressure sensors and high speed videos were employed during the blast events. Panel types C and E had the best performance, whereas panel type B did not perform well. Preliminary dynamic simulations show crack patterns similar to the experimental results.
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Corrosion performance of epoxy-coated reinforcement in aggressive environments
Vaca Cortes, Enrique
The objective of this research was to investigate the integrity and corrosion performance of epoxy-coated reinforcement in aggressive environments. A series of experimental studies were conducted: (a) hot water immersion and knife adhesion testing for assessment of coating adhesion; (b) materials and procedures for repairing coating damage; (c) degree of mechanical damage caused during concrete placement when using metal head and rubber head vibrators; (d) accelerated corrosion of coated bars embedded in macrocell and beam specimens placed in a corrosive environment for more than four years. The effects of coating condition and amount of damage, repaired vs. unrepaired damage, bar fabrication, and concrete cracking were studied. Regardless of coating condition, the performance of epoxy-coated bars was better than that of uncoated bars. Unlike black bars, coated bars did not exhibit deep pitting or substantial loss of cross section at crack locations. Damage to epoxy coating was the most significant factor affecting corrosion performance. Bars with coating in good condition, without any visible damage, performed best. The greater the size and frequency of damage, the more severe and extensive the amount of corrosion. The performance of bars that were fabricated or bent after coating was worse than that of coated straight bars. Mixing coated and uncoated bars in the same concrete member led to undesirable performance. Patching damaged coating reduced but did not prevent corrosion, particularly at bar ends. The most important factor in coating repair was the type and properties of the patching material. Surface preparation prior to coating had little effect. The absence of cracks in the concrete delayed, but did not prevent the onset of corrosion of coated bars. During consolidation of concrete, rubber head vibrators caused less damage to epoxy-coated reinforcement than did comparable metal heads. Hot water and adhesion tests were useful and practical for evaluating
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Higher incentives can impair performance: neural evidence on reinforcement and rationality.
Achtziger, Anja; Alós-Ferrer, Carlos; Hügelschäfer, Sabine; Steinhauser, Marco
2015-11-01
Standard economic thinking postulates that increased monetary incentives should increase performance. Human decision makers, however, frequently focus on past performance, a form of reinforcement learning occasionally at odds with rational decision making. We used an incentivized belief-updating task from economics to investigate this conflict through measurements of neural correlates of reward processing. We found that higher incentives fail to improve performance when immediate feedback on decision outcomes is provided. Subsequent analysis of the feedback-related negativity, an early event-related potential following feedback, revealed the mechanism behind this paradoxical effect. As incentives increase, the win/lose feedback becomes more prominent, leading to an increased reliance on reinforcement and more errors. This mechanism is relevant for economic decision making and the debate on performance-based payment. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Performance of carbon fiber reinforced rubber composite armour against shaped charge jet penetration
Yue Lian-yong; Li Wei; Zu Xu-dong; Huang Zheng-xiang; Gao Zhen-yu
2016-01-01
Natural rubber is reinforced with carbon fiber; the protective performances of the carbonfiber reinforced rubber composite armour to shaped charge jet have been studied based on the depth of penetration experiments. The craters on the witness blocks, the nature rubber based composite plates’ deformation and the Scanning Electron Microscopy for the hybrid fiber reinforced rubber plate also is analyzed. The results showed that the composite armour can affect the stability of the jet and made pa...
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Gena, Angeliki; Couloura, Sophia; Kymissis, Effie
2005-10-01
The purpose of this study was to modify the affective behavior of three preschoolers with autism in home settings and in the context of play activities, and to compare the effects of video modeling to the effects of in-vivo modeling in teaching these children contextually appropriate affective responses. A multiple-baseline design across subjects, with a return to baseline condition, was used to assess the effects of treatment that consisted of reinforcement, video modeling, in-vivo modeling, and prompting. During training trials, reinforcement in the form of verbal praise and tokens was delivered contingent upon appropriate affective responding. Error correction procedures differed for each treatment condition. In the in-vivo modeling condition, the therapist used modeling and verbal prompting. In the video modeling condition, video segments of a peer modeling the correct response and verbal prompting by the therapist were used as corrective procedures. Participants received treatment in three categories of affective behavior--sympathy, appreciation, and disapproval--and were presented with a total of 140 different scenarios. The study demonstrated that both treatments--video modeling and in-vivo modeling--systematically increased appropriate affective responding in all response categories for the three participants. Additionally, treatment effects generalized across responses to untrained scenarios, the child's mother, new therapists, and time.
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Bennett-Levy, James; Finlay-Jones, Amy
2018-05-01
Prior to 2000, personal practice (PP) for therapists mostly meant personal therapy. Recently a new landscape of PPs has emerged, with meditation-based programs and therapy self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) programs playing an increasing role in training and personal/professional development. The challenge now for practitioners and researchers is to refocus on the role of PPs in training and professional development. Are PPs of value - or not? Do they have a role in therapist development? How might PPs enhance therapist skilfulness? Do different PPs act in similar or different ways? Currently, the PP literature lacks a theoretical framework to guide practitioners in their choice of PPs or researchers in their choice of research questions and measures. The purpose of this article is to provide such a framework, the Personal Practice (PP) model. The PP model proposes primary impacts of PPs in four domains: personal development/wellbeing, self-awareness, interpersonal beliefs/attitudes/skills and reflective skills. The model also suggests a secondary impact on therapists' conceptual/technical skills when therapists use reflection to consider the implications of their PP for their "therapist self". We offer some suggestions to enhance the quality of future research, and conclude that PPs may play an important and perhaps unique role in therapist training.
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Characteristics and applications of high-performance fiber reinforced asphalt concrete
Park, Philip
Steel fiber reinforced asphalt concrete (SFRAC) is suggested in this research as a multifunctional high performance material that can potentially lead to a breakthrough in developing a sustainable transportation system. The innovative use of steel fibers in asphalt concrete is expected to improve mechanical performance and electrical conductivity of asphalt concrete that is used for paving 94% of U. S. roadways. In an effort to understand the fiber reinforcing mechanisms in SFRAC, the interaction between a single straight steel fiber and the surrounding asphalt matrix is investigated through single fiber pull-out tests and detailed numerical simulations. It is shown that pull-out failure modes can be classified into three types: matrix, interface, and mixed failure modes and that there is a critical shear stress, independent of temperature and loading rate, beyond which interfacial debonding will occur. The reinforcing effects of SFRAC with various fiber sizes and shapes are investigated through indirect tension tests at low temperature. Compared to unreinforced specimens, fiber reinforced specimens exhibit up to 62.5% increase in indirect tensile strength and 895% improvements in toughness. The documented improvements are the highest attributed to fiber reinforcement in asphalt concrete to date. The use of steel fibers and other conductive additives provides an opportunity to make asphalt pavement electrically conductive, which opens up the possibility for multifunctional applications. Various asphalt mixtures and mastics are tested and the results indicate that the electrical resistivity of asphaltic materials can be manipulated over a wide range by replacing a part of traditional fillers with a specific type of graphite powder. Another important achievement of this study is development and validation of a three dimensional nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive model that is capable of simulating both linear and nonlinear viscoelasticity of asphaltic materials. The
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Performance of carbon fiber reinforced rubber composite armour against shaped charge jet penetration
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yue Lian-yong
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Natural rubber is reinforced with carbon fiber; the protective performances of the carbonfiber reinforced rubber composite armour to shaped charge jet have been studied based on the depth of penetration experiments. The craters on the witness blocks, the nature rubber based composite plates’ deformation and the Scanning Electron Microscopy for the hybrid fiber reinforced rubber plate also is analyzed. The results showed that the composite armour can affect the stability of the jet and made part of the jet fracture. The carbon fiber reinforced rubber composite armour has good defence ablity especially when the nature rubber plate hybrid 15% volume percentage carbonfiber and the obliquity angle is 68°. The hybrid fiber reinforced rubber composite armour can be used as a new kind of light protective armour.
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Improving Ballistic Performance of Polyurethane Foam by Nanoparticle Reinforcement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. F. Uddin
2009-01-01
Full Text Available We report improving ballistic performance of polyurethane foam by reinforcing it with nanoscale TiO2 particles. Particles were dispersed through a sonic cavitation process and the loading of particles was 3 wt% of the total polymer. Once foams were reinforced, sandwich panels were made and impacted with fragment simulating projectiles (FSPs in a 1.5-inch gas gun. Projectile speed was set up to have complete penetration of the target in each experiment. Test results have indicated that sandwich with nanophased cores absorbed about 20% more kinetic energy than their neat counterpart. The corresponding increase in ballistic limit was around 12% over the neat control samples. The penetration phenomenon was also monitored using a high-speed camera. Analyses of digital images showed that FSP remained inside the nanophased sandwich for about 7 microseconds longer than that of a neat sandwich demonstrating improved energy absorption capability of the nanoparticle reinforced core. Failure modes for energy absorption have been investigated through a microscope and high-speed images.
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Improving Ballistic Performance of Polyurethane Foam by Nanoparticle Reinforcement
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Uddin, M.F.; Zainuddin, S.; Mahfuz, H.; Jeelani, S.
2009-01-01
We report improving ballistic performance of polyurethane foam by reinforcing it with nano scale TiO 2 particles. Particles were dispersed through a sonic cavitation process and the loading of particles was 3 wt % of the total polymer. Once foams were reinforced, sandwich panels were made and impacted with fragment simulating projectiles (FSPs) in a 1.5-inch gas gun. Projectile speed was set up to have complete penetration of the target in each experiment. Test results have indicated that sandwich with nano phased cores absorbed about 20% more kinetic energy than their neat counterpart. The corresponding increase in ballistic limit was around 12% over the neat control samples. The penetration phenomenon was also monitored using a high-speed camera. Analyses of digital images showed that FSP remained inside the nano phased sandwich for about 7 microseconds longer than that of a neat sandwich demonstrating improved energy absorption capability of the nanoparticle reinforced core. Failure modes for energy absorption have been investigated through a microscope and high-speed images.
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Maas, Marjo J M; van Dulmen, Simone A; Sagasser, Margaretha H; Heerkens, Yvonne F; van der Vleuten, Cees P M; Nijhuis-van der Sanden, Maria W G; van der Wees, Philip J
2015-11-12
Clinical practice guidelines are intended to improve the process and outcomes of patient care. However, their implementation remains a challenge. We designed an implementation strategy, based on peer assessment (PA) focusing on barriers to change in physical therapy care. A previously published randomized controlled trial showed that PA was more effective than the usual strategy "case discussion" in improving adherence to a low back pain guideline. Peer assessment aims to enhance knowledge, communication, and hands-on clinical skills consistent with guideline recommendations. Participants observed and evaluated clinical performance on the spot in a role-play simulating clinical practice. Participants performed three roles: physical therapist, assessor, and patient. This study explored the critical features of the PA program that contributed to improved guideline adherence in the perception of participants. Dutch physical therapists working in primary care (n = 49) organized in communities of practice (n = 6) participated in the PA program. By unpacking the program we identified three main tasks and eleven subtasks. After the program was finished, a questionnaire was administered in which participants were asked to rank the program tasks from high to low learning value and to describe their impact on performance improvement. Overall ranking results were calculated. Additional semi-structured interviews were conducted to elaborate on the questionnaires results and were transcribed verbatim. Questionnaires comments and interview transcripts were analyzed using template analysis. Program tasks related to performance in the therapist role were perceived to have the highest impact on learning, although task perceptions varied from challenging to threatening. Perceptions were affected by the role-play format and the time schedule. Learning outcomes were awareness of performance, improved attitudes towards the guideline, and increased self-efficacy beliefs in
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Psychotherapy for massively traumatized refugees: the therapist variable.
Kinzie, J D
2001-01-01
In the treatment of severe posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), much emphasis is put on techniques, especially behavioral therapies. Such techniques negate the importance of the therapist as an individual in the treatment of complex PTSD as presented in severely traumatized refugees. The specific difficulties encountered by this population and the therapist responses are discussed: the need to tell the trauma story and the therapist's ability to listen; the patient's need for constancy and therapist's ability to stay; the patient's need to give and the therapist's ability to receive; the patient's problem with evil and the therapist's ability to believe. Case examples illustrate the approach and then discuss how generalizable this experience is to other populations. Research implications are suggested.
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Corrosion performance tests for reinforcing steel in concrete : technical report.
2009-10-01
The existing test method used to assess the corrosion performance of reinforcing steel embedded in : concrete, mainly ASTM G 109, is labor intensive, time consuming, slow to provide comparative results, : and can be expensive. However, with corrosion...
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Training Therapists about Client Expectations of Psychotherapy.
Soley, Georgia; Marshall, Renee; Chambliss, Catherine
Research has indicated that premature termination of therapy is sometimes due to a conflict in goal and outcome expectations between therapists and family members of clients. The present study requested both therapists and parents of child clients to complete questionnaires to determine if there is congruence between therapist and parental…
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Tensile strength and durability characteristics of high-performance fiber reinforced concrete
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ramadoss, P.; Nagamani, K.
2008-01-01
This paper presents investigations towards developing a better understanding of the contribution of steel fibers to the tensile strength of high-performance fiber reinforced concrete (HPFRC). For 32 series of mixes, flexural and splitting tensile strengths were determined at 28 days. The variables investigated were fiber volume fraction (0%, 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% with an aspect of 80), silica fume replacement level (SF/CM=0.05 and 0.10) and matrix composition (w/cm ratios ranging from 0.25 t 0.40). The influence of fiber content in terms of fiber reinforcing index on the flexural and splitting tensile strengths of HPFRC is presented. Comparative studies were performed on the tensile behavior of SFRC measured by two different loading tests: flexural test and splitting test. Based on the test results, using the least square method, empirical expressions were developed to predict 28-day tensile strength of HPFRC in terms of fiber reinforcing index. Durability tests were carried out to examine the performance of the SFRC. Relationship between flexural and splitting tensile strengths has been developed using regression analysis. The experimental values of previous researchers were compared with the values predicted by the empirical equations and the absolute variation obtained was within 6% and 5% for flexural and splitting tensile strengths respectively. (author)
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A Survey On Burnout And Related Factors Among Occupational Therapists In Iran
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mina Mozayan
2012-04-01
Full Text Available Background and Aim: High levels of job stress experienced over time, as well as personal frustration and inadequate coping skills, can lead to the syndrome known as burnout. In it has been shown in several surveys that high job stress in occupational therapists could lead to the burnout syndrome. Since few studies have been conducted in Iran concerning burnout in occupational therapists, we felt the necessity of performing this study to make Iranian therapists more aware of the syndrome and its related factors.Materials and Method: A cross sectional survey was carried out on 87 Iranian occupational therapists in the current study. A questionnaire consisting of two parts (demographic dates & maslach burnout inventory was sent to all therapists who were members of medical organization.Results: 80.4% of therapists reported mild to moderate symptoms of burnout, while nobody has reported severe burn out. Low job satisfaction (P value=0.038 and job experience less than 5 years (P value=0.049 were the two variables associated significantly with burnout.Conclusion: In the present study high rate prevalence of burnout shows that occupational therapists in Iran are not in a good health state and it can indicate that Iran health system should pay more attention to this group. According to our study the early years of a therapist’s carrier are the period when the therapist is at risk of burnout. So we believe that students should be given more information about burnout syndrome and its coping mechanisms during their education at the university.
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[Characteristics of art therapists in rehabilitative therapy].
Oster, Jörg
2017-09-01
Characteristics of art therapists in rehabilitative therapy Objectives: This study examines the sociodemographic, qualification- and activity-related characteristics of art therapists working in the field of rehabilitation. In 2013, an analysis of occupational groups was carried out in Germany, with the objective of describing the art therapists working there.A total of 2,303 complete datasets were submitted. From this group, those therapists mainly working in the field of rehabilitation/follow-up care/participation of disabled persons (according to Social Security Code VI and IX, n = 302) were selected and described. Most art therapists are female (average age 45 years) and largelywork part-time. Music and art therapy are the most common venues.More than 80% have a graduate degree. Methods of quality management are used.More than half of the therapists working in rehabilitation hospitals are employed in the field of psychosomatic medicine. Both individual and group therapy (each patient attending 1-2 times a week) are common. The results provide an overview of art therapy in the field of rehabilitation and show the spread in rehabilitation. Further research is indicated.
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A prototype computer network service for occupational therapists.
Hallberg, N; Johansson, M; Timpka, T
1999-04-01
Due to recent reforms, the demands on the people working in community-oriented health care service are increasing. The individual providers need professional knowledge and skills to perform their tasks quickly and safely. The individuals are also confronted with new tasks and situations of which they lack experience. At the same time, the resources for education and development are decreasing. The aim of this paper is to describe the implementation of a prototype computer network service to support occupational therapists in their daily work. A customized Quality Function Deployment (QFD) model, including participatory design elements, was used for: (a) identification of the occupational therapists' needs; and (b) for the transformation of these needs to prioritized design attributes. The main purpose of the prototype was to improve the visualization of the design attributes that were found to support the occupational therapists. An additional purpose was to be able to evaluate the design attributes and further improve them. The specific aim of this article is to describe the initial prototype with respect both to the tools and the information content.
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Performance of Hybrid Reinforced Concrete Beam Column Joint: A Critical Review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Md Rashedul Kabir
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Large residual strain in reinforced concrete structures after a seismic event is a major concern for structural safety and serviceability. Alternative reinforcement materials like fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP have been widely used to mitigate corrosion problems associated with steel. Low modulus of elasticity and brittle behavior compared to steel has made the use of FRP unsuitable in seismic resistant strictures. A combination of steel-FRP reinforcement configuration can address the problem of corrosion. Therefore, introducing a material that shows strong post elastic behavior without any decay due to corrosion is in demand. Shape memory alloy (SMA, a novel material, is highly corrosion resistive and shows super elastic property. Coupling SMA with FRP or steel in the plastic hinge region allows the structure to undergo large deformations, but regains its original shape upon unloading. In this study, the performance characteristics of four previously tested beam-column joints reinforced with different configurations (steel, SMA/steel, glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP and SMA/FRP are compared to assess their capacity to endure extreme loading. Experimental results are scrutinized to compare the behavior of these specimens in terms of load-story drift and energy dissipation capacity. SMA/FRP and SMA/Steel couples have been found to be an acceptable approach to reduce residual deformation in beam-column joints with adequate energy dissipation capacity. However, SMA/FRP is superior to SMA/Steel concerning to the corrosion issue in steel.
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O'Keeffe, Mary; Cullinane, Paul; Hurley, John; Leahy, Irene; Bunzli, Samantha; O'Sullivan, Peter B; O'Sullivan, Kieran
2016-05-01
Musculoskeletal physical therapy involves both specific and nonspecific effects. Nonspecific variables associated with the patient, therapist, and setting may influence clinical outcomes. Recent quantitative research has shown that nonspecific factors, including patient-therapist interactions, can influence treatment outcomes. It remains unclear, however, what factors influence patient-therapist interaction. This qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis investigated patients' and physical therapists' perceptions of factors that influence patient-therapist interactions. Eleven databases were searched independently. Qualitative studies examining physical therapists' and patients' perceptions of factors that influence patient-therapist interactions in musculoskeletal settings were included. Two reviewers independently selected articles, assessed methodological quality using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP), and performed the 3 stages of analysis: extraction of findings, grouping of findings (codes), and abstraction of findings. Thirteen studies were included. Four themes were perceived to influence patient-therapist interactions: (1) physical therapist interpersonal and communication skills (ie, presence of skills such as listening, encouragement, confidence, being empathetic and friendly, and nonverbal communication), (2) physical therapist practical skills (ie, physical therapist expertise and level of training, although the ability to provide good education was considered as important only by patients), (3) individualized patient-centered care (ie, individualizing the treatment to the patient and taking patient's opinions into account), and (4) organizational and environmental factors (ie, time and flexibility with care and appointments). Only studies published in English were included. A mix of interpersonal, clinical, and organizational factors are perceived to influence patient-therapist interactions, although research is needed to identify
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CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Joughin, WC
2002-04-01
Full Text Available and polypropylene fibre reinforced shotcrete compared to mesh reinforced shotcrete in tunnels subject to high stresses and convergence and possibly, to dynamic loading. In particular: • A direct comparison of the in situ performance of mesh reinforced shotcrete... with that of steel and polypropylene fibre reinforced shotcrete; • Confirmation that the performance of fibre reinforced shotcrete matches the performance of mesh reinforced shotcrete under large deformation; • A comparative basis for theoretical analysis...
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Recent development in blast performance of fiber-reinforced concrete
Hajek, R.; Foglar, M.; Kohoutkova, A.
2017-09-01
The paper presents an overview of the recent development in blast performance of fiber reinforced concrete. The paper builds on more than ten years’ history of the research in this field by the team of the Department of Concrete and Masonry Structures of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague.
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Kim, Susanna; Rutherford, Alexandra
2015-08-01
Before the 1970s, psychologists and other mental health professionals who had sex with their patients committed no ethical violations. Indeed, the line between seduction and sexual exploitation in the therapy hour was extremely blurry to patients and therapists alike. This article is about how that changed. We focus on feminist psychologists' efforts, through the American Psychological Association Task Force on Sex Bias and Sex Role Stereotyping in Psychotherapeutic Practice, to document and reduce sexism in psychotherapy, including that involving therapist-client sexual relations. We contextualize these efforts within the larger feminist critique of the psy-disciplines that began in the late 1960s, highlighting how psychologists used several feminist strategies to recast seduction as sexism and revise the profession's ethical standards to specifically state that sexual intimacies with clients are unethical. As an example of a feminist intervention into psychology's-and society's-extant gender ideologies, this process highlights the mutually reinforcing entanglements of psychology and feminism, both methodologically and politically. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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Jordan, Lorien S; Seponski, Desiree M
2018-01-01
A crucial and overlooked facet of social justice in family therapy is political and policy advocacy. Family therapists have unique insight into how social policies and political discourse shapes clients' lives and the life of our profession. Such knowledge can inform policymakers and political debate, yet few family therapists are trained to engage in political action. In this randomized, national survey of licensed family therapists' (N = 174), we explore beliefs about and barriers to engagement in political and policy processes. The findings suggest that there are significant barriers and uncertainties surrounding family therapists' engagement, including time, feelings of efficacy, and interest. Given these barriers we discuss practical suggestions for clinicians and family therapy training programs. © 2017 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
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Influence of fibre orientation on the performance of steel fibre-reinforced concrete
Grünewald, Steffen; Laranjeira de Oliveira, Filipe; Walraven, Joost; Aguado de Cea, Antonio; Molins i Borrell, Climent
2012-01-01
The performance of fibre-reinforced materials in the hardened state depends on the material behaviour, the production method and influences related to the structure. The position and the orientation of fibres in a structure can differ from the homogenous distribution and the random orientation in a mixer. Due to the flow of the concrete, fibres are able to orient which makes the prediction of the structural behaviour of fibre-reinforced concrete more complex, but it also offers the potential ...
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Fire performance of basalt FRP mesh reinforced HPC thin plates
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hulin, Thomas; Hodicky, Kamil; Schmidt, Jacob Wittrup
2013-01-01
An experimental program was carried out to investigate the influence of basalt FRP (BFRP) reinforcing mesh on the fire behaviour of thin high performance concrete (HPC) plates applied to sandwich elements. Samples with BFRP mesh were compared to samples with no mesh, samples with steel mesh...
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FEM performance of concrete beams reinforced by carbon fiber bars
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hasan Hashim
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Concrete structures may be vulnerable to harsh environment, reinforcement with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP bars have an increasing acceptance than normal steel. The nature of (FRP bar is (non-corrosive which is very beneficial for increased durability as well as the reinforcement of FRP bar has higher strength than steel bar. FRP usage are being specified more and more by public structural engineers and individual companies as main reinforcement and as strengthening of structures. Steel reinforcement as compared to (FRP reinforcement are decreasingly acceptable for structural concrete reinforcement including precast concrete, cast in place concrete, columns, beams and other components. Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Polymer (CFRP have a very high modulus of elasticity “high modulus” and very high tensile strength. In aerospace industry, CFRP with high modulus are popular among all FRPs because it has a high strength to weight ratio. In this research, a finite element models will be used to represent beams with Carbon Fiber Reinforcement and beams with steel reinforcement. The primary objective of the research is the evaluation of the effect of (CFR on beam reinforcement.
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Zhu, Ji-Hua; Zhu, Miaochang; Han, Ningxu; Liu, Wei; Xing, Feng
2014-07-24
An investigation was performed by using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) as the anode material in the impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system of steel reinforced concrete structures. The service life and performance of CFRP were investigated in simulated ICCP systems with various configurations. Constant current densities were maintained during the tests. No significant degradation in electrical and mechanical properties was found for CFRP subjected to anodic polarization with the selected applied current densities. The service life of the CFRP-based ICCP system was discussed based on the practical reinforced concrete structure layout.
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Community occupational therapists' clinical reasoning: identifying tacit knowledge.
Carrier, Annie; Levasseur, Mélanie; Bédard, Denis; Desrosiers, Johanne
2010-12-01
Occupational therapy interventions in the community, a fast expanding practice setting, are central to an important social priority, the ability to live at home. These interventions generally involve only a small number of home visits, which aim at maximising the safety and autonomy of community-dwelling clients. Knowing how community occupational therapists determine their interventions, i.e. their clinical reasoning, can improve intervention efficacy. However, occupational therapists are often uninformed about and neglect the importance of clinical reasoning, which could underoptimise their interventions. To synthesise current knowledge about community occupational therapists' clinical reasoning. A scoping study of the literature on community occupational therapists' clinical reasoning was undertaken. Fifteen textbooks and 25 articles, including six focussing on community occupational therapists' clinical reasoning, were reviewed. Community occupational therapists' clinical reasoning is influenced by internal and external factors. Internal factors include past experiences, expertise and perceived complexity of a problem. One of the external factors, practice context (e.g. organisational or cultural imperatives, physical location of intervention), particularly shapes community occupational therapists' clinical reasoning, which is interactive, complex and multidimensional. However, the exact influence of many factors (personal context, organisational and legal aspects of health care, lack of resources and increased number of referrals) remains unclear. Further studies are needed to understand better the influence of internal and external factors. The extent to which these factors mould the way community occupational therapists think and act could have a direct influence on the services they provide to their clients. © 2010 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2010 Australian Association of Occupational Therapists.
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Ziv-Beiman, Sharon; Keinan, Giora; Livneh, Elad; Malone, Patrick S; Shahar, Golan
2017-09-01
We report a first randomized clinical trial examining the effect of immediate and non-immediate therapist self-disclosure in the context of a brief integrative psychotherapy for mild to moderate distress. A total of 86 patients with mild to moderate forms of distress were randomly divided into three 12-session integrative psychotherapy conditions based primarily on [Hill, C. E. (2009). Helping skills: Facilitating, exploration, insight, and action (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.] three-stage model. Therapists trained in this treatment modality were instructed to use either immediate self-disclosure (expressing feelings towards the patient/treatment/therapeutic relationship) or non-immediate self-disclosure (expressing personal or factual information regarding the therapist's life outside the treatment). In the comparison condition, the therapists were instructed to refrain from self-disclosure altogether. Immediate therapist self-disclosure reduced psychiatric symptoms among patients with elevated pretreatment symptoms (as assessed by the Brief Symptoms Inventory) and bolstered a favorable perception of the therapist. Therapists in both the immediate and non-immediate self-disclosure group evaluated themselves more favorably than their counterparts in the non-disclosure group. Therapist self-disclosure, particularly of the immediate type, might enhance the effect of brief integrative treatment on psychiatric symptoms of high symptomatic patients and contribute to favorable perception of therapists.
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Therapist Ethnicity and Treatment Orientation Differences in Multicultural Counseling Competencies
Berger, Lauren K.; Zane, Nolan; Hwang, Wei-Chin
2014-01-01
This study examined the relationship between therapist characteristics, therapeutic orientations, person-level and agency-level practices with cultural competency among 221 Los Angeles County community mental health clinicians. Results from an online survey indicated that compared to White therapists, ethnic minority therapists were more personally involved in communities of color, more likely to use a cultural framework in clinical practice, and perceived their agencies to be more culturally sensitive. Ethnic minority therapists also reported greater multicultural (MC) awareness and better MC counseling relationships with their clients than White therapists. Personal involvement in communities of color accounted for ethnic differences in MC awareness and MC counseling relationships. Compared to therapists with a strictly non-behavioral (psychodynamic or humanistic) orientation, therapists with an eclectic (or integrative) therapy orientation reported having a higher level of community knowledge. Therapists with an eclectic orientation reported greater MC awareness than therapists with a non-behavioral orientation, while both eclectic and behavioral (cognitive behavioral or behavior modification) therapists recounted better MC counseling relationships with their clients than therapists with a non-behavioral orientation. Community knowledge mediated eclectic vs. non-behavioral therapeutic orientation differences in MC awareness. Agency resources/linkages and outreach both moderated the relationship between therapeutic orientation and MC skills. Results suggest that if therapists become more personally involved with diverse populations, they will feel more culturally aware and feel like they have a better relationship with ethnic minority clients. PMID:25580187
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A Feminist Family Therapist Behavior Checklist.
Chaney, Sita E.; Piercy, Fred P.
1988-01-01
Developed Feminist Family Therapist Behavior Checklist to identify feminist family therapy skills. Used checklist to rate family therapy sessions of 60 therapists in variety of settings. Checklist discriminated between self-reported feminists and nonfeminists, between men and women, and between expert categorizations of feminist and nonfeminist…
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Affirmative LGBT psychotherapy: Outcomes of a therapist training protocol.
Pepping, Christopher A; Lyons, Anthony; Morris, Eric M J
2018-03-01
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people seek psychotherapy at high rates, and the importance of providing culturally appropriate and LGBT-affirmative psychotherapy has been widely acknowledged. Despite this, remarkably little research has investigated the effects of therapist training in LGBT-affirmative psychotherapy. Here we examined the effectiveness of a training protocol for LGBT-affirmative psychotherapy with 96 mental health professionals, ranging in therapeutic experience from LGBT clients following the training. Therapists also displayed reductions in homo-negativity and trans-negativity. Therapists' characteristics did not influence the extent to which they benefited from training. Specifically, years of clinical experience, therapist religiosity, and therapist psychological flexibility were unrelated to changes in attitudes, knowledge, and skills. The results of this study clearly suggest that providing training in LGBT-affirmative psychotherapy can enhance therapists' attitudes, knowledge, and skills. Of particular importance is that the benefits associated with such training appear to hold regardless of therapists' characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Levac, Danielle; Glegg, Stephanie; Colquhoun, Heather; Miller, Patricia; Noubary, Farzad
2017-08-01
Describe the clinical use of virtual reality (VR)/active videogaming (AVG) by physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) in Canada, identify usage barriers and facilitators, evaluate factors that predict intention to use VR/AVGs, and determine therapists' learning needs. Cross-sectional survey. Online survey of therapists in Canada who were members of 1 of 26 professional PT or OT colleges or associations using the Assessing Determinants Of Prospective Take-up of Virtual Reality (ADOPT-VR2) Instrument. We received 1071 (506 PTs, 562 OTs, 3 dual-trained) responses. Forty-six percent had clinical VR/AVG experience; only 12% reported current use, with the Wii being the most clinically accessible (41%) system. Therapists used VR/AVGs primarily in rehabilitation (32%) and hospital (29%) settings, preferentially targeting balance (39.3%) and physical activity (19.8%) outcomes. Stroke (25.8%), brain injury (15.3%), musculoskeletal (14.9%), and cerebral palsy (10.5%) populations were most frequently treated. Therapists with VR/AVG experience rated all ADOPT-VR2 constructs more highly than did those without experience (P < 0.001). Factors predictive of intention to use VR included the technology's perceived usefulness and therapist self-efficacy in VR/AVG use (P < 0.001). Highest-rated barriers to VR/AVG use were lack of funds, space, time, support staff, and appropriate clients, whereas facilitators included client motivation, therapist knowledge, and management support. Most (76%) respondents were interested in learning more. Understanding use, predictors of use, and learning needs is essential for developing knowledge translation initiatives to support clinical integration of VR/AVGs. Results of this first national survey will inform the creation of resources to support therapists in this field.
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[Therapist self-disclosure in cognitive-behavioral therapy].
Panagiotidou, K; Zervas, I
2014-01-01
Social changes and developments in medical science prompted mental health professionals to adopt new roles in relation to their self-disclosure practices. The physician-patient relationship has balanced on a different level, promoting the equity and the autonomy of the second. The contemporary patient is better informed, asks more questions and requires more answers. The boundaries between "professional" and "personal" are less strict and patients believe that they have a right to know whether the personal experiences (educational, clinical, research) of their therapists enable them to understand and help them. Although the latest version of the American Psychological Association's Ethics Code (APA, 2002) offers no explicit guidance on therapist self-disclosure, it incorporates an implicit message that therapists can no longer choose non-disclosure without having considered the issue carefully. Non-disclosure is no longer the easy answer, as it may affect adversely the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic effect. These new circumstances prompted representatives of all psychotherapeutic orientations to reconsider traditional positions on therapist self-disclosure, to adapt to the diverse needs of the patients and the modern requirements of the therapeutic process and to define the framework within which its conduct is not only safe but also effective. This review attempts to describe the concept of therapist self-disclosure and its use and its functions in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, following a history of the term in other major therapeutic schools (psychoanalytic, client-centered and systemic). As the focus of any psychotherapy is the patient himself, we added reports of patients' experiences by their therapists' disclosures. Those descriptions reveal clearly not only the benefits of therapist self-disclosure but also the dangers posed by improper use. Finally, we attempt to set a framework in the form of proposals, as these result from existing
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Hysteretic evaluation of seismic performance of normal and fiber reinforced concrete shear walls
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Choun, Young Sun; Hahm, Dae Gi
2012-01-01
The use of fibers in concrete or cement composites can enhance the performance of structural elements. Fibers have been used for a cement mixture to increase the toughness and tensile strength, and to improve the cracking and deformation characteristics. The addition of fibers into concrete can improve the ductility and increase the seismic resistance of concrete structures. The application of fibers to earthquake-resistant concrete structures has a major research topic. A recent study shows that an excellent seismic performance can be obtained in shear critical members constructed with high performance fiber reinforced cement composites. To increase the seismic performance of safety related concrete structures in nuclear power plants, fibers can be used. This study investigated the effect of fibers on the hysteretic behavior of a reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall by cyclic tests
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Hysteretic evaluation of seismic performance of normal and fiber reinforced concrete shear walls
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Choun, Young Sun; Hahm, Dae Gi [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)
2012-10-15
The use of fibers in concrete or cement composites can enhance the performance of structural elements. Fibers have been used for a cement mixture to increase the toughness and tensile strength, and to improve the cracking and deformation characteristics. The addition of fibers into concrete can improve the ductility and increase the seismic resistance of concrete structures. The application of fibers to earthquake-resistant concrete structures has a major research topic. A recent study shows that an excellent seismic performance can be obtained in shear critical members constructed with high performance fiber reinforced cement composites. To increase the seismic performance of safety related concrete structures in nuclear power plants, fibers can be used. This study investigated the effect of fibers on the hysteretic behavior of a reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall by cyclic tests.
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Performance of steel wool fiber reinforced geopolymer concrete
Faris, Meor Ahmad; Abdullah, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri; Ismail, Khairul Nizar; Muniandy, Ratnasamy; Ariffin, Nurliayana
2017-09-01
In this paper, performance of geopolymer concrete was studied by mixing of Class F fly ash from Manjung power station, Lumut, Perak, Malaysia with alkaline activator which are combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. Steel wool fiber were added into the geopolymer concrete as reinforcement with different weight percentage vary from 0 % - 5 %. Chemical compositions of Malaysian fly ash was first analyzed by using X-ray fluorescence. All geopolymer concrete reinforced with steel wool fiber with different weight percentage were tested in terms of density, workability, and compression. Result shows Malaysian fly ash identified by using XRF was class F. Density of geopolymer concrete close to density of OPC which is approximately 2400 kg/m3 and the density was increase gradually with the additions of steel fiber. However, the inclusions of steel fibers also shows some reduction to the workability of geopolymer concrete. Besides, the compressive strength was increased with the increasing of fibers addition until maximum of 18.6 % improvement at 3 % of steel fibers.
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CBT competence in novice therapists improves anxiety outcomes.
Brown, Lily A; Craske, Michelle G; Glenn, Daniel E; Stein, Murray B; Sullivan, Greer; Sherbourne, Cathy; Bystritsky, Alexander; Welch, Stacy S; Campbell-Sills, Laura; Lang, Ariel; Roy-Byrne, Peter; Rose, Raphael D
2013-02-01
This study explores the relationships between therapist variables (cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT] competence, and CBT adherence) and clinical outcomes of computer-assisted CBT for anxiety disorders delivered by novice therapists in a primary care setting. Participants were recruited for a randomized controlled trial of evidence-based treatment, including computer-assisted CBT, versus treatment as usual. Therapists (anxiety clinical specialists; ACSs) were nonexpert clinicians, many of whom had no prior experience in delivering psychotherapy (and in particular, very little experience with CBT). Trained raters reviewed randomly selected treatment sessions from 176 participants and rated therapists on measures of CBT competence and CBT adherence. Patients were assessed at baseline and at 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-ups on measures of anxiety, depression, and functioning, and an average Reliable Change Index was calculated as a composite measure of outcome. CBT competence and CBT adherence were entered as predictors of outcome, after controlling for baseline covariates. Higher CBT competence was associated with better clinical outcomes whereas CBT adherence was not. Also, CBT competence was inversely correlated with years of clinical experience and trended (not significantly, though) down as the study progressed. CBT adherence was inversely correlated with therapist tenure in the study. Therapist competence was related to improved clinical outcomes when CBT for anxiety disorders was delivered by novice clinicians with technology assistance. The results highlight the value of the initial training for novice therapists as well as booster training to limit declines in therapist adherence. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ji-Hua Zhu
2014-07-01
Full Text Available An investigation was performed by using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP as the anode material in the impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP system of steel reinforced concrete structures. The service life and performance of CFRP were investigated in simulated ICCP systems with various configurations. Constant current densities were maintained during the tests. No significant degradation in electrical and mechanical properties was found for CFRP subjected to anodic polarization with the selected applied current densities. The service life of the CFRP-based ICCP system was discussed based on the practical reinforced concrete structure layout.
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Effect of reinforcing steel debonding on RC frame performance in resisting progressive collapse
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Waleed Mohamed Elsayed
2016-12-01
Full Text Available This paper presents the experimental program performed to study the effect of reinforcing steel debonding on progressive collapse resistance of moment resisting frame designed and detailed in accordance with the Egyptian code provisions for seismic design. Half-scale specimens of the first story were extracted from the frame structure prototype. Each specimen represented a two-bay beam resulting from the removal of middle supporting column of the lower floor. In all specimens, the exterior two short columns were restrained against horizontal and vertical displacements and a monotonic vertical load was applied on the middle column stub to simulate the vertical load of the upper stories. Gradually increasing vertical load at the location of the removed column is continuously applied and increased up to failure. The cracking patterns, strains and the deformations at selected locations of reinforcing steel and concrete are recorded for further analysis. Different debonded reinforcement ratios, places and length are examined in this study to evaluate its effect on the collapse resistance performance of the frame. The effect of debonding on the distribution of reinforcing steel strain is evaluated. The nonlinear response of the frame to the removal of the column is evaluated and the amount of energy absorbed during the course of deformation is calculated.
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Research attitudes and experiences of radiation therapists
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Scutter, Sheila; Halkett, Georgia
2003-01-01
An important factor in professional status is the ongoing development of the area as a result of research findings. However, involvement by radiation therapists in research, publication and higher degree study is limited. The aim of the current study was to investigate the attitudes of radiation therapists towards research, and to investigate the major factors contributing to their limited participation in research. To achieve this, an anonymous questionnaire was developed and distributed to radiation therapists working at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH). The study found that radiation therapists at the RAH are interested in research but there are several factors that limit their involvement. These factors include limited knowledge about research processes, lack of support and lack of time to undertake research. Copyright (2003) Australian Institute of Radiography
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Braided reinforced composite rods for the internal reinforcement of concrete
Gonilho Pereira, C.; Fangueiro, R.; Jalali, S.; Araujo, M.; Marques, P.
2008-05-01
This paper reports on the development of braided reinforced composite rods as a substitute for the steel reinforcement in concrete. The research work aims at understanding the mechanical behaviour of core-reinforced braided fabrics and braided reinforced composite rods, namely concerning the influence of the braiding angle, the type of core reinforcement fibre, and preloading and postloading conditions. The core-reinforced braided fabrics were made from polyester fibres for producing braided structures, and E-glass, carbon, HT polyethylene, and sisal fibres were used for the core reinforcement. The braided reinforced composite rods were obtained by impregnating the core-reinforced braided fabric with a vinyl ester resin. The preloading of the core-reinforced braided fabrics and the postloading of the braided reinforced composite rods were performed in three and two stages, respectively. The results of tensile tests carried out on different samples of core-reinforced braided fabrics are presented and discussed. The tensile and bending properties of the braided reinforced composite rods have been evaluated, and the results obtained are presented, discussed, and compared with those of conventional materials, such as steel.
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2014-12-01
In reinforced concrete systems, ensuring that a good bond between the : concrete and the embedded reinforcing steel is critical to long-term structural : performance. Without good bond between the two, the system simply cannot : behave as intended. :...
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The Influence of Moisture on the Performance of Polymer Fibre-Reinforced Asphalt Mixture
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kamaruddin Ibrahim
2016-01-01
Full Text Available A number of researches have been done worldwide to evaluate the damage caused by water in bituminous pavements. The use of the retained strength ratios obtained from laboratory moisture damage tests is a useful tool in making quantitative predictions of the related damage caused by water. This study involved laboratory work on the effect of water on the performance of bituminous mixtures. Comparisons are made between the performances of Hot-rolled Asphalt (HRA bituminous mixtures containing base bitumen of 50 pen grade to that of a polymer-fibre reinforced HRA mixture. Two types of polymer fibre were studied, namely polypropylene and polyester and these fibre were added in different concentrations in the bituminous mixtures. Changes in both the cohesive properties of the bitumen and the adhesion of the bitumen to the aggregate surface were observed as a result of exposing the bituminous mixtures to moisture. The effect of polymer fibre reinforcement in bituminous mixtures helps reduce the level of moisture damage. This was evident in the lower moisture susceptibility achieved in the polymer fibre reinforced bituminous mixtures as compared to the control mixture. The additional bitumen in the fibre reinforced mixtures also afforded an increased film thickness on the aggregate particles, thus affording additional protection of the mixtures from moisture. The reinforcement of polymer fibres in bituminous mixtures also acts to decrease the moisture sensitivity of the bitumen to aggregate bonding. This may be due to the strengthening of the wetted binder matrix that helps promote both adhesion and cohesion retention.
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... My ADAA Blog Home / Find Help Print | Email Find a Therapist Zip Code: Radius: 5 Miles 10 ... personal referrals. We supply information to help you find local mental health services and resources that allow ...
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Reeder, Deborah L.; Arnold, Sandra H.; Jeffries, Lynn M.; McEwen, Irene R.
2011-01-01
The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act and No Child Left Behind Act broadened the roles of occupational therapists (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) to include therapist participation in early intervening services including response to intervention (RTI). This case report describes one school district's inclusion of OT and PT in the…
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High performance fiber reinforced concrete : Progress in knowledge and design codes
Walraven, J.C.
2009-01-01
High performance fiber reinforced concrete is developing quickly to a modern structural material with a high potential. As for instance testified by the recent symposium on HPFRC in Kassel, Germany (April 2008) the number of structural applications increases. At this moment studies are carried out
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Mechanical behavior and fatigue performance of SMA short fiber reinforced MMC
Al-Matar, Basem Jawad
The mechanical behavior and performance of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) short fiber NiTi reinforced Al was experimentally investigated for monotonic and fatigue test Al 6061 NiTi-SiC T6 was superior to unreinforced materials as well as to the reinforced Al T4. Taya three-dimensional model was performed on the monotonic tensile test at room temperature. It showed good agreement with experimental results. In order to utilize the compressive criterion for SMA, the NiTi reinforced Al composite was cooled at -10°C and prestrained at 1.2%. Beyond this limit composite suffered from damage. The net enhancement of SMA effect was around 10 MPa on composite yield stress. Results showed that the elastic constant for the composite did not change with loading and unloading suggesting that the inelastic behavior is plasticity. Further investigation on the inelastic behavior model as damage and/or plasticity by evaluating Poisson's ratio during loading was carried out by Adaptive Image Correlation Technique for Full-Field Strain Measurement. Poisson's ratio increased from around 0.33 to 0.5 demonstrating that it is plasticity that is responsible for the inelastic behavior. Scanning electron microscopy was also used and confirmed model results. The overall damage-behavior was quantified in terms of the post fatigue failure strength for low-cycle fatigue tests. Power law model was best to fit experimental findings.
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Patient personality and therapist response: an empirical investigation.
Colli, Antonello; Tanzilli, Annalisa; Dimaggio, Giancarlo; Lingiardi, Vittorio
2014-01-01
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between therapists' emotional responses and patients' personality disorders and level of psychological functioning. A random national sample of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists (N=203) completed the Therapist Response Questionnaire to identify patterns of therapists' emotional response, and the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 to assess personality disorders and level of psychological functioning in a randomly selected patient currently in their care and with whom they had worked for a minimum of eight sessions and a maximum of 6 months (one session per week). There were several significant relationships between therapists' responses and patients' personality pathology. Paranoid and antisocial personality disorders were associated with criticized/mistreated countertransference, and borderline personality disorder was related to helpless/inadequate, overwhelmed/disorganized, and special/overinvolved countertransference. Disengaged countertransference was associated with schizotypal and narcissistic personality disorders and negatively associated with dependent and histrionic personality disorders. Schizoid personality disorder was associated with helpless/inadequate responses. Positive countertransference was associated with avoidant personality disorder, which was also related to both parental/protective and special/overinvolved therapist responses. Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder was negatively associated with special/overinvolved therapist responses. In general, therapists' responses were characterized by stronger negative feelings when working with lower-functioning patients. Patients' specific personality pathologies are associated with consistent emotional responses, which suggests that clinicians can make diagnostic and therapeutic use of their responses to patients.
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Performance of Lightweight Natural-Fiber Reinforced Concrete
Hardjasaputra Harianto; Ng Gino; Urgessa Girum; Lesmana Gabriella; Sidharta Steven
2017-01-01
Concrete, the most common construction material, has negligible tension capacity. However, a reinforcement material such as natural fibers, can be used to improve the tensile properties of concrete. This paper presents experiments conducted on Super Lightweight Concrete mixed with coconut fibers (SLNFRC). Coconut fibers are regarded as one of the toughest natural fibers to strengthen concrete. Coconut fiber reinforced composites have been considered as a sustainable construction material beca...
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The knowledge of the inhabitants of Lesser Poland about the profession of an occupational therapist
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Żmudzińska Urszula Ż
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Introduction: A contemporary model of occupational therapy differs from the previous model which was common in Poland in previous years. Therefore, the opinions of the society concerning the profession of an occupational therapist are constantly changing. Material and methods: The research included 244 inhabitants of Lesser Poland aged between 25 and 65 employed in various professions. A questionnaire regarding occupational therapy and the profession and competences of occupational therapists was applied in the study. Results: The presented results show that the job of an occupational therapist is perceived as a needed profession both by individuals who underwent such therapy and those who did not use such services. Responses regarding competences and activities in the profession of an occupational therapist revealed differences in the opinions of the study participants. Conclusions: Taking into account only competences and activities of an occupational therapist, associations of the study participants reflected the knowledge of the model of therapy that existed before and was mainly devoted to occupational therapy workshops. The respondents would trust an occupational therapist both in adapting the house to their needs and in performing exercises connected with activities of daily living.
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Performance of Hybrid Steel Fibers Reinforced Concrete Subjected to Air Blast Loading
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammed Alias Yusof
2013-01-01
Full Text Available This paper presents the results of the experimental data and simulation on the performance of hybrid steel fiber reinforced concrete (HSFRC and also normal reinforced concrete (NRC subjected to air blast loading. HSFRC concrete mix consists of a combination of 70% long steel hook end fibre and also 30% of short steel hook end fibre with a volume fraction of 1.5% mix. A total of six concrete panels were subjected to air blast using plastic explosive (PE4 weighing 1 kg each at standoff distance of 0.3 meter. The parameters measured are mode of failure under static and blast loading and also peak overpressure that resulted from detonation using high speed data acquisition system. In addition to this simulation work using AUTODYN was carried out and validated using experimental data. The experimental results indicate that hybrid steel fiber reinforced concrete panel (HSFRC possesses excellent resistance to air blast loading as compared to normal reinforced concrete (NRC panel. The simulation results were also found to be close with experimental data. Therefore the results have been validated using experimental data.
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The experiences of private somatology therapists on their self-management in a private practice
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karien Richter
2013-07-01
Full Text Available Somatology therapists have a demanding occupation, both physically and emotionally. Long working hours coupled with handling clients on a daily basis, notwithstanding the strain of ensuring high quality client care, are all aspects that place pressure on the therapist. These aspects, in the backdrop of a lack of self-management of a therapist, could result in impaired judgement and substandard performance in the workplace. The purpose of this study included exploring and describing the experiences of private somatology therapists in self-management, from which recommendations for improved self-management within private somatology practices were described. For the purpose of this study, self-management was defined as a method of managing not only the interaction with clients and work stressors, but also the feelings of the therapists, by practising a variety of techniques such as self-discipline. A descriptive, exploratory and contextual qualitative design was followed. The accessible population consisted of therapists (n = 15 practising at six private somatology facilities in the Pretoria North region. Purposeful sampling was followed. Ten individual unstructured interviews as well as a pilot study were conducted in which field notes were taken. Open-coding data analysis identified four themes with subthemes. Lincoln and Guba’s model was used to ensure trustworthiness and ethical considerations were followed throughout the process. Informed consent was granted by the private somatology practices and the therapists. One of the themes indicated that self-management strategies should be displayed, in order to gain a sense of control. The study identified that there is a definite need to nurture the therapist within this demanding working environment which we call the somatology practice.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hansen, Tina; Elholm Madsen, Esben; Sørensen, Annette
2016-01-01
Gill Ingestive Skills Assessment (MISA) they observe, interpret and record occupational performance of dysphagic clients participating in a meal. This is a highly complex task, which might introduce unwanted variability in measurement scores. A 2-day rater training programme was developed and this builds...... of the training on scoring performance and scale-specific expertise amongst raters. METHOD: During 2 days of rater training, 81 occupational therapists (OTs) were qualified to observe and score dysphagic clients' mealtime performance according to the criteria of 36 MISA-items. The training effects were evaluated...... deficient mealtime performance appeared most difficult to score. The OTs scale-specific expertise improved significantly (knowledge: Z = -7.857, p performance when using the Danish MISA as well as their perceived...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
H.A. Rahdar
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The tensile behavior of concrete depends on some factors such as member dimensions, reinforcement ratio, diameter of rebar, strength and elasticity modulus of material. In this research the experimental method is used to examine the characteristics and the behavior of ultra-high performance concrete on the tensile behavior of concrete members reinforced by steel rebar. The results show that increasing the rebar cover on diameter rebar ratio (C/d increases the initial stiffening before the cracking stage in concrete. Also, by increasing of reinforcement ratio the cracking space decreased.
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Supervision and Increasing Self-Efficacy in the Therapist-Trainee.
Shanklin, Jennifer E.
This work includes a discussion of the concept of self-efficacy, originally introduced by Albert Bandura, as it pertains to the therapist-trainee. Therapist self-efficacy has only recently gained attention theoretically as well as empirically. Measures used to assess the self-efficacy of the therapist are highlighted as well as factors…
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Influence of Loading Direction and Weld Reinforcement on Fatigue Performance of TIG Weld Seam
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
HUI Li
2018-02-01
Full Text Available The influence of loading direction and weld reinforcement on fatigue performance of TC2 titanium alloy TIG weld seam was investigated via fatigue experiments and SEM fracture observation. The results show that the fatigue life of retaining weld reinforcement specimens is lower than that of removing one in the same weld direction. The fatigue life of oblique weld specimens is higher than that of straight one with the same weld reinforcement treatment. The initiation of removing weld reinforcement specimens' fatigue crack sources is in the hole defect, but the weld reinforcement specimen initiate at the weld toes. During the early stage of fatigue crack propagation, the cracks all grow inside the weld seam metal with obvious fatigue striation. And the fatigue cracks of oblique weld specimens pass through the weld seam into the base with a typical toughness fatigue striation during the last stage of fatigue crack propagation. The dimple of straight weld specimens is little and shallow in the final fracture zone. The oblique weld specimens broke in the base metal area, and the dimple is dense.
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You Won't Get Me: Therapist Responses to Patient Impression Management Tactics.
Frühauf, Sarah; Figlioli, Patrick; Caspar, Franz
2017-03-01
In psychotherapy, therapist and patient influence each other constantly. We aimed to investigate how therapists respond to patient impression management and influence tactics. For 60 videotaped intake interviews, judges rated therapist responses to patient tactics as neutral, desired, or undesired from the patient perspective. Judges rated the therapist responses in 57% as neutral, in 40% as desired, and in 2% as undesired by the patients. The proportions of response outcomes varied across tactics. Therapist responses were unrelated to therapist and patient sex. Therapist experience was related to their responses to the tactic Supplication. Overall, some patient tactics seem to be more challenging for therapists than others. Awareness of such response tendencies can help therapists prepare their reactions to certain patient impression management and influence tactics. Implications for training and research are presented.
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How does disclosing countertransference affect perceptions of the therapist and the session?
Yeh, Yun-Jy; Hayes, Jeffrey A
2011-12-01
Therapist self-disclosure has been theorized and found to have both positive and negative effects. These effects depend, in part, on the nature of the disclosure. This study sought to examine the differential effects of therapist disclosures of more and less resolved countertransference issues on perceptions of therapists and therapy sessions. Using an analogue method, undergraduate participants (N = 116) were randomly assigned to watch one of two videos in which a therapist disclosed personal issues that were relatively resolved or relatively unresolved. As hypothesized, therapist disclosure of issues that were more resolved caused the therapist to be rated as more attractive and trustworthy and instilled greater hope than therapist disclosure of less resolved issues. The type of therapist disclosure, however, did not affect ratings of the expertness of the therapist, the depth or smoothness of the session, or the perceived universality between client and therapist. Implications of the results for the judicious use of self-disclosure are discussed.
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Performance evaluation of concrete bridge decks reinforced with MMFX and SSC rebars.
2006-01-01
This report investigates the performance of bridge decks reinforced with stainless steel clad (SSC) and micro-composite multistructural formable steel (MMFX) rebars. The two-span Galloway Road Bridge on route CR5218 over North Elkhorn Creek in Scott ...
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Structural performance evaluation on aging underground reinforced concrete structures. Part 5
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Matsumura, Takuro; Matsuo, Toyofumi; Miyagawa, Yoshinori
2009-01-01
When we evaluate the soundness of reinforced concrete structures, it is important to assess the chloride induced deterioration. We conducted the reinforcing steel corrosion tests of reinforced concrete specimens under simulated tidal environment of sea. Parameters of the tests were water cement ratio, cement type and crack width of concrete. Periods of the tests were eighty month. The obtained results were summarized at follows: (a) The chloride ion concentration at the initiation of reinforcing steel corrosion was about 3.0 kg/m 3 in case of reinforcing steel in non-crack concrete used ordinary cement. (b) The corrosion rate of reinforcing steels was almost constant at any cement type specimens after causing crack by reinforcing steel corrosion. (c) The corrosion rate of reinforcing steels in specimens, which caused cracks by bending load, increased as crack width. In the same type specimens, the corrosion rate of reinforcing steels in fly ash cement specimens was larger than that of ordinary cement specimens. In this case, the corrosion rate of reinforcing steels was evaluated about 0.18 mm/year. (author)
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Reported use of technology in stroke rehabilitation by physical and occupational therapists.
Langan, Jeanne; Subryan, Heamchand; Nwogu, Ifeoma; Cavuoto, Lora
2017-08-16
With the patient care experience being a healthcare priority, it is concerning that patients with stroke reported boredom and a desire for greater fostering of autonomy, when evaluating their rehabilitation experience. Technology has the potential to reduce these shortcomings by engaging patients through entertainment and objective feedback. Providing objective feedback has resulted in improved outcomes and may assist the patient in learning how to self-manage rehabilitation. Our goal was to examine the extent to which physical and occupational therapists use technology in clinical stroke rehabilitation home exercise programs. Surveys were sent via mail, email and online postings to over 500 therapists, 107 responded. Conventional equipment such as stopwatches are more frequently used compared to newer technology like Wii and Kinect games. Still, less than 25% of therapists' report using a stopwatch five or more times per week. Notably, feedback to patients is based upon objective data less than 50% of the time by most therapists. At the end of clinical rehabilitation, patients typically receive a written home exercise program and non-technological equipment, like theraband and/or theraputty to continue rehabilitation efforts independently. The use of technology is not pervasive in the continuum of stroke rehabilitation. Implications for Rehabilitation The patient care experience is a priority in healthcare, so when patients report feeling bored and desiring greater fostering of autonomy in stroke rehabilitation, it is troubling. Research examining the use of technology has shown positive results for improving motor performance and engaging patients through entertainment and use of objective feedback. Physical and occupational therapists do not widely use technology in stroke rehabilitation. Therapists should consider using technology in stroke rehabilitation to better meet the needs of the patient.
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A therapist version of the Alliance Negotiation Scale.
Doran, Jennifer M; Gómez-Penedo, Juan Martín; Safran, Jeremy D; Roussos, Andrés
2018-05-02
The aim of the current study was to design and evaluate a therapist version of the Alliance Negotiation Scale (ANS). The ANS was created in order to operationalize the construct of dyadic negotiation in psychotherapy and to augment existing conceptualizations of the working alliance. The ANS has existed only as a client self-report form since its inception and has demonstrated promise as a psychotherapy process measure. This research intended to develop a complementary therapist self-report version of the measure. The scale creation process is discussed in detail, and the results of a preliminary psychometric investigation are reported. The ANS-Therapist version (ANS-T) was developed using a sample of therapists (n = 114) through a principal components analysis procedure. The ANS-T contains 9 unidimensional items and was moderately correlated with therapist-reported working alliance (r = .468). The results of the study support the composition of the ANS-T and provide initial support for the reliability and validity of the measure. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Dreaming of you: client and therapist dreams about each other during psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Hill, Clara E; Knox, Sarah; Crook-Lyon, Rachel E; Hess, Shirley A; Miles, Joe; Spangler, Patricia T; Pudasaini, Sakar
2014-01-01
Our objectives were to describe the frequency of therapists' dreams about their clients and clients' dreams about their therapists, to determine how therapists and clients who had such dreams differed from those who did not have such dreams, whether therapy process and outcome differed for those who had and did not have such dreams, and to describe the content and consequences of these dreams. Thirteen doctoral student therapists conducted psychodynamic psychotherapy with 63 clients in a community clinic. Therapists who had dreams about clients had higher estimated and actual dream recall than did therapists who did not dream about clients. Qualitative analyses indicated that therapists' dreams yielded insights about the therapist, clients, and therapy; therapists used insights in their work with the clients. Among the clients, only two (who were particularly high in attachment anxiety and who feared abandonment from their therapists) reported dreams that were manifestly about their therapists. Therapists-in-training dreamed more about their clients than their clients dreamed about them. Dreams about clients can be used by therapists to understand themselves, clients, and the dynamics of the therapy relationship.
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Feminist Music Therapists in North America: Their Lives and Their Practices
Sandra L. Curtis
2015-01-01
This survey study investigated the lives and practices of those in North America who self-identify as feminist music therapists. Earlier reports from this survey studied: 1) the experiences of music therapists, with a comparison of men, women, and their 1990 counterparts (Curtis, 2013d); 2) the experiences of music therapists who self-identify as community music therapists (Curtis, 2015); and 3) the experiences of music therapists in Canada as they compare with their U.S. counterparts (Curtis...
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Conceptualizing the therapist's role in therapy in psychosis.
Dilks, Sarah; Tasker, Fiona; Wren, Bernadette
2013-09-01
This paper reports on a subset of findings from a wider ranging grounded theory analysis of therapy and recovery processes in psychosis. It describes therapist activities involved in maintaining an observational perspective during therapy and the links between these and other therapist activities. Grounded theory was used to examine the qualitative data collected. An initial sample of 19 taped therapy sessions and 23 interviews with psychologists and their clients was collected. This sample was extended through the collection of three further interviews with psychoanalytically aware psychologists. The data were analysed using grounded theory. A grounded theory model of therapy processes in psychosis was developed that conceptualized therapist actions as providing an observational scaffold to support the client's efforts in moving to new perspectives on their situation. Consistent with the understanding of the core therapy activity as a dialogical process, this set of therapist actions was understood as occurring alongside other therapist activities involved in managing emotion and building a relationship in therapy. The central activity of therapy in psychosis was understood as a dialogical process continuously negotiated between therapist and client in conversation and was conceptually summarized in the grounded theory as 'building bridges to observational perspectives'. However, the active and strategic efforts of psychologists to sustain the dialogue implied a particular assumption of responsibility for maintaining this process. In particular, therapists appeared to be 'working to maintain observational perspectives', 'managing emotion', and 'doing relationship' during the therapy conversation as part of the joint effort with clients to build bridges to new observational perspectives on distress and psychosis. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.
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Differences between physical therapists in attention paid to patient education.
Sluijs, E.M.; Zee, J. van der; Kok, G.J.
1993-01-01
This article describes differences between physical therapists in terms of the attention they pay to educating patients. The differences between therapists were identified from audiotaped treatment sessions of 1837 patients, recorded by physical therapists in non-institutional care in the
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Three perspectives on physical therapist managerial work.
Schafer, D Sue
2002-03-01
The nature of managerial work in the commercial sector has not been studied since the 1970s, and little is known about the work of managers in the health care sector. In this study, the perceived importance of managerial role and skill categories among 3 groups of physical therapists were studied to better understand the work priorities of physical therapist managers. Two groups of subjects were physical therapist managers in hospitals or private practices. A third group consisted of faculty members in professional physical therapist education programs. Respondents (n=343) rated the importance of 75 managerial activities. Responses related to 16 predetermined work categories were placed in rank order by group. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to identify differences among groups. All groups identified communication, financial control, entrepreneur, resource allocator, and leader as the 5 most important categories and rated technical expert and figurehead as least important. The MANOVA showed differences between faculty members and private practice managers in 15 work categories, between hospital-based managers and private practice managers in 9 categories, and between faculty members and hospital-based managers in 8 categories. Work setting appears to have an impact on level of importance placed on managerial work categories. The strongest candidates for "universal" physical therapist managerial work categories were communication, financial control, and resource allocator.
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Attitudes About Cognitive Screening: A Survey of Home Care Physical Therapists.
Miles, Jean D; Staples, William H; Lee, Daniel J
2018-02-14
Home care physical therapists (PTs) are inconsistent regarding cognitive screening, possibly because screening tools were traditionally considered the domain of other home care disciplines, or because therapists perceive their dementia training to be inadequate. A cross sectional study was designed to survey home care therapists' attitudes and beliefs about the management of persons with dementia and to find out whether any specific cognitive tools or measures are currently used. A 5-point Likert-type survey was administered to home care PTs via an online survey. Three state home care associations and individual home care agencies agreed to share the survey link. The survey was also made available to American Physical Therapy Association members through the Home Health and Geriatric Section listservs. Two hundred fifty-one PTs opened the survey and 233 completed the survey. Respondents included 180 females and 53 males. Seventy-four had a bachelor's degree (BS), 53 held a master's degree (MS), 104 had achieved a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) or doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree, and 2 did not provide this information. Significant differences were found between those with the highest doctoral degrees and those with master's or bachelor's degrees (P = .01) regarding whether they were qualified to screen (strongly agree, agree) for cognitive deficits. Therapists with the highest degrees also attended continuing education for dementia training more than those with less formal education (P = .042.) Gender differences were found in 2 questions regarding positive outcomes (P = .010 and .42); for both questions, males were more likely to believe that dementia has a negative impact. Eighty-seven percent indicated that PTs are qualified (strongly agree, agree), but only 53% said that they possess the necessary skills (strongly agree, agree) to perform cognitive screens. Specialty certification revealed significant differences in several of the questions. No significance
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Clewley, Derek; Rhon, Dan; Flynn, Tim; Koppenhaver, Shane; Cook, Chad
2018-02-21
Physical therapists' familiarity, perceptions, and beliefs about health services utilization and health seeking behaviour have not been previously assessed. The purposes of this study were to identify physical therapists' characteristics related to familiarity of health services utilization and health seeking behaviour, and to assess what health seeking behaviour factors providers felt were related to health services utilization. We administered a survey based on the Andersen behavioural model of health services utilization to physical therapists using social media campaigns and email between March and June of 2017. In addition to descriptive statistics, we performed binomial logistic regression analysis. We asked respondents to rate familiarity with health services utilization and health seeking behaviour and collected additional characteristic variables. Physical therapists are more familiar with health services utilization than health seeking behaviour. Those who are familiar with either construct tend to be those who assess for health services utilization, use health services utilization for a prognosis, and believe that health seeking behaviour is measurable. Physical therapists rated need and enabling factors as having more influence on health services utilization than predisposing and health belief factors. Physical therapists are generally familiar with health services utilization and health seeking behaviour; however, there appears to be a disconnect between what is familiar, what is perceived to be important, and what can be assessed for both health services utilization and health seeking behaviour. Copyright © 2018 Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Fisioterapia. All rights reserved.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lepech, M.; Michel, Alexander; Geiker, Mette
2016-01-01
and widespread depassivation, are the mechanism behind experimental results of HPFRCC steel corrosion studies found in the literature. Such results provide an indication of the fundamental mechanisms by which steel reinforced HPFRCC materials may be more durable than traditional reinforced concrete and other......Using a newly developed multi-physics transport, corrosion, and cracking model, which models these phenomena as a coupled physiochemical processes, the role of HPFRCC crack control and formation in regulating steel reinforcement corrosion is investigated. This model describes transport of water...... and chemical species, the electric potential distribution in the HPFRCC, the electrochemical propagation of steel corrosion, and the role of microcracks in the HPFRCC material. Numerical results show that the reduction in anode and cathode size on the reinforcing steel surface, due to multiple crack formation...
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Evaluation of a performance appraisal framework for radiation therapists in planning and simulation
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Becker, Jillian, E-mail: jillian.becker@health.qld.gov.au [Radiation Oncology Mater Centre, South Brisbane, Queensland (Australia); Bridge, Pete [School of Clinical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland (Australia); Brown, Elizabeth; Lusk, Ryan; Ferrari-Anderson, Janet [Radiation Oncology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland (Australia); Radiation Oncology Mater Centre, South Brisbane, Queensland (Australia)
2015-06-15
Constantly evolving technology and techniques within radiation therapy require practitioners to maintain a continuous approach to professional development and training. Systems of performance appraisal and adoption of regular feedback mechanisms are vital to support this development yet frequently lack structure and rely on informal peer support. A Radiation Therapy Performance Appraisal Framework (RT-PAF) for radiation therapists in planning and simulation was developed to define expectations of practice and promote a supportive and objective culture of performance and skills appraisal. Evaluation of the framework was conducted via an anonymous online survey tool. Nine peer reviewers and fourteen recipients provided feedback on its effectiveness and the challenges and limitations of the approach. Findings from the evaluation were positive and suggested that both groups gained benefit from and expressed a strong interest in embedding the approach more routinely. Respondents identified common challenges related to the limited ability to implement suggested development strategies; this was strongly associated with time and rostering issues. This framework successfully defined expectations for practice and provided a fair and objective feedback process that focussed on skills development. It empowered staff to maintain their skills and reach their professional potential. Management support, particularly in regard to provision of protected time was highlighted as critical to the framework's ongoing success. The demonstrated benefits arising in terms of staff satisfaction and development highlight the importance of this commitment to the modern radiation therapy workforce.
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Evaluation of a performance appraisal framework for radiation therapists in planning and simulation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Becker, Jillian; Bridge, Pete; Brown, Elizabeth; Lusk, Ryan; Ferrari-Anderson, Janet
2015-01-01
Constantly evolving technology and techniques within radiation therapy require practitioners to maintain a continuous approach to professional development and training. Systems of performance appraisal and adoption of regular feedback mechanisms are vital to support this development yet frequently lack structure and rely on informal peer support. A Radiation Therapy Performance Appraisal Framework (RT-PAF) for radiation therapists in planning and simulation was developed to define expectations of practice and promote a supportive and objective culture of performance and skills appraisal. Evaluation of the framework was conducted via an anonymous online survey tool. Nine peer reviewers and fourteen recipients provided feedback on its effectiveness and the challenges and limitations of the approach. Findings from the evaluation were positive and suggested that both groups gained benefit from and expressed a strong interest in embedding the approach more routinely. Respondents identified common challenges related to the limited ability to implement suggested development strategies; this was strongly associated with time and rostering issues. This framework successfully defined expectations for practice and provided a fair and objective feedback process that focussed on skills development. It empowered staff to maintain their skills and reach their professional potential. Management support, particularly in regard to provision of protected time was highlighted as critical to the framework's ongoing success. The demonstrated benefits arising in terms of staff satisfaction and development highlight the importance of this commitment to the modern radiation therapy workforce
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Ethnic Similarity, Therapist Adherence, and Long-Term Multisystemic Therapy Outcomes
Chapman, Jason E.; Schoenwald, Sonja K.
2011-01-01
The current study investigated relations among ethnic similarity in caregiver-therapist pairs of youth participating in Multisystemic Therapy, therapist adherence, and youth long-term behavioral and criminal outcomes. Participants were 1,979 youth and families treated by 429 therapists across provider organizations in 45 sites. Relations were…
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Icelandic occupational therapists' attitudes towards educational issues.
Asmundsd ttir, ELIN EBBA; Kaplan, SUSAN
2001-01-01
The purpose of this study was to assess the readiness of occupational therapists in Iceland to accept a professional as opposed to a technical view of the profession. Most Icelandic occupational therapists were educated in other countries, with little emphasis on liberal arts, sciences and research. The first Icelandic occupational therapy programme, a university-level programme, was founded in 1997. All Icelandic occupational therapists were surveyed. Eighty-seven questionnaires were sent out and 80 (92%) were returned and used for statistical analysis. The results of the study showed that Icelandic occupational therapists valued academic skills over technical skills, emphasizing occupational therapy theory unique to the profession and research to validate practice. More recognition among other health professionals was considered the most needed change in the profession. The results of the study showed that the clinicians' attitudes confirmed in general what is emphasized in the curriculum and in students' fieldwork. Further research is needed to explore whether the Icelandic occupational therapy profession succeeds in promoting research and recognition by other health professions.
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Kang, Min-Hyeok; Kwon, Oh-Yun; Kim, Yong-Wook; Kim, Ji-Won; Kim, Tae-Ho; Oh, Tae-Young; Weon, Jong-Hyuk; Lee, Tae-Sik; Oh, Jae-Seop
2016-01-01
To determine the agreement among the items of the Korean physical therapist licensing examination, learning objectives of class subjects, and physical therapists' job descriptions. The main tasks of physical therapists were classified, and university courses related to the main tasks were also classified. Frequency analysis was used to determine the proportions of credits for the classified courses out of the total credits of major subjects, exam items related to the classified courses out of the total number of exam items, and universities that offer courses related to the Korean physical therapist licensing examination among the surveyed universities. The proportions of credits for clinical decision making and physical therapy diagnosis-related courses out of the total number credits for major subjects at universities were relatively low (2.06% and 2.58%, respectively). Although the main tasks of physical therapists are related to diagnosis and evaluation, the proportion of physiotherapy intervention-related items (35%) was higher than that of examination and evaluation-related items (25%) on the Korean physical therapist licensing examination. The percentages of universities that offer physical therapy diagnosis and clinical decision making-related courses were 58.62% and 68.97%, respectively. Both the proportion of physiotherapy diagnosis and evaluation-related items on the Korean physical therapist licensing examination, and the number of subjects related to clinical decision making and physical therapy diagnosis in the physical therapy curriculum, should be increased to ensure that the examination items and physical therapy curriculum reflect the practical tasks of physical therapists.
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Effects of Video Games as Reinforcers for Computerized Addition Performance.
Axelrod, Saul; And Others
1987-01-01
Four 2nd-grade students completed addition problems on a computer, using video games as reinforcers. Two variable ratio schedules of reinforcement failed to increase student accuracy or the rate of correct responses. In a no-games reinforcement condition, students had more opportunities to respond and had a greater number of correct answers.…
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Doughty, Adam H; Richards, Jerry B
2002-07-01
Experiment I investigated the effects of reinforcer magnitude on differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) schedule performance in three phases. In Phase 1, two groups of rats (n = 6 and 5) responded under a DRI. 72-s schedule with reinforcer magnitudes of either 30 or 300 microl of water. After acquisition, the water amounts were reversed for each rat. In Phase 2, the effects of the same reinforcer magnitudes on DRL 18-s schedule performance were examined across conditions. In Phase 3, each rat responded unider a DR1. 18-s schedule in which the water amotnts alternated between 30 and 300 microl daily. Throughout each phase of Experiment 1, the larger reinforcer magnitude resulted in higher response rates and lower reinforcement rates. The peak of the interresponse-time distributions was at a lower value tinder the larger reinforcer magnitude. In Experiment 2, 3 pigeons responded under a DRL 20-s schedule in which reinforcer magnitude (1-s or 6-s access to grain) varied iron session to session. Higher response rates and lower reinforcement rates occurred tinder the longer hopper duration. These results demonstrate that larger reinforcer magnitudes engender less efficient DRL schedule performance in both rats and pigeons, and when reinforcer magnitude was held constant between sessions or was varied daily. The present results are consistent with previous research demonstrating a decrease in efficiency as a function of increased reinforcer magnituide tinder procedures that require a period of time without a specified response. These findings also support the claim that DRI. schedule performance is not governed solely by a timing process.
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Occupational therapists' perceptions of gender - a focus group study.
Liedberg, Gunilla M; Björk, Mathilda; Hensing, Gunnel
2010-10-01
Women and men are shaped over the courses of their lives by culture, society and human interaction according to the gender system. Cultural influences on individuals' social roles and environment are described in occupational therapy literature, but not specifically from a gender perspective. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how a sample of occupational therapists perceives the 'gender' concept. Four focus group interviews with 17 occupational therapists were conducted. The opening question was: 'How do you reflect on the encounter with a client depending on whether it is a man or a woman?' The transcribed interviews were analysed and two main themes emerged: 'the concept of gender is tacit in occupational therapy' and 'client encounters'. The occupational therapists expressed limited theoretical knowledge of 'gender'. Furthermore, the occupational therapists seemed to be 'doing gender' in their encounters with the clients. For example, in their assessment of the client, they focussed their questions on different spheres: with female clients, on the household and family; with male clients, on their paid work. This study demonstrated that occupational therapists were unaware of the possibility that they were 'doing gender' in their encounters with clients. There is a need to increase occupational therapists' awareness of their own behaviour of 'doing gender'. Furthermore, there is a need to investigate whether gendered perceptions will shorten or lengthen a rehabilitation period and affect the chosen interventions, and in the end, the outcome for the clients. © 2010 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2010 Australian Association of Occupational Therapists.
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Popper-Giveon, Ariela; Schiff, Elad; Ben-Arye, Eran
2012-12-01
In 2008, an Integrative Oncology Program was implemented at the Clalit Oncology Service in Haifa, Israel, to promote patients' well-being during chemotherapy and advanced stages of disease. We hypothesized that studying the perceptions of Arab complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapists would facilitate development of a cross-culturally integrative oncology approach. Semi-structured interviews were held with 27 Arab therapists who use medicinal herbs, the Quran and various CAM modalities, with the aim of characterizing their treatment practices and learning about their perspectives regarding conventional cancer care. Thematic analysis revealed that therapists act as go-betweens, mediating between patients and conventional physicians. Therapists translate diagnoses into Arabic and elucidate key concepts. They tend to perceive their role as gatekeepers accompanying patients through the conventional health system, referring them for further examinations, and providing CAM-based supportive care consultation. CAM therapists have an essential role in supportive care of Arab patients with cancer. Triangular patient-therapist-oncologist communication may have an impact on patients' experience and treatment quality. Recognition of CAM therapists as mediators between patients' health beliefs and conventional perceptions of care may improve doctor-patient dialogue and facilitate supportive care provision in a cross-cultural context. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Perception and use of balance measures for stroke patients among physical therapists in South Korea
Jang, Ho Young; Kim, You Lim; Lee, Suk Min
2017-01-01
[Purpose] The purpose of this study looked into physical therapists? perception and use of balance measures for stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] Three hundred eighty two physical therapists who understood the purpose of this study, agreed on their participation in this study, were treating or treated stroke patients. A Cross-sectional study based on self-administered questionnaire that had a total of 41 questions was performed in South Korea. 382 questionnaires were used for analysis. ...
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Design of Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete Shells
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jepsen, Michael S.; Lambertsen, Søren Heide; Damkilde, Lars
2013-01-01
Fiber Reinforced Concrete shell. The major challenge in the design phase has been securing sufficient stiffness of the structure while keeping the weight at a minimum. The weight/stiffness issue has been investigated by means of the finite element method, to optimize the structure regarding overall......The paper treats the redesign of the float structure of the Wavestar wave energy converter. Previously it was designed as a glass fiber structure, but due to cost reduction requirements a redesign has been initiated. The new float structure will be designed as a double curved Ultra High Performance...
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Reinforcement Schedules in a Verbal Reinforcement Combination and Renection-Impulsivity
TAMASE, Koji; UEDA, Masako
1986-01-01
It was predicted that higher proportion of the negative reinforcement "Wrong" than that of the positive reinforcement "Right" in a reinforcement combination will produce higher proportion of the correct response and this trend will be greater in reflective children than in impulsive children. From 140 kindergarten children 30 reflective and 30 impulsive children were selected and they were given a two-hole marble-dropping task. The best performance in the ratio of correct responses was obtain...
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Sandstrom, Robert
2007-01-01
As physical therapists increase autonomous practice, medical error becomes more important to public safety and public perceptions of the profession. The purpose of this study was to describe malpractice by physical therapists in the United States based on physical therapist malpractice reports in the National Practitioner Data Bank between January 1, 1991, and December 31, 2004. A frequency analysis of data related to physical therapist malpractice reports was performed. The relationship between size of malpractice payment and public policy related to access to physical therapist services and malpractice experience was explored. A total of 664 malpractice reports were found in the study period (mean, 47.73 events annually). California had 114 malpractice events, while Maine and Wyoming had none. The median payment amount for physical therapist malpractice was $10,000 to $15,000. "Treatment-related" events and events related to "improper technique" were the most common reasons for a malpractice report. Incidence of malpractice by physical therapists is low (estimated at 2.5 events/10,000 working therapists/year), and the average malpractice payment is small (public policy related to direct patient access to physical therapy services.
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Matching therapists' predicates: an in vivo test of effectiveness.
Dowd, E T; Hingst, A G
1983-08-01
The theory of neurolinguistic programming predicts that a therapist's matching of a client's primary representational system, as expressed in the client's predicates, should result in increased therapist's rapport and social influence. This hypothesis was tested in an actual interview situation. Six relatively inexperienced therapists, two each in predicate matching, predicate mismatching, and predicate no-matching conditions, conducted a 30-min. interview with nine undergraduate student volunteers each, for a total of 54 subjects. After the appropriate interview condition was completed, subjects rated ther therapists on the Counselor Rating Form and the Counseling Evaluation Inventory. No significant differences among the three conditions on any of the measures were found. Results are compared with those of previous research on assessment and primary representational matching in analogue situations.
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What Does It Mean To Be a Feminist Family Therapist?
Whipple, Vicky
This paper describes a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with women who identify themselves as feminist family therapists. It includes a summary of the themes identified in these three questions: How did you become a feminist family therapist? How do you DO feminist family therapy? What does it mean to be a feminist family therapist?…
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Therapists perspectives on the effective elements of consultation following training.
Beidas, Rinad S; Edmunds, Julie M; Cannuscio, Carolyn C; Gallagher, Mark; Downey, Margaret Mary; Kendall, Philip C
2013-11-01
Consultation is an effective implementation strategy to improve uptake of evidence-based practices for youth. However, little is known about what makes consultation effective. The present study used qualitative methods to explore therapists perspectives about consultation. We interviewed 50 therapists who had been trained 2 years prior in cognitive-behavioral therapy for child anxiety. Three themes emerged regarding effective elements of consultation: (1) connectedness with other therapists and the consultant, (2) authentic interactions around actual cases, and (3) the responsiveness of the consultant to the needs of individual therapists. Recommendations for the design of future consultation endeavors are offered.
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Bruschini, Marco; Carli, Antonella; Burla, Franco
2018-01-01
Healthcare workers are exposed to work related stresses that significantly increase their risk of burnout. To evaluate and compare burnout and work related stress levels in three categories of health professionals: physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists. A convenience sample of 391 health professionals participated, including 210 physiotherapists, 101 speech therapists and 80 occupational therapists. We collected general socio-demographic information and administered the standardized Italian version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards Indicator Tool. We found the proportion of professionals with high-risk scores in the three dimensions of the MBI to be as follows: Emotional Exhaustion 32%, Depersonalisation 13% and Personal Accomplishment 9%. Overall, 14% of participants were at high risk of burnout. No significant differences were found between the three professional categories. Five subscales of the HSE were associated with burnout: Control (p < 0.01), Management support (p < 0.01), Relationship (p < 0.05), Role (p < 0.01), and Change (p < 0.05). Like all health care workers, rehabilitation professionals are at a high risk of burnout. There are common mechanisms underlying burnout in the different professional groups investigated. Further research in occupational health in rehabilitation settings is needed to prevent burnout.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hodicky, Kamil; Hulin, Thomas; Schmidt, Jacob Wittrup
2013-01-01
This paper presents a new thin-walled concrete sandwich panel system reinforced with basalt fiber-reinforced plastic (BFRP) with optimum structural performances and a high thermal resistance developed by Connovate and Technical University of Denmark. The shear connecting system made of a BFRP grid...... is described and provides information on the structural design with its advantages. Experimental and numerical investigations of the BFRP connecting systems were performed. The experimental program included testing of small scale specimens by applying shear (push-off) loading and semi-full scale specimens...... on finite element modelling showed that the developed panel system meets the objectives of the research and is expected to have promising future....
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Dunleavy, Kim; Kubo Slowik, Amy
2012-02-01
Sexual violence has been identified as one of the most common predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This case report describes the emergence of delayed PTSD symptoms, disclosure of history of sexual trauma, and the influence of re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms on physical therapy treatment. A 60-year-old woman was seen for treatment of low back pain. of a discord between fear of falling and no balance impairments led to disclosure of sexual assault by a physician at 19 years of age. The patient's PTSD symptoms emerged after 10 weeks of physical therapy. The physical therapists monitored somatic responses and body language closely and modified and planned treatment techniques to avoid PTSD triggers and limit hyperarousal. Collaborative communication approaches included reinforcement of cognitive-behavioral strategies introduced by her psychotherapists. Trauma-cognizant approaches supported the patient's efforts to manage PTSD symptoms sufficiently to tolerate physical therapy and participate in a back care class. Nonlinear psychological healing is illustrated. Symptoms of PTSD may emerge during physical therapy treatment, and patient-sensitive responses to disclosure are important. The trauma-cognizant approach (2-way communication, patient-centered management, and integration of psychological elements into clinical decision making) helped identify and respond to triggers. The physical therapists reinforced cognitive-behavioral strategies introduced by psychotherapists to manage PTSD symptoms. Patient-centered care with further refinement to a trauma-cognizant approach may play an important role in assisting patients with PTSD or a history of sexual trauma to manage symptoms while addressing rehabilitation needs.
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Verbal Therapeutic Behavior of Expert Psychoanalytically Oriented, Gestalt, and Behavior Therapists.
Brunink, Sharon A.; Schroeder, Harold E.
1979-01-01
Findings indicated that expert therapists were similar in their communication of empathy, the basis for their therapeutic relationships. Theoretical orientation, however, differentially influenced use of direct guidance and facilitative techniques, interview content, therapist self-disclosure, therapist initiative, and supportive therapy climate.…
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LABORATORY EVALUATION ON PERFORMANCE OF GLASS FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC MORTAR PIPE CULVERTS
Huawang Shi; Lianyu Wei
2018-01-01
This paper investigated the performance and behaviour of glass fiber reinforced plastic mortar (FRPM) pipes under different loading conditions. FRPM pipes with inner diameter of 1500 mm were prefabricated in factory. Mechanics performance testing (ring and axial compressive strength and elastic modulus), stiffness and fatigue test were carried out in laboratory. Ring stiffness test provided pipe stiffness (PS) which is a function of geometry and material type of pipe through parallel plate lo...
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The Therapist as Director of the Family Drama.
Andolfi, Maurizio; Angelo, Claudio
1981-01-01
Compares the therapist's function to that of a theatrical director who revises a play, the family drama, which the actors continue to recite according to an old script with a foregone conclusion. To achieve his goal, the therapist uses certain contextual elements to construct an alternative 'reading' of events. (Author)
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PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT (ACQUISITION) EFFECTS WITHIN SUBJECTS.
AMSEL, A; MACKINNON, J R; RASHOTTE, M E; SURRIDGE, C T
1964-03-01
Acquisition performance of 22 rats in a straight alley runway was examined. The animals were subjected to partial reinforcement when the alley was black (B+/-) and continuous reinforcement when it was white (W+). The results indicated (a) higher terminal performance, for partial as against continuous reinforcement conditions, for starting-time and running-time measures, and (b) lower terminal performance under partial conditions for a goal-entry-time measure. These results confirm within subjects an effect previously demonstrated, in the runway, only in between-groups tests, where one group is run under partial reinforcement and a separate group is run under continuous reinforcement in the presence of the same external stimuli. Differences between the runway situation, employing a discrete-trial procedure and performance measures at three points in the response chain, and the Skinner box situation, used in its free-operant mode with a single performance measure, are discussed in relation to the present findings.
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Performance evaluation of HSC beams with low flexural reinforcement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
T.M. Elrakib
2013-04-01
Full Text Available The main objective of the current research is to establish experimental data for minimum flexural reinforcement, ρmin, of high strength concrete (HSC rectangular beams. Nine full-scale singly reinforced beams with flexural reinforcement ratios varying from 50% to 100% of the minimum limit specified by the ACI 363R-35were tested in flexure. Concrete compressive strengths of 52, 73 and 96.5 MPa were used. The test results including crack patterns, deflections and strains in the tensile flexural steel bars show that a 25% reduction of the ACI 363R-35 limit for the ρmin would result in a satisfactory flexural beam behavior with a reserve flexural parameter (Py,/Pcr ⩾ 1.29 and a displacement ductility index λΔ > 5 for all concrete grades which may lead to good savings in the amount of the flexural reinforcement. Also, it was noted that the displacement ductility index λΔ increased as the concrete compressive strength increased for the same ratio (ρ/ρmin up to 75 MPa and then decreases as fcu increases. For the same concrete compressive strength with low values of flexural reinforcement ratio, ρ, the displacement ductility index λΔ increased as ρ increased. The experimental results of this study were compared with the limits specified by available codes and researches.
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Salvatori, Penny; Simonavicius, Nijole; Moore, Joan; Rimmer, Georgina; Patterson, Michele
2008-02-01
Program management models have raised concerns among occupational therapists about professional standards related to clinical competence, performance review procedures, and quality improvement initiatives. This paper describes how a chart-stimulated recall (CSR) peer-review process and interview tool was revised, implemented, and evaluated as a pilot project to assess the clinical competence of occupational therapy staff at a large urban health centre in southern Ontario. Fourteen pairs (n=28) of occupational therapists representing various practice areas participated in this project. Half served as peer assessors and half as interviewees. Peer assessors conducted an independent chart review followed by a one-hour personal interview with a peer partner to discuss clinical management issues related to the client cases. Each interviewer rated his or her partner's clinical competence in eight areas of performance using a 7-point Likert scale. Results indicated that the CSR tool could discriminate among occupational therapists in terms of overall levels of clinical competence and also identify specific areas of concern that could be targeted for professional development. Feedback from participants was positive. The CSR tool was found to be useful for assessing clinical competence of occupational therapists in this large health centre as a quality improvement initiative within that discipline group. Further research is needed to establish the reliability and validity of the CSR tool.
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Attitudes of speech and language therapists towards stammering: 1985 and 2000.
Crichton-Smith, Isobel; Wright, Jannet; Stackhouse, Joy
2003-01-01
Past research has indicated that speech and language therapists hold some negative attitudes towards people who stammer, their parents and the treatment of stammering. However, studies on attitudes towards stammering have predominantly focussed on therapists in the USA. Recent trends towards earlier intervention suggest that more therapists in the UK will be involved in working with stammering. This study aimed to gather current attitudes of therapists in the UK and to compare them with attitudes measured 15 years previously. It also considered the impact of postgraduate training on attitudes and examined the attitudes of therapists trained in the Lidcombe Programme. The attitudes of 261 speech and language therapists were measured in a postal survey using the Clinician Attitudes Toward Stuttering (CATS) Inventory. The survey revealed an increase in positive attitudes towards early intervention and a reduction in negative attitudes towards people who stammer since the CATS inventory was carried out in 1985. An analysis of generalist and specialist attitudes revealed that generalists were unsure about appropriate treatments to use with people who stammer. Therapists trained in the Lidcombe Programme held some different attitudes about early intervention, people who stammer and the treatment of stammering; however, they continued to view parental counselling as a critical factor in the treatment of the preschool child. The survey indicated that although therapists were more positive about some aspects of stammering, the treatment of stammering remains a complex issue. All therapists working with clients who stammer would therefore benefit from undertaking ongoing professional development in this area such as additional training, liaison with colleagues and joining a special interest group.
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Emotional congruence between clients and therapists and its effect on treatment outcome.
Atzil-Slonim, Dana; Bar-Kalifa, Eran; Fisher, Hadar; Peri, Tuvia; Lutz, Wolfgang; Rubel, Julian; Rafaeli, Eshkol
2018-01-01
The present study aimed to (a) explore 2 indices of emotional congruence-temporal similarity and directional discrepancy-between clients' and therapists' ratings of their emotions as they cofluctuate session-by-session; and (b) examine whether client/therapist emotional congruence predicts clients' symptom relief and improved functioning. The sample comprised 109 clients treated by 62 therapists in a university setting. Clients and therapists self-reported their negative (NE) and positive emotions (PE) after each session. Symptom severity and functioning level were assessed at the beginning of each session using the clients' self-reports. To assess emotional congruence, an adaptation of West and Kenny's (2011) Truth and Bias model was applied. To examine the consequences of emotional congruence, polynomial regression, and response surface analyses were conducted (Edwards & Parry, 1993). Clients and therapists were temporally similar in both PE and NE. Therapists experienced less intense PE on average, but did not experience more or less intense NE than their clients. Those therapists who experienced more intense NE than their clients were more temporally similar in their emotions to their clients. Therapist/client incongruence in both PE and NE predicted poorer next-session symptomatology; incongruence in PE was also associated with lower client next-session functioning. Session-level symptoms were better when therapists experienced more intense emotions (both PE and NE) than their clients. The findings highlight the importance of recognizing the dynamic nature of emotions in client-therapist interactions and the contribution of session-by-session emotional dynamics to outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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... our resources for healthy running. Go There » Why Physical Therapy? Avoid Opioids Benefits of Physical Therapy About PTs & PTAs Did You Know? Patient ... There are numerous benefits to treatment by a physical therapist. Go There » For Patients Choosing Your PT ...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fabíola Maria Sabino Meireles
2013-03-01
Full Text Available Objective: To characterize the main strategies and parameters used by physical therapists in difficult mechanical ventilation weaning. Methods: Cross-sectional study including all the physical therapists working in adult Intensive Care Units in three public hospitals in Fortaleza-CE. A questionnaire with closed questions related to difficult mechanical ventilation weaning was applied, with either one or multiple answers. The data was treated with descriptive and non-parametric analysis. Results: Among the parameters mostly used by the 56 interviewed physical therapists for the difficult weaning, were found: current volume reduction (26 - 46.4% and desaturation during aspiration (17 - 30.4%. It was observed that 38 (67.9% alternate T-tube and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP as strategies for difficult weaning, and 28 (50% reported reducing the pressure support. There was no statistical difference between the strategies used in the studied hospitals, neither correlation between strategies and parameters. Conclusion: It was found that physical therapists have been performing similar strategies, which are also shown in the literature, but this is not the case with the parameters. The parameters used are not supported by the literature.
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Geo synthetic-reinforced Pavement systems
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zornberg, J. G.
2014-01-01
Geo synthetics have been used as reinforcement inclusions to improve pavement performance. while there are clear field evidence of the benefit of using geo synthetic reinforcements, the specific conditions or mechanisms that govern the reinforcement of pavements are, at best, unclear and have remained largely unmeasured. Significant research has been recently conducted with the objectives of: (i) determining the relevant properties of geo synthetics that contribute to the enhanced performance of pavement systems, (ii) developing appropriate analytical, laboratory and field methods capable of quantifying the pavement performance, and (iii) enabling the prediction of pavement performance as a function of the properties of the various types of geo synthetics. (Author)
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Patient-Therapist Value Congruence and Ratings of Client Improvement
Martini, Janie L.
1978-01-01
It can be concluded from the results of the two studies described here that value similarity between client and therapist is related to therapists' ratings of client improvement. This phenomenon can be expected in therapies irrespective of theoretical orientation. (Author)
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Brauhardt, Anne; de Zwaan, Martina; Herpertz, Stephan; Zipfel, Stephan; Svaldi, Jennifer; Friederich, Hans-Christoph; Hilbert, Anja
2014-10-01
While cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most well-established treatment for binge-eating disorder (BED), little is known about process factors influencing its outcome. The present study sought to explore the assessment of therapist adherence, its course over treatment, and its associations with patient and therapist characteristics, and the therapeutic alliance. In a prospective multicenter randomized-controlled trial comparing CBT to internet-based guided self-help (INTERBED-study), therapist adherence using the newly developed Adherence Control Form (ACF) was determined by trained raters in randomly selected 418 audio-taped CBT sessions of 89 patients (25% of all sessions). Observer-rated therapeutic alliance, interview-based and self-reported patient and therapist characteristics were assessed. Three-level multilevel modeling was applied. The ACF showed adequate psychometric properties. Therapist adherence was excellent. While significant between-therapist variability in therapist adherence was found, within-therapist variability was non-significant. Patient and therapist characteristics did not predict the therapist adherence. The therapist adherence positively predicted the therapeutic alliance. The ACF demonstrated its utility to assess therapist adherence in CBT for BED. The excellent levels of therapist adherence point to the internal validity of the CBT within the INTERBED-study serving as a prerequisite for empirical comparisons between treatments. Variability between therapists should be addressed in therapist trainings and dissemination trials. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Daniela B. R. Silva
2013-10-01
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated the importance of using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS to classify gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy, but the reliability of the expanded and revised version has not been examined in Brazil (GMFCS E & R. OBJECTIVE:: To determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Portuguese-Brazil version of the GMFCS E & R applied by therapists and compare to classification provided by parents of children with cerebral palsy. METHOD: Data were obtained from 90 children with cerebral palsy, aged 4 to 18 years old, attending the neurology or rehabilitation service of a Brazilian hospital. Therapists classified the children's motor function using the GMFCS E & R and parents used the Brazilian Portuguese version of the GMFCS Family Report Questionnaire. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was obtained through percentage agreement and Cohen's unweighted Kappa statistics (k. The Chi-square test was used to identify significant differences in the classification of parents and therapists. RESULTS: Almost perfect agreement was reached between the therapists [K=0.90 (95% confidence interval 0.83-0.97] and intra-raters (therapists with K=1.00 [95% confidence interval (1.00-1.00], p<0.001. Agreement between therapists and parents was substantial (k=0.716, confidence interval 0.596-0.836, though parents classify gross motor impairment more severely than therapists (p=0.04. CONCLUSIONS: The Portuguese version of the GMFCS E & R is reliable for use by parents and therapists. Parents tend to classify their children's limitations more severely, because they know their performance in different environments.
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Theoretical and numerical analysis of reinforced concrete beams with confinement reinforcement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
R. G. Delalibera
Full Text Available This paper discusses the use of confinement in over-reinforced concrete beams. This reinforcement consists of square stirrups, placed in the compression zone of the beam cross-section, in order to improve its ductility. A parametric numerical study is initially performed, using a finite element computational program that considers the material nonlinearities and the confinement effect. To investigate the influence of the transverse reinforcing ratio on the beam ductility, an experimental program was also conducted. Four over-reinforced beams were tested; three beam specimens with additional transverse reinforcement to confine the beams, and one without it. All specimens were fabricated with a concrete designed for a compressive strength of 25 MPa. The experimental results show that the post-peak ductility factor is proportional to the confining reinforcement ratio, however the same is not observed for the pre-peak ductility factor, which varied randomly with changes in the confining reinforcement ratio. It was also observed from the experiments that the confinement effect tends to be smaller close to the beam neutral axis.
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van Oppen, Patricia; van Balkom, Anton J L M; Smit, Johannes H; Schuurmans, Josien; van Dyck, Richard; Emmelkamp, Paul M G
2010-09-01
The importance of the therapist's education and experience for the successful behavior treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has not been investigated. Data on the relative effectiveness of self-controlled versus therapist-controlled in vivo exposure with response or ritual prevention (ERP) have yielded conflicting results. The present study compared the effectiveness of 4 different modes of delivery of ERP in a referred sample of OCD patients. Of the 146 eligible OCD outpatients, 118 patients enrolled in this randomized controlled trial and were randomly assigned to (1) therapist-controlled ERP performed by experienced behavior therapists; (2) therapist-controlled ERP performed by master's students of clinical psychology; (3) self-controlled ERP performed by experienced behavior therapists; and (4) self-controlled ERP performed by master's students of clinical psychology. This trial was performed from January 1999 to January 2005. Our analyses revealed no significant differences in clinical outcome between any of the different modes of delivery of ERP at posttreatment. The different ERP modes of delivery were associated with significant pretreatment to posttreatment improvement on all measurements, with large effect sizes on the primary outcome measure, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Our results indicate that clinically inexperienced master's students with no postgraduate training can be as capable as experienced and certified behavior therapists in treating OCD patients, as long as therapists adhere to a standardized treatment manual and adequate training and supervision is provided. In contrast to other studies, we did not find a supposed benefit of therapist-controlled ERP versus self-controlled ERP in patients with OCD. www.trialregister.nl Identifier: NTR1444. © Copyright 2010 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hawileh, R.A.
2015-01-01
Highlights: • Modeling of concrete beams reinforced steel and FRP bars. • Developed finite element models achieved good results. • The models are validated via comparison with experimental results. • Parametric studies are performed. - Abstract: Corrosion of steel bars has an adverse effect on the life-span of reinforced concrete (RC) members and is usually associated with crack development in RC beams. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars have been recently used to reinforce concrete members in flexure due to their high tensile strength and superior corrosion resistance properties. However, FRP materials are brittle in nature, thus RC beams reinforced with such materials would exhibit a less ductile behavior when compared to similar members reinforced with conventional steel reinforcement. Recently, researchers investigated the performance of concrete beams reinforced with a hybrid combination of steel and Aramid Fiber Reinforced Polymer (AFRP) reinforcement to maintain a reasonable level of ductility in such members. The function of the AFRP bars is to increase the load-carrying capacity, while the function of the steel bars is to ensure ductility of the flexural member upon yielding in tension. This paper presents a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model that predicted the load versus mid-span deflection response of tested RC beams conducted by other researchers with a hybrid combination of steel and AFRP bars. The developed FE models account for the constituent material nonlinearities and bond–slip behavior between the reinforcing bars and adjacent concrete surfaces. It was concluded that the developed models can accurately capture the behavior and predicts the load-carrying capacity of such RC members. In addition, a parametric study is conducted using the validated models to investigate the effect of AFRP bar size, FRP material type, bond–slip action, and concrete compressive strength on the performance of concrete beams when reinforced
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Therapist reactions in self-experienced difficult situations: an exploration
Smith, A.J.M.; Kleijn, W.C.; Hutschemaekers, G.J.M.
2007-01-01
This article describes a qualitative study of 63 difficult therapeutic situations described by 26 therapists. The study was part of research on specific reactions of therapists to traumatized clients. The research questions for the current analyses focused on the categorization of difficult
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Learning management by self-employed occupational therapists in private practice.
Millsteed, Jeannine; Redmond, Janice; Walker, Elizabeth
2017-04-01
This study explored how occupational therapists in private practice developed the business skills needed to operate a successful private practice. The literature shows that many small-business owner-managers have poorly developed business skills, and some experience high rates of failure. This indicates that to be successful in private practice, occupational therapists need to gain mastery of management competencies in addition to their professional clinical competencies. A qualitative study, using in-depth interviews, collected data from twenty-six self-employed occupational therapists on their experiences of becoming a small-business owner-manager. A narrative analysis built an understanding about how these therapists developed their business competencies. Analysis revealed the factors affecting the development of business competencies were interactions between the initial motivations for start-up, growth aspirations and engagement with external business environments. Business competencies developed through a combination of formal learning prior to starting their businesses, and informal learning once their businesses were in operation. Lower level learning occurred in the routine and operational processes, with higher level learning through discontinuous events resulting in a transformation in the therapists' understanding about themselves as business owner-managers. Findings led to a proposition that occupational therapists make the transition to becoming successful small-business owner-manager through management learning that includes elements of self-reflection, identifying environmental opportunities and risks, developing capabilities, and strategic planning for growth and development. It provides insights on what occupational therapists need to consider to become successful small-business owner-managers. © 2016 Occupational Therapy Australia.
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An Exploration of Feminist Family Therapists' Resistance to and Collusion with Oppression
Goodwin, Annabelle Michelle
2011-01-01
In this study, I explore the ways in which feminist family therapists encourage exploration of, resistance to, and collusion with, oppression. I explore qualitatively the critical dialogues, both inner, and with others, that feminist family therapists employ to address oppressive systems. My research questions are: a. How do family therapists who identify as feminist describe how their feminist identities and ideas about feminism have evolved over time? b. How do feminist family therapists re...
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Influence of physical therapists' kinesiophobic beliefs on lifting capacity in healthy adults
Jorna-Lakke, Sandra; Soer, Remko; Krijnen, Wim; van der Schans, Cees; Reneman, Michiel; Geertzen, Jan
2015-01-01
BACKGROUND: Physical therapists' recommendations to patients to avoid daily physical activity can be influenced by the therapists' kinesiophobic beliefs. Little is known about the amount of influence of a physical therapist's kinesiophobic beliefs on a patient's actual lifting capacity during a
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The effect of congruence in patient and therapist alliance on patient's symptomatic levels.
Zilcha-Mano, Sigal; Snyder, John; Silberschatz, George
2017-05-01
The ability of alliance to predict outcome has been widely demonstrated, but less is known about the effect of the level of congruence between patient and therapist alliance ratings on outcome. In the current study we examined whether the degree of congruence between patient and therapist alliance ratings can predict symptomatic levels 1 month later in treatment. The sample consisted of 127 patient-therapist dyads. Patients and therapists reported on their alliance levels, and patients reported their symptomatic levels 1 month later. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis were used to examine congruence. Findings suggest that when the congruence level of patient and therapist alliance ratings was not taken into account, only the therapist's alliance served as a significant predictor of symptomatic levels. But when the degree of congruence between patient and therapist alliance ratings was considered, the degree of congruence was a significant predictor of symptomatic levels 1 month later in treatment. Findings support the importance of the level of congruence between patient and therapist alliance ratings in predicting patient's symptomatic levels.
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Patient affect experiencing following therapist interventions in short-term dynamic psychotherapy.
Town, Joel M; Hardy, Gillian E; McCullough, Leigh; Stride, Chris
2012-01-01
The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between therapist interventions and patient affect responses in Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (STDP). The Affect Experiencing subscale from the Achievement of Therapeutic Objectives Scale (ATOS) was adapted to measure individual immediate affect experiencing (I-AES) responses in relation to therapist interventions coded within the preceding speaking turn, using the Psychotherapy Interaction Coding (PIC) system. A hierarchical linear modelling procedure was used to assess the change in affect experiencing and the relationship between affect experiencing and therapist interventions within and across segments of therapy. Process data was taken from six STDP cases; in total 24 hours of video-taped sessions were examined. Therapist interventions were found to account for a statistically significant amount of variance in immediate affect experiencing. Higher levels of immediate affect experiencing followed the therapist's use of Confrontation, Clarification and Support compared to Questions, Self-disclosure and Information interventions. Therapist Confrontation interventions that attempted to direct pressure towards either the visceral experience of affect or a patient's defences against feelings led to the highest levels of immediate affect experiencing. The type of therapist intervention accounts for a small but significant amount of the variation observed in a patient's immediate emotional arousal. Empirical findings support clinical theory in STDP that suggests strategic verbal responses promote the achievement of this specific therapeutic objective.
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The role of supervision in the training of behavior therapists: Case study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Raquel Martins Sartori
2014-08-01
Full Text Available The therapeutic process therapist requires skills that go beyond the theoretical and technical knowledge, the therapeutic relationship is a prerequisite for the success of behavioral psychotherapy variable. Supervision of clinical care is a fundamental skill development of the future therapist educational resource as well as to increase the supply conditions of a more appropriate psychotherapeutic customer service. The article reports on supervisory experience in the first client of a therapist in training showed behavioral patterns of aggression. The default client produced in therapist behaviors and feelings that hindered progress and therapeutic success. Supervision thus occupied a role in analyzing and modeling the behavior therapist as a strategy to increase the chances of success of the case. As a result of the strategies adopted in supervision, there were changes in the pattern of interaction between therapist and client training with his progress in the case.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Orbovic, Nebojsa; Sagals, Genadijs; Blahoianu, Andrei
2015-01-01
This paper describes the work conducted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) related to the influence of transverse reinforcement on perforation capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs under “hard” missile impact (impact with negligible missile deformations). The paper presents the results of three tests on reinforced concrete slabs conducted at VTT Technical Research Centre (Finland), along with the numerical simulations as well as a discussion of the current code provisions related to impactive loading. Transverse reinforcement is widely used for improving the shear and punching strength of concrete structures. However, the effect of this reinforcement on the perforation resistance under localized missile impact is still unclear. The goal of this paper is to fill the gap in the current literature related to this topic. Based on similar tests designed by the authors with missile velocity below perforation velocity, it was expected that transverse reinforcement would improve the perforation resistance. Three slabs were tested under almost identical conditions with the only difference being the transverse reinforcement. One slab was designed without transverse reinforcement, the second one with the transverse reinforcement in form of conventional stirrups with hooks and the third one with the transverse reinforcement in form of T-headed bars. Although the transverse reinforcement reduced the overall damage of the slabs (the rear face scabbing), the conclusion from the tests is that the transverse reinforcement does not have important influence on perforation capacity of concrete slabs under rigid missile impact. The slab with T-headed bars presented a slight improvement compared to the baseline specimen without transverse reinforcement. The slab with conventional stirrups presented slightly lower perforation capacity (higher residual missile velocity) than the slab without transverse reinforcement. In conclusion, the performed tests show slightly
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Usage evaluation of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) among Brazilian physical therapists.
Elkins, Mark R; Moseley, Anne M; Pinto, Rafael Z
2015-01-01
It is unclear whether the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) is widely and equally used by physical therapists in Brazil. As PEDro is considered a key resource to support evidence-based physical therapy, analyses of PEDro usage could reflect the extent of dissemination of evidence-based practice. To describe the usage of PEDro among the five regions of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) and, in more detail, in the South American region and Brazil over a 5-year period. PEDro home-page sessions and the number of searches performed were logged for a 5-year period (2010-2014). Absolute usage and relative usage were calculated for each region of the WCPT, each country in the South American region of WCPT, and each Regional Council (CREFITO) in Brazil. Europe had the highest absolute and relative usage among the five regions of the WCPT (971 searches per million-population per year), with the South American region ranked 4th in absolute terms and 3rd in relative terms (486). Within the South American region, Brazil accounted for nearly 60% of searches (755). Analysis at a national level revealed that usage per physical therapist in Brazil is very low across all CREFITOs. The highest usage occurred in CREFITO 6 with 1.3 searches per physical therapist per year. PEDro is not widely and equally used throughout Brazil. Strategies to promote PEDro and to make PEDro more accessible to physical therapists speaking Portuguese are needed.
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Feminist Therapy: A Comparative Study of Therapists and Clients.
Curtin, Catherine A.
Little research in the existing literature attempts to define feminist therapy by incorporating the specific experiences and philosophies of those who describe themselves as feminist therapists. Even less information is available about the perceptions of their clients. Therapists and their clients answered questions about the theoretical…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rodrigo Alves dos Santos Silva
2014-09-01
Full Text Available Primary Health Care - ABS plays a key role among the public policies of the Brazilian Unified Health System - SUS, and it is guided by the Family Health Strategy - ESF. In this context, the Family Health Support Centers - NASF were created by the Health Ordinance No. 154 of 24 Jan. 2008, with the aim of expanding the action of ABS, and its importance was reaffirmed by the Health Ordinance No. 2, 488, dated 21 Oct. 2011, which revoked the first one but did not alter the assignments of the NASF professionals and consolidated teamwork as a priority for the reorganization of ABS in Brazil. In this context, the objective of this research was to understand the approach of Occupational Therapists in the Family Health Support Centers in Alagoas state. This is a qualitative study which uses a self-responsive questionnaire, structured by researchers, containing an open question where Occupational Therapists could describe their work in the NASF. All subjects agreed to participate. The responses were interpreted reflectively by researchers seeking contribution to the initial concepts of the working process of Occupational Therapists at the NASFs. In this study, the occupational therapist described the realization of preventive, promotion and education actions in health, as well as actions of rehabilitation, mental health and performance in Activities of Daily Living (ADL and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL. Thus, the NASF strategy places the Occupational Therapist in search for ways and strategies to perform a collective practice.
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Seismic Performance of High-Ductile Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Short Columns
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mingke Deng
2018-01-01
Full Text Available This study mainly aims to investigate the effectiveness of high-ductile fiber-reinforced concrete (HDC as a means to enhance the seismic performance of short columns. Six HDC short columns and one reinforced concrete (RC short column were designed and tested under lateral cyclic loading. The influence of the material type (concrete or HDC, axial load, stirrup ratio, and shear span ratio on crack patterns, hysteresis behavior, shear strength, deformation capacity, energy dissipation, and stiffness degradation was presented and discussed, respectively. The test results show that the RC short column failed in brittle shear with poor energy dissipation, while using HDC to replace concrete can effectively improve the seismic behavior of the short columns. Compared with the RC short column, the shear strength of HDC specimens was improved by 12.6–30.2%, and the drift ratio and the energy dissipation increases were 56.9–88.5% and 237.7–336.7%, respectively, at the ultimate displacement. Additionally, the prediction model of the shear strength for RC columns based on GB50010-2010 (Chinese code can be safely adopted to evaluate the shear strength of HDC short columns.
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Therapist effects on dropout from a college counseling center practice research network.
Xiao, Henry; Castonguay, Louis G; Janis, Rebecca A; Youn, Soo Jeong; Hayes, Jeffrey A; Locke, Benjamin D
2017-07-01
Dropout has been a pervasive and costly problem in psychotherapy, particularly for college counseling centers. The present study examined potential predictors of dropout using a large data set (N = 10,147 clients, 481 therapists) that was gathered through a college counseling center practice research network as a replication and extension of recent findings regarding therapist effects on dropout. The final model resulted in a dropout rate of 15.9% and a therapist effect of 9.51% on dropout variance. Therapist demographic variables were investigated, though none were found to be significant. Variables found to be predictive of increased likelihood of dropping out included higher levels of general presenting concerns, alcohol-related distress, and current financial stress. Ultimately, this study showed that therapists may play an important role in the likelihood of client dropout, and that additional research should be conducted to identify additional predictors, particularly at the therapist and center level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Swisher, Laura Lee; Hiller, Peggy
2010-05-01
In June 2009, the House of Delegates (HOD) of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) passed a major revision of the APTA Code of Ethics for physical therapists and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant. The revised documents will be effective July 1, 2010. The purposes of this article are: (1) to provide a historical, professional, and theoretical context for this important revision; (2) to describe the 4-year revision process; (3) to examine major features of the documents; and (4) to discuss the significance of the revisions from the perspective of the maturation of physical therapy as a doctoring profession. PROCESS OF REVISION: The process for revision is delineated within the context of history and the Bylaws of APTA. FORMAT, STRUCTURE, AND CONTENT OF REVISED CORE ETHICS DOCUMENTS: The revised documents represent a significant change in format, level of detail, and scope of application. Previous APTA Codes of Ethics and Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant have delineated very broad general principles, with specific obligations spelled out in the Ethics and Judicial Committee's Guide for Professional Conduct and Guide for Conduct of the Physical Therapist Assistant. In contrast to the current documents, the revised documents address all 5 roles of the physical therapist, delineate ethical obligations in organizational and business contexts, and align with the tenets of Vision 2020. The significance of this revision is discussed within historical parameters, the implications for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, the maturation of the profession, societal accountability and moral community, potential regulatory implications, and the inclusive and deliberative process of moral dialogue by which changes were developed, revised, and approved.
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Health promotion through employee assistance programs: a role for occupational therapists.
Maynard, M
1986-11-01
Health promotion is predicted to have a major impact on occupational therapy practice. Keeping people well and promoting a healthy life-style will be the focus for the future. Many companies and agencies are taking the lead by instituting employee assistance programs (EAPs). With the de-emphasis on long-term hospital care, many occupational therapists will be seeking employment with community health programs. This paper advocates a role for occupational therapists in health promotion and disease prevention in an EAP. A description of EAPs and the contributions that occupational therapists can make to these programs is offered. Practice and education considerations for occupational therapists' roles in EAPs are provided.
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Brewer, Wayne; Ogbazi, Raluchukwu; Ohl, Devan; Daniels, Jeffry; Ortiz, Alexis
2016-06-16
Physical therapists (PTs) work in a variety of healthcare settings with varied levels of physical activity demands placed on them. The purpose of this study is to compare the physical activity (PA) levels between PTs in inpatient versus outpatient environments for one work week using a cross-sectional design. Sixty-one PTs (30 inpatient, 31 outpatient) wore a tri-axial accelerometer and inclinometer for one work-week. The number steps-per-day, PA intensities, energy expenditures and postural positions adopted during the work day were recorded. Significantly longer amounts of time spent sitting was found for inpatient PTs regardless of the significantly higher number of steps-per-day. Outpatient PTs had a higher number of breaks from sedentary activity with those breaks being longer than the inpatient PTs. The percentage of time spent performing moderate-vigorous PA approached significance implying more time was spent performing these types of activities for outpatient PTs. The energy expenditures between the two groups of PTs were not different. This study compared the differences in physical activity levels between physical therapists who worked at inpatient versus outpatient environment as little is known about their activity levels. Inpatient physical therapists took more steps per day than outpatient physical therapists but the outpatient physical therapists were less sedentary and took more frequent and longer breaks from sedentary activities. The energy expenditures were similar between both types of therapists and this may be reflective of the gender and bodyweight differences between the groups that equalizes the energy expenditures. The findings of this study suggests that there are differences in the physical activity demands between inpatient and outpatient physical therapists. The results of this study may serve dual purposes: (1) employers may be able to more accurately describe the expected physical activity demands to future employees; (2
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Communication skills training for radiation therapists: preparing patients for radiation therapy.
Halkett, Georgia; O'Connor, Moira; Aranda, Sanchia; Jefford, Michael; Merchant, Susan; York, Debra; Miller, Lisa; Schofield, Penelope
2016-12-01
Patients sometimes present for radiation therapy with high levels of anxiety. Communication skills training may assist radiation therapists to conduct more effective consultations with patients prior to treatment planning and treatment commencement. The overall aim of our research is to examine the effectiveness of a preparatory programme 'RT Prepare' delivered by radiation therapists to reduce patient psychological distress. The purpose of this manuscript was to describe the communication skills workshops developed for radiation therapists and evaluate participants' feedback. Radiation therapists were invited to participate in two communication skills workshops run on the same day: (1) Consultation skills in radiation therapy and (2) Eliciting and responding to patients' emotional cues. Evaluation forms were completed. Radiation therapists' consultations with patients were then audio-recorded and evaluated prior to providing a follow-up workshop with participants. Nine full day workshops were held. Sixty radiation therapists participated. Positive feedback was received for both workshops with 88% or more participants agreeing or strongly agreeing with all the statements about the different components of the two workshops. Radiation therapists highlighted participating in role play with an actor, discussing issues; receiving feedback; acquiring new skills and knowledge; watching others role play and practicing with checklist were their favourite aspects of the initial workshop. The follow-up workshops provided radiation therapists with feedback on how they identified and addressed patients' psychological concerns; time spent with patients during consultations and the importance of finding private space for consultations. Communication skills training consisting of preparing patients for radiation therapy and eliciting and responding to emotional cues with follow-up workshops has the potential to improve radiation therapists' interactions with patients undergoing
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Vidal Sarmiento, E.; Hendriks, M.A.N.; Geiker, M. R.; Kanstad, T.
2016-01-01
Most recent studies on fibre-reinforced self-compacting concrete agree on the impact of the casting conditions on the fibre orientation and distribution, and its consequence thereof on the structural performance. A substantial number of investigations are continuously contributing to gain experience
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The experiences of private somatology therapists on their self ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Informed consent was granted by the private somatology practices and the therapists. One of the themes indicated that self-management strategies should be displayed, in order to gain a sense of control. The study identified that there is a definite need to nurture the therapist within this demanding working environment ...
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Anderson, Timothy; Crowley, Mary Ellen J; Himawan, Lina; Holmberg, Jennifer K; Uhlin, Brian D
2016-09-01
Therapist effects, independent of the treatment provided, have emerged as a contributor to psychotherapy outcomes. However, past research largely has not identified which therapist factors might be contributing to these effects, though research on psychotherapy implicates relational characteristics. The present Randomized Clinical Trial tested the efficacy of therapists who were selected by their facilitative interpersonal skills (FIS) and training status. Sixty-five clients were selected from 2713 undergraduates using a screening and clinical interview procedure. Twenty-three therapists met with 2 clients for 7 sessions and 20 participants served in a no-treatment control group. Outcome and alliance differences for Training Status were negligible. High FIS therapists had greater pre-post client outcome, and higher rates of change across sessions, than low FIS therapists. All clients treated by therapists improved more than the silent control, but effects were greater with high FIS than low FIS therapists. From the first session, high FIS therapists also had higher alliances than low FIS therapists as well as significant improvements on client-rated alliance. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that therapists' common relational skills are independent contributors to therapeutic alliance and outcome.
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Manual Ability Classification System (MACS: reliability between therapists and parents in Brazil
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Daniela B. R. Silva
2015-02-01
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Manual Ability Classification System (MACS has been widely used to describe the manual ability of children with cerebral palsy (CP; however its reliability has not been verified in Brazil. OBJECTIVE: To establish the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the Portuguese-Brazil version of the MACS by comparing the classifications given by therapists and parents of children with CP. METHOD: Data were obtained from 90 children with CP between the ages of 4 and 18 years, who were treated at the neurology and rehabilitation clinics of a Brazilian hospital. Therapists (an occupational therapist and a student classified manual ability (MACS through direct observation and information provided by parents. Therapists and parents used the Portuguese-Brazil version of the MACS. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was obtained using unweighted Kappa coefficient (k and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC. The Chi-square test was used to identify the predominance of disagreements in the classification of parents and therapists. RESULTS: An almost perfect agreement resulted among therapists [K=0.90 (95% CI 0.83-0.97; ICC=0.97 (95%CI 0.96-0.98], as well as with intra-rater (therapists, with Kappa ranging between 0.83 and 0.95 and ICC between 0.96 and 0.99 for the evaluator with more and less experience in rehabilitation, respectively. The agreement between therapists and parents was fair [K=0.36 (95% CI 0.22-0.50; ICC=0.79 (95% CI 0.70-0.86]. CONCLUSIONS: The Portuguese version of the MACS is a reliable instrument to be used jointly by parents and therapists.
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Peat, Tom; Galloway, Alexander; Toumpis, Athanasios; McNutt, Philip; Iqbal, Naveed
2017-02-01
This work reports on the erosion performance of three particle reinforced metal matrix composite coatings, co-deposited with an aluminium binder via cold-gas dynamic spraying. The deposition of ceramic particles is difficult to achieve with typical cold spray techniques due to the absence of particle deformation. This issue has been overcome in the present study by simultaneously spraying the reinforcing particles with a ductile metallic binder which has led to an increased level of ceramic/cermet particles deposited on the substrate with thick (>400 μm) coatings produced. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the erosion performance of the co-deposited coatings within a slurry environment. The study also incorporated standard metallographic characterisation techniques to evaluate the distribution of reinforcing particles within the aluminium matrix. All coatings exhibited poorer erosion performance than the uncoated material, both in terms of volume loss and mass loss. The Al2O3 reinforced coating sustained the greatest amount of damage following exposure to the slurry and recorded the greatest volume loss (approx. 2.8 mm3) out of all of the examined coatings. Despite the poor erosion performance, the WC-CoCr reinforced coating demonstrated a considerable hardness increase over the as-received AA5083 (approx. 400%) and also exhibited the smallest free space length between adjacent particles. The findings of this study reveal that the removal of the AA5083 matrix by the impinging silicon carbide particles acts as the primary wear mechanism leading to the degradation of the coating. Analysis of the wear scar has demonstrated that the damage to the soft matrix alloy takes the form of ploughing and scoring which subsequently exposes carbide/oxide particles to the impinging slurry.
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Dunleavy, Leah; Preissner, Katharine L; Finlayson, Marcia L
2013-12-01
Telehealth refers to the provision of health information and services across a geographical distance. Little is known about the experiences of occupational therapists using this method of service delivery. The study explored the process of facilitating a telehealth intervention from the perspective of occupational therapists. Occupational therapists completed SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) notes after facilitating group-based, teleconference-delivered fatigue management groups to people with multiple sclerosis. Notes were also documented after therapist team meetings. All SOAP notes and field notes were subjected to thematic analysis. Five major themes were identified. "Managing time" was the central theme and was facilitated by professional foundation and challenged by logistics. Managing time contributed to challenging work, which led to the realization that it can work! Based on study findings, the theory and research on clinical reasoning, professional development, and adult learning are relevant to developing curricula that prepare occupational therapists for using telehealth approaches in practice.
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Social constructionism and supervision: experiences of AAMFT supervisors and supervised therapists.
Hair, Heather J; Fine, Marshall
2012-10-01
A phenomenological research process was used to investigate the supervision experience for supervisors and therapists when supervisors use a social constructionist perspective. Participants of the one-to-one interviews were six AAMFT Approved Supervisors and six therapists providing counseling to individuals, couples and families. The findings suggest supervisors were committed to their self-identified supervision philosophy and intentionally sought out congruence between epistemology and practice. The shared experience of therapists indicates they associated desirable supervision experiences with their supervisors' social constructionist perspective. Our findings also indicated that supervisors' and therapists' understanding of social constructionism included the more controversial concepts of agency and extra-discursiveness. This research has taken an empirical step in the direction of understanding what the social constructionist supervision experience is like for supervisors and therapists. Our findings suggest a linkage between epistemology and supervision practice and a satisfaction with the supervision process. © 2012 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
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Determinants of lesbian and gay affirmative practice among heterosexual therapists.
Alessi, Edward J; Dillon, Frank R; Kim, Hillary Mi-Sung
2015-09-01
The current study tested a conceptual model based on social-cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), highlighting the influence of attitudes toward sexual minority individuals, training hours, affirmative counseling self-efficacy, and beliefs about affirmative practice on therapist engagement in lesbian and gay affirmative practice. We recruited via the Internet 443 heterosexual psychologists (n = 270), clinical social workers (n = 110), and marriage and family therapists (n = 63) residing in various parts of the United States. The majority of participants identified as female (70%) and White (88%). A path analysis indicated that beliefs and affirmative counseling self-efficacy mediated associations between attitudes and therapist engagement in affirmative practice. Furthermore, self-efficacy mediated the relation between training hours and engagement in affirmative practice. Results suggest that more affirmative attitudes are linked with higher levels of affirmative counseling self-efficacy and more positive beliefs, which in turn positively influences therapist engagement in affirmative practice. Additionally, more hours of training influence affirmative counseling self-efficacy, which in turn correlates with higher levels of therapist engagement in affirmative practice. The discussion includes implications for affirmative practice training. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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What Play Therapists Do within the Therapeutic Relationship of Humanistic/Non-Directive Play Therapy
Robinson, Sally
2011-01-01
Play therapists are increasingly being employed in schools, yet there is confusion among many health, education and social care practitioners about the role of play therapists. This paper explains how play therapists position themselves and what they do through an examination of the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and child. It…
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Khan, N.U.; Khan, B.
2012-01-01
Cement concrete pavements are used for heavy traffic loads throughout the world owing to its better and economical performance. Placing of a concrete overlay on the existing pavement is the most prevalent rehabilitating method for such pavements, however, the problem associated with the newly placed overlay is the occurrence of reflective cracking. This paper presents an assessment of the performance of polymeric concrete with synthetic fiber reinforcement against reflective cracking in an overlay system. The performance of polymeric concrete with synthetic fibers as an overlay material is measured in terms of the load-deflection, strain-deflection and load-strain behavior of beams of the polymeric concrete. For this purpose, five types of beams having different number of fiber wires and position are tested for flexure strength. Deflection/strains for each increment of load are recorded. In addition, cubes of plain concrete and of concrete with synthetic fiber needles were tested after 7 and 28 days for compressive strengths. Finite element models in ANSYS software for the beams have also been developed. Beams with greater number of longitudinal fiber wires displayed relatively better performance against deflection whilst beams with synthetic fiber needles showed better performance against strains. Thus, polymeric concrete overlay with fiber reinforcement will serve relatively better against occurrence of reflective cracking. (author)
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Apps in therapy: occupational therapists' use and opinions.
Seifert, Anna M; Stotz, Nicole; Metz, Alexia E
2017-11-01
To gather information on occupational therapy practitioners' use and opinions of apps, an online survey was distributed to occupational therapy practitioners licensed in the state of Ohio. The survey sought information regarding clinical populations and skill areas for which apps are used, potential barriers to use of apps and preferred apps/app features. OTs working in medical and education-based settings and with clients of all ages responded to the survey. Over half (53%) reported not using apps in therapy, with "not having access to the technology at work" being the leading reason endorsed. Of practitioners who did report using apps, the majority used them with ≤25% of their case load and primarily used tablets to do so. Clinicians indicated that they use apps for a wide variety of reasons, including to promote skill building and to support the therapeutic process. Preferred features included the ability to grade difficulty up/down, multiple uses and accurate feedback. Recommendations from peers were the most commonly reported way respondents found new apps. The results suggest that occupational therapy practitioners employ clinical reasoning when implementing apps in therapy. Possible ways to improve access to apps for therapists who would like to implement them are discussed. Implications for Rehabilitation Many occupational therapy practitioners are using apps with at least a portion of their caseloads. Therapists select apps based on peer recommendations, most commonly selecting those which promote skill building and support the therapeutic process. More therapists might make use of apps if potential barriers were reduced or eliminated, including availability of technology in the clinical practice setting, therapist training and education, therapist input into app development and an enhanced evidence base.
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Art Therapists' Emotional Reactions to the Demands of Technology
Asawa, Paige
2009-01-01
Art therapists increasingly are turning to educational and presentation technology to expand awareness of their field and to inform others in mental health care. This trend supports inquiry into how art therapists interact with and emotionally respond to the demands of technology. This paper presents a qualitative study that used 3 art-based focus…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Danielle E Levac
Full Text Available Therapists use motor learning strategies (MLSs to structure practice conditions within stroke rehabilitation. Virtual reality (VR-based rehabilitation is an MLS-oriented stroke intervention, yet little support exists to assist therapists in integrating MLSs with VR system use.A pre-post design evaluated a knowledge translation (KT intervention incorporating interactive e-learning and practice, in which 11 therapists learned how to integrate MLSs within VR-based therapy. Self-report and observer-rated outcome measures evaluated therapists' confidence, clinical reasoning and behaviour with respect to MLS use. A focus group captured therapists' perspectives on MLS use during VR-based therapy provision.The intervention improved self-reported confidence about MLS use as measured by confidence ratings (p <0.001. Chart-Stimulated Recall indicated a moderate level of competency in therapists' clinical reasoning about MLSs following the intervention, with no changes following additional opportunities to use VR (p = .944. On the Motor Learning Strategy Rating Instrument, no behaviour change with respect to MLS use was noted (p = 0.092. Therapists favoured the strategy of transferring skills from VR to real-life tasks over employing a more comprehensive MLS approach.The KT intervention improved therapists' confidence but did not have an effect on clinical reasoning or behaviour with regard to MLS use during VR-based therapy.
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Building Alliances with (In)Voluntary Clients: A Study Focused on Therapists' Observable Behaviors.
Sotero, Luciana; Cunha, Diana; da Silva, José Tomás; Escudero, Valentín; Relvas, Ana Paula
2017-12-01
This study aimed to compare therapists' observable behaviors to promote alliances with involuntary and voluntary clients during brief family therapy. The therapists' contributions to fostering alliances were rated in sessions 1 and 4 using videotapes of 29 families who were observed in brief therapy. Using the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances, trained raters searched for specific therapist behaviors that contributed to or detracted from the four alliance dimensions: engagement in the therapeutic process, an emotional connection with the therapist, safety within the therapeutic system, and a shared sense of purpose within the family. The results showed that when working with involuntary clients, therapists presented more behaviors to foster the clients' engagement and to promote a shared sense of purpose within the family. However, in the fourth session, the therapists in both groups contributed to the alliance in similar ways. The results are discussed in terms of (a) the therapists' alliance-building behaviors, (b) the specificities of each client group, and (c) the implications for clinical practice, training, and research. © 2016 Family Process Institute.
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Levac, Danielle E; Glegg, Stephanie M N; Sveistrup, Heidi; Colquhoun, Heather; Miller, Patricia; Finestone, Hillel; DePaul, Vincent; Harris, Jocelyn E; Velikonja, Diana
2016-01-01
Therapists use motor learning strategies (MLSs) to structure practice conditions within stroke rehabilitation. Virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation is an MLS-oriented stroke intervention, yet little support exists to assist therapists in integrating MLSs with VR system use. A pre-post design evaluated a knowledge translation (KT) intervention incorporating interactive e-learning and practice, in which 11 therapists learned how to integrate MLSs within VR-based therapy. Self-report and observer-rated outcome measures evaluated therapists' confidence, clinical reasoning and behaviour with respect to MLS use. A focus group captured therapists' perspectives on MLS use during VR-based therapy provision. The intervention improved self-reported confidence about MLS use as measured by confidence ratings (p behaviour change with respect to MLS use was noted (p = 0.092). Therapists favoured the strategy of transferring skills from VR to real-life tasks over employing a more comprehensive MLS approach. The KT intervention improved therapists' confidence but did not have an effect on clinical reasoning or behaviour with regard to MLS use during VR-based therapy.
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Teja, Akkineni Surya; Rajkumar, R.; Gokula Krishnan, B.; Aravindh, R.
2018-02-01
Buried pipes are used mainly for water supply and drainage besides many other applications such as oil, liquefied natural gas, coal slurries and mine tailings. The pipes used may be rigid (reinforced concrete, vitrified clay and ductile iron) or flexible (Steel, UPVC, aluminium, Fiber glass and High-density polyethylene) although the distinction between them is blurring. Flexible pipe design is governed by deflection or buckling. UPVC pipes are preferred due to light weight, long term chemical stability and cost efficiency. This project aims to study the load deformation behaviour of the buried pipe and stress variation across the cross section of the pipe under static loading along with the influence of depth of embedment, density of backfill on the deformation and stresses in pipe and the deformation behaviour of buried pipe when soil is reinforced with geogrid reinforcement and evaluate the structural performance of the pipe.
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Numerical Simulation of Thermal Performance of Glass-Fibre-Reinforced Polymer
Zhao, Yuchao; Jiang, Xu; Zhang, Qilin; Wang, Qi
2017-10-01
Glass-Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), as a developing construction material, has a rapidly increasing application in civil engineering especially bridge engineering area these years, mainly used as decorating materials and reinforcing bars for now. Compared with traditional construction material, these kinds of composite material have obvious advantages such as high strength, low density, resistance to corrosion and ease of processing. There are different processing methods to form members, such as pultrusion and resin transfer moulding (RTM) methods, which process into desired shape directly through raw material; meanwhile, GFRP, as a polymer composite, possesses several particular physical and mechanical properties, and the thermal property is one of them. The matrix material, polymer, performs special after heated and endue these composite material a potential hot processing property, but also a poor fire resistance. This paper focuses on thermal performance of GFRP as panels and corresponding researches are conducted. First, dynamic thermomechanical analysis (DMA) experiment is conducted to obtain the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the object GFRP, and the curve of bending elastic modulus with temperature is calculated according to the experimental data. Then compute and estimate the values of other various thermal parameters through DMA experiment and other literatures, and conduct numerical simulation under two condition respectively: (1) the heat transfer process of GFRP panel in which the panel would be heated directly on the surface above Tg, and the hot processing under this temperature field; (2) physical and mechanical performance of GFRP panel under fire condition. Condition (1) is mainly used to guide the development of high temperature processing equipment, and condition (2) indicates that GFRP’s performance under fire is unsatisfactory, measures must be taken when being adopted. Since composite materials’ properties differ from each other
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Physical Therapists' Perceptions of School-Based Practices.
Holt, Sheryl L; Kuperstein, Janice; Effgen, Susan K
2015-01-01
Surveys have reported that most school-based physical therapists perceive ideal practices are not commonly implemented in their settings. Our aim was to obtain a more in-depth understanding of these perceptions through open-ended inquiry. Qualitative data were derived from voluntary open-ended responses provided upon completion of a survey regarding school-based physical therapy practice. Of the survey's 561 participants, 250 provided open-ended commentaries that were analyzed using interpretive phenomenology. Six qualitative themes emerged from the open-ended responses, including: In quest: Meeting students' school-based needs via physical therapy; Seeking relatedness: Finding working teams in the school system; Building understanding: Developing a voice/identity in the school context; Stretched beyond limits: Managing workloads; Networking: Coordinating services outside school to meet student needs; Defying definition: What does working in an educational model mean? School-based physical therapists seek to meet educationally relevant physical therapy needs of students, ages 3 to 21 years. Successes appear woven of a multitude of factors such as therapist expertise, team dynamics, and district supports.
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Exploring recruitment strategies to hire occupational therapists.
Mulholland, Susan; Derdall, Michele
2005-02-01
Recruitment issues in occupational therapy have been a long-standing concern for the profession. This descriptive study explored the strategies currently being used by employers to recruit occupational therapists for employment purposes. An 18-item survey was mailed to 251 sites where occupational therapists work in Alberta and Saskatchewan. There was a 64% response rate and data from 130 surveys were analyzed. The results indicate that employers continue to rely on a wide variety of strategies for advertising and recruiting, the most prevalent being word of mouth, postings at universities, and providing student fieldwork placements. In turn, the most effective recruitment strategies were listed as word of mouth, advertising in the general media, and providing student fieldwork placements. Various examples of financial incentives offered by employers were also listed. Many participants identified recent changes in recruitment strategies such as making a move towards web site job postings. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. The results suggest strategies for employers to target for recruiting occupational therapists and illustrate to both employers and students the importance of fieldwork in recruitment and hiring.
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Preliminary Study on Evaluation of Impact Resistance Performance of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Walls
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jin, Byeong Moo; Lee, Yun Seok; Kim, Young Jin; Jeon, Se Jin
2012-01-01
As the safety assessments of nuclear power plants for the hypothetical large civil aircraft crash should be made mandatory, studies on large aircraft-nuclear power plant impact analyses and assessments studies are actively in progress. For the safety assessment of nuclear power plants against large civil aircraft crash, it is practically impossible to conduct full-scale experiments. Therefore, analysis using general purpose numerical analysis program accompanied by scale model experiments and element experiments has been adopted for the safety assessment. The safety of nuclear power plants against large civil aircraft crash is able to be accomplished by enhancement of the impact resistance performance, such as increasing the wall thickness, increasing the strength of concrete and using the fiber reinforced concrete which is able to be acquired by relatively simple process of adding fibers to a concrete mix without significant change of design and construction. A research for the enhancement of impact resistance performance depending upon design parameters for fiber reinforced concrete, such as type of fibers and application rate, is in progress. In this study, before the safety assessment of nuclear power plants against large civil aircraft crash, we assess the impact resistance performance of concrete wall depending upon type of fibers and impact velocity of objects
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Preliminary Study on Evaluation of Impact Resistance Performance of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Walls
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jin, Byeong Moo; Lee, Yun Seok; Kim, Young Jin [Daewoo E and C Co. Ltd., Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Jeon, Se Jin [Ajou University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of)
2012-05-15
As the safety assessments of nuclear power plants for the hypothetical large civil aircraft crash should be made mandatory, studies on large aircraft-nuclear power plant impact analyses and assessments studies are actively in progress. For the safety assessment of nuclear power plants against large civil aircraft crash, it is practically impossible to conduct full-scale experiments. Therefore, analysis using general purpose numerical analysis program accompanied by scale model experiments and element experiments has been adopted for the safety assessment. The safety of nuclear power plants against large civil aircraft crash is able to be accomplished by enhancement of the impact resistance performance, such as increasing the wall thickness, increasing the strength of concrete and using the fiber reinforced concrete which is able to be acquired by relatively simple process of adding fibers to a concrete mix without significant change of design and construction. A research for the enhancement of impact resistance performance depending upon design parameters for fiber reinforced concrete, such as type of fibers and application rate, is in progress. In this study, before the safety assessment of nuclear power plants against large civil aircraft crash, we assess the impact resistance performance of concrete wall depending upon type of fibers and impact velocity of objects
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A descriptive study of the practice patterns of massage new zealand massage therapists.
Smith, Joanna M; Sullivan, S John; Baxter, G David
2011-03-30
Massage therapy has grown in popularity, yet little is known globally or in New Zealand about massage therapists and their practices. The aims of this study were to describe the practice patterns of trained Massage New Zealand massage therapists in New Zealand private practice, with regard to therapist characteristics; practice modes and settings, and therapy characteristics; referral patterns; and massage therapy as an occupation. A survey questionnaire was mailed to 66 trained massage therapist members of Massage New Zealand who were recruiting massage clients for a concurrent study of massage therapy culture. Most massage therapists were women (83%), NZ European (76%), and holders of a massage diploma qualification (89%). Massage therapy was both a full- (58%) and part-time (42%) occupation, with the practice of massage therapy being the only source of employment for 70% of therapists. Nearly all therapists (94%) practiced massage for more than 40 weeks in the year, providing a median of 16 - 20 hours of direct client care per week. Most massage therapists worked in a "solo practice" (58%) and used a wide and active referral network. Almost all therapists treated musculoskeletal symptoms: the most common client issues or conditions treated were back pain/problem (99%), neck/shoulder pain/problem (99%), headache or migraine (99%), relaxation and stress reduction (96%), and regular recovery or maintenance massage (89%). The most frequent client fee per treatment was NZ$60 per hour in a clinic and NZ$1 per minute at a sports event or in the workplace. Therapeutic massage, relaxation massage, sports massage, and trigger-point therapy were the most common styles of massage therapy offered. Nearly all massage therapists (99%) undertook client assessment; 95% typically provided self-care recommendations; and 32% combined other complementary and alternative medicine therapies with their massage consultations. This study provides new information about the practice of
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Bourke, Marianne E; Grenyer, Brin F S
2017-07-01
Therapy for borderline personality disorder (BPD) is challenging, in part, because of the impact of BPD on the therapeutic relationship. The therapist's metacognitive capacity within therapy may be perturbed due to the complexity of verbal and nonverbal affect and cognition in the therapeutic interchange; however, research on this issue is lacking. Therapists (N=20 clinical psychologists) were asked to discuss the treatment process when working with their patients with BPD (N=40) and their patients with major depressive disorder (N=40). Verbatim transcripts of the therapists' verbalizations were then scored using computerized linguistic content analysis. When discussing their patients with BPD, clinicians used significantly fewer words associated with cognitive processes (think, understand, realize) or words indicating causation (cause, because, effect), and more first-person singular pronouns, and adverbs. When describing their depressed patients, the therapists used more words associated with negative emotions, anxiety, anger, and sadness than positive words. The results did not seem to be influenced by the therapists' age, sex, or years of experience. Reflection on the psychotherapeutic process with patients with BPD induced in therapists a self-focused, emotionally intense linguistic style dominated by references to themselves and their experience of intense emotional states. These results suggest that, when describing their work with patients with BPD, therapists experience metacognitive challenges and mentalization processes that may parallel the challenges therapists face when thinking and working during the psychotherapy sessions themselves. The results underscore the important role of supervision in assisting therapists to organize their reflective processes when working with patients with BPD.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hodicky, Kamil; Hulin, Thomas; Schmidt, Jacob Wittrup
2013-01-01
The fracture behaviour of three fiber reinforced and regular High Performance Concretes (HPC) is presented in this paper. Two mixes are based on optimization of HPC whereas the third mix was a commercial mix developed by CONTEC ApS (Denmark). The wedge splitting test setup with 48 cubical specimens...
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Erotic feelings toward the therapist: a relational perspective.
Lotterman, Jenny H
2014-02-01
This article focuses on the relational treatment of a male patient presenting with sexual and erotic feelings toward the therapist. The use of relational psychotherapy allowed us to collaborate in viewing our therapeutic relationship as a microcosm of other relationships throughout the patient's life. In this way, the patient came to understand his fears of being close to women, his discomfort with his sexuality, and how these feelings impacted his ongoing romantic and sexual experiences. Use of the therapist's reactions to the patient, including conscious and unconscious feelings and behaviors, aided in the conceptualization of this case. Working under a relational model was especially helpful when ruptures occurred, allowing the patient and therapist to address these moments and move toward repair. The patient was successful in making use of his sexual feelings to understand his feelings and behaviors across contexts. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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1972-01-01
The status of studies of the three continuously reinforced pavement projects near Charlottesville is reported. Of particular interest in these studies are the effects of the elimination of transverse reinforcing steel, the changing characteristics of...
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Nugent, Alexandra; Hancock, Nicola; Honey, Anne
2017-01-01
Internationally, mental health policy requires clinicians to shift from a medical to a recovery-oriented approach. However, there is a significant lag in the translation of policy into practice. Occupational therapists have been identified as ideally situated to be recovery-oriented yet limited research exploring how they do this exists. This study aimed to explore Australian occupational therapists' experiences of developing and sustaining recovery-orientation in mental health practice. Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve occupational therapists working across different mental health service types. Participants identified themselves as being recovery-oriented. Data were analysed using constant comparative analysis. Occupational therapists described recovery-oriented practice as an active, ongoing, and intentional process of seeking out knowledge, finding fit between understandings of recovery-oriented practice and their professional identity, holding hope, and developing confidence through clinical reasoning. Human and systemic aspects of therapists' workplace environment influenced this process. Being a recovery-oriented occupational therapist requires more than merely accepting a specific framework. It requires commitment and ongoing work to develop and sustain recovery-orientation. Occupational therapists are called to extend current leadership activity beyond their workplace and to advocate for broader systemic change.
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Song, Weimin; Yin, Jian
2016-08-18
Fiber reinforcement is an important method to enhance the performance of concrete. In this study, the compressive test and impact test were conducted, and then the hybrid effect between steel fiber (SF) and carbon fiber (CF) was evaluated by employing the hybrid effect index. Compressive toughness and impact toughness of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), carbon fiber reinforced concrete (CFRC) and hybrid fiber reinforced concrete (HFRC) were explored at steel fiber volume fraction 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and carbon fiber 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%. Results showed that the addition of steel fiber and carbon fiber can increase the compressive strength. SF, CF and the hybridization between them could increase the compressive toughness significantly. The impact test results showed that as the volume of fiber increased, the impact number of the first visible crack and the ultimate failure also increased. The improvement of toughness mainly lay in improving the crack resistance after the first crack. Based on the test results, the positive hybrid effect of steel fiber and carbon fiber existed in hybrid fiber reinforced concrete. The relationship between the compressive toughness and impact toughness was also explored.
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From dictatorship to a reluctant democracy: stroke therapists talking about self-management.
Norris, Meriel; Kilbride, Cherry
2014-01-01
Self-management is being increasingly promoted within chronic conditions including stroke. Concerns have been raised regarding professional ownership of some programmes, yet little is known of the professional's experience. This paper aims to present the views of trained therapists about the utility of a specific self-management approach in stroke rehabilitation. Eleven stroke therapists trained in the self-management approach participated in semi-structured interviews. These were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Two overriding themes emerged. The first was the sense that in normal practice therapists act as "benign dictators", committed to help their patients, but most comfortable when they, the professional, are in control. Following the adoption of the self-management approach therapists challenged themselves to empower stroke survivors to take control of their own recovery. However, therapists had to confront many internal and external challenges in this transition of power resulting in the promotion of a somewhat "reluctant democracy". This study illustrates that stroke therapists desire a more participatory approach to rehabilitation. However, obstacles challenged the successful delivery of this goal. If self-management is an appropriate model to develop in post stroke pathways, then serious consideration must be given to how and if these obstacles can be overcome. Stroke therapists perceive that self-management is appropriate for encouraging ownership of rehabilitation post stroke. Numerous obstacles were identified as challenging the implementation of self-management post stroke. These included: professional models, practices and expectations; institutional demands and perceived wishes of stroke survivors. For self-management to be effectively implemented by stroke therapists, these obstacles must be considered and overcome. This should be as part of an integrated therapy service, rather than as an add-on.
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Delgadillo, Jaime; Saxon, David; Barkham, Michael
2018-05-02
Occupational burnout is common in mental health professionals, but its impact on patient outcomes is as yet uncertain. This study aimed to investigate associations between therapist-level burnout and patient-level treatment outcomes after psychological therapy. We used multilevel modeling using depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) outcomes data from 2,223 patients nested within 49 therapists. Therapists completed a survey including the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and a job satisfaction scale (JDSS). After controlling for case-mix, around 5% of variability in treatment outcomes was explained by therapist effects (TE). Higher therapist OLBI-disengagement and lower JDSS scores were significantly associated with poorer treatment outcomes, explaining between 31 and 39% of the TE estimate. Higher OLBI scores were also correlated with lower job satisfaction ratings. Therapist burnout has a negative impact on treatment outcomes and could be the target of future preventive and remedial action. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Muda, Z C; Usman, F; Beddu, S; Alam, M A; Thiruchelvam, S; Sidek, L M; Basri, H; Saadi, S
2013-01-01
This paper investigate the performance of lightweight oil palm shells (OPS) concrete with varied bamboo reinforcement content for the concrete slab of 300mm x 300mm size reinforced with different thickness subjected to low impact projectile test. A self-fabricated drop-weight impact test rig with a steel ball weight of 1.2 kg drop at 1 m height has been used in this research work. The main variables for the study is to find the relationship of the impact resistance against the amount of bamboo reinforcement and slab thickness. A linear relationship has been established between first and ultimate crack resistance against bamboo diameters and slab thickness by the experiment. The linear relationship has also been established between the service (first) crack and ultimate crack resistance against the bamboo reinforcement diameter for a constant spacing for various slab thickness using 0.45 OPS and 0.6 OPS bamboo reinforced concrete. The increment in bamboo diameter has more effect on the first crack resistance than the ultimate crack resistance. The linear relationship has also been established between the service (first) crack and ultimate crack resistance against the various slab thickness. Increment in slab thickness of the slab has more effect on the crack resistance as compare to the increment in the diameter of the bamboo reinforcement.
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a comparison of bond perform with reinforcements from son of bond ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
User
steel that are manufactured from metal scraps (re- ... metal scraps from re-cycle obsolete vehicle and machine ..... (PAC) Reinforced With Glass-Fibre-Reinforced. Polymer ... 99 – 113. [8] Abrishami H. H. and Mitchell D. (1992) “Simulation of.
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Assessing the performance of reinforced concrete structures under impact loads
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sharma, Akanshu; Reddy, G.R.; Vaze, K.K.; Ozbolt, Josko; Hofmann, J.
2011-01-01
Reinforced concrete (RC) structures housing nuclear facilities must qualify against much stringent requirements of operating and accidental loads than conventional structures. One such accidental load that must be considered while assessing the performance of safety related RC structures is impact load. It is known that the behavior of concrete/reinforced concrete structures is strongly influenced by the loading rate. The RC structural members subjected to impact loads behave quite differently as compared to the same subjected to quasi-static loading due to the strain-rate influence on strength, stiffness, and ductility as well as to the activation of inertia forces. Moreover, for concrete structures, which exhibit damage and fracture phenomena, the failure mode and cracking pattern depend significantly on loading rate. In general, there is a tendency that with the increase of loading rate the failure mode changes from mode-I to mixed mode. In order to assess the performance of existing structures against impact loads that may be generated mainly due to man-made accidental conditions, it is important to have models that can realistically predict the impact behavior of concrete structures. The present paper focuses on a relatively new approach for 3D finite element analysis of RC structures under impact loads. The approach uses rate sensitive micro-plane model as constitutive law for concrete, while the strain-rate influence is captured by the activation energy. Inertia forces are implicitly accounted for through dynamic finite element analysis. It is shown with the help of different examples that the approach can very well simulate the behavior of RC structural elements under high rate loading. (author)
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Inside Guillain-Barré Syndrome: An occupational therapist's perspective
Brooks, Shavaughn Ashley Nikita
2014-01-01
Occupational Therapists working with patients with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) are tasked with collaborating with the patient to achieve maximal functional recovery. Although much has been published about recovery after GBS from a scientific perspective; this article combines occupational therapy principles with the personal experiences of an occupational therapist who herself suffered from GBS. This commentary outlines important considerations for providing intervention to patients with GB...
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Whiteson, S.; Taylor, M.E.; Stone, P.
2010-01-01
Temporal difference and evolutionary methods are two of the most common approaches to solving reinforcement learning problems. However, there is little consensus on their relative merits and there have been few empirical studies that directly compare their performance. This article aims to address
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Marriage consummated for 32 Iranian women using therapist-aided exposure therapy : a brief report
Molaeinezhad, M.; Salehi, M.; Borg, C.; Yousefy, A.; Roudsari, R. Latifnejad; Salehi, P.; Shafiei, K.; Khoei, E. Merghati
This brief report discusses the effectiveness of therapist-aided gradual exposure therapy for a sample of women suffering from lifelong vaginismus (LLV). Thirty two women who have never been able to have sexual intercourse, performed weekly exposure sessions of vaginal penetration exercises assisted
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A Descriptive Study of the Practice Patterns of Massage New Zealand Massage Therapists
Smith, Joanna M.; Sullivan, S. John; Baxter, G. David
2011-01-01
Background: Massage therapy has grown in popularity, yet little is known globally or in New Zealand about massage therapists and their practices. Purpose and Setting: The aims of this study were to describe the practice patterns of trained Massage New Zealand massage therapists in New Zealand private practice, with regard to therapist characteristics; practice modes and settings, and therapy characteristics; referral patterns; and massage therapy as an occupation. Research Design and Participants: A survey questionnaire was mailed to 66 trained massage therapist members of Massage New Zealand who were recruiting massage clients for a concurrent study of massage therapy culture. Results: Most massage therapists were women (83%), NZ European (76%), and holders of a massage diploma qualification (89%). Massage therapy was both a full- (58%) and part-time (42%) occupation, with the practice of massage therapy being the only source of employment for 70% of therapists. Nearly all therapists (94%) practiced massage for more than 40 weeks in the year, providing a median of 16 – 20 hours of direct client care per week. Most massage therapists worked in a “solo practice” (58%) and used a wide and active referral network. Almost all therapists treated musculoskeletal symptoms: the most common client issues or conditions treated were back pain/problem (99%), neck/shoulder pain/problem (99%), headache or migraine (99%), relaxation and stress reduction (96%), and regular recovery or maintenance massage (89%). The most frequent client fee per treatment was NZ$60 per hour in a clinic and NZ$1 per minute at a sports event or in the workplace. Therapeutic massage, relaxation massage, sports massage, and trigger-point therapy were the most common styles of massage therapy offered. Nearly all massage therapists (99%) undertook client assessment; 95% typically provided self-care recommendations; and 32% combined other complementary and alternative medicine therapies with their
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Accardo, Grazia; Frattini, Domenico; Yoon, Sung Pil; Ham, Hyung Chul; Nam, Suk Woo
2017-12-01
Development of electrode materials for molten carbonate fuel cells is a fundamental issue as a balance between mechanical and electrochemical properties is required due to the particular operating environments of these cells. As concern the anode, a viable strategy is to use nano-reinforced particles during electrodes' fabrication. Candidate nanomaterials comprise, but are not limited to, ZrO2, CeO2, TiO2, Ti, Mg, Al, etc. This work deals with the characterization and test of two different types of hard oxide nanoparticles as reinforce for NiAl-based anodes in molten carbonate fuel cells. Nano ceria and nano zirconia are compared each other and single cell test performances are presented. Compared to literature, the use of hard metal oxide nanoparticles allows good performance and promising perspectives with respect to the use a third alloying metal. However, nano zirconia performed slightly better than nano ceria as polarization and power curves are higher even if nano ceria has the highest mechanical properties. This means that the choice of nanoparticles to obtain improved anodes performance and properties is not trivial and a trade-off between relevant properties plays a key role.
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Algorithms for Reinforcement Learning
Szepesvari, Csaba
2010-01-01
Reinforcement learning is a learning paradigm concerned with learning to control a system so as to maximize a numerical performance measure that expresses a long-term objective. What distinguishes reinforcement learning from supervised learning is that only partial feedback is given to the learner about the learner's predictions. Further, the predictions may have long term effects through influencing the future state of the controlled system. Thus, time plays a special role. The goal in reinforcement learning is to develop efficient learning algorithms, as well as to understand the algorithms'
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FOAM CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT BY BASALT FIBRES
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhukov Aleksey Dmitrievich
2012-10-01
Full Text Available The authors demonstrate that the foam concrete performance can be improved by dispersed reinforcement, including methods that involve basalt fibres. They address the results of the foam concrete modeling technology and assess the importance of technology-related parameters. Reinforcement efficiency criteria are also provided in the article. Dispersed reinforcement improves the plasticity of the concrete mix and reduces the settlement crack formation rate. Conventional reinforcement that involves metal laths and rods demonstrates its limited application in the production of concrete used for thermal insulation and structural purposes. Dispersed reinforcement is preferable. This technology contemplates the infusion of fibres into porous mixes. Metal, polymeric, basalt and glass fibres are used as reinforcing components. It has been identified that products reinforced by polypropylene fibres demonstrate substantial abradability and deformability rates even under the influence of minor tensile stresses due to the low adhesion strength of polypropylene in the cement matrix. The objective of the research was to develop the type of polypropylene of D500 grade that would demonstrate the operating properties similar to those of Hebel and Ytong polypropylenes. Dispersed reinforcement was performed by the basalt fibre. This project contemplates an autoclave-free technology to optimize the consumption of electricity. Dispersed reinforcement is aimed at the reduction of the block settlement in the course of hardening at early stages of their operation, the improvement of their strength and other operating properties. Reduction in the humidity rate of the mix is based on the plasticizing properties of fibres, as well as the application of the dry mineralization method. Selection of optimal parameters of the process-related technology was performed with the help of G-BAT-2011 Software, developed at Moscow State University of Civil Engineering. The authors also
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American Society of Hand Therapists
... ago RT @vicstar141 : #PROUD to launch the #handtherapy shop pilot @ChelwestFT today during #FabChangeWeek ! Improving availability of reh… https://t.co/iF8nnyjK7I — 1 day 11 hours ago #Job opportunity: Physical Therapist Outpatient - Agile Physical Therapy - Palo ...
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Seruya, Francine M; Hinojosa, Jim
2010-09-01
The professional and organizational commitment of paediatric occupational therapists working in two distinct practice settings, schools and medically based settings, was investigated. A web-based survey program was used to administer a questionnaire to occupational therapists employed in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The study employed social identity theory as a guiding perspective in understanding therapists' professional and organizational commitment. One hundred and fifty-seven paediatric therapists responded to the Professional Commitment Questionnaire and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire to gauge their commitment to both the profession and their employing organizations. Results indicated that paediatric therapists, regardless of employment setting, have high professional commitment. Paediatric occupational therapists employed in medically based settings indicated statistically significant higher organizational commitment than their school-based counterparts. For therapists that work in school settings, the presence of a professional cohort did not influence professional commitment scores. As the study employed a web-based survey methodology, only individuals who were members of associations and had access to a computer and the Internet were able to participate. Further study might include widening the participant pool as well as adding additional instruments to explore both professional and organizational commitment on a more national scale. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Respiratory therapists and critical-thinking behaviors: a self-assessment.
Goodfellow, L T
2001-01-01
The purpose of this study was to assess critical-thinking behaviors of respiratory therapists through self-report. Using a quantitative survey research method, respiratory therapists rated themselves on seven critical thinking skills. The effects of personal variables on the self-assessments were also investigated. The respiratory therapists self-assessed their critical-thinking behaviors highest in the categories of prioritizing, troubleshooting, and communicating. Anticipating was self-assessed as the lowest-ranked critical-thinking behavior. Age and educational level were found to have no effect on the self-assessed behaviors, while years of experience in respiratory care and gender were found to affect self-assessed troubleshooting, decision making, and anticipating. The results of this study suggest that educators and clinicians should consider learning strategies that incorporate the use of experience when targeting novice practitioners.
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Uhlig, S.; Dimitriadis, Theo; Hackvoort, Laurien; Scherder, E.J.A.
2016-01-01
Music therapists use rap and singing for at-risk youth and young adults in different treatment settings. However, it is unclear how often and what kind of interventions they apply, and what kind of treatment goals are pursued. The purpose of this study was to examine approaches of music therapists
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chernov Sergey Anatolevych
2017-07-01
Full Text Available The technique and results of the studies of the influence of a polymeric-dispersed reinforcement additive on the performance characteristics of road hot asphalt concrete, namely, its resistance to fatigue failures, rutting and development of residual deformation are described. It is shown that the proposed method of modification of asphalt-concrete mixtures ensures an increase in the durability of layers of pavement road surface.
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Application of Intervention Mapping to the Development of a Complex Physical Therapist Intervention.
Jones, Taryn M; Dear, Blake F; Hush, Julia M; Titov, Nickolai; Dean, Catherine M
2016-12-01
Physical therapist interventions, such as those designed to change physical activity behavior, are often complex and multifaceted. In order to facilitate rigorous evaluation and implementation of these complex interventions into clinical practice, the development process must be comprehensive, systematic, and transparent, with a sound theoretical basis. Intervention Mapping is designed to guide an iterative and problem-focused approach to the development of complex interventions. The purpose of this case report is to demonstrate the application of an Intervention Mapping approach to the development of a complex physical therapist intervention, a remote self-management program aimed at increasing physical activity after acquired brain injury. Intervention Mapping consists of 6 steps to guide the development of complex interventions: (1) needs assessment; (2) identification of outcomes, performance objectives, and change objectives; (3) selection of theory-based intervention methods and practical applications; (4) organization of methods and applications into an intervention program; (5) creation of an implementation plan; and (6) generation of an evaluation plan. The rationale and detailed description of this process are presented using an example of the development of a novel and complex physical therapist intervention, myMoves-a program designed to help individuals with an acquired brain injury to change their physical activity behavior. The Intervention Mapping framework may be useful in the development of complex physical therapist interventions, ensuring the development is comprehensive, systematic, and thorough, with a sound theoretical basis. This process facilitates translation into clinical practice and allows for greater confidence and transparency when the program efficacy is investigated. © 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.
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LABORATORY EVALUATION ON PERFORMANCE OF GLASS FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC MORTAR PIPE CULVERTS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Huawang Shi
2018-04-01
Full Text Available This paper investigated the performance and behaviour of glass fiber reinforced plastic mortar (FRPM pipes under different loading conditions. FRPM pipes with inner diameter of 1500 mm were prefabricated in factory. Mechanics performance testing (ring and axial compressive strength and elastic modulus, stiffness and fatigue test were carried out in laboratory. Ring stiffness test provided pipe stiffness (PS which is a function of geometry and material type of pipe through parallel plate loading test (PPLT. The fatigue test and micro-structure measure method were used to evaluate the durability effects of FRPM under repeated compression load. Results indicated that FRPM pipes had better mechanic performances as the road culverts under soils. It may be helpful for the design and construction of FRPM culverts.
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The Lawyer-Therapist Consultation Team.
Korelitz, Ann; Schulder, Diane
1982-01-01
Discusses a pilot study in which joint consultations with a family therapist and a matrimonial attorney were offered to 10 couples and one woman contemplating divorce. Videotaped sessions. Suggests joint consultations can be useful in helping couples understand the psychological and legal implications of conflicts expressed during separation.…
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Calley, Darren Q; Jackson, Steven; Collins, Heather; George, Steven Z
2010-12-01
Cross-sectional. To evaluate the accuracy with which physical therapists identify fear-avoidance beliefs in patients with low back pain by comparing therapist ratings of perceived patient fear-avoidance to the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia 11-item (TSK-11), and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). To compare the concurrent validity of therapist ratings of perceived patient fear-avoidance and a 2-item questionnaire on fear of physical activity and harm, with clinical measures of fear-avoidance (FABQ, TSK-11, PCS), pain intensity as assessed with a numeric pain rating scale (NPRS), and disability as assessed with the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ). The need to consider psychosocial factors for identifying patients at risk for disability and chronic low back pain has been well documented. Yet the ability of physical therapists to identify fear-avoidance beliefs using direct observation has not been studied. Eight physical therapists and 80 patients with low back pain from 3 physical therapy clinics participated in the study. Patients completed the FABQ, TSK-11, PCS, ODQ, NPRS, and a dichotomous 2-item fear-avoidance screening questionnaire. Following the initial evaluation, physical therapists rated perceived patient fear-avoidance on a 0-to-10 scale and recorded 2 influences on their ratings. Spearman correlation and independent t tests determined the level of association of therapist 0-to-10 ratings and 2-item screening with fear-avoidance and clinical measures. Therapist ratings of perceived patient fear-avoidance had fair to moderate interrater reliability (ICC2,1 = 0.663). Therapist ratings did not strongly correlate with FABQ or TSK-11 scores. Instead, they unexpectedly had stronger associations with ODQ and PCS scores. Both 2-item screening questions were associated with FABQ-physical activity scores, while the fear of physical activity question was also associated with FABQ-work, TSK-11, PCS, and ODQ scores
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Managing 'Generation Y' occupational therapists: optimising their potential.
Hills, Caroline; Ryan, Susan; Warren-Forward, Helen; Smith, Derek R
2013-08-01
'Generation Y' is a descriptor of those therapists born between 1982 and 2000. According to generational theory, each generation have unique characteristics due to the social and historical factors they have experienced during their formative years. Occupational therapy educators have reported on 'Generation Y' characteristics observed in occupational therapy students. This study aimed to investigate if managers considered there was a 'Generation Y' therapist and their observed characteristics in practice, as well as successful management strategies used to maximise their potential in the workplace. A hard copy survey based on the 'Generation Y' literature was sent to all managers listed on an Australian University database. Almost all respondents considered there was a 'Generation Y' therapist. Overall, managers reported characteristics of this staff group as being hard working, confident with technology, needing positive feedback and demanding professional development opportunities. Managers also reported that this group may be a challenge to retain in work positions. Managers also viewed 'Generation Y' staff as a positive energy and considered that in the future they will be of benefit to the profession. While there may be generational differences between therapists in the workplace, inclusive management styles may be the most appropriate management approach. Career guidance, facilitating creativity, increasing work responsibility and integrating new technologies like social networking into practice may be appropriate strategies for this staff group, to facilitate both their professional development and to retain them in the profession. © 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. M. VIEIRA
Full Text Available The use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP has been widely used for the reinforcement of concrete structures due to its practicality and versatility in application, low weight, high tensile strength and corrosion resistance. Some construction companies use CFRP in flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete beams, but without anchor systems. Therefore, the aim of this study is analyze, through an experimental program, the structural behavior of reinforced concrete beams flexural strengthened by CFRP without anchor fibers, varying steel reinforcement and the amount of carbon fibers reinforcement layers. Thus, two groups of reinforced concrete beams were produced with the same geometric feature but with different steel reinforcement. Each group had five beams: one that is not reinforced with CFRP (reference and other reinforced with two, three, four and five layers of carbon fibers. Beams were designed using a computational routine developed in MAPLE software and subsequently tested in 4-point points flexural test up to collapse. Experimental tests have confirmed the effectiveness of the reinforcement, ratifying that beams collapse at higher loads and lower deformation as the amount of fibers in the reinforcing layers increased. However, the increase in the number of layers did not provide a significant increase in the performance of strengthened beams, indicating that it was not possible to take full advantage of strengthening applied due to the occurrence of premature failure mode in the strengthened beams for pullout of the cover that could have been avoided through the use of a suitable anchoring system for CFRP.
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Burnout in radiation therapists: the predictive value of selected stressors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Akroyd, Duane; Caison, Amy; Adams, Robert D.
2002-01-01
Purpose: As cancer caregivers, radiation therapists experience a variety of stresses that may develop into burnout, which has been demonstrated to impact patient care, employee health, and organizational effectiveness. The purpose of the study was to assess the levels of radiation therapists' burnout at three stages. Additionally, the ability of selected workplace variables to predict each of the three stages of burnout was examined. Methods and Materials: We used descriptive and inferential statistical analyses on reliable and valid instruments, which measured stress, burnout, and social support. Results: Radiation therapists have high levels of the first two stages of burnout: emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Although personal stress, organizational stress, guidance, reassurance of worth, and work load predicted 50% or more of the variance in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, their predictive ability for personal accomplishment was low. Conclusion: Efforts to alleviate burnout among radiation therapists within an organization should have positive effects, including increased quality of patient care, improved quality of work life, higher levels of job satisfaction, and commitment and lower staff turnover
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Engineering Performance of High Strength Concrete Containing Steel Fibre Reinforcement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Md Azree Othuman Mydin
2013-09-01
Full Text Available The development and utilization of the high strength concrete in the construction industry have been increasing rapidly. Fiber reinforced concrete is introduced to overcome the weakness of the conventional concrete because concrete normally can crack under a low tensile force and it is known to be brittle. Steel fibre is proved to be the popular and best combination in the high strength concrete to result the best in the mechanical and durability properties of high strength concrete with consideration of curing time, steel fibre geometry, concrete grade and else more. The incorporation of steel fibre in the mortar mixture is known as steel fibre reinforced concrete have the potential to produce improvement in the workability, strength, ductility and the deformation of high strength concrete. Besides that, steel fibre also increases the tensile strength of concrete and improves the mechanical properties of the steel fibre reinforced concrete. The range for any high strength concrete is between 60MPa-100MPa. Steel fibre reinforced concrete which contains straight fibres has poorer physical properties than that containing hooked end stainless steel fibre due to the length and the hooked steel fibre provide a better effective aspects ratio. Normally, steel fibre tensile strength is in the range of 1100MPa-1700MPa. Addition of less steel fibre volumes in the range of 0.5% to 1.0% can produce better increase in the flexural fatigue strength. The strength can be increased with addition of steel fibre up to certain percentage. This paper will review and present some basic properties of steel fibre reinforced concrete such as mechanical, workability and durability properties.
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The meaning of caring in five experienced physical therapists.
Greenfield, Bruce H
2006-09-01
Caring has been identified as a desirable indicator of professional behavior in the physical therapy profession and as a necessary value for good patient care. Yet caring is an elusive concept with multiple meanings. The present aim was to describe the nature of caring in the clinical practice of five experienced physical therapists. Purposive sampling was used to recruit five experienced physical therapists. Each physical therapist underwent a series of in-depth, open-ended interviews that were transcribed and coded for themes based on similarities and differences. The analysis resulted in three themes: ethics of caring, risks and conflicts of caring, and learning to care. The data indicated for four of the five participants that caring constituted an ethics of practice or moral orientation. Their moral orientation influenced moral judgment that was integrated throughout their clinical and ethical decision-making practice. The findings stress the difficulty of caring in a managed care health care environment that results in conflicting demands for physical therapists to care for their patients in a system that increasingly values cost control and profit margin. However, the findings also describe the ultimate rewards associated with the practice of an ethics of caring in physical therapy practice.
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Taking Your Child to a Therapist
... through tough times like: family problems school problems bullying health problems They help with feelings like: sadness anger ... Therapy for ADHD School Counselors Finding Low-Cost Mental Health Care Going to a Therapist Why Do People ...
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Abu Bakar, A; Mohd Nor, N A; Ab-Murat, N; Jaafar, N
2015-08-01
To assess Malaysian dental therapists' perceptions of their job satisfaction and future roles. A nationwide postal survey involving all Malaysian dental therapists who met the inclusion criteria (n = 1726). The response rate was 76.8%. All respondents were females; mean age 35.4 years (SD = 8.4). Majority were married (85.5%) and more than one-half had a working experience of income (45.2%), allowances (45.2%) and non-commensurate between pay and performance (44.0%). Majority perceived their role as very important in routine clinical tasks such as examination and diagnosis, preventive treatment, extraction of deciduous teeth and oral health promotion. However, fewer than one-half consider complex treatment such as placement of preformed crowns on deciduous teeth (37.1%) and extraction of permanent teeth (37.2%) as very important tasks. Majority expressed high career satisfaction with most aspects of their employment but expressed low satisfaction in remuneration, lack of career advancement opportunities and administrative tasks. We conclude that most Malaysian dental therapists have positive perceptions of their current roles but do not favour wider expansion of their roles. These findings imply that there was a need to develop a more attractive career pathway for therapists to ensure sustainability of effective primary oral healthcare delivery system for Malaysia's children. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Wang, Shihwe; Kim, Bryan S K
2010-10-01
Asian Americans drop out of mental health treatment at a high rate. This problem could be addressed by enhancing therapists' multicultural competence and by examining clients' cultural attitudes that may affect the counseling process. In the present study, we used a video analogue design with a sample of 113 Asian American college students to examine these possibilities. The result from a t test showed that the session containing therapist multicultural competencies received higher ratings than the session without therapist multicultural competence. In addition, correlational analyses showed that participant values acculturation was positively associated with participant ratings of counseling process, while the value of emotional self-control was negatively correlated. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis did not support any interaction effects among the independent variables on counseling process. All of these findings could contribute to the field of multicultural competence research and have implications for therapist practices and training.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mònica Ardanuy,
2012-07-01
Full Text Available In this work, nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC has been evaluated as a potential reinforcement for cement mortar composites. Two types of vegetable fibres with different composition and properties (cellulose content and microfibrillar angle, sisal, and cotton linters pulps, were initially characterised in order to assess their reinforcing capability. Sisal pulp was found to be most suitable as reinforcement for the brittle cementitious matrix. Nanofibrillated cellulose was produced by the application of a high intensity refining process of the sisal pulp. It was found that 6 hours of refining time was required to obtain the desired nanofibrillation of the fibers. Cement mortar composites reinforced with both the sisal fibres and the nanofibrillated cellulose were prepared, and the mechanical properties were determined under flexural tests. The cement mortar composites reinforced with the nanofibrillated cellulose exhibited enhanced flexural properties, but lower values of fracture energy, than the ones reinforced with the conventional sisal fibres.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hüther, Jonas; Brøndsted, Povl
2016-01-01
During the manufacturing process of fiber reinforced polymers the curing reaction of the resin results in shrinkage of the resin and introduces internal stresses in the composites. When curing at higher temperatures in order to shorten up the processing time, higher curing stresses and thermal...... to different levels of internal stresses. The mechanical properties, static strength and fatigue life time, are measured in three different directions of the material, i.e. the fiber direction, 0°, the 30° off axis direction, and the 90° direction transverse to the fiber direction. It is experimentally...... demonstrated that the resulting residual stresses barely influences the quasi-static mechanical properties of reinforced glass-fiber composites. It is found that the fatigue performance in the 0° direction is significantly influenced by the internal stresses, whereas the fatigue performance in the off axes...
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Olarte-Sánchez, C M; Valencia-Torres, L; Cassaday, H J; Bradshaw, C M; Szabadi, E
2013-12-01
Mathematical models can assist the interpretation of the effects of interventions on schedule-controlled behaviour and help to differentiate between processes that may be confounded in traditional performance measures such as response rate and the breakpoint in progressive ratio (PR) schedules. The effects of a D1-like dopamine receptor antagonist, 8-bromo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-3-methyl-5-phenyl-1H-3-benzazepin-7-ol hydrobromide (SKF-83566), and a D2-like receptor antagonist, haloperidol, on rats' performance on PR schedules maintained by sucrose and corn oil reinforcers were assessed using a new model derived from Killeen's (Behav Brain Sci 17:105-172, 1994) Mathematical Principles of Reinforcement. Separate groups of rats were trained under a PR schedule using sucrose or corn oil reinforcers. SKF-83566 (0.015 and 0.03 mg kg(-1)) and haloperidol (0.05 and 0.1 mg kg(-1)) were administered intraperitoneally (five administrations of each treatment). Running and overall response rates in successive ratios were analysed using the new model, and estimates of the model's parameters were compared between treatments. Haloperidol reduced a (the parameter expressing incentive value) in the case of both reinforcers, but did not affect the parameters related to response time and post-reinforcement pausing. SKF-83566 reduced a and k (the parameter expressing sensitivity of post-reinforcement pausing to the prior inter-reinforcement interval) in the case of sucrose, but did not affect any of the parameters in the case of corn oil. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that blockade of both D1-like and D2-like receptors reduces the incentive value of sucrose, whereas the incentive value of corn oil is more sensitive to blockade of D2-like than D1-like receptors.
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Going global in physical therapist education: International Service-Learning in US-based programmes.
Pechak, Celia; Thompson, Mary
2011-12-01
Internationalization is expanding its presence in higher education in the United States. Reflecting this trend that includes incorporating global perspectives in the curricula, physical therapist education programmes increasingly offer international opportunities such as International Service-Learning (ISL) to their students. Service-learning, a teaching strategy that integrates community service with structured learning activities, has gained broad acceptance in health professions education including physical therapy, and is therefore the focus of this paper. The specific purposes of this paper were to identify and analyse the commonalities that existed among established ISL programmes within physical therapist education programmes in terms of structures and processes, and to consider its broader implications for physical therapist education. A descriptive, exploratory study was performed using grounded theory. Snowball and purposive, theoretical sampling yielded 14 faculty members with experience in international service, international learning or ISL in physical therapist education programmes. Faculty were interviewed by phone. Interview transcriptions and course documents were analysed applying grounded theory methodology. Data from eight programmes which met the operational definition of established ISL were used to address the purposes of this paper. Five phases of establishing an ISL programme were identified: development, design, implementation, evaluation, and enhancement. Although no single model exists for ISL in physical therapist education; commonalities in structures and processes were identified in each phase. However, attention to service objectives and outcomes is lacking. While analysis revealed that each programme shared commonalities and demonstrated differences in structures and processes compared with the other programmes, the study demonstrated a general lack of focus on formal community outcomes which raises ethical
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Bezzina, G; Body, S; Cheung, T H C; Hampson, C L; Deakin, J F W; Anderson, I M; Szabadi, E; Bradshaw, C M
2008-04-01
The nucleus accumbens core (AcbC) is believed to contribute to the control of operant behaviour by reinforcers. Recent evidence suggests that it is not crucial for determining the incentive value of immediately available reinforcers, but is important for maintaining the values of delayed reinforcers. This study aims to examine the effect of AcbC lesions on performance on a progressive-ratio schedule using a quantitative model that dissociates effects of interventions on motor and motivational processes (Killeen 1994 Mathematical principles of reinforcement. Behav Brain Sci 17:105-172). Rats with bilateral quinolinic acid-induced lesions of the AcbC (n = 15) or sham lesions (n = 14) were trained to lever-press for food-pellet reinforcers under a progressive-ratio schedule. In Phase 1 (90 sessions) the reinforcer was one pellet; in Phase 2 (30 sessions), it was two pellets; in Phase 3, (30 sessions) it was one pellet. The performance of both groups conformed to the model of progressive-ratio performance (group mean data: r2 > 0.92). The motor parameter, delta, was significantly higher in the AcbC-lesioned than the sham-lesioned group, reflecting lower overall response rates in the lesioned group. The motivational parameter, a, was sensitive to changes in reinforcer size, but did not differ significantly between the two groups. The AcbC-lesioned group showed longer post-reinforcement pauses and lower running response rates than the sham-lesioned group. The results suggest that destruction of the AcbC impairs response capacity but does not alter the efficacy of food reinforcers. The results are consistent with recent findings that AcbC lesions do not alter sensitivity to reinforcer size in inter-temporal choice schedules.
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Application of Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete – The Malaysia Perspective
Voo - Yen Lei; Behzad Nematollahi; Abu Bakar Mohamed Said; Balamurugan A Gopal; Tet Shun Yee
2012-01-01
One of the most significant breakthroughs in concrete technology at the end of the 20th century was the development of ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) with compressive strength and flexure strength beyond 160 MPa and 30 MPa, respectively; remarkable improvement in workability; durability resembled to natural rocks; ductility and toughness comparable to steel. While over the last two decades a tremendous amount of research works have been undertaken by academics and e...
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The working practices and career satisfaction of dental therapists in New Zealand.
Ayers, K M S; Meldrum, A; Thomson, W M; Newton, J T
2007-12-01
To describe the working practices and level of career satisfaction of dental therapists in New Zealand. Postal survey of dental therapists identified from the New Zealand Dental Council's dental therapy database. One mailing with one follow-up. Questionnaires were sent to 683 registered dental therapists. Replies were received from 566 (82.9%). Current working practice, career breaks, continuing education, career satisfaction. Respondents had a high career satisfaction, but were much less satisfied with their remuneration. After controlling for age and income satisfaction, therapists who felt that they were valued members of the dental community had over four times the odds of having higher overall job satisfaction. There were no differences in the mean career satisfaction scale score by age, but respondents aged 45 and over had a lower mean income satisfaction scale score than their younger counterparts (pmanagement/coordination (ppractice than their older colleagues (pproductivity of this workforce. Remuneration and career progression are key issues; therapists need to feel that they are valued members of the dental profession.
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Child's Play: Therapist's Narrative
Reddy, Rajakumari P.; Hirisave, Uma
2014-01-01
Play has been recognized as an essential component to children's healthy development. Schools of play therapy differ philosophically and technically, but they all embrace the therapeutic and developmental properties of play. This case report is an illustration of how a 6-year-old child with emotional disorder was facilitated to express concerns in child-centered play therapy. The paper discusses the therapist's narration of the child's play. PMID:24860228
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Assessment tools used by occupational therapists in children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Thaianny Taís Dantas de Brito
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Introduction: The Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy (OBPP is a result of brachial plexus injury at birth and may cause dysfunction of the affected upper limb, reflecting significantly in the child’s life. When evaluating a child with OBPP the occupational therapist can use evaluation tools, and has to have knowledge to choose and apply the most appropriate instrument. Objective: This review aimed to analyze the literature on the use of evaluation tools by occupational therapists in children with OBPP. Method: The search for articles was performed in the databases Scirus, Cinahl, Medline, Psycinfo, Scopus and Lilacs using the following selection criteria: studies with 0-12 years old children with OBPP in English, Portuguese and Spanish, published in the last 10 years, with the occupational therapist as one of the authors and/or reporting the application of the instrument by this professional. Results: There were 15 studies from six countries that reported 17 evaluation instruments, five of which, recently developed, were specific to this clientele. The study did not identify the need to modify the non-specific instruments to the application in children with OBPP, demonstrating that they can be used in its original format, facilitating the use in the clinical practice. Most instruments included aspects related to occupational performance inserted in the field of Activity and Participation of the International Classification of Functioning, indicating the concern of this professional in suiting the assessment process of the child with the OBPP to the current paradigm of health understanding and occupational therapy field.
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Performance of Hydrophobisation Techniques in Case of Reinforced Concrete Structures
Błaszczyński, Tomasz; Osesek, Mateusz; Gwozdowski, Błażej; Ilski, Mirosław
2017-10-01
Concrete is, unchangeably, one of the most frequently applied building materials, also in the case of bridges, overpasses or viaducts. Along with the aging of such structures, the degradation of concrete, which may accelerate the corrosion of reinforcing steel and drastically decrease the load-bearing capacity of the structure, becomes an important issue. The paper analyzes the possibilities of using deep hydrophobisation in repairing reinforced concrete engineering structures. The benefits of properly securing reinforced concrete structures from the damaging effects of UV radiation, the influence of harmful gases, or progression of chlorine induced corrosion have been presented, especially in regards to bridge structures. The need to calculate the costs of carrying out investments along with the expected costs of maintaining such structures, as well as the high share of costs connected with logistics, has also been indicated in the total costs of repair works.
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van Lieshout, Remko; Pisters, Martijn F; Vanwanseele, Benedicte; de Bie, Rob A; Wouters, Eveline J; Stukstette, Mirelle J
2016-01-01
Partial weight bearing is frequently instructed by physical therapists in patients after lower-limb trauma or surgery. The use of biofeedback devices seems promising to improve the patient's compliance with weight-bearing instructions. SmartStep and OpenGo-Science are biofeedback devices that provide real-time feedback. For a successful implementation, usability of the devices is a critical aspect and should be tested from a user's perspective. To describe the usability from the physical therapists' and a patients' perspective of Smartstep and OpenGo-Science to provide feedback on partial weight bearing during supervised rehabilitation of patients after lower-limb trauma or surgery. In a convergent mixed-methods design, qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Usability was subdivided into user performance, satisfaction and acceptability. Patients prescribed with partial weight bearing and their physical therapists were asked to use SmartStep and OpenGo-Science during supervised rehabilitation. Usability was qualitatively tested by a think-aloud method and a semi-structured interview and quantitatively tested by the System-Usability-Scale (SUS) and closed questions. For the qualitative data thematic content analyses were used. Nine pairs of physical therapists and their patients participated. The mean SUS scores for patients and physical therapists were for SmartStep 70 and 53, and for OpenGo-Science 79 and 81, respectively. Scores were interpreted with the Curved Grading Scale. The qualitative data showed that there were mixed views and perceptions from patients and physical therapists on satisfaction and acceptability. This study gives insight in the usability of two biofeedback devices from the patient's and physical therapist's perspective. The overall usability from both perspectives seemed to be acceptable for OpenGo-Science. For SmartStep, overall usability seemed only acceptable from the patient's perspective. The study findings could help
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Reinforcement, Behavior Constraint, and the Overjustification Effect.
Williams, Bruce W.
1980-01-01
Four levels of the behavior constraint-reinforcement variable were manipulated: attractive reward, unattractive reward, request to perform, and a no-reward control. Only the unattractive reward and request groups showed the performance decrements that suggest the overjustification effect. It is concluded that reinforcement does not cause the…
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Dahl, Hanne-Sofie Johnsen; Høglend, Per; Ulberg, Randi; Amlo, Svein; Gabbard, Glen O; Perry, John Christopher; Christoph, Paul Crits
2017-03-01
Exploration of the patient-therapist relationship (transference work) is considered a core active ingredient in dynamic psychotherapy. However, there are contradictory findings as for whom and under what circumstances these interventions are beneficial. This study investigates long-term effects of transference work in the context of patients' quality of object relations (QOR) and therapists' self-reported disengaged feelings. Therapists' disengaged feelings may negatively influence the therapeutic process, especially while working explicitly with the transference since discussing feelings that are present in the session is an essential aspect of transference work. One hundred outpatients seeking psychotherapy for depression, anxiety and personality disorders were randomly assigned to one year of dynamic psychotherapy with transference work or to the same type and duration of treatment, but without transference work. Patients' QOR-lifelong pattern was evaluated before treatment and therapists' feelings were assessed using the Feeling Word Checklist-58 after each session. Outcome was measured with self-reports and interviews at pre-treatment, mid-treatment, post-treatment, one year and three years after treatment termination. A significant interaction of treatment group (transference work versus no transference work) by QOR by disengaged therapist feelings was present, indicating that disengaged feelings, even small amounts, were associated with negative long-term effects of transference work, depending on QOR Scale scores. The strengths of the negative association increased significantly with lower levels of QOR. The negative association between even a small increase in disengaged therapist feelings and long-term effects of transference interpretation was substantial for patients with poor QOR, but small among patients with good QOR. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Therapists' emotional reactions to their patients (countertransference) seem to have a
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A Female Therapist's Perspective on Growing Older.
Fodor, Iris
2015-11-01
As an older woman therapist, I find that my life experience grounds me in my work with people of all ages and backgrounds as they deal with life crises, aging issues, and loss. People with whom I work in therapy appreciate the fact that I am older and have had varied life experiences. Gender issues are still central to my work with clients whether I am working with a man or a woman. I am an integrative therapist, with a background in cognitive-behavioral therapy and gestalt therapy. Therapists need to help clients to identify less with their aging bodies and our culture's view of attractiveness, shifting instead to a paradigm that values life experience and the cultivation of wisdom. We need to find ways of embracing what we have learned about life instead of extolling youthful values. As I get older, I more fully appreciate a constructivism framework and life-cycle perspective, focusing on making sense of clients' life narratives. Storytelling and memoirs have both provided a framework for working with clients on coping with the many changes and challenges of life that bring them to therapy and added another layer to my integrative therapeutic work. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Shared trauma reality in war: Mental health therapists' experience.
Freedman, Sara A; Tuval Mashiach, Rivka
2018-01-01
Shared traumatic reality occurs when therapists are doubly exposed to a traumatic event, both through their clients' experience, along with their own direct exposure. Studies have shown that a shared traumatic reality can lead to both positive and negative outcomes for therapists. Most studies have examined these reactions sometime after the end of the traumatic event, and less is known about reactions that occur during a traumatic event. In addition, most studies have assumed, rather than examined, indirect exposure. In this study, we extend this literature by examining direct and indirect exposure of therapists during a war situation, and their psychological reactions. Over a period of two months in 2014, 70% of the Israeli population was exposed to rocket fire. Geographical areas differed in terms of amount of exposure, and its potential danger. 151 therapists living throughout Israel were assessed via an Internet based survey in the middle of the war, and were assessed for the effects on their professional and personal lives, degree of burnout, ways of coping and symptoms levels of PTSD and psychological distress. These indicate that significant differences in direct exposure occurred depending on place of residence. PTSD levels were related to higher direct exposure, as well as prior trauma exposure, but not to indirect exposure. Indirect exposure, as measured by increased workload, was related to increased distress and emotional exhaustion. These data shed light on the effects of direct and indirect exposure to a shared traumatic experience of war amongst therapists. The data support previous studies showing a greater effect of direct exposure on PTSD. Since indirect exposure appears to negatively impact burnout and psychological distress, rather than PTSD, this study shows that symptoms other than PTSD should be the result of in a shared traumatic reality.
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Hadziahmetović, Nina; Alispahić, Sabina; Tuce, Đenita; Hasanbegović-Anić, Enedina
2016-02-01
BACKGROUND/AIM. In (counter)transference relationship therapist's interpersonal style, implying the perceived relation of therapist to a client (patient) in terms of control, autonomy, care and positive feedback, has been shown to be important. The aim of our study was to assess the relationship between therapist's interpersonal style and clients' personality self-reports. Within therapist's interpersonal style, preliminary validation of the Therapist's Interpersonal Style Scale has been conducted, which included double translation method, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, as well as the reliability tests of the derived components. This research was conducted on a group of 206 clients, attending one of the four psychotherapy modalities: psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy, cognitive-behavioral and systemic family therapy. Beside Therapist's Interpersonal Style Scale, Big Five Questionnaire and Therapy Benefit Scale were administered, showing good internal consistency. Principal component analysis of therapist's interpersonal style singled out two components Supportive Autonomy and Ignoring Control, explaining 42% of variance. Two-factor model of the therapist's styles was better fitted in confirmatory factor analysis than the original 4-factor model. Structural model showing indirect and direct effects of therapist's interpersonal styles on self-reports in clients indicates good fitness (χ²(12) = 8.932, p = 0.709; goodness-of-fit index = 0.989), with Ignoring Control having direct effect on Stability, Supportive Autonomy on Therapy Benefit, and Therapy Benefit on Plasticity. The results of this study indicate the importance of further research on therapist's interpersonal style, as well as further validation of the instrument that measures this construct. Besides, a client's perception that the therapy is being helpful could instigate more explorative and approach-oriented behavior, what indirectly might contribute to a client's stability.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Adamu Ahmad Rufa'i
2015-10-01
Full Text Available Background: Attire is one of the major determinants of appearance and a key element of non-verbal communication that plays a critical role in the establishment and sustainability of therapeutic relationships. This study aimed to determine the patients’ preferred physiotherapists’ attire and the effect of physiotherapists’ attire on patients’ confidence, comfort and patient-therapists relationship. Methods: A questionnaire was used to collect data in this cross sectional study design. Patients (N=281 attending outpatients physiotherapy clinics in six selected tertiary health institutions in North-eastern Nigeria completed a questionnaire consisting of two sections. Section one solicited sociodemographic information while in section two patients rated their level of confidence and comfort with physiotherapists based on a photo pictures of a male and a female physiotherapists models in four different attires. Descriptive statistics were performed to characterize participants and the differences in patients’ confidence and comfort level by different types of attire were assessed using chi-square. The correlation between physiotherapists’ attire and patient-physiotherapist relationship was determined using spearman rank correlation. Results: Overwhelming majority of the participants were more comfortable (91.1% and more confident (89.0% with the physiotherapists dressed in white coat, while they were less comfortable and less confident when their therapists are dressed in suit, native or casual wear. Positive patient-therapist relationship was observed with white coat dressed physiotherapists; while the relationship with business, native and casual wears were inverse. Conclusion: The study supports for continuing recommendation of lab coat as a professional dressing for physiotherapists in Nigeria and affirms the importance of professional dressing in patient-therapists relationship.
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Goal Development Practices of Physical Therapists Working in Educational Environments.
Wynarczuk, Kimberly D; Chiarello, Lisa A; Gohrband, Catherine L
2017-11-01
The aims of this study were to (1) describe the practices that school-based physical therapists use in developing student goals, and (2) identify facilitators and barriers to development of goals that are specific to participation in the context of the school setting. 46 school-based physical therapists who participated in a previous study on school-based physical therapy practice (PT COUNTS) completed a questionnaire on goal development. Frequencies and cross tabulations were generated for quantitative data. Open-ended questions were analyzed using an iterative qualitative analysis process. A majority of therapists reported that they frequently develop goals collaboratively with other educational team members. Input from teachers, related services personnel, and parents has the most influence on goal development. Qualitative analysis identified five themes that influence development of participation-based goals: (1) school-based philosophy and practice; (2) the educational environment, settings, and routines; (3) student strengths, needs, and personal characteristics; (4) support from and collaboration with members of the educational team; and (5) therapist practice and motivation. Goal development is a complex process that involves multiple members of the educational team and is influenced by many different aspects of practice, the school environment, and student characteristics.
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Parallel Journeys: How a Music Therapist Can Travel with his Client
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Henry Dunn
2009-01-01
Full Text Available This paper explores the nature of the client-therapist relationship through the presentation of a case study. In this case study I aim to show how our processes within the therapy had strong parallels and how through being personally affected by my client this enabled me to work therapeutically more effectively and help him on his journey. The case study demonstrates how I was prepared to try new techniques at the same time as my client became more experimental, and also reveals how the client’s experience was related to my own mental health history. I examine how this affected the way I worked and the way our therapeutic relationship developed. I ask the question of whether it is helpful for the therapist to be personally involved in the therapeutic process and how this can either aid or interfere with the work.Through reference to the work of Carl Jung in particular, I conclude that it is not only helpful, but essential for the therapist to be prepared to be part of the therapeutic process. By examining the nature of the wounded healer archetype and its relevance for the client-therapist relationship, it becomes clear that the therapist cannot help but be personally involved in some way, and that being conscious of this can be a very helpful part of our work. This is especially the case in music therapy, where the therapist usually participates in the co-creation of music, and therefore cannot stand totally outside it. It is this balance of being both outside and inside the process that is crucial to our work.
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Pagano, Christopher J
2012-01-01
Psychoanalytic psychotherapists, drawing upon intersubjective and attachment theories, recognize that mutual influence impacts the treatment process. Mutual influence generates enactments--emotionally intense joint creations stemming from the unconscious of both therapist and patient--which often leave both patient and therapist feeling confused and stuck. The author presents a case in which the therapist's use of improvisational role play was a critical therapeutic response to an enactment. The therapist's self-expression through the displacement of the role play 1) modeled a safe, affectively genuine engagement in relationship, 2) provided the patient with an unexpected and powerful window into the therapist's emotional world, 3) shifted the patient's fundamental belief that fathers and men are cold and unfeeling, and 4) led the patient to uncover "new" early memories and to become aware of his role as an agent of vitality and intimacy. The author concludes that using improvisation as a flexible response to rigid patterns of enactment may provide a catalyst for therapeutic change.
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Navigating Critical Theory and Postmodernism: Social Justice and Therapist Power in Family Therapy.
D'Arrigo-Patrick, Justine; Hoff, Chris; Knudson-Martin, Carmen; Tuttle, Amy
2017-09-01
The family therapy field encourages commitment to diversity and social justice, but offers varying ideas about how to attentively consider these issues. Critical informed models advocate activism, whereas postmodern informed models encourage multiple perspectives. It is often not clear how activism and an emphasis on multiple perspectives connect, engendering the sense that critical and postmodern practices may be disparate. To understand how therapists negotiate these perspectives in practice, this qualitative grounded theory analysis drew on interviews with 11 therapists, each known for their work from both critical and postmodern perspectives. We found that these therapists generally engage in a set of shared constructionist practices while also demonstrating two distinct forms of activism: activism through countering and activism through collaborating. Ultimately, decisions made about how to navigate critical and postmodern influences were connected to how therapists viewed ethics and the ways they were comfortable using their therapeutic power. The findings illustrate practice strategies through which therapists apply each approach. © 2016 Family Process Institute.
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Occupational therapists' experience of workplace fatigue: Issues and action.
Brown, Cary A; Schell, Jennifer; Pashniak, Lisa M
2017-01-01
Occupational therapists (OTs) work in all areas of health and wellbeing. The work is physically and psychologically demanding, but OTs are often not diligent about recognizing and attending to the workplace health and safety issue of fatigue in their own work settings. The purpose of this paper is to determine current issues and the evidence-base as presented in the literature so as to develop awareness and best practice interventions for fatigue reduction and management in occupational therapists' workplace. A comprehensive search strategy was carried out by the medical librarian on the study team and themes were extracted from the relevant literature by the study team. The literature revealed little research directly addressing occupational therapy workplace fatigue and we expanded our review of the evidence-base across all healthcare workers to identify publications of particular relevance to occupational therapists. This background paper is an important first step to raising awareness among OTs, guide key stakeholders regarding contributing factors to, and consequences of, OTs' workplace fatigue, and set research direction. Knowing which factors influencing workplace fatigue are shared across healthcare professionals and which are unique to OTs can also help organizations develop more tailored workplace fatigue risk reduction programs. This review concludes with a list of existing guidelines and tools for developing workplace fatigue risk assessment and management programs relevant to occupational therapists.
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Levac, Danielle E.; Glegg, Stephanie M. N.; Sveistrup, Heidi; Colquhoun, Heather; Miller, Patricia; Finestone, Hillel; DePaul, Vincent; Harris, Jocelyn E.; Velikonja, Diana
2016-01-01
Purpose Therapists use motor learning strategies (MLSs) to structure practice conditions within stroke rehabilitation. Virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation is an MLS-oriented stroke intervention, yet little support exists to assist therapists in integrating MLSs with VR system use. Method A pre-post design evaluated a knowledge translation (KT) intervention incorporating interactive e-learning and practice, in which 11 therapists learned how to integrate MLSs within VR-based therapy. Sel...
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Experiences of occupational therapists returning to work after maternity leave.
Parcsi, Lisa; Curtin, Michael
2013-08-01
Returning to work after maternity leave can be a challenging, anxious and fraught experience for women, and has been portrayed in the literature as a generally negative experience. Interestingly, although occupational therapists were predominantly women, no research was found focussing on their experiences of returning to work after maternity leave. The aim of this research was to gain an insight into occupational therapists' experiences of returning to work following maternity leave. Principles of interpretive phenomenological analysis were used to explore the individual experiences of six Australian occupational therapists returning to work after a period of maternity leave. Individual semi-structured interviews lasting up to 90 minutes were conducted. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and then analysed. Two major themes emerged from the analysis of interviews: compromise and feeling valued. The experience of returning to work was a process of compromise in which women found strategies to cope with their changing roles and demands, to find a balance between home and work life. The women wanted to feel valued by their managers and co-workers, as this enabled them to feel comfortable and confident with some of the compromises they made. Occupational therapists returning to work after maternity leave will make compromises so that they can balance their home and work life. Occupational therapists value managers and co-workers who understand the compromises women make when returning to work following maternity leave and who create a supportive workplace that acknowledges and values their contribution. © 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia.
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Therapist self-disclosure and the therapeutic alliance in the treatment of eating problems.
Simonds, Laura M; Spokes, Naomi
2017-01-01
Evidence is mixed regarding the potential utility of therapist self-disclosure. The current study modelled relationships between perceived helpfulness of therapist self-disclosures, therapeutic alliance, patient non-disclosure, and shame in participants (n = 120; 95% women) with a history of eating problems. Serial multiple mediator analyses provided support for a putative model connecting the perceived helpfulness of therapist self-disclosures with current eating disorder symptom severity through therapeutic alliance, patient self-disclosure, and shame. The analyses presented provide support for the contention that therapist self-disclosure, if perceived as helpful, might strengthen the therapeutic alliance. A strong therapeutic alliance, in turn, has the potential to promote patient disclosure and reduce shame and eating problems.
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Sherman, Karen J; Cherkin, Daniel C; Deyo, Richard A; Erro, Janet H; Hrbek, Andrea; Davis, Roger B; Eisenberg, David M
2006-01-01
To describe the diagnostic and therapeutic content of visits for chronic back pain to acupuncturists, chiropractors, and massage therapists. Randomly selected acupuncturists, chiropractors, and massage therapists in two states were surveyed, and then eligible providers collected data on consecutive patient visits. The authors analyzed information on diagnosis, treatment, and self-care recommendations for chronic back pain patients collected during consecutive patient visits to these complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers. Back pain was the most common reason for visits to each of these providers, with chronic back pain representing about 10% of visits to acupuncturists, 20% of visits to chiropractors, and 12% of visits to massage therapists. Diagnosis by acupuncturists included traditional questioning and inspecting the patient as well as pulse and tongue assessment and palpation of the acupuncture meridians. Treatments usually included acupuncture needling, heat of some sort, and other modalities, such as East Asian massage, herbs, and/or cupping (application of suction cups to the skin). Lifestyle recommendations were common, particularly exercise and dietary counseling. Visits to chiropractors usually included spinal and muscle/soft tissue examinations and spinal manipulation. Soft tissue techniques (eg, "active release"), stretch or strength training, and home exercise recommendations were much less common. Massage therapists usually performed a tissue assessment and commonly assessed range of motion. They emphasized Swedish, deep tissue, and trigger point massage techniques and usually made self-care recommendations, particularly increased water intake, hot/cold therapy, exercise, and body awareness. Information on the care patients routinely receive from CAM providers will help physicians better understand these increasingly popular forms of care.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Minkwan Ju
2015-01-01
Full Text Available This study intends to investigate the flexural bond performance of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP reinforcing bar under repeated loading. The flexural bond tests reinforced with GFRP reinforcing bars were carried out according to the BS EN 12269-1 (2000 specification. The bond test consisted of three loading schemes: static, monotonic, and variable-amplitude loading to simulate ambient loading conditions. The empirical bond length based on the static test was 225 mm, whereas it was 317 mm according to ACI 440 1R-03. Each bond stress on the rib is released and bonding force is enhanced as the bond length is increased. Appropriate level of bond length may be recommended with this energy-based analysis. For the monotonic loading test, the bond strengths at pullout failure after 2,000,000 cycles were 10.4 MPa and 6.5 MPa, respectively: 63–70% of the values from the static loading test. The variable loading test indicated that the linear cumulative damage theory on GFRP bonding may not be appropriate for estimating the fatigue limit when subjected to variable-amplitude loading.
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Marmarosh, Cheri L; Kivlighan, Dennis M; Bieri, Kathryn; LaFauci Schutt, Jean M; Barone, Carrie; Choi, Jaehwa
2014-09-01
The purpose of this study was to test the notion that complementary attachments are best for achieving a secure base in psychotherapy. Specifically, we predicted third to fifth session alliance from client- and therapist-rated attachment style interactions. Using a combined sample of 46 therapy dyads from a community mental health clinic and university counseling center, the client- and therapist-perceived therapy alliance, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance were examined at the beginning of therapy. The results of an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kenny & Cook, 1999, Partner effects in relationship research: Conceptual issues, analytic difficulties, and illustrations. Personal Relationships, 6, 433-448.) indicated that there was no direct effect of either client or therapist attachment style on therapist or client early ratings of the alliance. One significant interaction emerged and indicated that client-perceived alliance was influenced by therapist and client attachment anxiety. The client-perceived early alliance was higher when more anxious therapists worked with clients with decreasing anxiety. The client early alliance was higher when less anxious therapists worked with clients with increasing anxiety. The findings partially support the notion that different attachment configurations between the therapist and client facilitate greater alliance, but this was the case only when assessing client-perceived early alliance and only with regards to the dimension of attachment anxiety. There were no significant main effects or interactions when exploring therapist-perceived alliance. Implications of the findings are discussed along with recommendations for future study and clinical training. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.
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The lived experience of being a speech-language therapist in the Western Cape public health service.
Warden, Jocelyn A; Mayers, Patricia; Kathard, Harsha
2008-01-01
This study explores the lived experience of being a Speech-Language Therapist (S-L Therapist) in the South African Western Cape public health service. The lived experience of seven S-L Therapists with varied clinical experience was illuminated using a qualitative phenomenological research design. S-L Therapists, working in the three Western Cape tertiary hospitals, provided an in-depth account of their experiences as S-L Therapists. The audio recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using an adaptation of Colaizzi's (1978) method of analysis. The rigour and trustworthiness of the research process was informed by consideration of issues of credibility, applicability, confirmability and dependability as they relate to phenomenological design. Five main themes emerged from data analysis: expectations of practice and practice realities; being part of the "underdog" profession: role definition and status; being connected; the holistic nature of the S-L Therapist's practice; and erosion or promotion.The implications for training and support of S-L Therapists by managers and policymakers and peers are highlighted.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anang Kristianto
2012-11-01
Full Text Available One of the important requirements for earthquake resistant building related to confinement is the use of seismic hooks in the hoop or confining reinforcement of reinforced-concrete column elements. However, installation of a confining reinforcement with a 135-degree hook is not easy. Therefore, in practice, many construction workers apply a confining reinforcement with a 90-degreehook (non-code compliant. Based on research and records of recent earthquakes in Indonesia, the use of a non-code compliant confining reinforcement for concrete columns produces structures with poor seismic performance. This paper presents a study that introduces an additional element that is expected to improve the effectiveness of concrete columns confined with a non-code compliant confining reinforcement. The additional element, named a pen-binder, is used to keep the non-code compliant confining reinforcement in place. The effectiveness of this element under pure axial concentric loading was investigatedcomprehensively.The specimens tested in this study were 18 concrete columns,with a cross-section of 170 mm x 170 mm and a height of 480 mm. The main test variables were the material type of the pen-binder, the angle of the hook, and the confining reinforcement configuration.The test results indicate that adding pen-binders can effectively improve the strength and ductility of the column specimens confined with a non-code compliant confining reinforcement
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Akroyd, Duane; Legg, Jeff; Jackowski, Melissa B.; Adams, Robert D.
2009-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of selected organizational factors and the leadership behavior of supervisors on radiation therapists' commitment to their organizations. The population for this study consists of all full time clinical radiation therapists registered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) in the United States. A random sample of 800 radiation therapists was obtained from the ARRT for this study. Questionnaires were mailed to all participants and measured organizational variables; managerial leadership variable and three components of organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative). It was determined that organizational support, and leadership behavior of supervisors each had a significant and positive affect on normative and affective commitment of radiation therapists and each of the models predicted over 40% of the variance in radiation therapists organizational commitment. This study examined radiation therapists' commitment to their organizations and found that affective (emotional attachment to the organization) and normative (feelings of obligation to the organization) commitments were more important than continuance commitment (awareness of the costs of leaving the organization). This study can help radiation oncology administrators and physicians to understand the values their radiation therapy employees hold that are predictive of their commitment to the organization. A crucial result of the study is the importance of the perceived support of the organization and the leadership skills of managers/supervisors on radiation therapists' commitment to the organization.
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Tarigan, Johannes; Meka, Randi; Nursyamsi
2018-03-01
Fiber Reinforcement Polymer has been used as a material technology since the 1970s in Europe. Fiber Reinforcement Polymer can reinforce the structure externally, and used in many types of buildings like beams, columns, and slabs. It has high tensile strength. Fiber Reinforcement Polymer also has high rigidity and strength. The profile of Fiber Reinforcement Polymer is thin and light, installation is simple to conduct. One of Fiber Reinforcement Polymer material is Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Polymer and Glass Fiber Reinforcement Polymer. These materials is tested when it is installed on concrete cylinders, to obtain the comparison of compressive strength CFRP and GFRP. The dimension of concrete is diameter of 15 cm and height of 30 cm. It is amounted to 15 and divided into three groups. The test is performed until it collapsed to obtain maximum load. The results of research using CFRP and GFRP have shown the significant enhancement in compressive strength. CFRP can increase the compressive strength of 26.89%, and GFRP of 14.89%. For the comparison of two materials, CFRP is more strengthening than GFRP regarding increasing compressive strength. The usage of CFRP and GFRP can increase the loading capacity.
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Montero-Chacón, F.; Schlangen, H.E.J.G.; Medina, F.
2013-01-01
The use of fiber-reinforced high-performance concrete (FRHPC) is becoming more extended; therefore it is necessary to develop tools to simulate and better understand its behavior. In this work, a discrete model for the analysis of fracture mechanics in FRHPC is presented. The plain concrete matrix,
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Behavior of reinforced concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
D. H. Tavares
Full Text Available The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP bars is one of the alternatives presented in recent studies to prevent the drawbacks related to the steel reinforcement in specific reinforced concrete members. In this work, six reinforced concrete beams were submitted to four point bending tests. One beam was reinforced with CA-50 steel bars and five with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP bars. The tests were carried out in the Department of Structural Engineering in São Carlos Engineering School, São Paulo University. The objective of the test program was to compare strength, reinforcement deformation, displacement, and some anchorage aspects between the GFRP-reinforced concrete beams and the steel-reinforced concrete beam. The results show that, even though four GFRP-reinforced concrete beams were designed with the same internal tension force as that with steel reinforcement, their capacity was lower than that of the steel-reinforced beam. The results also show that similar flexural capacity can be achieved for the steel- and for the GFRP-reinforced concrete beams by controlling the stiffness (reinforcement modulus of elasticity multiplied by the bar cross-sectional area - EA and the tension force of the GFRP bars.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Crivelaro, Marcos
2002-01-01
In this work various treatments for protecting reinforcing steels against corrosion induced by chlorides have been evaluated. Additives to mortars and surface treatments given to reinforcing steels were evaluated as corrosion protection measures. In the preliminary tests the corrosion resistance of a CA 50 steel treated by immersion in nearly 50 different solutions, was determined. The solutions were prepared with tannins (from various sources) and/or benzotriazole, and during immersion, a surface film formed on the steel. The corrosion resistance of the coated steels was evaluated in a saturated Ca(OH) 2 solution with 5% (wt) NaCl. Preliminary tests were also carried out with mortars reinforced with uncoated steel to which tannin or lignin was added. Two organic coatings, a monocomponent and a bicomponent type, formulated specially for this investigation, with both tannin and benzotriazole, were also tested in the preliminary tests to select the coating with better corrosion protection property. The bicomponent type (epoxy coating) showed better performance than the monocomponent type coating, and the former was therefore chosen to investigate the corrosion performance on CA 50 steel inside mortar specimens. From the preliminary tests, two solutions with tannin from two sources, Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii) and Brazilian tea (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hill), to which benzotriazole and phosphoric acid were added, were chosen. Mortar specimens reinforced with CA50 steel treated by immersion in these two solutions were prepared. Also, epoxy coated CA50 steel was tested as reinforcement inside mortar specimens. Mortars reinforced with uncoated CA50 steel were also prepared and corrosion tested for comparison. The effect of tannin and lignin as separate additives to the mortar on the corrosion resistance of uncoated steel was also studied. The reinforced mortar specimens were tested with various cycles of immersion for 2 days in 3.5% (wt) NaCl followed by with air
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Ardanuy Raso, Mònica; Claramunt Blanes, Josep; Arévalo Peces, Raquel; Parés Sabatés, Ferran; Aracri, Elisabetta; Vidal Lluciá, Teresa
2012-01-01
In this work, nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) has been evaluated as a potential reinforcement for cement mortar composites. Two types of vegetable fibres with different composition and properties (cellulose content and microfibrillar angle), sisal, and cotton linters pulps, were initially characterized in order to assess their reinforcement capability. Sisal pulp was found to be most suitable as reinforcement for their brittle cementitious matrix. Nanofibrillated cellulose was produced by th...
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Full Scale Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Joints Strengthened with Steel Reinforced Polymer Systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alessandro De Vita
2017-07-01
Full Text Available This paper presents the results of an experimental campaign performed at the Laboratory of Materials and Structural Testing of the University of Salerno (Italy in order to investigate the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC beam-column joints strengthened with steel reinforced polymer (SRP systems. With the aim to represent typical façade frames’ beam-column subassemblies found in existing RC buildings, specimens were provided with two short beam stubs orthogonal to the main beam and were designed with inadequate seismic details. Five members were strengthened by using two different SRP layouts while the remaining ones were used as benchmarks. Once damaged, two specimens were also repaired, retrofitted with SRP, and subjected to cyclic test again. The results of cyclic tests performed on SRP strengthened joints are examined through a comparison with the outcomes of the previous experimental program including companion specimens not provided with transverse beam stubs and strengthened by carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP systems. In particular, both qualitative and quantitative considerations about the influence of the confining effect provided by the secondary beams on the joint response, the suitability of all the adopted strengthening solutions (SRP/CFRP systems, the performances and the failure modes experienced in the several cases studied are provided.
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Szeto, Grace P Y; Cheng, Andy S K; Lee, Edwin W C; Schonstein, Eva; Gross, Douglas P
2011-03-01
This is a discussion paper to examine the issues surrounding management of work-related injuries by physiotherapists and occupational therapists in Hong Kong. Therapists working in public hospitals are faced with managing injured workers with limited resources and this frequently results in suboptimal outcomes. In this paper, five experienced therapists critically reviewed the current practices in the physiotherapy and occupational therapy professions in Hong Kong, with regard to managing patients with work injuries. In many hospitals, therapists still practice with a disease-based model focusing on symptom relief and restoration of general physical function. We collated information about current programs initiated by physiotherapists and occupational therapists to provide more strategic intervention strategies for early screening of high-risk patients and adaptive biopsychosocial interventions targeting return-to-work outcomes. Clinical and system-level barriers and facilitators of a major paradigm shift towards work disability prevention are discussed. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists need to develop more strategic collaborations and actively voice out the need for major systematic changes within the local healthcare system, in order to provide a more effective management approach in line with the concept of Work Disability Prevention.
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Occupational therapists' perceptions about the clinical utility of the 3D interior design software.
Atwa, Anita; Money, Arthur G; Spiliotopoulou, Georgia; Mcintyre, Anne
2013-07-01
The 3D interior design software (3DIDS) is a technology, which primarily allows users to simulate their homes and visualize any changes prior to implementing them. This feasibility study aimed to examine occupational therapists' perceptions about the clinical utility of the 3DIDS. A secondary aim was to explore the attitudes of occupational therapists towards technology in general. Three focus groups were conducted with 25 occupational therapists working with older people in the UK. The qualitative data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The three main themes that were identified were usage and attitudes of technology, opportunities for realistic application of the 3DIDS and related threats and benefits for the occupational therapy profession. Occupational therapists had a positive attitude towards technology. They suggested that the 3DIDS could be used in discharge planning and in rehabilitation. They viewed it as a tool that could enhance their status within the health care profession and improve communication, but not as a tool that should replace the role of the occupational therapist. This research offers new and important findings about the utilization of the 3DIDS by occupational therapists and provides information as to where this technology should be trialled.
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Negotiating behavioural change: therapists' proposal turns in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Ekberg, Katie; Lecouteur, Amanda
2012-01-01
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an internationally recognised method for treating depression. However, many of the techniques involved in CBT are accomplished within the therapy interaction in diverse ways, and with varying consequences for the trajectory of therapy session. This paper uses conversation analysis to examine some standard ways in which therapists propose suggestions for behavioural change to clients attending CBT sessions for depression in Australia. Therapists' proposal turns displayed their subordinate epistemic authority over the matter at hand, and emphasised a high degree of optionality on behalf of the client in accepting their suggestions. This practice was routinely accomplished via three standard proposal turns: (1) hedged recommendations; (2) interrogatives; and (3) information-giving. These proposal turns will be examined in relation to the negotiation of behavioural change, and the implications for CBT interactions between therapist and client will be discussed.
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Gazsi, Claudia C; Oriel, Kathryn N
2010-01-01
A goal when designing the Physical Therapy Program at Lebanon Valley College (LVC) was to maximize vertical and horizontal integration of course content related to (a) medical Spanish, (b) geriatrics, and (c) health promotion through a service learning engagement. Seventeen Doctor of Physical Therapy students from LVC participated in a fall risk screening at a local senior center in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood. The screen included the single leg stance, timed-up-and-go (TUG), and functional reach tests. The students screened 30 participants over a 3-hour time period. Following the screening event, students were asked to reflect on their experience. Reflections revealed that the activity supported integration of concurrent didactic course material and Core Values, reinforced cultural issues presented the previous year, and convinced students that physical therapists have a distinct and important role in primary and secondary prevention in meeting the needs of the Spanish-speaking elderly community.
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Therapist-supported Internet cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders in adults.
Olthuis, Janine V; Watt, Margo C; Bailey, Kristen; Hayden, Jill A; Stewart, Sherry H
2016-03-12
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders. Many people have difficulty accessing treatment, due to a variety of obstacles. Researchers have therefore explored the possibility of using the Internet to deliver CBT; it is important to ensure the decision to promote such treatment is grounded in high quality evidence. To assess the effects of therapist-supported Internet CBT (ICBT) on remission of anxiety disorder diagnosis and reduction of anxiety symptoms in adults as compared to waiting list control, unguided CBT, or face-to-face CBT. Effects of treatment on quality of life and patient satisfaction with the intervention were also assessed. We searched the Cochrane Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Review Group Specialised Register (CCDANCTR) to 16 March 2015. The CCDANCTR includes relevant randomised controlled trials from MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CENTRAL. We also searched online clinical trial registries and reference lists of included studies. We contacted authors to locate additional trials. Each identified study was independently assessed for inclusion by two authors. To be included, studies had to be randomised controlled trials of therapist-supported ICBT compared to a waiting list, attention, information, or online discussion group; unguided CBT (that is, self-help); or face-to-face CBT. We included studies that treated adults with an anxiety disorder (panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and specific phobia) defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III, III-R, IV, IV-TR or the International Classification of Disesases 9 or 10. Two authors independently assessed the risk of bias of included studies and judged overall study quality. We used data from intention-to-treat analyses wherever possible. We assessed treatment effect for the dichotomous outcome
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Black, Lisa L; Jensen, Gail M; Mostrom, Elizabeth; Perkins, Jan; Ritzline, Pamela D; Hayward, Lorna; Blackmer, Betsy
2010-12-01
The goal in studying expertise is not merely to describe ways in which experts excel but also to understand how experts develop in order to better facilitate the development of novices. The study of novice progression helps us to understand what successful versus unsuccessful learning looks like. This understanding is critical, as autonomous practice places increased demands for advanced clinical judgments and the ability to assume professional responsibilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences, learning, and development of promising novice therapists throughout their first year of practice in the United States. A longitudinal, multiple-site qualitative case study method was used for within-case and across-case analysis. A purposive sample of 11 promising new graduates from 4 physical therapist education programs participated. Investigators followed the graduates throughout their first year of practice. Data sources included: (1) semistructured interviews conducted at baseline and every 3 months thereafter for 1 year, (2) reflective journals completed at regular intervals, and (3) review of academic and clinical education records and résumés. Four themes emerged: (1) the clinical environment influenced the novice physical therapists' performance, (2) participants learned through experience and social interaction and learning was primarily directed toward self, (3) growing confidence was directly related to developing communication skills, and (4) therapists were engaged in professional identity formation and role transitions. The findings suggest there are common experiences and themes that emerge as novice physical therapists develop. Although research has been conducted on expertise in physical therapy, few longitudinal investigations have explored the development of therapists across transitions from graduate to novice to expert practitioner. This study explored and described the learning and development of graduates during their first
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Veitch, Craig; Dew, Angela; Bulkeley, Kim; Lincoln, Michelle; Bundy, Anita; Gallego, Gisselle; Griffiths, Scott
2012-01-01
The disability sector encompasses a broad range of conditions and needs, including children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people with acquired disabilities, and irreversible physical injuries. Allied health professionals (therapists), in the disability sector, work within government and funded or charitable non-government agencies, schools, communities, and private practice. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study of therapist workforce and service delivery in the disability sector in rural and remote New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The aim was to investigate issues of importance to policy-makers, managers and therapists providing services to people with disabilities in rural and remote areas. The project gathered information via semi-structured interviews with individuals and small groups. Head office and regional office policy-makers, along with managers and senior therapists in western NSW were invited to participate. Participants included 12 policy-makers, 28 managers and 10 senior therapists from NSW government agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in providing services and support to people with disabilities in the region. Information was synthesised prior to using constant comparative analysis within and across data sets to identify issues. Five broad themes resonated across participants' roles, locations and service settings: (1) challenges to implementing policy in rural and remote NSW; (2) the impact of geographic distribution of workforce and clients; (3) workforce issues - recruitment, support, workloads, retention; (4) equity and access issues for rural clients; and (5) the important role of the NGO sector in rural service delivery and support. Although commitment to providing best practice services was universal, policy-related information transfer between organisations and employees was inconsistent. Participants raised some workforce and service delivery issues that are similar to
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Louter, C.; Nielsen, Jens Henrik
2013-01-01
This paper focuses on the numerical modelling of SentryGlas-laminated reinforced glass beams. In these beams, which have been experimentally investigated in preceding research, a stainless steel reinforcement section is laminated at the inner recessed edge of a triple-layer glass beam by means...... of SentryGlas (SG) interlayer sheets. The current contribution numerically investigates the effect of the SG-interlayer shear stiffness on the overall structural response of the beams. This is done by means of a 3D finite element model in which the individual glass layers, the SG......-interlayers and the reinforcement are incorporated. In the model, the glass parts are allowed to crack, but all other parts are assumed linear elastic throughout the analyses. By changing the shear modulus of the SG-interlayer in multiple analyses, its contribution to the overall structural performance of the beams - especially...
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Tanyeri, Ahmet Can
2014-01-01
Past earthquakes have shown examples of unsatisfactory performance of buildings using reinforced concrete structural walls as the primary lateral-force-resisting system. In the 1994 Northridge earthquake, examples can be found where walls possessed too much overstrength, leading to unintended failure of collectors and floor systems, including precast and post-tensioned construction. In the 2010 Maule Chile earthquake, many structural wall buildings sustained severe damage. Although Chilean de...
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Zickgraf, Hana F; Chambless, Dianne L; McCarthy, Kevin S; Gallop, Robert; Sharpless, Brian A; Milrod, Barbara L; Barber, Jacques P
2016-05-01
The contributions of disorder severity, comorbidity and interpersonal variables to therapists' adherence to a cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) manual were tested. Thirty-eight patients received panic control therapy (PCT) for panic disorder. Trained observers watching videotapes of the sixth session of a 24-session protocol rated therapists' adherence to PCT and their use of interventions from outside the CBT model. Different observers rated patients' behavioural resistance to therapy in the same session using the client resistance code. Interview measures obtained before treatment included the Panic Disorder Severity Scale, the anxiety disorders interview schedule for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV and the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV, Axis II. Questionnaire measures were the anxiety sensitivity index at intake, and, at session 2, the therapist and client versions of the working alliance inventory-short form. The higher the patients' resistance and the more Axis II traits a patient had, the less adherent the therapist. Moreover, the more resistant the client, the more therapists resorted to interventions from outside the CBT model. Stronger therapist and patient alliance was also generally related to better adherence, but these results were somewhat inconsistent across therapists. Pretreatment disorder severity and comorbidity were not related to adherence. Interpersonal variables, particularly behavioural resistance to therapy, are related to therapists' ability to adhere to a treatment manual and to their use of interventions from outside of the CBT model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Patients' behavioural resistance to therapy may make it more difficult for cognitive-behavioural clinicians to adhere to a structured treatment protocol and more likely for them to borrow interventions from outside the CBT model. Patients' Axis II traits may make adherence to treatment CBT protocol more difficult
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Numerical modelling of reinforced concrete beams with fracture-plastic material
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
O. Sucharda
2014-10-01
Full Text Available This paper describes the use of models of fracture-plastic materials for reinforced concrete in numerical modelling of beams made from reinforced concrete. The purpose of the paper is to use of a model of concrete for modelling of a behaviour of reinforced concrete beams which have been tested at the University of Toronto within re-examination of classic concrete beam tests. The original tests were performed by Bresler- Scordelis. A stochastic modelling based on LHS (Latin Hypercube Sampling has been performed for the reinforced concrete beam. An objective of the modelling is to evaluate the total bearing capacity of the reinforced concrete beams depending on distribution of input data. The beams from the studied set have longitudinal reinforcement only. The beams do not have any shear reinforcement. The software used for the fracture-plastic model of the reinforced concrete is the ATENA.
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Seismic Performance of a Corroded Reinforce Concrete Frame Structure Using Pushover Method
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Meng Zhang
2018-01-01
Full Text Available SAP2000 software was used to build the finite element model of a six-storey-three-span reinforced concrete (RC frame structure. The numerical simulation of the seismic performance of the RC frame structure incorporating different levels of rebar corrosion was conducted using pushover analysis method. The degradation characteristics of the seismic performance of the corroded structure under severe earthquake were also analyzed. The results show that the seismic performance of the RC frame decreased significantly due to corrosion of the longitudinal rebars. And the interstory drift ratios increase dramatically with the increasing of the corrosion rate. At the same time, the formation and development of plastic hinges (beam hinges or column hinges will accelerate, which leads to a more aggravated deformation of the structure under rare earthquake action, resulting in a negative effect to the seismic bearing capacity of the structure.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sadiq, Muhammad; Xiu Yun, Zhu; Rong, Pan
2014-01-01
Highlights: • Simulation analysis is carried out with two constitutive concrete models. • Winfrith model can better simulate nonlinear response of concrete than CSCM model. • Performance of steel plate concrete is better than reinforced concrete. • Thickness of safety related structures can be reduced by adopting steel plates. • Analysis results, mainly concrete material models should be validated. - Abstract: The steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete structures are used in nuclear power plants for protection against impact of an aircraft. In order to compare the impact resistance performance of steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete slabs panels, simulation analysis of 1/7.5 scale model impact tests is carried out by using finite element code ANSYS/LS-DYNA. The damage modes of all finite element models, velocity time history curves of the aircraft engine and damage to aircraft model are compared with the impact test results of steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete slab panels. The results indicate that finite element simulation results correlate well with the experimental results especially for constitutive winfrith concrete model. Also, the impact resistance performance of steel plate reinforced concrete slab panels is better than reinforced concrete slab panels, particularly the rear face steel plate is very effective in preventing the perforation and scabbing of concrete than conventional reinforced concrete structures. In this way, the thickness of steel plate reinforced concrete structures can be reduced in important structures like nuclear power plants against impact of aircraft. It also demonstrates the methodology to validate the analysis procedure with experimental and analytical studies. It may be effectively employed to predict the precise response of safety related structures against aircraft impact
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Apodaca, Timothy R; Jackson, Kristina M; Borsari, Brian; Magill, Molly; Longabaugh, Richard; Mastroleo, Nadine R; Barnett, Nancy P
2016-02-01
To identify individual therapist behaviors which elicit client change talk or sustain talk in motivational interviewing sessions. Motivational interviewing sessions from a single-session alcohol intervention delivered to college students were audio-taped, transcribed, and coded using the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code (MISC), a therapy process coding system. Participants included 92 college students and eight therapists who provided their treatment. The MISC was used to code 17 therapist behaviors related to the use of motivational interviewing, and client language reflecting movement toward behavior change (change talk), away from behavior change (sustain talk), or unrelated to the target behavior (follow/neutral). Client change talk was significantly more likely to immediately follow individual therapist behaviors [affirm (p=.013), open question (pmotivational interviewing can either elicit both client change talk and sustain talk or suppress both types of client language. Affirm was the only therapist behavior that both increased change talk and also reduced sustain talk. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Yu, R.; Spiesz, P.R.; Brouwers, H.J.H.
2015-01-01
This paper presents a method to develop Ultra-High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC). Towards an efficient utilization of binders and fibres in UHPFRC, the modified Andreasen & Andersen particle packing model and the hybridization design of fibres are utilized. Particularly, the UHPFRC
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Holmes, Jeremy
2009-09-01
This short article is a commentary on a research study investigating therapist and client attachment styles and their relationship to alliance development in a 12-week psychodynamic psychotherapy program for nonpsychotic inpatients. The relationship is complex; unsurprisingly, securely attached therapists with less distressed clients formed the strongest alliances. A significant proportion of therapists were insecure, almost entirely in the preoccupied or hyperactivating mode. It is argued that collusive relationships between such therapists and similarly overaroused clients may be common. Therapists need both to accommodate to their client's attachment style and to confound it if positive change is to result. Therapist self-scrutiny is likely to be a precondition for such positive outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
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Clinical reasoning of Filipino physical therapists: Experiences in a developing nation.
Rotor, Esmerita R; Capio, Catherine M
2018-03-01
Clinical reasoning is essential for physical therapists to engage in the process of client care, and has been known to contribute to professional development. The literature on clinical reasoning and experiences have been based on studies from Western and developed nations, from which multiple influencing factors have been found. A developing nation, the Philippines, has distinct social, economic, political, and cultural circumstances. Using a phenomenological approach, this study explored experiences of Filipino physical therapists on clinical reasoning. Ten therapists working in three settings: 1) hospital; 2) outpatient clinic; and 3) home health were interviewed. Major findings were: a prescription-based referral system limited clinical reasoning; procedural reasoning was a commonly experienced strategy while diagnostic and predictive reasoning were limited; factors that influenced clinical reasoning included practice setting and the professional relationship with the referring physician. Physical therapists' responses suggested a lack of autonomy in practice that appeared to stifle clinical reasoning. Based on our findings, we recommend that the current regulations governing PT practice in the Philippines may be updated, and encourage educators to strengthen teaching approaches and strategies that support clinical reasoning. These recommendations are consistent with the global trend toward autonomous practice.
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Huijg, Johanna M; Dusseldorp, Elise; Gebhardt, Winifred A; Verheijden, Marieke W; van der Zouwe, Nicolette; Middelkoop, Barend J C; Duijzer, Geerke; Crone, Mathilde R
2015-04-01
Physical therapists play an important role in the promotion of physical activity (PA) and the effectiveness of PA interventions. However, little is known about the extent to which they implement PA interventions following the intervention protocol and about the factors influencing their implementation behaviors. The study objective was to investigate physical therapists' implementation fidelity regarding PA interventions, including completeness and quality of delivery, and influencing factors with a Theoretical Domains Framework-based questionnaire. The study was based on a cross-sectional design. A total of 268 physical therapists completed the Determinants of Implementation Behavior Questionnaire. Questions about completeness and quality of delivery were based on components and tasks of PA interventions as described by the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy. Multilevel regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with completeness and quality of delivery. High implementation fidelity was found for the physical therapists, with higher scores for completeness of delivery than for quality of delivery. Physical therapists' knowledge, skills, beliefs about capabilities and consequences, positive emotions, behavioral regulation, and the automaticity of PA intervention delivery were the most important predictors of implementation fidelity. Together, the Theoretical Domains Framework accounted for 23% of the variance in both total completeness and total quality scores. The cross-sectional design precluded the determination of causal relationships. Also, the use of a self-report measure to assess implementation fidelity could have led to socially desirable responses, possibly resulting in more favorable ratings for completeness and quality. This study enhances the understanding of how physical therapists implement PA interventions and which factors influence their behaviors. Knowledge about these factors may assist in the development of strategies to
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Liu, Lili; Miguel Cruz, Antonio; Rios Rincon, Adriana; Buttar, Vickie; Ranson, Quentin; Goertzen, Darrell
2015-01-01
The aim of this study was to examine what factors affect the acceptance behavior and use of new technologies for rehabilitation by therapists at a large rehabilitation hospital in Canada. A self-administrated paper-based survey was created by adapting scales with high levels of internal consistency in prior research using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Items were scored on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly disagree (1)" to "strongly agree (7)". The target population was all occupational therapists (OT) and physical therapists (PT) involved with the provision of therapeutic interventions at the hospital. Our research model was tested using partial least squares (PLS) technique. Performance expectancy was the strongest salient construct for behavioral intention to use new technologies in rehabilitation, whereas neither effort expectancy nor social influence were salient constructs for behavioral intention to use new technologies; (4) facilitating condition and behavioral intention to use new technologies were salient constructs for current use of new technologies in rehabilitation, with facilitating condition the strongest salient for current use of new technologies in rehabilitation. In a large rehabilitation hospital where use of new technologies in rehabilitation is not mandatory, performance expectancy, or how the technology can help in therapists' work, was the most important factor in determining therapists' acceptance and use of technologies. However, effort expectancy and social influence constructs were not important, i.e. therapists were not influenced by the degree of difficulty or social pressures to use technologies. Behavioral intention and facilitating condition, or institutional support, are related to current use of new technologies in rehabilitation.
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Physical therapists' perceptions of sexual boundaries in clinical practice in the United States.
Roush, Susan E; Cox, Kenneth; Garlick, John; Kane, Molly; Marchand, Lauren
2015-07-01
Physical therapists' perceptions of sexual boundaries in clinic settings in the United States have not been studied. Given the magnitude of potential consequences of sexual boundary violations, examination of this topic is imperative. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of sexual boundaries among licensed physical therapists in the United States. Licensed physical therapists from Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, and Oregon were contacted by email and asked to complete a sexual boundaries questionnaire via Survey Monkey™; 967 surveys (7.3%) were returned. While most physical therapists practice within the profession's Code of Ethics, there are practitioners who date current and former patients, and condone patients' sexual banter in the clinic. Almost half (42%) of the participants acknowledged feeling sexually attracted to a patient. While gender differences were seen throughout the analyses, generally, the demographic and professional variables did not account for meaningful variance. Results were similar to previous research on physiotherapists in other countries. Sexuality is part of the physical therapy practice environment and physical therapists' understanding of sexual boundaries is ambiguous. These data can inform professional conversation on sexual boundaries in physical therapy practice leading to greater understanding and decreased potential for violations.
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Levengood, Jan; And Others
The effects of divorce on children have been greatly disputed among therapists. Since the perceived harmfulness of divorce may affect how marital counseling is done, this study examined how therapists' beliefs about divorce consequences are related to their intervention preferences. A two-part questionnaire was devised to be administered to…
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Schizophrenic Patients’ Attitudes to Therapists Using Behavioral and Holistic-Humanistic Techniques
STARK, F. MICHAEL; LIBERMAN, ROBERT PAUL; CORRIGAN, PATRICK W.
1992-01-01
In a preliminary study of patients‘ perceptions of therapists’ styles, 18 subjects with diagnoses of schizophrenia were randomly assigned either to social skills training or holistic health therapy. Four therapists conducted each treatment session in pairs, rotating between treatment conditions daily. At the end of 10 weeks of treatment, patients were able to discriminate among therapists on three interactional styles—"understanding," "independence-encouraging," and "and "criti...
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Camden, Chantal; Rivard, Lisa M; Hurtubise, Karen; Héguy, Léa; Berbari, Jade
2017-07-01
Communities of practice (CoPs) are useful knowledge translation (KT) strategies, but little is known about their impact on physical therapists' self-perceived practice. The impact of a CoP on physical therapists' self-perceived practice was evaluated, and factors influencing changes in self-perceived knowledge, skills, and practice related to developmental coordination disorder (DCD) were explored. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used, guided by the Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned Behavior. Physical therapists participated in a DCD physical therapist CoP, which included 2 full-day, face-to-face workshops, with access to a 5-month online forum between the workshops, and completed questionnaires at 3 time-points: before the first workshop, before accessing the online forum, and following the second workshop. Measures completed before and after the CoP included closed-ended questions providing global scores on therapists' self-perceived knowledge, skills, and practice. Physical therapists' sociodemographic characteristics, information-seeking style, use of the online forum, and behavioral change goals were also collected. Paired t-tests, ANCOVAs, and linear regression models were used to analyze the data. Forty-one physical therapists completed all questionnaires. Their self-perceived knowledge, skills, and practice change scores were significantly higher (+0.47, +1.23, and +2.61, respectively; P behavioral changes influence patient outcomes. © 2017 American Physical Therapy Association
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Children's Rights, Therapists' Responsibilities: Feminist Commentaries.
Anderson, Gail, Ed.; Hill, Marcia, Ed.
One of the murkier areas of feminist therapy ethics involves decisions about children and adolescents within mental health settings. Some of those ethical dilemmas are covered in this text, which provides a feminist focus on the mental health rights and needs of children. The book addresses specific practices intended to help therapists organize…
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Covelo, Ignacio R; Wirtshafter, David; Stratford, Thomas R
2012-03-01
Several authors have shown that injections of the GABA(A) agonist muscimol into the medial shell region of the nucleus accumbens (AcbSh) result in large increases in food, but not water, intake. In previous studies we demonstrated that intra-AcbSh injections of either muscimol or of the indirect dopamine agonist amphetamine increase response output on a food-reinforced progressive ratio schedule. In the current experiment we extended these observations by examining the effects of muscimol and amphetamine injections on the performance of a water-reinforced progressive ratio task in mildly deprived animals. We found that muscimol did not affect the number of responses made in the water-reinforced task, even though a marked increase in responding was observed after amphetamine. Muscimol did, however, significantly increase food intake in the same animals. The results suggest that the enhancing effects of intra-AcbSh muscimol differ from those of amphetamine in that they are selective for food-reinforced behaviors. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Haarman, Juliet A M; Maartens, Erik; van der Kooij, Herman; Buurke, Jaap H; Reenalda, Jasper; Rietman, Johan S
2017-12-02
During gait training, physical therapists continuously supervise stroke survivors and provide physical support to their pelvis when they judge that the patient is unable to keep his balance. This paper is the first in providing quantitative data about the corrective forces that therapists use during gait training. It is assumed that changes in the acceleration of a patient's COM are a good predictor for therapeutic balance assistance during the training sessions Therefore, this paper provides a method that predicts the timing of therapeutic balance assistance, based on acceleration data of the sacrum. Eight sub-acute stroke survivors and seven therapists were included in this study. Patients were asked to perform straight line walking as well as slalom walking in a conventional training setting. Acceleration of the sacrum was captured by an Inertial Magnetic Measurement Unit. Balance-assisting corrective forces applied by the therapist were collected from two force sensors positioned on both sides of the patient's hips. Measures to characterize the therapeutic balance assistance were the amount of force, duration, impulse and the anatomical plane in which the assistance took place. Based on the acceleration data of the sacrum, an algorithm was developed to predict therapeutic balance assistance. To validate the developed algorithm, the predicted events of balance assistance by the algorithm were compared with the actual provided therapeutic assistance. The algorithm was able to predict the actual therapeutic assistance with a Positive Predictive Value of 87% and a True Positive Rate of 81%. Assistance mainly took place over the medio-lateral axis and corrective forces of about 2% of the patient's body weight (15.9 N (11), median (IQR)) were provided by therapists in this plane. Median duration of balance assistance was 1.1 s (0.6) (median (IQR)) and median impulse was 9.4Ns (8.2) (median (IQR)). Although therapists were specifically instructed to aim for the
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Experiences of burnout and coping strategies utilized by occupational therapists.
Gupta, Sangeeta; Paterson, Margo L; Lysaght, Rosemary M; von Zweck, Claudia M
2012-04-01
Work-related stress and burnout have been found to lead to job dissatisfaction, low-organizational commitment, absenteeism, and high turnover. The purpose of this study was to examine the burnout experiences of occupational therapists practicing in Ontario and to describe the practice implications and coping strategies employed. Data for this mixed methods study were collected using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, Areas of Worklife Survey, focus groups, and interviews in the hermeneutics tradition. High levels of emotional exhaustion were reported by 34.8% of participants, high levels of cynicism by 43.5%, and low professional efficacy by 24.6%. Practice issues included excessive demands on time, conflict, and lack of autonomy and respect. Coping strategies included spending time with family and maintaining professional/personal balance, control of work responsibilities, maintaining a sense of humor, and self-awareness/self-monitoring. This study contributes to understanding the practice challenges for occupational therapists, factors that contribute to therapist burnout, and strategies employed to maintain competent practice.
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Attitudes of mental health occupational therapists toward evidence-based practice.
Hitch, Danielle P
2016-02-01
Evidence-based practice is an important driver in modern health care and has become a priority in mental health occupational therapy in recent years. The aim of this study was to measure the attitudes of a cohort of mental health occupational therapists toward evidence-based practice. Forty-one mental health occupational therapists were surveyed using the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS). Mann-Whitney U tests and Spearman's rho were used to analyze the data. The occupational therapy respondents had generally positive attitudes toward evidence-based practices comparable to established norms. Respondents with further qualifications beyond their professional degree were significantly more likely to try new interventions (p = .31). Significant negative correlations were found also for the subscales of Appeal and Openness in relation to years of occupational therapy practice (rho = -.354, p = .023; rho = -.344, p = 0.28) and mental health experience (rho = -.390, p = 0.12; rho = -.386, p = .013). Therapist factors can significantly impact attitudes toward evidence-based practice. © CAOT 2015.
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Flexural reinforced concrete member with FRP reinforcement
Putzolu, Mariana
2017-01-01
One of the most problematic point in construction is the durability of the concrete especially related to corrosion of the steel reinforcement. Due to this problem the construction sector, introduced the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer, the main fibers used in construction are Glass, Carbon and Aramid. In this study, the author aim to analyse the flexural behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with FRP. This aim is achieved by the analysis of specimens reinforced with GFRP bars, with theoreti...
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Static and cyclic performance of cementitious composites reinforced with glass-fibres
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Arabi, N.
2018-01-01
This paper concerns an experimental study of the influence of short glass-fibres randomly oriented of a reinforced cement-based composite on the mechanical behaviour. The matrix material parameters used are: cement/sand ratio and water/cement ratio fixed at 0.5; the glass-fibre content (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2% and 2.5%) and fibre lengths (3, 6 and 12 mm). Composites mechanical characterisation under static behaviour at flexural and compression tests, shows that the reinforcement effect is beneficial only in flexural case. A synergy (matrix-reinforcement) was observed when fibre length of 12 mm is used with application rate of 2% in flexural. The fatigue behaviour determined by Wöhler plots (stress-number of cycles to rupture), derived from experimental results; showed a large results dispersion which is attributed to many causes initiating this damage. The cyclic tests illustrate brittle character of these materials; even with low-amplitude cycles of loading no adaptation of these materials can be reported. [es
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University Vocal Training and Vocal Health of Music Educators and Music Therapists
Baker, Vicki D.; Cohen, Nicki
2017-01-01
The purpose of this study was to describe the university vocal training and vocal health of music educators and music therapists. The participants (N = 426), music educators (n = 351) and music therapists (n = 75), completed a survey addressing demographics, vocal training, voice usage, and vocal health. Both groups reported singing at least 50%…
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Innes, Ev; Straker, Leon
2003-01-01
The purpose of this study was to understand the current beliefs of therapists in Australia, and the strategies they use to address the issues of credibility, reliability, consistency, trustworthiness, validity, generalisability and quality in conducting work-related assessments. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 occupational therapists and physiotherapists from around Australia. Participants expressed the belief that the therapist was the assessment instrument and was central to the credibility of an assessment. Conflict was reported when participants modified standardised assessments in an attempt to focus on context relevant activities and tasks. Participants were aware of the issues of reliability and validity but believed it was not practical to establish these aspects formally in most work-related assessments. The strategies used to achieve credibility, reliability, consistency, trustworthiness, validity, generalisability and quality were similar to those recommended for use in qualitative research. The strategies identified in this study can provide the basis for therapists to examine how they conduct work-related assessments and consider whether they currently use these strategies or have the opportunity to implement others.
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Fleischman, Sari; Shorey, Hal S
2016-01-01
Attachment anxiety has been depicted as an undesirable therapist characteristic based on findings that preoccupied therapists, relative to those with other attachment styles, report more ruptures in the therapeutic alliance. What has not been considered, however, is the extent to which attachment dynamics are related to theoretical orientations and how attachment styles and theoretical orientations combine to predict therapists' perceptions of the quality of their alliances. The present surveyed 290 licensed psychologists nationally. Results revealed that even within a sample of primarily secure psychologists, higher 15 levels of attachment anxiety correlated positively with the endorsement of psychodynamic orientations, and negatively with the endorsement of cognitive-behavioral orientations and self-reported alliance quality. Endorsement of cognitive-behavioral orientations, in turn, correlated positively with therapist-reported alliance quality. The results are discussed in terms of the extent to which attachment dimensions should be considered in therapists' understandings of their therapeutic alliances.
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Iredale, Catherine; Fornells-Ambrojo, Miriam; Jolley, Suzanne
2016-06-01
People with psychosis often have difficulty leaving their homes to perform tasks of daily living, which also limits their access to clinic-based interventions to support recovery. Home-based psychological therapy may offer a solution. To examine service user and therapist perspectives on (i) houseboundness in psychosis and (ii) the value of home-based psychological interventions, as a first step towards a systematic evaluation. Semistructured interviews with 10 service users and 12 therapists from a large inner city mental health NHS Foundation Trust were thematically analysed. Houseboundness most commonly resulted from anxiety, paranoia and amotivation, indicating the potential usefulness of targeted psychological therapies. Home-based therapy was offered unsystematically, with variable goals. Although beneficial for engagement and assessment, little gain was reported from undertaking a full course of therapy at home. Home visits could be offered by psychological therapists to engage and assess housebound service users, but home-based therapy may be best offered on a short-term basis, targeting paranoia, anxiety and amotivation to increase access to other resources. Given the increased cost associated with home-based psychological interventions, a systematic evaluation of their impact is warranted.
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Schumacher, Sarah; Miller, Robert; Fehm, Lydia; Kirschbaum, Clemens; Fydrich, Thomas; Ströhle, Andreas
2015-12-15
Exposure therapy is considered an effective treatment strategy for phobic anxiety, however, it is rarely applied in clinical practice. The under-usage might be due to various factors of which heightened stress levels not only in patients but also in therapists are presumed to be of particular relevance. The present study aimed to investigate whether different forms of exposure might lead to varying physiological and psychological stress responses in therapists and phobic patients. 25 patients with specific phobia underwent individual cognitive behavioural therapy, performed by 25 psychotherapist trainees, applying exposure sessions in graduated form or the flooding technique. Patients and therapists provided subjective evaluations of stress and five saliva samples for analysis of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase either during two graduated exposure sessions or during one flooding session, while a regular therapy session served as control condition. Therapists displayed heightened salivary alpha-amylase release during exposure of the flooding, but not the graduated, type. Patients showed elevated salivary cortisol during flooding exposure numerically, however, not on a statistically significant level. Therapists reported more pronounced subjective stress during flooding compared to graduated exposure. Elevated stress levels should be addressed in clinical training in order to improve application of exposure in routine practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Therapist adherence in individual cognitive-behavioral therapy for binge-eating disorder
Brauhardt, Anne; de Zwaan, Martina; Herpertz, Stephan; Zipfel, Stephan; Svaldi, Jennifer; Friederich, Hans-Christoph; Hilbert, Anja
2017-01-01
While cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most well-established treatment for binge-eating disorder (BED), little is known about process factors influencing its outcome. The present study sought to explore the assessment of therapist adherence, its course over treatment, and its associations with patient and therapist characteristics, and the therapeutic alliance. In a prospective multicenter randomized-controlled trial comparing CBT to internet-based guided self-help (INTERBED-study...
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Nondestructive evaluation of reinforced plastics by a radiometric measurement technique
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Entine, Gerald; Afshari, Sia; Verlinden, Matt
1990-01-01
The demand for new high-performance plastics has greatly increased with advances in the performance characteristics of sophisticated reinforced engineering resins. However, conventional methods for the evaluation of the glass and filler contents of reinforced plastics are destructive, labor intensive, and time consuming. We have developed a new instrument, to address this problem, which provides for the rapid, accurate, and nondestructive measurement of glass or filler content in reinforced plastics. This instrument utilizes radiation transmission and scattering techniques for analytical measurement of glass, graphite and other fillers used in reinforced plastics. (author)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mokhatar Shahrul Niza
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This paper reveals a study performed on reinforced concrete with artificial aggregate concrete block infill composite beams to innovate a lightweight reinforced concrete utilizing polyethylene (PE waste materials, such as waste plastic bags. Six beam specimens of normal reinforced concrete (NRC and different block infill replacement zone positions RCAI (RZ1 beams containing 100% MAPEA with 50, 95, and 1,000 mm width, height, and length, respectively, were provided for the block infill, whereas RCAI (RZ2 with different block infill positions containing a 100% MAPEA with 50, 115, and 1000 mm width, height, and length were provided and tested under low impact load. The steel impactor with blunt nose dropped at 0.6 m height which equivalent to 3.5 m/s. The behaviors of the beams were studied relative to the impact force-time and displacement-time histories, the flexural/ bending cracks, and the impact failure. Results show that the overall failure modes of all the beam specimens were successfully recorded. In addition, the residual displacements of the RZ2 was almost same than those of the RZ1 and the significantly lower than those of the NRC. In the reinforced concrete beams, less stressed concrete near the neutral axis can be replaced by certain light weight material like waste plastic bags as modified artificial polyethylene aggregates to serve as an artificial aggregate.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fofiu M.
2015-05-01
Full Text Available The Precast Reinforced Concrete Wall Panel (PRCWP presented in this paper is part of an experimental study regarding the seismic performance of precast reinforced concrete wall panels, strengthening strategies and investigation on the weakening induced by modifying the opening in these elements due to architectural demands, change of function of buildings or other reasons. The element presented is 1:1.2 scale typical Reinforced Concrete Wall Panel with a window opening used in Romania, in which the opening was changed to a door opening due to comfort considerations. The specimen was subjected to cyclic loading with the lateral loads being applied in displacement control of 0.1% drift ratio. This simulates the shear behaviour of the element. After testing the unstrengthen element we proceed to retrofit it using Carbon Fibre Strips anchored with Carbon Fibre Mash. The purpose of the paper is to present the strengthening strategy and restore the initial load bearing capacity of the element or even increase it. The experimental results of strengthen and unstrengthen specimens will be presented.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
P. V. C. N. GAMA
Full Text Available Abstract The Ultra-High Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete is a material with remarkable mechanical properties and durability when compared to conventional and high performance concrete, which allows its use even without the reinforcement. This paper proposes the design of prestressed towers for a 5 MW turbine, through regulatory provisions and the limit states method, with UHPFRC and the concrete class C50, comparing the differences obtained in the design by parametric analysis, giving the advantages and disadvantages of using this new type of concrete. Important considerations, simplifications and notes are made to the calculation process, as well as in obtaining the prestressing and passive longitudinal and passive transverse reinforcement, highlighting the shear strength of annular sections comparing a model proposed here with recent experimental results present in the literature, which was obtained good agreement. In the end, it is estimated a first value within the constraints here made to ensure the economic viability of the use of UHPFRC in a 100 m prestressed wind tower with a 5 MW turbine.
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Beutler, Larry E.; And Others
1975-01-01
This study attempts to (1) assess the effects of therapist credibility and patient-therapist similarity on interpersonal persuasion; and (2) to further assess the relationship between patient attitude change and psychotherapy outcome. (HMV)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Elien Segers
2018-03-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Behavioral Parent Training (BPT is often provided for childhood psychiatric disorders. These disorders have been shown to be associated with working memory impairments. BPT is based on operant learning principles, yet how operant principles shape behavior (through the partial reinforcement (PRF extinction effect, i.e., greater resistance to extinction that is created when behavior is reinforced partially rather than continuously and the potential role of working memory therein is scarcely studied in children. This study explored the PRF extinction effect and the role of working memory therein using experimental tasks in typically developing children.Methods: Ninety-seven children (age 6–10 completed a working memory task and an operant learning task, in which children acquired a response-sequence rule under either continuous or PRF (120 trials, followed by an extinction phase (80 trials. Data of 88 children were used for analysis.Results: The PRF extinction effect was confirmed: We observed slower acquisition and extinction in the PRF condition as compared to the continuous reinforcement (CRF condition. Working memory was negatively related to acquisition but not extinction performance.Conclusion: Both reinforcement contingencies and working memory relate to acquisition performance. Potential implications for BPT are that decreasing working memory load may enhance the chance of optimally learning through reinforcement.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hodicky, Kamil; Hulin, Thomas; Schmidt, Jacob Wittrup
2013-01-01
load. Due to structural restraints, autogenous shrinkage may lead to high self-induced stresses. Therefore autogenous shrinkage plays important role in design of HPCSE. The present paper assesses risk of fracture due to autogenous shrinkage-induced stresses in three fiber reinforced and regular High....... Finally the paper describes the modeling work with HPCSE predicting structural cracking provoked by autogenous shrinkage. It was observed that risk of cracking due to autogenous shrinkage rapidly rises after 3 days in case of regular HPC and after 7 days in case of fiber reinforced HPC.......High Performance Concrete Sandwich Elements (HPCSE) are an interesting option for future low or plus energy building construction. Recent research and development work, however, indicate that such elements are prone to structural cracking due to the combined effect of shrinkage and high temperature...
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Non-therapist identification of falling hazards in older adult homes using digital photography
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Katherine C. Ritchey
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Evaluation and removal of home hazards is an invaluable method for preventing in-home falls and preserving independent living. Current processes for conducting home hazard assessments are impractical from a whole population standpoint given the substantial resources required for implementation. Digital photography offers an opportunity to remotely evaluate an environment for falling hazards. However, reliability of this method has only been tested under the direction of skilled therapists. Ten community dwelling adults over the age of 65 were recruited from local primary care practices between July, 2009 and February, 2010. In-home (IH assessments were completed immediately after a photographer, blinded to the assessment form, took digital photographs (DP of the participant home. A different non-therapist assessor then reviewed the photographs and completed a second assessment of the home. Kappa statistic was used to analyze the reliability between the two independent assessments. Home assessments completed by a non-therapist using digital photographs had a substantial agreement (Kappa = 0.61, p < 0.001 with in-home assessments completed by another non-therapist. Additionally, the DP assessments agreed with the IH assessments on the presence or absence of items 96.8% of the time. This study showed that non-therapists can reliably conduct home hazard evaluations using digital photographs.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexandra Nugent
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Background/Aim. Internationally, mental health policy requires clinicians to shift from a medical to a recovery-oriented approach. However, there is a significant lag in the translation of policy into practice. Occupational therapists have been identified as ideally situated to be recovery-oriented yet limited research exploring how they do this exists. This study aimed to explore Australian occupational therapists’ experiences of developing and sustaining recovery-orientation in mental health practice. Methods. Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve occupational therapists working across different mental health service types. Participants identified themselves as being recovery-oriented. Data were analysed using constant comparative analysis. Results. Occupational therapists described recovery-oriented practice as an active, ongoing, and intentional process of seeking out knowledge, finding fit between understandings of recovery-oriented practice and their professional identity, holding hope, and developing confidence through clinical reasoning. Human and systemic aspects of therapists’ workplace environment influenced this process. Conclusions. Being a recovery-oriented occupational therapist requires more than merely accepting a specific framework. It requires commitment and ongoing work to develop and sustain recovery-orientation. Occupational therapists are called to extend current leadership activity beyond their workplace and to advocate for broader systemic change.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Akroyd, Duane [Department of Adult and Community College Education, College of Education, Campus Box 7801, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States)], E-mail: duane_akroyd@ncsu.edu; Legg, Jeff [Department of Radiologic Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284 (United States); Jackowski, Melissa B. [Division of Radiologic Sciences, University of North Carolina School of Medicine 27599 (United States); Adams, Robert D. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine 27599 (United States)
2009-05-15
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of selected organizational factors and the leadership behavior of supervisors on radiation therapists' commitment to their organizations. The population for this study consists of all full time clinical radiation therapists registered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) in the United States. A random sample of 800 radiation therapists was obtained from the ARRT for this study. Questionnaires were mailed to all participants and measured organizational variables; managerial leadership variable and three components of organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative). It was determined that organizational support, and leadership behavior of supervisors each had a significant and positive affect on normative and affective commitment of radiation therapists and each of the models predicted over 40% of the variance in radiation therapists organizational commitment. This study examined radiation therapists' commitment to their organizations and found that affective (emotional attachment to the organization) and normative (feelings of obligation to the organization) commitments were more important than continuance commitment (awareness of the costs of leaving the organization). This study can help radiation oncology administrators and physicians to understand the values their radiation therapy employees hold that are predictive of their commitment to the organization. A crucial result of the study is the importance of the perceived support of the organization and the leadership skills of managers/supervisors on radiation therapists' commitment to the organization.
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Factors influencing job satisfaction among Jordanian occupational therapists: a qualitative study.
Abu Tariah, Hashem Salman; Hamed, Razan T; AlHeresh, Rawan A; Abu-Dahab, Sana M N; AL-Oraibi, Saleh
2011-12-01
The main purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among Jordanian occupational therapists. Ours was an explorative qualitative study involving the use of structured open-ended written questions. Participants were asked to answer in narrative their perception about the factors behind their job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. In addition, they were asked to express their suggestions, ideas, or solutions for increasing job satisfaction. Ninety-three occupational therapists responded to the survey. For job satisfaction questions, four themes emerged: a humanistic profession; professional issues; work benefits; and work environment. Participant's comments at the end of the survey revealed one general theme for improving job satisfaction, 'a call for improvement'. This qualitative study revealed that the humanistic nature of occupational therapist was counterbalanced by several dissatisfying factors for occupational therapy practitioners in Jordan. The need for better supported working conditions in terms of financial rewards, recognition, awareness and resources as well as public and professional recognition of occupational therapists are needed to enhance the occupational therapy profile in Jordan. A comprehensive collaboration is highly needed between the individual practitioners, representatives of the profession, government and hospital administrators. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2011 Occupational Therapy Australia.
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Performance of Lightweight Natural-Fiber Reinforced Concrete
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hardjasaputra Harianto
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Concrete, the most common construction material, has negligible tension capacity. However, a reinforcement material such as natural fibers, can be used to improve the tensile properties of concrete. This paper presents experiments conducted on Super Lightweight Concrete mixed with coconut fibers (SLNFRC. Coconut fibers are regarded as one of the toughest natural fibers to strengthen concrete. Coconut fiber reinforced composites have been considered as a sustainable construction material because the fibers are derived from waste. These wastes, which are available in large quantities in Asia, have to be extracted from the husk of coconut fruits and must pass a mechanical process before being added to a concrete mixture. The Super Lightweight Concrete was made by mixing concrete paste with foam agent that can reduce the overall weight of concrete up to 60% with compressive strength up to 6 MPa. The Super Lightweight Concrete is intended to be used for non-structural walls, as alternative conventional construction materials such as brick walls. The influence of coconut fibers content in increasing the flexural tensile strength of Super Lightweight Concrete was studied in this research. The fiber content studied include 0%, 0.1%, 0.175%, and 0.25% by weight of cement content. Sixteen specimens of SLNFRC mini beams of 60 mm x 60 mm x 300 mm were tested to failure to investigate their flexural strengths. The optimum percent fibers yielding higher tensile strength was found to be 0.175%
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Performance of universal adhesives on bonding to leucite-reinforced ceramic.
Kim, Ryan Jin-Young; Woo, Jung-Soo; Lee, In-Bog; Yi, Young-Ah; Hwang, Ji-Yun; Seo, Deog-Gyu
2015-01-01
This study aimed to investigate the microshear bond strength of universal bonding adhesives to leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic. Leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic blocks were polished and etched with 9.5% hydrofluoric acid for 1 min. The specimens were assigned to one of four groups based on their surface conditioning (n = 16): 1) NC: negative control with no further treatment; 2) SBU: Single Bond Universal (3M ESPE); 3) ABU: ALL-BOND Universal (Bisco); and 4) PC: RelyX Ceramic Primer and Adper Scotchbond Multi-Purpose Adhesive (3M ESPE) as a positive control. RelyX Ultimate resin cement (3M ESPE) was placed on the pretreated ceramic and was light cured. Eight specimens from each group were stored in water for 24 h, and the remaining eight specimens were thermocycled 10,000 times prior to microshear bond strength evaluation. The fractured surfaces were examined by stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After water storage and thermocycling, the microshear bond strength values decreased in the order of PC > SBU and ABU > NC (P universal adhesives were used, conventional surface conditioning using a separate silane and adhesive is preferable to a simplified procedure that uses only a universal adhesive for cementation of leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hodicky, Kamil; Hulin, Thomas; Schmidt, Jacob Wittrup
2014-01-01
The fracture behaviour of three fiber reinforced and regular HPC (high performance concretes) is presented in this paper. Two mixes are based on optimization of HPC whereas the third mix was a commercial mix developed by CONTEC ApS (Denmark). The wedge splitting test setup with 48 cubical specimens...
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Disperse reinforced concrete used in obtaining prefabricated elements for roads
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bogdan MEZEI
2014-07-01
Full Text Available Concrete is the most used material in construction. By improving the performance of materials and of technologies, concretes with outstanding performances were also developed, in the past two decades. Concrete with dispersed reinforcement represents a new generation of reinforced concrete that combines a good behavior of concrete compressive strength with an increased tensile strength of steel fibers. Using this material, monolithic and prefabricated concrete elements with high mechanical strengths and high durability can be obtained. Technological processes for preparation of concrete with dispersed reinforcement are similar to the conventional methods and do not involve using additional equipment for dosing the dispersed reinforcement. The study aimed the development of road plates made with optimized disperse- reinforced concrete. The first tests were done on plates from the gutter roadway, having a classic reinforcement, using different percentages of fibre reinforcement in the concrete composition, leading to the development of a new optimized economical solution. The results prove the enhanced characteristics of the disperse-reinforced concrete versus conventional concrete, and hence of the developed concrete plates.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Villard, D.; Vidal, M.C.
1995-08-01
Glass fibre reinforced plastic pipes are more and more often used, in nuclear power plants, for building or replacement of water pipings classified 'nuclear safety'. Tests have been performed to evaluate the performances of acoustic emission testing for in service inspection of these components. The tests were focused on glass fibre reinforced polyester and vinyl-ester pipes, in as received conditions or containing impacts, and intentionally introduced defects. They have been carried out by CETIM, following the ASTM Standard E 1118 (code CARP), to a maximum pressure lever of 25 Bar The results show that the CARP procedure can be used for detection of defects and evaluation of their noxiousness towards internal pressure: most of the tubes containing low energy impacts could not be distinguished from tubes without defect; on the other hand the important noxiousness of lacks of impregnation of roving layer appeared clearly. Complementary tests have been performed on some tubes at a more important pressure lever, for which the damage of the tubes in enough to deteriorate there elastic properties. The results showed that CARP procedure give valuable informations on damage level. It would be interesting to evaluate acoustic emission on tubes containing realistic in-service degradations. (author). 11 refs., 15 figs., 6 tabs., 2 appends
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Modeling of geosynthetic reinforced capping systems
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Viswanadham, B.V.S.; Koenig, D.; Jessberger, H.L.
1997-01-01
The investigation deals with the influence of a geosynthetic reinforcement on the deformation behavior and sealing efficiency of the reinforced mineral sealing layer at the onset of non-uniform settlements. The research program is mainly concentrated in studying the influence of reinforcement inclusion in restraining cracks and crack propagation due to soil-geosynthetic bond efficiency. Centrifuge model tests are conducted in the 500 gt capacity balanced beam Bochum geotechnical Centrifuge (Z1) simulating a differential deformation of a mineral sealing layer of a landfill with the help of trap-door arrangement. By comparing the performance of the deformed mineral sealing layer with and without geogrid, the reinforcement ability of the geogrid in controlling the crack propagation and permeability of the mineral swing layer is evaluated
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Lord, Sarah Peregrine; Sheng, Elisa; Imel, Zac E.; Baer, John; Atkins, David C.
2016-01-01
Empathy is a basic psychological process that involves the development of synchrony in dyads. It is also a foundational ingredient in specific, evidence-based behavioral treatments like motivational interviewing (MI). Ratings of therapist empathy typically rely on a gestalt, “felt sense” of therapist understanding and the presence of specific verbal behaviors like reflective listening. These ratings do not provide a direct test of psychological processes like behavioral synchrony that are theorized to be an important component of empathy in psychotherapy. To explore a new objective indicator of empathy, we hypothesized that synchrony in language style (i.e., matching how statements are phrased) between client and therapists would predict gestalt ratings of empathy over and above the contribution of reflections. We analyzed 122 MI transcripts with high and low empathy ratings based on the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI) global rating scale. Linguistic inquiry and word count was used to estimate language style synchrony (LSS) of adjacent client and therapist talk turns. High empathy sessions showed greater LSS across 11 language style categories compared to low empathy sessions (p empathy vs. low empathy sessions (d = 0.62). Regression analyses showed that LSS was predictive of empathy ratings over and above reflection counts; a 1 SD increase in LSS is associated with 2.4 times increase in the odds of a high empathy rating, controlling for therapist reflections (odds ratio = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.36, 4.24, p empathy ratings are related to synchrony in language style, over and above synchrony of content as measured by therapist reflections. Novel indicators of therapist empathy may have implications for the study of MI process as well as the training of therapists. PMID:25892166
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Do treatment manuals undermine youth–therapist alliance in community clinical practice?
Langer, David A.; McLeod, Bryce D.; Weisz, John R
2011-01-01
Objective: Some critics of treatment manuals have argued that their use may undermine the quality of the client–therapist alliance. This notion was tested in the context of youth psychotherapy delivered by therapists in community clinics. Method: Seventy-six clinically referred youths (57% female, age 8–15 years, 34% Caucasian) were randomly assigned to receive nonmanualized usual care or manual-guided treatment to address anxiety or depressive disorders. Treatment was provided in community c...
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McCombie, Randy P.
2016-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to survey occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) on their attitudes toward a possible move to the entry-level doctorate as the mandated singular point of entry into the profession for OTs. Method: The study surveyed a random sample of 600 OTs and 600 OTAs from two…
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Nascimento, Lucio Fabio Cassiano; Louro, Luis Henrique Leme; Monteiro, Sergio Neves; Gomes, Alaelson Vieira; Marçal, Rubens Lincoln Santana Blazutti; Lima Júnior, Édio Pereira; Margem, Jean Igor
2017-01-01
Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have recently been investigated as a component of multilayered armor system (MAS). These composites were found to present advantages when replacing conventional high strength synthetic aramid fabric laminate composite (KevlarTM, with same thickness, as MAS second layer. Continuous and loose natural fibers were up to now mostly used to reinforce these ballistic composites. Only two natural fabrics reinforced polymer composite were so far used with sa...
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Lange, A.M.C.; Scholte, R.H.J.; Geffen, W. van; Timman, R.; Busschbach, J.J.V. van; Rijken, R.E.A. van der
2016-01-01
This two-study report investigates the equivalence of the Dutch Therapist Adherence Measure Revised (TAM-R) to the US original. The TAM-R is a questionnaire measuring therapist adherence to the treatment model of Multisystemic Therapy (MST). Monitoring of therapist adherence is essential for
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Review of Repair Materials for Fire-Damaged Reinforced Concrete Structures
Zahid, MZA Mohd; Abu Bakar, BH; Nazri, FM; Ahmad, MM; Muhamad, K.
2018-03-01
Reinforced concrete (RC) structures perform well during fire and may be repaired after the fire incident because their low heat conductivity prevents the loss or degradation of mechanical strength of the concrete core and internal reinforcing steel. When an RC structure is heated to more than 500 °C, mechanical properties such as compressive strength, stiffness, and tensile strength start to degrade and deformations occur. Although the fire-exposed RC structure shows no visible damage, its residual strength decreases compared with that in the pre-fire state. Upon thorough assessment, the fire-damaged RC structure can be repaired or strengthened, instead of subjecting to partial or total demolition followed by reconstruction. The structure can be repaired using several materials, such as carbon fiber-reinforced polymer, glass fiber-reinforced polymer, normal strength concrete, fiber-reinforced concrete, ferrocement, epoxy resin mortar, and high-performance concrete. Selecting an appropriate repair material that must be compatible with the substrate or base material is a vital step to ensure successful repair. This paper reviews existing repair materials and factors affecting their performance. Of the materials considered, ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) exhibits huge potential for repairing fire-damaged RC structures but lack of information available. Hence, further studies must be performed to assess the potential of UHPFRC in rehabilitating fire-damaged RC structures.
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Therapists' perceptions of social media and video game technologies in upper limb rehabilitation.
Tatla, Sandy K; Shirzad, Navid; Lohse, Keith R; Virji-Babul, Naznin; Hoens, Alison M; Holsti, Liisa; Li, Linda C; Miller, Kimberly J; Lam, Melanie Y; Van der Loos, H F Machiel
2015-03-10
The application of technologies, such as video gaming and social media for rehabilitation, is garnering interest in the medical field. However, little research has examined clinicians' perspectives regarding technology adoption by their clients. The objective of our study was to explore therapists' perceptions of how young people and adults with hemiplegia use gaming and social media technologies in daily life and in rehabilitation, and to identify barriers to using these technologies in rehabilitation. We conducted two focus groups comprised of ten occupational therapists/physiotherapists who provide neurorehabilitation to individuals with hemiplegia secondary to stroke or cerebral palsy. Data was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The diffusion of innovations theory provided a framework to interpret emerging themes. Therapists were using technology in a limited capacity. They identified barriers to using social media and gaming technology with their clients, including a lack of age appropriateness, privacy issues with social media, limited transfer of training, and a lack of accessibility of current systems. Therapists also questioned their role in the context of technology-based interventions. The opportunity for social interaction was perceived as a major benefit of integrated gaming and social media. This study reveals the complexities associated with adopting new technologies in clinical practice, including the need to consider both client and clinician factors. Despite reporting several challenges with applying gaming and social media technology with clinical populations, therapists identified opportunities for increased social interactions and were willing to help shape the development of an upper limb training system that could more readily meet the needs of clients with hemiplegia. By considering the needs of both therapists and clients, technology developers may increase the likelihood that clinicians will adopt innovative technologies.
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Rahman, Fadhillah Abdul; Bakar, Afidah Abu; Hashim, Mohd Hisbany Mohd; Ahmad, Hazrina
2017-11-01
Ribbed slab provides lighter slab than an equivalent solid slab which helps in reducing the weight with its voids. However, in order to overcome the drawbacks in the construction process, the application of steel fibre reinforcement concrete (SFRC) is seen as an alternative material to be used in the slab. This study is performed to investigate the behaviour of SFRC as the main material in ribbed slab, omitting the conventional reinforcements, under four-point bending test. Three equivalent samples of ribbed slabs were prepared for this study with variations in the topping thickness of 100, 75 and 50 mm. The flexural strength of ribbed slab with 100 mm topping shows similar loading carrying capacity with the 75mm topping while 50 mm gave the lowest ultimate loading. First cracks for all slabs occurred at the topping. The cracks began from the external ribs and propagates toward the internal rib. Incorporation of steel fibres help in giving a longer deflection softening than a sudden brittle failure, thus proves its ability to increase energy absorption capacity and improving cracking behaviour.
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Seismic Performance Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Frames Subjected to Seismic Loads
Zameeruddin, Mohd.; Sangle, Keshav K.
2017-06-01
Ten storied-3 bays reinforced concrete bare frame designed for gravity loads following the guidelines of IS 456 and IS 13920 for ductility is subjected to seismic loads. The seismic demands on this building were calculated by following IS 1893 for response spectra of 5% damping (for hard soil type). Plastic hinges were assigned to the beam and column at both ends to represent the failure mode, when member yields. Non-linear static (pushover) analysis was performed to evaluate the performance of the building in reference to first (ATC 40), second (FEMA 356) and next-generation (FEMA 440) performance based seismic design procedures. Base shear against top displacement curve of structure, known as pushover curve was obtained for two actions of plastic hinge behavior, force-controlled (brittle) and deformation-controlled (ductile) actions. Lateral deformation corresponding to performance point proves the building capability to sustain a certain level of seismic loads. The failure is represented by a sequence of formation of plastic hinges. Deformation-controlled action of hinges showed that building behaves like strong-column-weak-beam mechanism, whereas force-controlled action showed formation of hinges in the column. The study aims to understand the first, second and next generation performance based design procedure in prediction of actual building responses and their conservatism into the acceptance criteria.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang Peng; Tang Xiaobin; Chen Feida; Chen Da
2013-01-01
To satisfy engineering requirements for mechanics performance of neutron shielding material, short carbon fiber was used to reinforce the traditional containing B 4 C neutron shielding material and effects of fiber content, length and surface treatment to mechanics performance of material was discussed. Based on Americium-Beryllium neutron source, material's neutron shielding performance was tested. The result of experiment prove that tensile strength of material which the quality ratio of resin and fiber is 5:1 is comparatively excellent for 10wt% B 4 C of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin. The tensile properties of material change little with the fiber length ranged from 3-10 mm The treatment of fiber surface with silane coupling agent KH-550 can increase the tensile properties of materials by 20% compared with the untreated of that. A result of shielding experiment that the novel neutron shielding material can satisfy the neutron shielding requirements can be obtained by comparing with B 4 C/polypropylene materials. The material has good mechanical properties and wide application prospect. (authors)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andreia Sofia Nabiço Maia
2016-10-01
Full Text Available Introduction: students with special educational needs should be inserted in regular classes, receiving all appropriate educational services allowing the development of skills and capabilities. The success of the school inclusion depends on the partnership between the various professionals in the school context. The insertion and occupational therapist’s contribution in the area of education is the subject of many studies. The importance of a professional team in school context is already recognized and valued by the community. Objectives: the aim is to identify the intervention methodologies used by occupational therapists in school with children with special educational needs. In order to determine the most common methodologies as well as relevant aspects of the therapeutic process. Method: this is a non-experimental research with descriptive and cross-sectional basis. A semi-structured questionnaire was prepared initially, quantitative in nature that was taught to occupational therapists that work or have worked for less than 3 years in school context. Results: the sample is composed of 40 occupational therapists, 37 are female and 3 are male. The majority of individuals (77.5% currently works in school context. The occupational therapists involved mainly with children, aged between 6 and 18 years. Conclusion: the methodologies used by the occupational therapists are playful activity/play therapy and the training activities of daily living. Riding for therapeutic purposes and the hippotherapy represent less widely used methodologies in school context, in that each was selected by 10% of therapists.
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Clements-Cortés, Amy
2017-11-01
Music therapists in palliative and cancer care settings often use singing and vocal interventions. Although benefits for these interventions are emerging, more information is needed on what type of singing interventions are being used by credentialed music therapists, and what goal areas are being addressed. To assess music therapists' perceptions on how they use singing and vocal interventions in palliative and cancer care environments. Eighty credentialed music therapists from Canada and the United States participated in this two-part convergent mixed-methods study that began with an online survey, followed by individual interviews with 50% (n = 40) of the survey participants. In both palliative and cancer care, singing client-preferred music and singing for relaxation were the most frequently used interventions. In palliative care, the most commonly addressed goals were to increase self-expression, improve mood, and create a feeling of togetherness between individuals receiving palliative care and their family. In cancer care, the most commonly addressed goals were to support breathing, improve mood, and support reminiscence. Seven themes emerged from therapist interviews: containing the space, connection, soothing, identity, freeing the voice within, letting go, and honoring. Music therapists use singing to address the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual goals of patients, and described singing interventions as accessible and effective. Further research is recommended to examine intervention efficacy and identify factors responsible that contribute to clinical benefit. © the American Music Therapy Association 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
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Superelastic SMA–FRP composite reinforcement for concrete structures
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wierschem, Nicholas; Andrawes, Bassem
2010-01-01
For many years there has been interest in using fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) as reinforcement in concrete structures. Unfortunately, due to their linear elastic behavior, FRP reinforcing bars are never considered for structural damping or dynamic applications. With the aim of improving the ductility and damping capability of concrete structures reinforced with FRP reinforcement, this paper studies the application of SMA–FRP, a relatively novel type of composite reinforced with superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. The cyclic tensile behavior of SMA–FRP composites are studied experimentally and analytically. Tests of SMA–FRP composite coupons are conducted to determine their constitutive behavior. The experimental results are used to develop and calibrate a uniaxial SMA–FRP analytical model. Parametric and case studies are performed to determine the efficacy of the SMA–FRP reinforcement in concrete structures and the key factors governing its behavior. The results show significant potential for SMA–FRP reinforcement to improve the ductility and damping of concrete structures while still maintaining its elastic characteristic, typical of FRP reinforcement
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Study on reinforced concrete beams with helical transverse reinforcement
Kaarthik Krishna, N.; Sandeep, S.; Mini, K. M.
2018-02-01
In a Reinforced Concrete (R.C) structure, major reinforcement is used for taking up tensile stresses acting on the structure due to applied loading. The present paper reports the behavior of reinforced concrete beams with helical reinforcement (transverse reinforcement) subjected to monotonous loading by 3-point flexure test. The results were compared with identically similar reinforced concrete beams with rectangular stirrups. During the test crack evolution, load carrying capacity and deflection of the beams were monitored, analyzed and compared. Test results indicate that the use of helical reinforcement provides enhanced load carrying capacity and a lower deflection proving to be more ductile, clearly indicating the advantage in carrying horizontal loads. An analysis was also carried out using ANSYS software in order to compare the test results of both the beams.
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Reid, Denise; Naseer, Zahid
2012-10-01
An online survey was conducted with 72 Canadian occupational therapists to (1) explore if and how occupational therapists were aware of "arising moments" in clinical practice, which are moments that give rise to emotions, sensations, and thoughts, and (2) to examine therapists' responses to questions related to mindfulness. Participants described arising moments through an open-ended survey question. Framework analysis was used to develop key themes and subthemes. A modified Philadelphia Mindfulness Awareness (PHLMS) subscale with two additional survey questions "understanding of living in the moment and being present, and awareness of mindfulness" (sum = PAM) were used as indicators of mindfulness. There were significant differences in the means of PHLMS mindfulness among therapists working in diverse practice areas (F = 3.63, p = .009). Posthoc analysis revealed that therapists working in mental health had higher mean PHLMS-mindfulness scores than in all other groups. There were no significant differences in PAM mindfulness among the practice areas (ANOVA, F = 2.15, p = .08). However, posthoc tests showed that the participants in the mental health practice area had a significant difference with one group, general physical health. Findings have implications for practice in occupational therapy and education about mindfulness in occupational therapy.
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Chapman, Jason E; Sheidow, Ashli J; Henggeler, Scott W; Halliday-Boykins, Colleen; Cunningham, Phillippe B
2008-06-01
A unique application of the Many-Facet Rasch Model (MFRM) is introduced as the preferred method for evaluating the psychometric properties of a measure of therapist adherence to Contingency Management (CM) treatment of adolescent substance use. The utility of psychometric methods based in Classical Test Theory was limited by complexities of the data, including: (a) ratings provided by multiple informants (i.e., youth, caregivers, and therapists), (b) data from separate research studies, (c) repeated measurements, (d) multiple versions of the questionnaire, and (e) missing data. Two dimensions of CM adherence were supported: adherence to Cognitive Behavioral components and adherence to Monitoring components. The rating scale performed differently for items in these subscales, and of 11 items evaluated, eight were found to perform well. The MFRM is presented as a highly flexible approach that can be used to overcome the limitations of traditional methods in the development of adherence measures for evidence-based practices.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Satapathy, Bhabani K.; Patnaik, Amar; Dadkar, Nandan; Kolluri, Dilip K.; Tomar, Bharat S.
2011-01-01
Highlights: → Study successfully demonstrates the possibility of designing fibre reinforced friction materials with vermiculite-flyash combination. → Vermiculite has caused an increase in the post-braking onset of degradation temperature. → Fade behaviour was found to be optimally dependent on the flyash-vermiculite combination whereas recovery remained broadly unaffected. → Vermiculite caused reduction in the maximum disc temperature rise and enhanced the frictional amplitude, i.e. μ max -μ min . → Static-friction, fade and recovery acted as major determinants for the overall friction performance whereas wear remained thermally activated. -- Abstract: Flyash-based fibre-reinforced hybrid phenolic composites filled with vermiculite were fabricated and characterized for their physical, thermal, mechanical and tribological performance. The performance were evaluated in terms of their friction-fade, friction-recovery, maximum disc temperature rise and wear behaviour on a Krauss friction tester conforming to the Regulation-90 as per the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) norms. The fade behaviour has been observed to be optimally dependent on the flyash-vermiculite combination whereas the recovery remained broadly unaffected at ∼112 ± 14%. Addition of vermiculite has contributed to the reduction in the maximum disc temperature rise whereas it enhanced the frictional amplitude, i.e. μ max -μ min . The wear behaviour remains closely related to the trend observed in fade. The addition of vermiculite has caused an increase in the post-braking onset of degradation temperature of the surface composition as compared to the pre-braking composition. The analyses of friction and wear performance of the composites were carried out and major factors influencing the tribo-performance were identified. Worn surface morphology investigation using scanning electron microscope has revealed that the addition of vermiculite alters the compositional interactions at the
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van Bodegom-Vos, Leti; Verhoef, John; Dickmann, Margot; Kleijn, Marjon; van Vliet, Ingrid; Hurkmans, Emalie; van der Wees, Philip; Vliet Vlieland, Thea
2012-10-01
Although the increasing complexity and expansion of the body of knowledge in physical therapy have led to specialized practice areas to provide better patient care, the impact of specialization on guideline implementation has been scarcely studied. Objectives The objective of this study was to identify the similarities and differences in barriers to the implementation of a Dutch rheumatoid arthritis (RA) guideline by generalist and specialist physical therapists. Design This observational study consisted of 4 focus group interviews in which 24 physical therapists (13 generalist and 11 specialist physical therapists) participated. Physical therapists were asked to discuss barriers to the implementation of the RA guideline. Data were analyzed qualitatively using a directed approach to content analysis. Both the interviews and the interview analysis were informed by a previously developed conceptual framework. Besides a number of similarities (eg, lack of time), the present study showed important, although subtle, differences in barriers to the implementation of the RA guideline between generalist physical therapists and specialist physical therapists. Generalist physical therapists more frequently reported difficulties in interpreting the guideline (cognitive barriers) and had less favorable opinions about the guideline (affective barriers) than specialist physical therapists. Specialist physical therapists were hampered by external barriers that are outside the scope of generalist physical therapists, such as a lack of agreement about the roles and responsibilities of medical professionals involved in the care of the same patient. The identified differences in barriers to the implementation of the RA guideline indicated that the effectiveness of implementation strategies could be improved by tailoring them to the level of specialization of physical therapists. However, it is expected that tailoring implementation strategies to barriers that hamper both generalist
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Mechanically Reinforced Catechol-Containing Hydrogels with Improved Tissue Gluing Performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jun Feng
2017-11-01
Full Text Available In situ forming hydrogels with catechol groups as tissue reactive functionalities are interesting bioinspired materials for tissue adhesion. Poly(ethylene glycol (PEG–catechol tissue glues have been intensively investigated for this purpose. Different cross-linking mechanisms (oxidative or metal complexation and cross-linking conditions (pH, oxidant concentration, etc. have been studied in order to optimize the curing kinetics and final cross-linking degree of the system. However, reported systems still show limited mechanical stability, as expected from a PEG network, and this fact limits their potential application to load bearing tissues. Here, we describe mechanically reinforced PEG–catechol adhesives showing excellent and tunable cohesive properties and adhesive performance to tissue in the presence of blood. We used collagen/PEG mixtures, eventually filled with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. The composite hydrogels show far better mechanical performance than the individual components. It is noteworthy that the adhesion strength measured on skin covered with blood was >40 kPa, largely surpassing (>6 fold the performance of cyanoacrylate, fibrin, and PEG–catechol systems. Moreover, the mechanical and interfacial properties could be easily tuned by slight changes in the composition of the glue to adapt them to the particular properties of the tissue. The reported adhesive compositions can tune and improve cohesive and adhesive properties of PEG–catechol-based tissue glues for load-bearing surgery applications.
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Zalewski, Kathryn; Alt, Carlynn; Arvinen-Barrow, Monna
2014-06-01
Cross-sectional study. To describe readiness for change and barriers to physical activity in older adults and to contrast perceptions of physical therapists and patients using the Barriers to Being Active Quiz. Regular physical activity is vital to recovery after discharge from physical therapy. Physical therapists are positioned to support change in physical activity habits for those transitioning to home care. Understanding of readiness for change and barriers to physical activity could optimize recovery. Thirteen physical therapists enrolled in the study and invited patients who met the inclusion criteria to enroll (79 patients enrolled). The physical therapists provided the ICD-9 code, the physical therapist diagnosis, and completed the Barriers to Being Active Quiz as they perceived their patients would. The enrolled patients provided demographics and filled out the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the stages-of-change scale for physical activity, and the Barriers to Being Active Quiz. Patients were predominantly in the early stages of readiness for change. Both patients and physical therapists identified lack of willpower as the primary barrier to physical activity. Patients identified lack of willpower and social influence as critical barriers more often than physical therapists, whereas physical therapists identified fear of injury and lack of time more often than their patients did. Differences between physical therapists and their patients were noted for fear of injury (z = 2.66, P = .008) and lack of time (z = 3.46, P = .001). The stage of change for physical activity impacted perception of social influence (χ2 = 9.64, Pbarriers to physical activity may allow physical therapists to better tailor intervention strategies to impact physical activity behavior change.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
2003-01-01
A composite panel having front and back faces, the panel comprising facing reinforcement, backing reinforcement and matrix material binding to the facing and backing reinforcements, the facing and backing reinforcements each independently comprising one or more reinforcing sheets, the facing rein...... by matrix material, the facing and backing reinforcements being interconnected to resist out-of-plane relative movement. The reinforced composite panel is useful as a barrier element for shielding structures, equipment and personnel from blast and/or ballistic impact damage....
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The entry-level physical therapist: a case for COMFORT communication training.
Goldsmith, Joy; Wittenberg-Lyles, Elaine; Frisby, Brandi N; Platt, Christine Small
2015-01-01
Entry-level physical therapists provide clinical care for patients with functional mobility limitations. Their care spans the continuum of settings, disease processes, and diagnoses. Although effective communication skills are required to conduct physical therapy work, there is limited instruction provided in physical therapy education and students receive little exposure to seriously or chronically ill patients. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of communication training for the entry-level physical therapist facing palliative and end-of-life communication with patients/families. A pre-post survey design and narrative writing were used to assess the effect of the COMFORT communication training curriculum provided to doctorally trained, graduating physical therapists. The study demonstrated decreased student apprehension about communicating with dying patients and their families, and a comparison of mean scores reflecting the students' communication knowledge, confidence, and behaviors increased in a positive direction. As students became more willing to communicate, they were also more adept at integrating task and relational messages, as well as assimilating emotional support messages for patients and families. This study shows promise for the feasibility and utilization of the COMFORT curriculum for entry-level physical therapists. Further research should address the integration of COMFORT earlier into physical therapy education, as well as assess evidence of COMFORT communication skills in the clinical context.
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Acquisition with partial and continuous reinforcement in pigeon autoshaping.
Gottlieb, Daniel A
2004-08-01
Contemporary time accumulation models make the unique prediction that acquisition of a conditioned response will be equally rapid with partial and continuous reinforcement, if the time between conditioned stimuli is held constant. To investigate this, acquisition of conditioned responding was examined in pigeon autoshaping under conditions of 100% and 25% reinforcement, holding intertrial interval constant. Contrary to what was predicted, evidence for slowed acquisition in partially reinforced animals was observed with several response measures. However, asymptotic performance was superior with 25% reinforcement. A switching of reinforcement contingencies after initial acquisition did not immediately affect responding. After further sessions, partial reinforcement augmented responding, whereas continuous reinforcement did not, irrespective of an animal's reinforcement history. Subsequent training with a novel stimulus maintained the response patterns. These acquisition results generally support associative, rather than time accumulation, accounts of conditioning.
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A Comparison of Bond Performance of Concrete Reinforced with ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The transfer of stress from a deformed bar to the concrete is achieved by mechanical locking of the steel into the surrounding concrete. This interfacial bond strength between steel and the surrounding concrete is an important factor influencing the strength and durability of reinforced concrete structure. This paper presents ...
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Carstensen, Tove; Bonsaksen, Tore
2017-11-01
The Intentional Relationship Model (IRM) is a new model of the therapeutic relationship in occupational therapy practice. Two previous studies have focused on therapist communication style, or 'mode' use, but to date no group comparisons have been reported. To explore differences between occupational therapists and occupational therapy students with regard to their therapeutic mode use. The study had a cross-sectional design, and convenience samples consisting of occupational therapists (n = 109) and of second-year occupational therapy students (n = 96) were recruited. The Self-Assessment of Modes Questionnaire was the main data collection tool. Group differences were analysed with independent t-tests. The occupational therapists responded more within the collaborative and empathizing modes than the students did. The students responded more within the advocating and instructing modes than the occupational therapists did. There may be systematic differences between occupational therapists and students concerning their therapeutic mode use. Some modes, such as the collaborating and empathizing modes, may be viewed as requiring more experience, whereas other modes, such as the advocating mode may be related to more recent rehabilitation ideologies. These factors may contribute to explaining several of the group differences observed.
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You, Ilhwan; Yoo, Doo-Yeol; Kim, Soonho; Kim, Min-Jae; Zi, Goangseup
2017-01-01
This study examined the electrical and self-sensing capacities of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) with and without carbon nanotubes (CNTs). For this, the effects of steel fiber content, orientation, and pore water content on the electrical and piezoresistive properties of UHPFRC without CNTs were first evaluated. Then, the effect of CNT content on the self-sensing capacities of UHPFRC under compression and flexure was investigated. Test results indicated that higher ...
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Clients' and therapists' stories about psychotherapy.
Adler, Jonathan M
2013-12-01
This article provides an overview of the emerging field of research on clients' stories about their experiences in psychotherapy. The theory of narrative identity suggests that individuals construct stories about their lives in order to provide the self with a sense of purpose and unity. Psychotherapy stories serve both psychological functions. Focusing on the theme of agency as a vehicle for operationalizing purpose and coherence as a way of operationalizing unity, this article will describe the existing scholarship connecting psychotherapy stories to clients' psychological well-being. Results from cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative studies as well as longitudinal research indicate a connection between the stories clients tell about therapy and their psychological well-being, both over the course of treatment and after it is over. In addition, a preliminary analysis of therapists' stories about their clients' treatment is presented. These analyses reveal that the way therapists recount a particular client's therapy does not impact the relationships between clients' narratives and their improvement. The article concludes with a discussion of how this body of scholarship might be fruitfully applied in the realm of clinical practice. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Beidas, Rinad S.; Kendall, Philip C.
2010-01-01
Evidence-based practice (EBP), a preferred psychological treatment approach, requires training of community providers. The systems-contextual (SC) perspective, a model for dissemination and implementation efforts, underscores the importance of the therapist, client, and organizational variables that influence training and consequent therapist uptake and adoption of EBP. This review critiques the extant research on training in EBP from an SC perspective. Findings suggest that therapist knowled...
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Learning to trade via direct reinforcement.
Moody, J; Saffell, M
2001-01-01
We present methods for optimizing portfolios, asset allocations, and trading systems based on direct reinforcement (DR). In this approach, investment decision-making is viewed as a stochastic control problem, and strategies are discovered directly. We present an adaptive algorithm called recurrent reinforcement learning (RRL) for discovering investment policies. The need to build forecasting models is eliminated, and better trading performance is obtained. The direct reinforcement approach differs from dynamic programming and reinforcement algorithms such as TD-learning and Q-learning, which attempt to estimate a value function for the control problem. We find that the RRL direct reinforcement framework enables a simpler problem representation, avoids Bellman's curse of dimensionality and offers compelling advantages in efficiency. We demonstrate how direct reinforcement can be used to optimize risk-adjusted investment returns (including the differential Sharpe ratio), while accounting for the effects of transaction costs. In extensive simulation work using real financial data, we find that our approach based on RRL produces better trading strategies than systems utilizing Q-learning (a value function method). Real-world applications include an intra-daily currency trader and a monthly asset allocation system for the S&P 500 Stock Index and T-Bills.
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Park, Jin-Hyuck; Park, Ji-Hyuk
2017-01-01
This study was conducted to investigate the associations among work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), job stress, and job attitude of occupational therapists in South Korea. Self-reporting questionnaires were distributed to 150 occupational therapists. Of the 128 occupational therapists who responded, 110 (85.9%) reported WMSDs affecting at least one body site. The most affected WMSDs site was the low back (26.8%), and the most reported number of body site affected by WMSDs was one (53.9%). As a result, there were significant differences in job stress and job attitude depending on the age, work experience, working hour, presence or absence of WMSDs, and number of site of pain. Factors influencing job attitude included job stress, the presence or absence of WMSDs and duration of pain. The results showed that the occurrence of WMSDs in occupational therapists was associated with increased job stress and negative job attitude.
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Attitudes of Turkish speech and language therapists toward stuttering.
Maviş, Ilknur; St Louis, Kenneth O; Özdemir, Sertan; Toğram, Bülent
2013-06-01
The study sought to identify clinical beliefs and attitudes of speech and language therapists (SLTs) in Turkey and to compare them to previous research on SLTs in the USA and UK. The Clinician Attitudes Toward Stuttering (CATS) inventory was administered by mail to nearly all-practicing SLTs in Turkey (n=61). Turkish SLTs, whose caseloads contained a substantial number of people who stutter, agreed with CATS items suggesting psychological causes and problems for those who stutter. They strongly believed therapy should focus on parent counseling for preschoolers who stutter as well as adolescents. They were not optimistic about carrying out stuttering therapy nor about the likelihood that children who stutter could be effectively treated. Attitudes toward stuttering by clinicians who treat them are important considerations in the conduct and outcomes of stuttering therapy. Additionally, SLTs working with stuttering clients should benefit from professional views and clinical experiences of their colleagues from surveys such as this one. The reader will be able to describe: (a) the components of the CATS, (b) common themes in Turkish speech and language therapists' attitudes toward stuttering, (c) differences between the attitudes of speech and language therapists from Turkey versus the United States and the United Kingdom. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Investigation of Methods for Selectively Reinforcing Aluminum and Aluminum-Lithium Materials
Bird, R. Keith; Alexa, Joel A.; Messick, Peter L.; Domack, Marcia S.; Wagner, John A.
2013-01-01
Several studies have indicated that selective reinforcement offers the potential to significantly improve the performance of metallic structures for aerospace applications. Applying high-strength, high-stiffness fibers to the high-stress regions of aluminum-based structures can increase the structural load-carrying capability and inhibit fatigue crack initiation and growth. This paper discusses an investigation into potential methods for applying reinforcing fibers onto the surface of aluminum and aluminum-lithium plate. Commercially-available alumina-fiber reinforced aluminum alloy tapes were used as the reinforcing material. Vacuum hot pressing was used to bond the reinforcing tape to aluminum alloy 2219 and aluminum-lithium alloy 2195 base plates. Static and cyclic three-point bend testing and metallurgical analysis were used to evaluate the enhancement of mechanical performance and the integrity of the bond between the tape and the base plate. The tests demonstrated an increase in specific bending stiffness. In addition, no issues with debonding of the reinforcing tape from the base plate during bend testing were observed. The increase in specific stiffness indicates that selectively-reinforced structures could be designed with the same performance capabilities as a conventional unreinforced structure but with lower mass.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammadamin Azimi
2014-01-01
Full Text Available The seismic performance of RC columns could be significantly improved by continuous spiral reinforcement as a result of its adequate ductility and energy dissipation capacity. Due to post-earthquake brittle failure observations in beam-column connections, the seismic behaviour of such connections could greatly be improved by simultaneous application of this method in both beams and columns. In this study, a new proposed detail for beam to column connection introduced as “twisted opposing rectangular spiral” was experimentally and numerically investigated and its seismic performance was compared against normal rectangular spiral and conventional shear reinforcement systems. In this study, three full scale beam to column connections were first designed in conformance with Eurocode (EC2-04 for low ductility class connections and then tested by quasistatic cyclic loading recommended by ACI Building Code (ACI 318-02. Next, the experimental results were validated by numerical methods. Finally, the results revealed that the new proposed connection could improve the ultimate lateral resistance, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity.
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Bendixen, Hans Jørgen; Ellegård, Kajsa
2014-01-01
To investigate occupational therapists' job satisfaction under a changing regime by using a time-geographic approach focusing on the therapists' everyday working lives. Nine occupational therapists at the Copenhagen University Hospital, Gentofte, Denmark. A mixed-method design was employed. Occupational therapists kept time-geographic diaries, and the results from them were grounded for individual, semi-structured in-depth interviews. Individual reflections on everyday working life were recorded. Transcribed statements from the interviews were analysed to determine factors influencing job satisfaction. The nine therapists kept diaries for one day a month for a total of 70 preselected days over a period of nine months; six participated in individual interviews. Four factors constraining OT job satisfaction were revealed. Economic concerns, new professional paradigms and methods in combination with a new organisational structure for the occupational therapy service caused uncertainty. In addition, decreasing possibilities for supervision by colleagues influenced job satisfaction. Opportunities for experiencing autonomy in everyday working life were described as facilitators for job satisfaction. The time-geographic and interview methods were useful in focusing on the job satisfaction of occupational therapists, who provided individual interpretations of the balance between autonomy and three types of constraints in everyday working life. The constraints related to organisation, power relations and - not least - how the organisational project of the department fitted in with OTs' individual projects. Matching of organisational and individual projects is of crucial importance, not only for OTs but for most workplaces where individuals are employed to serve patients in the healthcare sector.
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Dirkse, Dale; Hadjistavropoulos, Heather D; Hesser, Hugo; Barak, Azy
2015-01-01
Therapist-assisted Internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) involves elements of expressive writing through secure messaging with a therapist. Expressive writing has been associated with psychological and physical health benefits in past research; furthermore, certain linguistic dimensions in expressive writing have been identified as particularly beneficial to health, such as less frequent use of negative emotion words and greater use of positive emotion words. No research, to date, has analyzed linguistic dimensions in client communication over the course of therapist-assisted ICBT for individuals with symptoms of generalized anxiety. This naturalistic study examined messages sent to therapists during the course of ICBT using linguistic analysis, and explored covariation of word use with symptom improvement. Data were obtained from patients with symptoms of generalized anxiety (N = 59) who completed 12 modules of therapist-assisted ICBT and rated symptoms of anxiety, depression, and panic at the beginning of each module. Linguistic analysis categorized text submitted to therapists into different word categories. Results found that patients' use of negative emotion, anxiety, causation, and insight words reduced over the course of treatment, while past tense words increased. Furthermore, negative emotion words significantly covaried with symptom ratings over the course of treatment. While causal statements cannot be made, findings improve our understanding of patient communication in ICBT and suggest that the further study of linguistic dimensions as psychological indicators and the potential utility of expressive writing strategies in therapist-assisted ICBT may be worthwhile.
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Love, Allison R; Okado, Izumi; Orimoto, Trina E; Mueller, Charles W
2018-01-01
The present study used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify underlying latent factors affecting variation in community therapists' endorsement of treatment targets. As part of a statewide practice management program, therapist completed monthly reports of treatment targets (up to 10 per month) for a sample of youth (n = 790) receiving intensive in-home therapy. Nearly 75 % of youth were diagnosed with multiple co-occurring disorders. Five factors emerged: Disinhibition, Societal Rules Evasion, Social Engagement Deficits, Emotional Distress, and Management of Biodevelopmental Outcomes. Using logistic regression, primary diagnosis predicted therapist selection of Disinhibition and Emotional Distress targets. Client age predicted endorsement of Societal Rules Evasion targets. Practice-to-research implications are discussed.
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The role of the occupational therapist in the care of people living with lung cancer.
White, Kahren M
2016-06-01
This paper aims to explore the vital role occupational therapists play in enabling people living with lung cancer to continue to actively live. Core assessments and interventions employed by occupational therapists are described in a case study. It will demonstrate how people living with lung cancer can continue to participate in meaningful and chosen life roles, even in the face of functional decline. Skilled management by the occupational therapist of the refractory symptoms of advanced lung cancer supports this participation.
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Cheung, Therma W C; Clemson, Lindy; O' Loughlin, Kate; Shuttleworth, Russell
2017-09-18
Ergonomic education in housework that aims to facilitate behavior change is important for women with upper limb repetitive strain injury. Therapists usually conduct such programs based on implicit reasoning. Making this reasoning explicit is important in contributing to the profession's knowledge. To construct a conceptual representation of how occupational therapists make clinical decisions for such program. Based on a constructivist-grounded theory methodology, data were collected through in-depth interviewing with 14 occupational therapists from a major hospital in Singapore. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Data was analyzed with line by line, focused and axial coding with constant data comparison throughout data collection. Therapists made clinical decisions based on their perceptions of their clients' behavior change in three stages: (i) listen; (ii) try; and (iii) persevere, bearing significant similarities to the transtheoretical theory of change. The study also showed that therapists may not have considered the full range of meanings that their clients attach to housework when interacting with them, a gap that needs to be addressed. The present study indicates the importance of therapists' understanding of the meanings that their clients attach to housework. Further research needs to address how to achieve this in a time-pressured clinical environment. Implications for Rehabilitation This study used qualitative research to demonstrate the process of translating therapists' tacit knowledge into an explicit form. It elucidates the following major implications for practice when therapists conduct ergonomic education to facilitate behavior change in housework for female homemakers with upper limb RSI:The conceptual framework of clinical reasoning constructed from the results can be used to increase therapists' awareness of how they make clinical decisions during an intervention. This framework can also be used for training new therapists. It is
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A Child’s Perspective on the Role of Therapists in Custody Battles
Roy Lubit
2016-01-01
Children’s therapists often avoid involvement in court at all cost, utilizing twists of logic and applying false dictums. Avoiding involvement not only violates the therapist’s fiduciary responsibility to the child and fundamental moral principles, but almost inevitably leads to the collapse of the therapeutic relationship and any benefit coming from the therapy. Assertions that the therapist is avoiding involvement to protect the therapy are little more than rationalizations. Sin...
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Yu, R.; Spiesz, P.R.; Brouwers, H.J.H.
2014-01-01
This paper addresses the static properties and impact resistance of a "green" Ultra-High Performance Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPHFRC). The design of concrete mixtures aims to achieve a densely compacted cementitious matrix, employing the modified Andreasen & Andersen particle packing
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Eikenhout, Nelson; Austin, John
2005-01-01
This study employed an ABAC and multiple baseline design to evaluate the effects of (B) feedback and (C) a package of feedback, goalsetting, and reinforcement (supervisor praise and an area-wide celebration as managed through a performance matrix, on a total of 14 various customer service behaviors for a total of 115 employees at a large…
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bolderston, Amanda
2008-01-01
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to discover and compare radiation therapy patients' and radiation therapists' perceptions of patients' educational topics of interest and methods of information delivery during a course of radiation therapy. Methods: Using Likert-type 4-point rating scales, 42 therapists and 183 radiation therapy patients were surveyed to rate the degree of importance of 15 informational items (for example, 'What it feels like to have treatment'). In addition, therapists and patients ranked 11 methods of informational delivery (for example, 'Watching video tapes') in order of preference. Results: Results indicated several differences in therapists' and patients' perceptions of both the educational topics of interest and methods of information delivery. Among other things, patients assigned high importance to after treatment issues ('What happens after radiation therapy is finished') and how radiation therapy works, these areas were not seen as important by the studied therapists. Patients expressed a strong preference for receiving information about radiation therapy from their family doctor (ranked third), therapists ranked this source of information as the least important. Conclusion: It is vital to tailor educational interventions according to the patient's preference to optimize both understanding and compliance. This study demonstrated noteworthy differences in several areas between therapists' and patients' perceptions. Recommendations therefore include raising therapist's awareness of topics that are important to patients and meaningful informational delivery methods
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Audet, Cristelle T.; Everall, Robin D.
2010-01-01
Therapist self-disclosure is gaining empirical attention amidst theoretical discourse and ethical debate, particularly with regards to its influence on the therapeutic relationship. This paper presents part of a larger qualitative study that explored client experiences of therapist self-disclosure and specifically focuses on the therapeutic…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhang Yi-fan
2017-12-01
Full Text Available In the study of crack resistance of steel fiber reinforced concrete in steel fiber on concrete deformation ability and prevent the Angle of the micro cracks, and the lack of overall evaluation on the performance of steel fiber reinforced concrete crack. By tinder barrier-free restrain some experimental research on steel fiber ceramsite concrete shrinkage ring crack resistance, and use the test results within the definition of steel ring strain from expansion to contraction cut-off age for early and late ages, and the ages of the cut-off point for the early and the late steel fiber ceramsite concrete anti-cracking performance evaluation. The results show that the anti-cracking properties of the steel fiber ceramic concrete are improved with the increase of steel fiber content.
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CERN. Geneva
2017-01-01
Parameter tuning is an important task of storage performance optimization. Current practice usually involves numerous tweak-benchmark cycles that are slow and costly. To address this issue, we developed CAPES, a model-less deep reinforcement learning-based unsupervised parameter tuning system driven by a deep neural network (DNN). It is designed to nd the optimal values of tunable parameters in computer systems, from a simple client-server system to a large data center, where human tuning can be costly and often cannot achieve optimal performance. CAPES takes periodic measurements of a target computer system’s state, and trains a DNN which uses Q-learning to suggest changes to the system’s current parameter values. CAPES is minimally intrusive, and can be deployed into a production system to collect training data and suggest tuning actions during the system’s daily operation. Evaluation of a prototype on a Lustre system demonstrates an increase in I/O throughput up to 45% at saturation point. About the...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
David P. G. van den Berg
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Background: Despite robust empirical support for the efficacy of trauma-focused treatments, the dissemination proves difficult, especially in relation to patients with comorbid psychosis. Many therapists endorse negative beliefs about the credibility, burden, and harm of such treatment. Objective: This feasibility study explores the impact of specialized training on therapists’ beliefs about trauma-focused treatment within a randomized controlled trial. Method: Therapist-rated (n=16 credibility, expected burden, and harm expectancies of trauma-focused treatment were assessed at baseline, post-theoretical training, post-technical training, post-supervised practical training, and at 2-year follow-up. Credibility and burden beliefs of therapists concerning the treatment of every specific patient in the trial were also assessed. Results: Over time, therapist-rated credibility of trauma-focused treatment showed a significant increase, whereas therapists’ expected burden and harm expectancies decreased significantly. In treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD in patients with psychotic disorders (n=79, pre-treatment symptom severity was not associated with therapist-rated credibility or expected burden of that specific treatment. Treatment outcome had no influence on patient-specific credibility or burden expectancies of therapists. Conclusions: These findings support the notion that specialized training, including practical training with supervision, has long-term positive effects on therapists’ credibility, burden, and harm beliefs concerning trauma-focused treatment.
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Jones, Jennifer D
2006-01-01
While researchers have documented the efficacy of clinical songwriting in music therapy, limited research has been conducted on songs composed by music therapists that address clinical goals. The purpose of this research was to examine the original songwriting practices of music therapists. Professional music therapists (N = 1,364) received a 14-question survey via email asking each to identify client populations and clinical goals addressed by original songs, their length of time in clinical practice, and specifics about their acquisition of songwriting skills. The data collected from 302 completed surveys revealed that respondents who used original songs were most likely to work with children and adolescents in schools or the developmental disability field and wrote songs in order to individualize treatment. Music therapists working with persons over 65 years of age in long term care or assisted living programs were the least likely to use original songs in clinical practice, opting for interventions utilizing the client's familiar music. Most music therapists found songwriting generally easy, but only 37% indicated that they acquired this skill during their undergraduate degree. Additional research on the clinical efficacy of original songs and therapist's compositional processes is needed to identify best practices models for strategic songwriting.
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Glass FRP reinforcement in rehabilitation of concrete marine infrastructure
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Newhook, John P.
2006-01-01
Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcements for concrete structures are gaining wide acceptance as a suitable alternative to steel reinforcements. The primary advantage is that they do not suffer corrosion and hence they promise to be more durable in environments where steel reinforced concrete has a limited life span. Concrete wharves and jetties are examples of structures subjected to such harsh environments and represent the general class of marine infrastructure in which glass FRP (GFRP) reinforcement should be used for improved durability and service life. General design considerations which make glass FRP suitable for use in marine concrete rehabilitation projects are discussed. A case study of recent wharf rehabilitation project in Canada is used to reinforce these considerations. The structure consisted of a GFRP reinforced concrete deck panel and steel - GFRP hybrid reinforced concrete pile cap. A design methodology is developed for the hybrid reinforcement design and verified through testing. The results of a field monitoring program are used to establish the satisfactory field performance of the GFRP reinforcement. The design concepts presented in the paper are applicable to many concrete marine components and other structures where steel reinforcement corrosion is a problem. (author)
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Reinforcement Magnitude: An Evaluation of Preference and Reinforcer Efficacy
Trosclair-Lasserre, Nicole M; Lerman, Dorothea C; Call, Nathan A; Addison, Laura R; Kodak, Tiffany
2008-01-01
Consideration of reinforcer magnitude may be important for maximizing the efficacy of treatment for problem behavior. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about children's preferences for different magnitudes of social reinforcement or the extent to which preference is related to differences in reinforcer efficacy. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relations among reinforcer magnitude, preference, and efficacy by drawing on the procedures and results of basic experimenta...
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Barnett, Miya L; Niec, Larissa N; Peer, Samuel O; Jent, Jason F; Weinstein, Allison; Gisbert, Patricia; Simpson, Gregory
2017-01-01
Although behavioral parent training is considered efficacious treatment for childhood conduct problems, not all families benefit equally from treatment. Some parents take longer to change their behaviors and others ultimately drop out. Understanding how therapist behaviors impact parental engagement is necessary to improve treatment utilization. This study investigated how different techniques of therapist in vivo feedback (i.e., coaching) influenced parent attrition and skill acquisition in parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT). Participants included 51 parent-child dyads who participated in PCIT. Children (age: M = 5.03, SD = 1.65) were predominately minorities (63% White Hispanic, 16% African American or Black). Eight families discontinued treatment prematurely. Therapist coaching techniques during the first session of treatment were coded using the Therapist-Parent Interaction Coding System, and parent behaviors were coded with the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, Third Edition. Parents who received more responsive coaching acquired child-centered parenting skills more quickly. Therapists used fewer responsive techniques and more drills with families who dropped out of treatment. A composite of therapist behaviors accurately predicted treatment completion for 86% of families. Although group membership was correctly classified for the treatment completers, only 1 dropout was accurately predicted. Findings suggest that therapist in vivo feedback techniques may impact parents' success in PCIT and that responsive coaching may be particularly relevant.
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Becker, Ellen A; Nguyen, Xuan T
2014-12-01
Transitioning from an associate degree to a baccalaureate degree for respiratory therapists has been suggested as a new entry-level educational standard. One potential risk for this change is that it may limit the diversity of potential applicants for entry-level education. A diverse workforce is important to achieve the goal of reducing healthcare disparities. This study evaluated characteristics of therapists who completed associate and baccalaureate degree entry-level education. A secondary analysis of data collected from the 2009 AARC Respiratory Therapist Human Resource Survey explored relationships between the choice of entry-level associate or baccalaureate education and variables of gender, race, salary, career advancement, and job satisfaction. There were no differences between therapists with entry-level associate and baccalaureate degrees in gender, race, number of additional healthcare credentials, numbers of life support credentials, wages, delivering respiratory care by protocol, and job satisfaction. There were significantly higher percentages of advanced academic degrees, desire to pursue a higher academic degree, registered respiratory therapist credentials, total National Board for Respiratory Care credentials, and leadership roles for therapists with baccalaureate entry-level degrees. Current entry-level associate and baccalaureate degree graduates have similar gender and race proportions. This finding challenges concerns that an entry-level baccalaureate degree would decrease the diversity of the respiratory therapist workforce. Copyright © 2014 by Daedalus Enterprises.
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Study of the stress-strain state of compressed concrete elements with composite reinforcement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bondarenko Yurii
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The efficiency analysis of the application of glass composite reinforcement in compressed concrete elements as a load-carrying component has been performed. The results of experimental studies of the deformation-strength characteristics of this reinforcement on compression and compressed concrete cylinders reinforced by this reinforcement are presented. The results of tests and mechanisms of sample destruction have been analyzed. The numerical analysis of the stress-strain state has been performed for axial compression of concrete elements with glasscomposite reinforcement. The influence of the reinforcement percentage on the stressed state of a concrete compressed element with the noted reinforcement is estimated. On the basis of the obtained results, it is established that the glass-composite reinforcement has positive effect on the strength of the compressed concrete elements. That is, when calculating the load-bearing capacity of such structures, the function of composite reinforcement on compression should not be neglected.
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Niño, Alba; Kissil, Karni; Davey, Maureen P
2016-01-01
With the growing diversity in the United States among both clinicians and clients, many therapeutic encounters are cross-cultural, requiring providers to connect across cultural differences. Foreign-born therapists have many areas of differences to work through. Thus, exploring how foreign-born family therapists in the United States connect to their clients can uncover helpful strategies that all therapists can use to establish stronger cross-cultural therapeutic connections. A thematic analysis was conducted to understand strategies 13 foreign-born therapists used during therapeutic encounters. Four themes were identified: making therapy a human-to-human connection, dealing with stereotypes, what really matters, and flexibility. Findings suggest that developing a deep therapeutic connection using emotional attunement and human-to-human engagement is crucial for successful cross-cultural therapy. Clinical and training implications are provided. © 2015 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
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Music Teachers and Music Therapists: Helping Children Together.
Patterson, Allyson
2003-01-01
Provides background information on music therapy. Discusses how music therapy works in the public school setting and offers advice to music teachers. Explores music therapy and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, addressing the benefits of having access to music therapists. (CMK)
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Daniels, Rachael Anne; Holdsworth, Emma; Tramontano, Carlo
2017-07-29
Client engagement in substance misuse treatment programs is directly associated with positive treatment outcomes. The nature of these programs means there are often difficulties engaging and retaining clients, but authors have consistently found a strong therapeutic alliance is associated with client engagement. While research has focused on the association between the alliance and engagement, the factors that influence the therapeutic alliance have received less attention. To examine therapists' characteristics, namely therapists' stress and empathy levels, as potential predictors of client engagement and the therapeutic alliance, within an adolescent substance misuse group treatment program. The sample included 84 adolescent clients and 14 therapists from a Secure Training Centre in England. Client engagement in the treatment program was observed, while self-reporting measures assessed the therapeutic alliance (client and therapist-rated), and therapists' stress and empathy levels. Multiple regression analysis revealed that therapists' stress levels negatively influenced the therapeutic alliance and had a curvilinear relationship with client engagement, indicating that stress is not exclusively negatively related to engagement. Although stress was found to negatively impact both cognitive and affective empathy, neither cognitive nor affective empathy were significantly related to client engagement or the therapeutic alliance. This study demonstrates the importance of therapist characteristics on client engagement and the therapeutic alliance. Within practice stress can have a positive impact on clients' engagement. Nevertheless, therapists may need additional support to deal with stress effectively. Therapists' empathy may too be fundamental to client engagement, but only it if is perceived by clients.
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Normal Strength Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Subjected to Explosive Loading
Mohammed Alias Yusof; Norazman Norazman; Ariffin Ariffin; Fauzi Mohd Zain; Risby Risby; CP Ng
2011-01-01
This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the behavior of plain reinforced concrete and Normal strength steel fiber reinforced concrete panels (SFRC) subjected to explosive loading. The experiment were performed by the Blast Research Unit Faculty of Engineering, University Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia A total of 8 reinforced concrete panels of 600mm x 600mm x 100mm were tested. The steel fiber reinforced concrete panels incorporated three different volume fraction, 0...
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Thermomechanical analyses of phenolic foam reinforced with glass fiber mat
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhou, Jintang; Yao, Zhengjun; Chen, Yongxin; Wei, Dongbo; Wu, Yibing
2013-01-01
Highlights: • Over 10% glass fiber was used to reinforce phenolic foam in the shape of glass fiber mat. • Nucleating agents were used together with glass fiber mat and improved tensile strength of phenolic foam by 215.6%. • Nucleating agents lead to a smaller bubble size of phenolic foam. • The glass transition temperature of phenolic foam remained unchanged during the reinforcement. - Abstract: In this paper, thermomechanical analysis (TMA) and dynamic mechanical analysis were employed to study the properties of phenolic foam reinforced with glass fiber mat. Unreinforced phenolic foam was taken as the control sample. Mechanical tests and scanning electron microscopy were performed to confirm the results of TMA. The results show that glass fiber mat reinforcement improves the mechanical performance of phenolic foam, and nucleating agents improve it further. Phenolic foam reinforced with glass fiber mat has a smaller thermal expansion coefficient compared with unreinforced foam. The storage modulus of the reinforced phenolic foam is also higher than that in unreinforced foam, whereas the loss modulus of the former is lower than that of the latter. The glass transition temperature of the phenolic foam matrix remains unchanged during the reinforcement
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Repairing reinforced concrete slabs using composite layers
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Naghibdehi, M. Ghasemi; Sharbatdar, M.K.; Mastali, M.
2014-01-01
There are several strengthening methods for rehabilitation of RC structural elements. The efficiency of these methods has been demonstrated by many researchers. Due to their mechanical properties, using fibrous materials in rehabilitation applications is growing fast. Therefore, this study presents rehabilitation of slabs in such a way that plain concrete layers on top, on bottom, on the entire cross section are replaced by reinforced concrete layers. In order to reinforce the concrete, Polypropylene (PP) and steel fibers were used by 0.5%, 1% and 2% fiber volume fractions. Nineteen slabs were studied under flexural loadings and fibrous material effects on the initial crack force, the maximum loading carrying capacity, absorbed energy and ductility were investigated. The obtained results demonstrated that increasing the fiber volume fraction or using reinforced concrete layer on top, bottom, or at the entire cross section of the slabs not only always leads to improvement in the slab performance, but also sometimes debilitates the slab performance. Hence, this study will propose the best positioning of reinforced concrete layer, fiber volume fraction and fiber type to achieve the best flexural performance of slabs. - Highlights: • Using PP fibers at the bottom layer led to the best slab performance in bending. • Using steel fiber at the top layer and entire cross-section led to the best slab performance. • Maximum increase in the initial crack force and loading were obtained at 2% steel fiber. • Maximum increase in the initial crack force and loading were obtained at 1% PP fiber
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Occupational therapists' experiences of career progression following promotion.
Nelson, Helen; Giles, Susan; McInnes, Heather; Hitch, Danielle
2015-12-01
The recruitment and retention of a skilled occupational therapy workforce is highlighted as a key issue for the profession, and yet there have been relatively few studies into the career progression of occupational therapists. A qualitative, naturalistic approach was adopted to answer the research question, using semi-structured interviews to gather data. Eleven purposefully selected participants at an Australian health service were interviewed as part of this study. Categories representing the most common themes and topics supplied by participants within their individual interviews were identified and consolidated by the research team. The trustworthiness of this study was supported by strategies to maximise its credibility, dependability and confirmability. Four main themes were elicited from the data - (i) Readiness for progression, (ii) Tools and processes, (iii) Expectations and (iv) What I wish I had known first. Within these themes, related findings were also identified by both Grade 2 and Grade 3 staff. This study indicates that the readiness of occupational therapists to climb the career ladder is influenced by the tools and processes they can utilise, and the expectations they have around the realities of their new position. With hindsight, participants highlighted some things they wish they had known at the time of transition, which appeared to have been implicit. This study is the first to address the common issues for occupational therapy staff around progression between grade levels. It therefore provides a basis for further research in other practice settings and for the development of supports for therapists climbing the career ladder. © 2015 Occupational Therapy Australia.
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2014-01-01
Reinforced sulphur concrete wherein one or more metal reinforcing members are in contact with sulphur concrete is disclosed. The reinforced sulphur concrete comprises an adhesion promoter that enhances the interaction between the sulphur and the one or more metal reinforcing members.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tanaka, T.; Taniki, K. [Mitsubishi Kasei Corp., Tokyo (Japan); Kojima, N.; Kimura, K.; Katsumata, H. [Obayashi Corp., Osaka (Japan)
1994-08-15
This paper describes the development of a reinforcing method for reinforced concrete (hereinafter RC) structures by using carbon fibers (hereinafter CF). This developed method attaches a light-weight CFUD prepreg material for reinforcement by laterally winding CF strand impregnated with epoxy resin, which is hardened under normal temperature. This method is economical because no skills and special tools are required. An RC pillar with circular cross section and a hollow RC test body assuming a chimney were used as models. The paper details the experiment. This method has been used in several ten existing RC stacks with effective reinforcing result. Resistance strengths of CF strands and UD prepregs were verified in an accelerated exposure test performed according to JIS A 1415, standard for plastic building materials. The effects of the anti-seismic reinforcement have resulted in improvement in shear resistance force in RC pillars by means of CF winding method, improvement in bending stress in RC structures as a result of CF attaching method, and effectiveness in repair of existing RC stacks. Sufficient exposure resistance has also been proved. A bending test by means of two-point concentrated loading has been performed as a weighted test. 4 figs.
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Strain rate effects on reinforcing steels in tension
Cadoni, Ezio; Forni, Daniele
2015-09-01
It is unquestionable the fact that a structural system should be able to fulfil the function for which it was created, without being damaged to an extent disproportionate to the cause of damage. In addition, it is an undeniable fact that in reinforced concrete structures under severe dynamic loadings, both concrete and reinforcing bars are subjected to high strain-rates. Although the behavior of the reinforcing steel under high strain rates is of capital importance in the structural assessment under the abovementioned conditions, only the behaviour of concrete has been widely studied. Due to this lack of data on the reinforcing steel under high strain rates, an experimental program on rebar reinforcing steels under high strain rates in tension is running at the DynaMat Laboratory. In this paper a comparison of the behaviour in a wide range of strain-rates of several types of reinforcing steel in tension is presented. Three reinforcing steels, commonly proposed by the European Standards, are compared: B500A, B500B and B500C. Lastly, an evaluation of the most common constitutive laws is performed.
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Jensen, Gail M; Hack, Laurita M; Nordstrom, Terrence; Gwyer, Janet; Mostrom, Elizabeth
2017-09-01
This perspective shares recommendations that draw from (1) the National Study of Excellence and Innovation in Physical Therapist Education research findings and a conceptual model of excellence in physical therapist education, (2) the Carnegie Foundation's Preparation for the Professions Program (PPP), and (3) research in the learning sciences. The 30 recommendations are linked to the dimensions described in the conceptual model for excellence in physical therapist education: Culture of Excellence, Praxis of Learning, and Organizational Structures and Resources. This perspective proposes a transformative call for reform framed across 3 core categories: (1) creating a culture of excellence, leadership, and partnership, (2) advancing the learning sciences and understanding and enacting the social contract, and (3) implementing organizational imperatives. Similar to the Carnegie studies, this perspective identifies action items (9) that should be initiated immediately in a strategic and systematic way by the major organizational stakeholders in physical therapist education. These recommendations and action items provide a transformative agenda for physical therapist education, and thus the profession, in meeting the changing needs of society through higher levels of excellence. © 2017 American Physical Therapy Association.
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Using Aberrant Behaviors as Reinforcers for Autistic Children.
Charlop, Marjorie H.; And Others
1990-01-01
Three experiments assessed the efficacy of various reinforcers to increase correct task responding in a total of 10 autistic children, aged 6-9. Of the reinforcers used (stereotypy, delayed echolalia, perseverative behavior, and food), task performance was highest with opportunities to engage in aberrant behaviors, and lowest with edible…
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Moersch, Ing. Joerg [Max Aicher Engineering GmbH, Freilassing (Germany)
2016-10-15
This type of accelerated corrosion test was used to study the high number of test samples in due time. The corrosion phenomena obtained in salt spray testing deviate significantly from corrosion phenomena (pitting factor) obtained in practical conditions. Salt spray testing represents practical conditions for the more uniform corrosion as a result of a severe carbonation of the concrete and/or for higher chloride contents at the surface of the rebar. At low corrosion current densities the effect of pit depth on residual mechanical performance might be underestimated. Reinforced concrete (r.c.) buildings in seismic areas shall be designed to guarantee enough ductile resources as for example a sufficient rotational capacity to allow for load re-distribution. The rotational capacity is directly dependent on the ductility of the reinforcing steel which is generally expressed as elongation at maximum load (A+g{sub t}) and the hardening ratio (R{sub m}/R{sub e}). A direct testing of the seismic load resistance of reinforcing steels is not part of the construction product standards. Therefore it was decided by European Commission to introduce this performance requirement in the mandate for the revision of EN 10080:2005. In parallel to the standardization process a research project was carried out to deliver the scientific background.
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Ashby, Samantha E; Ryan, Susan; Gray, Mel; James, Carole
2013-04-01
Mental health practice can create challenging environments for occupational therapists. This study explores the dynamic processes involved in the development and maintenance of professional resilience of experienced mental health occupational therapy practitioners. It presents the PRIOrity model that summarises the dynamic relationship between professional resilience, professional identity and occupation-based practice. A narrative inquiry methodology with two phases of interviews was used to collect the data from nine experienced mental health practitioners. Narrative thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Professional resilience was linked to: (i) professional identity which tended to be negatively influenced in contexts dominated by biomedical models and psychological theories; (ii) expectations on occupational therapists to work outside their professional domains and use generic knowledge; and (iii) lack of validation of occupation-focussed practice. Professional resilience was sustained by strategies that maintained participants' professional identity. These strategies included seeking 'good' supervision, establishing support networks and finding a job that allowed a match between valued knowledge and opportunities to use it in practice. For occupational therapists professional resilience is sustained and enhanced by a strong professional identity and valuing an occupational perspective of health. Strategies that encourage reflection on the theoretical knowledge underpinning practice can sustain resilience. These include supervision, in-service meetings and informal socialisation. Further research is required into the role discipline-specific theories play in sustaining professional values and identity. The development of strategies to enhance occupational therapists' professional resilience may assist in the retention of occupational therapists in the mental health workforce. © 2012 The Authors Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2012
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Acceptance of Serious Games in Psychotherapy: An Inquiry into the Stance of Therapists and Patients.
Eichenberg, Christiane; Grabmayer, Gloria; Green, Nikos
2016-11-01
Serious games are computer or video games that contain elements that are specifically designed for the purpose of education or training. Serious games are increasingly being used within healthcare, but their introduction into and application in psychotherapeutic settings as an e-mental health treatment modality raises questions for both patients and therapists. Current research demonstrates the potential role and effectiveness of serious games within a psychotherapeutic context. However, a limited understanding of patients' and therapists' existing knowledge and experience of serious games, as well as of their readiness to utilize and apply them for the treatment of psychological conditions, requires further investigation. Acceptance, experience, and requirements for the utilization of serious games in therapeutic contexts were assessed through online surveys with German-speaking patients (n = 260) and psychotherapists (n = 234). Respondents' answers were analyzed by a combination of descriptive and inferential statistics by using SPSS. Current knowledge regarding serious games was very limited, with only 10.4% of patients and 11.5% of therapists reporting existing knowledge. However, a general openness toward the concept was observed: 88% of patients and 90% of therapists could envisage a therapeutic use. Patients (rs = 0.169, p = 0.006) who self-rated their level of computer and video game expertise as high were more likely to consider use within psychotherapy, compared with patients who self-rated their expertise as low. Therapists who currently play computer and video games perceive fewer disadvantages of serious game application in a psychotherapeutic context (p = 0.097). Consideration of serious game use was differentiated by the therapeutic approach (p = 0.003), specific mental disorders (highest rated relevant cases: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, disorders regarding impulse control, and adjustment disorders), and patient
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Therapists' Perspectives on Suicide: A Conceptual Model of Connectedness.
Aherne, Cian; Coughlan, Barry; Surgenor, Paul
2017-08-03
A sense of disconnection for people who are suicidal seems to be a key construct of previous literature. Therapists' ways of encountering and understanding people who are suicidal have not been previously researched in depth using qualitative methodologies. The current study aims to develop a theoretical framework for the role played by connectedness in relation to suicide based on the perspectives of psychotherapists working in the field of suicide intervention. Psychotherapists (N = 12) from a suicide intervention service in Ireland were interviewed in relation to connectedness and suicide. The interviews were analysed using Constructivist Grounded Theory. A tentative theoretical model for connectedness in relation to suicide was developed. Therapists view self-disconnect as at the core of suicidality and note that toxic relationships also play a critical role. Therapeutic connection can present as a life-saving paradox for people who are suicidal. Risk of death and therapeutic endeavour may present as challenging dynamics for working with people who are suicidal. Some discussion points include the worth of self-compassion development for people who are suicidal, the rephrasing of "psychotherapy" when trying to save someone's life and the emphasis on relationship skills for all healthcare professionals who encounter people who are suicidal. Clinical or methodological significance of this article: This article is one of the first in which therapists are interviewed about their understandings of suicide and the processes of suicide in the therapeutic space. It offers novel insights about how people who are suicidal present in therapy and what may be contributing to this presentation. The research also gives insights on the struggles for therapists working with people who are suicidal and who may be ambiguous about the prospect of therapy and connecting. The study also offers important direction for future studies in relation to what requires further discussion
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Geo synthetic-reinforced Pavement systems; Sistemas de pavimentos reforzados con geosinteticos
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zornberg, J. G.
2014-02-01
Geo synthetics have been used as reinforcement inclusions to improve pavement performance. while there are clear field evidence of the benefit of using geo synthetic reinforcements, the specific conditions or mechanisms that govern the reinforcement of pavements are, at best, unclear and have remained largely unmeasured. Significant research has been recently conducted with the objectives of: (i) determining the relevant properties of geo synthetics that contribute to the enhanced performance of pavement systems, (ii) developing appropriate analytical, laboratory and field methods capable of quantifying the pavement performance, and (iii) enabling the prediction of pavement performance as a function of the properties of the various types of geo synthetics. (Author)
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Episodic reinforcement learning control approach for biped walking
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Katić Duško
2012-01-01
Full Text Available This paper presents a hybrid dynamic control approach to the realization of humanoid biped robotic walk, focusing on the policy gradient episodic reinforcement learning with fuzzy evaluative feedback. The proposed structure of controller involves two feedback loops: a conventional computed torque controller and an episodic reinforcement learning controller. The reinforcement learning part includes fuzzy information about Zero-Moment- Point errors. Simulation tests using a medium-size 36-DOF humanoid robot MEXONE were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. Verhoef
2004-07-01
Full Text Available Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of regional physical therapy networks including continuing education in rheumatology. The aim of these networks was to improve care provided by primary care physical therapists by improving specific knowledge, technical and communicative skills and the collaboration with rheumatologists. Methods: In two regions in The Netherlands continuing education (CE programmes, consisting of a 5-day postgraduate training course followed by bimonthly workshops and teaching practices, were organised simultaneously. Network activities included consultations, newsletters and the development of a communication guideline. Endpoint measures included the participation rate, compliance, quality of the CE programme, teaching practices, knowledge, network activities, communication, number of patients treated and patient satisfaction. Results: Sixty-three physical therapists out of 193 practices (33% participated in the project. They all completed the education programmes and were formally registered. All evaluations of the education programmes showed positive scores. Knowledge scores increased significantly directly after the training course and at 18 months. A draft guideline on communication between physical therapists and rheumatologists was developed, and 4 newsletters were distributed. A substantial proportion of physical therapists and rheumatologists reported improved communication at 18 months. The mean number of patients treated by physical therapists participating in the networks increased significantly. Patients' satisfaction scores within the networks were significantly higher than those from outside the networks at 18 months. Conclusions: Setting up a system of networks for continuing education for physical therapists regarding the treatment of patients with rheumatic diseases is feasible. Further research will focus on the effectiveness of the system and its implementation on a larger scale.
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McCombie, Randy P; Antanavage, Meredith E
2017-04-01
This research examined the transition from occupational therapy student to practicing occupational therapist over the course of one's first year of professional employment, as recalled by a sample of occupational therapists. Surveys were mailed to 500 occupational therapists randomly selected from membership in the American Occupational Therapy Association resulting in 202 returned surveys. Median year of graduation was 1998, ranging from 1967 to 2014. In general, respondents indicated the transition was positive. Having a mentor was related to high job satisfaction and good clinical fit, while supervising an occupational therapy assistant and low self-confidence were viewed as negative impact factors. Recent graduates presented with lower ratings of a positive transition and higher ratings of likelihood of experiencing burnout and initial job stress than earlier graduates. Recommendations for improving the transition experience are presented.
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Kruijsen-Terpstra, Anne J A; Ellens, Mariëlle; Ketelaar, Marjolijn; Verschuren, Olaf; Di Rezze, Briano; Gorter, Jan Willem; Visser-Meily, Anne M A; Jongmans, Marian J.
2016-01-01
Aims: To (1) describe the child- and context-focused behaviors of physical and occupational therapists, and (2) compare the behaviors of therapists in a standard therapy session with those of therapists trained to deliver child- and context-focused services. Method: Videos of 49 therapy sessions
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Kruijsen-Terpstra, Anne J A; Ellens, Mariëlle; Ketelaar, Marjolijn; Verschuren, Olaf; Di Rezze, Briano; Gorter, Jan Willem; Visser-Meily, Anne M A; Jongmans, Marian J
2016-01-01
AIMS: To (1) describe the child- and context-focused behaviors of physical and occupational therapists, and (2) compare the behaviors of therapists in a standard therapy session with those of therapists trained to deliver child- and context-focused services. METHOD: Videos of 49 therapy sessions
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Collins, David R; Stukas, Arthur A
2006-08-01
Individuals' reactions to interpersonal feedback may depend on characteristics of the feedback and the feedback source. The present authors examined the effects of experimentally manipulated personality feedback that they--in the guise of therapists--e-mailed to participants on the degree of their acceptance of the feedback. Consistent with Self-Verification Theory (W. B. Swann Jr., 1987), participants accepted feedback that was consistent with their self-views more readily than they did feedback that was inconsistent with their self-views. Furthermore, the authors found main effects for therapist's status and participant's attitude toward therapy. Significant interactions showed effects in which high-status therapists and positive client attitudes increased acceptance of self-inconsistent feedback, effects that were only partially mediated by clients' perceptions of therapist competence. The present results indicate the possibility that participants may be susceptible to self-concept change or to self-fulfilling prophecy effects in therapy when they have a positive attitude toward therapy or are working with a high-status therapist.
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Values in Conflict: Challenges to Family Therapists' Thinking.
Bograd, Michele
1992-01-01
Contends that familiar and comfortable family therapy theories were not designed to deal with violence and may help maintain collective avoidance of the issue of violence among family therapists. Explores limitations of therapeutic neutrality and dangers inherent in some interventions. Concludes that effective amelioration of family violence…
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Landry, Michel D; Hack, Laurita M; Coulson, Elizabeth; Freburger, Janet; Johnson, Michael P; Katz, Richard; Kerwin, Joanne; Smith, Megan H; Wessman, Henry C Bud; Venskus, Diana G; Sinnott, Patricia L; Goldstein, Marc
2016-01-01
Health human resources continue to emerge as a critical health policy issue across the United States. The purpose of this study was to develop a strategy for modeling future workforce projections to serve as a basis for analyzing annual supply of and demand for physical therapists across the United States into 2020. A traditional stock-and-flow methodology or model was developed and populated with publicly available data to produce estimates of supply and demand for physical therapists by 2020. Supply was determined by adding the estimated number of physical therapists and the approximation of new graduates to the number of physical therapists who immigrated, minus US graduates who never passed the licensure examination, and an estimated attrition rate in any given year. Demand was determined by using projected US population with health care insurance multiplied by a demand ratio in any given year. The difference between projected supply and demand represented a shortage or surplus of physical therapists. Three separate projection models were developed based on best available data in the years 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively. Based on these projections, demand for physical therapists in the United States outstrips supply under most assumptions. Workforce projection methodology research is based on assumptions using imperfect data; therefore, the results must be interpreted in terms of overall trends rather than as precise actuarial data-generated absolute numbers from specified forecasting. Outcomes of this projection study provide a foundation for discussion and debate regarding the most effective and efficient ways to influence supply-side variables so as to position physical therapists to meet current and future population demand. Attrition rates or permanent exits out of the profession can have important supply-side effects and appear to have an effect on predicting future shortage or surplus of physical therapists. © 2016 American Physical Therapy
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Reinforcement Magnitude: An Evaluation of Preference and Reinforcer Efficacy
Trosclair-Lasserre, Nicole M.; Lerman, Dorothea C.; Call, Nathan A.; Addison, Laura R.; Kodak, Tiffany
2008-01-01
Consideration of reinforcer magnitude may be important for maximizing the efficacy of treatment for problem behavior. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about children's preferences for different magnitudes of social reinforcement or the extent to which preference is related to differences in reinforcer efficacy. The purpose of the current…
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Wasserman, Edward A.; And Others
1975-01-01
The present series of experiments attempted to analyze more fully the contributions of stimulus-reinforcer and response-reinforcer relations to autoshaping within a single conditioning situation. (Author)
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This report describes the performance evaluation of a fiber reinforced geopolymer spray-applied mortar, which has potential as a structural alternative to traditional open cut techniques used in large-diameter sewer pipes. Geopolymer is a sustainable green material that incorpor...
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Mechanical performance and sustainability assessment of reinforced soil walls
Puig Damians, Ivan
2016-01-01
Soil reinforced retaining wall structures are materiallymore efficientthan competing construction solutions such as gravity and cantilever walls. Nevertheless, the behaviour and interactions between the com ponent materials are com plex and not fully understood. Current design methods are typically limited to simple cases with respect to material properties, geometry, and boundary conditions. Advanced numerical models using finite element and/or finite difference methods offer the possibility...
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Effect of reinforcement learning on coordination of multiangent systems
Bukkapatnam, Satish T. S.; Gao, Greg
2000-12-01
For effective coordination of distributed environments involving multiagent systems, learning ability of each agent in the environment plays a crucial role. In this paper, we develop a simple group learning method based on reinforcement, and study its effect on coordination through application to a supply chain procurement scenario involving a computer manufacturer. Here, all parties are represented by self-interested, autonomous agents, each capable of performing specific simple tasks. They negotiate with each other to perform complex tasks and thus coordinate supply chain procurement. Reinforcement learning is intended to enable each agent to reach a best negotiable price within a shortest possible time. Our simulations of the application scenario under different learning strategies reveals the positive effects of reinforcement learning on an agent's as well as the system's performance.
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Numerical estimation of concrete beams reinforced with FRP bars
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Protchenko Kostiantyn
2016-01-01
Full Text Available This paper introduces numerical investigation on mechanical performance of a concrete beam reinforced with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP bars, which can be competitive alternative to steel bars for enhancing concrete structures. The objective of this work is being identified as elaborating of reliable numerical model for predicting strength capacity of structural elements with implementation of Finite Element Analysis (FEA. The numerical model is based on experimental study prepared for the beams, which were reinforced with Basalt FRP (BFRP bars and steel bars (for comparison. The results obtained for the beams reinforced with steel bars are found to be in close agreement with the experimental results. However, the beams reinforced with BFRP bars in experimental programme demonstrated higher bearing capacity than those reinforced with steel bars, which is not in a good convergence with numerical results. Authors did attempt to describe the reasons on achieving experimentally higher bearing capacity of beams reinforced with BFRP bars.
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Olivares, José; Olivares-Olivares, Pablo J; Rosa-Alcázar, Ana I; Montesinos, Luis; Macià, Diego
2014-01-01
The purpose of this study was to explore which of the outcomes attained by the application of the psychological program Intervención en Adolescentes con Fobia Social (Intervention in Adolescents with Social Phobia) can be attributed to the therapist's competence. The experimental study consists of three conditions: Waiting list control, Group treated by expert psychologists, and Group treated by inexperienced psychologists, with a sample of 110 Spanish adolescents whose mean age was 15.42 years (SD = 0.97, range: 14-18). All participants met the criteria for diagnosis of Generalized Social Phobia) and most of them were female (65.45%). (i) The effect size attributable to the therapist was low compared to the effect size associated with the manual-based treatment program in the dependent variables measured, and (ii) Expert therapists attained a much greater remission of the criteria for the diagnosis of Generalized Social Phobia among participants than did the inexperienced therapists. The IAFS Program was responsible for most of the change measured in participants.
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King, Gillian; Currie, Melissa; Bartlett, Doreen J; Gilpin, Michelle; Willoughby, Colleen; Tucker, Mary Ann; Strachan, Deborah; Baxter, Donna
2007-01-01
To examine the clinical decision making of novice, intermediate, and expert pediatric rehabilitation therapists from various disciplines. Two qualitative studies were conducted. Thirteen therapists took part in a study using the critical incident interview technique and 11 therapists took part in a study using the 'think aloud' technique. Therapists were classified as novice, intermediate, or expert in developmental level based on a cluster analysis of data collected using a multifaceted battery of assessment tools. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Expert and intermediate therapists differed from novices with respect to content, self-, and procedural knowledge. With increasing expertise, therapists use a supportive, educational, holistic, functional, and strengths-based approach; have heightened humility yet increased self-confidence; and understand how to facilitate and support client change and adaptation by using principles of engagement, coherence, and manageability. Expert therapists use enabling and customizing strategies to ensure a successful therapeutic session, optimize the child's functioning in the mid-term, and ensure child and family adaptation and accommodation over the longer-term.
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Davis, Melanie L; Thwaites, Richard; Freeston, Mark H; Bennett-Levy, James
2015-01-01
The need for effective training methods for enhancing cognitive-behavioural therapist competency is not only relevant to new therapists but also to experienced therapists looking to retain and further enhance their skills. Self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) is a self-experiential cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) training programme, which combines the experience of practicing CBT methods on oneself with structured reflection on the implications of the experience for clinical practice. In order to build on previous qualitative studies of SP/SR, which have mainly focused on trainee CBT therapists, the aim of the current study was to quantify the impact of SP/SR on the therapeutic skills of an experienced cohort of CBT therapists. Fourteen CBT therapists were recruited to participate in an SP/SR programme specifically adapted for experienced therapists. In the context of a quasi-experimental design including multiple baselines within a single-case methodology, therapists provided self-ratings of technical cognitive therapy skill and interpersonal empathic skill at four critical time points: baseline, pre-SP/SR and post-SP/SR and follow-up. Analysis of programme completers (n = 7) indicated that SP/SR enhances both technical skill and interpersonal therapeutic skill. Further intention-to-treat group (n = 14) analyses including both those who left the programme early (n = 3) and those who partially completed the programme (n = 4) added to the robustness of findings with respect to technical cognitive therapy skills but not interpersonal empathic skills. It was concluded that SP/SR, as a training and development programme, could offer an avenue to further therapeutic skill enhancement in already experienced CBT therapists. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Putnam, Cynthia; Cheng, Jinghui; Seymour, Gregory
2014-12-01
Brain injuries (BIs) are a major public health issue. Clinical experience and literature have identified that it is often challenging to motivate people who have had a BI to engage in repetitive exercises commonly prescribed for rehabilitation. As a result, some therapists include commercial active videogames (AVGs) in their therapy sessions to help make repetitive actions fun and engaging. In this project, we explored how the therapists used commercial AVGs to better understand the major barriers and enablers of use. We interviewed 17 therapists from two rehabilitation hospitals who work with people who have had a BI. After the interviews were transcribed, we identified salient themes. At the time of the interviews, therapists were using only the Nintendo(®) (Kyoto, Japan) Wii™ console. Common therapeutic goals included balance and weight shifting. Several patient factors, such as cognitive and physical abilities, age, and previous gaming experience, were considered important considerations when deciding to use games. Therapists also indicated many desired changes to games, including better control/interface, better feedback, and the ability to adjust timing, challenge, and stimulation levels. When considering therapy-centered game design, the needs of both therapists and patients should be considered. There is a necessary balance to consider in game design: They need to (a) be perceived as fun, (b) meet therapy goals, and (c) address therapists' needs (e.g., adjustability to address a range of patient abilities). Additionally, there is a need for a wide variety of available games to address novelty and personal preferences.
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von der Lippe, Anna Louise; Oddli, Hanne Weie; Halvorsen, Margrethe Seeger
2017-09-10
Within a mixed methods program of research the present study aimed at expanding knowledge about interactions in the initial therapeutic collaboration by combining focus on client interpersonal style and therapist contribution. The study involves in-depth analyses of therapist-client interactions in the initial two sessions of good and poor outcome therapies. Based on interpersonal theory and previous research, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-64-C) was used to define poor outcome cases, that is, low proactive agency cases. To compare good and poor outcome cases matched on this interpersonal pattern, cases were drawn from two different samples; nine poor outcome cases from a large multi-site outpatient clinic study and nine good outcome cases from a process-outcome study of highly experienced therapists. Qualitative analysis of therapist behaviors resulted in 2 main categories, fostering client's proactive agentic involvement in change work and discouraging client's proactive agentic involvement in change work, 8 categories and 22 sub-categories. The findings revealed distinct and cohesive differences in therapist behaviors between the two outcome groups, and point to the particular therapist role of fostering client agency through engagement in a shared work on change when clients display strong unassertiveness and low readiness for change. Clinical or Methodological Significance Summary: The present analysis combines focus on client interpersonal style, therapist strategies/process and outcome. The categories generated from the present grounded theory analysis may serve as a foundation for identifying interactions that are associated with agentic involvement in future process research and practice, and hence we have formulated principles/strategies that were identified by the analysis.
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Patient SWAP-200 personality dimensions and FFM traits: Do they predict therapist responses?
Tanzilli, Annalisa; Lingiardi, Vittorio; Hilsenroth, Mark
2018-05-01
The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between therapists' emotional responses and patients' personality evaluated by 3 dimensional diagnostic approaches empirically derived from the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 (SWAP-200; Westen & Shedler, 1999a, 1999b): Two of these rely on the 5-factor model (FFM) domains, that were assessed with different SWAP-200 FFM versions developed by Shedler and Westen (SW-FFM scales; 2004) and McCrae, Löckenhoff, and Costa (MLC-FFM scales; 2005); the third approach is based on a multifaceted model of personality syndromes (SWAP personality dimension scales; see Shedler & Westen, 2004). A national sample of psychiatrists and psychologists (N = 166) of various theoretical orientations completed the Therapist Response Questionnaire (TRQ; Zittel Conklin & Westen, 2003) to identify patterns of therapist response, and the SWAP-200 to assess personality regarding a patient currently in their care. The findings showed good levels of construct validity between the SW-FFM and MLC-FFM scales, with the exception of the Openness trait. Moreover, specific SW-FFM and MLC-FFM scales were significantly associated with distinct SWAP personality dimension scales according in a conceptually meaningful nomological network. Although there were significant, theoretically coherent, and systematic relationships between therapists' responses and patients' personality features, overall the contribution of the SW-FFM and MLC-FFM traits in predicting therapists' responses was less sizable than the SWAP personality dimensions. These results seem to confirm the diagnostic and therapeutic value of countertransference as an essential tool in understanding psychological traits/dimensions that underlie the patients' psychopathology, both from within and outside of the FFM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Bond of reinforcing bars in self-compacting steel fiber reinforced concrete
Schumacher, P.; Bigaj-van Vliet, A.J.; Braam, C.R.; Uijl, J.A. den; Walraven, J.C.
2002-01-01
Pull-out tests were performed on 10 mm diameter ribbed bars embedded along three times the bar diameter in 200 mm cubes made of plain and steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) of normal strength (B45). The fiber content was 60 and 120 kg/m3, respectively, the aspect ratio of the fibers was 45 and
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Physical Therapy for Metabolic Syndrome Prevention in Workers: Novel Role of Physical Therapist.
Satoh, Tomonori; Nemoto, Yuki; Utumi, Takako; Munakata, Masanori
2016-01-01
In Japan, physical therapists have usually been involved in physical therapy for patients with functional disorders associated with cerebrovascular or orthopedic diseases in hospitals. With the aging of Japanese society, the number of diseased people will progressively increase; thus, it is important to pay much more attention to disease prevention. In this regard, physical therapists are expected to play a new role in the field of preventive medicine. Metabolic syndrome or central obesity with multiple cardiometabolic risks is associated with a high risk of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular diseases and is now a central target for early detection and intervention for disease prevention. The incidence of metabolic syndrome increases with age, and men showed a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome than women in all generations. We have been involved in the guidance of workers with metabolic syndrome for a long time, and we conducted a multicenter study to establish effective guidance for these worker. In this paper, we will use our evidence to discuss the role of physical therapists in providing guidance for preventing metabolic syndrome. We are now conducting worksite supporting exercise intervention for workers who were resistant to conventional lifestyle guidance. In addition, the unique role of physical therapists in this new trial will be introduced.
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Effect of gamma radiation on the performance of jute fabrics-reinforced polypropylene composites
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Haydaruzzaman [Department of Physics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka (Bangladesh); Khan, Ruhul A. [Radiation and Polymer Chemistry Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, G. P.O. Box 3787, Dhaka 1000 (Bangladesh); Khan, Mubarak A. [Radiation and Polymer Chemistry Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, G. P.O. Box 3787, Dhaka 1000 (Bangladesh)], E-mail: makhan.inst@gmail.com; Khan, A.H.; Hossain, M.A. [Department of Physics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka (Bangladesh)
2009-11-15
Jute fabrics-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites (50% fiber) were prepared by compression molding. Composites were fabricated with non-irradiated jute fabrics/non-irradiated PP (C-0), non-irradiated jute fabrics/irradiated PP (C-1), irradiated jute fabrics/non-irradiated PP (C-2) and irradiated jute fabrics/irradiated PP (C-3). It was found that C-3 composite performed the best mechanical properties over other composites. Total radiation dose varied from 250-1000 krad and composites made of using 500 krad showed the best results. The optimized values (C-3 composites) for tensile strength (TS), bending strength (BS) and impact strength (IS) were found to be 63 MPa, 73 MPa and 2.93 kJ/m{sup 2}, respectively.
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Safran, Jeremy; Muran, J Christopher; Demaria, Anthony; Boutwell, Catherine; Eubanks-Carter, Catherine; Winston, Arnold
2014-01-01
In this article we present preliminary findings from a research program designed to investigate the value of alliance-focused training (AFT), a supervision approach designed to enhance therapists' ability to work constructively with negative therapeutic process. In the context of a multiple baseline design, all therapists began treating their patients using cognitive therapy and then joined AFT supervision groups at either session 8 or 16 of a 30 session protocol. Study I investigated the impact of AFT on patient and therapist interpersonal process as assessed through the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB). Study 2 investigated the impact of AFT on therapists' tendency to reflect on their relationships with their patients in an experientially grounded fashion, as assessed via the Experiencing Scale (EXP). Since one of the goals of AFT is to train therapists to use their own emerging feelings as important clues regarding what may be taking place in the therapeutic relationship, we hypothesized that they would show increased levels of EXP after undergoing AFT. The results of both studies 1 and 2 were for the most part consistent with hypotheses. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
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Samios, Christina; Rodzik, Amber K.; Abel, Lisa M.
2012-01-01
Due to their secondary exposure to the traumatic events disclosed by clients, therapists who work with sexual violence survivors are at risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress. We examined whether the negative effects of secondary traumatic stress on therapist adjustment would be buffered by posttraumatic growth. Sixty-one therapists who…
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3D-FEM Analysis on Geogrid Reinforced Flexible Pavement Roads
Calvarano, Lidia Sarah; Palamara, Rocco; Leonardi, Giovanni; Moraci, Nicola
2017-12-01
Nowadays, the need to increase pavement service life, guarantee high performance, reduce service and maintenance costs has been turned a greater attention on the use of reinforcements. This paper presents findings of a numerical investigation on geogrid reinforced flexible pavement roads, under wheel traffic loads, using a three-dimensional Finite Element Method (FEM). The results obtained show the effectiveness of glass fibre grids as reinforcement which, with appropriate design and correct installation, by improving interface shear resistance, can be used to expand the performance of flexible pavements in different ways: by increasing the road service life providing a relevant contribution against superficial rutting or by decreasing the construction costs due to the reduction in the reinforced HMA layer thickness and thus of mineral aggregate required for its construction.
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Petzold, Anita; Korner-Bitensky, Nicol; Salbach, Nancy M; Ahmed, Sara; Menon, Anita; Ogourtsova, Tatiana
2012-02-01
The aim of this study was to investigate: (i) the feasibility of delivering a multi-modal knowledge translation intervention specific to the management of acute post-stroke unilateral spatial neglect; and (ii) the impact of the knowledge translation intervention on occupational therapists' knowledge of evidence-based unilateral spatial neglect problem identification, assessment and treatment, and self-efficacy related to evidence-based practice implementation. A 3-period (pre-post) repeated measures design. Acute care occupational therapists treating patients with post-stroke unilateral spatial neglect were recruited from two major Canadian cities. Participants completed two pre-intervention assessments, took part in a day-long interactive multi-modal knowledge translation intervention and a subsequent 8-week follow-up, and completed a post-intervention assessment. Knowledge of evidence-based problem identification, assessment and treatment of unilateral spatial neglect, and self-efficacy to perform evidence-based practice activities were measured using standard scales. The intervention was tested on 20 occupational therapists. Results indicate a significant improvement in knowledge of best practice unilateral spatial neglect management (p knowledge translation intervention is feasible and can significantly improve occupational therapists' knowledge of unilateral spatial neglect best practices and self-efficacy. The findings should help advance best practices specific to the management of post-stroke unilateral spatial neglect as well as informing knowledge translation studies in other areas of practice.
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Tanjung, Jafril; Maidiawati, Nugroho, Fajar
2017-10-01
Intensive studies regarding the investigation of seismic performance of reinforced concrete (R/C) frames which are infilled with brick masonry walls have been carried out by several researchers within the last three-decades. According to authors' field and experimentally experiences conclude that the unreinforced brick masonry infills significantly contributes to increase the seismic performance of the R/C frame structure. Unfortunately, the presence of brick masonry infill walls causes several undesirable effects such as short column, soft-storey, torsion and out of plane collapse. In this study, a strengthening technique for the brick masonry infills were experimentally investigated to improve the seismic performance of the R/C frame structures. For this purpose, four experimental specimens have been prepared, i.e. one of bare R/C frame (BF), one of R/C frame infilled with unreinforced brick-masonry wall (IFUM) and two of R/C frames were infilled with reinforced brick-masonry wall (IFRM-1 and IFRM-2). The bare frame and R/C frame infilled with unreinforced brick-masonry wall represents the typical R/C buildings' construction in Indonesia assuming the brick-masonry wall as the non-structural elements. The brick-masonry wall infills in specimens IFRM-1 and IFRM-2 were strengthened by using embedded ϕ4 plain steel bar on their diagonal and center of brick-masonry wall, respectively. All specimens were laterally pushed-over. The lateral loading and its lateral displacement, failure mechanism and their crack pattern were recorded during experimental works. Comparison of the experimental results of these four specimens conclude that the strengthening of the brick-masonry infills wall gave the significantly increasing of the seismic performance of the R/C frame. The seismic performance was evaluated based on the lateral strength of the R/C specimen. The embedded plain steel bar on brick-masonry also reduces the diagonal crack on the brick-masonry wall. It seems that
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Fique Fabric: A Promising Reinforcement for Polymer Composites
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sergio Neves Monteiro
2018-02-01
Full Text Available A relatively unknown natural fiber extracted from the leaves of the fique plant, native of the South American Andes, has recently shown potential as reinforcement of polymer composites for engineering applications. Preliminary investigations indicated a promising substitute for synthetic fibers, competing with other well-known natural fibers. The fabric made from fique fibers have not yet been investigated as possible composite reinforcement. Therefore, in the present work a more thorough characterization of fique fabric as a reinforcement of composites with a polyester matrix was performed. Thermal mechanical properties of fique fabric composites were determined by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA. The ballistic performance of plain woven fique fabric-reinforced polyester matrix composites was investigated as a second layer in a multilayered armor system (MAS. The results revealed a sensible improvement in thermal dynamic mechanical behavior. Both viscoelastic stiffness and glass transition temperature were increased with the amount of incorporated fique fabric. In terms of ballistic results, the fique fabric composites present a performance similar to that of the much stronger KevlarTM as an MAS second layer with the same thickness. A cost analysis indicated that armor vests with fique fabric composites as an MAS second layer would be 13 times less expensive than a similar creation made with Kevlar™.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sergio Neves Monteiro
2018-02-01
Full Text Available The ballistic performance of plain woven jute fabric-reinforced polyester matrix composites was investigated as the second layer in a multilayered armor system (MAS. Volume fractions of jute fabric, up to 30 vol %, were mixed with orthophthalic polyester to fabricate laminate composites. Ballistic tests were conducted using high velocity 7.62 mm ammunition. The depth of penetration caused by the bullet in a block of clay witness, simulating a human body, was used to evaluate the MAS ballistic performance according to the international standard. The fractured materials after tests were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The results indicated that jute fabric composites present a performance similar to that of the much stronger Kevlar™, which is an aramid fabric laminate, as MAS second layer with the same thickness. The mechanism of this similar ballistic behavior as well as the comparative advantages of the jute fabric composites over the Kevlar™ are discussed.
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Morland, Leslie A; Greene, Carolyn J; Grubbs, Kathleen; Kloezeman, Karen; Mackintosh, Margaret-Anne; Rosen, Craig; Frueh, B Christopher
2011-06-01
Therapist adherence to a manualized cognitive-behavioral anger management group treatment (AMT) was compared between therapy delivered via videoconference (VC) and the traditional in-person modality, using data from a large, randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of AMT for veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Therapist adherence was rated for the presence or absence of process and content treatment elements. Secondary analyses were conducted using a repeated measures ANOVA. Overall adherence to the protocol was excellent (M = 96%, SD = 1%). Findings indicate that therapist adherence to AMT is similar across delivery modalities and VC is a viable service delivery strategy that does not compromise a therapist's ability to effectively structure sessions and manage patient care. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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HiPer-tex{sup TM} WindStrand{sup TM}: A new generation of high performance reinforcement
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Peters, L.; Adolphs, G. [Owens Corning S and T, Battice (Belgium); Bech, J.I.; Broendsted, P. [Risoe National Lab., Material Research Dept., Roskilde (Denmark)
2006-07-01
Owens Corning has recently introduced the HiPer-texTM family of high performance reinforcements of which WindStrandTM is engineered to specific customer process requirements of resin infusion and prepregs for Wind Turbine blades manufacture. The new HiPer-tex technology platform enables up to 35% higher strength, 17% higher modulus, better impact, corrosion and high temperature resistance and significantly better fatigue properties versus traditional E Glass laminates. These attributes have been measured with various laminates types and are presented in this paper. These better performances are needed in markets such as Wind Energy, pressure vessels, armour, aerospace and light weight structural component. (au)
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Clinical Perspective The parent-child-therapist alliance: A case ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health ... The parent-child-therapist alliance: A case study using a strategic approach. Thirusha Naidu, Sheethal Behari. Abstract. In this paper we present a single case study of a clinical approach that ...
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Genomic Signatures of Reinforcement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Austin G. Garner
2018-04-01
Full Text Available Reinforcement is the process by which selection against hybridization increases reproductive isolation between taxa. Much research has focused on demonstrating the existence of reinforcement, yet relatively little is known about the genetic basis of reinforcement or the evolutionary conditions under which reinforcement can occur. Inspired by reinforcement’s characteristic phenotypic pattern of reproductive trait divergence in sympatry but not in allopatry, we discuss whether reinforcement also leaves a distinct genomic pattern. First, we describe three patterns of genetic variation we expect as a consequence of reinforcement. Then, we discuss a set of alternative processes and complicating factors that may make the identification of reinforcement at the genomic level difficult. Finally, we consider how genomic analyses can be leveraged to inform if and to what extent reinforcement evolved in the face of gene flow between sympatric lineages and between allopatric and sympatric populations of the same lineage. Our major goals are to understand if genome scans for particular patterns of genetic variation could identify reinforcement, isolate the genetic basis of reinforcement, or infer the conditions under which reinforcement evolved.
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Genomic Signatures of Reinforcement
Goulet, Benjamin E.
2018-01-01
Reinforcement is the process by which selection against hybridization increases reproductive isolation between taxa. Much research has focused on demonstrating the existence of reinforcement, yet relatively little is known about the genetic basis of reinforcement or the evolutionary conditions under which reinforcement can occur. Inspired by reinforcement’s characteristic phenotypic pattern of reproductive trait divergence in sympatry but not in allopatry, we discuss whether reinforcement also leaves a distinct genomic pattern. First, we describe three patterns of genetic variation we expect as a consequence of reinforcement. Then, we discuss a set of alternative processes and complicating factors that may make the identification of reinforcement at the genomic level difficult. Finally, we consider how genomic analyses can be leveraged to inform if and to what extent reinforcement evolved in the face of gene flow between sympatric lineages and between allopatric and sympatric populations of the same lineage. Our major goals are to understand if genome scans for particular patterns of genetic variation could identify reinforcement, isolate the genetic basis of reinforcement, or infer the conditions under which reinforcement evolved. PMID:29614048
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Dental Therapists as New Oral Health Practitioners: Increasing Access for Underserved Populations.
Brickle, Colleen M; Self, Karl D
2017-09-01
The development of dental therapy in the U.S. grew from a desire to find a workforce solution for increasing access to oral health care. Worldwide, the research that supports the value of dental therapy is considerable. Introduction of educational programs in the U.S. drew on the experiences of programs in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with Alaska tribal communities introducing dental health aide therapists in 2003 and Minnesota authorizing dental therapy in 2009. Currently, two additional states have authorized dental therapy, and two additional tribal communities are pursuing the use of dental therapists. In all cases, the care provided by dental therapists is focused on communities and populations who experience oral health care disparities and have historically had difficulties in accessing care. This article examines the development and implementation of the dental therapy profession in the U.S. An in-depth look at dental therapy programs in Minnesota and the practice of dental therapy in Minnesota provides insight into the early implementation of this emerging profession. Initial results indicate that the addition of dental therapists to the oral health care team is increasing access to quality oral health care for underserved populations. As evidence of dental therapy's success continues to grow, mid-level dental workforce legislation is likely to be introduced by oral health advocates in other states. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21 st Century."
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Ripoll-Nunez, Karen; Villar-Guhl, Carlos Felipe; Villar-Concha, Eduardo
2012-01-01
There is a gap in the Marriage and Family Therapy literature regarding clients', therapists', and family judges' theories of change in relational therapy for family violence. We conducted in-depth interviews with eleven court-referred families, their therapists, and two family judges in Bogota, Colombia. Interviews focused on their expectations of…
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The Incremental Validity of the MMPI-2: When Does Therapist Access Not Enhance Treatment Outcome?
Lima, Elizabeth N.; Stanley, Sheila; Kaboski, Beth; Reitzel, Lorraine R.; Richey, Anthony; Castro, Yezzennya; Williams, Foluso M.; Tannenbaum, Kendra R.; Stellrecht, Nadia E.; Jakobsons, Lara J.; Wingate, LaRicka R.; Joiner, Thomas E.
2005-01-01
The present study examined whether therapist access to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) predicted favorable treatment outcome, above and beyond other assessment measures. A manipulated assessment design was used, in which patients were randomly assigned either to a group in which therapists had access to their MMPI-2 data…
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Hinman, Rana S; Delany, Clare M; Campbell, Penelope K; Gale, Janette; Bennell, Kim L
2016-04-01
Integrated models of care are recommended for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Exercise is integral to management, yet exercise adherence is problematic. Telephone-based health coaching is an attractive adjunct to physical therapist-prescribed exercise that may improve adherence. Little is known about the perceptions and interpretations of physical therapists, telephone coaches, and patients engaged in this model of care. The purpose of this study was to explore how stakeholders (physical therapists, telephone coaches, and patients) experienced, and made sense of, being involved in an integrated program of physical therapist-supervised exercise and telephone coaching for people with knee OA. A cross-sectional qualitative design drawing from symbolic interactionism was used. Semistructured interviews with 10 physical therapists, 4 telephone coaches, and 6 patients with painful knee OA. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis informed by grounded theory. Four themes emerged: (1) genuine interest and collaboration, (2) information and accountability, (3) program structure, and (4) roles and communication in teamwork. Patients reported they appreciated personalized, genuine interest from therapists and coaches and were aware of their complementary roles. A collaborative approach, with defined roles and communication strategies, was identified as important for effectiveness. All participants highlighted the importance of sharing information, monitoring, and being accountable to others. Coaches found the lack of face-to-face contact with patients hampered relationship building. Therapists and coaches referred to the importance of teamwork in delivering the intervention. The small number of physical therapists and telephone coaches who delivered the intervention may have been biased toward favorable experiences with the intervention and may not be representative of their respective professions. Integrated physical therapy and
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Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness
David R Lloyd; David R Lloyd; Douglas J Medina; Larry W Hawk; Whitney D Fosco; Jerry B Richards
2014-01-01
In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) that links behavioral and neural based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We ar...
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Structural Behavior of Concrete Beams Reinforced with Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) Bars
Ovitigala, Thilan
The main challenge for civil engineers is to provide sustainable, environmentally friendly and financially feasible structures to the society. Finding new materials such as fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) material that can fulfill the above requirements is a must. FRP material was expensive and it was limited to niche markets such as space shuttles and air industry in the 1960s. Over the time, it became cheaper and spread to other industries such as sporting goods in the 1980-1990, and then towards the infrastructure industry. Design and construction guidelines are available for carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), aramid fiber reinforced polymer (AFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and they are currently used in structural applications. Since FRP is linear elastic brittle material, design guidelines for the steel reinforcement are not valid for FRP materials. Corrosion of steel reinforcement affects the durability of the concrete structures. FRP reinforcement is identified as an alternative to steel reinforcement in corrosive environments. Although basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) has many advantages over other FRP materials, but limited studies have been done. These studies didn't include larger BFRP bar diameters that are mostly used in practice. Therefore, larger beam sizes with larger BFRP reinforcement bar diameters are needed to investigate the flexural and shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams. Also, shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams was not yet studied. Experimental testing of mechanical properties and bond strength of BFRP bars and flexural and shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams are needed to include BFRP reinforcement bars in the design codes. This study mainly focuses on the use of BFRP bars as internal reinforcement. The test results of the mechanical properties of BFRP reinforcement bars, the bond strength of BFRP reinforcement bars, and the flexural and shear behavior of concrete beams
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The knowledge of family health team on the action of physical therapist in primary care
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Greicimar de Oliveira
2011-12-01
Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the knowledge of health team from Basic Health Units in the city of Coari-AM, Brazil, on the action of physical therapist in primary care. Methods: A quantitative,exploratory and descriptive study, like a field survey conducted in 11 primary care units in Coari, Amazonas state. The data were collected through a questionnaire comprising closed questions regarding the action of physical therapist in primary care. 76 professionals joinedin the survey by category: (05 physicians, (10 nurses, (08 nursing technicians and (53 community health workers. Results: 61.64% (n = 45 of the professionals working in the family health team reported knowing the action of physical therapist in primary care; 79.45%(n = 58 referred it in secondary level and 69.86% (n = 51 at the tertiary level of health care. Conclusion: This work showed some knowledge of professionals on the professional action of physical therapists in primary care; however, the knowledge for this level presents itself disadvantaged in relation to other levels of health care. We demonstrated that a share of professionals presented difficulties to consider the possibility of physiotherapeuticintervention in diseases mostly worked in primary care, but the reference to the viability of action of physical therapist for different publics was satisfactory. This conclusion does notexhaust the possibility of discussing the proposed theme.
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Media Accounts of School Performance: Reinforcing Dominant Practices of Accountability
Baroutsis, Aspa
2016-01-01
Media reportage often act as interpretations of accountability policies thereby making the news media a part of the policy enactment process. Within such a process, their role is that of policy reinforcement rather than policy construction or contestation. This paper draws on the experiences of school leaders in regional Queensland, Australia, and…
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Lau, Carrie; Chitussi, Danielle; Elliot, Sarah; Giannone, Jennifer; McMahon, Mary-Katherine; Sibley, Kathryn M; Tee, Alda; Matthews, Julie; Salbach, Nancy M
2016-04-01
Educating people with stroke about community-based exercise programs (CBEPs) is a recommended practice that physical therapists are well positioned to implement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the provision of education about CBEPs to people with stroke, barriers to providing education, and preferences for resources to facilitate education among physical therapists in neurological practice. A cross-sectional e-survey of physical therapists treating adults with stroke in Ontario, Canada, was conducted. A link to the questionnaire was emailed to physical therapists in a provincial stroke network, a provincial physical therapy association, and on hospital and previous research lists. Responses from 186 physical therapists were analyzed. The percentage of respondents who reported providing CBEP education was 84.4%. Only 36.6% reported typically providing education to ≥7 out of 10 patients with stroke. Physical (90.5%) and preventative (84.6%) health benefits of exercise were most frequently discussed. Therapists reported most commonly delivering education at discharge (73.7%). Most frequently cited barriers to educating patients were a perceived lack of suitable programs (53.2%) and a lack of awareness of local CBEPs (23.8%). Lists of CBEPs (94.1%) or brochures (94.1%) were considered to be facilitators. The percentage of physical therapists providing CBEP education varied across acute, rehabilitation, and public outpatient settings. The percentage of physical therapists providing education may have been overestimated if respondents who deliver CBEP education were more likely to participate and if participants answered in a socially desirable way. Even though a high proportion of physical therapists provide CBEP education, education is not consistently delivered to the majority of patients poststroke. Although a CBEP list or brochure would facilitate education regarding existing CBEPs, efforts to implement CBEPs are needed to help overcome the lack of suitable
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Evolutionary computation for reinforcement learning
Whiteson, S.; Wiering, M.; van Otterlo, M.
2012-01-01
Algorithms for evolutionary computation, which simulate the process of natural selection to solve optimization problems, are an effective tool for discovering high-performing reinforcement-learning policies. Because they can automatically find good representations, handle continuous action spaces,
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Factors influencing job satisfaction among Swedish occupational therapists in psychiatric care.
Eklund, M; Hallberg, I R
2000-01-01
This study examined job satisfaction among occupational therapists in Swedish psychiatric care, and investigated how clinical supervision, organizational aspects and demographic characteristics contributed to job satisfaction. We received 332 returned questionnaires, corresponding to a response rate of 66.9%. Job satisfaction factors that emerged were: general satisfaction with work, communication and co-operation among team members, managerial feedback, the patients' influence on care and the relatives' influence on care. The respondents rated their general satisfaction, co-operation and communication as high. They were least satisfied with the relatives' influence on care. We found few relationships between other factors and job satisfaction, but, for example, satisfaction with the patients' influence on care was higher among occupational therapists working in outpatient care than among those working in hospital wards. Furthermore, having supervision was positively associated with co-operation and communication. This study revealed a fairly satisfactory situation, possibly thanks to social support, advantageous care-planning strategies and supervision. However, managerial staff must be aware that measures need to be taken continuously to counteract detrimental forces. The study pointed to a need for further research that relates occupational therapists' job satisfaction with issues such as support, control and individual need for growth.
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Kalisvaart, Hanneke; van Broeckhuysen, Saskia; Bühring, Martina; Kool, Marianne B; van Dulmen, Sandra; Geenen, Rinie
2012-01-01
How a patient is connected with one's body is core to rehabilitation of somatoform disorder but a common model to describe body-relatedness is missing. The aim of our study was to investigate the components and hierarchical structure of body-relatedness as perceived by patients with severe somatoform disorder and their therapists. Interviews with patients and therapists yielded statements about components of body-relatedness. Patients and therapists individually sorted these statements according to similarity. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to these sortings. Analysis of variance was used to compare the perceived importance of the statements between patients and therapists. The hierarchical structure included 71 characteristics of body-relatedness. It consisted of three levels with eight clusters at the lowest level: 1) understanding, 2) acceptance, 3) adjustment, 4) respect for the body, 5) regulation, 6) confidence, 7) self-esteem, and 8) autonomy. The cluster 'understanding' was considered most important by patients and therapists. Patients valued 'regulating the body' more than therapists. According to patients with somatoform disorders and their therapists, body-relatedness includes awareness of the body and self by understanding, accepting and adjusting to bodily signals, by respecting and regulating the body, by confiding and esteeming oneself and by being autonomous. This definition and structure of body-relatedness may help professionals to improve interdisciplinary communication, assessment, and treatment, and it may help patients to better understand their symptoms and treatment. (German language abstract, Abstract S1; Spanish language abstract, Abstract S2).
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High rate response of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concretes under direct tension
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tran, Ngoc Thanh [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwangjin-Gu, Seoul 143-747 (Korea, Republic of); Tran, Tuan Kiet [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwangjin-Gu, Seoul 143-747 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, 01 Vo Van Ngan, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam); Kim, Dong Joo, E-mail: djkim75@sejong.ac.kr [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwangjin-Gu, Seoul 143-747 (Korea, Republic of)
2015-03-15
The tensile response of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concretes (UHPFRCs) at high strain rates (5–24 s{sup −} {sup 1}) was investigated. Three types of steel fibers, including twisted, long and short smooth steel fibers, were added by 1.5% volume content in an ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) with a compressive strength of 180 MPa. Two different cross sections, 25 × 25 and 25 × 50 mm{sup 2}, of tensile specimens were used to investigate the effect of the cross section area on the measured tensile response of UHPFRCs. Although all the three fibers generated strain hardening behavior even at high strain rates, long smooth fibers produced the highest tensile resistance at high rates whereas twisted fiber did at static rate. The breakages of twisted fibers were observed from the specimens tested at high strain rates unlike smooth steel fibers. The tensile behavior of UHPFRCs at high strain rates was clearly influenced by the specimen size, especially in post-cracking strength.
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Burlingame, G M; Barlow, S H
1996-10-01
The outcome of clients who saw one of four "expert" professional group therapists selected by peer nomination or four "natural helper" nonprofessional nominated by students is contrasted in a 15-session psychotherapy group. Process measures tapping specific group and "common factors" were drawn from sessions 3, 8, and 14; outcome was assessed at pre, mid, posttreatment, and a 6-month follow-up. Results were examined by leader condition (professional vs. nonprofessional therapists) and time (group development). Virtually no reliable differences were found on measures of outcome primarily because of a floor effect on several measures. Therapist differences on the process measures tapping the "common factors" of therapeutic alliance, client expectancy, and perception of therapists were either nonsignificant or disappeared by the end of treatment. A complex picture of differences on one therapeutic factor (insight), common factor measures and subtle variation in the outcome data suggests a distinct pattern of change, however. Methodological limitations are also addressed including problems inherent in large-scale clinical-trial studies, ethical concerns raised by using nonprofessional leaders, and problems with generalizability, given the absence of significant psychopathology in group members.
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Ultra thin continuously reinforced concrete pavement research in south Africa
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Perrie, BD
2007-08-01
Full Text Available Ultra thin continuously reinforced concrete pavements (UTCRCP), in literature also referred to as Ultra Thin Reinforced High Performance Concrete (UTHRHPC), have been used in Europe successfully as a rehabilitation measure on steel bridge decks...
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Structural Applications of Fibre Reinforced Concrete in the Czech Republic
Kohoutková, A.; Broukalová, I.
2017-09-01
The paper presents improvement of function and performance of the precast structural members by using fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) instead of ordinary reinforced concrete and attempts to transfer innovative technologies from laboratory in academic sphere into real industrial production which is cost-effective and brings about savings of labour and material. Three examples of successful technology transfer are shown - application of FRC in an element without common rebar reinforcement, in the element with steel rebar reinforcement and SFRC pre-tensioned structural element. Benefits of FRC utilization are discussed.
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Nalette, Ernest
2010-06-01
Constrained practice is routinely encountered by physical therapists and may limit the physical therapist's primary moral responsibility-which is to help the patient to become well again. Ethical practice under such conditions requires a certain moral character of the practitioner. The purposes of this article are: (1) to provide an ethical analysis of a typical patient case of constrained clinical practice, (2) to discuss the moral implications of constrained clinical practice, and (3) to identify key moral principles and virtues fostering ethical physical therapist practice. The case represents a common scenario of discharge planning in acute care health facilities in the northeastern United States. An applied ethics approach was used for case analysis. The decision following analysis of the dilemma was to provide the needed care to the patient as required by compassion, professional ethical standards, and organizational mission. Constrained clinical practice creates a moral dilemma for physical therapists. Being responsive to the patient's needs moves the physical therapist's practice toward the professional ideal of helping vulnerable patients become well again. Meeting the patient's needs is a professional requirement of the physical therapist as moral agent. Acting otherwise requires an alternative position be ethically justified based on systematic analysis of a particular case. Skepticism of status quo practices is required to modify conventional individual, organizational, and societal practices toward meeting the patient's best interest.
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Kitano, Kosuke; Asakawa, Takashi; Kamide, Naoto; Yorimoto, Keisuke; Yoneda, Masaki; Kikuchi, Yutaka; Sawada, Makoto; Komori, Tetsuo
2018-03-31
To verify the effects of structured home-based exercises without supervision by a physical therapist in patients with early-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A historical controlled study that is part of a multicenter collaborative study. Rehabilitation departments at general hospitals and outpatient clinics with a neurology department. Patients (N=21) with ALS were enrolled and designated as the home-based exercise (Home-EX) group, and they performed unsupervised home-based exercises. As a control group, 84 patients with ALS who underwent supervised exercise with a physical therapist for 6 months were extracted from a database of patients with ALS and matched with the Home-EX group in terms of their basic attributes and clinical features. The Home-EX group was instructed to perform structured home-based exercises without supervision by a physical therapist that consisted of muscle stretching, muscle training, and functional training for 6 months. The primary outcome was the score on the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R), which is composed of 3 domains: bulbar function, limb function, and respiratory function. The score ranges from 0 to 48 points, with a higher score indicating better function. In the Home-EX group, 15 patients completed the home-based exercises for 6 months, and 6 patients dropped out because of medical reasons or disease progression. No adverse events were reported. The Home-EX group was found to have a significantly higher respiratory function subscore and total score on the ALSFRS-R than the control group at follow-up (P<.001 and P<.05, respectively). Structured home-based exercises without supervision by a physical therapist could be used to alleviate functional deterioration in patients with early-stage ALS. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Adapting without reinforcement.
Kheifets, Aaron; Gallistel, C Randy
2012-11-01
Our data rule out a broad class of behavioral models in which behavioral change is guided by differential reinforcement. To demonstrate this, we showed that the number of reinforcers missed before the subject shifted its behavior was not sufficient to drive behavioral change. What's more, many subjects shifted their behavior to a more optimal strategy even when they had not yet missed a single reinforcer. Naturally, differential reinforcement cannot be said to drive a process that shifts to accommodate to new conditions so adeptly that it doesn't miss a single reinforcer: it would have no input on which to base this shift.
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PREDICTION OF MAXIMUM CREEP STRAIN OF HIGH PERFORMANCE STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mishina Alexandra Vasil'evna
2012-12-01
Full Text Available The strongest research potential is demonstrated by the areas of application of high performance steel fiber reinforced concrete (HPSFRC. The research of its rheological characteristics is very important for the purposes of understanding its behaviour. This article is an overview of an experimental study of UHSSFRC. The study was carried out in the form of lasting creep tests of HPSFRC prism specimen, loaded by stresses of varied intensity. The loading was performed at different ages: 7, 14, 28 and 90 days after concreting. The stress intensity was 0.3 and 0.6 Rb; it was identified on the basis of short-term crush tests of similar prism-shaped specimen, performed on the same day. As a result, values of ultimate creep strains and ultimate specific creep of HPSFRC were identified. The data was used to construct an experimental diagramme of the ultimate specific creep on the basis of the HPSFRC loading age if exposed to various stresses. The research has resulted in the identification of a theoretical relationship that may serve as the basis for the high-precision projection of the pattern of changes in the ultimate specific creep of HPSFRC, depending on the age of loading and the stress intensity.
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Boterhoven De Haan, Katrina L; Lee, Christopher W
2014-01-01
Debates continue over shared factors in therapy processes between different theoretical orientations. By seeking the opinions of practicing clinicians, this study aimed to elucidate the similarities and differences between cognitive-behavioural (CBT), psychodynamic (PDT), and schema therapy (ST) approaches. Forty-eight practitioners aligning with one of the three approaches were asked to identify crucial processes in their therapy using a modified online version of the Psychotherapy Process Q-set. Distinct differences between each theoretical orientation with few shared common factors were found. A comparison with ratings from previous studies indicated that CBT therapists have not changed over the last 20 years, whereas PDT therapists have changed and the differences appeared consistent with modern PDT theory. The differences between the therapy approaches were consistent with theories underlying each model. PDT therapists valued a neutral relationship, CBT therapists emphasized a didactic interaction, and therapists form a ST orientation placed a greater emphasis on emotional involvement.
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Assessment tools used by occupational therapists in children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy
Thaianny Taís Dantas de Brito; Carolinne Linhares Pinheiro
2016-01-01
Introduction: The Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy (OBPP) is a result of brachial plexus injury at birth and may cause dysfunction of the affected upper limb, reflecting significantly in the child’s life. When evaluating a child with OBPP the occupational therapist can use evaluation tools, and has to have knowledge to choose and apply the most appropriate instrument. Objective: This review aimed to analyze the literature on the use of evaluation tools by occupational therapists in...
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Hill, Clara E.; And Others
1992-01-01
Studied adherence of therapists to behaviors specified in cognitive-behavior therapy, interpersonal therapy, and clinical management manuals. Rated therapist adherence in each of 4 sessions from 180 patients in treatment phase of National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program. Therapists exhibited more…
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Ulfers, Sara S; Berg, Christine
2017-07-01
Cancer-related cognitive impairments (CRCI) can limit participation in meaningful activities before, during, and after cancer treatment. This study explored occupational therapists' perceived knowledge gaps and needs regarding CRCI in adults and older adults. An online survey was sent to a convenience sample of 60 practitioners at facilities throughout the continuum of care and 176 directors and faculty in accredited occupational therapy programs. Using a snowball sampling approach, recipients were asked to forward the survey to other occupational therapists. One hundred seven occupational therapists participated. The majority (92%) responded that it would be beneficial to attend a face-to-face continuing education program; preferences for the content and design of a continuing competency seminar are described. These findings support the development and delivery of continuing competence programs tailored toward occupational therapists' CRCI knowledge needs.
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Belke, Terry W; Christie-Fougere, Melissa M
2006-11-01
Across two experiments, a peak procedure was used to assess the timing of the onset and offset of an opportunity to run as a reinforcer. The first experiment investigated the effect of reinforcer duration on temporal discrimination of the onset of the reinforcement interval. Three male Wistar rats were exposed to fixed-interval (FI) 30-s schedules of wheel-running reinforcement and the duration of the opportunity to run was varied across values of 15, 30, and 60s. Each session consisted of 50 reinforcers and 10 probe trials. Results showed that as reinforcer duration increased, the percentage of postreinforcement pauses longer than the 30-s schedule interval increased. On probe trials, peak response rates occurred near the time of reinforcer delivery and peak times varied with reinforcer duration. In a second experiment, seven female Long-Evans rats were exposed to FI 30-s schedules leading to 30-s opportunities to run. Timing of the onset and offset of the reinforcement period was assessed by probe trials during the schedule interval and during the reinforcement interval in separate conditions. The results provided evidence of timing of the onset, but not the offset of the wheel-running reinforcement period. Further research is required to assess if timing occurs during a wheel-running reinforcement period.
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Jonker, J.; Jong, C.A.J. de; Weert-van Oene, G.H. de; Gijs, L.A.C.L.
2000-01-01
This study focuses on the influences of self-perceived interpersonal behavior of addicted inpatients (n = 107) on the stereotypes of their ideal male and female therapist. Based on the interpersonal model of personality patients were asked to describe their ideal male and female therapist.
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Han, Gang; Zhao, Baiwang; Fu, Fengjiang; Chung, Neal Tai-Shung; Weber, Martin; Staudt, Claudia; Maletzko, Christian
2015-01-01
We have for the first time combined the strength of hydrophilic sulfonated material and thin woven open-mesh via a continuous casting process to fabricate mesh-reinforced ultrafiltration (UF) membrane substrates with desirable structure and morphology for the development of high-performance thin-film composite (TFC) osmosis membranes. A new sulfonated polyphenylenesulfone (sPPSU) polymer with super-hydrophilic nature is used as the substrate material, while a hydrophilic polyester (PET) open-mesh with a small thickness of 45 μm and an open area of 44.5% is employed as the reinforcing fabric during membrane casting. The newly developed sPPSU-TFC membranes not only exhibit a fully sponge-like cross-section morphology, but also possess excellent water permeability (A=3.4–3.7 L m−2 h−1 bar−1) and selectivity toward NaCl (B=0.10–0.23 L m−2 h−1). Due to the hydrophilic nature and low membrane thickness of 53–67 μm, the PET-woven reinforced sPPSU substrates have remarkably small structural parameters (S) of less than 300 μm. The sPPSU-TFC membranes thereby display impressive water fluxes (Jw) of 69.3–76.5 L m−2 h−1 and 38.7–47.0 L m−2 h−1 against a deionized water feed using 2 M NaCl as the draw solution under pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) and forward osmosis (FO) modes, respectively. This performance surpasses the state-of-the-art commercially available FO membranes. The sPPSU-TFC membranes also show exciting performance for synthetic seawater (3.5 wt% NaCl) desalination and water reclamation from real municipal wastewater. The newly developed PET-woven sPPSU-TFC membranes may have great potential to become a new generation membrane for osmotically driven processes.
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Han, Gang
2015-12-17
We have for the first time combined the strength of hydrophilic sulfonated material and thin woven open-mesh via a continuous casting process to fabricate mesh-reinforced ultrafiltration (UF) membrane substrates with desirable structure and morphology for the development of high-performance thin-film composite (TFC) osmosis membranes. A new sulfonated polyphenylenesulfone (sPPSU) polymer with super-hydrophilic nature is used as the substrate material, while a hydrophilic polyester (PET) open-mesh with a small thickness of 45 μm and an open area of 44.5% is employed as the reinforcing fabric during membrane casting. The newly developed sPPSU-TFC membranes not only exhibit a fully sponge-like cross-section morphology, but also possess excellent water permeability (A=3.4–3.7 L m−2 h−1 bar−1) and selectivity toward NaCl (B=0.10–0.23 L m−2 h−1). Due to the hydrophilic nature and low membrane thickness of 53–67 μm, the PET-woven reinforced sPPSU substrates have remarkably small structural parameters (S) of less than 300 μm. The sPPSU-TFC membranes thereby display impressive water fluxes (Jw) of 69.3–76.5 L m−2 h−1 and 38.7–47.0 L m−2 h−1 against a deionized water feed using 2 M NaCl as the draw solution under pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) and forward osmosis (FO) modes, respectively. This performance surpasses the state-of-the-art commercially available FO membranes. The sPPSU-TFC membranes also show exciting performance for synthetic seawater (3.5 wt% NaCl) desalination and water reclamation from real municipal wastewater. The newly developed PET-woven sPPSU-TFC membranes may have great potential to become a new generation membrane for osmotically driven processes.
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From Child-Robot Interaction to Child-Robot-Therapist Interaction: A Case Study in Autism
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
I. Giannopulu
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Troubles in social communication as well as deficits in the cognitive treatment of emotions are supposed to be a fundamental part of autism. We present a case study based on multimodal interaction between a mobile robot and a child with autism in spontaneous, free game play. This case study tells us that the robot mediates the interaction between the autistic child and therapist once the robot-child interaction has been established. In addition, the child uses the robot as a mediator to express positive emotion playing with the therapist. It is thought that the three-pronged interaction i.e., child-robot-therapist could better facilitate the transfer of social and emotional abilities to real life settings. Robot therapy has a high potential to improve the condition of brain activity in autistic children.
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Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
David R Lloyd
2014-01-01
Full Text Available In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE that links behavioral and neural based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We argue that repeated presentation of reinforcing stimuli decreases their effectiveness and that these decreases are described by the behavioral characteristics of habituation (McSweeney and Murphy, 2009;Rankin et al., 2009. We describe a neural model that postulates a positive association between dopamine neurotransmission and HRE. We present evidence that stimulant drugs, which artificially increase dopamine neurotransmission, disrupt (slow normally occurring HRE and also provide evidence that stimulant drugs have differential effects on operant responding maintained by reinforcers with rapid vs. slow HRE rates. We hypothesize that abnormal HRE due to genetic and/or environmental factors may underlie some behavioral disorders. For example, recent research indicates that slow-HRE is predictive of obesity. In contrast ADHD may reflect ‘accelerated-HRE’. Consideration of HRE is important for the development of effective reinforcement based treatments. Finally, we point out that most of the reinforcing stimuli that regulate daily behavior are non-consumable environmental/social reinforcers which have rapid-HRE. The almost exclusive use of consumable reinforcers with slow-HRE in pre-clinical studies with animals may have caused the importance of HRE to be overlooked. Further study of reinforcing stimuli with rapid-HRE is needed in order to understand how habituation and reinforcement interact and regulate behavior.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Blunt, J.; Jen, G.; Ostertag, C.P.
2015-01-01
Highlights: • Reinforced concrete beams were subjected to cyclic flexural loading. • Hybrid fiber reinforced composites were effective in reducing corrosion rates. • Crack resistance due to fibers increased corrosion resistance of steel rebar. • Galvanic corrosion measurements underestimated corrosion rates. • Polarization resistance measurements predicted mass loss more accurately. - Abstract: Service loads well below the yield strength of steel reinforcing bars lead to cracking of reinforced concrete. This paper investigates whether the crack resistance of Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HyFRC) reduces the corrosion rate of steel reinforcing bars in concrete after cyclic flexural loading. The reinforcing bars were extracted to examine their surface for corrosion and compare microcell and macrocell corrosion mass loss estimates against direct gravimetric measurements. A delay in corrosion initiation and lower active corrosion rates were observed in the HyFRC beam specimens when compared to reinforced specimens containing plain concrete matrices cycled at the same flexural load
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Johnson, Diana; Snedeker, Kristie; Swoboda, Michael; Zalieckas, Cheryl; Dorsey, Rachel; Nohe, Cassandra; Smith, Paige; Roche, Renuka
The Department of Rehabilitation Services, within the University of Maryland Medical Center's 650-bed academic medical center, was experiencing difficulty in meeting productivity standards. Therapists in the outpatient division believed they were not spending enough time performing billable patient care activities. Therapists in the inpatient division had difficulty keeping pace with the volume of incoming referrals. Collectively, these issues caused dissatisfaction among referral sources and frustration among the staff within the rehabilitation department. The department undertook a phased approach to address these issues that included examining the evidence, using Lean process improvement principles, and employing transformational leadership strategies to drive improvements in productivity and efficiency. The lessons learned support the importance of having meaningful metrics appropriate for the patient population served, the use of Lean as an effective tool for improving productivity in rehabilitation departments, the impact of engaging staff at the grassroots level, and the importance of having commitment from leaders. The study findings have implications for not only rehabilitation and hospital leadership, but CEOs and managers of any business who need to eliminate waste or increase staff productivity.
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Therapist adherence is associated with outcome in cognitive-behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa.
Folke, Sofie; Daniel, Sarah I F; Gondan, Matthias; Lunn, Susanne; Tækker, Louise; Poulsen, Stig
2017-06-01
Studies of therapist adherence in relation to treatment outcome have produced mixed results. The aim of the present study was to investigate change in therapist adherence to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa over time, and to investigate the relationship between adherence and client outcome in early, middle, and late phases of treatment. Thirty-six clients received the focused form of "enhanced" CBT (CBT-E) for bulimia nervosa. Trained observers rated audiotapes of 92 full-length therapy sessions from early (Session 3), middle (Session 11), and late phases (Session 20) of treatment using the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Treatment Protocol Adherence Scale. Change in adherence across the 3 treatment phases was examined using multilevel analysis. The relationship between early, middle, and late adherence levels and end-of-treatment binging frequency was examined using multilevel Poisson regression analysis. Adherence decreased significantly over the course of treatment. Higher levels of therapist adherence in early and middle phases of treatment were associated with reduced binging frequency, whereas higher levels of adherence measured late in treatment was not. Results indicate that therapists' adherence to the CBT-E treatment protocol decreases over time and that high levels of protocol adherence in early and middle phases of treatment are more important for positive client outcomes than high levels of adherence in the end of treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Evans, Kiah L; Girdler, Sonya J; Falkmer, Torbjorn; Richmond, Janet E; Wagman, Petra; Millsteed, Jeannine; Falkmer, Marita
2017-09-01
Occupational therapists need to be cognizant of evidence-based role balance advice and strategies that women with multigenerational caring responsibilities can implement independently or with minimal assistance, as role balance may not be the primary goal during many encounters with this population. Hence, this study aimed to identify the viewpoints on the most helpful role balance strategies for working sandwich generation women, both from their own perspectives and from the perspective of occupational therapists. This was achieved through a Q methodology study, where 54 statements were based on findings from interviews, sandwich generation literature and occupational therapy literature. In total, 31 working sandwich generation women and 42 occupational therapists completed the Q sort through either online or paper administration. The data were analysed using factor analysis with varimax rotation and were interpreted through collaboration with experts in the field. The findings revealed similarities between working sandwich generation women and occupational therapists, particularly in terms of advocating strategies related to sleep, rest and seeking practical assistance from support networks. Differences were also present, with working sandwich generation women viewpoints tending to emphasize strategies related to coping with a busy lifestyle attending to multiple responsibilities. In contrast, occupational therapy viewpoints prioritized strategies related to the occupational therapy process, such as goal setting, activity focused interventions, monitoring progress and facilitating sustainable outcomes.
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Radiation processing for PTFE composite reinforced with carbon fiber
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Akihiro Oshima; Akira Udagawa; Yousuke Morita
1999-01-01
The present work is an attempt to evaluate the performance of crosslinked PTFE as a polymer matrix for carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials. The carbon fiber-reinforced PTFE pre-composite, which is laminated with PTFE fine powder, is crosslinked by electron beam irradiation. Mechanical and frictional properties of the crosslinked PTFE composite obtained are higher than those of PTFE resin. The crosslinked PTFE composite with high mechanical and radiation resistant performance is obtained by radiation crosslinking process
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Resin Composites Reinforced by Nanoscaled Fibers or Tubes for Dental Regeneration
Li, Xiaoming; Liu, Wei; Sun, Lianwen; Aifantis, Katerina E.; Yu, Bo; Fan, Yubo; Cui, Fuzhai; Watari, Fumio
2014-01-01
It has been stated clearly that nanofillers could make an enhancement on the mechanical performances of dental composites. In order to address current shortage of traditional dental composites, fillers in forms of nanofibers or nanotubes are broadly regarded as ideal candidates to greatly increase mechanical performances of dental composites with low content of fillers. In this review, the efforts using nanofibers and nanotubes to reinforce mechanical performances of dental composites, including polymeric nanofibers, metallic nanofibers or nanotubes, and inorganic nanofibers or nanotubes, as well as their researches related, are demonstrated in sequence. The first purpose of current paper was to confirm the enhancement of nanofibers or nanotubes' reinforcement on the mechanical performances of dental restorative composite. The second purpose was to make a general description about the reinforcement mechanism of nanofibers and nanotubes, especially, the impact of formation of interphase boundary interaction and nanofibers themselves on the advanced mechanical behaviors of the dental composites. By means of the formation of interface interaction and poststretching nanofibers, reinforced effect of dental composites by sorts of nanofibers/nanotubes has been successfully obtained. PMID:24982894
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Palliative care in home care: perceptions of occupational therapists
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Séfora Gomez Portela
2015-03-01
Full Text Available This research aimed at understanding and reflecting on the perceptions of occupational therapists regarding the implementation of palliative care in home care. This is an exploratory, qualitative study, through semi-structured interviews, conducted in the second semester of 2012 with eight occupational therapists with experience in palliative care in the city of São Paulo. Content analysis identified four themes: characterization and professional trajectory in the field, understanding the concepts of palliative care, home care and palliative care, and occupational therapy and palliative care in home care. The results suggest that the role of the occupational therapist in this field has taken place at different levels of health care, being addressed to people with varying needs. The use of the concept of palliative care by the interviewees exceeds the notion of end of life, following the changes in the epidemiological transition. They understand that professional services follow the trend of national palliative care services with focus on specialized levels, but manifest the importance of its implementation in primary and home care. Among the barriers to practice, they identified the complexity of “being at home “, peculiarities of palliative care with high cost demands, lack of infrastructure and implementation of the current policy. Professional training and scientific roduction in the area were viewed as inadequate, although they identified a call for change. The interviewees recognized palliative care in home care as a strong professional field, but one still requiring study and discussions regarding its limits and conditions of implementation, especially in the Unified Health System.
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Reinforcement learning in complementarity game and population dynamics.
Jost, Jürgen; Li, Wei
2014-02-01
We systematically test and compare different reinforcement learning schemes in a complementarity game [J. Jost and W. Li, Physica A 345, 245 (2005)] played between members of two populations. More precisely, we study the Roth-Erev, Bush-Mosteller, and SoftMax reinforcement learning schemes. A modified version of Roth-Erev with a power exponent of 1.5, as opposed to 1 in the standard version, performs best. We also compare these reinforcement learning strategies with evolutionary schemes. This gives insight into aspects like the issue of quick adaptation as opposed to systematic exploration or the role of learning rates.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hanneke Kalisvaart
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: How a patient is connected with one's body is core to rehabilitation of somatoform disorder but a common model to describe body-relatedness is missing. The aim of our study was to investigate the components and hierarchical structure of body-relatedness as perceived by patients with severe somatoform disorder and their therapists. METHODS: Interviews with patients and therapists yielded statements about components of body-relatedness. Patients and therapists individually sorted these statements according to similarity. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to these sortings. Analysis of variance was used to compare the perceived importance of the statements between patients and therapists. RESULTS: The hierarchical structure included 71 characteristics of body-relatedness. It consisted of three levels with eight clusters at the lowest level: 1 understanding, 2 acceptance, 3 adjustment, 4 respect for the body, 5 regulation, 6 confidence, 7 self-esteem, and 8 autonomy. The cluster 'understanding' was considered most important by patients and therapists. Patients valued 'regulating the body' more than therapists. CONCLUSION: According to patients with somatoform disorders and their therapists, body-relatedness includes awareness of the body and self by understanding, accepting and adjusting to bodily signals, by respecting and regulating the body, by confiding and esteeming oneself and by being autonomous. This definition and structure of body-relatedness may help professionals to improve interdisciplinary communication, assessment, and treatment, and it may help patients to better understand their symptoms and treatment. (German language abstract, Abstract S1; Spanish language abstract, Abstract S2.
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European American Therapist Self-Disclosure in Cross-Cultural Counseling
Burkard, Alan W.; Knox, Sarah; Groen, Michael; Perez, Maria; Hess, Shirley A.
2006-01-01
Eleven European American psychotherapists' use of self-disclosure in cross-cultural counseling was studied using consensual qualitative research. As reasons for self-disclosing, therapists reported the intent to enhance the counseling relationship, acknowledge the role of racism/oppression in clients' lives, and acknowledge their own…
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Therapist Warmth: Necessary or Sufficient Condition in Behavioral Desensitization?
Wolowitz, Howard Martin
1975-01-01
Discusses the Morris and Suckerman report on experimental studies testing the Rogerian hypothesis that phobic desensitization occurs as a function of therapist warmth versus the behavioral explanation that desensitization is a function of reciprocal inhibition. Morris and Suckerman respond to the critique. (Author/EJT)
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Brownlie, Megan Ruth
2017-01-01
This study explored psychotherapist experiences of and attitudes to in-session crying. Historically, therapists were encouraged to hide their emotions from clients. Subsequently, self-disclosure and empathy theory and research developed with a focus on verbal modes of self-disclosure and empathic communication, to the neglect of the non-verbal dimension of these interventions. The current study attempted to locate therapist tearfulness within the theoretical discourses on self-disclosure and ...
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Nieto, Andy
This dissertation investigates the effects of carbon nanoparticles on the synthesis, mechanical behavior, and tribological performance of ceramic based composites. Specifically graphene Nanoplatelet (GNP) reinforced Al 2O3 and nanodiamond (ND) reinforced WC-Co systems are investigated. Carbon based nanoparticles such as GNPs and NDs are ideal reinforcements for ceramic based composites because of their unique functional and mechanical properties. GNPs have exceptional mechanical properties such as yield strength and elastic modulus, along with superb functional properties such as thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. NDs possess the highest hardness of any materials, very high elastic modulus, and have a very high thermal conductivity. GNPs are demonstrated to affect the sintering of Al2O 3 matrix composites by wrapping around grains, inhibiting diffusion, and thereby suppressing grain growth. High applied pressures (90 MPa) during sintering are observed to exacerbate grain growth suppression, while promoting attainment of fully dense ceramic composites. Higher applied pressures facilitate the wrapping of GNPs around grains, which promotes the onset of GNP induced grain growth suppression. Grain growth suppression compensates for the decreased hardness induced by low strength of the GNPs phase along the c-axis direction. GNPs enhanced the toughness and wear resistance of the nanocomposites by 21% and 39%, respectively, due to the intrinsic energy dissipating mechanisms such as GNP sheet kinking and sliding and GNP induced phenomena such as micro-cracking and crack bridging. The addition of ND affects the deposition of thermally sprayed coatings. Porosity increased in samples deposited by high velocity oxyacetylene flame spray (HVOF) and decreased in samples deposited by air plasma spray (APS). NDs are believed to inhibit solid state diffusion during splat impact, in the low thermal energy and high kinetic energy HVOF process. The high thermal
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Sevcik, Emily E; Jones, Jennifer D; Myers, Charles E
2017-11-01
Given the rise in music therapy master's programs that offer dual degrees in music therapy and counseling or programs that satisfy state mental health counseling licensure laws, the professional counseling field is playing an increased role in the advanced education and professional practices of music therapists. To identify factors that lead music therapists to pursue advanced education with an emphasis in professional counseling, perceptions about benefits and drawbacks for three advanced degree options (i.e., music therapy, counseling, and music therapy/counseling dual degree), and describe the professional practices and identity of dual-trained music therapists as counselors. A convenience sample of music therapists (n = 123) who held board certification, and held a master's degree or higher that emphasized professional counseling, completed an online survey. We used descriptive statistics to analyze categorical and numeric survey data. Eligibility for licensure as a professional counselor was the most important decisional factor in selecting a specific master's degree program. Respondents also reported favorable perceptions of the dual degree in music therapy and counseling. With regard to professional practice and identity, respondents reported high use of verbal processing techniques alongside music therapy interventions, and dual-trained music therapists retained their professional identity as a music therapist. The reported view of licensure in a related field as beneficial and frequent use of verbal processing techniques warrants future study into the role of counseling in the advanced training of music therapists. Given contradictory findings across studies, we recommend investigators also explore how a degree in a related field affects career longevity of music therapists. © the American Music Therapy Association 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
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Kennedy, Anne B; Munk, Niki
2017-06-01
The massage therapy profession in the United States has grown exponentially, with 35% of the profession's practitioners in practice for three years or less. Investigating personal and social factors with regard to the massage therapy profession could help to identify constructs needed to be successful in the field. This data-gathering exercise explores massage therapists' perceptions on what makes a successful massage therapist that will provide guidance for future research. Success is defined as supporting oneself and practice solely through massage therapy and related, revenue-generating field activity. Ten successful massage therapy practitioners from around the United States who have a minimum of five years of experience. Semistructured qualitative interviews were used in an analytic induction framework; index cards with preidentified concepts printed on them were utilized to enhance conversation. An iterative process of interview coding and analysis was used to determine themes and subthemes. Based on the participants input, the categories in which therapists needed to be successful were organized into four main themes: effectively establish therapeutic relationships, develop massage therapy business acumen, seek valuable learning environments and opportunities, and cultivate strong social ties and networks. The four themes operate within specific contexts (e.g., regulation and licensing requirements in the therapists' state), which may also influence the success of the massage therapist. The model needs to be tested to explore which constructs explain variability in success and attrition rate. Limitations and future research implications are discussed.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Liping Guo
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Spalling resistance properties and their damage mechanisms under high temperatures are studied in hollow cellulose fiber-reinforced concrete (CFRC used in tunnel structures. Measurements of mass loss, relative dynamic elastic modulus, compressive strength, and splitting tensile strength of CFRC held under high temperatures (300, 600, 800, and 1050°C for periods of 2.5, 4, and 5.5 h were carried out. The damage mechanism was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion porosimetry, thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction phase analysis. The results demonstrate that cellulose fiber can reduce the performance loss of concrete at high temperatures; the effect of holding time on the performance is more noticeable below 600°C. After exposure to high temperatures, the performance of ordinary concrete deteriorates faster and spalls at 700–800°C; in contrast, cellulose fiber melts at a higher temperature, leaving a series of channels in the matrix that facilitate the release of the steam pressure inside the CFRC. Hollow cellulose fibers can thereby slow the damage caused by internal stress and improve the spalling resistance of concrete under high temperatures.
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Design of reinforced concrete members based on structural mechanics
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Diaz, B.E.; Schulz, M.
1984-01-01
Up to now the design of reinforced concrete linear members is performed with the help of an inconsistent design theory, which nevertherless is sufficiently safe and simple to be used in the practice. The purpose of this paper is to present a rational reinforced concrete design method which is not too dissimilar to the present design rules, but is capable of defining consistently internal stresses along a reinforced concrete section. The present status of the completed computer procedures allows the analysis of linear reinforced concrete members formed by laminar reinforced concrete plates presenting variable thickness. A practical approach is presented for which the concrete and steel section is constant along the member axis. In this case, the concept of the equivalent section is introduced, which allows a simple analysis of the stress pattern along the member section. (Author) [pt
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Seismic response of reinforced soil slopes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Tzavara, Ioanna; Zania, Varvara; Tsompanakis, Yiannis
2010-01-01
The main aim of the current study is to assess the dynamic response of reinforced soil structures taking into account the most important aspects of the problem and to compare the available design methods. For this purpose, initially the most commonly used pseudostatic approach is implemented via...... a parametric investigation to illustrate the impact of the crucial parameters of this approach. Subsequently, Newmark’s sliding block model is modified to account for the reinforcement forces in the calculation of seismic displacements. Finally, finite element analyses were performed and the numerical results...
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Global Mental Health: A Call for Increased Awareness and Action for Family Therapists.
Patterson, Jo Ellen; Edwards, Todd M; Vakili, Susanna
2018-03-01
Global mental health (GMH) is an emerging field that focuses on the need for culturally sensitive mental health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While many new initiatives have been established worldwide to understand GMH needs and to provide care in LMICs, family therapists have primarily worked with families in high-income countries. The few existing family-based initiatives in GMH focus on psychoeducation and are typically not based on general systems theory. However, emerging trends in family therapy may enable family therapists to impact mental health issues in LMICs. These trends, which are shared interests of both family therapy and GMH, include collaborative care, a growing emphasis on the importance of culture in understanding and treating mental health issues, recognition of the ability of families to support or impede recovery from mental illness, and the use of strength-based and evidence-based treatments. This paper describes ways for family therapists to become active in the GMH community. © 2017 Family Process Institute.
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Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness.
Lloyd, David R; Medina, Douglas J; Hawk, Larry W; Fosco, Whitney D; Richards, Jerry B
2014-01-09
In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) that links behavioral- and neural-based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that HRE is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We argue that repeated presentation of reinforcing stimuli decreases their effectiveness and that these decreases are described by the behavioral characteristics of habituation (McSweeney and Murphy, 2009; Rankin etal., 2009). We describe a neural model that postulates a positive association between dopamine neurotransmission and HRE. We present evidence that stimulant drugs, which artificially increase dopamine neurotransmission, disrupt (slow) normally occurring HRE and also provide evidence that stimulant drugs have differential effects on operant responding maintained by reinforcers with rapid vs. slow HRE rates. We hypothesize that abnormal HRE due to genetic and/or environmental factors may underlie some behavioral disorders. For example, recent research indicates that slow-HRE is predictive of obesity. In contrast ADHD may reflect "accelerated-HRE." Consideration of HRE is important for the development of effective reinforcement-based treatments. Finally, we point out that most of the reinforcing stimuli that regulate daily behavior are non-consumable environmental/social reinforcers which have rapid-HRE. The almost exclusive use of consumable reinforcers with slow-HRE in pre-clinical studies with animals may have caused the importance of HRE to be overlooked. Further study of reinforcing stimuli with rapid-HRE is needed in order to understand how habituation and reinforcement interact and regulate behavior.
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Micromechanical performance of interfacial transition zone in fiber-reinforced cement matrix
Zacharda, V.; Němeček, J.; Štemberk, P.
2017-09-01
The paper investigates microstructure, chemical composition and micromechanical behavior of an interfacial transition zone (ITZ) in steel fiber reinforced cement matrix. For this goal, a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nanoindentation and elastic homogenization theory are used. The investigated sample of cement paste with dispersed reinforcement consists of cement CEM I 42,5R and a steel fiber TriTreg 50 mm. The microscopy revealed smaller portion of clinkers and larger porosity in the ITZ. Nanoindentation delivered decreased elastic modulus in comparison with cement bulk (67%) and the width of ITZ (∼ 40 μm). The measured properties served as input parameters for a simple two-scale model for elastic properties of the composite. Although, no major influence of ITZ properties on the composite elastic behavior was found, the findings about the ITZ reduced properties and its size can serve as input to other microstructural fracture based models.
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Schoenwald, Sonja K; Chapman, Jason E; Sheidow, Ashli J; Carter, Rickey E
2009-01-01
This study investigated relations among therapist adherence to an evidence-based treatment for youth with serious antisocial behavior (i.e., Multisystemic Therapy), organizational climate and structure, and youth criminal charges on average 4 years posttreatment. Participants were 1,979 youth and families treated by 429 therapists across 45 provider organizations. Results showed therapist adherence predicted significantly lower rates of youth criminal charges independently and in the presence of organizational variables. Therapist perceptions of job satisfaction and opportunities for growth and advancement relative to the organizational average predicted youth criminal charges, as did organizational average levels of participation in decision making. These associations washed out in the presence of adherence, despite the fact that job satisfaction and growth and advancement were associated with adherence.
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Boissonnault, Jill S; Cambier, Ziádee; Hetzel, Scott J; Plack, Margaret M
2017-11-01
For health care providers in the United States, the risk for nonfatal violence in the workplace is 16 times greater than that for other workers. Inappropriate patient sexual behavior (IPSB) is directed at clinicians, staff, or other patients and may include leering, sexual remarks, deliberate touching, indecent exposure, and sexual assault. Inappropriate patient sexual behavior may adversely affect clinicians, the organization, or patients themselves. Few IPSB risk factors for physical therapists have been confirmed. The US prevalence was last assessed in the 1990s. The objectives of this study were to determine career and 12-month exposure to IPSB among US physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, physical therapist students, and physical therapist assistant students and to identify IPSB risk factors. This was a retrospective and observational study. An electronic survey was developed; content validity and test-retest reliability were established. Participants were recruited through physical therapist and physical therapist assistant academic programs and sections of the American Physical Therapy Association. Inappropriate patient sexual behavior risk models were constructed individually for any, mild, moderate, and severe IPSB events reported over the past 12 months. Open-ended comments were analyzed using qualitative methods. Eight hundred ninety-two physical therapist professionals and students completed the survey. The career prevalence among respondents was 84%, and the 12-month prevalence was 47%. Statistical risk modeling for any IPSB over the past 12 months indicated the following risks: having fewer years of direct patient care, routinely working with patients with cognitive impairments, being a female practitioner, and treating male patients. Qualitative analysis of 187 open-ended comments revealed patient-related characteristics, provider-related characteristics, and abusive actions. Self-report, clinician memory, and convenience sampling are
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Hu, Yingbin; Ning, Fuda; Wang, Hui; Cong, Weilong; Zhao, Bo
2018-02-01
Titanium (Ti) and its alloys have been successfully applied to the aeronautical and biomedical industries. However, their poor tribological properties restrict their fields of applications under severe wear conditions. Facing to these challenges, this study investigated TiB reinforced Ti matrix composites (TiB-TMCs), fabricated by in-situ laser engineered net shaping (LENS) process, through analyzing parts quality, microstructure formation mechanisms, microstructure characterizations, and workpiece wear performance. At high B content areas (original B particle locations), reaction between Ti and B particles took place, generating flower-like microstructure. At low B content areas, eutectic TiB nanofibers contacted with each other with the formation of crosslinking microstructure. The crosslinking microstructural TiB aggregated and connected at the boundaries of Ti grains, forming a three-dimensional quasi-continuous network microstructure. The results show that compared with commercially pure Ti bulk parts, the TiB-TMCs exhibited superior wear performance (i.e. indentation wear resistance and friction wear resistance) due to the present of TiB reinforcement and the innovative microstructures formed inside TiB-TMCs. In addition, the qualities of the fabricated parts were improved with fewer interior defects by optimizing laser power, thus rendering better wear performance.
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A Marxist therapist treats a Trump-supporting client: A tale of politics and psychotherapy.
Yourman, David B
2018-05-01
When there are politically polarizing events taking place in the world, can it be useful for a therapist to disclose his or her political views within the context of a psychotherapeutic dyad? This paper examines this question through the example of a Marxist therapist working with a politically conservative patient in the polarized political atmosphere following Donald Trump's election to the Presidency of the United States. Also explored are the patient's dynamics that might have made it particularly salient for the therapist to eschew a more neutral stance. The theoretical and technical bases for this disclosure are examined via the Affect Theory of Silvan S. Tomkins as well as the Person-Centered Therapy of Carl Rogers. The family history of the patient is examined to further understand the context in which the political/therapeutic interactions take place. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Flexural Behavior of Corroded Reinforced Recycled Aggregate Concrete Beams
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Taoping Ye
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Recycling concrete not only reduces the use of virgin aggregate but also decreases the pressure on landfills. As a result, recycled coarse aggregate (RCA is extensively recommended for new construction projects. However, the flexural behavior of corroded reinforced recycled aggregate concrete (RAC beams is uncertain. The experimental research presented in this paper was performed to investigate the flexural behavior of corroded reinforced RAC beams compared to that of corroded reinforced natural aggregate concrete (NAC beams and consequently explore the possibility of using RAC beams in corrosive environments. Four different percentages of RCA in total mass of coarse aggregate in concrete mixtures (0%, 33%, 66%, and 100% and two different concrete strengths (C30, C60 were the governing parameters. The electrochemical method was adopted to accelerate steel corrosion. Full-scale tests were performed on eight simply supported beams until the failure load was reached. Comparison of load-deflection behavior, crack patterns, failure modes, ductility, and ultimate flexural capacity of corroded reinforced NAC and RAC beams was made based on the experimental results obtained. The comparison results show that the flexural behavior of corroded reinforced RAC beams with an appropriate percentage of RCA is satisfactory compared to the behavior of NAC beams.
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(What) do you believe?: Therapist spiritual/religious/non-religious self-disclosure.
Magaldi, Danielle; Trub, Leora
2018-05-01
Spiritual/religious/non-religious (S/R/N) identity development is often neglected in psychotherapy training and represents an area where psychotherapists feel they lack competence. Such feelings can become even more pronounced when it comes to S/R/N self-disclosure. This study explores the decisions therapists make regarding self-disclosure, which impacts the psychotherapy process. This grounded theory study explores psychotherapists' S/R/N self-disclosure based on qualitative interviews with 21 psychotherapists representing varied theoretical orientations and spiritual, religious, atheist, and agnostic backgrounds. Findings reveal that while some self-disclosure happens on an explicit level, more often psychotherapists find implicit ways to share S/R/N aspects of the self for purposes of enhancing the therapeutic alliance and to convey openness. Psychotherapists also attempt to avoid the topic altogether, either to protect the therapeutic relationship or because of unresolved S/R/N identity in the therapist. Developing skills related to S/R/N self-disclosure represents an important aspect of multicultural competence, which can impact clients' feelings of safety and comfort discussing their own S/R/N identity. This capacity is strongly influenced by the therapist's self-awareness regarding S/R/N identity. Suggestions for engaging S/R/N identity and disclosure in supervisory experiences and academic preparation are discussed.
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Costa, Larissa R; Costa, José L R; Oishi, Jorge; Driusso, Patricia
2012-01-01
The Brazilian Health System is organized on a regional and hierarchical form with three levels of complexity of health care. The Primary Care represents the first element of a continuing health care process, complemented by specialized actions. However, the centrality of the specialized care is still a problem in Brazil, especially in the private sector. Studies on the distribution of professionals in the health system allowing the formulation of appropriate policies are needed. To investigate the distribution of physical therapists in the levels of complexity of health care and between public and private establishments, according to data from the National Register of Health Service Providers (NRHSP). A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed considering NRHSP-national bank data collected in March 2010 and demographic census 2010 data. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics techniques. We identified 53,181 registries of physical therapists, 60% linked to the private sector. Only 13% of all entries were linked to primary care. The predominance in specialized care occurred in the public sector (65%) and private sector (100%). The specialized establishments of private sector linked to the southeast region (16,043) were the main sites of physical therapists. Only the public sector in the south had a majority in the Primary Care. When considering the sizes of the cities, there is focus on specialist care in bigger cities. This study identified the concentration of physical therapists in the specialized care, mostly in metropolis and big cities and in the private sector, with restricted to participation in the primary care.
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Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among physical therapists
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zaheen Iqbal
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Background: Health professions like dentistry, nursing and physical therapy have been reported at high risk for developing workrelated musculoskeletal disorders. Results of studies conducted in these occupational groups may help formulate prevention strategies. However, no such data among physical therapists has been reported in India. Material and Methods: We conducted an online survey among 100 physiotherapists in Delhi. Results: The response rate was 75%. The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders is found to be high since 92% of them reported to feel some pain after joining physical therapy which affects daily activities and even sometimes forces them to change their work. Physical therapists specialty, gender, furniture used in clinic and duration of patient contact are found to be related to the pain development (p < 0.05. Conclusions: We need to emphasize the role of ergonomics and techniques of patient handling in development of work-related pain symptoms. Med Pr 2015;66(4:459–469
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Earthquake behavior of steel cushion-implemented reinforced concrete frames
Özkaynak, Hasan
2018-04-01
The earthquake performance of vulnerable structures can be increased by the implementation of supplementary energy-dissipative metallic elements. The main aim of this paper is to describe the earthquake behavior of steel cushion-implemented reinforced concrete frames (SCI-RCFR) in terms of displacement demands and energy components. Several quasi-static experiments were performed on steel cushions (SC) installed in reinforced concrete (RC) frames. The test results served as the basis of the analytical models of SCs and a bare reinforced concrete frame (B-RCFR). These models were integrated in order to obtain the resulting analytical model of the SCI-RCFR. Nonlinear-time history analyses (NTHA) were performed on the SCI-RCFR under the effects of the selected earthquake data set. According to the NTHA, SC application is an effective technique for increasing the seismic performance of RC structures. The main portion of the earthquake input energy was dissipated through SCs. SCs succeeded in decreasing the plastic energy demand on structural elements by almost 50% at distinct drift levels.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bin Ding
2017-06-01
Full Text Available Reinforced concrete structure featured by strong bearing capacity, high rigidity, good integrity, good fire resistance, and extensive applicability occupies a mainstream position in contemporary architecture. However, with the development of social economy, people need higher requirements on architectural structure; durability, especially, has been extensively researched. Because of the higher requirement on building material, ordinary reinforced concrete structure has not been able to satisfy the demand. As a result, some new materials and structures have emerged, for example, fibre reinforced polymers. Compared to steel reinforcement, fibre reinforced polymers have many advantages, such as high tensile strength, good durability, good shock absorption, low weight, and simple construction. The application of fibre reinforced polymers in architectural structure can effectively improve the durability of the concrete structure and lower the maintenance, reinforcement, and construction costs in severe environments. Based on the concepts of steel tube concrete, fibre reinforced composite material confined concrete, and fibre reinforced composite material tubed concrete, this study proposes a novel composite structure, i.e., fibre reinforced composite material and steel tube concrete composite structure. The structure was developed by pasting fibre around steel tube concrete and restraining core concrete using fibre reinforced composite material and steel tubes. The bearing capacity and ultimate deformation capacity of the structure was tested using column axial compression test.
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Fatchurrohman, N.; Chia, S. T.
2017-10-01
Most commercial vehicles use brake calliper made of grey cast iron (GCI) which possesses heavy weight. This contributes to the total weight of the vehicle which can lead to higher fuel consumption. Another major problem is GCI calliper tends to deflect during clamping action, known as “bending of bridge”. This will result in extended pedal travel. Magnesium metal matrix composites (Mg-MMC) has a potential application in the automotive industry since it having a lower density, higher strength and very good modulus of elasticity as compared to GCI. This paper proposed initial development of hybrid Mg-MMC brake calliper. This was achieved by analyzing the performance of hybrid nano-micro reinforced Mg-MMC and comparing with the conventional GCI brake calliper. It was performed using simulation in ANSYS, a finite element analysis (FEA) software. The results show that hybrid Mg-MMC has better performance in terms of reduction the weight of the brake calliper, reduction in total deformation/deflection and better ability to withstand equivalent elastic strain.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lingzhu Zhou
2018-06-01
Full Text Available The need for a sustainable development and improved whole life performance of concrete infrastructure has led to the requirement of more durable and sustainable concrete bridges alongside accurate predictive analysis tools. Using the combination of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC with industrial by-products and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP, reinforcement is anticipated to address the concerns of high carbon footprint and corrosion in traditional steel-reinforced concrete structures. This paper presents a numerical investigation of the structural behavior of basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP-reinforced SCC deck slabs in a real bridge, named Thompson Bridge, constructed in Northern Ireland, U.K. A non-linear finite element (FE model is proposed by using ABAQUS 6.10 in this study, which is aimed at extending the previous investigation of the field test in Thompson Bridge. The results of this field test were used to validate the accuracy of the proposed finite element model. The results showed good agreement between the test results and the numerical results; more importantly, the compressive membrane action (CMA inside the slabs could be well demonstrated by this FE model. Subsequently, a series of parametric studies was conducted to investigate the influence of different parameters on the structural performance of the deck slabs in Thompson Bridge. The results of the analyses are discussed, and conclusions on the behavior of the SCC deck slabs reinforced by BFRP bars are presented.
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Hybrid fiber and nanopowder reinforced composites for wind turbine blades
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nikoloz M. Chikhradze
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The results of an investigation into the production of wind turbine blades manufactured using polymer composites reinforced by hybrid (carbon, basalt, glass fibers and strengthened by various nanopowders (oxides, carbides, borides are presented. The hybrid fiber-reinforced composites (HFRC were manufactured with prepreg technology by molding pre-saturated epoxy-strengthened matrix-reinforced fabric. Performance of the manufactured composites was estimated with values of the coefficient of operating condition (COC at a moderate and elevated temperature.
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Self-compacting fibre-reinforced concrete
Grunewald, S.; Walraven, J.C.
2001-01-01
The project 'self-compacting fibre-reinforced concrete (SCFRC)' is part of the Dutch STW/PPM program - 'cement-bonded materials' - DCT.4010. Subproject III to which the project ,SCFRC' belongs deals with the development of new high performance concretes. The project 'SCFRC' aims at investigating the
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Occupational burnout among radiation therapists in Australia: Findings from a mixed methods study.
Singh, N; Wright, C; Knight, K; Baird, M; Akroyd, D; Adams, R D; Schneider, M E
2017-08-01
Evidence demonstrates that health care professionals in the palliative care context are more burned out than other health professionals. The aims of this study were to examine: (1) occupational burnout levels among radiation therapists in Australia, (2) association between demographic factors on burnout and (3) radiation therapists' perceptions of burnout. A cross-sectional online survey including the Maslach Burnout Inventory was administered to Radiation Therapists in Australia. Data were analysed using SPSS Ver 20 and open ended comments were analysed thematically using Nvivo 10. A total of 200 radiation therapists participated in the survey. RTs had a high mean (±SD) burnout score for emotional exhaustion (38.5 ± 8.2), depersonalisation (17.5 ± 4.7) and personal achievement (30.5.3 ± 4.3) compared to RTs and health workers in other studies. High levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and low levels of personal achievement were present in 93% (186/200), 87% (174/200) and 61% (122/200) of participants respectively. RTs identified high workload and staff shortages, interpersonal conflict and technology as key sources of stress in the RT work environment. Australian RTs' level of burnout on all three stages of burnout exceed previously reported burnout levels for similar cohorts both locally and internationally. It is important that future interventions aimed at minimising or preventing stressors are identified and implemented in the radiation therapy work environment. Copyright © 2017 The College of Radiographers. All rights reserved.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Han Bong Koo
1998-01-01
A reinforced concrete nuclear power plant containment structure is subjected to various random static and stochastic loads during its lifetime. Since these loads involve inherent randomness and other uncertainties, an appropriate probabilistic model for each load must be established in order to perform reliability analysis. The current ASME code for reinforced concrete containment structures are not based on probability concepts. The stochastic nature of natural hazard or accidental loads and the variations of material properties require a probabilistic approach for a rational assessment of structural safety and performance. The paper develops probability-based load factors for the limit state design of reinforced concrete containment structures. The purpose of constructing reinforced concrete containment structure is to protect against radioactive release, and so the use of a serviceability limit state against crack failure that can cause the emission of radioactive materials is suggested as a critical limit state for reinforced concrete containment structures. Load factors for the design of reinforced concrete containment structures are proposed and carried out the reliability assessments. (orig.)
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Modelling root reinforcement in shallow forest soils
Skaugset, Arne E.
1997-01-01
A hypothesis used to explain the relationship between timber harvesting and landslides is that tree roots add mechanical support to soil, thus increasing soil strength. Upon harvest, the tree roots decay which reduces soil strength and increases the risk of management -induced landslides. The technical literature does not adequately support this hypothesis. Soil strength values attributed to root reinforcement that are in the technical literature are such that forested sites can't fail and all high risk, harvested sites must fail. Both unstable forested sites and stable harvested sites exist, in abundance, in the real world thus, the literature does not adequately describe the real world. An analytical model was developed to calculate soil strength increase due to root reinforcement. Conceptually, the model is composed of a reinforcing element with high tensile strength, i.e. a conifer root, embedded in a material with little tensile strength, i.e. a soil. As the soil fails and deforms, the reinforcing element also deforms and stretches. The lateral deformation of the reinforcing element is treated analytically as a laterally loaded pile in a flexible foundation and the axial deformation is treated as an axially loaded pile. The governing differential equations are solved using finite-difference approximation techniques. The root reinforcement model was tested by comparing the final shape of steel and aluminum rods, parachute cord, wooden dowels, and pine roots in direct shear with predicted shapes from the output of the root reinforcement model. The comparisons were generally satisfactory, were best for parachute cord and wooden dowels, and were poorest for steel and aluminum rods. A parameter study was performed on the root reinforcement model which showed reinforced soil strength increased with increasing root diameter and soil depth. Output from the root reinforcement model showed a strain incompatibility between large and small diameter roots. The peak