FAMILY BUSINESSES AND THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY

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Alessandra Martins

2009-05-01

Full Text Available There are few family owned businesses that survive to the next generation. In general, 30% of these businesses are passed on to second generation families and less than 15% survive to third generation families. There has been little research done on third generation family businesses. Therefore the main purpose of this paper is to identify the principal difficulties of passing on managerial skills to the third generation owners. This study uses a case study of a Brazilian family organization composed of twelve enterprises. The instrument to collect data was an individually guided recorded interview with all of the family managers (1ª, 2ª e 3ª generation. The technique applied, was suggested for Miles & Huberman (1994 to group the data in analytical categories to facilitate the analyzed speeches contained in the 49 blocks of responses. As a result, the transition the business to the third generation owners has been strongly associated with the relation between family and business by the following factors: a the succession process influenced by emotional and family values; b conflicts, rivalries and divergences of strategic visions and business goals between the family generations; c lack of professional criteria to hire relatives; and d fragility of communication and consequent asymmetry of information among the family members.

Feeding Difficulties in Children with Esophageal Atresia.

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Mahoney, Lisa; Rosen, Rachel

2016-06-01

The current available literature evaluating feeding difficulties in children with esophageal atresia was reviewed. The published literature was searched through PubMed using a pre-defined search strategy. Feeding difficulties are commonly encountered in children and adults with repaired esophageal atresia [EA]. The mechanism for abnormal feeding includes both esophageal and oropharyngeal dysphagia. Esophageal dysphagia is commonly reported in patients with EA and causes include dysmotility, anatomic lesions, esophageal outlet obstruction and esophageal inflammation. Endoscopic evaluation, esophageal manometry and esophograms can be useful studies to evaluate for causes of esophageal dysphagia. Oropharyngeal dysfunction and aspiration are also important mechanisms for feeding difficulties in patients with EA. These patients often present with respiratory symptoms. Videofluoroscopic swallow study, salivagram, fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing and high-resolution manometry can all be helpful tools to identify aspiration. Once diagnosed, management goals include reduction of aspiration during swallowing, reducing full column reflux into the oropharynx and continuation of oral feeding to maintain skills. We review specific strategies which can be used to reduce aspiration of gastric contents, including thickening feeds, changing feeding schedule, switching formula, trialing transpyloric feeds and fundoplication. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pharmacists' Assessment of the Difficulty and Frequency of Ethical Issues Encountered in Community Pharmacy Settings.

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Crnjanski, Tatjana; Krajnovic, Dusanka; Savic, Mirko

2017-05-23

Researching ethical problems and their frequency could give us a complex picture and greater insight into the types of ethical issues that pharmacists face in providing health care. The overall aim of this study was to assess the pharmacist's perception of difficulty and frequency of selected ethical issues encountered by the community pharmacists in their everyday practice. A quantitative cross sectional multicenter study was performed using a validated survey instrument - Ethical Issue Scale for Community Pharmacy (EISP). The results of the analysis of 690 completely filled out instruments (response rate 78.49%) showed the difference between the ethical issues which always occurred ("A pharmacist is prevented from dispensing a medicine to the patient due to an administrative error in the prescription"), and the ones that pharmacists found most difficult ("A pharmacist dispenses a medicine he/she personally considers inadequate for the therapeutic treatment of the patient, in order to avoid any conflicts with the physician" and "A pharmacist is considering violating the rules and regulations in order to perform an act of humanity"). The majority of respondents (84.78%) were familiar with the Code of Ethics but the correlation between the familiarity and the perceived usefulness of the code in resolving problems in everyday practice was negative (ρ = -0.17, p ethical issues and their occurrence. Further empirical research is recommended in order to systematically identify the ethical issues faced by community pharmacists.

Difficulties encountered by hospitalized Syrian refugees and their expectations from nurses.

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Sevinç, S; Kılıç, S P; Ajghif, M; Öztürk, M H; Karadağ, E

2016-09-01

Treating patients with care and respecting their cultural values are key factors necessary to enhance the quality of nursing care. The objective of this study was to explore and describe the difficulties experienced by hospitalized Syrian refugees and their expectations from nurses and hospital administration. We used a descriptive qualitative research approach to engage 30 Syrian refugees undergoing treatment in internal medicine who met the study criteria. Data were collected using a descriptive questionnaire and a semi-structured interview with open-ended interview questions. Interview transcripts were analysed using an inductive coding approach. Descriptive questions were analysed and presented via number and percentage. Other data were assessed using content analysis methods. Three major themes were developed following the analysis of the interviews. We determined that the refugees who participated in the study experienced difficulties in communicating, meeting their personal needs and correctly following treatment instructions. They also had certain expectations from the hospital administration and nurses, and they felt gratitude for both nurses and the nation of Turkey. The results of this study, shared with the executive administration of the hospital, may result in new policies which will help new Syrian refugee patients and patients with similar needs to have better experience related to patient care, communications and meeting personal needs. It is important that nurses and other healthcare provider consider the difficulties and expectations of refugees regarding healthcare services and include same in the development of provider training programmes. Development of public health welfare and employment law and policies help to lay the groundwork for successful integration of refugees in new cultures and countries. © 2016 International Council of Nurses.

Pragmatic Difficulties in the Production of the Speech Act of Apology by Iraqi EFL Learners

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Al-Ghazalli, Mehdi Falih; Al-Shammary, Mohanad A. Amert

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the pragmatic difficulties encountered by Iraqi EFL university students in producing the speech act of apology. Although the act of apology is easy to recognize or use by native speakers of English, non-native speakers generally encounter difficulties in discriminating one speech act from another. The…

Work week duration, work-family balance and difficulties encountered by female and male physicians: results from the French SESMAT study.

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Estryn-Behar, M; Fry, C; Guetarni, K; Aune, I; Machet, G; Doppia, M A; Lassaunière, J M; Muster, D; Pelloux, P; Prudhomme, Ch

2011-01-01

France encounters difficulties attracting physicians to work in hospitals. Organisation at work and at home may be at the heart of the problem for female as well as for male physicians. A comprehensive questionnaire was filled out online by a representative sample of 1924 French hospital physicians. We conducted gender bivariate and multivariate analysis of the risk factors for burnout and intent to leave the profession(ITL). ITL was declared by 17.4% of physicians. According to 41.3% of female physicians (FP), their profession was an obstacle to having children (versus 19.3% for male physicians (MP)). Major factors linked with burnout were Effort/Reward imbalance (FP adjOR = 5.09, MP adjOR = 5.93), Work-family conflicts (FP adjOR = 2.97, MP adjOR = 3.04), and Low quality of teamwork (FP adjOR = 1.82, MP adjOR = 2.68). Major factors linked with ITL were Low quality of teamwork (FP adjOR = 4.49, MP adjOR = 3.03), Patient-related burnout (FP adjOR = 2.10, MP adjOR = 2.35) and General burnout (FP adjOR = 1.85, MP adjOR = 1.45). Excessive job demands are linked with burnout and with work-family conflicts, conducting to difficulties in organising one's life in order to have and raise children. Potential solutions include facilitating teamwork in order to reduce departure, which increase workload on those who stay increasing their work family conflict.

Difficulties encountered in collaborative care: logistics trumps desire.

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Legault, Frances; Humbert, Jennie; Amos, Stephanie; Hogg, William; Ward, Natalie; Dahrouge, Simone; Ziebell, Laura

2012-01-01

This study examines the development of collaborative relationships between family physicians (FPs) and Anticipatory And Preventative Team Care (APTCare) team members providing care to medically complex patients who have been identified as at-risk for negative health outcomes. We undertook a qualitative study of a primary health care intervention in a family practice. Interviews were held with FPs and ATPCare intervention nurse practitioners (NPs) and pharmacists. Focus groups were conducted and a survey was administered to participating FPs, NPs, and pharmacists. NPs and pharmacists maintained a log recording their tasks and moments of collaboration. Scheduling demands rendered face-to-face collaboration difficult, leaving the team to rely on technological tools to keep in touch. Limited space meant the APTCare team had to work out of a downstairs office, limiting informal interactions with the practitioners on the main level. We demonstrate that the difficulties inherent in collaborative care are independent of the patient population being cared for. Regardless of the patient population and sector of health care, developing collaborative relationships and learning to work collaboratively is difficult and takes time. What many of these teams need is ongoing support and education about how to make these collaborative care practices work.

Stage-specific and culture-specific coping strategies used by mainland Chinese immigrants during resettlement in Hong Kong: a qualitative analysis.

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Wong, Daniel Fu Keung

2002-01-01

A qualitative study was undertaken to explore the stage-specific and culture-specific coping strategies used by Mainland Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong to handle psychosocial stressors experienced during the resettlement stage of the migration process. While direct action coping strategies of problem-solving and compromise were used by immigrants to deal with recurring, daily resettlement difficulties, cognitive strategies of positive comparisons and positive and optimistic thinking were utilized to change the meanings of these difficulties. Emotion-focused coping of acceptance and avoidance strategies were culture-specific, and were useful in reducing the stress associated with the resettlement difficulties encountered. It was also found that strategies such as acceptance, compromise and avoidance might have deleterious effects on the longer-term adjustment of immigrants. Implications for services and counseling for the immigrants were suggested.

Infrared difficulties with thermal quantum field theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grandou, T.

1997-01-01

Reviewing briefly the two main difficulties encountered in thermal quantum field theories at finite temperature when dealing with the Braaten-Pisarski (BP) resummation program, the motivation is introduced of an analysis relying on the bare perturbation theory, right from the onset. (author)

Difficulties encountered and solutions found when implementing stereotactic radiotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assouline, A.; Halley, A.; Belghith, B.; Mazeron, J.J.; Feuvret, L.

2012-01-01

The aim of this paper is to describe the difficulties encountered when implementing stereotactic radiotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer (T1-T2, N0, M0) using a voluntary breath-hold technique. From 25/03/2010 to 22/02/2011, eight patients with a non-small cell lung cancer were selected for treatment. CT images were obtained with the patient maintaining breath-hold using a spirometer. Treatment was delivered when the patient maintains this level of breath-hold. Treatment was performed with a 4 MV and 10 MV photon beams from a linear accelerator Varian 2100CS, equipped with a 120 leaves collimator. 60 Gy or 48 Gy were delivered, in four sessions, to the 80% isodose. The planning target volume (PTV) was defined by adding a 5 mm margin to the internal target volume (ITV), the ITV corresponding to the gross tumour volume (GTV) plus a 3 mm margin. CTV is considered equal to GTV. The non-understanding of the gating technique, the great number of beams and the limited breath-hold times led to the failure of some treatments. It can be explained by some patients insufficient respiratory abilities and the low dose rate of one of the beams used for treatment, thus forcing some radiation fields to be delivered in two or three times. Implementing such a technique can be limited by the patients' physical abilities and the materials used. Some solutions were found: a training phase more intense with a coaching of the breath-hold technique more precise, or the use of an abdominal compression device. (authors)

Difficulties Encountered by Students in Learning the Productive Skills in EFL Classroom and the Relationship between Speaking and Writing: Case of First Year LMD Students at Abou Bekr-Belkaid

OpenAIRE

Belhabib, Imane

2015-01-01

Language plays a vital role in the development of human ability since it is the major means to communicate effectively in a target situation. When teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), the learners need to master the four language skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing in order to achieve a high level of abilities in producing and receiving the target language in its oral or written forms. Students encounter difficulties in speaking and writing as productive skills and they...

Academic Reading Difficulties Encountered by International Graduate Students in a Malaysian University

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Alghail, Ali Abdullah Ali; Mahfoodh, Omer Hassan Ali

2016-01-01

This study examines how international graduate students in a Malaysian public university perceive and overcome academic reading difficulties. The target population included all graduate students from Yemen, an Arab country, studying at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Data were collected using questionnaires, focus group interviews, and journal writing.…

Preoperative ultrasonography and prediction of technical difficulties during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

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Daradkeh, S S; Suwan, Z; Abu-Khalaf, M

1998-01-01

A prospective study was carried out to investigate the value of preoperative ultrasound findings for predicting difficulties encountered during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Altogether 160 consecutive patients with symptomatic gallbladder (GB) disease (130 females, 30 males) referred to the Jordan University Hospital were recruited for the purpose of this study. All patients underwent detailed ultrasound examination 24 hours prior to LC. The overall difficulty score (ODS), as a dependent variable, was based on the following operative parameters: duration of surgery, bleeding, dissection of Calot's triangle, dissection of gallbladder wall, adhesions, spillage of bile, spillage of stone, and difficulty of gallbladder extraction. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the significance of the following preoperative ultrasound variables (independent) for predicting the variation in the ODS: size of the GB, number of GB stones, size of stones, location of GB stones, thickness of GB wall, common bile duct (CBD) diameter, and liver size. Only thickness of GB wall and CBD diameter were found to be significant predictors of the variation in the ODS (adjusted R2 = 0.25). We conclude that the preoperative ultrasound examination is of value for predicting difficulties encountered during LC, but it is not the sole predictor.

Perceived Difficulties in e-Learning During the First Term at University

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Galina Kavaliauskienė

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose—the focus of this article is to explore difficulties that are encountered by students during the first term at university. It is well known that students can have various problems in learning English and make mistakes in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The native language of a learner affects learning and using English. Speaking and e-listening are the skills that are more common on an everyday basis than reading and writing. Moreover, these skills are more difficult to master. English vocabulary presents another problem for language learners. Albeit, at the university level students study English for Specific Purposes (ESP, in other words, the foreign language for their future profession, and they might face particular difficulties in their studies of ESP. Design/methodology/approach—the research paper adopts the qualitative research approach. The questionnaire on learner perceptions of difficulties in e-learning was administered to students of three different specializations. Students’ self-assessments of achievements or failures were analysed. Findings. The results indicated that perceptions of difficulties to adapting to university studies depended on their chosen specialization. The findings show that undergraduates of all three investigated specializations encounter the same difficulties, but to a different degree. In other words, there are no significantly specific difficulties due to the complexity of the professional vocabulary that students must learn. The ratings of Psychology, Social Work and Public Policy and Management students reveal higher mean values and wider range of Standard Deviations than reported by other researchers (Berman, Cheng, 2001. The results obtained imply that Lithuanian learners are more positive than their foreign counterparts. Computations of Pearson’s correlations coefficients demonstrate that there are some good correlational relationships within each specialization. Research

Ethics in the bank internet encounter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rendtorff, Jacob Dahl; Mattsson, Jan

2012-01-01

/implications – The important implication for managerial research of this study would be for banks to focus on customer competency with an ethical concern instead of only being concerned with technical solutions for effective internet operations. Practical implications – Since more and more businesses are digitally based......Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss some ethical issues in the internet encounter between customer and bank. Empirical data related to the difficulties that customers have when they deal with the bank through internet technology and electronic banking. The authors discuss...... the difficulties that customers expressed from an ethical standpoint. Design/methodology/approach – The key problem of the paper is “how does research handle the user's lack of competence in a web-based commercial environment?” The authors illustrate this ethical dilemma with data from a Danish Bank collected...

Binding proteins enhance specific uptake rate by increasing the substrate-transporter encounter rate.

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Bosdriesz, Evert; Magnúsdóttir, Stefanía; Bruggeman, Frank J; Teusink, Bas; Molenaar, Douwe

2015-06-01

Microorganisms rely on binding-protein assisted, active transport systems to scavenge for scarce nutrients. Several advantages of using binding proteins in such uptake systems have been proposed. However, a systematic, rigorous and quantitative analysis of the function of binding proteins is lacking. By combining knowledge of selection pressure and physiochemical constraints, we derive kinetic, thermodynamic, and stoichiometric properties of binding-protein dependent transport systems that enable a maximal import activity per amount of transporter. Under the hypothesis that this maximal specific activity of the transport complex is the selection objective, binding protein concentrations should exceed the concentration of both the scarce nutrient and the transporter. This increases the encounter rate of transporter with loaded binding protein at low substrate concentrations, thereby enhancing the affinity and specific uptake rate. These predictions are experimentally testable, and a number of observations confirm them. © 2015 FEBS.

Modelling Difficulties and Their Overcoming Strategies in the Solution of a Modelling Problem

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Dede, Ayse Tekin

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study is to reveal the elementary mathematics student teachers' difficulties encountered in the solution of a modelling problem, the strategies to overcome those difficulties and whether the strategies worked or not. Nineteen student teachers solved the modelling problem in their four or five-person groups, and the video records…

Some types of difficulty encountered during the simulation of heat exchangers (1961)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bettembourg, D.

1961-01-01

After recalling that the simulation of exchangers poses problems which are often difficult to solve, the author points out that these problems appear first of all when the physical phenomena are described in terms of equations. They appear also during the solving of the equations since expressions which are more and more complex can give rise to unstable electronic structures. These difficulties are developed during the analysis of various types of exchangers and in each case the solutions chosen are given. (author) [fr

The Art of the Encounter

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Éric Vautrin

2013-03-01

Full Text Available As the archives from the second half of Grotowski’s life were made available, this text focuses on the Polish master’s conceptions of theatre where he describes theatre as the art of the encounter. This paper simultaneously places this proposition in the context of questions of a specific time period, and reveals how this encounter is the anathema that will revert viewpoints both about the art of acting and the creation of theatrical relations. These researches on theatre as the art of the encounter continue today through the Open Program, one of the two groups of the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, and, notably, their creations around American poet Allen Ginsberg, an author whose poetry intends, in a similar way, to encounter the other and the world.

Difficulties faced by family physicians in primary health care centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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Mumenah, Sahar H; Al-Raddadi, Rajaa M

2015-01-01

The aim was to determine the difficulties faced by family physicians, and compare how satisfied those working with the Ministry of Health (MOH) are with their counterparts who work at some selected non-MOH hospitals. An analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH and RC), and 40 MOH primary health care centers across Jeddah. A structured multi-item questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and information on the difficulties family physicians face. The physicians' level of satisfaction and how it was affected by the difficulties was assessed. Women constituted 71.9% of the sample. Problems with transportation formed one of the main difficulties encountered by physicians. Compared to non-MOH physician, a significantly higher proportion of MOH physicians reported unavailability of radiology technicians (P = 0.011) and radiologists (P building maintenance (P < 0.001). Family physicians with the MOH were less satisfied with their jobs compared with non-MOH physicians (P = 0.032). MOH family physicians encountered difficulties relating to staff, services, and infrastructure, which consequently affected their level of satisfaction.

The behaviour and self-esteem of children with specific speech and language difficulties.

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Lindsay, G; Dockrell, J

2000-12-01

Children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) may have associated difficulties that impair their access to the curriculum, and their social relationships at home and in school. (i) To identify the range of additional problems experienced by children with SSLD in different educational contexts; (ii) to consider the relationship between these problems and the child's current language status and (iii) to consider the child's self-esteem and the extent to which self-esteem is associated with the primary language problem or other associated difficulties. Sixty-nine children (17 girls, 52 boys) aged 7-8 years (Year 3) who had been identified as having SSLD, 59 from two local education authorities and 10 from regional special schools for children with severe speech and language difficulties. The children were assessed on a range of cognitive, language and educational measures; children and teachers completed a measure of the children's self-esteem (Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance); teachers and parents completed a behavioural questionnaire (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); teachers also completed a further rating scale which included a behaviour subscale (Junior Rating Scale: JRS). The children's behaviour was rated as significantly different from the norm on both the SDQ and JRS, with the parents more likely to rate the child as having problems, but also as having prosocial behaviour. Both teachers and parents tended to rate the boys as having more problems than girls on the SDQ, with significant differences for the parents' ratings occurring on the total score and the hyperactivity and conduct problems scales. The children had positive self perceptions, which were comparable to the standardisation sample, and generally significantly higher than those of the teachers. The language and educational attainment scores of the children in special and mainstream schools were generally not significantly different, but

Dentists' perceptions of difficulties encountered in providing dental care for British Asians.

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Williams, S A; Godson, J H; Ahmed, I A

1995-03-01

British Asians represent a substantial proportion of the population in some parts of the United Kingdom, yet many fail to use dental services regularly. This study aimed to investigate dentists' concerns about providing care for this client group. Following a pilot study, a postal questionnaire was sent to general dental practitioners and community dental officers working in seven family health services authority localities. Of 1546 questionnaires circulated, 639 (41 per cent) were returned. The language barrier was most frequently identified as a major impediment to care (78 per cent), followed by patients' understanding of treatment proposed (67 per cent), while 64 per cent found difficulty obtaining medical histories. Only 20 per cent considered that gaining consent for treatment was a problem. Other issues concerned attendance as casual patients (65 per cent) and, in terms of treatment provided, difficulties with preventive (77 per cent), periodontal (66 per cent) and orthodontic care (27 per cent). The proportion of dentists identifying barriers to care reflected the English-speaking abilities of different Asian populations. Compared with the high percentage mentioning language, understanding and medical history, the small proportion of dentists who thought that consent was of concern suggests that concepts of consent may need to be questioned. Despite the low response rate, the high proportion of respondents identifying these issues implies that the present position may put patients' health at risk, restrict treatment options and offer a potential for litigation. Future initiatives to overcome barriers to appropriate care must address the perspectives of dentists treating British Asians, as well as that of the client group.

Co-creation of Innovations in ICT based service encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Jannick Kirk; Henten, Anders

2014-01-01

Innovations in services often emanate from service encounters (i.e. the touch points between the service producers and the customers). Two different types of service encounters are dealt with: face-to-face and ICT-based service encounters. The aim of the chapter is to examine the specific...

Difficulties of bachelor of nursing students in clinical practice - teacher's perspectives

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João Longo

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on representations of teachers about the difficulties perceived or felt by students in clinical training. This is the partial result of a study in construction process, carried out under the PhD in Educational Sciences in the area of Teacher Education. This research aims to understand the formative effect of the practice in the workplace in terms of knowledge acquisitions, development of professional knowledge and skills, and also in identity construction of teachers and students. This study is framed in the area of initial teacher education in nursing, more specifically in its practical component, and it is designed to answer the question: what are the main difficulties encountered by students in the workplace in initial nursing education? And the goal: to understand to what extent these difficulties can be constraints of learning and personal and professional development of the student. This is a study based on a qualitative approach of descriptive and interpretative nature. The sample is intentional, consisting of sixty-eight teachers of thirteen Nursing / Health High Schools in Portugal. Data collection was carried out through focus group, and their examination was performed using the thematic content analysis according to Bardin[1]. The results show, according to the teaching perspective, that the difficulties experienced by students are polarized around six main categories: the reality shock; interact with the medical monitor; the self training process; interaction with the teacher; interaction with the patient / family, and also interaction with the nursing staff.

Student difficulties with Gauss' law

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Kanim, Stephen

2000-09-01

Many students in introductory courses have difficulty solving Gauss' law problems. Through interviews with students and analysis of solutions to homework and examination questions we have identified some specific conceptual difficulties that often contribute to students' inability to solve quantitative Gauss' law problems. We give examples of common difficulties and discuss instructional implications.

Divided attention: an undesirable difficulty in memory retention.

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Gaspelin, Nicholas; Ruthruff, Eric; Pashler, Harold

2013-10-01

How can we improve memory retention? A large body of research has suggested that difficulty encountered during learning, such as when practice sessions are distributed rather than massed, can enhance later memory performance (see R. A. Bjork & E. L. Bjork, 1992). Here, we investigated whether divided attention during retrieval practice can also constitute a desirable difficulty. Following two initial study phases and one test phase with Swahili-English word pairs (e.g., vuvi-snake), we manipulated whether items were tested again under full or divided attention. Two days later, participants were brought back for a final cued-recall test (e.g., vuvi-?). Across three experiments (combined N = 122), we found no evidence that dividing attention while practicing retrieval enhances memory retention. This finding raises the question of why many types of difficulty during practice do improve long-term retention, but dividing attention does not.

Commognitive Analysis of Undergraduate Mathematics Students' First Encounter with the Subgroup Test

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Ioannou, Marios

2018-01-01

This study analyses learning aspects of undergraduate mathematics students' first encounter with the subgroup test, using the commognitive theoretical framework. It focuses on students' difficulties as these are related to the object-level and metalevel mathematical learning in group theory, and, when possible, highlights any commognitive…

The impact of senior medical students' personal difficulties on their communication patterns in breaking bad news.

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Meitar, Dafna; Karnieli-Miller, Orit; Eidelman, Shmuel

2009-11-01

To evaluate the possible influence of personal difficulties and barriers that are within the news bearer and his or her self-awareness (SA) of them, on the patterns of communication during encounters involving breaking bad news (BBN). Following an intensive BBN course in 2004, 103 senior medical students at the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, were evaluated for BBN competencies by the analysis of their written descriptions of how they visualized their manner of delivering bad news to a patient described in a challenging vignette. The students were further asked to reflect on their own difficulties and barriers that surfaced in response to reading the narrative presented in the vignette and in delivering the bad news. Using an immersion crystallization narrative analysis method, the authors analyzed the relationship between the students' BBN strategies and their self-perceived barriers and difficulties. Four types of communicators were identified and related to 45 different personal and professional barriers that the students, through self-reflection, found in themselves. These perceived barriers as well as the ability to self-reflect on them influenced their patterns of communication in their envisioned and written-down encounters, including the level of emotional connectedness, information provided, and the chosen focus-of-care paradigm (physician-centered, patient-centered, or relationship-centered). These findings empirically demonstrate that intrapersonal difficulties within the communicator and his or her level of SA about them influenced the manner and content of the communication during the encounter. This finding suggests that enhancing SA and addressing personal and professional difficulties could help physicians' capability to cope with challenging communication tasks. The authors propose a working tool (the Preparatory SPIKES) to facilitate the integration of self-reflection (by identifying personal difficulties) into day-by-day planning

Sickness certification difficulties in Ireland--a GP focus group study.

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Foley, M; Thorley, K; Von Hout, M-C

2013-07-01

Sickness certification causes problems for general practitioners (GPs). Difficulty with the assessment of capacity to work, conflict with patients and other non-medical factors have been shown to influence GPs' decision-making. Inadequate leadership and management of certification issues add to GPs' difficulties. To explore problems associated with sickness certification, as part of a larger mixed method research project exploring GPs' experiences and perceptions of sickness certification in Ireland. A qualitative study in an urban region of Ireland. A focus group of four male and four female GPs explored problems encountered by GPs in certifying sickness absence. Thematic data analysis was used. Three major themes emerged: perception of the sickness certification system, organization of health care and cultural factors in sickness absence behaviour. Employment structures in public and private sectors and lack of communication with other health care providers and employers were identified as complicating sickness certification. GPs encounter a complexity of issues in sick certification and are dissatisfied with their role in certifying sickness absence. Our results open the debate for policy change and development in Ireland.

Problem Solving Instruction for Overcoming Students' Difficulties in Stoichiometric Problems

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Shadreck, Mandina; Enunuwe, Ochonogor Chukunoye

2017-01-01

The study sought to find out difficulties encountered by high school chemistry students when solving stoichiometric problems and how these could be overcome by using a problem-solving approach. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design. 485 participants drawn from 8 highs schools in a local education district in Zimbabwe participated in the…

Difficulties faced by family physicians in primary health care centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahar H Mumenah

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim was to determine the difficulties faced by family physicians, and compare how satisfied those working with the Ministry of Health (MOH are with their counterparts who work at some selected non-MOH hospitals. Methods: An analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH and RC, and 40 MOH primary health care centers across Jeddah. A structured multi-item questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and information on the difficulties family physicians face. The physicians′ level of satisfaction and how it was affected by the difficulties was assessed. Results: Women constituted 71.9% of the sample. Problems with transportation formed one of the main difficulties encountered by physicians. Compared to non-MOH physician, a significantly higher proportion of MOH physicians reported unavailability of radiology technicians (P = 0.011 and radiologists (P < 0.001, absence of the internet and computer access (P < 0.001, unavailability of laboratory services (P = 0.004, reagents (P = 0.001, X-ray equipment (P = 0.027, ultrasound equipment (P < 0.001, an electronic medical records system (P < 0.001, insufficient laboratory tests (P = 0.0001, and poor building maintenance (P < 0.001. Family physicians with the MOH were less satisfied with their jobs compared with non-MOH physicians (P = 0.032. Conclusion: MOH family physicians encountered difficulties relating to staff, services, and infrastructure, which consequently affected their level of satisfaction.

Festival as embodied encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simonsen, Kirsten; Koefoed, Lasse Martin; Neergaard, Maja de

2017-01-01

This article is part of a project on Paradoxical Spaces: Encountering the Other in public space which explores how cultural difference is experienced, practiced and negotiated in public space. Specifically, it explores the ‘multicultural’ festival Kulturhavn taking place yearly along the harbour...... of Copenhagen. Multicultural festivals are seen as places for on-going identity negotiations, where individuals and groups define meaningful concepts of identity along with notions of exclusion. In the paper, we adopt a performative approach abandoning the distinction between bodies and space and embracing...... ideas of ‘embodiment’ and ‘rhythm’. We explore participant engagement emphasizing bodily practices as well as sensuous experiences, but also differential processes and orientalist images produced in, and through, encounters. Among the range of activities at the festival, we focus on three: food; dance...

An Investigation of the Difficulties Faced by EFL Undergraduates in Speaking Skills

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Al-Jamal, Dina A.; Al-Jamal, Ghadeer A.

2014-01-01

Since speaking well in English is crucial for English language literature undergraduates, the present study aimed at describing difficulties that may be encountered at an EFL setting. The sample was stratified random as drawn from six Jordanian public universities. Survey questionnaires as well as semi-structured interviews were constructed. 64…

Identifying and addressing specific student difficulties in advanced thermal physics

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Trevor I.

As part of an ongoing multi-university research study on student understanding of concepts in thermal physics at the upper division, I identified several student difficulties with topics related to heat engines (especially the Carnot cycle), as well as difficulties related to the Boltzmann factor. In an effort to address these difficulties, I developed two guided-inquiry worksheet activities (a.k.a. tutorials) for use in advanced undergraduate thermal physics courses. Both tutorials seek to improve student understanding of the utility and physical background of a particular mathematical expression. One tutorial focuses on a derivation of Carnot's theorem regarding the limit on thermodynamic efficiency, starting from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The other tutorial helps students gain an appreciation for the origin of the Boltzmann factor and when it is applicable; focusing on the physical justification of its mathematical derivation, with emphasis on the connections between probability, multiplicity, entropy, and energy. Student understanding of the use and physical implications of Carnot's theorem and the Boltzmann factor was assessed using written surveys both before and after tutorial instruction within the advanced thermal physics courses at the University of Maine and at other institutions. Classroom tutorial sessions at the University of Maine were videotaped to allow in-depth scrutiny of student successes and failures following tutorial prompts. I also interviewed students on various topics related to the Boltzmann factor to gain a more complete picture of their understanding and inform tutorial revisions. Results from several implementations of my tutorials at the University of Maine indicate that students did not have a robust understanding of these physical principles after lectures alone, and that they gain a better understanding of relevant topics after tutorial instruction; Fisher's exact tests yield statistically significant improvement at the

Organised Cultural Encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Lene Bull; Galal, Lise Paulsen; Hvenegård-Lassen, Kirsten

2017-01-01

The article introduces the special issue by presenting the concept of organised cultural encounters that are encounters organised to manage and/or transform problems perceived to originate in or include cultural differences. Inspired by Pratt’s conceptualisation of the contact zone, a critical...... perspective on the particular historical and spatial context of any encounter and how this context frames and mediates what takes place during an encounter is applied. While the articles of the issue present different varieties of organised cultural encounters, it is argued that they are not only of the same...

Moving from graduation to post-graduation in portuguese universities : changing literacy practices, facing new difficulties

OpenAIRE

Carvalho, José António Brandão

2012-01-01

In this article we analyse Portuguese postgraduate students’ problems and difficulties when performing written tasks in the context of postgraduate programmes. The data presented are the result of a study based on two different data collection procedures: a) the analysis of students’ written work, organised in a portfolio; b) a questionnaire focussing on the difficulties encountered when performing different tasks involving writing: note-taking; planning a text; writing and editing a text (a ...

Adolescents with a history of specific language impairment (SLI): strengths and difficulties in social, emotional and behavioral functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Mok, Pearl L H; Pickles, Andrew; Durkin, Kevin

2013-11-01

Adolescents with specific language impairment (SLI) are at a greater risk of emotional and behavioral problems compared to their typically developing (TD) peers, but little is known about their self-perceived strengths and difficulties. In this study, the self-reported social, emotional and behavioral functioning of 139 adolescents with a history of SLI and 124 TD individuals at age 16 was examined. The self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess their prosocial behavior and levels of peer, emotional and behavioral difficulties. Associations of these areas of functioning with gender, verbal and non-verbal skills were also investigated. Adolescents with a history of SLI were more likely than their TD peers to report higher levels of peer problems, emotional symptoms, hyperactivity and conduct problems. The majority of adolescents in both groups (87% SLI and 96% TD), however, reported prosocial behavior within the typical range. Difficulty with peer relations was the strongest differentiator between the groups, with the odds of reporting borderline or abnormally high levels of peer problems being 12 times higher for individuals with a history of SLI. Adolescents with poorer receptive language skills were also more likely to report higher levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties. The findings of this study identify likely traits that may lead to referral to services. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Cultural geography. Different encounters, encountering difference

OpenAIRE

Longhurst, Robyn

2007-01-01

In the first half of this paper it is argued that cultural geography is a dynamic and diverse field that extends well beyond a single branch of human geography. The boundaries between it and other sub-disciplines are often blurred. People have «different» encounters with cultural geography depending on their sub-disciplinary convergences. People also have different encounters with cultural geography depending on where they live and work. «Place matters» in the construction, production and rep...

Difficulties in emotion regulation in patients with eating disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruscitti, Catherine; Rufino, Katrina; Goodwin, Natalie; Wagner, Rebecca

2016-01-01

A defining characteristic of eating disorders (EDs) is difficulty with emotion regulation (ER). Previous research indicates that ED subtypes demonstrate differing ER difficulties. Specifically, individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN) show greater impairment in their ability to regulate emotions in areas such as achieving goals while upset, reacting impulsively to distress, and effectively using coping strategies, as compared to those with Binge Eating Disorder (BED). However, limited research includes the diagnostic category of Eating Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). The aim of this study was to better understand ER difficulties for all ED diagnoses, especially EDNOS. It was hypothesized that patients with EDs will demonstrate similar ER difficulties as psychiatric patients without EDs and that patients with EDNOS will be similar in their total level of ER difficulties but will differ in their specific types of difficulties in ER as compared to patients with other EDs. Participants included 404 adults presenting to an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Psychiatric diagnoses, including EDs, were determined using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders. Differences in specific and overall difficulties with ER were examined across psychiatric patients using the multidimensional Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Results of this study indicate that individuals with EDs have greater ER difficulties in most domains of ER and that those with BED and EDNOS demonstrate the most significant differences in ER as compared to psychiatric patients without EDs. Additionally, it was found that ED subtypes typically did not differ in terms of specific difficulties in ER. One exception emerged indicating that individuals with BED demonstrated significantly greater difficulty on the Limited Access to Emotion Regulation Strategies subscale as compared to those with EDNOS. Researchers were able to clarify difficulties in ER across ED

Mobile encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koefoed, Lasse Martin; Christensen, Mathilde Dissing; Simonsen, Kirsten

2017-01-01

The paper explores modes of encounters in the everyday practice of bus travel. Particularly, it addresses cross-cultural encounters located in the tension between familiarity and difference, between inclusion and exclusion. The paper is located in contemporary thoughts, approaching public transport...... not only as a moving device but also as a social arena. Furthermore, the bus is simultaneously perceived as a public space, at once composite, contradictory and heterogeneous, and as a meeting place involving ‘Throwntogetherness’. The encounters analysed are bodily, emotional charged and outspoken meetings...

Romantic Ideals, Mate Preferences, and Anticipation of Future Difficulties in Marital Life: A comparative study of young adults in India and America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathrine eBejanyan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have established that Indians tend to be greater in collectivism and gender role traditionalism than Americans. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether these differences explained further cultural differences in romantic beliefs, traditional mate preferences, and anticipation of future difficulties in marital life. Results revealed that Indians reported greater collectivism than Americans and, in turn, held stronger romantic beliefs. Additionally, Indians’ greater collectivism and endorsement of more traditional gender roles in part predicted their preferences for a marital partner possessing traditional characteristics, and fully accounted for their heightened concerns about encountering future difficulties in marital life. These results shed light on the processes underlying cultural differences in relationship attitudes and preferences, and point to culture-specific therapies to enhance marital functioning.

Romantic ideals, mate preferences, and anticipation of future difficulties in marital life: a comparative study of young adults in India and America

Science.gov (United States)

Bejanyan, Kathrine; Marshall, Tara C.; Ferenczi, Nelli

2014-01-01

Previous studies have established that Indians tend to be greater in collectivism and gender role traditionalism than Americans. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether these differences explained further cultural differences in romantic beliefs, traditional mate preferences, and anticipation of future difficulties in marital life. Results revealed that Indians reported greater collectivism than Americans and, in turn, held stronger romantic beliefs. Additionally, Indians' greater collectivism and endorsement of more traditional gender roles in part predicted their preferences for a marital partner possessing traditional characteristics, and fully accounted for their heightened concerns about encountering future difficulties in marital life. These results shed light on the processes underlying cultural differences in relationship attitudes and preferences, and point to culture-specific therapies to enhance marital functioning. PMID:25520681

Regulatory difficulties in a developing country

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, W.R. Jr.

1978-01-01

The regulatory agency assigned the task of regulating the initial entry into the field of nuclear power generation by a developing country has a very difficult job. Based on the authors' experience during the start-up and initial operation of Ko-Ri Unit I, the first power reactor in the Republic of Korea, observations on regulatory difficulties and recommendations for improved regulatory effectiveness are offered. The problem areas can be loosely grouped into three general categories: (1) Lack of adequate technical knowledge which is the basis for all effective regulation; (2) Difficulties with understanding and utilization of the required regulatory documentation; (3) Failure to establish the proper regulatory environment. Examples are cited from actual experience during the Ko-Ri Unit I start-up to demonstrate the impact that regulatory activities can have on a plant construction and testing programme. The problems encountered are not unique to developing countries but also exist in the United States of America. Recommendations are offered which should be beneficial to either newly formed regulatory agencies or agencies wishing to improve their abilities and effectiveness. These include: (1) Additional training of regulatory inspectors in plant operations; (2) Additional experience gained by participation in regulatory activities in other countries; (3) Increased attention given to regulatory documents, especially plant technical specifications; (4) Establishment of formal lines of communication between the utility and the regulatory agency; (5) Clear definition of regulatory responsibilities to avoid areas of overlapping jurisdiction; (6) Active participation by the regulatory staff very early in the project. It is hoped that these and other recommendations offered will greatly improve regulatory effectiveness and at the same time demonstrate that when the decision is made to 'go nuclear', a strong commitment must be made to develop and support a technically

Role of Working Memory in Explaining the Performance of Individuals with Specific Reading Comprehension Difficulties: A Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Carretti, Barbara; Borella, Erika; Cornoldi, Cesare; De Beni, Rossana

2009-01-01

It is well established that working memory is related to reading comprehension ability. However, its role in explaining specific reading comprehension difficulties is still under debate: the issue mainly concerns whether the contribution of working memory is dependent on task modality (verbal tasks being more predictive than visuo-spatial tasks)…

Growth and prevalence of feeding difficulties in children with Robin sequence : a retrospective cohort study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paes, Emma C.; de Vries, Iris A C; Penris, Wouter M.; Hanny, Karlijn H.; Lavrijsen, Selma W.; van Leerdam, Elselien K.; Rademaker, Maaike M.; Veldhoen, Esther S.; Eijkemans, Rene M J C; Kon, Moshe; Breugem, Corstiaan C.

Objectives: In addition to breathing problems, patients with Robin sequence (RS) often encounter feeding difficulties (FD). Data regarding the occurrence of FD and possible influencing factors are scarce. The study aim was to elucidate these factors to improve treatment strategies. Material and

ERRORS AND DIFFICULTIES IN TRANSLATING LEGAL TEXTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camelia, CHIRILA

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Nowadays the accurate translation of legal texts has become highly important as the mistranslation of a passage in a contract, for example, could lead to lawsuits and loss of money. Consequently, the translation of legal texts to other languages faces many difficulties and only professional translators specialised in legal translation should deal with the translation of legal documents and scholarly writings. The purpose of this paper is to analyze translation from three perspectives: translation quality, errors and difficulties encountered in translating legal texts and consequences of such errors in professional translation. First of all, the paper points out the importance of performing a good and correct translation, which is one of the most important elements to be considered when discussing translation. Furthermore, the paper presents an overview of the errors and difficulties in translating texts and of the consequences of errors in professional translation, with applications to the field of law. The paper is also an approach to the differences between languages (English and Romanian that can hinder comprehension for those who have embarked upon the difficult task of translation. The research method that I have used to achieve the objectives of the paper was the content analysis of various Romanian and foreign authors' works.

Spacecraft environment during the GIOTTO-Halley encounter: a summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, D.T.

1983-01-01

A summary of the present volume is presented in which the separate disciplines are drawn together to give an overview of the spacecraft environment during the GIOTTO-Halley interaction. Specific recommendations are made as to how the work of the Plasma Environment Working Group might continue to contribute to the GIOTTO program during encounter and post-encounter data analysis. 28 references, 3 tables

Challenges encountered during postgraduate program in orthodontics: An online survey

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Amanish Singh Shinh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics requires profound and disciplined training over a considerable period. Given the rigorous nature of the program, it is but logical to assume that the students can encounter some difficulties during the course. The aim of the present study was to gather detailed first-hand information from the postgraduate students of all the practical challenges they encounter in academic programme of orthodontics in India. Materials and Methods: Utilizing a descriptive, cross-sectional survey, conducted through a web-based self-administered questionnaire, the sample population consisted of 799 orthodontic postgraduate students in India and 39 questions were put forward to them. Conclusion: Results showed that even while keeping the basics intact, every course should aim at inputs to help make the academic climate productive, less stressful and student-centric. Change in teaching technology, methodology and structure is needed in training our postgraduate students, to promote a more congenial academic climate.

Moving Encounters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann Deslandes

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This essay explores my experience of losing an authoritative speaking position – that is, ‘falling on my face’ in a research encounter with the Brazilian Landless Worker’s Movement (O Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra, or MST.  My specific movements through this locale invoke Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s concept of ‘unlearning one’s privilege as a loss’; and Sara Ahmed’s theory of ‘stranger fetishism’.  In writing my brief loss, I also; of course, recover my speaking position, meaning that I can always efface the loss by re-writing it as a source of ethnographic authority.  This essay is written in two voices in order to reflect this paradox: one which describes the encounter, and one that critically ruminates upon it.  I note, for example, that the MST as a variegated conglomerate of people takes the form of particular ‘Others’ when they are represented in the scholarship and polemic of ‘first world’ activists in the so called ‘global justice movement’.  ‘Falling on my face in the street’ of these Others locates particular processes of fetishization within the global justice movement and the relationships across power and difference that are contained herein; processes that impact on the idea of a ‘global’ solidarity against systemic ‘global’ oppressions.

Recommendations to address the difficulties encountered when determining linezolid resistance from whole genome sequencing data.

Science.gov (United States)

Beukers, Alicia G; Hasman, Henrik; Hegstad, Kristin; van Hal, Sebastiaan J

2018-05-29

Mutations associated with linezolid resistance within the V domain of 23S rRNA are annotated using an Escherichia coli numbering system. The 23S rRNA gene varies in length, nucleotide sequence and copy number between bacterial species. Consequently, this numbering system is not intuitive and can lead to confusion when locating mutation sites using whole genome sequencing data. Using the mutation G2576T as an example, we demonstrate the difficulties associated with using the E. coli numbering system. © Crown copyright 2018.

Thinking about the service encounter enhances encounter-related word-of-mouth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mattsson, Jan; Söderlund, Magnus

) the memorability of the service encounter and (b) the extent to which what had happened had been subject to rehearsal with the purpose of telling others about it. These findings should be seen in relation to the literature’s view that customer satisfaction, not thinking, is a dominant predictor of word-of-mouth......This study examines the impact of thinking about a service encounter, after it has been completed, on telling others about it (i.e., word-of-mouth). The main finding was that encounter-related thinking boosted word-of-mouth. We also found that the think-talk association was mediated by (a....... Our results, however, indicate that satisfaction’s contribution to the variation in talking about the encounter was modest (and customer satisfaction played only a minor role in explaining why an encounter is thought about)....

Satisfaction with the outpatient encounter - A comparison of patients' and physicians' views

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zandbelt, Linda C.; Smets, Ellen M. A.; Oort, Frans J.; Godfried, Mieke H.; de Haes, Hanneke C. J. M.

2004-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To compare patients' and physicians' visit-specific satisfaction in an internal medicine outpatient setting, and to explain their respective views. DESIGN: Patients' and physicians' background characteristics were assessed prior to outpatient encounters. Immediately after the encounter,

Moral Relations in Encounters with Nature

Science.gov (United States)

Andersson, Karin; Öhman, Johan

2015-01-01

The overall aim of this article is to develop in-depth knowledge about the connection between outdoor experiences and moral attitudes towards nature. The study focuses on processes in which moral relations are at stake in encounters between students and nature. The purpose is to identify such events, describe their specific circumstances and…

Genius Is Not Immune to Persistent Misconceptions: Conceptual Difficulties Impeding Isaac Newton and Contemporary Physics Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Melvin S.; And Others

Recent research has shown that serious misconceptions frequently survive high school and university instruction in mechanics. It is interesting to inquire whether Newton himself encountered conceptual difficulties before he wrote the "Principia." This paper compares Newton's pre-"Principia" beliefs, based upon his writings,…

Commognitive analysis of undergraduate mathematics students' first encounter with the subgroup test

Science.gov (United States)

Ioannou, Marios

2018-06-01

This study analyses learning aspects of undergraduate mathematics students' first encounter with the subgroup test, using the commognitive theoretical framework. It focuses on students' difficulties as these are related to the object-level and metalevel mathematical learning in group theory, and, when possible, highlights any commognitive conflicts. In the data analysis, one can identify three types of difficulties, relevant to object-level learning: namely regarding the frequently observed confusion between groups and sets, the object-level rules of visual mediators, and the object-level rules of contextual notions, such as permutations, exponentials, sets and matrices. In addition, data analysis suggests two types of difficulties, relevant to metalevel learning. The first refers to the actual proof that the three conditions of subgroup test hold, and the second is related to syntactic inaccuracies, incomplete argumentation and problematic use of visual mediators. Finally, this study suggests that there are clear links between object-level and metalevel learning, mainly due to the fact that objectification of the various relevant mathematical notions influences the endorsement of the governing metarules.

Difficulties with Prenatal Diagnosis of the Walker-Warburg Syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Low, A.S.C.; Lee, S.L.; Tan, A.S.A.; Chan, D.K.L.; Chan, L.L.

2005-01-01

We describe a postnatally diagnosed case of Walker-Warburg syndrome - a form of congenital muscular dystrophy with lissencephaly and eye abnormalities. We reviewed the literature to highlight its clinico-radiological diagnostic features and discuss the difficulties encountered with prenatal diagnosis, especially in cases with no positive family history. An increased awareness of this rare but lethal condition, and a high index of suspicion during routine antenatal ultrasound, could prompt further advanced fetal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging, and aid in timely prenatal diagnosis, management, and counseling. Brain/brainstem, congenital, magnetic resonance imaging, obstetrics, pediatrics, ultrasound

Difficulties with Prenatal Diagnosis of the Walker-Warburg Syndrome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Low, A.S.C.; Lee, S.L.; Tan, A.S.A.; Chan, D.K.L.; Chan, L.L. [Singapore General Hospital (Singapore). Depts. of Diagnostic Radiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Neonatology

2005-10-01

We describe a postnatally diagnosed case of Walker-Warburg syndrome - a form of congenital muscular dystrophy with lissencephaly and eye abnormalities. We reviewed the literature to highlight its clinico-radiological diagnostic features and discuss the difficulties encountered with prenatal diagnosis, especially in cases with no positive family history. An increased awareness of this rare but lethal condition, and a high index of suspicion during routine antenatal ultrasound, could prompt further advanced fetal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging, and aid in timely prenatal diagnosis, management, and counseling. Brain/brainstem, congenital, magnetic resonance imaging, obstetrics, pediatrics, ultrasound.

Encountering Materiality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svabo, Connie

2016-01-01

DHT researcher Connie Svabo and artist Charlotte Grum did a joint performance presentation titled Becoming Sheep, Becoming Animal at the international conference Encountering Materiality – Transdisciplinary Conversations, held in Geneve, Schwitzerland, June 23-25 2016.......DHT researcher Connie Svabo and artist Charlotte Grum did a joint performance presentation titled Becoming Sheep, Becoming Animal at the international conference Encountering Materiality – Transdisciplinary Conversations, held in Geneve, Schwitzerland, June 23-25 2016....

Pragmatic Difficulties in the Production of the Speech Act of Apology by Iraqi EFL Learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Falih Al-Ghazalli

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to investigate the pragmatic difficulties encountered by Iraqi EFL university students in producing the speech act of apology. Although the act of apology is easy to recognize or use by native speakers of English, non-native speakers generally encounter difficulties in discriminating one speech act from another. The problem can be attributed to two factors: pragma-linguistic and socio-pragmatic knowledge. The aim of this study is(1to evaluate the socio-pragmatic level of interpreting apologies as understood and used by Iraqi EFL university learners, (2 find out the level of difficulty they experience in producing apologies and(3 detect the reasons behind such misinterpretations and misuses. It is hypothesized that the socio-pragmatic interpretation of apology tends to play a crucial role in comprehending what is intended by the speaker. However, cultural gaps can be the main reason behind the EFL learners' inaccurate production of the act of apology. To verify the aforementioned hypotheses, a test has been constructed and administered to a sample of 70 fourth-year Iraqi EFL university learners, morning classes. The subjects' responses have been collected and linguistically analyzed in the light of an eclectic model based on Deutschmann (2003 and Lazare (2004. It has been concluded that the misinterpretation or difficulty Iraqi EFL students have faced is mainly attributed to their lack of socio-pragmatic knowledge. The interference of the learnersʹ first language culture has led to non-native productions of speech act of apology.

Radiologic percutaneous gastrostomy and gastroenterostomy: Indications, results, and difficulties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casola, G.; Van Sonnenberg, E.; Sukthankar, R.; Varney, R.A.; Stavas, J.; Cohen, M.; Christensen, R.A.; Wittich, G.R.

1987-01-01

This paper summarizes the authors' experience with 130 radiologic percutaneous gastrostomies (PG) and percutaneous gastroenterostomies (PGE). Procedures were accomplished successfully in 127 of 130 candidates. One case was unsuccessful and two were unfeasible. Indications were for feeding, decompression, or both. Underlying diseases included neurologic disorders, head and neck and esophageal tumors, pelvic and abdominal malignancies, trauma, and a variety of other diseases. Various guidance systems, techniques, and catheters were used. Complications occurred in 8%, most being minor. Three patients were operated on after PG/PGE-two had peritonitis, one due to tube dislodgment. Difficulties were encountered at different portions of the procedure. During catheter insertion the following problems were most common: (1) the access route was difficult because of overlying colon, (2) inability to insert a nasogastric tube in patients with esophageal carcinoma or large head and neck tumors, (3) inability to keep the stomach distended in patients with increased motility and those with surgical gastroenterostomies (Billroth I or II), (4) high position of the residual stomach in patients with hemigastrectomy, (5) the presence of ascites or peritoneal tumor anterior to the stomach in patients with ovarian carcinoma, and (6) tenting or herniation of the anterior wall of the stomach during dilatation. Difficulties that were encountered following catheter insertion included (1) chemical peritonitis from leakage of gastric juices, (2) peritonities from leakage of gastric feedings, (3) leakage around the skin entry site in patients with ascites, (4) catheters backing out and forming an intraperitorial loop, (5) catheters kinking and becoming occluded, and (6) catheters being pulled out

Brain systems underlying encounter expectancy bias in spider phobia.

Science.gov (United States)

Aue, Tatjana; Hoeppli, Marie-Eve; Piguet, Camille; Hofstetter, Christoph; Rieger, Sebastian W; Vuilleumier, Patrik

2015-06-01

Spider-phobic individuals are characterized by exaggerated expectancies to be faced with spiders (so-called encounter expectancy bias). Whereas phobic responses have been linked to brain systems mediating fear, little is known about how the recruitment of these systems relates to exaggerated expectancies of threat. We used fMRI to examine spider-phobic and control participants while they imagined visiting different locations in a forest after having received background information about the likelihood of encountering different animals (spiders, snakes, and birds) at these locations. Critically, imagined encounter expectancies modulated brain responses differently in phobics as compared with controls. Phobics displayed stronger negative modulation of activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and visual cortex by encounter expectancies for spiders, relative to snakes or birds (within-participants analysis); these effects were not seen in controls. Between-participants correlation analyses within the phobic group further corroborated the hypothesis that these phobia-specific modulations may underlie irrationality in encounter expectancies (deviations of encounter expectancies from objective background information) in spider phobia; the greater the negative modulation a phobic participant displayed in the lateral prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and visual cortex, the stronger was her bias in encounter expectancies for spiders. Interestingly, irrationality in expectancies reflected in frontal areas relied on right rather than left hemispheric deactivations. Our data accord with the idea that expectancy biases in spider phobia may reflect deficiencies in cognitive control and contextual integration that are mediated by right frontal and parietal areas.

Training, age and technological change: difficulties associated with age, the design of tools, and the organization of work.

Science.gov (United States)

Cau-Bareille, Dominique; Gaudart, Corinne; Delgoulet, Catherine

2012-01-01

This article presents two ergonomic studies carried out when two French administrative bodies modernized their work tools. Our objective was to identify and define the vocational learning of experienced technicians who were required to adopt new working methods to cope with these technological changes. We observed the work activity of technicians of different ages and length of service both before and during training, and also after their return to their work unit during the appropriation phase. These two studies revealed some difficulties that were common to all the technicians and others that were more specific to the older employees. In terms of the design of the training course, we were able to point out some mistaken assumptions about the technicians' original command of the work activity and the computers, which made it difficult for them to adopt new work procedures. The difficulties encountered by the older employees were ultimately found to be more an indication of organizational problems to do with the management of change rather than training problems due to age.

Prediction and Stability of Mathematics Skill and Difficulty

OpenAIRE

Martin, Rebecca B.; Cirino, Paul T.; Barnes, Marcia A.; Ewing-Cobbs, Linda; Fuchs, Lynn S.; Stuebing, Karla K.; Fletcher, Jack M.

2012-01-01

The present study evaluated the stability of math learning difficulties over a 2-year period and investigated several factors that might influence this stability (categorical vs. continuous change, liberal vs. conservative cut point, broad vs. specific math assessment); the prediction of math performance over time and by performance level was also evaluated. Participants were 144 students initially identified as having a math difficulty (MD) or no learning difficulty according to low achievem...

Universalist ethics in extraterrestrial encounter

Science.gov (United States)

Baum, Seth D.

2010-02-01

If humanity encounters an extraterrestrial civilization, or if two extraterrestrial civilizations encounter each other, then the outcome may depend not only on the civilizations' relative strength to destroy each other but also on what ethics are held by one or both civilizations. This paper explores outcomes of encounter scenarios in which one or both civilizations hold a universalist ethical framework. Several outcomes are possible in such scenarios, ranging from one civilization destroying the other to both civilizations racing to be the first to commit suicide. Thus, attention to the ethics of both humanity and extraterrestrials is warranted in human planning for such an encounter. Additionally, the possibility of such an encounter raises profound questions for contemporary human ethics, even if such an encounter never occurs.

Undergraduate ESL Students’ Difficulties in Writing the Introduction for Research Reports

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirrah Diyana Binti Maznun

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to investigate the difficulties encountered by undergraduate ESL students in writing the introduction section of their project reports. Five introduction sections of bachelor of arts students, majoring in English language, were analyzed and a lecturer was interviewed regarding the areas of the students’ weaknesses. Swales’ create-a-research-space (cars model was used as the analytical framework of the study. The results revealed that students confronted problems in writing their introduction for each move especially for move 2, which consists of counter claiming, indicating research gap, raising questions from previous research and continuing tradition. It was also found that the students had difficulty in writing the background of the study, theoretical framework, and statement of the problem which indicated their unawareness of the appropriate rhetorical structure of the introduction section.

Learner Outcomes in Science in South Africa: Role of the Nature of Learner Difficulties with the Language for Learning and Teaching Science

Science.gov (United States)

Oyoo, Samuel Ouma

2017-08-01

Paul Leslie Gardner pioneered the study of student difficulties with everyday words presented in the science context (Gardner 1971); several similarly designed studies (e.g. Cassels and Johnstone 1985; Tao in Research in Science Education, 24, 322-330, 1994; Farell and Ventura in Language and Education, 12(4), 243-254, 1998; Childs and O'Farell in Chemistry Education: Research and Practice, 4(3), 233-247, 2003) have since been reported in literature. This article draws from an exploratory study of the difficulties South African High School physical science learners encounter with everyday English words when presented in the science context. The participants (1107 learners and 35 respective physical science teachers) were drawn from 35 public secondary schools in Johannesburg area of South Africa. Data were obtained through a word test to participant learners followed by group interviews but face-to-face interviews with each physical science teacher. This study has revealed that in similar ways as have been reported in each of the studies so far, South African learners also face difficulties with meanings of everyday words presented in a science context. The main source of difficulties encountered was learner inability to distinguish between the meanings of familiar everyday words as used in everyday parlance from the `new' meanings of the same everyday words when used in the science context. Interpretations of learner interview responses revealed that fewer difficulties would have been experienced by learners if science teachers generally explained the context meanings of the words as used during science teaching. The findings suggest that focusing on contextual proficiency more than on general proficiency in the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) during teaching perhaps holds more promise for enhanced learning and achievement in science. Steps necessary to raise teacher awareness of the potential impact of context on meanings of everyday words of the LOLT

Are externalizing and internalizing difficulties of young children with spelling impairment related to their ADHD symptoms?

Science.gov (United States)

Rietz, Chantal Sabrina; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Labuhn, Andju Sara

2012-08-01

Children with literacy difficulties often suffer from a variety of co-occurring externalizing and internalizing difficulties, as well as comorbid ADHD. Therefore, these externalizing and internalizing problems might be more related to comorbid ADHD, rather than being a correlate of literacy difficulties per se. In the present study, we investigated the occurrence of externalizing and internalizing difficulties in elementary school children (third grade) with and without spelling impairment. Taking the high rate of comorbidity between literacy difficulties and ADHD into account, we investigated whether co-occurring difficulties are associated with spelling impairment per se or with comorbid ADHD symptoms. Results indicated that these young children with spelling impairment showed more co-occurring difficulties compared with children without spelling impairment. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that occurrence of externalizing symptoms is more strongly related to comorbid ADHD symptoms than to spelling impairment per se. The pattern of results concerning internalizing problems was not as distinct but showed a similar trend. Preferably, carers and educators should be aware of co-occurring socio-emotional and behavioural problems in children with spelling impairment. Particularly children with spelling impairment and comorbid ADHD symptoms seem to have an increased risk of encountering further co-occurring difficulties. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Examining Activities Concerning the Use of Words Encountered in Content Area Courses in Writing by Children with Hearing Loss

Science.gov (United States)

Karasu, H. Pelin

2017-01-01

Improvement of vocabulary constitutes an important part of the literacy practices. Children with hearing loss experience difficulties in using newly encountered words in verbal and written languages due to the delay they experience in linguistic skills. The objective of the present study is to investigate the course of applying a balanced literacy…

Beyond cultural competency: Bourdieu, patients and clinical encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Ming-Cheng M; Stacey, Clare L

2008-07-01

In response to widely documented racial and ethnic disparities in health, clinicians and public health advocates have taken great strides to implement 'culturally competent' care. While laudable, this important policy and intellectual endeavour has suffered from a lack of conceptual clarity and rigour. This paper develops a more careful conceptual model for understanding the role of culture in the clinical encounter, paying particular attention to the relationship between culture, contexts and social structures. Linking Bourdieu's (1977) notion of 'habitus' and William Sewell's (1992) axioms of multiple and intersecting structures, we theorise patient culture in terms of 'hybrid habitus'. This conceptualisation of patient culture highlights three analytical dimensions: the multiplicity of schemas and resources available to patients, their specific patterns of integration and application in specific contexts, and the constitutive role of clinical encounters. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future research as well as reforms of cultural competency training courses.

Coordination and resource-related difficulties encountered by Quebec's public health specialists and infectious diseases/medical microbiologists in the management of A (H1N1 - a mixed-method, exploratory survey

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Nhan Charles

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In Quebec, the influenza A (H1N1 pandemic was managed using a top-down style that left many involved players with critical views and frustrations. We aimed to describe physicians' perceptions - infectious diseases specialists/medical microbiologists (IDMM and public health/preventive medicine specialists (PHPMS - in regards to issues encountered with the pandemics management at the physician level and highlight suggested improvements for future healthcare emergencies. Methods In April 2010, Quebec IDMM and PHPMS physicians were invited to anonymously complete a web-based learning needs assessment. The survey included both open-ended and multiple-choice questions. Descriptive statistics were used to report on the frequency distribution of multiple choice responses whereas thematic content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data generated from the survey and help understand respondents' experience and perceptions with the pandemics. Results Of the 102 respondents, 85.3% reported difficulties or frustrations in their practice during the pandemic. The thematic analysis revealed two core themes describing the problems experienced in the pandemic management: coordination and resource-related difficulties. Coordination issues included communication, clinical practice guidelines, decision-making, roles and responsibilities, epidemiological investigation, and public health expert advisory committees. Resources issues included laboratory resources, patient management, and vaccination process. Conclusion Together, the quantitative and qualitative data suggest a need for improved coordination, a better definition of roles and responsibilities, increased use of information technologies, merged communications, and transparency in the decisional process. Increased flexibility and less contradiction in clinical practice guidelines from different sources and increased laboratory/clinical capacity were felt critical to the proper

Frequency-Specific, Binaural Stimulation of Students with Reading and Spelling Difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Johansen, Kjeld

A study examined the hearing of learning disabled students (such as dyslexics) in an attempt to classify, identify, and design auditory stimulation procedures. Subjects, 40 students from seventh-grade classes and 40 volunteers (ages 9 to 23) with reading and spelling difficulties, were given listening tests. Results indicated that many of the…

[Measurement of carotenoids by high pressure liquid chromatography: from difficulties to solutions].

Science.gov (United States)

Steghens, J P; Lyan, B; Le Moel, G; Galabert, C; Fayol, V; Faure, H; Grolier, P; Cheribi, N; Dubois, F; Nabet, F

2000-01-01

The measurement of serum carotenoids by HPLC has been largely improved during the last 10 years. However these techniques still require much time and skills, and direct application of published methods is rarely satisfying. We report here the difficulties that we met to transfer some HPLC methods described in the literature to our laboratories. We propose some solution to overcome the problems that we have encountered, our experience will perhaps help out other biologists. We reported also some results obtained in healthy populations.

Acceptability and Difficulty of the STEM Track Implementation in Senior High School

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Aldrin John Jao Estonanto

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The Department of Education in the Philippines implemented the Enhanced Basic Education Curriculum in 2013 which led to the creation of Senior High School Program. Studies showed the importance of the support of stakeholders to the success of an educational reform. Thus, it is significant to consider the acceptance of the new curriculum. This descriptive- correlational study sought to determine the acceptability of the Senior High School STEM program and correlate it to the difficulty level of problems along its implementation. Findings showed that there was low acceptability of the new curriculum among stakeholders. It also revealed that the major problems along the implementation of the curriculum were on the areas of Facility and Instructional Materials, and that the difficulty level of the problems was high. Finally, it was found out that there was significant inverse correlation between the curriculum’s acceptability level and the problems’ difficulty level. Thus, the study concludes that the acceptability level of curriculum is significantly related to the difficulty level of the problems encountered by the school along its implementation. The researcher recommends that a series of informationdissemination programs be conducted to raise awareness on the significance of the STEM Curriculum among the stakeholders of the school. Interventions were also proposed to address the problems

Understanding metropolitan patterns of daily encounters.

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Sun, Lijun; Axhausen, Kay W; Lee, Der-Horng; Huang, Xianfeng

2013-08-20

Understanding of the mechanisms driving our daily face-to-face encounters is still limited; the field lacks large-scale datasets describing both individual behaviors and their collective interactions. However, here, with the help of travel smart card data, we uncover such encounter mechanisms and structures by constructing a time-resolved in-vehicle social encounter network on public buses in a city (about 5 million residents). Using a population scale dataset, we find physical encounters display reproducible temporal patterns, indicating that repeated encounters are regular and identical. On an individual scale, we find that collective regularities dominate distinct encounters' bounded nature. An individual's encounter capability is rooted in his/her daily behavioral regularity, explaining the emergence of "familiar strangers" in daily life. Strikingly, we find individuals with repeated encounters are not grouped into small communities, but become strongly connected over time, resulting in a large, but imperceptible, small-world contact network or "structure of co-presence" across the whole metropolitan area. Revealing the encounter pattern and identifying this large-scale contact network are crucial to understanding the dynamics in patterns of social acquaintances, collective human behaviors, and--particularly--disclosing the impact of human behavior on various diffusion/spreading processes.

Innovative generativity of digital service encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henten, Anders; Sørensen, Jannick Kirk

2018-01-01

The research question examined in this chapter is how service encounters, based on digital interfaces, differ from face-to-face (f2f) encounters in terms of potential innovative generativity. New computer technologies facilitating big data processing and the development of advanced recommender...... systems and the recent developments of artificial intelligence with respect to cognitive and affective computing will certainly enhance the potential for innovations to be created on the basis of digital service encounters. However, the empathetic understanding of the needs and wants of the service users...... that can be part of the f2f service encounters cannot automatically result from digital service encounters. Digital tools can be developed and used to supplement the impressions that f2f encounters initiate. However, human interpretations and even human f2f encounters will also be needed to maintain...

NEW CONTRIBUTIONS TO READING DIFFICULTIES INTERVENTION

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VÍCTOR SANTIUSTE BERMEJO

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This article presents a synthesis of the intervention programs and strategies to treat reading difficulties. The synthesisincludes a review of the last published articles on the issue, both in Spanish and English. It also presents the visits todifferent Language Rehabilitation Centers in the Community of Madrid including the approaches applied in thesecenters. Besides the description of the general intervention strategies applied to reading problems, some of theprograms to treat specific difficulties of words decoding and recognizing are explained, and the programs to treatreading comprehension and fluidity.

LEARNING DIFFICULTIES: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON VIGOTSKY

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Adriane Cenci

2010-06-01

Full Text Available We aimed, along the text, to bring a reflection upon learning difficulties based on Socio-Historical Theory, relating what is observed in schools to what has been discussed about learning difficulties and the theory proposed by Vygotsky in the early XX century. We understand that children enter school carrying experiences and knowledge from their cultural group and that school ignores such knowledge very often. Then, it is in such disengagement that emerges what we started to call learning difficulties. One cannot forget to see a child as a whole – a student is a social being constituted by culture, language and specific values to which one must be attentive.

Assortment of encounters and evolution of cooperativeness.

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Eshel, I; Cavalli-Sforza, L L

1982-02-01

The method of evolutionary stable strategies (ESS), in its current form, is confronted with a difficulty when it tries to explain how some social behaviors initiate their evolution. We show that this difficulty may be removed by changing the assumption made tacitly in game theory (and in ESS) of randomness of meetings or encounters. In reality, such randomness seems to be rare in nature. Family, population and social structure, customs, and habits impose various types of deviation from randomness. Introducing nonrandomness of meeting in a way formally similar to assortative mating, we show that the bar to initial increase of inherited cooperative or altruistic behaviors can be removed, provided there is sufficient assortment of meetings. Family structure may cause contacts predominantly between certain types of relatives, and one can reconstruct some results of classical kin selection in terms of evolutionary stable strategy with assortative meetings. Neighbor effects and group selection might be similarly treated. Assortment need not be a passive consequence of population and social structure, but it can also be actively pursued. Behaviors favoring the choice of cooperative companions will have the effect of favoring the evolution of cooperativeness. It can be shown that discrimination in the choice of companions, especially if combined with assortment, can favor the development of cooperativeness, making initial increase of cooperative behavior possible even at levels of assortment passively imposed which would not be adequate, per se, to guarantee the increase of cooperativeness. It is possible that, in some cases, cooperativeness and behavior favoring some type of assortment are coselected.

Encounters with immigrant customers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mygind, Anna; Espersen, Sacha; Nørgaard, Lotte Stig

2013-01-01

were not sufficiently assessed at the counter (n = 55, 65%), and that their latest encounter with an immigrant customer was less satisfactory than a similar encounter with an ethnic Danish customer (n = 48, 57%) (significantly more pharmacists than assistants: odds ratio, OR, 3.19; 95% confidence...

Potential or problem? An investigation of secondary school teachers' attributions of the educational outcomes of students with specific learning difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodcock, Stuart; Hitches, Elizabeth

2017-10-01

Despite strong support for inclusive education in principle, many teachers and administrators still demonstrate mixed responses to the inclusion of certain students in their classrooms. Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) form a large group of students in inclusive classrooms yet some provincial, state and national jurisdictions fail to acknowledge the existence of these students. Not acknowledging and understanding these students can deny them the recognition and resources necessary for their genuine participation in education and, in turn, society. The aim of this study was to examine British in-service secondary teachers' attributional responses to students with and without specific learning difficulties. The participants included 122 British secondary school teachers who were surveyed in response to vignettes of hypothetical male students who had failed a class test. The study found that while teachers attributed more positive causes towards students without SpLD, they exhibited more negative causes towards students with SpLD. Teachers' causal attributional outcomes of students' level of achievement can impact upon the students' own attributions, with teachers' responses for students with SpLD having the potential to, unintentionally, influence students' own sense of self-efficacy and motivation. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications of the research and recommendations for practice.

Working memory: its role in dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties.

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Jeffries, Sharman; Everatt, John

2004-08-01

This paper reports a study contrasting dyslexic children against a control group of children without special educational needs (SEN) and a group with varied SENs. Children's abilities were compared on tasks assessing phonological processing, visuo-spatial/motor coordination and executive/inhibitory functioning; being targeted for assessment based on theoretical proposals related to the working memory model. Primary and secondary school level children were tested: 21 assessed as dyslexic with no comorbid difficulties, 26 children assessed with difficulties including dyspraxia, emotional/behavioural problems and attention deficits, 40 children with no known education-related deficits were controls. Results indicated both SEN groups performed worse than controls on working memory phonological loop measures. However, SEN groups could only be differentiated on phonological awareness measures: the dyslexics showing lower scores. Dyslexics performed as well as controls on working memory visuo-spatial scratch pad measures and one of two additional visual-motor coordination tasks, whereas the performance of the other SEN children was lowest on the majority of these measures. Central executive and interference measures engendered mixed performances, both SEN groups showing evidence of deficits in one or more of these areas of functioning, although, of the two SEN groups, the dyslexics seem to have performed the worse when digit name processing was required.

Nature and frequency of exchanges on medications during primary care encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Richard, Claude; Lussier, Marie-Thérèse

2006-12-01

To describe the exchanges, related to discussion of all medications during primary care medical consultations. Descriptive study of audio recordings of 422 medical encounters. Coding was done with MEDICODE, a validated instrument developed to analyse verbal exchanges on medications. The unit of analysis is the medication. An average of 3.9 medications (S.D.=2.8; range 1-21) are discussed per interview and 4.2 themes are broached for each drug (S.D.=2.6; range 1-17). "Active Discussed", "Represcribed" and "Newly Prescribed" drugs account for 43.1, 16.3 and 10.6%, respectively of all medications discussed. Themes most often discussed are Name, Instructions, Observed Main Effect, Class, Reasons for Taking the Drug, General Use of the Medication, Expected Effect on Symptoms, Form of the Medication, Indications Another Consultation Needed, and Alternative Medication. The least often discussed themes include clinically significant ones such as Possible Adverse Effects, Observed Adverse Effects, Expression of Attitudes and Emotions with regard to the medication, Compliance and Warnings. The average number of themes discussed differed between medications that were prescribed during the encounter, either New prescriptions or Represcribed drugs, compared to medications that were only discussed during the encounter. Our results show that medication discussions are heterogeneous and vary with the status of the medication and the theme. Also, the nature and extent of the discussions about medications do not support the shared-decision making model. Though it is too soon to make specific recommendations about discussions on medications, it seems clear that information-sharing about medications during medical encounters is a process that extends beyond any single encounter. Although communication skills are now part of most medical curriculums, there is an obvious need to put forth the concept of patient medication knowledge-building over multiple physician-patient encounters and

Stream Lifetimes Against Planetary Encounters

Science.gov (United States)

Valsecchi, G. B.; Lega, E.; Froeschle, Cl.

2011-01-01

We study, both analytically and numerically, the perturbation induced by an encounter with a planet on a meteoroid stream. Our analytical tool is the extension of pik s theory of close encounters, that we apply to streams described by geocentric variables. The resulting formulae are used to compute the rate at which a stream is dispersed by planetary encounters into the sporadic background. We have verified the accuracy of the analytical model using a numerical test.

Difficulties encountered managing nodules detected during a computed tomography lung cancer screening program.

Science.gov (United States)

Veronesi, Giulia; Bellomi, Massimo; Scanagatta, Paolo; Preda, Lorenzo; Rampinelli, Cristiano; Guarize, Juliana; Pelosi, Giuseppe; Maisonneuve, Patrick; Leo, Francesco; Solli, Piergiorgio; Masullo, Michele; Spaggiari, Lorenzo

2008-09-01

The main challenge of screening a healthy population with low-dose computed tomography is to balance the excessive use of diagnostic procedures with the risk of delayed cancer detection. We evaluated the pitfalls, difficulties, and sources of mistakes in the management of lung nodules detected in volunteers in the Cosmos single-center screening trial. A total of 5201 asymptomatic high-risk volunteers underwent screening with multidetector low-dose computed tomography. Nodules detected at baseline or new nodules at annual screening received repeat low-dose computed tomography at 1 year if less than 5 mm, repeat low-dose computed tomography 3 to 6 months later if between 5 and 8 mm, and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography if more than 8 mm. Growing nodules at the annual screening received low-dose computed tomography at 6 months and computed tomography-positron emission tomography or surgical biopsy according to doubling time, type, and size. During the first year of screening, 106 patients underwent lung biopsy and 91 lung cancers were identified (70% were stage I). Diagnosis was delayed (false-negative) in 6 patients (stage IIB in 1 patient, stage IIIA in 3 patients, and stage IV in 2 patients), including 2 small cell cancers and 1 central lesion. Surgical biopsy revealed benign disease (false-positives) in 15 cases (14%). Positron emission tomography sensitivity was 88% for prevalent cancers and 70% for cancers diagnosed after first annual screening. No needle biopsy procedures were performed in this cohort of patients. Low-dose computed tomography screening is effective for the early detection of lung cancers, but nodule management remains a challenge. Computed tomography-positron emission tomography is useful at baseline, but its sensitivity decreases significantly the subsequent year. Multidisciplinary management and experience are crucial for minimizing misdiagnoses.

Semantic encoding and retrieval in the left inferior prefrontal cortex: a functional MRI study of task difficulty and process specificity.

Science.gov (United States)

Demb, J B; Desmond, J E; Wagner, A D; Vaidya, C J; Glover, G H; Gabrieli, J D

1995-09-01

Prefrontal cortical function was examined during semantic encoding and repetition priming using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a noninvasive technique for localizing regional changes in blood oxygenation, a correlate of neural activity. Words studied in a semantic (deep) encoding condition were better remembered than words studied in both easier and more difficult nonsemantic (shallow) encoding conditions, with difficulty indexed by response time. The left inferior prefrontal cortex (LIPC) (Brodmann's areas 45, 46, 47) showed increased activation during semantic encoding relative to nonsemantic encoding regardless of the relative difficulty of the nonsemantic encoding task. Therefore, LIPC activation appears to be related to semantic encoding and not task difficulty. Semantic encoding decisions are performed faster the second time words are presented. This represents semantic repetition priming, a facilitation in semantic processing for previously encoded words that is not dependent on intentional recollection. The same LIPC area activated during semantic encoding showed decreased activation during repeated semantic encoding relative to initial semantic encoding of the same words. This decrease in activation during repeated encoding was process specific; it occurred when words were semantically reprocessed but not when words were nonsemantically reprocessed. The results were apparent in both individual and averaged functional maps. These findings suggest that the LIPC is part of a semantic executive system that contributes to the on-line retrieval of semantic information.

Identifying Student and Teacher Difficulties in Interpreting Atomic Spectra Using a Quantum Model of Emission and Absorption of Radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Savall-Alemany, Francisco; Domènech-Blanco, Josep Lluís; Guisasola, Jenaro; Martínez-Torregrosa, Joaquín

2016-01-01

Our study sets out to identify the difficulties that high school students, teachers, and university students encounter when trying to explain atomic spectra. To do so, we identify the key concepts that any quantum model for the emission and absorption of electromagnetic radiation must include to account for the gas spectra and we then design two…

Oil spill encounter rate: A means of estimating advancing skimmer performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulze, R.

1993-01-01

A high rate of oil spill recovery can only be achieved if the spilled oil can be collected fast enough for the skimming and pumping systems to operate at their rated capacity. For advancing skimmers, recovery capacity depends on the rate at which the skimming system encounters the oil slick. For these systems, encounter rate depends on skimming speed, sweep width, and the amount of oil available, in this case measured in terms of slick thickness. The computation of the spill encounter rate is described, and a chart is provided that permits the user to determine encounter rate for candidate skimming systems by inspection. Furthermore, a contingency planning worksheet for advancing skimmers is provided that allows the user to evaluate a particular response system. The resulting data can be used to determine the oil slick area that can be covered in a period of time, the volume of oil that can be expected to be recovered in that time based on oil spill planning scenarios, the pumping capacity required for skimming and transfer systems, and the storage requirements for recovered oil. Finally, suggestions are presented on how computations of oil spill encounter rate can be used to make important decisions in procuring advancing skimmers for specific applications. 1 fig., 1 tab

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Stellar encounters with long-period comets (Feng+, 2015)

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, F.; Bailer-Jones, C. A. L.

2016-07-01

We have conducted simulations of the perturbation of the Oort cloud in order to estimate the significance of known encounters in generating long-period comets. We collected the data of stellar encounters from three sources: (Bailer-Jones, 2015, Cat. J/A+A/575/A35, hereafter BJ15), Dybczynski & Berski (2015MNRAS.449.2459D), and Mamajek et al. (2015ApJ...800L..17M). Following BJ15, we use the term 'object' to refer to each encountering star in our catalogue. A specific star may appear more than once but with different data, thus leading to a different object. (1 data file).

Encounter with comet Halley

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagdeev, R.Z.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on an international armada of six spacecraft which encountered the comet Halley and performed in-situ measurements. These encounters led to the discovery of a number of cometary plasma physics phenomena. Another important result was that a value for the average density of the cometary nucleus could be estimated, which is found to be compatible with snow ball models for the nucleus

Challenges encountered when expanding activated sludge models: a case study based on N2O production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Snip, Laura; Boiocchi, Riccardo; Flores Alsina, Xavier

2014-01-01

(WWTPs). As a consequence, these experiments might not be representative for full-scale performance, and unexpected behaviour may be observed when simulating WWTP models using the derived process equations. In this paper we want to highlight problems encountered using a simplified case study: a modified......: problems related to the overall mathematical model structure and problems related to the published set of parameter values. The paper describes the model implementation incompatibilities, the variability in parameter values and the difficulties of reaching similar conditions when simulating a full...

The Idealized Cultural Encounter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Lene Bull

Studies into cultural encounters have predominantly taken point of departure in ‘problematic encounters’, in which researchers and participants see cultural difference as an obstacle on the road to harmonious relationships (e.g. in ‘the clash of civilisations,’ or in migration/integration studies......). This paper proposes to study cultural encounters which are organised around ideals of cultural difference as a positive social and political force. The Danish People to People NGO Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (MS) is build around ideals of equality, co-operation, mutuality and solidarity between people...... and cultures. A prominent feature of the organisation is organised cultural encounters between Northern (predominantly Danish) volunteers and Africans, which takes place at ‘training centres’ both in Denmark and in African countries, such as Kenya or Tanzania. In this paper I will outline the theoretical...

Room with a View: Ethical Encounters in Room 13

Science.gov (United States)

Grube, Vicky

2012-01-01

In this article, the author describes ethical encounters in Room 13, a schoolroom where children made what they wanted, posed their own questions, and ran an art room like a small business. In Room 13 children had the responsibility to maintain all aspects of the art studio. Specific decisions fell to an annually elected management team, a small…

INCLUSION OF THE CONCEPTS OF MODERN PHISICS IN THE CLASSROOM AND THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY TEACHERS

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R. Amorim

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In the study, we aimed to demonstrate through a literature review, the main obstacles that permeate the introduction of Modern Phisics by teachers. For this reason, if made necessary a analisys, in official documents on whichs guidelines they bring to teachers on how to work the content covering the Modern Physics and the importance of this study for the students and, in Physics textbook about the approach of this theme, it was found that this exists, but, in a very basic. With respect to the difficulties to teach Physics proved that these are the most varied possible, with emphasis on lack of necessary instruction during their academic training for the approach in the classroom and research into the teaching of Science that do not contribute to the teaching practice. To help teachers are presented some teaching methods with the purpose of promoting a learning significantly more of the concepts of Modern Physics.

Marital dissolution and blood pressure reactivity: evidence for the specificity of emotional intrusion-hyperarousal and task-rated emotional difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

Sbarra, David A; Law, Rita W; Lee, Lauren A; Mason, Ashley E

2009-06-01

To assess blood pressure (BP) reactivity as recently separated adults completed a laboratory task asking to mentally reflect on their relationship experiences. Marital separations and the experience of divorce are associated with increased risk for early mortality and poor health outcomes. Few studies, however, have investigated the potential psychophysiological mechanisms that may account for these broad-based associations. Seventy recently separated or divorced community-dwelling adults (26 men) completed self-report measures of divorce-related psychological adjustment. During a laboratory visit, quasi-continuous BP was assessed across four task periods, including a divorce-specific mental activation task (DMAT). A task-rated emotional difficulty (TRED) index was computed based on participants' immediate appraisals of the task demands. After accounting for relevant health-related covariates and depressed mood, participants who reported higher degrees of divorce-related emotional intrusion and physical hyperarousal demonstrated significantly elevated resting BP at entry into the study. When assessing change from a within-person control task to the DMAT, a three-way interaction indicated that men reporting high TRED scores evidenced significant increases in BP, whereas men reporting low TRED scores evidenced significant decreases in BP. Women evidenced no significant changes in BP across study periods. Results suggest that divorce-related emotional intrusion-hyperarousal and real-time ratings of emotional difficulty (when people think about their separation experience) may play a specific role in BP reactivity, especially for men. These data shed new light on the potential mechanisms that may link marital dissolution and poor health.

"It´s incredible how much I´ve had to fight." Negotiating medical uncertainty in clinical encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Lian, Olaug S; Robson, Catherine

2017-01-01

Clinical encounters related to medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are associated with high levels of conflict between patients and doctors. Collaborative difficulties are fused by the medical uncertainty that dominates these consultations. The main aim of this study is to explore the interactional dynamics of clinical encounters riddled by medical uncertainty, as experienced by people living with long-term medically unexplained fatigue in Norway. A qualitative thematic analysis of written texts from 256 study participants. We found that patients experience being met with disbelief, inappropriate psychological explanations, marginalisation of experiences, disrespectful treatment, lack of physical examination and damaging health advice. The main source of their discontent is not the lack of biomedical knowledge, but doctors who fail to communicate acknowledgement of patients' experiences, knowledge and autonomy. War metaphors are emblematic of how participants describe their medical encounters. The overarching storyline depicts experiences of being caught in a power struggle with doctors and health systems, fused by a lack of common conceptual ground. When physical symptoms cannot be detected, explained and managed by biomedical knowledge and technology, good doctor-patient partnerships are crucial. Without clearly acknowledging patients' perspectives and capabilities in clinical practice, such partnerships cannot be achieved.

Privacy encounters in Teledialogue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lars Bo; Bøge, Ask Risom; Danholt, Peter

2017-01-01

Privacy is a major concern when new technologies are introduced between public authorities and private citizens. What is meant by privacy, however, is often unclear and contested. Accordingly, this article utilises grounded theory to study privacy empirically in the research and design project...... Teledialogue aimed at introducing new ways for public case managers and placed children to communicate through IT. The resulting argument is that privacy can be understood as an encounter, that is, as something that arises between implicated actors and entails some degree of friction and negotiation....... An argument which is further qualified through the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze. The article opens with a review of privacy literature before continuing to present privacy as an encounter with five different foci: what technologies bring into the encounter; who is related to privacy by implication; what...

[Detection and specific studies in procedural learning difficulties].

Science.gov (United States)

Magallón, S; Narbona, J

2009-02-27

The main disabilities in non-verbal learning disorder (NLD) are: the acquisition and automating of motor and cognitive processes, visual spatial integration, motor coordination, executive functions, difficulty in comprehension of the context, and social skills. AIMS. To review the research to date on NLD, and to discuss whether the term 'procedural learning disorder' (PLD) would be more suitable to refer to NLD. A considerable amount of research suggests a neurological correlate of PLD with dysfunctions in the 'posterior' attention system, or the right hemisphere, or the cerebellum. Even if it is said to be difficult the delimitation between NLD and other disorders or syndromes like Asperger syndrome, certain characteristics contribute to differential diagnosis. Intervention strategies for the PLD must lead to the development of motor automatisms and problem solving strategies, including social skills. The basic dysfunction in NLD affects to implicit learning of routines, automating of motor skills and cognitive strategies that spare conscious resources in daily behaviours. These limitations are partly due to a dysfunction in non-declarative procedural memory. Various dimensions of language are also involved: context comprehension, processing of the spatial and emotional indicators of verbal language, language inferences, prosody, organization of the inner speech, use of language and non-verbal communication; this is why the diagnostic label 'PLD' would be more appropriate, avoiding the euphemistic adjective 'non-verbal'.

[Usefulness and limitations of rapid automatized naming to predict reading difficulties after school entry in preschool children].

Science.gov (United States)

Kaneko, Masato; Uno, Akira; Haruhara, Noriko; Awaya, Noriko

2012-01-01

We investigated the usability and limitations of Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) results in 6-year-old Japanese preschool children to estimate whether reading difficulties will be encountered after school entry. We administered a RAN task to 1,001 preschool children. Then after they had entered school, we performed follow-up surveys yearly to assess their reading performance when these children were in the first, second, third and fourth grades. Also, we examined Hiragana non-words and Kanji words at each time point to detect the children who were having difficulty with reading Hiragana and Kanji. Results by Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis showed that the RAN result in 6-year-old preschool children was predictive of Kanji reading difficulty in the lower grades of elementary school, especially in the second grade with a probability of 0.86, and the area under the curve showed a probability of 0.84 in the third grade. These results suggested that the RAN task was useful as a screening tool.

Difficulties in emotion regulation in patients with eating disorders

OpenAIRE

Ruscitti, Catherine; Rufino, Katrina; Goodwin, Natalie; Wagner, Rebecca

2016-01-01

Background A defining characteristic of eating disorders (EDs) is difficulty with emotion regulation (ER). Previous research indicates that ED subtypes demonstrate differing ER difficulties. Specifically, individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN) show greater impairment in their ability to regulate emotions in areas such as achieving goals while upset, reacting impulsively to distress, and effectively using coping strategies, as compared to those with Binge Eating Disorde...

Inclusive Education for Children with Specific Learning Difficulties: Analysis of Opportunities and Barriers in Inclusive Education in Slovenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marija Kavkler

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Inclusive education allows for universal inclusion, participation and achievement of all children, including children with specific learning difficulties (SpLD. Children with SpLD form a heterogeneous group with diverse cognitive deficits, special educational needs (SEN and strengths, and have a legislated right to the continuum of both assistance and support programmes. Although their intellectual capacity is average or above average, their learning achievements in some learning domains are modest, and they are poorly integrated into their social environment, which often results in their discrimination. Barriers and opportunities in the area of SpLD were analysed with the aid of Ball’s model (1994, with factors and conditions being analysed within the contexts of policy influence, text production and practice. The contexts of policy influence and text production provide the basic conditions for the in clusive education of children with SpLD. The context of influence on in clusive policy for children with SpLD represents a systematic approach to policy initiation and to the prerequisites for its implementation in practice. The context of policy text production focuses on professionals and their impact on the enactment of the rights of children with severe SpLD. The context of practice concerns barriers and opportunities for implementing inclusion in practice. Early identification and diagnosis of pupils’ strengths, deficits and SEN, together with intensified treatment corresponding to the SEN of children with SpLD, could significantly influence the efficiency of the educational process. Barriers, primarily of an immaterial nature, are mainly encountered in those schools that do not implement the five-tier Response to Intervention (RTI approach. This approach enables children with SpLD a continuum of team-based diagnostic evaluation, effective adaptations and assistance. The main reasons for the unfavourable situation concern education

Needs, Difficulties and Coping Mechanisms of Women as Professionals and as Managers of Households

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perlita C. Custodio

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The study examined the needs, difficulties and coping mechanisms of women professionals. A researcher-made questionnaire was utilized and administered to women professionals in selected private schools in the Philippines. Five hundred thirty-four usable questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, simple ranking and analysis of variance (ANOVA. Findings indicate that respondents consider spiritual and aesthetic needs, intellectual or cognitive needs and social needs to be their primary concerns. Difficulties that they encounter as they juggle the demands of career and home responsibilities included managing relationships, time and personal rest and recreation. Coping mechanisms most often employed by women to mitigate the impact of pressures of maintaining work-life balance included praying, eating and watching movies which are adaptive, emotion-focused coping behaviours. Recommendations are put forward to help women cope with expectations required of their dual role of career and motherhood.

Motor and Coordination Difficulties in Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Elisabeth; Pratt, Michelle L; Kanji, Zara; Bartoli, Alice Jones

2017-01-01

To date, very few studies have explored the incidence of motor impairment amongst children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (social, emotional and mental health (SEMH); formerly SEBD in England). Following research that suggests an increase in motor difficulties in young children and adolescents with SEMH difficulties, this…

Modelling contaminant transport using site specific data from Vaalputs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Botha, J.F.

1986-01-01

The transport of a contaminant through the upper layers of the earth's surface is a complex phenomenon. To develop a model for this, requires a good understanding of the physical nature of the phenomenon. This paper discusses two difficulties frequently encountered in developing such a model - the nature of the subsurface and the mathematical representation of the unsaturated hydraulic parameters. It is proposed that information obtained from pump- and packer tests be used to circumvent the first difficulty, and that the unsaturated flow parameters be approximated by C -∞ continuous function

Exploring the disclosure decisions made by physiotherapists with a specific learning difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeowell, G; Rooney, J; Goodwin, P C

2018-06-01

To explore the disclosure decisions made in the workplace by physiotherapy staff with a specific learning difficulty (SpLD). An exploratory qualitative design was used, which was informed by the social model of disability. The research was undertaken in North West England. It is presented according to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. A purposive sample of eight physiotherapists recognised as having a SpLD were recruited. All participants had studied on one of two programmes at a university in England between 2004-2012. Their NHS workplace experience was from across the UK. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken within the university setting or via telephone. Interviews lasted 40 to 70minutes and were digitally recorded. An interview guide was used to direct the interview. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Four participants were female. The mean number of years qualified as a physiotherapist was 4.5years (SD=2.27). Three themes were identified: 'Disclosing during the workplace application'; 'Positive about disabled people scheme'; 'Disclosing in the workplace'. Disclosure of dyslexia is a selective process and is a central dilemma in the lives of individuals who have a concealable stigmatised identity. As a consequence, physiotherapy staff with dyslexia may choose to conceal their disability and not disclose to their employer. In order for staff with dyslexia to get the support they need in the workplace, disclosure is recommended. A number of recommendations have been made to facilitate the disclosure process. Copyright © 2017 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Encounters in cancer treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høybye, Mette Terp; Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Tine

2014-01-01

Based on extensive ethnographic material from in-depth interviews with Danish cancer patients after treatment, this study analyzes their stories to explore how interactions with the physician configures and situates a need for rehabilitation. We identify three themes in the illness stories: (1...... by this encounter. The significance of the social encounters in cancer treatment is elucidated through this analysis, and we demonstrate how the need for recognition of the complex effects of cancer on one's life is central to counter experiences of objectification and dehumanization....

Stereotype threat and racial differences in citizens' experiences of police encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Najdowski, Cynthia J; Bottoms, Bette L; Goff, Phillip Atiba

2015-10-01

We conducted 2 studies to investigate how cultural stereotypes that depict Blacks as criminals affect the way Blacks experience encounters with police officers, expecting that such encounters induce Blacks to feel stereotype threat (i.e., concern about being judged and treated unfairly by police because of the stereotype). In Study 1, we asked Black and White participants to report how they feel when interacting with police officers in general. As predicted, Blacks, but not Whites, reported concern that police officers stereotype them as criminals simply because of their race. In addition, this effect was found for Black men but not Black women. In Study 2, we asked Black and White men to imagine a specific police encounter and assessed potential downstream consequences of stereotype threat. Consistent with Study 1, Black but not White men anticipated feeling stereotype threat in the hypothetical police encounter. Further, racial differences in anticipated threat translated into racial differences in anticipated anxiety, self-regulatory efforts, and behavior that is commonly perceived as suspicious by police officers. By demonstrating that Blacks might expect to be judged and treated unfairly by police because of the negative stereotype of Black criminality, this research extends stereotype threat theory to the new domain of criminal justice encounters. It also has practical implications for understanding how the stereotype could ironically contribute to bias-based policing and racial disparities in the justice system. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

[A tale of two encounters].

Science.gov (United States)

Chanel, Marie-Paule

The moving testimony of a patient shows the impact which a successful encounter can have. Beyond the positive clinical consequences, her rediscovered motivation and pleasure are the essential drivers which have guided her along the pathway of reconstruction. A tale of two encounters which have marked her life course. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Sleep in childhood and adolescence: age-specific sleep characteristics, common sleep disturbances and associated difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Barclay, Nicola L; Gregory, Alice M

2014-01-01

Sleep changes throughout the lifespan, with particularly salient alterations occurring during the first few years of life, as well as during the transition from childhood to adolescence. Such changes are partly the result of brain maturation; complex changes in the organisation of the circadian system; as well as changes in daily routine, environmental demands and responsibilities. Despite the automaticity of sleep, given that it is governed by a host of complex mechanisms, there are times when sleep becomes disturbed. Sleep disturbances in childhood are common and may stem from behavioural difficulties or abnormalities in physiological processes-and, in some cases manifest into diagnosable sleep disorders. As well as occurring exclusively, childhood sleep disturbances often co-occur with other difficulties. The purpose of this chapter is to outline the neurobiology of typical sleep/wake processes, and describe changes in sleep physiology and architecture from birth to adulthood. Furthermore, common childhood sleep disorders are described as are their associations with other traits, including all of the syndromes presented in this handbook: ASDs, ADHD, schizophrenia and emotional/behavioural difficulties. Throughout, we attempt to explain possible mechanisms underlying these disorders and their associations.

Innovation from the ICT-based service encounter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henten, Anders

2012-01-01

The pupose of the paper is to develop a framework for analyzing the dynamics of innovations emanating from the ICT-based service encounters. Many innovations are based on the direct encounter between employees and customers, and the paper aims to extend the analysis of such encounters to ICT...

Dental case manager encounters: the association with retention in dental care and treatment plan completion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemay, Celeste A; Tobias, Carol; Umez-Eronini, Amarachi A; Brown, Carolyn; McCluskey, Amanda; Fox, Jane E; Bednarsh, Helene; Cabral, Howard J

2013-01-01

Little is known about dental case managers as few programs have been scientifically evaluated. The goal of this study was to explore the impact of dental case manager on retention in dental care and completion of treatment plans, while specifically exploring the number of dental case manager encounters. Fourteen programs enrolled people with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in dental care and a longitudinal study between 2007 and 2009. The 758 participants had a total of 2715 encounters with a dental case manager over twelve months: 29% had a single encounter; 21% had two; 27% had 3-4 and; 23% had 5-29 encounters. Adjusting for baseline characteristics, participants receiving more encounters were significantly more likely to complete their Phase 1 treatment plan, be retained in dental care, and experience improvements in overall oral health status. Organizations considering efforts to improve the oral health of vulnerable, hard-to-engage populations should consider these findings when planning interventions. ©2012 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

ASRS Reports on Wake Vortex Encounters

Science.gov (United States)

Connell, Linda J.; Taube, Elisa Ann; Drew, Charles Robert; Barclay, Tommy Earl

2010-01-01

ASRS is conducting a structured callback research project of wake vortex incidents reported to the ASRS at all US airports, as well as wake encounters in the enroute environment. This study has three objectives: (1) Utilize the established ASRS supplemental data collection methodology and provide ongoing analysis of wake vortex encounter reports; (2) Document event dynamics and contributing factors underlying wake vortex encounter events; and (3) Support ongoing FAA efforts to address pre-emptive wake vortex risk reduction by utilizing ASRS reporting contributions.

Initial Encounters : The Lived Experiences of Buyers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

G. Wright; J.J. Dekker

2012-01-01

The initial encounter between a buyer and a seller has received much attention among practitioners. The first time a buyer interacts with a seller is thought to be highly influential. The premise is that buyers form an opinion during this first encounter, or even the first minutes of this encounter.

Achievements, difficulties and future challenges for the FARMING network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nisbet, A.F.; Mercer, J.A.; Rantavaara, A.; Hanninen, R.; Vandecasteele, C.; Carle, B.; Hardeman, F.; Ioannides, K.G.; Papachristodoulou, C.; Tzialla, C.; Ollagnon, H.; Jullien, T.; Pupin, V.

2005-01-01

The EC FARMING network (Food and Agriculture Restoration Management Involving Networked Groups) was set up to bring together the many and diverse stakeholders who would be involved in intervention following wide scale radioactive contamination of the food chain, so that acceptable strategies can be developed for maintaining agricultural production and safe food supply. The network comprises stakeholder panels in the UK, Finland, Belgium, France and Greece that have met regularly since 2001 to debate, discuss and exchange opinion on the acceptability, constraints and impact of various countermeasure options and strategies. The objectives of this paper are to consolidate the main achievements of the FARMING project over the period 2000-2004, to highlight the various difficulties that were encountered and to discuss the challenges for engaging stakeholders in off-site emergency management and long-term rehabilitation in the future

A Systematic Review of Patients’ Experiences in Communicating with Primary Care Physicians: Intercultural Encounters and a Balance between Vulnerability and Integrity

Science.gov (United States)

Rocque, Rhea; Leanza, Yvan

2015-01-01

Communication difficulties persist between patients and physicians. In order to improve care, patients’ experiences of this communication must be understood. The main objective of this study is to synthesize qualitative studies exploring patients’ experiences in communicating with a primary care physician. A secondary objective is to explore specific factors pertaining to ethnic minority or majority patients and their influence on patients’ experiences of communication. Pertinent health and social sciences electronic databases were searched systematically (PubMed, Cinahl, PsychNet, and IBSS). Fifty-seven articles were included in the review on the basis of being qualitative studies targeting patients’ experiences of communication with a primary care physician. The meta-ethnography method for qualitative studies was used to interpret data and the COREQ checklist was used to evaluate the quality of included studies. Three concepts emerged from analyses: negative experiences, positive experiences, and outcomes of communication. Negative experiences related to being treated with disrespect, experiencing pressure due to time constraints, and feeling helpless due to the dominance of biomedical culture in the medical encounter. Positive experiences are attributed to certain relational skills, technical skills, as well as certain approaches to care privileged by the physician. Outcomes of communication depend on patients’ evaluation of the consultation. Four categories of specific factors exerted mainly a negative influence on consultations for ethnic minorities: language barriers, discrimination, differing values, and acculturation. Ethnic majorities also raised specific factors influencing their experience: differing values and discrimination. Findings of this review are limited by the fact that more than half of the studies did not explore cultural aspects relating to this experience. Future research should address these aspects in more detail. In conclusion

The space of togetherness--a caring encounter.

Science.gov (United States)

Holopainen, Gunilla; Kasén, Anne; Nyström, Lisbet

2014-03-01

Encounters in relation to the nurse-patient relationship are often discussed within nursing and caring literature without a reflection on the actual meaning of the concept. Assuming that an encounter is essential for nursing care, this article seeks to create a deeper understanding of the concept through a hermeneutic approach to texts by the philosophers Buber and Marcel. Presence, recognition, availability and mutuality seem to be essential prerequisites for an encounter. As these prerequisites are fulfilled within and between human beings who encounter each other, it is possible to speak of a space of togetherness, a mutual existence, where life's mystery shines forth and caring is realized. The challenge lies in creating these encounters within nursing care. © 2012 The Authors Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2012 Nordic College of Caring Science.

[Elderlies in street situation or social vulnerability: facilities and difficulties in the use of computational tools].

Science.gov (United States)

Frias, Marcos Antonio da Eira; Peres, Heloisa Helena Ciqueto; Pereira, Valclei Aparecida Gandolpho; Negreiros, Maria Célia de; Paranhos, Wana Yeda; Leite, Maria Madalena Januário

2014-01-01

This study aimed to identify the advantages and difficulties encountered by older people living on the streets or social vulnerability, to use the computer or internet. It is an exploratory qualitative research, in which five elderlies, attended on a non-governmental organization located in the city of São Paulo, have participated. The discourses were analyzed by content analysis technique and showed, as facilities, among others, to clarify doubts with the monitors, the stimulus for new discoveries coupled with proactivity and curiosity, and develop new skills. The mentioned difficulties were related to physical or cognitive issues, lack of instructor, and lack of knowledge to interact with the machine. The studies focusing on the elderly population living on the streets or in social vulnerability may contribute with evidence to guide the formulation of public policies to this population.

Drug-related police encounters across the globe: How do they compare?

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Caitlin E; Barratt, Monica J; Ferris, Jason A; Maier, Larissa J; Winstock, Adam R

2018-06-01

Drug law enforcement subsumes the majority of drug policy expenditure across the globe. Fuelled by knowledge that much of this investment is ineffective or counter-productive there have been increasing calls for cross-national comparisons to identify where policing approaches differ and what types of approaches may be more effective. Yet, to date cross-national comparison of drug law enforcement has proven a methodologically hazardous affair. Using a new drug policing module added to the 2017 Global Drug Survey, this study seeks to provide the first cross-national comparison of the incidence, nature and intensity of illicit drug-related police encounters amongst people who use drugs. The Global Drug Survey was administered in late 2016. Across 26 countries including Australia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, the UK and the USA a total of 45,942 people who had recently used drugs completed the drug policing module. Key variables assessed included the incidence and frequency of drug-related police encounters in the last 12 months that involved: a) being stopped and searched; b) encountering a drug detection dog; c) being given a caution or warning; d) being charged and arrested; and e) paying a bribe. Multi-level models were used to control for pre-existing national differences in drug use prevalence and non-drug specific policing (including the total number of police personnel in each country). Drug-related police encounters were most commonly reported in Italy and Scotland. Conversely, police encounters were most likely to lead to arrest in Norway, Finland and Sweden. The type and locations of encounters further differed across countries, with for example stop and search most reported in Greece and Colombia, and encounters with drug detection dogs most reported in Scotland, Italy, UK and Australia. Multi-level models showed that the incidence of reported policing encounters continued to differ significantly across countries after controlling for pre

Associations between food consumption patterns and saliva composition: Specificities of eating difficulties children.

Science.gov (United States)

Morzel, Martine; Truntzer, Caroline; Neyraud, Eric; Brignot, Hélène; Ducoroy, Patrick; Lucchi, Géraldine; Canlet, Cécile; Gaillard, Ségolène; Nicod, Florian; Nicklaus, Sophie; Peretti, Noël; Feron, Gilles

2017-05-01

Identifying objective markers of diet would be beneficial to research fields such as nutritional epidemiology. As a preliminary study on the validity of using saliva for this purpose, and in order to explore the relationship between saliva and diet, we focused on clearly contrasted groups of children: children with eating difficulties (ED) receiving at least 50% of their energy intake through artificial nutrition vs healthy controls (C). Saliva of ED and C children was analyzed by various methods (targeted biochemical analyses, 2-D electrophoresis coupled to MS, 1 H NMR) and their diet was characterized using food frequency questionnaires, considering 148 food items grouped into 13 categories. Complete datasets were obtained for 16 ED and 16 C subjects (median age 4.7y and 5.0y, respectively) and the statistical link between salivary and dietary characteristics was studied by Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA). Overall, ED children showed as expected lower consumption frequency scores and higher food selectivity. The two groups of children differed in "diet/saliva" associations. Some distinctive salivary variables were common to both groups of children. For example, carbonic anhydrase 6 and the consumption frequency of biscuits & sweets and drinks were positively associated with the MFA axis 1 in C children, but oppositely associated in ED children. Specifically for ED children, abundant salivary proteins (cystatins, amylase, amylase fragments) and some metabolites (amino acids, galactose, lactate) correlated with axis 1, together with the consumption frequency of sauces & seasonings, bread & cereal products, ready-to-eat meals, fish, biscuits & sweets, drinks and potatoes. Specifically for C children, several proteins (serum albumin, haptoglobin, Igκ, apolipoprotein A-1, α-1 antitrypsin) correlated with axis 1, together with the consumption frequency of biscuits & sweets, milk & dairy products, drinks, fruit, meat and vegetables. This study demonstrates that the

Beyond the Embodied Digital Service Encounter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Jannick Kirk

2018-01-01

When a digital service encounter develops differently than anticipated, the client becomes a user. This transformation reveals the ambiguous nature of digital service encounter being neither well-functioning tools, nor having the same sensitivity to and tolerance for service failures as in human ...

Cross-cultural care encounters in paediatric care: minority ethnic parents' experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavallali, Azar Gashasb; Jirwe, Maria; Kabir, Zarina Nahar

2017-03-01

Because of worldwide migration, the healthcare staff in general as well as in paedi"atric care specifically is challenged increasingly by people from various ethnic backgrounds. The challenge is related to providing culturally competent care and effectively communicating with people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds who have different health beliefs, practices, values and languages. This also applies to the Swedish society and to Swedish paediatric care. The purpose of this study was to describe the expectations and experiences of cross-cultural care encounters among minority ethnic parents in Swedish paediatric care. A qualitative design was used in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews between October 2011 and March 2012. The sample consisted of 12 parents of minority ethnic backgrounds who had their child in a ward at a children's hospital in the Stockholm County Council. The interviews were analysed using manifest content analysis. The Regional Ethical Review Committee approved the study (Ref: Nr: 2011/927-31/5). The analysis of the interviews led to three categories: fundamentals in nursing, cultural sensitivity and understanding, and influencing conditions. Generic knowledge and skills of nurses outweighed the need for the nurses to have culture-specific knowledge of their patients or relatives in cross-cultural care encounters. Language skills and the availability of bilingual nurses in a multi-ethnic society can facilitate communication and increase parents' satisfaction in cross-cultural care encounters. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Termite: Emulation Testbed for Encounter Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Bruno

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Cutting-edge mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are equipped with various infrastructureless wireless interfaces, such as WiFi Direct and Bluetooth. Such technologies allow for novel mobile applications that take advantage of casual encounters between co-located users. However, the need to mimic the behavior of real-world encounter networks makes testing and debugging of such applications hard tasks. We present Termite, an emulation testbed for encounter networks. Our system allows developers to run their applications on a virtual encounter network emulated by software. Developers can model arbitrary encounter networks and specify user interactions on the emulated virtual devices. To facilitate testing and debugging, developers can place breakpoints, inspect the runtime state of virtual nodes, and run experiments in a stepwise fashion. Termite defines its own Petri Net variant to model the dynamically changing topology and synthesize user interactions with virtual devices. The system is designed to efficiently multiplex an underlying emulation hosting infrastructure across multiple developers, and to support heterogeneous mobile platforms. Our current system implementation supports virtual Android devices communicating over WiFi Direct networks and runs on top of a local cloud infrastructure. We evaluated our system using emulator network traces, and found that Termite is expressive and performs well.

Switches to English during French Service Encounters: Relationships with L2 French Speakers' Willingness to Communicate and Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

McNaughton, Stephanie; McDonough, Kim

2015-01-01

This exploratory study investigated second language (L2) French speakers' service encounters in the multilingual setting of Montreal, specifically whether switches to English during French service encounters were related to L2 speakers' willingness to communicate or motivation. Over a two-week period, 17 French L2 speakers in Montreal submitted…

Communication difficulties in teenagers with health impairments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samokhvalova, Anna G.

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Contemporary psychological and pedagogical studies pay special attention to the socialization of physically impaired children, inclusive education and methods of providing such children with a safe environment to assist in their development. However, difficulties in interpersonal communication experienced by children with health impairments have remained beyond the research scope. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of communication difficulties in typically developed teenagers aged 12-13 years (n = 100 and the problems faced by their peers with visual (n = 30, auditory (n = 30, speech (n = 25 and motor (n = 15 impairments. Actual communication difficulties in teenagers were studied in two ways: the subjective component of impaired communication was registered through a content analysis of a sentence completion test and the objective manifestations of impaired communication were identified through expert evaluation of children’s communicative behavior (educators and psychologists who had been in close contact with the teenagers acted as experts. First, the authors identified typical standard communication problems that were characteristic of teenagers aged 12-13 years, that is, problems with aggression, tolerance, the ability to admit wrongdoing and make concessions, empathy, self-control, self-analysis and self-expression in communication. Second, typical communication difficulties characteristic of physically impaired children were revealed: failure to understand meaning; feelings of awkwardness and shame of oneself; expectations of a negative attitude toward oneself; gelotophobia; and manifestations of despotism, petulance and egotism as defensive reactions in situations of impaired communication. Third, the authors described specific communication difficulties in teenagers with auditory, visual, speech and motor impairments.

Perceived Social Support and Domain-Specific Adjustment of Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Popliger, Mina; Toste, Jessica R.; Heath, Nancy L.

2009-01-01

The perceived availability of social support has been documented as a protective mechanism among adults and adolescents. However, little research has explored the role of social support among children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (E/BD). The current study sought to investigate the effects of perceived social support from family,…

Close encounters for the first time: Helicase interactions with DNA damage.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Irfan; Sommers, Joshua A; Brosh, Robert M

2015-09-01

DNA helicases are molecular motors that harness the energy of nucleoside triphosphate hydrolysis to unwinding structured DNA molecules that must be resolved during cellular replication, DNA repair, recombination, and transcription. In vivo, DNA helicases are expected to encounter a wide spectrum of covalent DNA modifications to the sugar phosphate backbone or the nitrogenous bases; these modifications can be induced by endogenous biochemical processes or exposure to environmental agents. The frequency of lesion abundance can vary depending on the lesion type. Certain adducts such as oxidative base modifications can be quite numerous, and their effects can be helix-distorting or subtle perturbations to DNA structure. Helicase encounters with specific DNA lesions and more novel forms of DNA damage will be discussed. We will also review the battery of assays that have been used to characterize helicase-catalyzed unwinding of damaged DNA substrates. Characterization of the effects of specific DNA adducts on unwinding by various DNA repair and replication helicases has proven to be insightful for understanding mechanistic and biological aspects of helicase function in cellular DNA metabolism. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Global Diabetes Encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juul Nielsen, Annegrete; Langstrup, Henriette

2014-01-01

As already recognized, though little theorized within International Relations, the capacity of technology to ensure the achievement of preset policy goals is often grossly overrated. Drawing on Science and Technology Studies, this chapter proposes a lens to investigate global encounters, which ta...

Survey of Complementary and Alternative Therapies Used by Children with Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia)

Science.gov (United States)

Bull, Leona

2009-01-01

Background: Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty affecting up to 10% of British children that is associated with a wide range of cognitive, emotional and physical symptoms. In the absence of effective conventional treatment, it is likely that parents will seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to try and help their children.…

Use, misuse and extensions of "ideal gas" models of animal encounter.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchinson, John M C; Waser, Peter M

2007-08-01

Biologists have repeatedly rediscovered classical models from physics predicting collision rates in an ideal gas. These models, and their two-dimensional analogues, have been used to predict rates and durations of encounters among animals or social groups that move randomly and independently, given population density, velocity, and distance at which an encounter occurs. They have helped to separate cases of mixed-species association based on behavioural attraction from those that simply reflect high population densities, and to detect cases of attraction or avoidance among conspecifics. They have been used to estimate the impact of population density, speeds of movement and size on rates of encounter between members of the opposite sex, between gametes, between predators and prey, and between observers and the individuals that they are counting. One limitation of published models has been that they predict rates of encounter, but give no means of determining whether observations differ significantly from predictions. Another uncertainty is the robustness of the predictions when animal movements deviate from the model's assumptions in specific, biologically relevant ways. Here, we review applications of the ideal gas model, derive extensions of the model to cover some more realistic movement patterns, correct several errors that have arisen in the literature, and show how to generate confidence limits for expected rates of encounter among independently moving individuals. We illustrate these results using data from mangabey monkeys originally used along with the ideal gas model to argue that groups avoid each other. Although agent-based simulations provide a more flexible alternative approach, the ideal gas model remains both a valuable null model and a useful, less onerous, approximation to biological reality.

Frontcountry encounter norms among three cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Jerry J. Vaske; Maureen P. Donnelly; Robert M. Doctor; James P. Petruzzi

1995-01-01

Existing normative studies have focused on backcountry encounter norms reported by North Americans. This study extends previous research by comparing encounter norms reported by three different cultures - North Americans, Europeans, and Japanese - in a frontcountry day use recreation area. Data were obtained from on-site surveys distributed at the Columbia Icefield in...

Cosmopolitan encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Plage, Stefanie; Willing, Indigo; Woodward, Ian

2017-01-01

This study contributes to the growing research on everyday cosmopolitanism in diverse societies. We employ a cosmopolitan encounters framework to explore the reflexive openness people perform and the ethical reasoning they draw on to get along with each other. In particular, we look beyond....... The ethical framework we propose is grounded in reflexive acts of sharing going beyond notions of giving and performing hospitality within a host/guest dyad....

From "five" to 5 for 5 minutes: Arabic number transcoding as a short, specific, and sensitive screening tool for mathematics learning difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Moura, Ricardo; Lopes-Silva, Júlia Beatriz; Vieira, Laura Rodrigues; Paiva, Giulia Moreira; Prado, Ana Carolina de Almeida; Wood, Guilherme; Haase, Vitor Geraldi

2015-02-01

Number transcoding (e.g., writing 29 when hearing "twenty-nine") is one of the most basic numerical abilities required in daily life and is paramount for mathematics achievement. The aim of this study is to investigate psychometric properties of an Arabic number-writing task and its capacity to identify children with mathematics difficulties. We assessed 786 children (55% girls) from first to fourth grades, who were classified as children with mathematics difficulties (n = 103) or controls (n = 683). Although error rates were low, the task presented adequate internal consistency (0.91). Analyses revealed effective diagnostic accuracy in first and second school grades (specificity equals to 0.67 and 0.76 respectively, and sensitivity equals to 0.70 and 0.88 respectively). Moreover, items tapping the understanding of place-value syntax were the most sensitive to mathematics achievement. Overall, we propose that number transcoding is a useful tool for the assessment of mathematics abilities in early elementary school. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Numerical Magnitude Representation in Children With Mathematical Difficulties With or Without Reading Difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Tobia, Valentina; Fasola, Anna; Lupieri, Alice; Marzocchi, Gian Marco

2016-01-01

This study aimed to explore the spatial numerical association of response codes (SNARC), the flanker, and the numerical distance effects in children with mathematical difficulties. From a sample of 720 third, fourth, and fifth graders, 60 children were selected and divided into the following three groups: typically developing children (TD; n = 29), children with mathematical difficulties only (MD only; n = 21), and children with mathematical and reading difficulties (MD+RD; n = 10). Children were tested with a numerical Eriksen task that was built to assess SNARC, numerical distance, and flanker (first and second order congruency) effects. Children with MD only showed stronger SNARC and second order congruency effects than did TD children, whereas the numerical distance effects were similar across the three groups. Finally, the first order congruency effect was associated with reading difficulties. These results showed that children with mathematical difficulties with or without reading difficulties were globally more impaired when spatial incompatibilities were presented. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

Due Regard Encounter Model Version 1.0

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-19

Note that no existing model covers encoun- ters between two IFR aircraft in oceanic airspace. The reason for this is that one cannot observe encounters...encounters between instrument flight rules ( IFR ) and non- IFR traffic beyond 12NM. 2 TABLE 1 Encounter model categories. Aircraft of Interest Intruder...Aircraft Location Flight Rule IFR VFR Noncooperative Noncooperative Conventional Unconventional CONUS IFR C C U X VFR C U U X Offshore IFR C C U X VFR C U

Difficulties Encountered in the Application of the Phenomenological ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

While it is heartening to see that more researchers in the field of the social sciences are using some version of the phenomenological method, it is also disappointing to see that very often some of the steps employed do not follow phenomenological logic. In this paper, several dissertations are reviewed in order to point out ...

Difficulties encountered by black women entrepreneurs in accessing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The long period of colonialism and apartheid, imposed oppression and exploitation on women especially black African women, meant that they could not own property in their own rights or enter into a contract. The dawn of democracy brought about changes in the role played by women. They have emerged significantly ...

High-velocity runaway stars from three-body encounters

Science.gov (United States)

Gvaramadze, V. V.; Gualandris, A.; Portegies Zwart, S.

2010-01-01

We performed numerical simulations of dynamical encounters between hard, massive binaries and a very massive star (VMS; formed through runaway mergers of ordinary stars in the dense core of a young massive star cluster) to explore the hypothesis that this dynamical process could be responsible for the origin of high-velocity (≥ 200 - 400 km s-1) early or late B-type stars. We estimated the typical velocities produced in encounters between very tight massive binaries and VMSs (of mass of ≥ 200 M⊙) and found that about 3 - 4% of all encounters produce velocities ≥ 400 km s-1, while in about 2% of encounters the escapers attain velocities exceeding the Milky Ways's escape velocity. We therefore argue that the origin of high-velocity (≥ 200 - 400 km s-1) runaway stars and at least some so-called hypervelocity stars could be associated with dynamical encounters between the tightest massive binaries and VMSs formed in the cores of star clusters. We also simulated dynamical encounters between tight massive binaries and single ordinary 50 - 100 M⊙ stars. We found that from 1 to ≃ 4% of these encounters can produce runaway stars with velocities of ≥ 300 - 400 km s-1 (typical of the bound population of high-velocity halo B-type stars) and occasionally (in less than 1% of encounters) produce hypervelocity (≥ 700 km s-1) late B-type escapers.

Processing changes across reading encounters.

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Levy, B A; Newell, S; Snyder, J; Timmins, K

1986-10-01

Five experiments examined changes in the processing of a text across reading encounters. Experiment 1 showed that reading speed increased systematically across encounters, with no loss in the extensiveness of analyses of the printed text, as indicated by the ability to detect nonword errors embedded within that passage. Experiment 2 replicated this improved reading fluency with experience and showed that it occurred even with typescript changes across trials, thus indicating that a primed visual operations explanation cannot account for the effect. The third and fourth experiments then extended the study of the familiarity effect to higher level processing, as indicated by the detection of word errors. Familiarity facilitated the detection of these violations at the syntactic-semantic levels. Finally, Experiment 5 showed that these higher level violations continued to be well detected over a series of reading encounters with the same text. The results indicate that prior experience improves reading speed, with no attenuation of analysis of the printed words or of the passage's message.

Brief encounters: Assembling cosmetic surgery tourism.

Science.gov (United States)

Holliday, Ruth; Bell, David; Cheung, Olive; Jones, Meredith; Probyn, Elspeth

2015-01-01

This paper reports findings from a large-scale, multi-disciplinary, mixed methods project which explores empirically and theoretically the rapidly growing but poorly understood (and barely regulated) phenomenon of cosmetic surgery tourism (CST). We explore CST by drawing on theories of flows, networks and assemblages, aiming to produce a fuller and more nuanced account of - and accounting for - CST. This enables us to conceptualise CST as an interplay of places, people, things, ideas and practices. Through specific instances of assembling cosmetic surgery that we encountered in the field, and that we illustrate with material from interviews with patients, facilitators and surgeons, our analysis advances understandings and theorisations of medical mobilities, globalisation and assemblage thinking. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Incidence of Norovirus-Associated Medical Encounters among Active Duty United States Military Personnel and Their Dependents.

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Brian Rha

Full Text Available Norovirus is a leading cause of gastroenteritis episodes and outbreaks in US military deployments, but estimates of endemic disease burden among military personnel in garrison are lacking.Diagnostic codes from gastroenteritis-associated medical encounters of active duty military personnel and their beneficiaries from July 1998-June 2011 were obtained from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. Using time-series regression models, cause-unspecified encounters were modeled as a function of encounters for specific enteropathogens. Model residuals (representing unexplained encounters were used to estimate norovirus-attributable medical encounters. Incidence rates were calculated using population data for both active duty and beneficiary populations.The estimated annual mean rate of norovirus-associated medically-attended visits among active duty personnel and their beneficiaries was 292 (95% CI: 258 to 326 and 93 (95% CI: 80 to 105 encounters per 10,000 persons, respectively. Rates were highest among beneficiaries <5 years of age with a median annual rate of 435 (range: 318 to 646 encounters per 10,000 children. Norovirus was estimated to cause 31% and 27% of all-cause gastroenteritis encounters in the active duty and beneficiary populations, respectively, with over 60% occurring between November and April. There was no evidence of any lag effect where norovirus disease occurred in one population before the other, or in one beneficiary age group before the others.Norovirus is a major cause of medically-attended gastroenteritis among non-deployed US military active duty members as well as in their beneficiaries.

Later learning stages in procedural memory are impaired in children with Specific Language Impairment.

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Desmottes, Lise; Meulemans, Thierry; Maillart, Christelle

2016-01-01

According to the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH), difficulties in the procedural memory system may contribute to the language difficulties encountered by children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Most studies investigating the PDH have used the sequence learning paradigm; however these studies have principally focused on initial sequence learning in a single practice session. The present study sought to extend these investigations by assessing the consolidation stage and longer-term retention of implicit sequence-specific knowledge in 42 children with or without SLI. Both groups of children completed a serial reaction time task and were tested 24h and one week after practice. Results showed that children with SLI succeeded as well as children with typical development (TD) in the early acquisition stage of the sequence learning task. However, as training blocks progressed, only TD children improved their sequence knowledge while children with SLI did not appear to evolve any more. Moreover, children with SLI showed a lack of the consolidation gains in sequence knowledge displayed by the TD children. Overall, these results were in line with the predictions of the PDH and suggest that later learning stages in procedural memory are impaired in SLI. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dental Encounter System (DES)

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Department of Veterans Affairs — Dental Encounter System (DES) is an automated health care application designed to capture critical data about the operations of VA Dental Services. Information on...

A WTG system for local grid supply substitution: stages to implementation and monitoring. Report on the institutional aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The demonstration project consisted of installing one 50 kW wind turbine generator in a rural area of Scotland to supply electricity both locally and for sale of surplus to the existing grid network. The paper reports on the difficulties encountered at the local planning application stage and in negotiating a connection to the UK national grid. Technical difficulties encountered with respect to equipment specification and suitability for connection to the grid network should serve as a warning to other potential contractors. The difficulties encountered were of sufficient magnitude that it became necessary to involve the National Engineering Laboratory as facilitator. The paper should be useful to anyone considering installing wind turbines in the UK

A WTG system for local grid supply substitution: stages to implementation and monitoring. Report on the institutional aspects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

The demonstration project consisted of installing one 50 kW wind turbine generator in a rural area of Scotland to supply electricity both locally and for sale of surplus to the existing grid network. The paper reports on the difficulties encountered at the local planning application stage and in negotiating a connection to the UK national grid. Technical difficulties encountered with respect to equipment specification and suitability for connection to the grid network should serve as a warning to other potential contractors. The difficulties encountered were of sufficient magnitude that it became necessary to involve the National Engineering Laboratory as facilitator. The paper should be useful to anyone considering installing wind turbines in the UK.

Determinants of customer satisfaction with service encounter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariana Nefat

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Service encounters are the focal point of a customer’s perception of a service in terms of its quality, value and customer satisfaction. The paper researches the influence of the components of a service encounter on customer satisfaction. Among several factors that determine customer satisfaction the quality of service, which is related to the characteristics of service, plays an important role. However, a direct insight into the reasons that make a service encounter satisfactory or unsatisfactory is provided by the critical incident technique, where causes of dis/satisfaction differ primarily depending on whether they derive from interpersonal contact or from contact with technology. The evidence of service, which includes people, process and the physical evidence, plays a critical role in a customer’s dis/satisfaction. The influence of these elements cannot be observed separately; it must be observed in their interaction during the delivery of service and their strongest effect is achieved during face-to-face service encounters that have the characteristics of a theatre metaphor. Even though a high level of satisfaction may be achieved after the recovery of a service, enterprises should aim to conduct excellent service encounters right from the start.

A Study of Moroccan Pupils' Difficulties at Second Baccalaureate Year in Solving Chemistry Problems Relating to the Reactivity of Ethanoate Ions and to Copper-Aluminium Cells

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Ouasri, Ali

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the difficulties that Moroccan pupils (18-19) of the second Baccalaureate year encountered in solving chemical equilibrium problems relating to ethanoate ions' reactivity with water and methanoic acid, and to copper-aluminum cells. The pupils were asked to provide answers to questions derived from two problems. The…

The impact of personal connection on customer behaviours (word-of-mouth intention and retention) in service encounters

OpenAIRE

Chen, Ning; Zhao, Qi; Ardley, Barry

2015-01-01

In services marketing it is widely acknowledged that a relationship approach may facilitate in customer retention and enhance customer loyalty, and further influence customer post-purchase behaviours e.g. word-of-mouth. In this study, a specific relationship in service encounters, personal connections between customers and service employees, is explored in its indications on different outcomes from service encounters including three types of word-of-mouth behaviour intention and retention. Th...

Logic of Accounting: The Case of Reporting Previous Options in Norwegian Activation Encounters

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Solberg, Janne

2017-01-01

The article deals with the enactment of client resistance in Norwegian vocational rehabilitation encounters. More specific, a practice here called "reporting previous options" is analyzed by using the resources of ethnomethodological conversation analysis (CA) in five instances as doing some sort of accounting. In response to the…

Understanding handwriting difficulties: A comparison of children with and without motor impairment.

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Prunty, Mellissa; Barnett, Anna L

The nature of handwriting difficulties have been explored in children with specific developmental disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the nature of handwriting difficulties in children with dysgraphia, a less studied group who have significant handwriting difficulties in the absence of motor control or cognitive difficulties. The performance of a dysgraphia group aged 8-14 years was compared to a group with Developmental Coordination Disorder and to typically developing (TD) controls. Participants completed two handwriting tasks on a digitizing writing tablet. The amount and accuracy of the handwriting product was measured, plus various temporal and spatial features of the writing process. There were no significant differences in performance between the two groups with handwriting difficulties but both performed more poorly than the TD group. Individual differences in the type and severity of handwriting impairments suggest the need for a range of classroom assessments to tailor intervention appropriately.

Customer-sales employee encounters: a dyadic perspective.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dolen, van W.; Lemmink, J.G.A.M.; Ruyter, de J.C.; Jong, de A.

2003-01-01

Although researchers have suggested that the performance of the salesperson during sales encounters is critical, many of the underlying mechanisms that govern the interaction between salespersons and customers are still unclear. In this research, we investigate sales encounters from a new approach

Encounters with service professionals experienced by children from families with alcohol problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werner, Anne; Malterud, Kirsti

2016-01-01

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore encounters with service professionals experienced in childhood and adolescence by children who grew up with parental alcohol abuse. We focused on their accounts from situations indicating children’s struggles or parental drinking problems. Methods: Semi......-structured qualitative interview study was conducted with retrospective data from nine adults. Systematic text condensation was used to understand childhood experiences from encounters with professionals. Results: Participants believed that professionals rarely recognised their parents’ drinking problems. The children...... parental drinking. Even when problems were obvious, participants felt that professionals took no further action. Medical and social problems were managed within very confined perspectives. Conclusions: Specific commitment to confront cultural taboos is needed to attend to children’s unmet needs...

Customer-to-customer roles and impacts in service encounters

OpenAIRE

Lee, Linda

2016-01-01

This thesis investigates customer-to-customer roles and impacts in the context of service encounters. This topic is studied from two angles: customer interactions during group service encounters and customer perceptions post service encounters. The first angle is a focus on group service encounters that addresses the lack of research on customer-to-customer interactions that occur in customer-to-customer interaction-intensive contexts. These are contexts where the interactions between custome...

A Lakatosian Encounter

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Chick, Helen

2010-01-01

There is much to be learned and pondered by reading "Proofs and Refutations," by Imre Lakatos. It highlights the importance of mathematical definitions, and how definitions evolve to capture the essence of the object they are defining. It also provides an exhilarating encounter with the ups and downs of the mathematical reasoning process, where…

Using the Nudge and Shove Methods to Adjust Item Difficulty Values.

Science.gov (United States)

Royal, Kenneth D

2015-01-01

In any examination, it is important that a sufficient mix of items with varying degrees of difficulty be present to produce desirable psychometric properties and increase instructors' ability to make appropriate and accurate inferences about what a student knows and/or can do. The purpose of this "teaching tip" is to demonstrate how examination items can be affected by the quality of distractors, and to present a simple method for adjusting items to meet difficulty specifications.

Memory Abilities in Children with Mathematical Difficulties: Comorbid Language Difficulties Matter

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Reimann, Giselle; Gut, Janine; Frischknecht, Marie-Claire; Grob, Alexander

2013-01-01

The present study investigated cognitive abilities in children with difficulties in mathematics only (n = 48, M = 8 years and 5 months), combined mathematical and language difficulty (n = 27, M = 8 years and 1 month) and controls (n = 783, M = 7 years and 11 months). Cognitive abilities were measured with seven subtests, tapping visual perception,…

Internet advertisements for public sexual encounters among men who have sex with men: are safe behaviors communicated?

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Downing, Martin J

2011-09-01

Public and commercial sex venues typically provide easy access to sexual encounters that are often anonymous and, therefore, may facilitate HIV/STD transmission among those men who attend. Recently, researchers have suggested that men who have sex with men may be using the Internet to search for sexual encounters to occur within sex venues. The current study explored the extent to which men who advertise for public or commercial sexual encounters initially communicate to potential partners their safe-sex intentions. Advertisements for sexual encounters (n = 99) were collected from a publicly accessible website and examined for content related to venue type, sexual behavior, and indications of sexual safety or risk. Word frequencies were calculated to provide a closer investigation of how individuals negotiate safe sex within these communications. The findings revealed that approximately half of the men who advertised for sex in a public or commercial sex venue failed to communicate to potential partners in their initial advertisement a desire to be safe during sexual encounters involving oral and anal practices. Additionally, a small percentage of men advertised specifically for risky encounters (e.g., barebacking). Together, these findings suggest that men do use the Internet to coordinate public sexual encounters, some of which may be unprotected from HIV/STD transmission. Future research should address the process of condom negotiation among men who initially meet their male sex partners on the Internet for subsequent encounters in sex venues.

The Role of Individualism/Collectivism in Critical Classroom Encounters: A Four Country Study

Science.gov (United States)

Frankel, Robert; Swanson, Scott R.; Sagan, Mariusz

2005-01-01

Internationalization raises the issue of whether, and to what extent, the inherent culture of a country may have particular influence on the nature of service interactions, and on education (i.e., student-professor interactions) specifically. Thus the service encounter in the classroom becomes a subject of increasing importance and interest with…

Physician as partner or salesman? Shared decision-making in real-time encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Karnieli-Miller, Orit; Eisikovits, Zvi

2009-07-01

The results of recent research have led to the increased advocacy of shared decision-making regarding medical treatment. Nonetheless, only a limited number of studies have focused on the process of decision-making in real-time encounters. The present paper aims to document and analyze this process. Specifically, we assess whether these decisions are the result of partnership or of persuasive tactics based on power and hierarchical relationships. We will describe and analyze different strategies used by pediatric gastroenterologists in breaking bad news encounters, as well as their consequences. The analysis is based on a multi-method, multi-participant phenomenological study on breaking bad news to adolescents and their families regarding a chronic illness. It included 17 units of analysis (actual encounters and 52 interviews with physicians, parents and adolescents). Data were collected from three hospitals in Northern Israel using observations and audiotapes of diagnosis disclosure encounters and audio-taped interviews with all participants. The analysis identified eight different presentation tactics used in actual encounters during which physicians made various use of language, syntax and different sources of power to persuade patients to agree with their preferred treatment choice. The tactics included various ways of presenting the illness, treatment and side effects; providing examples from other success or failure stories; sharing the decision only concerning technicalities; and using plurals and authority. The findings suggest that shared decision-making may be advocated as a philosophical tenet or a value, but it is not necessarily implemented in actual communication with patients. Rather, treatment decisions tend to be unilaterally made, and a variety of persuasive approaches are used to ensure agreement with the physician's recommendation. The discussion is focused on the complexity of sharing a decision, especially in the initial bad news encounter

Crowdsourcing for Context: Regarding Privacy in Beacon Encounters via Contextual Integrity

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Bello-Ogunu Emmanuel

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Research shows that context is important to the privacy perceptions associated with technology. With Bluetooth Low Energy beacons, one of the latest technologies for providing proximity and indoor tracking, the current identifiers that characterize a beacon are not sufficient for ordinary users to make informed privacy decisions about the location information that could be shared. One solution would be to have standardized category and privacy labels, produced by beacon providers or an independent third-party. An alternative solution is to find an approach driven by users, for users. In this paper, we propose a novel crowdsourcing based approach to introduce elements of context in beacon encounters.We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach through a user study, where participants use a crowd-based mobile app designed to collect beacon category and privacy information as a scavenger hunt game. Results show that our approach was effective in helping users label beacons according to the specific context of a given beacon encounter, as well as the privacy perceptions associated with it. This labeling was done with an accuracy of 92%, and with an acceptance rate of 82% of all recommended crowd labels. Lastly, we conclusively show how crowdsourcing for context can be used towards a user-centric framework for privacy management during beacon encounters.

Value creation and knowledge development in tourism experience encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Flemming; Jensen, Jens Friis

2015-01-01

It has been argued that service encounters between front-line employees and users support the development of knowledge about users' needs. However, the potential for this often remains unused, not least in tourism. This article argues that if tourism service encounters are changed into ‘experience...... encounters’ by integrating them into the tourism experience to which they are related, this will create added experiential value for tourists and increase the creation of knowledge about users. This is illustrated in an innovation field experiment in a retro design boutique hotel in which service encounters...... were developed into experience encounters. The experiment illustrates the potential that experience encounters have to create knowledge and value, but also suggests some barriers that need to be overcome....

Administrative encounters in general practice: low value or hidden value care?

Science.gov (United States)

Trevena, Lyndal J; Harrison, Christopher; Britt, Helena C

2018-02-19

To determine the frequency of general practice administrative encounters, and to determine whether they represent low value care. Secondary analysis of data from the Bettering Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) dataset. 1 568 100 GP-patient encounters in Australia, 2000-01 to 2015-16. An annual nationally representative random sample of about 1000 GPs, who each recorded the details of 100 consecutive encounters with patients. Proportions of general practice encounters that were potentially low value care encounters (among the patient's reasons for the encounter was at least one administrative, medication, or referral request) and potentially low value care only encounters (such reasons were the sole reason for the encounter). For 2015-16, we also examined other health care provided by GPs at these encounters. During 2015-16, 18.5% (95% CI, 17.7-19.3%) of 97 398 GP-patient encounters were potentially low value care request encounters; 7.4% (95% CI, 7.0-7.9%) were potentially low value care only encounters. Administrative work was requested at 3.8% (95% CI, 3.5-4.0%) of GP visits, 35.4% of which were for care planning and coordination, 33.5% for certification, and 31.2% for other reasons. Medication requests were made at 13.1% (95% CI, 12.4-13.7%) of encounters; other health care was provided at 57.9% of medication request encounters, counselling, advice or education at 23.4%, and pathology testing was ordered at 16.7%. Referrals were requested at 2.8% (95% CI, 1.7-3.0%) of visits, at 69.4% of which additional health care was provided. The problems managed most frequently at potentially low value care only encounters were chronic diseases. Most patients requested certificates, medications and referrals in the context of seeking help for other health needs. Additional health care, particularly for chronic diseases, was provided at most GP administrative encounters. The MBS Review should consider the hidden value of these encounters.

Awkward Encounters and Ethnography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koning, Juliette; Ooi, Can-Seng

2013-01-01

from these encounters. Un-paralyzing reflexivity means to include the awkward, the emotional, and admit the non-rational aspects of our ethnographic experiences; such inclusive reflexivity is incredibly insightful. Research limitations/implications – Inclusive reflexivity not only allows room...

Leadership: difficulties and potentials of a introvert leader in organizations

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Pedro Henrique Faria Carvalho da Costa

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study aims to demonstrate through theoretical and bibliographical potentials and difficulties encountered in introvert searches. Leadership, overcoat can be seen as a great symphony, having the leader as the maestro. What determines whether the presentation it is good or not is the ability and / or skill that the leader has to influence their subordinates to act to the music according. To lead is one of the most crucial tasks within organizations. Considering that, companies seek people with a particular style of leadership, taking into account factors such as assertiveness, public speaking skills and body language. These are common characteristics of the extroverted style, however, the paper will be about the opposite style, Known as by introversion, reflection, understanding and cooperative sense. The results show that introverted leadership is almost insignificant minority or in organizations where through studies is full with their ability to lead a team in one sector or even an organization.

Managing social difficulties: roles and responsibilities of patients and staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Penny; Bingham, Laura; Taylor, Sally; Hanif, Naheed; Podmore, Emma; Velikova, Galina

2012-01-01

Implementation of guidance on assessment and management of psychosocial and supportive-care problems or needs will be successful only if consideration is given to existing skills, experience and expectations of staff and patients. This study examines the roles and responsibilities of staff, patients and families in relation to management of social difficulties and proposes a pathway for response. A qualitative study was performed using staff and patient interviews. Seventeen doctors and 16 nurses were interviewed using patient scenarios and a support service questionnaire. Patients (n = 41) completed a screening questionnaire (the Social Difficulties Inventory) and were interviewed. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and subjected to a Framework analysis. Analysis examined (1) actions taken by staff and patients in response to social difficulties, (2) reasons given for action taken and (3) perceptions of staff and patients of who was responsible for taking action. Staff were confident concerning clinically related issues (i.e. mobility) but more hesitant concerning difficulties related to money, work and family concerns. Patients liked to cope with problems on their own where possible, would have liked information or support from staff but were uncertain how to access this. Results led to development of a hierarchy of interventions in response to detected social difficulties. For routine assessment of social difficulties, patients, nurses and doctors will have to work collaboratively, with nurses taking a lead in discussion. For specific clinically related problems doctors would play a more primary role. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An Analysis of Difficulties of Children with Stuttering Enrolled in Turkish Primary Inclusive Classes Who Encounter in Academic and Social Activities: From Their Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Sari, Hakan; Gökdag, Hatice

2017-01-01

Stuttering means that children have difficulties in rhythm, sound, syllable, word and phrase repetitions, or flow of speech cut in the form of extension or block form. In the "International Classification of Diseases" (1992) ("International Classification of Diseases-10" ("ICD-10"), Stuttering was defined as speech…

Self-reported difficulty in conceiving as a measure of infertility.

Science.gov (United States)

Dick, M-L B; Bain, C J; Purdie, D M; Siskind, V; Molloy, D; Green, A C

2003-12-01

This study aimed to explore the meaning and potential use of women's self-reported difficulties in conceiving as a measure of infertility in epidemiological studies, and to compare women's stated reasons for infertility with information in their medical records. Data were available from a population-based case-control study of ovarian cancer involving 1638 women. The sensitivity and specificity of women's self-reported infertility were calculated against their estimated fertility status based on detailed reproductive histories. Self-reported reasons for infertility were compared with diagnoses documented in women's medical records. The sensitivity of women's self-reported difficulty in conceiving was 66 and 69% respectively when compared with calendar-derived and self-reported times taken trying to conceive; its specificity was 95%. Forty-one (23%) of the 179 women for whom medical records were available had their self-reported fertility problem confirmed. Self-reported infertility causes could be compared with diagnoses in medical records for only 22 of these women. Self-reported difficulty conceiving is a useful measure of infertility for quantifying the burden of fertility problems experienced in the community. Validation of reasons for infertility is unlikely to be feasible through examination of medical records. Improved education of the public regarding the availability and success rates of infertility treatments is proposed.

Nature and origins of mathematics difficulties in very preterm children: a different etiology than developmental dyscalculia.

Science.gov (United States)

Simms, Victoria; Gilmore, Camilla; Cragg, Lucy; Clayton, Sarah; Marlow, Neil; Johnson, Samantha

2015-02-01

Children born very preterm (mathematics learning difficulties that are out of proportion to other academic and cognitive deficits. However, the etiology of mathematics difficulties in very preterm children is unknown. We sought to identify the nature and origins of preterm children's mathematics difficulties. One hundred and fifteen very preterm children aged 8-10 y were assessed in school with a control group of 77 term-born classmates. Achievement in mathematics, working memory, visuospatial processing, inhibition, and processing speed were assessed using standardized tests. Numerical representations and specific mathematics skills were assessed using experimental tests. Very preterm children had significantly poorer mathematics achievement, working memory, and visuospatial skills than term-born controls. Although preterm children had poorer performance in specific mathematics skills, there was no evidence of imprecise numerical representations. Difficulties in mathematics were associated with deficits in visuospatial processing and working memory. Mathematics difficulties in very preterm children are associated with deficits in working memory and visuospatial processing not numerical representations. Thus, very preterm children's mathematics difficulties are different in nature from those of children with developmental dyscalculia. Interventions targeting general cognitive problems, rather than numerical representations, may improve very preterm children's mathematics achievement.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist: The Re-territorialisation of the Encounter between America and its Muslim 'Other(s'

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Nath Aldalala'a

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The Reluctant Fundamentalist, a novel by Mohsin Hamid, explores the encounter between America and its Muslim 'others'. Within the political processes and the intellectual and emotive climate that characterises the 'war on terror', this encounter is readily understood as one of confrontation. From the time of 9/11 to the recent killing of Osama bin Laden by American Special Forces on Pakistani soil, this sense of confrontation is reinforced by the rhetoric of Western governments and media representations. Hamid's novel, however, excavates the imbrications of the personal and political effects of 9/11 coupled with the specificities that place Pakistan at the hub of America's war, while foregrounding the increasing alienation of Muslim people within global discourses. This paper considers the processes of de-territorialisation and re-territorialisation in political and cultural terms through the interaction of literary forms and global realities. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is engaged in a particular form of postcolonial 'writing back' through its depiction of migrant experience that leads to a re-assertion of specific national and cultural boundaries that ultimately re-position the dynamics of the encounter between the West and its Muslim 'other'.

Close stellar encounters in globular clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailyn, C.D.

1989-01-01

Stellar encounters are expected to produce a variety of interesting objects in the cores of globular clusters, either through the formation of binaries by tidal capture, or direct collisions. Here, I describe several attempts to observe the products of stellar encounters. In particular, the use of color maps has demonstrated the existence of a color gradient in the core of M15, which seems to be caused by a population of faint blue objects concentrated towards the cluster center. (author)

[The comorbidity of learning difficulties and ADHD symptoms in primary-school-age children].

Science.gov (United States)

Schuchardt, Kirsten; Fischbach, Anne; Balke-Melcher, Christina; Mähler, Claudia

2015-05-01

Children having difficulties in acquiring early literacy and mathematical skills often show an increased rate of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. This study provides data on the comorbidity rates of specific learning difficulties and ADHD symptoms. We analyzed the data of 273 children with learning difficulties despite an at least average IQ, 57 children with low IQ, and 270 children without learning difficulties and average IQ (comparison group). We assessed children’s IQ and school achievement using standardized achievement tests. ADHD symptoms were assessed via parents’ ratings. Our results showed that only 5 % of both the control group and the group with solely mathematical difficulties fulfilled the criteria of an ADHD subtype according to the DSM-IV based on parents’ ratings. In contrast, this was the case in even 20 % of the children with difficulties in reading/writing and of those with low IQ. Compared to girls, boys in the control group had a 150% higher risk for matching the criteria of one of the ADHD subtypes in parents’ ratings, whereas boys with learning difficulties and those with low IQ had an even 200% to 600% higher risk for it. The relationship between learning difficulties and ADHD symptoms can be found predominantly in the inattentive type. Possible reasons for the results are discussed.

Shouting in a Desert: Dutch missionary encounters with Javanese Islam, 1850-1910 : Dutch missionary encounters with Javanese Islam, 1850-1910

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.J. Kruithof (Maryse)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ ‘‘Shouting in a desert’ Dutch missionary encounters with Javanese Islam’ concentrates on the shifts and developments in the Dutch mission discourse within the period from 1850 to 1910. It explores the Dutch missionary encounter with local communities and is conducted

Correlation between oro and hypopharynx shape and position with endotracheal intubation difficulty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daher Rabadi

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background and objective: Prediction of intubation difficulty can save patients from major preoperative morbidity or mortality. The purpose of this paper is to assess the correlation between oro-hypo pharynx position, neck size, and length with endotracheal intubation difficulty. The study also explored the diagnostic value of Friedman Staging System in prediction cases with difficult intubation. Method: The consecutive 500 ASA (I, II adult patients undergoing elective surgery were evaluated for oro and hypopharynx shape and position by modified Mallampati, Cormack and Lehane score as well as Friedman obstructive sleep apnea classification systems. Neck circumference and length were also measured. All cases were intubated by a single anesthesiologist who was uninformed of the above evaluation and graded intubation difficulty in visual analog score. Correlation between these findings and difficulty of intubation was assessed. Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive and Negative Predictive Values were also reported. Results: Cormack-Lehane grade had the strongest correlation with difficulty of intubation followed by Friedman palate position. Friedman palate position was the most sensitive and had higher positive and negative predictive values than modified Mallampati classification. Cormack-Lehane grade was found to be the most specific with the highest negative predictive value among the four studied classifications. Conclusion: Friedman palate position is a more useful, valuable and sensitive test compared to the modified Mallampati screening test for pre-anesthetic prediction of difficult intubation where its involvement in Multivariate model may raise the accuracy and diagnostic value of preoperative assessment of difficult airway.

Service encounters as bases for innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sundbo, Jon; Sundbo, Donna; Henten, Anders

2015-01-01

customers with the innovating organization. Based on literature studies and pilot case studies, seven propositions are proposed and tested in a qualitative, hermeneutic way in field experiments in nine service organizations. Important new results are that encounter-based innovation requires mutual empathy...... between employees and customers, employees investing stubbornness and time can be a driver for innovation, and several layers of management can be a barrier. In the field experiments three new factors for encounter-based innovation were found: translation, multitasking, and hyper-professionalism. The two...

Predator-prey encounters in turbulent waters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mann, J.; Ott, Søren; Pécseli, H.L.

2002-01-01

With reference to studies of predator-prey encounters in turbulent waters, we demonstrate the feasibility of an experimental method for investigations of particle fluxes to an absorbing surface in turbulent flows. A laboratory experiment is carried out, where an approximately homogeneous and isot......With reference to studies of predator-prey encounters in turbulent waters, we demonstrate the feasibility of an experimental method for investigations of particle fluxes to an absorbing surface in turbulent flows. A laboratory experiment is carried out, where an approximately homogeneous...

Plankton motility patterns and encounter rates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Visser, Andre; Kiørboe, Thomas

2006-01-01

measure of run length to reaction distance determines whether the underlying encounter is ballistic or diffusive. Since ballistic interactions are intrinsically more efficient than diffusive, we predict that organisms will display motility with long correlation run lengths compared to their reaction...... distances to their prey, but short compared to the reaction distances of their predators. We show motility data for planktonic organisms ranging from bacteria to copepods that support this prediction. We also present simple ballistic and diffusive motility models for estimating encounter rates, which lead...

Investigating Patterns of Errors for Specific Comprehension and Fluency Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Koriakin, Taylor A.; Kaufman, Alan S.

2017-01-01

Although word reading has traditionally been viewed as a foundational skill for development of reading fluency and comprehension, some children demonstrate "specific" reading comprehension problems, in the context of intact word reading. The purpose of this study was to identify specific patterns of errors associated with reading…

Challenges and Difficulties to Teaching Engineering to Generation Z: a case research

OpenAIRE

Barreiro, Suamit Correia; Bozutti, Daniel Fernando

2017-01-01

Many people from generation Z are at the beginning of their academic activities. This generation has peculiar characteristics that might be a challenge in the labor market. Thus, instructors have a great role in their preparation. However, professors might face difficulties dealing with their specific characteristics. The research aims to carry out a general survey to enable an understanding of the greater challenges and difficulties in teaching the subject of engineering to the students of G...

Encountering whales: How encounter rates became the basis for managing whaling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim D Smith

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Declining rates of encountering whales, including both sighting and catching, were noted by whalers throughout the 19th century, and these declines became the first indication that whaling was adversely affecting whale abundance. The interpretation of declines in both sighting and catch rates proved to be a difficult scientific task. Satisfactory quantitative methods of interpreting changes in whale encounter rates were not developed until the second half of the 20th century. Rates of encountering whales played a key role in the International Whaling Commission (IWC Scientific Committee from its beginning in the early 1950s, as well as in the US in implementing its Marine Mammal Protection Act beginning in the early 1970s. The development of methods of collecting and interpreting sighting and catch data was intimately interwoven with the development of themanagement of whaling and cetacean by-catches in fisheries throughout the world, but especially within the context of the Scientific Committees of the IWC and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO. Although overfishing of whales was initially identified through the use of sighting rate data, catch rate data provided the IWC’s Committee its first firm footing for management advice. However, it was sighting rate data that ultimately became the basis for the scientific advice on whaling and for management advice in other settings. This led to the development of large scale cetacean sighting programmes, such as the IWC’s International Decade of Cetacean Researchsurveys in Antarctic aboard Japanese ships, the North Atlantic Sighting Surveys (NASS aboard Norwegian, Icelandic, Spanish, Greenlandic and Faroese vessels and aircraft (coordinated by NAMMCO through its Scientific Committee from 1995, and surveys under the US’s Marine Mammal Protection Act and the European Union’s Small Cetacean Abundance in the North Sea (SCANS programme. Fishery independent cetacean sighting surveys

The Effects of Locus of Control and Task Difficulty on Procrastination.

Science.gov (United States)

Janssen, Tracy; Carton, John S

1999-12-01

The authors investigated the effects of locus of control expectancies and task difficulty on procrastination. Forty-two college students were administered an academic locus of control scale and a task that was similar to a typical college homework assignment. The students were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 task difficulty levels. Although none of the results involving task difficulty was significant, several results involving locus of control were significant. Specifically, analyses revealed that students with internal locus of control expectancies tended to begin working on the assignment sooner than students with external locus of control expectancies. In addition, students with internal locus of control completed and returned the assignment sooner than students with external locus of control. The results are discussed within the context of J. B. Rotter's (1966, 1975, 1982) social learning theory.

Realistic interpretation of quantum mechanics and encounter-delayed-choice experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Long, GuiLu; Qin, Wei; Yang, Zhe; Li, Jun-Lin

2018-03-01

In this paper, a realistic interpretation (REIN) of the wave function in quantum mechanics is briefly presented. We demonstrate that in the REIN, the wave function of a microscopic object is its real existence rather than a mere mathematical description. Specifically, the quantum object can exist in disjointed regions of space just as the wave function is distributed, travels at a finite speed, and collapses instantly upon a measurement. Furthermore, we analyze the single-photon interference in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) using the REIN. Based on this, we propose and experimentally implement a generalized delayed-choice experiment, called the encounter-delayed-choice experiment, where the second beam splitter is decided whether or not to insert at the encounter of two sub-waves along the arms of the MZI. In such an experiment, the parts of the sub-waves, which do not travel through the beam splitter, show a particle nature, whereas the remaining parts interfere and thus show a wave nature. The predicted phenomenon is clearly demonstrated in the experiment, thus supporting the REIN idea.

Research on the influence that communication in psychiatric encounters has on treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Mario; Pincus, Harold Alan

2002-10-01

The purpose of this article is to inform mental health professionals about the empirical literature on medical and psychiatric encounters and the influence of communicative behaviors on specific encounter outputs and treatment outcomes. A comprehensive review of the health communications literature from 1950 to 2001, using MEDLINE and PsycINFO, was conducted to identify relevant articles on the communication skills of psychiatrists and other physicians. These searches were augmented by personal correspondence with experts on changes in practice patterns in psychiatry and on medical and psychiatric communications research. A review of references within each article and information from the experts identified other relevant articles. Selection was then narrowed to include reports of studies that used structured written instruments that captured relevant physician and patient perceptions of the physician-patient relationship, content analysis of audio- or videotapes of communication in medical or psychiatric encounters, or interaction analysis systems used to categorize audio- or videotaped communicative behaviors in medical or psychiatric encounters. Twenty-five articles in medicine and 34 articles in psychiatry were selected. Medical communication researchers have observed associations between physicians' communicative skills and patients' satisfaction, patients' adherence to treatment recommendations, treatment outputs, and patients' willingness to file malpractice claims. The research has also shown that primary care physicians can be more responsive to patients' concerns without lengthening visits. In psychiatry, the literature can be organized into four discrete categories of research: negotiated treatment and the customer approach, therapeutic alliance, Gottschalk-Gleser content analysis of patients' speech, and content analysis of psychiatric interviews.

On the Etiology of Listening Difficulties in Noise Despite Clinically Normal Audiograms

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Many people with difficulties following conversations in noisy settings have “clinically normal” audiograms, that is, tone thresholds better than 20 dB HL from 0.1 to 8 kHz. This review summarizes the possible causes of such difficulties, and examines established as well as promising new psychoacoustic and electrophysiologic approaches to differentiate between them. Deficits at the level of the auditory periphery are possible even if thresholds remain around 0 dB HL, and become probable when they reach 10 to 20 dB HL. Extending the audiogram beyond 8 kHz can identify early signs of noise-induced trauma to the vulnerable basal turn of the cochlea, and might point to “hidden” losses at lower frequencies that could compromise speech reception in noise. Listening difficulties can also be a consequence of impaired central auditory processing, resulting from lesions affecting the auditory brainstem or cortex, or from abnormal patterns of sound input during developmental sensitive periods and even in adulthood. Such auditory processing disorders should be distinguished from (cognitive) linguistic deficits, and from problems with attention or working memory that may not be specific to the auditory modality. Improved diagnosis of the causes of listening difficulties in noise should lead to better treatment outcomes, by optimizing auditory training procedures to the specific deficits of individual patients, for example. PMID:28002080

Residents in difficulty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Mette Krogh; O'Neill, Lotte; Hansen, Dorthe Høgh

2016-01-01

Background The majority of studies on prevalence and characteristics of residents in difficulty have been conducted in English-speaking countries and the existing literature may not reflect the prevalence and characteristics of residents in difficulty in other parts of the world such as the Scand...... in a healthcare system. From our perspective, further sociological and pedagogical investigations in educational cultures across settings and specialties could inform our understanding of and knowledge about pitfalls in residents’ and doctors’ socialization into the healthcare system....

Strange culinary encounters:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leer, Jonatan; Kjær, Katrine Meldgaard

2015-01-01

In this article, we examine the ways in which the encountering of 'other' food cultures is played out in the two travelogue cooking shows Gordon's Great Escape and Jamie's Italian Escape. We investigate how the two protagonist chefs Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay imagine, meet and evaluate the ‘o...... approach to meeting the other (culinary culture), ultimately, their respective culinary adventures work to re-affirm a social hierarchy in their favor....

Adolescent Bullying and Sleep Difficulties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon C. Hunter

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated whether adolescents who report having been bullied, being bullies, or report both being a bully and being bullied experience more sleep difficulties than children uninvolved in bullying. The study drew upon cognitive theories of insomnia, investigating whether the extent to which young people report worrying about bullying can moderate associations between victimization and sleep difficulties. Participants were 5420 adolescents who completed a self-report questionnaire. Pure Victims (OR = 1.72, 95% CI [1.07, 2.75], Pure Bullies (OR = 1.80, 95% CI [1.16, 2.81], and Bully-Victims (OR = 2.90, 95% CI [1.17, 4.92] were all more likely to experience sleep difficulties when compared to uninvolved young people. The extent to which young people reported worrying about being bullied did not moderate the links between victimization and sleep difficulties. In this way, bullying is clearly related to sleep difficulties among adolescents but the conceptual reach of the cognitive model of insomnia in this domain is questioned.

Guest-Host Encounters in Diaspora-Heritage Tourism: The Taglit-Birthright Israel Mifgash (Encounter)

Science.gov (United States)

Sasson, Theodore; Mittelberg, David; Hecht, Shahar; Saxe, Leonard

2011-01-01

More than 300,000 diaspora Jewish young adults and tens of thousands of their Israeli peers have participated in structured, cross-cultural encounters--"mifgashim"--in the context of an experiential education program known as Taglit-Birthright Israel. Drawing on field observations, interviews, and surveys, the formal and informal…

Reconsidering Learning Difficulties and Misconceptions in Chemistry: Emergence in Chemistry and Its Implications for Chemical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Tümay, Halil

2016-01-01

Identifying students' misconceptions and learning difficulties and finding effective ways of addressing them has been one of the major concerns in chemistry education. However, the chemistry education community has paid little attention to determining discipline-specific aspects of chemistry that can lead to learning difficulties and…

The Impact of Value-Orientations on Cross-cultural Encounters and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

encounters and mediation in the Tanzanian educational system. The purpose of the article is to give an emic perspective on value-orientations in crosscultural encounters and mediation situations in the educational system, to improve understanding of the conflictive aspects of these encounters. To achieve this purpose, the ...

Students’ difficulties in probabilistic problem-solving

Science.gov (United States)

Arum, D. P.; Kusmayadi, T. A.; Pramudya, I.

2018-03-01

There are many errors can be identified when students solving mathematics problems, particularly in solving the probabilistic problem. This present study aims to investigate students’ difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem. It focuses on analyzing and describing students errors during solving the problem. This research used the qualitative method with case study strategy. The subjects in this research involve ten students of 9th grade that were selected by purposive sampling. Data in this research involve students’ probabilistic problem-solving result and recorded interview regarding students’ difficulties in solving the problem. Those data were analyzed descriptively using Miles and Huberman steps. The results show that students have difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem and can be divided into three categories. First difficulties relate to students’ difficulties in understanding the probabilistic problem. Second, students’ difficulties in choosing and using appropriate strategies for solving the problem. Third, students’ difficulties with the computational process in solving the problem. Based on the result seems that students still have difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem. It means that students have not able to use their knowledge and ability for responding probabilistic problem yet. Therefore, it is important for mathematics teachers to plan probabilistic learning which could optimize students probabilistic thinking ability.

Diagnostic difficulties in extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma: A proposal for diagnostic criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christie, D.R.H.; Bilous, A.M.; Carr, P.J.A.

1997-01-01

Five cases diagnosed as extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma (EES) during a 15 year period, and the relevant literature, were reviewed. The diagnosis in these cases was difficult to confirm, mainly because the distinction between the osseous form of Ewing's sarcoma (OES) and either periosteal reactions or direct tumour invasion into adjacent bone by EES was often unclear. The literature suggests that other authors have also encountered difficulties. The authors believe that many cases reported as EES are likely to have been OES. This distinction has some importance, as the two conditions are usually treated in differing ways. The following criteria are proposed for the diagnosis of primary EES: (i) no evidence of bony involvement on magnetic resonance imaging; (ii) no evidence of increased uptake in bone or periosteum adjacent to the tumour on static isotope bone scan images; (iii) a small round cell tumour with no differentiating features on light microscopy, immunochemistry or electron microscopy; and (iv) demonstration of cytoplasmic glycogen. 19 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs

Measuring Difficulty in English-Chinese Translation: Towards a General Model of Translation Difficulty

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Sanjun

2012-01-01

Accurate assessment of a text's level of translation difficulty is critical for translator training and accreditation, translation research, and the language industry as well. Traditionally, people rely on their general impression to gauge a text's translation difficulty level. If the evaluation process is to be more effective and the…

Energy taxation difficulties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landsberg, H.H.

1993-01-01

This paper assesses what may be the underlying reasons for the Clinton administration's recent failure to pass the Btu Tax on energy sources and the current difficulties that this Administration is experiencing in acquiring nation wide consensus on a gasoline tax proposal. Two difficulties stand out - regional differences in climate and thus winter heating requirements, and the differences from state to state in transportation system preferences. The paper cites the positive aspects of energy taxation by noting the petroleum industry's efforts to develop a new less polluting reformulated gasoline

The role of stigma and uncertainty in moderating the effect of procedural justice on cooperation and resistance in police encounters with persons with mental illnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Amy C; Angell, Beth

2013-01-01

Within social psychology, procedural justice theory has been used to understand variations in compliance with legal authorities such as police. Thus, it may help explain variation in cooperation and compliance in encounters between police officers and people with serious mental illness (SMI), which are often fraught with difficulty and risk. In this paper, we examine the extent to which perceptions of procedural justice among persons with SMI are associated with self-reported levels of cooperation and resistance in encounters with police. We also examine stigma and encounter type as potential moderators of the procedural justice effect. 154 persons with serious mental illness who reported a police contact within the past year were interviewed using the newly developed Police Contact Experience Survey (PCES), which includes questions about the characteristics of the contact, perceived procedural justice (PPJ) and degree of cooperation and resistance. Participants also completed the Link Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination Scale (PDS). Findings suggest that greater PPJ is associated with more cooperation and less resistance. The effect on cooperation, however, is moderated by both perceived stigma and the type of encounter. The direct effect of perceived stigma (PDS) on cooperation was unexpected, with higher perceived stigma associated with greater cooperation. Findings underline the importance of both procedurally just treatment in police interactions with vulnerable individuals and further efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Psychosocial difficulties from the perspective of persons with neuropsychiatric disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Coenen, Michaela; Cabello, Maria; Umlauf, Silvia; Ayuso-Mateos, José Luis; Anczewska, Marta; Tourunen, Jouni; Leonardi, Matilde; Cieza, Alarcos

2016-01-01

The objective of this study is to determine whether persons with neuropsychiatric disorders experience a common set of psychosocial difficulties using qualitative data from focus groups and individual interviews. The study was performed in five European countries (Finland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain) using the focus groups and individual interviews with persons with nine neuropsychiatric disorders (dementia, depression, epilepsy, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, stroke and substance dependence). Digitally recorded sessions were analysed using a step-by-step qualitative and quantitative methodology resulting in the compilation of a common set of psychosocial difficulties using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework. Sixty-seven persons participated in the study. Most persons with neuropsychiatric disorders experience difficulties in emotional functions, sleeping, carrying out daily routine, working and interpersonal relationships in common. Sixteen out of 33 psychosocial difficulties made up the common set. This set includes mental functions, pain and issues addressing activities and participation and provides first evidence for the hypothesis of horizontal epidemiology of psychosocial difficulties in neuropsychiatric disorders. This study provides information about psychosocial difficulties that should be covered in the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with neuropsychiatric disorders regardless of clinical diagnoses. Emotional problems, work and sleep problems should be addressed in all the treatments of neuropsychiatric disorders regardless of their specific diagnosis, etiology and severity. Personality issues should be targeted in the treatment for neurological disorders, whereas communication skill training may also be useful for mental disorders. The effects of medication and social environment on patient's daily life should be considered in all the

Experiences of Public Doctors on Managing Work Difficulties and Maintaining Professional Enthusiasm in Acute General Hospitals: A Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Luk, Andrew Leung; Yau, Adrian Fai To

2018-01-01

Overseas studies suggest that 10-20% of doctors are depressed, 30-45% have burnout, and many report dissatisfaction with work-life balance. A local study on public doctors showed that 31.4% of the respondents satisfied the criteria for high burnout. Young, but moderately experienced doctors who need to work shifts appeared most vulnerable. This study aims to explore the experiences of those public doctors who have managed their work difficulties and maintained professional enthusiasm for references in medical education and continuing professional training. Ten public doctors with reputation were invited respectively from three acute general hospitals for an in-depth interview. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Content analysis was carried out to identify major themes in relation to the research questions. Three themes emerging from difficulties encountered were (1) managing people, mostly are patients, followed by colleagues and then patients' relatives; (2) constraints at work, include time and resources; and (3) managing self with decision-making within a short time. Three themes generating from managing work difficulties included (1) self-adjustment with practicing problem solving and learning good communication appeared more frequently, followed by maintaining a professional attitude and accumulating clinical experiences; (2) seeking help from others; and (3) organizational support is also a theme though it is the least mentioned. Four themes emerging from maintaining work enthusiasm were (1) personal conviction and discipline: believing that they are helping the needy, having the sense of vocation and support from religion; disciplining oneself by continuing education, maintaining harmonious family relationship and volunteer work. (2) Challenging work: different challenging natures of their job. (3) Positive feedback from patients: positive encounters with patients keep a connectedness with their clients. (4) Organization support: working with

Experiences of Public Doctors on Managing Work Difficulties and Maintaining Professional Enthusiasm in Acute General Hospitals: A Qualitative Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Leung Luk

2018-03-01

Full Text Available BackgroundOverseas studies suggest that 10–20% of doctors are depressed, 30–45% have burnout, and many report dissatisfaction with work-life balance. A local study on public doctors showed that 31.4% of the respondents satisfied the criteria for high burnout. Young, but moderately experienced doctors who need to work shifts appeared most vulnerable. This study aims to explore the experiences of those public doctors who have managed their work difficulties and maintained professional enthusiasm for references in medical education and continuing professional training.MethodTen public doctors with reputation were invited respectively from three acute general hospitals for an in-depth interview. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Content analysis was carried out to identify major themes in relation to the research questions.ResultsThree themes emerging from difficulties encountered were (1 managing people, mostly are patients, followed by colleagues and then patients’ relatives; (2 constraints at work, include time and resources; and (3 managing self with decision-making within a short time. Three themes generating from managing work difficulties included (1 self-adjustment with practicing problem solving and learning good communication appeared more frequently, followed by maintaining a professional attitude and accumulating clinical experiences; (2 seeking help from others; and (3 organizational support is also a theme though it is the least mentioned. Four themes emerging from maintaining work enthusiasm were (1 personal conviction and discipline: believing that they are helping the needy, having the sense of vocation and support from religion; disciplining oneself by continuing education, maintaining harmonious family relationship and volunteer work. (2 Challenging work: different challenging natures of their job. (3 Positive feedback from patients: positive encounters with patients keep a connectedness with their clients. (4

An encounter between psychology and religion: humanistic psychology and the Immaculate Heart of Mary nuns.

Science.gov (United States)

Kugelmann, Robert

2005-01-01

In the 1960s, humanistic psychology changed the relationship between psychology and religion by actively asserting the value of individual experience and self-expression. This was particularly evident in the encounter group movement. Beginning in 1967, Carl Rogers conducted a series of encounter groups, in order to promote "self-directed change in an educational system," for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a religious order in California running an educational system. William Coulson, one of Rogers's associates in the project, later charged that the encounter groups undermined the religious order and played a major contributing part in the breakup of the order in 1970. The article examines these charges, situating the incident within the context of the changes occurring in religious life and in psychology in the 1960s. The article concludes that an already existing conflict the nuns had with the conservative Cardinal McIntyre of Los Angeles led to the departure of some 300 nuns from the order, who began the Immaculate Heart Community, an organization existing today. Nevertheless, encounter groups proved to be a psychological technology that helped to infuse a modern psychological--specifically, a humanistic psychological--perspective into contemporary religious life. 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Emotions in relation to healthcare encounters affecting self-esteem.

Science.gov (United States)

Räty, Lena; Gustafsson, Barbro

2006-02-01

This study identifies emotions in patients with epilepsy as a result of confirming and disconfirming healthcare experiences. A discussion of emotions as a motive for patients' goal-directed actions was a further aim of this study. The critical incident method was used for data collection. Emotions occurring in confirming and disconfirming healthcare encounters were analyzed using the Belief-Desire Theory of Emotions and were categorized as basic, complex, or self-evaluating. Confirming encounters aroused emotions like hope, a feeling of security, joy, relief, and pride, while disconfirming encounters aroused emotions like despair, fear, unrest, resignation, shame, and guilt. The emotions identified in the healthcare encounters were recognized as motives for action. An emotion such as a feeling of security aroused a desire in the patients to strengthen their positive self and motivated them to have a constructive and sympathetic attitude toward the healthcare experience. An emotion such as anger caused patients to strive to maintain their self-respect either by avoiding difficult situations and ignoring the problem (patients with a low self-esteem) or by trying to re-create a positive self-image (patients with a high self-esteem). Healthcare encounters between patient and caregiver considerably affect the patient's emotional status and thereby his or her well-being. The importance of establishing healthcare encounters that evoke positive emotions that strengthen patients' resources must be addressed in future nursing care.

Analysing bifurcations encountered in numerical modelling of current transfer to cathodes of dc glow and arc discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almeida, P G C; Benilov, M S; Cunha, M D; Faria, M J

2009-01-01

Bifurcations and/or their consequences are frequently encountered in numerical modelling of current transfer to cathodes of gas discharges, also in apparently simple situations, and a failure to recognize and properly analyse a bifurcation may create difficulties in the modelling and hinder the understanding of numerical results and the underlying physics. This work is concerned with analysis of bifurcations that have been encountered in the modelling of steady-state current transfer to cathodes of glow and arc discharges. All basic types of steady-state bifurcations (fold, transcritical, pitchfork) have been identified and analysed. The analysis provides explanations to many results obtained in numerical modelling. In particular, it is shown that dramatic changes in patterns of current transfer to cathodes of both glow and arc discharges, described by numerical modelling, occur through perturbed transcritical bifurcations of first- and second-order contact. The analysis elucidates the reason why the mode of glow discharge associated with the falling section of the current-voltage characteristic in the solution of von Engel and Steenbeck seems not to appear in 2D numerical modelling and the subnormal and normal modes appear instead. A similar effect has been identified in numerical modelling of arc cathodes and explained.

Measurement of functional task difficulty during motor learning: What level of difficulty corresponds to the optimal challenge point?

Science.gov (United States)

Akizuki, Kazunori; Ohashi, Yukari

2015-10-01

The relationship between task difficulty and learning benefit was examined, as was the measurability of task difficulty. Participants were required to learn a postural control task on an unstable surface at one of four different task difficulty levels. Results from the retention test showed an inverted-U relationship between task difficulty during acquisition and motor learning. The second-highest level of task difficulty was the most effective for motor learning, while learning was delayed at the most and least difficult levels. Additionally, the results indicate that salivary α-amylase and the performance dimension of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) are useful indices of task difficulty. Our findings suggested that instructors may be able to adjust task difficulty based on salivary α-amylase and the performance dimension of the NASA-TLX to enhance learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Live Aircraft Encounter Visualization at FutureFlight Central

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, James R.; Chinn, Fay; Monheim, Spencer; Otto, Neil; Kato, Kenji; Archdeacon, John

2018-01-01

Researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have developed an aircraft data streaming capability that can be used to visualize live aircraft in near real-time. During a joint Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/NASA Airborne Collision Avoidance System flight series, test sorties between unmanned aircraft and manned intruder aircraft were shown in real-time at NASA Ames' FutureFlight Central tower facility as a virtual representation of the encounter. This capability leveraged existing live surveillance, video, and audio data streams distributed through a Live, Virtual, Constructive test environment, then depicted the encounter from the point of view of any aircraft in the system showing the proximity of the other aircraft. For the demonstration, position report data were sent to the ground from on-board sensors on the unmanned aircraft. The point of view can be change dynamically, allowing encounters from all angles to be observed. Visualizing the encounters in real-time provides a safe and effective method for observation of live flight testing and a strong alternative to travel to the remote test range.

Binary encounter electron production in ion-atom collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grabbe, S.; Bhalla, C.P.; Shingal, R.

1993-01-01

The binary encounter electrons are produced by hard collisions between the target electrons and the energetic projectiles. Richard et al. found the measured double differential cross section for BEe production at zero degree laboratory scattering angle, in collisions of F q+ with H 2 and He targets, to increase as the charge state of the projectile was decreased. The binary encounter electron production has recently been a subject of detailed investigations. We have calculated the differential elastic scattering cross sections of electrons from several ions incorporating the exchange contribution of the continuum and the bound orbitals in addition to the static potential. The double differential binary encounter electron production cross sections are presented using the impulse approximation

Encounters of The Solar System With Molecular Clouds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wickramasinghe, J. T.

2008-01-01

The solar system has penetrated about 5 -- 10 giant molecular clouds over its history, and passes within 5 parsecs of a star-forming nebula every 100 million years or so. Numerical simulations of the effect of such encounters in perturbing the Oort cloud of comets are carried out using standard n-body computational techniques. It is found that the ingress of comets into the inner planetary system during such encounters amounts to factors of ∼100 over the average. During an encounter the impact rate of comets onto Earth increases by a comparable factor. The of ages of impact craters on the Earth is shown to be consistent with predictions from the model

First-Year Principal Encounters Homophobia

Science.gov (United States)

Retelle, Ellen

2011-01-01

A 1st-year principal encounters homonegativity and an ethical dilemma when she attempts to terminate a teacher because of the teacher's inadequate and ineffective teaching. The teacher responds by threatening to "out" Ms. L. to the parents.

Humor During Clinical Practice: Analysis of Recorded Clinical Encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Kari A; Singh Ospina, Naykky; Rodriguez-Gutierrez, Rene; Castaneda-Guarderas, Ana; Gionfriddo, Michael R; Branda, Megan; Montori, Victor

2018-01-01

Little is known about humor's use in clinical encounters, despite its many potential benefits. We aimed to describe humor during clinical encounters. We analyzed 112 recorded clinical encounters. Two reviewers working independently identified instances of humor, as well as information surrounding the logistics of its use. Of the 112 encounters, 66 (59%) contained 131 instances of humor. Humor was similarly frequent in primary care (36/61, 59%) and in specialty care (30/51, 59%), was more common in gender-concordant interactions (43/63, 68%), and was most common during counseling (81/112, 62%). Patients and clinicians introduced humor similarly (63 vs 66 instances). Typically, humor was about the patient's medical condition (40/131, 31%). Humor is used commonly during counseling to discuss the patient's medical condition and to relate to general life events bringing warmth to the medical encounter. The timing and topic of humor and its use by all parties suggests humor plays a role in the social connection between patients and physicians and allows easier discussion of difficult topics. Further research is necessary to establish its impact on clinicians, patients, and outcomes. © Copyright 2018 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Workplace bullying and sleep difficulties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Åse Marie; Hogh, Annie; Garde, Anne Helene

2014-01-01

PURPOSE: The aims of the present study were to investigate whether being subjected to bullying and witnessing bullying at the workplace was associated with concurrent sleep difficulties, whether frequently bullied/witnesses have more sleep difficulties than occasionally bullied....../witnesses, and whether there were associations between being subjected to bullying or witnessing bullying at the workplace and subsequent sleep difficulties. METHODS: A total of 3,382 respondents (67 % women and 33 % men) completed a baseline questionnaire about their psychosocial work environment and health....... The overall response rate was 46 %. At follow-up 2 years later, 1671 of those responded to a second questionnaire (49 % of the 3,382 respondents at baseline). Sleep difficulties were measured in terms of disturbed sleep, awakening problems, and poor quality of sleep. RESULTS: Bullied persons and witnesses...

Personal Albums and Cultural Encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marselis, Randi Lorenz

2018-01-01

as discussions of representational ethics in relation to anthropological and colonial photography, this article examines the exhibition The Photo Albums at the Dutch National Maritime Museum. Typically, the photo collections of maritime museums include many photographs that represent cultural encounters...

Service Encounter Related Process Quality, Patient Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nandakumar Mekoth

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This study identifies some of the critical service encounters thatthe outpatients undergo in a health care facility and investigateswhether the service encounter related process quality as perceivedby the patients leads to patient satisfaction, repeat visit, and recommendationintentions. Personal visits, observations, and enquiriesat the outpatient center have been conducted to identifythe various service encounters that outpatients undergo in thehospital. Exit interviews of the outpatients have been conductedto identify service encounter related process quality variableswhich determine patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions.A preliminary scale to measure service encounter related processquality was developed and its factor structure and internal consistencyreliability were established. The study reveals that boththe physician quality and laboratory quality have been found tobe significantly related to patient satisfaction. However, quite interestingly,courtesy shown by the registration or outpatient staff,perceived length of waiting time, or even the salient aspects of theservicescape, did not influence patient satisfaction.

Player Modeling for Intelligent Difficulty Adjustment

Science.gov (United States)

Missura, Olana; Gärtner, Thomas

In this paper we aim at automatically adjusting the difficulty of computer games by clustering players into different types and supervised prediction of the type from short traces of gameplay. An important ingredient of video games is to challenge players by providing them with tasks of appropriate and increasing difficulty. How this difficulty should be chosen and increase over time strongly depends on the ability, experience, perception and learning curve of each individual player. It is a subjective parameter that is very difficult to set. Wrong choices can easily lead to players stopping to play the game as they get bored (if underburdened) or frustrated (if overburdened). An ideal game should be able to adjust its difficulty dynamically governed by the player’s performance. Modern video games utilise a game-testing process to investigate among other factors the perceived difficulty for a multitude of players. In this paper, we investigate how machine learning techniques can be used for automatic difficulty adjustment. Our experiments confirm the potential of machine learning in this application.

How 'core' are motor timing difficulties in ADHD? A latent class comparison of pure and comorbid ADHD classes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Meer, Jolanda M. J.; Hartman, Catharina A.; Thissen, Andrieke J. A. M.; Oerlemans, Anoek M.; Luman, Marjolein; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Rommelse, Nanda N. J.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have motor timing difficulties. This study examined whether affected motor timing accuracy and variability are specific for ADHD, or that comorbidity with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) contributes to these motor timing difficulties. An

Identifying Student Difficulties with Entropy, Heat Engines, and the Carnot Cycle

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Smith, Trevor I.; Christensen, Warren M.; Mountcastle, Donald B.; Thompson, John R.

2015-01-01

We report on several specific student difficulties regarding the second law of thermodynamics in the context of heat engines within upper-division undergraduate thermal physics courses. Data come from ungraded written surveys, graded homework assignments, and videotaped classroom observations of tutorial activities. Written data show that students…

[Central diabetes insipidus: diagnostic difficulties].

Science.gov (United States)

Matoussi, N; Aissa, K; Fitouri, Z; Hajji, M; Makni, S; Bellagha, I; Ben Becher, S

2008-06-01

Central diabetes insipidus is rare in children. Characteristic features include polyuria and polydipsia due to arginine vasopressin deficiency. The differential diagnosis of polyuric states may be difficult. Etiologic diagnosis of central diabetes insipidus may be an equally difficult task. To specify the difficulties encountered in the diagnosis of central diabetes insipidus and to point out features of the etiologic work-up and of long-term follow-up of children with idiopathic central diabetes insipidus. A retrospective study of 12 children admitted with a polyuria/polydipsia syndrome to the pediatric - consultation and emergency unit of the children's hospital of Tunis between 1988 and 2005. Children with acquired nephrogenic central diabetes insipidus were excluded. Fourteen-hour fluid restriction test and/or desmopressin test were used without plasma vasopressin measurement. Eight patients were classified as having central diabetes insipidus, which was severe in seven children and partial in one girl. One patient was classified as having primary polydipsia. The diagnosis remains unclear in three patients. The etiological work-up in eight patients with central diabetes insipidus enabled the identification of Langerhan's-cell histiocytosis in two patients and neurosurgical trauma in one. The cause was considered idiopathic in five patients. The median follow-up of the five patients with idiopathic central diabetes insipidus was five years two months plus or minus six years seven months (range five months, 14.5 years). During this follow-up, neither brain magnetic resonance imaging scans findings nor anterior pituitary function have changed. Fluid restriction and desmopressin tests did not enable an accurate distinction between partial diabetes insipidus and primary polydipsia. Regular surveillance is warranted in patients with idiopathic central diabetes insipidus to identify potential etiologies.

Emergency coronary angioplasty with stenting using Cordis® diagnostic coronary catheters when there is difficulty in engaging guide catheters and bench evaluation of diagnostic and guide catheters.

Science.gov (United States)

Arokiaraj, Mark Christopher

2018-02-01

Difficulty in engaging with guide catheters is not uncommon in acute emergencies. We aimed to evaluate the use of Cordis ® INFINITI diagnostic catheters to perform angioplasty in patients in whom the coronaries cannot be engaged using standard guide catheters. In 34 cases of acute coronary syndrome, when difficulty in engagement with two standard guide catheters was encountered with reasonable manipulations, angioplasty was performed using diagnostic catheters. In total, 40 stents were placed by this technique. Pushability and trackability, distal tip flexion and three-point bending tests were performed to evaluate the performance of the guide and diagnostic catheters. Angioplasty was performed easily in a setting where it would have been very difficult to perform. Coronary dissection occurred in one patient, treated by a stent. The stent and dilatation balloons were easily passed through the diagnostic catheters. Pressure tracings were clearly preserved with certain stent delivery systems, and at angioplasty, although there was slightly reduced opacification of the respective artery, the coronary anatomy was sufficiently visualized to perform angioplasty. No periprocedural target lesion complications were seen in any cases. Pushability and trackability tests showed good force transmission along a tortuous path with diagnostic catheters, and balanced force-displacement curves from three-point bending tests and distal tip softness tests. Angioplasty with stenting can be performed safely through 6F Cordis ® infiniti diagnostic catheters when difficulty in engaging guide catheters is encountered. Copyright © 2018 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

An Investigation of the Problems Jordanian EFL Learners Encounter in Presupposition Triggered by Certain Factive Verbs

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Hamzah Saleh Ghammaz

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating the problems that Jordanian EFL learners encounter in presupposition triggered by certain factive verbs. Specifically, it sought to find out whether there is a relationship between the subjects’ proficiency level in English and their correct recognition of presupposition triggered by certain factive verbs. It also aims at identifying which factive verbs are much more difficult than others in terms of the presupposed meaning. The subjects of the study were 70 adult learners of English at the University of Jordan. They belong to two different proficiency levels: Intermediate and Advanced. A special test was prepared to elicit the data needed for investigation. The test required the subjects to circle the best choice that presupposes a given sentence. The results showed that the Advanced Group outperformed the Intermediate Group on all the target factive verbs, and the factive verb “ be aware of ” proved to be the most difficult one followed by “forget”. The importance of this study lies in that it invistigates the semantic behaviour of some verbs in English language what contributes to understanding the general semantic system of the language, and this is the main tast of linguists. The study recommended that further investigation should be made in the area of presupposition and factive verbs in order to pinpoint the sources of difficulty for learners. The results of those investigations can be used to improve EFL learning and teaching in Jordan.

Blink activity and task difficulty.

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Tanaka, Y; Yamaoka, K

1993-08-01

This study investigated the relationship between task difficulty and blink activity, which includes blink rate, blink amplitude, and blink duration. Two kinds of tasks established two levels of difficulty. In Exp. 1, a mental arithmetic task was used to examine the relationship. Analysis showed that blink rate for a difficult task was significantly higher than that for an easier one. In Exp. 2, a letter-search task (hiragana Japanese alphabet) was used while the other conditions were the same as those in Exp. 1; however, the results of this experiment were not influenced by the difficulty of the task. As results indicate that blink rate is related to not only difficulty but also the nature of the task, the nature of the task is probably dependent on a mechanism in information processing. The results for blink amplitude and blink duration showed no systematic change during either experiment.

Pet ownership increases human risk of encountering ticks.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, E H; Hinckley, A F; Hook, S A; Meek, J I; Backenson, B; Kugeler, K J; Feldman, K A

2018-02-01

We examined whether pet ownership increased the risk for tick encounters and tickborne disease among residents of three Lyme disease-endemic states as a nested cohort within a randomized controlled trial. Information about pet ownership, use of tick control for pets, property characteristics, tick encounters and human tickborne disease were captured through surveys, and associations were assessed using univariate and multivariable analyses. Pet-owning households had 1.83 times the risk (95% CI = 1.53, 2.20) of finding ticks crawling on and 1.49 times the risk (95% CI = 1.20, 1.84) of finding ticks attached to household members compared to households without pets. This large evaluation of pet ownership, human tick encounters and tickborne diseases shows that pet owners, whether of cats or dogs, are at increased risk of encountering ticks and suggests that pet owners are at an increased risk of developing tickborne disease. Pet owners should be made aware of this risk and be reminded to conduct daily tick checks of all household members, including the pets, and to consult their veterinarian regarding effective tick control products. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Difficulty Systematized Evaluation of Vocal Folds Exposure in Microsurgery of the Larynx

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Ballin, Annelyse Cristine

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Several studies addressing preoperative factors that predict difficulty of endotracheal intubation graduated by anesthesiologists, for the scale of the Cormack-Lehane. These parameters were evaluated for the difficulty of location of the laryngoscope in microsurgery of the larynx. There is not a standard scale of difficulty targeted to surgeons of the larynx. Objective: Create a standard scale of difficulty leasing the laryngoscope during microsurgery of the larynx, with a focus on exposure of the vocal folds (vocal cords to evaluate which clinical parameters predict difficulty of exposure of their vocal folds and verify the improvement of laryngeal exposure with the hanger of the laryngoscope. Method: A prospective randomized study, 57 patients undergoing laryngeal microsurgery. The preoperative parameters were evaluated: three epidemiological data, two of history and 13 physical examination. Intraoperatively: the anesthesiologist evaluated the Cormack-Lehane score and the surgeon evaluated according to the proposed scale, before and after placement of the hanger. Results and Conclusion: Several parameters showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value for high inadequate exposure of the larynx. But only distance hiomentual <6.05 cm (p = 0.003 and 2 classes of Cormack-Lehane (p = 0.04 with statistical significance and high sensitivity of 100% and 81% respectively. The use of the hanger of laryngoscope laryngeal exposure improved significantly (p = 0.04. The proposed scale standardizes the visualization and grades the difficulty of exposure of their vocal folds, facilitating comparisons between studies and communication between otolaryngologists.

The need for trust and safety inducing encounters: a qualitative exploration of women's experiences of seeking perinatal care when living as undocumented migrants in Sweden.

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Barkensjö, My; Greenbrook, Josephine T V; Rosenlundh, Josefine; Ascher, Henry; Elden, Helen

2018-06-07

Studies from around the world have shown that women living as undocumented migrants have limited and deficient access to perinatal care, increasing their risks of both physical and psychological complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Failures to provide equal access to healthcare have been criticized extensively by the United Nations. In 2013, undocumented migrants' rights to healthcare in Sweden were expanded to include full access to perinatal care. Research surrounding clinical encounters involving women living as undocumented migrants remains largely lacking. The present study aimed to provide a composite description of women's experiences of clinical encounters throughout pregnancy and childbirth, when living as undocumented migrants in Sweden. Taking an inductive approach, qualitative content analysis was implemented. Thirteen women from ten different countries were interviewed. Meaning-units were extracted from the data collected in order to identify emergent overarching themes. In clinical encounters where healthcare professionals displayed empathic concern and listening behaviours, women felt empowered, acknowledged, and encouraged, leading them to trust clinicians, diminishing fears relating to seeking healthcare services. Conversely, when neglectful behaviour on part of healthcare professionals was perceived in encounters, anxiousness and fear intensified. Vulnerability and distress induced by the women's uncertain living circumstances were apparent across themes, and appeared exacerbated by traumatic memories, difficulties in coping with motherhood, and fears of deportation. The present study contributes unique and important knowledge surrounding women's experience of being pregnant and giving birth when living as undocumented migrants. The overarching findings indicated that the needs of undocumented migrant women were largely similar to those of all expectant mothers, but that due to vulnerabilities relating to their circumstances, flexible

Interactional difficulties as a resource for patient participation in prenatal screening consultations in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, M Agnes; Zayts, Olga A

2013-07-01

In this paper, we examine the interactional means by which non-native English speaking patients in Hong Kong participate in prenatal screening sessions. Using interactional sociolinguistics as the theoretical framework, we apply the concept of contextualization cues to illustrate that patients indicate their participation in the consultation through verbal and non-verbal modes. We find that non-native English speaking patients participate: (1) by displaying the interactional difficulties they are encountering and (2) by coordinating their displays of interactional difficulties with the activities of the healthcare provider. We conclude that the notion of patient participation must be expanded to take into account non-native speaking contexts; in particular, that collaborative displays of knowledge (or lack thereof) must be included as part of the definition of patient participation. While verbal contributions represent an important mode of participation in consultations, patients also participate by contextualizing their lack of understanding, which then can serve as a resource to healthcare providers in pursuing meaningful consultations. Our analysis illustrates how health care professionals' awareness of the modes of patient participation and what these modes may signal in non-native consultations can help to establish what the patient knows in the consultation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mastoidectomy: anatomical parameters x surgical difficulty

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Pereira Júnior, Anastácio Rodrigues

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The lowered temporal meninges and/ or anterior sigmoid sinus are contiditions that can determine surgical difficulties in performing mastoidectomy. Objective: To correlate in the tomography the extent of the prolapse of the sigmoid sinus and of temporal meninges with the surgical difficulty in the mastoidectomy. Method: The tomographic measurements of prolapse sigmoid and of temporal meninges were correlated with the presence or non-presence of the surgical difficulty observed during the mastoidectomy procedure in patients with ostomatoiditis chronic (n=30. Form of study: Contemporary cohort transverse. Results: In 10 patients were observed surgical difficulty distributed as: due to prolapse of the sigmoid sinus (n = 2 or temporal meninges prolapse (n = 7 or both (n = 1. In patients in which the surgical difficulty was due to sigmoid sinus prolapse, the tomography distance of the anterior border of the sigmoid sinus to posterior wall of external auditory canal was lower than 9 mm. In patients in which surgical difficulty was due to temporal meninges prolapse, the tomographic distance to the upper plane of the petrous bone was 7 mm. Conclusion: The computerized tomography distance between the temporal meninges and the upper plane of the petrous bone 7 mm and the distance of the anterior border of the sigmoid sinus to posterior wall of external auditory canal was lower than 9 mm are predictive to the surgical difficulties to perform mastoidectomy.

Athletic Training Student Core Competency Implementation During Patient Encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallario, Julie M; Van Lunen, Bonnie L; Hoch, Johanna M; Hoch, Matthew; Manspeaker, Sarah A; Pribesh, Shana L

2018-03-01

  Health care research evidence suggests that early patient encounters (PEs), as well as the purposeful implementation of professional core competencies (CCs), for athletic training students (ATSs) may be beneficial to their ability to provide care. However, no investigators have related facets of the clinical education experience with CC implementation as a form of summative assessment of the clinical experience.   To determine the relationship between the frequency and length of PEs, as well as the student's role and clinical site during PEs, and the students' perceived CC implementation during these encounters.   Cross-sectional study.   Professional athletic training program, National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institution.   We purposefully recruited 1 athletic training program that used E*Value software; 40 participants (31 females, 9 males) enrolled in the professional phase (12 first year, 14 second year, 14 third year) participated.   Participants viewed a 20-minute recorded CC educational module followed by educational handouts, which were also posted online for reference throughout the semester. The E*Value software was used to track PEs, including the type of encounter (ie, actual patient, practice encounter, didactic practice scenario), the type of site where the encounter occurred (university, high school), and the participant's role (observed, assisted, performed), as well as responses to an added block of questions indicating which, if any, of the CCs were implemented during the PE.   Variables per patient were PE length (minutes), participant role, site at which the encounter occurred, and whether any of the 6 CCs were implemented ( yes/ no). Variables per participant were average encounter length (minutes), encounter frequency, modal role, clinical site assignment, and the number of times each CC was implemented. Separate 1-way analyses of variance were used to examine the relationships between role or clinical site

People with Hemianopia Report Difficulty with TV, Computer, Cinema Use, and Photography.

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Costela, Francisco M; Sheldon, Sarah S; Walker, Bethany; Woods, Russell L

2018-05-01

Our survey found that participants with hemianopia report more difficulties watching video in various formats, including television (TV), on computers, and in a movie theater, compared with participants with normal vision (NV). These reported difficulties were not as marked as those reported by people with central vision loss. The aim of this study was to survey the viewing experience (e.g., frequency, difficulty) of viewing video on TV, computers and portable visual display devices, and at the cinema of people with hemianopia and NV. This information may guide vision rehabilitation. We administered a cross-sectional survey to investigate the viewing habits of people with hemianopia (n = 91) or NV (n = 192). The survey, consisting of 22 items, was administered either in person or in a telephone interview. Descriptive statistics are reported. There were five major differences between the hemianopia and NV groups. Many participants with hemianopia reported (1) at least "some" difficulty watching TV (39/82); (2) at least "some" difficulty watching video on a computer (16/62); (3) never attending the cinema (30/87); (4) at least some difficulty watching movies in the cinema (20/56), among those who did attend the cinema; and (5) never taking photographs (24/80). Some people with hemianopia reported methods that they used to help them watch video, including video playback and head turn. Although people with hemianopia report more difficulty with viewing video on TV and at the cinema, we are not aware of any rehabilitation methods specifically designed to assist people with hemianopia to watch video. The results of this survey may guide future vision rehabilitation.

Response selection difficulty modulates the behavioral impact of rapidly learnt action effects.

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Uta eWolfensteller

2014-12-01

Full Text Available It is well established that we can pick up action effect associations when acting in a free-choice intentional mode. However, it is less clear whether and when action effect associations are learnt and actually affect behavior if we are acting in a forced-choice mode, applying a specific stimulus-response (S-R rule. In the present study, we investigated whether response selection difficulty imposed by S-R rules influences the initial rapid learning and the behavioral expression of previously learnt but weakly practiced action effect associations when those are re-activated by effect exposure. Experiment 1 showed that the rapid acquisition of action effect associations is not directly influenced by response selection difficulty. By contrast, the behavioral expression of re-activated action effect associations is prevented when actions are directly activated by highly over-learnt response cues and thus response selection difficulty is low. However, all three experiments showed that if response selection difficulty is sufficiently high during re-activation, the same action effect associations do influence behavior. Experiment 2 and 3 revealed that the effect of response selection difficulty cannot be fully reduced to giving action effects more time to prime an action, but seems to reflect competition during response selection. Finally, the present data suggest that when multiple novel rules are rapidly learnt in succession, which requires a lot of flexibility, action effect associations continue to influence behavior only if response selection difficulty is sufficiently high. Thus, response selection difficulty might modulate the impact of experiencing multiple learning episodes on action effect expression and learning, possibly via inducing different strategies.

Quantifying the Effects of Gas-Rich Flyby Encounters on Galaxy Evolution

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Dumas, Julie; Holley-Bockelmann, Kelly; Lang, Meagan

2017-01-01

Recent work has shown that flyby encounters may be a common event in a galaxy's lifetime. Galaxy flybys are a one-time encounter when two halos interpenetrate, but unlike a galaxy merger, the two halos later detach. Relatively little work has been done to assess how flybys affect galaxy evolution. We present preliminary results of a suite of high-resolution hydrodynamical + N-body simulations of gas-rich flyby encounters, concentrating on Milky Way-like primaries. We track the bulk changes in structure, star formation history, kinematics, and morphology over a broad span of flyby encounters.

Low velocity encounters of minor bodies with the outer planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carusi, A.; Perozzi, E.; Valsecchi, G.B.

1983-01-01

Previous studies of close encounters of minor bodies with Jupiter have shown that the perturbations are stronger either if the encounter is very deep or if the velocity of the minor body relative to the planet is low. In the present research the author investigates the effects of low velocity encounters between fictitious minor bodies and the four outer planets. Two possible outcomes of this type of encounter are the temporary satellite capture of the minor body by the planet, and the exchange of perihelion with aphelion of the minor body orbit. Different occurrence rates of these processes are found for different planets, and the implications for the orbital evolution of minor bodies in the outer Solar System are discussed. (Auth.)

Emotion regulation difficulties in disordered eating: Examining the psychometric properties of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale among Spanish adults and its interrelations with personality and eating disorder severity

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Ines eWolz

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aims of the study were to 1 validate the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS in a sample of Spanish adults with and without eating disorders, and 2 explore the role of emotion regulation difficulties in eating disorders, including its mediating role in the relation between key personality traits and ED severity Methods: 134 patients (121 female, mean age = 29 years with anorexia nervosa (n = 30, bulimia nervosa (n = 54, binge eating (n = 20, or Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (n = 30 and 74 healthy control participants (51 female, mean age = 21 years reported on general psychopathology, eating disorder severity, personality traits and difficulties in emotion regulation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the psychometrics of the DERS in this Spanish sample (Aim 1. Additionally, to examine the role of emotion regulation difficulties in eating disorders (Aim 2, differences in emotion regulation difficulties across eating disorder subgroups were examined and structural equation modeling was used to explore the interrelations among emotion regulation, personality traits, and eating disorder severity. Results: Results support the validity and reliability of the DERS within this Spanish adult sample and suggest that this measure has a similar factor structure in this sample as in the original sample. Moreover, emotion regulation difficulties were found to differ as a function of eating disorder subtype and to mediate the relation between two specific personality traits (i.e., high harm avoidance and low self-directedness and eating disorder severity. Conclusions: Personality traits of high harm avoidance and low self-directedness may increase vulnerability to eating disorder pathology indirectly, through emotion regulation difficulties.

Initiating Service Encounter-based Innovation by Word-of-Business

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mattsson, Jan

2015-01-01

Purpose – This paper aims to set up a natural experiment as action research and to develop a framework of cognitive distance of informants to improve the initiation of service encounter-based innovation. Design/methodology/approach – Natural experiment as action research in one Scandinavian case...... transcriptions of interviews and transcriptions. Research limitations/implications – Only one Scandinavian company and a limited number of informants were activated. Also, the time period only included the initiation phase of service encounter-based innovation. Practical implications – Three different strategies...... in an emerging innovation field, open/user-driven innovation. Theory from business marketing, service encounter and innovation is also used....

L'Utilisation de l'ordinateur en lexicometrie (The Use of the Computer in Lexicometry). Series B-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Savard, Jean-Guy

This report treats some of the technical difficulties encountered in lexicological studies that were undertaken in order to establish a basic vocabulary. Its purpose is to show that the computer can overcome some of these difficulties, and specifically that computer programming can serve to establish a vocabulary common to scientific and technical…

Mental health problems in pre-school children with specific language impairment: Use of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flapper, B.C.; Bos, A.C.; Jansen, D.E.

2011-01-01

The prevalence of mental health problems (MHP) in children with language disorders ranges from 11 to 55%, due to additional disabilities that have a significant relationship to psychosocial difficulties. Specialists assume that children with a selective disorder [selective language impairment

Communication difficulties perceived by parents of children with developmental disorders.

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Sun, Ingrid Ya I; Fernandes, Fernanda Dreux Miranda

2014-01-01

The child's inclusion in his/her social-cultural context is very important to his/her adaptation and well-being. The family has a major role as a facilitator of this process. Therefore the difficulties of these families in communicating with children with communication disorders are an important issue to be assessed in order to support orientations to families. The present study aimed to identify and compare communication difficulties perceived by parents of children with Down Syndrome (DS), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Information was gathered with the use of a questionnaire with 24 questions regarding the perception of parents about their child communication disorders and the difficulties they identify. The questions were divided into four domains: 1 - Parents' personal difficulties; 2 - Parents' impression about themselves regarding their child; 3 - Parents' impressions about other persons' reactions to their child and 4 - Parents' impression about their child. Sixty parents were the subjects of this study: 20 had children with DS, 20 with SLI and 20 with ASD. All children had ages between 6 and 12 years. It was possible to observe that there was significant difference between the parents of ASD children with those of DS and SLI on the second, third and fourth domains. The questionnaire is effective to the identification of the communication disorders of ASD children based on their parents' reports but not to other developmental disorders.

A Meta-Analysis of Working Memory Deficits in Children with Learning Difficulties: Is There a Difference between Verbal Domain and Numerical Domain?

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Peng, Peng; Fuchs, Douglas

2016-01-01

Children with learning difficulties suffer from working memory (WM) deficits. Yet the specificity of deficits associated with different types of learning difficulties remains unclear. Further research can contribute to our understanding of the nature of WM and the relationship between it and learning difficulties. The current meta-analysis…

Tactics Employed and Problems Encountered by University English Majors in Hong Kong in Using a Dictionary

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Chan, Alice Yin Wa

2005-01-01

Building on the results of a small-scale survey which investigated the general use of dictionaries by university English majors in Hong Kong using a questionnaire survey and their specific use of dictionaries using an error correction task, this article discusses the tactics these students employed and the problems they encountered when using a…

Specificity of peer difficulties to social anxiety in early adolescence: categorical and dimensional analyses with clinical and community samples.

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Early, Martha C; Biggs, Bridget K; Makanui, Kalani P; Legerski, John Paul; Van Allen, Jason; Elledge, Allison R; Whiteside, Stephen P

2017-11-01

We investigated the specificity of social difficulties to social anxiety by testing associations of social anxiety and other anxiety presentations with peer acceptance and victimization in community and treatment-seeking samples of adolescents aged 12-14 years. Cross-sectional, quantitative survey. Adolescents from the community (n = 116) and a clinical setting (n = 154) completed ratings of anxiety symptoms, perceived social acceptance, and peer victimization. Their parents also completed ratings of the adolescents' anxiety and social acceptance. Social acceptance was lowest among adolescents with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and lower among adolescents with other anxiety disorders than in the community sample. Anxiety symptoms were negatively correlated with social acceptance, but these associations were not unique to social anxiety symptoms. Girls in the community sample reported more overt victimization than girls with SAD and with other anxiety diagnoses. Relational victimization was associated with social and nonsocial anxiety symptoms only in the community sample. Our findings supplement recent laboratory-based observational studies on social functioning among adolescents with SAD and other anxiety disorders. Although social anxiety may be associated with unique social skill deficits and impairment, concerns about peer relations should also be considered among adolescents with other anxiety symptoms.

Ulysses at jupiter: an overview of the encounter.

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Smith, E J; Wenzel, K P; Page, D E

1992-09-11

In February 1992, the Ulysses spacecraft flew through the giant magnetosphere of Jupiter. The primary objective of the encounter was to use the gravity field of Jupiter to redirect the spacecraft to the sun's polar regions, which will now be traversed in 1994 and 1995. However, the Ulysses scientific investigations were well suited to observations of the Jovian magnetosphere, and the encounter has resulted in a major contribution to our understanding of this complex and dynamic plasma environment. Among the more exciting results are (i) possible entry into the polar cap, (ii) the identification of magnetospheric ions originating from Jupiter's ionosphere, lo, and the solar wind, (iii) observation of longitudinal asymmetries in density and discrete wave-emitting regions of the lo plasma torus, (iv) the presence of counter-streaming ions and electrons, field-aligned currents, and energetic electron and radio bursts in the dusk sector on high-latitude magnetic field lines, and (v) the identification of the direction of the magnetic field in the dusk sector, which is indicative of tailward convection. This overview serves as an introduction to the accompanying reports that present the preliminary scientific findings. Aspects of the encounter that are common to all of the investigations, such as spacecraft capabilities, the flight path past Jupiter, and unique aspects of the encounter, are presented herein.

Stress and suicidal ideation among adolescents having academic difficulty

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Priti Arun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Academically typically achieving adolescents were compared with students having academic difficulty on stress and suicidal ideas. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 75 academically typically achieving adolescents were compared with 105 students with academic difficulty and 52 students with specific learning disability (SLD. Academic functioning was assessed using teacher's screening instrument, intelligence quotient, and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences index for SLD. Stress and suicidal ideas were assessed using general health questionnaire, suicide risk-11, and Mooney Problem Checklist (MPC. Appropriate statistical methods were applied. Results: Three groups were comparable on age, gender, mother's working status, being only child, nuclear family, self-reported academic decline, and type of school. About half of adolescents reported psychological problems on General Health Questionnaire (mean score >3 in all the groups. Academically typically achieving adolescents showed higher stressors in peer relationships, planning for future and suicidal ideation compared to adolescents with academic difficulty. Adolescents face stress regarding worry about examinations, family not understanding what child has to do in school, unfair tests, too much work in some subjects, afraid of failure in school work, not spending enough time in studies, parental expectations, wanting to be more popular, worried about a family member, planning for the future, and fear of the future. Significant positive correlation was seen between General Health Questionnaire scores and all four subscales of MPC. Suicidal ideas showed a negative correlation with MPC. Interpretations and Conclusions: Adolescents experience considerable stress in multiple areas irrespective of their academic ability and performance. Hence, assessment and management of stress among adolescents must extend beyond academic difficulties.

A Lakatosian Encounter with Probability

Science.gov (United States)

Chick, Helen

2010-01-01

There is much to be learned and pondered by reading "Proofs and Refutations" by Imre Lakatos (Lakatos, 1976). It highlights the importance of mathematical definitions, and how definitions evolve to capture the essence of the object they are defining. It also provides an exhilarating encounter with the ups and downs of the mathematical reasoning…

University Students with Reading Difficulties: Do Perceived Supports and Comorbid Difficulties Predict Well-being and GPA?

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Stack-Cutler, Holly L.; Parrila, Rauno K.; Torppa, Minna

2016-01-01

We examined the impact of the number of comorbid difficulties, social support, and community support on life satisfaction and academic achievement among 120 university students or recent graduates with self-reported reading difficulties. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing perceived social support, perceived community support, the…

AN EXPLORATION OF THE MAIN DIFFICULTIES, CHALLENGES AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE ESP TEACHING SITUATION IN ALGERIA: THE CASE OF ESP TEACHERS AT ABOU BEKR BELKAID UNIVERSITY, TLEMCEN

OpenAIRE

MEBITIL, Nawal

2011-01-01

This current study seeks to shed light on the main issues our language teachers encounter in an ESP teaching situation when exploring the land of ESP, particularly at the level of Abou Bekr Belkaid University, with close reference to those teachers working at the three following faculties: faculty of Exact Sciences, faculty of Economics and Commercial Sciences and faculty of Law and Political Sciences. The strategies they adopt or adapt to overcome their difficulties while at practice. Th...

Challenges Encountered During the Veterinary Disaster Response: An Example from Chile

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Elena Garde

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Large-scale disasters have immeasurable effects on human and animal communities. Evaluating and reporting on the response successes and difficulties encountered serves to improve existing preparedness documents and provide support to those in the process of developing plans. Although the majority of disasters occur in low and middle income nations, less than 1% of the disaster literature originates from these countries. This report describes a response to a disease outbreak in domestic dogs in Dichato, Chile following the 2010 earthquake/tsunami. With no national plan coordinating the companion animal response, there was a chaotic approach among animal welfare organizations towards rescue, diagnosis, treatment and record-keeping. Similar to the medical response following the 1985 earthquake near Santiago, we experienced problems within our own teams in maintenance of data integrity and protocol compliance. Loss of infrastructure added complications with transportation, communications and acquisition of supplies. Similar challenges likely occur in most disasters, but can be reduced through pro-active planning at national and local levels. There is sufficient information to support the human and animal welfare benefits of including companion animals in national planning, and lessons learned through this and other experiences can assist planners in the development of comprehensive and locally relevant contingency plans.

Towards a conceptual framework for identifying student difficulties with solving Real-World Problems in Physics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niss, Martin

2012-01-01

This paper develops a conceptual framework for identifying the challenges and obstacles university students encounter when solving real-world problems involving Physics. The framework is based on viewing problem solving as a modelling process. In order to solve a real-world problem, the problem...... solver has to go through the steps and do the tasks of such a process. The paper presents a theoretical analysis of what it takes to solve three real-world problems, demonstrating how the framework presented captures the essential aspects of solving them. Moreover, it is argued that three steps critical...... for real-world problem solving – initial analysis of the problem situation, choice of relevant physical theory (the so-called paradigmatic choice) and mathematization – are not covered by existing models of problem solving in Physics. Finally, the existing research on student difficulties with problem...

Children with Speech Difficulties: A survey of clinical practice in the Western Cape

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Michelle Pascoe

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This paper is based on a study by Joffe and Pring (2008 which investigated assessment and therapy methods used by Speech Language Therapists (SLTs in the United Kingdom for children with phonological difficulties. Joffe and Pring reported SLTs’ most favoured assessments and therapy approaches in that context. Children with speech difficulties are likely to form a considerable part of SLT caseloads in South Africa, but the choice of assessments may not be so clearcut given the linguistic diversity of the region and the fact that few assessments have been developed specifically for the SA population. Linked to difficulties with assessment, selection of intervention approaches may also pose challenges. This study aimed to investigate the methods of assessment and intervention used by SLTs in the Western Cape when working with children with speech difficulties. A questionnaire was sent to SLTs working with pre and/ or primary school- aged children. Twenty-nine clinicians of varying experience responded. The majority of SLTs (89% use informal assessment tools in combination with formal assessment. When using formal assessments, more than 50% of SLTs make modifications to better suit the population. Participants use a variety of intervention approaches, often in combination, and based on a child’s individual profile of difficulties and available resources. Forty-six percent of SLTs felt unsure about the selection of assessments and intervention for bi/multilingual children with speech difficulties. SLTs suggested that guidelines about accepted / typical speech development in the region would be helpful for their clinical practice. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed together with some suggestions for developing knowledge of children’s speech difficulties in the South African context.

Challenges and Difficulties to Teaching Engineering to Generation Z: A Case Research

Science.gov (United States)

Correia Barreiro, Suamit; Bozutti, Daniel Fernando

2017-01-01

Many people from generation Z are at the beginning of their academic activities. This generation has peculiar characteristics that might be a challenge in the labor market. Thus, instructors have a great role in their preparation. However, professors might face difficulties dealing with their specific characteristics. The research aims to carry…

The Power of Citizens and Professionals in Welfare Encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mik-Meyer, Nanna

relationships with welfare workers. However, other factors impact these interactions; factors which often pull in different directions. Welfare encounters are thus influenced by bureaucratic principles and market values as well. Consequently, this book engages with both Weberian (bureaucracy) and Foucauldian...... (market values/NPM) studies when investigating the powerful welfare encounter. The book is targeted Academics, post-graduates, and undergraduates within sociology, anthropology and political science....

Difficulties and Challenges in Applying the European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS for Sustainable Tourist Destinations: The Case of Braşov County in the Romanian Carpathians

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Doru Marian Tudorache

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Tourist destinations are increasingly coming across multiple social, economic, cultural, and environmental challenges corroborated with a great urgency for sustainable development. In this context, the European Commission has launched in 2013 a unitary system of indicators for sustainable management of tourism destinations, called The European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS. More specifically, ETIS was configured initially with a total of 27 core indicators and 40 additional (optional indicators. The purpose of this paper is to present the difficulties and challenges encountered in the application of ETIS, having as a case study, the county of Braşov, located almost entirely in the Romanian Carpathians. In this regard, a testing technique has been designed through an innovative Group Decision Support System (GDSS that is applied to our destination. The results show that the selection of ETIS indicators is a flexible process that must be adequate with the particularities of each destination taking into account both the needs of the stakeholders, the information that is useful to them, and the existence and periodicity of the data available. Also, in some cases, when the available indicators are insufficient, additional indicators have to be introduced, and they must be subsequently adapted to the needs and specifics of the destination.

Association of volume of patient encounters with residents' in-training examination performance.

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McCoy, Christopher P; Stenerson, Matthew B; Halvorsen, Andrew J; Homme, Jason H; McDonald, Furman S

2013-08-01

Patient care and medical knowledge are Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies. The correlation between amount of patient contact and knowledge acquisition is not known. To determine if a correlation exists between the number of patient encounters and in-training exam (ITE) scores in internal medicine (IM) and pediatric residents at a large academic medical center. Retrospective cohort study Resident physicians at Mayo Clinic from July 2006 to June 2010 in IM (318 resident-years) and pediatrics (66 resident-years). We tabulated patient encounters through review of clinical notes in an electronic medical record during post graduate year (PGY)-1 and PGY-2. Using linear regression models, we investigated associations between ITE score and number of notes during the previous PGY, adjusted for previous ITE score, gender, medical school origin, and conference attendance. For IM, PGY-2 admission and consult encounters in the hospital and specialty clinics had a positive linear association with ITE-3 % score (β = 0.02; p = 0.004). For IM, PGY-1 conference attendance is positively associated with PGY-2 ITE performance. We did not detect a correlation between PGY-1 patient encounters and subsequent ITE scores for IM or pediatric residents. No association was found between IM PGY-2 ITE score and inpatient, outpatient, or total encounters in the first year of training. Resident continuity clinic and total encounters were not associated with change in PGY-3 ITE score. We identified a positive association between hospital and subspecialty encounters during the second year of IM training and subsequent ITE score, such that each additional 50 encounters were associated with an increase of 1 % correct in PGY-3 ITE score after controlling for previous ITE performance and continuity clinic encounters. We did not find a correlation for volume of encounters and medical knowledge for IM PGY-1 residents or the pediatric cohort.

Very massive runaway stars from three-body encounters

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Gvaramadze, Vasilii V.; Gualandris, Alessia

2011-01-01

Very massive stars preferentially reside in the cores of their parent clusters and form binary or multiple systems. We study the role of tight very massive binaries in the origin of the field population of very massive stars. We performed numerical simulations of dynamical encounters between single (massive) stars and a very massive binary with parameters similar to those of the most massive known Galactic binaries, WR 20a and NGC 3603-A1. We found that these three-body encounters could be responsible for the origin of high peculiar velocities (≥70 km s-1) observed for some very massive (≥60-70 M⊙) runaway stars in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud (e.g. λ Cep, BD+43°3654, Sk -67°22, BI 237, 30 Dor 016), which can hardly be explained within the framework of the binary-supernova scenario. The production of high-velocity massive stars via three-body encounters is accompanied by the recoil of the binary in the opposite direction to the ejected star. We show that the relative position of the very massive binary R145 and the runaway early B-type star Sk-69°206 on the sky is consistent with the possibility that both objects were ejected from the central cluster, R136, of the star-forming region 30 Doradus via the same dynamical event - a three-body encounter.

Using Biology Education Research and Qualitative Inquiry to Inform Genomic Nursing Education.

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Ward, Linda D

Decades of research in biology education show that learning genetics is difficult and reveals specific sources of learning difficulty. Little is known about how nursing students learn in this domain, although they likely encounter similar difficulties as nonnursing students. Using qualitative approaches, this study investigated challenges to learning genetics among nursing students. Findings indicate that nursing students face learning difficulties already identified among biology students, suggesting that nurse educators might benefit from biology education research.

Connection between encounter volume and diffusivity in geophysical flows

Science.gov (United States)

Rypina, Irina I.; Smith, Stefan G. Llewellyn; Pratt, Larry J.

2018-04-01

Trajectory encounter volume - the volume of fluid that passes close to a reference fluid parcel over some time interval - has been recently introduced as a measure of mixing potential of a flow. Diffusivity is the most commonly used characteristic of turbulent diffusion. We derive the analytical relationship between the encounter volume and diffusivity under the assumption of an isotropic random walk, i.e., diffusive motion, in one and two dimensions. We apply the derived formulas to produce maps of encounter volume and the corresponding diffusivity in the Gulf Stream region of the North Atlantic based on satellite altimetry, and discuss the mixing properties of Gulf Stream rings. Advantages offered by the derived formula for estimating diffusivity from oceanographic data are discussed, as well as applications to other disciplines.

Motility of copepod nauplii and implications for food encounter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Titelman, Josefin; Kiørboe, Thomas

2003-01-01

(Centropages typicus, Calanus helgolandicus, Temora longicornis, Acartia tonsa, Eurytemora affinis and Euterpina acutifrons). Behaviors of individual nauphi were divided into sequences of sinking, swimming and jumping events. Motility behavior is both stage- and species-specific in terms of appearance......Velocity differences drive all encounter processes. Therefore, knowledge of both prey and predator motility are essential in order to understand feeding behavior and predict food acquisition rates. Here, we describe and quantify the motility behavior of young and old naupliar stages of 6 copepods...... of tracks, speeds, durations and frequencies of events as well as time budgets. Motility mode often changes drastically during naupliar ontogeny. Crudely, nauplii can be divided into those moving with a jump-sink type of motility of various frequencies (1 min(-1) to 3 s(-1)) and those swimming...

Challenges in the professional care encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaldal, Maiken Holm; Kristiansen, Jette; Uhrenfeldt, Lisbeth

in the review. Data were extracted and the findings were categorized and themed on the basis of similarity of meaning and aggregated to produce a comprehensive set of synthesized findings. The review process resulted in 55 findings and 14 categories. The categories generated six themes: Psychological reactions...... to keep the patients happy as they try to avoid conflicts. The imagination and thoughts of what might happen in the encounter are based on the nursing students’ personal life experiences. They uses their close relatives as keys to the express empathy in the establishment of the nurse-patient relation...... are challenged by their personal boundaries in the professional care encounter and they experience a great psychological impact Patient contact is an unavoidable and complex component in the nursing education. The students have not yet built up a professional filter and are exposed to a wealth of emotional...

Do dyslexics have auditory input processing difficulties?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Mads

2011-01-01

Word production difficulties are well documented in dyslexia, whereas the results are mixed for receptive phonological processing. This asymmetry raises the possibility that the core phonological deficit of dyslexia is restricted to output processing stages. The present study investigated whether....... The finding suggests that input processing difficulties are associated with the phonological deficit, but that these difficulties may be stronger above the level of phoneme perception.......Word production difficulties are well documented in dyslexia, whereas the results are mixed for receptive phonological processing. This asymmetry raises the possibility that the core phonological deficit of dyslexia is restricted to output processing stages. The present study investigated whether...... a group of dyslexics had word level receptive difficulties using an auditory lexical decision task with long words and nonsense words. The dyslexics were slower and less accurate than chronological age controls in an auditory lexical decision task, with disproportionate low performance on nonsense words...

Alcohol and Difficulty Conceiving in the SUN Cohort: A Nested Case-Control Study.

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Lopez-del Burgo, Cristina; Gea, Alfredo; de Irala, Jokin; Martínez-González, Miguel A; Chavarro, Jorge E; Toledo, Estefania

2015-07-27

The role of alcohol on fertility remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages consumption and the risk of difficulty getting pregnant. We used a case-control study nested within the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort, a prospective, dynamic and multipurpose cohort of 21,705 Spanish university graduates, followed biennially with mailed questionnaires. We identified 686 case-control pairs, matched for age and time in the cohort. Cases were women reporting difficulty getting pregnant. Controls did not consult due to difficulty conceiving and had at least one child during follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounders, we found no association between self-reported difficulty getting pregnant and the number of alcoholic beverages consumed per week, (Odds Ratio [OR] > 5 drinks/week vs. none = 1.04, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.72-1.51). No association between types of alcoholic beverage and difficulty conceiving (OR > 5 drinks of wine/week vs. none = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.72-1.88; OR > 5 drinks of beer/week vs. none = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.82-1.37; OR > 5 drinks of spirits/week vs. none = 1.24, 95% CI = 0.84-1.64) was observed. In conclusion, we found no association between alcohol intake and risk of consulting a physician due to difficulty conceiving. More studies are needed to clearly elucidate the effects of alcohol intake on women's fertility. In the meantime, recommendations about alcohol intake to couples trying to conceive have to be given cautiously.

Alcohol and Difficulty Conceiving in the SUN Cohort: A Nested Case-Control Study

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Cristina Lopez-del Burgo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The role of alcohol on fertility remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages consumption and the risk of difficulty getting pregnant. We used a case-control study nested within the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN cohort, a prospective, dynamic and multipurpose cohort of 21,705 Spanish university graduates, followed biennially with mailed questionnaires. We identified 686 case-control pairs, matched for age and time in the cohort. Cases were women reporting difficulty getting pregnant. Controls did not consult due to difficulty conceiving and had at least one child during follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounders, we found no association between self-reported difficulty getting pregnant and the number of alcoholic beverages consumed per week, (Odds Ratio [OR] > 5 drinks/week vs. none = 1.04, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.72–1.51. No association between types of alcoholic beverage and difficulty conceiving (OR > 5 drinks of wine/week vs. none = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.72–1.88; OR > 5 drinks of beer/week vs. none = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.82–1.37; OR > 5 drinks of spirits/week vs. none = 1.24, 95% CI = 0.84–1.64 was observed. In conclusion, we found no association between alcohol intake and risk of consulting a physician due to difficulty conceiving. More studies are needed to clearly elucidate the effects of alcohol intake on women’s fertility. In the meantime, recommendations about alcohol intake to couples trying to conceive have to be given cautiously.

Screening foster children for mental disorders: properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire.

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Stine Lehmann

Full Text Available High prevalence of mental disorders among foster children highlight the need to examine the mental health of children placed out of home. We examined the properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ in screening school-aged foster children for mental disorders.Foster parents and teachers of 279 foster children completed the SDQ and the diagnostic interview Developmental and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA. Using the diagnoses derived from the DAWBA as the standard, we examined the performance of the SDQ scales as dimensional measures of mental health problems using receiver operating characteristic (ROC analyses. Recommended cut-off scores were derived from ROC coordinates. The SDQ predictive algorithms were also examined.ROC analyses supported the screening properties of the SDQ Total difficulties and Impact scores (AUC = 0.80-0.83. Logistic regression analyses showed that the prevalence of mental disorders increased linearly with higher SDQ Total difficulties scores (X2 = 121.47, df = 13, p<.001 and Impact scores (X2 = 69.93, df = 6, p<.001. Our results indicated that there is an additive value of combining the scores from the Total difficulties and Impact scales, where scores above cut-off on any of the two scales predicted disorders with high sensitivity (89.1%, but moderate specificity (62.1%. Scores above cut-off on both scales yielded somewhat lower sensitivity (73.4%, but higher specificity (81.1%. The SDQ multi-informant algorithm showed low discriminative ability for the main diagnostic categories, with an exception being the SDQ Conduct subscale, which accurately predicted the absence of behavioural disorders (LHR- = 0.00.The results support the use of the SDQ Total difficulties and Impact scales when screening foster children for mental health problems. Cut-off values for both scales are suggested. The SDQ multi-informant algorithms are not recommended for mental health screening of foster

Micro-MID Manufacturing By Two-Shot Injection Moulding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Islam, Mohammad Aminul; Hansen, Hans Nørgaard; Tang, Peter Torben

2008-01-01

a specific MID process chain is used for micro products, many technical challenges are encountered which would not be problems for macro scale products. This paper investigates on a specific MID process chain (two shot moulding) and discusses the technical difficulties associated with the production process...

Attributions of Intentions and Fairness Judgments regarding Interracial Peer Encounters

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Killen, Melanie; Kelly, Megan Clark; Richardson, Cameron; Jampol, Noah Simon

2010-01-01

To investigate how adolescents interpret ambiguous actions in hypothetical interracial peer encounters, we conducted a study in which 8th- and 11th-grade students (N = 837) evaluated 4 interracial peer encounters in which the intentions of the protagonist were ambiguous. The sample was evenly divided by gender and included both African American…

Who helps the leaders? Difficulties experienced by cancer support group leaders.

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Kirsten, Laura; Butow, Phyllis; Price, Melanie; Hobbs, Kim; Sunquist, Kendra

2006-07-01

Cancer support groups are an important source of support for cancer patients, yet little is known about the challenges and training needs of both professionally trained and untrained leaders. The aim of this study was to discover the difficulties experienced and training desired by cancer support group leaders. Twenty-seven leaders of 34 cancer support groups participated in focus groups or individual interviews. Groups were purposively selected as representative of 173 support groups identified in New South Wales which were for adults with cancer and/or their adult carers and were not therapeutic or education-only groups. Difficulties identified included dealing with people's different communication styles and needs; dealing with recurrence, metastases and death; practical issues, including resources, setting the programme and funding security; maintaining personal balance and preventing burn out; establishing group credibility; dealing with group cycles; and leading groups in rural areas. Leaders also identified benefits and rewards from group leadership such as contributing to others' well-being, self-development and insight into others' lives. Non-professionally trained leaders experienced more difficulties, particularly in dealing with group process and practical issues. Difficulties identified were related both to working with a cancer population specifically and to working with groups in general. While some issues were common to both health professionals and non-health professionals, non-health professionals reported greater supportive needs. Clear guidelines, targeted training and development of better methods of support to reduce the stress and burn out experienced by group leaders are needed.

Strengthening student communication through pediatric simulated patient encounters

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Ryan Whitt

2014-08-01

Full Text Available As medical students enter the role of physician, clinical outcomes not only rely on their mastery of clinical knowledge, but also on the effectiveness in which they can communicate with patients and family members. While students typically have numerous opportunities to practice clinical communication with adult patients, such practice in pediatric settings is limited. This study examines if simulated patient (SP encounters strengthen third-year medical students’ communication skills during the pediatrics clerkship. During 2011-2013, three SP encounters (comprising 3 pediatric scenarios were incorporated into a pediatrics clerkship at one United States medical school to give students a safe venue to practice advanced communication with observation and direct feedback. Third-year medical students engaged in the scenarios and received both written and oral feedback from an evaluator observing the encounter. With IRB approval, students’ self-perceived confidence and abilities at performing the advanced communication skills were measured using an eightitem, Likert scale questionnaire administered pre and post the SP encounter. Pre- and post-questionnaires (n = 215; response rate, 96% analyzed using a Wilcoxon-matched pairs signed-rank test demonstrated statistically significant increases in students’ perception of their confidence and abilities regarding their performance (P < 0.05; Bonferroni correction, P < 0.006. There was an increases in student confidence and self-perceived ability in: first, communicating with children and family members of young patients; second, managing confrontational situations involving parents; third, performing a thorough psychosocial history with an adolescent; and fourth, using Evidence Based Medicine to motivate parents.

An autoethnographic exploration of the use of goal oriented feedback to enhance brief clinical teaching encounters.

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Farrell, Laura; Bourgeois-Law, Gisele; Ajjawi, Rola; Regehr, Glenn

2017-03-01

Supervision in the outpatient context is increasingly in the form of single day interactions between students and preceptors. This creates difficulties for effective feedback, which often depends on a strong relationship of trust between preceptor and student. Building on feedback theories focusing on the relational and dialogic aspects of feedback, this study explored the use of goal-oriented feedback in brief encounters with learners. This study used autoethnography to explore one preceptor's feedback interactions over an eight-month period both in the ambulatory setting and on the wards. Data included written narrative reflections on feedback interactions with twenty-three learners informed by discussions with colleagues and repeated reading of feedback literature. Thematic and narrative analyses of data were performed iteratively. Data analysis emphasized four recurrent themes. (1) Goal discussions were most effective when initiated early and integrated throughout the learning experience. (2) Both learner and preceptor goals were multiple and varied, and feedback needed to reflect this complexity. (3) Negotiation or co-construction of goals was important when considering the focus of feedback discussions in order to create safer, more effective interactions. (4) Goal oriented interactions offer potential benefits to the learner and preceptor. Goal oriented feedback promotes dialogue as it requires both preceptor and learner to acknowledge and negotiate learning goals throughout their interaction. In doing so, feedback becomes an explicit component of the preceptor-learner relationship. This enhances feedback interactions even in relatively brief encounters, and may begin an early educational alliance that can be elaborated with longer interactions.

Development of a meta-algorithm for guiding primary care encounters for patients with multimorbidity using evidence-based and case-based guideline development methodology.

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Muche-Borowski, Cathleen; Lühmann, Dagmar; Schäfer, Ingmar; Mundt, Rebekka; Wagner, Hans-Otto; Scherer, Martin

2017-06-22

The study aimed to develop a comprehensive algorithm (meta-algorithm) for primary care encounters of patients with multimorbidity. We used a novel, case-based and evidence-based procedure to overcome methodological difficulties in guideline development for patients with complex care needs. Systematic guideline development methodology including systematic evidence retrieval (guideline synopses), expert opinions and informal and formal consensus procedures. Primary care. The meta-algorithm was developed in six steps:1. Designing 10 case vignettes of patients with multimorbidity (common, epidemiologically confirmed disease patterns and/or particularly challenging health care needs) in a multidisciplinary workshop.2. Based on the main diagnoses, a systematic guideline synopsis of evidence-based and consensus-based clinical practice guidelines was prepared. The recommendations were prioritised according to the clinical and psychosocial characteristics of the case vignettes.3. Case vignettes along with the respective guideline recommendations were validated and specifically commented on by an external panel of practicing general practitioners (GPs).4. Guideline recommendations and experts' opinions were summarised as case specific management recommendations (N-of-one guidelines).5. Healthcare preferences of patients with multimorbidity were elicited from a systematic literature review and supplemented with information from qualitative interviews.6. All N-of-one guidelines were analysed using pattern recognition to identify common decision nodes and care elements. These elements were put together to form a generic meta-algorithm. The resulting meta-algorithm reflects the logic of a GP's encounter of a patient with multimorbidity regarding decision-making situations, communication needs and priorities. It can be filled with the complex problems of individual patients and hereby offer guidance to the practitioner. Contrary to simple, symptom-oriented algorithms, the meta

Speech-language therapy for adolescents with written-language difficulties: The South African context

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Danel Erasmus

2013-11-01

Method: A survey study was conducted, using a self-administered questionnaire. Twenty-two currently practising speech-language therapists who are registered members of the South African Speech-Language-Hearing Association (SASLHA participated in the study. Results: The respondents indicated that they are aware of their role regarding adolescents with written-language difficulties. However, they feel that South-African speech-language therapists are not fulfilling this role. Existing assessment tools and interventions for written-language difficulties are described as inadequate, and culturally and age inappropriate. Yet, the majority of the respondents feel that they are adequately equipped to work with adolescents with written-language difficulties, based on their own experience, self-study and secondary training. The respondents feel that training regarding effective collaboration with teachers is necessary to establish specific roles, and to promote speech-language therapy for adolescents among teachers. Conclusion: Further research is needed in developing appropriate assessment and intervention tools as well as improvement of training at an undergraduate level.

Screening Bilingual Preschoolers for Language Difficulties: Utility of Teacher and Parent Reports

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Pua, Emmanuel Peng Kiat; Lee, Mary Lay Choo; Rickard Liow, Susan J.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The utility of parent and teacher reports for screening 3 types of bilingual preschoolers (English-first language [L1]/Mandarin-second language[L2], Mandarin-L1/English-L2, or Malay-L1/English-L2) for language difficulty was investigated in Singapore with reference to measures of reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity in an…

Desirable difficulties in vocabulary learning

OpenAIRE

Bjork, RA; Kroll, JF

2015-01-01

© 2015 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. In this article we discuss the role of desirable difficulties in vocabulary learning from two perspectives, one having to do with identifying conditions of learning that impose initial challenges to the learner but then benefit later retention and transfer, and the other having to do with the role of certain difficulties that are intrinsic to language processes, are engaged during word learning, and reflect how language is underst...

Encounter Group Effects of Soccer Team Performance.

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Magen, Zipora

1980-01-01

Suggests that a positive relationship exists between encounter group experience and the soccer team performance--a conclusion worthy of consideration in further research in the fields of psychology and sociology of sports. (Author)

N-Body simulations of tidal encounters between stellar systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, P.D.; Ramamani, N.; Alladin, S.M.

1985-10-01

N-Body simulations have been performed to study the tidal effects of a primary stellar system on a secondary stellar system of density close to the Roche density. Two hyperbolic, one parabolic and one elliptic encounters have been simulated. The changes in energy, angular momentum, mass distribution, and shape of the secondary system have been determined in each case. The inner region containing about 40% of the mass was found to be practically unchanged and the mass exterior to the tidal radius was found to escape. The intermediate region showed tidal distension. The thickness of this region decreased as we went from hyperbolic encounters to the elliptic encounter keeping the distance of closest approach constant. The numerical results for the fractional change in energy have been compared with the predictions of the available analytic formulae and the usefulness and limitations of the formulae have been discussed. (author)

Modelling Question Difficulty in an A Level Physics Examination

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Crisp, Victoria; Grayson, Rebecca

2013-01-01

"Item difficulty modelling" is a technique used for a number of purposes such as to support future item development, to explore validity in relation to the constructs that influence difficulty and to predict the difficulty of items. This research attempted to explore the factors influencing question difficulty in a general qualification…

Students’ difficulties in solving linear equation problems

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Wati, S.; Fitriana, L.; Mardiyana

2018-03-01

A linear equation is an algebra material that exists in junior high school to university. It is a very important material for students in order to learn more advanced mathematics topics. Therefore, linear equation material is essential to be mastered. However, the result of 2016 national examination in Indonesia showed that students’ achievement in solving linear equation problem was low. This fact became a background to investigate students’ difficulties in solving linear equation problems. This study used qualitative descriptive method. An individual written test on linear equation tasks was administered, followed by interviews. Twenty-one sample students of grade VIII of SMPIT Insan Kamil Karanganyar did the written test, and 6 of them were interviewed afterward. The result showed that students with high mathematics achievement donot have difficulties, students with medium mathematics achievement have factual difficulties, and students with low mathematics achievement have factual, conceptual, operational, and principle difficulties. Based on the result there is a need of meaningfulness teaching strategy to help students to overcome difficulties in solving linear equation problems.

Rethinking social identity theory in international encounters:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauring, Jakob

2008-01-01

In a globalized business environment, interaction across linguistic boundaries is becoming a normal part of everyday life. In these encounters language differences may affect the formation of social identities among organization members. While studies based on Social Identity Theory perceive...... the link between identity and language to be linear, this article takes a different approach. By drawing on anthropological theories on ethnic identity it is argued that the relation between language and social identity is negotiated in interaction. In the empirical analysis the article focuses...... on the encounter between expatriates and local employees of a Danish subsidiary in England. The findings show that identity making may be actualized by competition for resources and recognition. This can be done by investing certain objects such as the symbolic application of language with certain identifications...

Multimodal examination of emotion regulation difficulties as a function of co-occurring avoidant personality disorder among women with borderline personality disorder.

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Gratz, Kim L; Tull, Matthew T; Matusiewicz, Alexis M; Breetz, Alisa A; Lejuez, C W

2013-10-01

Despite a robust association between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and emotion dysregulation, evidence of within-BPD group differences in emotion regulation (ER) difficulties highlights the need to examine factors that increase the risk for ER difficulties within BPD. One factor that warrants consideration is co-occurring avoidant personality disorder (AVPD), the presence of which is associated with worse outcomes in and outside of BPD and theorized to interfere with adaptive ER. Thus, this study examined if co-occurring AVPD among women with BPD is associated with heightened ER difficulties (assessed across self-report, behavioral, and physiological domains). Participants included 39 women with BPD (13 with co-occurring AVPD) and 18 women without BPD. Although results revealed no significant differences in overall self-reported ER difficulties (or the specific dimensions involving emotional clarity and the control of behaviors when distressed) between BPD participants with and without AVPD (with both groups reporting greater ER difficulties than non-BPD participants), other ER difficulties were found to be heightened among BPD participants with AVPD. Specifically, BPD participants with (vs. without) AVPD reported greater difficulties accessing effective ER strategies, evidenced less willingness to experience distress on a laboratory stressor, and exhibited a greater decrease in high frequency heart rate variability in response to this stressor (indicative of poor ER capacity). Findings add to the literature on ER difficulties in BPD, suggesting that co-occurring AVPD within BPD may be associated with a lower capacity for regulating distress and greater difficulties accessing effective ER strategies, potentially leading to greater efforts to avoid emotional distress. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Hotspots on Io During the Ganymede 2 Encounter

Science.gov (United States)

1996-01-01

The Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) on the Galileo spacecraft imaged Io at high spectral resolution at a range of 439,000 km (275,000 miles) during the G2 encounter on 6 September 1996. This image shows, on the right, Io as seen by NIMS, centered on 150 W longitude. The image on the left shows the same view point from Voyager data (from the encounters in 1979 and 1980). The NIMS image can be compared to the NIMS hotspot image from the G1 orbit (June 1996) to monitor changes on Io. The most dramatic feature of the G2 image is the hotspot at Malik Patera. Preliminary analysis of the data yields a temperature of at least 1000 K (727 C) for this hotspot, an increase of more than 300 K from the G1 encounter. In the overlap area of the G1 and G2 images all the hotspots seen during the G1 encounter are also seen in the G2 image. Other hotspots were seen, including one at the Pele plume origin site. This image is at the 4 micron band to best view the Malik hotspot. Most of the other hotspots are best seen at longer wavelengths. NIMS is continuing to observe Io to monitor volcanic activity throughout the Galileo mission.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov.

Pipeline negotiations as a challenging setting for organised cultural encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guerrieri, Valeria

has linked together countries, cultures, identities, ultimately challenging, reorganizing and renegotiating them. Starting from these premises, the following paper intends to show how Canadian Mackenzie Valley represents a unique contact zone for the development of cultural encounters, where different...... with often competing interests and positions - the practice of public hearings can be approached as a form of organized cultural encounter, whose “implied purposes” are to deal with more or less substantial cultural differences and to provide a wider cultural understanding of each different position. Through......Within the context of resource extraction, cultural encounters have been historically performed in the way of more or less antagonistic social interactions, ranging from outright domination to more empowerment-oriented relations. Throughout the last decades, the building of pipelines in particular...

The activity in the anterior insulae is modulated by perceptual decision-making difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamichhane, Bidhan; Adhikari, Bhim M; Dhamala, Mukesh

2016-07-07

Previous neuroimaging studies provide evidence for the involvement of the anterior insulae (INSs) in perceptual decision-making processes. However, how the insular cortex is involved in integration of degraded sensory information to create a conscious percept of environment and to drive our behaviors still remains a mystery. In this study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and four different perceptual categorization tasks in visual and audio-visual domains, we measured blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals and examined the roles of INSs in easy and difficult perceptual decision-making. We created a varying degree of degraded stimuli by manipulating the task-specific stimuli in these four experiments to examine the effects of task difficulty on insular cortex response. We hypothesized that significantly higher BOLD response would be associated with the ambiguity of the sensory information and decision-making difficulty. In all of our experimental tasks, we found the INS activity consistently increased with task difficulty and participants' behavioral performance changed with the ambiguity of the presented sensory information. These findings support the hypothesis that the anterior insulae are involved in sensory-guided, goal-directed behaviors and their activities can predict perceptual load and task difficulty. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The way we encounter reading material influences how frequently we mind wander

OpenAIRE

Trish L Varao Sousa; Jonathan S A Carriere; Dan eSmilek

2013-01-01

We examined whether different encounters of reading material influence the likelihood of mind wandering, memory for the material, and the ratings of interest in the material. In a within-subjects design participants experienced three different reading encounters: (1) reading a passage aloud, (2) listening to a passage being read to them, and (3) reading a passage silently. Throughout each reading encounter probes were given in order to identify mind wandering. After finishing the passage part...

Web-based versus face-to-face interprofessional team encounters with standardized patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lempicki, Kelly A; Holland, Christine S

2018-03-01

Challenges exist in developing interprofessional education (IPE) activities including coordinating schedules and obtaining appropriate space for teams to work. Virtual worlds have been explored as a means to overcome some of these challenges. We sought to develop a web-based interprofessional team interaction with a standardized patient (SP), as compared to a face-to-face SP interaction, focusing on the competency area of interprofessional communication. Interprofessional teams of students were randomized to complete a web-based or face-to-face SP encounter. The web-based encounter was conducted via video conference that students accessed using their own electronic device. Interprofessional communication was evaluated by faculty observers and the SPs. Participants of the web-based encounter also completed a perceptions questionnaire. Interprofessional communication was rated as average/above average by the authors and SPs. Perceptions of the web-based encounter were mixed with not all students willing to complete such an encounter again despite finding it enjoyable and a positive learning experience. The need for adequate preparation was identified, including the opportunity to review the patient case before the encounter. The web-based SP encounter afforded students the opportunity to utilize communication technology to provide patient-centered care while collaborating as an interprofessional team. Video conferencing presents an opportunity to bypass some logistical challenges in scheduling IPE experiences and can be implemented as a co-curricular activity, avoiding course revisions. Additional studies are needed to further explore student and patient perspectives and clarify when, and with what level of trainees, the experiences are most valuable. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Differences in Emotion Regulation Difficulties Across Types of Eating Disorders During Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinbach, Noam; Sher, Helene; Bohon, Cara

2017-11-04

Emotion regulation appears to play a key role in eating disorders. However, prior attempts to associate specific emotion regulation abilities with specific types of eating disorders resulted in inconsistent findings. Moreover, far less is known about emotion regulation in eating disorders during adolescence, a critical period of emotional development. The current study addresses this gap, comparing emotion regulation characteristics between adolescents with restrictive types of eating disorders and those with binge eating or purging types of eating disorders. Ninety-eight adolescents with eating disorders (49 with restrictive and 49 with binge eating/purging eating disorders) completed a set of questionnaires including the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). The results revealed that binge eating/purging types of eating disorders were associated with greater difficulties in a variety of emotion regulation dimensions including impulse control, goal-directed behavior and access to effective emotion regulation strategies. Awareness and clarity of emotions were also worse in the binge eating/purging types of eating disorders, but this difference did not remain when comorbid psychopathology measures were controlled for. Moreover, the emotion regulation profile of adolescents with anorexia nervosa-binging/purging type was more similar to that of adolescents with bulimia nervosa than to that of adolescents with anorexia nervosa-restrictive type. While both restrictive and binge eating/purging eating disorders have been associated with emotion regulation difficulties, the current study shows that the presence of binge eating or purging episodes is linked with greater severity of emotion regulation deficits among adolescents with eating disorders.

Encountering spiritual tourism in Kathmandu

OpenAIRE

Børø, Nora

2015-01-01

Spiritual tourism as a phenomenon is increasing worldwide. Many have conducted research looking at the intersection between religion and tourism, but few have focused on the host community within these encounters. Many Western tourists arrive in Kathmandu to go on retreats', and to participate in yoga and meditation classes. The majority of these are particularly interested in various forms of Buddhist practice and traditions. In this thesis I have studied how N...

Speaking in their Language: An Overview of the Major Difficulties Faced by the Libyan EFL Learners in Speaking Skill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Mubarak Pathan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Of the four major language skills, speaking is regarded as the most crucial and central one as it enables the learner to establish successful communication in that language, which is often the main aim of learning any foreign language. That is why it forms the focus of attention in any foreign language teaching and learning as failure to master this crucial language skill leads to the failure to establish successful communication. However, mastering this language skill does not go so easily with the EFL learners and particularly for the Arab EFL learners as many factors, including the mother tongue interference, hinder and influence the process of learning and mastering this crucial foreign language skill. The consequent result is that the EFL learners, especially Arab learners, encounter various difficulties while communicating in English and speak the language in their own way with the flavour of their mother tongue, Arabic. This problem of the Libyan EFL learners, encountered while speaking in English, is the subject of investigation in this paper. Various other problems, nature of these problems, sources of these problems and some pedagogical suggestion to overcome these problems are also some of the central topics of discussion in the paper.

Protoplanetary disc response to distant tidal encounters in stellar clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, A. J.; Clarke, C. J.; Rosotti, G.; Booth, R. A.

2018-04-01

The majority of stars form in a clustered environment. This has an impact on the evolution of surrounding protoplanetary discs (PPDs) due to either photoevaporation or tidal truncation. Consequently, the development of planets depends on formation environment. Here, we present the first thorough investigation of tidally induced angular momentum loss in PPDs in the distant regime, partly motivated by claims in the literature for the importance of distant encounters in disc evolution. We employ both theoretical predictions and dynamical/hydrodynamical simulations in 2D and 3D. Our theoretical analysis is based on that of Ostriker (1994) and leads us to conclude that in the limit that the closest approach distance xmin ≫ r, the radius of a particle ring, the fractional change in angular momentum scales as (xmin/r)-5. This asymptotic limit ensures that the cumulative effect of distant encounters is minor in terms of its influence on disc evolution. The angular momentum transfer is dominated by the m = 2 Lindblad resonance for closer encounters and by the m = 1, ω = 0 Lindblad resonance at large xmin/r. We contextualize these results by comparing expected angular momentum loss for the outer edge of a PPD due to distant and close encounters. Contrary to the suggestions of previous works, we do not find that distant encounters contribute significantly to angular momentum loss in PPDs. We define an upper limit for closest approach distance where interactions are significant as a function of arbitrary host to perturber mass ratio M2/M1.

Urban Latino children's physical activity levels and performance in interactive dance video games: effects of goal difficulty and goal specificity.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Zan; Podlog, Leslie

2012-10-01

To examine the effects of different levels of goal specificity and difficulty on Latino children's performance and physical activity (PA) levels in an after-school program incorporating an interactive dance program (Dance Dance Revolution [DDR]; Konami Corporation). Comparison study. Rose Park Elementary School, Salt Lake City, Utah. Ninety-eight Latino children in the first through sixth grades, aged 7 to 13 years. After the pretest, the participants were randomly assigned into 1 of the following 3 goal-setting conditions: (1) easy, (2) difficult, and (3) best effort (hereinafter referred to as do-your-best goal). Participants' PA levels were measured using piezoelectric pedometers, and steps per minute were used as the outcome variable. Participants' total points for their dance on television screens were retrieved as their performance scores. These outcome variables were assessed again 8 weeks later (posttest score). The multivariate analysis of covariance yielded a significant main effect for the goal-setting condition. Follow-up tests revealed that children who set specific (easy or difficult) goals had significantly greater increased PA levels (mean scores, 10.34 for easy and 22.45 for difficult) and DDR performance (0.011 for easy and 0.67 for difficult) than those in the do-your-best group (0.83 for PA and 0.17 for performance). In addition, children's increased PA levels in the difficult-goal group were significantly higher than those in the easy-goal group. The easy- and difficult-goal groups show a significant improvement on DDR performance. The difficult- goal group also displays the highest improvement on PA levels. Strategies to enhance children's DDR performance and PA levels are discussed in relation to the extant goal-setting literature.

Domestic Violence Encountered among Kurdish Women

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Sirwan Kamil

2015-01-01

Background and objective; There is growing recognition that violence against women has a large public health impact, in addition to being a gross violation of women's human rights. The study's aims were: To show the types of domestic abuse encountered by Kurdish women, and study the relationship between them. Methods; The study conducted in the…

Encounters on a Shape-changing Bench

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kinch, Sofie; Grönvall, Erik; Petersen, Marianne Graves

2014-01-01

; a concert hall, an airport and a shopping mall. We gathered insights from more than 120 people, as they unexpectedly encountered the shape changing capabilities of the bench. By taking the user tests out of the lab and into the wild, we explored the influence of context on the users experience of a shape...

Mind-Reading Difficulties in the Siblings of People with Asperger's Syndrome: Evidence for a Genetic Influence in the Abnormal Development of a Specific Cognitive Domain

Science.gov (United States)

Dorris, L.; Espie, C. A. E.; Knott, F.; Salt, J.

2004-01-01

Background: Previous research suggests that the phenotype associated with Asperger's syndrome (AS) includes difficulties in understanding the mental states of others, leading to difficulties in social communication and social relationships. It has also been suggested that the first-degree relatives of those with AS can demonstrate similar…

A case-control study of the difficulties in daily functioning experienced by children with depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Usami, Masahide; Iwadare, Yoshitaka; Watanabe, Kyota; Ushijima, Hirokage; Kodaira, Masaki; Okada, Takashi; Sasayama, Daimei; Sugiyama, Nobuhiro; Saito, Kazuhiko

2015-07-01

The parent-assessed children-with-difficulties questionnaire (Questionnaire-Children with Difficulties; QCD) is designed to evaluate a child׳s difficulties in functioning during specific periods of the day. This study aimed to use the QCD to evaluate the difficulties in daily functioning experienced by children with depressive disorders. A case-control design was used. The cases comprised 90 junior high school students with depressive disorder, whereas a community sample of 363 junior high school students was enrolled as controls. Behaviors were assessed using the QCD, Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS), Tokyo Autistic Behavior Scale (TABS), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-rating scale (ADHD-RS), and Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory (ODBI). We then analyzed the effects of sex and diagnosis on the QCD scores as well as the correlation coefficients between the QCD and the other questionnaires. We included 90 cases (33 boys, 57 girls) with depressive disorders and 363 controls (180 boys, 183 girls). The QCD scores for the children with depressive disorders were significantly lower compared with those from the community sample (Pdepressive disorders and truancy problems than for those with depressive disorders alone (Pdepressive disorders experienced greater difficulties in completing basic daily activities compared with community controls. These difficulties were dependent on sex, symptoms, and the time of day. The use of QCD to assess children with depressive disorders enables clinicians to clarify the time periods at which the children face difficulties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of sensorimotor difficulties in autism spectrum conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Penelope Hannant

2016-08-01

Full Text Available AbstractIn addition to difficulties in social communication, current diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum conditions (ASC also incorporate sensorimotor difficulties; repetitive motor movements and atypical reactivity to sensory input (APA, 2013. This paper explores whether sensorimotor difficulties are associated with the development and maintenance of symptoms in ASC. Firstly, studies have shown difficulties coordinating sensory input into planning and executing movement effectively in ASC. Secondly, studies have shown associations between sensory reactivity and motor coordination with core ASC symptoms, suggesting these areas each strongly influence the development of social and communication skills. Thirdly, studies have begun to demonstrate that sensorimotor difficulties in ASC could account for reduced social attention early in development, with a cascading effect on later social, communicative and emotional development. These results suggest that sensorimotor difficulties not only contribute to non-social difficulties such as narrow circumscribed interests, but also to the development of social behaviours such as effectively coordinating eye contact with speech and gesture, interpreting others’ behaviour and responding appropriately. Further research is needed to explore the link between sensory and motor difficulties in ASC, and their contribution to the development and maintenance of ASC.

Diagnosis of Spasmodic Dysphonia Manifested by Swallowing Difficulty in Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Han Gyeol; Lee, Seong Jae; Hyun, Jung Keun

2015-01-01

Spasmodic dysphonia is defined as a focal laryngeal disorder characterized by dystonic spasms of the vocal cord during speech. We described a case of a 22-year-old male patient who presented complaining of idiopathic difficulty swallowing that suddenly developed 6 months ago. The patient also reported pharyngolaryngeal pain, throat discomfort, dyspnea, and voice change. Because laryngoscopy found no specific problems, an electrodiagnostic study and videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) were performed to find the cause of dysphagia. The VFSS revealed continuous twitch-like involuntary movement of the laryngeal muscle around the vocal folds. Then, he was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia by VFSS, auditory-perceptual voice analysis, and physical examination. So, we report the first case of spasmodic dysphonia accompanied with difficulty swallowing that was confirmed by VFSS. PMID:25932430

Managing uncertainty: a grounded theory of stigma in transgender health care encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Poteat, Tonia; German, Danielle; Kerrigan, Deanna

2013-05-01

A growing body of literature supports stigma and discrimination as fundamental causes of health disparities. Stigma and discrimination experienced by transgender people have been associated with increased risk for depression, suicide, and HIV. Transgender stigma and discrimination experienced in health care influence transgender people's health care access and utilization. Thus, understanding how stigma and discrimination manifest and function in health care encounters is critical to addressing health disparities for transgender people. A qualitative, grounded theory approach was taken to this study of stigma in health care interactions. Between January and July 2011, fifty-five transgender people and twelve medical providers participated in one-time in-depth interviews about stigma, discrimination, and health care interactions between providers and transgender patients. Due to the social and institutional stigma against transgender people, their care is excluded from medical training. Therefore, providers approach medical encounters with transgender patients with ambivalence and uncertainty. Transgender people anticipate that providers will not know how to meet their needs. This uncertainty and ambivalence in the medical encounter upsets the normal balance of power in provider-patient relationships. Interpersonal stigma functions to reinforce the power and authority of the medical provider during these interactions. Functional theories of stigma posit that we hold stigmatizing attitudes because they serve specific psychological functions. However, these theories ignore how hierarchies of power in social relationships serve to maintain and reinforce inequalities. The findings of this study suggest that interpersonal stigma also functions to reinforce medical power and authority in the face of provider uncertainty. Within functional theories of stigma, it is important to acknowledge the role of power and to understand how stigmatizing attitudes function to maintain

A Prospective Observational Study of Technical Difficulty With GlideScope-Guided Tracheal Intubation in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bin; Gurnaney, Harshad G; Stricker, Paul A; Galvez, Jorge A; Isserman, Rebecca S; Fiadjoe, John E

2018-05-09

The GlideScope Cobalt is one of the most commonly used videolaryngoscopes in pediatric anesthesia. Although visualization of the airway may be superior to direct laryngoscopy, users need to learn a new indirect way to insert the tracheal tube. Learning this indirect approach requires focused practice and instruction. Identifying the specific points during tube placement, during which clinicians struggle, would help with targeted education. We conducted this prospective observational study to determine the incidence and location of technical difficulties using the GlideScope, the success rates of various corrective maneuvers used, and the impact of technical difficulty on success rate. We conducted this observational study at our quaternary pediatric hospital between February 2014 and August 2014. We observed 200 GlideScope-guided intubations and documented key intubation-related outcomes. Inclusion criteria for patients were the number of advancement maneuvers required to intubate the trachea, the location where technical difficulty occurred, the types of maneuvers used to address difficulties, and the tracheal intubation success rate. We used a bias-corrected bootstrapping method with 300 replicates to determine the 95% confidence interval (CI) around the rate of difficulty with an intubation attempt. After excluding attempts by inexperienced clinicians, there were 225 attempts in 187 patients, 58% (131 of 225; bootstrap CI, 51.6%-64.6%]) of the attempts had technical difficulties. Technical difficulty was most likely to occur when inserting the tracheal tube between the plane of the arytenoid cartilages to just beyond the vocal cords: "zone 3." Clockwise rotation of the tube was the most common successful corrective maneuver in zone 3. The overall tracheal intubation success rate was 98% (CI, 95%-99%); however, the first attempt success rate was only 80% (CI, 74%-86%). Patients with technical difficulty had more attempts (median [interquartile range], 2 [1

The prevalence of two ‘commonly’ encountered synthetic target fibres within a large urban environment

OpenAIRE

Palmer, Ray; Burnett, Elisabeth; Luff, Natalie; Wagner, Craig; Stinga, Georgia; Carney, Clare; Sheridan, Kelly

2015-01-01

A target fibre study was carried out to assess the random prevalence of two ostensibly commonly encountered synthetic fibre types; black acrylic and blue polyester. The study was performed in an environment which maximised the number of random contacts between textile garments in the population and specific surfaces, namely; seating relating to buses, public houses and cinemas found within a large urban conurbation.\\ud \\ud Surface debris tapings were collected from samples of bus seats (30), ...

Common Ground in Cross-Cultural Communication: Sequential and Institutional Contexts in Front Desk Service Encounters

OpenAIRE

Kidwell, Mardi

2000-01-01

How do native and nonnative English-speaking participants understand one another in front desk service encounters? Specifically, what are the resources that enable them to transact their business at the desk? In this paper, I use the notion of "shared background" to show how participants at the front desk of a university-sponsored English language program rely on the sequential and institutional contexts in which their talk is produced to accomplish their service activities. In particular, I ...

Self. Propagating | a strategy of encounter |

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabrielle Lorraine Fletcher

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This piece mobilises both creative non-fiction and ficto-criticism to expose the necessary terrains of narrativity as a Country of the Lived,  making visible the redactive cartography of the PhD in telling Indigenous selfhood, and mobilising an argument for authentic encounter under the comfortable maps of form.

Post-stimulus endogenous and exogenous oscillations are differentially modulated by task difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yun; Lou, Bin; Gao, Xiaorong; Sajda, Paul

2013-01-01

We investigate the modulation of post-stimulus endogenous and exogenous oscillations when a visual discrimination is made more difficult. We use exogenous frequency tagging to induce steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEP) while subjects perform a face-car discrimination task, the difficulty of which varies on a trial-to-trial basis by varying the noise (phase coherence) in the image. We simultaneously analyze amplitude modulations of the SSVEP and endogenous alpha activity as a function of task difficulty. SSVEP modulation can be viewed as a neural marker of attention toward/away from the primary task, while modulation of post-stimulus alpha is closely related to cortical information processing. We find that as the task becomes more difficult, the amplitude of SSVEP decreases significantly, approximately 250-450 ms post-stimulus. Significant changes in endogenous alpha amplitude follow SSVEP modulation, occurring at approximately 400-700 ms post-stimulus and, unlike the SSVEP, the alpha amplitude is increasingly suppressed as the task becomes less difficult. Our results demonstrate simultaneous measurement of endogenous and exogenous oscillations that are modulated by task difficulty, and that the specific timing of these modulations likely reflects underlying information processing flow during perceptual decision-making.

The Difficulty in Following Project Schedule as a Key Project Management Challenge: Family Firm Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna SADKOWSKA

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The problem of how to manage projects successfully has been gaining growing interest for the last decades. The aforementioned is mainly caused by the fact that project management offers a wide range of methods and tools which, when properly used, can stimulate long-term growth of businesses. As a consequence it offers a particular development opportunity for family enterprises which, due to their specificity, have to overcome many difficulties. The primary objective of this paper is to examine whether family enterprises perceive, and to what extent, the factor of following project schedule as a difficulty in the area of project management. 154 Polish family firms representing different sectors were surveyed. The results of regression analysis show that family firms with global range of business activities, on the contrary to those with local or regional ones, do not find the factor of following project schedule as a difficulty. This results manly from the tools employed and the maturity level they have reached in project management. The findings support the current discussion on the specificity and uniqueness of family businesses in relationship to the knowledge area of project management. It also contributes to filling the gap on understanding the functioning of family firms in the emerging economies of Eastern Europe.

A Decolonizing Encounter: Ward Churchill and Antonia Darder in Dialogue. Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education. Volume 430

Science.gov (United States)

Orelus, Pierre W., Ed.

2012-01-01

"A Decolonizing Encounter" examines the effects of western colonialism on historically marginalized and colonized populations living both in the West and the "third world". Specifically, it explores crucial issues such as the decolonizing of schools and communities of color; the decentralization of power of the capitalist and…

Determining Which Introductory Physics Topics Pre-Service Physics Teachers Have Difficulty Understanding and What Accounts for These Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Sahin, Esin; Yagbasan, Rahmi

2012-01-01

This study aims at diagnosing which subjects pre-service physics teachers have difficulty understanding in introductory physics courses and what accounts for these difficulties. A questionnaire consisting of two qualitative questions was used to collect data for this study. The questionnaire was administered to 101 pre-service physics teachers who…

BodyHeat Encounter: Performing Technology in Pedagogical Spaces of Surveillance/Intimacy

Science.gov (United States)

Fels, Lynn; Ricketts, Kathryn

2015-01-01

What occurs when videographer and performer encounter each other through the lens of a camera? This collaborative performative inquiry focuses on embodiment and emergent narrative as realized through an encounter between technology and the visceral body--a relational body that smells, touches, sees, hears and feels the emergent world through…

Exploring the effects of individual customer incivility encounters on employee incivility: the moderating roles of entity (in)civility and negative affectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, David D; van Jaarsveld, Danielle D; Skarlicki, Daniel P

2014-01-01

Incivility between customers and employees is common in many service organizations. These encounters can have negative outcomes for employees, customers, and the organization. To date, researchers have tended to study incivility as an aggregated and accumulated phenomenon (entity perspective). In the present study, we examined incivility as it occurs during a specific service encounter (event perspective) alongside the entity perspective. Using a mixed-method multilevel field study of customer service interactions, we show that individual customer incivility encounters (i.e., events) trigger employee incivility as a function of the employee's overall accumulated impression of the (in)civility in his or her customer interactions, such that the effects are more pronounced among employees who generally perceive their customer interactions to be more versus less civil. We also find that these interactive effects occur only among employees who are lower (vs. higher) in negative affectivity. Our results show that, in order to expand the understanding of customer incivility, it is important to study the incivility encounter, the social context in which negative customer interactions occur, and individual differences. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved

Postoperative Feeding Difficulties after Repair of Congenital ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Of these, 24 (37.5%) developed feeding difficulties in the immediate post operative period. The causes of the feeding difficulties were Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) 9, Recurrent diaphragmatic hernia 8, Adhesive intestinal obstruction 4, Poor intestinal motility 2, Campylobacter enteritis, 1, Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, 1.

Exploring communication difficulties in pediatric hematology: oncology nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Citak, Ebru Akgun; Toruner, Ebru Kilicarslan; Gunes, Nebahat Bora

2013-01-01

Communication plays an important role for the well being of patients, families and also health care professionals in cancer care. Conversely, ineffective communication may cause depression, increased anxiety, hopelessness and decreased of quality life for patients, families and also nurses. This study aimed to explore communication difficulties of pediatric hematology/oncology nurses with patients and their families, as well as their suggestions about communication difficulties. It was conducted in a pediatric hematology/oncology hospital in Ankara, Turkey. Qualitative data were collected by focus groups, with 21 pediatric hematology/oncology nursing staff from three groups. Content analysis was used for data analysis. Findings were grouped in three main categories. The first category concerned communication difficulties, assessing problems in responding to questions, ineffective communication and conflicts with the patient's families. The second was about the effects of communication difficulties on nurses and the last main category involved suggestions for empowering nurses with communication difficulties, the theme being related to institutional issues. Nurses experience communication difficulties with children and their families during long hospital stays. Communication difficulties particularly increase during crisis periods, like at the time of first diagnosis, relapse, the terminal stage or on days with special meaning such as holidays. The results obtained indicate that pediatric nurses and the child/family need to be supported, especially during crisis periods. Feeling of empowerment in communication will improve the quality of care by reducing the feelings of exhaustion and incompetence in nurses.

Acquisition of an Underway CTD System for the Flow Encountering Abrupt Topography DRI

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-30

Acquisition of an Underway CTD System for the Flow Encountering Abrupt Topography DRI T. M. Shaun Johnston Scripps Institution of Oceanography...westward flow in the North Equatorial Current (NEC) encounters tall, steep, submarine topography and islands. During the Flow Encountering Abrupt... Topography (FLEAT) DRI, investigators will determine: • Whether appreciable energy/momentum is lost from the large-scale NEC flow to smaller scales and

[Medical surveillance in university: organizational difficulties, legal problems, scientific e technical specificities. Experience of University of Milan Bicocca].

Science.gov (United States)

D'Orso, M I; Giuliani, C; Assini, R; Riva, M A; Cesana, G

2012-01-01

Our research describes activities of Occupational Health carried out during last year in University of Milan Bicocca by Occupational Doctors. We describe results of medical surveillance in 1153 employees or students exposed to occupational risks for health and safety. We report results obtained, technical difficulties, organizational problems, and preventive actions decided to improve functionality of our activity. Students seem to be less protected and consequently seem to have higher professional safety and health risks.

Users’ encounter with normative discourses on Facebook

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathieu, David

2016-01-01

This study asks whether users’ encounter with normative discourses of lifestyle, consumption, and health on social media such as Facebook gives rise to agency. The theoretical framework draws on reception analysis, for its implied, but central interest in agency that lies at the intersection...... of texts and audiences. Based on a critique of the “participatory paradigm,” a paradigm that situates the locus of agency in the structural opposition between senders and users, in the norms of rational deliberation or in the figure of the activist, gaps are identified which can be filled by adopting...... an explicit focus on the socio-cultural practices of ordinary audiences in their encounters with media discourses. The study investigates user agency on seven Facebook groups and pages with the help of a three-pronged perspective based on the notion of the media–audience relationship as (1) power structure...

Mobbing behaviors encountered by nurse teaching staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Yildirim, Dilek; Yildirim, Aytolan; Timucin, Arzu

2007-07-01

The term 'mobbing' is defined as antagonistic behaviors with unethical communication directed systematically at one individual by one or more individuals in the workplace. This cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted for the purpose of determining the mobbing behaviors encountered by nursing school teaching staff in Turkey, its effect on them, and their responses to them. A large percentage (91%) of the nursing school employees who participated in this study reported that they had encountered mobbing behaviors in the institution where they work and 17% that they had been directly exposed to mobbing in the workplace. The academic staff who had been exposed to mobbing behaviors experienced various physiological, emotional and social reactions. They frequently 'worked harder and [were] more organized and worked very carefully to avoid criticism' to escape from mobbing. In addition, 9% of the participants stated that they 'thought about suicide occasionally'.

Effects of Soundscapes on Perceived Crowding and Encounter Norms

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sang-Oh; Shelby, Bo

2011-07-01

Soundscapes in recreation settings are becoming an important issue, but there are few studies of the effects of sounds on recreation experiences, especially crowding perceptions and encounter norms. This study compared effects of six types of sounds (an airplane, a truck engine, children playing, birds, water, and a control) on perceived crowding (PC) and encounter norms for hikers. Data were collected from 47 college students through lab experiments using simulated images, with moving hikers inserted in the original photo taken in the Jungmeori area of Mudeungsan Provincial Park in Korea. Overall, the motor-made sounds of the airplane and truck engine increased PC and decreased acceptability ratings, and the natural sounds of birds and water decreased PC and increased acceptability ratings. Ratings of the sound of children playing were similar to those in the control (i.e., no sound). In addition, as numbers of hikers increased, the overall effects of sounds decreased, and there were few significant differences in PC or acceptability ratings at the highest encounter levels. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

Feminist Encounters with Evolutionary Psychology

OpenAIRE

O'Neill, Rachel

2016-01-01

This Section of Australian Feminist Studies is the product of an event that took place at King’s College London in January 2015, hosted as part of the UK-based ‘Critical Sexology’ seminar series. Participants at this event – feminist scholars working across the fields of lin- guistics, cultural studies, sociology, and psychology – were invited to reflect on their encounters with evolutionary psychology (EP). As the event organiser, I was interested to prompt a discussion about how EP shapes t...

Estimating migratory connectivity of birds when re-encounter probabilities are heterogeneous

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Emily B.; Hostelter, Jeffrey A.; Royle, J. Andrew; Marra, Peter P.

2014-01-01

Understanding the biology and conducting effective conservation of migratory species requires an understanding of migratory connectivity – the geographic linkages of populations between stages of the annual cycle. Unfortunately, for most species, we are lacking such information. The North American Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) houses an extensive database of marking, recaptures and recoveries, and such data could provide migratory connectivity information for many species. To date, however, few species have been analyzed for migratory connectivity largely because heterogeneous re-encounter probabilities make interpretation problematic. We accounted for regional variation in re-encounter probabilities by borrowing information across species and by using effort covariates on recapture and recovery probabilities in a multistate capture–recapture and recovery model. The effort covariates were derived from recaptures and recoveries of species within the same regions. We estimated the migratory connectivity for three tern species breeding in North America and over-wintering in the tropics, common (Sterna hirundo), roseate (Sterna dougallii), and Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia). For western breeding terns, model-derived estimates of migratory connectivity differed considerably from those derived directly from the proportions of re-encounters. Conversely, for eastern breeding terns, estimates were merely refined by the inclusion of re-encounter probabilities. In general, eastern breeding terns were strongly connected to eastern South America, and western breeding terns were strongly linked to the more western parts of the nonbreeding range under both models. Through simulation, we found this approach is likely useful for many species in the BBL database, although precision improved with higher re-encounter probabilities and stronger migratory connectivity. We describe an approach to deal with the inherent biases in BBL banding and re-encounter data to demonstrate

Specificity of emotion regulation deficits in social anxiety: an internet study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rusch, Silke; Westermann, Stefan; Lincoln, Tania M

2012-09-01

There is evidence for an association between social anxiety and emotion regulation difficulties. This study investigates that emotion regulation difficulties are specific to two domains of social anxiety. An explorative study was conducted to examine the associations between emotion regulation facets and social anxiety in the normal population. N= 149 healthy volunteers participated in an internet-based survey. Emotion regulation deficits were measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale which consists of six subscales. Social anxiety was measured by the Social Phobia Scale and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that anxiety of interactive social situations is associated with non-acceptance of negative emotions, impulse control difficulties, and lack of functional emotion regulation strategies over and above the impact of age and general psychopathology. In contrast, anxiety of being observed by others was not specifically associated with emotion regulation strategies. The results support the hypothesis that specific emotion regulation deficits are relevant to specific aspects of social anxiety. Implications for further research and therapy are discussed. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

Late Emerging Reading Difficulties in English Language Learners

OpenAIRE

Garcia, Nicole Marie

2015-01-01

Research has identified a group of students who do not begin to exhibit reading difficulties until fourth or fifth grade, suggesting late-emerging reading difficulties. Considering that these students do not show signs of reading difficulties in early grades, attempting to identify these students early becomes problematic. Additionally, little is known regarding the characteristics of late-emerging reading deficits within English language learner (ELL) populations. The purpose of this study w...

Scientific misconduct encountered by APAME journals: an online survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Looi, Lai-Meng; Wong, Li Xuan; Koh, Cing Chai

2015-12-01

In June 2015, invitations were sent by email to 151 APAME journals to participate in an online survey with an objective of gaining insight into the common publication misconduct encountered by APAME editors. The survey, conducted through SurveyMonkey over a 20-day-period, comprised 10 questions with expansions to allow anecdotes limited to 400 characters, estimated to take less than 10 minutes to complete. Only one invitation was issued per journal, targeting (in order of priority) editors, editorial board members and editorial staff, and limited by email availability. 54 (36%) journals responded. 98% of respondents held Editor or Editorial Board positions. All respondent journals have editorial policies on publication ethics and 96% provide instructions related to ethics. 45% use anti-plagiarism software to screen manuscripts, the most popular being iThenticate, CrossCheck and Turnitin. Up to 50% of journals had encountered studies without IRB approval. Author misconduct encountered were (in rank order): plagiarism (75%), duplicate publication (58%), unjustified authorship (39%), authorship disputes (33%), data falsification (29%), data/image manipulation (27%), conflict of interest (25%), copyright violation (17%) and breach of confidentiality (10%). Reviewer misconduct encountered were: conflict of interest (19%), plagiarism (17%), obstructive behavior (17%), abusive language (13%) and breach of confidentiality (13%). Notwithstanding the limitations of the survey and the response rate, a few insights have been gained: (1) the need for strengthening the ethical culture of researchers/authors and reviewers, (2) anti-plagiarism software can improve plagiarism detection by about 15%, and (3) the need for technical support to detect plagiarism, duplicate publication and image manipulation.

Choosing a language in international office service encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hazel, Spencer

Choosing a language in international office service encounters – from multilingual miscellany to medium-of-interaction in a matter of seconds Spencer Hazel Roskilde University, Denmark In higher education settings characterized by increasing transnational student and staff mobility, members...... to a multimodal interaction analysis following the ethnomethodological tradition of Conversation Analysis. Gafaranga, J. (2000). Medium repair vs. other-language repair: Telling the medium of a bilingual conversation. International Journal of Bilingualism, 4(3), 327-350. Hall, J. K., Hellermann, J., & Pekarek...... Preisler (eds.) Language alternation, language choice and language encounter in international education. Dordrecht: Springer Preisler, Bent, Ida Klitgård, and Anne H. Fabricius. (2011). Language and learning in the international university: from English uniformity to diversity and hybridity. Bristol...

THE RINGS OF CHARIKLO UNDER CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE GIANT PLANETS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araujo, R. A. N.; Sfair, R.; Winter, O. C., E-mail: ran.araujo@gmail.com, E-mail: rsfair@feg.unesp.br, E-mail: ocwinter@gmail.com [UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, Grupo de Dinâmica Orbital e Planetologia, CEP 12516-410, Guaratingueta, SP (Brazil)

2016-06-20

The Centaur population is composed of minor bodies wandering between the giant planets that frequently perform close gravitational encounters with these planets, leading to a chaotic orbital evolution. Recently, the discovery of two well-defined narrow rings was announced around the Centaur 10199 Chariklo. The rings are assumed to be in the equatorial plane of Chariklo and to have circular orbits. The existence of a well-defined system of rings around a body in such a perturbed orbital region poses an interesting new problem. Are the rings of Chariklo stable when perturbed by close gravitational encounters with the giant planets? Our approach to address this question consisted of forward and backward numerical simulations of 729 clones of Chariklo, with similar initial orbits, for a period of 100 Myr. We found, on average, that each clone experiences during its lifetime more than 150 close encounters with the giant planets within one Hill radius of the planet in question. We identified some extreme close encounters that were able to significantly disrupt or disturb the rings of Chariklo. About 3% of the clones lose their rings and about 4% of the clones have their rings significantly disturbed. Therefore, our results show that in most cases (more than 90%), the close encounters with the giant planets do not affect the stability of the rings in Chariklo-like systems. Thus, if there is an efficient mechanism that creates the rings, then these structures may be common among these kinds of Centaurs.

Incorporating Hypnosis into Pediatric Clinical Encounters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert A. Pendergrast

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Increasing numbers of licensed health professionals who care for children have been trained in clinical hypnosis. The evidence base for the safety and efficacy of this therapeutic approach in a wide variety of conditions is also growing. Pediatricians and other health professionals who have received training may wish to apply these skills in appropriate clinical scenarios but still may be unsure of the practical matters of how to incorporate this skill-set into day to day practice. Moreover, the practical application of such skills will take very different forms depending on the practice setting, types of acute or chronic conditions, patient and family preferences, and the developmental stages of the child or teen. This article reviews the application of pediatric clinical hypnosis skills by describing the use of hypnotic language outside of formal trance induction, by describing natural trance states that occur in children and teens in healthcare settings, and by describing the process of planning a clinical hypnosis encounter. It is assumed that this article does not constitute training in hypnosis or qualify its readers for the application of such skills; rather, it may serve as a practical guide for those professionals who have been so trained, and may serve to inform other professionals what to expect when referring a patient for hypnotherapy. The reader is referred to specific training opportunities and organizations.

Incorporating Hypnosis into Pediatric Clinical Encounters

Science.gov (United States)

Pendergrast, Robert A.

2017-01-01

Increasing numbers of licensed health professionals who care for children have been trained in clinical hypnosis. The evidence base for the safety and efficacy of this therapeutic approach in a wide variety of conditions is also growing. Pediatricians and other health professionals who have received training may wish to apply these skills in appropriate clinical scenarios but still may be unsure of the practical matters of how to incorporate this skill-set into day to day practice. Moreover, the practical application of such skills will take very different forms depending on the practice setting, types of acute or chronic conditions, patient and family preferences, and the developmental stages of the child or teen. This article reviews the application of pediatric clinical hypnosis skills by describing the use of hypnotic language outside of formal trance induction, by describing natural trance states that occur in children and teens in healthcare settings, and by describing the process of planning a clinical hypnosis encounter. It is assumed that this article does not constitute training in hypnosis or qualify its readers for the application of such skills; rather, it may serve as a practical guide for those professionals who have been so trained, and may serve to inform other professionals what to expect when referring a patient for hypnotherapy. The reader is referred to specific training opportunities and organizations. PMID:28300761

Development of cognitive processes inschoolchildren with learning difficulties inthe light ofanalysis ofWISC-R results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Mazurkiewicz-Gronowska

2012-09-01

Full Text Available For several years now, noticeable has been a significant increase in the interest of psychologists – practitioners and scientists, of parents and teachers in the issues of dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other developmental disorders. Specific learning difficulties constitute one of the most prevalent causes of reporting children to psychological and pedagogic outpatient departments. The results of the performed studies enable inter- and intra-group comparisons as well as a global analysis of the structure of intellectual development in children with various learning difficulties. This leads to interesting conclusions and allows for comprehensive scientific discussions. The subject of the article is presentation of the results of studies and conclusions formulated according to them, about the structure of intellectual development of children with learning difficulties diagnosed in two psychological-pedagogic outpatient departments in Lublin region (Psychological-Pedagogic Outpatient Department No 5 in Lublin and PsychologicalPedagogic Outpatient Department No 2 in Zamość. Analysed were the results of the WISC-R scale obtained by schoolchildren from forms IV-VI of elementary schools and junior secondary schools in Lublin and schools of Zamość county. As scholastic difficulties constitute quite a comprehensive term, generally perceived as problems in acquisition of information and mastering school skills, in our study we take into account the following three groups of schoolchildren: with developmental dyslexia, intelligence lower than average, and specific disorders in arithmetic skills. The performed analyses are aimed at familiarization with the developmental level of the schoolchildren’s cognitive functions and their intellectual skills structure based on a three-factor analysis. Our studies continue earlier analyses, including more comprehensive research areas with larger groups.

Boundary Transgressions: An Issue In Psychotherapeutic Encounter ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Boundary transgressions tend to be conceptualized on a continuum ranging from boundary crossings to boundary violations. Boundary crossings (e.g. accepting an inexpensive holiday gift from a client, unintentionally encountering a client in public, or attending a client's special event) are described in the literature as ...

Tracer Study of BS in Information Technology (BSIT Graduates of Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Nabua, Camarines Sur from 2004 to 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ARLY B. BALINGBING

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Tracer studies enhance curriculum relevance and marketability of educational programs. Knowledge on employment of CSPC graduates assists in formulating policy towards combating unemployment and producing globally competitive BSIT graduates. This study determines the employability of BSIT graduates of SY 2004-2010 and unveil specifically their personal profile, level of competency alongknowledge, skills and attitudes, significant relationship of the level of competency and the level of difficulties encountered along knowledge, skills, and attitudes and the measures to enhance their competitiveness. The study used descriptive method. Data gathered through a questionnaire from 155 respondents were statistically treated using averaging, percentage, weighted mean and Spearman Rho. Most respondents were female, 20-25 years old, TESDA-certified, employed in private sectors, incompetent in SY 2003-2004, competent in SY 2005-2010and encountered difficulty along knowledge, skills, and attitudes. There is no significant relationship in the level of competencies among graduates per school year and theirlevel of difficulty along knowledge, skills and attitudes. Some measures to enhance their competitivenessinclude conducting TESDA Assessment and Civil Service examination review and IT Faculty in-house trainings and strengthening English Proficiency Program. BSIT graduates of SY 2004-2010 are competent despite difficulties encountered along skills, attitudes and knowledge.

Difficulties in emotion regulation and risky driving among Lithuanian drivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Šeibokaitė, Laura; Endriulaitienė, Auksė; Sullman, Mark J M; Markšaitytė, Rasa; Žardeckaitė-Matulaitienė, Kristina

2017-10-03

Risky driving is a common cause of traffic accidents and injuries. However, there is no clear evidence of how difficulties in emotion regulation contribute to risky driving behavior, particularly in small post-Soviet countries. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and self-reported risky driving behavior in a sample of Lithuanian drivers. A total of 246 nonprofessional Lithuanian drivers participated in a cross-sectional survey. Difficulties in emotion regulation were assessed using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer 2004), and risky driving behavior was assessed using the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ; Lajunen et al. 2004). Males scored higher than females in aggressive violations and ordinary violations. Females scored higher for the nonacceptance of emotional responses, whereas males had more difficulties with emotional awareness than females. More difficulties in emotion regulation were positively correlated with driving errors, lapses, aggressive violations, and ordinary violations for both males and females. Structural equation modeling showed that difficulties in emotion regulation explained aggressive and ordinary violations more clearly than lapses and errors. When controlling for interactions among the distinct regulation difficulties, difficulties with impulse control and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior predicted risky driving. Furthermore, nonacceptance of emotional responses and limited access to emotion regulation strategies were related to less violations and more driving errors. Emotion regulation difficulties were associated with the self-reported risky driving behaviors of Lithuanian drivers. This provides useful hints for improving driver training programs in order to prevent traffic injuries.

Difficulty scaling through incongruity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lankveld, van G.; Spronck, P.; Rauterberg, G.W.M.; Mateas, M.; Darken, C.

2008-01-01

In this paper we discuss our work on using the incongruity measure from psychological literature to scale the difficulty level of a game online to the capabilities of the human player. Our approach has been implemented in a small game called Glove.

Tinnitus and Sleep Difficulties After Cochlear Implantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierzycki, Robert H; Edmondson-Jones, Mark; Dawes, Piers; Munro, Kevin J; Moore, David R; Kitterick, Pádraig T

To estimate and compare the prevalence of and associations between tinnitus and sleep difficulties in a sample of UK adult cochlear implant users and those identified as potential candidates for cochlear implantation. The study was conducted using the UK Biobank resource, a population-based cohort of 40- to 69-year olds. Self-report data on hearing, tinnitus, sleep difficulties, and demographic variables were collected from cochlear implant users (n = 194) and individuals identified as potential candidates for cochlear implantation (n = 211). These "candidates" were selected based on (i) impaired hearing sensitivity, inferred from self-reported hearing aid use and (ii) impaired hearing function, inferred from an inability to report words accurately at negative signal to noise ratios on an unaided closed-set test of speech perception. Data on tinnitus (presence, persistence, and related distress) and on sleep difficulties were analyzed using logistic regression models controlling for gender, age, deprivation, and neuroticism. The prevalence of tinnitus was similar among implant users (50%) and candidates (52%; p = 0.39). However, implant users were less likely to report that their tinnitus was distressing at its worst (41%) compared with candidates (63%; p = 0.02). The logistic regression model suggested that this difference between the two groups could be explained by the fact that tinnitus was less persistent in implant users (46%) compared with candidates (72%; p reported difficulties with sleep were similar among implant users (75%) and candidates (82%; p = 0.28), but participants with tinnitus were more likely to report sleep difficulties than those without (p explanation is supported by the similar prevalence of sleep problems among implant users and potential candidates for cochlear implantation, despite differences between the groups in tinnitus persistence and related emotional distress. Cochlear implantation may therefore not be an appropriate intervention

Reading comprehension difficulties in children with rolandic epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Currie, Nicola K; Lew, Adina R; Palmer, Tom M; Basu, Helen; De Goede, Christian; Iyer, Anand; Cain, Kate

2018-03-01

Difficulties in reading comprehension can arise from either word reading or listening comprehension difficulties, or a combination of the two. We sought to determine whether children with rolandic epilepsy had poor reading comprehension relative to typically developing comparison children, and whether such difficulties were associated with word reading and/or general language comprehension difficulties. In this cross-sectional study, children with rolandic epilepsy (n=25; 16 males, 9 females; mean age 9y 1mo, SD 1y 7mo) and a comparison group (n=39; 25 males, 14 females; mean age 9y 1mo, SD 1y 3mo) completed assessments of reading comprehension, listening comprehension, word/non-word reading, speech articulation, and Non-verbal IQ. Reading comprehension and word reading were worse in children with rolandic epilepsy (F 1,61 =6.89, p=0.011, ηp2=0.10 and F 1,61 =6.84, p=0.011, ηp2=0.10 respectively), with listening comprehension being marginal (F 1,61 =3.81, p=0.055, ηp2=0.06). Word reading and listening comprehension made large and independent contributions to reading comprehension, explaining 70% of the variance. Children with rolandic epilepsy may be at risk of reading comprehension difficulties. Thorough assessment of individual children is required to ascertain whether the difficulties lie with decoding text, or with general comprehension skills, or both. Children with rolandic epilepsy may be at risk of poor reading comprehension. This was related to poor word reading, poor listening comprehension, or both. Reading comprehension interventions should be tailored to the profile of difficulties. © 2017 Mac Keith Press.

Difficulties encountered in preauricular approach over retromandibular approach in condylar fracture

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Perumal Jayavelu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Fracture of mandible can be classified according to its anatomical location, in which condylar fracture is the most common one overall and is missed on clinical examination. Due to the unique geometry of the mandible and temporomandibular joint, without treatment the fractures can result in marked pain, dysfunction, and deformity. The condylar fracture may be further classified depending on the sides involved: unilateral/bilateral, depending on the height of fracture: intracapsular (within the head of condyle, extracapsular - head and neck (high condyle fracture, and subcondylar (low condyle fracture, and depending on displacement: nondisplaced, displaced (anteromedially, medially, and lateral, and dislocated. The clinical features include swelling and tenderness over the temporomandibular joint region, restricted mouth opening, and anterior open bite. A 34-year-old male patient reported to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Madha Dental College and Hospital; suffered fall trauma resulting in bilateral condyle fracture, dentoalveolar fracture in mandible with restricted mouth opening, and anterior open bite.

Interfaith dialogue as moral encounter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galal, Lise Paulsen

The concept of interfaith dialogue has been introduced and developed by scholars of different religions. The aim has been to find solutions from within religion to handle and optimise encounters with religious ‘Others’. Furthermore, interfaith dialogue has increasingly become a tool to solve...... between Muslims and Christians and analyse the different moral orders involved and how – following these orders – the participants are expected to deal with differences. Main focus is on how the participants are expected to deal with a requirement of staying the same (as Christian or Muslim) while...

Special relativity a first encounter

CERN Document Server

Giulini, Domenico

2005-01-01

Special relativity provides the foundations of our knowledge of space and time. Without it, our understanding of the world, and its place in the universe, would be unthinkable. This book gives a concise, elementary, yet exceptionally modern, introduction to special relativity. It is a gentle yet serious 'first encounter', in that it conveys a true understanding rather than purely reports the basic facts. Only very elementary mathematical knowledge is needed to master it (basichigh-school maths), yet it will leave the reader with a sound understanding of the subject. Special Relativity: A First

Researching Learning Difficulties: A Guide for Practitioners

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Jill; Lacey, Penny

2005-01-01

The aim of this book is to provide a source for teachers and other professionals working with children and adults with learning difficulties and disabilities that will enable them to: (1) access selected recent and relevant research in the field of learning difficulties, drawn from a range of disciplines and groups of people; (2) reflect on…

Difficulty in Assessing Quality of Life Outcomes in a Fluctuating Disease: A Hypothesis Based on Gastroparesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vic Velanovich

2009-01-01

Full Text Available An underlying assumption of quality of life outcome research is that after some intervention a “steady-state” of quality of life is reached which can be identified as an endpoint, and, hence, the “outcome.” However, in some disease processes, no so such steady-state is reached. The hypothesis presented is that a disease process with a waxing and waning course will make it difficult to determine a quality of life endpoint. After clinical observation, a pilot study of patients with either diabetic or idiopathic gastroparesis with gastric neurostimulation their records were reviewed to identify the number of clinic visits, the number of clinic visits in which the patients were asymptomatic, much improved, improved, no change, worse, or much worse. These changes were defined as “transitions.” A “transition ratio” was calculated by dividing the number of transitions by the number of clinic visits. Preliminary results showed that of 32 patients, the median number of clinic encounters was 8 (1–35, and the median number of transitions 4 (0–22. The average transition ration was 0.56±0.31. In the case of gastroparesis, over half of all clinical encounters were associated with a transition. The implication of the hypothesis and preliminary finding suggests a difficulty to identify when the symptomatic endpoint was reached. Other methods to assess the effects of treatment in such a disease process are required to fully understand the effects of treatment on quality of life.

Value Encounters - Modeling and Analyzing Co-creation of Value

Science.gov (United States)

Weigand, Hans

Recent marketing and management literature has introduced the concept of co-creation of value. Current value modeling approaches such as e3-value focus on the exchange of value rather than co-creation. In this paper, an extension to e3-value is proposed in the form of a “value encounter”. Value encounters are defined as interaction spaces where a group of actors meet and derive value by each one bringing in some of its own resources. They can be analyzed from multiple strategic perspectives, including knowledge management, social network management and operational management. Value encounter modeling can be instrumental in the context of service analysis and design.

Storyboard GALILEO CRUISE SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES describes asteroid encounters

Science.gov (United States)

1989-01-01

Storyboard with mosaicked image of an asteroid and entitled GALILEO CRUISE SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES describes asteroid objectives. These objectives include: first asteroid encounter; surface geology, composition size, shape, mass; and relation of primitive bodies to meteorites.

Analysis on the Difficulties Faced by a Bilingual Child in Reading and Writing

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Rizki Hardiyanti

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Bilingual child ability in two languages is become popular issue in the comparison of those two languages. In this paper, the Indonesian bilingual child has parent, school and course using English actively, then his environment using Bahasa Indonesia. This research was conducted to measure ability and difficulties faced by bilingual child in reading and writing in two languages Bahasa Indonesia- English. This journal applied a qualitative research design. Qualitative research is stated as naturalistic study that has the natural setting, as the direct source of data and the researcher is the key instrument  (Bogdan and Biklen, 1992. To specify the design in this journal, this qualitative method was used to analyze a specific person of Bilingual Child. The data were taken from observation, interview, video recording of the child’s reading the English and Bahasa Indonesia textbook story and written test of the child’s writing the English and Bahasa Indonesia summary of textbook story. In both English and Bahasa Indonesia, the reading difficulties appear related to pronunciation, intonation, expression and word stress and the writing difficulties appear related to relevance, organization, vocabulary and grammar.

Challenges and Difficulties to Teaching Engineering to Generation Z: a case research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suamit Correia Barreiro

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Many people from generation Z are at the beginning of their academic activities. This generation has peculiar characteristics that might be a challenge in the labor market. Thus, instructors have a great role in their preparation. However, professors might face difficulties dealing with their specific characteristics. The research aims to carry out a general survey to enable an understanding of the greater challenges and difficulties in teaching the subject of engineering to the students of Generation Z. The research method used was a case study at a University with 20 instructors from the Faculty of Engineering. The analysis revealed a great challenge in relating theoretical concepts with practical concepts. The research also showed a probable tendency of using more exhibition methods, and the low knowledge about generation Z by most instructors. This study seeks to contribute to the teaching-learning process of engineering.

Difficulty Swallowing After Stroke (Dysphagia)

Science.gov (United States)

... Stroke Heroes Among Us Difficulty Swallowing After Stroke (Dysphagia) Updated:Nov 15,2016 Excerpted and adapted from "Swallowing Disorders After a Stroke," Stroke Connection Magazine July/August ...

Breathing difficulty - lying down

Science.gov (United States)

... other conditions that lead to it) Panic disorder Sleep apnea Snoring Home Care Your health care provider may recommend self-care measures. For example, weight loss may be suggested if you are obese. When to Contact a Medical Professional If you have any unexplained difficulty in breathing ...

Visuospatial working memory in young adults and in children with learning difficulties

OpenAIRE

Ricardo Basso Garcia

2013-01-01

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) comprises specialised subsystems devoted to storage of visual features and spatial locations. Recently, research has been focused on understanding feature binding in memory and how bound objects are temporarily held in working memory. In the current thesis we have addressed two broad questions: What is the nature of bound visual representations in working memory? Is there a specific deficit in binding in individuals with learning difficulties? In Study 1, yo...

Theta and beta oscillatory dynamics in the dentate gyrus reveal a shift in network processing state during cue encounters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lara Maria Rangel

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The hippocampus is an important structure for learning and memory processes, and has strong rhythmic activity. Although a large amount of research has been dedicated towards understanding the rhythmic activity in the hippocampus during exploratory behaviors, specifically in the theta (5-10 Hz frequency range, few studies have examined the temporal interplay of theta and other frequencies during the presentation of meaningful cues. We obtained in vivo electrophysiological recordings of local field potentials (LFP in the dentate gyrus (DG of the hippocampus as rats performed three different associative learning tasks. In each task, cue presentations elicited pronounced decrements in theta amplitude in conjunction with increases in beta (15-30Hz amplitude. These changes were often transient but were sustained from the onset of cue encounters until the occurrence of a reward outcome. This oscillatory profile shifted in time to precede cue encounters over the course of the session, and was not present during similar behavior in the absence of task relevant stimuli. The observed decreases in theta amplitude and increases in beta amplitude in the dentate gyrus may thus reflect a shift in processing state that occurs when encountering meaningful cues.

Multiple Codes, Multiple Impressions: An Analysis of Doctor-Client Encounters in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Odebunmi, Akin

2013-01-01

Existing studies on doctor-client interactions have largely focused on monolingual encounters and the interactional effects and functions of the languages used in the communication between doctors and their clients. They have neither, to a large extent, examined the several codes employed in single encounters and their pragmatic roles nor given…

Avoidance: From threat encounter to action execution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arnaudova, I.

2015-01-01

Every day we encounter many threats to survival: a car speeding on a small street or an angry neighbor carrying an axe. Mostly, people go through their days not worrying that their chance of survival might be small. They avoid many dangers without even thinking about them (e.g., looking at both

Entering a Crack: An Encounter with Gossip

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Linda

2014-01-01

In this paper, I enter a crack to think otherwise about the concept "gossip". Drawing on previous scholarship engaging with Deleuzian concepts to inform research methodologies, this paper builds on this body of work. Following Deleuze and Guattari, the paper undertakes a mapping of gossip, subsequent to an encounter with a crack.…

Pharmacy users' expectations of pharmacy encounters: a Q-methodological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Renberg, Tobias; Wichman Törnqvist, Kristina; Kälvemark Sporrong, Sofia; Kettis Lindblad, Asa; Tully, Mary P

2011-12-01

Pharmacy practice is evolving according to general health-care trends such as increased patient involvement and public health initiatives. In addition, pharmacists strive to find new professional roles. Clients' expectations of service encounters at pharmacies is an under-explored topic but crucial to understanding how pharmacy practice can evolve efficiently. To identify and describe different normative expectations of the pharmacy encounter among pharmacy clients. Q methodology, an approach to systematically explore subjectivity that retains complete patterns of responses and organizes these into factors of operant subjectivity. Eighty-five regular prescription medication users recruited at Swedish community pharmacies and by snowballing. Seven factors of operant subjectivity were identified, and organized into two groups. Factors that emphasized the physical drug product as the central object of the pharmacy encounter were labelled as independent drug shopping; logistics of drug distribution; and supply of individual's own drugs. Factors that emphasized personal support as desirable were labelled competence as individual support; individualist professional relations, just take care of me; and practical health-care and lifestyle support. The systematic Q-methodological approach yielded valuable insights into how pharmacy clients construct their expectations for service encounters. They hold differentiating normative expectations for pharmacy services. Understanding these varying viewpoints may be important for developing and prioritizing among efficient pharmacy services. Clients' expectations do not correspond with trends that guide current pharmacy practice development. This might be a challenge for promoting or implementing services based on such trends. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Avoiding humiliations in the clinical encounter.

Science.gov (United States)

Malterud, Kirsti; Hollnagel, Hanne

2007-06-01

To explore potentials for avoiding humiliations in clinical encounters, especially those that are unintended and unrecognized by the doctor. Furthermore, to examine theoretical foundations of degrading behaviour and identify some concepts that can be used to understand such behaviour in the cultural context of medicine. Finally, these concepts are used to build a model for the clinician in order to prevent humiliation of the patient. Empirical studies document experiences of humiliation among patients when they see their doctor. Philosophical and sociological analysis can be used to explain the dynamics of unintended degrading behaviour between human beings. Skjervheim, Vetlesen, and Bauman have identified the role of objectivism, distantiation, and indifference in the dynamics of evil acts, pointing to the rules of the cultural system, rather than accusing the individual of bad behaviour. Examining the professional role of the doctor, parallel traits embedded in the medical culture are demonstrated. According to Vetlesen, emotional awareness is necessary for moral perception, which again is necessary for moral performance. A better balance between emotions and rationality is needed to avoid humiliations in the clinical encounter. The Awareness Model is presented as a strategy for clinical practice and education, emphasizing the role of the doctor's own emotions. Potentials and pitfalls are discussed.

Determining which introductory physics topics pre-service physics teachers have difficulty understanding and what accounts for these difficulties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Şahin, Esin; Yağbasan, Rahmi

2012-01-01

This study aims at diagnosing which subjects pre-service physics teachers have difficulty understanding in introductory physics courses and what accounts for these difficulties. A questionnaire consisting of two qualitative questions was used to collect data for this study. The questionnaire was administered to 101 pre-service physics teachers who have completed the courses Physics 1 (Mechanics 1), Physics 2 (Mechanics 2), Physics 3 (Electricity) and Physics 4 (Magnetism). Of the pre-service physics teachers 28 were second year, 26 were third year, 27 were fourth year and 20 were fifth year students. The results of the data analysis indicated that the percentage of students who think that Magnetism has the most difficult subjects is the highest compared to the others. The reasons why the pre-service physics teachers experience difficulty in understanding the subjects have been grouped into four categories. (paper)

Effects of Semantic Ambiguity Detection Training on Reading Comprehension Achievement of English Learners with Learning Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Jozwik, Sara L.; Douglas, Karen H.

2016-01-01

This study examined how explicit instruction in semantic ambiguity detection affected the reading comprehension and metalinguistic awareness of five English learners (ELs) with learning difficulties (e.g., attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disability). A multiple probe across participants design (Gast & Ledford, 2010)…

Estimating the encounter rate variance in distance sampling

Science.gov (United States)

Fewster, R.M.; Buckland, S.T.; Burnham, K.P.; Borchers, D.L.; Jupp, P.E.; Laake, J.L.; Thomas, L.

2009-01-01

The dominant source of variance in line transect sampling is usually the encounter rate variance. Systematic survey designs are often used to reduce the true variability among different realizations of the design, but estimating the variance is difficult and estimators typically approximate the variance by treating the design as a simple random sample of lines. We explore the properties of different encounter rate variance estimators under random and systematic designs. We show that a design-based variance estimator improves upon the model-based estimator of Buckland et al. (2001, Introduction to Distance Sampling. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 79) when transects are positioned at random. However, if populations exhibit strong spatial trends, both estimators can have substantial positive bias under systematic designs. We show that poststratification is effective in reducing this bias. ?? 2008, The International Biometric Society.

Resource-driven encounters among consumers and implications for the spread of infectious disease

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Jason M.

2017-01-01

Animals share a variety of common resources, which can be a major driver of conspecific encounter rates. In this work, we implement a spatially explicit mathematical model for resource visitation behaviour in order to examine how changes in resource availability can influence the rate of encounters among consumers. Using simulations and asymptotic analysis, we demonstrate that, under a reasonable set of assumptions, the relationship between resource availability and consumer conspecific encounters is not monotonic. We characterize how the maximum encounter rate and associated critical resource density depend on system parameters like consumer density and the maximum distance from which consumers can detect and respond to resources. The assumptions underlying our theoretical model and analysis are motivated by observations of large aggregations of black-backed jackals at carcasses generated by seasonal outbreaks of anthrax among herbivores in Etosha National Park, Namibia. As non-obligate scavengers, black-backed jackals use carcasses as a supplemental food resource when they are available. While jackals do not appear to acquire disease from ingesting anthrax carcasses, changes in their movement patterns in response to changes in carcass abundance do alter jackals' conspecific encounter rate in ways that may affect the transmission dynamics of other diseases, such as rabies. Our theoretical results provide a method to quantify and analyse the hypothesis that the outbreak of a fatal disease among herbivores can potentially facilitate outbreaks of an entirely different disease among jackals. By analysing carcass visitation data, we find support for our model's prediction that the number of conspecific encounters at resource sites decreases with additional increases in resource availability. Whether or not this site-dependent effect translates to an overall decrease in encounters depends, unexpectedly, on the relationship between the maximum distance of detection and

Islamic Canon law encounters South African financing and banking ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Islamic Canon law encounters South African financing and banking institutions: Prospects and possibilities for Islamic economic empowerment and Black Economic Empowerment in a Democratic South Africa.

A Survey Instrument for Measuring the Experiential Value of Employee-Tourist Encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mattsson, Jan; Sørensen, Flemming; Jensen, Jens Friis

In this paper, we develop and test a survey instrument that aims at estimating the experiential value of employee-tourist encounters in destination-based tourism companies, as well as the characteristics of encounters that affect such experiential value. We suggest that such an instrument can...... for their visitors, rather than simply delivering service quality....

A Pathway to Psychological Difficulty: Perceived Chronic Social Adversity and Its Symptomatic Reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Cody; Zhang, Jingqiu; Yang, Dong

2018-01-01

In this paper, we attempt to predict and explain psychological maladjustment or difficulty. Specifically, we discuss the concept of perceived chronic social adversity, and we expect that such perceived chronic social adversity may potentially lead to chronic stress responses. Accordingly, we propose the symptomatic reactions of perceived chronic social adversity. We put forward a set of hypotheses regarding the relationships between perceived chronic social adversity and those chronic stress responses, and we further hypothesize a mediating role of individualized negative essentialism brought by perceived chronical social adversity. Resilience and individual differences in the ability to cope with perceived adversity are discussed. Future research and prevention need to pay more attention to effects of subjective personal experiences on psychological difficulty, focusing on the importance of exploring daily social experiences in improving cognitive construction processes and developing appropriate preventions.

A Pathway to Psychological Difficulty: Perceived Chronic Social Adversity and Its Symptomatic Reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cody Ding

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we attempt to predict and explain psychological maladjustment or difficulty. Specifically, we discuss the concept of perceived chronic social adversity, and we expect that such perceived chronic social adversity may potentially lead to chronic stress responses. Accordingly, we propose the symptomatic reactions of perceived chronic social adversity. We put forward a set of hypotheses regarding the relationships between perceived chronic social adversity and those chronic stress responses, and we further hypothesize a mediating role of individualized negative essentialism brought by perceived chronical social adversity. Resilience and individual differences in the ability to cope with perceived adversity are discussed. Future research and prevention need to pay more attention to effects of subjective personal experiences on psychological difficulty, focusing on the importance of exploring daily social experiences in improving cognitive construction processes and developing appropriate preventions.

Workplace bullying and sleep difficulties: a 2-year follow-up study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Ase Marie; Hogh, Annie; Garde, Anne Helene; Persson, Roger

2014-04-01

The aims of the present study were to investigate whether being subjected to bullying and witnessing bullying at the workplace was associated with concurrent sleep difficulties, whether frequently bullied/witnesses have more sleep difficulties than occasionally bullied/witnesses, and whether there were associations between being subjected to bullying or witnessing bullying at the workplace and subsequent sleep difficulties. A total of 3,382 respondents (67 % women and 33 % men) completed a baseline questionnaire about their psychosocial work environment and health. The overall response rate was 46 %. At follow-up 2 years later, 1671 of those responded to a second questionnaire (49 % of the 3,382 respondents at baseline). Sleep difficulties were measured in terms of disturbed sleep, awakening problems, and poor quality of sleep. Bullied persons and witnesses reported more sleep difficulties than those who were neither bullied nor witnesses to bullying at baseline. Frequently bullied/witnesses reported more sleep difficulties than respondents who were occasionally bullied or witnessing bullying at baseline. Further, odds ratios for subsequent sleep difficulties were increased among the occasionally bullied, but not among witnesses. However, the associations weakened when adjusting for sleep difficulties at baseline. Being subjected to occasional bullying at baseline was predictive of subsequent sleep difficulties. Witnessing bullying at baseline did not predict sleep difficulties at follow-up.

Challenges Experienced by Japanese Students with Oral Communication Skills in Australian Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Yanagi, Miho; Baker, Amanda A.

2016-01-01

Due to ever-increasing demands to acquire effective communicative abilities in the English language, increasing numbers of international students choose to study in Western tertiary institutions; however, they frequently encounter difficulties in performing satisfactorily in English. This study aims to identify specific challenges that Japanese…

Acute necrotizing pancreatitis in rats

NARCIS (Netherlands)

B. van Ooijen (Baan)

1988-01-01

textabstractThe specific aim of the present study was to investigate whether eicosanoids play a role in acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Because of the limited number of patients with acute pancreatitis admitted to the hospital each year, as well as the practical difficulties encountered in

A process evaluation of implementing a vocational enablement protocol for employees with hearing difficulties in clinical practice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gussenhoven, A.H.M.; Singh, A.S.; Goverts, S.T.; van Til, M.; Anema, J.R.; Kramer, S.E.

2015-01-01

A multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation programme, the Vocational Enablement Protocol (VEP) was developed to address the specific needs of employees with hearing difficulties. In the current study we evaluated the process of implementing the VEP in audiologic care among employees with hearing

Human Resources Performance in Service Encounters – A Customer Service Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia GRIGORE

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Efficiency is generally defined as the extent to which resources or effort is employed in order to achieve a certain purpose or objective. As per an economic perspective, this term may also mean a minimum quantity of supplies which can generate a maximum result. But can we talk about efficiency in terms of human resources and their allocation to a specific task? And how one asses the activity of the employees when considering service encounters? This study aims to provide an answer to these two questions from an emotional labor perspective: individuals employ their emotional abilities in order to perform a certain job. This is a process under a commercial perspective: the wage represents the exchange value for these competencies.

Motivational Interviewing Skills in Health Care Encounters (MISHCE): Development and psychometric testing of an assessment tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrova, Tatjana; Kavookjian, Jan; Madson, Michael B; Dagley, John; Shannon, David; McDonough, Sharon K

2015-01-01

Motivational interviewing (MI) has demonstrated a significant impact as an intervention strategy for addiction management, change in lifestyle behaviors, and adherence to prescribed medication and other treatments. Key elements to studying MI include training in MI of professionals who will use it, assessment of skills acquisition in trainees, and the use of a validated skills assessment tool. The purpose of this research project was to develop a psychometrically valid and reliable tool that has been designed to assess MI skills competence in health care provider trainees. The goal was to develop an assessment tool that would evaluate the acquisition and use of specific MI skills and principles, as well as the quality of the patient-provider therapeutic alliance in brief health care encounters. To address this purpose, specific steps were followed, beginning with a literature review. This review contributed to the development of relevant conceptual and operational definitions, selecting a scaling technique and response format, and methods for analyzing validity and reliability. Internal consistency reliability was established on 88 video recorded interactions. The inter-rater and test-retest reliability were established using randomly selected 18 from the 88 interactions. The assessment tool Motivational Interviewing Skills for Health Care Encounters (MISHCE) and a manual for use of the tool were developed. Validity and reliability of MISHCE were examined. Face and content validity were supported with well-defined conceptual and operational definitions and feedback from an expert panel. Reliability was established through internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and test-retest reliability. The overall internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha) for all fifteen items was 0.75. MISHCE demonstrated good inter-rater reliability and good to excellent test-retest reliability. MISHCE assesses the health provider's level of knowledge and skills in brief

Patient-provider interaction during medication encounters: A study in outpatient pharmacies in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Koster, Ellen S; van Meeteren, Marijke M; van Dijk, Marloes; van de Bemt, Bart J F; Ensing, Hendrikus T; Bouvy, Marcel L; Blom, Lyda; van Dijk, Liset

2015-07-01

To describe communication between pharmacy staff and patients at the counter in outpatient pharmacies. Both content and communication style were investigated. Pharmaceutical encounters in three outpatient pharmacies in the Netherlands were video-recorded. Videos were analyzed based on an observation protocol for the following information: content of encounter, initiator of a theme and pharmacy staff's communication style. In total, 119 encounters were recorded which concerned 42 first prescriptions, 16 first refill prescriptions and 61 follow-up refill prescriptions. During all encounters, discussion was mostly initiated by pharmacy staff (85%). In first prescription encounters topics most frequently discussed included instructions for use (83%) and dosage instructions (95%). In first refill encounters, patient experiences such as adverse effects (44%) and beneficial effects (38%) were regularly discussed in contrast to follow-up refills (7% and 5%). Patients' opinion on medication was hardly discussed. Pharmacy staff in outpatient pharmacies generally provide practical information, less frequently they discuss patients' experiences and seldom discuss patients' perceptions and preferences about prescribed medication. This study shows there is room for improvement, as communication is still not according to professional guidelines. To implement professional guidelines successfully, it is necessary to identify underlying reasons for not following the guidelines. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

DIFFICULTY OF AMENDMENT AND INTERPRETATIVE CHOICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Coan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The extreme difficulty of amending the U.S. Constitution plays a central but largely unexamined role in theoretical debates over interpretive choice. In particular, conventional wisdom assumes that the extreme difficulty of Article V amendment weakens the case for originalism. This view might ultimately be correct, but it is not the freestanding argument against originalism it is often presumed to be. Rather, it depends on contestable normative and empirical premises that require defense. If those premises are wrong, the stringency of Article V might actually strengthen the case for originalism. Or Article V might have no impact on that case one way or another. This “complexity thesis” highlights and clarifies the role that difficulty of amendment plays across a range of significant interpretive debates, including those surrounding writtenness, John Hart Ely’s representation-reinforcement theory, interpretive pluralism, and originalism as a theory of positive law. It also has important implications for the under-studied relations between statutory and constitutional interpretation and federal and state constitutional interpretation.

The Reality of Encounters with Local Life in Other Cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin-Young Kim

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Equipped with mobile technologies, travelers increasingly seek opportunities to encounter the real lives of the people residing in the focal destination. With this trend of pursuing local life experience, this study investigated how international visitors recognize the lives of people in the focal destination, and whether this recognition is related to satisfaction. Reviews for Teheran’s Grand Bazaar from an online review site, Tripadvisor.com, showed that visitors’ local encounters were linked with favorable emotions (good, interesting, and worthwhile. To lend support to the contact hypothesis, which posits that intercultural experiences can lead to more favorable evaluations of the host community; the visitors who recognized direct and indirect encounters with local life indicated higher satisfaction. Even if brief, the experience of local life appeared to create more intimate feelings for the focal destination. Interestingly, the number of past travel experiences, which was captured by the number of reviews written by the reviewer, was found to have a negative association with satisfaction. We draw further implications for the travelers as well as the local community.

Emotion Regulation Difficulties, Youth-Adult Relationships, and Suicide Attempts among High School Students in Underserved Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Pisani, Anthony R.; Wyman, Peter A.; Petrova, Mariya; Schmeelk-Cone, Karen; Goldston, David B.; Xia, Yinglin; Gould, Madelyn S.

2013-01-01

To develop and refine interventions to prevent youth suicide, knowledge is needed about specific processes that reduce risk at a population level. Using a cross-sectional design, the present study tested hypotheses regarding associations between self-reported suicide attempts, emotion regulation difficulties, and positive youth-adult relationships…

Childhood maltreatment severity and alcohol use in adult psychiatric inpatients: The mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutcher, Christina D; Vujanovic, Anka A; Paulus, Daniel J; Bartlett, Brooke A

2017-09-01

Emotion regulation difficulties are a potentially key mechanism underlying the association between childhood maltreatment and alcohol use in adulthood. The current study examined the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in the association between childhood maltreatment severity (i.e., Childhood Trauma Questionnaire total score) and past-month alcohol use severity, including alcohol consumption frequency and alcohol-related problems (i.e., number of days of alcohol problems, ratings of "bother" caused by alcohol problems, ratings of treatment importance for alcohol problems). Participants included 111 acute-care psychiatric inpatients (45.0% female; Mage=33.5, SD=10.6), who reported at least one DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder Criterion A traumatic event, indexed via the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5. Participants completed questionnaires regarding childhood maltreatment, emotion regulation difficulties, and alcohol use. A significant indirect effect of childhood maltreatment severity via emotion regulation difficulties in relation to alcohol use severity (β=0.07, SE=0.04, 99% CI [0.01, 0.21]) was documented. Specifically, significant indirect effects were found for childhood maltreatment severity via emotion regulation difficulties in relation to alcohol problems (β's between 0.05 and 0.12; all 99% bootstrapped CIs with 10,000 resamples did not include 0) but not alcohol consumption. Emotion regulation difficulties may play a significant role in the association between childhood maltreatment severity and alcohol outcomes. Clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural diversity, democracy and the prospects of cosmopolitanism: a theory of cultural encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Delanty, Gerard

2011-12-01

The most appropriate way of theorizing cultural diversity is to situate it in the context of a broader relational theory of culture in which the key dynamic is cultural encounters. The relational conception of culture places the emphasis on the relations between social actors and the processes by which some of these relations generate enduring cultural regularities and forms. This has important implications for political community and in particular for cosmopolitanism. It is in relationships that cultural phenomena are generated and become the basis of different kinds of political community. The paper outlines a typology of six kinds of cultural encounters and discusses four major cultural trends that variously emerge from these encounters. This approach with its emphasis on cultural encounters is the broad sociological context in which questions about cultural change and the prospects of cosmopolitanism should be discussed. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2011.

Potentials and pitfalls of the encounter between leisure-time centers and primary schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ringskou, Lea Thomsen; Gravesen, David Thore

Our research offers a qualitative, in depth-perspective on the encounter between leisure-time centers and primary schools in Denmark. In our presentration we will, in a cross-cultural perspective, reappraise the roles of leisure-time pedagogues and discuss the potentials and pitfalls of the encou......Our research offers a qualitative, in depth-perspective on the encounter between leisure-time centers and primary schools in Denmark. In our presentration we will, in a cross-cultural perspective, reappraise the roles of leisure-time pedagogues and discuss the potentials and pitfalls...... of the encounter between leisure-time centers and primary schools. In 2014, the Danish Primary School was reformed. To a considerable extent, the reform can be understood in response to receding results in international tests (Knudsen 2010). The official aim of the reform is to challenge all pupils, regardless...... the encounter between leisure-time centers and primary schools?...

The difficulties experienced by nurses and healthcare staff involved in the process of breaking bad news.

Science.gov (United States)

Warnock, Clare; Buchanan, Jean; Tod, Angela Mary

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to explore the difficulties experienced by nurses and healthcare professionals when engaging in the process of breaking bad news. The challenges faced by staff when breaking bad news have previously been researched in relation to particular settings or participants. This study involved staff from diverse settings and roles to develop broader insights into the range of difficulties experienced in clinical practice. The study used a descriptive survey design involving self-reported written accounts and framework analysis. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire containing a free text section that asked participants to describe a difficult experience they had encountered when involved in the process of breaking bad news. Data were collected from healthcare staff from hospital, community, hospice and care home settings attending training days on breaking bad news between April 2011 and April 2014. Multiple inter-related factors presented challenges to staff engaging in activities associated with breaking bad news. Traditional subjects such as diagnostic and treatment information were described but additional topics were identified such as the impact of illness and care at the end of life. A descriptive framework was developed that summarizes the factors that contribute to creating difficult experiences for staff when breaking bad news. The framework provides insights into the scope of the challenges faced by staff when they engage in the process of breaking bad news. This provides the foundation for developing interventions to support staff that more closely matches their experiences in clinical practice. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Prevalence of Reading Difficulties among Children in Scholar Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Rosita Cecilia

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The study investigates the prevalence of reading difficulties among children in scholar age and analyses the socio-demographic characteristics of learners who presented reading difficulties in central Italy. A sample of 623 students 7-11 aged, was assessed with the Italian MT standardized tests. Information on gender, age, handedness, and other socio-demographic variables were also gathered. The study showed that 11% of learners presented poor comprehension skills. The reading speed difficulties were more common than the reading correctness problems: about 7% of children vs 1% were dyslexics due to slow reading. There were no significant differences regarding gender, age. However, dominant hand and the school location seemed to affect the speed difficulties and the comprehension problems. The analyses showed that attending a school located in a rural area was statistically associated with the reading difficulties. Left-handed children were more likely to be slow decoders and/or poor comprehenders. These findings may be used in the early diagnosis of poor readers. These difficulties often have a chronic progression with substantial psychosocial limitations and psychological stress, so children with reading difficulties should be identified as early as possible.

Cumulative risk effects for the development of behaviour difficulties in children and adolescents with special educational needs and disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Oldfield, Jeremy; Humphrey, Neil; Hebron, Judith

2015-01-01

Research has identified multiple risk factors for the development of behaviour difficulties. What have been less explored are the cumulative effects of exposure to multiple risks on behavioural outcomes, with no study specifically investigating these effects within a population of young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Furthermore, it is unclear whether a threshold or linear risk model better fits the data for this population. The sample included 2660 children and 1628 adolescents with SEND. Risk factors associated with increases in behaviour difficulties over an 18-month period were summed to create a cumulative risk score, with this explanatory variable being added into a multi-level model. A quadratic term was then added to test the threshold model. There was evidence of a cumulative risk effect, suggesting that exposure to higher numbers of risk factors, regardless of their exact nature, resulted in increased behaviour difficulties. The relationship between risk and behaviour difficulties was non-linear, with exposure to increasing risk having a disproportionate and detrimental impact on behaviour difficulties in child and adolescent models. Interventions aimed at reducing behaviour difficulties need to consider the impact of multiple risk variables. Tailoring interventions towards those exposed to large numbers of risks would be advantageous. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain injury and severe eating difficulties at admission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærsgaard, Annette; Kaae Kristensen, Hanne

Objective: The objective of this pilot study was to explore and interpret the way that individuals with acquired brain injury, admitted to inpatient neurorehabilitation with severe eating difficulties, experienced eating nine to fifteen months after discharge. Methods: Four individuals with acqui......Objective: The objective of this pilot study was to explore and interpret the way that individuals with acquired brain injury, admitted to inpatient neurorehabilitation with severe eating difficulties, experienced eating nine to fifteen months after discharge. Methods: Four individuals...... with acquired brain injury were interviewed via qualitative semi-structured interviews. An explorative study was conducted to study eating difficulties. Qualitative content analysis was used. Results: Four main themes emerged from the analysis: personal values related to eating, swallowing difficulties, eating......-of-life. The preliminary findings provide knowledge regarding the patient perspective of adapting to and developing new strategies for activities related to eating, however, further prospective, longitudinal research in a larger scale and with repeated interviews is needed....

Status of Muslim Immigrants' Children with Learning Difficulties in Vienna

Science.gov (United States)

Mohsin, M. Naeem; Shabbir, Muhammad; Saeed, Wizra; Mohsin, M. Saleem

2013-01-01

The study was conducted to know the status of Muslim immigrants' children with learning difficulties and importance of parents' involvement for the education whose children are with learning difficulties, and the factors responsible for the learning difficulties among immigrants' children. There were 81 immigrant children with learning…

The conceptualization of emotion regulation difficulties, and its association with posttraumatic stress symptoms in traumatized refugees.

Science.gov (United States)

Doolan, Emma L; Bryant, Richard A; Liddell, Belinda J; Nickerson, Angela

2017-08-01

This study investigated the conceptualization of emotion regulation difficulties in a sample of refugees with varying levels of posttraumatic stress (PTS), and examined whether specific emotion regulation difficulties were associated with PTS severity. Refugees were administered an abbreviated version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the PTSD Symptom Scale - Interview Version, and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to examine model fit for the 6-factor model originally proposed by the developers of the DERS and the more recently proposed 5-factor model that excludes the awareness subscale. Both models displayed adequate fit. After controlling for age, gender, time in Australia, and trauma exposure, the clarity and strategies subscales were significantly associated with PTS severity. The association between impaired emotional clarity and reduced agency related to accessing regulation strategies and PTS severity in this refugee sample highlights the need for further research to assess interventions that target these disruptions in refugees. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Identification of Reading Difficulties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Mads; Nielsen, Anne-Mette Veber; Juul, Holger

2017-01-01

Early screening for reading difficulties before the onset of instruction is desirable because it allows intervention that is targeted at prevention rather than remediation of reading difficulties. However, early screening may be too inaccurate to effectively allocate resources to those who need...... them. The present study compared the accuracy of early screening before the onset of formal reading instruction with late screening six months into the first year of instruction. The study followed 164 Danish students from the end of Grade 0 to the end of Grade 2. Early screening included measures...... of phonemic awareness, rapid naming, letter knowledge, paired associate learning, and reading. Late screening included only reading. Results indicated that reading measures improved substantially as predictors over the first six months of Grade 1, to the point where late reading measures alone provided...

Eating difficulties among stroke patients in the acute state: a descriptive, cross-sectional, comparative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Medin, Jörgen; Windahl, Jenny; von Arbin, Magnus; Tham, Kerstin; Wredling, Regina

2011-09-01

To examine eating difficulties among stroke patients - a comparison between women and men. Gender differences have been reported in studies of stroke, but the findings are inconclusive and few of these studies have specifically focused on gender differences in eating difficulties. This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional, comparative study. Patients with stroke were recruited at a general hospital in Sweden. To detect eating difficulties, individual observations of the patients were made during one meal using a structured observation protocol. Assessment also included measurements of nutritional and oral status, degree of independence, stroke severity, neglect and well-being. One hundred and four patients (53·8% women) were included in the study. The proportion of stroke patients with one or more eating difficulties was 81·7%. The most common eating difficulties were 'managing food on the plate' (66·3%), 'food consumption' (54·8%) and 'sitting position' (45·2%). Women had lower 'food consumption', more severe stroke (p = 0·003), worse functional status (p = 0·001) and lower quality of life (QoL) (p=0·038) than men. More women than men were malnourished and living alone. After adjustment for functional status and motor arm, the odds ratio of having difficulties with food consumption was four times higher among women than men (1·7-9·4, confidence interval 95%). More women than men with stroke suffered from inadequate food consumption. The women had more severe strokes, experienced poorer QoL and showed lower functional status than the men. In the rehabilitation process of women with stroke, these factors should be taken into consideration. Structured observation of meals, including assessment of food consumption, might be necessary in acute stroke care to detect patients, especially women, who might need closer supervision and nutritional intervention. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Grammatical Templates: Improving Text Difficulty Evaluation for Language Learners

OpenAIRE

Wang, Shuhan; Andersen, Erik

2016-01-01

Language students are most engaged while reading texts at an appropriate difficulty level. However, existing methods of evaluating text difficulty focus mainly on vocabulary and do not prioritize grammatical features, hence they do not work well for language learners with limited knowledge of grammar. In this paper, we introduce grammatical templates, the expert-identified units of grammar that students learn from class, as an important feature of text difficulty evaluation. Experimental clas...

Learning Difficulty and Learner Identity: A Symbiotic Relationship

Science.gov (United States)

Hirano, Eliana

2009-01-01

This paper reports on a longitudinal case study of an adult EFL learner who perceived himself as having difficulty learning English. Both learning difficulty and learner identity are viewed as being constructed in discursive interactions throughout one's life and, hence, amenable to reconstruction. Data collected from classroom interactions,…

Working Memory in Students with Mathematical Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Nur, I. R. D.; Herman, T.; Ningsih, S.

2018-04-01

Learning process is the activities that has important role because this process is one of the all factors that establish students success in learning. oftentimes we find so many students get the difficulties when they study mathematics. This condition is not only because of the outside factor but also it comes from the inside. The purpose of this research is to analyze and give the representation how students working memory happened in physical education students for basic statistics subjects which have mathematical difficulties. The subjects are 4 students which have a mathematical difficulties. The research method is case study and when the describe about students working memory are explanated deeply with naturalistic observation. Based on this research, it was founded that 4 students have a working memory deficit in three components. The components are phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, dan episodic buffer.

Assessing College-Level Learning Difficulties and "At Riskness" for Learning Disabilities and ADHD: Development and Validation of the Learning Difficulties Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Steven T.; Walker, John H.; Schmidt, George R.

2011-01-01

This article describes the development and validation of the "Learning Difficulties Assessment" (LDA), a normed and web-based survey that assesses perceived difficulties with reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, listening, concentration, memory, organizational skills, sense of control, and anxiety in college students. The LDA is designed to…

Dyadic Interactions in Service Encounter: Bayesian SEM Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Sagan, Adam; Kowalska-Musiał, Magdalena

Dyadic interactions are an important aspects in service encounters. They may be observed in B2B distribution channels, professional services, buying centers, family decision making or WOM communications. The networks consist of dyadic bonds that form dense but weak ties among the actors.

Dorso-Lateral Frontal Cortex of the Ferret Encodes Perceptual Difficulty during Visual Discrimination.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhe Charles; Yu, Chunxiu; Sellers, Kristin K; Fröhlich, Flavio

2016-03-30

Visual discrimination requires sensory processing followed by a perceptual decision. Despite a growing understanding of visual areas in this behavior, it is unclear what role top-down signals from prefrontal cortex play, in particular as a function of perceptual difficulty. To address this gap, we investigated how neurons in dorso-lateral frontal cortex (dl-FC) of freely-moving ferrets encode task variables in a two-alternative forced choice visual discrimination task with high- and low-contrast visual input. About two-thirds of all recorded neurons in dl-FC were modulated by at least one of the two task variables, task difficulty and target location. More neurons in dl-FC preferred the hard trials; no such preference bias was found for target location. In individual neurons, this preference for specific task types was limited to brief epochs. Finally, optogenetic stimulation confirmed the functional role of the activity in dl-FC before target touch; suppression of activity in pyramidal neurons with the ArchT silencing opsin resulted in a decrease in reaction time to touch the target but not to retrieve reward. In conclusion, dl-FC activity is differentially recruited for high perceptual difficulty in the freely-moving ferret and the resulting signal may provide top-down behavioral inhibition.

Conservation Abilities, Visuospatial Skills, and Numerosity Processing Speed: Association With Math Achievement and Math Difficulties in Elementary School Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, Katharina; Spinath, Birgit

The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between elementary school children's mathematical achievement and their conservation abilities, visuospatial skills, and numerosity processing speed. We also assessed differences in these abilities between children with different types of learning problems. In Study 1 ( N = 229), we investigated second to fourth graders and in Study 2 ( N = 120), third and fourth graders. Analyses revealed significant contributions of numerosity processing speed and visuospatial skills to math achievement beyond IQ. Conservation abilities were predictive in Study 1 only. Children with math difficulties showed lower visuospatial skills and conservation abilities than children with typical achievement levels and children with reading and/or spelling difficulties, whereas children with combined difficulties explicitly showed low conservation abilities. These findings provide further evidence for the relations between children's math skills and their visuospatial skills, conservation abilities, and processing speed and contribute to the understanding of deficits that are specific to mathematical difficulties.

Some types of difficulty encountered during the simulation of heat exchangers (1961); Quelques types de difficultes rencontrees lors de la simulation des echangeurs (1961)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bettembourg, D [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1961-07-01

After recalling that the simulation of exchangers poses problems which are often difficult to solve, the author points out that these problems appear first of all when the physical phenomena are described in terms of equations. They appear also during the solving of the equations since expressions which are more and more complex can give rise to unstable electronic structures. These difficulties are developed during the analysis of various types of exchangers and in each case the solutions chosen are given. (author) [French] On rappelle que la simulation des echangeurs pose un certain nombre de problemes souvent difficiles a resoudre. Les difficultes apparaissent d'abord lors de la mise en equations des phenomenes physiques; elles apparaissent ensuite au moment de la resolution, car des formulations de plus en plus complexes peuvent donner lieu a des structures electroniques instables. On developpe ces difficultes en faisant l'analyse de quelques types varies d'echangeurs et l'on indique dans chacun des cas les solutions qui ont ete retenues. (auteur)

Border Encounters: American Cultural Politics and the U.S.-Mexico Border

OpenAIRE

Reimer, Jennifer Andrea

2011-01-01

AbstractBorder Encounters: American Cultural Politics and the U.S.-Mexico BorderbyJennifer Andrea ReimerDoctor of Philosophy in Ethnic StudiesUniversity of California, BerkeleyProfessor José David Saldívar, Co-ChairProfessor Laura E. Pérez, Co-ChairBorder Encounters: American Cultural Politics and the U.S.-Mexico Border is a transnational, interdisciplinary cultural study of the contemporary U.S.-Mexico border that argues for the critical role of the international border in the racial past, p...

Addressing pre-service teachers' understandings and difficulties with some core concepts in the special theory of relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selcuk, Gamze Sezgin

2011-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate pre-service teachers' understanding of and difficulties with some core concepts in the special theory of relativity. The pre-service teachers (n = 185) from the Departments of Physics Education and Elementary Science Education at Dokuz Eylul University (in Turkey) participated. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in this study. Students' understanding of and difficulties with core elements (time, length, mass and density) were tested using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire (including four questions) and in-depth interviews after the instruction of related modern physics topics. The analyses of the collected data were based on quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results indicate that pre-service teachers at different academic levels have specific and considerable difficulties with proper time, time dilation, proper length, mass and relativistic density concepts. In this paper, the conclusions of the study and implications for physics teaching are discussed.

Performance monitoring in obsessive-compulsive undergraduates: Effects of task difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

Riesel, Anja; Richter, Anika; Kaufmann, Christian; Kathmann, Norbert; Endrass, Tanja

2015-08-01

Both obsessive-compulsive disorder and subclinical obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms seem to be associated with hyperactive error-related brain activity. The current study examined performance monitoring in subjects with subclinical OC symptoms using a new task with different levels of difficulty. Nineteen subjects with high and 18 subjects with low OC characteristics performed a random dot cinematogram (RDC) task with three levels of difficulty. The high and low OC groups did not differ in error-related negativity (ERN), correct-related negativity (CRN) and performance irrespective of task difficulty. The amplitude of the ERN decreased with increasing difficulty whereas the magnitude of CRN did not vary. ERN and CRN approached in size and topography with increasing difficulty, which suggests that errors and correct responses are processed more similarly. These results add to a growing number of studies that fail to replicate hyperactive performance monitoring in individuals with OC symptoms in task with higher difficulty or requiring learning. Together with these findings our results suggest that the relationship between OC symptoms and performance monitoring may be sensitive to type of task and task characteristics and cannot be observed in a RDC that differs from typically used tasks in difficulty and the amount of response-conflict. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing implementation difficulties in tobacco use prevention and cessation counselling among dental providers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murtomaa Heikki

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Tobacco use adversely affects oral health. Clinical guidelines recommend that dental providers promote tobacco abstinence and provide patients who use tobacco with brief tobacco use cessation counselling. Research shows that these guidelines are seldom implemented, however. To improve guideline adherence and to develop effective interventions, it is essential to understand provider behaviour and challenges to implementation. This study aimed to develop a theoretically informed measure for assessing among dental providers implementation difficulties related to tobacco use prevention and cessation (TUPAC counselling guidelines, to evaluate those difficulties among a sample of dental providers, and to investigate a possible underlying structure of applied theoretical domains. Methods A 35-item questionnaire was developed based on key theoretical domains relevant to the implementation behaviours of healthcare providers. Specific items were drawn mostly from the literature on TUPAC counselling studies of healthcare providers. The data were collected from dentists (n = 73 and dental hygienists (n = 22 in 36 dental clinics in Finland using a web-based survey. Of 95 providers, 73 participated (76.8%. We used Cronbach's alpha to ascertain the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Mean domain scores were calculated to assess different aspects of implementation difficulties and exploratory factor analysis to assess the theoretical domain structure. The authors agreed on the labels assigned to the factors on the basis of their component domains and the broader behavioural and theoretical literature. Results Internal consistency values for theoretical domains varied from 0.50 ('emotion' to 0.71 ('environmental context and resources'. The domain environmental context and resources had the lowest mean score (21.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 17.2 to 25.4 and was identified as a potential implementation difficulty. The domain emotion

Assessing implementation difficulties in tobacco use prevention and cessation counselling among dental providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Amemori, Masamitsu; Michie, Susan; Korhonen, Tellervo; Murtomaa, Heikki; Kinnunen, Taru H

2011-05-26

Tobacco use adversely affects oral health. Clinical guidelines recommend that dental providers promote tobacco abstinence and provide patients who use tobacco with brief tobacco use cessation counselling. Research shows that these guidelines are seldom implemented, however. To improve guideline adherence and to develop effective interventions, it is essential to understand provider behaviour and challenges to implementation. This study aimed to develop a theoretically informed measure for assessing among dental providers implementation difficulties related to tobacco use prevention and cessation (TUPAC) counselling guidelines, to evaluate those difficulties among a sample of dental providers, and to investigate a possible underlying structure of applied theoretical domains. A 35-item questionnaire was developed based on key theoretical domains relevant to the implementation behaviours of healthcare providers. Specific items were drawn mostly from the literature on TUPAC counselling studies of healthcare providers. The data were collected from dentists (n = 73) and dental hygienists (n = 22) in 36 dental clinics in Finland using a web-based survey. Of 95 providers, 73 participated (76.8%). We used Cronbach's alpha to ascertain the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Mean domain scores were calculated to assess different aspects of implementation difficulties and exploratory factor analysis to assess the theoretical domain structure. The authors agreed on the labels assigned to the factors on the basis of their component domains and the broader behavioural and theoretical literature. Internal consistency values for theoretical domains varied from 0.50 ('emotion') to 0.71 ('environmental context and resources'). The domain environmental context and resources had the lowest mean score (21.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 17.2 to 25.4) and was identified as a potential implementation difficulty. The domain emotion provided the highest mean score (60%; 95% CI, 55

Difficulties in Teaching English for Specific Purposes: Empirical Study at Vietnam Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Hoa, Nguy?n Th? T?; Mai, Ph?m Th? Tuy?t

2016-01-01

In recent years, teaching English, especially English for specific purposes at Vietnam universities has received a lot of attention from students, teachers, and relevant authorities because of not high teaching effectiveness. This results in the fact that students after graduation do not meet English requirements of employers, so unemployment…

Physician assistant program education on spirituality and religion in patient encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Gina M; Whitney, Melissa P; Wentling, Callie J; Hervey, Ashley M; Nyberg, Sue

2013-01-01

To describe educational practices of physician assistant (PA) programs regarding spirituality and religion discussions during patient encounters. Patients want their health care provider to be aware of their spiritual and religious beliefs. This topic is addressed in physician and nursing education but may not be included in PA programs. Data regarding curriculum were collected via electronic survey emailed to 143 PA programs across the United States. Thirty-eight programs responded for a response rate of 27%. Most (68.4%) program respondents reported students' desire to be trained to discuss spirituality and religion, yet 36.8% do not offer this training. Just over half (69.2%) would consider adding curriculum to teach students to discuss spirituality, but the majority (92.3%) would not add curriculum to discuss religion during patient encounters. PA programs offer training to discuss spirituality in patient encounters but not to discuss religiosity. Programs may want to consider adding some curriculum to increase PAs awareness of spirituality and religion needs of patients.

Alcohol and Difficulty Conceiving in the SUN Cohort: A Nested Case-Control Study

OpenAIRE

Cristina Lopez-del Burgo; Alfredo Gea; Jokin de Irala; Miguel A. Martínez-González; Jorge E. Chavarro; Estefania Toledo

2015-01-01

The role of alcohol on fertility remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages consumption and the risk of difficulty getting pregnant. We used a case-control study nested within the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort, a prospective, dynamic and multipurpose cohort of 21,705 Spanish university graduates, followed biennially with mailed questionnaires. We identified 686 case-control pairs, matched for age and time in the ...

ACES M and S: Unmitigated Factorial Encounter Study on DAA/TCAS Interoperability

Science.gov (United States)

Thipphavong, David; Cone, Andrew; Park, Chunki; Lee, Seung Man; Santiago, Confesor

2016-01-01

Realization of the expected proliferation of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) depends on the development and validation of standards for UAS Detect and Avoid (DAA) Systems. The RTCA Special Committee 228 is charged with leading the development of draft Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for UAS DAA Systems. NASA, as a participating member of RTCA SC-228 is committed to supporting the development and validation of draft requirements for DAA alerting and guidance systems. This presentation contains the results of two combinatorial encounter analysis studies using NASA's SAA Control fast-time simulation capability for this purpose. In these studies, encounters between two aircraft were simulated one at a time for the full factorial combination of encounter geometries (e.g., encounter angle, CPA offset) and aircraft performance (e.g., ownership and intruder ground speeds and vertical rates). The first study analyzes the relationships (e.g., timeline) between the different alerting-safety regions in the SC-228 MOPS (in order of increasing severity): 1) DAA warning alert, 2) well clear recovery (WCR) guidance, 3) DAA-Collision Avoidance (CA), and 4) TCAS RA. This study will focus primarily on encounter situations in which TCAS RA occurs prior to any of the other alerting-safety boundaries. In particular, this study will investigate whether using vertical distance or vertical distance at closest point of approach (i.e., vertical miss distance or VMD) is more appropriate for the definition of the DAA-CA region. In addition, cases where transitions between different regions skip an intermediate region will be analyzed. The second study in this presentation explores a proposal to use an altitude rate error threshold to determine if vertical maneuvers are acceptable for DAA WCR guidance against non-cooperative intruders. This study incorporates the radar from the Honeywell sensor model and examines a series of

Impact of Psychosocial Environment on Young Children's Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Grazuleviciene, Regina; Andrusaityte, Sandra; Petraviciene, Inga; Balseviciene, Birute

2017-10-24

Objective: The impact of maternal psychosocial stress on young children's mental difficulties is unclear. This study investigated the joint effects of the socioeconomic status and parent-child relationships on emotional and behavioral difficulties in preschool children. Methods: The case-control study included 1416 mothers and their 4-6 year-old children pairs, living in Kaunas city, Lithuania. The parent-child relationships were measured using the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscale. Children's mental health difficulties were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We used logistic regression models to indicate the strength of the associations. Results: Lower socioeconomic status women more often than higher ones reported pathological mother-child relations. Low education level was associated with statistically significant increase adjusted odds ratios for emotional symptoms and total behavioral difficulties. With reference to the group of better-educated mothers and normal mother-child relations, low education and pathological mother-child relations statistically significantly increased the risk of total difficulties in 4-6 year-old children; the adjusted odds ratios were 2.45; 95% CI 1.51-3.99. Conclusions: Pathological mother-child relations strengthened the effect of lower education on the increased risk of emotional and behavioral difficulties in preschool-age children. Measures oriented towards health behavior and psychosocial difficulties management may decrease children's emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Emotional Intelligence, Personality Traits and Career Decision Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Di Fabio, Annamaria; Palazzeschi, Letizia

2009-01-01

This study aims to take an in-depth look at the role of emotional intelligence and personality traits in relation to career decision difficulties. The Italian version of the Career Decision Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ), the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Short (Bar-On EQ-i: S), and the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ) were administered to…

DETERMINATION OF THE SPECIFIC GROWTH RATE ON ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sewage generation is one of the dense problems Nigerians encounter on daily bases, mostly at the urbanized area where factories and industries are located. This paper is aimed at determining the specific growth rate “K” of biological activities on cassava wastewater during degradation using Michaelis-Menten Equation.

Reflexivity: The Creation of Liminal Spaces--Researchers, Participants, and Research Encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Enosh, Guy; Ben-Ari, Adital

2016-03-01

Reflexivity is defined as the constant movement between being in the phenomenon and stepping outside of it. In this article, we specify three foci of reflexivity--the researcher, the participant, and the encounter--for exploring the interview process as a dialogic liminal space of mutual reflection between researcher and participant. Whereas researchers' reflexivity has been discussed extensively in the professional discourse, participants' reflexivity has not received adequate scholarly attention, nor has the promise inherent in reflective processes occurring within the encounter. © The Author(s) 2015.

Encounters of aircraft with volcanic ash clouds; A compilation of known incidents, 1953-2009

Science.gov (United States)

Guffanti, Marianne; Casadevall, Thomas J.; Budding, Karin

2010-01-01

Information about reported encounters of aircraft with volcanic ash clouds from 1953 through 2009 has been compiled to document the nature and scope of risks to aviation from volcanic activity. The information, gleaned from a variety of published and other sources, is presented in database and spreadsheet formats; the compilation will be updated as additional encounters occur and as new data and corrections come to light. The effects observed by flight crews and extent of aircraft damage vary greatly among incidents, and each incident in the compilation is rated according to a severity index. Of the 129 reported incidents, 94 incidents are confirmed ash encounters, with 79 of those having various degrees of airframe or engine damage; 20 are low-severity events that involve suspected ash or gas clouds; and 15 have data that are insufficient to assess severity. Twenty-six of the damaging encounters involved significant to very severe damage to engines and (or) airframes, including nine encounters with engine shutdown during flight. The average annual rate of damaging encounters since 1976, when reporting picked up, has been approximately 2 per year. Most of the damaging encounters occurred within 24 hours of the onset of ash production or at distances less than 1,000 kilometers from the source volcanoes. The compilation covers only events of relatively short duration for which aircraft were checked for damage soon thereafter; documenting instances of long-term repeated exposure to ash (or sulfate aerosols) will require further investigation. Of 38 source volcanoes, 8 have caused 5 or more encounters, of which the majority were damaging: Augustine (United States), Chaiten (Chile), Mount St. Helens (United States), Pacaya (Guatemala), Pinatubo (Philippines), Redoubt (United States), Sakura-jima (Japan), and Soufriere Hills (Montserrat, Lesser Antilles, United Kingdom). Aircraft have been damaged by eruptions ranging from small, recurring episodes to very large

The Relation of Teachers' Emotional Intelligence and Students' Social Skills to Students' Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties: A Study of Preschool Teachers' Perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Poulou, Maria S.

2017-01-01

The present study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine predictors of students' emotional and behavioral difficulties in preschool classrooms. Specifically, the study examined (a) the link between teachers' perceptions of their own emotional intelligence and students' emotional and behavioral difficulties, (b) the link between teachers'…

Symbolic and Nonsymbolic Number Comparison in Children with and without Dyscalculia

Science.gov (United States)

Mussolin, Christophe; Mejias, Sandrine; Noel, Marie-Pascale

2010-01-01

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a pervasive difficulty affecting number processing and arithmetic. It is encountered in around 6% of school-aged children. While previous studies have mainly focused on general cognitive functions, the present paper aims to further investigate the hypothesis of a specific numerical deficit in dyscalculia. The…

Visual difficulty and employment status in the world.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanen Harrabi

Full Text Available PURPOSE: Using a world-wide, population-based dataset, we sought to examine the relationship between visual difficulty and employment status. METHODS: The World Health Survey was conducted in 70 countries throughout the world in 2003 using a random, multi-stage, stratified, cluster sampling design. Far vision was assessed by asking about the level of difficulty in seeing and recognizing a person you know across the road (i.e. from a distance of about 20 meters. Responses included none, mild, moderate, severe, or extreme/unable. Participants were asked about their current job, and if they were not working, the reason why (unable to find job, ill health, homemaker, studies, unpaid work, other. The occupation in the last 12 months was obtained. Multinomial regression was used accounting for the complex survey design. RESULTS: Of those who wanted to work, 79% of those with severe visual difficulty and 64% of those with extreme visual difficulty were actually working. People who had moderate, severe, or extreme visual difficulty had a higher odds of not working due to an inability to find a job and of not working due to ill health after adjusting for demographic and health factors (P<0.05. CONCLUSIONS: As the major causes of visual impairment in the world are uncorrected refractive error and cataract, countries are losing a great deal of labor productivity by failing to provide for the vision health needs of their citizens and failing to help them integrate into the workforce.

Visual difficulty and employment status in the world.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrabi, Hanen; Aubin, Marie-Josee; Zunzunegui, Maria Victoria; Haddad, Slim; Freeman, Ellen E

2014-01-01

Using a world-wide, population-based dataset, we sought to examine the relationship between visual difficulty and employment status. The World Health Survey was conducted in 70 countries throughout the world in 2003 using a random, multi-stage, stratified, cluster sampling design. Far vision was assessed by asking about the level of difficulty in seeing and recognizing a person you know across the road (i.e. from a distance of about 20 meters). Responses included none, mild, moderate, severe, or extreme/unable. Participants were asked about their current job, and if they were not working, the reason why (unable to find job, ill health, homemaker, studies, unpaid work, other). The occupation in the last 12 months was obtained. Multinomial regression was used accounting for the complex survey design. Of those who wanted to work, 79% of those with severe visual difficulty and 64% of those with extreme visual difficulty were actually working. People who had moderate, severe, or extreme visual difficulty had a higher odds of not working due to an inability to find a job and of not working due to ill health after adjusting for demographic and health factors (P<0.05). As the major causes of visual impairment in the world are uncorrected refractive error and cataract, countries are losing a great deal of labor productivity by failing to provide for the vision health needs of their citizens and failing to help them integrate into the workforce.

Review of student difficulties in upper-level quantum mechanics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandralekha Singh

2015-09-01

Full Text Available [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Upper Division Physics Courses.] Learning advanced physics, in general, is challenging not only due to the increased mathematical sophistication but also because one must continue to build on all of the prior knowledge acquired at the introductory and intermediate levels. In addition, learning quantum mechanics can be especially challenging because the paradigms of classical mechanics and quantum mechanics are very different. Here, we review research on student reasoning difficulties in learning upper-level quantum mechanics and research on students’ problem-solving and metacognitive skills in these courses. Some of these studies were multiuniversity investigations. The investigations suggest that there is large diversity in student performance in upper-level quantum mechanics regardless of the university, textbook, or instructor, and many students in these courses have not acquired a functional understanding of the fundamental concepts. The nature of reasoning difficulties in learning quantum mechanics is analogous to reasoning difficulties found via research in introductory physics courses. The reasoning difficulties were often due to overgeneralizations of concepts learned in one context to another context where they are not directly applicable. Reasoning difficulties in distinguishing between closely related concepts and in making sense of the formalism of quantum mechanics were common. We conclude with a brief summary of the research-based approaches that take advantage of research on student difficulties in order to improve teaching and learning of quantum mechanics.

Preliminary Uncorrelated Encounter Model of the National Airspace System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kochenderfer, M. J; Kuchar, J. K; Espindle, L. P; Gertz, J. L

2008-01-01

...) and which may not be in contact with air traffic control. In response to the need to develop a model of these types of encounters, Lincoln Laboratory undertook an extensive radar data collection and modeling effort...

Grassroots Leadership: Encounters with Power Dynamics and Oppression

Science.gov (United States)

Kezar, Adrianna

2011-01-01

This article focuses on the nature of power dynamics that faculty and staff grassroots leaders encounter as they attempt to create change. I identified five distinctive types of power dynamics--"oppression," "silencing," "controlling," "inertia," and "micro-aggressions" from the most overt to more subtle and covert forms. Staff experience multiple…

Stress Coping Techniques For Female Doctors Encountering Sexual ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... Muslim and Christian female doctors encounter with sexual harassment. It was also found that sexual harassment cut across all age groups. The findings of these study indicated that stress coping techniques is an effective method in the reduction of stress posed by sexual harassment on female doctors from their patients.

CLOSE STELLAR ENCOUNTERS IN YOUNG, SUBSTRUCTURED, DISSOLVING STAR CLUSTERS: STATISTICS AND EFFECTS ON PLANETARY SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craig, Jonathan; Krumholz, Mark R.

2013-01-01

Both simulations and observations indicate that stars form in filamentary, hierarchically clustered associations, most of which disperse into their galactic field once feedback destroys their parent clouds. However, during their early evolution in these substructured environments, stars can undergo close encounters with one another that might have significant impacts on their protoplanetary disks or young planetary systems. We perform N-body simulations of the early evolution of dissolving, substructured clusters with a wide range of properties, with the aim of quantifying the expected number and orbital element distributions of encounters as a function of cluster properties. We show that the presence of substructure both boosts the encounter rate and modifies the distribution of encounter velocities compared to what would be expected for a dynamically relaxed cluster. However, the boost only lasts for a dynamical time, and as a result the overall number of encounters expected remains low enough that gravitational stripping is unlikely to be a significant effect for the vast majority of star-forming environments in the Galaxy. We briefly discuss the implications of this result for models of the origin of the solar system, and of free-floating planets. We also provide tabulated encounter rates and orbital element distributions suitable for inclusion in population synthesis models of planet formation in a clustered environment.

CLOSE STELLAR ENCOUNTERS IN YOUNG, SUBSTRUCTURED, DISSOLVING STAR CLUSTERS: STATISTICS AND EFFECTS ON PLANETARY SYSTEMS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Craig, Jonathan; Krumholz, Mark R., E-mail: krumholz@ucolick.org [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)

2013-06-01

Both simulations and observations indicate that stars form in filamentary, hierarchically clustered associations, most of which disperse into their galactic field once feedback destroys their parent clouds. However, during their early evolution in these substructured environments, stars can undergo close encounters with one another that might have significant impacts on their protoplanetary disks or young planetary systems. We perform N-body simulations of the early evolution of dissolving, substructured clusters with a wide range of properties, with the aim of quantifying the expected number and orbital element distributions of encounters as a function of cluster properties. We show that the presence of substructure both boosts the encounter rate and modifies the distribution of encounter velocities compared to what would be expected for a dynamically relaxed cluster. However, the boost only lasts for a dynamical time, and as a result the overall number of encounters expected remains low enough that gravitational stripping is unlikely to be a significant effect for the vast majority of star-forming environments in the Galaxy. We briefly discuss the implications of this result for models of the origin of the solar system, and of free-floating planets. We also provide tabulated encounter rates and orbital element distributions suitable for inclusion in population synthesis models of planet formation in a clustered environment.

Close Stellar Encounters in Young, Substructured, Dissolving Star Clusters: Statistics and Effects on Planetary Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Craig, Jonathan; Krumholz, Mark R.

2013-06-01

Both simulations and observations indicate that stars form in filamentary, hierarchically clustered associations, most of which disperse into their galactic field once feedback destroys their parent clouds. However, during their early evolution in these substructured environments, stars can undergo close encounters with one another that might have significant impacts on their protoplanetary disks or young planetary systems. We perform N-body simulations of the early evolution of dissolving, substructured clusters with a wide range of properties, with the aim of quantifying the expected number and orbital element distributions of encounters as a function of cluster properties. We show that the presence of substructure both boosts the encounter rate and modifies the distribution of encounter velocities compared to what would be expected for a dynamically relaxed cluster. However, the boost only lasts for a dynamical time, and as a result the overall number of encounters expected remains low enough that gravitational stripping is unlikely to be a significant effect for the vast majority of star-forming environments in the Galaxy. We briefly discuss the implications of this result for models of the origin of the solar system, and of free-floating planets. We also provide tabulated encounter rates and orbital element distributions suitable for inclusion in population synthesis models of planet formation in a clustered environment.

Bringing it all back home: Understanding the medical difficulties encountered by newly released prisoners in New Orleans, Louisiana - a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Vail, William Lee; Niyogi, Anjali; Henderson, Norris; Wennerstrom, Ashley

2017-07-01

Formerly incarcerated persons (FIPs) face a disproportionate risk of death and serious illness in the immediate post-release period. Therefore, it is a critical time to initiate community-based care for chronic illnesses and behavioural disorders. Little is known about the unique transitional health and social support needs of FIPs in Louisiana, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world. As the average age of prisoners in the United States rises, the release of older prisoners with chronic conditions will become increasingly common. The aim of this study was to explore the healthcare experiences of FIPs in Louisiana in order to inform delivery of services tailored to this population. This research was done in partnership with a community organisation that advocates for restoration of voting rights to FIPs and helps newly released individuals transition back into society. This organisation identified FIPs in the Greater New Orleans area, and from January to May 2015, we conducted 24 semi-structured, in-person, audio-recorded interviews at the community organisation's transitional living facility. The interviews assessed FIPs' experiences with and barriers to receiving healthcare during and after incarceration. These discussions also explored FIPs' desires for services and attitudes towards health and healthcare. Interviews were transcribed and independently coded by two researchers. Interviewees reported negative experiences with healthcare during incarceration, and limited health guidance during the pre-release process. Post-release concerns included lack of insurance, difficulty accessing care and medication, and interest in learning about healthy lifestyles. Results suggest a need for a formalised system of transitional healthcare for FIPs. Findings are being used to inform a pilot transitional care clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social Workers' Reflections on the Therapeutic Encounter With Elder Abuse and Neglect.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldblatt, Hadass; Band-Winterstein, Tova; Alon, Sara

2016-02-24

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore social workers' reflections on their experience of the therapeutic encounter with victims and perpetrators of elder abuse and neglect. The research questions were as follows: How do social workers tune themselves toward the therapeutic encounter with elder abuse? How do they position themselves vis-à-vis the clients? How do social workers describe the meaning of the intervention both for the clients and for themselves? What is the added value of the therapeutic encounter in this field for the social workers? Participants were 17 experienced women social workers, who worked with abusers and with abused and neglected older adults in Israel. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews, which were later transcribed and content analyzed. Two main themes emerged from the findings, emphasizing two key aspects of the social workers' reflective process experienced during the therapeutic encounter: (a) focus on the client: "This is the journey of their lives"-reflection on the therapeutic "journey"; (b) focus on the social worker's inner and professional world: "'There is nothing to be done' is no longer in my vocabulary"-a personal and professional maturation process. The social workers expressed a positive attitude toward their elder clients. A unique dialogue developed in the therapeutic encounter, whereby the social workers considered any change as valuable if it allowed the elders a sense of control and self-worth, whereas the social workers were enriched by the elders' life experience, and matured both personally and professionally. Thus, both sides benefited from this reciprocal relationship. Implications for further research and practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

[Difficulties and concerns identified by Puerto Rican youth with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM): their relationship with metabolic control, hopelessness, social support, and depressive symptoms].

Science.gov (United States)

Rosselló, Jeannette; Maysonet Guzmán, Marielisa

2006-12-01

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a chronic health condition that affects 18 of every 100,000 Puerto Rican youth. Few research studies have been performed on the problems that youth with diabetes encounter and how they are related to adherence to treatment and adequate metabolic control. Adequate metabolic control is associated with fewer short and long-term medical complications, as well as better quality of life. Adapting to the demands and stressors associated with IDDM and its treatment is a task that can prove to be difficult for youth with diabetes due to having to make adjustments, alterations, and following a prescribed regimen in their daily activities. The main purpose of this investigation was to explore difficulties and worries identified by Puerto Rican youth with IDDM. This study examined whether there is a relationship between difficulties and worries, and adequate metabolic control, hopelessness, social support and depressive symptomatology. One hundred and one youth with IDDM between the ages of 8 and 17 (45 male, 56 female) were evaluated. Analysis of frequencies, correlations, and comparison tests were performed by group (gender, age, diabetes duration, and metabolic control. Results reveal that some of the difficulties identified by Puerto Rican youth with IDDM were: not eating candy and/or cake, self-monitoring blood glucose at school, doing things on time, and waking up early. Among the worries they reported were: insulin reactions and thinking that they might have to go to the hospital.

Graphical modeling for item difficulty in medical faculty exams

African Journals Online (AJOL)

. Conclusion: The ... difficulty criteria. Key words: Item difficulty, quality control, statistical process control, variable control charts ..... assumed that 68% of the values fall in the interval ± 1.S; .... The balance of the construction of items of exam has ...

Confidence in communicating with patients with cancer mediates the relationship between rehabilitation therapists' autistic-like traits and perceived difficulty in communication.

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Hayashibara, Chinatsu; Inagaki, Masatoshi; Fujimori, Maiko; Higuchi, Yuji; Fujiwara, Masaki; Terada, Seishi; Okamura, Hitoshi; Uchitomi, Yosuke; Yamada, Norihito

2018-01-21

Recently, rehabilitation therapists have become involved in cancer rehabilitation; however, no communication skills training that increases the ability to provide emotional support for cancer patients has been developed for rehabilitation therapists. In addition, no study has examined associations between rehabilitation therapists' communication skills and their level of autistic-like traits (ALT), which are in-born characteristics including specific communication styles and difficulty communicating with patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether confidence in communicating with patients mitigates communication difficulties experienced by rehabilitation therapists who have high levels of ALT. Rehabilitation therapists who treat patients with cancer completed self-administered postal questionnaires anonymously. Scores were obtained on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient short form, confidence in communication, and communication difficulties. We used covariance structure analyses to test hypothetical models, and confirmed that confidence in communication mediates the relationship between ALT and perceived communication difficulties. Participants included 1,343 respondents (49.6%). Autism-Spectrum Quotient scores were positively correlated with communication difficulties (r = 0.16, p confidence in communication in the fit model. However, higher confidence in creating a supportive atmosphere was associated with more difficulty in communication (r = 0.16, p Communication difficulty was linked to rehabilitation therapists' ALTs. By increasing confidence in areas of communication other than creation of a supportive atmosphere, ALT-related difficulties in communication may be ameliorated. Confidence to create supportive environments correlated positively with difficulty. Communication skills training to increase confidence in communication for rehabilitation therapists should be developed with vigilance regarding ALT levels.

Monovalent engagement of the BCR activates ovalbumin-specific transnuclear B cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Avalos, Ana M.; Bilate, Angelina M.; Witte, Martin D.; Tai, Albert K.; He, Jiang; Frushicheva, Maria P.; Thill, Peter D.; Meyer-Wentrup, Friederike; Theile, Christopher S.; Chakraborty, Arup K.; Zhuang, Xiaowei; Ploegh, Hidde L.

2014-01-01

Valency requirements for B cell activation upon antigen encounter are poorly understood. OB1 transnuclear B cells express an IgG1 B cell receptor (BCR) specific for ovalbumin (OVA), the epitope of which can be mimicked using short synthetic peptides to allow antigen-specific engagement of the BCR.

Self-reported learning difficulties and dietary intake in Norwegian adolescents.

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Øverby, Nina Cecilie; Lüdemann, Eva; Høigaard, Rune

2013-11-01

The academic performance of children impacts future educational attainment which may increase socioeconomic status which again influences their health. One of several factors that might affect academic performance is the diet. The aim of this study was to investigate the cross sectional relation between diet and self-reported reading-, writing-, and mathematical difficulties in Norwegian adolescents. In total, 475 ninth- and tenth-grade students out of 625 eligible ones from four different secondary schools in three different municipalities in Vest-Agder County, Norway, participated, giving a participation rate of 77%. The students filled in a questionnaire with food frequency questions of selected healthy and unhealthy food items, questions of meal frequency and different learning difficulties. Regular breakfast was significantly associated with decreased odds of both writing and reading difficulties (OR: 0.44 (0.2-0.8), p = 0.01) and mathematical difficulties (OR: 0.33 (0.2-0.6), p ≤ 0.001). In addition, having lunch, dinner and supper regularly were associated with decreased odds of mathematical difficulties. Further, a high intake of foods representing a poor diet (sugar-sweetened soft drinks, sweets, chocolate, savory snacks, pizza and hot dogs) was significantly associated with increased odds of mathematical difficulties. Having a less-frequent intake of unhealthy foods and not skipping meals are associated with decreased odds of self-reported learning difficulties in Norwegian adolescents in this study. The results of this study support the need for a larger study with a more representative sample.

Design of an operations manager selection system in service encounter

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Tanawin Nunthaphanich

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to provide criteria for selecting operations managers at the ‘service encounter’ for mobile telecommunication companies, and develop a system for this multi-criteria decision-making scheme based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP. There are three main criteria for evaluating the capability of service-encounter operation managers: (1 the ability to design service process; (2 the ability to operate service process; (3 the ability to conduct improvement. The AHP operation manager selection tool was developed based on the complex problems at the service encounter. It was created as a decision support system which was used to recruit and evaluate operations managers’ capability for the purpose of career advancement.

Penguin head movement detected using small accelerometers: a proxy of prey encounter rate.

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Kokubun, Nobuo; Kim, Jeong-Hoon; Shin, Hyoung-Chul; Naito, Yasuhiko; Takahashi, Akinori

2011-11-15

Determining temporal and spatial variation in feeding rates is essential for understanding the relationship between habitat features and the foraging behavior of top predators. In this study we examined the utility of head movement as a proxy of prey encounter rates in medium-sized Antarctic penguins, under the presumption that the birds should move their heads actively when they encounter and peck prey. A field study of free-ranging chinstrap and gentoo penguins was conducted at King George Island, Antarctica. Head movement was recorded using small accelerometers attached to the head, with simultaneous monitoring for prey encounter or body angle. The main prey was Antarctic krill (>99% in wet mass) for both species. Penguin head movement coincided with a slow change in body angle during dives. Active head movements were extracted using a high-pass filter (5 Hz acceleration signals) and the remaining acceleration peaks (higher than a threshold acceleration of 1.0 g) were counted. The timing of head movements coincided well with images of prey taken from the back-mounted cameras: head movement was recorded within ±2.5 s of a prey image on 89.1±16.1% (N=7 trips) of images. The number of head movements varied largely among dive bouts, suggesting large temporal variations in prey encounter rates. Our results show that head movement is an effective proxy of prey encounter, and we suggest that the method will be widely applicable for a variety of predators.

A Study of the Concurrent Validity between the Boxall Profile and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

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Caroline Couture

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to establish the level of concurrent validity between the Boxall Profile, a diagnostic instrument used by teachers and teaching assistants in nurture groups, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, a widely used screening instrument in the fields of education, mental health and social work. 202 children and adolescents attending nurture groups in England, aged 3-14 years, participated in the study. . These consisted of142 boys and 60 girls and came from 25 schools in 8 LEAs. School staff completed the Boxall Profile and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for all pupils. . The results show a high degree of concordance between the two instruments, with both measures appearing to identify similar behavioural characteristics in the same children. Scores in specific domains of the Boxall Profile are shown to predict performance on particular sub-scales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. These preliminary findings support the validity claims of the Boxall Profile, indicating that it is a reliable tool for both diagnostic and research purposes.

The difficulties of writing procurement specifications for robots in nuclear applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, F.W.; Bowen, W.W.

1986-01-01

The commercial robots available today were developed to primarily support the automotive or electronics industries. The adaptation of these robots and the current robotic technology to handle and manufacture nuclear materials has had its problems. The operational space and maintenance constraints have special consideration. The robotic systems of today tend to not have the payload capability for nuclear applications or, if the payload is sufficient, the system is very large and has several operating and maintenance accessibility requirements. The process of specifying, purchasing, and modifying a robotic system is an expensive and time-consuming process. The procurement specification is critical to obtaining competitive quotations on robots for nuclear applications resulting in the most economical robotic system

Communication difficulties in children identified with psychiatric problems

OpenAIRE

Helland, Wenche Andersen

2010-01-01

Several studies have pointed to an overlap between different developmental psychopathological conditions and language impairments, and difficulties with communication have been identified in children of various diagnostic backgrounds. This thesis is based on three empirical studies, and the purposes are to investigate communication difficulties as reported by parents, in children identified with psychiatric problems as well as to evaluate a Norwegian adaptation of the Children’...

Successful treatment of pill-swallowing difficulties with head posture practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Bonnie J; Steiger, Roberta A; Pope, Jamie; Marsh, Ashley; Sharp, Maegan; Crawford, Susan G

2010-05-01

Clinics often encounter neurologically intact patients who are unable to swallow pills. All of the interventions published previously have used traditional behavioural techniques, which are time consuming and often not helpful. To determine whether children who had never been able to swallow a whole pill could become successful as a result of an intervention based on head posture. A novel intervention was developed based on published research showing that changing head position alters swallowing dynamics. The method was developed in two studies of 240 adults and children, pilot tested in a study of 108 university students with very mild pill-swallowing discomfort, and then evaluated in a study of 41 children who had never successfully swallowed a pill in spite of much instruction and coaxing. Children were recruited from a tertiary paediatric hospital: 34 were clinic patients, four were their siblings or friends, and three were children of hospital staff. The primary intervention involved teaching five head positions (centre, up, down, left and right) followed by a two-week period of daily practice. EIGHT CHILDREN (ALL CLINIC REFERRALS) WITHDREW WITHOUT PRACTICING: four were too ill to practice (primarily due to sedation or nausea) and four simply refused to do the homework practice. All 33 of the children who were able and willing to practice daily were successful. Practice with head posture variations was successful in treating pill-swallowing difficulties in all 33 children who practiced for 14 days. A training video can be viewed at www.ucalgary.ca/research4kids/pillswallowing.

Effect of Concentrated Language Encounter Method in Developing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper examined the effect of concentrated language encounter method in developing sight word recognition skill in primary school pupils in cross river state. The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of Primary One pupils' reading level, English sight word recognition skill. It also examine the extent to which the ...

Exploring Festival Performance as a State of Encounter

Science.gov (United States)

O’Grady, Alice; Kill, Rebekka

2013-01-01

This article outlines the activities of the research network "Festival Performance as a State of Encounter", which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the Beyond Text strategic programme. The network was formulated in 2008, and a range of different events were organized over the course of two years to…

Evidence-based interventions for reading and language difficulties: creating a virtuous circle.

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Snowling, Margaret J; Hulme, Charles

2011-03-01

BACKGROUND. Children may experience two very different forms of reading problem: decoding difficulties (dyslexia) and reading comprehension difficulties. Decoding difficulties appear to be caused by problems with phonological (speech sound) processing. Reading comprehension difficulties in contrast appear to be caused by problems with 'higher level' language difficulties including problems with semantics (including deficient knowledge of word meanings) and grammar (knowledge of morphology and syntax). AIMS. We review evidence concerning the nature, causes of, and treatments for children's reading difficulties. We argue that any well-founded educational intervention must be based on a sound theory of the causes of a particular form of learning difficulty, which in turn must be based on an understanding of how a given skill is learned by typically developing children. Such theoretically motivated interventions should in turn be evaluated in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to establish whether they are effective, and for whom. RESULTS. There is now considerable evidence showing that phonologically based interventions are effective in ameliorating children's word level decoding difficulties, and a smaller evidence base showing that reading and oral language (OL) comprehension difficulties can be ameliorated by suitable interventions to boost vocabulary and broader OL skills. CONCLUSIONS. The process of developing theories about the origins of children's educational difficulties and evaluating theoretically motivated treatments in RCTs, produces a 'virtuous circle' whereby theory informs practice, and the evaluation of effective interventions in turn feeds back to inform and refine theories about the nature and causes of children's reading and language difficulties. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

Service quality, trust, and patient satisfaction in interpersonal-based medical service encounters.

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Chang, Ching-Sheng; Chen, Su-Yueh; Lan, Yi-Ting

2013-01-16

Interaction between service provider and customer is the primary core of service businesses of different natures, and the influence of trust on service quality and customer satisfaction could not be ignored in interpersonal-based service encounters. However, lack of existing literature on the correlation between service quality, patient trust, and satisfaction from the prospect of interpersonal-based medical service encounters has created a research gap in previous studies. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge such a gap with an evidence-based practice study. We adopted a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire survey of outpatients in seven medical centers of Taiwan. Three hundred and fifty copies of questionnaire were distributed, and 285 valid copies were retrieved, with a valid response rate of 81.43%. The SPSS 14.0 and AMOS 14.0 (structural equation modeling) statistical software packages were used for analysis. Structural equation modeling clarifies the extent of relationships between variables as well as the chain of cause and effect. Restated, SEM results do not merely show empirical relationships between variables when defining the practical situation. For this reason, SEM was used to test the hypotheses. Perception of interpersonal-based medical service encounters positively influences service quality and patient satisfaction. Perception of service quality among patients positively influences their trust. Perception of trust among patients positively influences their satisfaction. According to the findings, as interpersonal-based medical service encounters will positively influence service quality and patient satisfaction, and the differences for patients' perceptions of the professional skill and communication attitude of personnel in interpersonal-based medical service encounters will influence patients' overall satisfaction in two ways: (A) interpersonal-based medical service encounter directly affects patient satisfaction, which represents a

Service quality, trust, and patient satisfaction in interpersonal-based medical service encounters

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Interaction between service provider and customer is the primary core of service businesses of different natures, and the influence of trust on service quality and customer satisfaction could not be ignored in interpersonal-based service encounters. However, lack of existing literature on the correlation between service quality, patient trust, and satisfaction from the prospect of interpersonal-based medical service encounters has created a research gap in previous studies. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge such a gap with an evidence-based practice study. Methods We adopted a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire survey of outpatients in seven medical centers of Taiwan. Three hundred and fifty copies of questionnaire were distributed, and 285 valid copies were retrieved, with a valid response rate of 81.43%. The SPSS 14.0 and AMOS 14.0 (structural equation modeling) statistical software packages were used for analysis. Structural equation modeling clarifies the extent of relationships between variables as well as the chain of cause and effect. Restated, SEM results do not merely show empirical relationships between variables when defining the practical situation. For this reason, SEM was used to test the hypotheses. Results Perception of interpersonal-based medical service encounters positively influences service quality and patient satisfaction. Perception of service quality among patients positively influences their trust. Perception of trust among patients positively influences their satisfaction. Conclusions According to the findings, as interpersonal-based medical service encounters will positively influence service quality and patient satisfaction, and the differences for patients’ perceptions of the professional skill and communication attitude of personnel in interpersonal-based medical service encounters will influence patients’ overall satisfaction in two ways: (A) interpersonal-based medical service encounter directly

Service quality, trust, and patient satisfaction in interpersonal-based medical service encounters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Ching-Sheng

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Interaction between service provider and customer is the primary core of service businesses of different natures, and the influence of trust on service quality and customer satisfaction could not be ignored in interpersonal-based service encounters. However, lack of existing literature on the correlation between service quality, patient trust, and satisfaction from the prospect of interpersonal-based medical service encounters has created a research gap in previous studies. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge such a gap with an evidence-based practice study. Methods We adopted a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire survey of outpatients in seven medical centers of Taiwan. Three hundred and fifty copies of questionnaire were distributed, and 285 valid copies were retrieved, with a valid response rate of 81.43%. The SPSS 14.0 and AMOS 14.0 (structural equation modeling statistical software packages were used for analysis. Structural equation modeling clarifies the extent of relationships between variables as well as the chain of cause and effect. Restated, SEM results do not merely show empirical relationships between variables when defining the practical situation. For this reason, SEM was used to test the hypotheses. Results Perception of interpersonal-based medical service encounters positively influences service quality and patient satisfaction. Perception of service quality among patients positively influences their trust. Perception of trust among patients positively influences their satisfaction. Conclusions According to the findings, as interpersonal-based medical service encounters will positively influence service quality and patient satisfaction, and the differences for patients’ perceptions of the professional skill and communication attitude of personnel in interpersonal-based medical service encounters will influence patients’ overall satisfaction in two ways: (A interpersonal-based medical

Aligning Coordination Class Theory with a New Context: Applying a Theory of Individual Learning to Group Learning

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Barth-Cohen, Lauren A.; Wittmann, Michael C.

2017-01-01

This article presents an empirical analysis of conceptual difficulties encountered and ways students made progress in learning at both individual and group levels in a classroom environment in which the students used an embodied modeling activity to make sense of a specific scientific scenario. The theoretical framework, coordination class theory,…

"Once There Was El'zunia": Approaching Affect in Holocaust Literature

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Berlin, Gail Ivy

2012-01-01

The encounter with literature of the Holocaust, saturated as it is with unfathomable grief, loss, terror, and death, presents its readers with difficulties rare in literatures not dealing with the extreme. Specifically, usual academic discourse lacks a register for addressing the intense emotions that Holocaust narratives or poetry may generate.…

Identifying and addressing student difficulties with the ideal gas law

Science.gov (United States)

Kautz, Christian Hans

This dissertation reports on an in-depth investigation of student understanding of the ideal gas law. The research and curriculum development were mostly conducted in the context of algebra- and calculus-based introductory physics courses and a sophomore-level thermal physics course. Research methods included individual demonstration interviews and written questions. Student difficulties with the quantities: pressure, volume, temperature, and the number of moles were identified. Data suggest that students' incorrect and incomplete microscopic models about gases contribute to the difficulties they have in answering questions posed in macroscopic terms. In addition, evidence for general reasoning difficulties is presented. These research results have guided the development of curriculum to address the student difficulties that have been identified.

Encounters between degenerate stars and extrasolar comet clouds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pineault, S.; Poisson, E.

1989-01-01

Under the assumption that the presence of comet clouds around otherwise normal stars is a common occurrence in the Galaxy, the observational consequences of random penetration encounters between the general Galactic population of degenerate stars and these comet clouds is considered. The only case considered is where the compact stars is a single star. For this scenario, encounters involving neutron stars (NSs) result in impact rates 1000-10,000 times slower than in the model of Tremaine and Zytkow (1986). The rate for white dwarfs (WDs) is larger than the one for NSs by a factor of about 30 times the ratio of the degenerate star number densities. The mean impact rate is significantly increased if the number of comets in a cloud is nearly independent of the mass of the central star. It is concluded that some of the observed gamma-ray bursts may be caused by accretion of comets onto NSs and that this scenario, but with a WD as the accretor, probably contributes to the optical flash background rate. 38 refs

Emotional and Personality-Related Aspects of Persistent Career Decision-Making Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Saka, Noa; Gati, Itamar

2007-01-01

This study focused on examining the persistent aspects of career decision-making difficulties, using the Emotional and Personality-related Career decision-making Difficulties scale ("EPCD"; [Saka, N., Gati, I., & Kelly, K.R. (in press). Emotional and personality-related aspects of career decision-making difficulties. "Journal of Career…

Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Bladder Management Difficulties and Bowel Management Difficulties item banks and short forms and the SCI-QOL Bladder Complications scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Tulsky, David S; Kisala, Pamela A; Tate, Denise G; Spungen, Ann M; Kirshblum, Steven C

2015-05-01

To describe the development and psychometric properties of the Spinal Cord Injury--Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) Bladder Management Difficulties and Bowel Management Difficulties item banks and Bladder Complications scale. Using a mixed-methods design, a pool of items assessing bladder and bowel-related concerns were developed using focus groups with individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and SCI clinicians, cognitive interviews, and item response theory (IRT) analytic approaches, including tests of model fit and differential item functioning. Thirty-eight bladder items and 52 bowel items were tested at the University of Michigan, Kessler Foundation Research Center, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, the University of Washington, Craig Hospital, and the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY. Seven hundred fifty-seven adults with traumatic SCI. The final item banks demonstrated unidimensionality (Bladder Management Difficulties CFI=0.965; RMSEA=0.093; Bowel Management Difficulties CFI=0.955; RMSEA=0.078) and acceptable fit to a graded response IRT model. The final calibrated Bladder Management Difficulties bank includes 15 items, and the final Bowel Management Difficulties item bank consists of 26 items. Additionally, 5 items related to urinary tract infections (UTI) did not fit with the larger Bladder Management Difficulties item bank but performed relatively well independently (CFI=0.992, RMSEA=0.050) and were thus retained as a separate scale. The SCI-QOL Bladder Management Difficulties and Bowel Management Difficulties item banks are psychometrically robust and are available as computer adaptive tests or short forms. The SCI-QOL Bladder Complications scale is a brief, fixed-length outcomes instrument for individuals with a UTI.

[The transfer from Strasbourg, and the primary ten years (1872-1882) of the "Ecole supérieure de pharmacie" of Nancy. An example of the difficulty of creating an university structure almost from nothing and in urgency].

Science.gov (United States)

Labrude, Pierre; Strohl, Stéphanie

2007-05-01

The conclusion of the war conducted by France in 1870 was the annexation of Alsace and Moselle to the German Empire. The question of the becoming of the University of Strasbourg was put a long time before the Francfort treaty.... After many discussions, the transfer of the Faculty of medicine and of the School of pharmacy to Nancy was decided on October 1st 1872. First bound to the faculty, the school became independent in 1876. It suffered some difficult years because of the terms of the transfer decree, of the retirement of two of its four professors, of the ministerial decision to keep free the chairs for some time in order to save money, and of the difficulties of the recruitment of new professors. The paper describes successively the difficulties of the choice of Nancy for the transfer, the situation of the schools of Strasbourg and Nancy in the year 1870, the text of the decree, the beginning of the teachings and the difficulties encountered with the chairs of pharmacy and natural history, and finally the pharmacy students come in Nancy during the early years. Some thoughts on this transfer and on the difficulties occured during these years precede the conclusion.

Difficulties and practices regarding information provision among Korean and Italian nurses.

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Ingravallo, F; Kim, K H; Han, Y H; Volta, A; Chiari, P; Taddia, P; Kim, J S

2017-12-01

To investigate nurses' opinions and practices of providing information in a global context through cultural comparison. Providing sufficient information to patients about nursing interventions and plans is essential for patient-centred care. While many countries have specific legislation making information delivery to patients a legal duty of nurses, no such legislation exists in both the Republic of Korea and Italy; nurses' only guidance is the deontological code. This was a cross-sectional survey study involving a convenience sample of 174 Korean nurses and 121 Italian nurses working in internal medicine and surgery at university hospitals. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire between February and November 2014. The questionnaire assessed demographic and professional characteristics, and difficulties and practices regarding information provision. Korean and Italian nurses significantly differed in all demographic and professional characteristics. More Korean than Italian participants reported that their role in providing information was well explained within their teams, but both groups reported the same level and type of difficulties in delivering information. Nurses in both countries regularly informed patients about medications and nursing procedures, but provided information about nursing care plans less frequently. Few nurses frequently provided information to relatives instead of patients. Despite cultural, demographic and professional differences between Korean and Italian nurses, their difficulties and practices in information delivery to patient were similar. Hospital managers and policymakers should be aware that nurse-patient communication can be impaired by organizational factors, patient characteristics or the interaction among providers. Educational interventions and strategies are needed to increase information provision to patients about nursing care plans. © 2017 International Council of Nurses.

Revisiting Rossion and Pourtois with new ratings for automated complexity, familiarity, beauty, and encounter.

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Forsythe, Alex; Street, Nichola; Helmy, Mai

2017-08-01

Differences between norm ratings collected when participants are asked to consider more than one picture characteristic are contrasted with the traditional methodological approaches of collecting ratings separately for image constructs. We present data that suggest that reporting normative data, based on methodological procedures that ask participants to consider multiple image constructs simultaneously, could potentially confounded norm data. We provide data for two new image constructs, beauty and the extent to which participants encountered the stimuli in their everyday lives. Analysis of this data suggests that familiarity and encounter are tapping different image constructs. The extent to which an observer encounters an object predicts human judgments of visual complexity. Encountering an image was also found to be an important predictor of beauty, but familiarity with that image was not. Taken together, these results suggest that continuing to collect complexity measures from human judgments is a pointless exercise. Automated measures are more reliable and valid measures, which are demonstrated here as predicting human preferences.

Temporal characteristics of decisions in hospital encounters: a threshold for shared decision making? A qualitative study.

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Ofstad, Eirik H; Frich, Jan C; Schei, Edvin; Frankel, Richard M; Gulbrandsen, Pål

2014-11-01

To identify and characterize physicians' statements that contained evidence of clinically relevant decisions in encounters with patients in different hospital settings. Qualitative analysis of 50 videotaped encounters from wards, the emergency room (ER) and outpatient clinics in a department of internal medicine at a Norwegian university hospital. Clinical decisions could be grouped in a temporal order: decisions which had already been made, and were brought into the encounter by the physician (preformed decisions), decisions made in the present (here-and-now decisions), and decisions prescribing future actions given a certain course of events (conditional decisions). Preformed decisions were a hallmark in the ward and conditional decisions a main feature of ER encounters. Clinical decisions related to a patient-physician encounter spanned a time frame exceeding the duration of the encounter. While a distribution of decisions over time and space fosters sharing and dilution of responsibility between providers, it makes the decision making process hard to access for patients. In order to plan when and how to involve patients in decisions, physicians need increased awareness of when clinical decisions are made, who usually makes them, and who should make them. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding interprofessional education as an intergroup encounter: The use of contact theory in programme planning.

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Carpenter, John; Dickinson, Claire

2016-01-01

A key underlying assumption of interprofessional education (IPE) is that if the professions are brought together they have the opportunity to learn about each other and dispel the negative stereotypes which are presumed to hamper interprofessional collaboration in practice. This article explores the application of contact theory in IPE with reference to eight evaluation studies (1995-2012) which adopted this theoretical perspective. It proposes that educators should pay explicit attention to an intergroup perspective in designing IPE programmes and specifically to the "contact variables" identified by social psychologists studying intergroup encounters. This would increase the chances of the planned contact having a positive effect on attitude change.

The extended meanings of medical terms. Difficulties in the practice of translation

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Corina Lungu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Taking into account that the structure of a specialized field is never homogeneous, in order to interpret or translate a term, we should define and know its different possible "semantic manifestations" (Martin, 1972: 125. In order to facilitate understanding and to ensure translation accuracy, we analyze - from the perspective of an internal polysemy - the terms of the medical lexicon which constitute a specific and restrictive use of the common language lexicon. Through the study of a selection of terms extracted from a specialized dictionary (Dicţionar Medical, Rusu V. 2010, this communication illustrates the restrictions and the extensions of meaning in a double translation: the terms taken from the common language with a restrictive meaning in the specialized field; the terms belonging to related disciplines and various fields adopting a specific meaning in the medical area. All these directions of change of meaning are thus envisaged to facilitate the practice of translation which raises both general and specific difficulties.

Why do depressed individuals have difficulties in their parenting role?

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Psychogiou, L; Parry, E

2014-05-01

Although existing research has shown that depression in parents has a negative effect on parent-child interactions, the mechanisms underpinning impaired parenting are still unknown. In this editorial, we review core difficulties that have been noted in depressed individuals including reduced positive and increased negative affect, poor emotion regulation, executive function deficits, reduced motivation and rumination, and discuss how each of these can alter parenting. We suggest that these causal processes are inter-related and can interact with one another in affecting parenting. We conclude that an improved understanding of these processes will have implications for the development of more specific and potentially more effective treatments that have the potential to break the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology.

The Difficulties Experienced by Teachers in the Process of Primary Reading and Writing Instruction and Their Solution Offers for Eliminating These Difficulties

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Gündogmus, Hatice Degirmenci

2018-01-01

The purpose of the current research is to identify the difficulties that primary school teachers experience in the primary reading and writing instruction, and to find out their solution offers for eliminating these difficulties. The study group of the research is composed of 51 primary school teachers selected by criterion sampling as a type of…

The Influence of Physician Communication Style on Overweight Patients’ Perceptions of Length of Encounter and Physician Being Rushed

Science.gov (United States)

Gulbrandsen, Pål; Østbye, Truls; Lyna, Pauline; Dolor, Rowena J.; Tulsky, James A.; Alexander, Stewart C.; Pollak, Kathryn I.

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Little is known about how patients and physicians perceive time and the extent to which they perceive the physician being rushed during encounters. One aim of this paper is to examine whether patient and physician characteristics and physician communication influence patient perception of the duration of the encounter and their perception of physicians being rushed. Another aim is to examine the relationship between patient and physician perceptions of physicians feeling rushed. METHODS We audiorecorded 461 encounters of overweight or obese patients with 40 primary care physicians and included 320 encounters in which weight was discussed. We calculated time spent with physician and coded all communication about weight using the Motivational Interview Treatment Integrity scale (MITI). Patients completed post-visit questionnaires in which they reported the estimated duration of the encounter and how rushed they thought the physician was during the encounter. Physicians reported how rushed they felt. RESULTS Patients estimated encounters to be longer than they actually were by an average of 2.6 minutes (SD=11.0). When physicians used reflective statements when discussing weight, patients estimated the encounter to be shorter than when physicians did not use reflective statements (1.17 versus 4.56 minutes more than actual duration). Whites perceived the encounter as shorter than African Americans (1.45 versus 4.28 minutes more than actual duration). Physicians felt rushed in 66% of visits; however, most patients did not perceive this. Internists were perceived to be more rushed than family physicians. CONCLUSIONS There is wide variation in patients’ ability to estimate the length of time they spend with their physician. Some physician and patient characteristics were related to patient perceptions of the length of the encounter. Reflective statements might lead patients to perceive encounters as shorter. Physicians, especially family

What influences the quality of educational encounters between trainer and trainee in vocational training for general practice?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boendermaker, PM; Ket, P; Dusman, H; Schuling, J; Van der Vleuten, CPM; Tan, LHC

This study of educational encounters between a trainer and a trainee in vocational training for general practice investigates the quality of the encounter. The study focuses on the relation between the quality of the encounter and elements such as presence of feedback, duration, use of media, etc. A

Difficulties Encountered by Final-Year Male Nursing Students in Their Internship Programmes

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Momani, Mohammed Mahmoud

2017-01-01

Background The cultural norms of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia do not encourage men to choose nursing as a career. Understanding male nursing students’ experiences of their clinical exposure to the nursing profession throughout their internship might increase their retention. This study explored the experiences of final-year male nursing students as they transitioned to the role of registered nurse. Methods A qualitative descriptive research design with an inductive content-analysis approach was used. The experiences of 22 final-year male nursing students from three public hospitals in a major city of Saudi Arabia were explored. The data were collected using focus-group interviews and documentary analysis in March 2015 and May 2015. Results Content analysis revealed three major themes: the societal and cultural image of male nurses, male students’ engagement in nursing practice, and restructuring the internship programmes’ policies to suit male students’ needs. Conclusion The findings reveal issues that mainly stem from negative social views of nursing as a male profession. Considering the students’ social and cultural needs during their internship programme will facilitate their transition into the role of registered nurse and their retention in the nursing profession. PMID:28951687

Assessment of Pragmatic Difficulties and Socioemotional Adjustment in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Farmer, Marion; Oliver, Alice

2005-01-01

Background: In professional practice, psychologists and other professionals such as therapists and teachers receive referrals of many children who present with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties that are difficult to understand and assess. The problems of some of these children may stem from pragmatic difficulties in communication.…

Formation of massive clouds and dwarf galaxies during tidal encounters

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, Michele; Elmegreen, Bruce G.; Thomasson, Magnus; Elmegreen, Debra M.

1993-01-01

Gerola et al. (1983) propose that isolated dwarf galaxies can form during galaxy interactions. As evidence of this process, Mirabel et al. (1991) find 10(exp 9) solar mass clouds and star formation complexes at the outer ends of the tidal arms in the Antennae and Superantennae galaxies. We describe observations of HI clouds with mass greater than 10(exp 8) solar mass in the interacting galaxy pair IC 2163/NGC 2207. This pair is important because we believe it represents an early stage in the formation of giant clouds during an encounter. We use a gravitational instability model to explain why the observed clouds are so massive and discuss a two-dimensional N-body simulation of an encounter that produces giant clouds.

Writing Motivation of Students with Specific Language Impairments

Science.gov (United States)

Brouwer, Kyle Lee

2010-01-01

This study was designed to compare the writing motivation of students with specific language impairments with their non-disabled peers. Due to the cognitive and linguistic demands of the writing process, students with language impairments face unique difficulties during the writing process. It was hypothesized that students with specific language…

The Effects of a Social and Talent Development Intervention for High Ability Youth with Social Skill Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Foley-Nicpon, Megan; Assouline, Susan G.; Kivlighan, D. Martin; Fosenburg, Staci; Cederberg, Charles; Nanji, Michelle

2017-01-01

Contemporary models highlight the need to cultivate cognitive and psychosocial factors in developing domain-specific talent. This model was the basis for the current study where high ability youth with self-reported social difficulties (n = 28, 12 with a coexisting disability) participated in a social skills and talent development intervention…

Creating a supportive learning environment for students with learning difficulties

OpenAIRE

Grah, Jana

2013-01-01

Co-building of supporting learning environment for the learners with learning difficulties is one of the 21st century inclusive school’s elements. Since the physical presence of learners with learning difficulties in the classroom does not self-evidently lead to an effective co-operation and implementation of 21st century inclusive school, I have dedicated my doctor thesis to the establishment of supporting learning environment for the learners with learning difficulties in primary school wit...

DIFFICULTIES TO LEARN AND TO TEACH MODERN PHYSICS.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Antonowiski

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Physics is engaged in scientific and technological development in several areas, however, its learning in high school has high failure rates that demonstrate a low level of use. It is a science that allows us to understand the nature of the macroscopic and atomic matter, but it is taught in a disjointed manner, upon presentation of concepts, laws and mathematical sentences, repetitive exercises that have taken the preparatory character for college entrance. Thus, the student gets stuck sentences featuring a partial knowledge and disposable. This study aimed to analyze the main difficulties that undergraduate students in Physics have in Modern Physics learning. Point out the difficulties in teaching and learning Physics is not an easy task and to identify them comes the difficulty of how to solve them. After analysis of several hypotheses we can conclude that there is no single factor responsible for the difficulty of the teaching and learning of Modern Physics. The lack of time to work and developed since middle school, stimulating the curiosity of students, adequately trained teachers, lack of structure offered by the government, parents' responsibilities and students in learning, among others, constitute a major challenge for successful teaching and learning of Modern Physics

Analysis of junior high school students' difficulty in resolving rectangular conceptual problems

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Utami, Aliksia Kristiana Dwi; Mardiyana, Pramudya, Ikrar

2017-08-01

Geometry is one part of the mathematics that must be learned in school and it has important effects on the development of creative thinking skills of learners, but in fact, there are some difficulties experienced by the students. This research focuses on analysis difficulty in resolving rectangular conceptual problems among junior high school students in every creative thinking skills level. This research used a descriptive method aimed to identify the difficulties and cause of the difficulties experienced by five students. The difficulties are associated with rectangular shapes and related problems. Data collection was done based on students' work through test, interview, and observations. The result revealed that student' difficulties in understanding the rectangular concept can be found at every creative thinking skills level. The difficulties are identifying the objects rectangular in the daily life except for a rectangle and square, analyzing the properties of rectangular shapes, and seeing the interrelationships between figures.

Idiopathic chondrolysis - diagnostic difficulties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozlowski, K.; Scougall, J.; Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney

1984-01-01

Four cases of idiopathic chondrolysis of the hip in three white girls and one Maori girl are reported. The authors stress the causes why a disease with characteristic clinical and radiographic appearances and normal biochemical findings presents diagnostic difficulties. It is suspected that idiopathic chondrolysis is a metabolic disorder of chondrocytes, triggered by environment circumstances in susceptible individuals. Idiopathic chondrolysis is probably one of the most common causes of coxarthrosis in women. (orig.)

Older age, higher perceived disability and depressive symptoms predict the amount and severity of work-related difficulties in persons with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Raggi, Alberto; Giovannetti, Ambra Mara; Schiavolin, Silvia; Brambilla, Laura; Brenna, Greta; Confalonieri, Paolo Agostino; Cortese, Francesca; Frangiamore, Rita; Leonardi, Matilde; Mantegazza, Renato Emilio; Moscatelli, Marco; Ponzio, Michela; Torri Clerici, Valentina; Zaratin, Paola; De Torres, Laura

2018-04-16

This cross-sectional study aims to identify the predictors of work-related difficulties in a sample of employed persons with multiple sclerosis as addressed with the Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire for Job Difficulties. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of work difficulties: predictors included demographic variables (age, formal education), disease duration and severity, perceived disability and psychological variables (cognitive dysfunction, depression and anxiety). The targets were the questionnaire's overall score and its six subscales. A total of 177 participants (108 females, aged 21-63) were recruited. Age, perceived disability and depression were direct and significant predictors of the questionnaire total score, and the final model explained 43.7% of its variation. The models built on the questionnaire's subscales show that perceived disability and depression were direct and significant predictors of most of its subscales. Our results show that, among patients with multiple sclerosis, those who were older, with higher perceived disability and higher depression symptoms have more and more severe work-related difficulties. The Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire for Job Difficulties can be fruitfully exploited to plan tailored actions to limit the likelihood of near-future job loss in persons of working age with multiple sclerosis. Implications for rehabilitation Difficulties with work are common among people with multiple sclerosis and are usually addressed in terms of unemployment or job loss. The Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire for Job Difficulties is a disease-specific questionnaire developed to address the amount and severity of work-related difficulties. We found that work-related difficulties were associated to older age, higher perceived disability and depressive symptoms. Mental health issues and perceived disability should be consistently included in future research targeting work-related difficulties.

Physicians' perspectives on communication and decision making in clinical encounters for treatment of latent tuberculosis infection.

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Dobler, Claudia C; Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia; Armour, Carol L

2018-01-01

The aim of the study was to explore the views of tuberculosis (TB) physicians on treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI), focusing on decision making and communication in clinical practice. 20 Australian TB physicians participated in a semistructured interview in person or over the telephone. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. The study identified challenges that physicians face when discussing treatment for LTBI with patients. These included difficulties explaining the concept of latency (in particular to patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds) and providing guidance to patients while still framing treatment decisions as a choice. Tailored estimates of the risk of developing TB and the risk of developing an adverse effect from LTBI treatment were considered the most important information for decision making and discussion with patients. Physicians acknowledged that there is a significant amount of unwarranted treatment variation, which they attributed to the lack of evidence about the risk-benefit balance of LTBI treatment in certain scenarios and guidelines that refer to the need for case-by-case decision making in many instances. In order to successfully implement LTBI treatment at a clinical level, consideration should be given to research on how to best address communication challenges arising in clinical encounters.

Physicians' perspectives on communication and decision making in clinical encounters for treatment of latent tuberculosis infection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia C. Dobler

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to explore the views of tuberculosis (TB physicians on treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI, focusing on decision making and communication in clinical practice. 20 Australian TB physicians participated in a semistructured interview in person or over the telephone. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. The study identified challenges that physicians face when discussing treatment for LTBI with patients. These included difficulties explaining the concept of latency (in particular to patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and providing guidance to patients while still framing treatment decisions as a choice. Tailored estimates of the risk of developing TB and the risk of developing an adverse effect from LTBI treatment were considered the most important information for decision making and discussion with patients. Physicians acknowledged that there is a significant amount of unwarranted treatment variation, which they attributed to the lack of evidence about the risk–benefit balance of LTBI treatment in certain scenarios and guidelines that refer to the need for case-by-case decision making in many instances. In order to successfully implement LTBI treatment at a clinical level, consideration should be given to research on how to best address communication challenges arising in clinical encounters.

Learner's Learning Experiences & Difficulties towards (ESL) among UKM Undergraduates

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Maarof, Nooreiny; Munusamy, Indira Malani A/P

2015-01-01

This paper aims to investigate the learners learning experiences and difficulties of ESL among the UKM undergraduates. This study will be focusing on identifying the factors behind Malaysian undergraduate's experiences and also their difficulties in the English as Second Language (ESL) classroom. This paper discusses some of the issues of English…

Early Writing Deficits in Preschoolers with Oral Language Difficulties

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Puranik, Cynthia S.; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preschool children with language impairments (LI), a group with documented reading difficulties, also experience writing difficulties. In addition, a purpose was to examine if the writing outcomes differed when children had concomitant cognitive deficits in addition to oral language problems. A…

Impact of Psychosocial Environment on Young Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina Grazuleviciene

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: The impact of maternal psychosocial stress on young children’s mental difficulties is unclear. This study investigated the joint effects of the socioeconomic status and parent-child relationships on emotional and behavioral difficulties in preschool children. Methods: The case-control study included 1416 mothers and their 4–6 year-old children pairs, living in Kaunas city, Lithuania. The parent-child relationships were measured using the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscale. Children’s mental health difficulties were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We used logistic regression models to indicate the strength of the associations. Results: Lower socioeconomic status women more often than higher ones reported pathological mother-child relations. Low education level was associated with statistically significant increase adjusted odds ratios for emotional symptoms and total behavioral difficulties. With reference to the group of better-educated mothers and normal mother-child relations, low education and pathological mother-child relations statistically significantly increased the risk of total difficulties in 4–6 year-old children; the adjusted odds ratios were 2.45; 95% CI 1.51–3.99. Conclusions: Pathological mother-child relations strengthened the effect of lower education on the increased risk of emotional and behavioral difficulties in preschool-age children. Measures oriented towards health behavior and psychosocial difficulties management may decrease children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Challenges Encountered in the Compilation of an Advanced Shona ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

turvitenskap, Seksjon for Leksikografi, Oslo, Norway. Abstract: This paper highlights the challenges encountered by the African Languages Lexical ... looks at: (a) the limitations of the current Shona orthography, the selection and codification of ... that were suggested, without getting too deeply involved in theoretical issues.

Male clients' behaviours with and perspectives about their last male escort encounter: comparing repeat versus first-time hires.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolff, Margaret M; Grov, Christian; Smith, Michael D; Koken, Juline A; Parsons, Jeffrey T

2014-01-01

Research on men who have sex with men suggests that condomless anal intercourse occurs more frequently in established sexual relationships. While comparable data regarding male-for-male escorting is unavailable, research implies that many clients seek emotional as well as physical connections with the men they hire. In 2012, 495 male clients, recruited via daddysreviews.com completed an online survey about their last hiring experience. Most participants were from the USA (85.7%), the UK and Canada (3.2% each). In total, 75% of encounters involved an escort hired for the first time; 25% were with a previously hired escort ('repeat encounter'). The client's age, lifetime number of escorts hired and number hired in the past year were positively associated with the last encounter being a repeat encounter. Cuddling, sharing a meal, drinking alcohol, taking a walk, watching a show and shopping were also positively associated with repeat encounters. Conversely, none of the sexual behaviours were significantly associated with repeat encounters. Repeat encounters were significantly more likely to include non-sexual behaviours alongside sexual activities, but no more likely to involve condomless anal intercourse. Moreover, clients' knowledge of escorts' HIV status was not significantly associated with engaging in condomless anal intercourse with repeat encounters.

Feeding difficulties in children with food protein-induced gastrointestinal allergies.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Rosan; Rommel, Nathalie; Van Oudenhove, Lukas; Fleming, Catharine; Dziubak, Robert; Shah, Neil

2014-10-01

There is paucity of data on the prevalence of feeding difficulties in Food Protein-Induced Gastrointestinal Allergies (FPIGA) and their clinical characteristics. However, it is a commonly reported problem by clinicians. We set out to establish the occurrence of feeding difficulties in children with FPIGA, the association with gastrointestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms and number of foods eliminated from the diet. This retrospective observational analysis was performed in patients seen between 2002 and 2009 at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, Gastroenterology Department, London. Medical records where FPIGA was documented using the terms from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and National Institute of Clinical Excellence and confirmed using an elimination diet, followed by a challenge were included. Feeding difficulties were assessed using a criteria previously used in healthy toddlers in the UK. Data from 437 children (203 female) were collected. Significantly more children with feeding difficulties presented with abdominal distention and bloating (P = 0.002), vomiting (P foods eliminated from the diet in the children with/without feeding difficulties (P = 0.028). Clinical manifestations like vomiting, constipation, rectal bleeding, weight loss, and the presence of extra-intestinal manifestations in addition to the number of foods avoided are in our FPIGA population linked to feeding difficulties. © 2014 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Reactive and Proactive Subtypes of Relational and Physical Aggression in Middle Childhood: Links to Concurrent and Longitudinal Adjustment

Science.gov (United States)

Mathieson, Lindsay C.; Crick, Nicki R.

2010-01-01

Peer aggression in children is a serious issue that school psychologists often encounter on a daily basis. To develop a better understanding of aggression, it is important to look at specific subtypes of aggression and how they are related to adjustment difficulties. Past research has examined the links between reactive and proactive physical…

Availability and Usability of BHO Encounter Data in MAX 2009

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Availability and Usability of Behavioral Health Organization Encounter Data in MAX 2009, published in Volume 4, Issue 2 of Medicare and Medicaid Research Review,...

Current approach to the diagnosis of IgG4-related disease - Combination of comprehensive diagnostic and organ-specific criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Umehara, Hisanori; Okazaki, Kazuichi; Nakamura, Takuji; Satoh-Nakamura, Tomomi; Nakajima, Akio; Kawano, Mitsuhiro; Mimori, Tsuneyo; Chiba, Tsutomu

2017-05-01

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a fascinating clinical entity proposed by Japanese investigators, and includes a wide variety of diseases, formerly diagnosed as Mikulicz's disease (MD), autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP), interstitial nephritis, prostatitis, retroperitoneal fibrosis, etc. Although all clinicians in every field of medicine may encounter this new disease, a unifying diagnostic criterion has not been established. In 2011, the Japanese IgG4 team, organized by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan, published comprehensive diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RD. Several problems with these criteria have arisen in clinical practice, however, including the difficulty obtaining biopsy samples from some patients, and the sensitivity and the specificity of techniques used to measure serum IgG4 concentrations. Although serum IgG4 concentration is an important clinical marker for IgG4-RD, its diagnostic utility in differentiating IgG4-RD from other diseases, called IgG4-RD mimickers, remains unclear. This review describes the current optimal approach for the diagnosis of IgG4-RD, based on both comprehensive and organ-specific diagnostic criteria, in patients with diseases such as IgG4-related pancreatitis (AIP), sclerosing cholangitis, and renal, lung and orbital diseases.

Predicting Emotions in Facial Expressions from the Annotations in Naturally Occurring First Encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Navarretta, Costanza

2014-01-01

This paper deals with the automatic identification of emotions from the manual annotations of the shape and functions of facial expressions in a Danish corpus of video recorded naturally occurring first encounters. More specifically, a support vector classified is trained on the corpus annotations...... to identify emotions in facial expressions. In the classification experiments, we test to what extent emotions expressed in naturally-occurring conversations can be identified automatically by a classifier trained on the manual annotations of the shape of facial expressions and co-occurring speech tokens. We...... also investigate the relation between emotions and the communicative functions of facial expressions. Both emotion labels and their values in a three dimensional space are identified. The three dimensions are Pleasure, Arousal and Dominance. The results of our experiments indicate that the classifiers...

Difficulty buying food, BMI, and eating habits in young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Anne; Maguire, Jonathon L; Carsley, Sarah; Chen, Yang; Lebovic, Gerald; Omand, Jessica; Parkin, Patricia; Birken, Catherine S

2018-01-22

To determine whether parent report of difficulty buying food was associated with child body mass index (BMI) z-score or with eating habits in young children. This was a cross-sectional study in primary care offices in Toronto, Ontario. Subjects were children aged 1-5 years and their caregivers, recruited through the TARGet Kids! Research Network from July 2008 to August 2011. Regression models were developed to test the association between parent report of difficulty buying food because of cost and the following outcomes: child BMI z-score, parent's report of child's intake of fruit and vegetables, fruit juice and sweetened beverages, and fast food. Confounders included child's age, sex, birth weight, maternal BMI, education, ethnicity, immigration status, and neighbourhood income. The study sample consisted of 3333 children. Data on difficulty buying food were available for 3099 children, and 431 of these (13.9%) were from households reporting difficulty buying food. There was no association with child BMI z-score (p = 0.86). Children from households reporting difficulty buying food (compared with never having difficulty buying food) had increased odds of consuming three or fewer servings of fruits and vegetables per day (odds ratio [OR]: 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.69), more than one serving of fruit juice/sweetened beverage per day (OR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.28-2.00), and, among children 1-2 years old, one or more servings of fast food per week (OR: 2.91, 95% CI: 1.67-5.08). Parental report of difficulty buying food is associated with less optimal eating habits in children but not with BMI z-score.

Meteorology Associated with Turbulence Encounters During NASA's Fall-2000 Flight Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, David W.; Proctor, Fred H.

2002-01-01

Initial flight experiments have been conducted to investigate convectively induced turbulence and to test technologies for its airborne detection. Turbulence encountered during the experiments is described with sources of data measured from in situ sensors, groundbased and airborne Doppler radars, and aircraft video. Turbulence measurements computed from the in situ system were quantified in terms of RMS normal loads (sigma(sub Delta n)), where 0.20 g is less than or equal to sigma(sub Delta n) is less than or equal to 0.30 g is considered moderate and sigma(sub Delta n) is greater than 0.30 g is severe. During two flights, 18 significant turbulence encounters (sigma(sub Delta) is greater than or equal to 0.20 g) occurred in the vicinity of deep convection; 14 moderate and 4 severe. In all cases, the encounters with turbulence occurred along the periphery of cumulus convection. These events were associated with relatively low values of radar reflectivity, i.e. RRF is less than 35 dBz, with most levels being below 20 dBz. The four cases of severe turbulence occurred in precipitation and were centered at the interface between a cumulus updraft turret and a downwind downdraft. Horizontal gradients of vertical velocity at this interface were found to be strongest on the downwind side of the cumulus turrets. Furthermore, the greatest loads to the aircraft occurred while flying along, not orthogonal to, the ambient environmental wind vector. During the two flights, no significant turbulence was encountered in the clear air (visual meteorological conditions), not even in the immediate vicinity of the deep convection.

Unethical Behaviours Preservice Teachers Encounter on Social Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Deveci Topal, Arzu; Kolburan Gecer, Aynur

2015-01-01

The development of web 2.0 technology has resulted in an increase in internet sharing. The scope of this study is social networking, which is one of the web 2.0 tools most heavily used by internet users. In this paper, the unethical behaviours that preservice teachers encounter on social networks and the ways to deal with these problems are…

Orthogonally Evolved AI to Improve Difficulty Adjustment in Video Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hintze, Arend; Olson, Randal; Lehman, Joel Anthony

2016-01-01

Computer games are most engaging when their difficulty is well matched to the player's ability, thereby providing an experience in which the player is neither overwhelmed nor bored. In games where the player interacts with computer-controlled opponents, the difficulty of the game can be adjusted...... not only by changing the distribution of opponents or game resources, but also through modifying the skill of the opponents. Applying evolutionary algorithms to evolve the artificial intelligence that controls opponent agents is one established method for adjusting opponent difficulty. Less-evolved agents...... (i.e. agents subject to fewer generations of evolution) make for easier opponents, while highly-evolved agents are more challenging to overcome. In this publication we test a new approach for difficulty adjustment in games: orthogonally evolved AI, where the player receives support from collaborating...

Fabricated Childhoods: Uncanny Encounters with the More-than-Human

Science.gov (United States)

Blaise, Mindy

2016-01-01

This article is based on uncanny encounters with Julia deVille's exhibit, "Phantasmagoria". Inspired by Deleuzian-informed research practices, the author experiments with provoking practices to defy dominant developmental notions of childhood. This article reworks a humanist ontology by bringing together the discursive, the material, the…

The contribution of emotion regulation difficulties to risky sexual behavior within a sample of patients in residential substance abuse treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Tull, Matthew T; Weiss, Nicole H; Adams, Claire E; Gratz, Kim L

2012-10-01

The present study examined the unique contribution of emotion regulation difficulties to past-year risky sexual behavior (RSB) among substance use disorder (SUD) patients (above and beyond other known RSB risk factors). A sample of 177 SUD patients completed a series of questionnaires. At the zero-order level, emotion regulation difficulties, were significantly positively associated with the number of commercial sexual (i.e., the exchange of sex for drugs or money) partners with which penetrative sex occurred and significantly negatively associated with the likelihood of using a condom when having sex with a commercial partner under the influence of drugs. Emotion regulation difficulties also significantly predicted these RSB indices above and beyond other RSB risk factors, including demographics, depression, sensation seeking, traumatic exposure, and substance use severity. The specific emotion regulation difficulty of lack of emotional clarity emerged as a unique predictor of RSB. The implications of these findings for understanding motivations for RSB and developing targeted interventions for RSB among SUD patients are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Premorbid and illness-related social difficulties in eating disorders: an overview of the literature and treatment developments.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardi, Valentina; Tchanturia, Kate; Treasure, Janet

2018-01-17

Social difficulties in eating disorders can manifest as predisposing traits and premorbid difficulties, and/or as consequences of the illness. Objective The aim of this paper is to briefly review the evidence for social problems in people with eating disorders and to consider the literature on treatments that target these features. Method A narrative review of the literature was conducted. Results People with eating disorders often manifest traits, such as shyness, increased tendency to submissiveness and social comparison, and problems with peer relationships before illness onset. Further social difficulties occur as the illness develops, including impaired social cognition and increased threat sensitivity. All relationships with family, peers and therapists are compromised by these effects. Thus, social difficulties are both risk and maintaining factors of eating disorders and are suitable targets for interventions. Several forms of generic treatments (e.g. interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive analytic therapy, focal psychodynamic therapy) have an interpersonal focus and show some efficacy. Guided self-management based on the cognitive interpersonal model of the illness and directed to both individuals and support persons have been found to improve outcomes for all parties. Adjunctive treatments that focus on specific social difficulties, such as Cognitive Remediation and Emotion Skills Training and Cognitive Bias Modification have been shown to have promise. Conclusion More work is needed to establish whether these approaches can improve on the rather disappointing outcomes that are attained by currently used treatments for eating disorders. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

From nonspecific DNA-protein encounter complexes to the prediction of DNA-protein interactions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mu Gao

2009-03-01

Full Text Available DNA-protein interactions are involved in many essential biological activities. Because there is no simple mapping code between DNA base pairs and protein amino acids, the prediction of DNA-protein interactions is a challenging problem. Here, we present a novel computational approach for predicting DNA-binding protein residues and DNA-protein interaction modes without knowing its specific DNA target sequence. Given the structure of a DNA-binding protein, the method first generates an ensemble of complex structures obtained by rigid-body docking with a nonspecific canonical B-DNA. Representative models are subsequently selected through clustering and ranking by their DNA-protein interfacial energy. Analysis of these encounter complex models suggests that the recognition sites for specific DNA binding are usually favorable interaction sites for the nonspecific DNA probe and that nonspecific DNA-protein interaction modes exhibit some similarity to specific DNA-protein binding modes. Although the method requires as input the knowledge that the protein binds DNA, in benchmark tests, it achieves better performance in identifying DNA-binding sites than three previously established methods, which are based on sophisticated machine-learning techniques. We further apply our method to protein structures predicted through modeling and demonstrate that our method performs satisfactorily on protein models whose root-mean-square Calpha deviation from native is up to 5 A from their native structures. This study provides valuable structural insights into how a specific DNA-binding protein interacts with a nonspecific DNA sequence. The similarity between the specific DNA-protein interaction mode and nonspecific interaction modes may reflect an important sampling step in search of its specific DNA targets by a DNA-binding protein.

Differential Difficulties in Perception of Tashlhiyt Berber Consonant Quantity Contrasts by Native Tashlhiyt Listeners vs. Berber-Naïve French Listeners.

Science.gov (United States)

Hallé, Pierre A; Ridouane, Rachid; Best, Catherine T

2016-01-01

In a discrimination experiment on several Tashlhiyt Berber singleton-geminate contrasts, we find that French listeners encounter substantial difficulty compared to native speakers. Native listeners of Tashlhiyt perform near ceiling level on all contrasts. French listeners perform better on final contrasts such as fit-fitt than initial contrasts such as bi-bbi or sir-ssir. That is, French listeners are more sensitive to silent closure duration in word-final voiceless stops than to either voiced murmur or frication duration of fully voiced stops or voiceless fricatives in word-initial position. We propose, tentatively, that native speakers of French, a language in which gemination is usually not considered to be phonemic, have not acquired quantity contrasts but yet exhibit a presumably universal sensitivity to rhythm, whereby listeners are able to perceive and compare the relative temporal distance between beats given by successive salient phonetic events such as a sequence of vowel nuclei.

The Relationship between Older Adults' Risk for a Future Fall and Difficulty Performing Activities of Daily Living.

Science.gov (United States)

Mamikonian-Zarpas, Ani; Laganá, Luciana

2015-12-01

Functional status is often defined by cumulative scores across indices of independence in performing basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL), but little is known about the unique relationship of each daily activity item with the fall outcome. The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the level of relative risk for a future fall associated with difficulty with performing various tasks of normal daily functioning among older adults who had fallen at least once in the past 12 months. The sample was comprised of community-dwelling individuals 70 years and older from the 1984-1990 Longitudinal Study of Aging by Kovar, Fitti, and Chyba (1992). Risk analysis was performed on individual items quantifying 6 ADLs and 7 IADLs, as well as 10 items related to mobility limitations. Within a subsample of 1,675 older adults with a history of at least one fall within the past year, the responses of individuals who reported multiple falls were compared to the responses of participants who had a single fall and reported 1) difficulty with walking and/or balance (FRAIL group, n = 413) vs. 2) no difficulty with walking or dizziness (NDW+ND group, n = 415). The items that had the strongest relationships and highest risk ratios for the FRAIL group (which had the highest probabilities for a future fall) included difficulty with: eating (73%); managing money (70%); biting or chewing food (66%); walking a quarter of a mile (65%); using fingers to grasp (65%); and dressing without help (65%). For the NDW+ND group, the most noteworthy items included difficulty with: bathing or showering (79%); managing money (77%); shopping for personal items (75%); walking up 10 steps without rest (72%); difficulty with walking a quarter of a mile (72%); and stooping/crouching/kneeling (70%). These findings suggest that individual items quantifying specific ADLs and IADLs have substantive relationships with the fall outcome among older adults who have difficulty with walking

The Relationship between Older Adults’ Risk for a Future Fall and Difficulty Performing Activities of Daily Living

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Mamikonian-Zarpas, Ani; Laganá, Luciana

2016-01-01

Functional status is often defined by cumulative scores across indices of independence in performing basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL), but little is known about the unique relationship of each daily activity item with the fall outcome. The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the level of relative risk for a future fall associated with difficulty with performing various tasks of normal daily functioning among older adults who had fallen at least once in the past 12 months. The sample was comprised of community-dwelling individuals 70 years and older from the 1984–1990 Longitudinal Study of Aging by Kovar, Fitti, and Chyba (1992). Risk analysis was performed on individual items quantifying 6 ADLs and 7 IADLs, as well as 10 items related to mobility limitations. Within a subsample of 1,675 older adults with a history of at least one fall within the past year, the responses of individuals who reported multiple falls were compared to the responses of participants who had a single fall and reported 1) difficulty with walking and/or balance (FRAIL group, n = 413) vs. 2) no difficulty with walking or dizziness (NDW+ND group, n = 415). The items that had the strongest relationships and highest risk ratios for the FRAIL group (which had the highest probabilities for a future fall) included difficulty with: eating (73%); managing money (70%); biting or chewing food (66%); walking a quarter of a mile (65%); using fingers to grasp (65%); and dressing without help (65%). For the NDW+ND group, the most noteworthy items included difficulty with: bathing or showering (79%); managing money (77%); shopping for personal items (75%); walking up 10 steps without rest (72%); difficulty with walking a quarter of a mile (72%); and stooping/crouching/kneeling (70%). These findings suggest that individual items quantifying specific ADLs and IADLs have substantive relationships with the fall outcome among older adults who have difficulty with

Difficulties in using everyday technology after acquired brain injury: a qualitative analysis.

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Engström, Ann-Louice Lövgreen; Lexell, Jan; Lund, Maria Larsson

2010-09-01

The aim of this study was to identify and describe the characteristics of the difficulties using everyday technology in persons with an aquired brain injury (ABI), and their experiences of how these difficulties influenced their life. Thirteen persons with an ABI were interviewed about their difficulties in using everyday technology and were observed in their use of technology. Data were analysed qualitatively with a constant comparative method. The results showed that the persons' experiences formed two categories: “A variety of combinations of difficulties in the use of everyday technology” and “Restrictions in life”. The difficulties identified were related not only to everyday technology itself but also to the interaction between the technology, the task, the person, and the environment. These difficulties influenced their experiences of restrictions in occupational performance, personal identification, and participation in society. The results emphasize that occupational therapists who design interventions for people with an ABI need to accommodate both the technology and other interacting aspects in order to overcome difficulties in using everyday technology.

Inclusion as heterotopia: Spaces of encounter between people with and without intellectual disability

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Herman Meininger

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The public space to which - in line with common definitions of inclusion - persons with intellectual disability are designated often turns out to be a space of discrimination. The aim of this study is to identify spaces of encounter. Michel Foucault's concept of heterotopia - 'other spaces' - and its subsequent interpretations are used as an analytical tool for evaluating efforts to include persons with intellectual disability in society. In Foucault's work 'space' refers to geographical places and to 'sites' that can be defined by sets of relations. Among these spaces are 'counter-sites' like large scale residential facilities for people with intellectual disability. Though policies of deinstitutionalisation aim at erasure of these places of exclusion, the results are often disappointing, largely because these policies ignore the analysis of power dynamics that install exclusionary processes and structures. Recent interpretations of the concept of heterotopia position the 'other places' in the middle of ordinary life as social spaces of encounter and dialogue between the 'normal' and the 'abnormal'. Characteristics and practical conditions of such spaces of encounter are explored. These interpretations open up a new conceptualisation of inclusion in terms of niches in which encounter and dialogue are cultivated and an alternative social ordering can be exercised.

The third person in the room: frequency, role, and influence of companions during primary care medical encounters.

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Schilling, Lisa M; Scatena, Lisa; Steiner, John F; Albertson, Gail A; Lin, C T; Cyran, Lisa; Ware, Lindsay; Anderson, Robert J

2002-08-01

We wanted to characterize patient accompaniment to medical encounters and to explore the rationale and influence of the companion on the primary care medical encounter. This was a descriptive study. Academic general internal medicine physicians, patients, and patient companions participated. We measured the frequency of waiting and examination room companions, the reasons for accompaniment, the influence on the encounter, and the overall helpfulness of the companion as assessed by patients and companions. We also determined the physicianamprsquos assessment of the companionamprsquos influence, helpfulness, and behavior during the encounter. Companions were in the examination room for 16% of visits; 93% were family members. The rationales for waiting and examination room companions were to help with transportation, provide emotional support, and provide company. Examination room companions helped communicate concerns to the physician, remember the physicianamprsquos advice, make decisions, and communicate their own concerns to the physician. Patients believed that examination room companions influenced 75% of medical encounters, mainly by improving communication between physician and patient. Physicians agreed that examination room companions favorably influenced physician and patient understanding (60% and 46% of encounters, respectively). Patients indicated that waiting and examination room companions were very helpful for 71% and 83% of visits, respectively. Companions frequently accompany patients to their primary care medical encounters. They are often family members, and they assume important roles in enhancing patient and physician understanding.

Challenges teachers encounter in teaching English reading to the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study is a descriptive survey designed to investigate challenges teachers encounter in teaching English reading in the uThungulu District schools in the province of KwaZulu Natal. This study comprised ... Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24, resulting in descriptive data.

Masculine Discrepancy Stress, Emotion-Regulation Difficulties, and Intimate Partner Violence.

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Berke, Danielle S; Reidy, Dennis E; Gentile, Brittany; Zeichner, Amos

2016-05-24

Research suggests that masculine socialization processes contribute to the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) by men. Although this research has traditionally focused on men who strongly adhere to traditional gender norms, men who negatively evaluate themselves as falling short of these norms (a construct termed masculine discrepancy stress) have proven to be at increased risk of IPV perpetration. Likewise, men experiencing problems with emotion regulation, a multidimensional construct reflecting difficulties in effectively experiencing and responding to emotional states, are also at risk of IPV perpetration. In the present research, we tested the hypothesis that the link between discrepancy stress and IPV perpetration is mediated via difficulties in emotion regulation. Three hundred fifty-seven men completed online surveys assessing their experience of discrepancy stress, emotion-regulation difficulties, and history of IPV perpetration. Results indicated that discrepancy-stressed men's use of physical IPV was fully mediated by emotion-regulation difficulties. In addition, emotion-regulation difficulties partially mediated the association between discrepancy stress and sexual IPV. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential utility of emotion-focused interventions for modifying men's experience and expression of discrepancy stress and reducing perpetration of IPV. © The Author(s) 2016.

Masculine Discrepancy Stress, Emotion-Regulation Difficulties, and Intimate Partner Violence

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Berke, Danielle S.; Reidy, Dennis E.; Gentile, Brittany; Zeichner, Amos

2018-01-01

Research suggests that masculine socialization processes contribute to the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) by men. Although this research has traditionally focused on men who strongly adhere to traditional gender norms, men who negatively evaluate themselves as falling short of these norms (a construct termed masculine discrepancy stress) have proven to be at increased risk of IPV perpetration. Likewise, men experiencing problems with emotion regulation, a multidimensional construct reflecting difficulties in effectively experiencing and responding to emotional states, are also at risk of IPV perpetration. In the present research, we tested the hypothesis that the link between discrepancy stress and IPV perpetration is mediated via difficulties in emotion regulation. Three hundred fifty-seven men completed online surveys assessing their experience of discrepancy stress, emotion-regulation difficulties, and history of IPV perpetration. Results indicated that discrepancy-stressed men's use of physical IPV was fully mediated by emotion-regulation difficulties. In addition, emotion-regulation difficulties partially mediated the association between discrepancy stress and sexual IPV. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential utility of emotion-focused interventions for modifying men's experience and expression of discrepancy stress and reducing perpetration of IPV. PMID:27226013

Delaware Longitudinal Study of Fraction Learning: Implications for Helping Children With Mathematics Difficulties.

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Jordan, Nancy C; Resnick, Ilyse; Rodrigues, Jessica; Hansen, Nicole; Dyson, Nancy

The goal of the present article is to synthesize findings to date from the Delaware Longitudinal Study of Fraction Learning. The study followed a large cohort of children ( N = 536) between Grades 3 and 6. The findings showed that many students, especially those with diagnosed learning disabilities, made minimal growth in fraction knowledge and that some showed only a basic grasp of the meaning of a fraction even after several years of instruction. Children with low growth in fraction knowledge during the intermediate grades were much more likely to fail to meet state standards on a broad mathematics measure at the end of Grade 6. Although a range of general and mathematics-specific competencies predicted fraction outcomes, the ability to estimate numerical magnitudes on a number line was a uniquely important marker of fraction success. Many children with mathematics difficulties have deep-seated problems related to whole number magnitude representations that are complicated by the introduction of fractions into the curriculum. Implications for helping students with mathematics difficulties are discussed.

Telephone Encounters Predict Future High Financial Expenditures in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: A 3-Year Prospective Observational Study.

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Click, Benjamin; Anderson, Alyce M; Ramos Rivers, Claudia; Koutroubakis, Ioannis E; Hashash, Jana G; Dunn, Michael A; Schwartz, Marc; Swoger, Jason; Barrie, Arthur; Szigethy, Eva; Regueiro, Miguel; Schoen, Robert E; Binion, David G

2018-04-01

Telephone activity is essential in management of complex chronic diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Telephone encounters logged in the electronic medical record have recently been proposed as a surrogate marker of disease activity and impending health care utilization; however, the association between telephone calls and financial expenditures has not been evaluated. We performed a 3-year prospective observational study of telephone encounters logged at a tertiary referral IBD center. We analyzed patient demographics, disease characteristics, comorbidities, clinical activity, and health care financial charges by telephone encounter frequency. Eight hundred one patients met inclusion criteria (52.3% female; mean age, 44.1 y), accounted for 12,669 telephone encounters, and accrued $70,513,449 in charges over 3 years. High telephone encounter frequency was associated with female gender (P=0.003), anxiety/depression (Pfinancial charges the following year after controlling for demographic, utilization, and medication covariates. Increased telephone encounters are associated with significantly higher health care utilization and financial expenditures. Increased call frequency is predictive of future health care spending. Telephone encounters are a useful tool to identify patients at risk of clinical deterioration and large financial expense.

DIFFICULTIES IN WORK SAFETY MANAGEMENT IN A COMPANY PRODUCING STEEL FLAT BARS

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Marta Niciejewska

2018-01-01

Full Text Available According to research, metal processing industry has the highest risk of accidents at work, due to the necessity for personal protective equipment use and strict execution of safety rules and procedures. The paper presents the individual characteristics of health and safety management in the company producing steel flat bars. Special attention has been paid to the safety aspect of the use of automated logistical equipment (gantries, automatics that increase the risk of work-related accidents. The results of research on the difficulties resulting from the specifics of production (metallurgical industry has been presented.

Undergraduate Students’ Difficulties in Reading and Constructing Phylogenetic Tree

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Sa'adah, S.; Tapilouw, F. S.; Hidayat, T.

2017-02-01

Representation is a very important communication tool to communicate scientific concepts. Biologists produce phylogenetic representation to express their understanding of evolutionary relationships. The phylogenetic tree is visual representation depict a hypothesis about the evolutionary relationship and widely used in the biological sciences. Phylogenetic tree currently growing for many disciplines in biology. Consequently, learning about phylogenetic tree become an important part of biological education and an interesting area for biology education research. However, research showed many students often struggle with interpreting the information that phylogenetic trees depict. The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate students’ difficulties in reading and constructing a phylogenetic tree. The method of this study is a descriptive method. In this study, we used questionnaires, interviews, multiple choice and open-ended questions, reflective journals and observations. The findings showed students experiencing difficulties, especially in constructing a phylogenetic tree. The students’ responds indicated that main reasons for difficulties in constructing a phylogenetic tree are difficult to placing taxa in a phylogenetic tree based on the data provided so that the phylogenetic tree constructed does not describe the actual evolutionary relationship (incorrect relatedness). Students also have difficulties in determining the sister group, character synapomorphy, autapomorphy from data provided (character table) and comparing among phylogenetic tree. According to them building the phylogenetic tree is more difficult than reading the phylogenetic tree. Finding this studies provide information to undergraduate instructor and students to overcome learning difficulties of reading and constructing phylogenetic tree.

The specific role of inhibition in reading comprehension in good and poor comprehenders.

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Borella, Erika; Carretti, Barbara; Pelegrina, Santiago

2010-01-01

Difficulties in inhibitory processes have been shown to characterize the performance of poor comprehenders. However, the inhibitory inefficiency of poor comprehenders is most often assessed by their resistance to proactive interference, that is, the ability to suppress off-goal task information from working memory (WM). In two studies tasks assessing resistance to proactive interference (intrusion errors), response to distracters (Text With Distracters task) and prepotent response inhibition (Stroop and Hayling tests), along with WM measures, were administered to children aged 10 to 11, both good and poor comprehenders. The aim of the study was to specifically determine whether general or specific inhibitory factors affect poor comprehenders' reading difficulties. Results showed that poor comprehenders, compared to good ones, are impaired in WM tasks and in inhibitory tasks that assess resistance to proactive interference. This suggests that reading comprehension difficulties of poor comprehenders are related to specific inhibitory problems.

Insurance problems among inflammatory bowel disease patients: results of a Dutch population based study.

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Russel, M G V M; Ryan, B M; Dagnelie, P C; de Rooij, M; Sijbrandij, J; Feleus, A; Hesselink, M; Muris, J W; Stockbrugger, R

2003-03-01

The majority of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a normal life expectancy and therefore should not be weighted when applying for life assurance. There is scant literature on this topic. In this study our aim was to document and compare the incidence of difficulties in application for life and medical insurance in a population based cohort of IBD patients and matched population controls. A population based case control study of 1126 IBD patients and 1723 controls. Based on a detailed questionnaire, the frequency and type of difficulties encountered when applying for life and medical insurance in matched IBD and control populations were appraised. In comparison with controls, IBD patients had an 87-fold increased risk of encountering difficulties when applying for life assurance (odds ratio (OR) 87 (95% confidence interval (CI) 31-246)), with a heavily weighted premium being the most common problem. Patients of high educational status, with continuous disease activity, and who smoked had the highest odds of encountering such problems. Medical insurance difficulties were fivefold more common in IBD patients compared with controls (OR 5.4 (95% CI 2.3-13)) although no specific disease or patient characteristics were identified as associated with such difficulties. This is the first detailed case control study that has investigated insurance difficulties among IBD patients. Acquiring life and medical insurance constituted a major problem for IBD patients in this study. These results are likely to be more widely representative given that most insurance companies use international guidelines for risk assessment. In view of the recent advances in therapy and promising survival data on IBD patients, evidence based guidelines for risk assessment of IBD patients by insurance companies should be drawn up to prevent possible discriminatory practices.

Attention deficits predict phenotypic outcomes in syndrome-specific and domain-specific ways

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Kim eCornish

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Attentional difficulties, both at home and in the classroom, are reported across a number of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, exactly how attention influences early socio-cognitive learning remains unclear. We addressed this question both concurrently and longitudinally in a cross-syndrome design, with respect to the communicative domain of vocabulary and to the cognitive domain of early literacy, and then extended the analysis to social behavior. Participants were young children (aged 4 to 9 years at Time 1 with either Williams syndrome (WS, N=26 or Down syndrome (DS, N=26 and typically developing controls (N=103. Children with WS displayed significantly greater attentional deficits (as indexed by teacher report of behavior typical of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD than children with DS, but both groups had greater attentional problems than the controls. Despite their attention differences, children with DS and those with WS were equivalent in their cognitive abilities of reading single words, both at Time 1 and 12 months later, at Time 2, although they differed in their early communicative abilities in terms of vocabulary. Greater ADHD-like behaviors predicted poorer subsequent literacy for children with DS, but not for children with WS, pointing to syndrome-specific attentional constraints on specific aspects of early development. Overall, our findings highlight the need to investigate more precisely whether and, if so, how, syndrome-specific profiles of behavioral difficulties constrain learning and socio-cognitive outcomes across different domains.

History of the treatment of persons with psychological difficulties and the abuse of their civil rights

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Petrović Nikola M.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Treatment of persons with psychological difficulties varied in different historical periods, but in its essence remained similar until today. It included an inhumane relationship towards these persons, involuntary treatment through torture, and isolation from society as a kind of punishment for their diversity. It was not until the late 19th century that the relationship of society towards these individuals started to improve gradually, but in the 21st century isolation of these individuals still remained the dominant form of acceptable social solution for the “problem”, with a somewhat more humane attitude towards them and less cruel treatment. Serbia has followed the trends of treatment of the persons with psychological difficulties from the rest of Europe for centuries, but is still lagging behind the world in the introduction of new methods of treatment. Indeed the first legal solution to regulate the human rights of these people is currently in the process of implementation. The subject of this paper is the treatment of persons with psychological difficulties and the violation of their civil rights. In a subject specific context the goal of the analysis was the historical review of the treatment towards persons with psychological difficulties by doctors, other practicioners and the community in general, with reference to the current situation regarding their treatment within the psychiatric institutions, as well as the legal regulations and the protection of their civil rights.