Homophily and the speed of social mobilization: the effect of acquired and ascribed traits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeff Alstott

Full Text Available Large-scale mobilization of individuals across social networks is becoming increasingly prevalent in society. However, little is known about what affects the speed of social mobilization. Here we use a framed field experiment to identify and measure properties of individuals and their relationships that predict mobilization speed. We ran a global social mobilization contest and recorded personal traits of the participants and those they recruited. We studied the effects of ascribed traits (gender, age and acquired traits (geography, and information source on the speed of mobilization. We found that homophily, a preference for interacting with other individuals with similar traits, had a mixed role in social mobilization. Homophily was present for acquired traits, in which mobilization speed was faster when the recuiter and recruit had the same trait compared to different traits. In contrast, we did not find support for homophily for the ascribed traits. Instead, those traits had other, non-homophily effects: Females mobilized other females faster than males mobilized other males. Younger recruiters mobilized others faster, and older recruits mobilized slower. Recruits also mobilized faster when they first heard about the contest directly from the contest organization, and decreased in speed when hearing from less personal source types (e.g. family vs. media. These findings show that social mobilization includes dynamics that are unlike other, more passive forms of social activity propagation. These findings suggest relevant factors for engineering social mobilization tasks for increased speed.

Common Sense in Choice: The Effect of Sensory Modality on Neural Value Representations

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

Abstract Although it is well established that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) represents value using a common currency across categories of rewards, it is unknown whether the vmPFC represents value irrespective of the sensory modality in which alternatives are presented. In the current study, male and female human subjects completed a decision-making task while their neural activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging. On each trial, subjects chose between a safe alternative and a lottery, which was presented visually or aurally. A univariate conjunction analysis revealed that the anterior portion of the vmPFC tracks subjective value (SV) irrespective of the sensory modality. Using a novel cross-modality multivariate classifier, we were able to decode auditory value based on visual trials and vice versa. In addition, we found that the visual and auditory sensory cortices, which were identified using functional localizers, are also sensitive to the value of stimuli, albeit in a modality-specific manner. Whereas both primary and higher-order auditory cortices represented auditory SV (aSV), only a higher-order visual area represented visual SV (vSV). These findings expand our understanding of the common currency network of the brain and shed a new light on the interplay between sensory and value information processing. PMID:29619408

Common Sense in Choice: The Effect of Sensory Modality on Neural Value Representations.

Science.gov (United States)

Shuster, Anastasia; Levy, Dino J

2018-01-01

Although it is well established that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) represents value using a common currency across categories of rewards, it is unknown whether the vmPFC represents value irrespective of the sensory modality in which alternatives are presented. In the current study, male and female human subjects completed a decision-making task while their neural activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging. On each trial, subjects chose between a safe alternative and a lottery, which was presented visually or aurally. A univariate conjunction analysis revealed that the anterior portion of the vmPFC tracks subjective value (SV) irrespective of the sensory modality. Using a novel cross-modality multivariate classifier, we were able to decode auditory value based on visual trials and vice versa. In addition, we found that the visual and auditory sensory cortices, which were identified using functional localizers, are also sensitive to the value of stimuli, albeit in a modality-specific manner. Whereas both primary and higher-order auditory cortices represented auditory SV (aSV), only a higher-order visual area represented visual SV (vSV). These findings expand our understanding of the common currency network of the brain and shed a new light on the interplay between sensory and value information processing.

The science commons in health research: structure, function, and value.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook-Deegan, Robert

The "science commons," knowledge that is widely accessible at low or no cost, is a uniquely important input to scientific advance and cumulative technological innovation. It is primarily, although not exclusively, funded by government and nonprofit sources. Much of it is produced at academic research centers, although some academic science is proprietary and some privately funded R&D enters the science commons. Science in general aspires to Mertonian norms of openness, universality, objectivity, and critical inquiry. The science commons diverges from proprietary science primarily in being open and being very broadly available. These features make the science commons particularly valuable for advancing knowledge, for training innovators who will ultimately work in both public and private sectors, and in providing a common stock of knowledge upon which all players-both public and private-can draw readily. Open science plays two important roles that proprietary R&D cannot: it enables practical benefits even in the absence of profitable markets for goods and services, and its lays a shared foundation for subsequent private R&D. The history of genomics in the period 1992-2004, covering two periods when genomic startup firms attracted significant private R&D investment, illustrates these features of how a science commons contributes value. Commercial interest in genomics was intense during this period. Fierce competition between private sector and public sector genomics programs was highly visible. Seemingly anomalous behavior, such as private firms funding "open science," can be explained by unusual business dynamics between established firms wanting to preserve a robust science commons to prevent startup firms from limiting established firms' freedom to operate. Deliberate policies to create and protect a large science commons were pursued by nonprofit and government funders of genomics research, such as the Wellcome Trust and National Institutes of Health. These

Human Rights versus Corporate Rights: Life Value, the Civil Commons and Social Justice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John McMurtry

2011-08-01

Full Text Available

This analysis maps the deepening global crisis and the principles of its resolution by life-value analysis and method. Received theories of economics and justice and modern rights doctrines are shown to have no ground in life value and to be incapable of recognizing universal life goods and the rising threats to them. In response to this system failure at theoretical and operational levels, the unifying nature and measure of life value are defined to provide the long-missing basis for understanding the common interest, human rights and social justice—that is, the universal life necessities of humanity across cultures and the evolving civil commons infrastructures to ensure them. In contrast, the treaty-imposed corporate rights system miscalled “globalization” is structured to predate life means and support systems at all levels with no accountability beyond itself. Only the logic of life value, human rights and life-protective law, it is concluded, can comprehend or govern this inherently life-blind and cumulatively eco-genocidal regime.

Human Rights versus Corporate Rights: Life Value, the Civil Commons and Social Justice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John McMurtry

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This analysis maps the deepening global crisis and the principles of its resolution by life-value analysis and method. Received theories of economics and justice and modern rights doctrines are shown to have no ground in life value and to be incapable of recognizing universal life goods and the rising threats to them. In response to this system failure at theoretical and operational levels, the unifying nature and measure of life value are defined to provide the long-missing basis for understanding the common interest, human rights and social justice—that is, the universal life necessities of humanity across cultures and the evolving civil commons infrastructures to ensure them. In contrast, the treaty-imposed corporate rights system miscalled “globalization” is structured to predate life means and support systems at all levels with no accountability beyond itself. Only the logic of life value, human rights and life-protective law, it is concluded, can comprehend or govern this inherently life-blind and cumulatively eco-genocidal regime.

Collaboration of Black See universities by merging values and common solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ina MACOVEI

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The project University collaboration Network at the Black Sea – UNIVER-SEA. NET, is financed by the E.U. within Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme 2007- 2013, managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration. The overall objective of the project is promoting exchange of educational values and experiences between universities in partner countries through a joint educational program and network, having as specific objectives the identification of the common components of educational programs between universities in partner countries and promoting educational values, by means of using online and offline instruments, as well as strengthening our regional identity by creating community between universities.

Bitterness values for traditional tonic plants of southern Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Olivier, D K; van Wyk, B-E

2013-06-03

Bitterness values have been determined for southern African plant species that are traditionally used as tonics (imbizas or 'musa-pelo) to alleviate the symptoms of stress and a variety of ailments related to the digestive system. To measure and present, for the first time, the bitterness values of 15 of the best-known and most widely used tonic plants in southern Africa in order to find a rationale for their traditional use in improving appetite and treating digestive ailments. Most of the plants were found to be very bitter, with bitterness values comparable to those reported for internationally well-known bitter tonics such as Artemisia absynthium L. and Gentiana lutea L. The relatively high bitterness values obtained for all of the plants indicate that their alleged value in improving digestion and appetite may at least be partly ascribed to the bitter tonic (amarum) effect, i.e., the stimulation of gastric juices via the nervus vagus. It may be interesting to examine the chemical compounds responsible for the bitter taste, as well as the possible links between bitterness and the anecdotal anti-stress properties ascribed to these species. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sexual Stereotypes Ascribed to Black Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Intersectional Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Calabrese, Sarah K; Earnshaw, Valerie A; Magnus, Manya; Hansen, Nathan B; Krakower, Douglas S; Underhill, Kristen; Mayer, Kenneth H; Kershaw, Trace S; Betancourt, Joseph R; Dovidio, John F

2018-01-01

Sexual stereotypes may adversely affect the health of Black men who have sex with men (MSM). Greater understanding of the nature and nuances of these stereotypes is needed. This online, survey-based study used an inductive, intersectional approach to characterize the sexual stereotypes ascribed to Black MSM by the U.S. general public, their distinctiveness from those ascribed to Black men and MSM in general, and their relative prototypicality as compared to dominant subgroups. Members of the public, recruited in 2014-2015, were randomly assigned to survey conditions that varied systematically by race (Black, White, or unspecified) and sexual orientation (gay, heterosexual, or unspecified) of a designated social group. Participants (n = 285) reported stereotypes of their assigned group that they perceived to exist in U.S. culture in an open-response format. Cross-condition comparisons revealed that, overall, Black gay male stereotypes were non-prototypical of Black men or gay men. Rather, stereotypes of Black men were more similar to Black heterosexual men and stereotypes of gay men were more similar to White gay men. Nonetheless, 11 of the 15 most frequently reported Black gay male stereotypes overlapped with stereotypes of Black men (e.g., large penis), gay men (e.g., deviant), or both (e.g., promiscuous). Four stereotypes were unique relative to both Black men and gay men: down low, diseased, loud, and dirty. Findings suggest that Black MSM face multiple derogatory sexual stereotypes, several of which are group-specific. These stereotypes are consistent with cultural (mis)representations of Black MSM and suggest a need for more accurate portrayals of existing sexual diversity within this group.

Public values as essential criteria for public service innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lystbæk, Christian Tang

2017-01-01

Background: The importance of innovation management has traditionally been ascribed to private production companies, however, there is an increasing interest in public services innovation management. One of the major theoretical challenges arising from this situation is to understand public value...

Contributions of projected land use to global radiative forcing ascribed to local sources

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, D. S.; Mahowald, N. M.; Kloster, S.

2013-12-01

With global demand for food expected to dramatically increase and put additional pressures on natural lands, there is a need to understand the environmental impacts of land use and land cover change (LULCC). Previous studies have shown that the magnitude and even the sign of the radiative forcing (RF) of biogeophysical effects from LULCC depends on the latitude and forest ecology of the disturbed region. Here we ascribe the contributions to the global RF by land-use related anthropogenic activities to their local sources, organized on a grid of 1.9 degrees latitude by 2.5 degrees longitude. We use RF estimates for the year 2100, using five future LULCC projections, computed from simulations with the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Land Model and Community Atmosphere Models and additional offline analyses. Our definition of the LULCC RF includes changes to terrestrial carbon storage, methane and nitrous oxide emissions, atmospheric chemistry, aerosol emissions, and surface albedo. We ascribe the RF to gridded locations based on LULCC-related emissions of relevant trace gases and aerosols, including emissions from fires. We find that the largest contributions to the global RF in year 2100 from LULCC originate in the tropics for all future scenarios. In fact, LULCC is the largest tropical source of anthropogenic RF. The LULCC RF in the tropics is dominated by emissions of CO2 from deforestation and methane emissions from livestock and soils. Land surface albedo change is rarely the dominant forcing agent in any of the future LULCC projections, at any location. By combining the five future scenarios we find that deforested area at a specific tropical location can be used to predict the contribution to global RF from LULCC at that location (the relationship does not hold as well in the extratropics). This information could support global efforts like REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), that aim to reduce greenhouse gas

Collaboration of Black See universities by merging values and common solutions

OpenAIRE

Ina MACOVEI

2015-01-01

The project University collaboration Network at the Black Sea – UNIVER-SEA. NET, is financed by the E.U. within Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme 2007- 2013, managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration. The overall objective of the project is promoting exchange of educational values and experiences between universities in partner countries through a joint educational program and network, having as specific objectives the identification of the common...

How Do Children Ascribe Gender to Nouns? A Study of Spanish-Speaking Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Raquel T.; Lockowitz, Alison

2009-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to identify how Spanish-speaking preschool children with and without specific language impairment (SLI) use the various cues available for ascribing a noun's inherent gender in the language. Via an invented word task, four types of cues were isolated and presented to each child: (1) two types of noun-internal…

A common currency for the computation of motivational values in the human striatum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sescousse, G.T.; Li, Y.; Dreher, J.C.

2015-01-01

Reward comparison in the brain is thought to be achieved through the use of a 'common currency', implying that reward value representations are computed on a unique scale in the same brain regions regardless of the reward type. Although such a mechanism has been identified in the ventro-medial

A common currency for the computation of motivational values in the human striatum

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yansong; Dreher, Jean-Claude

2015-01-01

Reward comparison in the brain is thought to be achieved through the use of a ‘common currency’, implying that reward value representations are computed on a unique scale in the same brain regions regardless of the reward type. Although such a mechanism has been identified in the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum in the context of decision-making, it is less clear whether it similarly applies to non-choice situations. To answer this question, we scanned 38 participants with fMRI while they were presented with single cues predicting either monetary or erotic rewards, without the need to make a decision. The ventral striatum was the main brain structure to respond to both cues while showing increasing activity with increasing expected reward intensity. Most importantly, the relative response of the striatum to monetary vs erotic cues was correlated with the relative motivational value of these rewards as inferred from reaction times. Similar correlations were observed in a fronto-parietal network known to be involved in attentional focus and motor readiness. Together, our results suggest that striatal reward value signals not only obey to a common currency mechanism in the absence of choice but may also serve as an input to adjust motivated behaviour accordingly. PMID:24837478

Embedding the organizational culture profile into Schwartz’s theory of universals in values

NARCIS (Netherlands)

I. Borg (Ingwer); P.J.F. Groenen (Patrick); K.A. Jehn (Karen); W. Bilsky (Wolfgang); S.H. Schwartz (Shalom)

2010-01-01

textabstractAbstract Person-organization fit (P-O fit) is often measured by the congruence of a person’s values and the values that he or she ascribes to the organization. A popular instrument used in this context is the Organizational Culture Profile (O’Reilly, Chatman, & Caldwell, 1991). The OCP

A common currency for the computation of motivational values in the human striatum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sescousse, G.T.; Li, Y.; Dreher, J.C.

2014-01-01

Reward comparison in the brain is thought to be achieved through the use of a ‘common currency’, implying that reward value representations are computed on a unique scale in the same brain regions regardless of the reward type. Although such a mechanism has been identified in the ventro-medial

Class, Mothering and the Values of Food

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aamann, Iben Charlotte

2015-01-01

The data analysed in this empirical paper stems from ethnographic fieldwork among new school parents at three Danish primary schools. I draw on empirically grounded theories on the cultural and subjective dimensions of class, inspired by the “English School” of poststructuralist informed, feminist...... scholars, to explore how class matters. Using the values ascribed to food at social arrangements as a lens, I explore different ways of doing class and mothering: through the exchange value of the food, through its use value and through its healthiness. I conclude by arguing that food studies hold a huge...

Self-image and value orientations of adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joksimović Snežana

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Self-image or self-consciousness comprises thoughts, feelings, evaluations and predictions about oneself and one's own behavior. Subject of the research is the linkage between self-conceptualization of adolescents and their value orientations. The aim is to determine whether there exists a correlation between locus of control and general self-esteem as elements of self-conceptualisation, on the one side, and value orientations of adolescents on the other. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the locus of control scale by Bezinović and Savčić were used for studying the components of self-conceptualisation. Values were operationalised using the desirability of certain goals in life and preference of different lifestyles. Research was conducted on the sample of 176 grammar school pupils aged 15 to 18. The findings indicate that adolescents who are characterized by the external locus of control accept hedonist, activist, social and cognitive lifestyle in a larger degree. Self-esteem is positively correlated with the aspiration towards becoming rich, and negatively with the desire for acquiring knowledge, care about others and activist way of living. The finding that the young of higher self-esteem are not oriented towards education, helping others and advocating for common good, can be ascribed to insufficient appreciation of these values in the environment they live in. The obtained findings point out to the need to reaffirm and encourage these values in youth, as well as to pay more attention to value education of pupils in school.

Sweets, sex, or self-esteem? Comparing the value of self-esteem boosts with other pleasant rewards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bushman, B.J.; Moeller, S.J.; Crocker, J.

2011-01-01

Many people ascribe great value to self-esteem, but how much value? Do people value self-esteem more than other pleasant activities, such as eating sweets and having sex? Two studies of college students (Study 1: N=130; Study 2: N=152) showed that people valued boosts to their self-esteem more than

A comparison of Candle Auctions and Hard Close Auctions with Common Values

OpenAIRE

Sascha Füllbrunn

2009-01-01

With this study, we contribute to the literature of auction design by presenting a new auction format: the Candle auction, a popular auction in the Middle Ages. Considering a common value framework, we theoretically and experimentally point out that the Candle auction, where bidding is allowed until a stochastic deadline, yields a better outcome to the seller than the Hard Close auction, the popular eBay online auction format.

Common Fixed Points of Mappings and Set-Valued Mappings in Symmetric Spaces with Application to Probabilistic Spaces

OpenAIRE

M. Aamri; A. Bassou; S. Bennani; D. El Moutawakil

2007-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to give some common fixed point theorems of mappings and set-valued mappings of a symmetric space with some applications to probabilistic spaces. In order to get these results, we define the concept of E-weak compatibility between set-valued and single-valued mappings of a symmetric space.

History curriculum, nation-building and the promotion of common values in Africa: a comparative analysis of Zimbabwe and South Africa.

OpenAIRE

Ndlovu, Morgan

2009-01-01

A challenge for Africa is how to derive common values from the values of diverse communities. The challenge becomes even more difficult in the face of notions such as autonomy, multiculturalism and respect for difference which are accompanying the emergence of neo-liberalism, globalisation and cosmopolitanism. While it is important to respect diversity in a postcolonial society, it is equally important that nation-building should strive for the promotion of common values amo...

Continental-scale quantification of landscape values using social media data.

Science.gov (United States)

van Zanten, Boris T; Van Berkel, Derek B; Meentemeyer, Ross K; Smith, Jordan W; Tieskens, Koen F; Verburg, Peter H

2016-11-15

Individuals, communities, and societies ascribe a diverse array of values to landscapes. These values are shaped by the aesthetic, cultural, and recreational benefits and services provided by those landscapes. However, across the globe, processes such as urbanization, agricultural intensification, and abandonment are threatening landscape integrity, altering the personally meaningful connections people have toward specific places. Existing methods used to study landscape values, such as social surveys, are poorly suited to capture dynamic landscape-scale processes across large geographic extents. Social media data, by comparison, can be used to indirectly measure and identify valuable features of landscapes at a regional, continental, and perhaps even worldwide scale. We evaluate the usefulness of different social media platforms-Panoramio, Flickr, and Instagram-and quantify landscape values at a continental scale. We find Panoramio, Flickr, and Instagram data can be used to quantify landscape values, with features of Instagram being especially suitable due to its relatively large population of users and its functional ability of allowing users to attach personally meaningful comments and hashtags to their uploaded images. Although Panoramio, Flickr, and Instagram have different user profiles, our analysis revealed similar patterns of landscape values across Europe across the three platforms. We also found variables describing accessibility, population density, income, mountainous terrain, or proximity to water explained a significant portion of observed variation across data from the different platforms. Social media data can be used to extend our understanding of how and where individuals ascribe value to landscapes across diverse social, political, and ecological boundaries.

Facilitating value co-creation in networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Mette Apollo

participants in varied ways come to grasp the meaning of networking. The dissertation draws on insights from the Service-Dominant (S-D) Logic to explain how networks can be seen as spheres for value co-creation. Co-creation as a theoretical construct has evolved from varied streams of service marketing...... of networking. The concept of “imaginative value” (Beckert, 2011) is used to explain the oscillating behaviors observed in the two networks. Imaginative value can be defined as symbolic value that actors ascribe to an object, in this case the network. I argue that the group practices in the networks led......The dissertation investigates through two ethnographic case studies how value co-creation takes place in inter-organizational networks that have been facilitated by a municipality. The contribution of the study to business network research is the emphasis on development phases of networks...

Embedding the Organizational Culture Profile into Schwartz’s Universal Value Theory using Multidimensional Scaling with Regional Restrictions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

I. Borg (Ingwer); P.J.F. Groenen (Patrick); K.A. Jehn (Karen); W. Bilsky (Wolfgang); S.H. Schwartz (Shalom)

2009-01-01

textabstractPerson-organization fit is often measured by the congruence of a person’s values and the values that he or she ascribes to the organization. A popular instrument used in this context is the Organizational Culture Profile (O’Reilly, Chatman, & Caldwell, 1991). The OCP scales its 54 items

Ascribing value to ecological processes: an economic view of environmental change

Science.gov (United States)

Rex H. Schaberg; Thomas P. Holmes; Karen J. Lee; Robert C. Abt

1999-01-01

Decisions made by individual landowners and public land managers can have a significant impact on the rates of ecological change. Interdisciplinary cooperation is desirable if economists and ecologists are to correctly interpret the impacts of individual choices for landscape management. This paper reports results from two studies of the residents of North Carolina...

Commonalities between Adolescents' Work Values and Interests

Science.gov (United States)

Rottinghaus, Patrick J.; Zytowski, Donald G.

2006-01-01

The authors examined the chief work values, assessed by Super's Work Values Inventory--Revised (D. G. Zytowski, 2004b), across interest groups organized by the 6 Holland theme scales of the Kuder Career Search (D. G. Zytowski, 2004a). Results strengthen vocational theory through clarification of gender differences and conceptual commonalities…

Common mullein, pharmacological and chemical aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Riaz

Full Text Available Verbascum thapsus L. [Khardhag or Common mullein], a member of the family Scrophulariaceae, is a famous herb that is found all over Europe, in temperate Asia, in North America and is well-reputed due to its medicinal properties. This medicinal herb contains various chemical constituents like saponins, iridoid and phenylethanoid glycosides, flavonoids, vitamin C and minerals. It is famous in various communities worldwide for the treatment of various disorders of both humans and animals aliments. A number of pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, antihepatotoxic and anti-hyperlipidemic activity have been ascribed to this plant. The plant is used to treat tuberculosis also, earache and bronchitis. In the present paper botanical and ethnomedicinal description, pharmacological profile and phytochemistry of this herb is being discussed.

Predictive value of work-related self-efficacy change on RTW for employees with common mental disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lagerveld, S.E.; Brenninkmeijer, V.; Blonk, R.W.B.; Twisk, J.; Schaufeli, W.

2017-01-01

To improve interventions that aim to promote return to work (RTW) of workers with common mental disorders (CMD), insight into modifiable predictors of RTW is needed. This study tested the predictive value of self-efficacy change for RTW in addition to preintervention levels of self-efficacy. RTW

Predictive value of work-related self-efficacy change on RTW for employees with common mental disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lagerveld, S.E.; Brenninkmeijer, V.; Blonk, R.W.B.; Twisk, J.W.R.; Schaufeli, W.B.

To improve interventions that aim to promote return to work (RTW) of workers with common mental disorders (CMD), insight into modifiable predictors of RTW is needed. This study tested the predictive value of self-efficacy change for RTW in addition to preintervention levels of self-efficacy. RTW

On the value of redundancy subject to common-cause failures: Toward the resolution of an on-going debate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoepfer, V.M.; Saleh, J.H.; Marais, K.B.

2009-01-01

Common-cause failures (CCF) are one of the more critical and challenging issues for system reliability and risk analyses. Academic interest in modeling CCF, and more broadly in modeling dependent failures, has steadily grown over the years in the number of publications as well as in the sophistication of the analytical tools used. In the past few years, several influential articles have shed doubts on the relevance of redundancy arguing that 'redundancy backfires' through common-cause failures, and that the latter dominate unreliability, thus defeating the purpose of redundancy. In this work, we take issue with some of the results of these publications. In their stead, we provide a nuanced perspective on the (contingent) value of redundancy subject to common-cause failures. First, we review the incremental reliability and MTTF provided by redundancy subject to common-cause failures. Second, we introduce the concept and develop the analytics of the 'redundancy-relevance boundary': we propose this redundancy-relevance boundary as a design-aid tool that provides an answer to the following question: what level of redundancy is relevant or advantageous given a varying prevalence of common-cause failures? We investigate the conditions under which different levels of redundancy provide an incremental MTTF over that of the single component in the face of common-cause failures. Recognizing that redundancy comes at a cost, we also conduct a cost-benefit analysis of redundancy subject to common-cause failures, and demonstrate how this analysis modifies the redundancy-relevance boundary. We show how the value of redundancy is contingent on the prevalence of common-cause failures, the redundancy level considered, and the monadic cost-benefit ratio. Finally we argue that general unqualified criticism of redundancy is misguided, and efforts are better spent for example on understanding and mitigating the potential sources of common-cause failures rather than deriding the concept

Value Proposition: A Common Ground between Company and Customer

OpenAIRE

Zhou, Xinyu

2009-01-01

This is a paper that examines the contribution of the value proposition and the interplay between value creation process and value proposition strategy, between competencies and value proposition in competitive market situation. A literature review was carried out to understand the relevant research already in existence. The origin of value and the two main contemporary theories of customer value were reviewed; some models were covered as well. The two theories are Customer-based value ...

Serum chemistry reference values for the common genet (Genetta genetta): variations associated with Leishmania infantum infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Millán, Javier; Chirife, Andrea D; Altet, Laura

2015-03-01

The role of wildlife in the epidemiology of leishmaniosis in under debate, and determining whether infection with Leishmania infantum causes illness in wild carnivores is important to determine its potential role as a reservoir. To provide for the first time serum biochemistry reference values for the common genet (Genetta genetta), and to determine variations associated with L. infantum infection. Twenty-five serum biochemistry parameters were determined in 22 wild-caught genets. Blood samples were analyzed for L. infantum DNA by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Two female genets were positive for L. infantum DNA but did not show any external clinical sign upon physical examination. Among other variations in the biochemistry values of these genets, one presented a higher concentration of gamma-globulins and cholesterol, whereas the other genet presented increased creatinine, bilirubin, and chloride levels when compared to uninfected females. Sex-related differences in some parameters were also reported. Infection with L. infantum may sometimes be accompanied by abnormal serum biochemistry in wild carnivores. Clinical disease may occur in L. infantum-infected wild carnivores. This has implications in the epidemiology of leishmaniosis. In addition, the data provided here would also be useful as reference values for researchers or rehabilitators working with the common genet.

Positive and negative meanings are simultaneously ascribed to colorectal cancer: relationship to quality of life and psychosocial adjustment.

Science.gov (United States)

Camacho, Aldo Aguirre; Garland, Sheila N; Martopullo, Celestina; Pelletier, Guy

2014-08-01

Experiencing cancer can give rise to existential concerns causing great distress, and consequently drive individuals to make sense of what cancer may mean to their lives. To date, meaning-based research in the context of cancer has largely focused on one possible outcome of this process, the emergence of positive meanings (e.g. post-traumatic growth). However, negative meanings may also be ascribed to cancer, simultaneously with positive meanings. This study focused on the nature of the co-existence of positive and negative meanings in a sample of individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer to find out whether negative meaning had an impact on quality of life and psychosocial adjustment above and beyond positive meaning. Participants were given questionnaires measuring meaning-made, quality of life, and psychological distress. Semi structured interviews were conducted with a subgroup from the original sample. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that negative meaning-made (i.e. helplessness) was a significant predictor of poor quality of life and increased levels of depression/anxiety above and beyond positive meaning-made (i.e. life meaningfulness, acceptance, and perceived benefits). Correlational analyses and interview data revealed that negative meaning-made was mainly associated with physical and functional disability, while positive meaning-made was mostly related to emotional and psychological well-being. Meanings of varying valence may simultaneously be ascribed to cancer as it impacts different life dimensions, and they may independently influence quality of life and psychosocial adjustment. The presence of positive meaning was not enough to prevent the detrimental effects of negative meaning on psychosocial adjustment and quality of life among individuals taking part in this study. Future attention to negative meaning is warranted, as it may be at least as important as positive meaning in predicting psychosocial adjustment and quality of

Ascribing soil erosion of hillslope components to river sediment yield.

Science.gov (United States)

Nosrati, Kazem

2017-06-01

In recent decades, soil erosion has increased in catchments of Iran. It is, therefore, necessary to understand soil erosion processes and sources in order to mitigate this problem. Geomorphic landforms play an important role in influencing water erosion. Therefore, ascribing hillslope components soil erosion to river sediment yield could be useful for soil and sediment management in order to decrease the off-site effects related to downstream sedimentation areas. The main objectives of this study were to apply radionuclide tracers and soil organic carbon to determine relative contributions of hillslope component sediment sources in two land use types (forest and crop field) by using a Bayesian-mixing model, as well as to estimate the uncertainty in sediment fingerprinting in a mountainous catchment of western Iran. In this analysis, 137 Cs, 40 K, 238 U, 226 Ra, 232 Th and soil organic carbon tracers were measured in 32 different sampling sites from four hillslope component sediment sources (summit, shoulder, backslope, and toeslope) in forested and crop fields along with six bed sediment samples at the downstream reach of the catchment. To quantify the sediment source proportions, the Bayesian mixing model was based on (1) primary sediment sources and (2) combined primary and secondary sediment sources. The results of both approaches indicated that erosion from crop field shoulder dominated the sources of river sediments. The estimated contribution of crop field shoulder for all river samples was 63.7% (32.4-79.8%) for primary sediment sources approach, and 67% (15.3%-81.7%) for the combined primary and secondary sources approach. The Bayesian mixing model, based on an optimum set of tracers, estimated that the highest contribution of soil erosion in crop field land use and shoulder-component landforms constituted the most important land-use factor. This technique could, therefore, be a useful tool for soil and sediment control management strategies. Copyright �

On the audit of fair value measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jatinder P. Singh

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In this article, the hypotheses „whether the auditor’s functional domain, his approach, methodology and responsibilities are undergoing a metamorphosis with the adoption of Fair Value Accounting (hereinafter the „FVA” and whether his/her role is moving away from the mechanized attester of tangible evidence to the one exercising a substantively judgmental function in a holistic assessment of the values ascribed to be fair by the entity’s management” are tested. These hypotheses are tested on the basis of an analysis of the statutory provisions, the pronouncements of accounting and other regulatory bodies and accounting norms and theories. After setting forth the research objectives and the hypotheses, the necessity of the FVA is reviewed and the underlying philosophy is analyzed. Impediments in performing audits of fair-value-based measurements are then identified and the US auditing standards and their international counterparts are touched upon. Finally, some safeguards and precautions for the auditor in an audit of fair-value measurements are presented.

Chemometric dissimilarity in nutritive value of popularly consumed Nigerian brown and white common beans.

Science.gov (United States)

Moyib, Oluwasayo Kehinde; Alashiri, Ganiyy Olasunkanmi; Adejoye, Oluseyi Damilola

2015-01-01

Brown beans are the preferred varieties over the white beans in Nigeria due to their assumed richer nutrients. This study was aimed at assessing and characterising some popular Nigerian common beans for their nutritive value based on seed coat colour. Three varieties, each, of Nigerian brown and white beans, and one, each, of French bean and soybean were analysed for 19 nutrients. Z-statistics test showed that Nigerian beans are nutritionally analogous to French bean and soybean. Analysis of variance showed that seed coat colour varied with proximate nutrients, Ca, Fe, and Vit C. Chemometric analysis methods revealed superior beans for macro and micro nutrients and presented clearer groupings among the beans for seed coat colour. The study estimated a moderate genetic distance (GD) that will facilitate transfer of useful genes and intercrossing among the beans. It also offers an opportunity to integrate French bean and soybean into genetic improvement programs in Nigerian common beans. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The value of health professions education: the importance of understanding the learner perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandars, John; Walsh, Kieran

2016-07-01

The value of health professions education (HPE), with increasing demand for value resultant on financial constraint, has come under increasing scrutiny. An essential aspect for critical consideration is the extent to which the value ascribed by the learner differs from that of the HPE provider, especially in relation to the learning Methods and assessment of the HPE curriculum. The challenge of reconciling the tensions and differing perspectives of the learners and HPE providers can be met through co-production of the curriculum. The focus of the co-production approach is the recognition of the importance of diversity and social justice.

The role of values in school discipline

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. de Klerk

2003-08-01

Full Text Available Despite the fact that the Constitution of South Africa uses language that could be described as “value-language”, our country is experiencing an intense moral crisis. There is an urgent need to establish ways of finding answers to the value crisis in South Africa. Morality has been and is part of education. In this article the relationship between values, education and discipline is addressed from a Biblically-based (in this case, reformational perspective. The teacher as secondary educator plays an important role in the establishment of values among learners. The Department of Education has made clear its intention to establish values in schools in its Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy. The values emphasised in this document concur with the ideals of nation-building in the new democratic South Africa. Unfortunately, the absence of discipline and self-discipline among learners and educators implies that these ideals cannot be realised. The main cause of discipline problems can possibly be ascribed to the absence of a value system rooted in a specific life and worldview, for without such a perspective the management of discipline problems can only be symptomatic.

The Cost of Commonality: Assessing Value in Joint Programs

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

though product differentiation. This can manifest as a real or perceived value disparity. Thus, substantial coordination among system stakeholders is... satisfaction . Ultimately, incorporation of the Joint Value Model can contribute to more cost-effective solutions and greater value in joint capability...

Salient Mainstream and Hispanic Values in a Navy Training Environment: An Anthropological Description.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-08-01

nature of personal relationships , over the neutral or depersonalized organizational contacts. They felt that other individuals were more readily...be more in consonance with Anglo/mainstream interactive behavior; it places less im- portance on consanguineally or afinally ascribed connections, and...Triandis notes that values are "conceptions of relationships among abstract categories (e.g., humans, nature, time) which have strong affective components

Commonly used reference values underestimate oxygen uptake in healthy, 50-year-old Swedish women.

Science.gov (United States)

Genberg, M; Andrén, B; Lind, L; Hedenström, H; Malinovschi, A

2018-01-01

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the gold standard among clinical exercise tests. It combines a conventional stress test with measurement of oxygen uptake (V O 2 ) and CO 2 production. No validated Swedish reference values exist, and reference values in women are generally understudied. Moreover, the importance of achieved respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and the significance of breathing reserve (BR) at peak exercise in healthy individuals are poorly understood. We compared V O 2 at maximal load (peakV O 2 ) and anaerobic threshold (V O 2@ AT ) in healthy Swedish individuals with commonly used reference values, taking gender into account. Further, we analysed maximal workload and peakV O 2 with regard to peak RER and BR. In all, 181 healthy, 50-year-old individuals (91 women) performed CPET. PeakV O 2 was best predicted using Jones et al. (100·5%), while SHIP reference values underestimated peakV O 2 most: 112·5%. Furthermore, underestimation of peakV O 2 in women was found for all studied reference values (P 1·1 (2 328·7 versus 2 176·7 ml min -1 , P = 0·11). Lower BR (≤30%) related to significantly higher peakV O 2 (Pvalues underestimated oxygen uptake in women. No evidence for demanding RER > 1·1 in healthy individuals was found. A lowered BR is probably a normal response to higher workloads in healthy individuals. © 2016 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sensory Attribute Identification Time Cannot Explain the Common Temporal Limit of Binding Different Attributes and Modalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waka Fujisaki

2011-10-01

Full Text Available An informative performance measure of the brain's integration across different sensory attributes/modalities is the critical temporal rate of feature alternation (between, eg, red and green beyond which observers could not identify the feature value specified by a timing signal from another attribute (eg, a pitch change. Interestingly, this limit, which we called the critical crowding frequency (CCF, is fairly low and nearly constant (∼2.5 Hz regardless of the combination of attributes and modalities (Fujisaki & Nishida, 2010, IMRF. One may consider that the CCF reflects the processing time required for the brain to identify the specified feature value on the fly. According to this idea, the similarity in CCF could be ascribed to the similarity in identification time for the attributes we used (luminance, color, orientation, pitch, vibration. To test this idea, we estimated the identification time of each attribute from [Go/ No-Go choice reaction time – simple reaction time]. In disagreement with the prediction, we found significant differences among attributes (eg, ∼160 ms for orientation, ∼70 ms for pitch. The results are more consistent with our proposal (Fujisaki & Nishida, Proc Roy Soc B that the CCF reflects the common rate limit of specifying what happens when (timing-content binding by a central, presumably postdictive, mechanism.

Marketing communications in industrial B2b markets enhancing the value of the corporate brand relying on common added values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Ignacio Monrabal

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Today, industrial Business-to-Business (B2B markets are mainly characterized by a highly trained customer for making rational decisions in a highly competitive and global market, requiring more than ever organizations to approach their markets with a single and consistent message. Such demanding scenario requires to define a corporate brand transmitting in one message all the advantages that a Customer may appreciate in the long-term, based not only on what the company stands for in the market, but also the benefits of all its products throughout its portfolio. Such elements are referred as Common Added Values (CAVs, being some general examples the technology, quality, innovation and reliability; the capacity, infrastructure and distribution network; after-sales service policies, support and training; or the price and financial policies. This paper tries to explain the source of this need, describing the main differences between a brand communications model focused on the product or including the main B2B corporate values; and highlighting the main CAVs, to get an industry player either small or large, can succeed in generating brand equity through an integrated marketing communications strategy.

Positive predictive value of cholescintigraphy in common bile duct obstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lecklitner, M.L.; Austin, A.R.; Benedetto, A.R.; Growcock, G.W.

1986-01-01

Technetium-99m DISIDA imaging was employed in 400 patients to differentiate obstruction of the common bile duct from medical and other surgical causes of hyperbilirubinemia. Sequential anterior images demonstrated variable degrees of liver uptake, yet there was no evidence of intrabiliary or extrabiliary radioactivity for at least 4 hr after injection in 25 patients. Twenty-three patients were surgically documented to have complete obstruction of the common bile duct. One patient had hepatitis, and another had sickle cell crisis without bile duct obstruction. The remaining patients had either partial or no obstruction of the common bile duct. We conclude that the presence of liver uptake without evident biliary excretion by 4 hr on cholescintigraphy is highly sensitive and predictive of total obstruction of the common bile duct

Core ethical values of radiological protection applied to Fukushima case: reflecting common morality and cultural diversities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurihara, Chieko; Cho, Kunwoo; Toohey, Richard E

2016-12-01

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has established Task Group 94 (TG94) to develop a publication to clarify the ethical foundations of the radiological protection system it recommends. This TG identified four core ethical values which structure the system: beneficence and non-maleficence, prudence, justice, and dignity. Since the ICRP is an international organization, its recommendations and guidance should be globally applicable and acceptable. Therefore, first this paper presents the basic principles of the ICRP radiological protection system and its core ethical values, along with a reflection on the variation of these values in Western and Eastern cultural traditions. Secondly, this paper reflects upon how these values can be applied in difficult ethical dilemmas as in the case of the emergency and post-accident phases of a nuclear power plant accident, using the Fukushima case to illustrate the challenges at stake. We found that the core ethical values underlying the ICRP system of radiological protection seem to be quite common throughout the world, although there are some variations among various cultural contexts. Especially we found that 'prudence' would call for somewhat different implementation in each cultural context, balancing and integrating sometime conflicting values, but always with objectives to achieve the well-being of people, which is itself the ultimate aim of the radiological protection system.

The relationship between mood state and perceived control in contingency learning: effects of individualist and collectivist values

OpenAIRE

Msetfi, Rachel M.; Kornbrot, Diana E.; Matute, Helena; Murphy, Robin A.

2015-01-01

Perceived control in contingency learning is linked to psychological wellbeing with low levels of perceived control thought to be a cause or consequence of depression and high levels of control considered to be the hallmark of mental healthiness. However, it is not clear whether this is a universal phenomenon or whether the value that people ascribe to control influences these relationships. Here we hypothesize that values affect learning about control contingencies and influence the relation...

The relationship between mood state and perceived control in contingency learning: Effects of individualist and collectivist values

OpenAIRE

Rachel M. Msetfi; Rachel M. Msetfi; Diana eKornbrot; Helena eMatute; Robin A. Murphy

2015-01-01

Perceived control in contingency learning is linked to psychological wellbeing with low levels of perceived control thought to be a cause or consequence of depression and high levels of control considered to be the hallmark of mental healthiness. However, it is not clear whether this is a universal phenomenon or whether the value that people ascribe to control influences these relationships. Here we hypothesize that values affect learning about control contingencies and influence the relation...

Disambiguating authenticity: Interpretations of value and appeal.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kieran O'Connor

Full Text Available While shaping aesthetic judgment and choice, socially constructed authenticity takes on some very different meanings among observers, consumers, producers and critics. Using a theoretical framework positing four distinct meanings of socially constructed authenticity-type, moral, craft, and idiosyncratic-we aim to document empirically the unique appeal of each type. We develop predictions about the relationships between attributed authenticity and corresponding increases in the value ascribed to it through: (1 consumer value ratings, (2 willingness to pay, and (3 behavioral choice. We report empirical analyses from a research program of three multi-method studies using (1 archival data from voluntary consumer evaluations of restaurants in an online review system, (2 a university-based behavioral lab experiment, and (3 an online survey-based experiment. Evidence is consistent across the studies and suggests that perceptions of four distinct subtypes of socially constructed authenticity generate increased appeal and value even after controlling for option quality. Findings suggest additional directions for research on authenticity.

Quantifying tolerance indicator values for common stream fish species of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Meador, M.R.; Carlisle, D.M.

2007-01-01

The classification of fish species tolerance to environmental disturbance is often used as a means to assess ecosystem conditions. Its use, however, may be problematic because the approach to tolerance classification is based on subjective judgment. We analyzed fish and physicochemical data from 773 stream sites collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program to calculate tolerance indicator values for 10 physicochemical variables using weighted averaging. Tolerance indicator values (TIVs) for ammonia, chloride, dissolved oxygen, nitrite plus nitrate, pH, phosphorus, specific conductance, sulfate, suspended sediment, and water temperature were calculated for 105 common fish species of the United States. Tolerance indicator values for specific conductance and sulfate were correlated (rho = 0.87), and thus, fish species may be co-tolerant to these water-quality variables. We integrated TIVs for each species into an overall tolerance classification for comparisons with judgment-based tolerance classifications. Principal components analysis indicated that the distinction between tolerant and intolerant classifications was determined largely by tolerance to suspended sediment, specific conductance, chloride, and total phosphorus. Factors such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH may not be as important in distinguishing between tolerant and intolerant classifications, but may help to segregate species classified as moderate. Empirically derived tolerance classifications were 58.8% in agreement with judgment-derived tolerance classifications. Canonical discriminant analysis revealed that few TIVs, primarily chloride, could discriminate among judgment-derived tolerance classifications of tolerant, moderate, and intolerant. To our knowledge, this is the first empirically based understanding of fish species tolerance for stream fishes in the United States.

THE USE OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT: DIVERSITY

African Journals Online (AJOL)

uvp

the rule of law; universal adult suffrage, a national common voters roll, ... meanings being ascribed to the same values or principles in different constitutional ..... beckon us towards a theory of relational differentiation or categorisation that is.

Are Systemic Manifestations Ascribable to COPD in Smokers? A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyer, Laurent; Bastuji-Garin, Sylvie; Chouaid, Christos; Housset, Bruno; Le Corvoisier, Philippe; Derumeaux, Geneviève; Boczkowski, Jorge; Maitre, Bernard; Adnot, Serge; Audureau, Etienne

2018-06-05

Whether the systemic manifestations observed in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are ascribable to lung dysfunction or direct effects of smoking is in debate. Structural Equations Modeling (SEM), a causal-oriented statistical approach, could help unraveling the pathways involved, by enabling estimation of direct and indirect associations between variables. The objectives of the study was to investigate the relative impact of smoking and COPD on systemic manifestations, inflammation and telomere length. In 292 individuals (103 women; 97 smokers with COPD, 96 smokers without COPD, 99 non-smokers), we used SEM to explore the pathways between smoking (pack-years), lung disease (FEV 1 , K CO ), and the following parameters: arterial stiffness (aortic pulse wave velocity, PWV), bone mineral density (BMD), appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM), grip strength, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), creatinine clearance (eGFR), blood leukocyte telomere length and inflammatory markers (Luminex assay). All models were adjusted on age and gender. Latent variables were created for systemic inflammation (inflammatory markers) and musculoskeletal parameters (ASMM, grip strength, BMD). SEM showed that most effects of smoking were indirectly mediated by lung dysfunction: e.g. via FEV 1 on musculoskeletal factor, eGFR, HOMA-IR, PWV, telomere length, CRP, white blood cells count (WBC) and inflammation factor, and via K CO on musculoskeletal factor, eGFR and PWV. Direct effects of smoking were limited to CRP and WBC. Models had excellent fit. In conclusion, SEM highlighted the major role of COPD in the occurrence of systemic manifestations while smoking effects were mostly mediated by lung function.

Challenge for the national security of the Republic of Serbia in the concept of common European values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stevanović Miroslav

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Peaceful future based on common values, as a motive for the integration of the peoples of Europe, implies discontinuity with value-concepts that were the cause of conflicts. When the European Union and its member states ignore the promotion of the Ustasha's ideological concept which caused great evil to Serbia, as a neighboring country and a candidate for EU membership, the doubt arises whether the current value concept contains elements of challenge for the candidate's national security. In this article, we assume that the historical legacy of Nazism has influenced the shaping of European values. The analysis starts from the Nazi views embodied in the root of the interest for unity of Europe, and the factors of influence of the Nazi value order after World War II. The idea of unified Europe can be attributed to Nazis, who had territorial ambitions in terms of Europe as the living space of the Germanic race, under the dominance of Germany. During the war, there was a significant level of collaboration in European states, while Nazis basically aimed to annihilate Jews, Slavs and Gypsies. After the war, anti-Nazism was marginalized, due to the Cold War against communism and the Soviet Union. The identified trends are analyzed in the context of shaping the value system at the time of neo-liberalism and globalization. After the undermining of the international financial system in 1971, and the rise of neo-liberalism, globalization has generated a trend of centralization and financial domination. This is accompanied by neo-conservative doctrine and politics, which promote realism in international relations, and 'desovereignization' of nation states. The example of the coup d'état and civil conflict in Ukraine exposed tolerance for ultra-nationalistic and neo-Nazi ideas. We find that elitism and imperialism remain as value similarities between the Nazi and the current neo-liberal European value discourse, and that there is an essentially identical

Use value, exchange value, and resource scarcity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stern, D.I.

1999-01-01

The literature on natural resource scarcity indicators is reviewed. Scarcity indicators can be classified by what is being measured: value of the resource stock or value of extracted resource commodities; whose value is considered: social vs. private scarcity; and by the mode of valuation considered: exchange value and use value. Prices and rents are common measures of exchange value or indicators of ''exchange scarcity'' and unit costs can be seen as use value indicators or indicators of u se scarcity . The major aim of this paper is to demonstrate the links between productivity indicators such as unit costs and the classical concept of use value. The two classes of indicator relate to John Commons' discussions of scarcity and efficiency, and a marginal vs. a non-marginal approach to value and scarcity. The classical use value concept also has wider relevance for issues of valuation in energy, resource, and environmental policy. (author)

Reference values of MRI measurements of the common bile duct and pancreatic duct in children

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gwal, Kriti; Bedoya, Maria A.; Patel, Neal; Darge, Kassa; Anupindi, Sudha A. [University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, The Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Rambhatla, Siri J. [Beth Israel Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Newark, NJ (United States); Sreedharan, Ram R. [University of Pennsylvania, Departments of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

2015-08-15

Magnetic resonance imaging/cholangiopancreatography (MRI/MRCP) is now an essential imaging modality for the evaluation of biliary and pancreatic pathology in children, but there are no data depicting the normal diameters of the common bile duct (CBD) and pancreatic duct. Recognition of abnormal duct size is important and the increasing use of MRCP necessitates normal MRI measurements. To present normal MRI measurements for the common bile duct and pancreatic duct in children. In this retrospective study we searched all children ages birth to 10 years in our MR urography (MRU) database from 2006 until 2013. We excluded children with a history of hepatobiliary or pancreatic surgery. We stratified 204 children into five age groups and retrospectively measured the CBD and the pancreatic duct on 2-D axial and 3-D coronal T2-weighted sequences. We performed statistical analysis, using logistic and linear regressions to detect the age association of the visibility and size of the duct measurements. We used non-parametric tests to detect gender and imaging plane differences. Our study included 204 children, 106 (52%) boys and 98 (48%) girls, with a median age of 33 months (range 0-119 months). The children were distributed into five age groups. The common bile duct was visible in all children in all age groups. The pancreatic duct was significantly less visible in the youngest children, group 1 (54/67, 80.5%; P = 0.003) than in the oldest children, group 5 (22/22, 100%). In group 2 the pancreatic duct was seen in 19/21 (90.4%), in group 3 52/55 (94.5%), and in group 4 39/39 (100%). All duct measurements increased with age (P < 0.001; r-value > 0.423), and the incremental differences between ages were significant. The measurement variations between the axial and coronal planes were statistically significant (P < 0.001); however these differences were fractions of millimeters. For example, in group 1 the mean coronal measurement of the CBD was 2.1 mm and the axial

Reference values of MRI measurements of the common bile duct and pancreatic duct in children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gwal, Kriti; Bedoya, Maria A.; Patel, Neal; Darge, Kassa; Anupindi, Sudha A.; Rambhatla, Siri J.; Sreedharan, Ram R.

2015-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging/cholangiopancreatography (MRI/MRCP) is now an essential imaging modality for the evaluation of biliary and pancreatic pathology in children, but there are no data depicting the normal diameters of the common bile duct (CBD) and pancreatic duct. Recognition of abnormal duct size is important and the increasing use of MRCP necessitates normal MRI measurements. To present normal MRI measurements for the common bile duct and pancreatic duct in children. In this retrospective study we searched all children ages birth to 10 years in our MR urography (MRU) database from 2006 until 2013. We excluded children with a history of hepatobiliary or pancreatic surgery. We stratified 204 children into five age groups and retrospectively measured the CBD and the pancreatic duct on 2-D axial and 3-D coronal T2-weighted sequences. We performed statistical analysis, using logistic and linear regressions to detect the age association of the visibility and size of the duct measurements. We used non-parametric tests to detect gender and imaging plane differences. Our study included 204 children, 106 (52%) boys and 98 (48%) girls, with a median age of 33 months (range 0-119 months). The children were distributed into five age groups. The common bile duct was visible in all children in all age groups. The pancreatic duct was significantly less visible in the youngest children, group 1 (54/67, 80.5%; P = 0.003) than in the oldest children, group 5 (22/22, 100%). In group 2 the pancreatic duct was seen in 19/21 (90.4%), in group 3 52/55 (94.5%), and in group 4 39/39 (100%). All duct measurements increased with age (P < 0.001; r-value > 0.423), and the incremental differences between ages were significant. The measurement variations between the axial and coronal planes were statistically significant (P < 0.001); however these differences were fractions of millimeters. For example, in group 1 the mean coronal measurement of the CBD was 2.1 mm and the axial

Equivalence, commensurability, value

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albertsen, Niels

2017-01-01

Deriving value in Capital Marx uses three commensurability arguments (CA1-3). CA1 establishes equivalence in exchange as exchangeability with the same third commodity. CA2 establishes value as common denominator in commodities: embodied abstract labour. CA3 establishes value substance...... as commonality of labour: physiological labour. Tensions between these logics have permeated Marxist interpretations of value. Some have supported value as embodied labour (CA2, 3), others a monetary theory of value and value as ‘pure’ societal abstraction (ultimately CA1). They all are grounded in Marx....

Nutritive Value and Availability of Commonly Used Feed Ingredients ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Commonly utilized feed ingredients for culture of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) from Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda were collected over a period of six months (January - June 2010) and evaluated for their nutritive composition through proximate analysis. Most of the fish feed ...

Common fixed points of single-valued and multivalued maps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yicheng Liu

2005-01-01

Full Text Available We define a new property which contains the property (EA for a hybrid pair of single- and multivalued maps and give some new common fixed point theorems under hybrid contractive conditions. Our results extend previous ones. As an application, we give a partial answer to the problem raised by Singh and Mishra.

Fostering young children's interest in numeracy through demonstration of its value: the Footsteps Study

Science.gov (United States)

Colliver, Yeshe

2017-07-01

Children's early mathematical abilities are fundamental to their later academic achievement. An interest in mathematics in the early years is likely to establish a positive attitude to later mathematical learning, hopefully sustaining continued interest in mathematics and mathematical learning. Approaches to early mathematics teaching in the early years, however, are typically adult-initiated, which may fail to capture children's interest. Given the importance of children's motivation and sustained interest, the study described here strove to spark children's interests in mathematical problems in everyday life. The study sought to determine if children would incorporate more numeracy-related concepts into their free play if exposed to adult demonstrations of age-appropriate numeracy activities such as patterning. For at least 15 min three times weekly, participating children's parents and educators demonstrated numeracy problem-solving nearby, while children engaged in other activities. Demonstrations were thought to ascribe social value to the problem-solving activities. If children became interested in participating, adults told them to wait until the demonstrations finished, further indicating social value. Results show these children chose to play with numeracy-related activities in their free play time at preschool significantly more than children in a control group. These results suggest that seeking to foster children's interest in mathematics through child-initiated play, rather than prescribing adult-initiated mathematics activities, may be an important means of laying the foundation for lifelong mathematics learning. Ascribing social value to numeracy applications is proposed as a new approach to teaching mathematics in the early years.

Sweets, Sex, or Self-Esteem? Comparing the Value of Self-Esteem Boosts with Other Pleasant Rewards

Science.gov (United States)

Bushman, Brad J.; Moeller, Scott J.; Crocker, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Many people ascribe great value to self-esteem, but how much value? Do people value self-esteem more than other pleasant activities, such as eating sweets and having sex? Two studies of college students (Study 1: N=130; Study 2: N=152) showed that people valued boosts to their self-esteem more than they valued eating a favorite food and engaging in a favorite sexual activity. Study 2 also showed that people valued self-esteem more than they valued drinking alcohol, receiving a paycheck, and seeing a best friend. Both studies found that people who highly valued self-esteem engaged in laboratory tasks to boost their self-esteem. Finally, personality variables interacted with these value ratings. Entitled people thought they were more deserving of all pleasant rewards, even though they did not like them all that much (both studies); and people who highly value self-esteem pursue potentially maladaptive self-image goals, presumably to elevate their self-esteem (Study 2). PMID:21950264

The Hispanic pharmacist: Value beyond a common language.

Science.gov (United States)

Cipriano, Gabriela C; Andrews, Carlota O

2015-01-01

To highlight the added value of bilingual Hispanic pharmacists in the care of Hispanic patients by sharing their patients' language and culture. Inability to speak and/or write in the patients' native language severely impairs our best efforts to deliver good health care. This is a widely recognized cause of non-compliance or less than favorable possible health outcomes in Hispanic patients. What has received less attention, however, is that the ability to speak Spanish alone may not remove completely the barrier for non-compliance among Hispanics. Bilingual Spanish-English pharmacists do not have the language barrier, but if they do not recognize and accept cultural differences, their impact in their patients' response may still be limited. It is time to recognize the added value of Hispanic pharmacists to Hispanic patients' health outcomes. Understanding and sharing a culture allows the pharmacist to make medication education and interventions relevant to the patient and spark interest in their own health care. Thus, in caring for the health of our patients, cultural barriers may be more challenging to conquer than language barriers; deep appreciation and acceptance of our patients' belief system cannot be acquired by just reading about it, having a computerized program, or hiring an interpreter.

The Hispanic pharmacist: Value beyond a common language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela C Cipriano

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: To highlight the added value of bilingual Hispanic pharmacists in the care of Hispanic patients by sharing their patients’ language and culture. Summary: Inability to speak and/or write in the patients’ native language severely impairs our best efforts to deliver good health care. This is a widely recognized cause of non-compliance or less than favorable possible health outcomes in Hispanic patients. What has received less attention, however, is that the ability to speak Spanish alone may not remove completely the barrier for non-compliance among Hispanics. Bilingual Spanish–English pharmacists do not have the language barrier, but if they do not recognize and accept cultural differences, their impact in their patients’ response may still be limited. Conclusion: It is time to recognize the added value of Hispanic pharmacists to Hispanic patients’ health outcomes. Understanding and sharing a culture allows the pharmacist to make medication education and interventions relevant to the patient and spark interest in their own health care. Thus, in caring for the health of our patients, cultural barriers may be more challenging to conquer than language barriers; deep appreciation and acceptance of our patients’ belief system cannot be acquired by just reading about it, having a computerized program, or hiring an interpreter.

QCI Common

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-11-18

There are many common software patterns and utilities for the ORNL Quantum Computing Institute that can and should be shared across projects. Otherwise we find duplication of code which adds unwanted complexity. This is a software product seeks to alleviate this by providing common utilities such as object factories, graph data structures, parameter input mechanisms, etc., for other software products within the ORNL Quantum Computing Institute. This work enables pure basic research, has no export controlled utilities, and has no real commercial value.

The Hispanic pharmacist: Value beyond a common language

OpenAIRE

Cipriano, Gabriela C; Andrews, Carlota O

2015-01-01

Objective: To highlight the added value of bilingual Hispanic pharmacists in the care of Hispanic patients by sharing their patients’ language and culture. Summary: Inability to speak and/or write in the patients’ native language severely impairs our best efforts to deliver good health care. This is a widely recognized cause of non-compliance or less than favorable possible health outcomes in Hispanic patients. What has received less attention, however, is that the ability to speak Spanish al...

Nutritive value evaluated on rats of new cultivars of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) released in Chile.

Science.gov (United States)

Yañez, E; Zacarias, I; Aguayo, M; Vasquez, M; Guzman, E

1995-06-01

Five new cultivars of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) recently released were analyzed for their proximate chemical composition and protein biological quality. The crude protein content in these cultivars ranged from 21.9 percent in cultivar Arroz 3 to 26.9 percent in cultivar Tórtola Diana (dry matter basis). Rats fed cultivar Tórtola INIA gained more weight, had a higher protein intake and registered higher PER and NPR than Tórtola corriente. On the other hand, rats consuming cultivars Arroz 3 and Fleetwood had lower weight gain, lower protein intake and lower PER and NPR than cultivar Coscorrón corriente. However, all these cultivars have a relatively good protein value as compared to other plant protein sources.

[Characteristics of foliar delta13C values of common shrub species in various microhabitats with different karst rocky desertification degrees].

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Xue-Lian; Wang, Shi-Jie; Rong, Li

2011-12-01

By measuring the foliar delta13C values of 5 common shrub species (Rhamnus davurica, Pyracantha fortuneana, Rubus biflorus, Zanthoxylum planispinum, and Viburnum utile) growing in various microhabitats in Wangjiazhai catchment, a typical karst desertification area in Guizhou Province, this paper studied the spatial heterogeneity of plant water use at niche scale and the response of the heterogeneity to different karst rocky desertification degrees. The foliar delta13C values of the shrub species in the microhabitats followed the order of stony surface > stony gully > stony crevice > soil surface, and those of the majority of the species were more negative in the microhabitat soil surface than in the others. The foliar delta13C values decreased in the sequence of V. utile > R. biflorus > Z. planispinum > P. fortuneana > R. davurica, and the mean foliar delta13C value of the shrubs and that of typical species in various microhabitats all increased with increasing karst rocky desertification degree, differed significantly among different microhabitats. It was suggested that with the increasing degree of karst rocky desertification, the structure and functions of karst habitats were impaired, microhabitats differentiated gradually, and drought degree increased.

Accounting and marketing: searching a common denominator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David S. Murphy

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Accounting and marketing are very different disciplines. The analysis of customer profitability is one concept that can unite accounting and marketing as a common denominator. In this article I search for common ground between accounting and marketing in the analysis of customer profitability to determine if a common denominator really exists between the two. This analysis focuses on accounting profitability, customer lifetime value, and customer equity. The article ends with a summary of what accountants can do to move the analysis of customer value forward, as an analytical tool, within companies.

p-values for model evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaujean, F.; Caldwell, A.; Kollar, D.; Kroeninger, K.

2011-01-01

Deciding whether a model provides a good description of data is often based on a goodness-of-fit criterion summarized by a p-value. Although there is considerable confusion concerning the meaning of p-values, leading to their misuse, they are nevertheless of practical importance in common data analysis tasks. We motivate their application using a Bayesian argumentation. We then describe commonly and less commonly known discrepancy variables and how they are used to define p-values. The distribution of these are then extracted for examples modeled on typical data analysis tasks, and comments on their usefulness for determining goodness-of-fit are given.

Ruling the Commons. Introducing a new methodology for the analysis of historical commons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tine de Moor

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Despite significant progress in recent years, the evolution of commons over the long run remains an under-explored area within commons studies. During the last years an international team of historians have worked under the umbrella of the Common Rules Project in order to design and test a new methodology aimed at advancing our knowledge on the dynamics of institutions for collective action – in particular commons. This project aims to contribute to the current debate on commons on three different fronts. Theoretically, it explicitly draws our attention to issues of change and adaptation in the commons – contrasting with more static analyses. Empirically, it highlights the value of historical records as a rich source of information for longitudinal analysis of the functioning of commons. Methodologically, it develops a systematic way of analyzing and comparing commons’ regulations across regions and time, setting a number of variables that have been defined on the basis of the “most common denominators” in commons regulation across countries and time periods. In this paper we introduce the project, describe our sources and methodology, and present the preliminary results of our analysis.

Common pitfalls in statistical analysis: "P" values, statistical significance and confidence intervals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priya Ranganathan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In the second part of a series on pitfalls in statistical analysis, we look at various ways in which a statistically significant study result can be expressed. We debunk some of the myths regarding the ′P′ value, explain the importance of ′confidence intervals′ and clarify the importance of including both values in a paper

The gastro-oesophageal common cavity revisited

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aanen, M. C.; Bredenoord, A. J.; Samsom, M.; Smout, A. J. P. M.

2006-01-01

The manometric common cavity phenomenon has been used as indicator of gastro-oesophageal reflux of liquid or gaseous substances. Using combined pH and impedance recording as reference standard the value of a common cavity as indicator of gastro-oesophageal reflux was tested. Ten healthy male

'Getting back to normal': the added value of an art-based programme in promoting 'recovery' for common but chronic mental health problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Makin, Sally; Gask, Linda

2012-03-01

OBJECTIVES. The aim of this project was to explore the added value of participation in an Arts on Prescription (AoP) programme to aid the process of recovery in people with common but chronic mental health problems that have already undergone a psychological 'talking'-based therapy. METHODS. The study utilized qualitative in-depth interviews with 15 clients with persistent anxiety and depression who had attended an 'AoP' service and had previously received psychological therapy. RESULTS and discussion. Attending AoP aided the process of recovery, which was perceived by participants as 'returning to normality' through enjoying life again, returning to previous activities, setting goals and stopping dwelling on the past. Most were positive about the benefits they had previously gained from talking therapies. However, these alone were not perceived as having been sufficient to achieve recovery. The AoP offered some specific opportunities in this regard, mediated by the therapeutic and effect of absorption in an activity, the specific creative potential of art, and the social aspects of attending the programme. CONCLUSIONS. For some people who experience persistent or relapsing common mental health problems, participation in an arts-based programme provides 'added value' in aiding recovery in ways not facilitated by talking therapies alone.

The Value(s) of Civil Leaders : A Study into the Influence of Governance Context on Public Value Orientation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Waal, Steven

2014-01-01

The main research question of the dissertation is: What values motivate and direct civil leaders and to what extent are the values shaped by the institutional context in which these leaders operate? This central question was divided into three research questions. 1. Do civil leaders have a common

Predictive value of work-related self-efficacy change on RTW for employees with common mental disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Lagerveld, Suzanne E; Brenninkmeijer, Veerle; Blonk, Roland W B; Twisk, Jos; Schaufeli, Wilmar B

2017-05-01

To improve interventions that aim to promote return to work (RTW) of workers with common mental disorders (CMD), insight into modifiable predictors of RTW is needed. This study tested the predictive value of self-efficacy change for RTW in addition to preintervention levels of self-efficacy. RTW self-efficacy was measured 5 times within 9 months among 168 clients of a mental healthcare organisation who were on sick leave due to CMD. Self-efficacy parameters were modelled with multilevel analyses and added as predictors into a Cox regression analysis. Results showed that both high baseline self-efficacy and self-efficacy increase until full RTW were predictive of a shorter duration until full RTW. Both self-efficacy parameters remained significant predictors of RTW when controlled for several relevant covariates and within subgroups of employees with either high or low preintervention self-efficacy levels. This is the first study that demonstrated the prognostic value of self-efficacy change, over and above the influence of psychological symptoms, for RTW among employees with CMD. By showing that RTW self-efficacy increase predicted a shorter duration until full RTW, this study points to the relevance of enhancing RTW self-efficacy in occupational or mental health interventions for employees with CMD. Efforts to improve self-efficacy appear valuable both for people with relatively low and high baseline self-efficacy. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The promise of common pool resource theory and the reality of commons projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fred P. Saunders

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Commons projects, such as community-based natural resource management, have widespread appeal, which has enabled them to shrug off a mixed performance in practice. This paper discusses how the theoretical assumptions of common pool resource (CPR theory may have inadvertently contributed to the unfulfilled expectations of commons projects. The paper argues that the individual ‘rational resource user’, encapsulated in the CPR design principles, struggles to provide clear direction for meaningful consideration of local norms, values and interests in commons projects. The focus of CPR theory on efficiency and functionality results in a tendency in commons projects to overlook how local conditions are forged through relations at multiple scales. Commonly politically complex and changing relations are reduced to institutional design problems based on deriving the incentives and disincentives of ‘rational resource users. The corollary is that CPR theory oversimplifies the project context that it is seeking to change because it offers little or no direction to deal with the social embeddedness of resource use or implications of different stratifications.

Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying value-based decision-making: from core values to economic value.

Science.gov (United States)

Brosch, Tobias; Sander, David

2013-01-01

VALUE PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN PRACTICALLY EVERY ASPECT OF HUMAN LIFE THAT REQUIRES A DECISION: whether we choose between different consumer goods, whether we decide which person we marry or which political candidate gets our vote, we choose the option that has more value to us. Over the last decade, neuroeconomic research has mapped the neural substrates of economic value, revealing that activation in brain regions such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), ventral striatum or posterior cingulate cortex reflects how much an individual values an option and which of several options he/she will choose. However, while great progress has been made exploring the mechanisms underlying concrete decisions, neuroeconomic research has been less concerned with the questions of why people value what they value, and why different people value different things. Social psychologists and sociologists have long been interested in core values, motivational constructs that are intrinsically linked to the self-schema and are used to guide actions and decisions across different situations and different time points. Core value may thus be an important determinant of individual differences in economic value computation and decision-making. Based on a review of recent neuroimaging studies investigating the neural representation of core values and their interactions with neural systems representing economic value, we outline a common framework that integrates the core value concept and neuroeconomic research on value-based decision-making.

Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying value-based decision-making: from core values to economic value

Science.gov (United States)

Brosch, Tobias; Sander, David

2013-01-01

Value plays a central role in practically every aspect of human life that requires a decision: whether we choose between different consumer goods, whether we decide which person we marry or which political candidate gets our vote, we choose the option that has more value to us. Over the last decade, neuroeconomic research has mapped the neural substrates of economic value, revealing that activation in brain regions such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), ventral striatum or posterior cingulate cortex reflects how much an individual values an option and which of several options he/she will choose. However, while great progress has been made exploring the mechanisms underlying concrete decisions, neuroeconomic research has been less concerned with the questions of why people value what they value, and why different people value different things. Social psychologists and sociologists have long been interested in core values, motivational constructs that are intrinsically linked to the self-schema and are used to guide actions and decisions across different situations and different time points. Core value may thus be an important determinant of individual differences in economic value computation and decision-making. Based on a review of recent neuroimaging studies investigating the neural representation of core values and their interactions with neural systems representing economic value, we outline a common framework that integrates the core value concept and neuroeconomic research on value-based decision-making. PMID:23898252

Land values and planning: a common interest of land policy and land taxation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lichfield, N

1979-06-01

This paper focuses on a relatively neglected area of land policy: the relation between land use and land value as influenced by land-use planning. It discusses the need for and nature of land-use planning, the relationship of planning and land value, the compensation-betterment problem, and some particular issues of current relevance. It concludes that there is a need to ensure that valuation officers and planners complement each other in their respective tasks rather than undermine each other as happens when they do not understand the interaction of land values and planning.

Common sense codified

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2010-01-01

At CERN, people of more than a hundred different nationalities and hundreds of different professions work together towards a common goal. The new Code of Conduct is a tool that has been designed to help us keep our workplace pleasant and productive through common standards of behaviour. Its basic principle is mutual respect and common sense. This is only natural, but not trivial…  The Director-General announced it in his speech at the beginning of the year, and the Bulletin wrote about it immediately afterwards. "It" is the new Code of Conduct, the document that lists our Organization's values and describes the basic standards of behaviour that we should both adopt and expect from others. "The Code of Conduct is not going to establish new rights or new obligations," explains Anne-Sylvie Catherin, Head of the Human Resources Department (HR). But what it will do is provide a framework for our existing rights and obligations." The aim of a co...

Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Value-Based Decision-Making: From Core Values to Economic Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias eBrosch

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Value plays a central role in practically every aspect of human life that requires a decision: whether we choose between different consumer goods, whether we decide which person we marry or which political candidate gets our vote, we choose the option that has more value to us. Over the last decade, neuroeconomic research has mapped the neural substrates of economic value, revealing that activation in brain regions such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC, ventral striatum or posterior cingulate cortex reflects how much an individual values an option and which of several options he/she will choose. However, while great progress has been made exploring the mechanisms underlying concrete decisions, neuroeconomic research has been less concerned with the questions of why people value what they value, and why different people value different things. Social psychologists and sociologists have long been interested in core values, motivational constructs that are intrinsically linked to the self-schema and are used to guide actions and decisions across different situations and different time points. Core value may thus be an important determinant of individual differences in economic value computation and decision-making. Based on a review of recent neuroimaging studies investigating the neural representation of core values and their interactions with neural systems representing economic value, we outline a common framework that integrates the core value concept and neuroeconomic research on value-based decision-making.

Genetic Counsellors and Private Practice: Professional Turbulence and Common Values.

Science.gov (United States)

Collis, Sarah; Gaff, Clara; Wake, Samantha; McEwen, Alison

2017-12-27

Genetic counsellors face tensions between past and future identities: between established values and goals, and a broadening scope of settings and activities. This study examines the advent of genetic counsellors in private practice in Australia and New Zealand from the perspectives of the small numbers working in this sector and those who have only worked in public practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 genetic counsellors who had experience in private practice, and 14 genetic counsellors without private sector experience. Results demonstrated that circumstantial and personal factors can mitigate the challenges experienced and the amount of support desired by those who had established a private practice, and those who were employed by private companies. Notably, most participants with private sector experience perceived themselves to be viewed negatively by other genetic counsellors. Most participants without private sector experience expressed concern that the challenges they believed genetic counsellors face in private practice may impact service quality, but wished to address such concerns by providing appropriate support. Together, our results reinforce that participants in private and public sectors are strong advocates for peer support, multidisciplinary team work, and professional development. These core values, and seeking understanding of different circumstances and support needs, will enable genetic counsellors in different sectors to move forward together. Our results suggest supports that may be acted upon by members of the profession, professional groups, and training programs, in Australia, New Zealand, and overseas.

Values in a Cross-Cultural Triangle : A Comparison of Value Taxonomies in the Netherlands, Austria, and Spain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Raad, Boele; Morales-Vives, Fabia; Barelds, Dick P.H.; Van Oudenhoven, Jan Pieter; Walter, Renner; Timmerman, Marieke E.

This study aimed at finding the kernel structure common to three different value taxonomies in European languages (Dutch with 641 values and 634 participants, Austrian with 496 values and 456 participants, and Spanish with 566 values and 532 participants). Values from those three taxonomies were

God, Evil, and Infinite Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marshall Naylor

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Prominent approaches to the problems of evil assume that even if the Anselmian God exists, some worlds are better than others, all else being equal. But the assumptions that the Anselmian God exists and that some worlds are better than others cannot be true together. One description, by Mark Johnston and Georg Cantor, values God’s existence as exceeding any transfinite cardinal value. For any finite or infinite amount of goodness in any possible world, God’s value infinitely exceeds that amount. This conception is not obviously inconsistent with the Anselmian God. As a result, the prominent approaches to the problems of evil are mistaken. The elimination of evil does not, in fact, improve the value of any world as commonly thought. Permitting evil does not, in fact, diminish the value of any world as commonly thought.

Common pitfalls in statistical analysis: “P” values, statistical significance and confidence intervals

Science.gov (United States)

Ranganathan, Priya; Pramesh, C. S.; Buyse, Marc

2015-01-01

In the second part of a series on pitfalls in statistical analysis, we look at various ways in which a statistically significant study result can be expressed. We debunk some of the myths regarding the ‘P’ value, explain the importance of ‘confidence intervals’ and clarify the importance of including both values in a paper PMID:25878958

Common morality and moral reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, K A

2009-01-01

The idea of moral reform requires that morality be more than a description of what people do value, for there has to be some measure against which to assess progress. Otherwise, any change is not reform, but simply difference. Therefore, I discuss moral reform in relation to two prescriptive approaches to common morality, which I distinguish as the foundational and the pragmatic. A foundational approach to common morality (e.g., Bernard Gert's) suggests that there is no reform of morality, but of beliefs, values, customs, and practices so as to conform with an unchanging, foundational morality. If, however, there were revision in its foundation (e.g., in rationality), then reform in morality itself would be possible. On a pragmatic view, on the other hand, common morality is relative to human flourishing, and its justification consists in its effectiveness in promoting flourishing. Morality is dependent on what in fact does promote human flourishing and therefore, could be reformed. However, a pragmatic approach, which appears more open to the possibility of moral reform, would need a more robust account of norms by which reform is measured.

The genome sequence of the emerging common midwife toad virus identifies an evolutionary intermediate within ranaviruses.

Science.gov (United States)

Mavian, Carla; López-Bueno, Alberto; Balseiro, Ana; Casais, Rosa; Alcamí, Antonio; Alejo, Alí

2012-04-01

Worldwide amphibian population declines have been ascribed to global warming, increasing pollution levels, and other factors directly related to human activities. These factors may additionally be favoring the emergence of novel pathogens. In this report, we have determined the complete genome sequence of the emerging common midwife toad ranavirus (CMTV), which has caused fatal disease in several amphibian species across Europe. Phylogenetic and gene content analyses of the first complete genomic sequence from a ranavirus isolated in Europe show that CMTV is an amphibian-like ranavirus (ALRV). However, the CMTV genome structure is novel and represents an intermediate evolutionary stage between the two previously described ALRV groups. We find that CMTV clusters with several other ranaviruses isolated from different hosts and locations which might also be included in this novel ranavirus group. This work sheds light on the phylogenetic relationships within this complex group of emerging, disease-causing viruses.

Dairy farmers’ values and how their values affect their decision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bjørn Gunnar Hansen

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Values affect humans’ perception of situations and problems and guide our actions. The objective of this study was to explore the values of dairy farmers, and whether their values influenced their decisions to maintain dairy farming or to buy consultancy services. During late fall 2007 we visited and interviewed 90 farmers. First we did a qualitative analysis of the data and then we merged the interview data with the existing database of financial data from the year 2007 to do statistical analyses. We also checked whether the farmers still produced milk in 2013, six years after the interviews.  Most farmers had terminal values like keeping up the tradition and to have an interesting work. Value combinations with instrumental values such as to earn money and to produce milk were common. Realizing that many farmers prioritize terminal values over instrumental values has important consequences for dairy companies, dairy consultants and politicians.

Sonchus oleraceus Residue Improves Nutritive and Health-Promoting Value of Common Bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.): A Metabolic Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Mahmoud O; Saleh, Ahmed M; AbdElgawad, Hamada

2018-03-07

This study was conducted to evaluate the use of the phenolic-rich Sonchus oleraceus residue as an environmentally safe approach to induce the nutritive and health-promoting values of common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Bronco). S. oleraceus shoot residue, at rates of 150 and 300 g m -2 , has improved soil fertility via accumulation of soil macronutrients, organic matter, organic carbon, and total phenolics. The growth and yield of bean were significantly increased. Moreover, chemical composition of the treated seeds was significantly altered, whereas higher levels of total antioxidant capacity, proteins, carbohydrates, and most of the individual phenolic acids, flavonoids, vitamins, essential amino acids, and unsaturated fatty acids were recorded. Interestingly, a concentration dependent effect was also observed, for instance, a lower saturated-to-unsaturated fatty acid ratio was only observed in the case of the lower residue rate. These findings recommend the use of S. oleraceus in organic farming of bean to enhance the health benefits of the produced seeds.

UMTS Common Channel Sensitivity Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pratas, Nuno; Rodrigues, António; Santos, Frederico

2006-01-01

and as such it is necessary that both channels be available across the cell radius. This requirement makes the choice of the transmission parameters a fundamental one. This paper presents a sensitivity analysis regarding the transmission parameters of two UMTS common channels: RACH and FACH. Optimization of these channels...... is performed and values for the key transmission parameters in both common channels are obtained. On RACH these parameters are the message to preamble offset, the initial SIR target and the preamble power step while on FACH it is the transmission power offset....

A New Multi-Step Iterative Algorithm for Approximating Common Fixed Points of a Finite Family of Multi-Valued Bregman Relatively Nonexpansive Mappings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wiyada Kumam

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In this article, we introduce a new multi-step iteration for approximating a common fixed point of a finite class of multi-valued Bregman relatively nonexpansive mappings in the setting of reflexive Banach spaces. We prove a strong convergence theorem for the proposed iterative algorithm under certain hypotheses. Additionally, we also use our results for the solution of variational inequality problems and to find the zero points of maximal monotone operators. The theorems furnished in this work are new and well-established and generalize many well-known recent research works in this field.

Finding Common Ground Between Earth Scientists and Evangelical Christians

Science.gov (United States)

Grant Ludwig, L.

2015-12-01

In recent decades there has been some tension between earth scientists and evangelical Christians in the U.S., and this tension has spilled over into the political arena and policymaking on important issues such as climate change. From my personal and professional experience engaging with both groups, I find there is much common ground for increasing understanding and communicating the societal relevance of earth science. Fruitful discussions can arise from shared values and principles, and common approaches to understanding the world. For example, scientists and Christians are engaged in the pursuit of truth, and they value moral/ethical decision-making based on established principles. Scientists emphasize the benefits of research "for the common good" while Christians emphasize the value of doing "good works". Both groups maintain a longterm perspective: Christians talk about "the eternal" and geologists discuss "deep time". Both groups understand the importance of placing new observations in context of prior understanding: scientists diligently reference "the literature" while Christians quote "chapter and verse". And members of each group engage with each other in "fellowship" or "meetings" to create a sense of community and reinforce shared values. From my perspective, earth scientists can learn to communicate the importance and relevance of science more effectively by engaging with Christians in areas of common ground, rather than by trying to win arguments or debates.

Value Priorities and Behavior: Applying a Theory of Integrated Value Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shalom Schwartz

2016-02-01

Full Text Available A major goal of research on values has been to relate individual differences in value priorities to differences in attitudes, behavior and background variables. Past research most commonly adopted one of two approaches. Much research has selected a few single target values whose priorities were postulated to associate with the attitude, behavior and background variable of interest and then examined empirical relationships. Other research has been more exploratory.It has related lists of values to various other variables and then discussed the significant associations that emerge. The focus on relationships with single values make both these approaches insatisfying. My work has sought to overcome those approaches.It has derived what may be a nearly comprehensive set of different motivational types of values, recognized across cultures. Each value type is represented by a number of single values that are combined to form relatively reliable indexes of values priorities. Value systems can be treated as integrated wholes in their relations with behaviors and, thereby, encourages researches to abandom the prevailing single-values approaches. 

The Politics of the Commons: Reform or Revolt?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vangelis Papadimitropoulos

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper I present a critical overview of the contemporary political theories of the Commons, classified in three main categories: 1 the liberal 2 the reformist and 3 the anti-capitalist. Advocates of the liberal theory of the Commons take a stand in favour of the coexistence of the Commons with the state and the market. The reformists argue for the gradual adjustment of capitalism to the Commons with the aid of a partner state, while the anti-capitalists contrast both the liberals and the reformists by supporting the development of the commons against and beyond capitalism. I make the case that both the liberal and the anti-capitalist theorists miss the likelihood of technology rendering redundant large-scale production in the future, and forcing thus capitalism to adjust to the Commons in the long run. The prospect, therefore, of an open cooperativism introduced by the reformist theory holds significant potential with respect to the future development of the Commons. For the Commons however to expand and flourish, a global institutional reform, followed by a set of inter-local and international principles, is sine qua non. Hence, transparency of information, distribution of value, solidarity and bottom-up self-management are the core variables of individual and collective autonomy inasmuch as they permit a community or group to formulate its values in relation to the needs and skills of its members.

Comparing Biomechanical Properties, Repair Times, and Value of Common Core Flexor Tendon Repairs.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauhan, Aakash; Schimoler, Patrick; Miller, Mark C; Kharlamov, Alexander; Merrell, Gregory A; Palmer, Bradley A

2018-05-01

The aim of the study was to compare biomechanical strength, repair times, and repair values for zone II core flexor tendon repairs. A total of 75 fresh-frozen human cadaveric flexor tendons were harvested from the index through small finger and randomized into one of 5 repair groups: 4-stranded cross-stitch cruciate (4-0 polyester and 4-0 braided suture), 4-stranded double Pennington (2-0 knotless barbed suture), 4-stranded Pennington (4-0 double-stranded braided suture), and 6-stranded modified Lim-Tsai (4-0 looped braided suture). Repairs were measured in situ and their repair times were measured. Tendons were linearly loaded to failure and multiple biomechanical values were measured. The repair value was calculated based on operating room costs, repair times, and suture costs. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey post hoc statistical analysis were used to compare repair data. The braided cruciate was the strongest repair ( P > .05) but the slowest ( P > .05), and the 4-stranded Pennington using double-stranded suture was the fastest ( P > .05) to perform. The total repair value was the highest for braided cruciate ( P > .05) compared with all other repairs. Barbed suture did not outperform any repairs in any categories. The braided cruciate was the strongest of the tested flexor tendon repairs. The 2-mm gapping and maximum load to failure for this repair approached similar historical strength of other 6- and 8-stranded repairs. In this study, suture cost was negligible in the overall repair cost and should be not a determining factor in choosing a repair.

The configurational energy gap between amorphous and crystalline silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kail, F. [GRMT, Department of Physics, University of Girona, Montilivi Campus, 17071 Girona, Catalonia (Spain); Univ. Barcelona, Dept. Fisica Aplicada and Optica, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Farjas, J.; Roura, P. [GRMT, Department of Physics, University of Girona, Montilivi Campus, 17071 Girona, Catalonia (Spain); Secouard, C. [Univ. Barcelona, Dept. Fisica Aplicada and Optica, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Nos, O.; Bertomeu, J. [CEA Grenoble, LTS, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble cedex (France); Roca i Cabarrocas, P. [LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau (France)

2011-11-15

The crystallization enthalpy of pure amorphous silicon (a-Si) and hydrogenated a-Si was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for a large set of materials deposited from the vapour phase by different techniques. Although the values cover a wide range (200-480 J/g), the minimum value is common to all the deposition techniques used and close to the predicted minimum strain energy of relaxed a-Si (240 {+-} 25 J/g). This result gives a reliable value for the configurational energy gap between a-Si and crystalline silicon. An excess of enthalpy above this minimum value can be ascribed to coordination defects. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Life Support Baseline Values and Assumptions Document

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Molly S.; Ewert, Michael K.; Keener, John F.

2018-01-01

The Baseline Values and Assumptions Document (BVAD) provides analysts, modelers, and other life support researchers with a common set of values and assumptions which can be used as a baseline in their studies. This baseline, in turn, provides a common point of origin from which many studies in the community may depart, making research results easier to compare and providing researchers with reasonable values to assume for areas outside their experience. This document identifies many specific physical quantities that define life support systems, serving as a general reference for spacecraft life support system technology developers.

Common sense and the common morality in theory and practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Daly, Patrick

2014-06-01

The unfinished nature of Beauchamp and Childress's account of the common morality after 34 years and seven editions raises questions about what is lacking, specifically in the way they carry out their project, more generally in the presuppositions of the classical liberal tradition on which they rely. Their wide-ranging review of ethical theories has not provided a method by which to move beyond a hypothetical approach to justification or, on a practical level regarding values conflict, beyond a questionable appeal to consensus. My major purpose in this paper is to introduce the thought of Bernard Lonergan as offering a way toward such a methodological breakthrough. In the first section, I consider Beauchamp and Childress's defense of their theory of the common morality. In the second, I relate a persisting vacillation in their argument regarding the relative importance of reason and experience to a similar tension in classical liberal theory. In the third, I consider aspects of Lonergan's generalized empirical method as a way to address problems that surface in the first two sections of the paper: (1) the structural relation of reason and experience in human action; and (2) the importance of theory for practice in terms of what Lonergan calls "common sense" and "general bias."

Quantifying forecast quality of IT business value

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eveleens, J.L.; van der Pas, M.; Verhoef, C.

2012-01-01

This article discusses how to quantify the forecasting quality of IT business value. We address a common economic indicator often used to determine the business value of project proposals, the Net Present Value (NPV). To quantify the forecasting quality of IT business value, we develop a generalized

[Effects of different soil types on the foliar δ13C values of common local plant species in karst rocky desertification area in central Guizhou Province].

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Xue-lian; Wang, Shi-jie; Luo, Xu-qiang

2014-09-01

By measuring the foliar δ13C values of common local plant species grown in different soil types in Wangjiazhai catchments, a typical karst desertification area in Qingzhen City, Central Guizhou, we studied the impact of soil type and rocky desertification grade on the foliar δ13C values. The results showed that the foliar δ13C values were more negative in yellow soil area than those in black calcareous area and there was no obvious difference in foliar δ13C values between these two soil types. The distribution interval of foliar δ13C values in yellow soil area was narrower than those in black calcareous area and the variation coefficient of foliar δ13C values in yellow soil area were smaller than those in black calcareous area. With increasing degree of karst rocky desertification, the foliar δ13C values of plant community in black calcareous area increased, whereas those in yellow soil area first increased and then decreased. The result of multiple comparison showed that the difference in foliar δ13C values of plant community among rocky desertification grade was not obvious in yellow soil area, but it was obvious in black calcareous area. Correlation analysis between the foliar δ13C values of plant species and the main environmental factors indicated that slope and soil thickness were the main factors which affected the foliar δ13C values of plants in yellow soil area and soil water contant was the main factor in black calcareous area. The impact of soil on the foliar δ13C values was realized by adjusting the soil moisture in study area.

Test the Overall Significance of p-values by Using Joint Tail Probability of Ordered p-values as Test Statistic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fang, Yongxiang; Wit, Ernst

2008-01-01

Fisher’s combined probability test is the most commonly used method to test the overall significance of a set independent p-values. However, it is very obviously that Fisher’s statistic is more sensitive to smaller p-values than to larger p-value and a small p-value may overrule the other p-values

Consumer evaluation of palatability characteristics of a beef value-added cut compared to common retail cuts.

Science.gov (United States)

Lepper-Blilie, A N; Berg, E P; Germolus, A J; Buchanan, D S; Berg, P T

2014-01-01

The objectives of this study were to educate consumers about value-added beef cuts and evaluate their palatability responses of a value cut and three traditional cuts. Three hundred and twenty-two individuals participated in the beef value cut education seminar series presented by trained beef industry educators. Seminar participants evaluated tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall like of four samples, bottom round, top sirloin, ribeye, and a value cut (Delmonico or Denver), on a 9-point scale. The ribeye and the value cut were found to be similar in all four attributes and differed from the top sirloin and bottom round. Correlations and regression analysis found that flavor was the largest influencing factor for overall like for the ribeye, value cut, and top sirloin. The value cut is comparable to the ribeye and can be a less expensive replacement. © 2013.

On universal common ancestry, sequence similarity, and phylogenetic structure: the sins of P-values and the virtues of Bayesian evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theobald Douglas L

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The universal common ancestry (UCA of all known life is a fundamental component of modern evolutionary theory, supported by a wide range of qualitative molecular evidence. Nevertheless, recently both the status and nature of UCA has been questioned. In earlier work I presented a formal, quantitative test of UCA in which model selection criteria overwhelmingly choose common ancestry over independent ancestry, based on a dataset of universally conserved proteins. These model-based tests are founded in likelihoodist and Bayesian probability theory, in opposition to classical frequentist null hypothesis tests such as Karlin-Altschul E-values for sequence similarity. In a recent comment, Koonin and Wolf (K&W claim that the model preference for UCA is "a trivial consequence of significant sequence similarity". They support this claim with a computational simulation, derived from universally conserved proteins, which produces similar sequences lacking phylogenetic structure. The model selection tests prefer common ancestry for this artificial data set. Results For the real universal protein sequences, hierarchical phylogenetic structure (induced by genealogical history is the overriding reason for why the tests choose UCA; sequence similarity is a relatively minor factor. First, for cases of conflicting phylogenetic structure, the tests choose independent ancestry even with highly similar sequences. Second, certain models, like star trees and K&W's profile model (corresponding to their simulation, readily explain sequence similarity yet lack phylogenetic structure. However, these are extremely poor models for the real proteins, even worse than independent ancestry models, though they explain K&W's artificial data well. Finally, K&W's simulation is an implementation of a well-known phylogenetic model, and it produces sequences that mimic homologous proteins. Therefore the model selection tests work appropriately with the artificial

A Value-based Approach to Unspelling Entrepreneurship

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Baryshev Aleksey

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Entrepreneurship and the entrepreneur figure are social phenomena subjected to constant mutations. Extant definitions of entrepreneurship are always based on current characteristics of entrepreneur activity and, as a rule, absolutize them as essential. In the article main mystifications of entrepreneurship are analyzed due to the fact that it is attributed general properties of entrepreneurial activity in the way they are understood in a certain historical period. The paper suggests a way out of the succession of mystifications by rejecting the entrepreneurship definition in the frame of a subject-object interpretive scheme and the development of the entrepreneur activity concept as a kind of social activity. The social action theory and the theory of social objects fetishization are the methodological research foundation. The results of the research are the following. First, the interpretation of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship on the basis of personal traits, functions and ways of the construction of the future are mystifications ascribing the monopoly on arising and developing human action characteristics in different historical periods to entrepreneurship. Second, the cause of mystifications is the transfer of the human action analysis according to the scheme «subject-process-object » to the research of entrepreneurship. Third, attempts to overcome mystifications while preserving the naturalistic approach result in the multiplication of entrepreneurial mystifications as the reflection of new arising general characteristics of human action. Fourth, a general approach to the definition of the entrepreneurial action as a kind of the social action, which has sense in the value production and is capable of everlasting enrichment with new modus of actions and created values, is suggested. Perspectives of further research include the investigation of synchronic and diachronic peculiarities of entrepreneurial action modus and produced values.

Rare species are valued big time.

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Elena Angulo

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: It has recently been postulated that the value humans place on rarity could cause the extinction of rare species. This is because people are willing to pay the high costs of exploiting the last individuals. Many hobbies, such as ecotourism or the keeping of exotic pets may cause this effect--known as the anthropogenic Allee effect. However, the entire theory relies on the insofar undemonstrated assumption that people do value rarity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In order to quantify how much people valued rare species relative to common ones, we created online slideshows of photographs of either rare or common species on an Internet web site. The slideshow with photographs of rare species attracted more visitors, and visitors spent, in general, more time waiting to view it. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We provide evidence that people value rare more than common species. As we did not target consumers of a specific market, this finding suggests that the anthropogenic Allee effect is likely be driven by a large part of the population. Given the substantial participation in our online experiment, we highlight the potential of the world wide web resource as a tool for conservation action. However, the evidence presented here that the general public value rare species, combined with the assumption that anthropogenic Allee effect is operating, implies that conservationists should be prudent when using rarity to promote conservation.

The relationship between mood state and perceived control in contingency learning: effects of individualist and collectivist values.

Science.gov (United States)

Msetfi, Rachel M; Kornbrot, Diana E; Matute, Helena; Murphy, Robin A

2015-01-01

Perceived control in contingency learning is linked to psychological wellbeing with low levels of perceived control thought to be a cause or consequence of depression and high levels of control considered to be the hallmark of mental healthiness. However, it is not clear whether this is a universal phenomenon or whether the value that people ascribe to control influences these relationships. Here we hypothesize that values affect learning about control contingencies and influence the relationship between perceived control and symptoms of mood disorders. We tested these hypotheses with European university samples who were categorized as endorsing (or not) values relevant to control-individualist and collectivist values. Three online experimental contingency learning studies (N 1 = 127, N 2 = 324, N 3 = 272) were carried out. Evidence suggested that individualist values influenced basic learning processes via an effect on learning about the context in which events took place. Participants who endorsed individualist values made control judgments that were more in line with an elemental associative learning model, whilst those who were ambivalent about individualist values made judgments that were more consistent with a configural process. High levels of perceived control and individualist values were directly associated with increased euphoric symptoms of bipolar disorder, and such values completely mediated the relation between perceived control and symptoms. The effect of low perceived control on depression was moderated by collectivist values. Anxiety created by dissonance between values and task may be a catalyst for developing mood symptoms. Conclusions are that values play a significant intermediary role in the relation between perceived control and symptoms of mood disturbance.

[Large calculi of the common bile duct. Value of lithotripsy].

Science.gov (United States)

Lefebvre, J F; Molkhou, J M; Bonnel, D; Dazza, F; Liguory, C

1994-01-01

Certain stones need to be fragmented before being extracted via endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES). From April 1988 to December 1991, extracorporeal lithotripsy was used in this indication in 28 patients (22 females, 6 males) with a mean age of 77 +/- 20 years, using an ultrasound-guided electrohydraulic lithotriptor. Stone detection was performed after perfusion of the nasogastric tube and was easy in 20 cases (71%), difficult in 6 cases (22%) and impossible in 2 cases (7%), which could not be treated by this method. The patients had an average of 1.4 +/- 0.9 stones measuring 19.6 +/- 8 mm and received an average of 2.480 +/- 580 shock waves in a single session for 24 patients and in two sessions for 2 patients. Radiologically obvious fragmentation was achieved in 11 out of 26 cases (42%) and was found to be effective at a further extraction attempt in 4 other cases. Complete clearance of the common bile duct was achieved in 15 cases (57.7%). The size of the stones (> or power of the generator and the use of fluoroscopic rather than ultrasonographic guidance should allow an improvement of these results in the future. Because of its safety, this lithotripsy method can be proposed following failure of mechanical lithotripsy.

On 'Common time' in the four-dimensional symmetry framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulati, Shobha

1980-01-01

Recently Hsu has advanced a 'Four-Dimensional Symmetry Theory' with a 'Common time' for all inertial frames. He believes that such a 'Common time' is physically possible. However, as a consequence of 'Common time', Hsu asserts that the speed of light in some inertial frames is not necessarily invariant and isotropic - a result, quite contrary to Einstein's Principle of the constancy of the velocity of light. In the present paper, taking Hsu's 'Common time' at its face value, the author has demonstrated that his formulation itself leads to physically absurd results. A 'Common time' for all inertial frames is just not possible. (author)

Endorsement of Social and Personal Values Predicts the Desirability of Men and Women as Long-Term Partners.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Guilherme S; Barbaro, Nicole; Sela, Yael; Jeffery, Austin J; Pham, Michael N; Shackelford, Todd K; Zeigler-Hill, Virgil

2017-01-01

A prospective romantic partner's desirability as a long-term partner may be affected by the values that he or she endorses. However, few studies have examined the effects of "values" on a person's desirability as a long-term partner. We hypothesized that individuals who endorse social values (vs. personal values) will be perceived as more desirable long-term partners (Hypothesis 1) and that the endorsement of social values will be especially desirable in a male (vs. female) long-term partner (Hypothesis 2). The current study employed a 2 (sex of prospective partner: male vs. female) × 2 (values of prospective partner: personal vs. social) × 2 (physical attractiveness of prospective partner: unattractive vs. highly attractive) mixed-model design. Participants were 339 undergraduates (174 men, 165 women), with ages varying between 18 and 33 years ( M = 19.9, SD = 3.6), and mostly in a romantic relationship (53.7%). Participants reported interest in a long-term relationship with prospective partners depicted in four scenarios (within subjects), each varying along the dimensions of values (personal vs. social) and physical attractiveness (unattractive vs. highly attractive). Individuals endorsing personal values (vs. social values) and men (vs. women) endorsing personal values were rated as less desirable as long-term partners. The current research adds to the partner preferences literature by demonstrating that an individual's ascribed values influence others' perceptions of desirability as a long-term partner and that these effects are consistently sex differentiated, as predicted by an evolutionary perspective on romantic partner preferences.

Emergency contraceptive use in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Challenging common assumptions about young people's contraceptive practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Both, Rosalijn

2015-05-01

Drawing on an ethnographic case study of young people's (aged 18-29) use of emergency contraceptives (ECs) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this article highlights areas of disconnect between how reproductive health experts envision EC use and local meanings ascribed to ECs by young people. ECs - designed by reproductive health experts to be used only in case of emergency - were preferred by study participants over other contraceptive methods because of their ease of use, discreetness, perceived minimal side effects on beauty and future fertility, and usefulness in navigating reproductive intentions. The findings point to features that young people find desirable when it comes to contraceptive methods and suggest that common assumptions of reproductive health experts about young people's contraceptive practices need to be reconsidered, namely: 1) that young people can plan for prevention of unwanted pregnancy by buying a contraceptive method in advance; 2) that existing contraceptive technologies are appropriate for young people; 3) that young people prefer to use modern contraceptive methods; and 4) that young people in premarital relationships aim to prevent unplanned pregnancy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Establishing values-based leadership and value systems in healthcare organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Graber, David R; Kilpatrick, Anne Osborne

2008-01-01

The importance of values in organizations is often discussed in management literature. Possessing strong or inspiring values is increasingly considered to be a key quality of successful leaders. Another common theme is that organizational values contribute to the culture and ultimate success of organizations. These conceptions or expectations are clearly applicable to healthcare organizations in the United States. However, healthcare organizations have unique structures and are subject to societal expectations that must be accommodated within an organizational values system. This article describes theoretical literature on organizational values. Cultural and religious influences on Americans and how they may influence expectations from healthcare providers are discussed. Organizational cultures and the training and socialization of the numerous professional groups in healthcare also add to the considerable heterogeneity of value systems within healthcare organizations. These contribute to another challenge confronting healthcare managers--competing or conflicting values within a unit or the entire organization. Organizations often fail to reward members who uphold or enact the organization's values, which can lead to lack of motivation and commitment to the organization. Four key elements of values-based leadership are presented for healthcare managers who seek to develop as values-based leaders. 1) Recognize your personal and professional values, 2) Determine what you expect from the larger organization and what you can implement within your sphere of influence, 3) Understand and incorporate the values of internal stakeholders, and 4) Commit to values-based leadership.

Governing Civil Society Organisations and Constructing the Common Good

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hein Jessen, Mathias

This paper argues that civil society is something that must be produced and constructed in order to come into existence. This construction entails a specific production of what civil society is, which values are (and should be) present in it, what the common good is and how civil society and civil...... with specific (good) values, but is at the same time instrumentalised to provide welfare services the state can and will no longer provide. Civil society, civil society organisations and the common good are not given entities, but constantly produced and mobilised in different political conjunctures....

Handball coaches' perceptions about the value of working competences according to their coaching background.

Science.gov (United States)

Mesquita, Isabel; Borges, Mario; Rosado, Antonio; Souza, Adriano De

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the value attributed to given working competences, by Portuguese handball coaches according to their coaching background, certification level, coaching experience, and level of education. A sample of 207 handball coaches responded to a questionnaire which included demographic characteristics and a scale focused on perceptions of the level of importance attributed to working competences. Data analysis included an exploratory factorial analysis applying Maximum Likelihood Factoring (MLF) and Oblimin rotation. These factors were submitted to a One-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc multiple comparisons to analyse coaches' perceptions according to their coaching background. A six factor solution was found where three major domains of competences were highlighted; the first one related to training and competition (e.g. planning and conducting the training, team administration in competition, annual and multi-annual planning, and coaching methodology); the second one related to social and cultural issues and management (e.g. implementation of youth sport development projects, team leadership and coach education) and the third one related to the cognitive background (meta-cognitive competences). The importance ascribed to some working competences was influenced by their coaching experience and certification level. Highly experienced and qualified coaches perceived competences of everyday practice, social, cultural and management issues related to training and competition as more important than the other coaches. This study suggests the need to consider some working competences, until now not explicitly present in the Portuguese coaching education curriculum which could enable coaches to choose the best way to practice/work in a manner that will foster and support their professional development. Key pointsThree major domains of competences were highlighted by Portuguese handball coaches. The first one related to training and competition

Social Values for Ecosystem Services, version 3.0 (SolVES 3.0): documentation and user manual

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrouse, Ben C.; Semmens, Darius J.

2015-01-01

The geographic information system (GIS) tool, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), was developed to incorporate quantified and spatially explicit measures of social values into ecosystem service assessments. SolVES 3.0 continues to extend the functionality of SolVES, which was designed to assess, map, and quantify the social values of ecosystem services. Social values—the perceived, nonmarket values the public ascribes to ecosystem services, particularly cultural services, such as aesthetics and recreation—can be evaluated for various stakeholder groups. These groups are distinguishable by their attitudes and preferences regarding public uses, such as motorized recreation and logging. As with previous versions, SolVES 3.0 derives a quantitative 10-point, social-values metric—the value index—from a combination of spatial and nonspatial responses to public value and preference surveys. The tool also calculates metrics characterizing the underlying environment, such as average distance to water and dominant landcover. SolVES 3.0 is integrated with Maxent maximum entropy modeling software to generate more complete social-value maps and offer robust statistical models describing the relationship between the value index and explanatory environmental variables. A model’s goodness of fit to a primary study area and its potential performance in transferring social values to similar areas using value-transfer methodology can be evaluated. SolVES 3.0 provides an improved public-domain tool for decision makers and researchers to evaluate the social values of ecosystem services and to facilitate discussions among diverse stakeholders regarding the tradeoffs among ecosystem services in a variety of physical and social contexts ranging from forest and rangeland to coastal and marine.

ECONOMIC VALUE ADDED AND MARKET VALUE ADDED - MODERN INDICATORS FOR ASSESSMENT THE FIRM’S VALUE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NICOLAE SICHIGEA

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The financial theory developed different categories of indicators - traditional and modern - in order to evaluate the firm’s value creation. The shareholders are directly interested by the value added in the company. The value creation is a complex process that implies correct decisions, common responsibility (managers and shareholders and actions towards an efficient and profitable activity. The traditional indicators of performance are not teoritically correlated with the the value creation and in these circumstances, should be used appropriate financial indicators in order to reflect the value of the company. Therefore, the modern indicators used in the value based management framework offer a greater flexibility and efficiency and represent a good alternative for companies. Such performance indicators used to measure the financial results correlated with shareholder wealth are the Economic Value Added (EVA, as a measure of internal performance and the Market Value Added (MVA as a measure of external performance of the company. Starting from the main deficiencies of the accounting indicators, the objective of this this study is to present the relationship between EVA and MVA and their implications on firms’valuation. Thus, the presentation and analysis of these indicators – EVA and MVA - will underline the main features, their correlations, and influence factors but also the main advantage and disadvantage of each indicator, which will enable the managers to make the correct choice and subsequently the best decision regarding the performance measures.

pKa value and buffering capacity of acidic monomers commonly used in self-etching primers.

Science.gov (United States)

Salz, Ulrich; Mücke, Angela; Zimmermann, Jörg; Tay, Franklin R; Pashley, David H

2006-06-01

The aim of this investigation was to characterize acidic monomers used in self-etching primers/adhesives by determination of their pKa values and by calculation of their calcium dissolving capacity in comparison with phosphoric and hydrochloric acid. The following acidic monomers were included in this study: 4-methacryloyloxyethyl trimellitate anhydride (4-META), 10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP), dimethacryloyloxyethyl hydrogen phosphate (di-HEMA-phosphate), ethyl 2-[4-(dihydroxyphosphoryl)-2-oxabutyl]acrylate (EAEPA), 2-[4-(dihydroxyphosphoryl)-2-ox-abutyl]acrylic acid (HAEPA), and 2,4,6 trimethylphenyl 2-[4-(dihydroxyphosphoryl)-2-oxabutyl]acrylate (MAEPA). The pKa values were obtained by titration with 0.1 mol/l NaOH in aqueous solution. The inflection points of the resulting potentiometric titration curve were determined as pKa values. In the case of the sparingly water-soluble acidic monomers MAEPA and 4-META, the co-solvent method using different water/ethanol ratios for MAEPA or water/acetone ratios for 4-META was used. The dissolving capacity of each acidic monomer is defined as the amount of hydroxyapatite (HA) dissolved by 1 g of acid. For each monomer, the HA dissolving capacity was calculated bythe corresponding pKa value and the molecular weight. To confirm the calculated dissolving capacities, increasing amounts of HA powder (100 mg portions) were slowly added to 15 mmol/l aqueous solutions of the monomers to determine how much HA could be dissolved in the acidic solutions. For all the investigated acidic monomers, pKal values between 1.7 to 2.5 were observed. The pKa2 values for the phosphate/phosphonate derivatives are between 7.0 and 7.3, and are comparable to phosphoric acid. For dicarboxylic acid derivatives, the pKa2 values are in the range of 4.2 to 4.5. Due to their comparable molecular weights and pKal values, the three tested acids di-HEMA phosphate, MDP and 4-META all possess comparable dissolving capacities for HA (ie, 0

Variations in biochemical values for common laboratory tests: a comparison among multi-ethnic Israeli women cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Birk, Ruth; Heifetz, Eliyahu M

2018-04-28

Biochemical laboratory values are an essential tool in medical diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up; however, they are known to vary between populations. Establishment of ethnicity-adjusted reference values is recommended by health organizations. To investigate the ethnicity element in biochemical lab values studying women of different ethnic groups. Biochemical lab values (n = 27) of 503 adult Israeli women of three ethnicities (Jewish Ashkenazi, Jewish Sephardic, and Bedouin Arab) attending a single medical center were analyzed. Biochemical data were extracted from medical center records. Ethnic differences of laboratory biochemicals were studied using ANCOVA to analyze the center of the distribution as well as quartile regression analysis to analyze the upper and lower limits, both done with an adjustment for age. Significant ethnic differences were found in almost half (n = 12) of the biochemical laboratory tests. Ashkenazi Jews exhibited significantly higher mean values compared to Bedouins in most of the biochemical tests, including albumin, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, cholesterol, cholesterol LDL and HDL, cholesterol LDL calc., folic acid, globulin, and iron saturation, while the Bedouins exhibited the highest mean values in the creatinine and triglycerides. For most of these tests, Sephardic Jews exhibited biochemical mean levels in between the two other groups. Compared to Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews had a significant shift to lower values in cholesterol LDL. Ethnic subpopulations have distinct distributions in biochemical laboratory test values, which should be taken into consideration in medical practice enabling precision medicine.

Top-crossing with evaluation of slaughtering value in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) offspring

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Gela, David; Rodina, Marek; Linhart, Otomar

2003-01-01

Roč. 11, - (2003), s. 379-387 ISSN 0967-6120 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA523/97/S056; GA MŠk ME 403 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5045916 Keywords : common carp Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 0.446, year: 2003

Sports, Global Politics, and Social Value Change: A Research Agenda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lars Rensmann

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Despite their important role in forging, constructing and self-ascribing social identities and shaping popular culture, sports have long been a marginalized subject of social science inquiry, cultural studies, and research on international politics. Only in recent years this has begun to change. The article seeks to advance the still nascent but emerging cross-disciplinary field of research on sports and global politics in two ways: first, by addressing largely unexplored issues of sports, politics, and social conflicts, putting the spotlight on sociopolitical arenas beyond commercialized sports mega events, which have attracted most scholarly attention in contemporary research; and second, by generating hypotheses on the indirect political effects of sports cultures, in particular on the relationship between local social identities—reinforced through sports—and cosmopolitan value change. These interlinked spatial and substantive claims ground a new critical research framework and agenda: it examines sports as profoundly embedded in socioeconomic, cultural and political forms of rule and domination but also seeks to disclose sports’ emancipatory and subversive potential in advancing globalization from below.

Value of qualitative research in the study of massage therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kania, Ania; Porcino, Antony; Vehoef, Marja J

2008-12-15

Qualitative inquiry is increasingly used in health research because it is particularly suited to the study of complex topics or issues about which little is known and concerning which quantification cannot easily create or effectively convey understanding. By exploring the lived experience of people providing and receiving massage therapy and the meaning that those people ascribe to those experiences, in-depth understanding of the nature of massage therapy and of how it affects people's lives is possible. Qualitative research may also provide insights into the outcomes, process and context of massage therapy that cannot be fully achieved through quantification alone.The purpose of the present article is to describe qualitative research and to discuss its value to the massage therapy profession. The target audience is massage therapists who want to be able to better understand the research literature, novice massage therapy researchers who are unfamiliar with qualitative research, and teachers of research methods courses in massage therapy training programs who want to include qualitative research methods in their curriculum.

Comparison of analyses of the XVth QTLMAS common dataset III: Genomic Estimations of Breeding Values

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Demeure Olivier

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The QTLMAS XVth dataset consisted of pedigree, marker genotypes and quantitative trait performances of animals with a sib family structure. Pedigree and genotypes concerned 3,000 progenies among those 2,000 were phenotyped. The trait was regulated by 8 QTLs which displayed additive, imprinting or epistatic effects. The 1,000 unphenotyped progenies were considered as candidates to selection and their Genomic Estimated Breeding Values (GEBV were evaluated by participants of the XVth QTLMAS workshop. This paper aims at comparing the GEBV estimation results obtained by seven participants to the workshop. Methods From the known QTL genotypes of each candidate, two "true" genomic values (TV were estimated by organizers: the genotypic value of the candidate (TGV and the expectation of its progeny genotypic values (TBV. GEBV were computed by the participants following different statistical methods: random linear models (including BLUP and Ridge Regression, selection variable techniques (LASSO, Elastic Net and Bayesian methods. Accuracy was evaluated by the correlation between TV (TGV or TBV and GEBV presented by participants. Rank correlation of the best 10% of individuals and error in predictions were also evaluated. Bias was tested by regression of TV on GEBV. Results Large differences between methods were found for all criteria and type of genetic values (TGV, TBV. In general, the criteria ranked consistently methods belonging to the same family. Conclusions Bayesian methods - A

Common Sense and Education of Young Journalists.

Science.gov (United States)

Glasser, Theodore L.; Ettema, James S.

1989-01-01

Argues that the criteria used in deciding news value has little to do with how editors and reporters operate in the everyday world of journalism. Contends that journalists' knowledge of news is reducible to their common-sensical understanding of it. (MS)

Mental Representation of Fractions: It All Depends on Whether They Are Common or Uncommon.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fuchang

2017-08-13

This study examined whether common and uncommon fractions are mentally represented differently and whether common ones are used in accessing the magnitudes of uncommon ones. In Experiments 1 and 2, college education majors, most of whom were female, Caucasian, and in their early 20s, made comparisons involving common and uncommon fractions. In Experiment 3, participants were presented with comparison tasks involving uncommon fractions and asked to describe the strategies which they used in making such comparisons. Analysis of reaction times and error rates support the hypothesis that for common fractions, it is their holistic real value, rather than their individual components, that gets represented. For uncommon fractions, the access of their magnitudes is a process of retrieving and using a known common one having a similar value. Such results suggest that the development of the cognizance of the magnitudes of fractions may be principally a matter of common ones only and that learners' handling of uncommon fractions may be greatly facilitated through instructions on matching them with common ones having a similar value.

Historical anamnesis and diagnostic investigation on the oil on panel painting “Madonna with Child and Saints Jerome and Catherine from Siena” ascribed to Domenico Beccafumi (1486-1551

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Salvatore Lorusso

2003-02-01

Full Text Available The diagnostic analyses executed on the painting “Madonna con Bambino e Santi Girolamo e Caterina da Siena”, ascribed to Beccafumi by Zeri in 1995, and datable, for stylistic considerations, in the early thirty years in 1500, allowed to analyse the executive technique, to confirm the attribution to the Sienese painter and to evaluate the preservation conditions. Diagnostic analyses have been executed by: reflectography, videomicroscopy, X-rays radiography, X-rays fluorescence spectroscopy. Analyses with gas cromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS have been executed on micro-fragments to investigate the nature of binders. The painting, not in very good conservation conditions, shows a significant degradation process in act. Effects of old and radical cleanings appear evident: these, probably, intended to solve some problems in the Beccafumi’s pictorial technique: he used to paint very quickly, leaving typical colour drippings. The main damages, in any case, seem to be caused by old and significant wood deformation.

Environmental value assessment in a multidisciplinary EIA setting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erikstad, Lars; Lindblom, Inge; Jerpasen, Gro; Hanssen, Martin A.; Bekkby, Trine; Stabbetorp, Odd; Bakkestuen, Vegar

2008-01-01

Value assessment is a central element in an EIA for the understanding of the impacts of specified projects. The value assessment contains subjective elements and this may cause errors and difficulties in numeric value assessment methods. There is a need for transparent common criteria to promote discussion and understanding. A common criteria base already exists, but lack of communication between different management systems and different disciplines, all with different traditions in value assessment, makes the situation complex. In this article we have looked into the basic understanding of value linked to the investigation themes of natural environment, cultural heritage and society. The investigation themes linked to social science is difficult to incorporate into a common system, basically because they have less focus on land use and contain different value types. Much of the relevant literature about value assessment is linked to the assessment of sites of special interest as candidates for legal protection or conservation. In an EIA a much broader range of areas is introduced, including the 'every day landscape' with a lower and more general level of value. Together with a focus on mitigation and adjustments of plans, this results in a need for a more detailed value assessment scale than is normally in use today. We have suggested a new scale to ease communication between different disciplines and management systems. How we understand value is not constant over time, nor is the level of knowledge. This makes it necessary to sustain an ongoing debate on value assessment. The need for a dynamic value assessment system increases with the increasing use of database modelling, digital analysis of map data (GIS) etc. Lack of a ongoing value debate will rapidly lead to misleading and biased results

The relationship between mood state and perceived control in contingency learning: effects of individualist and collectivist values

Science.gov (United States)

Msetfi, Rachel M.; Kornbrot, Diana E.; Matute, Helena; Murphy, Robin A.

2015-01-01

Perceived control in contingency learning is linked to psychological wellbeing with low levels of perceived control thought to be a cause or consequence of depression and high levels of control considered to be the hallmark of mental healthiness. However, it is not clear whether this is a universal phenomenon or whether the value that people ascribe to control influences these relationships. Here we hypothesize that values affect learning about control contingencies and influence the relationship between perceived control and symptoms of mood disorders. We tested these hypotheses with European university samples who were categorized as endorsing (or not) values relevant to control—individualist and collectivist values. Three online experimental contingency learning studies (N1 = 127, N2 = 324, N3 = 272) were carried out. Evidence suggested that individualist values influenced basic learning processes via an effect on learning about the context in which events took place. Participants who endorsed individualist values made control judgments that were more in line with an elemental associative learning model, whilst those who were ambivalent about individualist values made judgments that were more consistent with a configural process. High levels of perceived control and individualist values were directly associated with increased euphoric symptoms of bipolar disorder, and such values completely mediated the relation between perceived control and symptoms. The effect of low perceived control on depression was moderated by collectivist values. Anxiety created by dissonance between values and task may be a catalyst for developing mood symptoms. Conclusions are that values play a significant intermediary role in the relation between perceived control and symptoms of mood disturbance. PMID:26483707

The relationship between mood state and perceived control in contingency learning: Effects of individualist and collectivist values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel M. Msetfi

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Perceived control in contingency learning is linked to psychological wellbeing with low levels of perceived control thought to be a cause or consequence of depression and high levels of control considered to be the hallmark of mental healthiness. However, it is not clear whether this is a universal phenomenon or whether the value that people ascribe to control influences these relationships. Here we hypothesize that values affect learning about control contingencies and influence the relationship between perceived control and symptoms of mood disorders. We tested these hypotheses with European university samples who were categorized as endorsing (or not values relevant to control - individualist and collectivist values. Three online experimental contingency learning studies (N1 = 127, N2 = 324, N3 = 272 were carried out. Evidence suggested that individualist values influenced basic learning processes via an effect on learning about the context in which events took place. Participants who endorsed individualist values made control judgments that were more in line with an elemental associative learning model, whilst those who were ambivalent about individualist values made judgments that were more consistent with a configural process. High levels of perceived control and individualist values were directly associated with increased euphoric symptoms of bipolar disorder, and such values completely mediated the relation between perceived control and symptoms. The effect of low perceived control on depression was moderated by collectivist values. Anxiety created by dissonance between values and task may be a catalyst for developing mood symptoms. Conclusions are that values play a significant intermediary role in the relation between perceived control and symptoms of mood disturbance.

Do Values Drive the Plan? Investigating the Nature and Role of Organizational Values in University Strategic Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Robin Alison

2015-01-01

Strategic planning is a common practice at higher education institutions. Furthermore, it is assumed that identifying organizational values is an essential part of the planning process. Values are often construed as foundational elements of strategic thinking that serve to "drive the plan". However, there is little conceptual or applied…

Information security value in e-entrepreneurship

OpenAIRE

Nunes, Sérgio

2012-01-01

This paper researches the information security value in e-entrepreneurship by revising the literature that establishes the entrepreneurial domain and by relating it with the development of technological resources that create value for the customer in an online business. It details multiple paradigms regarding consumer’s values of information security, while relating them with common practices and previous researches in technological entrepreneurship. This research presents and discusses the b...

Professional values and competencies as explanatory factors for the use of evidence-based practice in nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Skela-Savič, Brigita; Hvalič-Touzery, Simona; Pesjak, Katja

2017-08-01

To establish the connection between values, competencies, selected job characteristics and evidence-based practice use. Nurses rarely apply evidence-based practice in everyday work. A recent body of research has looked at various variables explaining the use of evidence-based practice, but not values and competencies. A cross-sectional, non-experimental quantitative explorative research design. Standardized instruments were used (Nurse Professional Values Scale-R, Nurse Competence Scale, Evidence-Based Practice Beliefs and Implementation Scale). The sample included 780 nurses from 20 Slovenian hospitals. The data were collected in 2015. The study identifies two new variables contributing to a better understanding of beliefs on and implementation of evidence-based practice, thus broadening the existing research evidence. These are the values of activism and professionalism and competencies aimed at the development and professionalization of nursing. Values of caring, trust and justice and competencies expected in everyday practice do not influence the beliefs and implementation of evidence-based practice. Respondents ascribed less importance to values connected with activism and professionalism and competencies connected with the development of professionalism. Nurses agree that evidence-based practice is useful in their clinical work, but they lack the knowledge to implement it in practice. Evidence-based practice implementation in nursing practice is low. Study results stress the importance of increasing the knowledge and skills on professional values of activism and professionalism and competencies connected to nursing development. The study expands the current understanding of evidence-based practice use and provides invaluable insight for nursing managers, higher education managers and the national nursing association. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Depression in the barrio: An analysis of the risk and protective nature of cultural values among Mexican American substance users.

Science.gov (United States)

Villarreal, Yolanda R; Torres, Luis R; Stotts, Angela L; Ren, Yi; Sampson, Mcclain; Klawans, Michelle R; Bordnick, Patrick S

2017-06-07

Understanding the effect of cultural values on depression and how social networks influence these relationships may be important in the treatment of substance-using, Mexican American populations. Latino cultural values, familismo, personalismo, fatalismo, and machismo, may be associated with depression among Latinos. The current study identified the association of traditional Latino values on depressive symptomatology among a sample of Mexican American heroin injectors. A cross-sectional research design and field-intensive outreach methodology were utilized to recruit 227 Mexican American men. Participants were categorized into depressed and nondepressed groups. Relations among cultural values and depression were examined using logistic regression. Findings indicate that drug-using men with higher familismo and fatalismo scores are protected against depressive symptomatology. Relations between familismo and depression seem to be moderated by having a drug use network. In addition, findings reveal that age is inversely related to depressive symptomatology. Young Mexican American heroin users who do not ascribe to traditional Latino values may be highly associated with depression and therefore more vulnerable to riskier drug use behaviors. Moreover, drug-using social networks may affect the protective nature of certain cultural values. Further research is needed to identify whether culturally tailored treatments can cultivate these values while simultaneously undermining the effect of substance-using social networks in order to reduce depression symptoms among this group of high-risk substance users.

Europe’s Values for the Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raluca Mihalcioiu

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The EU has been misunderstood as a purely economic community for a long time. It should not be forgotten that the EU is a community of values in the first place even if the EU's economy plays an important role for the whole World. The crisis has a firm grip on Europe. Every day there are more and more comments of those who have already predicted the downfall of the EU. The value of our common currency and even more the importance of our shared values of Europe appear to be in free fall. The Treaty on European Union (as amended by the Lisbon Treaty mentioned these values in Article 2. These values are common to all Member States with a society, which is characterized by pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men. “Europe has become a role model. The universal appeal of our values is reflected in the countries of our southern and eastern neighbors. Unlike in the past, these values are not mediated by subjugation and colonization, but by voluntary acceptance when we share them. This applies to our community. This also applies to our relationship with our neighbors and the world. The purpose of this paper is to describe the most fundamental European values as well as their significance for our society. It shows why these values are the basis for our modern and democratic societies today. The paper points out how these values are going to be like in the future, during the deepest crisis of the EU.

The relationships between common measures of glucose meter performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilmoth, Daniel R

2012-09-01

Glucose meter performance is commonly measured in several different ways, including the relative bias and coefficient of variation (CV), the total error, the mean absolute relative deviation (MARD), and the size of the interval around the reference value that would be necessary to contain a meter measurement at a specified probability. This fourth measure is commonly expressed as a proportion of the reference value and will be referred to as the necessary relative deviation. A deeper understanding of the relationships between these measures may aid health care providers, patients, and regulators in comparing meter performances when different measures are used. The relationships between common measures of glucose meter performance were derived mathematically. Equations are presented for calculating the total error, MARD, and necessary relative deviation using the reference value, relative bias, and CV when glucose meter measurements are normally distributed. When measurements are also unbiased, the CV, total error, MARD, and necessary relative deviation are linearly related and are therefore equivalent measures of meter performance. The relative bias and CV provide more information about meter performance than the other measures considered but may be difficult for some audiences to interpret. Reporting meter performance in multiple ways may facilitate the informed selection of blood glucose meters. © 2012 Diabetes Technology Society.

Value and Momentum Everywhere

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asness, Clifford S.; Moskowitz, Tobias J.; Heje Pedersen, Lasse

across asset classes than passive exposures to the asset classes themselves. However, value and momentum are negatively correlated both within and across asset classes. Our results indicate the presence of common global risks that we characterize with a three factor model. Global funding liquidity risk...... is a partial source of these patterns, which are identifiable only when examining value and momentum simultaneously across markets. Our findings present a challenge to existing behavioral, institutional, and rational asset pricing theories that largely focus on U.S. equities....

Value and Momentum Everywhere

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asness, Clifford S.; Moskowitz, Tobias; Heje Pedersen, Lasse

2013-01-01

are negatively correlated with each other, both within and across asset classes. Our results indicate the presence of common global risks that we characterize with a three-factor model. Global funding liquidity risk is a partial source of these patterns, which are identifiable only when examining value...

Effect of Pleurotus eryngii Mushroom β-Glucan on Quality Characteristics of Common Wheat Pasta.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, SunHee; Lee, Jo-Won; Heo, Yena; Moon, BoKyung

2016-04-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of β-glucan-rich fractions (BGRFs) from Pleurotus eryngii mushroom powder on the quality, textural properties, and sensory evaluation of common wheat pasta. Pasta was prepared from semolina flour and common wheat flour by replacing common wheat flour at 2%, 4%, and 6% with BGRFs. Semolina flour showed significantly higher viscosities than common wheat flour samples. However, all viscosities, except the breakdown viscosity, were reduced with increasing percentages of BGRFs. Replacement of the common wheat flour with BGRFs resulted in a reddish brown colored pasta with a lower L* value and a higher a* value. The common wheat pastas containing up to 4% BGRFs were not significantly different from semolina pasta with regard to cooking loss. Addition of up to 2% BGRFs had no significant impact on swelling index and water absorption. The addition of BGRFs in common wheat flour had a positive effect on the quality of common wheat pasta and resulted in hardness values similar to those of semolina pasta. In a sensory evaluation, cooked pasta with 2% BGRFs had the highest overall acceptability score. In summary, the results showed that common wheat flour containing 4% BGRFs could be used to produce pasta with an improved quality and texture properties similar to semolina pasta. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

Test the Overall Significance of p-values by Using Joint Tail Probability of Ordered p-values as Test Statistic

OpenAIRE

Fang, Yongxiang; Wit, Ernst

2008-01-01

Fisher’s combined probability test is the most commonly used method to test the overall significance of a set independent p-values. However, it is very obviously that Fisher’s statistic is more sensitive to smaller p-values than to larger p-value and a small p-value may overrule the other p-values and decide the test result. This is, in some cases, viewed as a flaw. In order to overcome this flaw and improve the power of the test, the joint tail probability of a set p-values is proposed as a ...

Expert Testimony, "Regular People," and Public Values: Arguing Common Sense at a Death Penalty Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Chappell, Virginia A.

1995-01-01

Presents a case study of a particular courtroom case dealing with the death penalty. Analyzes the processes and communications of the trial jury. Discusses the interplay of common-sense and expert claims at three crucial stages of the trial. (HB)

Variables of Which Values Are a Function

Science.gov (United States)

Leigland, Sam

2005-01-01

The ordinary-language concept of values has a complex history in psychology and in science generally. The traditional fact-value distinction commonly found in traditional scientific perspectives has been challenged by the varieties of philosophical pragmatism, which have similarities to Skinner's radical behaviorism. Skinner's challenge to the…

Ontological Choices and the Value-Free Ideal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ludwig, D.J.

2015-01-01

The aim of this article is to argue that ontological choices in scientific practice undermine common formulations of the value-free ideal in science. First, I argue that the truth values of scientific statements depend on ontological choices. For example, statements about entities such as species,

Ontological Choices and the Value-Free Ideal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ludwig, David

2016-01-01

The aim of this article is to argue that ontological choices in scientific practice undermine common formulations of the value-free ideal in science. First, I argue that the truth values of scientific statements depend on ontological choices. For example, statements about entities such as species,

The medieval Catalan tradition of De duodecim diebus ueneris ascribed to Clement of Rome. Contribution to the ‘occasional’ translations of brief religious works

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Martínez Romero, Tomàs

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Since the fi rst centuries of Christianity, De duodecim diebus ueneris has been ascribed to Clement of Rome (1st century; this minor text states the twelve annual Fridays when one has to fast. Apart from the known Italian and English versions, there is evidence of the mediaeval spreading of that short work in Catalan. In this study, seven witnesses are gathered (although one is lost, showing enough textual and content differences to consider them as independent. It is, therefore, a clear example of the so-called “occasional” or “quotidian” translations, which in this case is a brief religious text.[ca] Des dels primers segles del cristianisme, s’assignà a Climent de Roma (s. I el De duodecim diebus ueneris, un text menor on es prescriuen els dotze divendres de l’any en què hom ha de dejunar. A més de la coneguda existència de les versions italiana i anglesa, hi ha constància de la difusió medieval de l’obreta en català. En aquest estudi se n’inventarien set testimonis (un dels quals perdut, que reporten sufi cients diferències textuals i de contingut per considerar- los independents. Es tracta, per tant, d’un exemple clar de les denominades traduccions “quotidianes” o d’ús, en aquest cas d’un text religiós breu.

Nursing ethical values and definitions: A literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahriari, Mohsen; Mohammadi, Eesa; Abbaszadeh, Abbas; Bahrami, Masoud

2013-01-01

Ethical values offer a framework for behavior assessment, and nursing values influence nurses' goals, strategies, and actions. A literature review was adopted in order to determine and define ethical values for nurses. This literature review was conducted based on the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines. The key words used to search relevant sources were nursing, ethics, ethical values, and nursing values. The search of articles in English was carried out in Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, and Proquest databases. The search of articles in Persian was conducted in databases of Magiran, SID, and Irandoc publications. After assessing and analyzing the obtained data, 17 articles which had a distinct definition of ethical values were chosen and subjected to a thorough study. The search yielded 10 nursing ethical values: Human dignity, privacy, justice, autonomy in decision making, precision and accuracy in caring, commitment, human relationship, sympathy, honesty, and individual and professional competency. This study showed that common ethical values are generally shared within the global community. However, in several areas, influences of social, cultural, and economical status and religious beliefs on values result in a different definition of these values. This study revealed that based on humanistic nature of nursing, common values in nursing protect human dignity and respect to the patients. Recognizing and definition of ethical values can help to improve nursing practice and develop codes of ethics.

Measuring Nursing Value from the Electronic Health Record.

Science.gov (United States)

Welton, John M; Harper, Ellen M

2016-01-01

We report the findings of a big data nursing value expert group made up of 14 members of the nursing informatics, leadership, academic and research communities within the United States tasked with 1. Defining nursing value, 2. Developing a common data model and metrics for nursing care value, and 3. Developing nursing business intelligence tools using the nursing value data set. This work is a component of the Big Data and Nursing Knowledge Development conference series sponsored by the University Of Minnesota School Of Nursing. The panel met by conference calls for fourteen 1.5 hour sessions for a total of 21 total hours of interaction from August 2014 through May 2015. Primary deliverables from the bit data expert group were: development and publication of definitions and metrics for nursing value; construction of a common data model to extract key data from electronic health records; and measures of nursing costs and finance to provide a basis for developing nursing business intelligence and analysis systems.

Effect of Entry into Socially Responsible Investment Index on Cost of Equity and Firm Value

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Kijung Eom

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of a company’s incorporation into the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI index on its cost of equity (COE and corporate value. The study collected and analyzed data about the four-year long changes of the component stocks of the Korea Exchange (KRX SRI index from September 2010 to September 2013 to verify the correlation between the incorporation of the SRI index and the cost of equity or corporate value by using the Price-Earnings Growth (PEG, Modified PEG (MPEG and Gode and Mohanram (GM models for estimation of the implied costs of equity capital, as well as Tobin’s Q ratio. The analysis results failed to show any significant relation between the incorporation of the SRI index and the cost of equity capital. Also, no statistically significant correlation between the incorporation of the SRI index and corporate value was observed. However, at an early phase of introduction of the SRI index, the included companies revealed a negative correlation with the cost of equity. However, after changing the listed stocks, they showed a positive correlation with the cost of equity capital. All in all, this can be ascribed to a mixed presence of optimistic and pessimistic investors about CSR activities, or there is a possibility that the KRX SRI index might not correctly reflect the CSR activities of companies.

Hybrid value foraging: How the value of targets shapes human foraging behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfe, Jeremy M; Cain, Matthew S; Alaoui-Soce, Abla

2018-04-01

In hybrid foraging, observers search visual displays for multiple instances of multiple target types. In previous hybrid foraging experiments, although there were multiple types of target, all instances of all targets had the same value. Under such conditions, behavior was well described by the marginal value theorem (MVT). Foragers left the current "patch" for the next patch when the instantaneous rate of collection dropped below their average rate of collection. An observer's specific target selections were shaped by previous target selections. Observers were biased toward picking another instance of the same target. In the present work, observers forage for instances of four target types whose value and prevalence can vary. If value is kept constant and prevalence manipulated, participants consistently show a preference for the most common targets. Patch-leaving behavior follows MVT. When value is manipulated, observers favor more valuable targets, though individual foraging strategies become more diverse, with some observers favoring the most valuable target types very strongly, sometimes moving to the next patch without collecting any of the less valuable targets.

‘God is my forest’ – Xhosa cultural values provide untapped opportunities for conservation

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Susi Vetter

2012-05-01

Full Text Available In South Africa conservation is still largely framed in terms of Western scientific values, with a focus on material benefits to local communities, whilst little is known about the intangible values local people attach to nature and biodiversity. We explored the cultural, spiritual and emotional relationships with nature expressed by Xhosa people, within the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot, as well as the activities that mediate this relationship. A descriptive research approach was applied to document the emotions, meanings and values associated with landscape elements. This approach included group and individual interviews and ‘walk-in-the-woods’ interviews and participatory mapping exercises. Respondents portrayed a strong, although not always easily articulated, appreciation for nature, especially ihlathi lesiXhosa (‘Xhosa forest’, vegetation types within the Thicket Biome. Activities such as collecting fuelwood and other resources, hunting and time spent at initiation schools were described as key opportunities for spending time in nature. The benefits of being in nature were ascribed not only to the physical experience of the forest environment and its biota, but also to the presence of ancestral spirits. Being in nature thus contributes significantly to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of local people, and is also integral to their sense of cultural identity. This study has made it clear that maintenance of biodiversity and natural vegetation is as much in the interest of the local community’s well-being as it is in the interest of conservation planners. We recommend that cultural values be incorporated into local conservation plans.

Values in reasoning on energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malaska, P.; Kantola, I.; Kasanen, P.

1989-01-01

Energy policy at the present time is a controversial issue with value loaded but hidden assumptions and controdictory views between proponents and opponents. The hidden or even open value contradictions between people acting on the policy formulation as experts or participating in public discussion, hinder attainment of common understanding of the situation and the choices available as well as rational decision making. Diversified subjects of energy issues followed with logical argumentation by different people and with controversial views as presented in public or in the value panel of the research project, have been described and analysed in a novel way in this research. A previously developed cognitive mapping technique has been applied in presenting the logical substructures of argumentation. However, controversality of energy policy does not stem only from the values but equally from other sources of possible contradictory views, such as erraneous or partial data, contingential information or invalid logic. Energy discussion is not devoid of these pitfalls, not necessarily even when the so-called experts express their views and recommendations. The report analyses some important themes. The message of the research, if any, is about how to consider the value arguments in a rational way and how to 'solve' value contradictions for decision making or how to make decisions on energy in a rational way under value contradictions. It is concluded that the remedy is in conscious elaborations on these contradictions and detection of them from other relevant information and furthermore, in the development of communicative rationality instead of and side by side with the more commonly adapted technical rationality

Efficacy of zinc against common cold viruses: an overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulisz, Darrell

2004-01-01

To review the laboratory and clinical evidence of the medicinal value of zinc for the treatment of the common cold. Published articles identified through Medline (1980-2003) using the search terms zinc, rhinovirus, and other pertinent subject headings. Additional sources were identified from the bibliographies of the retrieved articles. By the author. By the author. Human rhinoviruses, by attaching to the nasal epithelium via the intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) receptor, cause most colds. Ionic zinc, based on its electrical charge, also has an affinity for ICAM-1 receptor sites and may exert an antiviral effect by attaching to the ICAM-1 receptors in the rhinovirus structure and nasal epithelial cells. Clinical tests of zinc for treatment of common colds have been inconsistent, primarily because of study design, blinding, and lozenge contents. Early formulations of lozenges also were unpalatable. In three trials with similar study designs, methodologies, and efficacy assessments, zinc effectively and significantly shortened the duration of the common cold when it was administered within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. Recent reports of trials with zinc gluconate administered as a nasal gel have supported these findings; in addition, they have shown that treatment with zinc nasal gel is effective in reducing the duration and severity of common cold symptoms in patients with established illness. Clinical trial data support the value of zinc in reducing the duration and severity of symptoms of the common cold when administered within 24 hours of the onset of common cold symptoms. Additional clinical and laboratory evaluations are warranted to further define the role of ionic zinc for the prevention and treatment of the common cold and to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms through which zinc exerts its symptom-relieving effects.

Values, Watersheds and Justification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiberg, Katrina

2015-01-01

concerning HOW. Together, this also hold potentials of achieving multiple benefits and action promoting resilience and liveability in urban landscapes. One way of approaching the value disputes is by asking if some conception of the common good in case of HOW can be justified at the same time...... as the plurality and diversity of values are recognised. Luc Boltanski and Laurent Thévenot ́s concept of a plurality of regimes of justification -conflicting but also enabling compromise gives an affirmative answer to this question which is exemplified in the final parts of the paper....

One-Step Dynamic Classifier Ensemble Model for Customer Value Segmentation with Missing Values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Xiao

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Scientific customer value segmentation (CVS is the base of efficient customer relationship management, and customer credit scoring, fraud detection, and churn prediction all belong to CVS. In real CVS, the customer data usually include lots of missing values, which may affect the performance of CVS model greatly. This study proposes a one-step dynamic classifier ensemble model for missing values (ODCEM model. On the one hand, ODCEM integrates the preprocess of missing values and the classification modeling into one step; on the other hand, it utilizes multiple classifiers ensemble technology in constructing the classification models. The empirical results in credit scoring dataset “German” from UCI and the real customer churn prediction dataset “China churn” show that the ODCEM outperforms four commonly used “two-step” models and the ensemble based model LMF and can provide better decision support for market managers.

The social value of clinical research.

Science.gov (United States)

Habets, Michelle G J L; van Delden, Johannes J M; Bredenoord, Annelien L

2014-09-05

International documents on ethical conduct in clinical research have in common the principle that potential harms to research participants must be proportional to anticipated benefits. The anticipated benefits that can justify human research consist of direct benefits to the research participant, and societal benefits, also called social value. In first-in-human research, no direct benefits are expected and the benefit component of the risks-benefit assessment thus merely exists in social value. The concept social value is ambiguous by nature and is used in numerous ways in the research ethics literature. Because social value justifies involving human participants, especially in early human trials, this is problematic. Our analysis and interpretation of the concept social value has led to three proposals. First, as no direct benefits are expected for the research participants in first-in-human trials, we believe it is better to discuss a risk- value assessment instead of a risk - benefit assessment. This will also make explicit the necessity to have a clear and common use for the concept social value. Second, to avoid confusion we propose to limit the concept social value to the intervention tested. It is the expected improvement the intervention can bring to the wellbeing of (future) patients or society that is referred to when we speak about social value. For the sole purpose of gaining knowledge, we should not expose humans to potential harm; the ultimate justification of involving humans in research lies in the anticipated social value of the intervention. Third, at the moment only the validity of the clinical research proposal is a prerequisite for research to take place. We recommend making the anticipated social value a prerequisite as well. In this paper we analyze the use of the concept social value in research ethics. Despite its unavoidable ambiguity, we aim to find a best use of the concept, subject to its role in justifying involving humans in first

"Keeping in mind the gender stereotype": the role of need for closure in the retrieval-induced forgetting of female managers' qualities.

Science.gov (United States)

Pica, Gennaro; Pierro, Antonio; Pellegrini, Valerio; De Cristofaro, Valeria; Giannini, Annamaria; Kruglanski, Arie W

2018-05-19

The present research addressed the question of whether need for closure (NFC; Kruglanski in The psychology of closed mindedness, Psychology Press, New York, 2004) biases individuals' memory of female leaders. Merging research on role congruity theory of leadership (Koenig et al. in Psychol Bull 4:616-642, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023557 ) and research on retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF, Anderson et al. in J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cognit 20:1063-1087, 1994. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.861 ), we hypothesized and found that high-NFC participants show (1) a higher RIF of dimensions commonly associated with the leadership prototype (agentic/masculine) ascribed to female manager targets, when selectively retrieved dimensions commonly associated with the female prototype (communal/feminine) were ascribed to the same target; and (2) a lessened RIF of female stereotypical dimensions ascribed to female manager targets, when selectively retrieved prototypical leadership dimensions were ascribed to the same target. Overall, the present findings suggest that when faced with women leaders, high NfC enhances the accessibility of gender stereotype-congruent memories and reduces the accessibility of prototypical leadership ones, thus reducing the RIF of communal/feminine memories.

Opinions and Perceptions of Physical Education Students about Value Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bozkurt, Eyüp; Tel, Mikail

2016-01-01

Values make people live together and have common grounds. Value education, which starts in the family are, shaped by the environment that children live in. After children start school, they being to learn value education. School inculcates the values adopted by the community to the children. The most important executor of value is the teacher. If…

The Foundations of Common Moral life: Some Conservative Perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Søren Hviid

2010-01-01

One cannot fail to notice an abundance of liberal approaches trying to formulate the conditions of how to create a common moral life in the face of deep value pluralism. What is more or less missing is a principled and theoretically informed modern conservative approach. The purpose of this paper...... is to remedy this lack of a conservative voice in this conversation of trying to draw the contours of how to create a common moral life....

Common approach to common interests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-06-01

In referring to issues confronting the energy field in this region and options to be exercised in the future, I would like to mention the fundamental condition of the utmost importance. That can be summed up as follows: any subject in energy area can never be solved by one country alone, given the geographical and geopolitical characteristics intrinsically possessed by energy. So, a regional approach is needed and it is especially necessary for the main players in the region to jointly address problems common to them. Though it may be a matter to be pursued in the distant future, I am personally dreaming a 'Common Energy Market for Northeast Asia,' in which member countries' interests are adjusted so that the market can be integrated and the region can become a most economically efficient market, thus formulating an effective power to encounter the outside. It should be noted that Europe needed forty years to integrate its market as the unified common market. It is necessary for us to follow a number of steps over the period to eventually materialize our common market concept, too. Now is the time for us to take a first step to lay the foundation for our descendants to enjoy prosperity from such a common market.

The Economic Value of the Greater Montreal Blue Network (Quebec, Canada: A Contingent Choice Study Using Real Projects to Estimate Non-Market Aquatic Ecosystem Services Benefits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas G Poder

Full Text Available This study used a contingent choice method to determine the economic value of improving various ecosystem services (ESs of the Blue Network of Greater Montreal (Quebec, Canada. Three real projects were used and the evaluation focused on six ESs that are related to freshwater aquatic ecosystems: biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration, recreational activities, landscape aesthetics and education services. We also estimated the value associated with the superficies of restored sites. We calculated the monetary value that a household would be willing to pay for each additional qualitative or quantitative unit of different ESs, and these marginal values range from $0.11 to $15.39 per household per unit. Thus, under certain assumptions, we determined the monetary values that all Quebec households would allocate to improve each ES in Greater Montreal by one unit. The most valued ES was water quality ($13.5 million, followed by education services ($10.7 million, recreational activities ($8.9 million, landscape aesthetics ($4.1 million, biodiversity ($1.2 million, and carbon sequestration ($0.1 million. Our results ascribe monetary values to improved (or degraded aquatic ecosystems in the Blue Network of Greater Montreal, but can also enhance economic analyses of various aquatic ecosystem restoration and management projects.

The Economic Value of the Greater Montreal Blue Network (Quebec, Canada): A Contingent Choice Study Using Real Projects to Estimate Non-Market Aquatic Ecosystem Services Benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Poder, Thomas G; Dupras, Jérôme; Fetue Ndefo, Franck; He, Jie

2016-01-01

This study used a contingent choice method to determine the economic value of improving various ecosystem services (ESs) of the Blue Network of Greater Montreal (Quebec, Canada). Three real projects were used and the evaluation focused on six ESs that are related to freshwater aquatic ecosystems: biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration, recreational activities, landscape aesthetics and education services. We also estimated the value associated with the superficies of restored sites. We calculated the monetary value that a household would be willing to pay for each additional qualitative or quantitative unit of different ESs, and these marginal values range from $0.11 to $15.39 per household per unit. Thus, under certain assumptions, we determined the monetary values that all Quebec households would allocate to improve each ES in Greater Montreal by one unit. The most valued ES was water quality ($13.5 million), followed by education services ($10.7 million), recreational activities ($8.9 million), landscape aesthetics ($4.1 million), biodiversity ($1.2 million), and carbon sequestration ($0.1 million). Our results ascribe monetary values to improved (or degraded) aquatic ecosystems in the Blue Network of Greater Montreal, but can also enhance economic analyses of various aquatic ecosystem restoration and management projects.

Combined analysis of 19 common validated type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene variants shows moderate discriminative value and no evidence of gene-gene interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sparsø, T; Grarup, N; Andreasen, C.

2009-01-01

study; and additional type 2 diabetic patients and glucose-tolerant individuals. The case-control studies involved 4,093 type 2 diabetic patients and 5,302 glucose-tolerant individuals. RESULTS: Single-variant analyses demonstrated allelic odds ratios ranging from 1.04 (95% CI 0.98-1.11) to 1.33 (95% CI...... analysis of the 19 validated variants enables detection of subgroups at substantially increased risk of type 2 diabetes; however, the discrimination between glucose-tolerant and type 2 diabetes individuals is still too inaccurate to achieve clinical value.......AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The list of validated type 2 diabetes susceptibility variants has recently been expanded from three to 19. The variants identified are common and have low penetrance in the general population. The aim of the study is to investigate the combined effect of the 19 variants by applying...

Common Courses for Common Purposes:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schaub Jr, Gary John

2014-01-01

(PME)? I suggest three alternative paths that increased cooperation in PME at the level of the command and staff course could take: a Nordic Defence College, standardized national command and staff courses, and a core curriculum of common courses for common purposes. I conclude with a discussion of how...

Towards an Integrated Value Adding Management Model for FM and CREM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Per Anker; van der Voordt, Theo

2016-01-01

Purpose : To present an integrated process model of adding value by Facilities Management (FM) and Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM) that is a generalisation of existing conceptual frameworks and aims to be a basis for management of added value in practice. Background : The growing research...... frameworks are too complex and lack of common terminology and clear operationalisations of intervention-impact relationships. Approach (Theory/Methodology) :A generalised Value Adding Management process model is developed based on a common cause-effect model identified in existing conceptual frameworks...... aims at supporting the practical management and measurement of added value. A typology with six types of FM/CREM interventions is developed from earlier research. The concept of Value Adding Management is investigated and the 12 most important added value parameters are identified. Research limitations...

A Common Set of Core Values - The Foundation for a More Effective Joint Force

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-18

dismiss, but we must not forget the advice of Socrates . When discussing values, Socrates highlighted their importance, “This is not a trivial...question; what we are talking about is how one ought to live.”40 This is not to say that the methods of each service need to be the same but the core

Opportunities for expanded and higher value utilization of No. 3A Common hardwood lumber

Science.gov (United States)

Brian P. Shepley; Jan Wiedenbeck; Robert L. Smith

2004-01-01

The percentage of low-grade material composing the annual hardwood lumber production in the United States is on the rise. As a result, finding markets for low-grade and low-value lumber has been identified as a top priority by researchers and industry associations. This research used the ROMI-RIP and ROMI-CROSS simulation programs to determine specific conditions that...

Human relationships to fire prone ecosystems: Mapping values at risk on contested landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

Kari Gunderson; Steve Carver; Brett H. Davis

2011-01-01

A key problem in developing a better understanding of different responses to landscape level management actions, such as fuel treatments, is being able to confidently record and accurately spatially delineate the meanings stakeholders ascribe to the landscape. To more accurately understand these relationships with the Bitterroot National Forest, Montana, U.S.A., local...

Healthy Ready-to-Eat Expanded Snack with High Nutritional and Antioxidant Value Produced from Whole Amarantin Transgenic Maize and Black Common Bean.

Science.gov (United States)

Espinoza-Moreno, Ramona J; Reyes-Moreno, Cuauhtémoc; Milán-Carrillo, Jorge; López-Valenzuela, José A; Paredes-López, Octavio; Gutiérrez-Dorado, Roberto

2016-06-01

The snack foods market is currently demanding healthier products. A ready-to-eat expanded snack with high nutritional and antioxidant value was developed from a mixture (70:30) of whole amarantin transgenic maize (Zea mays L.) and black common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) by optimizing the extrusion process. Extruder operation conditions were: feed moisture content (FMC, 15-25 %, wet basis), barrel temperature (BT, 120-170 °C), and screw speed (SS, 50-240). The desirability numeric method of the response surface methodology (RSM) was applied as the optimization technique over four response variables [expansion ratio (ER), bulk density (BD), hardness (H), antioxidant activity (AoxA)] to obtain maximum ER and AoxA, and minimum BD, and H values. The best combination of extrusion process variables for producing an optimized expanded snack (OES, healthy snack) were: FMC = 15 %/BT = 157 °C/SS = 238 rpm. The OES had ER = 2.86, BD = 0.119 g/cm (3) , H = 1.818 N, and AoxA = 13,681 μmol Trolox equivalent (TE)/100 g, dry weight. The extrusion conditions used to produce the OES increased the AoxA (ORAC: +18 %, ABTS:+20 %) respect to the unprocessed whole grains mixture. A 50 g portion of OES had higher protein content (7.23 vs 2.32 g), total dietary fiber (7.50 vs 1.97 g), total phenolic content (122 vs 47 mg GAE), and AoxA (6626 vs 763 μmol TE), and lower energy (169 vs 264 kcal) than an expanded commercial snack (ECS = Cheetos™). Because of its high content of quality protein, dietary fiber and phenolics, as well as high AoxA and low energy density, the OES could be used for health promotion and chronic disease prevention and as an alternative to the widely available commercial snacks with high caloric content and low nutritional/nutraceutical value.

High revision rate but good healing capacity of atypical femoral fractures. A comparison with common shaft fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Schilcher, Jörg

2015-12-01

Healing of complete, atypical femoral fractures is thought to be impaired, but the evidence is weak and appears to be based on the delayed healing observed in patients with incomplete atypical fractures. Time until fracture healing is difficult to assess, therefore we compared the reoperation rates between women with complete atypical femoral fractures and common femoral shaft fractures. We searched the orthopaedic surgical registry in Östergötland County for patients with subtrochanteric and femoral shaft fractures (ICD-10 diagnosis codes S72.2, S72.3 and M84.3F) between January 1st 2007 and December 31st 2013. Out of 895 patients with surgically treated femoral shaft fractures, 511 were women 50 years of age or older. Among these we identified 24 women with atypical femoral shaft fractures, and 71 with common shaft fractures. Reoperations were performed in 6 and 5 patients, respectively, odds ratio 4.4 (95% CI 1.2 to 16.1). However, 5 reoperations in the atypical fracture group could not be ascribed to poor healing. In 3 patients the reoperation was due to a new fracture proximal to a standard intramedullary nail. In 2 patients the distal locking screws were removed due to callus formation that was deemed incomplete 5 months post-operatively. The one patient with poor healing showed faint callus formation at 5 months when the fracture was dynamised and callus remained sparse at 11 months. Among patients with common shaft fractures, 2 reoperations were performed to remove loose screws, 2 because of peri-implant fractures and 1 reoperation due to infection. Reoperation rates in patients with complete atypical femoral fractures are higher than in patients with common shaft fractures. The main reason for failure was peri-implant fragility fractures which might be prevented with the use of cephalomedullary nails at the index surgery. Fracture healing however, seems generally good. A watchful waiting approach is advocated in patients with fractures that appear to

Commons : une piste « raisonnable » en économie du développement ?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philippe Broda

2010-12-01

Full Text Available L’objectif de cet article est d’établir un rapport de filiation entre les idées de John R. Commons et certaines propositions formulées en économie du développement. Il est, en effet, possible de constater que les idées de Commons présentent des analogies avec celles d’Hernando de Soto. A partir du rôle fondamental qu’ils assignent à l’institution de la propriété, les deux hommes mettent l’accent sur la place des aspects juridiques dans leur compréhension du système capitaliste. Leur analyse de la fonction politique fournit un éclairage supplémentaire à l’originalité de leur perspective tout en les exposant à de sévères critiques. De Soto est même parfois accusé de se trouver en phase avec le néolibéralisme. Pour ce qui est de Commons, il ne doit pas être rattaché à cette idéologie. Une comparaison avec North et Greif permet cette fois de faire ressortir la spécificité de son point de vue théorique que ce soit en termes de justice sociale ou d’efficience.This paper adresses the possible connection between Commons’s thought and propositions formulated in development economics. There are obvious similarities between Commons’s and de Soto’s positions. The role that both men ascribe to private ownership gives evidence that they consider the juridical aspects essential to the understanding of capitalism. Their analysis of the political function sheds an additional light to the originality or their respective perspectives while exposing them to harsh criticisms. De Soto is sometimes accused to be closed to neoliberalism. By way of contrast, Commons must not be related to this ideology. A comparison between him and new institutionalists like North and Greif brings out the specificity of Commons’s theoretical point of view about social justice as well as efficiency.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF BT CORN?

OpenAIRE

Hurley, Terrance M.; Mitchell, Paul D.; Rice, Marlin E.

2001-01-01

A common perception is that the value of Bt corn arises from two components-Bt corn increases expected profit and reduces profit variability. This perception encourages farmers and the policy makers to add a risk benefit to estimates of the value of Bt corn to account for the variability reduction. However, a conceptual model generates a useful decomposition of the value of Bt corn and a condition determining the impact of Bt corn on profit variability. An empirical model finds that Bt corn i...

Determination of calorific values of some renewable biofuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Jothi V.; Pratt, Benjamin C. [Department of Chemistry, North Carolina A and T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina (United States)

1996-06-01

Thermal methods such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and elemental analysis (EA) were employed to determine the calorific values of some renewable biofuels either directly or indirectly. The biofuels tested were the common milkweed, dogbane, kudzu, and eucalyptus tree. The purpose of this work was to optimize the experimental conditions for DSC analysis of biofuels, improve the calorific values by adding metal oxides as catalysts, and compare the heat values between DSC and EA analyses

CFOs and strategists: forging a common framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Rappaport, A

1992-01-01

Companies have become increasingly polarized into two divergent camps: those who consider shareholder value the key to managing the company and those who put their faith in gaining competitive advantage. Indeed, that age-old debate between investing for the long term and showing outstanding short-term results is back - only this time the camps are flying banners with the new buzzwords of corporate America: competitive advantage and shareholder value. In this article, Alfred Rappaport attempts to settle the debate once and for all, arguing forcefully that establishing competitive advantage and creating shareholder value both stem from a common economic framework. In fact, long-term productivity is the hinge from which both sustainable competitive advantage and consistent results for the shareholder hang. But many managers refuse to accept this theory and cling to the mistaken belief that the market does not actually value the long-term productivity of their company but judges it only by its short-term performance. They then jump to a second mistaken conclusion: assuming they must depart from the shareholder-value model to improve their competitive position. Rappaport attacks these mistaken beliefs, showing that the stock market does value the long-term productivity of a company and that it is not necessary to depart from the shareholder-value model to improve a company's competitive position. Maximum returns for current shareholders will materialize only when managers maximize long-term shareholder value and deliver interim results that attest credibly to sustainable competitive advantage.

Genetic association study of common mitochondrial variants on body fat mass.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tie-Lin Yang

Full Text Available Mitochondria play a central role in ATP production and energy metabolism. Previous studies suggest that common variants in mtDNA are associated with several common complex diseases, including obesity. To test the hypothesis that common mtDNA variants influence obesity-related phenotypes, including BMI and body fat mass, we genotyped a total of 445 mtSNPs across the whole mitochondrial genome in a large sample of 2,286 unrelated Caucasian subjects. 72 of these 445 mtSNPs passed quality control criteria, and were used for subsequent analyses. We also classified all subjects into nine common European haplogroups. Association analyses were conducted for both BMI and body fat mass with single mtSNPs and mtDNA haplogroups. Two mtSNPs, mt4823 and mt8873 were detected to be significantly associated with body fat mass, with adjusted P values of 4.94 × 10⁻³ and 4.58 × 10⁻², respectively. The minor alleles mt4823 C and mt8873 A were associated with reduced fat mass values and the effect size (β was estimated to be 3.52 and 3.18, respectively. These two mtSNPs also achieved nominally significant levels for association with BMI. For haplogroup analyses, we found that haplogroup X was strongly associated with both BMI (adjusted P = 8.31 × 10⁻³ and body fat mass (adjusted P = 5.67×10⁻⁴ Subjects classified as haplogroup X had lower BMI and fat mass values, with the β estimated to be 2.86 and 6.03, respectively. Our findings suggest that common variants in mitochondria might play a role in variations of body fat mass. Further molecular and functional studies will be needed to clarify the potential mechanism.

The values underlying the Draft Common Frame of Reference: what role for fairness and 'social justice'?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hesselink, M.W.

2008-01-01

This study provides an in-depth analysis of the provisions of the draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR), in order to assess if the DCFR perceives contract law only as a tool for regulating private law relations between equally strong parties or if it contains elements of 'social justice' in favour

Comparative nutritional value of Jatropha curcas protein isolate and soy protein isolate in common carp.

Science.gov (United States)

Nepal, Sunil; Kumar, Vikas; Makkar, Harinder P S; Stadtlander, Timo; Romano, Nicholas; Becker, Klaus

2018-02-01

Jatropha seed cake (JSC) is an excellent source of protein but does contain some antinutritional factors (ANF) that can act as toxins and thus negatively affect the growth and health status of fish. While this can limit the use of JSC, detoxified Jatropha protein isolate (DJPI) may be a better option. An 8-week study was performed to evaluate dietary DJPI to common carp Cyprinus carpio. Five iso-nitrogenous diets (crude protein of 38%) were formulated that consisted of a C ontrol (fish meal (FM) based protein), J 50 or J 75 (50 and 75% of FM protein replaced by DJPI), and S 50 or S 75 (50 and 75% of FM protein replaced by soy protein isolate, SPI) and fed to triplicate groups of 75 carp fingerlings (75; av. wt. ± SD; 11.4 ± 0.25 g). The growth, feeding efficiencies, digestibility, plasma biochemistry, and intestinal enzymes were measured. Results showed that growth performance of fish fed the S 75 - or DJPI-based diets were not significantly different from those fed the C ontrol diet, while carp fed the S 50 had significantly better growth than the J 75 diet. Fish fed the J 75 diet had significantly lower protein and lipid digestibility as well as significantly lower intestinal amylase and protease activities than all other groups. However, all plant protein-based diets led to significantly higher crude protein, crude lipid, and gross energy in the body of common carp compared to the control treatment. Plasma cholesterol and creatinine significantly decreased in the plant protein fed groups, although plasma triglyceride as well as the red blood cells count, hematocrit, albumin, globulin, total plasma protein, and lysozyme activity were higher in plant protein fed groups compared to FM fed group. White blood cells, hemoglobulin concentration, alkaline phosphatase and alanine transaminase activities, and glucose level in blood did not differ significantly among treatments. The results suggest that the DJPI is non-toxic to carp and can be used to replace FM in

Facts and values in risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cross, Frank B.

1998-01-01

Risk, as commonly understood, is a complex melange of facts, values, and fears. While this complexity of public risk perception is now broadly recognized, its implications are insufficiently explored. Public risk perceptions offer p poor guide for public policymaking. Popular assessments of risk are tainted by misinformation and unreliable heuristics. While subjective considerations, often called values, play a role in public perception of risk, those 'values' are often inappropriate for government decisionmaking. Reliance on public perceptions of risk means more premature deaths. Public risk perception also is systematically skewed contrary to the interests of the disadvantaged. Strict probabilistic risk measures generally provide a superior guide for government regulatory policy

Genetics in psychiatry: common variant association studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Buxbaum Joseph D

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Many psychiatric conditions and traits are associated with significant heritability. Genetic risk for psychiatric conditions encompass rare variants, identified due to major effect, as well as common variants, the latter analyzed by association analyses. We review guidelines for common variant association analyses, undertaking after assessing evidence of heritability. We highlight the importance of: suitably large sample sizes; an experimental design that controls for ancestry; careful data cleaning; correction for multiple testing; small P values for positive findings; assessment of effect size for positive findings; and, inclusion of an independent replication sample. We also note the importance of a critical discussion of any prior findings, biological follow-up where possible, and a means of accessing the raw data.

Communicating Climate Change: The Intersection Between Science and Values

Science.gov (United States)

Abdalati, W.

2013-12-01

While the vast majority of scientists in climate-related fields take as fact anthropogenic global warming, public opinion is far less certain, as are the publicly stated views of many policy-makers. This disparity is often ascribed, at least in part, to effective campaigns to cast doubt on the evidence, which we as scientists naturally feel an obligation to rectify. While denial campaigns and propaganda do play a role in skewing public opinion away from the strong scientific consensus and often feed pre-defined narratives, the reality is more complicated. This disparity is rooted mainly the differing values, priorities, and perspectives of individuals, organizations, and other entities. As scientists, we sometimes view our role as needing to counter the more extreme claims of those trying to cast doubt on the evidence. This stems in part, from our need as scientists to refute misinformation, from our frustration with the success of some of these campaigns, and from our sense of urgency and concern about our changing environment. But this approach produces very limited results, and sometimes leads to our portrayal as being condescending and self-serving. The conversation is most effectively advanced, when we focus not on the striking down the forces of opposition, but rather framing the conversation in the context of values. Similarly, our success and credibility as scientist communicators depends fundamentally on our recognizing that we will not change the values of our audience. The vast majority of those who are uncertain about climate change and the role of humans are open to accurate and honestly-portrayed information that speaks to what is important to them and fairly takes into consideration the legitimacy of opposing concerns. Doing so strengthens our credibility in their eyes and can constructively engage a large fraction of the general public, policy makers, etc. Such engagement is fundamental to meaningful action, and thus allows us to fulfill our unique

78 FR 21424 - Royce Value Trust, Inc., et al.;

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-10

... small- and micro-cap companies. Value Trust has a non-fundamental investment policy that limits its... deemed to be underwriting shares of Global Trust's common stock. Value Trust has a fundamental investment... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Investment Company Act Release No. 30448; File No. 812-13880...

Building a Values-Informed Mental Model for New Orleans Climate Risk Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Bessette, Douglas L; Mayer, Lauren A; Cwik, Bryan; Vezér, Martin; Keller, Klaus; Lempert, Robert J; Tuana, Nancy

2017-10-01

Individuals use values to frame their beliefs and simplify their understanding when confronted with complex and uncertain situations. The high complexity and deep uncertainty involved in climate risk management (CRM) lead to individuals' values likely being coupled to and contributing to their understanding of specific climate risk factors and management strategies. Most mental model approaches, however, which are commonly used to inform our understanding of people's beliefs, ignore values. In response, we developed a "Values-informed Mental Model" research approach, or ViMM, to elicit individuals' values alongside their beliefs and determine which values people use to understand and assess specific climate risk factors and CRM strategies. Our results show that participants consistently used one of three values to frame their understanding of risk factors and CRM strategies in New Orleans: (1) fostering a healthy economy, wealth, and job creation, (2) protecting and promoting healthy ecosystems and biodiversity, and (3) preserving New Orleans' unique culture, traditions, and historically significant neighborhoods. While the first value frame is common in analyses of CRM strategies, the latter two are often ignored, despite their mirroring commonly accepted pillars of sustainability. Other values like distributive justice and fairness were prioritized differently depending on the risk factor or strategy being discussed. These results suggest that the ViMM method could be a critical first step in CRM decision-support processes and may encourage adoption of CRM strategies more in line with stakeholders' values. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Value driven classroom management-the congruence between the preferred and the democratic values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatma Özmen

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The rapid changes in all areas of communities have raised the level of concerns about weakening of the societal values. And many academics and researchers have begun to become interested in the issues for placing especially the democratic values in education more than ever before, in order to constitute more livable social environments. The goal of this study is, on the basis of gender variable, to determine what values have driven the teachers in their classroom management practices, and to find out if these values are congruent with the democratic principles. The research group comprises 68 teachers working in Regional Public Boarding Schools. The teachers were asked to list the most and the least preferred values in classroom management from a predetermined value list. The analysis of the data revealed that the most desired 10 values used by teachers in classroom management practices were generally common between female and male gender groups and both groups’ preferences indicated similar results. ‘Honesty’ and ‘responsibility’ take at the top of the most preferred value list. However, the value of ‘equality’ which is indispensible for maintaining democracyin classroom, was preferred by less than half of the teachers. And the values such as peace, freedom, social recognition and the like were not given place in the most preferred value list. The least preferred ten values were generally the ones which were not directly related to democracy. These results indicate that some essential values related to democracy are not given much importance. It is recommended that teachers should be trained well about creating democratic classroom settings especially in pre-service education. And, school leaders should give utmost importance to constitute a democratic school environment; and school wide practices should be congruent with democratic principles so as to form it as a life style.

patient entrance skin doses at minna and ibadan for common

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DR. AMINU

Entrance surface dose from two diagnostic x-ray centers in Nigeria for three common radiological examinations is .... typical ESD values for adult patients for three different ... TTX located in the region of Nigeria where regulatory activities have ...

Consumer Complaints and Company Market Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danny Pimentel Claro

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Consumer complaints affect company market value and common sense suggests that a negative impact is expected. However, do complaints always negatively impact company market value? We hypothesize in this study that complaints may have a non-linear effect on market value. Positive (e.g. avoiding high costs to solve complaints and negative (e.g. speedy and intense diffusion tradeoffs may occur given the level of complaints. To test our non-linear hypothesis, a panel data was collected from cell phone service providers from 2005 to 2013. The results supported our tradeoff rationale. Low levels of complaints allow for companies to increase market value, while high levels of complaints cause increasing harm to market value. The sample, model and period considered in this study, indicates a level of 0.49 complaints per thousand consumers as the threshold for a shift in tradeoffs. The effects on market value become increasingly negative when trying to make reductions to move below this level, due to negative tradeoffs.

Measuring the value of nonwage employee benefits: building a model of the relation between benefit satisfaction and value.

Science.gov (United States)

Weathington, Bart L; Jones, Allan P

2006-11-01

Researchers have commonly assumed benefits that employees view as more valuable have a greater influence on their attitudes and behaviors. Researchers have used 2 common methods to measure benefit value: attaching a monetary value to benefits and using self-reports of benefit importance. The present authors propose that the 2 approaches are conceptually distinct and have different implications. They use a social exchange perspective to justify this distinction and integrate both approaches and benefit satisfaction into a more comprehensive model of benefit perception. Results suggest that both measures have practical applications depending on the nature of the exchange relationship between the organization and employees. However, this relationship depends on the specific benefit and on employee satisfaction with that benefit. Some benefits lend themselves to a monetary estimate, whereas others lend themselves more to a nonmonetary valuation.

Common ground: An environmental ethic for Los Alamos National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menlove, F.L.

1991-01-01

Three predominant philosophies have characterized American business ethical thinking over the past several decades. The first phase is the ethics of self-interest'' which argues that maximizing self-interest coincidentally maximizes the common good. The second phase is legality ethics.'' Proponents argue that what is important is knowing the rules and following them scrupulously. The third phase might be called stake-holder ethics.'' A central tenant is that everyone affected by a decision has a moral hold on the decision maker. This paper will discuss one recent initiative of the Los Alamos National Laboratory to move beyond rules and regulations toward an environmental ethic that integrates the values of stakeholder ethics'' into the Laboratory's historical culture and value systems. These Common Ground Principles are described. 11 refs.

Marker-assisted selection in common beans and cassava

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blair, M.W.; Fregene, M.A.; Beebe, S.E.; Ceballos, H.

2007-01-01

(CGM) and cassava brown streak (CBS) resistance from a wild relative, M. esculenta sub spp. flabellifolia. The use of advanced backcrossing with additional wild relatives is proposed as a way to discover genes for high protein content, waxy starch, delayed post-harvest physiological deterioration, and resistance to whiteflies and hornworm. Other potential targets of MAS such as beta carotene and dry matter content as well as lower cyanogenic potential are given. In addition, suggestions are made for the use of molecular markers to estimate average heterozygosity during inbreeding of cassava and for the delineation of heterotic groups within the species. A final section describes the similarities and differences between the MAS schemes presented for the two crops. Differences between the species can be ascribed partially to the breeding and propagation systems of common beans (seed propagated, selfpollinating) and cassava (clonally propagated, cross-pollinating). In addition, differences in growth cycles, breeding methods, availability of genetic markers, access to selection environments and the accompanying opportunities for phenotypic selection influence the decisions in both crops of when and how to apply MAS. Recommendations are made for applying MAS in breeding of both crops including careful prioritization of traits, marker systems, genetic stocks, scaling up, planning of crosses and the balance between MAS and phenotypic selection. (author)

Applying the Expectancy-Value Model to understand health values.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xu-Hao; Xie, Feng; Wee, Hwee-Lin; Thumboo, Julian; Li, Shu-Chuen

2008-03-01

Expectancy-Value Model (EVM) is the most structured model in psychology to predict attitudes by measuring attitudinal attributes (AAs) and relevant external variables. Because health value could be categorized as attitude, we aimed to apply EVM to explore its usefulness in explaining variances in health values and investigate underlying factors. Focus group discussion was carried out to identify the most common and significant AAs toward 5 different health states (coded as 11111, 11121, 21221, 32323, and 33333 in EuroQol Five-Dimension (EQ-5D) descriptive system). AAs were measured in a sum of multiplications of subjective probability (expectancy) and perceived value of attributes with 7-point Likert scales. Health values were measured using visual analog scales (VAS, range 0-1). External variables (age, sex, ethnicity, education, housing, marital status, and concurrent chronic diseases) were also incorporated into survey questionnaire distributed by convenience sampling among eligible respondents. Univariate analyses were used to identify external variables causing significant differences in VAS. Multiple linear regression model (MLR) and hierarchical regression model were used to investigate the explanatory power of AAs and possible significant external variable(s) separately or in combination, for each individual health state and a mixed scenario of five states, respectively. Four AAs were identified, namely, "worsening your quality of life in terms of health" (WQoL), "adding a burden to your family" (BTF), "making you less independent" (MLI) and "unable to work or study" (UWS). Data were analyzed based on 232 respondents (mean [SD] age: 27.7 [15.07] years, 49.1% female). Health values varied significantly across 5 health states, ranging from 0.12 (33333) to 0.97 (11111). With no significant external variables identified, EVM explained up to 62% of the variances in health values across 5 health states. The explanatory power of 4 AAs were found to be between 13

Common and distinctive approaches to motivation in different disciplines.

Science.gov (United States)

Strombach, T; Strang, S; Park, S Q; Kenning, P

2016-01-01

Over the last couple of decades, a body of theories has emerged that explains when and why people are motivated to act. Multiple disciplines have investigated the origins and consequences of motivated behavior, and have done so largely in parallel. Only recently have different disciplines, like psychology and economics, begun to consolidate their knowledge, attempting to integrate findings. The following chapter presents and discusses the most prominent approaches to motivation in the disciplines of biology, psychology, and economics. Particularly, we describe the specific role of incentives, both monetary and alternative, in various motivational theories. Though monetary incentives are pivotal in traditional economic theory, biological and psychological theories ascribe less significance to monetary incentives and suggest alternative drivers for motivation. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Relationship of Inglehart's and Schwartz's value dimensions revisited.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobewall, Henrik; Strack, Micha

2014-08-01

This study examines the relationship between Inglehart's and Schwartz's value dimensions-both at the individual and the country levels. By rotating one set of items towards the other, we show that these value dimensions have more in common than previously reported. The ranking of countries (N = 47) based on Schwartz's Embeddedness--Autonomy and the Survival--Self-Expression dimensions reached a maximum of similarity, r = .82, after rotating Inglehart's factor scores 27 degrees clockwise. The correlation between the other pair of dimensions (Schwartz's Hierarchy-Mastery--Egalitarianism-Harmony and Inglehart's Traditional--Secular-Rational values) was near zero before and after rotation. At the individual level (N = 46,444), positive correlations were found for Schwartz's Conservation--Openness dimension with both of Inglehart's dimensions (Survival--Self-Expression and Traditional--Secular-Rational values). The highest correlation with this Schwartz dimension was obtained at the Secular-Rational/Self-Expression diagonal, r = .24, after rotating the factor scores 45 degrees clockwise. We conclude that Schwartz's and Inglehart's originally proposed two-dimensional value structures share one dimension at the country level and some commonality at the individual level, whereas the respective other pair of dimensions seem to be more or less unrelated. © 2013 International Union of Psychological Science.

Countervailing incentives in value-based payment.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Daniel R

2017-09-01

Payment reform has been at the forefront of the movement toward higher-value care in the U.S. health care system. A common belief is that volume-based incentives embedded in fee-for-service need to be replaced with value-based payments. While this belief is well-intended, value-based payment also contains perverse incentives. In particular, behavioral economists have identified several features of individual decision making that reverse some of the typical recommendations for inducing desirable behavior through financial incentives. This paper discusses the countervailing incentives associated with four behavioral economic concepts: loss aversion, relative social ranking, inertia or status quo bias, and extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reference change values and power functions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iglesias Canadell, Natàlia; Hyltoft Petersen, Per; Jensen, Esther

2004-01-01

Repeated samplings and measurements in the monitoring of patients to look for changes are common clinical problems. The "reference change value", calculated as zp x [2 x (CVI2 + CVA2)](1/2), where zp is the z-statistic and CVI and CVA are within-subject and analytical coefficients of variation......, respectively, has been used to detect whether a measured difference between measurements is statistically significant. However, a reference change value only detects the probability of false-positives (type I error), and for this reason, a model to calculate the risk of missing significant changes in serial...... difference is the same as the calculated reference change value, then it will be detected in only 50% of situations....

Consumption Values, Personal Characteristics and Behavioral Intentions in Mobile Shopping Adoption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rujipun Assarut

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Past literature has indicated that consumption value is an important factor in consumer decision making on whether to adopt online shopping. However, most studies have focused only on a single product or service type and, therefore, generalization of the results has been limited. Moreover, previous studies of the indirect effects of personal characteristics on the adoption of online shopping have emphasized solely the importance of utilitarian values. None have investigated the indirect effects of consumption values that include both utilitarian and hedonic aspects. This study examines the relationships between consumption values, personal characteristics and behavioral intentions in the adoption of mobile shopping from the perspectives of different product and service types. The results reveal convenience, security and emotional values as the common values which consumers of fashion goods and accommodations consider when deciding whether to purchase via a mobile device. Apart from the most common values, travelers also consider conditional and epistemic values when assessing whether to reserve accommodation using a mobile device. Moreover, innovativeness and self-efficacy were both shown to exert significant indirect effects, via consumption values, on consumers’ intentions to adopt mobile shopping. Managerial implications and suggestions are further discussed.

Health value as a common criterion of ionizing radiation and other injurious factors in rate setting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramzaev, P.V.; Tarasov, S.I.; Mashneva, N.I.; Rodionova, L.F.; Sukal'skaya, S.Ya.

1978-01-01

A concept of ''health'' value'' is formulated as a single integral indicator of benefits and hazards to be used in setting standards for ionizing radiations and other deleterious factors. This concept incorporates socially meaningful indices such as life span, mental and physical work capacity, reproduction of healthy offspring, and state of well-being throughout lifetime. The ''health value'' should be considered primarily as a methodologic basis for hygienic evaluation of various situations and also in substantiating various standards

Finding common ground in implementation: towards a theory of gradual commonality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ter Haar, Marian; Aarts, Noelle; Verhoeven, Piet

2016-03-01

This article reports on an empirical study that aimed to design a practice-based theory about collaboration on the local implementation of a nationally developed health-promoting intervention. The study's objective is to better understand the dynamic process of complex collaboration. The research is based on a Delphi study among some 100 individuals in local and regional networks, in which various professionals work together to implement the BeweegKuur, which translates as 'course of exercise'. The BeweegKuur is a combined lifestyle intervention aimed at promoting sufficient physical exercise and a healthy diet among people in the Netherlands who are overweight and at risk of diabetes. The Delphi study in three rounds systematically and interactively constructs a common perspective on implementation, reflecting stakeholders' ideas about the collaboration and providing an insight into how these ideas are influenced by the context of the implementation. The statistical and qualitative analyses of the responses to the feedback in the Delphi study form the basis for this practice-based theory on complex collaboration, called the theory of gradual commonality. During interaction, consensus gradually emerges about co-creation as a collaboration strategy. Co-creation leaves room for various ways of achieving the ambitions of the BeweegKuur. This article discusses the importance of this practice-based theory and the value of the Delphi research strategy for promoting health. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Philosophy vs the common sense

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V. V. Chernyshov

2017-01-01

analysis. However, the authentic project of philosophy has not always remained faithful to itself, keeping its self-identity. A considerable part of that which now bears the name of philosophy has rather been an alienation of the original idea. Among these phenomena of the alienated philosophy, for example, we can mention a number of cases: the emergence of the philosophical paideia, political and social engineering, scholastics, and the interpretation of philosophy as a science that can (and should be directed to gaining the ultimate positive result. All these witness the alienation from the authentic philosophical tradition, degrading philosophy to the role of a «servant-maid», which eventually brought to the ultimate rejection and denial of its profundity and its values. Finally, the study considers the place that the Modern philosophy has taken in emergence of the modern and contemporary science. He states that there were a number of efforts – beginning with Rene Descartes – to create a new philosophy not upon the foundations of the love of wisdom, but upon the ones of the common sense. Although philosophers had easily recognised the falsity of this enterprise and had rejected this idea, these efforts did not pass away without effect, having caused the emergence of the modern and contemporary science, recognising as its true basis the common sense rather than any metaphysics.

Alternative Axiomatic Characterizations of the Grey Shapley Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sirma Zeynep Alparslan Gok

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The Shapley value, one of the most common solution concepts of cooperative game theory is defined and axiomatically characterized in different game-theoretic models. Certainly, the Shapley value can be used in interesting sharing cost/reward problems in the Operations Research area such as connection, routing, scheduling, production and inventory situations. In this paper, we focus on the Shapley value for cooperative games, where the set of players is finite and the coalition values are interval grey numbers. The central question in this paper is how to characterize the grey Shapley value. In this context, we present two alternative axiomatic characterizations. First, we characterize the grey Shapley value using the properties of efficiency, symmetry and strong monotonicity. Second, we characterize the grey Shapley value by using the grey dividends.

Clustering with Missing Values: No Imputation Required

Science.gov (United States)

Wagstaff, Kiri

2004-01-01

Clustering algorithms can identify groups in large data sets, such as star catalogs and hyperspectral images. In general, clustering methods cannot analyze items that have missing data values. Common solutions either fill in the missing values (imputation) or ignore the missing data (marginalization). Imputed values are treated as just as reliable as the truly observed data, but they are only as good as the assumptions used to create them. In contrast, we present a method for encoding partially observed features as a set of supplemental soft constraints and introduce the KSC algorithm, which incorporates constraints into the clustering process. In experiments on artificial data and data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we show that soft constraints are an effective way to enable clustering with missing values.

Using Stories about Heroes To Teach Values. ERIC Digest.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Tony R.

This digest discusses a method of teaching values by using the lives of heroes as examples. The trend for teaching values is to offer methods of analysis and judgment that lead to answers about right and wrong, better and worse concerning personal behavior and common good. Stories about heroes have been identified as the means of teaching and…

Personal values, advertising, and smoking motivation in Taiwanese adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chingching

2005-01-01

This article explores the role that personal values plays in motivating Taiwanese adolescents to smoke. In a nationwide survey of high school students, smokers attached greater importance to hedonic gratification values and less importance to idealism values than did nonsmokers. Hedonic gratification values were associated with favorable attitudes toward smoking, while idealism values were associated with unfavorable attitudes toward smoking. Attitudes toward smoking predicted adolescent smoking behavior. Evidence suggested that advertising plays an important role in motivating adolescents with hedonic gratification values to smoke. First, in the survey, hedonic gratification values were associated with paying attention to and expressing favorable attitudes toward cigarette advertising. Second, a content analysis of cigarette ads in magazines found hedonic gratification values to be the most commonly portrayed values, occurring in 62.7% of ads.

Values in Danish early childhood education and care

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broström professor m.so., Stig; Jensen, Anders Skriver; Hansen, Ole Henrik

2017-01-01

. The study is part of a larger Nordic project that aims to generate new knowledge on institutionalised fostering of values in Nordic child cares. Democratic values deal with children's autonomy and possibilities of participation. Caring values are linked to a special relationship that targets and supports......Based on video observation, interviews and joint pedagogue/researcher analyses carried out in three Danish child cares, this chapter presents three common values: democracy, care and discipline, which were communicated, expressed and negotiated through interactions between pedagogues and children...... the child's needs. Disciplinary values a defined as the system of underlying rules, norms and existing order, which regulates children. The three values are presented one after another, but it is also shown how they overlap one another and are expressed simultaneously in everyday practice. In the end...

Business and theology – the idea of value

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saghaug, Kristin Falck; Lindgren, Peter

2011-01-01

, but addresses value in such a way that it contributes to a further compartmentalization of life. This paper presents research in the intersection of business, art and theology, and how this may inflict on the idea of value and go beyond the compartmentalization of business values and personal values. Design......Purpose – The idea of “value” is increasingly depicted from a number of areas. Within the business domain the accounting area has had a huge influence (Lindgreen and Wynstra 2005) as well as the strategic approach of “value” in a business model (BM) (Hamel 2002), the perception of value/cost (Chan...... Kim and Mauborgne 2005), the customer as co-creating value (Prahalad and Ramaswamy 2004) as well as understanding value in network is increasing (Chesbrough 2007). Common for the examples from the business dimension are that they do not engage the idea of value and its connectedness to ontology...

Informativeness of Diagnostic Marker Values and the Impact of Data Grouping.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Hua; Bandos, Andriy I; Gur, David

2018-01-01

Assessing performance of diagnostic markers is a necessary step for their use in decision making regarding various conditions of interest in diagnostic medicine and other fields. Globally useful markers could, however, have ranges of values that are " diagnostically non-informative" . This paper demonstrates that the presence of marker values from diagnostically non-informative ranges could lead to a loss in statistical efficiency during nonparametric evaluation and shows that grouping non-informative values provides a natural resolution to this problem. These points are theoretically proven and an extensive simulation study is conducted to illustrate the possible benefits of using grouped marker values in a number of practically reasonable scenarios. The results contradict the common conjecture regarding the detrimental effect of grouped marker values during performance assessments. Specifically, contrary to the common assumption that grouped marker values lead to bias, grouping non-informative values does not introduce bias and could substantially reduce sampling variability. The proven concept that grouped marker values could be statistically beneficial without detrimental consequences implies that in practice, tied values do not always require resolution whereas the use of continuous diagnostic results without addressing diagnostically non-informative ranges could be statistically detrimental. Based on these findings, more efficient methods for evaluating diagnostic markers could be developed.

Option value of electricity demand response

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sezgen, Osman; Goldman, C.A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720 (United States); Krishnarao, P. [Citigroup Energy Inc., 1301 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77002 (United States)

2007-02-15

As electricity markets deregulate and energy tariffs increasingly expose customers to commodity price volatility, it is difficult for energy consumers to assess the economic value of investments in technologies that manage electricity demand in response to changing energy prices. The key uncertainties in evaluating the economics of demand-response technologies are the level and volatility of future wholesale energy prices. In this paper, we demonstrate that financial engineering methodologies originally developed for pricing equity and commodity derivatives (e.g., futures, swaps, options) can be used to estimate the value of demand-response technologies. We adapt models used to value energy options and assets to value three common demand-response strategies: load curtailment, load shifting or displacement, and short-term fuel substitution-specifically, distributed generation. These option models represent an improvement to traditional discounted cash flow methods for assessing the relative merits of demand-side technology investments in restructured electricity markets. (author)

Option value of electricity demand response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sezgen, Osman; Goldman, C.A.; Krishnarao, P.

2007-01-01

As electricity markets deregulate and energy tariffs increasingly expose customers to commodity price volatility, it is difficult for energy consumers to assess the economic value of investments in technologies that manage electricity demand in response to changing energy prices. The key uncertainties in evaluating the economics of demand-response technologies are the level and volatility of future wholesale energy prices. In this paper, we demonstrate that financial engineering methodologies originally developed for pricing equity and commodity derivatives (e.g., futures, swaps, options) can be used to estimate the value of demand-response technologies. We adapt models used to value energy options and assets to value three common demand-response strategies: load curtailment, load shifting or displacement, and short-term fuel substitution-specifically, distributed generation. These option models represent an improvement to traditional discounted cash flow methods for assessing the relative merits of demand-side technology investments in restructured electricity markets. (author)

COMPARISON OF PAI AND PAK: AN OVERVIEW OF VALUES OF MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Murfi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This research to reveal comparative Islamic Education (PAI with Christian Education (PAK through a textbook’s lesson in terms of content values of multicultural education. The comparative’s analysis includes three aspects, differences, similarities, and common platform. The results showed that substance of values of multicultural education contained in the textbooks have much in similarities which eventually became common platform both than the differences that exist, so that PAI and PAK should move bind themselves to each other in one joint effort to raise the noble values of multicultural, where both scientific traditions stand firm through efforts integration and comprehension charge of teaching materials.

Rare and common macroinvertebrates: definition of distribution classes and their boundaries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijboer, R.C.; Verdonschot, P.F.M.

2004-01-01

Rarity of macroinvertebrates can be used in assessing the ecological quality or conservation value of freshwaters. To select target species for nature conservation and to compare rarity or commonness between regions a classification of species distributions is needed. A distribution classification

For Group, (f)or Self: Communitarianism, Confucianism and Values Education in Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Charlene

2013-01-01

Values education in Asian societies is commonly underpinned by an ideology of communitarianism that seeks to promote the needs and interests of "others" over the "self." An example of an Asian country that promotes communitarian values through its values education curriculum is Singapore. By reviewing the moral and citizenship…

A Quantitative Method to Screen Common Bean Plants for Resistance to Bean common mosaic necrosis virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Strausbaugh, C A; Myers, J R; Forster, R L; McClean, P E

2003-11-01

ABSTRACT A quantitative method to screen common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants for resistance to Bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) is described. Four parameters were assessed in developing the quantitative method: symptoms associated with systemic virus movement, plant vigor, virus titer, and plant dry weight. Based on these parameters, two rating systems (V and VV rating) were established. Plants from 21 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a Sierra (susceptible) x Olathe (partially resistant) cross inoculated with the BCMNV-NL-3 K strain were used to evaluate this quantitative approach. In all, 11 RILs exhibited very susceptible reactions and 10 RILs expressed partially resistant reactions, thus fitting a 1:1 susceptible/partially resistant ratio (chi(2) = 0.048, P = 0.827) and suggesting that the response is mediated by a single gene. Using the classical qualitative approach based only on symptom expression, the RILs were difficult to separate into phenotypic groups because of a continuum of responses. By plotting mean percent reduction in either V (based on visual symptoms) or VV (based on visual symptoms and vigor) rating versus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) absorbance values, RILs could be separated clearly into different phenotypic groups. The utility of this quantitative approach also was evaluated on plants from 12 cultivars or pure lines inoculated with one of three strains of BCMNV. Using the mean VV rating and ELISA absorbance values, significant differences were established not only in cultivar and pure line comparisons but also in virus strain comparisons. This quantitative system should be particularly useful for the evaluation of the independent action of bc genes, the discovery of new genes associated with partial resistance, and assessing virulence of virus strains.

Business marketing: understand what customers value.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, J C; Narus, J A

1998-01-01

How do you define the value of your market offering? Can you measure it? Few suppliers in business markets are able to answer those questions, and yet the ability to pinpoint the value of a product or service for one's customers has never been more important. By creating and using what the authors call customer value models, suppliers are able to figure out exactly what their offerings are worth to customers. Field value assessments--the most commonly used method for building customer value models--call for suppliers to gather data about their customers firsthand whenever possible. Through these assessments, a supplier can build a value model for an individual customer or for a market segment, drawing on data gathered form several customers in that segment. Suppliers can use customer value models to create competitive advantage in several ways. First, they can capitalize on the inevitable variation in customers' requirements by providing flexible market offerings. Second, they can use value models to demonstrate how a new product or service they are offering will provide greater value. Third, they can use their knowledge of how their market offerings specifically deliver value to craft persuasive value propositions. And fourth, they can use value models to provide evidence to customers of their accomplishments. Doing business based on value delivered gives companies the means to get an equitable return for their efforts. Once suppliers truly understand value, they will be able to realize the benefits of measuring and monitoring it for their customers.

Accurate Estimation of Low Fundamental Frequencies from Real-Valued Measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

2013-01-01

In this paper, the difficult problem of estimating low fundamental frequencies from real-valued measurements is addressed. The methods commonly employed do not take the phenomena encountered in this scenario into account and thus fail to deliver accurate estimates. The reason for this is that the......In this paper, the difficult problem of estimating low fundamental frequencies from real-valued measurements is addressed. The methods commonly employed do not take the phenomena encountered in this scenario into account and thus fail to deliver accurate estimates. The reason...... for this is that they employ asymptotic approximations that are violated when the harmonics are not well-separated in frequency, something that happens when the observed signal is real-valued and the fundamental frequency is low. To mitigate this, we analyze the problem and present some exact fundamental frequency estimators...

CPL: Common Pipeline Library

Science.gov (United States)

ESO CPL Development Team

2014-02-01

The Common Pipeline Library (CPL) is a set of ISO-C libraries that provide a comprehensive, efficient and robust software toolkit to create automated astronomical data reduction pipelines. Though initially developed as a standardized way to build VLT instrument pipelines, the CPL may be more generally applied to any similar application. The code also provides a variety of general purpose image- and signal-processing functions, making it an excellent framework for the creation of more generic data handling packages. The CPL handles low-level data types (images, tables, matrices, strings, property lists, etc.) and medium-level data access methods (a simple data abstraction layer for FITS files). It also provides table organization and manipulation, keyword/value handling and management, and support for dynamic loading of recipe modules using programs such as EsoRex (ascl:1504.003).

Uncertainty of Monetary Valued Ecosystem Services - Value Transfer Functions for Global Mapping.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Schmidt

Full Text Available Growing demand of resources increases pressure on ecosystem services (ES and biodiversity. Monetary valuation of ES is frequently seen as a decision-support tool by providing explicit values for unconsidered, non-market goods and services. Here we present global value transfer functions by using a meta-analytic framework for the synthesis of 194 case studies capturing 839 monetary values of ES. For 12 ES the variance of monetary values could be explained with a subset of 93 study- and site-specific variables by utilizing boosted regression trees. This provides the first global quantification of uncertainties and transferability of monetary valuations. Models explain from 18% (water provision to 44% (food provision of variance and provide statistically reliable extrapolations for 70% (water provision to 91% (food provision of the terrestrial earth surface. Although the application of different valuation methods is a source of uncertainty, we found evidence that assuming homogeneity of ecosystems is a major error in value transfer function models. Food provision is positively correlated with better life domains and variables indicating positive conditions for human well-being. Water provision and recreation service show that weak ownerships affect valuation of other common goods negatively (e.g. non-privately owned forests. Furthermore, we found support for the shifting baseline hypothesis in valuing climate regulation. Ecological conditions and societal vulnerability determine valuation of extreme event prevention. Valuation of habitat services is negatively correlated with indicators characterizing less favorable areas. Our analysis represents a stepping stone to establish a standardized integration of and reporting on uncertainties for reliable and valid benefit transfer as an important component for decision support.

Public Ethics in Educational Organizations: How to Manage For Achieving Common Wealth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Prieto Sánchez

2007-04-01

Full Text Available The objective of this essay is to reflect about the rol that should be assumed by the management of the educational organizations, as public administration’s leaders, under a perspective of public ethics based on values, like fundamental pillars of how to achieve the common wealth. The method used was documentary, consulting authors as Aranguren (1996, Santana (2000, Arana (2000 y Camargo (1998. It could be concluded: the educational manager as ethics public leader, should encourage the social learning of values to change from a right ethics to a responsibility ethics, in order to obtain a social transformation. The education and the educational policies are the way to achieve the convivence and the common wealth, when they are practiced by the ethics manager, presents in the educational organizations.

Regional Commonalities and Regional Identities: Forging a Normative Understanding of Southeast Asian Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gürol Baba

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the last two decades, most of the IR academia’s attention on Southeast Asian regionalism utilised constructivism and/or realism and has focused on ASEAN and its derivatives. This article aims to skew this angle by elaborating a possible relationship between Asian values and a normative understanding of Southeast Asian identity. The major reason for this article’s focus on a normative interpretation is that a practical application of Southeast Asian identity is not very achievable due to various ethnic, cultural, political, territorial, and historical diversities. While the region is diverse, there are also a number of commonalities among its states. Asian values, from a Confucian perspective, account for some of these commonalities. By using constructivists’ claims on both the links between norms and identity and the dynamic interaction between values and norms, this article argues that Asian values could contribute to the development of Amitav Acharya’s widely cited normative/ideational format of Southeast Asian identity. The article takes ASEAN identity as a case study and aims to show why a normative identity is more achievable than a practical identity among Southeast Asians, and how Asian values might contribute to the creation of this shared identity.

A review of approaches to the value of privacy

OpenAIRE

Anagnostou, Miltiades E.; Lambrou, Maria A.

2017-01-01

In this paper we examine information privacy from a value-centered angle. We review and compare different personal data valuation approaches. We consider the value of personal data now and in the near future, and we find that the enduring part of personal data will soon become common knowledge and that their price and value will drop substantially. Therefore the sector that is based on personal data extraction will need to focus on new ways of monetization and on the of the dynamic part of pe...

Deaths ascribed to non-communicable diseases among rural Kenyan adults are proportionately increasing: evidence from a health and demographic surveillance system, 2003-2010.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Penelope A Phillips-Howard

Full Text Available Non-communicable diseases (NCDs result in more deaths globally than other causes. Monitoring systems require strengthening to attribute the NCD burden and deaths in low and middle-income countries (LMICs. Data from health and demographic surveillance systems (HDSS can contribute towards this goal.Between 2003 and 2010, 15,228 deaths in adults aged 15 years (y and older were identified retrospectively using the HDSS census and verbal autopsy in rural western Kenya, attributed into broad categories using InterVA-4 computer algorithms; 37% were ascribed to NCDs, 60% to communicable diseases (CDs, 3% to injuries, and <1% maternal causes. Median age at death for NCDs was 66y and 71y for females and males, respectively, with 43% (39% male, 48% female of NCD deaths occurring prematurely among adults aged below 65y. NCD deaths were mainly attributed to cancers (35% and cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs; 29%. The proportionate mortality from NCDs rose from 35% in 2003 to 45% in 2010 (χ2 linear trend 93.4; p<0.001. While overall annual mortality rates (MRs for NCDs fell, cancer-specific MRs rose from 200 to 262 per 100,000 population, mainly due to increasing deaths in adults aged 65y and older, and to respiratory neoplasms in all age groups. The substantial fall in CD MRs resulted in similar MRs for CDs and NCDs among all adult females by 2010. NCD MRs for adults aged 15y to <65y fell from 409 to 183 per 100,000 among females and from 517 to 283 per 100,000 population among males. NCD MRs were higher among males than females aged both below, and at or above, 65y.NCDs constitute a significant proportion of deaths in rural western Kenya. Evidence of the increasing contribution of NCDs to overall mortality supports international recommendations to introduce or enhance prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment programmes in LMICs.

Moisture Management for High R-Value Walls

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lepage, R. [Building Science Corporation, Somerville, MA (United States); Schumacher, C. [Building Science Corporation, Somerville, MA (United States); Lukachko, A. [Building Science Corporation, Somerville, MA (United States)

2013-11-01

This report explains the moisture-related concerns for high R-value wall assemblies and discusses past Building America research work that informs this study. In this project, hygrothermal simulations were prepared for several common approaches to High R-value wall construction in six cities (Houston, Atlanta, Seattle, St. Louis, Chicago, and International Falls) representing a range of climate zones. The modeling program assessed the moisture durability of the wall assemblies based on three primary sources of moisture: construction moisture, air leakage condensation, and bulk water leakage; the report presents results of the study.

Statistical considerations for harmonization of the global multicenter study on reference values.

Science.gov (United States)

Ichihara, Kiyoshi

2014-05-15

The global multicenter study on reference values coordinated by the Committee on Reference Intervals and Decision Limits (C-RIDL) of the IFCC was launched in December 2011, targeting 45 commonly tested analytes with the following objectives: 1) to derive reference intervals (RIs) country by country using a common protocol, and 2) to explore regionality/ethnicity of reference values by aligning test results among the countries. To achieve these objectives, it is crucial to harmonize 1) the protocol for recruitment and sampling, 2) statistical procedures for deriving the RI, and 3) test results through measurement of a panel of sera in common. For harmonized recruitment, very lenient inclusion/exclusion criteria were adopted in view of differences in interpretation of what constitutes healthiness by different cultures and investigators. This policy may require secondary exclusion of individuals according to the standard of each country at the time of deriving RIs. An iterative optimization procedure, called the latent abnormal values exclusion (LAVE) method, can be applied to automate the process of refining the choice of reference individuals. For global comparison of reference values, test results must be harmonized, based on the among-country, pair-wise linear relationships of test values for the panel. Traceability of reference values can be ensured based on values assigned indirectly to the panel through collaborative measurement of certified reference materials. The validity of the adopted strategies is discussed in this article, based on interim results obtained to date from five countries. Special considerations are made for dissociation of RIs by parametric and nonparametric methods and between-country difference in the effect of body mass index on reference values. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Is there a common SUV threshold in oncological FDG PET/CT, at least for some common indications? A retrospective study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Nghi C.; Kaushik, Aarti; Wolverson, Michael K.; Osman, Medhat M.

2011-01-01

Purpose. We retrospectively compared the maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) of FDG PET in four different sites to evaluate whether a common diagnostic SUVmax threshold may exist in these tumor locations. We further postulate that the SUVmax thresholds are higher in thoracic lesions than in extrathoracic lesions. Material and methods. N = 143 patients in four subgroups underwent a FDG PET/CT: a) 42 patients for solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) characterization with b) respective mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs), c) 65 patients for LN staging of head and neck cancer, and d) 36 cancer patients diagnosed with adrenal lesions. Receiver operating characteristics of SUVmax values were evaluated. Results. The SUVmax were statistically significantly greater in malignant than in benign lesions. For SPNs and mediastinal LNs, a SUVmax > 3.6 each resulted in a sensitivity of 81% and 87%, and a specificity of 94% and 89%. For cervical LNs and adrenal glands, a SUVmax > 2.2 each showed a sensitivity of 98% and 100%, and a specificity of 83% and 93%. Conclusion. A common SUVmax threshold did not exist in the four studied subgroups. The variable FDG uptake in SPNs and mediastinal LNs are associated with the high prevalence of inflammation/infection within the chest. Similar SUVmax thresholds however may exist for extrathoracic regions where the prevalence of inflammation/infection is low

The Nigerian Zanthoxylum : chemical and biological values ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Nigerian Zanthoxylum is a common component of the rain forest vegetation of Southern Nigeria, and is represented by eleven species. ... The focus has been on the local uses and commercial importance of the species, the values of the various metabolites in medicine and their general potential in drug development.

Common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) interference in soybean (Glycine max)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geier, P.W.; Maddux, L.D.; Moshier, L.J.; Stahlman, P.W.

1996-01-01

Multiple weed species in the field combine to cause yield losses and can be described using one of several empirical models. Field studies were conducted to compare observed corn yield loss caused by common sunflower and shattercane populations with predicted yield losses modeled using a multiple species rectangular hyperbola model, an additive model, or the yield loss model in the decision support system, WeedSOFT, and to derive competitive indices for common sunflower and shattercane. Common sunflower and shattercane emerged with corn and selected densities established in field experiments at Scandia and Rossville, KS, between 2000 and 2002. The multiple species rectangular hyperbola model fit pooled data from three of five location–years with a predicted maximum corn yield loss of 60%. Initial slope parameter estimate for common sunflower was 49.2 and 4.2% for shattercane. A ratio of these estimates indicated that common sunflower was 11 times more competitive than shattercane. When common sunflower was assigned a competitive index (CI) value of 10, shattercane CI was 0.9. Predicted yield losses modeled for separate common sunflower or shattercane populations were additive when compared with observed yield losses caused by low-density mixed populations of common sunflower (0 to 0.5 plants m −2 ) and shattercane (0 to 4 plants m −2 ). However, a ratio of estimates of these models indicated that common sunflower was only four times as competitive as shattercane, with a CI of 2.5 for shattercane. The yield loss model in WeedSOFT underpredicted the same corn losses by 7.5%. Clearly, both the CI for shattercane and the yield loss model in WeedSOFT need to be reevaluated, and the multiple species rectangular hyperbola model is proposed. (author)

Diagnostic value of post-heparin lipase testing in detecting common genetic variants in the LPL and LIPC genes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Hoek, Mandy; Dallinga-Thie, Geesje M.; Steyerberg, Ewout W.; Sijbrands, Eric J. G.

2009-01-01

Post-heparin lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase activities are used to identify primary disorders of triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol metabolism. Their ability to identify common variants in the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic lipase (LIPC) genes is unclear. To investigate the ability of

Shifts in relative stocking of common tree species in Kentucky from 1975 to 2004

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher M. Oswalt; Jeffrey A. Stringer; Jeffery A. Turner

2008-01-01

Changes in species-specific relative stocking indicate the extent to which a species is either increasing or decreasing in a particular system. Changes in relative stocking values of common tree species in Kentucky from 1988 to 2004 were compared to values calculated for 1975 to 1988. Mean annual increase in relative stocking between 1988 and 2004 was greatest for...

Mission statements: selling corporate values to employees.

Science.gov (United States)

Klemm, M; Sanderson, S; Luffman, G

1991-06-01

This article investigates the reasons for the increasing use of the Company Mission Statement. Using information from a survey of U.K. companies in 1989 it looks at the types of statements issued by companies, their content, usage, and value to managers. Of particular interest is whether the mission is primarily used for the motivation of staff, or for external image building. Related issues are the value of the mission drafting process in bringing managers together to agree common objectives and the use of a hierarchy of statements to reconcile internal and external stakeholders' interests. The conclusion is that the Mission, which includes a statement of company values, is an important tool for managers to assert their leadership within the organization.

Value of information and natural resources decision-making

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Byron K.; Johnson, Fred A.

2015-01-01

Though the potential for information to measurably improve management has been highlighted for several decades, in recent years the “value of information” has surfaced with increasing frequency in natural resources. However, the use of this phrase belies the fact that many in natural resources have only a limited understanding about what it actually means, how to measure it, and what to do with it. We introduce and describe several forms of the value of information in a context of the management of renewable natural resources. The value of information is discussed in terms of a potential gain in value with the addition of new information, as well as a loss in value associated with the absence of information. Value metrics are developed for uncertainty about resource status as well as resource processes and responses to management. We provide a common notation for the metrics of value, and discuss linkages of the value of information to strategic approaches such as adaptive resources management and partially observable decision processes.

A study of institutional origins and change in a Canadian urban commons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James P. Robson

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Kenora is a small city located in northwestern Ontario, Canada. The study presented here focuses on Tunnel Island, 300 acres of forested land adjacent to Kenora’s downtown. The island is used and valued by both city residents and members of three nearby Ojibway nations. As a multiple-use, common-pool resource accessed by different groups for a range of non-extractive activities, the site has become an experiment in multicultural commons governance, and presents an excellent opportunity to examine the origins and development of institutions for managing collective environmental resources in an urban setting. Using participant observation, internet- and field-based user surveys, and semi-structured interviews, our research finds that grassroots ‘governance’ of the site is emerging through subtle processes of individual and social construction, with the strategies and norms (codes of conduct employed by users providing relative harmony on the trails, which suggests functioning commons institutions. Nevertheless, values-based and epistemic tensions exist among users, pointing to governance challenges for planned joint management of the site, and specifically the need to develop formal, legitimate, and yet flexible and inclusive arrangements that can operate in conjunction with the social practice of existing users.

Nationwide Multicenter Reference Interval Study for 28 Common Biochemical Analytes in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Liangyu; Chen, Ming; Liu, Min; Tao, Zhihua; Li, Shijun; Wang, Liang; Cheng, Xinqi; Qin, Xuzhen; Han, Jianhua; Li, Pengchang; Hou, Li'an; Yu, Songlin; Ichihara, Kiyoshi; Qiu, Ling

2016-03-01

A nationwide multicenter study was conducted in the China to explore sources of variation of reference values and establish reference intervals for 28 common biochemical analytes, as a part of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Committee on Reference Intervals and Decision Limits (IFCC/C-RIDL) global study on reference values. A total of 3148 apparently healthy volunteers were recruited in 6 cities covering a wide area in China. Blood samples were tested in 2 central laboratories using Beckman Coulter AU5800 chemistry analyzers. Certified reference materials and value-assigned serum panel were used for standardization of test results. Multiple regression analysis was performed to explore sources of variation. Need for partition of reference intervals was evaluated based on 3-level nested ANOVA. After secondary exclusion using the latent abnormal values exclusion method, reference intervals were derived by a parametric method using the modified Box-Cox formula. Test results of 20 analytes were made traceable to reference measurement procedures. By the ANOVA, significant sex-related and age-related differences were observed in 12 and 12 analytes, respectively. A small regional difference was observed in the results for albumin, glucose, and sodium. Multiple regression analysis revealed BMI-related changes in results of 9 analytes for man and 6 for woman. Reference intervals of 28 analytes were computed with 17 analytes partitioned by sex and/or age. In conclusion, reference intervals of 28 common chemistry analytes applicable to Chinese Han population were established by use of the latest methodology. Reference intervals of 20 analytes traceable to reference measurement procedures can be used as common reference intervals, whereas others can be used as the assay system-specific reference intervals in China.

Measuring the value of intangibles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Saskia; Hirth, Stefan

2016-01-01

We propose a new earnings-based measure for the value of intangibles. To validate this measure, we compare it to commonly used proxies for intangible intensity, such as R&D expenses. While R&D expenses measure the investment in new intangibles, our new measure gauges the productivity of already e...... of our intangible-intensity measure in the context of capital structure. We find that more intangible-intensive firms have lower leverage. © 2016 Elsevier B.V....

Uncertainty of Monetary Valued Ecosystem Services – Value Transfer Functions for Global Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Stefan; Manceur, Ameur M.; Seppelt, Ralf

2016-01-01

Growing demand of resources increases pressure on ecosystem services (ES) and biodiversity. Monetary valuation of ES is frequently seen as a decision-support tool by providing explicit values for unconsidered, non-market goods and services. Here we present global value transfer functions by using a meta-analytic framework for the synthesis of 194 case studies capturing 839 monetary values of ES. For 12 ES the variance of monetary values could be explained with a subset of 93 study- and site-specific variables by utilizing boosted regression trees. This provides the first global quantification of uncertainties and transferability of monetary valuations. Models explain from 18% (water provision) to 44% (food provision) of variance and provide statistically reliable extrapolations for 70% (water provision) to 91% (food provision) of the terrestrial earth surface. Although the application of different valuation methods is a source of uncertainty, we found evidence that assuming homogeneity of ecosystems is a major error in value transfer function models. Food provision is positively correlated with better life domains and variables indicating positive conditions for human well-being. Water provision and recreation service show that weak ownerships affect valuation of other common goods negatively (e.g. non-privately owned forests). Furthermore, we found support for the shifting baseline hypothesis in valuing climate regulation. Ecological conditions and societal vulnerability determine valuation of extreme event prevention. Valuation of habitat services is negatively correlated with indicators characterizing less favorable areas. Our analysis represents a stepping stone to establish a standardized integration of and reporting on uncertainties for reliable and valid benefit transfer as an important component for decision support. PMID:26938447

Tracing Curiosity with a Value Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soern F. Menning

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Several have challenged the idea that the act of educating is a neutral endeavour. Following this line of thought, this article intends to examine a common concept often taken for granted: curiosity. The aim of this article is to explore the notion of curiosity in an early-childhood-education-and-care (ECEC context in Norway in order to provide new perspectives on how value aspects of curiosity are communicated in official documents. Four ECEC documents from different organisational levels will be analysed. Informed by qualitative content analysis with a concept-driven strategy, this document analysis seeks to explore connections between the notion of curiosity and prominent value fields in ECEC, such as competence, democracy and care. Analysis of the documents suggests that curiosity is a value-loaded notion here, one which often has a competence-related value and which is frequently understood as a tool for gaining knowledge, especially in natural science and mathematics. Other value aspects, such as nurturing democracy, are represented to a minor degree. At the same time, the documents do not include possible ethical aspects of curiosity, such as connections to interpersonal caring, nor do they mention any existential or intrinsic value. In the final discussion, the article therefore explores these possible alternatives.

Hepatopancreaticobiliary Values after Thoracoabdominal Aneurysm Repair

OpenAIRE

Wu, Darrell; Coselli, Joseph S.; Johnson, Michael L.; LeMaire, Scott A.

2014-01-01

Background: After thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair, blood tests assessing hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) organs commonly have abnormal results. The clinical significance of such abnormalities is difficult to determine because the expected postoperative levels have not been characterized. Therefore, we sought to establish expected trends in HPB laboratory values after TAAA repair. Methods: This 5-year study comprised 155 patients undergoing elective Crawford extent II TAAA repair...

Reaching common ground: a patient-family-based conceptual framework of quality EOL care.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, Doris; Brazil, Kevin

2005-01-01

Improvement in the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care is a priority health care issue since serious deficiencies in quality of care have been reported across care settings. Increasing pressure is now focused on Canadian health care organizations to be accountable for the quality of palliative and EOL care delivered. Numerous domains of quality EOL care upon which to create accountability frameworks are now published, with some derived from the patient/family perspective. There is a need to reach common ground on the domains of quality EOL care valued by patients and families in order to develop consistent performance measures and set priorities for health care improvement. This paper describes a meta-synthesis study to develop a common conceptual framework of quality EOL care integrating attributes of quality valued by patients and their families.

Quality practice and customer value:strengthening the ideal linkage

OpenAIRE

Lilja, Johan

2005-01-01

Quality management is continuously evolving and the progression so far is frequently described in terms of four stages. According to these descriptions, Total Quality Management (TQM) constitutes the currently highest level, or fourth stage, of quality management. Despite the divergence of views on what constitutes TQM, it is commonly described as a number of diverse activities, here designated as quality practice, performed to display and embody a certain set of values. One of these values, ...

26 CFR 1.584-4 - Admission and withdrawal of participants in the common trust fund.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... money plus the fair market value of property (other than money) received upon such withdrawal. The basis... fair market value of any property (other than money) contributed by the participant to the common trust..., for periods before September 28, 1962, 12 CFR206.17(c)(7)), for the benefit of all the then...

Re-evaluating the isotopic divide between angiosperms and gymnosperms using n-alkane δ13C values

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, R. T.; McInerney, F. A.

2009-12-01

Angiosperm δ13C values are typically 1-3‰ more negative than those of co-occurring gymnosperms. This is known for both bulk leaf and compound-specific values from n-alkanes, which are stable, straight-chain hydrocarbons (C23-C35) found in the epicuticular leaf wax of vascular plants. For n-alkanes, there is a second distinction between the δ13C values of angiosperms and gymnosperms—δ13C values generally decrease with increasing chain-length in angiosperms, while in gymnosperms they increase. These two distinctions have been used to support the ‘plant community change hypothesis’ explaining the difference between the terrestrial and marine carbon isotope excursions during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM.) Preserved n-alkanes from terrestrial paleosols in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming reveal a negative carbon isotope excursion during the PETM of 4-5‰, which is 1-2‰ greater than the excursion recorded by marine carbonates. The local plant community, known from macrofossils as well as palynoflora, shifted from a deciduous, mixed angiosperm/gymnosperm flora to a suite of evergreen angiosperm species during the PETM. At the end of the PETM, the community returned to a mixed deciduous flora very similar to the original. This change in the plant community could thus magnify the terrestrial negative carbon isotope excursion to the degree necessary to explain its divergence from the marine record. However, the comparison between modern angiosperms and gymnosperms has been made mostly between broadleaf, deciduous angiosperms and evergreen, coniferous gymnosperms. New data analyzing deciduous, coniferous gymnosperms, including Metasequoia glyptostroboides and Taxodium distichum, suggests that the division previously ascribed to taxonomy may actually be based on leaf habit and physiology, specifically broadleaf, deciduous versus needle-leaf, evergreen plants. If differences in n-alkane δ13C values can be described not as angiosperms versus gymnosperms

Reference values of glycosylated haemoglobin and fructosamin in dogs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olair Carlos Beltrame

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Glycated haemoglobin and fructosamin levels are not commonly used to diagnosis Diabetes mellitus in dogs due to a lack of reference values. To estabilish the reference values and determination methods of glycated haemoglobin and frutosamine, both male and females, healthy dogs, 2-8 years old (n=100 were used. The methodologies used were the ionic resin and the kinetic method by the reduction of blue nitrotetrazolium, respectively. Medium values of glycated haemoglobin of 5.3-7.01% and 277.52-387. 30 for fructosamin established by Brazilian Diabetes Society methods can be adopted for dogs, both males and females.

Setting the equation: establishing value in spine care.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnick, Daniel K; Tosteson, Anna N A; Groman, Rachel F; Ghogawala, Zoher

2014-10-15

Topic review. Describe value measurement in spine care and discuss the motivation for, methods for, and limitations of such measurement. Spinal disorders are common and are an important cause of pain and disability. Numerous complementary and competing treatment strategies are used to treat spinal disorders, and the costs of these treatments is substantial and continue to rise despite clear evidence of improved health status as a result of these expenditures. The authors present the economic and legislative imperatives forcing the assessment of value in spine care. The definition of value in health care and methods to measure value specifically in spine care are presented. Limitations to the utility of value judgments and caveats to their use are presented. Examples of value calculations in spine care are presented and critiqued. Methods to improve and broaden the measurement of value across spine care are suggested, and the role of prospective registries in measuring value is discussed. Value can be measured in spine care through the use of appropriate economic measures and patient-reported outcomes measures. Value must be interpreted in light of the perspective of the assessor, the duration of the assessment period, the degree of appropriate risk stratification, and the relative value of treatment alternatives.

Apprasial of the diagnostic value of combined detection of serum tumor markers (AFP, CEA, SF, TSA) for common malignancies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han Jingyin

2005-01-01

Objective: To assess the detection rate of common malignancies with combined determination of four serum tumor markers (AFP, CEA, SF, TSA). Methods: Serum AFP, CEA, SF (with RIA) and TSA (with biochemical method) contents were determined in 612 patients with various kinds of proved malignancies. Results: Positive rates of combined determination of these four tumor markers for detection of common malignancies were: 95.2%(79/83) for liver carcinoma, 92.6% (125/135) for lung carcinoma, 88.5% (115/130) for gastric cancer, 83.3% (60/72) for colorectal cancer, 84.2% (85/101) for breast cancer, 90.0% (9/10) for chorionepithelioma and 88.9% (72/81) for ovarian cancer. Conclusion: Combined determination of these four tumor markers for screening malignancies is simple, cheap, practical and worth popularization. (authors)

The Means-End Approach to Understanding Customer Values of a On-Line Newspaper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Luiz Maranhão de Souza Leão

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Customer value is understood as one of the constructs that best explains consumer decision making. Its proposal is to understand how consumers translate product or service characteristics and consequences of use into personal self-relevant values. The means-end theory is a way of systematically thinking in this hierarchicalrepresentation. The most commonly used method to achieve means-end chains is laddering. This theory and method were used to understand customer values of an important on-line Brazilian newspaper, which is an innovative approach, since on-line laddering is uncommon. The findings indicate that values related to goals of a personal nature are the most important ones. However, other values indicate the increase of the public man pointing to an alternative vision of what is commonly thought of as the contemporary isolated and selfish human. Academic research could benefit from a broader understanding and use of the means-end theory and laddering on the Web. Future research for managerial practices is warranted in areas such as segmentation, satisfaction measuring and customer value reevaluation, in addition to copy tests.

Reference Values for Maximal Inspiratory Pressure: A Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabela MB Sclauser Pessoa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP is the most commonly used measure to evaluate inspiratory muscle strength. Normative values for MIP vary significantly among studies, which may reflect differences in participant demographics and technique of MIP measurement.

Implementing Target Value Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Thais da C L; Lichtig, Will; Rybkowski, Zofia K

2017-04-01

An alternative to the traditional way of designing projects is the process of target value design (TVD), which takes different departure points to start the design process. The TVD process starts with the client defining an allowable cost that needs to be met by the design and construction teams. An expected cost in the TVD process is defined through multiple interactions between multiple stakeholders who define wishes and others who define ways of achieving these wishes. Finally, a target cost is defined based on the expected profit the design and construction teams are expecting to make. TVD follows a series of continuous improvement efforts aimed at reaching the desired goals for the project and its associated target value cost. The process takes advantage of rapid cycles of suggestions, analyses, and implementation that starts with the definition of value for the client. In the traditional design process, the goal is to identify user preferences and find solutions that meet the needs of the client's expressed preferences. In the lean design process, the goal is to educate users about their values and advocate for a better facility over the long run; this way owners can help contractors and designers to identify better solutions. This article aims to inform the healthcare community about tools and techniques commonly used during the TVD process and how they can be used to educate and support project participants in developing better solutions to meet their needs now as well as in the future.

Value of minor trauma in the diagnosis of physical child abuse: ‘The law of common man’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vidanapathirana M

2015-05-01

Full Text Available According to the definition of Meadow (1989, child abuse is defined as treating a child in an unacceptable way in a given culture at a given time. Major criteria for diagnosis of physical child abuse include sever, multiple, and patterned injuries with different stages of healing. Sometimes, even a single, minor injury may be sufficient to diagnose physical child abuse based on how much it is unacceptable to that particular culture at a given time. When single minor trauma is found, the criteria that could be used to decide whether it is unacceptable to the culture at a given time include; severe pain, severe disfiguration, negligence and lack of care such as injuries to main members of the body,unacceptable punishments such as biting, burning, pinching or tying to an object and,severe mental trauma such as due to non-sexual genital injuries. Much information can be gathered from minor injuries and their consequences such as how much of care was rendered. A new criterion to diagnose physical child abuse is introduced using single minor injuries. However, there is no objective and defined way of deciding how much the trauma is unacceptable for the culture at a given time. Therefore, this should be decided by law of common man, that is, if the ill-treatment of the child is unacceptable to a common man in the society.

Clarifying values: an updated review

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Consensus guidelines have recommended that decision aids include a process for helping patients clarify their values. We sought to examine the theoretical and empirical evidence related to the use of values clarification methods in patient decision aids. Methods Building on the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) Collaboration’s 2005 review of values clarification methods in decision aids, we convened a multi-disciplinary expert group to examine key definitions, decision-making process theories, and empirical evidence about the effects of values clarification methods in decision aids. To summarize the current state of theory and evidence about the role of values clarification methods in decision aids, we undertook a process of evidence review and summary. Results Values clarification methods (VCMs) are best defined as methods to help patients think about the desirability of options or attributes of options within a specific decision context, in order to identify which option he/she prefers. Several decision making process theories were identified that can inform the design of values clarification methods, but no single “best” practice for how such methods should be constructed was determined. Our evidence review found that existing VCMs were used for a variety of different decisions, rarely referenced underlying theory for their design, but generally were well described in regard to their development process. Listing the pros and cons of a decision was the most common method used. The 13 trials that compared decision support with or without VCMs reached mixed results: some found that VCMs improved some decision-making processes, while others found no effect. Conclusions Values clarification methods may improve decision-making processes and potentially more distal outcomes. However, the small number of evaluations of VCMs and, where evaluations exist, the heterogeneity in outcome measures makes it difficult to determine their

An easily Prepared Fluorescent pH Probe Based on Dansyl.

Science.gov (United States)

Sha, Chunming; Chen, Yuhua; Chen, Yufen; Xu, Dongmei

2016-09-01

A novel fluorescent pH probe from dansyl chloride and thiosemicarbazide was easily prepared and fully characterized by (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, LC-MS, Infrared spectra and elemental analysis. The probe exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity to H(+) with a pK a value of 4.98. The fluorescence intensity at 510 nm quenched 99.5 % when the pH dropped from 10.88 to 1.98. In addition, the dansyl-based probe could respond quickly and reversibly to the pH variation and various common metal ions showed negligible interference. The recognition could be ascribed to the intramolecular charge transfer caused by the protonation of the nitrogen in the dimethylamino group.

The Diameter of the Left and Right Common Carotid Arteries in a Young Adult Population: An Imaging Based Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Cardiovascular disease is the most prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality in developing and developed countries. Non-invasive measurement of arterial diameter could become imperative in identifying individuals at risk. Therefore, we aimed to determine the parietal stress and normal values of left and right common carotid arteries in a young adult population and to evaluate their correlation with anthropometric variables (weight, height, BM[, BSA, and age and also determine if sexual dimorphism exists in the values of common carotid artery diameter. Sixty (60 young adults with age range 18-35 were recruited for the study. B-Mode ultrasound was used to assess diameter of carotid arteries. Results showed that the diameter of the common carotid artery increased with age. The right common carotid artery had a larger diameter than the left (P and lt;0.05. Males had larger common carotid diameter in both RCCA and LCCA than the females. The size of the common carotid artery however does not relate to height and blood pressure. Females showed a greater parietal stress than males. The study is the first to establish normal values of diameter of carotid arteries in an African population and will be a guide to further investigations into the possible relationship between the artery and the individuals at risk of carotid aneurysm.

Missing Value Imputation Based on Gaussian Mixture Model for the Internet of Things

OpenAIRE

Yan, Xiaobo; Xiong, Weiqing; Hu, Liang; Wang, Feng; Zhao, Kuo

2015-01-01

This paper addresses missing value imputation for the Internet of Things (IoT). Nowadays, the IoT has been used widely and commonly by a variety of domains, such as transportation and logistics domain and healthcare domain. However, missing values are very common in the IoT for a variety of reasons, which results in the fact that the experimental data are incomplete. As a result of this, some work, which is related to the data of the IoT, can’t be carried out normally. And it leads to the red...

A monetary value for initial information in portfolio optimization

OpenAIRE

Martin Schweizer; Dirk Becherer; Jürgen Amendinger

2002-01-01

We consider an investor maximizing his expected utility from terminal wealth with portfolio decisions based on the available information flow. This investor faces the opportunity to acquire some additional initial information ${\\cal G}$. His subjective fair value of this information is defined as the amount of money that he can pay for ${\\cal G}$ such that this cost is balanced out by the informational advantage in terms of maximal expected utility. We study this value for common utility func...

Autonomy, religious values, and refusal of lifesaving medical treatment.

OpenAIRE

Wreen, M J

1991-01-01

The principal question of this paper is: Why are religious values special in refusal of lifesaving medical treatment? This question is approached through a critical examination of a common kind of refusal of treatment case, one involving a rational adult. The central value cited in defence of honouring such a patient's refusal is autonomy. Once autonomy is isolated from other justificatory factors, however, possible cases can be imagined which cast doubt on the great valuational weight assign...

School system evaluation by value added analysis under endogeneity.

Science.gov (United States)

Manzi, Jorge; San Martín, Ernesto; Van Bellegem, Sébastien

2014-01-01

Value added is a common tool in educational research on effectiveness. It is often modeled as a (prediction of a) random effect in a specific hierarchical linear model. This paper shows that this modeling strategy is not valid when endogeneity is present. Endogeneity stems, for instance, from a correlation between the random effect in the hierarchical model and some of its covariates. This paper shows that this phenomenon is far from exceptional and can even be a generic problem when the covariates contain the prior score attainments, a typical situation in value added modeling. Starting from a general, model-free definition of value added, the paper derives an explicit expression of the value added in an endogeneous hierarchical linear Gaussian model. Inference on value added is proposed using an instrumental variable approach. The impact of endogeneity on the value added and the estimated value added is calculated accurately. This is also illustrated on a large data set of individual scores of about 200,000 students in Chile.

Unified pH values of liquid chromatography mobile phases.

Science.gov (United States)

Suu, Agnes; Jalukse, Lauri; Liigand, Jaanus; Kruve, Anneli; Himmel, Daniel; Krossing, Ingo; Rosés, Martí; Leito, Ivo

2015-03-03

This work introduces a conceptually new approach of measuring pH of mixed-solvent liquid chromatography (LC) mobile phases. Mobile phase pH is very important in LC, but its correct measurement is not straightforward, and all commonly used approaches have deficiencies. The new approach is based on the recently introduced unified pH (pH(abs)) scale, which enables direct comparison of acidities of solutions made in different solvents based on chemical potential of the proton in the solutions. This work represents the first experimental realization of the pH(abs) concept using differential potentiometric measurement for comparison of the chemical potentials of the proton in different solutions (connected by a salt bridge), together with earlier published reference points for obtaining the pH(abs) values (referenced to the gas phase) or pH(abs)(H₂O) values (referenced to the aqueous solution). The liquid junction potentials were estimated in the framework of Izutsu's three-component method. pH(abs) values for a number of common LC and LC-MS mobile phases have been determined. The pH(abs) scale enables for the first time direct comparison of acidities of any LC mobile phases, with different organic additives, different buffer components, etc. A possible experimental protocol of putting this new approach into chromatographic practice has been envisaged and its applicability tested. It has been demonstrated that the ionization behavior of bases (cationic acids) in the mobile phases can be better predicted by using the pH(abs)(H₂O) values and aqueous pKa values than by using the alternative means of expressing mobile phase acidity. Description of the ionization behavior of acids on the basis of pH(abs)(H₂O) values is possible if the change of their pKa values with solvent composition change is taken into account.

Dependence and a Kantian conception of dignity as a value.

Science.gov (United States)

Byers, Philippa

2016-02-01

Kantian moral concepts concerning respect for human dignity have played a central role in articulating ethical guidelines for medical practice and research, and for articulating some central positions within bioethical debates more generally. The most common of these Kantian moral concepts is the obligation to respect the dignity of patients and of human research subjects as autonomous, self-determining individuals. This article describes Kant's conceptual distinction between dignity and autonomy as values, and draws on the work of several contemporary Kantian philosophers who employ the distinction to make sense of some common moral intuitions, feelings, and norms. Drawing on this work, the article argues that the conceptual distinction between dignity and autonomy as values is indispensable in the context of considering our obligations to those who are dependent and vulnerable.

A review of health utilities across conditions common in paediatric and adult populations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hopkins Robert B

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cost-utility analyses are commonly used in economic evaluations of interventions or conditions that have an impact on health-related quality of life. However, evaluating utilities in children presents several challenges since young children may not have the cognitive ability to complete measurement tasks and thus utility values must be estimated by proxy assessors. Another solution is to use utilities derived from an adult population. To better inform the future conduct of cost-utility analyses in paediatric populations, we reviewed the published literature reporting utilities among children and adults across selected conditions common to paediatric and adult populations. Methods An electronic search of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library up to November 2008 was conducted to identify studies presenting utility values derived from the Health Utilities Index (HUI or EuroQoL-5Dimensions (EQ-5D questionnaires or using time trade off (TTO or standard gamble (SG techniques in children and/or adult populations from randomized controlled trials, comparative or non-comparative observational studies, or cross-sectional studies. The search was targeted to four chronic diseases/conditions common to both children and adults and known to have a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL. Results After screening 951 citations identified from the literature search, 77 unique studies included in our review evaluated utilities in patients with asthma (n = 25, cancer (n = 23, diabetes mellitus (n = 11, skin diseases (n = 19 or chronic diseases (n = 2, with some studies evaluating multiple conditions. Utility values were estimated using HUI (n = 33, EQ-5D (n = 26, TTO (n = 12, and SG (n = 14, with some studies applying more than one technique to estimate utility values. 21% of studies evaluated utilities in children, of those the majority being in the area of oncology. No utility values for children were reported in skin

Freedom and the Non-Instrumental Value of Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rostbøll, Christian F.

This paper is an intervention in two debates, one concerning the instrumental vs noninstrumental value of democracy, the other concerning the relationship between freedom and democracy. I reject the purely instrumental justification of democracy and defend the idea that democracy has noninstrumen......This paper is an intervention in two debates, one concerning the instrumental vs noninstrumental value of democracy, the other concerning the relationship between freedom and democracy. I reject the purely instrumental justification of democracy and defend the idea that democracy has...... noninstrumental value. I see the noninstrumental value of democracy in terms of freedom rather than the now more common reference to equality or fairness. The freedom argument can better show the noninstrumenal value of democracy and can better respond to some core objections to democratic noninstrumentalism than...... the equality argument. A main aim of this paper is to show that freedom and democracy are not merely instrumentally linked but, rather, intrinsically related. I argue this mainly via a critical engagement with Philip Pettit’s conception of freedom as nondomination. My defense of the noninstrumental value...

Development of a Common Nordic Balance Settlement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-02-15

need for incentives to reduce imbalances. NordREG comprehends that there are advantages for vertically integrated companies if they can net their imbalances. These advantages might be reduced and competition enhanced if the balance settlement includes separate consumption imbalances and separate production imbalances per Elspot area. It is difficult and costly to harmonize the area of metering value processing requirements and data systems, but it is crucial that it is done in order to have a common Nordic retail market. Therefore it is important that a road map for the necessary harmonisation and standardisation of these differences is agreed in the first phase. The difference in load profile systems is a obstacle for a harmonised balance settlement regarding customers without hourly measurements. After these issues have been discussed and agreed, it is possible to decide a plan for the further work aiming at implementation of a common Nordic balance settlement, which will also include necessary changes in the legal and regulatory framework.

Development of a Common Nordic Balance Settlement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-02-01

need for incentives to reduce imbalances. NordREG comprehends that there are advantages for vertically integrated companies if they can net their imbalances. These advantages might be reduced and competition enhanced if the balance settlement includes separate consumption imbalances and separate production imbalances per Elspot area. It is difficult and costly to harmonize the area of metering value processing requirements and data systems, but it is crucial that it is done in order to have a common Nordic retail market. Therefore it is important that a road map for the necessary harmonisation and standardisation of these differences is agreed in the first phase. The difference in load profile systems is a obstacle for a harmonised balance settlement regarding customers without hourly measurements. After these issues have been discussed and agreed, it is possible to decide a plan for the further work aiming at implementation of a common Nordic balance settlement, which will also include necessary changes in the legal and regulatory framework

THE VALUE OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS WITHIN A SME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela-Georgia Sima

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The concept of value has been born together with the commercial activity. One has decided to present in this paper some of the ways in which the intangible assets of a company contribute to its value raise. To eliminate different interpretations of the terms, one has defined the main concepts and elements present in the paper, such as the concept of value, Value Based Management. Besides the brand, the second analyzed instrument of value creation is the human capital (resource - HR. In this matter, one has taken into consideration the reverse influence the company has on its HR and the value the HR creates within the company. One huge result of the study is that in order to be able to create value for a team work, this team needs to be equilibrated regarding competences, working style, active collaboration, proactive behaviour, correct and common focused purposes. Last, but not least, one has brought into discussion the Value added intellectual coefficient, method conceived to help the managers determine their companies’ potential, based on present performance and exploit it at its best. In conclusion, every company has its unique set of knowledge, competences, values and solutions, all intangible resources.

Enhancing High Value Care in Gastroenterology Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Camilleri, Michael; Katzka, David A

2016-10-01

The objective of this review is to identify common areas in gastroenterology practice where studies performed provide an opportunity for enhancing value or lowering costs. We provide examples of topics in gastroenterology where clinicians could enhance value by either using less invasive testing, choosing a single best test, or by using patient symptoms to guide additional testing. The topics selected for review are selected in esophageal, pancreatic, and colorectal cancer; functional gastrointestinal diseases (irritable bowel syndrome, bacterial overgrowth, constipation); immune-mediated gastrointestinal diseases; and pancreaticobiliary pathology. We propose guidance to alter practice based on current evidence. These studies support the need to review current practice and to continue performing research to further validate the proposed guidance to enhance value of care in gastroenterology and hepatology. Copyright © 2016 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Derivation of the extrinsic values of biological diversity from its intrinsic value and of both from the first principles of evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Peter S

2013-12-01

Conservation ethics have been based on 2 philosophical value systems: extrinsic value (defined broadly to include all values that derive from something external to the thing valued) and intrinsic value. Valuing biological diversity on the basis of an extrinsic value system is problematic because measurement is often difficult; extrinsic value changes as spatial or temporal scales change; extrinsic value differs on the basis of external factors; some species have trivial or negative extrinsic values; and extrinsic value varies across human cultures and societies and with such factors as socioeconomic conditions, individual experiences, and educational backgrounds. Valuing biological diversity on the basis of an intrinsic value system also poses challenges because intrinsic value can be seen as a disguised form of human extrinsic value; intrinsic value is initially ambiguous as to which objects or characteristics of biological diversity are to being valued; all aspects of biological diversity (e.g., species and ecosystems) are transitory; species and ecosystems are not static concrete entities; and intrinsic value of one species is often in conflict with the intrinsic value of other species. Extrinsic and intrinsic value systems share a common origin, such that extrinsic values are always derived from intrinsic value and life mutely expresses both intrinsic and extrinsic values-these are derived from and are products of biological evolution. Probing the values that underlie conservation helps the community clearly articulate its aims. Derivación de los Valores Extrínsecos de la Biodiversidad a Partir de sus Valores Intrínsecos y de Ambos a Partir de los Primeros Principios de la Evolución. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Variation in behaviour and growth of common sole : genetic and environmental influences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mas Muñoz, J.

2013-01-01

Common sole (Solea solea) has a high potential for commercial aquaculture because of its consumer popularity and high market values in Europe. However, a major economic constraint for the culture of sole is its slow and variable growth. The aim of this thesis was to investigate: 1) the

Fixed Point in Topological Vector Space-Valued Cone Metric Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Arshad

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We obtain common fixed points of a pair of mappings satisfying a generalized contractive type condition in TVS-valued cone metric spaces. Our results generalize some well-known recent results in the literature.

Common postural defects among music students.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanco-Piñeiro, Patricia; Díaz-Pereira, M Pino; Martínez, Aurora

2015-07-01

Postural quality during musical performance affects both musculoskeletal health and the quality of the performance. In this study we examined the posture of 100 students at a Higher Conservatory of Music in Spain. By analysing video tapes and photographs of the students while performing, a panel of experts extracted values of 11 variables reflecting aspects of overall postural quality or the postural quality of various parts of the body. The most common postural defects were identified, together with the situations in which they occur. It is concluded that most students incur in unphysiological postures during performance. It is hoped that use of the results of this study will help correct these errors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Interprofessional ethical shared values for an integral healthcare].

Science.gov (United States)

Galán González-Serna, José María

2013-01-01

Healthcare today requires the rapport of diverse professionals to give a comprehensive response to the needs and requirements of the population's health. Codes of ethics are the normative expression of secular reflection on the ethical values of the professions. In this study we aim to identify ethical values shared by various professionals codes of conduct and propose a method for evaluating the ethical estimate. For this reason, we have reviewed codes of ethics of the medical, nursing, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology professions, identifying 30 values. These values were classified into two groups, depending on if these are shared by the 5 professionals codes or not (VIP vs VP). In order to provide a method for estimating common values it has been designed a survey likert type. Is possible to conclude there are ethical formally shared values identifiable in professional codes of conduct and it is possible to measure the estimate of ethical values accepted by health professionals. This measurement can be an effective aid to apply management methods of human resources that make it possible to achieve the comprehensive assistance based on inter-professional teams.

Institutional investors' involuntary trading behaviors,commonality in liquidity change and stock price fragility

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Guojin Chen; Aihuan Xu; Xiangqin Zhao

2013-01-01

Purpose-The aim of this paper is to empirically analyze the source of commonality in liquidity change in China's stock market.Design/methodology/approach-This paper used two-step test method in Coughenour and Saad and empirically tested the relationship between institutional investors' involuntary trading behaviors and commonality in liquidity change in China's stock market.Findings-The results showed that to take the open-end fund as a representative of institutional investors,their involuntary trading behaviors were an important source of commonality in liquidity change in China's stock market.Originality/value-For a long time,the domestic researchers have ignored the study about the source of commonality in liquidity change in China's stock market.But,this study's conclusion expanded the explanation about the source of commonality in liquidity change in China's stock market from a new point of view that the demand-side explanation.Because there is no market-maker trading behaviors in China's stock market,the paper cannot explain the source of commonality in liquidity change in China's stock market from the point of view of the supply-side explanation.

Making the Common Good Common

Science.gov (United States)

Chase, Barbara

2011-01-01

How are independent schools to be useful to the wider world? Beyond their common commitment to educate their students for meaningful lives in service of the greater good, can they educate a broader constituency and, thus, share their resources and skills more broadly? Their answers to this question will be shaped by their independence. Any…

Evaluation of three neonicotinoid insecticides against the common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae, and its natural enemies.

Science.gov (United States)

Amirzade, Najmeh; Izadi, Hamzeh; Jalali, Mohammad Amin; Zohdi, Hadi

2014-03-06

The common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is a key pest in pistachio orchards in Iran. Chemical control is a common method to manage this pest. Compatibility between natural enemies and pesticides is a primary concern in programs of integrated pest management of the psyllid pest. In this research, susceptibility of fifth instar nymphs of Ag. pistaciae and fourth instar larvae of the two most common predators of this pest, Adalia bipunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Coccinella undecimpunctata aegyptiaca Reiche, to acetamiprid, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid was investigated. Probit analysis of concentration-mortality data was conducted to estimate the LC50 value. The results showed that thiamethoxam with an LC50 value of 56.35 mg a.i./L was more toxic to fifth instar nymphs of Ag. pistaciae in comparison to acetamiprid (60.75 mg a.i/L) and imidacloprid (138.21 mg a.i/L) . Imidacloprid with an LC50 value of 218.89 mg a.i/L compared to acetamiprid (222.65 mg a.i/L) and thiamethoxam (232.37 mg a.i/L) had more lethal effects on fourth instar larvae of Ad. bipunctata. However, on the fourth instar larvae of C. undecimpunctata aegyptica, acetamiprid with an LC50 value of 263.44 mg a.i/L was more toxic than thiamethoxam (296.62 mg a.i/L) and imidacloprid (447.82 mg a.i/L). The laboratory findings showed that the three tested insecticides were more toxic to the common pistachio psylla than to its natural predators. Thiamethoxam was the most toxic against Ag. pistaciae. However, its toxicity to the predators was lower than imidacloprid and acetamiprid. This result suggests that thiamethoxam is the best insecticide for control of Ag. pistaciae in combination with predatory lady beetles. This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.

Are volcanic seismic b-values high, and if so when?

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Nick S.; Bell, Andrew F.; Main, Ian G.

2015-12-01

The Gutenberg-Richter exponent b is a measure of the relative proportion of large and small earthquakes. It is commonly used to infer material properties such as heterogeneity, or mechanical properties such as the state of stress from earthquake populations. It is 'well known' that the b-value tends to be high or very high for volcanic earthquake populations relative to b = 1 for those of tectonic earthquakes, and that b varies significantly with time during periods of unrest. We first review the supporting evidence from 34 case studies, and identify weaknesses in this argument due predominantly to small sample size, the narrow bandwidth of magnitude scales available, variability in the methods used to assess the minimum or cutoff magnitude Mc, and to infer b. Informed by this, we use synthetic realisations to quantify the effect of choice of the cutoff magnitude on maximum likelihood estimates of b, and suggest a new work flow for this choice. We present the first quantitative estimate of the error in b introduced by uncertainties in estimating Mc, as a function of the number of events and the b-value itself. This error can significantly exceed the commonly-quoted statistical error in the estimated b-value, especially for the case that the underlying b-value is high. We apply the new methods to data sets from recent periods of unrest in El Hierro and Mount Etna. For El Hierro we confirm significantly high b-values of 1.5-2.5 prior to the 10 October 2011 eruption. For Mount Etna the b-values are indistinguishable from b = 1 within error, except during the flank eruptions at Mount Etna in 2001-2003, when 1.5 forecasting informed by b-value variability, in particular in assessing the significance of b-value variations identified by sample sizes with fewer than 200 events above the completeness threshold.

How "moral" are the principles of biomedical ethics?--a cross-domain evaluation of the common morality hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Christen, Markus; Ineichen, Christian; Tanner, Carmen

2014-06-17

The principles of biomedical ethics - autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice - are of paradigmatic importance for framing ethical problems in medicine and for teaching ethics to medical students and professionals. In order to underline this significance, Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress base the principles in the common morality, i.e. they claim that the principles represent basic moral values shared by all persons committed to morality and are thus grounded in human moral psychology. We empirically investigated the relationship of the principles to other moral and non-moral values that provide orientations in medicine. By way of comparison, we performed a similar analysis for the business & finance domain. We evaluated the perceived degree of "morality" of 14 values relevant to medicine (n1 = 317, students and professionals) and 14 values relevant to business & finance (n2 = 247, students and professionals). Ratings were made along four dimensions intended to characterize different aspects of morality. We found that compared to other values, the principles-related values received lower ratings across several dimensions that characterize morality. By interpreting our finding using a clustering and a network analysis approach, we suggest that the principles can be understood as "bridge values" that are connected both to moral and non-moral aspects of ethical dilemmas in medicine. We also found that the social domain (medicine vs. business & finance) influences the degree of perceived morality of values. Our results are in conflict with the common morality hypothesis of Beauchamp and Childress, which would imply domain-independent high morality ratings of the principles. Our findings support the suggestions by other scholars that the principles of biomedical ethics serve primarily as instruments in deliberated justifications, but lack grounding in a universal "common morality". We propose that the specific manner in which the principles

Molecular characterization of high performance inbred lines of Brazilian common beans.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, P C B; Veiga, M M; de Menezes, I P P; Valdisser, P A M R; Borba, T C O; Melo, L C; Del Peloso, M J; Brondani, C; Vianello, R P

2013-02-06

The identification of germplasm genetic variability in breeding programs of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is essential for determining the potential of each combination of parent plants to obtain superior genotypes. The present study aimed to estimated the extent of genetic diversity in 172 lineages and cultivars of the common bean by integrating five tests of value for cultivation and use (VCU) that were conducted over the last eight years by the breeding program of Embrapa Arroz e Feijão in Brazil. Nine multilocus genotyping systems composed of 36 fluorescent microsatellite markers distributed across 11 different chromosomes of the common bean were used, of which 24 were polymorphic in all trials. One hundred and eighty-seven alleles were identified, with an average of 7.79 alleles per locus and an average gene diversity of 0.65. The combined probability of identity for all loci was 1.32 x 10(-16). Lineages that are more genetically divergent between the selection cycles were identified, allowing the breeding program to develop a crossbreed between elite genotypes with a low degree of genetic relatedness. HE values ranged from 0.31 to 0.63, with a large reduction in the genetic base over successive selection cycles. The test showed a significant degree of differentiation (FST = 0.159). Private alleles (26%) were identified and can be directly incorporated into the gene pool of cultivated germplasm, thereby contributing effectively to the expansion of genetic diversity in this bean-breeding program.

Missing Value Imputation Based on Gaussian Mixture Model for the Internet of Things

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaobo Yan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses missing value imputation for the Internet of Things (IoT. Nowadays, the IoT has been used widely and commonly by a variety of domains, such as transportation and logistics domain and healthcare domain. However, missing values are very common in the IoT for a variety of reasons, which results in the fact that the experimental data are incomplete. As a result of this, some work, which is related to the data of the IoT, can’t be carried out normally. And it leads to the reduction in the accuracy and reliability of the data analysis results. This paper, for the characteristics of the data itself and the features of missing data in IoT, divides the missing data into three types and defines three corresponding missing value imputation problems. Then, we propose three new models to solve the corresponding problems, and they are model of missing value imputation based on context and linear mean (MCL, model of missing value imputation based on binary search (MBS, and model of missing value imputation based on Gaussian mixture model (MGI. Experimental results showed that the three models can improve the accuracy, reliability, and stability of missing value imputation greatly and effectively.

Agile rediscovering values: Similarities to continuous improvement strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz de Mera, P.; Arenas, J. M.; González, C.

2012-04-01

Research in the late 80's on technological companies that develop products of high value innovation, with sufficient speed and flexibility to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, gave rise to the new set of methodologies known as Agile Management Approach. In the current changing economic scenario, we considered very interesting to study the similarities of these Agile Methodologies with other practices whose effectiveness has been amply demonstrated in both the West and Japan. Strategies such as Kaizen, Lean, World Class Manufacturing, Concurrent Engineering, etc, would be analyzed to check the values they have in common with the Agile Approach.

The Conceptualization of Value in the Value Proposition of New Health Technologies Comment on "Providing Value to New Health Technology: The Early Contribution of Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Regulatory Agencies".

Science.gov (United States)

Buttigieg, Sandra C; Hoof, Joost van

2017-07-03

Lehoux et al provide a highly valid contribution in conceptualizing value in value propositions for new health technologies and developing an analytic framework that illustrates the interplay between health innovation supply-side logic (the logic of emergence) and demand-side logic (embedding in the healthcare system). This commentary brings forth several considerations on this article. First, a detailed stakeholder analysis provides the necessary premonition of potential hurdles in the development, implementation and dissemination of a new technology. This can be achieved by categorizing potential stakeholder groups on the basis of the potential impact of future technology. Secondly, the conceptualization of value in value propositions of new technologies should not only embrace business/economic and clinical values but also ethical, professional and cultural values, as well as factoring in the notion of usability and acceptance of new technology. As a final note, the commentary emphasises the point that technology should facilitate delivery of care without negatively affecting doctor-patient communications, physical examination skills, and development of clinical knowledge. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Evaluation of nutritional value and protein quality of raw and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this present study, the effect of various common processing methods on the ... The rats fed with the experimental diet containing autoclaved SB seeds as a ... Moreover, the protein quality parameters such as true digestibility, biological value, ...

Radioactivity concentrations in common brands of cement in Nigeria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farai, I.P.; Ejeh, J.E.

2006-01-01

Radioactivity concentrations of 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K in common brands of Portland cement in Nigeria have been measured using a shielded 7.6 cm x 7.6 cm NaI(Tl) detector coupled to a Canberra series 10 plus multichannel analyzer. The cement samples show significant spread in their radioactivity concentrations, even among samples of the same brand. The weighted means of the activity concentrations of 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K in the different brands were 52.4, 4.1 and 91.8 Bq/kg, respectively. The radium equivalent ranged between 29.1 and 128.1 Bq/kg with a weighted mean value of 68.5 Bq/kg. The values are lower than corresponding values in cement samples in most other countries as contained in recent publications. They are also lower than the UNSCEAR recommended maximum of 370 Bq/kg. The safety criteria developed by ITB Poland for radioactivity in building materials, especially for radon build-up in homes were however, exceeded in some of the cement samples. (authors)

Correlating substituent parameter values to electron transport properties of molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vedova-Brook, Natalie; Matsunaga, Nikita; Sohlberg, Karl

2004-01-01

There are a vast number of organic compounds that could be considered for use in molecular electronics. Because of this, the need for efficient and economical screening tools has emerged. We demonstrate that the substituent parameter values (σ), commonly found in advanced organic chemistry textbooks, correlate strongly with features of the charge migration process, establishing them as useful indicators of electronic properties. Specifically, we report that ab initio derived electronic charge transfer values for 16 different substituted aromatic molecules for molecular junctions correlate to the σ values with a correlation coefficient squared (R 2 ) of 0.863

Different meaning of the p-value in exploratory and confirmatory hypothesis testing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerke, Oke; Høilund-Carlsen, Poul Flemming; Vach, Werner

2011-01-01

The outcome of clinical studies is often reduced to the statistical significance of results by indicating a p-value below the 5% significance level. Hypothesis testing and, through that, the p-value is commonly used, but their meaning is frequently misinterpreted in clinical research. The concept...... of hypothesis testing is explained and some pitfalls including those of multiple testing are given. The conceptual difference between exploratory and confirmatory hypothesis testing is discussed, and a better use of p-values, which includes presenting p-values with two or three decimals, is suggested....

Population based reference intervals for common blood haematological and biochemical parameters in the akuapem north district.

Science.gov (United States)

Koram, Ka; Addae, Mm; Ocran, Jc; Adu-Amankwah, S; Rogers, Wo; Nkrumah, Fk

2007-12-01

To estimate the reference intervals for commonly used blood haematology and biochemical parameters in an adult (18-55yrs) population of residents of Mampong Akuapem. This was a population based cross sectional study of a randomly selected sample of the adult population of Mampong. The sample was selected from an updated census list of the Mampong area. Median values (95% range) for measured parameters were established as follows: Haemoglobin, (males) 14.2 g/dl (females) 12.0 g/dl Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), (female) 19.6 U/L (males) 26.1 U/L and Creatinine, (males) 108 mmol/L (females) 93 mmol/L. In comparison to reference values that are commonly used in Ghana, the haemoglobulin levels from this study were lower, and liver function parameters higher. This could be a result of genetic or environmental differences and calls for the need to establish site specific reference values applicable to our population.

Topological Vector Space-Valued Cone Metric Spaces and Fixed Point Theorems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radenović Stojan

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We develop the theory of topological vector space valued cone metric spaces with nonnormal cones. We prove three general fixed point results in these spaces and deduce as corollaries several extensions of theorems about fixed points and common fixed points, known from the theory of (normed-valued cone metric spaces. Examples are given to distinguish our results from the known ones.

Reflections on Ethics and Humanity in Pediatric Neurology: the Value of Recognizing Ethical Issues in Common Clinical Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronen, Gabriel M; Rosenbaum, Peter L

2017-05-01

Our goals in this reflection are to (i) identify the ethical dimensions inherent in any clinical encounter and (ii) bring to the forefront of our pediatric neurology practice the myriad of opportunities to explore and learn from these ethical questions. We highlight specifically Beauchamp and Childress's principles of biomedical ethics. We use the terms ethics in common clinical practice and an ethical lens to remind people of the ubiquity of ethical situations and the usefulness of using existing ethical principles to analyze and resolve difficult situations in clinical practice. We start with a few common situations with which many of us tend to struggle. We describe what we understand as ethics and how and why developments in technology, novel potential interventions, policies, and societal perspectives challenge us to think about and debate ethical issues. Individual patients are not a singular population; each patient has their own unique life situations, culture, goals, and expectations that need to be considered with a good dose of humanity and humility. We believe that using an ethical lens-by which we mean making an explicit effort to identify and consider these issues openly-will help us to achieve this goal in practice, education, and research.

Participatory mapping of landscape values in a Pan-European perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

García-Martín, María; Fagerholm, Nora; Bieling, Claudia

2017-01-01

Context: Human–nature interactions are reflected in the values people assign to landscapes. These values shape our understanding and actions as landscape co-creators, and need to be taken into account to achieve an integrated management of the landscape that involves civil society. Objectives......: The aim of this research was to increase the current knowledge on the most and least common landscape values perceived by local stakeholders, the patterns in the spatial distribution of values, and their connection to different socio-economic backgrounds and landscape characteristics across Europe....... Methods: The research consisted of a cross-site comparison study on how landscape values are perceived in six areas of Europe using Public Participation GIS surveys. Answers were analysed combining contingency tables, spatial autocorrelation and bivariate correlation methods, kernel densities, land cover...

The value of Inuit participation when conserving the common eider duck in Arctic Canada and Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gilchrist, Grant; Merkel, Flemming Ravn; Sonne, Christian

, Denmark, and northerners. This presentation will review the meaningful involvement and direct participation of Inuit during many aspects of historical and ongoing eider duck conservation efforts. These include studies that examined the sustainability of harvest, the establishment of new harvest......The northern common eider duck nests in the eastern Canadian Arctic and west Greenland, and migrates to winter in Atlantic Canada and southwest Greenland. The eider is harvested for its meat, feather down and eggs and its ongoing conservation is the shared responsibility of Canada, Greenland...... regulations, long term monitoring of breeding colonies in remote coastal locations, reporting on emerging disease epidemics, and ongoing field studies which examine the impacts of polar bear predation under changing sea ice conditions. This presentation will review how working relationships were established...

Consistency in color parameters of a commonly used shade guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Tashkandi, Esam

2010-01-01

The use of shade guides to assess the color of natural teeth subjectively remains one of the most common means for dental shade assessment. Any variation in the color parameters of the different shade guides may lead to significant clinical implications. Particularly, since the communication between the clinic and the dental laboratory is based on using the shade guide designation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the consistency of the L∗a∗b∗ color parameters of a sample of a commonly used shade guide. The color parameters of a total of 100 VITAPAN Classical Vacuum shade guide (VITA Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany(were measured using a X-Rite ColorEye 7000A Spectrophotometer (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA). Each shade guide consists of 16 tabs with different designations. Each shade tab was measured five times and the average values were calculated. The ΔE between the average L∗a∗b∗ value for each shade tab and the average of the 100 shade tabs of the same designation was calculated. Using the Student t-test analysis, no significant differences were found among the measured sample. There is a high consistency level in terms of color parameters of the measured VITAPAN Classical Vacuum shade guide sample tested.

User perspectives on Implanon NXT in South Africa: A survey of 12 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

interquartile range 6 - 12), and this was primarily as a result of sideeffects (90%), especially bleeding-pattern changes and headaches. Removals were most common among married and cohabiting women, often ascribed to the effects of bleeding on ...

Thermo-mechanical fatigue behaviour and life prediction of C-1023 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

Mechanical strain-cycles to failure curves for 890-1055 ºC temperature range. ... could be ascribed to creep strain accumulation at high temperatures coinciding ... It is common in engineering applications to rely on life prediction models based ...

ANALYSIS OF ABNORMALITIES IN COMMON CAROTID ARTERY IMAGES USING MULTIWAVELETS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Nandakumar

2016-11-01

Full Text Available According to the report given by World Health Organization, by 2030 almost 23.6 million people will die from cardiovascular diseases (CVD, mostly from heart disease and stroke. The main objective of this work is to develop a classifier for the diagnosis of abnormal Common Carotid Arteries (CCA. This paper proposes a new approach for the analysis of abnormalities in longitudinal B-mode ultrasound CCA images using multiwavelets. Analysis is done using HM and GHM multiwavelets at various levels of decomposition. Energy values of the coefficients of approximation, horizontal, vertical and diagonal details are calculated and plotted for different levels. Plots of energy values show high correlation with the abnormalities of CCA and offer the possibility of improved diagnosis of CVD. It is clear that the energy values can be used as an index of individual atherosclerosis and to develop a cost effective system for cardiovascular risk assessment at an early stage.

Common mode voltage in case of transformerless PV inverters connected to the grid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kerekes, Tamas; Teodorescu, Remus; Liserre, Marco

2008-01-01

For safety reasons grid connected PV systems include galvanic isolation. In case of transformerless inverters, the leakage ground current through the parasitic capacitance of the PV panels, can reach very high values. A common-mode model based on analytical approach is introduced, used to predict...... the common-mode behavior, at frequencies lower than 50kHz, of the selected topologies and to explain the influence of system imbalance on the leakage current. It will be demonstrated that the neutral inductance has a crucial influence on the leakage current. Finally experimental results will be shown...

Value propositions of mHealth projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorski, Irena; Bram, Joshua T; Sutermaster, Staci; Eckman, Molly; Mehta, Khanjan

While mHealth holds great potential for addressing global health disparities, a majority of the initiatives never proceed beyond the pilot stage. One fundamental concern is that mHealth projects are seldom designed from the customer's perspective to address their specific problems and/or create appreciable value. A customer-centric view, where direct tangible benefits of interventions are identified and communicated effectively, can drive customer engagement and advance projects toward self-sustaining business models. This article reviews the business models of 234 mHealth projects to identify nine distinct value propositions that solve specific problems for customers. Each of these value propositions is discussed with real-world examples, analyses of their design approaches and business strategies, and common enablers as well as hurdles to surviving past the pilot stage. Furthermore, a deeper analysis of 42 mHealth ventures that have achieved self-sustainability through project revenue provides a host of practical and poignant insights into the design of systems that can fulfil mHealth's promise to address healthcare challenges in the long term.

Good neighbourly relations or family values?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McQuaid, Sara Dybris

Good neighbourly relations or family values? Assessing British Irish cooperation in a comparative perspective 1990-2010. This paper forms part of a larger comparative study, which charts the past 20 years development of British Irish cooperation and Nordic cooperation. It examines specifically...... associations lies in the legitimacy they derive from a historical narrative of a common social, cultural, economic and political fabric. Importantly, however, the impetus behind the cooperation is constructed from both associative and ascriptive components of collective identity; cooperation is motivated...

Synchronization of coupled active rotators by common noise

Science.gov (United States)

Dolmatova, Anastasiya V.; Goldobin, Denis S.; Pikovsky, Arkady

2017-12-01

We study the effect of common noise on coupled active rotators. While such a noise always facilitates synchrony, coupling may be attractive (synchronizing) or repulsive (desynchronizing). We develop an analytical approach based on a transformation to approximate angle-action variables and averaging over fast rotations. For identical rotators, we describe a transition from full to partial synchrony at a critical value of repulsive coupling. For nonidentical rotators, the most nontrivial effect occurs at moderate repulsive coupling, where a juxtaposition of phase locking with frequency repulsion (anti-entrainment) is observed. We show that the frequency repulsion obeys a nontrivial power law.

Creating organizational value by leveraging the multihospital pharmacy enterprise.

Science.gov (United States)

Schenkat, Dan; Rough, Steve; Hansen, Amanda; Chen, David; Knoer, Scott

2018-04-01

The results of a survey of multihospital pharmacy leaders are summarized, and a road map for creating organizational value with the pharmacy enterprise is presented. A survey was designed to evaluate the level of integration of pharmacy services across each system's multiple hospitals, determine the most commonly integrated services, determine whether value was quantified when services were integrated, collect common barriers for finding value through integration, and identify strategies for successfully overcoming these barriers. The comprehensive, 59-question survey was distributed electronically in September 2016 to the top pharmacy executive at approximately 160 multihospital systems located throughout the United States. Survey respondents indicated that health systems are taking a wide range of approaches to integrating services systemwide. Several themes emerged from the survey responses: (1) having a system-level pharmacy leader with solid-line reporting across the enterprise increased the likelihood of integrating pharmacy services effectively, (2) integration of pharmacy services across a multihospital system was unlikely to decrease the number of pharmacy full-time equivalents within the enterprise, and (3) significant opportunities exist for creating value for the multihospital health system with the pharmacy enterprise, particularly within 4 core areas: system-level drug formulary and clinical standardization initiatives, supply chain initiatives, electronic health record integration, and specialty and retail pharmacy services. Consistently demonstrating strong organizational leadership, entrepreneurialism, and the ability to create value for the organization will lead to the system-level pharmacy leader and the pharmacy enterprise being well-positioned to achieve positive outcomes for patients, payers, and the broader health system. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

EPEPT: A web service for enhanced P-value estimation in permutation tests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Knijnenburg Theo A

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In computational biology, permutation tests have become a widely used tool to assess the statistical significance of an event under investigation. However, the common way of computing the P-value, which expresses the statistical significance, requires a very large number of permutations when small (and thus interesting P-values are to be accurately estimated. This is computationally expensive and often infeasible. Recently, we proposed an alternative estimator, which requires far fewer permutations compared to the standard empirical approach while still reliably estimating small P-values 1. Results The proposed P-value estimator has been enriched with additional functionalities and is made available to the general community through a public website and web service, called EPEPT. This means that the EPEPT routines can be accessed not only via a website, but also programmatically using any programming language that can interact with the web. Examples of web service clients in multiple programming languages can be downloaded. Additionally, EPEPT accepts data of various common experiment types used in computational biology. For these experiment types EPEPT first computes the permutation values and then performs the P-value estimation. Finally, the source code of EPEPT can be downloaded. Conclusions Different types of users, such as biologists, bioinformaticians and software engineers, can use the method in an appropriate and simple way. Availability http://informatics.systemsbiology.net/EPEPT/

Serving Social Justice: The Role of the Commons in Sustainable Food Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Sumner

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Food is a source of sustenance, a cause for celebration, an inducement to temptation, a vehicle for power, an indicator of well-being, a catalyst for change and, above all, a life good.  Along with other life goods such as potable water, clean air, adequate shelter and protective clothing, food is something we cannot live without.  The global corporate food system, however, allows 800 million to go hungry, while an even larger number of people grow obese.  Based in money-values, this food system promotes accumulation first and foremost, enriching a few while creating economic, social and environmental externalities that are destroying local economies, devastating individuals, families and communities and degrading the planet. What would a food system look like that was based in life-values, centred on the commons and anchored by social justice?  This paper will focus on the creation of sustainable food systems, beginning with the crises of the global corporate food system and then moving to the heart of sustainable food systems – the civil commons.

Serving Social Justice: The Role of the Commons in Sustainable Food Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Sumner

2011-08-01

Full Text Available

Food is a source of sustenance, a cause for celebration, an inducement to temptation, a vehicle for power, an indicator of well-being, a catalyst for change and, above all, a life good.  Along with other life goods such as potable water, clean air, adequate shelter and protective clothing, food is something we cannot live without.  The global corporate food system, however, allows 800 million to go hungry, while an even larger number of people grow obese.  Based in money-values, this food system promotes accumulation first and foremost, enriching a few while creating economic, social and environmental externalities that are destroying local economies, devastating individuals, families and communities and degrading the planet.

What would a food system look like that was based in life-values, centred on the commons and anchored by social justice?  This paper will focus on the creation of sustainable food systems, beginning with the crises of the global corporate food system and then moving to the heart of sustainable food systems – the civil commons.

Repeatability of adaptability and stability parameters of common bean in unpredictable environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidiane Kely de Lima

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to estimate the repeatability of adaptability and stability parameters of common bean between years, within each biennium from 2003 to 2012, in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Grain yield data from trials of value for cultivation and use common bean were analyzed. Grain yield, ecovalence, regression coefficient, and coefficient of determination were estimated considering location and sowing season per year, within each biennium. Subsequently, a analysis of variance these estimates was carried out, and repeatability was estimated in the biennia. Repeatability estimate for grain yield in most of the biennia was relatively high, but for ecovalence and regression coefficient it was null or of small magnitude, which indicates that confidence on identification of common bean lines for recommendation is greater when using means of yield, instead of stability parameters.

The common good

OpenAIRE

Argandoña, Antonio

2011-01-01

The concept of the common good occupied a relevant place in classical social, political and economic philosophy. After losing ground in the Modern age, it has recently reappeared, although with different and sometimes confusing meanings. This paper is the draft of a chapter of a Handbook; it explains the meaning of common good in the Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy and in the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church; why the common good is relevant; and how it is different from the other uses...

Value added medicines: what value repurposed medicines might bring to society?

Science.gov (United States)

Toumi, Mondher; Rémuzat, Cécile

2017-01-01

Background & objectives : Despite the wide interest surrounding drug repurposing, no common terminology has been yet agreed for these products and their full potential value is not always recognised and rewarded, creating a disincentive for further development. The objectives of the present study were to assess from a wide perspective which value drug repurposing might bring to society, but also to identify key obstacles for adoption of these medicines and to discuss policy recommendations. Methods : A preliminary comprehensive search was conducted to assess how the concept of drug repurposing was described in the literature. Following completion of the literature review, a primary research was conducted to get perspective of various stakeholders across EU member states on drug repurposing ( healthcare professionals, regulatory authorities and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies/payers, patients, and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry developing medicines in this field). Ad hoc literature review was performed to illustrate, when appropriate, statements of the various stakeholders. Results : Various nomenclatures have been used to describe the concept of drug repurposing in the literature, with more or less broad definitions either based on outcomes, processes, or being a mix of both. In this context, Medicines for Europe (http://www.medicinesforeurope.com/value-added-medicines/) established one single terminology for these medicines, known as value added medicines, defined as 'medicines based on known molecules that address healthcare needs and deliver relevant improvements for patients, healthcare professionals and/or payers'. Stakeholder interviews highlighted three main potential benefits for value added medicines: (1) to address a number of medicine-related healthcare inefficiencies related to irrational use of medicines, non-availability of appropriate treatment options, shortage of mature products, geographical inequity in medicine access

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the genetic basis of skin color variation in common carp.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanliang Jiang

Full Text Available The common carp is an important aquaculture species that is widely distributed across the world. During the long history of carp domestication, numerous carp strains with diverse skin colors have been established. Skin color is used as a visual criterion to determine the market value of carp. However, the genetic basis of common carp skin color has not been extensively studied.In this study, we performed Illumina sequencing on two common carp strains: the reddish Xingguo red carp and the brownish-black Yellow River carp. A total of 435,348,868 reads were generated, resulting in 198,781 assembled contigs that were used as reference sequences. Comparisons of skin transcriptome files revealed 2,012 unigenes with significantly different expression in the two common carp strains, including 874 genes that were up-regulated in Xingguo red carp and 1,138 genes that were up-regulated in Yellow River carp. The expression patterns of 20 randomly selected differentially expressed genes were validated using quantitative RT-PCR. Gene pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes indicated that melanin biosynthesis, along with the Wnt and MAPK signaling pathways, is highly likely to affect the skin pigmentation process. Several key genes involved in the skin pigmentation process, including TYRP1, SILV, ASIP and xCT, showed significant differences in their expression patterns between the two strains.In this study, we conducted a comparative transcriptome analysis of Xingguo red carp and Yellow River carp skins, and we detected key genes involved in the common carp skin pigmentation process. We propose that common carp skin pigmentation depends upon at least three pathways. Understanding fish skin color genetics will facilitate future molecular selection of the fish skin colors with high market values.

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the genetic basis of skin color variation in common carp.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yanliang; Zhang, Songhao; Xu, Jian; Feng, Jianxin; Mahboob, Shahid; Al-Ghanim, Khalid A; Sun, Xiaowen; Xu, Peng

2014-01-01

The common carp is an important aquaculture species that is widely distributed across the world. During the long history of carp domestication, numerous carp strains with diverse skin colors have been established. Skin color is used as a visual criterion to determine the market value of carp. However, the genetic basis of common carp skin color has not been extensively studied. In this study, we performed Illumina sequencing on two common carp strains: the reddish Xingguo red carp and the brownish-black Yellow River carp. A total of 435,348,868 reads were generated, resulting in 198,781 assembled contigs that were used as reference sequences. Comparisons of skin transcriptome files revealed 2,012 unigenes with significantly different expression in the two common carp strains, including 874 genes that were up-regulated in Xingguo red carp and 1,138 genes that were up-regulated in Yellow River carp. The expression patterns of 20 randomly selected differentially expressed genes were validated using quantitative RT-PCR. Gene pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes indicated that melanin biosynthesis, along with the Wnt and MAPK signaling pathways, is highly likely to affect the skin pigmentation process. Several key genes involved in the skin pigmentation process, including TYRP1, SILV, ASIP and xCT, showed significant differences in their expression patterns between the two strains. In this study, we conducted a comparative transcriptome analysis of Xingguo red carp and Yellow River carp skins, and we detected key genes involved in the common carp skin pigmentation process. We propose that common carp skin pigmentation depends upon at least three pathways. Understanding fish skin color genetics will facilitate future molecular selection of the fish skin colors with high market values.

Decay hazard (Scheffer) index values calculated from 1971-2000 climate normal data

Science.gov (United States)

Charles G. Carll

2009-01-01

Climate index values for estimating decay hazard to wood exposed outdoors above ground (commonly known as Scheffer index values) were calculated for 280 locations in the United States (270 locations in the conterminous United States) using the most current climate normal data available from the National Climatic Data Center. These were data for the period 1971–2000. In...

Treatments of Missing Values in Large National Data Affect Conclusions: The Impact of Multiple Imputation on Arthroplasty Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Ondeck, Nathaniel T; Fu, Michael C; Skrip, Laura A; McLynn, Ryan P; Su, Edwin P; Grauer, Jonathan N

2018-03-01

Despite the advantages of large, national datasets, one continuing concern is missing data values. Complete case analysis, where only cases with complete data are analyzed, is commonly used rather than more statistically rigorous approaches such as multiple imputation. This study characterizes the potential selection bias introduced using complete case analysis and compares the results of common regressions using both techniques following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. Patients undergoing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty were extracted from the 2005 to 2015 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. As examples, the demographics of patients with and without missing preoperative albumin and hematocrit values were compared. Missing data were then treated with both complete case analysis and multiple imputation (an approach that reproduces the variation and associations that would have been present in a full dataset) and the conclusions of common regressions for adverse outcomes were compared. A total of 6117 patients were included, of which 56.7% were missing at least one value. Younger, female, and healthier patients were more likely to have missing preoperative albumin and hematocrit values. The use of complete case analysis removed 3467 patients from the study in comparison with multiple imputation which included all 6117 patients. The 2 methods of handling missing values led to differing associations of low preoperative laboratory values with commonly studied adverse outcomes. The use of complete case analysis can introduce selection bias and may lead to different conclusions in comparison with the statistically rigorous multiple imputation approach. Joint surgeons should consider the methods of handling missing values when interpreting arthroplasty research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brownian gas models for extreme-value laws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eliazar, Iddo

2013-01-01

In this paper we establish one-dimensional Brownian gas models for the extreme-value laws of Gumbel, Weibull, and Fréchet. A gas model is a countable collection of independent particles governed by common diffusion dynamics. The extreme-value laws are the universal probability distributions governing the affine scaling limits of the maxima and minima of ensembles of independent and identically distributed one-dimensional random variables. Using the recently introduced concept of stationary Poissonian intensities, we construct two gas models whose global statistical structures are stationary, and yield the extreme-value laws: a linear Brownian motion gas model for the Gumbel law, and a geometric Brownian motion gas model for the Weibull and Fréchet laws. The stochastic dynamics of these gas models are studied in detail, and closed-form analytical descriptions of their temporal correlation structures, their topological phase transitions, and their intrinsic first-passage-time fluxes are presented. (paper)

Hepatopancreaticobiliary Values after Thoracoabdominal Aneurysm Repair

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Darrell; Coselli, Joseph S.; Johnson, Michael L.; LeMaire, Scott A.

2014-01-01

Background: After thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair, blood tests assessing hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) organs commonly have abnormal results. The clinical significance of such abnormalities is difficult to determine because the expected postoperative levels have not been characterized. Therefore, we sought to establish expected trends in HPB laboratory values after TAAA repair. Methods: This 5-year study comprised 155 patients undergoing elective Crawford extent II TAAA repair. In accordance with a prospective study protocol, all repairs involved left-sided heart bypass, selective visceral perfusion, and cold renal perfusion. Blood levels of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total bilirubin, amylase, and lipase were measured before TAAA repair and for 7 days afterward. Ratios between postoperative and baseline levels were compared for each time point with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Temporal patterns for the laboratory values varied greatly. Amylase, lipase, and AST underwent significant early increases before decreasing to preoperative levels. LDH increased immediately and remained significantly elevated, whereas ALT increased more gradually. GGT remained near baseline through postoperative day 4, and then increased to more than twice baseline. Total bilirubin never differed significantly from baseline. After adjusted analysis, the ischemic time predicted the maximum AST, lipase, GGT, and LDH values. Conclusions: Although most HPB laboratory values increase significantly after elective TAAA repair, the temporal trends for different values vary substantially. The ischemic time predicts the maximum AST, lipase, GGT, and LDH levels. These trends should be considered when laboratory values are assessed after TAAA repair. PMID:26798731

The Value of Medicines: A Crucial but Vague Concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Antoñanzas, Fernando; Terkola, Robert; Postma, Maarten

2016-12-01

Health Technology Assessment is increasingly used to evaluate the value of healthcare products and to prioritize resources; however, defining exactly what value is and how it should be measured remains a challenge. In this article, we report the results of a literature review, focusing on nine European countries, with the aim of investigating how value is defined from the perspective of different stakeholders, how definitions of value are used, and how value is incorporated into decision making. Only three articles were identified that presented definitions of value, and there was no single shared definition of value in healthcare, which appears to be a highly subjective concept. The majority of the countries investigated combine clinical assessment with economic evaluation to make reimbursement recommendations; the quality-adjusted life-year is the most commonly used measure of value but does not capture broader aspects of value that may be important to patients and healthcare systems. We describe the use of value-based pricing and multi-criteria decision analysis, two approaches to the incorporation of broader aspects of value into decision making. Overall, we have identified considerable variation in how a product's value is defined by different stakeholders. Although a universal understanding of value in healthcare is important, it is clear that current definitions are insufficient, potentially leading to inconsistent reimbursement decisions. Ultimately, the establishment of clearer policies for defining and measuring value in healthcare is needed, and is likely to lead to improvements in the consistency of decision making.

Values for gender roles and relations among high school and non-high school adolescents in a Maya community in Chiapas, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Manago, Adriana M

2015-02-01

In the current study, I describe values for gender roles and cross-sex relations among adolescents growing up in a southern Mexican Maya community in which high school was introduced in 1999. A total of 80 adolescent girls and boys, half of whom were attending the new high school, provided their opinions on two ethnographically derived vignettes that depicted changes in gender roles and relations occurring in their community. Systematic coding revealed that adolescents not enrolled in high school tended to prioritise ascribed and complementary gender roles and emphasise the importance of family mediation in cross-sex relations. Adolescents who were enrolled in high school tended to prioritise equivalent and chosen gender roles, and emphasised personal responsibility and personal fulfillment in cross-sex relations. Perceptions of risks and opportunities differed by gender: girls favourably evaluated the expansion of adult female role options, but saw risks in personal negotiations of cross-sex relations; boys emphasised the loss of the female homemaker role, but favourably evaluated new opportunities for intimacy in cross-sex relations. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

The Common Good

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feldt, Liv Egholm

At present voluntary and philanthropic organisations are experiencing significant public attention and academic discussions about their role in society. Central to the debate is on one side the question of how they contribute to “the common good”, and on the other the question of how they can avoid...... and concepts continuously over time have blurred the different sectors and “polluted” contemporary definitions of the “common good”. The analysis shows that “the common good” is not an autonomous concept owned or developed by specific spheres of society. The analysis stresses that historically, “the common...... good” has always been a contested concept. It is established through messy and blurred heterogeneity of knowledge, purposes and goal achievements originating from a multitude of scientific, religious, political and civil society spheres contested not only in terms of words and definitions but also...

Evaluation of Value Added Tax Application Problems in Terms of Taxation of Electronic Commerce

OpenAIRE

Güneş ÇETİN GERGER; Adnan GERÇEK

2016-01-01

Nowadays electronic taxation is being one of the important issues for revenue administrations. Tax administrations try to organize their tax system fairly and give attention on equity. Value added tax is most preferable taxes among the consumption taxes. Because it’s application is easy and taxpayers don’t show resistance to the value added tax. On electronic commerce value added taxes are using commonly. To provide equity in taxation, some taxation principles are adapted for value added tax...

Polyphenol-Rich Dry Common Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and Their Health Benefits

Science.gov (United States)

Ganesan, Kumar

2017-01-01

Polyphenols are plant metabolites with potent anti-oxidant properties, which help to reduce the effects of oxidative stress-induced dreaded diseases. The evidence demonstrated that dietary polyphenols are of emerging increasing scientific interest due to their role in the prevention of degenerative diseases in humans. Possible health beneficial effects of polyphenols are based on the human consumption and their bioavailability. Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are a greater source of polyphenolic compounds with numerous health promoting properties. Polyphenol-rich dry common beans have potential effects on human health, and possess anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic properties. Based on the studies, the current comprehensive review aims to provide up-to-date information on the nutritional compositions and health-promoting effect of polyphenol-rich common beans, which help to explore their therapeutic values for future clinical studies. Investigation of common beans and their impacts on human health were obtained from various library databases and electronic searches (Science Direct PubMed, and Google Scholar). PMID:29113066

PLS and multicollinearity under conditions common in satisfaction studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Rikke; Kristensen, Kai; Eskildsen, Jacob Kjær

A number of studies have investigated the performance of the PLS path modelling algorithm in the presence of common empirical problems, such as model misspecification, skewness of manifest variables, missing values, and multicollinearity, and they have shown PLS to be quite robust (see e.g. Cassel...... et al., 1999; Kristensen, Eskildsen, 2005). However, most of the studies, including our own, have focused on somewhat simple models with very simple correlation structures. This paper extends the existing knowledge by investigating the effect of varying degrees of multicollinearity on the PLS model...

How to Gain Value from a Project Management Model: Case Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riis, Eva; Eskerod, Pernille

2010-01-01

  Recent research has shown that PM models can be a powerful creator of value for companies. This paper extends this research aiming at gaining a deeper understanding of the preconditions that must exist for harvesting the values of a common frame of reference for project management. It reports...... findings from in-depth investigations in a Danish industrial concern that considers its PM model as the core of its project activities.  ...

Not all resources are created equal: COR theory, values, and stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Morelli, Neil A; Cunningham, Christopher J L

2012-01-01

The common usage of conservation of resources (COR) theory highlights the quantity of resources in explaining stress reactions and responses. To expand the theoretical understanding and explanatory power of COR theory, this study tested the proposition that the perceived importance of an individual's resources is a function of personal values. Using a value framework based on Schwartz (1994), it was expected that values would influence both the appraisal of resource importance and coping behaviors. Results from both student and working samples indicated that while resource importance did not clearly mediate all of the coping outcomes, values did have an influence on the importance an individual assigns to resources. Measurement and theoretical implications related to COR theory are discussed.

Science commons

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2007-01-01

SCP: Creative Commons licensing for open access publishing, Open Access Law journal-author agreements for converting journals to open access, and the Scholar's Copyright Addendum Engine for retaining rights to self-archive in meaningful formats and locations for future re-use. More than 250 science and technology journals already publish under Creative Commons licensing while 35 law journals utilize the Open Access Law agreements. The Addendum Engine is a new tool created in partnership with SPARC and U.S. universities. View John Wilbanks's biography

Utility of sonographic measurement of the common tensor tendon in patients with lateral epicondylitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Min Hee; Cha, Jang Gyu; Jin, Wook; Kim, Byung Sung; Park, Jai Soung; Lee, Hae Kyung; Hong, Hyun Sook

2011-06-01

The purpose of this article is to evaluate prospectively the utility of sonographic measurements of the common extensor tendon for diagnosing lateral epicondylitis. Forty-eight patients with documented lateral epicondylitis and 63 healthy volunteers were enrolled and underwent ultrasound of the elbow joint. The common extensor tendon overlying the bony landmark was scanned transversely, and the cross-section area and the maximum thickness were measured. Clinical examination was used as the reference standard in the diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis. Data from the patient and control groups were compared with established optimal diagnostic criteria for lateral epicondylitis using receiver operating characteristic curves. Qualitative evaluation with grayscale ultrasound was also performed on patients and healthy volunteers. The common extensor tendon was significantly thicker in patients with lateral epicondylitis than in control subjects (p lateral epicondylitis. For qualitative evaluation with gray-scale ultrasound, overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values in the diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis were 76.5%, 76.2%, and 76.3%, respectively. The quantitative sonographic measurements had an excellent diagnostic performance for lateral epicondylitis, as well as good or excellent interreader agreement. A common extensor tendon cross-section area greater than or equal to 32 mm(2) and a thickness of 4.2 mm correlated well with the presence of lateral epicondylitis. However, further prospective study is necessary to determine whether quantitative ultrasound with these cutoff values can improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis.

Cross-cultural comparison of need importance and need satisfaction during adolescence: Turkey and the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Hortaçsu, N

1997-09-01

Turkish and U.S. adolescents' views concerning the importance of different needs and instrumentality of relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, and same-sex friends for need satisfaction were examined and compared. Questionnaires covered needs related to crucial issues of adolescence, namely, relatedness and autonomy/individuation. Participants were 12- to 17-year-old boys and girls from intact families. Cross-cultural differences in ascribed importance of needs related to some aspects of relatedness and autonomy/individuation emerged. Cross-cultural similarities in ascribed importance of needs related to feelings of basic acceptance and need for self-understanding/development also emerged. Turkish adolescents perceived mothers as more instrumental for need satisfaction than did U.S. adolescents. Gender differences in importance ascribed to different needs also emerged. Cross-cultural differences were consistent with differences in predominant values and model family dynamics of the respective countries.

Common dietary flavonoids inhibit the growth of the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saliba Kevin J

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Flavonoids are abundant plant phenolic compounds. More than 6000 have been identified to date, and some have been shown to possess antiparasitic activity. Here we investigate the effects of a range of common dietary flavonoids on the growth of two strains of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Findings A chloroquine-sensitive (3D7 and a chloroquine-resistant (7G8 strain of P. falciparum were tested for in vitro susceptibility to a range of individual dietary flavonoids and flavonoid combinations. Parasite susceptibility was measured in 96-well plates over 96 h using a previously described [3H]hypoxanthine incorporation assay. Of the eleven flavonoids tested, eight showed antiplasmodial activity against the 3D7 strain (with IC50 values between 11 and 66 μM, and all showed activity against the 7G8 strain (with IC50 values between 12 and 76 μM. The most active compound against both strains was luteolin, with IC50 values of 11 ± 1 μM and 12 ± 1 μM for 3D7 and 7G8, respectively. Luteolin was found to prevent the progression of parasite growth beyond the young trophozoite stage, and did not affect parasite susceptibility to the antimalarial drugs chloroquine or artemisinin. Combining low concentrations of flavonoids was found to produce an apparent additive antiplasmodial effect. Conclusion Certain common dietary flavonoids inhibit the intraerythrocytic growth of the 3D7 and 7G8 strains of P. falciparum. Flavonoid combinations warrant further investigation as antiplasmodial agents.

Agronomic valuing of slurry for management in common

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, M.; Estevez, M. D.; Faz, A.; Olivares, A. B.; Climent, V.

2009-01-01

Due to the intensification of livestock production and the concentration of holdings in specific areas, has disrupted the balance between production and utilization of swine waste in agriculture. given the volume of slurry generated in Murcia, and the total cultivable area and considering the legislation, RD 261/1996, which allows a maximum application of 170 kg N/ha year in areas designated as vulnerable, it is estimated that to implement the slurry generated in the region in a year, would require only half the arable land devoted to irrigation. In this way, this study has included detailed monitoring of the effect of the application of ping slurry at a concentration recommended on the properties and chemical, physical and biological properties of soil, water and plant to determine the influence of slurry on the reserve of organic matter in each of these crops, as well as contaminated soils, through the creation of a pilot system for managing livestock waste in accordance with preventive measures that allow for their optimal use, without risk of contamination for the system water-soil-plant. (Author 6 refs.

Managing water resources infrastructure in the face of different values

Science.gov (United States)

Mostert, Erik

Water resources infrastructure (WRI) plays a key role in water management. It can serve or negatively affect some seven to ten different and sometimes conflicting values. WRI management is therefore not a purely technical issue. Economic analyses can help to some extent, but only for values related to current human use. Multi-criteria analysis can cover all values, but in the end WRI management is not an analytical issue, but a governance issue. Different governance paradigms exist: markets, hierarchies and “third alternatives”, such as common pool resources management and network management. This article presents social learning as the most promising paradigm. Positive experiences with social learning have been described and guidance on putting social learning into practice exists. Nonetheless, there are no magic solutions for managing WRI in the face of different values.

Species richness alone does not predict cultural ecosystem service value

Science.gov (United States)

Rose A. Graves; Scott M. Pearson; Monica G. Turner

2017-01-01

Sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services are common conservation goals. However, understanding relationships between biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services (CES) and determining the best indicators to represent CES remain crucial challenges. We combined ecological and social data to compare CES value of wildflower communities based on observed...

Carbon Valuation: Alternatives, Alternations and Lateral Measures?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalsgaard, Steffen

2016-01-01

This article refers to carbon valuation as the practice of ascribing value to, and assessing the value of, actions and objects in terms of carbon emissions. Due to the pervasiveness of carbon emissions in the actions and objects of everyday lives of human beings, the making of carbon offsets and ...

Statistical hypothesis testing and common misinterpretations: Should we abandon p-value in forensic science applications?

Science.gov (United States)

Taroni, F; Biedermann, A; Bozza, S

2016-02-01

Many people regard the concept of hypothesis testing as fundamental to inferential statistics. Various schools of thought, in particular frequentist and Bayesian, have promoted radically different solutions for taking a decision about the plausibility of competing hypotheses. Comprehensive philosophical comparisons about their advantages and drawbacks are widely available and continue to span over large debates in the literature. More recently, controversial discussion was initiated by an editorial decision of a scientific journal [1] to refuse any paper submitted for publication containing null hypothesis testing procedures. Since the large majority of papers published in forensic journals propose the evaluation of statistical evidence based on the so called p-values, it is of interest to expose the discussion of this journal's decision within the forensic science community. This paper aims to provide forensic science researchers with a primer on the main concepts and their implications for making informed methodological choices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Indigenous environmental values as human values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica Gratani

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The claim that in natural resource management (NRM a change from anthropocentric values and ethics to eco-centric ones is necessary to achieve sustainability leads to the search for eco-centric models of relationship with the environment. Indigenous cultures can provide such models; hence, there is the need for multicultural societies to further include their values in NRM. In this article, we investigate the environmental values placed on a freshwater environment of the Wet Tropics by a community of indigenous Australians. We discuss their environmental values as human values, and so as beliefs that guide communities’ understanding of how the natural world should be viewed and treated by humans. This perspective represents a step forward in our understanding of indigenous environmental values, and a way to overcome the paradigm of indigenous values as valued biophysical attributes of the environment or processes happening in landscapes. Our results show that the participant community holds biospheric values. Restoring these values in the NRM of the Wet Tropics could contribute to sustainability and environmental justice in the area.

Common sense behavior modification: a guide for practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Horwitz, Debra F; Pike, Amy L

2014-05-01

Behavior problems are often given as a reason for pet relinquishment to shelters. When presented with any behavior problem, veterinarians should perform a thorough physical examination (including neurologic and orthopedic examination) and a minimum database, including a complete blood cell count, chemistry panel, and total T4 and free T4 by equilibrium dialysis if values are low to rule out any medical contributions. Veterinarians should be a source of information regarding management, safety, and basic behavior modification for common behavior problems. Additionally, various control devices offer pet owners the ability to better manage their pets in difficult situations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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form so as to prevent/arrest the inevitable extinction common to people's cultural heritage – language ... ascribe to objects - animal in the case of “Salute to the Elephant”. This is ... Causes a tremor in a dense tropical forest who stands sturdy.

The NASA Ames Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Infrared Spectroscopic Database : The Computed Spectra

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bauschlicher, C. W.; Boersma, C.; Ricca, A.; Mattioda, A. L.; Cami, J.; Peeters, E.; de Armas, F. Sanchez; Saborido, G. Puerta; Hudgins, D. M.; Allamandola, L. J.

The astronomical emission features, formerly known as the unidentified infrared bands, are now commonly ascribed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The laboratory experiments and computational modeling done at the NASA Ames Research Center to create a collection of PAH IR spectra relevant

Natural antioxidant activity of commonly consumed plant foods in India: effect of domestic processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sreeramulu, D; Reddy, C V K; Chauhan, Anitha; Balakrishna, N; Raghunath, M

2013-01-01

Phytochemicals protect against oxidative stress which in turn helps in maintaining the balance between oxidants and antioxidants. In recent times natural antioxidants are gaining considerable interest among nutritionists, food manufacturers, and consumers because of their perceived safety, potential therapeutic value, and long shelf life. Plant foods are known to protect against degenerative diseases and ageing due to their antioxidant activity (AOA) attributed to their high polyphenolic content (PC). Data on AOA and PC of Indian plant foods is scanty. Therefore we have determined the antioxidant activity in 107 commonly consumed Indian plant foods and assessed their relation to their PC. Antioxidant activity is presented as the range of values for each of the food groups. The foods studied had good amounts of PC and AOA although they belonged to different food groups. Interestingly, significant correlation was observed between AOA (DPPH and FRAP) and PC in most of the foods, corroborating the literature that polyphenols are potent antioxidants and that they may be important contributors to the AOA of the plant foods. We have also observed that common domestic methods of processing may not affect the PC and AOA of the foods studied in general. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first results of the kind in commonly consumed Indian plant foods.

Chemical composition, nutritional value and antioxidant properties of Mediterranean okra genotypes in relation to harvest stage.

Science.gov (United States)

Petropoulos, Spyridon; Fernandes, Ângela; Barros, Lillian; Ferreira, Isabel C F R

2018-03-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of fruit size on nutritional value, chemical composition and antioxidant properties of Mediterranean okra genotypes. For this purpose, pods from four okra cultivars and local landraces commonly cultivated in Greece, as well as pods from four commercial cultivars from North America were collected at two sizes (3-5 and>7cm). Significant differences were observed between the studied genotypes for both nutritional value and chemical composition parameters. Small fruit had a higher nutritional value, whereas chemical composition differed in a genotype dependent manner with most of the studied cultivars showing better results when harvested in small size. In conclusion, fruit size has a genotype dependent impact on chemical composition and nutritional value of okra pods and the common practice of harvesting okra fruit while they still have a small size helps to increase nutritional value for most of the studied genotypes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Misreporting in the Value-Added Tax and the Optimal Enforcement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoseini, M.

2014-01-01

A common fraud by registered traders in the value-added tax system is under-reporting sales and over-reporting purchases. This paper models this problem by linking the level of misreporting to the risk-aversion of taxpayers and the level of transactions with final consumers. In addition, it analyses

Chemical Composition and Yield of Six Genotypes of Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.): An Alternative Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Petropoulos, Spyridon Α; Karkanis, Anestis; Fernandes, Ângela; Barros, Lillian; Ferreira, Isabel C F R; Ntatsi, Georgia; Petrotos, Konstantinos; Lykas, Christos; Khah, Ebrahim

2015-12-01

Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is an annual weed rich in omega-3 fatty acids which is consumed for its edible leaves and stems. In the present study six different genotypes of common purslane (A-F) were evaluated for their nutritional value and chemical composition. Nutritional value and chemical composition depended on genotype. Oxalic acid content was the lowest for genotype D, whereas genotypes E and F are more promising for commercial cultivation, since they have low oxalic acid content. Genotype E had a very good antioxidant profile and a balanced composition of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Regarding yield, genotype A had the highest yield comparing to the other genotypes, whereas commercial varieties (E and F) did not differ from genotypes B and C. This study provides new information regarding common purslane bioactive compounds as affected by genotype and could be further implemented in food industry for products of high quality and increased added value.

Common Ground on Climate Change: Pairing Opposing Viewpoints for Conversations about Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, K. B.; Duggan-Haas, D.; Hayhoe, K.

2017-12-01

In American public discourse, people tend to strongly identify with the viewpoints held by their cultural and political tribes. However, entrenched positions do little to advance understanding, or work toward solving problems constructively. Worse yet, it has become commonplace to dismiss or demonize those coming from a different point of view - leading to the vitriolic stalemate that often characterizes social media and comment threads when it comes to climate change. One way to break this pattern is to invite people with opposing opinions to actually talk to one another. This presentation describes the lessons learned during the Common Ground on Climate Change project, in which people with contrasting views about climate change engage in a moderated interview with each other. Prior to the interview, participants complete a set of values-based questions. The goal is to reveal areas of common ground between apparent opposites, such as a sense of stewardship for Earth's resources, or an opinion that solutions to climate change will be more beneficial than harmful. The structure of the interviews is based on the hypothesis that if a conversation begins with an appreciation of common values, it becomes easier to broach areas of disagreement. Participants are matched up in one-on-one moderated interviews where they are encouraged to share their concerns, ideas, and priorities about the validity of climate science, the need for urgent action, and the types of solutions they find most tenable. Emerging themes from this series of interviews include the value of a diversity of outlooks, and the ability for moderated conversations to find surprising areas of agreement. Articles about the interviews also appear on the Yale Climate Connections website, https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/author/karin/.

EVALUATION OF VIBRATION LOAD ON COMMON RAIL FUEL SYSTEM COMPONENTS FOR DIESEL ENGINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. M. Kuharonak

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of the paper is to develop a program, a methodology and execute vibration load tests of Common Rail fuel system components for a diesel engine. The paper contains an analysis of parameters that characterize vibration activity of research object and determine its applicability as a part of the specific mechanical system. A tests program has been developed that includes measurements of general peak values of vibration acceleration in the fuel system components, transformation of the obtained data while taking into account the fact that peak vibration acceleration values depend on crank-shaft rotation frequency and spectrum of vibration frequency, comparison of these dependences with the threshold limit values obtained in the process of component tests with the help of vibration shaker. The investigations have been carried out in one of the most stressed elements of the Common Rail fuel system that is a RDS 4.2-pressure sensor in a fuel accumulator manufactured by Robert Bosch GmbH and mounted on the MMZ D245.7E4-engines.According to the test methodology measurements have been performed on an engine test bench at all fullload engine curves. Vibration measurements have resulted in time history of the peak vibration acceleration values in three directions from every accelerometer and crank-shaft rotation frequency.It has been proposed to increase a diameter of mounting spacers of the fuel accumulator and install a damping clamp on high pressure tubes from a high pressure fuel pump to the fuel accumulator that permits to reduce a maximum peak vibration acceleration value on the pressure sensor in the fuel accumulator by 400 m/s2 and ensure its application in the given engine.

Value Streams in Microgrids: A literature Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stadler, Michael [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Center for Energy and Innovative Technologies (CET) (Austria); Cardoso, Gonçalo [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mashayekh, Salman [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Forget, Thibault [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); MINES Paris Tech. (France); DeForest, Nicholas [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Agarwal, Ankit [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Schönbein, Anna [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of Freiburg (Germany)

2015-10-01

Microgrids are an increasingly common component of the evolving electricity grids with the potential to improve local reliability, reduce costs, and increase penetration rates for distributed renewable generation. The additional complexity of microgrids often leads to increased investment costs, creating a barrier for widespread adoption. These costs may result directly from specific needs for islanding detection, protection systems and power quality assurance that would otherwise be avoided in simpler system configurations. However, microgrids also facilitate additional value streams that may make up for their increased costs and improve the economic viability of microgrid deployment. This paper analyses the literature currently available on research relevant to value streams occurring in microgrids that may contribute to offset the increased investment costs. A review on research related to specific microgrid requirements is also presented.

Two Distinct Moral Mechanisms for Ascribing and Denying Intentionality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, Lawrence; Kelly, Meagan; Coutlee, Christopher G; Carter, R McKell; Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter; Huettel, Scott A

2015-12-04

Philosophers and legal scholars have long theorized about how intentionality serves as a critical input for morality and culpability, but the emerging field of experimental philosophy has revealed a puzzling asymmetry. People judge actions leading to negative consequences as being more intentional than those leading to positive ones. The implications of this asymmetry remain unclear because there is no consensus regarding the underlying mechanism. Based on converging behavioral and neural evidence, we demonstrate that there is no single underlying mechanism. Instead, two distinct mechanisms together generate the asymmetry. Emotion drives ascriptions of intentionality for negative consequences, while the consideration of statistical norms leads to the denial of intentionality for positive consequences. We employ this novel two-mechanism model to illustrate that morality can paradoxically shape judgments of intentionality. This is consequential for mens rea in legal practice and arguments in moral philosophy pertaining to terror bombing, abortion, and euthanasia among others.

Ascribing emotion to reasonable use in accelerated cancer services.

Science.gov (United States)

Obling, Anne Roelsgaard

2013-01-01

A recurrent theme in medical sociology has been the juxtaposition of emotion with scientific rationality in the delivery of health care services. However, apart from addressing this juxtaposition very little is said about the complex intertwinement of "emotional" and "rational" practices which makes up professionals' own day-to-day work experiences - and how these experiences are influenced by present ways of organising health care. This paper aims to explore the ways that hospital doctors relate emotions to their understanding of professional medical work and how they respond to recent organisational changes within the field. Drawing upon a small series of semi-structured interviews (n = 14) with doctors from a public teaching hospital in Denmark, the paper adopts a constructivist framework to analyse personal biographies of health professionals' working lives. The doctors represented rich accounts of professional medical work, which includes an understanding of what a doctor should feel and how he/she should make him/herself emotionally available to others. However, the impetus for making this appearance was not left unaffected by recent new public management reforms and attempts to accelerate the delivery of services. The organisation of cancer services into a work system, which consists of a set of tasks broken down into narrow jobs, underestimates the emotional components of patient-doctor encounters. This makes the creation and maintenance of a genuine patient-doctor relationship difficult and the result is feelings of a failed encounter on behalf of the doctor. The paper suggests that recent rearrangements of cancer services complicate doctors' ability to incorporate emotion into a stream of medical care in a "rational" way. This is shown to challenge their professional ethos and the forms emotional engagement takes in medical practice.

Ascribing Emotion to Reasonable Use in Accelerated Cancer Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roelsgaard Obling, Anne

2013-01-01

Purpose: A recurrent theme in medical sociology has been the juxtaposition of emotion with scientific rationality in the delivery of health care services. However, apart from addressing this juxtaposition very little is said about the complex intertwinement of "emotional" and "rational" practices...... which makes up professionals' own day-to-day work experiences - and how these experiences are influenced by present ways of organising health care. This paper aims to explore the ways that hospital doctors relate emotions to their understanding of professional medical work and how they respond to recent....... Findings: The doctors represented rich accounts of professional medical work, which includes an understanding of what a doctor should feel and how he/she should make him/herself emotionally available to others. However, the impetus for making this appearance was not left unaffected by recent new public...

Two Distinct Moral Mechanisms for Ascribing and Denying Intentionality

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, Lawrence; Kelly, Meagan; Coutlee, Christopher G.; Carter, R. McKell; Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter; Huettel, Scott A.

2015-01-01

Philosophers and legal scholars have long theorized about how intentionality serves as a critical input for morality and culpability, but the emerging field of experimental philosophy has revealed a puzzling asymmetry. People judge actions leading to negative consequences as being more intentional than those leading to positive ones. The implications of this asymmetry remain unclear because there is no consensus regarding the underlying mechanism. Based on converging behavioral and neural evidence, we demonstrate that there is no single underlying mechanism. Instead, two distinct mechanisms together generate the asymmetry. Emotion drives ascriptions of intentionality for negative consequences, while the consideration of statistical norms leads to the denial of intentionality for positive consequences. We employ this novel two-mechanism model to illustrate that morality can paradoxically shape judgments of intentionality. This is consequential for mens rea in legal practice and arguments in moral philosophy pertaining to terror bombing, abortion, and euthanasia among others. PMID:26634909

Change of values in the consumer society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Austruma S.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available A common feature of our age is orientation of young people towards transitional values. Economic partnership of consumer society has a direct impact on values of society and even if the process of change of values can be affected by formers of education politics, economists and politicians, young people still choose values, which conform with their own lifestyle. Content of educational subjects is connected with study, succession of cultural values, study of classified knowledge and skills, which is also a prerequisite of formation of personality. Societies of all ages has formed according to the specific mechanism, accumulating and integrating general, notable at that time ideas, preserving and transforming their own social experience to the next generations. Each culture declares itself from its scale of values and norms. Priority of change of post material and material values changes together with conditions of cultural, historical and social-political life. Change of paradigms is change of viewpoint of the world, therefore conditions of value choice relate not only to separate groups, but to whole cultures. Young people, similar to other members of society, are forced to construct their own identity and to form their own life insurance strategies offered by the consumer society. Consumer society forms its values and it is creator of its own significance, but young people as social agents are reproducers of values of consumer society. Research results of World Value Surveys (WVS from six continents discovered big differences in value priorities between younger and older generations, which indicates not only inter-generation value change, but also changes in the whole society. The research “Value choice of young people in consumer society” in our country shows, that although the lifestyle of young people is pragmatic, traditional value – family is also one of the most often mentioned and important values in consumer society. But

Screening for cancer: advice for high-value care from the American College of Physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilt, Timothy J; Harris, Russell P; Qaseem, Amir

2015-05-19

Cancer screening is one approach to reducing cancer-related morbidity and mortality rates. Screening strategies vary in intensity. Higher-intensity strategies are not necessarily higher value. High-value strategies provide a degree of benefits that clearly justifies the harms and costs incurred; low-value screening provides limited or no benefits to justify the harms and costs. When cancer screening leads to benefits, an optimal intensity of screening maximizes value. Some aspects of screening practices, especially overuse and underuse, are low value. Screening strategies for asymptomatic, average-risk adults for 5 common types of cancer were evaluated by reviewing clinical guidelines and evidence syntheses from the American College of Physicians (ACP), U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Cancer Society, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Urological Association. "High value" was defined as the lowest screening intensity threshold at which organizations agree about screening recommendations for each type of cancer and "low value" as agreement about not recommending overly intensive screening strategies. This information is supplemented with additional findings from randomized, controlled trials; modeling studies; and studies of costs or resource use, including information found in the National Cancer Institute's Physician Data Query and UpToDate. The ACP provides high-value care screening advice for 5 common types of cancer; the specifics are outlined in this article. The ACP strongly encourages clinicians to adopt a cancer screening strategy that focuses on reaching all eligible persons with these high-value screening options while reducing overly intensive, low-value screening.

Creative Commons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Lone

2006-01-01

En Creative Commons licens giver en forfatter mulighed for at udbyde sit værk i en alternativ licensløsning, som befinder sig på forskellige trin på en skala mellem yderpunkterne "All rights reserved" og "No rights reserved". Derved opnås licensen "Some rights reserved"......En Creative Commons licens giver en forfatter mulighed for at udbyde sit værk i en alternativ licensløsning, som befinder sig på forskellige trin på en skala mellem yderpunkterne "All rights reserved" og "No rights reserved". Derved opnås licensen "Some rights reserved"...

A robust Bayesian approach to modeling epistemic uncertainty in common-cause failure models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Troffaes, Matthias C.M.; Walter, Gero; Kelly, Dana

2014-01-01

In a standard Bayesian approach to the alpha-factor model for common-cause failure, a precise Dirichlet prior distribution models epistemic uncertainty in the alpha-factors. This Dirichlet prior is then updated with observed data to obtain a posterior distribution, which forms the basis for further inferences. In this paper, we adapt the imprecise Dirichlet model of Walley to represent epistemic uncertainty in the alpha-factors. In this approach, epistemic uncertainty is expressed more cautiously via lower and upper expectations for each alpha-factor, along with a learning parameter which determines how quickly the model learns from observed data. For this application, we focus on elicitation of the learning parameter, and find that values in the range of 1 to 10 seem reasonable. The approach is compared with Kelly and Atwood's minimally informative Dirichlet prior for the alpha-factor model, which incorporated precise mean values for the alpha-factors, but which was otherwise quite diffuse. Next, we explore the use of a set of Gamma priors to model epistemic uncertainty in the marginal failure rate, expressed via a lower and upper expectation for this rate, again along with a learning parameter. As zero counts are generally less of an issue here, we find that the choice of this learning parameter is less crucial. Finally, we demonstrate how both epistemic uncertainty models can be combined to arrive at lower and upper expectations for all common-cause failure rates. Thereby, we effectively provide a full sensitivity analysis of common-cause failure rates, properly reflecting epistemic uncertainty of the analyst on all levels of the common-cause failure model

WEATHER DERIVATIVES: THE MOST COMMON PRICING AND VALUATION METHODS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Botos Horia Mircea

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In recent years , weather derivatives have become a common tool in risk management for many sectors. This has its roots in that there is no unique way to determine de value and price solutions that would be generally approved by market-participants, like in the case of the Black-Scholes formula for options on non-dividend-paying stocks is the source for a constant debate between academics and practitioners. One look for fair and truly correct prices, while the others search every-day applicable solutions. To be honest... this is somehow like alchemy. This paper has as purpose the examination of statistical characteristics of weather data, data clearing and filling techniques. The study will be referring to temperatures because that is the best analyzed phenomenon, being the most common. This was also heavily influenced by energy companies and energetic interests, because the degree days were of interest ever before weather derivatives were put for sale. Main ideas are explaining what ways of pricing and valuation are, put into perspective for this financial instrument, taking into consideration that the Black-Scholes Model is not suitable. Also here, we will present the pros and cons that we found for each method. The methods are: the Burn analysis, the index value simulation method (IVSM, the daily simulation method (DSM.On the hole, this paper wants to shed light the weather derivatives pricing methods a mix of insurance pricing and standard financial models. At the end we will prospect the discounting problem, by means of the Consumption based Capital Asset Pricing Model (CCAPM.

Stakeholder Value Matrix - Die VErbindung zwischen Shareholder Value und Stakeholder Value

OpenAIRE

Frank Figge

2004-01-01

Die Studie zeigt, was unter Stakeholder Value verstanden werden kann, wie Shareholder Value und Stakeholder Value gemessen werden können und welche Verbindung zwischen beiden Konzepten besteht. In dieser Studie wird erstmals die Wertbeitragsanalyse von Stakeholderbeziehungen vorgestellt. Anhand der Stakeholder Value Matrix lässt sich zeigen, welche Stakeholdergruppen zusammen positiv zum Unternehmenswert beitragen.

Contrasting approaches to food education and school meals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Sidse Schoubye; Baarts, Charlotte; Holm, Lotte

2017-01-01

This study builds on a fieldwork in a Danish school class, where pupils were observed while preparing and eating school meals. It shows that the children encounter conflicting approaches to food education depending on the context. While eating, an authoritarian approach to food education dominates...... and food is ascribed instrumental value. While preparing the school meal, a democratic approach dominates and food is ascribed intrinsic value. The aim is to show how these conflicting approaches reflect not only different social and cultural expectations to eating and preparing meals, respectively......, but also a conflict between food educational ideals and actual school meal practices. To illustrate this an analytic model is introduced, the Integrated Food Pedagogy Model, and the ways in which this model could help promote better food education among schoolchildren are discussed....

Estimation of ultrasound reference values for the lower limb peripheral nerves in adults: A cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedewi, Mohamed Abdelmohsen; Abodonya, Ahmed; Kotb, Mamdouh; Kamal, Sanaa; Mahmoud, Gehan; Aldossari, Khaled; Alqabbani, Abdullah; Swify, Sherine

2018-03-01

The objective of this study is to estimate the reference values for the lower limb peripheral nerves in adults.The demographics and physical characteristics of 69 adult healthy volunteers were evaluated and recorded. The estimated reference values and their correlations with the age, weight, height, body mass index (BMI) were evaluated.The cross sectional area reference values were obtained at 5 predetermined sites for 3 important lower limb peripheral nerves. Our CSA values correlated significantly with age, weight, and BMI. The normal reference values for each nerve were as follows: Tibial nerve at the popliteal fossa 19 mm ± 6.9, tibial nerve at the level of the medial malleolus 12.7 mm ± 4.5, common peroneal nerve at the popliteal fossa 9.5 mm ± 4, common peroneal nerve fibular head 8.9 mm ± 3.2, sural nerve 3.5 mm ± 1.4.The reference values for the lower limb peripheral nerves were identified. These values could be used for future management of peripheral nerve disorders.

MDEP Common Position CP-DICWG-13. Common position on spurious actuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

Spurious actuations produced by Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems are a safety concern if such actuations could challenge plant safety. Spurious actuations can lead to unnecessary challenges to safety equipment, challenge the ability of safety systems to provide their intended functions, or place the plant in an un-analysed state. Spurious actuation of plant equipment can be caused by factors including, but not limited to, single failures, common cause failures, human (e.g. operator) action, maintenance errors, design errors, or missing requirements. Modern I and C systems can have inter-connectivities, dependencies and commonalities that can, if the overall I and C architecture and the individual I and C systems are not adequately developed and operated, facilitate fault propagation, leading to potential spurious actuation of one or more trains of plant equipment. Sources and contributors of spurious actuations of multiple trains of plant equipment may include inadequate independence among redundant portions of I and C systems, inappropriate allocation of I and C functions, inadequate qualification or design of supporting systems (e.g. heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system), or non-classified systems that could have been erroneously classified. Spurious actuations are a type of hazard. Generic Common Position (GCP) DICWG-10 'Common Position on Hazard Identification and Controls for Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems' provides a set of common positions pertaining to identifying and controlling hazards in an I and C system. This common position was developed to add special considerations when identifying and controlling hazards that include spurious actuations. It is expected that GCP DICWG-10 and the common positions in this document be used together for a complete analysis of hazards and their controls (e.g. prevention of spurious actuations in the design of the system/component). Spurious actuations of concern

Efforts to standardize wildlife toxicity values remain unrealized.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayfield, David B; Fairbrother, Anne

2013-01-01

Wildlife toxicity reference values (TRVs) are routinely used during screening level and baseline ecological risk assessments (ERAs). Risk assessment professionals often adopt TRVs from published sources to expedite risk analyses. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) developed ecological soil screening levels (Eco-SSLs) to provide a source of TRVs that would improve consistency among risk assessments. We conducted a survey and evaluated more than 50 publicly available, large-scale ERAs published in the last decade to evaluate if USEPA's goal of uniformity in the use of wildlife TRVs has been met. In addition, these ERAs were reviewed to understand current practices for wildlife TRV use and development within the risk assessment community. The use of no observed and lowest observed adverse effect levels culled from published compendia was common practice among the majority of ERAs reviewed. We found increasing use over time of TRVs established in the Eco-SSL documents; however, Eco-SSL TRV values were not used in the majority of recent ERAs and there continues to be wide variation in TRVs for commonly studied contaminants (e.g., metals, pesticides, PAHs, and PCBs). Variability in the toxicity values was driven by differences in the key studies selected, dose estimation methods, and use of uncertainty factors. These differences result in TRVs that span multiple orders of magnitude for many of the chemicals examined. This lack of consistency in TRV development leads to highly variable results in ecological risk assessments conducted throughout the United States. Copyright © 2012 SETAC.

Combined Common Person and Common Item Equating of Medical Science Examinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, Paul R.

This equating study of the National Board of Medical Examiners Examinations was a combined common persons and common items equating, using the Rasch model. The 1,000-item test was administered to about 3,000 second-year medical students in seven equal-length subtests: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, pharmacology, and…

Justifying group-specific common morality.

Science.gov (United States)

Strong, Carson

2008-01-01

Some defenders of the view that there is a common morality have conceived such morality as being universal, in the sense of extending across all cultures and times. Those who deny the existence of such a common morality often argue that the universality claim is implausible. Defense of common morality must take account of the distinction between descriptive and normative claims that there is a common morality. This essay considers these claims separately and identifies the nature of the arguments for each claim. It argues that the claim that there is a universal common morality in the descriptive sense has not been successfully defended to date. It maintains that the claim that there is a common morality in the normative sense need not be understood as universalist. This paper advocates the concept of group specific common morality, including country-specific versions. It suggests that both the descriptive and the normative claims that there are country-specific common moralities are plausible, and that a country-specific normative common morality could provide the basis for a country's bioethics.

Conservation of basic monopoles in decay processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barricelli, N.A.

1983-01-01

The conversation law of basic monpoles and other rules followed by these monopoles in the formation and decay processes of elementary particles are presented and discussed. A new interpretation of the distinction between rapid decay process (commonly ascribed to weak interactions) is proposed. (Auth.)

Pulmonary function impairment after trachea-esophageal fistula: a minor role for gastro-esophageal reflux disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peetsold, M.G.; Heij, H.A.; Nagelkerke, A.F.; Deurloo, J.A.; Gemke, R.J.B.J.

2011-01-01

Background: Long-term impairment of pulmonary function in trachea-esophageal fistula (TEF) patients is, at least in part, commonly ascribed to gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). The objective of this study was to examine the independent effects of the underlying condition and GERD on

Pulmonary Function Impairment After Trachea-Esophageal Fistula: A Minor Role for Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peetsold, M. G.; Heij, H. A.; Nagelkerke, A. F.; Deurloo, J. A.; Gemke, R. J. B. J.

2011-01-01

Background: Long-term impairment of pulmonary function in trachea-esophageal fistula (TEF) patients is, at least in part, commonly ascribed to gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). The objective of this study was to examine the independent effects of the underlying condition and GERD on

Valuation of common and preferred stocks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolić Ljubica

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Buying stocks is a modern way of investing. The investors may place the available capital on the domestic and foreign stock market, they may buy more stocks of a single issuer or distribute money to purchase stocks of various public (stock-exchange companies, and they may form a portfolio of various securities. The investors' decisions on these options are based on their estimate on returns and risks underlying individual security instruments (securities. The two basic approaches to valuation of common stocks are: the Present Value Approach (method of valuating the capitalization of income and the P/E Ratio Approach (the method of valuating the multiple of per-share earnings. Instead of viewing these methods as competing alternatives, they should better be viewed as mutually complementary methods. Both methods are equally useful and their concurrent use may provide better grounds for the analysts' valuation of stocks.

Worldwide Regulations of Standard Values of Pesticides for Human Health Risk Control: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, Aaron

2017-01-01

The impact of pesticide residues on human health is a worldwide problem, as human exposure to pesticides can occur through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. Regulatory jurisdictions have promulgated the standard values for pesticides in residential soil, air, drinking water, and agricultural commodity for years. Until now, more than 19,400 pesticide soil regulatory guidance values (RGVs) and 5400 pesticide drinking water maximum concentration levels (MCLs) have been regulated by 54 and 102 nations, respectively. Over 90 nations have provided pesticide agricultural commodity maximum residue limits (MRLs) for at least one of the 12 most commonly consumed agricultural foods. A total of 22 pesticides have been regulated with more than 100 soil RGVs, and 25 pesticides have more than 100 drinking water MCLs. This research indicates that those RGVs and MCLs for an individual pesticide could vary over seven (DDT drinking water MCLs), eight (Lindane soil RGVs), or even nine (Dieldrin soil RGVs) orders of magnitude. Human health risk uncertainty bounds and the implied total exposure mass burden model were applied to analyze the most commonly regulated and used pesticides for human health risk control. For the top 27 commonly regulated pesticides in soil, there are at least 300 RGVs (8% of the total) that are above all of the computed upper bounds for human health risk uncertainty. For the top 29 most-commonly regulated pesticides in drinking water, at least 172 drinking water MCLs (5% of the total) exceed the computed upper bounds for human health risk uncertainty; while for the 14 most widely used pesticides, there are at least 310 computed implied dose limits (28.0% of the total) that are above the acceptable daily intake values. The results show that some worldwide standard values were not derived conservatively enough to avoid human health risk by the pesticides, and that some values were not computed comprehensively by considering all major human exposure

Worldwide Regulations of Standard Values of Pesticides for Human Health Risk Control: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zijian; Jennings, Aaron

2017-07-22

Abstract : The impact of pesticide residues on human health is a worldwide problem, as human exposure to pesticides can occur through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. Regulatory jurisdictions have promulgated the standard values for pesticides in residential soil, air, drinking water, and agricultural commodity for years. Until now, more than 19,400 pesticide soil regulatory guidance values (RGVs) and 5400 pesticide drinking water maximum concentration levels (MCLs) have been regulated by 54 and 102 nations, respectively. Over 90 nations have provided pesticide agricultural commodity maximum residue limits (MRLs) for at least one of the 12 most commonly consumed agricultural foods. A total of 22 pesticides have been regulated with more than 100 soil RGVs, and 25 pesticides have more than 100 drinking water MCLs. This research indicates that those RGVs and MCLs for an individual pesticide could vary over seven (DDT drinking water MCLs), eight (Lindane soil RGVs), or even nine (Dieldrin soil RGVs) orders of magnitude. Human health risk uncertainty bounds and the implied total exposure mass burden model were applied to analyze the most commonly regulated and used pesticides for human health risk control. For the top 27 commonly regulated pesticides in soil, there are at least 300 RGVs (8% of the total) that are above all of the computed upper bounds for human health risk uncertainty. For the top 29 most-commonly regulated pesticides in drinking water, at least 172 drinking water MCLs (5% of the total) exceed the computed upper bounds for human health risk uncertainty; while for the 14 most widely used pesticides, there are at least 310 computed implied dose limits (28.0% of the total) that are above the acceptable daily intake values. The results show that some worldwide standard values were not derived conservatively enough to avoid human health risk by the pesticides, and that some values were not computed comprehensively by considering all major human

Learning for Life: The People’s Free University and the Civil Commons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Howard Woodhouse

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} This article stems from the author’s experience as one of the organizers of an alternative form of higher education, which drew its inspiration from the civil commons.  In the early years of the new millennium, the People’s Free University of Saskatchewan (PFU offered a wide variety of courses to members of the public without charge, adopting as its founding principle the belief that “Everyone can learn, Everyone can teach.”  As a form of community-based education, the PFU accommodated the needs and aspirations of a diversity of individuals and groups too often denied by “research-intensive” universities.  The civil commons itself is a web of interlocking institutions based on the life-code of value, which strengthens the public interest and enhances the growth of organic life.  Unlike the money-code of value, whose goods are only available to those who can pay, the goods of the civil commons are accessible to all.  This inner logic enables a full realization of life value as exemplified in the living tradition of popular university education.

Valuing companies by cash flow discounting: Ten methods and nine theories

OpenAIRE

Fernández , Pablo

2002-01-01

This paper is a summarized compendium of all the methods and theories on company valuation using cash flow discounting. The paper shows the ten most commonly used methods for valuing companies by cash flow discounting: 1) free cash flow discounted at the WACC; 2) equity cash flows discounted at the required return to equity; 3) capital cash flows discounted at the WACC before tax; 4) APV (Adjusted Present Value); 5) the business's risk-adjusted free cash flows discounted at the required retur...

A lattice-valued linguistic decision model for nuclear safeguards applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruan, D.; Liu, J.; Carchon, R.

2001-01-01

In this study, we focus our attention on decision making models to process uncertainty-based information directly without transforming them into any particular membership function, i.e., directly using linguistic information (linguistic values) instead of numbers (numerical values). By analyzing the feature of linguistic values ordered by their means of common usage, we argue that the set of linguistic values should be characterized by a lattice structure. We propose the lattice structure based on a logical algebraic structure i.e., lattice implication algebra. Finally, we obtain a multi-objective decision-making model by extending Yager's multi-objective model from the following aspects: (1) extension of linguistic information: from a set of linear ordered linguistic labels (values) to that of lattice-valued linguistic labels; (2) extension of the combination function M, which is used to combine the individual ratings with the weights of criteria. We propose an implication operation form of M. The implication operation can be drawn from lattice implication algebra. As an illustration, we will finally apply this decision model to the evaluation problem in safeguard relevant information. (orig.)

Equivalent half-value thickness and mean energies of filtered X-ray bremsstrahlung spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seelentag, W.W.; Panzer, W.

1980-01-01

X-ray beam qualities are often conveniently described by half-value thicknesses (in connection with tube voltage and filtration). Aluminium and copper are commonly used as half-value thickness materials, and either material may be used in a large intermediate energy range. Data comparisons frequently require conversions from values in Al to values in Cu. Equivalent half-value thicknesses for polychromatic radiations depend on the shapes of the spectra, but spectrometry is too expensive for routine application. Half-value thicknesses in both Al and Cu have been determined for some 250 spectra (tube potentials 10 to 300 kV). The results are tabulated, and these results together with a nomogram enable conversion with an accuracy of better than +- 5% in most cases. (UK)

P value and the theory of hypothesis testing: an explanation for new researchers.

Science.gov (United States)

Biau, David Jean; Jolles, Brigitte M; Porcher, Raphaël

2010-03-01

In the 1920s, Ronald Fisher developed the theory behind the p value and Jerzy Neyman and Egon Pearson developed the theory of hypothesis testing. These distinct theories have provided researchers important quantitative tools to confirm or refute their hypotheses. The p value is the probability to obtain an effect equal to or more extreme than the one observed presuming the null hypothesis of no effect is true; it gives researchers a measure of the strength of evidence against the null hypothesis. As commonly used, investigators will select a threshold p value below which they will reject the null hypothesis. The theory of hypothesis testing allows researchers to reject a null hypothesis in favor of an alternative hypothesis of some effect. As commonly used, investigators choose Type I error (rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true) and Type II error (accepting the null hypothesis when it is false) levels and determine some critical region. If the test statistic falls into that critical region, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. Despite similarities between the two, the p value and the theory of hypothesis testing are different theories that often are misunderstood and confused, leading researchers to improper conclusions. Perhaps the most common misconception is to consider the p value as the probability that the null hypothesis is true rather than the probability of obtaining the difference observed, or one that is more extreme, considering the null is true. Another concern is the risk that an important proportion of statistically significant results are falsely significant. Researchers should have a minimum understanding of these two theories so that they are better able to plan, conduct, interpret, and report scientific experiments.

How intrinsic values influence wines prices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gál Péter

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The use of hedonic price indices is quite common in the wine economics literature, yet they mainly include scores of organoleptic tests and some dummy variables representing varieties and quality signs as geographical indications. This study focuses on the relation between the composition and the price of wines on the example of Hungarian wines. In Hungary, the wine law renders chemical analysis compulsory for all wines released to the market. The study includes five main compounds: actual alcoholic strength, total sugars, total acidity, sugar free extract and pH value and is based on hedonic price indices calculated on a sample of 2,453 wines. Results of several regressions – using different model specifications – consistently show that actual alcoholic strength, sugar content, sugar free extract and pH value are related with the price. Some characteristics have an optimal level, while in other cases the relation is linear.

Five Theses on the Common

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gigi Roggero

2011-01-01

Full Text Available I present five theses on the common within the context of the transformations of capitalist social relations as well as their contemporary global crisis. My framework involves ‘‘cognitive capitalism,’’ new processes of class composition, and the production of living knowledge and subjectivity. The commons is often discussed today in reference to the privatizationand commodification of ‘‘common goods.’’ This suggests a naturalistic and conservative image of the common, unhooked from the relations of production. I distinguish between commons and the common: the first model is related to Karl Polanyi, the second to Karl Marx. As elaborated in the postoperaista debate, the common assumes an antagonistic double status: it is boththe plane of the autonomy of living labor and it is subjected to capitalist ‘‘capture.’’ Consequently, what is at stake is not the conservation of ‘‘commons,’’ but rather the production of the common and its organization into new institutions that would take us beyond the exhausted dialectic between public and private.

Value innovation: the strategic logic of high growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, W C; Mauborgne, R

1997-01-01

Why are some companies able to sustain high growth in revenues and profits--and others are not? To answer that question, the authors, both of INSEAD, spent five years studying more than 30 companies around the world. They found that the difference between the high-growth companies and their less successful competitors was in each group's assumptions about strategy. Managers of the less successful companies followed conventional strategic logic. Managers of the high-growth companies followed what the authors call the logic of value innovation. Conventional strategic logic and value innovation differ along the basic dimensions of strategy. Many companies take their industry's conditions as given; value innovators don't. Many companies let competitors set the parameters of their strategic thinking; value innovators do not use rivals as benchmarks. Rather than focus on the differences among customers, value innovators look for what customers value in common. Rather than view opportunities through the lens of existing assets and capabilities, value innovators ask, What if we start anew? The authors tell the story of the French hotelier Accor, which discarded the notion of what a hotel is supposed to look like in order to offer what most customers want: a good night's sleep at a low price. And Virgin Atlantic challenged industry conventions by eliminating first-class service and channeling savings into innovations for business-class passengers. Those companies didn't set out to build advantages over the competition, but they ended up achieving the greatest competitive advantages.

Global dynamics of oscillator populations under common noise

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, W.; Pikovsky, A.; Matias, M. A.; Colet, P.

2012-07-01

Common noise acting on a population of identical oscillators can synchronize them. We develop a description of this process which is not limited to the states close to synchrony, but provides a global picture of the evolution of the ensembles. The theory is based on the Watanabe-Strogatz transformation, allowing us to obtain closed stochastic equations for the global variables. We show that at the initial stage, the order parameter grows linearly in time, while at the later stages the convergence to synchrony is exponentially fast. Furthermore, we extend the theory to nonidentical ensembles with the Lorentzian distribution of natural frequencies and determine the stationary values of the order parameter in dependence on driving noise and mismatch.

Collectivity, evil and the dynamics of moral value.

Science.gov (United States)

Backström, Joel; Nykänen, Hannes

2016-08-01

The paper aims at making explicit and question the dominant conception that morality is a matter of values and valuation. This conception is usually taken as the self-evident frame of analysis, both in ethical theorizing and in everyday life and also in most discussions of ethics in medical contexts (e.g. in debates about 'values-based practice'). We argue that the dominant conception is deeply flawed insofar as it implies a repression of the fundamental importance of I-you relationships. As a consequence of this repression, what are commonly taken to be 'personal' and even 'individualist' moral outlooks are, in fact, merely the reverse side of collective norms and values, just as 'particularism' in ethics is not a real alternative to 'universalism', but rather both are variations on the same repressive theme. In showing this, we also outline the sense in which the moral relationship between an 'I' and a 'you' has an altogether different 'grammar' or sense. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fabricating data: How substituting values for nondetects can ruin results, and what can be done about it

Science.gov (United States)

Helsel, D.R.

2006-01-01

The most commonly used method in environmental chemistry to deal with values below detection limits is to substitute a fraction of the detection limit for each nondetect. Two decades of research has shown that this fabrication of values produces poor estimates of statistics, and commonly obscures patterns and trends in the data. Papers using substitution may conclude that significant differences, correlations, and regression relationships do not exist, when in fact they do. The reverse may also be true. Fortunately, good alternative methods for dealing with nondetects already exist, and are summarized here with references to original sources. Substituting values for nondetects should be used rarely, and should generally be considered unacceptable in scientific research. There are better ways.

Physical foundation of the labor theory of value: production and environmental destruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obinata, T.

2005-01-01

A concept negentropy is introduced to supplement Marx's labor theory of value. The negentropy, that is a less entropy state than the thermal equilibrium state of matter, is a common property of the usefulness of material needs. The production of commodity increases the negentropy of product, but the action raises more environmental entropy than the negentropy of the product. This is environmental damage. In addition the negentropy plays a role of the substance of value and answers the issue about productive and unproductive labor. It is clarified that the origin of surplus value is the negentropy of information

Costs and Trends in Utilization of Low-value Services Among Older Adults With Commercial Insurance or Medicare Advantage.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Elizabeth A; Morin, Pamela E; Lind, Keith D

2017-11-01

Overutilization of low-value services (unnecessary or minimally beneficial tests or procedures) has been cited as a large contributor to the high costs of health care in the United States. To analyze trends in utilization of low-value services from 2009 to 2014 among commercial and Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees 50 and older. A retrospective analysis of deidentified claims obtained from the OptumLab Data Warehouse. Adults 50 and older enrolled in commercial plans and adults 65 and older enrolled in MA plans between 2009 and 2014. Costs and utilization of 16 low-value services in the following categories: cancer screening, imaging, and invasive procedures. The most commonly performed low-value service was imaging of the head for syncope, at rates of 33%-39% in commercial enrollees and 45% in MA enrollees. The least common service was peripheral artery stenting (value service utilization. Greater consistency would facilitate monitoring use of low-value services and changing clinical practice patterns over time.

MDEP Generic Common Position No DICWG-01. Common position on the treatment of common cause failure caused by software within digital safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

Common cause failures (CCF)2 have been a significant safety concern for nuclear power plant systems. The increasing dependence on software-in safety systems for nuclear power plants has increased the safety significance of CCF caused by software, when software in redundant channels or portions of safety systems has some common dependency. For example, the effect of systematic failures can lead to a loss of safety in many ways: unwanted actuations, a safety function is not provided when needed. Therefore, nuclear power plants should be systematically protected from the effects of common cause failures caused by software in DI and C safety systems. Software for nuclear power plant safety systems should be of the high quality necessary to help assure against the loss of safety (i.e. developed with high-quality engineering practices, commensurate quality assurance applied, with continuous improvement through corrective actions based on lessons learned from operating experience). However, demonstrating adequate software quality only through verification and validation activities and controls on the development process has proved to be problematic. Therefore, this common position provides guidance for the assessment of the potential for CCF for software. It is recognized that programmable logic devices do not execute software in the conventional sense; however, the application development process using these devices have many similarities with software development, and the deficiencies that may be introduced during the application development process may induce errors in the programmable logic devices that can result in common cause failures of these devices of a type similar to software common cause failure. Although deficiencies with the potential to give rise to software common cause failures can be introduced at all phases of the software life cycle, this common position will only consider the potential for software common cause failures within digital safety system

Autecology of the common mormon butterfly, Papilio polytes (Lepidoptera : Rhopalocera : Papilionidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Atluri, J B; Ramana, S P Venkata; Reddi, C Subba

2002-04-01

The adults of the common mormon butterfly Papilio polytes Linn. feed on a variety of floral species. The larval food plants in the study area included Citrus limon and Murraya koenigii both of the family Rutaceae. The eggs are laid singly, and the hatching time is three days. The larvae pass through five instars. The larval growth is directly correlated with the quantity of food consumed. The AD (approximate digestibility) values decreased from first instar to the last, whereas the ECD (efficiency of conversion of digested food) and ECI (efficiency of conversion of ingested food) values increased, thus bearing an inverse relationship with AD. The development time from egg to adult is 28-30, giving 11-12 generations in a year, but with better breeding during August-February. Thus P. polytes is multivoltine.

Investigation of radioactivity in military clothes commonly used in armed force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaid, W. M. F.

2011-10-01

This study was conducted primarily to measure radioactivity content of common military clothing for 25 samples within military warehouse. Low level γ-spectrometry equipped with Nal-detector system was employed for the measurement and radionuclides analyses. The measurement resulted in detection of naturally occurring radionuclides ''4''0Kand 226 Ra. The activity concentration of 40 K and 226 Ra falls within the range of 2.7-57.4 Bqkg -1 and 89.3-1329.8 Bqkg - ''1 with an average value of 16.53±6.57 Bqkg -1 and 1071.98 ±512.62 Bqkg -1 respectively. By performing simple calculations of exposure due to wearing these clothes in different situations it is found that the data indicates values were within the acceptable levels for those products. (Author)

EU, Eastern Europe and Values Imperialism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen White

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an idea of'values imperialism'as a helpful way of conceptualising the relationship between the EU and the states that came within its sphere of influence after the end of the Cold War, particularly its 'neighbours' in Eastern Europe. Values imperialism places its emphasis on the 'superstructure', including norms, laws and social practices. EU larger objective was that the assumptions about government and ownership that were favoured by the dominant powers (EU and the West in the broad term should be absorbed and recapitulated by those countries that were subordinate. The broad framework ofsubordination was established by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements that began to be concluded from 1994 onwards. Patterns of'values imperialism'could also be discovered in the EU Common Strategies on Russia and Ukraine that were adopted in 1999. Article also points out several cases when the EU intervened directly in the domestic affairs of the Eastern Europe countries in a manner that was not always compatible with the provisions on state sovereignty: a 'European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights', launched in 2006, interventions ofEU representatives in the work of local courts and organisation of exit polls, which could be used to discredit the official election results and in this way to undermine the position of local governments. Finally, the author concludes that the EU used 'values imperialism'practices in order to extend its influence, particularly in the Eastern Europe.

76 FR 18684 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-05

... are ascribed to the genus Oreohelix, commonly called the ``mountainsnail.'' This genus of land snails... be hermaphroditic (individuals have both male and female genitalia and can assume either role in... (Frest and Johannes 1995, p. 20). Most land snail species including those in the genus Oreohelix are...

On the stabilization of niobium(V) solutions by zirconium(IV) and hafnium(IV)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, E.; Bjerre, A.B.

1992-01-01

Niobium cannot be separated from zirconium or hafnium when these elements occur together in solution with common anions such as chloride and sulphate. This is ascribed to the co-polymerization of niobium(V) and the hydrolysed ionic species of zirconium(IV) and hafnium(IV) to form colloidal...

Comparison of professional values of Taiwanese and United States nursing students.

Science.gov (United States)

Alfred, Danita; Yarbrough, Susan; Martin, Pam; Mink, Janice; Lin, Yu-Hua; Wang, Liching S

2013-12-01

Globalization is a part of modern life. Sharing a common set of professional nursing values is critical in this global environment. The purpose of this research was to examine the professional values of nursing students from two distinct cultural perspectives. Nurse educators in Taiwan partnered with nurse educators in the United States to compare professional values of their respective graduating nursing students. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics served as the philosophical framework for this examination. The convenience sample comprised 94 Taiwanese students and 168 US students. Both groups reported high scores on an overall measure of values. They did differ substantially on the relative importance of individual items related to advocacy, competence, education, self-evaluation, professional advancement, and professional associations. Global implications for the collaborative practice of nurses from different cultures working together can be improved by first recognizing and then attending to these differences in value priorities.

Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Anttila, Verneri; Bulik-Sullivan, Brendan; Finucane, Hilary K; Walters, Raymond K; Bras, Jose; Duncan, Laramie; Escott-Price, Valentina; Falcone, Guido J; Gormley, Padhraig; Malik, Rainer; Patsopoulos, Nikolaos A; Ripke, Stephan; Wei, Zhi; Yu, Dongmei; Lee, Phil H; Turley, Patrick; Grenier-Boley, Benjamin; Chouraki, Vincent; Kamatani, Yoichiro; Berr, Claudine; Letenneur, Luc; Hannequin, Didier; Amouyel, Philippe; Boland, Anne; Deleuze, Jean-François; Duron, Emmanuelle; Vardarajan, Badri N; Reitz, Christiane; Goate, Alison M; Huentelman, Matthew J; Kamboh, M Ilyas; Larson, Eric B; Rogaeva, Ekaterina; St George-Hyslop, Peter; Hakonarson, Hakon; Kukull, Walter A; Farrer, Lindsay A; Barnes, Lisa L; Beach, Thomas G; Demirci, F Yesim; Head, Elizabeth; Hulette, Christine M; Jicha, Gregory A; Kauwe, John S K; Kaye, Jeffrey A; Leverenz, James B; Levey, Allan I; Lieberman, Andrew P; Pankratz, Vernon S; Poon, Wayne W; Quinn, Joseph F; Saykin, Andrew J; Schneider, Lon S; Smith, Amanda G; Sonnen, Joshua A; Stern, Robert A; Van Deerlin, Vivianna M; Van Eldik, Linda J; Harold, Denise; Russo, Giancarlo; Rubinsztein, David C; Bayer, Anthony; Tsolaki, Magda; Proitsi, Petra; Fox, Nick C; Hampel, Harald; Owen, Michael J; Mead, Simon; Passmore, Peter; Morgan, Kevin; Nöthen, Markus M; Rossor, Martin; Lupton, Michelle K; Hoffmann, Per; Kornhuber, Johannes; Lawlor, Brian; McQuillin, Andrew; Al-Chalabi, Ammar; Bis, Joshua C; Ruiz, Agustin; Boada, Mercè; Seshadri, Sudha; Beiser, Alexa; Rice, Kenneth; van der Lee, Sven J; De Jager, Philip L; Geschwind, Daniel H; Riemenschneider, Matthias; Riedel-Heller, Steffi; Rotter, Jerome I; Ransmayr, Gerhard; Hyman, Bradley T; Cruchaga, Carlos; Alegret, Montserrat; Winsvold, Bendik; Palta, Priit; Farh, Kai-How; Cuenca-Leon, Ester; Furlotte, Nicholas; Kurth, Tobias; Ligthart, Lannie; Terwindt, Gisela M; Freilinger, Tobias; Ran, Caroline; Gordon, Scott D; Borck, Guntram; Adams, Hieab H H; Lehtimäki, Terho; Wedenoja, Juho; Buring, Julie E; Schürks, Markus; Hrafnsdottir, Maria; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Penninx, Brenda; Artto, Ville; Kaunisto, Mari; Vepsäläinen, Salli; Martin, Nicholas G; Montgomery, Grant W; Kurki, Mitja I; Hämäläinen, Eija; Huang, Hailiang; Huang, Jie; Sandor, Cynthia; Webber, Caleb; Muller-Myhsok, Bertram; Schreiber, Stefan; Salomaa, Veikko; Loehrer, Elizabeth; Göbel, Hartmut; Macaya, Alfons; Pozo-Rosich, Patricia; Hansen, Thomas; Werge, Thomas; Kaprio, Jaakko; Metspalu, Andres; Kubisch, Christian; Ferrari, Michel D; Belin, Andrea C; van den Maagdenberg, Arn M J M; Zwart, John-Anker; Boomsma, Dorret; Eriksson, Nicholas; Olesen, Jes; Chasman, Daniel I; Nyholt, Dale R; Avbersek, Andreja; Baum, Larry; Berkovic, Samuel; Bradfield, Jonathan; Buono, Russell; Catarino, Claudia B; Cossette, Patrick; De Jonghe, Peter; Depondt, Chantal; Dlugos, Dennis; Ferraro, Thomas N; French, Jacqueline; Hjalgrim, Helle; Jamnadas-Khoda, Jennifer; Kälviäinen, Reetta; Kunz, Wolfram S; Lerche, Holger; Leu, Costin; Lindhout, Dick; Lo, Warren; Lowenstein, Daniel; McCormack, Mark; Møller, Rikke S; Molloy, Anne; Ng, Ping-Wing; Oliver, Karen; Privitera, Michael; Radtke, Rodney; Ruppert, Ann-Kathrin; Sander, Thomas; Schachter, Steven; Schankin, Christoph; Scheffer, Ingrid; Schoch, Susanne; Sisodiya, Sanjay M; Smith, Philip; Sperling, Michael; Striano, Pasquale; Surges, Rainer; Thomas, G Neil; Visscher, Frank; Whelan, Christopher D; Zara, Federico; Heinzen, Erin L; Marson, Anthony; Becker, Felicitas; Stroink, Hans; Zimprich, Fritz; Gasser, Thomas; Gibbs, Raphael; Heutink, Peter; Martinez, Maria; Morris, Huw R; Sharma, Manu; Ryten, Mina; Mok, Kin Y; Pulit, Sara; Bevan, Steve; Holliday, Elizabeth; Attia, John; Battey, Thomas; Boncoraglio, Giorgio; Thijs, Vincent; Chen, Wei-Min; Mitchell, Braxton; Rothwell, Peter; Sharma, Pankaj; Sudlow, Cathie; Vicente, Astrid; Markus, Hugh; Kourkoulis, Christina; Pera, Joana; Raffeld, Miriam; Silliman, Scott; Boraska Perica, Vesna; Thornton, Laura M; Huckins, Laura M; William Rayner, N; Lewis, Cathryn M; Gratacos, Monica; Rybakowski, Filip; Keski-Rahkonen, Anna; Raevuori, Anu; Hudson, James I; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted; Monteleone, Palmiero; Karwautz, Andreas; Mannik, Katrin; Baker, Jessica H; O'Toole, Julie K; Trace, Sara E; Davis, Oliver S P; Helder, Sietske G; Ehrlich, Stefan; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Danner, Unna N; van Elburg, Annemarie A; Clementi, Maurizio; Forzan, Monica; Docampo, Elisa; Lissowska, Jolanta; Hauser, Joanna; Tortorella, Alfonso; Maj, Mario; Gonidakis, Fragiskos; Tziouvas, Konstantinos; Papezova, Hana; Yilmaz, Zeynep; Wagner, Gudrun; Cohen-Woods, Sarah; Herms, Stefan; Julià, Antonio; Rabionet, Raquel; Dick, Danielle M; Ripatti, Samuli; Andreassen, Ole A; Espeseth, Thomas; Lundervold, Astri J; Steen, Vidar M; Pinto, Dalila; Scherer, Stephen W; Aschauer, Harald; Schosser, Alexandra; Alfredsson, Lars; Padyukov, Leonid; Halmi, Katherine A; Mitchell, James; Strober, Michael; Bergen, Andrew W; Kaye, Walter; Szatkiewicz, Jin Peng; Cormand, Bru; Ramos-Quiroga, Josep Antoni; Sánchez-Mora, Cristina; Ribasés, Marta; Casas, Miguel; Hervas, Amaia; Arranz, Maria Jesús; Haavik, Jan; Zayats, Tetyana; Johansson, Stefan; Williams, Nigel; Dempfle, Astrid; Rothenberger, Aribert; Kuntsi, Jonna; Oades, Robert D; Banaschewski, Tobias; Franke, Barbara; Buitelaar, Jan K; Arias Vasquez, Alejandro; Doyle, Alysa E; Reif, Andreas; Lesch, Klaus-Peter; Freitag, Christine; Rivero, Olga; Palmason, Haukur; Romanos, Marcel; Langley, Kate; Rietschel, Marcella; Witt, Stephanie H; Dalsgaard, Soeren; Børglum, Anders D; Waldman, Irwin; Wilmot, Beth; Molly, Nikolas; Bau, Claiton H D; Crosbie, Jennifer; Schachar, Russell; Loo, Sandra K; McGough, James J; Grevet, Eugenio H; Medland, Sarah E; Robinson, Elise; Weiss, Lauren A; Bacchelli, Elena; Bailey, Anthony; Bal, Vanessa; Battaglia, Agatino; Betancur, Catalina; Bolton, Patrick; Cantor, Rita; Celestino-Soper, Patrícia; Dawson, Geraldine; De Rubeis, Silvia; Duque, Frederico; Green, Andrew; Klauck, Sabine M; Leboyer, Marion; Levitt, Pat; Maestrini, Elena; Mane, Shrikant; De-Luca, Daniel Moreno-; Parr, Jeremy; Regan, Regina; Reichenberg, Abraham; Sandin, Sven; Vorstman, Jacob; Wassink, Thomas; Wijsman, Ellen; Cook, Edwin; Santangelo, Susan; Delorme, Richard; Rogé, Bernadette; Magalhaes, Tiago; Arking, Dan; Schulze, Thomas G; Thompson, Robert C; Strohmaier, Jana; Matthews, Keith; Melle, Ingrid; Morris, Derek; Blackwood, Douglas; McIntosh, Andrew; Bergen, Sarah E; Schalling, Martin; Jamain, Stéphane; Maaser, Anna; Fischer, Sascha B; Reinbold, Céline S; Fullerton, Janice M; Guzman-Parra, José; Mayoral, Fermin; Schofield, Peter R; Cichon, Sven; Mühleisen, Thomas W; Degenhardt, Franziska; Schumacher, Johannes; Bauer, Michael; Mitchell, Philip B; Gershon, Elliot S; Rice, John; Potash, James B; Zandi, Peter P; Craddock, Nick; Ferrier, I Nicol; Alda, Martin; Rouleau, Guy A; Turecki, Gustavo; Ophoff, Roel; Pato, Carlos; Anjorin, Adebayo; Stahl, Eli; Leber, Markus; Czerski, Piotr M; Cruceanu, Cristiana; Jones, Ian R; Posthuma, Danielle; Andlauer, Till F M; Forstner, Andreas J; Streit, Fabian; Baune, Bernhard T; Air, Tracy; Sinnamon, Grant; Wray, Naomi R; MacIntyre, Donald J; Porteous, David; Homuth, Georg; Rivera, Margarita; Grove, Jakob; Middeldorp, Christel M; Hickie, Ian; Pergadia, Michele; Mehta, Divya; Smit, Johannes H; Jansen, Rick; de Geus, Eco; Dunn, Erin; Li, Qingqin S; Nauck, Matthias; Schoevers, Robert A; Beekman, Aartjan Tf; Knowles, James A; Viktorin, Alexander; Arnold, Paul; Barr, Cathy L; Bedoya-Berrio, Gabriel; Bienvenu, O Joseph; Brentani, Helena; Burton, Christie; Camarena, Beatriz; Cappi, Carolina; Cath, Danielle; Cavallini, Maria; Cusi, Daniele; Darrow, Sabrina; Denys, Damiaan; Derks, Eske M; Dietrich, Andrea; Fernandez, Thomas; Figee, Martijn; Freimer, Nelson; Gerber, Gloria; Grados, Marco; Greenberg, Erica; Hanna, Gregory L; Hartmann, Andreas; Hirschtritt, Matthew E; Hoekstra, Pieter J; Huang, Alden; Huyser, Chaim; Illmann, Cornelia; Jenike, Michael; Kuperman, Samuel; Leventhal, Bennett; Lochner, Christine; Lyon, Gholson J; Macciardi, Fabio; Madruga-Garrido, Marcos; Malaty, Irene A; Maras, Athanasios; McGrath, Lauren; Miguel, Eurípedes C; Mir, Pablo; Nestadt, Gerald; Nicolini, Humberto; Okun, Michael S; Pakstis, Andrew; Paschou, Peristera; Piacentini, John; Pittenger, Christopher; Plessen, Kerstin; Ramensky, Vasily; Ramos, Eliana M; Reus, Victor; Richter, Margaret A; Riddle, Mark A; Robertson, Mary M; Roessner, Veit; Rosário, Maria; Samuels, Jack F; Sandor, Paul; Stein, Dan J; Tsetsos, Fotis; Van Nieuwerburgh, Filip; Weatherall, Sarah; Wendland, Jens R; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Worbe, Yulia; Zai, Gwyneth; Goes, Fernando S; McLaughlin, Nicole; Nestadt, Paul S; Grabe, Hans-Jorgen; Depienne, Christel; Konkashbaev, Anuar; Lanzagorta, Nuria; Valencia-Duarte, Ana; Bramon, Elvira; Buccola, Nancy; Cahn, Wiepke; Cairns, Murray; Chong, Siow A; Cohen, David; Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto; Crowley, James; Davidson, Michael; DeLisi, Lynn; Dinan, Timothy; Donohoe, Gary; Drapeau, Elodie; Duan, Jubao; Haan, Lieuwe; Hougaard, David; Karachanak-Yankova, Sena; Khrunin, Andrey; Klovins, Janis; Kučinskas, Vaidutis; Lee Chee Keong, Jimmy; Limborska, Svetlana; Loughland, Carmel; Lönnqvist, Jouko; Maher, Brion; Mattheisen, Manuel; McDonald, Colm; Murphy, Kieran C; Nenadic, Igor; van Os, Jim; Pantelis, Christos; Pato, Michele; Petryshen, Tracey; Quested, Digby; Roussos, Panos; Sanders, Alan R; Schall, Ulrich; Schwab, Sibylle G; Sim, Kang; So, Hon-Cheong; Stögmann, Elisabeth; Subramaniam, Mythily; Toncheva, Draga; Waddington, John; Walters, James; Weiser, Mark; Cheng, Wei; Cloninger, Robert; Curtis, David; Gejman, Pablo V; Henskens, Frans; Mattingsdal, Morten; Oh, Sang-Yun; Scott, Rodney; Webb, Bradley; Breen, Gerome; Churchhouse, Claire; Bulik, Cynthia M; Daly, Mark; Dichgans, Martin; Faraone, Stephen V; Guerreiro, Rita; Holmans, Peter; Kendler, Kenneth S; Koeleman, Bobby; Mathews, Carol A; Price, Alkes; Scharf, Jeremiah; Sklar, Pamela; Williams, Julie; Wood, Nicholas W; Cotsapas, Chris; Palotie, Aarno; Smoller, Jordan W; Sullivan, Patrick; Rosand, Jonathan; Corvin, Aiden; Neale, Benjamin M

2018-06-22

Disorders of the brain can exhibit considerable epidemiological comorbidity and often share symptoms, provoking debate about their etiologic overlap. We quantified the genetic sharing of 25 brain disorders from genome-wide association studies of 265,218 patients and 784,643 control participants and assessed their relationship to 17 phenotypes from 1,191,588 individuals. Psychiatric disorders share common variant risk, whereas neurological disorders appear more distinct from one another and from the psychiatric disorders. We also identified significant sharing between disorders and a number of brain phenotypes, including cognitive measures. Further, we conducted simulations to explore how statistical power, diagnostic misclassification, and phenotypic heterogeneity affect genetic correlations. These results highlight the importance of common genetic variation as a risk factor for brain disorders and the value of heritability-based methods in understanding their etiology. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Common, yet elusive: a case of severe anion gap acidosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Akanksha; Kishlyansky, Marina; Biso, Sylvia; Patnaik, Soumya; Punjabi, Chitra

2017-09-01

Acid-base disturbances are common occurrence in hospitalized patients with life threatening complications. 5-oxoproline has been increasingly recognized as cause of high anion gap metabolic acidosis (AGMA) in association with chronic acetaminophen use. However, laboratory workup for it are not widely available. We report case of 56-year-old female with severe AGMA not attributable to ketoacidosis, lactic acidosis or toxic ingestion. History was significant for chronic acetaminophen use, and laboratory workup negative for all frequent causes of AGMA. Given history and clinical presentation, our suspicion for 5-oxoproline toxicity was high. Our patient required emergent hemodialysis and subsequently improved clinically. With an increasing awareness of the uncommon causes of high AGMA, tests should be more readily available to detect their presence. Physicians should be more vigilant of underdiagnosed causes of AGMA if the presentation and laboratory values do not reflect a common cause, as definitive treatment may vary based on the offending agent.

Small values in big data: The continuing need for appropriate metadata

Science.gov (United States)

Stow, Craig A.; Webster, Katherine E.; Wagner, Tyler; Lottig, Noah R.; Soranno, Patricia A.; Cha, YoonKyung

2018-01-01

Compiling data from disparate sources to address pressing ecological issues is increasingly common. Many ecological datasets contain left-censored data – observations below an analytical detection limit. Studies from single and typically small datasets show that common approaches for handling censored data — e.g., deletion or substituting fixed values — result in systematic biases. However, no studies have explored the degree to which the documentation and presence of censored data influence outcomes from large, multi-sourced datasets. We describe left-censored data in a lake water quality database assembled from 74 sources and illustrate the challenges of dealing with small values in big data, including detection limits that are absent, range widely, and show trends over time. We show that substitutions of censored data can also bias analyses using ‘big data’ datasets, that censored data can be effectively handled with modern quantitative approaches, but that such approaches rely on accurate metadata that describe treatment of censored data from each source.

Common Law and Un-common Sense

OpenAIRE

Ballard, Roger

2000-01-01

This paper examines the practical and conceptual differences which arise when juries are invited to apply their common sense in assessing reasonable behaviour in the midst of an ethnically plural society. The author explores the conundrums which the increasing salience of ethnic pluralism has now begun to pose in legal terms, most especially with respect to organisation of system for the equitable administration and delivery of justice in the context of an increasingly heterogeneous society. ...

A constitutional critique on the regulations relating to artificial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2017-06-30

Jun 30, 2017 ... that a more rational premise on which to build future regulations would be to recognise .... information from the donor and ensure that, among other things, .... constitutional dispensation that ascribes to the value of autonomy.

Assessing urban forest effects and values: Toronto's urban forest

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak; Robert E. III Hoehn; Allison R. Bodine; Eric J. Greenfield; Alexis Ellis; Theodore A. Endreny; Yang Yang; Tian Zhou; Ruthanne. Henry

2013-01-01

An analysis of trees in Toronto, Ontario, reveals that this city has about 10.2 million trees with a tree and shrub canopy that covers approximately 26.6 percent of the city. The most common tree species are eastern white-cedar, sugar maple, and Norway maple. The urban forest currently stores an estimated 1.1 million metric tons of carbon valued at CAD$25.0 million. In...

Assessing urban forest effects and values, Scranton's urban forest

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak; Robert E. III Hoehn; Daniel E. Crane; Jack C. Stevens; Vincent. Cotrone

2010-01-01

An analysis of trees in the urbanized portion of Scranton, PA, reveals that this area has about 1.2 million trees with canopies that cover 22.0 percent of the area. The most common tree species are red maple, gray birch, black cherry, northern red oak, and quaking aspen. Scranton's urban forest currently store about 93,300 tons of carbon valued at $1.9 million. In...

The Heuristic Value of p in Inductive Statistical Inference

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joachim I. Krueger

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Many statistical methods yield the probability of the observed data – or data more extreme – under the assumption that a particular hypothesis is true. This probability is commonly known as ‘the’ p-value. (Null Hypothesis Significance Testing ([NH]ST is the most prominent of these methods. The p-value has been subjected to much speculation, analysis, and criticism. We explore how well the p-value predicts what researchers presumably seek: the probability of the hypothesis being true given the evidence, and the probability of reproducing significant results. We also explore the effect of sample size on inferential accuracy, bias, and error. In a series of simulation experiments, we find that the p-value performs quite well as a heuristic cue in inductive inference, although there are identifiable limits to its usefulness. We conclude that despite its general usefulness, the p-value cannot bear the full burden of inductive inference; it is but one of several heuristic cues available to the data analyst. Depending on the inferential challenge at hand, investigators may supplement their reports with effect size estimates, Bayes factors, or other suitable statistics, to communicate what they think the data say.

The Heuristic Value of p in Inductive Statistical Inference.

Science.gov (United States)

Krueger, Joachim I; Heck, Patrick R

2017-01-01

Many statistical methods yield the probability of the observed data - or data more extreme - under the assumption that a particular hypothesis is true. This probability is commonly known as 'the' p -value. (Null Hypothesis) Significance Testing ([NH]ST) is the most prominent of these methods. The p -value has been subjected to much speculation, analysis, and criticism. We explore how well the p -value predicts what researchers presumably seek: the probability of the hypothesis being true given the evidence, and the probability of reproducing significant results. We also explore the effect of sample size on inferential accuracy, bias, and error. In a series of simulation experiments, we find that the p -value performs quite well as a heuristic cue in inductive inference, although there are identifiable limits to its usefulness. We conclude that despite its general usefulness, the p -value cannot bear the full burden of inductive inference; it is but one of several heuristic cues available to the data analyst. Depending on the inferential challenge at hand, investigators may supplement their reports with effect size estimates, Bayes factors, or other suitable statistics, to communicate what they think the data say.

The Value of Value Sets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sløk-Madsen, Stefan Kirkegaard; Christensen, Jesper

The world over classrooms in business schools are being taught that corporate values can impact performance. The argument is typically that culture matter more than strategy plans and culture can be influenced and indeed changed by a shared corporate value set. While the claim seems intuitively a...... a unique contribution to the effects of investment in shared company values, and to whether agent rationality can be fundamentally changed by committed organizational efforts....

Exploiting Illumina Sequencing for the Development of 95 Novel Polymorphic EST-SSR Markers in Common Vetch (Vicia sativa subsp. sativa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhipeng Liu

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The common vetch (Vicia sativa subsp. sativa, a self-pollinating and diploid species, is one of the most important annual legumes in the world due to its short growth period, high nutritional value, and multiple usages as hay, grain, silage, and green manure. The available simple sequence repeat (SSR markers for common vetch, however, are insufficient to meet the developing demand for genetic and molecular research on this important species. Here, we aimed to develop and characterise several polymorphic EST-SSR markers from the vetch Illumina transcriptome. A total number of 1,071 potential EST-SSR markers were identified from 1025 unigenes whose lengths were greater than 1,000 bp, and 450 primer pairs were then designed and synthesized. Finally, 95 polymorphic primer pairs were developed for the 10 common vetch accessions, which included 50 individuals. Among the 95 EST-SSR markers, the number of alleles ranged from three to 13, and the polymorphism information content values ranged from 0.09 to 0.98. The observed heterozygosity values ranged from 0.00 to 1.00, and the expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.11 to 0.98. These 95 EST-SSR markers developed from the vetch Illumina transcriptome could greatly promote the development of genetic and molecular breeding studies pertaining to in this species.

Environmental Resource Management in Borderlands: Evolution from Competing Interests to Common Aversions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Henry Buckley

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Great enthusiasm is attached to the emergence of cross-border regions (CBRs as a new institutional arrangement for dealing with local cross-border environmental resource management and other issues that remain too distant from national capitals and/or too expensive to be addressed in the traditional topocratic manner requiring instead local adhocratic methods. This study briefly discusses the perceived value of CBRs and necessary and sufficient conditions for the successful and sustainable development of such places. Then, assuming that necessary conditions can be met, the study investigates an intriguing hypothesis concerning the catalyzing of sustainable consensus for cross-border resource management based on a game theoretical approach that employs the use of dilemma of common aversion rather than the more traditional dilemma of competing common interests. Using this lens to investigate a series of events on the Pacific northwestern Canadian-American border in a part of the Fraser Lowland, we look for evidence of the emergence of an active and sustainable CBR to address local trans-border resource management issues. Although our micro-level scale fails to conclusively demonstrate such evidence, it does demonstrate the value of using this approach and suggests a number of avenues for further research.

Stress Response to Long Distance Transportation of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Dobšíková

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The stress responses and changes in biochemical and haematological indices were investigated in three-year-old common carp (Cyprinus carpio L. during a long-distance transportation in special truck tanks. Twelve-hour transportation caused a significant increase in ammonia (p < 0.01, mean corpuscular volume MCV (p < 0.01, metamyelocytes ( p < 0.05 and band neutrophils (p < 0.01, and a significant decrease in Cl- (p < 0.05, lactate (p < 0.05, ALT (p < 0.05 and ALP (p < 0.01 levels. The values of LDH (p < 0.01, AST (p < 0.05, CK (p < 0.01 and haematocrit PCV (p < 0.05 were also significantly influenced by the transportation, but no time-dependent relation was found. On the contrary, the levels of cortisol, glucose and total protein in the biochemical profile, and the values of erythrocyte count (RBC, haemoglobin (Hb, mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC, leukocyte counts (WBC and leukogram (except for metamyelocytes and band neutrophils in the haematological profile were not significantly influenced by the transportation. Results showed that pre-transport fish manipulation (hauling, netting, handling, loading was found to be an important stressor for fish. Long-distance transportation itself was relatively considerate for the common carp tested.

Valuing Essays: Essaying Values

Science.gov (United States)

Badley, Graham

2010-01-01

The essay regularly comes under attack. It is criticised for being rigidly linear rather than flexible and reflective. I first challenge this view by examining reasons why the essay should be valued as an important genre. Secondly, I propose that in using the essay form students and academics necessarily exemplify their own critical values. Essays…

Investigation of the Performance of Multidimensional Equating Procedures for Common-Item Nonequivalent Groups Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burcu ATAR

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, the performance of the multidimensional extentions of Stocking-Lord, mean/mean, and mean/sigma equating procedures under common-item nonequivalent groups design was investigated. The performance of those three equating procedures was examined under the combination of various conditions including sample size, ability distribution, correlation between two dimensions, and percentage of anchor items in the test. Item parameter recovery was evaluated calculating RMSE (root man squared error and BIAS values. It was found that Stocking-Lord procedure provided the smaller RMSE and BIAS values for both item discrimination and item difficulty parameter estimates across most conditions.

The value of self-medication: summary of existing evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Noone, Joshua; Blanchette, Christopher M

2018-02-01

The aim of this review was to identify the international evidence that is currently available on the economic value of self-care through responsible self-medication, in terms of the measures related to access to treatment, time, and productivity. A targeted literature search was conducted for 1990-2016, including data gathered from members of the World Self-Medication Industry and searches on PubMed, EBSCOHost, and Google Scholar. Specific searches of individual drug classes known to be switched to non-prescription status in this period were also conducted. A total of 71 articles were identified, of which 17 (11 modeling studies, six retrospective analyses) were included in the review. Evidence from modeling studies and retrospective analyses of grouped data across a range of common conditions for which non-prescription medications are available in different countries/regions showed that the use of non-prescription products for the treatment of common conditions or for symptom management (e.g. allergies, chronic pain, migraine, vaginitis, gastrointestinal symptoms, or common cold symptoms) had considerable value to patients, payers, and employers alike in terms of cost savings and improved productivity. Potential benefits of self-medication were also identified in preventative healthcare strategies, such as those for cardiovascular health and osteoporosis. This review was limited by a targeted, but non-systematic approach to literature retrieval, as well as the inclusion of unpublished reports/white papers and patient self-reported data. The evidence identified in this literature review shows that responsible, appropriate self-medication with non-prescription products can provide significant economic benefits for patients, employers, and healthcare systems worldwide.

Haematological and Biochemical Parameters during the Laying Period in Common Pheasant Hens Housed in Enhanced Cages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Hrabčáková

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The development of selected haematological and biochemical parameters during the laying period was monitored in common pheasant hens housed in an enhanced cage system. The cages were enhanced by the addition of two perches and a shelter formed by strips of cloth hanging in the corner of the cage. The results showed significant changes in the haematological and biochemical parameters monitored during egg laying. At the time when laying capacity approached a maximum, a decrease was observed (P<0.05 in haematocrit, erythrocytes, and haemoglobin values, whereas monocytes, eosinophils, the heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, phosphorus, and calcium exhibited an increase (P<0.05. At the end of the laying period, an increase (P<0.05 was recorded in the count of leukocytes, heterophils, lymphocytes and basophils, the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, and the concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase, cholesterol, phosphorus, and calcium, whereas lower values (P<0.05 were recorded for haematocrit and plasma total protein in comparison with the values of the indicators at the beginning of the laying period. The results provide new information about dynamic changes in selected haematological and biochemical parameters in clinically healthy common pheasant hens during the laying period.

Common Misconceptions about Cholesterol

Science.gov (United States)

... Venous Thromboembolism Aortic Aneurysm More Common Misconceptions about Cholesterol Updated:Jan 29,2018 How much do you ... are some common misconceptions — and the truth. High cholesterol isn’t a concern for children. High cholesterol ...

The values of occupational therapy: Perceptions of occupational therapists in Quebec.

Science.gov (United States)

Drolet, Marie-Josée; Désormeaux-Moreau, Marjorie

2016-07-01

Recently, there has been increasing interest in the values of occupational therapy and the values held by occupational therapists. A wide range of values has been reported in the literature. Furthermore, despite the fact that values are an important part of professional identity, empirical studies have demonstrated that several occupational therapists possess an ambiguous professional identity. This study was undertaken to explore the values of Canadian occupational therapists, specifically French-speaking occupational therapists in Quebec. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 occupational therapists. Their narratives were subject to hermeneutic analysis, a method of textual analysis common in philosophical research. A total of 16 values were identified in the discourses of the occupational therapists interviewed: autonomy; human dignity; occupational participation; social justice and equity; professionalism; holism; partnership, environment, or ecological approach; quality of life; solicitude; honesty; integrity; health; creativity; professional autonomy; effectiveness; and spirituality. The results of this study are, in general, consistent with those reported in the few other empirical studies that have documented the values perceptions of occupational therapists. Finally, the explanation of the values of occupational therapists may reinforce their professional identity and favour best, or at least desirable, professional practices related to ethics and culture.

Estimating the option value of a non-firm electricity tariff

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, J.; Horii, B.; Price, S.; Olson, A.; Woo, C.K.

2010-01-01

We estimate the option value of a non-firm electricity tariff commonly used by a local distribution company (LDC) in its electricity demand response program. This option value captures the benefit that a LDC enjoys from not serving an end-use load during high-price hours in a wholesale electricity market. It is conservative in that it does not include the cost savings in meeting the LDC's resource adequacy requirement or deferring transmission and distribution (T and D) investments necessary for delivering reliable service. Illustrated by a Northern California example, our two-pronged approach entails (a) a set of summer monthly market price regressions to forecast daily spot price distributions that incorporate uncertainty in natural gas price and weather; and (b) a simulation exercise to quantify the tariff's value under a specific design. The results indicate that a non-firm service tariff can have varying option value estimates that are highly sensitive to the tariff's design, and that an incentive payment based on the option value alone is likely insufficient to attract customer participation in a non-firm service program. (author)

Investigation of isolation conditions and ion-exchange purification of protein coagulation components from common bean seed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antov Mirjana G.

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Investigation of an extraction procedure of protein coagulants from common bean seed regarding concentration of NaCl and pH was performed. High values of protein concentration and coagulation activity in crude extract (9.19 g/l and 23.9%, respectively were obtained when the extraction was performed using 0.5 mol/l NaCl and water as solvent, which represents an advantage for economic and environmental reasons. Crude extract of common bean seed was purified by precipitation at two different percentages of (NH42SO4 saturation, followed by batch ion-exchange chromatography. The highest obtained coagulation activity, 45%, was determined in fraction that was eluated at 1.75 mol/l NaCl from resin loaded with proteins precipitated upon 80-100% (NH42SO4 saturation. High values of coagulation activity showed by some eluates suggest their application as natural coagulant for water purification. .

Uncertainties and quantification of common cause failure rates and probabilities for system analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaurio, Jussi K.

2005-01-01

Simultaneous failures of multiple components due to common causes at random times are modelled by constant multiple-failure rates. A procedure is described for quantification of common cause failure (CCF) basic event probabilities for system models using plant-specific and multiple-plant failure-event data. Methodology is presented for estimating CCF-rates from event data contaminated with assessment uncertainties. Generalised impact vectors determine the moments for the rates of individual systems or plants. These moments determine the effective numbers of events and observation times to be input to a Bayesian formalism to obtain plant-specific posterior CCF-rates. The rates are used to determine plant-specific common cause event probabilities for the basic events of explicit fault tree models depending on test intervals, test schedules and repair policies. Three methods are presented to determine these probabilities such that the correct time-average system unavailability can be obtained with single fault tree quantification. Recommended numerical values are given and examples illustrate different aspects of the methodology

Preliminary investigation on reliability of genomic estimated breeding values in the Danish and Swedish Holstein Population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Su, G; Guldbrandtsen, B; Gregersen, V R

2010-01-01

or no effects, and a single prior distribution common for all SNP. It was found that, in general, the model with a common prior distribution of scaling factors had better predictive ability than any mixture prior models. Therefore, a common prior model was used to estimate SNP effects and breeding values......Abstract This study investigated the reliability of genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) in the Danish Holstein population. The data in the analysis included 3,330 bulls with both published conventional EBV and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. After data editing, 38,134 SNP markers...... were available. In the analysis, all SNP were fitted simultaneously as random effects in a Bayesian variable selection model, which allows heterogeneous variances for different SNP markers. The response variables were the official EBV. Direct GEBV were calculated as the sum of individual SNP effects...

Motivational Deficits in Schizophrenia and the Representation of Expected Value

Science.gov (United States)

Waltz, James A.; Gold, James M.

2016-01-01

Motivational deficits (avolition and anhedonia) have historically been considered important negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Numerous studies have attempted to identify the neural substrates of avolition and anhedonia in schizophrenia, but these studies have not produced much agreement. Deficits in various aspects of reinforcement processing have been observed in individuals with schizophrenia, but it is not exactly clear which of these deficits actually engender motivational impairments in SZ. The purpose of this chapter is to examine how various reinforcement-related behavioral and neural signals could contribute to motivational impairments in both schizophrenia, and psychiatric illness, in general. In particular, we describe different aspects of the concept of expected value (EV), such as the distinction between the EV of stimuli and the expected value of actions, the acquisition of value vs. the estimation of value, and the discounting of value as a consequence of time or effort required. We conclude that avolition and anhedonia in SZ are most commonly tied to aberrant signals for expected value, in the context of learning. We discuss implications for further research on the neural substrates of motivational impairments in psychiatric illness. PMID:26370946

Sharing Values as a Foundation for Collective Hope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niki Harré

2017-08-01

Full Text Available A widespread “tale of terror” amongst those seeking social change is that people in modern Western societies are caught in a neo-liberal paradigm and have come to care most about materialism, individual success and status. Our research attempted to challenge this tale. Study 1 involved New Zealand participants (N = 1085 from largely, but not exclusively, left-leaning groups. We used an open-ended process to identify their “infinite” values (that which they consider of value for its own sake; and found these concerned connection to people and other life forms, expression, nature, personal strengths, vitality, and spirituality. Systems and regulations, success and status, money, ownership and domination were named as of “finite” value (of value because of what they signify or enable. These findings suggest that our participants readily distinguished between what is inherently valuable and what is of instrumental value or signifies social status. Study 2 (N = 121 investigated participants’ responses to a word cloud that displayed the infinite values identified in Study 1. These were predominantly a sense of belonging to a human community, reassurance, and feeling uplifted and hopeful. We suggest that the word cloud offered a “tale of joy” showing that, contrary to standard neo-liberal rhetoric, people do care deeply about the common good. We also suggest that such a tale is critical to social movements that depend on a sense of collective hope.

A Taste of Inequality: Food’s Symbolic Value across the Socioeconomic Spectrum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priya Fielding-Singh

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Scholars commonly account for dietary disparities across socioeconomic status (SES using structural explanations that highlight differences in individuals' wealth, income, or location. These explanations emphasize food’s material value. But food also carries symbolic value. This article shows how food's symbolic value helps drive dietary disparities. In-depth interviews with 160 parents and adolescents and 80 hours of observations with four families demonstrate how a family's socioeconomic position in part shapes the meanings that parents attach to food. These differing meanings contribute to distinct feeding strategies across the socioeconomic spectrum: whereas low-SES parents use food to buffer against deprivation, high-SES parents provision food to fulfill classed values around health and parenting. The findings suggest that an understanding of how families' material circumstances shape food's symbolic value is critical to fully account for dietary differences across SES.

An Exercise on Calibration: DRIFTS Study of Binary Mixtures of Calcite and Dolomite with Partially Overlapping Spectral Features

Science.gov (United States)

De Lorenzi Pezzolo, Alessandra

2013-01-01

Unlike most spectroscopic calibrations that are based on the study of well-separated features ascribable to the different components, this laboratory experience is especially designed to exploit spectral features that are nearly overlapping. The investigated system consists of a binary mixture of two commonly occurring minerals, calcite and…

A Phenomenological Study of the Factors Leading Low Socioeconomic Status Urban Students to Enroll in a University

Science.gov (United States)

Schultheis, Luke D.

2013-01-01

Low socioeconomic urban students do not attend universities at a rate proportional to other populations. This perpetuates a cycle of recurrence and diminished potential benefits associated with degree attainment. The commonly ascribed Theory of Student Choice (Hossler, Braxton & Coopersmith, 1989) does not apply to this population. The purpose…

Professional values, self-esteem, and ethical confidence of baccalaureate nursing students.

Science.gov (United States)

Iacobucci, Trisha A; Daly, Barbara J; Lindell, Debbie; Griffin, Mary Quinn

2013-06-01

Professional identity and competent ethical behaviors of nursing students are commonly developed through curricular inclusion of professional nursing values education. Despite the enactment of this approach, nursing students continue to express difficulty in managing ethical conflicts encountered in their practice. This descriptive correlational study explores the relationships between professional nursing values, self-esteem, and ethical decision making among senior baccalaureate nursing students. A convenience sample of 47 senior nursing students from the United States were surveyed for their level of internalized professional nursing values (Revised Professional Nursing Values Scale), level of self-esteem (Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale), and perceived level of confidence in ethical decision making. A significant positive relationship (p self-esteem. The results of this study can be useful to nursing educators whose efforts are focused on promoting professional identity development and competent ethical behaviors of future nurses.

Overstating values: medical facts, diverse values, bioethics and values-based medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Malcolm

2013-02-01

Fulford has argued that (1) the medical concepts illness, disease and dysfunction are inescapably evaluative terms, (2) illness is conceptually prior to disease, and (3) a model conforming to (2) has greater explanatory power and practical utility than the conventional value-free medical model. This 'reverse' model employs Hare's distinction between description and evaluation, and the sliding relationship between descriptive and evaluative meaning. Fulford's derivative 'Values Based Medicine' (VBM) readjusts the imbalance between the predominance of facts over values in medicine. VBM allegedly responds to the increased choices made available by, inter alia, the progress of medical science itself. VBM attributes appropriate status to evaluative meaning, where strong consensus about descriptive meaning is lacking. According to Fulford, quasi-legal bioethics, while it can be retained as a kind of deliberative framework, is outcome-based and pursues 'the right answer', while VBM approximates a democratic, process-oriented method for dealing with diverse values, in partnership with necessary contributions from evidence-based medicine (EBM). I support the non-cognitivist underpinnings of VBM, and its emphasis on the importance of values in medicine. But VBM overstates the complexity and diversity of values, misrepresents EBM and VBM as responses to scientific and evaluative complexity, and mistakenly depicts 'quasi-legal bioethics' as a space of settled descriptive meaning. Bioethical reasoning can expose strategies that attempt to reduce authentic values to scientific facts, illustrating that VBM provides no advantage over bioethics in delineating the connections between facts and values in medicine. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleming, Patricia

2006-01-01

Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management and specifically the question facing the United States' program regarding an acceptable dose standard associated with the release of radioactivity into the biosphere from an underground repository. The underlying conference theme to which this discussion may be attached is community environmental justice as it applies to future citizens. I focus on the role that uncertainty plays is providing justice between present and future citizens

Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fleming, Patricia [Creighton Univ., Omaha (United States). College of Arts and Sciences/Philosophy

2006-09-15

Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management and specifically the question facing the United States' program regarding an acceptable dose standard associated with the release of radioactivity into the biosphere from an underground repository. The underlying conference theme to which this discussion may be attached is community environmental justice as it applies to future citizens. I focus on the role that uncertainty plays is providing justice between present and future citizens.

The Economic Value of Predicting Bond Risk Premia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sarno, Lucio; Schneider, Paul; Wagner, Christian

the expectations hypothesis (EH) out-ofsample: the forecasts do not add economic value compared to using the average historical excess return as an EH-consistent estimate of constant risk premia. We show that in general statistical signicance does not necessarily translate into economic signicance because EH...... deviations mainly matter at short horizons and standard predictability metrics are not compatible with common measures of economic value. Overall, the EH remains the benchmark for investment decisions and should be considered an economic prior in models of bond risk premia.......This paper studies whether the evident statistical predictability of bond risk premia translates into economic gains for bond investors. We show that ane term structure models (ATSMs) estimated by jointly tting yields and bond excess returns capture this predictive information otherwise hidden...

The value of information in electricity investment games

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Fernando

2008-01-01

In this paper we look at the assumptions behind a Cournot model of investment in electricity markets. We analyze how information influences investment, looking at the way common knowledge of marginal costs, expectations on the competitors' marginal costs, expectations on the level and duration of demand, and conjectures on the others' behavior, influence the value of a project. We expose how the results are highly dependent on the assumptions used, and how the investment Nash-Cournot game with perfect and complete information implies such a degree of coordination between players that the outcome of the game would be classified by any regulation law as collusive behavior. Furthermore, we introduce the concept of Nash Value of Complete Information. As an example we use a stylized model of investment in liberalized electricity markets

Diagnostic value of WIF1 methylation for colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis

OpenAIRE

Hu, Haochang; Li, Bin; Zhou, Cong; Ying, Xiuru; Chen, Min; Huang, Tianyi; Chen, Yuehong; Ji, Huihui; Pan, Ranran; Wang, Tiangong; Jiang, Danjie; Chen, Yanfei; Yang, Yong; Duan, Shiwei

2018-01-01

As a common antagonist of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF1) plays an important role in the tumor progression. The aim of our meta-analysis was to summarize the diagnostic value of WIF1 methylation in colorectal cancer (CRC). Eligible studies were retrieved by a systemic search among PubMed, Embase, CNKI, and Wanfang literature databases. The diagnostic value of WIF1 methylation for CRC was assessed by the summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) test. Our meta-a...

Eliciting the Intension of Drug Value Sets – Principles and Quality Assurance Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Bahr, Nathan J.; Nelson, Scott D.; Winnenburg, Rainer; Bodenreider, Olivier

2018-01-01

Value sets (VSs) used in electronic clinical quality measures are lists of codes from standard terminologies (“extensional” VSs), whose purpose (“intension”) is not always explicitly stated. We elicited the intension for the 09/01/2014 release of extensional medication value sets by comparison to drug classes from the October 2014 release of RxClass. Value sets matched drug classes if they shared common ingredients, as evidenced by Jaccard similarity score. We elicited the intension of 80 extensional value sets. The average Jaccard similarity was 0.65 for single classes and 0.80 for combination classes, with 34% (27/80) of the value sets having high similarity scores. Manual review by a pharmacist indicated 51% (41/80) of the drug classes selected as the best mapping for a value set matched the intension reflected in that value set name. This approach has the potential for facilitating the development and maintenance of medication value sets. PMID:29295218

How Common Is PTSD?

Science.gov (United States)

... Center for PTSD » Public » How Common Is PTSD? PTSD: National Center for PTSD Menu Menu PTSD PTSD Home For the Public ... here Enter ZIP code here How Common Is PTSD? Public This section is for Veterans, General Public, ...

Forecasting Value-at-Risk Using Nonlinear Regression Quantiles and the Intraday Range

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.W.S. Chen (Cathy); R. Gerlach (Richard); B.B.K. Hwang (Bruce); M.J. McAleer (Michael)

2011-01-01

textabstractValue-at-Risk (VaR) is commonly used for financial risk measurement. It has recently become even more important, especially during the 2008-09 global financial crisis. We propose some novel nonlinear threshold conditional autoregressive VaR (CAViar) models that incorporate intra-day

COMMON GROUNDS BETWEEN PRINTMAKING AND STREET ART

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burcak Balamber

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Graffiti movement, born as a result of an effort of the youth, who felt themselves socially excluded and alone, to show their existence and identities during the 1960s, expanded its scope owing to street based artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat entering to the galleries, and transformed into an artistic manner of expression having aesthetic concerns by adopting a more inclusive definition ‘street art’. During this transformation of street art,street artists experimented with various methods from many different disciplines and hence created works in a wide range of varieties in terms of plastic and artistic values. Among these disciplines, printmakinghastaken its own place in street artas a discipline thatdeeply influenced street artists.Printmaking has fascinated street artists and become a part of their production process, not only with its philosophy sharing common grounds with street art and advantages in terms of its tecnical practices but also its unique plastic and linear values.Thanks to the opportunities of printmaking, street art has succeeded creating a tremendous impression worldwide, and even positioned itself into today’s greatest museums/gallery halls. This article aims to show how and in what way printmaking has influenced street art being in a transformation since the 1960s, and to put an emphasis on theimportance of printmaking on today’s street art.

The common ancestry of life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolf Yuri I

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background It is common belief that all cellular life forms on earth have a common origin. This view is supported by the universality of the genetic code and the universal conservation of multiple genes, particularly those that encode key components of the translation system. A remarkable recent study claims to provide a formal, homology independent test of the Universal Common Ancestry hypothesis by comparing the ability of a common-ancestry model and a multiple-ancestry model to predict sequences of universally conserved proteins. Results We devised a computational experiment on a concatenated alignment of universally conserved proteins which shows that the purported demonstration of the universal common ancestry is a trivial consequence of significant sequence similarity between the analyzed proteins. The nature and origin of this similarity are irrelevant for the prediction of "common ancestry" of by the model-comparison approach. Thus, homology (common origin of the compared proteins remains an inference from sequence similarity rather than an independent property demonstrated by the likelihood analysis. Conclusion A formal demonstration of the Universal Common Ancestry hypothesis has not been achieved and is unlikely to be feasible in principle. Nevertheless, the evidence in support of this hypothesis provided by comparative genomics is overwhelming. Reviewers this article was reviewed by William Martin, Ivan Iossifov (nominated by Andrey Rzhetsky and Arcady Mushegian. For the complete reviews, see the Reviewers' Report section.

MDEP Common Position CP-VICWG-01. Common Position: Establishment of Common QA/QM Criteria for the Multinational Vendor Inspection CP-VICWG-01

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

This document provides a set of common positions for harmonizing inspection criteria called 'Common QA/QM Criteria' which will be used in Multinational Vendor Inspections. This document was prepared by the Vendor Inspection Co-operation Working Group (VICWG) of the Multinational Design Evaluation Program (MDEP). The 'Common QA/QM Criteria' provides the basic areas for consideration when performing Vendor Inspections. The criteria have been developed in conformity with International Codes and Standards such as IAEA, ISO, etc. that MDEP member countries have adopted

Commons problems, common ground: Earth-surface dynamics and the social-physical interdisciplinary frontier

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarus, E.

2015-12-01

In the archetypal "tragedy of the commons" narrative, local farmers pasture their cows on the town common. Soon the common becomes crowded with cows, who graze it bare, and the arrangement of open access to a shared resource ultimately fails. The "tragedy" involves social and physical processes, but the denouement depends on who is telling the story. An economist might argue that the system collapses because each farmer always has a rational incentive to graze one more cow. An ecologist might remark that the rate of grass growth is an inherent control on the common's carrying capacity. And a geomorphologist might point out that processes of soil degradation almost always outstrip processes of soil production. Interdisciplinary research into human-environmental systems still tends to favor disciplinary vantages. In the context of Anthropocene grand challenges - including fundamental insight into dynamics of landscape resilience, and what the dominance of human activities means for processes of change and evolution on the Earth's surface - two disciplines in particular have more to talk about than they might think. Here, I use three examples - (1) beach nourishment, (2) upstream/downstream fluvial asymmetry, and (3) current and historical "land grabbing" - to illustrate a range of interconnections between physical Earth-surface science and common-pool resource economics. In many systems, decision-making and social complexity exert stronger controls on landscape expression than do physical geomorphological processes. Conversely, human-environmental research keeps encountering multi-scale, emergent problems of resource use made 'common-pool' by water, nutrient and sediment transport dynamics. Just as Earth-surface research can benefit from decades of work on common-pool resource systems, quantitative Earth-surface science can make essential contributions to efforts addressing complex problems in environmental sustainability.

The erosion of African communal values: a reappraisal of the African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... the question: How can we retrieve the communal cultural values of tolerance, humanity, respect and some of common elements of our cultural treasures of Ubuntu that African communities used to be proud of? Using the philosophy of Ubuntu as a hermeneutic key, I argue that any member of a community whose personal ...

Twenty-First Century Diseases: Commonly Rare and Rarely Common?

Science.gov (United States)

Daunert, Sylvia; Sittampalam, Gurusingham Sitta; Goldschmidt-Clermont, Pascal J

2017-09-20

Alzheimer's drugs are failing at a rate of 99.6%, and success rate for drugs designed to help patients with this form of dementia is 47 times less than for drugs designed to help patients with cancers ( www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-alzheimer-s-drugs-keep-failing/2014 ). How can it be so difficult to produce a valuable drug for Alzheimer's disease? Each human has a unique genetic and epigenetic makeup, thus endowing individuals with a highly unique complement of genes, polymorphisms, mutations, RNAs, proteins, lipids, and complex sugars, resulting in distinct genome, proteome, metabolome, and also microbiome identity. This editorial is taking into account the uniqueness of each individual and surrounding environment, and stresses the point that a more accurate definition of a "common" disorder could be simply the amalgamation of a myriad of "rare" diseases. These rare diseases are being grouped together because they share a rather constant complement of common features and, indeed, generally respond to empirically developed treatments, leading to a positive outcome consistently. We make the case that it is highly unlikely that such treatments, despite their statistical success measured with large cohorts using standardized clinical research, will be effective on all patients until we increase the depth and fidelity of our understanding of the individual "rare" diseases that are grouped together in the "buckets" of common illnesses. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 511-516.

How “moral” are the principles of biomedical ethics? – a cross-domain evaluation of the common morality hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The principles of biomedical ethics – autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice – are of paradigmatic importance for framing ethical problems in medicine and for teaching ethics to medical students and professionals. In order to underline this significance, Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress base the principles in the common morality, i.e. they claim that the principles represent basic moral values shared by all persons committed to morality and are thus grounded in human moral psychology. We empirically investigated the relationship of the principles to other moral and non-moral values that provide orientations in medicine. By way of comparison, we performed a similar analysis for the business & finance domain. Methods We evaluated the perceived degree of “morality” of 14 values relevant to medicine (n1 = 317, students and professionals) and 14 values relevant to business & finance (n2 = 247, students and professionals). Ratings were made along four dimensions intended to characterize different aspects of morality. Results We found that compared to other values, the principles-related values received lower ratings across several dimensions that characterize morality. By interpreting our finding using a clustering and a network analysis approach, we suggest that the principles can be understood as “bridge values” that are connected both to moral and non-moral aspects of ethical dilemmas in medicine. We also found that the social domain (medicine vs. business & finance) influences the degree of perceived morality of values. Conclusions Our results are in conflict with the common morality hypothesis of Beauchamp and Childress, which would imply domain-independent high morality ratings of the principles. Our findings support the suggestions by other scholars that the principles of biomedical ethics serve primarily as instruments in deliberated justifications, but lack grounding in a universal “common morality”. We

Plasma cortisol and metabolite level profiles in two isogenic strains of common carp during confinement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruane, N.M.; Huisman, E.A.; Komen, J.

2001-01-01

A rapid increase in common carp Cyprinus carpio plasma cortisol levels was noted, in two experiments, after 30 mins of a 3 h net confinement, which was sustained while the fish were held in the nets. After release from the nets, cortisol levels returned to control values in 1 h. Plasma glucose and

The dependence of prices on labour-values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Guerrero

2011-06-01

Full Text Available It is frequently believed, in a quite schizophrenic fashion, that a theory of value must just solve the question of “relative prices” (a microeconomic problem, being mainly the theory of money the piece needed for determining the absolute or monetary level of prices (a macroeconomic problem. But on the one hand, the determination of the level of prices is theoretically prior to any consideration of the money market, whereas on the other hand no theory of value can aspire to be complete without the determination of the absolute level of values. It will be shown in this paper that only the Labour theory of value (LTV can perform both tasks, thus giving completeness and unity to economic theory. It is frequently acknowledged that, as labour is—or “is treated as”, as the critics of the LTV say—the only factor of production of value (even if it is just one of the several factors producing wealth, the determination of prices is independent of demand in the long run. However, prices are not determined by technical or physical data plus wages, contrarily to what is commonly thought. It is only the couple formed by “relative prices and the rate of profit” that is determined by them, as well as the couple “relative values and the rate of surplus value”. By contrast, it can be shown that absolute prices crucially depend on, and in fact are determined by, absolute values, what will be illustrated in this paper by means of a numerical example of an economy with only two industries, where for example halving the quantity of labour or value reduces the level of prices by a 50%. The path of thought that will lead us to these conclusions requires previous clarifications of the several and frequently poorly understood Marxian concepts of value (and price, and a new view on the question of the transformation of “value prices” (Marx’s term into “production prices”, both of which will be developed simultaneously with the main line of

Extending Value Logic Thinking to Value Logic Portfolios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Poul Houman; Ritter, Thomas

2014-01-01

Based on value creation logic theory (Stabell & Fjeldstad, 1998), this paper suggests an extension of the original Stabell & Fjeldstad model by an additional fourth value logic, the value system logic. Furthermore, instead of only allowing one dominant value creation logic for a given firm...... or transaction, an understanding of firms and transactions as a portfolio of value logics (i.e. an interconnected coexistence of different value creation logics) is proposed. These additions to the original value creation logic theory imply interesting avenues for both, strategic decision making in firms...

Vocabulary of hospitality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bedir, M.

2014-01-01

Attitudes about refugees begin with the words we ascribe them. In Turkey – which has historically absorbed newcomers from a variety of outside conflicts – the term ‘guest’ is commonly used. Taking this as a starting point, Merve Bedir questions the laws of hospitality in Turkey, and the inherent

Why Culture Matters in Health Interventions: Lessons from HIV/AIDS Stigma and NCDs

Science.gov (United States)

Airhihenbuwa, Collins O.; Ford, Chandra L.; Iwelunmor, Juliet I.

2014-01-01

Theories about health behavior are commonly used in public health and often frame problems as ascribed or related to individuals' actions or inaction. This framing suggests that poor health occurs because individuals are unable or unwilling to heed preventive messages or recommended treatment actions. The recent United Nations call for…

Opportunities for diabetes prevention: risk factors for diabetes and cost-effectiveness of interventions = Mogelijkheden voor diabetespreventie : risicofactoren voor diabetes en kosteneffectiviteit van interventies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs-van der Bruggen, M.A.M.

2010-01-01

Diabetes is already one of the most common chronic diseases in the Dutch population and a substantial further increase in the number of people with diabetes is expected in the near future. A large part of the burden of diabetes can be ascribed to the cardiovascular complications of diabetes which

Brain Migration Revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Vinokur, Annie

2006-01-01

The "brain drain/brain gain" debate has been going on for the past 40 years, with irresolvable theoretical disputes and unenforceable policy recommendations that economists commonly ascribe to the lack of reliable empirical data. The recent report of the World Bank, "International migration, remittances and the brain drain", documents the…

THE INFLUENCE OF ECONOMIC VALUE ADDED AND MARKET VALUE ADDED ON CORPORATE VALUE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taslim F.A.

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This research aims to determine the influence of economic value added and market value added on corporate value of manufacturing companies on sector consumer goods industry listed in Indonesia Stock Exchanges of 2011-2014. The sample of this research was 10 manufacturing companies on sector consumer goods industry listed in Indonesia Stock Exchanges. The method used was purposive sampling technique. This research used confirmatory factor analysis to form a combined proxy of corporate value comprised price earning ratio, price to book value and Tobin's Q.

Autonomy, religious values, and refusal of lifesaving medical treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wreen, M J

1991-09-01

The principal question of this paper is: Why are religious values special in refusal of lifesaving medical treatment? This question is approached through a critical examination of a common kind of refusal of treatment case, one involving a rational adult. The central value cited in defence of honouring such a patient's refusal is autonomy. Once autonomy is isolated from other justificatory factors, however, possible cases can be imagined which cast doubt on the great valuational weight assigned it by strong anti-paternalists. This weight is sufficient, in their estimation, to justify honouring the patient's refusal. There is thus a tension between the strong anti-paternalist's commitment to the sufficiency of autonomy and our intuitions respecting such cases. Attempts can be made to relieve this tension, such as arguing that patients aren't really rational in the circumstances envisaged, or that other values, such as privacy or bodily integrity, if added to autonomy, are sufficient to justify an anti-paternalistic stance. All such attempts fail, however. But what does not fail is the addition of religious freedom, freedom respecting a patient's religious beliefs and values. Why religious freedom reduces the tension is then explained, and the specialness of religious beliefs and values examined.

Comparison of metabolisable energy values of different foodstuffs determined in ostriches and poultry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cilliers, S C; Sales, J; Hayes, J P

1999-01-01

Apparent (AMEn) and true (TMEn) metabolisable energy values, corrected for nitrogen retention, of wheat bran, saltbush (Atriplex nummularia), common reed (Phragmites australis), lupins, soyabean oil cake meal (SBOCM), sunflower oil cake meal (SFOCM) and fishmeal were compared in 7 successive trials...

Science for common entrance physics : answers

CERN Document Server

Pickering, W R

2015-01-01

This book contains answers to all exercises featured in the accompanying textbook Science for Common Entrance: Physics , which covers every Level 1 and 2 topic in the ISEB 13+ Physics Common Entrance exam syllabus. - Clean, clear layout for easy marking. - Includes examples of high-scoring answers with diagrams and workings. - Suitable for ISEB 13+ Mathematics Common Entrance exams taken from Autumn 2017 onwards. Also available to purchase from the Galore Park website www.galorepark.co.uk :. - Science for Common Entrance: Physics. - Science for Common Entrance: Biology. - Science for Common En

Maximizing value for planned maintenance and turnarounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crager, John [Asset Performance Canada, ULC (Canada)

2011-07-01

In this presentation, Asset Performance Canada elaborates on turnaround management, and provides insight into managing strategies and risks associated with turnaround processes. Value is created fast as turnarounds progress from the strategy and scope definition phases towards the planning and execution phases. Turnarounds employ best practice solutions through common processes proven effective by data, research, and experience, ensuring consistent value creation, performance tracking, and shared lesson-learning. Adherence to the turnaround work process by carefully selected planning team members with clearly defined responsibilities and expectations, as well as an effective process for scope collection and management, are crucial to turnaround success. Further to this, a formal risk management process, employing automated risk tracking software and a safety management plan for assessing risks and their severity is also invaluable in avoiding any additional costs and schedule delays. Finally, assessment of team readiness and alignment through use of the turnaround readiness index, and rapid management of discovery work, can aid in contingency management.

Financial modeling in medicine: cash flow, basic metrics, the time value of money, discount rates, and internal rate of return.

Science.gov (United States)

Lexa, Frank James; Berlin, Jonathan W

2005-03-01

In this article, the authors cover tools for financial modeling. Commonly used time lines and cash flow diagrams are discussed. Commonly used but limited terms such as payback and breakeven are introduced. The important topics of the time value of money and discount rates are introduced to lay the foundation for their use in modeling and in more advanced metrics such as the internal rate of return. Finally, the authors broach the more sophisticated topic of net present value.

Quest for Value in Big Earth Data

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Kwo-Sen; Oloso, Amidu O.; Rilee, Mike L.; Doan, Khoa; Clune, Thomas L.; Yu, Hongfeng

2017-04-01

Among all the V's of Big Data challenges, such as Volume, Variety, Velocity, Veracity, etc., we believe Value is the ultimate determinant, because a system delivering better value has a competitive edge over others. Although it is not straightforward to assess the value of scientific endeavors, we believe the ratio of scientific productivity increase to investment is a reasonable measure. Our research in Big Data approaches to data-intensive analysis for Earth Science has yielded some insights, as well as evidences, as to how optimal value might be attained. The first insight is that we should avoid, as much as possible, moving data through connections with relatively low bandwidth. That is, we recognize that moving data is expensive, albeit inevitable. They must at least be moved from the storage device into computer main memory and then to CPU registers for computation. When data must be moved it is better to move them via relatively high-bandwidth connections and avoid low-bandwidth ones. For this reason, a technology that can best exploit data locality will have an advantage over others. Data locality is easy to achieve and exploit with only one dataset. With multiple datasets, data colocation becomes important in addition to data locality. However, the organization of datasets can only be co-located for certain types of analyses. It is impossible for them to be co-located for all analyses. Therefore, our second insight is that we need to co-locate the datasets for the most commonly used analyses. In Earth Science, we believe the most common analysis requirement is "spatiotemporal coincidence". For example, when we analyze precipitation systems, we often would like to know the environment conditions "where and when" (i.e. at the same location and time) there is precipitation. This "where and when" indicates the "spatiotemporal coincidence" requirement. Thus, an associated insight is that datasets need to be partitioned per the physical dimensions, i.e. space

Common-sense ethics in administrative decision making. Part I, Preparatory steps.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, P A; Brown, T

1991-10-01

This is Part 1 of two articles demonstrating the relevance of business ethics to nurse administrators as they confront value-laden issues such as the advantages and disadvantages of 10-12-hour scheduling patterns, understaffing, emerging registered nurse partnerships, and other administrative problems. Common-sense ethics can serve as the basis of just administrative decisions. The authors present a model of preparatory attitudes and behaviors. The steps that they propose do not guarantee success, but if implemented, they may facilitate the nurse administrator's management of diverse ethical issues.

Molar extinction coefficients of some commonly used solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Ashok; Singh, Sukhpal; Singh Mudahar, Gurmel; Singh Thind, Kulwant

2006-01-01

Molar extinction coefficients of some commonly used solvents (ethanol (C 2 H 5 OH), methanol (CH 3 OH), propanol (C 3 H 7 OH), butanol (C 4 H 9 OH), water (H 2 O), toluene (C 7 H 8 ), benzene (C 6 H 6 ), carbontetrachloride (CCl 4 ), acetonitrile (C 4 H 3 N), chlorobenzene (C 6 H 5 Cl), diethylether (C 4 H 1 O) and dioxane (C 4 H 8 O 2 )) have been determined by a well-collimated narrow beam transmission geometry at 279, 356, 662, 1173, 1252 and 1332 keV γ rays. The total γ ray interaction cross sections of these solvents have also been determined. A good agreement has been obtained between the experimental results with the theoretical values evaluated through XCOM calculations

A common base method for analysis of qPCR data and the application of simple blocking in qPCR experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganger, Michael T; Dietz, Geoffrey D; Ewing, Sarah J

2017-12-01

qPCR has established itself as the technique of choice for the quantification of gene expression. Procedures for conducting qPCR have received significant attention; however, more rigorous approaches to the statistical analysis of qPCR data are needed. Here we develop a mathematical model, termed the Common Base Method, for analysis of qPCR data based on threshold cycle values (C q ) and efficiencies of reactions (E). The Common Base Method keeps all calculations in the logscale as long as possible by working with log 10 (E) ∙ C q , which we call the efficiency-weighted C q value; subsequent statistical analyses are then applied in the logscale. We show how efficiency-weighted C q values may be analyzed using a simple paired or unpaired experimental design and develop blocking methods to help reduce unexplained variation. The Common Base Method has several advantages. It allows for the incorporation of well-specific efficiencies and multiple reference genes. The method does not necessitate the pairing of samples that must be performed using traditional analysis methods in order to calculate relative expression ratios. Our method is also simple enough to be implemented in any spreadsheet or statistical software without additional scripts or proprietary components.

Drill and learn: A decision making workflow to quantify value of learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hanea, R.G.; Casanova, P.; Hustoft, L.; Bratvold, R.B.; Nair, R.; Hewson, C.W.; Leeuwenburgh, O.; Fonseca, R.M.

2017-01-01

The goal of reservoir management is to make decisions with the objective of maximizing the value creation from the oil or gas production. In order to do this models that preserve geological realism and have predictive capabilities are being developed and used. These models are commonly calibrated by

Earthworms (Amynthas spp. increase common bean growth, microbial biomass, and soil respiration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julierme Zimmer Barbosa

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Few studies have evaluated the effect of earthworms on plants and biological soil attributes, especially among legumes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of earthworms (Amynthas spp. on growth in the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. and on soil biological attributes. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse using a completely randomized design with five treatments and eight repetitions. The treatments consisted of inoculation with five different quantities of earthworms of the genus Amynthas (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 worms per pot. Each experimental unit consisted of a plastic pot containing 4 kg of soil and two common bean plants. The experiment was harvested 38 days after seedling emergence. Dry matter and plant height, soil respiration, microbial respiration, microbial biomass, and metabolic quotient were determined. Earthworm recovery in our study was high in number and mass, with all values above 91.6% and 89.1%, respectively. In addition, earthworm fresh biomass decreased only in the treatment that included eight earthworms per pot. The presence of earthworms increased the plant growth and improved soil biological properties, suggesting that agricultural practices that favor the presence of these organisms can be used to increase the production of common bean, and the increased soil CO2 emission caused by the earthworms can be partially offset by the addition of common bean crop residues to the soil.

Common-cause analysis using sets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worrell, R.B.; Stack, D.W.

1977-12-01

Common-cause analysis was developed at the Aerojet Nuclear Company for studying the behavior of a system that is affected by special conditions and secondary causes. Common-cause analysis is related to fault tree analysis. Common-cause candidates are minimal cut sets whose primary events are closely linked by a special condition or are susceptible to the same secondary cause. It is shown that common-cause candidates can be identified using the Set Equation Transformation System (SETS). A Boolean equation is used to establish the special conditions and secondary cause susceptibilities for each primary event in the fault tree. A transformation of variables (substituting equals for equals), executed on a minimal cut set equation, results in replacing each primary event by the right side of its special condition/secondary cause equation and leads to the identification of the common-cause candidates

Value encounters - Modeling and analyzing co-creation of value

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weigand, H.; Godart, C.; Gronau, N.; Sharma, S.; Canals, G.

2009-01-01

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

Value encounters : Modelling and analyzing co-creation of value

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weigand, H.; Jayasinghe Arachchig, J.

2009-01-01

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

Commoning in the periphery – The role of the commons for understanding rural continuities and change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emil Sandström

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how commons reproduce over time and introduces the concept of commoning to discuss rural continuities and change. The point of departure is that commons are essential for local community development in that they have an important role for mediating social change and for local identity production. Through an ethnographic and historical study of a number of commons systems from the village of Ängersjö in the Midwest of Sweden, the paper argues for a more historically and socially grounded understanding of how commons evolve. The paper examines Ängersjö’s commons within two broad historical time frames – the pre-industrial (4th to 20th century and the post-industrial time periods (20th century to the present – in order to understand commons, not just as arenas for resource extraction and resource struggles, but also as important contexts for identity formation, local mobilisation and for shaping rural change. The paper reveals how the commons have co-evolved with changes in society at large and how the meanings and functions of the commons have changed throughout history – from being important economic resources – to cultural and symbolic resources that have created new avenues for collective action.

From food to pest

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Laura Vang; Egelund Christensen, Andreas; Danielsen, Finn

2017-01-01

Ecosystem research focuses on goods and services, thereby ascribing beneficial values to the ecosystems. Depending on the context, however, outputs from ecosystems can be both positive and negative. We examined how provisioning services of wild animals and plants can switch between being services...

The impact of processing delay on the exposure index value

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, M. L.; Brennan, P. C.; Last, J.; Rainford, L.

2010-04-01

Digital radiography poses the risk of unnoticed increases in patient dose. Manufacturers responded to this by offering an exposure index (EI) value to clinicians. Use of the EI value in clinical practice is encouraged by the American College of Radiology and American Association of Physicists in Medicine. This study assesses the impact of processing delay on the EI value. An anthropormorphic phantom was used to simulate three radiographic examinations; skull, pelvis and chest. For each examination, the phantom was placed in the optimal position and exposures were chosen in accordance with international guidelines. A Carestream (previously Kodak) computed radiography system was used. The imaging plate was exposed, and processing was delayed in various increments from 30 seconds to 24 hours, representing common delays in clinical practice. The EI value was recorded for each exposure. The EI value decreased considerably with increasing processing delay. The EI value decreased by 100 within 25 minutes delay for the chest, and 20 minutes for the skull and pelvis. Within 1 hour, the EI value had fallen by 180, 160 and 100 for the chest, skull and pelvis respectively. After 24 hours, the value had decreased by 370, 350 and 340 for the chest, skull and pelvis respectively, representing to the clinician more then a halving of exposure to the detector in Carestream systems. The assessment of images using EI values should be approached with caution in clinical practice when delays in processing occur. The use of EI values as a feedback mechanism is questioned.

Comparing the measured basal metabolic rates in patients with chronic disorders of consciousness to the estimated basal metabolic rate calculated from common predictive equations.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Guizhen; Xie, Qiuyou; He, Yanbin; Wang, Ziwen; Chen, Yan; Jiang, Mengliu; Ni, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Qinxian; Murong, Min; Guo, Yequn; Qiu, Xiaowen; Yu, Ronghao

2017-10-01

Accurately predicting the basal metabolic rate (BMR) of patients in a vegetative state (VS) or minimally conscious state (MCS) is critical to proper nutritional therapy, but commonly used equations have not been shown to be accurate. Therefore, we compared the BMR measured by indirect calorimetry (IC) to BMR values estimated using common predictive equations in VS and MCS patients. Body composition variables were measured using the bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) technique. BMR was measured by IC in 82 patients (64 men and 18 women) with VS or MCS. Patients were classified by body mass index as underweight (BMR was estimated for each group using the Harris-Benedict (H-B), Schofield, or Cunningham equations and compared to the measured BMR using Bland-Altman analyses. For the underweight group, there was a significant difference between the measured BMR values and the estimated BMR values calculated using the H-B, Schofield, and Cunningham equations (p BMR values estimated using the H-B and Cunningham equations were different significantly from the measured BMR (p BMR in the normal-weight group. The Schofield equation showed the best concordance (only 41.5%) with the BMR values measured by IC. None of the commonly used equations to estimate BMR were suitable for the VS or MCS populations. Indirect calorimetry is the preferred way to avoid either over or underestimate of BMR values. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Changing values of Farm Animal Genomic Resources. From historical breeds to the Nagoya Protocol.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sakari eTamminen

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the history of AnGRs and claims that over the course of history they have been conceptually transformed from economic, ecologic and scientific life forms into political objects, reflecting in the way in which any valuation of AnGRs is today inherently imbued with national politics and its values enacted by legally binding global conventions. Historically, the first calls to conservation were based on the economic, ecological and scientific values of the AnGR. While the historical arguments are valid and still commonly proposed values for conservation, the AnGR have become highly politicized since the adoption of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD, the subsequent Interlaken Declaration, the Global Plan for Action (GPA and the Nagoya Protocol. The scientific and political definitions of the AnGRs were creatively reshuffled within these documents and the key criteria by which they are now identified and valued today were essentially redefined. The criteria of in-situ condition has become the necessary starting point for all valuation efforts of AnGRs, effectively transforming their previous nature as natural property and global genetic club commons into objects of national concern pertaining to territorially discrete national genetic landscapes, regulated by the sovereign powers of the parties to the global conventions.

Changing values of farm animal genomic resources. from historical breeds to the Nagoya Protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamminen, Sakari

2015-01-01

The paper reviews the history of Animal genetic resources (AnGRs) and claims that over the course of history they have been conceptually transformed from economic, ecologic and scientific life forms into political objects, reflecting in the way in which any valuation of AnGRs is today inherently imbued with national politics and its values enacted by legally binding global conventions. Historically, the first calls to conservation were based on the economic, ecological and scientific values of the AnGR. While the historical arguments are valid and still commonly proposed values for conservation, the AnGR have become highly politicized since the adoption of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), the subsequent Interlaken Declaration, the Global Plan for Action (GPA) and the Nagoya Protocol. The scientific and political definitions of the AnGRs were creatively reshuffled within these documents and the key criteria by which they are now identified and valued today were essentially redefined. The criteria of "in situ condition" has become the necessary starting point for all valuation efforts of AnGRs, effectively transforming their previous nature as natural property and global genetic commons into objects of national concern pertaining to territorially discrete national genetic landscapes, regulated by the sovereign powers of the parties to the global conventions.