Sample records for development working group

  1. Group Work as Facilitation of Spiritual Development for Drug and Alcohol Abusers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Page, Richard C.; Berkow, Daniel N.

    1998-01-01

    Describes group work designed to promote spiritual development with drug and alcohol abusers. Provides a definition of spirituality. Discusses research that relates to the spiritual development of members of drug and alcohol groups. Compares the ways that group work and Alcoholics Anonymous promote spiritual development. (Author/MKA)

  2. The Impact of Instructor's Group Management Strategies on Students' Attitudes to Group Work and Generic Skill Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Natoli, Riccardo; Jackling, Beverley; Seelanatha, Lalith

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines the influence of two distinct group work management strategies on finance students' attitudes towards group work and their perceptions of generic skill development. Using quantitative and qualitative data, comparisons are made between students who experienced a supportive group work environment and students who experienced an…

  3. Impact of Group Development Knowledge on Students' Perceived Importance and Confidence of Group Work Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coers, Natalie; Williams, Jennifer

    2010-01-01

    This study explored the impact of emphasis on the group development process on the perceived importance of and confidence in group work skills and students' perception of group work use in the collegiate classroom as developed by Tuckman and Jensen (1977). The purposive sample utilized in this study included 33 undergraduate students enrolled in…

  4. A Standards-Based Inventory of Foundation Competencies in Social Work with Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macgowan, Mark J.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: This article describes the development of a measure of foundation competencies in group work derived from the Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups. Developed by the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, the Standards have not been widely used. An instrument based on the Standards can help advance…

  5. Multicultural Group Work: A Force for Developing and Healing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Donald

    2007-01-01

    Multicultural group work represents a powerful tool for helping and healing in the context of human diversity. This article summarizes multicultural group work, including task, psychoeducational, counseling, and psychotherapy groups, and describes a group work model for multicultural assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning. Group work…

  6. Group Work. Research Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Karen

    2010-01-01

    According to Johnson and Johnson, group work helps increase student retention and satisfaction, develops strong oral communication and social skills, as well as higher self-esteem (University of Minnesota, n.d.). Group work, when planned and implemented deliberately and thoughtfully helps students develop cognitive and leadership skills as well as…

  7. Group Selection Methods and Contribution to the West Point Leadership Development System (WPLDS)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-08-01

    Government. 14. ABSTRACT Group work in an academic setting can consist of projects or problems students can work on collaboratively. Although pedagogical ...ABSTRACT Group work in an academic setting can consist of projects or problems students can work on collaboratively. Although pedagogical studies...helping students develop intangibles like communication, time management, organization, leadership, interpersonal, and relationship skills. Supporting

  8. Learning and Language: Supporting Group Work so Group Work Supports Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mylett, Terri; Gluck, Russell

    2005-01-01

    This paper reports on developments in teaching and learning for first year employment relations students at the University of Wollongong based on creating conditions of learning informed by Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development" theory. Essentially, this meant emphasising collaborative learning (group work) in the lecture theatre and…

  9. Developing a Parent-Professional Team Leadership Model in Group Work: Work with Families with Children Experiencing Behavioral and Emotional Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ruffolo, Mary C.; Kuhn, Mary T.; Evans, Mary E.

    2006-01-01

    Building on the respective strengths of parent-led and professional-led groups, a parent-professional team leadership model for group interventions was developed and evaluated for families of youths with emotional and behavioral problems. The model was developed based on feedback from 26 parents in focus group sessions and recommendations from…

  10. Validating a work group climate assessment tool for improving the performance of public health organizations

    PubMed Central

    Perry, Cary; LeMay, Nancy; Rodway, Greg; Tracy, Allison; Galer, Joan

    2005-01-01

    Background This article describes the validation of an instrument to measure work group climate in public health organizations in developing countries. The instrument, the Work Group Climate Assessment Tool (WCA), was applied in Brazil, Mozambique, and Guinea to assess the intermediate outcomes of a program to develop leadership for performance improvement. Data were collected from 305 individuals in 42 work groups, who completed a self-administered questionnaire. Methods The WCA was initially validated using Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient and exploratory factor analysis. This article presents the results of a second validation study to refine the initial analyses to account for nested data, to provide item-level psychometrics, and to establish construct validity. Analyses included eigenvalue decomposition analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and validity and reliability analyses. Results This study confirmed the validity and reliability of the WCA across work groups with different demographic characteristics (gender, education, management level, and geographical location). The study showed that there is agreement between the theoretical construct of work climate and the items in the WCA tool across different populations. The WCA captures a single perception of climate rather than individual sub-scales of clarity, support, and challenge. Conclusion The WCA is useful for comparing the climates of different work groups, tracking the changes in climate in a single work group over time, or examining differences among individuals' perceptions of their work group climate. Application of the WCA before and after a leadership development process can help work groups hold a discussion about current climate and select a target for improvement. The WCA provides work groups with a tool to take ownership of their own group climate through a process that is simple and objective and that protects individual confidentiality. PMID:16223447

  11. Albeni Falls Wildlife Mitigation : Annual Report 2002.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Terra-Berns, Mary

    The Albeni Falls Interagency Work Group continued to actively engage in implementing wildlife mitigation actions in 2002. Regular Work Group meetings were held to discuss budget concerns affecting the Albeni Falls Wildlife Mitigation Program, to present potential acquisition projects, and to discuss and evaluate other issues affecting the Work Group and Project. Work Group members protected 1,386.29 acres of wildlife habitat in 2002. To date, the Albeni Falls project has protected approximately 5,914.31 acres of wildlife habitat. About 21% of the total wildlife habitat lost has been mitigated. Administrative activities have increased as more properties are purchased and continue tomore » center on restoration, operation and maintenance, and monitoring. In 2001, Work Group members focused on development of a monitoring and evaluation program as well as completion of site-specific management plans. This year the Work Group began implementation of the monitoring and evaluation program performing population and plant surveys, data evaluation and storage, and map development as well as developing management plans. Assuming that the current BPA budget restrictions will be lifted in the near future, the Work Group expects to increase mitigation properties this coming year with several potential projects.« less

  12. Developing a parent-professional team leadership model in group work: work with families with children experiencing behavioral and emotional problems.

    PubMed

    Ruffolo, Mary C; Kuhn, Mary T; Evans, Mary E

    2006-01-01

    Building on the respective strengths of parent-led and professional-led groups, a parent-professional team leadership model for group interventions was developed and evaluated for families of youths with emotional and behavioral problems. The model was developed based on feedback from 26 parents in focus group sessions and recommendations from mental health professionals in staff meetings. Evaluations of an implementation of the model in a support, empowerment, and education group intervention (S.E.E. group) have demonstrated the usefulness of this approach in work with families of children with behavioral and emotional problems. This article discusses the challenges of instituting the model in an S.E.E. group. It explores how parents and professionals build the team leadership model and the strengths of this approach in working with parents of youths with serious emotional disturbances.

  13. Group Work and the Change of Obstacles over Time: The Influence of Learning Style and Group Composition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soetanto, Danny; MacDonald, Matthew

    2017-01-01

    It is through working in groups that students develop cooperative learning skills and experience. However, group work activity often leads students into a difficult experience, especially for first-year students who are not familiar with group work activities at university. This study explores obstacles faced by first-year students during their…

  14. Taxonomy Working Group Final Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Parsons, Vickie S.; Beil, Robert J.; Terrone, Mark; Barth, Timothy S.; Panontin, Tina L.; Wales, Roxana; Rackley, Michael W.; Milne, James S.; McPherson, John W.; Dutra, Jayne E.; hide

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of the Taxonomy Working Group was to develop a proposal for a common taxonomy to be used by all NASA projects in the classifying of nonconformances, anomalies, and problems. Specifically, the group developed a recommended list of data elements along with general suggestions for the development of a problem reporting system to better serve NASA's need for managing, reporting, and trending project aberrant events. The Group's recommendations are reported in this document.

  15. Evaluation of work stress, turnover intention, work experience, and satisfaction with preceptors of new graduate nurses using a 10-minute preceptor model.

    PubMed

    Hu, Yi-Chun; Chen, Su-Ru; Chen, I-Hui; Shen, Hsi-Che; Lin, Yen-Kuang; Chang, Wen-Yin

    2015-06-01

    Preparing new graduate nurses (NGNs) to achieve standards of nursing competence is challenging; therefore, this study developed and evaluated the effects of a 10-minute preceptor (10MP) model for assisting NGNs in their professional development and increasing their retention in hospitals. A repeated-measures design study, with an intervention and a two-group comparison, was conducted. A total of 107 NGNs participated in the study. At day 7, work stress and work experience were moderately high for the NGNs in both the 10MP and traditional preceptor model (TPM) groups. The preceptorship program showed significant differences between groups (p = 0.001) regarding work stress at months 2 and 3 and work experience at months 1, 2, and 3. The 10MP group reported lower turnover intention and higher satisfaction with the preceptors than the TPM group. The 10MP model is effective at improving training outcomes and facilitating the professional development of NGNs. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

  16. Group attributional training as an effective approach to human resource development under team work systems.

    PubMed

    Wang, Z M

    1994-07-01

    An experimental programme of group attributional training under team work system was conducted as part of human resource development in Chinese industrial enterprises. One hundred and ten shopfloor employees participated in the study. Among them, 58 employees took part in the factorial-designed experiment to find out the effects of attributions on performance, and 52 employees of ten work groups participated in the group attributional training programme twice a week for two months. The results showed that the group attributional training was effective in modifying employees' attributional patterns and enhancing group performance and satisfaction. On the basis of the results, an attributional model of work motivation is proposed, and its theoretical and practical implications for human resource management discussed.

  17. Re-Examining Group Development in Adventure Therapy Groups.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeGraaf, Don; Ashby, Jeff

    1998-01-01

    Small-group development is an important aspect of adventure therapy. Supplementing knowledge of sequential stages of group development with knowledge concerning within-stage nonsequential development yields a richer understanding of groups. Integrating elements of the individual counseling relationship (working alliance, transference, and real…

  18. 77 FR 66856 - Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee: Intercessional Meeting AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-11-07

    ... Committee Working Group Meeting. SUMMARY: A working group of the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) will meet to work on Task Statement 77 concerning the development of new performance...-Technical Ratings. This meeting will be open to the public. DATES: A MERPAC working group will meet on...

  19. Group Work: How to Use Groups Effectively

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burke, Alison

    2011-01-01

    Many students cringe and groan when told that they will need to work in a group. However, group work has been found to be good for students and good for teachers. Employers want college graduates to have developed teamwork skills. Additionally, students who participate in collaborative learning get better grades, are more satisfied with their…

  20. Introduction of the UNIX International Performance Management Work Group

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Newman, Henry

    1993-01-01

    In this paper we presented the planned direction of the UNIX International Performance Management Work Group. This group consists of concerned system developers and users who have organized to synthesize recommendations for standard UNIX performance management subsystem interfaces and architectures. The purpose of these recommendations is to provide a core set of performance management functions and these functions can be used to build tools by hardware system developers, vertical application software developers, and performance application software developers.

  1. IAU Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion Working Group

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ortiz-Gil, A.; García, B.; WG3 of Commission C1 Division C of the IAU

    2017-03-01

    In this talk we present the aims, goals and activities that have been started by the working group on Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion. This working group is part of Commission 1 ''Astronomy Education and Development'' of Division C ''Education, Outreach and Heritage'' of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The working group was born with the aim of developing new strategies and resources to promote the access to Astronomy, both at the profesional and outreach levels, for persons with special needs or for those who could be excluded because of race or sexual orientation (among other reasons). It is composed of astronomers affiliated with the IAU and other volunteers who work in astronomy, education and special needs, as well as partner organizations like the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), Astronomers without Borders (AWB), the Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP) or Universe Awareness (UNAWE). To reach those goals we have started different initiatives which are outlined at the working group’s website, like a repository of resources or the creation of a document about good practices, and the establishment of a tight collaboration with the Working Group about Accessibility of the American Astronomical Society, which was formed recently too.

  2. Development of a Geospatial Data-Sharing Method for Unmanned Vehicles Based on the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-08-01

    the Office of the Secretary of Defense chartered the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Ground Systems ( JAUGS ) Working Group to address these concerns...The JAUGS Working Group was tasked with developing an initial standard for interoperable unmanned ground systems. In 2002, the charter of the... JAUGS Working Group was 1 2 modified such that their efforts would extend to all unmanned systems, not only ground systems. The standard was

  3. The Use of Technology in Group-Work: A Situational Analysis of Students' Reflective Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKinney, Pamela; Sen, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    Group work is a powerful constructivist pedagogy for facilitating students' personal and professional development, but it can be difficult for students to work together in an academic context. The assessed reflective writings of undergraduate students studying Information Management are used as data in this exploration of the group work situation…

  4. Status of Laser/Lidar Working Group Requirements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kavaya, Michael J.; Gentry, Bruce M.

    2006-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation reviews the status of the development of the requirements by the Laser/Lidar working group. Included in the presentation is another viewgraph report on the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) Laser/Lidar working group, by the chairperson of the working group. Some of the uses of Laser and Lidar in earth sciences are reviewed and a roadmap for the future use of the technology is included.

  5. New Developments in Group Counseling.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gladding, Samuel T., Ed.

    Group counseling is a rapidly changing field. This collection of 31 digests examines various aspects of group process and group counseling. The digests are arranged under different subject headings. In section 1, the nature of group work is examined, along with the evolution of group work training since 1990. The second section looks at…

  6. IVS Working Group 4: VLBI Data Structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gipson, John

    2010-01-01

    In 2007 the IVS Directing Board established IVS Working Group 4 on VLBI Data Structures. This note discusses the current VLBI data format, goals for a new format, the history and formation of the Working Group, and a timeline for the development of a new VLBI data format.

  7. Gunn and Heid: Teaching Small Group Development with Reality TV

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kopaczewski, Shana

    2017-01-01

    Courses: Small group communication or any courses with units on group/team work. Objective: In this single-class activity, students will use reality TV to identify Tuckman's five phases of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Students analyze how phases of group development manifest through group interaction…

  8. Breadth of Scientific Activities and Network Station Specifications in the International GPS Service (IGS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, A. W.; Neilan, R. E.; Springer, T. A.; Reigber, Ch.

    2000-01-01

    A strong multipurpose aspect of the International GPS Service (IGS) is revealed by a glance at the titles of current projects and working groups within the IGS: IGS/BIPM Time Transfer Project; Ionosphere Working Group; Troposphere Working Group; International GLONASS Experiment; Working Group on Low-Earth Orbiter Missions; and Tide Gauges, CGPS, and the IGS. The IGS network infrastructure, in large part originally commissioned for geodynamical investigations, has proved to be a valuable asset in developing application-oriented subnetworks whose requirements overlap the characteristics of existing IGS stations and future station upgrades. Issues encountered thus far in the development of multipurpose or multitechnique IGS projects as well as future possibilities will be reviewed.

  9. Spatial Working Memory Ability in Individuals at Ultra High Risk for Psychosis

    PubMed Central

    Goghari, Vina M.; Brett, Caroline; Tabraham, Paul; Johns, Louise; Valmaggia, Lucia; Broome, Matthew; Woolley, James; Bramon, Elvira; Howes, Oliver

    2014-01-01

    The goal of this investigation was to clarify the nature of spatial working memory difficulties in individuals at ultra high risk (UHR) for psychosis. We evaluated spatial working memory and intelligence in 96 individuals at UHR for psychosis, 28 patients with first episode psychosis (FEP), and 23 healthy controls. Fourteen UHR individuals developed a psychotic disorder during follow-up. Compared to controls, the UHR group was impaired in both the short-term maintenance of material and in the effective use of strategy, but not more immediate memory. These impairments were not as severe as those in the FEP group, as the UHR group performed better than the FEP group. A similar pattern of results was found for the intelligence measures. Discriminant function analyses demonstrated short-term maintenance of material significantly differentiated the UHR and healthy control groups even when accounting for full scale intelligence quotient (IQ); whereas full scale IQ significantly differentiated the UHR and FEP groups and FEP and control groups. Notably, within the UHR group, impaired spatial working memory performance was associated with lower global functioning, but not full scale IQ. The subgroup of UHR individuals who later developed psychosis was not significantly more impaired on any aspect of working memory performance than the group of UHR individuals who did not develop psychosis. Given, the relationship between spatial working memory deficits and functional outcome, these results indicate that cognitive remediation could be useful in individuals at UHR for psychosis to potentially improve functioning. PMID:24398256

  10. 78 FR 24289 - Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) Airman Testing Standards and Training Working Group...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-24

    ... Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) Airman Testing Standards and Training Working Group (ATSTWG) AGENCY... FAA will post all comments it receives, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov , including any... several draft documents developed by the Airman Testing Standards and Training Working Group. The...

  11. Creating an Integrated Community-Wide Effort to Enhance Diversity in the Geosciences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manduca, C. A.; Weingroff, M.

    2001-05-01

    Supporting the development and sustenance of a diverse geoscience workforce and improving Earth system education for the full diversity of students are important goals for our community. There are numerous established programs and many new efforts beginning. However, these efforts can become more powerful if dissemination of opportunities, effective practices, and web-based resources enable synergies to develop throughout our community. The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE; www.dlese.org) has developed a working group and a website to support these goals. The DLESE Diversity Working Group provides an open, virtual community for those interested in enhancing diversity in the geosciences. The working group has focused its initial effort on 1) creating a geoscience community engaged in supporting increased diversity that builds on and is integrated with work taking place in other venues; 2) developing a web resource designed to engage and support members of underrepresented groups in learning about the Earth; and 3) assisting in enhancing DLESE collections and services to better support learning experiences of students from underrepresented groups. You are invited to join the working group and participate in these efforts. The DLESE diversity website provides a mechanism for sharing information and resources. Serving as a community database, the website provides a structure in which community members can post announcements of opportunities, information on programs, and links to resources and services. Information currently available on the site includes links to professional society activities; mentoring opportunities; grant, fellowship, employment, and internship opportunities for students and educators; information on teaching students from underrepresented groups; and professional development opportunities of high interest to members of underrepresented groups. These tools provide a starting point for developing a community wide effort to enhance diversity in the geosciences that builds on our collective experiences, knowledge and resources and the work that is taking place in communities around us.

  12. Induced polarization research at Kennecott, 1965-1977

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nelson, Philip H.

    1997-01-01

    Geophysics research and development (R&D) was a small research group at Kennecott Inc. (KEI), a subsidiary of Kennecott Copper Corporation. The research group served Geophysics-Operations, which in turn worked for another subsidiary, Bear Creek Mining Company (BCMC). BCMC did Kennecott's exploration work such as reconnaissance mapping, staking and proving up claims, and assessment drilling. The working environment at Geophysics R&D included emphasis on instrument development and being strongly field oriented; having entrepreneurial leaders engaged in technical work; interaction between R&D and its `customer', the Operations group and; emphasis on lowering costs and increasing production.

  13. Transitioning mental health & psychosocial support: from short-term emergency to sustainable post-disaster development. Humanitarian Action Summit 2011.

    PubMed

    Patel, P P; Russell, J; Allden, K; Betancourt, T S; Bolton, P; Galappatti, A; Hijazi, Z; Johnson, K; Jones, L; Kadis, L; Leary, K; Weissbecker, I; Nakku, J

    2011-12-01

    The Working Group (WG) on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support participated in its second Humanitarian Action Summit in 2011. This year, the WG chose to focus on a new goal: reviewing practice related to transitioning mental health and psychosocial support programs from the emergency phase to long-term development. The Working Group's findings draw on a review of relevant literature as well as case examples. The objective of the Working Group was to identify factors that promote or hinder the long term sustainability of emergency mental health and psychosocial interventions in crisis and conflict, and to provide recommendations for transitioning such programs from relief to development. The Working Group (WG) conducted a review of relevant literature and collected case examples based on experiences and observations of working group members in implementing mental and psychosocial programming in the field. The WG focused on reviewing literature on mental health and psychosocial programs and interventions that were established in conflict, disaster, protracted crisis settings, or transition from acute phase to development phase. The WG utilized case examples from programs in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, Sierra Leone, Aceh (Indonesia), Sri Lanka, and New Orleans (United States). The WG identified five key thematic areas that should be addressed in order to successfully transition lasting and effective mental health and psychosocial programs from emergency settings to the development phase. The five areas identified were as follows: Government and Policy, Human Resources and Training, Programming and Services, Research and Monitoring, and Finance. The group identified several recommendations for each thematic area, which were generated from key lessons learned by working group members through implementing mental health and psychosocial support programs in a variety of settings, some successfully sustained and some that were not.

  14. An Exploration of Group and Member Development in Experiential Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ohrt, Jonathan H.; Prochenko, Yulia; Stulmaker, Hayley; Huffman, David; Fernando, Delini; Swan, Karrie

    2014-01-01

    In this phenomenological study, we explored 52 group members' development in experiential groups. Specifically, participants completed 10 weekly journal reflections about their experiences as members and also reflected on the group's overall development. Four overall themes--exploration, transition, working, closure--as well as multiple subthemes…

  15. Continuing Education of Health Personnel as a Factor in Career Development. Report on a WHO Working Group. EURO Reports and Studies: 6.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    World Health Organization, Copenhagen (Denmark). Regional Office for Europe.

    A World Health Organization (WHO) working group discussed continuing education and career development of health care personnel at a meeting in Budapest, October 31-November 2, 1978. Group members defined continuing education, analyzed its methods and organization in various countries, and explored the relationship of continuing education to career…

  16. Analyzing Effective Communication in Mathematics Group Work: The Role of Visual Mediators and Technical Terms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ryve, Andreas; Nilsson, Per; Pettersson, Kerstin

    2013-01-01

    Analyzing and designing productive group work and effective communication constitute ongoing research interests in mathematics education. In this article we contribute to this research by using and developing a newly introduced analytical approach for examining effective communication within group work in mathematics education. By using data from…

  17. Trans-NCI Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoepidemiology Working Group (PPWG)

    Cancer.gov

    NCI established the Trans-NCI Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoepidemiology Working Group to support development of a comprehensive and interdisciplinary pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacogenomics cancer research program.

  18. Work characteristics predict the development of multi-site musculoskeletal pain.

    PubMed

    Oakman, Jodi; de Wind, Astrid; van den Heuvel, Swenne G; van der Beek, Allard J

    2017-10-01

    Musculoskeletal pain in more than one body region is common and a barrier to sustaining employment. We aimed to examine whether work characteristics predict the development of multi-site pain (MSP), and to determine differences in work-related predictors between age groups. This study is based on 5136 employees from the Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation (STREAM) who reported no MSP at baseline. Measures included physical, emotional, mental, and psychological job demands, social support and autonomy. Predictors of MSP were studied by logistic regression analyses. Univariate and multivariate analyses with age stratification (45-49, 50-54, 55-59, and 60-64 years) were done to explore differences between age groups. All work characteristics with the exception of autonomy were predictive of the development of MSP, with odds ratios varying from 1.21 (95% CI 1.04-1.40) for mental job demands to 1.63 (95% CI 1.43-1.86) for physical job demands. No clear pattern of age-related differences in the predictors of MSP emerged, with the exception of social support, which was predictive of MSP developing in all age groups except for the age group 60-64 years. Adverse physical and psychosocial work characteristics are associated with MSP. Organisations need to comprehensively assess work environments to ensure that all relevant workplace hazards, physical and psychosocial, are identified and then controlled for across all age groups.

  19. The Effect of a New Approach to Group Work on Pupil-Pupil and Teacher-Pupil Interactions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blatchford, Peter; Baines, Ed; Rubie-Davies, Christine; Bassett, Paul; Chowne, Anne

    2006-01-01

    The main impetus for the SPRinG (social pedagogic research into grouping) project was to address the wide gap between the potential of group work and its limited use in schools. It is an ambitious project that developed key principles and strategies to improve the effectiveness of group work in everyday primary classes and across a whole school…

  20. Breaking Cycles of Violence. A Work Group of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement (IWG)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Death Studies, 2005

    2005-01-01

    Violence begets violence and it is important to understand how cycles of violence are perpetuated if we are to find solutions to the global problems they present. A multi-disciplinary group of The International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement has developed a model of the cyclical events that perpetuate violence at all levels including…

  1. Group Work: Pleasure or Pain? An Effective Guidance Activity or a Poor Substitute for One-to-One Interactions with Young People?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Westergaard, Jane

    2013-01-01

    This paper defines the concept of personal learning and development (PLD) group work as a guidance activity in both career counselling and youth support practice. It introduces the FAAST model-a framework for planning, preparing and delivering PLD group sessions (Westergaard in Effective group work with young people. Open University, Maidenhead,…

  2. Progress in the Development of a Prototype Reuse Enablement System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marshall, J. J.; Downs, R. R.; Gilliam, L. J.; Wolfe, R. E.

    2008-12-01

    An important part of promoting software reuse is to ensure that reusable software assets are readily available to the software developers who want to use them. Through dialogs with the community, the NASA Earth Science Data Systems Software Reuse Working Group has learned that the lack of a centralized, domain- specific software repository or catalog system addressing the needs of the Earth science community is a major barrier to software reuse within the community. The Working Group has proposed the creation of such a reuse enablement system, which would provide capabilities for contributing and obtaining reusable software, to remove this barrier. The Working Group has recommended the development of a Reuse Enablement System to NASA and has performed a trade study to review systems with similar capabilities and to identify potential platforms for the proposed system. This was followed by an architecture study to determine an expeditious and cost-effective solution for this system. A number of software packages and systems were examined through both creating prototypes and examining existing systems that use the same software packages and systems. Based on the results of the architecture study, the Working Group developed a prototype of the proposed system using the recommended software package, through an iterative process of identifying needed capabilities and improving the system to provide those capabilities. Policies for the operation and maintenance of the system are being established for the system, and the identification of system policies also has contributed to the development process. Additionally, a test plan is being developed for formal testing of the prototype, to ensure that it meets all of the requirements previously developed by the Working Group. This poster summarizes the results of our work to date, focusing on the most recent activities.

  3. Application of Network Analysis to Identify and Map Relationships between Information Systems in the context of Arctic Sustainability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kontar, Y. Y.

    2017-12-01

    The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States and indigenous communities on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the North. The work of the Council is primarily carried out by six Working Groups: Arctic Contaminants Action Program, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response, Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment, and Sustainable Development Working Group. The Working Groups are composed of researchers and representatives from government agencies. Each Working Group issues numerous scientific assessments and reports on a broad field of subjects, from climate change to emergency response in the Arctic. A key goal of these publications is to contribute to policy-making in the Arctic. Complex networks of information systems and the connections between the diverse elements within the systems have been identified via network analysis. This allowed to distinguish data sources that were used in the composition of the primary publications of the Working Groups. Next step is to implement network analysis to identify and map the relationships between the Working Groups and policy makers in the Arctic.

  4. Overview of MSFC's Applied Fluid Dynamics Analysis Group Activities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Garcia, Roberto; Wang, Tee-See; Griffin, Lisa; Turner, James E. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    This document is a presentation graphic which reviews the activities of the Applied Fluid Dynamics Analysis Group at Marshall Space Flight Center (i.e., Code TD64). The work of this group focused on supporting the space transportation programs. The work of the group is in Computational Fluid Dynamic tool development. This development is driven by hardware design needs. The major applications for the design and analysis tools are: turbines, pumps, propulsion-to-airframe integration, and combustion devices.

  5. The Helpfulness of Spiritually Influenced Group Work in Developing Self-Awareness and Self-Esteem: A Preliminary Investigation

    PubMed Central

    Coholic, Diana

    2005-01-01

    This paper discusses an exploratory study that investigated the helpfulness of spiritually influenced group work with eight adult women who shared a history of substance abuse. The overall purpose of the group was to help participants develop their self-awareness and self-esteem. The group, which was contextualized in transpersonal theory, was organized around the following themes and experiential exercises: meditation, mindfulness practice, dream work, stream of consciousness writing, the shadow self, and other arts-based processes. Grounded-theory analysis of group sessions and individual interviews with the participants found that the participants perceived the group to be helpful in developing their self-awareness and self-esteem. While the participants identified different aspects of the group as spiritual, making-meaning was one practice that was consistently described as a spiritually sensitive process. The results of this study in this emergent field are promising and suggestions are provided for future research. PMID:16200326

  6. The "Messy" Business of Academic Developers Leading Other Academic Developers: Critical Reflection on a Curriculum Realignment Exercise

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Sharon; Cordiner, Moira

    2014-01-01

    Little has been written about academic developers (ADs) working in teams leading other ADs. This paper chronicles the experience of a group of ADs in one Australian university working on a curriculum realignment exercise. Unexpectedly the dominant theme in participants' reflections was group dynamics, not the process. We were confronted by…

  7. 76 FR 30027 - National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-24

    ... (dust, paint and water). These trigger criteria were used by the KF work group to identify and.... The KF work group developed and approved all action and no-action determinations. The property owners... remediation When one or more of the trigger criteria were exceeded, a work group evaluated a range of...

  8. Continuing Education of Health Personnel. Report on a Working Group (Dublin, Ireland, October 18-21, 1976).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    World Health Organization, Copenhagen (Denmark). Regional Office for Europe.

    Twenty-two members, drawn from different sectors of health service and educational systems of seventeen countries, comprised a working group of the World Health Organization (WHO) which was organized to consider the development of national systems of continuing education for the health professions. The working group first set out to define…

  9. Children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills: language and working memory at age 5.

    PubMed

    Määttä, Sira; Laakso, Marja-Leena; Tolvanen, Asko; Ahonen, Timo; Aro, Tuija

    2014-06-01

    In this article, the authors examine the developmental continuity from prelinguistic communication to kindergarten age in language and working memory capacity. Following work outlining 6 groups of children with different trajectories of early communication development (ECD; Määttä, Laakso, Tolvanen, Ahonen, & Aro, 2012), the authors examined their later development by psychometric assessment. Ninety-one children first assessed at ages 12-21 months completed a battery of language and working memory tests at age 5;3 (years;months). Two of the ECD groups previously identified as being at risk for language difficulties continued to show weaker performance at follow-up. Seventy-nine percent of the children with compromised language skills at follow-up were identified on the basis of the ECD groups, but the number of false positives was high. The 2 at-risk groups also differed significantly from the typically developing groups in the measures tapping working memory capacity. In line with the dimensional view of language impairment, the accumulation of early delays predicted the amount of later difficulties; however, at the individual level, the prediction had rather low specificity. The results imply a strong link between language and working memory and call for further studies examining the early developmental interaction between language and memory.

  10. Group relationships in early and late sessions and improvement in interpersonal problems.

    PubMed

    Lo Coco, Gianluca; Gullo, Salvatore; Di Fratello, Carla; Giordano, Cecilia; Kivlighan, Dennis M

    2016-07-01

    Groups are more effective when positive bonds are established and interpersonal conflicts resolved in early sessions and work is accomplished in later sessions. Previous research has provided mixed support for this group development model. We performed a test of this theoretical perspective using group members' (actors) and aggregated group members' (partners) perceptions of positive bonding, positive working, and negative group relationships measured early and late in interpersonal growth groups. Participants were 325 Italian graduate students randomly (within semester) assigned to 1 of 16 interpersonal growth groups. Groups met for 9 weeks with experienced psychologists using Yalom and Leszcz's (2005) interpersonal process model. Outcome was assessed pre- and posttreatment using the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, and group relationships were measured at Sessions 3 and 6 using the Group Questionnaire. As hypothesized, early measures of positive bonding and late measures of positive working, for both actors and partners, were positively related to improved interpersonal problems. Also as hypothesized, late measures of positive bonding and early measures of positive working, for both actors and partners, were negatively related to improved interpersonal problems. We also found that early actor and partner positive bonding and negative relationships interacted to predict changes in interpersonal problems. The findings are consistent with group development theory and suggest that group therapists focus on group-as-a-whole positive bonding relationships in early group sessions and on group-as-a-whole positive working relationships in later group sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. A phenomenological research study: Perspectives of student learning through small group work between undergraduate nursing students and educators.

    PubMed

    Wong, Florence Mei Fung

    2018-06-18

    Small group work is an effective teaching-learning approach in nursing education to enhance students' learning in theoretical knowledge and skill development. Despite its potential advantageous effects on learning, little is known about its actual effects on students' learning from students' and educators' perspectives. To understand students' learning through small group work from the perspectives of students and educators. A qualitative study with focus group interviews was carried out. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were performed with 13 undergraduate nursing students and 10 educators. Four main themes, "initiative learning", "empowerment of interactive group dynamics", "factors for creating effective learning environment", and "barriers influencing students' learning", were derived regarding students' learning in small group work based on the perspectives of the participants. The results showed the importance of learning attitudes of students in individual and group learning. Factors for creating an effective learning environment, including preference for forming groups, effective group size, and adequacy of discussion, facilitate students' learning with the enhancement of learning engagement in small group work. The identified barriers, such as "excessive group work", "conflicts", and "passive team members" can reduce students' motivation and enjoyment of learning. Small group work is recognized as an effective teaching method for knowledge enhancement and skill development in nursing education. All identified themes are important to understand the initiatives of students and group learning, factors influencing an effective learning environment, and barriers hindering students' learning. Nurse educators should pay more attention to the factors that influence an effective learning environment and reduce students' commitment and group dynamics. Moreover, students may need further support to reduce barriers that impede students' learning motivation and enjoyment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Development of a group work assessment pedagogy using constructive alignment theory.

    PubMed

    Croy, Suzanne R

    2018-02-01

    The purpose of this paper is to explore group work assessment underpinned by constructive alignment theory to develop a new assessment pedagogy. A review was undertaken of an existing module 'Mental Health Nursing 1', with student nurses participating in the BSc (Hons) Nursing Programme. Constructive alignment theory requires teachers to adopt a deep approach to learning where module learning outcomes are aligned with the teaching environment and modes of assessment. As the module progressed, reviewing the Mental Health Nursing 1 module became an excellent opportunity to begin to understand how constructive alignment theory can inform a group work assessment pedagogy. Working using a constructively aligned assessment process became a valuable learning experience for the module leader whilst at the same time revealed a gap in the research around the impact of constructively aligned teaching and group work assessment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Developing Productive Dispositions during Small-Group Work in Two Sixth-Grade Mathematics Classrooms: Teachers' Facilitation Efforts and Students' Self-Reported Benefits

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jansen, Amanda

    2012-01-01

    Through this exploratory study, I developed conjectures about classroom conditions that had the potential to support (or not) the development of productive dispositions toward mathematics. To do so, I listened to sixth-grade students' voices about their experiences with small-group work in 2 mathematics classrooms and contrasted their teachers'…

  14. Space Technology Plasma Issues in 2001

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Garrett, Henry (Editor); Feynman, Joan (Editor); Gabriel, Stephen (Editor)

    1986-01-01

    The purpose of the workshop was to identify and discuss plasma issues that need to be resolved during the next 10 to 20 years (circa 2001) to facilitate the development of the advanced space technology that will be required 20 or 30 years into the future. The workshop consisted of 2 days of invited papers and 2 sessions of contributed poster papers. During the third day the meeting broke into 5 working groups, each of which held discussions and then reported back to the conference as a whole. The five panels were: Measurements Technology and Active Experiments Working Group; Advanced High-Voltage, High-Power and Energy-Storage Space Systems Working Group; Large Structures and Tethers Working Group; Plasma Interactions and Surface/Materials Effects Working Group; and Beam Plasmas, Electronic Propulsion and Active Experiments Using Beams Working Group.

  15. Developing techniques for cause-responsibility analysis of occupational accidents.

    PubMed

    Jabbari, Mousa; Ghorbani, Roghayeh

    2016-11-01

    The aim of this study was to specify the causes of occupational accidents, determine social responsibility and the role of groups involved in work-related accidents. This study develops occupational accidents causes tree, occupational accidents responsibility tree, and occupational accidents component-responsibility analysis worksheet; based on these methods, it develops cause-responsibility analysis (CRA) techniques, and for testing them, analyzes 100 fatal/disabling occupational accidents in the construction setting that were randomly selected from all the work-related accidents in Tehran, Iran, over a 5-year period (2010-2014). The main result of this study involves two techniques for CRA: occupational accidents tree analysis (OATA) and occupational accidents components analysis (OACA), used in parallel for determination of responsible groups and responsibilities rate. From the results, we find that the management group of construction projects has 74.65% responsibility of work-related accidents. The developed techniques are purposeful for occupational accidents investigation/analysis, especially for the determination of detailed list of tasks, responsibilities, and their rates. Therefore, it is useful for preventing work-related accidents by focusing on the responsible group's duties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Summary of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-best pharmaceuticals for Children Act Pediatric Formulation Initiatives Workshop-Pediatric Biopharmaceutics Classification System Working Group.

    PubMed

    Abdel-Rahman, Susan M; Amidon, Gordon L; Kaul, Ajay; Lukacova, Viera; Vinks, Alexander A; Knipp, Gregory T

    2012-11-01

    The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) allows compounds to be classified based on their in vitro solubility and intestinal permeability. The BCS has found widespread use in the pharmaceutical community to be an enabling guide for the rational selection of compounds, formulation for clinical advancement, and generic biowaivers. The Pediatric Biopharmaceutics Classification System (PBCS) Working Group was convened to consider the possibility of developing an analogous pediatric-based classification system. Because there are distinct developmental differences that can alter intestinal contents, volumes, permeability, and potentially biorelevant solubilities at different ages, the PBCS Working Group focused on identifying age-specific issues that need to be considered in establishing a flexible, yet rigorous PBCS. We summarized the findings of the PBCS Working Group and provided insights into considerations required for the development of a PBCS. Through several meetings conducted both at The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health, Human Development-US Pediatric Formulation Initiative Workshop (November 2011) and via teleconferences, the PBCS Working Group considered several high-level questions that were raised to frame the classification system. In addition, the PBCS Working Group identified a number of knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to develop a rigorous PBCS. It was determined that for a PBCS to be truly meaningful, it needs to be broken down into several different age groups that account for developmental changes in intestinal permeability, luminal contents, and gastrointestinal (GI) transit. Several critical knowledge gaps were identified, including (1) a lack of fully understanding the ontogeny of drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters along the GI tract, in the liver, and in the kidney; (2) an incomplete understanding of age-based changes in the GI, liver, and kidney physiology; (3) a clear need to better understand age-based intestinal permeability and fraction absorbed required to develop the PBCS; (4) a clear need for the development and organization of pediatric tissue biobanks to serve as a source for ontogenic research; and (5) a lack of literature published in age-based pediatric pharmacokinetics to build physiologically- and population-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) databases. To begin the process of establishing a PBPK model, 10 pediatric therapeutic agents were selected (based on their adult BCS classifications). These agents should be targeted for additional research in the future. The PBCS Working Group also identified several areas where greater emphasis on research was needed to enable the development of a PBCS. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. GGOS working group on ground networks and communications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pearlman, M.; Altamimi, Z.; Beck, N.; Forsberg, R.; Gurtner, W.; Kenyon, S.; Behrend, D.; Lemoine, F. G.; Ma, C.; Noll, C. E.; hide

    2005-01-01

    Activities of this Working Group include the investigation of the status quo and the development of a plan for full network integration to support improvements in terrestrial reference frame establishment and maintenance, Earth orientation and gravity field monitoring, precision orbit determination, and other geodetic and gravimetric applications required for the long-term observation of global change. This integration process includes the development of a network of fundamental stations with as many co-located techniques as possible, with precisely determined intersystem vectors. This network would exploit the strengths of each technique and minimize the weaknesses where possible. This paper discusses the organization of the working group, the work done to date, and future tasks.

  18. The American Cowboy: Developing Small Group Social Studies Interaction Experiences in the Elementary Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holmes, Edward, Jr.

    Appropriate for elementary school students, this resource unit on the American cowboy provides four activities for small group work. The unit also lists objectives and discusses the organization and dynamics of small groups. The general objective is for the student to learn how to work within groups and how to resolve group conflict. The…

  19. 77 FR 1944 - Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee: Intercessional Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-12

    ... Performance Measures (Assessment Criteria).'' This meeting will be open to the public. DATES: A MERPAC working..., working group meeting is as follows: (1) Review existing performance measures and develop new performance... Committee Working Group Meeting. SUMMARY: The Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) will...

  20. The Development of Best Practice Recommendations to Support the Hiring, Recruitment, and Advancement of Women Physicians in Emergency Medicine.

    PubMed

    Choo, Esther K; Kass, Dara; Westergaard, Mary; Watts, Susan H; Berwald, Nicole; Regan, Linda; Promes, Susan B; Clem, Kathleen J; Schneider, Sandra M; Kuhn, Gloria J; Abbuhl, Stephanie; Nobay, Flavia

    2016-11-01

    Women in medicine continue to experience disparities in earnings, promotion, and leadership roles. There are few guidelines in place defining organization-level factors that promote a supportive workplace environment beneficial to women in emergency medicine (EM). We assembled a working group with the goal of developing specific and feasible recommendations to support women's professional development in both community and academic EM settings. We formed a working group from the leadership of two EM women's organizations, the Academy of Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) and the American Association of Women Emergency Physicians (AAWEP). Through a literature search and discussion, working group members identified four domains where organizational policies and practices supportive of women were needed: 1) global approaches to supporting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in EM; 2) recruitment, hiring, and compensation of women emergency physicians; 3) supporting development and advancement of women in EM; and 4) physician health and wellness (in the context of pregnancy, childbirth, and maternity leave). Within each of these domains, the working group created an initial set of specific recommendations. The working group then recruited a stakeholder group of EM physician leaders across the country, selecting for diversity in practice setting, geographic location, age, race, and gender. Stakeholders were asked to score and provide feedback on each of the recommendations. Specific recommendations were retained by the working group if they achieved high rates of approval from the stakeholder group for importance and perceived feasibility. Those with >80% agreement on importance and >50% agreement on feasibility were retained. Finally, recommendations were posted in an open online forum (blog) and invited public commentary. An initial set of 29 potential recommendations was created by the working group. After stakeholder voting and feedback, 16 final recommendations were retained. Recommendations were refined through qualitative comments from stakeholders and blog respondents. Using a consensus building process that included male and female stakeholders from both academic and community EM settings, we developed recommendations for organizations to implement to create a workplace environment supportive of women in EM that were perceived as acceptable and feasible. This process may serve as a model for other medical specialties to establish clear, discrete organization-level practices aimed at supporting women physicians. © 2016 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  1. The many faces of sex work.

    PubMed

    Harcourt, C; Donovan, B

    2005-06-01

    To compile a global typography of commercial sex work. A Medline search and review of 681 "prostitution" articles was conducted. In addition, the investigators pooled their 20 years of collected papers and monographs, and their observations in more than 15 countries. Arbitrary categories were developed to compile a workable typology of sex work. At least 25 types of sex work were identified according to worksite, principal mode of soliciting clients, or sexual practices. These types of work are often grouped under the headings of "direct" and "indirect" prostitution, with the latter group less likely to be perceived or to perceive themselves as sex workers. In general, policing sex work can change its typology and location but its prevalence is rarely affected. The public health implications of sex work vary widely. Developing comprehensive sexual health promotion programmes requires a complete understanding of the types of sex work in a particular area. This study provides a checklist for developing appropriate and targeted programmes.

  2. Climate Services for Development Planning and Implementation: A Framework for Assessing and Valuing Climate Services

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson, G.

    2012-04-01

    Climate Services for Development Planning and Implementation: A Framework for Assessing and Valuing Climate Services Anderson, Glen D. While weather forecasting products have been available globally for decades, the full suite of climate services - including historical and real time observational meteorological data, daily, weekly, and seasonal forecasts, and longer-term climate projections - has only been under development in the last 15 to 20 years. Climate services have been developed and implemented quite quickly in developed countries for public and private sector users. However, diffusion of these tools in developing countries has been slower for several reasons related to 1) lack of awareness of the opportunities and benefits of climate services; 2) spotty record of managing local weather and climate data; and 3) limited resources to build and sustain capacity in providing climate services. The Climate Services Partnership (CSP) was formed during the International Conference on Climate Services (ICCS) in October 2011. The CSP seeks to improve the provision and development of climate services worldwide. During the ICCS, three working groups were formed to carry out the work program of the CSP leading up to the second ICCS in Berlin in September 2012. The Economic Valuation of Climate Services Working Group, chaired by John Zillman and myself, is collaborating on several activities to demonstrate the benefits of climate services and help providers prioritize opportunities for expanding the use of climate services. The proposed paper will provide an overview of the Working Group's activities leading up to the next ICCS and describe specific work that is underway and expected to be completed prior to the EGU meetings. The focal point of the Working Group's activities is the development of matrix to help identify and value the best opportunities for using climate services. Different categories of climate services will be listed in rows and potential users of climate services arrayed in columns. The Working Group is meeting at the American Meteorological Society meetings in January to finalize the matrix and carry out the following analyses: 1) Working Group members in attendance will offer their views on the potential application of climate services for each user group. For simplicity, each cell of the matrix will be assigned a value of "high", "medium", or "low" importance. This will be a starting point and follow-up steps are planned to refine these rankings. 2) The second step will be to review the list of climate services projects and applications (approximately 100) that was developed by the Developing Country Task Team that met in conjunction with the ICCT and assign the climate services in the list to appropriate cells in the matrix. Although not rigorous, it will allow the Working Group to revisit the initial rankings in light of the empirical record. In concert with this review, the matrix will be shared with CSP members to elicit their comments on the rankings and to identify additional climate services projects and applications. 3) A typology of potential economic benefits will be developed and used to describe the benefits in specific cells of the matrix. This work will provide the basis for follow-up case study analysis and preparation of a synthesis paper on valuing climate services benefits.

  3. Understanding Nomadic Collaborative Learning Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ryberg, Thomas; Davidsen, Jacob; Hodgson, Vivien

    2018-01-01

    The paper builds on the work of Rossitto "et al." on collaborative nomadic work to develop three categories of practice of nomadic collaborative learning groups. Our study is based on interviews, workshops and observations of two undergraduate student's group practices engaged in self-organised, long-term collaborations within the frame…

  4. Development of the Modes of Collaboration Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pawlak, Alanna; Irving, Paul W.; Caballero, Marcos D.

    2018-01-01

    Group work is becoming increasingly common in introductory physics classrooms. Understanding how students engage in these group learning environments is important for designing and facilitating productive learning opportunities for students. We conducted a study in which we collected video of groups of students working on conceptual electricity…

  5. High School Physical Education Students and Experiential Learning in the Community: A Classroom Assignment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tapps, Tyler; Passmore, Tim; Lindenmeier, Donna; Kensinger, Weston

    2014-01-01

    The experiential learning model for students working with community groups was developed for specific experiential learning experiences involving 40 hours of actual experience for high school physical education students working with groups in the community. This article discusses the development and specific segments of the model, as well as how…

  6. U.S.-GERMAN BILATERAL WORKING GROUP: International Research Cooperation to Develop and Evaluate Tools and Techniques for Revitalization of Potentially Contaminated Sites

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. German Bilateral Working Group originated in 1990 in order to share and transfer information, ideas, tools and techniques regarding environmental research. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/Office of Research and Development (ORD) and the German Federal Mini...

  7. Effects of Continuing Professional Development on Group Work Practices in Scottish Primary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thurston, A.; Christie, D.; Howe, C. J.; Tolmie, A.; Topping, K. J.

    2008-01-01

    The present study investigated the effects of a continuing professional development (CPD) initiative that provided collaborative group work skills training for primary school teachers. The study collected data from 24 primary school classrooms in different schools in a variety of urban and rural settings. The sample was composed of 332 pupils,…

  8. Knowledge Collisions: Perspectives from CED Practitioners Working with Women. NALL Working Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stratton, Mary; Jackson, Ted

    A study explored the ways that front-line community development workers across Canada gained information needed to work with women participants in community economic development initiatives. Data were gathered through focus groups, a preliminary study with 15 key informants employed in community development organizations, and structured telephone…

  9. Summary of the NICHD-BPCA Pediatric Formulation Initiatives Workshop-Pediatric Biopharmaceutics Classification System (PBCS) Working Group

    PubMed Central

    Abdel-Rahman, Susan; Amidon, Gordon L.; Kaul, Ajay; Lukacova, Viera; Vinks, Alexander A.; Knipp, Gregory

    2012-01-01

    The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) allows compounds to be classified based on their in vitro solubility and intestinal permeability. The BCS has found widespread use in the pharmaceutical community as an enabling guide for the rational selection of compounds, formulation for clinical advancement and generic biowaivers. The Pediatric Biopharmaceutics Classification System (PBCS) working group was convened to consider the possibility of developing an analogous pediatric based classification system. Since there are distinct developmental differences that can alter intestinal contents, volumes, permeability and potentially biorelevant solubilities at the different ages, the PBCS working group focused on identifying age specific issues that would need to be considered in establishing a flexible, yet rigorous PBCS. Objective To summarize the findings of the PBCS working group and provide insights into considerations required for the development of a pediatric based biopharmaceutics classification system. Methods Through several meetings conducted both at The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health, Human Development (NICHD)-US Pediatric Formulation Initiative (PFI) workshop (November 2011) and via teleconferences, the PBCS working group considered several high level questions that were raised to frame the classification system. In addition, the PBCS working group identified a number of knowledge gaps that would need to be addressed in order to develop a rigorous PBCS. Results It was determined that for a PBCS to be truly meaningful, it would need to be broken down into several different age groups that would account for developmental changes in intestinal permeability, luminal contents, and gastrointestinal transit. Several critical knowledge gaps where identified including: 1) a lack of fully understanding the ontogeny of drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, in the liver and in the kidney; 2) an incomplete understanding of age-based changes in the GI, liver and kidney physiology; 3) a clear need to better understand age-based intestinal permeability and fraction absorbed required to develop the PBCS; 4) a clear need for the development and organization of pediatric tissue biobanks to serve as a source for ontogenic research; and 5) a lack of literature published in age-based pediatric pharmacokinetics in order to build Physiologically- and Population-Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) databases. Conclusions To begin the process of establishing a PBPK model, ten pediatric therapeutic agents were selected (based on their adult BCS classifications). Those agents should be targeted for additional research in the future. The PBCS working group also identified several areas where a greater emphasis on research is needed to enable the development of a PBCS. PMID:23149009

  10. Defining Outcome Measures for Psoriasis: The IDEOM Report from the GRAPPA 2016 Annual Meeting.

    PubMed

    Callis Duffin, Kristina; Gottlieb, Alice B; Merola, Joseph F; Latella, John; Garg, Amit; Armstrong, April W

    2017-05-01

    The International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) psoriasis working group was established to develop core domains and measurements sets for psoriasis clinical trials and ultimately clinical practice. At the 2016 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, the IDEOM psoriasis group presented an overview of its progress toward developing this psoriasis core domain set. First, it summarized the February 2016 meeting of all involved with the IDEOM, highlighting patient and payer perspectives on outcome measures. Second, the group presented an overview of the consensus process for developing the core domain set for psoriasis, including previous literature reviews, nominal group exercises, and meeting discussions. Future plans include the development of working groups to review candidate measures for at least 2 of the domains, including primary pathophysiologic manifestations and patient-reported outcomes, and Delphi surveys to gain consensus on the final psoriasis core domain set.

  11. Strategies for continuing professional development among younger, middle-aged, and older nurses: a biographical approach.

    PubMed

    Pool, Inge A; Poell, Rob F; Berings, Marjolein G M C; ten Cate, Olle

    2015-05-01

    A nursing career can last for more than 40 years, during which continuing professional development is essential. Nurses participate in a variety of learning activities that correspond with their developmental motives. Lifespan psychology shows that work-related motives change with age, leading to the expectation that motives for continuing professional development also change. Nevertheless, little is known about nurses' continuing professional development strategies in different age groups. To explore continuing professional development strategies among younger, middle-aged, and older nurses. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews, from a biographical perspective. Data were analysed using a vertical process aimed at creating individual learning biographies, and a horizontal process directed at discovering differences and similarities between age groups. Twenty-one nurses in three age groups from general and academic hospitals in the Netherlands. In all age groups, daily work was an important trigger for professional development on the ward. Performing extra or new tasks appeared to be an additional trigger for undertaking learning activities external to the ward. Learning experiences in nurses' private lives also contributed to their continuing professional development. Besides these similarities, the data revealed differences in career stages and private lives, which appeared to be related to differences in continuing professional development strategy; 'gaining experience and building a career' held particularly true among younger nurses, 'work-life balance' and 'keeping work interesting and varied' to middle-aged nurses, and 'consistency at work' to older nurses. Professional development strategies can aim at performing daily patient care, extra tasks and other roles. Age differences in these strategies appear to relate to tenure, perspectives on the future, and situations at home. These insights could help hospitals to orientate continuing professional development approaches toward the needs of all age groups. This should be particularly relevant in the face of present demographic changes in the nursing workforce. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Investigating the Effectiveness of Group Work in Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sofroniou, Anastasia; Poutos, Konstantinos

    2016-01-01

    Group work permits students to develop a range of critical thinking, analytical and communication skills; effective team work; appreciation and respect for other views, techniques and problem-solving methods, all of which promote active learning and enhance student learning. This paper presents an evaluation of employing the didactic and…

  13. Exploration, Development, and Validation of Patient-reported Outcomes in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody–associated Vasculitis Using the OMERACT Process

    PubMed Central

    Robson, Joanna C.; Milman, Nataliya; Tomasson, Gunnar; Dawson, Jill; Cronholm, Peter F.; Kellom, Katherine; Shea, Judy; Ashdown, Susan; Boers, Maarten; Boonen, Annelies; Casey, George C.; Farrar, John T.; Gebhart, Don; Krischer, Jeffrey; Lanier, Georgia; McAlear, Carol A.; Peck, Jacqueline; Sreih, Antoine G.; Tugwell, Peter; Luqmani, Raashid A.; Merkel, Peter A.

    2016-01-01

    Objective Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a group of linked multisystem life- and organ-threatening diseases. The Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) vasculitis working group has been at the forefront of outcome development in the field and has achieved OMERACT endorsement of a core set of outcomes for AAV. Patients with AAV report as important some manifestations of disease not routinely collected through physician-completed outcome tools; and they rate common manifestations differently from investigators. The core set includes the domain of patient-reported outcomes (PRO). However, PRO currently used in clinical trials of AAV do not fully characterize patients’ perspectives on their burden of disease. The OMERACT vasculitis working group is addressing the unmet needs for PRO in AAV. Methods Current activities of the working group include (1) evaluating the feasibility and construct validity of instruments within the PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System) to record components of the disease experience among patients with AAV; (2) creating a disease-specific PRO measure for AAV; and (3) applying The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health to examine the scope of outcome measures used in AAV. Results The working group has developed a comprehensive research strategy, organized an investigative team, included patient research partners, obtained peer-reviewed funding, and is using a considerable research infrastructure to complete these interrelated projects to develop evidence-based validated outcome instruments that meet the OMERACT filter of truth, discrimination, and feasibility. Conclusion The OMERACT vasculitis working group is on schedule to achieve its goals of developing validated PRO for use in clinical trials of AAV. (First Release September 1 2015; J Rheumatol 2015;42:2204–9; doi:10.3899/jrheum.141143) PMID:26329344

  14. Development and Reliability of the Basic Skill Assessment Tool for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Lersilp, Suchitporn; Suchart, Sumana

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to improve upon the first version of the basic work skills assessment tool for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and examine interrater and intrarater reliability using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). The modified tool includes 2 components: (1) three tasks measuring work abilities and work attitudes and (2) a form to record the number of verbal and nonverbal prompts. 26 participants were selected by purposive sampling and divided into 3 groups—group 1 (10 subjects, aged 11–13 years), group 2 (10, aged 14–16 years), and group 3 (6, aged 17–19 years). The results show that interrater reliabilities of work abilities and work attitudes were high in all groups except that the work attitude in group 1 was moderate. Intrarater reliabilities of work abilities in group 1 and group 2 were high. Group 3 was moderate. Intrarater reliabilities of work attitudes in group 1 and group 3 were high but not in group 2 in which they were moderate. Nevertheless, interrater and intrarater reliabilities in the total scores of all groups were high, which implies that this tool is applicable for adolescents aged 11–19 years with consideration of relevance for each group. PMID:28280769

  15. Tennessee Valley and Eastern Kentucky Wind Working Group

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Katie Stokes

    2012-05-03

    In December 2009, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), through a partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission, EKPC, Kentucky's Department for Energy Development and Independence, SACE, Tennessee's Department of Environment and Conservation, and TVA, and through a contract with the Department of Energy, established the Tennessee Valley and Eastern Kentucky Wind Working Group (TVEKWWG). TVEKWWG consists of a strong network of people and organizations. Working together, they provide information to various organizations and stakeholders regarding the responsible development of wind power in the state. Members include representatives from utility interests, state and federal agencies, economic development organizations, non-government organizations,more » local decision makers, educational institutions, and wind industry representatives. The working group is facilitated by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. TVEKWWG supports the Department of Energy by helping educate and inform key stakeholders about wind energy in the state of Tennessee.« less

  16. Group Work and Outreach Plans for College Counselors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fitch, Trey, Ed.; Marshall, Jennifer L., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    In this book, group work and college counseling leaders offer step-by-step instruction in the effective use and processing of structured group activities on topics such as test anxiety; stress and anxiety management; ADHD; career development; substance abuse; eating disorders; and the unique concerns faced by GLBT students, first-generation…

  17. The establishment of DOHaD working groups in Australia and New Zealand.

    PubMed

    Prescott, S L; Allen, K; Armstrong, K; Collins, C; Dickinson, H; Gardiner, K; Jacka, F; Jasoni, C; Moore, T; Moritz, K M; Muhlhausler, B; Siero, W; Sim, K; Nanan, R; Saffery, R; Singh, G; Vickers, M H; Craig, J M

    2016-10-01

    The evidence underpinning the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is overwhelming. As the emphasis shifts more towards interventions and the translational strategies for disease prevention, it is important to capitalize on collaboration and knowledge sharing to maximize opportunities for discovery and replication. DOHaD meetings are facilitating this interaction. However, strategies to perpetuate focussed discussions and collaborations around and between conferences are more likely to facilitate the development of DOHaD research. For this reason, the DOHaD Society of Australia and New Zealand (DOHaD ANZ) has initiated themed Working Groups, which convened at the 2014-2015 conferences. This report introduces the DOHaD ANZ Working Groups and summarizes their plans and activities. One of the first Working Groups to form was the ActEarly birth cohort group, which is moving towards more translational goals. Reflecting growing emphasis on the impact of early life biodiversity - even before birth - we also have a Working Group titled Infection, inflammation and the microbiome. We have several Working Groups exploring other major non-cancerous disease outcomes over the lifespan, including Brain, behaviour and development and Obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic health. The Epigenetics and Animal Models Working Groups cut across all these areas and seeks to ensure interaction between researchers. Finally, we have a group focussed on 'Translation, policy and communication' which focusses on how we can best take the evidence we produce into the community to effect change. By coordinating and perpetuating DOHaD discussions in this way we aim to enhance DOHaD research in our region.

  18. The development and interaction of terrorist and fanatic groups

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Camacho, Erika T.

    2013-11-01

    Through the mathematical study of two models we quantify some of the theories of co-development and co-existence of focused groups in the social sciences. This work attempts to develop the mathematical framework behind the social sciences of community formation. By using well developed theories and concepts from ecology and epidemiology we hope to extend the theoretical framework of organizing and self-organizing social groups and communities, including terrorist groups. The main goal of our work is to gain insight into the role of recruitment and retention in the formation and survival of social organizations. Understanding the underlining mechanisms of the spread of ideologies under competition is a fundamental component of this work. Here contacts between core and non-core individuals extend beyond its physical meaning to include indirect interaction and spread of ideas through phone conversations, emails, media sources and other similar mean. This work focuses on the dynamics of formation of interest groups, either ideological, economical or ecological and thus we explore the questions such as, how do interest groups initiate and co-develop by interacting within a common environment and how do they sustain themselves? Our results show that building and maintaining the core group is essential for the existence and survival of an extreme ideology. Our research also indicates that in the absence of competitive ability (i.e., ability to take from the other core group or share prospective members) the social organization or group that is more committed to its group ideology and manages to strike the right balance between investment in recruitment and retention will prevail. Thus under no cross interaction between two social groups a single trade-off (of these efforts) can support only a single organization. The more efforts that an organization implements to recruit and retain its members the more effective it will be in transmitting the ideology to other vulnerable individuals and thus converting them to believers.

  19. Technical Assistance to Developers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rockward, Tommy; Borup, Rodney L.; Garzon, Fernando H.

    2012-07-17

    This task supports the allowance of technical assistance to fuel-cell component and system developers as directed by the DOE. This task includes testing of novel materials and participation in the further development and validation of single cell test protocols. This task also covers technical assistance to DOE Working Groups, the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) and the USCAR/DOE Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability (U.S. Drive) Fuel Cell Technology Team. Assistance includes technical validation of new fuel cell materials and methods, single cell fuel cell testing to support the development of targets and test protocols,more » and regular advisory participation in other working groups and reviews. This assistance is made available to PEM fuel cell developers by request and DOE Approval. The objectives are to: (1) Support technically, as directed by DOE, fuel cell component and system developers; (2) Assess fuel cell materials and components and give feedback to developers; (3) Assist the DOE Durability Working Group with the development of various new material durability Testing protocols; and (4) Provide support to the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) and the USCAR/DOE Fuel Cell Technology Team. FY2012 specific technical objectives are: (1) Evaluate novel MPL materials; (2) Develop of startup/ shutdown protocol; (3) Test the impact of hydrophobic treatment on graphite bi-polar plates; (4) Perform complete diagnostics on metal bi-polar plates for corrosion; and (5) Participate and lead efforts in the DOE Working Groups.« less

  20. Hybrid Vapor Compression Ejector Cycle: Presentation to IAPG Mechanical Working Group

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-08-01

    Compression Ejector Cycle: Presentation to IAPG Mechanical Working Group Parmesh Verma and Tom Radcliff, United Technologies Research Center UNCLASSIFIED... Ejector Cycle Presentation to IAPG Mechanical Working Group 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER W909MY-10-C-0005 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6...hybrid vapor compression ejector heat pump cycle developed under an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded contract is provided. 15. SUBJECT

  1. Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) Working Group: Best Practices in PV System Installation; Version 1.0, March 2015; Period of Performance, October 2014 - September 2015

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Doyle, C.; Truitt, A.; Inda, D.

    The following Photovoltaics Installation Best Practices Guide is one of several work products developed by the Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) working group, which works to open capital market investment. SAPC membership includes over 450 leading solar developers, financiers and capital managers, law firms, rating agencies, accounting and engineering firms, and other stakeholders engaged in solar asset deployment. SAPC activities are directed toward foundational elements necessary to pool project cash flows into tradable securities: standardization of power purchase and lease contracts for residential and commercial end customers; development of performance and credit data sets to facilitate investor due diligencemore » activities; comprehension of risk perceived by rating agencies; and the development of best practice guides for PV system installation and operations and maintenance (O&M) in order to encourage high-quality system deployment and operation that may improve lifetime project performance and energy production. This PV Installation Best Practices Guide was developed through the SAPC Installation Best Practices subcommittee, a subgroup of SAPC comprised of a wide array of solar industry leaders in numerous fields of practice. The guide was developed over roughly one year and eight months of direct engagement by the subcommittee and two working group comment periods.« less

  2. International Energy Agency's Heat Pump Centre (IEA-HPC) Annual National Team Working Group Meeting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Broders, M. A.

    1992-09-01

    The traveler, serving as Delegate from the United States Advanced Heat Pump National Team, participated in the activities of the fourth IEA-HPC National Team Working Group meeting. Highlights of this meeting included review and discussion of 1992 IEA-HPC activities and accomplishments, introduction of the Switzerland National Team, and development of the 1993 IEA-HPC work program. The traveler also gave a formal presentation about the Development and Activities of the IEA Advanced Heat Pump U.S. National Team.

  3. Mental health and psychosocial support in crisis and conflict: report of the Mental Health Working Group.

    PubMed

    Allden, K; Jones, L; Weissbecker, I; Wessells, M; Bolton, P; Betancourt, T S; Hijazi, Z; Galappatti, A; Yamout, R; Patel, P; Sumathipala, A

    2009-01-01

    The Working Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support was convened as part of the 2009 Harvard Humanitarian Action Summit. The Working Group chose to focus on ethical issues in mental health and psychosocial research and programming in humanitarian settings. The Working Group built on previous work and recommendations, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee's Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. The objective of this working group was to address one of the factors contributing to the deficiency of research and the need to develop the evidence base on mental health and psychosocial support interventions during complex emergencies by proposing ethical research guidelines. Outcomes research is vital for effective program development in emergency settings, but to date, no comprehensive ethical guidelines exist for guiding such research efforts. Working Group members conducted literature reviews which included peer-reviewed publications, agency reports, and relevant guidelines on the following topics: general ethical principles in research, cross-cultural issues, research in resource-poor countries, and specific populations such as trauma and torture survivors, refugees, minorities, children and youth, and the mentally ill. Working Group members also shared key points regarding ethical issues encountered in their own research and fieldwork. The group adapted a broad definition of the term "research", which encompasses needs assessments and data gathering, as well as monitoring and evaluation. The guidelines are conceptualized as applying to formal and informal processes of assessment and evaluation in which researchers as well as most service providers engage. The group reached consensus that it would be unethical not to conduct research and evaluate outcomes of mental health and psychosocial interventions in emergency settings, given that there currently is very little good evidence base for such interventions. Overarching themes and issues generated by the group for further study and articulation included: purpose and benefits of research, issues of validity, neutrality, risk, subject selection and participation, confidentiality, consent, and dissemination of results. The group outlined several key topics and recommendations that address ethical issues in conducting mental health and psychosocial research in humanitarian settings. The group views this set of recommendations as a living document to be further developed and refined based on input from colleagues representing different regions of the globe with an emphasis on input from colleagues from low-resource countries.

  4. Teachers' Opinions Regarding the Usage of Action Research in Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yigit, Celal; Bagceci, Birsen

    2017-01-01

    The aim of the study is to investigate the contribution of action research to teachers' professional development. In line with this goal, a group of teachers were asked their opinions. The working group of the study is comprised of six teachers working at a state primary and middle school. The study is an example of "Case Study," one of…

  5. MOVES Model Review Work Group

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The FACA MOVES Review Work Group was formed under the Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee (MSTRS), and is charged to provide input to EPA via the MSTRS and the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee on specific issues regarding MOVES development.

  6. Small group learning: graduate health students' views of challenges and benefits.

    PubMed

    Jackson, Debra; Hickman, Louise D; Power, Tamara; Disler, Rebecca; Potgieter, Ingrid; Deek, Hiba; Davidson, Patricia M

    2014-07-19

    Abstract Background: For health care professionals, particularly nurses, the need to work productively and efficiently in small groups is a crucial skill required to meet the challenges of the contemporary health-care environment. Small group work is an educational technique that is used extensively in nurse education. The advantage of group work includes facilitation of deep, active and collaborative learning. However, small group work can be problematic and present challenges for students. Many of the challenges occur because group work necessitates the coming together of collections of individuals, each with their own personalities and sets of experiences. Aim: This study aimed to identify challenges and benefits associated with small group work and to explore options for retaining the positive aspects of group work while reducing or eliminating the aspects the students experienced as negative. Method: Online survey; thematic analysis. Results: Over all, students experienced a range of challenges that necessitated the development of problem-solving strategies. However, they were able to elucidate some enjoyable and positive aspects of group work. Implications for teaching and learning are drawn from this study. Conclusion: The ability to work effectively in small groups and teams is essential for all health care workers in the contemporary health environment. Findings of this study highlight the need for educators to explore novel and effective ways in which to engage nurses in group work.

  7. Small group learning: Graduate health students' views of challenges and benefits.

    PubMed

    Jackson, Debra; Hickman, Louise D; Power, Tamara; Disler, Rebecca; Potgieter, Ingrid; Deek, Hiba; Davidson, Patricia M

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Background: For health-care professionals, particularly nurses, the need to work productively and efficiently in small groups is a crucial skill required to meet the challenges of the contemporary health-care environment. Small group work is an educational technique that is used extensively in nurse education. The advantage of group work includes facilitation of deep, active and collaborative learning. However, small group work can be problematic and present challenges for students. Many of the challenges occur because group work necessitates the coming together of collections of individuals, each with their own personalities and sets of experiences. This study aimed to identify challenges and benefits associated with small group work and to explore options for retaining the positive aspects of group work while reducing or eliminating the aspects the students experienced as negative. Online survey; thematic analysis. Over all, students experienced a range of challenges that necessitated the development of problem-solving strategies. However, they were able to elucidate some enjoyable and positive aspects of group work. Implications for teaching and learning are drawn from this study. The ability to work effectively in small groups and teams is essential for all health-care workers in the contemporary health environment. Findings of this study highlight the need for educators to explore novel and effective ways in which to engage nurses in group work.

  8. Joining up with "Not Us" Staff to Run Adolescent Groups in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sayder, Suzan

    2008-01-01

    The author describes the development of a model for working with staff members from non-psychoanalytic backgrounds to run therapeutic and therapy-like pupil groups in schools. She draws on her experience of co-facilitating groups at a London-based secondary school and uses examples from recent group work with Year 10 pupils (aged 14-15). Child…

  9. Group Work and Undergraduate Accounting Students: A Bourdieusian Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teviotdale, Wilma W.; Clancy, David; Fisher, Roy; Hill, Pat

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated students' views and experiences of group work in a vocationally oriented undergraduate accounting and finance degree course in an English post-1992 university. In this context tutors prepare students for the profession and for the workplace, and the development of team-working skills is a core element in the curriculum.…

  10. Learning Climate and Work Group Skills in Care Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Westerberg, Kristina; Hauer, Esther

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The overall aim of the present study was to investigate the learning climate and work group skills perceived by managers and their subordinates in the municipal elderly care, prior to a development project. The specific research questions were: Are managers' and their subordinates' perceptions of the learning climate related? and Does the…

  11. The Individual Regulation Component of Group Emotional Intelligence: Measure Development and Validation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Christina Hamme

    2012-01-01

    Counseling work is increasingly conducted in team format. The methods counseling teams use to manage the emotional component of their group life, or their group emotional intelligence, have been proposed as significantly contributing to group member trust, cooperation, and ultimate performance. Item development, exploratory factor analysis, and…

  12. Focus Group Discussions: Three Examples from Family and Consumer Science Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garrison, M. E. Betsy; Pierce, Sarah H.; Monroe, Pamela A.; Sasser, Diane D.; Shaffer, Amy C.; Blalock, Lydia B.

    1999-01-01

    Gives examples of the focus group method in terms of question development, group composition and recruitment, interview protocols, and data analysis as applied to three family and consumer-sciences research projects: consumer behavior of working female adolescents, work readiness of adult males with low educational attainment, and definition of…

  13. Key performance indicators for Australian mental health court liaison services.

    PubMed

    Davidson, Fiona; Heffernan, Ed; Greenberg, David; Butler, Tony; Burgess, Philip

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this paper is to describe the development and technical specifications of a framework and national key performance indicators (KPIs) for Australian mental health Court Liaison Services (CLSs) by the National Mental Health Court Liaison Performance Working Group (Working Group). Representatives from each Australian State and Territory were invited to form a Working Group. Through a series of national workshops and meetings, a framework and set of performance indicators were developed using a review of literature and expert opinion. A total of six KPIs for CLSs have been identified and a set of technical specifications have been formed. This paper describes the process and outcomes of a national collaboration to develop a framework and KPIs. The measures have been developed to support future benchmarking activities and to assist services to identify best practice in this area of mental health service delivery.

  14. The Role of Executive Functions in Social Cognition among Children with Down Syndrome: Relationship Patterns

    PubMed Central

    Amadó, Anna; Serrat, Elisabet; Vallès-Majoral, Eduard

    2016-01-01

    Many studies show a link between social cognition, a set of cognitive and emotional abilities applied to social situations, and executive functions in typical developing children. Children with Down syndrome (DS) show deficits both in social cognition and in some subcomponents of executive functions. However this link has barely been studied in this population. The aim of this study is to investigate the links between social cognition and executive functions among children with DS. We administered a battery of social cognition and executive function tasks (six theory of mind tasks, a test of emotion comprehension, and three executive function tasks) to a group of 30 participants with DS between 4 and 12 years of age. The same tasks were administered to a chronological-age control group and to a control group with the same linguistic development level. Results showed that apart from deficits in social cognition and executive function abilities, children with DS displayed a slight improvement with increasing chronological age and language development in those abilities. Correlational analysis suggested that working memory was the only component that remained constant in the relation patterns of the three groups of participants, being the relation patterns similar among participants with DS and the language development control group. A multiple linear regression showed that working memory explained above 50% of the variability of social cognition in DS participants and in language development control group, whereas in the chronological-age control group this component only explained 31% of the variability. These findings, and specifically the link between working memory and social cognition, are discussed on the basis of their theoretical and practical implications for children with DS. We discuss the possibility to use a working memory training to improve social cognition in this population. PMID:27679588

  15. Virtual strategies to improve transversal competences, using wikis in a collaborative work

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guinau, Marta; Playa, Elisabet

    2016-04-01

    A major educational aim in university degrees since the implementation of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) on the European universities is the work based on transversal competences. However, the first course students arrive at the Spanish universities with important deficiencies on some of these competences, especially regarding on oral and written expression, time management and collaborative work. The experience of the teachers involved in this work has revealed the coordination difficulty between the students to work in group, important deficiencies on information management and the stress caused by the oral presentations. The results presented here correspond to a teaching innovation project. It is based on: a) the development of works in groups of 3 or 4 students, proposed as flipped classrooms strategy and b) the implementation of a virtual tool (a wiki). This tool helps the students with scientific information management and facilitates the access of all the students belonging to the work group at the information provided by colleagues. The wiki also improves the monitoring and evaluation of the work and contributions of each student by teachers. Each group must develop a topic related to the subject - General Geology and Geochemistry - that the group chose from a list of earth sciences topics proposed by teachers. The resulting works are presented in poster and oral presentations (10 min. per group and 5 min. for questions). Each work is evaluated by teachers using the evidences provided on the wiki and by means of evaluation guides. Moreover, the students must self and co-evaluate the presented works. The implementation of this project has provided information to analyze the impact of these strategies and to quantify it in terms of 'Learning Analytics'.

  16. Adapting the Interpersonal Process Model of Intimacy to Enhance the Co-Leader Relationship during Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huffman, David D.; Fernando, Delini M.

    2012-01-01

    Group work literature acknowledges that the group co-leader relationship influences the development of group members and the group as a whole. However, little direction has been offered for supervisors of group co-leaders to facilitate the development of the co-leader relationship. Reis and Shaver's (1988) interpersonal process model of intimacy…

  17. University Students' Conceptions and Practice of Collaborative Work on Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mutwarasibo, Faustin

    2013-01-01

    Collaborative work is widely regarded as a valuable tool in the development of student-centred learning. Its importance can be viewed in two ways: First of all, when students are regularly exposed to collaborative work (i.e. pair work or group work) they are likely to develop or improve a range of communication and interpersonal skills. It is also…

  18. The many faces of sex work

    PubMed Central

    Harcourt, C; Donovan, B

    2005-01-01

    Objective: To compile a global typography of commercial sex work. Methods: A Medline search and review of 681 "prostitution" articles was conducted. In addition, the investigators pooled their 20 years of collected papers and monographs, and their observations in more than 15 countries. Arbitrary categories were developed to compile a workable typology of sex work. Results: At least 25 types of sex work were identified according to worksite, principal mode of soliciting clients, or sexual practices. These types of work are often grouped under the headings of "direct" and "indirect" prostitution, with the latter group less likely to be perceived or to perceive themselves as sex workers. In general, policing sex work can change its typology and location but its prevalence is rarely affected. The public health implications of sex work vary widely. Conclusion: Developing comprehensive sexual health promotion programmes requires a complete understanding of the types of sex work in a particular area. This study provides a checklist for developing appropriate and targeted programmes. PMID:15923285

  19. Monitoring psychosocial stress at work: development of the Psychosocial Working Conditions Questionnaire.

    PubMed

    Widerszal-Bazyl, M; Cieślak, R

    2000-01-01

    Many studies on the impact of psychosocial working conditions on health prove that psychosocial stress at work is an important risk factor endangering workers' health. Thus it should be constantly monitored like other work hazards. The paper presents a newly developed instrument for stress monitoring called the Psychosocial Working Conditions Questionnaire (PWC). Its structure is based on Robert Karasek's model of job stress (Karasek, 1979; Karasek & Theorell, 1990). It consists of 3 main scales Job Demands, Job Control, Social Support and 2 additional scales adapted from the Occupational Stress Questionnaire (Elo, Leppanen, Lindstrom, & Ropponen, 1992), Well-Being and Desired Changes. The study of 8 occupational groups (bank and insurance specialists, middle medical personnel, construction workers, shop assistants, government and self-government administration officers, computer scientists, public transport drivers, teachers, N = 3,669) indicates that PWC has satisfactory psychometrics parameters. Norms for the 8 groups were developed.

  20. Cyberinfrastructure Initiatives of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McDonald, K. R.; Faundeen, J. L.; Petiteville, I.

    2005-12-01

    The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) was established in 1984 in response to a recommendation from the Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations Working Group on Growth, Technology, and Employment's Panel of Experts on Satellite Remote Sensing. CEOS participants are Members, who are national or international governmental organizations who operate civil spaceborne Earth observation satellites, and Associates who are governmental organizations with civil space programs in development or international scientific or governmental bodies who have an interest in and support CEOS objectives. The primary objective of CEOS is to optimize benefits of satellite Earth observations through cooperation of its participants in mission planning and in development of compatible data products, formats, services, applications and policies. To pursue its objectives, CEOS establishes working groups and associated subgroups that focus on relevant areas of interest. While the structure of CEOS has evolved over its lifetime, today there are three permanent working groups. One is the Working Group on Calibration and Validation that addresses sensor-specific calibration and validation and geophysical parameter validation. A second is the Working Group on Education, Training, and Capacity Building that facilitates activities that enhance international education and training in Earth observation techniques, data analysis, interpretation and applications, with a particular focus on developing countries. The third permanent working group is the Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS). The purpose of WGISS is to promote collaboration in the development of the systems and services based on international standards that manage and supply the Earth observation data and information from participating agencies' missions. WGISS places great emphasis on the use of demonstration projects involving user groups to solve the critical interoperability issues associated with the achievement of global services and its structure reflects that objective. The Technology and Services Subgroup initiates tasks to explore emerging technologies that can be employed to create data and information systems and to develop interoperable services. The interests of the subgroup span the full range of the information processing chain from the initial ingestion of satellite data into archives through to the incorporation of derived information into end-user applications. The subgroup has overseen the creation of an Interoperable Directory Network and an Interoperable Catalog System and has tasks that are investigating the use of new technologies such as Web Services, Grid, and Open Geographical Information Systems to provide enhanced capabilities. The WGISS Projects and Applications Subgroup works with outside organizations to understand their requirements and then helps them to exploit the tools and services available through WGISS and its members and associates. WGISS has instituted the concept of a WGISS Test Facility to test and develop information systems and services prototypes collaboratively with these organizations to meet their specific requirements. This approach has the dual benefit of addressing real information systems and services needs of science and applications projects and helping WGISS to expand and improve its capabilities based on the experience and lessons learned from working with the projects.

  1. How do doctors choose where they want to work? - motives for choice of current workplace among physicians registered in Finland 1977-2006.

    PubMed

    Heikkilä, Teppo Juhani; Hyppölä, Harri; Aine, Tiina; Halila, Hannu; Vänskä, Jukka; Kujala, Santero; Virjo, Irma; Mattila, Kari

    2014-02-01

    Though there are a number of studies investigating the career choices of physicians, there are only few concerning doctors' choices of workplace. A random sample (N=7758) of physicians licensed in Finland during the years 1977-2006 was surveyed. Respondents were asked: "To what extent did the following motives affect your choice of your current workplace?" Respondents were grouped based on several background variables. The groups were used as independent variables in univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The factors Good workplace, Career and professional development, Non-work related issues, Personal contacts and Salary were formed and used as dependent variables. There were significant differences between groups of physicians, especially in terms of gender, working sector and specialties. The association of Good workplace, Career and professional development, and Non-work related issues with the choice of a workplace significantly decreased with age. Female physicians were more concerned with Career and professional development and Non-work related issues. Since more females are entering the medical profession and there is an ongoing change of generations, health care organizations and policy makers need to develop a new philosophy in order to attract physicians. This will need to include more human-centric management and leadership, better possibilities for continuous professional development, and more personalized working arrangements depending on physician's personal motives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Gender issues in the university research environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alpay, E.; Hari, A.; Kambouri, M.; Ahearn, A. L.

    2010-05-01

    Recruiting and retaining females within science, engineering and technology continues to challenge many European higher education institutions. This study looks at female self-perceptions relating to effective research work and career progression. Focus groups are used to examine the attitudes and experiences of females and a questionnaire is used to explore perceptions in four main skills areas: group work; communication; personal awareness; project planning and management. The study indicates consistent female concerns on issues pertaining to effective female role models, negative work-role stereotypes and the work-life balance of an academic career. For all four skills areas, the average confidence scores of the female participants fell below those of males, but these differences were only statistically significant for perceptions on group work and communication skills and prior to an intense skills development course. Based on these findings, a student workshop on gender issues has been developed, an outline of which is presented.

  3. Switching operations fatality analysis : findings and recommendations of the SOFA working group

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-10-01

    On February 1998, a Switching Operations Fatality Analysis (SOFA) Working Group (WG) was formed at the request of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to review recent fatal incidents and develop recommendations for reducing fatalities in switch...

  4. Under Construction: An Experiential Exercise Illustrating Elements of Work Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Donovan, Kimberly M.; Fluegge-Woolf, Erin R.

    2015-01-01

    The Under Construction Exercise was developed by the authors to highlight key factors of work design that when implemented among the work group or entire organization can lead to an environment conducive to fostering satisfaction and motivation. In the exercise, groups are assigned to one of four different conditions that are designed to emulate…

  5. Toward Solutions: The Work of the Biology Action-Research Group. Learning in Science Project. Working Paper No. 29.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boe, Robyn; And Others

    Many students, even after formal science instruction, have not developed a scientifically acceptable concept of "living,""animal," or "plant." Therefore, as part of the action-research phase of the Learning in Science Project, a working group was formed to explore (with teachers) some possible strategies aimed at…

  6. The Whole Person at Work: An Integrative Vocational Intervention Model for Women's Workplace Issues.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giordano, Francesca G.

    1995-01-01

    Explains a vocational intervention model, "the whole person at work group for faculty, staff, and community women": a group counseling approach designed to help women cope with work-related difficulties. Includes a brief overview of women's workplace issues and their connection to some current thoughts regarding women's identity development. (RJM)

  7. Writing as Soul Work: Training Teachers in a Group-Based Career-Narrative Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lengelle, Reinekke; Ashby, Sjon

    2017-01-01

    Writing as soul work refers to the active engagement of students in transformative writing activities in a group setting with the aim to enable students to develop new, more empowering narratives. This article explains how soul work through writing can be used to foster career adaptability, expressed in the form of increased awareness and…

  8. Investigating the Development of Work-Oriented Groups in an e-Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yu, Chia-Ping; Kuo, Feng-Yang

    2012-01-01

    In this study, we have investigated developmental patterns of virtual groups in the e-learning environment. Our findings suggest that for virtual groups formed for the purpose of e-learning, dependency and inclusion characterize the initial stage of group development, as such characteristics reinforce cooperative relationships and help to build a…

  9. Are Interpersonal Relationships Necessary for Developing Trust in Online Group Projects?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wade, Christine E.; Cameron, Bruce A.; Morgan, Kari; Williams, Karen C.

    2011-01-01

    Trust between group members has been suggested as an important part of small group work in online classrooms. Developing interpersonal relationships with group members may promote a sense of trust among them; however, research shows mixed results. The current study explored how students' perceptions of the importance of interpersonal relationships…

  10. Academic and Personal Development through Group Work: An Exploratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steen, Sam

    2011-01-01

    This exploratory study linked academic and personal development within a group counseling intervention. A pre-test post-test research design compared social skills, learning behaviors, and achievement with a convenience sample and control group of students from three elementary schools. For the treatment group, grade point average in Language Arts…

  11. Development and Implementation of a Psychoeducational Group for Ghanaian Adolescents Experiencing Parental Divorce

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nkyi, Anthony K.

    2015-01-01

    This article presents development and informal assessment of a 10-week psychoeducational program designed for 8 adolescent group members experiencing parental divorce in a rural community in Ghana. Group design, cultural considerations, program implementation, and impacts are described. The literature review pertaining to group work as an…

  12. Progress Report on the Airborne Metadata and Time Series Working Groups of the 2016 ESDSWG

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Evans, K. D.; Northup, E. A.; Chen, G.; Conover, H.; Ames, D. P.; Teng, W. L.; Olding, S. W.; Krotkov, N. A.

    2016-12-01

    NASA's Earth Science Data Systems Working Groups (ESDSWG) was created over 10 years ago. The role of the ESDSWG is to make recommendations relevant to NASA's Earth science data systems from users' experiences. Each group works independently focusing on a unique topic. Participation in ESDSWG groups comes from a variety of NASA-funded science and technology projects, including MEaSUREs and ROSS. Participants include NASA information technology experts, affiliated contractor staff and other interested community members from academia and industry. Recommendations from the ESDSWG groups will enhance NASA's efforts to develop long term data products. The Airborne Metadata Working Group is evaluating the suitability of the current Common Metadata Repository (CMR) and Unified Metadata Model (UMM) for airborne data sets and to develop new recommendations as necessary. The overarching goal is to enhance the usability, interoperability, discovery and distribution of airborne observational data sets. This will be done by assessing the suitability (gaps) of the current UMM model for airborne data using lessons learned from current and past field campaigns, listening to user needs and community recommendations and assessing the suitability of ISO metadata and other standards to fill the gaps. The Time Series Working Group (TSWG) is a continuation of the 2015 Time Series/WaterML2 Working Group. The TSWG is using a case study-driven approach to test the new Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) TimeseriesML standard to determine any deficiencies with respect to its ability to fully describe and encode NASA earth observation-derived time series data. To do this, the time series working group is engaging with the OGC TimeseriesML Standards Working Group (SWG) regarding unsatisfied needs and possible solutions. The effort will end with the drafting of an OGC Engineering Report based on the use cases and interactions with the OGC TimeseriesML SWG. Progress towards finalizing recommendations will be presented at the meeting.

  13. INTERPRETING PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SCORES FROM NEW WORK DISABILITY INSTRUMENTS

    PubMed Central

    Marfeo, Elizabeth E.; Ni, Pengsheng; Chan, Leighton; Rasch, Elizabeth K.; McDonough, Christine M.; Brandt, Diane E.; Bogusz, Kara; Jette, Alan M.

    2015-01-01

    Objective To develop a system to guide interpretation of scores generated from 2 new instruments measuring work-related physical and behavioral health functioning (Work Disability – Physical Function (WD-PF) and WD – Behavioral Function (WD-BH)). Design Cross-sectional, secondary data from 3 independent samples to develop and validate the functional levels for physical and behavioral health functioning. Subjects Physical group: 999 general adult subjects, 1,017 disability applicants and 497 work-disabled subjects. Behavioral health group: 1,000 general adult subjects, 1,015 disability applicants and 476 work-disabled subjects. Methods Three-phase analytic approach including item mapping, a modified-Delphi technique, and known-groups validation analysis were used to develop and validate cut-points for functional levels within each of the WD-PF and WD-BH instrument’s scales. Results Four and 5 functional levels were developed for each of the scales in the WD-PF and WD-BH instruments. Distribution of the comparative samples was in the expected direction: the general adult samples consistently demonstrated scores at higher functional levels compared with the claimant and work-disabled samples. Conclusion Using an item-response theory-based methodology paired with a qualitative process appears to be a feasible and valid approach for translating the WD-BH and WD-PF scores into meaningful levels useful for interpreting a person’s work-related physical and behavioral health functioning. PMID:25729901

  14. Design & Engineering Standards « Coast Guard Maritime Commons

    Science.gov Websites

    Washington, D.C., June 5, 2018, in preparation for the upcoming intersessional working group meeting of the that intersessional working group meeting. 5/21/2018: U.S. Maritime Advisory 2018-008 - Global Measles measures for onboard lifting appliances and winches, and an ad hoc drafting group on the develop of

  15. Focus Groups with Working Parents of School-Aged Children: What's Needed to Improve Family Meals?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fulkerson, Jayne A.; Kubik, Martha Y.; Rydell, Sarah; Boutelle, Kerri N.; Garwick, Ann; Story, Mary; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Dudovitz, Bonnie

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To conduct focus groups to identify parents' perceptions of barriers to family meals and elucidate ideas to guide the development of interventions to overcome barriers. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with a convenience sample of 27 working parents in urban community settings. Results: Parents reported enjoying the sharing/bonding…

  16. Project Group Work: An Innovative Approach to Counseling in Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piechowski, Philip A., Ed.; Ciha, Thomas E., Ed.

    This monograph begins with an overview of Project Group Work, a school counseling approach designed to enhance services to at-risk students and to further develop the skills of school social workers, psychologists, and other school personnel through the use of group counseling in the schools. It contains seven chapters. "Types of School Based…

  17. Item Construction Using Reflective, Formative, or Rasch Measurement Models: Implications for Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Christina Hamme; Gischlar, Karen L.; Peterson, N. Andrew

    2017-01-01

    Measures that accurately capture the phenomenon are critical to research and practice in group work. The vast majority of group-related measures were developed using the reflective measurement model rooted in classical test theory (CTT). Depending on the construct definition and the measure's purpose, the reflective model may not always be the…

  18. Delay Tolerant Networking on NASA's Space Communication and Navigation Testbed

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnson, Sandra; Eddy, Wesley

    2016-01-01

    This presentation covers the status of the implementation of an open source software that implements the specifications developed by the CCSDS Working Group. Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION) is open source software and it implements specifications that have been developed by two international working groups through IETF and CCSDS. ION was implemented on the SCaN Testbed, a testbed located on an external pallet on ISS, by the GRC team. The presentation will cover the architecture of the system, high level implementation details, and issues porting ION to VxWorks.

  19. Deliberations on the dissemination of PORT products: translating research findings into improved patient outcomes.

    PubMed

    Goldberg, H I; Cummings, M A; Steinberg, E P; Ricci, E M; Shannon, T; Soumerai, S B; Mittman, B S; Eisenberg, J; Heck, D A; Kaplan, S

    1994-07-01

    This report outlines the activities undertaken by the Inter-PORT Dissemination work group during its first 2 years of operation. The work group's initial purpose was to assist the individual PORTs in developing their plans for both disseminating research findings and evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies. However, it became quickly apparent that in a discipline little more than a decade old, a commonly understood vocabulary had yet to be adopted. Even the term "dissemination" held different meaning for different constituencies. Consequently, the work group has tried to encourage the development of both a definitional framework and a set of common data elements of importance to all dissemination programs. The work group has analogously attempted to agree on minimum standards of methodologic rigor as a starting point for coordination of evaluations across PORTs. To help determine the potential for further coordination, a matrix of each individual PORT's target audiences, intervention strategies, and evaluation designs has been constructed. Much remains to be learned before we can know with any certainty how best to translate research findings into useful behavior change and improved patient outcomes. Our goal is that the efforts of the work group will serve to catalyze this process.

  20. Factor structure of a standards-based inventory of competencies in social work with groups.

    PubMed

    Macgowan, Mark J; Dillon, Frank R; Spadola, Christine E

    2018-01-01

    This study extends previous findings on a measure of competencies based on Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups. The Inventory of Competencies in Social Work with Groups (ICSWG) measures confidence in performing the Standards. This study examines the latent structure of the Inventory, while illuminating the underlying structure of the Standards. A multinational sample of 586 persons completed the ICSWG. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), reliability estimates, standard error of measurement estimates, and a range of validity tests were conducted. The EFA yielded a six-factor solution consisting of core values, mutuality/connectivity, collaboration, and three phases of group development (planning, beginnings/middles, endings). The alphas were .98 for the scale and ranged from .85 to .95 for the subscales. Correlations between the subscales and validators supported evidence of construct validity. The findings suggest key group work domains that should be taught and practiced in social work with groups.

  1. 77 FR 30304 - Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee: Intercessional Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-22

    ... Committee Working Group Meeting. SUMMARY: A working group of the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) will meet to discuss Task Statement 76, ``Review of Performance Measures (Assessment Criteria);'' and Task Statement 77, ``Development of Performance Measures (Assessment Criteria).'' This...

  2. An Analysis of the Relationship between the Organizational Culture and the Performance of Staff Work Groups in Schools and the Development of an Explanatory Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    James, Chris; Connolly, Michael

    2009-01-01

    This article analyses the concept of organizational culture and the relationship between the organizational culture and the performance of staff work groups in schools. The article draws upon a study of 12 schools in Wales, UK, which despite being in disadvantaged settings have high levels of pupil attainment. A model is developed linking the…

  3. Time Series Trends in Corporate Team Development.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Priest, Simon; Lesperance, Mary Ann

    1994-01-01

    In two studies, the Team Development Indicator was repeatedly administered to intact work groups participating in intensive 48-hour residential corporate adventure training (CAT) and various follow-up procedures. CAT significantly improved team behaviors in all training groups, but improvements were maintained or increased only in groups that…

  4. The geography and human cultural resources working group of the EROS program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gerlach, A. C.

    1972-01-01

    The functions, activities, and objectives of the Geography and Human-Cultural Resources Working Group of the EROS program are outlined. The Group's primary function is to coordinate remote sensing experiments of physical scientists and the needs of socioeconomic and culturally orientated planners, policy makers, administrators, and other user groups. Other functions of the Group include land use analysis, resource mapping, and development of an operational automatic information system receptive to land use and environmental data.

  5. Development of a universal approach to increase physical activity among adolescents: the GoActive intervention.

    PubMed

    Corder, Kirsten; Schiff, Annie; Kesten, Joanna M; van Sluijs, Esther M F

    2015-08-25

    To develop a physical activity (PA) promotion intervention for adolescents using a process addressing gaps in the literature while considering participant engagement. We describe the initial development stages; (1) existing evidence, (2) large scale opinion gathering and (3) developmental qualitative work, aiming (A) to gain insight into how to increase PA among the whole of year 9 (13-14 years-old) by identifying elements for intervention inclusion (B) to improve participant engagement and (C) to develop and refine programme design. Relevant systematic reviews and longitudinal analyses of change were examined. An intervention was developed iteratively with older adolescents (17.3 ± 0.5 years) and teachers, using the following process: (1) focus groups with (A) adolescents (n=26) and (B) teachers (n=4); (2) individual interviews (n=5) with inactive and shy adolescents focusing on engagement and programme acceptability. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Limitations of the existing literature include lack of evidence on whole population approaches, limited adolescent involvement in intervention development, and poor participant engagement. Qualitative work suggested six themes which may encourage adolescents to do more PA; choice, novelty, mentorship, competition, rewards and flexibility. Teachers discussed time pressures as a barrier to encouraging adolescent PA and suggested between-class competition as a strategy. GoActive aims to increase PA through increased peer support, self-efficacy, group cohesion, self-esteem and friendship quality, and is implemented in tutor groups using a student-led tiered-leadership system. We have followed an evidence-based iterative approach to translate existing evidence into an adolescent PA promotion intervention. Qualitative work with adolescents and teachers supported intervention design and addressed lack of engagement with health promotion programmes within this age group. Future work will examine the feasibility and effectiveness of GoActive to increase PA among adolescents while monitoring potential negative effects. The approach developed is applicable to other population groups and health behaviours. ISRCTN31583496. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  6. Developing physical activity counselling in primary care through participatory action approach.

    PubMed

    Aittasalo, Minna; Kukkonen-Harjula, Katriina; Toropainen, Erja; Rinne, Marjo; Tokola, Kari; Vasankari, Tommi

    2016-10-04

    Many adults are insufficiently physically active for health. Counselling is the main method to promote physical activity (PA) in primary care but often implemented inadequately. The aim of this study was to increase health professionals' i) know-how about health-related PA and PA counselling, ii) implementation and quality of PA counselling, iii) familiarity with and use of Physical Activity Prescription (PAP), iv) internal and external collaboration and v) use of electronic patient record system in PA counselling. Four Finnish health centres participated. Each nominated a working group for reaching the goals through a 6-month development work, which was supported with monthly tutorials by the research group. The outcome evaluation of the development work included 19 variables, which reflected the five goals and were assessed before (baseline) and after the development work (follow-up). Variable-specific differences in proportions (%) and their 95 % confidence intervals (CI) between the time points indicated change. The measures were questionnaires to the health professionals (N = 75 at baseline and N = 80 at follow-up) and patients (N = 441 and N = 431), professionals' record sheets on patient visits (N = 1008 and N = 1000), and telephone interviews to external partners (N = 48 and N = 28). The process was evaluated with the extent the working group members participated in the development work and with the implementation of development actions. Assessment was based on meeting minutes of tutorials and working group meetings. Health professionals' familiarity with PAP (questionnaire, change 39 %-points; 95 % CI 26.5 to 52.5) and use of PAP (questionnaire, 32 %-points; 95 % CI 18.9 to 45.1 and record sheet, 4 %-points; 95 % CI 2.7 to 5.3) increased. A greater proportion of professionals had agreed in their working unit on using PAP (questionnaire, 32 %-points; 95 % CI 20.3 to 43.7) and used PAP as a referral to other health professionals (record sheet, 1 %-point; 95 % CI 0.3 to 1.7). Also the know-how of PA and PA counselling showed improvement but not statistically significantly. The working group members participated unevenly in the development work and had difficulties in allocating time for the work. This was seen in limited number of actions implemented. The study was able to achieve some improvements in the familiarity with and use of PAP and to lesser extent in the know-how of health-related PA and PA counselling. To observe changes in other goals, which targeted more at organisational, inter-professional and multi-sectorial level, may have required more long-term actions.

  7. Data Mining at NASA: From Theory to Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Srivastava, Ashok N.

    2009-01-01

    This slide presentation demonstrates the data mining/machine learning capabilities of NASA Ames and Intelligent Data Understanding (IDU) group. This will encompass the work done recently in the group by various group members. The IDU group develops novel algorithms to detect, classify, and predict events in large data streams for scientific and engineering systems. This presentation for Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining 2009 is to demonstrate the data mining/machine learning capabilities of NASA Ames and IDU group. This will encompass the work done re cently in the group by various group members.

  8. Empowering employees with chronic diseases; development of an intervention aimed at job retention and design of a randomised controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Varekamp, Inge; de Vries, Gabe; Heutink, Annelies; van Dijk, Frank J H

    2008-11-04

    Persons with a chronic disease are less often employed than healthy persons. If employed, many of them experience problems at work. Therefore, we developed a training programme aimed at job retention. The objective of this paper is to describe this intervention and to present the design of a study to evaluate its effectiveness. DEVELOPMENT AND DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTION: A systematic review, a needs assessment and discussions with Dutch experts led to a pilot group training, tested in a pilot study. The evaluation resulted in the development of a seven-session group training combined with three individual counselling sessions. The training is based on an empowerment perspective that aims to help individuals enhance knowledge, skills and self-awareness. These advances are deemed necessary for problem solving in three stages: exploration and clarification of work related problems, communication at the workplace, and development and implementation of solutions. Seven themes are discussed and practised in the group sessions: 1) Consequences of a chronic disease in the workplace, 2) Insight into feelings and thoughts about having a chronic disease, 3) Communication in daily work situations, 4) Facilities for disabled employees and work disability legislation, 5) How to stand up for oneself, 6) A plan to solve problems, 7) Follow-up. Participants are recruited via occupational health services, patient organisations, employers, and a yearly national conference on chronic diseases. They are eligible when they have a chronic physical medical condition, have a paid job, and experience problems at work. Workers on long-term, 100% sick leave that is expected to continue during the training are excluded. After filling in the baseline questionnaire, the participants are randomised to either the control or the intervention group. The control group will receive no care or care as usual. Post-test mail questionnaires will be sent after 4, 8, 12 and 24 months. Primary outcome measures are job retention, self efficacy, fatigue and work pleasure. Secondary outcome measures are work-related problems, sick leave, quality of life, acquired work accommodations, burnout, and several quality of work measures. A process evaluation will be conducted and satisfaction with the training, its components and the training methods will be assessed. Many employees with a chronic condition experience problems in performing tasks and in managing social relations at work. We developed an innovative intervention that addresses practical as well as psychosocial problems. The results of the study will be relevant for employees, employers, occupational health professionals and human resource professionals (HRM). ISRCTN77240155.

  9. Empowering employees with chronic diseases; development of an intervention aimed at job retention and design of a randomised controlled trial

    PubMed Central

    Varekamp, Inge; de Vries, Gabe; Heutink, Annelies; van Dijk, Frank JH

    2008-01-01

    Background Persons with a chronic disease are less often employed than healthy persons. If employed, many of them experience problems at work. Therefore, we developed a training programme aimed at job retention. The objective of this paper is to describe this intervention and to present the design of a study to evaluate its effectiveness. Development and description of intervention A systematic review, a needs assessment and discussions with Dutch experts led to a pilot group training, tested in a pilot study. The evaluation resulted in the development of a seven-session group training combined with three individual counselling sessions. The training is based on an empowerment perspective that aims to help individuals enhance knowledge, skills and self-awareness. These advances are deemed necessary for problem solving in three stages: exploration and clarification of work related problems, communication at the workplace, and development and implementation of solutions. Seven themes are discussed and practised in the group sessions: 1) Consequences of a chronic disease in the workplace, 2) Insight into feelings and thoughts about having a chronic disease, 3) Communication in daily work situations, 4) Facilities for disabled employees and work disability legislation, 5) How to stand up for oneself, 6) A plan to solve problems, 7) Follow-up. Methods Participants are recruited via occupational health services, patient organisations, employers, and a yearly national conference on chronic diseases. They are eligible when they have a chronic physical medical condition, have a paid job, and experience problems at work. Workers on long-term, 100% sick leave that is expected to continue during the training are excluded. After filling in the baseline questionnaire, the participants are randomised to either the control or the intervention group. The control group will receive no care or care as usual. Post-test mail questionnaires will be sent after 4, 8, 12 and 24 months. Primary outcome measures are job retention, self efficacy, fatigue and work pleasure. Secondary outcome measures are work-related problems, sick leave, quality of life, acquired work accommodations, burnout, and several quality of work measures. A process evaluation will be conducted and satisfaction with the training, its components and the training methods will be assessed. Discussion Many employees with a chronic condition experience problems in performing tasks and in managing social relations at work. We developed an innovative intervention that addresses practical as well as psychosocial problems. The results of the study will be relevant for employees, employers, occupational health professionals and human resource professionals (HRM). Trial registration ISRCTN77240155 PMID:18983652

  10. Astrophysics at RIA (ARIA) Working Group

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Michael S.; Schatz, Hendrik; Timmes, Frank X.; Wiescher, Michael; Greife, Uwe

    2006-07-01

    The Astrophysics at RIA (ARIA) Working Group has been established to develop and promote the nuclear astrophysics research anticipated at the Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA). RIA is a proposed next-generation nuclear science facility in the U.S. that will enable significant progress in studies of core collapse supernovae, thermonuclear supernovae, X-ray bursts, novae, and other astrophysical sites. Many of the topics addressed by the Working Group are relevant for the RIKEN RI Beam Factory, the planned GSI-Fair facility, and other advanced radioactive beam facilities.

  11. An exploratory study of the Work Ability Index (WAI) and its components in a group of computer workers.

    PubMed

    Costa, Ana Filipa; Puga-Leal, Rogério; Nunes, Isabel L

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to present a study on the assessment of the work ability of a group of aged computers workers. The study was developed with the goal of creating a decision making framework oriented towards the maintenance of the health and working ability of aged workers. Fifty computer workers participated in this study. They were administrative secretaries and computer technicians working mainly with office computers. The method used to assess the work ability was the Work Ability Index (WAI). 78% of the participants had good or excellent work ability and only 2% a poor one. The average WAI score was 40.5 (SD=5.761; min=27; max=49). This study confirms the decrease in work ability of workers while aging. The group overall work ability was slightly higher than the reference values develop by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. The assessment of work ability is fundamental to make age-friendly workplaces. WAI is one tool designed to perform such assessment. The results obtained could assist the early identification of situations where employees are struggling with their work ability, thus helping to prioritize ergonomic interventions devoted to improve the working conditions, and allowing the continued employment of aging workers on their current job.

  12. The Work Values of Teacher Training Students in a Spanish University. Symbiosis between Schwartz and Meaning of Work (MOW) Study Group

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cortes Pascual, M. P. Alejandra

    2009-01-01

    Work values are linked with other relevant variables in career development, such as professional interests or vocational personality, are formed in a specific work context and influence the orientation intervention designed, for example, as an element of the professional portfolio or the development of transversal participatory and personal…

  13. Group Work and the Learning of Critical Thinking in the Hong Kong Secondary Liberal Studies Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fung, Dennis; Howe, Christine

    2014-01-01

    This article reports the findings of a one-year longitudinal study that investigated the impact of group work on the development of students' critical thinking in Hong Kong secondary schools. It explores whether the participation of teachers in a group-based teaching intervention adapted from an earlier study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK)…

  14. Physical inactivity associated with the risk of non-communicable diseases in Japanese working mothers with young children: A cross-sectional study in Nagano city, Japan.

    PubMed

    Suzuki, Yoshio; Sakuraba, Keishoku; Shinjo, Tokiko; Maruyama-Nagao, Asako; Nakaniida, Atsuko; Kadoya, Haruka; Shibata, Marika; Matsukawa, Takehisa; Itoh, Hiroaki; Yokoyama, Kazuhito

    2017-06-01

    Physical activity helps to prevent the development of chronic non-communicable diseases. However, childbearing generally reduces parents' level of physical activity, particularly in mothers. Therefore, mothers with young children generally have lower levels of physical activity and have a higher risk of developing non-communicable diseases. The aim of the present study was to examine this risk in Japanese working mothers with young children. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four nursery schools in Nagano city, Japan. All mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding abnormal findings at their proximate annual medical examination, and were asked to record their normal physical activity. A total of 182 mothers completed the questionnaires, and 36 reported having abnormal findings (ABN group). Mothers in the ABN group were significantly older than those without abnormal findings (NOR; P=0.043). No significant differences in physical activity were observed between the two groups; however, mothers in the ABN group spent a significantly longer time sitting than those in the NOR group (P=0.028). Regarding socioeconomic characteristics, mothers in the ABN group had a significantly higher educational background (P=0.040) and a higher annual family income (P<0.001) compared with those in the NOR group, and significantly more mothers held full-time jobs (55.9 vs. 36.0%; P=0.005). Full-time working mothers typically had a significantly higher family income (P<0.001) and spent a significantly longer time sitting (P<0.001) compared with mothers in part-time and other work. Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that sedentary lifestyles, namely the amount of time spent sitting, may increase the risk of Japanese working mothers with young children developing non-communicable diseases.

  15. Group work is political work: a feminist perspective of interpersonal group psychotherapy.

    PubMed

    Bender, A; Ewashen, C

    2000-01-01

    When practicing as group leaders, mental health nurses often incorporate Irvin Yalom's (1995, 1998) concepts of social microcosm and here-and-now. This article examines these concepts from a feminist perspective and offers an approach to group psychotherapy that processes gender issues and fosters collective consciousness-raising. A feminist perspective in group therapy challenges us to view the social microcosm as a reenactment of sociopolitical contexts and the here-and-now as a medium for developing personal and social responsibility. Therapy is not only about individual and interpersonal change in group members, but is an opportunity for healthy social change. Therapy becomes political work, raising the social consciousness of each participant as well as the group as a whole.

  16. NSF/ESF Workshop on Smart Structures and Advanced Sensors, Santorini Island, Greece, June 26-28, 2005: Structural Actuation and Adaptation Working Group

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Tomizuka, Masayoshi; Bergman, Lawrence; Carpenter, Bernie; Salzano, Carmine; Bairrao, rogerio; Deraemaker, Arnaud; Magonette, Georges; Rodellar, Jose; Kadirkamanathan, Visaken

    2005-01-01

    This document is a result of discussions that took place during the workshop. It describes current state of research and development (R&D) in the areas of structural actuation and adaptation in the context of smart structures and advanced sensors (SS&AS), and provides an outlook to guide future R&D efforts to develop technologies needed to build SS&AS. The discussions took place among the members of the Structural Actuation and Adaptation Working Group, as well as in general sessions including all four working groups. Participants included members of academia, industry, and government from the US and Europe, and representatives from China, Japan, and Korea.

  17. Plan of Work for Rural Development in North Carolina, July 1, 1975 - June 30, 1976.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hyatt, George, Jr.; And Others

    Serving primarily as a policy group for local Rural Development Panels, the North Carolina Rural Development Committee's major objective for 1976 is to work with local leaders, private businesses and governmental agencies at all levels in planning and implementing comprehensive rural development programs. Specifically, the Committee's objectives…

  18. 78 FR 28602 - Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee: Intercessional Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-15

    ... Committee (MERPAC) will meet to work on Task Statement 83, entitled ``Development of competency requirements... the June 11, 2013, working group meeting is as follows: (1) Develop competency requirements to meet... committee to consider with regards to Task Statement 83, entitled ``Development of competency requirements...

  19. 76 FR 10403 - Hewlett Packard (HP), Global Product Development, Engineering Workstation Refresh Team, Working...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-24

    ...), Global Product Development, Engineering Workstation Refresh Team, Working On-Site at General Motors... groups: The Non-Information Technology Business Development Team, the Engineering Application Support Team, and the Engineering Workstation Refresh Team. On February 2, 2011, the Department issued an...

  20. KANSAS WIND POWERING AMERICAN STATE OUTREACH: KANSAS WIND WORKING GROUP

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    HAMMARLUND, RAY

    2010-10-27

    The Kansas Wind Working Group (WWG) is a 33-member group announced by former Governor Kathleen Sebelius on Jan. 7, 2008. Formed through Executive Order 08-01, the WWG will educate stakeholder groups with the current information on wind energy markets, technologies, economics, policies, prospects and issues. Governor Mark Parkinson serves as chair of the Kansas Wind Working Group. The group has been instrumental in focusing on the elements of government and coordinating government and private sector efforts in wind energy development. Those efforts have moved Kansas from 364 MW of wind three years ago to over 1000 MW today. Further, themore » Wind Working Group was instrumental in fleshing out issues such as a state RES and net metering, fundamental parts of HB 2369 that was passed and is now law in Kansas. This represents the first mandatory RES and net metering in Kansas history.« less

  1. Final Report of the Working Group Meeting C, "Standards in Vocational Training" (Berlin, Germany, February 15-16, 1996). [and] Minutes of the Working Group Meeting C, "Standards in Vocational Education and Training."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    German Federal Inst. for Vocational Training Affairs, Berlin (Germany).

    Representatives from 13 Central and Eastern European countries, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development met for 2 days in Berlin to continue European Training Foundation (ETF) efforts to design a methodology for formulating standards in vocational training (VT)…

  2. Investigating Teaching Leadership in the Capstone Marketing Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Facca-Miess, Tina M.

    2015-01-01

    Marketing graduates are ultimately expected to perform in managerial roles, yet limited course work is devoted to leadership training for marketing management. In the capstone marketing course, group projects with partner organizations can serve as an opportunity for student leadership development. Marketing students working in groups on…

  3. 77 FR 74827 - Working Group on Access to Information on Prescription Drug Container Labels

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-18

    ... on Prescription Drug Container Labels AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance... information on prescription drug container labels accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. The... stakeholder working group to develop best practices for making information on prescription drug container...

  4. Professional identity development: Learning and journeying together.

    PubMed

    Bridges, Stephanie J

    2018-03-01

    Pharmacy students start to develop their professional values through engagement with the course, practice exposure, staff and fellow students. Group working is an element of pedagogy which draws on the social aspects of learning to facilitate knowledge and skills development, but its potential role in facilitating professional identity formation has as yet been under researched. This study aimed to explore the potential of mutual learning through group work to contribute not only to academic knowledge and understanding, but also to the development of students' professional values and selves. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 home and international first year undergraduate pharmacy students in a UK School of Pharmacy, to explore their experiences of interacting for learning with other students on the course. Thematic analysis of the interview data highlighted four main benefits of mutual learning, which are that it: promotes friendly interactions; aids learning about the subject and the profession; opens the mind through different opinions and ways of thinking; and enables learning about other people. Through working together students developed their communication skills and confidence; reflectively considered their own stance in the light of others' experiences and healthcare perspectives; and started to gain a wider worldview, potentially informing their future interactions with patients and colleagues. Some difficulties arose when group interactions functioned less well. Opportunity for collaboration and exchange can positively influence development of students' professional outlook and values. However, careful management of group working is required, in order to create a mutually supportive environment wherein students feel able to interact, share and develop together. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Development and Validation of the Perceived Social Work Competence Scale in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Yean; Chui, Ernest

    2017-01-01

    Objective: This article reports a study that developed and validated the Perceived Social Work Competence Scale (PSWCS) for assessing social work students' competence in Mainland China. Method: The indicators were generated by a broad empirical review of recent literature, confirmed by experts, and indigenized by means of two focus groups of…

  6. Effect of Reciprocating Systems and Working Lengths on Apical Microcrack Development: a micro-CT Study.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Bruna Paloma de; Câmara, Andréa Cruz; Duarte, Daniel Amancio; Heck, Richard John; Antonino, Antonio Celso Dantas; Aguiar, Carlos Menezes

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of root canal preparation with single-file reciprocating systems at different working lengths on the development of apical microcracks using micro-computed tomographic (micro-CT) imaging. Forty extracted human mandibular incisors were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n=10) according to the systems and working length used to prepare the root canals: Group A - WaveOne Gold at apical foramen (AF), Group B - WaveOne Gold 1 mm short of the AF (AF-1 mm), Group C - Unicone (AF) and Group D - Unicone (AF-1 mm). Micro-CT scanning was performed before and after root canal preparation at an isotropic resolution of 14 µm. Then, three examiners assessed the cross-sectional images generated to detect microcracks in the apical portion of the roots. Apical microcracks were visualized in 3, 1, 1, and 3 specimens in groups A, B, C, and D, respectively. All these microcracks observed after root canal preparation already existed prior to instrumentation, and no new apical microcrack was detected. For all groups, the number of slices presenting microcracks after root canal preparation was the same as before canal preparation. Root canal preparation with WaveOne Gold and Unicone, regardless of the working length, was not associated with apical microcrack formation.

  7. Regional native plant strategies

    Treesearch

    Wendell G. Hassell

    1999-01-01

    Because of increasing public interest in native plants, regional groups have been cooperating to develop native species. The Federal Native Plants Initiative was formed in 1994 to coordinate and encourage the development and use of native plants. The program they developed includes public involvement, organizational structure, technical work groups, implementation...

  8. Critical Friends Group for EFL Teacher Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vo, Long Thanh; Nguyen, Hoa Thi Mai

    2010-01-01

    For the best student outcomes, teachers need to engage in continuous professional development. As a result, models of teacher professional development have been developed, among which is the Critical Friends Group (CFG) technique. However, whether it works well with EFL teachers in an Asian context like Vietnam, where EFL teachers in particular do…

  9. A Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve the Success of Women Assistant Professors.

    PubMed

    Grisso, Jeane Ann; Sammel, Mary Dupuis; Rubenstein, Arthur H; Speck, Rebecca M; Conant, Emily F; Scott, Patricia; Tuton, Lucy Wolf; Westring, Alyssa Friede; Friedman, Stewart; Abbuhl, Stephanie B

    2017-05-01

    Given the persistent disparity in the advancement of women compared with men faculty in academic medicine, it is critical to develop effective interventions to enhance women's careers. We carried out a cluster-randomized, multifaceted intervention to improve the success of women assistant professors at a research-intensive medical school. Twenty-seven departments/divisions were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. The three-tiered intervention included components that were aimed at (1) the professional development of women assistant professors, (2) changes at the department/division level through faculty-led task forces, and (3) engagement of institutional leaders. Generalized linear models were used to test associations between assignment and outcomes, adjusting for correlations induced by the clustered design. Academic productivity and work self-efficacy improved significantly over the 3-year trial in both intervention and control groups, but the improvements did not differ between the groups. Average hours worked per week declined significantly more for faculty in the intervention group as compared with the control group (-3.82 vs. -1.39 hours, respectively, p = 0.006). The PhD faculty in the intervention group published significantly more than PhD controls; however, no differences were observed between MDs in the intervention group and MDs in the control group. Significant improvements in academic productivity and work self-efficacy occurred in both intervention and control groups, potentially due to school-wide intervention effects. A greater decline in work hours in the intervention group despite similar increases in academic productivity may reflect learning to "work smarter" or reveal efficiencies brought about as a result of the multifaceted intervention. The intervention appeared to benefit the academic productivity of faculty with PhDs, but not MDs, suggesting that interventions should be more intense or tailored to specific faculty groups.

  10. Researching College- and Career Ready Standards to Improve Student Outcomes: Technical Working Group Meeting. Meeting Summary (Washington, DC, August 19-20, 2013)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Institute of Education Sciences, 2013

    2013-01-01

    In August, IES worked with the National Science Foundation and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to convene a technical working group to discuss research objectives related to college- and career-ready standards in English language arts and mathematics. Forty people (including researchers,…

  11. [Association between intelligence development and facial expression recognition ability in children with autism spectrum disorder].

    PubMed

    Pan, Ning; Wu, Gui-Hua; Zhang, Ling; Zhao, Ya-Fen; Guan, Han; Xu, Cai-Juan; Jing, Jin; Jin, Yu

    2017-03-01

    To investigate the features of intelligence development, facial expression recognition ability, and the association between them in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A total of 27 ASD children aged 6-16 years (ASD group, full intelligence quotient >70) and age- and gender-matched normally developed children (control group) were enrolled. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition and Chinese Static Facial Expression Photos were used for intelligence evaluation and facial expression recognition test. Compared with the control group, the ASD group had significantly lower scores of full intelligence quotient, verbal comprehension index, perceptual reasoning index (PRI), processing speed index(PSI), and working memory index (WMI) (P<0.05). The ASD group also had a significantly lower overall accuracy rate of facial expression recognition and significantly lower accuracy rates of the recognition of happy, angry, sad, and frightened expressions than the control group (P<0.05). In the ASD group, the overall accuracy rate of facial expression recognition and the accuracy rates of the recognition of happy and frightened expressions were positively correlated with PRI (r=0.415, 0.455, and 0.393 respectively; P<0.05). The accuracy rate of the recognition of angry expression was positively correlated with WMI (r=0.397; P<0.05). ASD children have delayed intelligence development compared with normally developed children and impaired expression recognition ability. Perceptual reasoning and working memory abilities are positively correlated with expression recognition ability, which suggests that insufficient perceptual reasoning and working memory abilities may be important factors affecting facial expression recognition ability in ASD children.

  12. Relation between Working Memory Capacity and Auditory Stream Segregation in Children with Auditory Processing Disorder.

    PubMed

    Lotfi, Yones; Mehrkian, Saiedeh; Moossavi, Abdollah; Zadeh, Soghrat Faghih; Sadjedi, Hamed

    2016-03-01

    This study assessed the relationship between working memory capacity and auditory stream segregation by using the concurrent minimum audible angle in children with a diagnosed auditory processing disorder (APD). The participants in this cross-sectional, comparative study were 20 typically developing children and 15 children with a diagnosed APD (age, 9-11 years) according to the subtests of multiple-processing auditory assessment. Auditory stream segregation was investigated using the concurrent minimum audible angle. Working memory capacity was evaluated using the non-word repetition and forward and backward digit span tasks. Nonparametric statistics were utilized to compare the between-group differences. The Pearson correlation was employed to measure the degree of association between working memory capacity and the localization tests between the 2 groups. The group with APD had significantly lower scores than did the typically developing subjects in auditory stream segregation and working memory capacity. There were significant negative correlations between working memory capacity and the concurrent minimum audible angle in the most frontal reference location (0° azimuth) and lower negative correlations in the most lateral reference location (60° azimuth) in the children with APD. The study revealed a relationship between working memory capacity and auditory stream segregation in children with APD. The research suggests that lower working memory capacity in children with APD may be the possible cause of the inability to segregate and group incoming information.

  13. A collaborative design method to support integrated care. An ICT development method containing continuous user validation improves the entire care process and the individual work situation

    PubMed Central

    Scandurra, Isabella; Hägglund, Maria

    2009-01-01

    Introduction Integrated care involves different professionals, belonging to different care provider organizations and requires immediate and ubiquitous access to patient-oriented information, supporting an integrated view on the care process [1]. Purpose To present a method for development of usable and work process-oriented information and communication technology (ICT) systems for integrated care. Theory and method Based on Human-computer Interaction Science and in particular Participatory Design [2], we present a new collaborative design method in the context of health information systems (HIS) development [3]. This method implies a thorough analysis of the entire interdisciplinary cooperative work and a transformation of the results into technical specifications, via user validated scenarios, prototypes and use cases, ultimately leading to the development of appropriate ICT for the variety of occurring work situations for different user groups, or professions, in integrated care. Results and conclusions Application of the method in homecare of the elderly resulted in an HIS that was well adapted to the intended user groups. Conducted in multi-disciplinary seminars, the method captured and validated user needs and system requirements for different professionals, work situations, and environments not only for current work; it also aimed to improve collaboration in future (ICT supported) work processes. A holistic view of the entire care process was obtained and supported through different views of the HIS for different user groups, resulting in improved work in the entire care process as well as for each collaborating profession [4].

  14. The Influence of Collaborative Group Work on Students' Development of Critical Thinking: The Teacher's Role in Facilitating Group Discussions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fung, Dennis Chun-Lok; To, Helen; Leung, Kit

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study was to determine whether the incorporation of group work in a teaching intervention can effectively foster students' critical thinking skills. Building upon Kuhn's critical thinking model, the research involved comparison of pretest and post-test results for 140 secondary four (10th grade) students in Hong Kong on two…

  15. Reflections and Conclusions on the Work Developed by the Group of Teaching Innovation in Electronics at the University of Valladolid

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herrero, Luis Carlos; Pardo, Fernando; Fernando, María Luisa; González, María Luisa

    2011-01-01

    We hereby present the main conclusions and perspectives obtained by the Group of Teaching Innovation in Electronics (Grupo de Innovación Docente en Electrónica, GIDEN) of the University of Valladolid (UVa) with regard to its main areas of work. This group comprises teachers of the "Specialty in Industrial Electronics" degree, and the…

  16. Presentation to U.S.-Canada Bilateral Technical Working Group

    EPA Science Inventory

    DHS and EPA have collaborated in the development of a draft charter for Technical Working Group (TWG) to serve as the basis of negotiations of bilateral agreements with other countries. The TWG would provide a mechanism for sharing both response and R&D expertise and experience i...

  17. International Consultation and Training on Group Work in South Asia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ibrahim, Farah A.

    2015-01-01

    This article presents a consultation and training for faculty and graduate students in South Asia under the auspices of the United Nations' Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) Program. It describes the development of a consultation relationship and training on group work. Needs assessments focusing on both cultural…

  18. 77 FR 20789 - Work Group on Measuring Systems for Taxis

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-06

    .... SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is forming a Work Group (WG) to develop proposals to revise the current Taximeters Code in NIST Handbook 44 (HB 44), Specifications, Tolerances, and... CONTACT: Mr. John Barton, NIST, Office of Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg...

  19. How executive functions are related to intelligence in Williams syndrome.

    PubMed

    Osório, Ana; Cruz, Raquel; Sampaio, Adriana; Garayzábal, Elena; Martínez-Regueiro, Rocío; Gonçalves, Óscar F; Carracedo, Ángel; Fernández-Prieto, Montse

    2012-01-01

    Williams syndrome is characterized by impairments in executive functions (EFs). However, it remains unknown how distinct types of EFs relate to intelligence in this syndrome. The present study analyzed performance on working memory, inhibiting and shifting, and its links to IQ in a sample of 17 individuals with WS, and compared them with a group of 17 typically developing individuals matched on chronological age and gender. In conclusion, our results suggest that working memory, inhibiting, and shifting relate differently to intelligence in WS as well as in typical development, with working memory being the EF most closely related to intelligence in both groups. Notably, the magnitude of the associations between the three EFs and IQ was substantially higher in the WS group than in the TD group, bringing further confirmation to the notion that frontal lobe impairments may produce a general compromise of several EFs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Individual to collaborative: guided group work and the role of teachers in junior secondary science classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fung, Dennis; Lui, Wai-mei

    2016-05-01

    This paper, through discussion of a teaching intervention at two secondary schools in Hong Kong, demonstrates the learning advancement brought about by group work and dissects the facilitating role of teachers in collaborative discussions. One-hundred and fifty-two Secondary Two (Grade 8) students were divided into three pedagogical groups, namely 'whole-class teaching', 'self-directed group work' and 'teacher-supported group work' groups, and engaged in peer-review, team debate, group presentation and reflection tasks related to a junior secondary science topic (i.e. current electricity). Pre- and post-tests were performed to evaluate students' scientific conceptions, alongside collected written responses and audio-recorded discussions. The results indicate that students achieved greater cognitive growth when they engaged in cooperative learning activities, the interactive and multi-sided argumentative nature of which is considered to apply particularly well to science education and Vygotsky's zone of proximal development framework. Group work learning is also found to be most effective when teachers play a role in navigating students during the joint construction of conceptual knowledge.

  1. Using computer software to improve group decision-making.

    PubMed

    Mockler, R J; Dologite, D G

    1991-08-01

    This article provides a review of some of the work done in the area of knowledge-based systems for strategic planning. Since 1985, with the founding of the Center for Knowledge-based Systems for Business Management, the project has focused on developing knowledge-based systems (KBS) based on these models. In addition, the project also involves developing a variety of computer and non-computer methods and techniques for assisting both technical and non-technical managers and individuals to do decision modelling and KBS development. This paper presents a summary of one segment of the project: a description of integrative groupware useful in strategic planning. The work described here is part of an ongoing research project. As part of this project, for example, over 200 non-technical and technical business managers, most of them working full-time during the project, developed over 160 KBS prototype systems in conjunction with MBA course in strategic planning and management decision making. Based on replies to a survey of this test group, 28 per cent of the survey respondents reported their KBS were used at work, 21 per cent reportedly received promotions, pay rises or new jobs based on their KBS development work, and 12 per cent reported their work led to participation in other KBS development projects at work. All but two of the survey respondents reported that their work on the KBS development project led to a substantial increase in their job knowledge or performance.

  2. Vehicle Engineering Development Activities at the Marshall Space Flight Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fisher, Mark F.; Champion, Robert H., Jr.

    1999-01-01

    New initiatives in the Space Transportation Directorate at the Marshall Space Flight Center include an emphasis on Vehicle Engineering to enhance the strong commitment to the Directorate's projects in the development of flight hardware and flight demonstrators for the advancement of space transportation technology. This emphasis can be seen in the activities of a newly formed organization in the Transportation Directorate, The Vehicle Subsystems Engineering Group. The functions and type of activities that this group works on are described. The current projects of this group are outlined including a brief description of the status and type of work that the group is performing. A summary section is included to describe future activities.

  3. OSIRIS-REx and mission sample science: The return of at least 60 g of pristine regolith from asteroid Bennu

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Connolly, H. C., Jr.; Lauretta, D. S.

    2014-07-01

    Introduction: The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) asteroid sample return mission was selected by NASA in May 2011 as the third New Frontiers mission. The target, (101955) Bennu, is a B-type near-Earth asteroid (NEA), hypothesized to be similar to CI or CM carbonaceous chondrites. The key science objectives of the mission are summarized in [1]. To meet these science objectives, the science team is coordinated and governed by the Science Executive Council (SEC): A group of six persons that run various elements of mission science. Mission Sample Science (MSS) is charged with analysis of the returned sample. Mission Sample Science: MSS is run by a Mission Scientist and composed of the following working groups: Carbonaceous Meteorite Working Group (CMWG), Dynamical Evolution Working Group (DEWG), Regolith Development Working Group (RDWG), Sample Analysis Working Group (SampleWG), Sample Site Science Working Group (SSSWG), and TAGSAM Working Group (TAGSAMWG). CMWG works to define and create well-characterized test samples, both natural and synthetic, for the development of spectral test data. These data are used to verify the depth and accuracy of spectral analysis techniques for processing data collected by the OSIRIS-REx spectrometers (OVIRS and OTES). The DEWG is charged with constraining the history of asteroid Bennu from main-belt asteroid to NEA. They also work closely with the SampleWG to define the hypotheses for the dynamical evolution of Bennu through the analysis of the returned sample. The RDWG is focused on developing constraints on the origin and evolution of regolith on Bennu through investigations of the surface geology and, working with the SampleWG, test these hypotheses through sample analysis. RDWG is also focused on the analysis of the sampling event and reconstructing what occurred during the event. SampleWG is focused on documenting Contamination Knowledge, which is distinct but related to mission Contamination Control. The main deliverable for this working group is the Sample Analysis Plan, due in 2019. Furthermore, it is this working group that is responsible for constituting the Preliminary Examination Team (PET) and performing the analyses of the returned sample during the first six months after return. SSSWG has the main deliverable of providing to the project the Science Value Maps (SVMs), which are part of the sample site selection process. If we can deliver the spacecraft to candidate sample sites, if it is safe to sample at them, and if there is material that can be ingested, SVMs will be a semi-quantitative aid in picking the optimum site to meet mission science goals. Finally, TAGSAM (Touch And Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) is the sampler for the mission and this working group is concerned primarily with characterizing TAGSAM capabilities against a range of regolith types. Mission Sample Science provides an over-arching structure to reconstruct the pre- and post-accretion history of Bennu from the formation of pre-solar grains, chondrules, up to geological activity within the asteroid to its final dynamical evolution through analysis of the returned sample using a wide range of disciplines and expertise.

  4. Estimation of Environment-Related Properties of Chemicals for Design of Sustainable Processes: Development of Group-Contribution+ (GC+) Property Models and Uncertainty Analysis

    EPA Science Inventory

    The aim of this work is to develop group-contribution+ (GC+) method (combined group-contribution (GC) method and atom connectivity index (CI) method) based property models to provide reliable estimations of environment-related properties of organic chemicals together with uncert...

  5. Growth behind the Mirror: The Family Therapy Consortium's Group Process.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wendorf, Donald J.; And Others

    1985-01-01

    Charts the development of the Family Therapy Consortium, a group that provides supervision and continuing education in family therapy and explores the peer supervision process at work in the consortium. The focus is on individual and group development, which are seen as complementary aspects of the same growth process. (Author/NRB)

  6. Count on dopamine: influences of COMT polymorphisms on numerical cognition

    PubMed Central

    Júlio-Costa, Annelise; Antunes, Andressa M.; Lopes-Silva, Júlia B.; Moreira, Bárbara C.; Vianna, Gabrielle S.; Wood, Guilherme; Carvalho, Maria R. S.; Haase, Vitor G.

    2013-01-01

    Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an enzyme that is particularly important for the metabolism of dopamine. Functional polymorphisms of COMT have been implicated in working memory and numerical cognition. This is an exploratory study that aims at investigating associations between COMT polymorphisms, working memory, and numerical cognition. Elementary school children from 2th to 6th grades were divided into two groups according to their COMT val158met polymorphism [homozygous for valine allele (n = 61) vs. heterozygous plus methionine homozygous children or met+ group (n = 94)]. Both groups were matched for age and intelligence. Working memory was assessed through digit span and Corsi blocks. Symbolic numerical processing was assessed through transcoding and single-digit word problem tasks. Non-symbolic magnitude comparison and estimation tasks were used to assess number sense. Between-group differences were found in symbolic and non-symbolic numerical tasks, but not in working memory tasks. Children in the met+ group showed better performance in all numerical tasks while val homozygous children presented slower development of non-symbolic magnitude representations. These results suggest COMT-related dopaminergic modulation may be related not only to working memory, as found in previous studies, but also to the development of magnitude processing and magnitude representations. PMID:23966969

  7. Improving tsunami resiliency: California's Tsunami Policy Working Group

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Real, Charles R.; Johnson, Laurie; Jones, Lucile M.; Ross, Stephanie L.; Kontar, Y.A.; Santiago-Fandiño, V.; Takahashi, T.

    2014-01-01

    California has established a Tsunami Policy Working Group to facilitate development of policy recommendations for tsunami hazard mitigation. The Tsunami Policy Working Group brings together government and industry specialists from diverse fields including tsunami, seismic, and flood hazards, local and regional planning, structural engineering, natural hazard policy, and coastal engineering. The group is acting on findings from two parallel efforts: The USGS SAFRR Tsunami Scenario project, a comprehensive impact analysis of a large credible tsunami originating from an M 9.1 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands Subduction Zone striking California’s coastline, and the State’s Tsunami Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation Program. The unique dual-track approach provides a comprehensive assessment of vulnerability and risk within which the policy group can identify gaps and issues in current tsunami hazard mitigation and risk reduction, make recommendations that will help eliminate these impediments, and provide advice that will assist development and implementation of effective tsunami hazard risk communication products to improve community resiliency.

  8. Development of the Modes of Collaboration framework

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pawlak, Alanna; Irving, Paul W.; Caballero, Marcos D.

    2018-01-01

    Group work is becoming increasingly common in introductory physics classrooms. Understanding how students engage in these group learning environments is important for designing and facilitating productive learning opportunities for students. We conducted a study in which we collected video of groups of students working on conceptual electricity and magnetism problems in an introductory physics course. In this setting, students needed to negotiate a common understanding and coordinate group decisions in order to complete the activity successfully. We observed students interacting in several distinct ways while solving these problems. Analysis of these observations focused on identifying the different ways students interacted and articulating what defines and distinguishes them, resulting in the development of the modes of collaboration framework. The modes of collaboration framework defines student interactions along three dimensions: social, discursive, and disciplinary content. This multidimensional approach offers a unique lens through which to consider group work and provides a flexibility that could allow the framework to be adapted for a variety of contexts. We present the framework and several examples of its application here.

  9. The space shuttle payload planning working groups: Executive summaries

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1973-01-01

    The findings of a space shuttle payload planning group session are presented. The purpose of the workshop is: (1) to provide guidance for the design and development of the space shuttle and the spacelab and (2) to plan a space science and applications program for the 1980 time period. Individual groups were organized to cover the various space sciences, applications, technologies, and life sciences. Summaries of the reports submitted by the working groups are provided.

  10. Participatory redesign of work organisation in hospital nursing: A study of the implementation process.

    PubMed

    Stab, Nicole; Hacker, Winfried

    2018-05-01

    The main goal of the study was to apply and analyse a moderated participatory small-group procedure with registered nurses, which aims at the development and implementation of measures to improve work organisation in hospital wards and nursing units. Participation in job redesign is an essential prerequisite of the successful implementation of improvement measures in nursing. The study was carried out in a public hospital of maximum care in Germany. We selected 25 wards with the most critical reported exhaustion and general health and applied a series of moderated small-group sessions in which the registered nurses jointly identified deficits in their work organisation, developed improvement measures, and then implemented and assessed them. Registered nurses of 22 wards actively took part in the small-group procedure. All nursing units jointly identified organisational deficits, developed possible improvement measures, and implemented them. The nursing teams then evaluated the implemented measures which were already assessable at the end of our research period; nearly all (99.0%) showed improvements, while 69.4% actually attained the desired goals. Participatory small-group activities may be successfully applied in hospital nursing in order to improve work organisation. Participatory assessment and redesign of nurses' work organisation should be integrated into regular team meetings. The nursing management should actively support the implementation process. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Texas A&M University in the JET Collaboration - Final Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fries, Rainer; Ko, Che-Ming

    This final report summarizes the work done by PIs at Texas A&M University within the JET Topical Collaboration. The main focus of the group at Texas A&M has been the development and implementation of a hadronization model suitable to calculate hadronization of jet showers in heavy ion collisions event by event. The group successfully developed a hybrid model of parton recombination and remnant string fragmentation including recombination with thermal partons. A code realizing this model was developed and shared with other JET members. In addition, the group at Texas A&M worked on both open and hidden heavy flavor probes. Inmore » particular, they developed a description of heavy flavor hadronization based on recombination, and consistent with in-medium scattering rates of heavy quarks, and suggested the D s meson as a precise probe of the hadronization mechanism. Another noteworthy focus of their work was electromagnetic probes, in particular, dileptons and photons from interactions of jets with the medium. In the soft sector the group has made several contributions to modern topics, e.g. the splitting of elliptic flow between isospin partners and the role of the initial strong gluon fields.« less

  12. [Development and Evaluation of the Work-Related Intervention "Perspective Job" for the Oncological Rehabilitation].

    PubMed

    Kähnert, H; Exner, A-K; Brand, S; Leibbrand, B

    2016-06-01

    The knowledge about contents and arrangement of work-related measures in oncological rehabilitation is limited. The aim of the study was to develop a multimodal work-related module called Perspective Job for the oncological rehabilitation as well as to evaluate the process of development and the module itself. Perspective Job was developed within a rehabilitation team. For an examination of the process of development and of the module expert interviews with clinic employees and group interviews with patients were conducted. Group interviews were conducted before as well as after the implementation of Perspective Job to demonstrate changes in the rehabilitation from the patients point of view. Participants were oncological patients with substantial work-related problems. The module Perspective Job consists of work-related therapies as well as job trainings. The expert interviews illustrates: The process of development is valued as positive and meaningful by the rehabilitation team. Furthermore synergetic effects were used and the exchange of information and the communication within the team were promoted. The interviews with the patient emphasized that most perspective job therapies were classified as work-related and that an individual occupation-oriented care took place. The promoting exchanges of experience between the participants has been positively evaluated. In addition, they seemed to be well-prepared for the return to work. The development of a work-related module in the rehabilitation team is possible. The process was valued by the team members positively and promoted the multiprofessional cooperation. An occupationally oriented arrangement of the rehabilitation was solely perceived by the participants of Perspective Job, which felt better prepared to reintegrate into working life. The results emphasize the importance of teamwork for the development and implementation of work-related therapy modules for the oncological rehabilitation. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  13. Critiquing Teacher Professional Development: Teacher Learning within the Field of Teachers' Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hardy, Ian

    2010-01-01

    This study is an empirical account of the professional development (PD) practices that constituted part of the work of a group of teachers and school-based administrators working together in a cluster of six schools in southeast Queensland, Australia, during a period of intense educational reform. The data comprise meeting transcripts and…

  14. International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA) recommendations for the construction of multilingual speech tests. ICRA Working Group on Multilingual Speech Tests.

    PubMed

    Akeroyd, Michael A; Arlinger, Stig; Bentler, Ruth A; Boothroyd, Arthur; Dillier, Norbert; Dreschler, Wouter A; Gagné, Jean-Pierre; Lutman, Mark; Wouters, Jan; Wong, Lena; Kollmeier, Birger

    2015-01-01

    To provide guidelines for the development of two types of closed-set speech-perception tests that can be applied and interpreted in the same way across languages. The guidelines cover the digit triplet and the matrix sentence tests that are most commonly used to test speech recognition in noise. They were developed by a working group on Multilingual Speech Tests of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA). The recommendations are based on reviews of existing evaluations of the digit triplet and matrix tests as well as on the research experience of members of the ICRA Working Group. They represent the results of a consensus process. The resulting recommendations deal with: Test design and word selection; Talker characteristics; Audio recording and stimulus preparation; Masking noise; Test administration; and Test validation. By following these guidelines for the development of any new test of this kind, clinicians and researchers working in any language will be able to perform tests whose results can be compared and combined in cross-language studies.

  15. Developing and sustaining leadership in public health nursing: findings from one British Columbia health authority.

    PubMed

    Mills, Leslie; Wong, Sabrina T; Bhagat, Radhika; Quail, Donna; Triolet, Kathy; Weber, Tannis

    2012-12-01

    To develop clinical leadership among front-line public health nurses (PHNs). This paper describes a quality improvement process to develop clinical leadership among front-line PHNs. Three activities were undertaken by a working group consisting mainly of front-line staff: engaging PHNs in an online change-readiness questionnaire, administering a survey to clients who had ever used public health services delivered by one Vancouver Community Infant, Child and Youth (ICY) program team and conducting three group interviews with public health providers. The group interviews asked about PHN practice. They were analyzed using thematic content analysis. This quality improvement project suggests that PHNs (n=70) strongly believed in opportunities for system improvement. Client surveys (n=429) and community partner surveys (n=79) revealed the importance of the PHN role. Group interview data yielded three themes: PHNs were the "hub" of community care; PHNs lacked a common language to describe their work; PHNs envisioned their future practice encompassing their full scope of competencies. PHNs developed the "ICY Public Health Nursing Model," which articulates 14 public health interventions and identifies the scope of their work. Developing and sustaining clinical leadership in front-line PHNs was accomplished through these various quality assurance activities. Copyright © 2013 Longwoods Publishing.

  16. Wellness and multiple sclerosis: The National MS Society establishes a Wellness Research Working Group and research priorities.

    PubMed

    Motl, Robert W; Mowry, Ellen M; Ehde, Dawn M; LaRocca, Nicholas G; Smith, Kathy E; Costello, Kathleen; Shinto, Lynne; Ng, Alexander V; Sullivan, Amy B; Giesser, Barbara; McCully, Kevin K; Fernhall, Bo; Bishop, Malachy; Plow, Matthew; Casaccia, Patrizia; Chiaravalloti, Nancy D

    2018-03-01

    People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have identified "wellness" and associated behaviors as a high priority based on "social media listening" undertaken by the National MS Society (i.e. the Society). The Society recently convened a group that consisted of researchers with experience in MS and wellness-related research, Society staff members, and an individual with MS for developing recommendations regarding a wellness research agenda. The members of the group engaged in focal reviews and discussions involving the state of science within three approaches for promoting wellness in MS, namely diet, exercise, and emotional wellness. That process informed a group-mediated activity for developing and prioritizing research goals for wellness in MS. This served as a background for articulating the mission and objectives of the Society's Wellness Research Working Group. The primary mission of the Wellness Research Working Group is the provision of scientific evidence supporting the application of lifestyle, behavioral, and psychosocial approaches for promoting optimal health of mind, body, and spirit (i.e. wellness) in people with MS as well as managing the disease and its consequences.

  17. Sing Me the Creation: A Sourcebook for Poets and Teachers, and for All Who Wish To Develop the Life of the Imagination.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matthews, Paul

    This resource book contains over 300 exercises and games for individual and group work in creative writing. Though the book's exercises are intended for group work with adults, teachers of children will encounter many new ideas for the classroom, and individuals working alone will have no difficulty adapting the exercises to their needs. The…

  18. Conceptualizing Group Dynamics from Our Clients' Perspective: Development of the Conceptualization of Group Dynamics Inventory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tate, Kevin A.; Rivera, Edil Torres; Conwill, William L.; Miller, M. David; Puig, Ana

    2013-01-01

    There is a clear call in group counseling practice and training for evidence-based practice (ACA, 2005; ASGW, 2008; CACREP, 2009). At the same time, group counselors also are asked to keep clients' experience at the center of their work (ASGW, 2012). This article outlines the authors' effort to develop and study an instrument designed to measure…

  19. Career Development Specialties for the 21st Century. Trends and Issues Alert No. 13.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kerka, Sandra

    The need for career development services is growing. One-stop career centers and school-to-work programs have spurred demand for career development facilitators (CDFs). Working under the supervision of a qualified career counselor, CDFs can serve the following functions: career group facilitator, job search trainer, career resource center…

  20. Lessons learned from facilitating the state and tribal government working group

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kurstedt, H.A. Jr.

    1994-12-31

    Thirteen lessons learned from my experience in facilitating the State and Tribal Government Working Group for the U.S. Department of Energy have been identified. The conceptual base for supporting the veracity of each lesson has been developed and the lessons are believed to be transferable to any stakeholder group. The crux of stakeholder group success if the two-directional, two-mode empowerment required in this case. Most of the lessons learned deal with the scope of that empowerment. A few of the lessons learned deal with the operations of the group.

  1. NREL Postdoc Awarded for Work on Breakthrough Solar Technology | News |

    Science.gov Websites

    widespread, new research must further these trends. One type of materials-halide perovskites-shows promise to group of Joseph M. Luther, working to develop a better understanding of halide perovskite materials fostered," Christians said. "This fellowship gives me the freedom to interact with a wide group

  2. Engineering Students' Experiences from Physics Group Work in Learning Labs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mellingsaeter, Magnus Strøm

    2014-01-01

    Background: This paper presents a case study from a physics course at a Norwegian university college, investigating key aspects of a group-work project, so-called learning labs, from the participating students' perspective. Purpose: In order to develop these learning labs further, the students' perspective is important. Which aspects are essential…

  3. A Debate and Decision-Making Tool for Enhanced Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    López Garcia, Diego A.; Mateo Sanguino, Tomás de J.; Cortés Ancos, Estefania; Fernández de Viana González, Iñaki

    2016-01-01

    Debates have been used to develop critical thinking within teaching environments. Many learning activities are configured as working groups, which use debates to make decisions. Nevertheless, in a classroom debate, only a few students can participate; large work groups are similarly limited. Whilst the use of web tools would appear to offer a…

  4. Cooperative Work Groups: Preparing Students for the Real World.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mandel, Scott M.

    This book outlines how educators can design meaningful learning experiences that address standards and utilize cooperative learning, brain research, and the Internet to effectively develop a students' ability to thrive in the 21st century workplace. After an introduction that explains cooperative work groups, there are 13 chapters in four parts.…

  5. Insights from the Use of Gardner's Notions of Mindset: Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Retna, Kala S.

    2015-01-01

    A body of literature asserts that group work can be beneficial in enhancing learning and in developing specific skills among students. This research builds on the literature and on Gardner's (2006a) five notions of mindsets: disciplined, synthesising, creation, ethical and respectful, as a descriptive framework to explore and understand the…

  6. Understanding Responsive Web Design in Higher Education. ECAR Working Group Paper

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bollens, Eric; Rocchio, Rosemary A.; Peterson, Jill Eleanor; Pollack, Brett; Tirpak, Lori; Ward, Christopher Matthew

    2014-01-01

    This paper is a publication of the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR) Mobile Strategy and Application Development (MSAD) Working Group. In higher education, nearly every user interaction that takes place on a desktop or laptop browser is also attempted using phones, tablets, watches, and more. As students, faculty, and staff…

  7. Fallacious Argumentation in Student Reasoning: Are There Benefits?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mueller, Mary; Yankelewitz, Dina

    2014-01-01

    This article reports on an analysis of episodes of invalid or controversial arguments that occurred while two different groups of students worked on similar fraction tasks and examine the role that these types of arguments played in the development of students' reasoning. One group consisted of suburban, middle-class, fourth graders who worked on…

  8. Measuring Heedful Interrelating in Collaborative Educational Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Daniel, Sarah R.; Jordan, Michelle E.

    2015-01-01

    Collaborative group work plays an important part in postsecondary education, and the ability to assess the quality of such group work is useful for both students and instructors. The purpose of this study was to develop a self-report measure of students' perceptions of the quality of their interactions during collaborative educational tasks.…

  9. Letter to the Editor: Nutritional epidemiology data should be analyzed by nutritional epidemiologists

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The Energy Balance Working Group recently reported on the inaccuracy of self-report energy intake (EI) and issued a twin plea for researchers to stop using these data as outcomes and for newer, more accurate measures to be developed. I echo The Energy Balance Working Group's urgency for new measures...

  10. [Update of recommendations for evaluation and treatment of osteoporosis associated to endocrine and nutritional conditions. Working Group on Osteoporosis and Mineral Metabolism of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology].

    PubMed

    Reyes-García, Rebeca; García-Martín, Antonia; Varsavsky, Mariela; Rozas-Moreno, Pedro; Cortés-Berdonces, María; Luque-Fernández, Inés; Gómez Sáez, José Manuel; Vidal Casariego, Alfonso; Romero Muñoz, Manuel; Guadalix Iglesias, Sonsoles; Fernández García, Diego; Jódar Gimeno, Esteban; Muñoz Torres, Manuel

    2015-05-01

    To update previous recommendations developed by the Working Group on Osteoporosis and Mineral Metabolism of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition for the evaluation and treatment of osteoporosis associated to different endocrine and nutritional diseases. Members of the Working Group on Osteoporosis and Mineral Metabolism of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition. Recommendations were formulated according to the GRADE system (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) to describe both the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. A systematic search was made in MEDLINE (Pubmed) using the following terms associated to the name of each condition: AND "osteoporosis", "fractures", "bone mineral density", and "treatment". Papers in English with publication date between 18 October 2011 and 30 October 2014 were included. The recommendations were discussed and approved by all members of the Working Group. This update summarizes the new data regarding evaluation and treatment of osteoporosis associated to endocrine and nutritional conditions. Copyright © 2015 SEEN. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  11. A collaborative working environment for small group meetings in Second Life.

    PubMed

    da Silva, Cintia Rc; Garcia, Ana Cristina B

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents the SLMeetingRoom, a virtual reality online environment to support group meetings of geographically dispersed participants. A prototype was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach using the Second Life platform. Ten additional components had to be added to Second Life environment to support group work essential activities such as participants' communication, tasks' and participants' coordination, participants' collaboration and work evolution's perception. Empirical studies, both pilot and experiment, were developed comparing four different meeting settings: face-to-face, videoconference, stand Second Life and SLMeetingRoom. The study involved graduate students enrolled in the Interface and Multimedia discipline at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Brazil. Results indicated that groups working within SLMeetingRoom environment presented similar results as face-to-face meeting as far as sense of presence is concerned and with low cognitive effort. Task completion and degree of participation were not affected by the meeting set up. It was concluded that Second Life, in conjunction with the SLMeetingRoom components, is a good tool for holding synchronous remote meetings and coexists with other electronic meeting technologies.

  12. The TF1 Radio Astronomy Working Group in the Andean ROAD: goals and challenges for 2025

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaparro Molano, G.

    2017-07-01

    Since the creation of the Andean Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) of the International Astronomical Union, one of the main goals has been to foster a scientific culture of radio astronomy in countries of the central and northern Andes (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, and Venezuela). For this reason, Andean ROAD Task Force 1 (Research and Education in Universities) created the Radio Astronomy Working Group to set a path along which collaborative endeavors can grow and yield scientific results. The first official meeting of the Working Group took place in Bogotá, Colombia during the 2nd Astronomá en los Andes Workshop (2015) where scientists actively developing projects in radio astronomy set goals for the near future, such as improving mobility for researchers and students, developing collaborations in related areas such as engineering and data science, and building transnational collaborations aiming at developing VLBI across the countries of the Andean ROAD and beyond. In this poster, I present current projects and associated research groups (ROAS - Perú, SiAMo - Colombia, Alfa-Orion UTP - Colombia, RAIG - Chile) and discuss goalposts and current challenges in the development of transnational radioastronomical projects. As a case study, I present the development and early astronomical results of the privately funded UECCI 4m Radio Telescope for 21 cm line observations in Bogotá, Colombia.

  13. Workload and quality of life of medical doctors in the field of oncology in Germany--a survey of the working group quality of life of the AIO for the study group of internal oncology.

    PubMed

    Hipp, Matthias; Pilz, Lothar; Al-Batran, Salah E; Hautmann, Matthias G; Hofheinz, Ralf-Dieter

    2015-01-01

    An increasing number of surveys have investigated professional stress and satisfaction among oncologists. Coevally, structural development has changed the oncological working environment. This survey investigated the quality of life and job stress among German oncological physicians. A 48-item questionnaire, which included the 'Stress questionnaire of physicians and nurses' (FBAS), was developed by the 'Quality of life' working group of the Internal oncology study group (AIO), and distributed anonymously at the annual meeting of the AIO working group in 2010. Descriptive statistics as well as univariate and multivariate analysis were performed. 261 oncologists, mostly male (64%), older than 40 years (38%), and medical specialists (78%), took part in the survey. 'Structural conditions' were identified as causing the highest mean stress levels, followed by 'professional and private life'. Female participants showed a significantly lower global quality of life than male participants (p = 0.020). 'Structural conditions' induced more stress among younger oncologists < 50 years old (p < 0.001). Qualification status was influenced by gender (p < 0.001); the multivariate analysis described the dependence of gender (p = 0.0045), working situation (p = 0.0317) and global stress (p = 0.0008). Structural conditions, age younger than 50 years and female gender were identified as stress risk factors among the AIO members, and showed that job stress is present in German oncology. Further research is warranted to develop evidence-based intervention strategies. © 2015 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

  14. Development of a universal approach to increase physical activity among adolescents: the GoActive intervention

    PubMed Central

    Corder, Kirsten; Schiff, Annie; Kesten, Joanna M; van Sluijs, Esther M F

    2015-01-01

    Objectives To develop a physical activity (PA) promotion intervention for adolescents using a process addressing gaps in the literature while considering participant engagement. We describe the initial development stages; (1) existing evidence, (2) large scale opinion gathering and (3) developmental qualitative work, aiming (A) to gain insight into how to increase PA among the whole of year 9 (13–14 years-old) by identifying elements for intervention inclusion (B) to improve participant engagement and (C) to develop and refine programme design. Methods Relevant systematic reviews and longitudinal analyses of change were examined. An intervention was developed iteratively with older adolescents (17.3±0.5 years) and teachers, using the following process: (1) focus groups with (A) adolescents (n=26) and (B) teachers (n=4); (2) individual interviews (n=5) with inactive and shy adolescents focusing on engagement and programme acceptability. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results Limitations of the existing literature include lack of evidence on whole population approaches, limited adolescent involvement in intervention development, and poor participant engagement. Qualitative work suggested six themes which may encourage adolescents to do more PA; choice, novelty, mentorship, competition, rewards and flexibility. Teachers discussed time pressures as a barrier to encouraging adolescent PA and suggested between-class competition as a strategy. GoActive aims to increase PA through increased peer support, self-efficacy, group cohesion, self-esteem and friendship quality, and is implemented in tutor groups using a student-led tiered-leadership system. Conclusions We have followed an evidence-based iterative approach to translate existing evidence into an adolescent PA promotion intervention. Qualitative work with adolescents and teachers supported intervention design and addressed lack of engagement with health promotion programmes within this age group. Future work will examine the feasibility and effectiveness of GoActive to increase PA among adolescents while monitoring potential negative effects. The approach developed is applicable to other population groups and health behaviours. Trial registration number ISRCTN31583496. PMID:26307618

  15. Factors affecting retention of allied health professionals working with people with disability in rural New South Wales, Australia: discrete choice experiment questionnaire development.

    PubMed

    Gallego, Gisselle; Dew, Angela; Bulkeley, Kim; Veitch, Craig; Lincoln, Michelle; Bundy, Anita; Brentnall, Jennie

    2015-04-21

    This paper describes the development of a discrete choice experiment (DCE) questionnaire to identify the factors (attributes) that allied health professionals (AHPs) working with people with disability identify as important to encouraging them to remain practising in rural areas. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 97 purposively selected service providers working with people with disability in rural New South Wales, Australia. Focus groups and interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a modified grounded theory approach involving thematic analysis and constant comparison. Six attributes that may influence AHPs working with people with disability in rural areas to continue to do so were inductively identified: travel arrangements, work flexibility, professional support, professional development, remuneration, and autonomy of practice. The qualitative research information was combined with a policy review to define these retention factors and ensure that they are amenable to policy changes. The use of various qualitative research methods allowed the development of a policy-relevant DCE questionnaire that was grounded in the experience of the target population (AHPs).

  16. Evaluation of Team Development in a Corporate Adventure Training Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bronson, Jim; And Others

    1992-01-01

    An intact work unit of 17 corporate managers participated in a 3-day adventure training program to develop teamwork and group unity. The unit improved significantly on 8 of 10 items of the Team Development Inventory, administered before and 2 months after training, relative to an intact control group. (SV)

  17. The Development of a Dental Diagnostic Terminology

    PubMed Central

    Kalenderian, Elsbeth; Ramoni, Rachel L.; White, Joel M.; Schoonheim-Klein, Meta E.; Stark, Paul C.; Kimmes, Nicole S.; Zeller, Gregory G.; Willis, George P.; Walji, Muhammad F.

    2011-01-01

    There is no commonly accepted standardized terminology for oral diagnoses. The purpose of this article is to report the development of a standardized dental diagnostic terminology by a work group of dental faculty members. The work group developed guiding principles for decision making and adhered to principles of terminology development. The members used an iterative process to develop a terminology incorporating concepts represented in the Toronto/University of California, San Francisco/Creighton University and International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9/10 codes and periodontal and endodontic diagnoses. Domain experts were consulted to develop a final list of diagnostic terms. A structure was developed, consisting of thirteen categories, seventy-eight subcategories, and 1,158 diagnostic terms, hierarchically organized and mappable to other terminologies and ontologies. Use of this standardized diagnostic terminology will reinforce the diagnosis-treatment link and will facilitate clinical research, quality assurance, and patient communication. Future work will focus on implementation and approaches to enhance the validity and reliability of diagnostic term utilization. PMID:21205730

  18. Developing a Taxonomy of Institutional Sponsored Work Experience.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heinemann, Harry N.; Wilson, James W.

    1995-01-01

    The name of the work-integrated education program, its learning objectives, and other program characteristics were gathered from 18 colleges/universities and 2 community colleges. Three-quarters use internship, practicum, or co-op. Factor analysis grouped objectives as cognitive, communication, job seeking, personal development, career…

  19. Social Development and the Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ediger, Marlow

    Teachers and administrators need to select objectives for student achievement in social development. Teachers need to follow definite educational psychology standards in helping students work toward objectives. In the classroom, students should have the opportunity to work with learners from diverse racial groups and socioeconomic levels.…

  20. Social work perspectives on human behavior.

    PubMed

    Wodarski, J S

    1993-01-01

    This manuscript addresses recent developments in human behavior research that are relevant to social work practice. Specific items addressed are biological aspects of behavior, life span development, cognitive variables, the self-efficacy learning process, the perceptual process, the exchange model, group level variables, macro level variables, and gender and ethnic-racial variables. Where relevant, specific applications to social work practice are provided.

  1. Relation between Working Memory Capacity and Auditory Stream Segregation in Children with Auditory Processing Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Lotfi, Yones; Mehrkian, Saiedeh; Moossavi, Abdollah; Zadeh, Soghrat Faghih; Sadjedi, Hamed

    2016-01-01

    Background: This study assessed the relationship between working memory capacity and auditory stream segregation by using the concurrent minimum audible angle in children with a diagnosed auditory processing disorder (APD). Methods: The participants in this cross-sectional, comparative study were 20 typically developing children and 15 children with a diagnosed APD (age, 9–11 years) according to the subtests of multiple-processing auditory assessment. Auditory stream segregation was investigated using the concurrent minimum audible angle. Working memory capacity was evaluated using the non-word repetition and forward and backward digit span tasks. Nonparametric statistics were utilized to compare the between-group differences. The Pearson correlation was employed to measure the degree of association between working memory capacity and the localization tests between the 2 groups. Results: The group with APD had significantly lower scores than did the typically developing subjects in auditory stream segregation and working memory capacity. There were significant negative correlations between working memory capacity and the concurrent minimum audible angle in the most frontal reference location (0° azimuth) and lower negative correlations in the most lateral reference location (60° azimuth) in the children with APD. Conclusion: The study revealed a relationship between working memory capacity and auditory stream segregation in children with APD. The research suggests that lower working memory capacity in children with APD may be the possible cause of the inability to segregate and group incoming information. PMID:26989281

  2. Aligning leadership across systems and organizations to develop a strategic climate for evidence-based practice implementation.

    PubMed

    Aarons, Gregory A; Ehrhart, Mark G; Farahnak, Lauren R; Sklar, Marisa

    2014-01-01

    There has been a growing impetus to bridge the gap between basic science discovery, development of evidence-based practices (EBPs), and the availability and delivery of EBPs in order to improve the public health impact of such practices. To capitalize on factors that support implementation and sustainment of EBPs, it is important to consider that health care is delivered within the outer context of public health systems and the inner context of health care organizations and work groups. Leaders play a key role in determining the nature of system and organizational contexts. This article addresses the role of leadership and actions that leaders can take at and across levels in developing a strategic climate for EBP implementation within the outer (i.e., system) and inner (i.e., organization, work group) contexts of health care. Within the framework of Edgar Schein's "climate embedding mechanisms," we describe strategies that leaders at the system, organization, and work group levels can consider and apply to develop strategic climates that support the implementation and sustainment of EBP in health care and allied health care settings.

  3. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    Pollution Prevention (P2) has evolved into one of DOE`s sprime strategies to meet environmental, fiscal, and worker safety obligations. P2 program planning, opportunity identification, and implementation tools were developed under the direction of the Waste Minimization Division (EM-334). Forty experts from EM, DP, ER and DOE subcontractors attended this 2-day workshop to formulate the incentives to drive utilization of these tools. Plenary and small working group sessions were held both days. Working Group 1 identified incentives to overcoming barriers in the area of P2 program planning and resource allocation. Working Group 2 identified mechanisms to drive the completion of P2more » assessments and generation of opportunities. Working Group 3 compiled and documented a broad range of potential P2 incentives that address fundamental barriers to implementation of cost effective opportunities.« less

  4. Measuring disability and monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: the work of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    The Washington Group on Disability Statistics is a voluntary working group made up of representatives of over 100 National Statistical Offices and international, non-governmental and disability organizations that was organized under the aegis of the United Nations Statistical Division. The purpose of the Washington Group is to deal with the challenge of disability definition and measurement in a way that is culturally neutral and reasonably standardized among the UN member states. The work, which began in 2001, took on added importance with the passage and ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since the Convention includes a provision for monitoring whether those with and without disabilities have equal opportunities to participate in society and this will require the identification of persons with disabilities in each nation. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) developed by the World Health Organization provided a framework for conceptualizing disability. Operationalizing an ICF-based approach to disability has required the development of new measurement tools for use in both censuses and surveys. To date, a short set of six disability-related questions suitable for use in national censuses has been developed and adopted by the Washington Group and incorporated by the United Nations in their Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses. A series of extended sets of questions is currently under development and some of the sets have been tested in several countries. The assistance of many National and International organizations has allowed for cognitive and field testing of the disability questionnaires in multiple languages and locations. This paper will describe the work of the Washington Group and explicate the applicability of its approach and the questions developed for monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. PMID:21624190

  5. Measuring disability and monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: the work of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics.

    PubMed

    Madans, Jennifer H; Loeb, Mitchell E; Altman, Barbara M

    2011-05-31

    The Washington Group on Disability Statistics is a voluntary working group made up of representatives of over 100 National Statistical Offices and international, non-governmental and disability organizations that was organized under the aegis of the United Nations Statistical Division. The purpose of the Washington Group is to deal with the challenge of disability definition and measurement in a way that is culturally neutral and reasonably standardized among the UN member states. The work, which began in 2001, took on added importance with the passage and ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since the Convention includes a provision for monitoring whether those with and without disabilities have equal opportunities to participate in society and this will require the identification of persons with disabilities in each nation. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) developed by the World Health Organization provided a framework for conceptualizing disability. Operationalizing an ICF-based approach to disability has required the development of new measurement tools for use in both censuses and surveys. To date, a short set of six disability-related questions suitable for use in national censuses has been developed and adopted by the Washington Group and incorporated by the United Nations in their Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses. A series of extended sets of questions is currently under development and some of the sets have been tested in several countries. The assistance of many National and International organizations has allowed for cognitive and field testing of the disability questionnaires in multiple languages and locations. This paper will describe the work of the Washington Group and explicate the applicability of its approach and the questions developed for monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

  6. An Update on the VAMOS Extremes Working Group Activities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schubert, Siegfried; Cavalcanti, Iracema

    2011-01-01

    We review here the progress of the Variability of the American MOnsoon Systems (VAMOS) extremes working group since it was formed in February of 2010. The goals of the working group are to 1) develop an atlas of warm-season extremes over the Americas, 2) evaluate existing and planned simulations, and 3) suggest new model runs to address mechanisms and predictability of extremes. Substantial progress has been made in the development of an extremes atlas based on gridded observations and several reanalysis products including Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR). The status of the atlas, remaining issues and plans for its expansion to include model data will be discussed. This includes the possibility of adding a companion atlas based on station observations based on the software developed under the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Expert Team on Climate Change. Detection and Indices (ETCCDI) activity. We will also review progress on relevant research and plans for the use and validation of the atlas results.

  7. Developing New Teacher Inquiry and Criticality: The Role of Online Discussions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Unwin, Adam

    2015-01-01

    This work concerns the professional development of UK teachers in their first year of teaching. It is interested in how the online discussions (ODs) these teachers undertook as part of the Master of Teaching contributed to this development process. The teachers worked in online tutor groups made up of teachers from different schools, phases…

  8. Community for Data Integration 2015 annual report

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Langseth, Madison L.; Chang, Michelle Y.; Carlino, Jennifer; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Birch, Daniella D.; Bradley, Joshua; Bristol, R. Sky; Buscombe, Daniel D.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Everette, Anthony L.; Graves, Tabitha A.; Greenwood, Michelle M.; Govoni, David L.; Henkel, Heather S.; Hutchison, Vivian B.; Jones, Brenda K.; Kern, Tim; Lacey, Jennifer; Lamb, Rynn M.; Lightsom, Frances L.; Long, John L.; Saleh, Ra'ad A.; Smith, Stan W.; Soulard, Christopher E.; Viger, Roland J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Wesenberg, Katherine E.; Wieferich, Daniel J.; Winslow, Luke A.

    2016-10-28

    The Community for Data Integration (CDI) continued to experience success in fiscal year 2015. The CDI community members have been sharing, learning, and collaborating through monthly forums, workshops, working groups, and funded projects. In fiscal year 2015, CDI coordinated 10 monthly forums with 16 different speakers from the U.S. Geological Survey and external partners; funded 11 collaborative projects; and hosted an in-person, four-day workshop, which attracted 168 (134 in-person and 34 remote) data practitioners, data providers, and data consumers from across the USGS, academia, industry, and other government agencies. The Citizen Science, Connected Devices, Data Management, Semantic Web, and Tech Stack Working Groups continued to accomplish great things in fiscal year 2015. These working groups were major stakeholders in planning the 2015 CDI Workshop; they continued developing solutions to pressing challenges, and they brought in speakers throughout the year for more focused presentations and discussions. Additionally, a new working group formed during the 2015 CDI Workshop—the Earth-Science Themes Working Group.

  9. The International Space Life Sciences Strategic Planning Working Group

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    White, Ronald J.; Rabin, Robert; Lujan, Barbara F.

    1993-01-01

    Throughout the 1980s, ESA and the space agencies of Canada, Germany, France, Japan, and the U.S. have pursued cooperative projects bilaterally and multilaterally to prepare for, and to respond to, opportunities in space life sciences research previously unapproachable in scale and sophistication. To cope effectively with likely future space research opportunities, broad, multilateral, coordinated strategic planning is required. Thus, life scientists from these agencies have allied to form the International Space Life Sciences Strategic Planning Working Group. This Group is formally organized under a charter that specifies the purpose of the Working Group as the development of an international strategic plan for the space life sciences, with periodic revisions as needed to keep the plan current. The plan will be policy-, not operations-oriented. The Working Group also may establish specific implementation teams to coordinate multilateral science policy in specific areas; such teams have been established for space station utilization, and for sharing of flight equipment.

  10. Occupational Injuries in a Commune in Rural Vietnam Transitioning From Agriculture to New Industries

    PubMed Central

    Leamon, Tom B.; Willetts, Joanna L.; Binh, Ta Thi Tuyet; Diep, Nguyen Bich; Wegman, David H.; Kriebel, David

    2011-01-01

    Objectives. We explored the impact on work-related injuries of workers splitting time between industry and agriculture, a common situation in developing countries. Methods. In 2005, we administered a cross-sectional survey to 2615 households of Xuan Tien, a developing rural community of Vietnam, regarding self-reported injuries and hours worked for 1 year. We defined groups as working in industry, agriculture, or a mix of both. Results. Overlapping employment (part time in agriculture and up to full time in industry) increased the risk of injury in both agricultural and industrial work. This pattern held across all work groups defined by the relative amount of time worked in agriculture. Those working fewer than 500 hours annually in agriculture had an agricultural injury rate (872 per 1000 full-time equivalents) that was more than 4 times higher than the average rate overall (203 per 1000) and the rate for workers employed only in industry (178 per 1000). Conclusions. Working in agriculture for short durations while working in industry increased the risk of injury substantially in both types of work. PMID:21490336

  11. Occupational injuries in a commune in rural Vietnam transitioning from agriculture to new industries.

    PubMed

    Marucci-Wellman, Helen; Leamon, Tom B; Willetts, Joanna L; Binh, Ta Thi Tuyet; Diep, Nguyen Bich; Wegman, David H; Kriebel, David

    2011-05-01

    We explored the impact on work-related injuries of workers splitting time between industry and agriculture, a common situation in developing countries. In 2005, we administered a cross-sectional survey to 2615 households of Xuan Tien, a developing rural community of Vietnam, regarding self-reported injuries and hours worked for 1 year. We defined groups as working in industry, agriculture, or a mix of both. Overlapping employment (part time in agriculture and up to full time in industry) increased the risk of injury in both agricultural and industrial work. This pattern held across all work groups defined by the relative amount of time worked in agriculture. Those working fewer than 500 hours annually in agriculture had an agricultural injury rate (872 per 1000 full-time equivalents) that was more than 4 times higher than the average rate overall (203 per 1000) and the rate for workers employed only in industry (178 per 1000). Working in agriculture for short durations while working in industry increased the risk of injury substantially in both types of work.

  12. Learning through Supervision and Mentorship To Support the Development of Infants, Toddlers and Their Families: A Source Book.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fenichel, Emily, Ed.

    Eighteen work group papers, several of which previously appeared in "Zero to Three," the Bulletin of the National Center for Infant Clinical Progams, are presented under four headings. Under the heading "Findings and Recommendations of ZERO TO THREE/National center for Clinical Infant Programs' Work Group on Supervision and…

  13. Liberal Studies in Hong Kong: A New Perspective on Critical Thinking through Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fung, Dennis; Howe, Christine

    2012-01-01

    This article reports research that is contextualised within reforms of secondary education in Hong Kong and the reintroduction of Liberal Studies, which jointly emphasise the need for a learning environment that facilitates the practice of group work and the development of critical thinking. A study is described that explores the relevance of…

  14. Leadership-Driven Anger Management Groups for Adolescents: Do They Really Work?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burt, Isaac

    2018-01-01

    This study investigated a current trend in anger-management groups labeled as leadership development. The goal of the investigation was to determine if leadership is a critical factor in working with angry youth. A total of 52 middle school-aged adolescents from 2 schools served as participants. Of those, 18 participants received a strength-based,…

  15. Student-Authored Hypermedia in Veterinary Anatomy: Teaching and Learning Outcomes of Group Project Work.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garvin, Anthony; Carrington, Stephen

    1997-01-01

    Describes the Directed-Self Education program at the University of Bristol (England) for undergraduate small-group project work in veterinary science that was designed to support students in developing personal study and information technology skills. It also produced student-authored hypermedia tools which could be repurposed by staff as teaching…

  16. Integrating Social Studies and the Humanities through Drama: The Meaning of Tribe.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Geoghegan, Wendy

    1989-01-01

    Describes the use of drama to give meaning and understanding to a unit on Native Americans. Students worked in small groups or "tribes" to research cultural attributes, and then acted out tribal rituals and created costumes and artifacts. The group work and the active roleplaying helped students to develop a new understanding of…

  17. Insider/Outsider Ambiguities and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pelletier, Julie

    2015-01-01

    Author Julie Pelletier recently became part of a new committee at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR): the Indigenous Education Working Group (IEWG). The IEWG is a working group made up of Indigenous individuals with a background in indigenous education. The first project the IEWG undertook was assisting with the development of Indigenous…

  18. "Writing My First Academic Article Feels Like Dancing around Naked": Research Development for Higher Education Lecturers Working in Further Education Colleges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Turner, Rebecca; Brown, Tony; Edwards-Jones, Andrew

    2014-01-01

    Growing emphasis on research output has spawned initiatives to enhance writing practices, often targeted at groups less familiar with academic research practices. This paper discusses a collaborative writing group project for higher education lecturers working in further education colleges. Participants had previously undertaken funded pedagogic…

  19. Effects on Aesthetic Sensitivity of Developing Perception of Musical Expressiveness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Standifer, James A.

    1970-01-01

    An experimental group and control group were exposed to an innovative program of music education. The former group was composed of lower class children and the latter of middle class children. The greater success was achieved in working with the first group. (CK)

  20. Customizing for clients: developing a library liaison program from need to plan.

    PubMed

    Tennant, M R; Butson, L C; Rezeau, M E; Tucker, P J; Boyle, M E; Clayton, G

    2001-01-01

    Building on the experiences of librarian representatives to curriculum committees in the colleges of dentistry, medicine, and nursing, the Health Science Center Libraries (HSCL) Strategic Plan recommended the formation of a Library Liaison Work Group to create a formal Library Liaison Program to serve the six Health Science Center (HSC) colleges and several affiliated centers and institutes. The work group's charge was to define the purpose and scope of the program, identify models of best practice, and recommend activities for liaisons. The work group gathered background information, performed an environmental scan, and developed a philosophy statement, a program of liaison activities focusing on seven primary areas, and a forum for liaison communication. Hallmarks of the plan included intensive subject specialization (beyond collection development), extensive communication with users, and personal information services. Specialization was expected to promote competence, communication, confidence, comfort, and customization. Development of the program required close coordination with other strategic plan implementation teams, including teams for collection development, education, and marketing. This paper discusses the HSCL's planning process and the resulting Library Liaison Program. Although focusing on an academic health center, the planning process and liaison model may be applied to any library serving diverse, subject-specific user populations.

  1. Customizing for clients: developing a library liaison program from need to plan*

    PubMed Central

    Tennant, Michele R.; Butson, Linda C.; Rezeau, Michelle E.; Tucker, Prudence J.; Boyle, Marian E.; Clayton, Greg

    2001-01-01

    Building on the experiences of librarian representatives to curriculum committees in the colleges of dentistry, medicine, and nursing, the Health Science Center Libraries (HSCL) Strategic Plan recommended the formation of a Library Liaison Work Group to create a formal Library Liaison Program to serve the six Health Science Center (HSC) colleges and several affiliated centers and institutes. The work group's charge was to define the purpose and scope of the program, identify models of best practice, and recommend activities for liaisons. The work group gathered background information, performed an environmental scan, and developed a philosophy statement, a program of liaison activities focusing on seven |primary areas, and a forum for liaison communication. Hallmarks of the plan included intensive subject specialization (beyond collection development), extensive communication with users, and personal information services. Specialization was expected to promote competence, communication, confidence, comfort, and customization. Development of the program required close coordination with other strategic plan implementation teams, including teams for collection development, education, and marketing. This paper discusses the HSCL's planning process and the resulting Library Liaison Program. Although focusing on an academic health center, the planning process and liaison model may be applied to any library serving diverse, subject-specific user populations. PMID:11209807

  2. What Do Students Think about Group Work in Business Education? An Investigation into the Benefits, Challenges, and Student-Suggested Solutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Seung Hwan Mark; Smith, Donna; Sergueeva, Ksenia

    2016-01-01

    The authors sought to gain insight on how students view group learning and development as part of their business education experience. Specifically, the authors categorize benefits and challenges using S. A. Wheelan's (2005) integrated model of group development. Additionally, they investigate (from the students' perspective) best practices that…

  3. ARBOOK: Development and Assessment of a Tool Based on Augmented Reality for Anatomy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferrer-Torregrosa, J.; Torralba, J.; Jimenez, M. A.; García, S.; Barcia, J. M.

    2015-02-01

    The evolution of technologies and the development of new tools with educational purposes are growing up. This work presents the experience of a new tool based on augmented reality (AR) focusing on the anatomy of the lower limb. ARBOOK was constructed and developed based on TC and MRN images, dissections and drawings. For ARBOOK evaluation, a specific questionnaire of three blocks was performed and validated according to the Delphi method. The questionnaire included motivation and attention tasks, autonomous work and three-dimensional interpretation tasks. A total of 211 students from 7 public and private Spanish universities were divided in two groups. Control group received standard teaching sessions supported by books, and video. The ARBOOK group received the same standard sessions but additionally used the ARBOOK tool. At the end of the training, a written test on lower limb anatomy was done by students. Statistically significant better scorings for the ARBOOK group were found on attention-motivation, autonomous work and three-dimensional comprehension tasks. Additionally, significantly better scoring was obtained by the ARBOOK group in the written test. The results strongly suggest that the use of AR is suitable for anatomical purposes. Concretely, the results indicate how this technology is helpful for student motivation, autonomous work or spatial interpretation. The use of this type of technologies must be taken into account even more at the present moment, when new technologies are naturally incorporated to our current lives.

  4. A Virtual Notebook for biomedical work groups.

    PubMed Central

    Gorry, G A; Burger, A M; Chaney, R J; Long, K B; Tausk, C M

    1988-01-01

    During the past several years, Baylor College of Medicine has made a substantial commitment to the use of information technology in support of its corporate and academic programs. The concept of an Integrated Academic Information Management System (IAIMS) has proved central in our planning, and the IAIMS activities that we have undertaken with funding from the National Library of Medicine have proved to be important extensions of our technology development. Here we describe our Virtual Notebook system, a conceptual and technologic framework for task coordination and information management in biomedical work groups. When fully developed and deployed, the Virtual Notebook will improve the functioning of basic and clinical research groups in the college, and it currently serves as a model for the longer-term development of our entire information management environment. PMID:3046694

  5. [Quality of psychological strain in police work--development of a taxonomy of sources of stress].

    PubMed

    Reinecke, Stefan; Runde, Bernd; Bastians, Frauke; Weiss, Udo; Heuft, Gereon; Bär, Olaf

    2007-01-01

    Police officers frequently face traumatic stressors of different origins and thus bear an increased risk of developing a post-traumatic stress disorder. The most mentally burdening situations range from shootings, death of fellow officers, dealing with dead bodies in general, the effects of shift work, time pressure or discontent with management due to mobbing. Part of the present study examines the quality of stress in police work with the goal of developing a taxonomy of the origins of stress. A stratified sample of 109 police officers participated in the study. They were interviewed about stressful situations in their work life. In the interviews participants generated incidents describing stressful or straining situations. These incidents were used to develop a taxonomy of stressful situations in everyday police work. A further 22 interviews with officers of the federal police were carried out to examine the transferability of the developed taxonomy to other occupational groups. The taxonomy distinguishes between five sources of strain. Strain can arise from (1.) the task itself, (2.) the organization and structure of work, (3.) the temporal conditions and (4.) the social conditions. The fifth category describes the source of strain based on other conditions. The results also show that the taxonomy is transferable to other occupational groups. This taxonomy leads to the systematisation of the differences among the stress phenomena which occur in police work. The results can help in the development of practical prevention, counselling and therapeutic programs.

  6. Student decision making in large group discussion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kustusch, Mary Bridget; Ptak, Corey; Sayre, Eleanor C.; Franklin, Scott V.

    2015-04-01

    It is increasingly common in physics classes for students to work together to solve problems and perform laboratory experiments. When students work together, they need to negotiate the roles and decision making within the group. We examine how a large group of students negotiates authority as part of their two week summer College Readiness Program at Rochester Institute of Technology. The program is designed to develop metacognitive skills in first generation and Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) STEM undergraduates through cooperative group work, laboratory experimentation, and explicit reflection exercises. On the first full day of the program, the students collaboratively developed a sign for the word ``metacognition'' for which there is not a sign in American Sign Language. This presentation will focus on three aspects of the ensuing discussion: (1) how the instructor communicated expectations about decision making; (2) how the instructor promoted student-driven decision making rather than instructor-driven policy; and (3) one student's shifts in decision making behavior. We conclude by discussing implications of this research for activity-based physics instruction.

  7. [What is the situation with human rights of the elderly? : UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing - review and prospects].

    PubMed

    Mahler, Claudia

    2017-06-01

    In November 2010 the United Nations General Assembly set up a working group to strengthen the protection of human rights for older persons (UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing) with the United Nations Resolution A/C.3/65/L.8/Rev.1. In December 2016 the members of the working group met for the seventh time and discussed how they can approach the fulfillment of the mandate. In addition to better implementation, the strengthening of rights can consist of closing existing gaps or further differentiation of the rights in order to give the member states better guidance on how to implement them. To improve the human rights of older persons a task of the members of the working group would be to examine the existing rights and, where possible, adjust them to the real needs of the group. One of the major challenges facing the working group is already apparent: who belongs to the group of older persons and how could the group be described? This article deals with the presentation of the international process, new developments at the regional level and the attitudes of the member states and the civil society. A further aim is to present the possibilities and effects of a comprehensive legally binding instrument.

  8. EPA U.S. NATIONAL MARKAL DATABASE: DATABASE DOCUMENTATION

    EPA Science Inventory

    This document describes in detail the U.S. Energy System database developed by EPA's Integrated Strategic Assessment Work Group for use with the MARKAL model. The group is part of the Office of Research and Development and is located in the National Risk Management Research Labor...

  9. Nancy Dowe | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    Center Bioprocess Development Group. The group is largely made up of fermentation scientists and engineers whose focus is on fermentation process development and pilot plant scale-up. Dowe has nearly 30 years of experience working with a wide variety of fermentation processes and microorganisms for the

  10. Workgroup report: developing environmental health indicators for European children: World Health Organization Working Group.

    PubMed

    Pond, Kathy; Kim, Rokho; Carroquino, Maria-Jose; Pirard, Philippe; Gore, Fiona; Cucu, Alexandra; Nemer, Leda; MacKay, Morag; Smedje, Greta; Georgellis, Antonis; Dalbokova, Dafina; Krzyzanowski, Michal

    2007-09-01

    A working group coordinated by the World Health Organization developed a set of indicators to protect children's health from environmental risks and to support current and future European policy needs. On the basis of identified policy needs, the group developed a core set of 29 indicators for implementation plus an extended set of eight additional indicators for future development, focusing on exposure, health effects, and action. As far as possible, the indicators were designed to use existing information and are flexible enough to be developed further to meet the needs of policy makers and changing health priorities. These indicators cover most of the priority topic areas specified in the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) as adopted in the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in 2004, and will be used to monitor the implementation of CEHAPE. This effort can be viewed as an integral part of the Global Initiative on Children's Environmental Health Indicators, launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.

  11. The Development of Real-Time Stability Supports Visual Working Memory Performance: Young Children's Feature Binding Can Be Improved through Perceptual Structure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simmering, Vanessa R.; Wood, Chelsey M.

    2017-01-01

    Working memory is a basic cognitive process that predicts higher-level skills. A central question in theories of working memory development is the generality of the mechanisms proposed to explain improvements in performance. Prior theories have been closely tied to particular tasks and/or age groups, limiting their generalizability. The cognitive…

  12. A Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve the Success of Women Assistant Professors

    PubMed Central

    Grisso, Jeane Ann; Sammel, Mary Dupuis; Rubenstein, Arthur H.; Speck, Rebecca M.; Conant, Emily F.; Scott, Patricia; Tuton, Lucy Wolf; Westring, Alyssa Friede; Friedman, Stewart

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background: Given the persistent disparity in the advancement of women compared with men faculty in academic medicine, it is critical to develop effective interventions to enhance women's careers. We carried out a cluster-randomized, multifaceted intervention to improve the success of women assistant professors at a research-intensive medical school. Materials and Methods: Twenty-seven departments/divisions were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. The three-tiered intervention included components that were aimed at (1) the professional development of women assistant professors, (2) changes at the department/division level through faculty-led task forces, and (3) engagement of institutional leaders. Generalized linear models were used to test associations between assignment and outcomes, adjusting for correlations induced by the clustered design. Results: Academic productivity and work self-efficacy improved significantly over the 3-year trial in both intervention and control groups, but the improvements did not differ between the groups. Average hours worked per week declined significantly more for faculty in the intervention group as compared with the control group (−3.82 vs. −1.39 hours, respectively, p = 0.006). The PhD faculty in the intervention group published significantly more than PhD controls; however, no differences were observed between MDs in the intervention group and MDs in the control group. Conclusions: Significant improvements in academic productivity and work self-efficacy occurred in both intervention and control groups, potentially due to school-wide intervention effects. A greater decline in work hours in the intervention group despite similar increases in academic productivity may reflect learning to “work smarter” or reveal efficiencies brought about as a result of the multifaceted intervention. The intervention appeared to benefit the academic productivity of faculty with PhDs, but not MDs, suggesting that interventions should be more intense or tailored to specific faculty groups. PMID:28281865

  13. Work-Life Balance: Beyond the Rhetoric. IES Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kodz, J.; Harper, H.; Dench, S.

    The current status of British policy and practice related to work-life balance was examined through case studies of six organizations identified as having well-developed work-life balance and flexible working practices. Interviews were conducted with human resource (HR) managers at all six organizations, and interviews and focus group discussions…

  14. [Psychosocial patient education groups focusing on work-related issues - results of a survey of German medical rehabilitation centers].

    PubMed

    Driesel, P; Vogel, H; Gerlich, C; Löffler, S; Lukasczik, M; Wolf, H-D; Schuler, M; Neuderth, S

    2014-04-01

    Psychosocial patient education programs focusing on work-related issues are a core element in the German statutory pension insurance's profile of requirements (POR) regarding inpatient vocationally oriented medical rehabilitation (VOMR). This study aims at analyzing the prevalence of patient education programs focusing on work-related issues in German rehabilitation centers with regard to their content and quality.Data were collected in a national survey on the current state of patient education within medical rehabilitation programs in Germany in 1473 inpatient and outpatient medical rehabilitation centers. Data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, with free text responses being assigned to categories, drawing upon criteria developed by the German Center of Patient Education and the pension insurance's POR. 283 of the 908 institutions participating in the survey provided information on 454 psychosocial patient education programs focusing on work-related issues. "Unemployment and job training", "work hardening", "stress"/"relaxation" were named most frequently. The criteria derived from the POR regarding group content and from the Center of Patient Education regarding group size and education methods were largely fulfilled. There is a need for existing group programs in VOMR to be further manualized, evaluated and published. More patient education programs focusing on work-related issues should be developed specifically for relevant indications. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  15. Strategies for Developing the Affective Work Competencies of Marketing Education Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meyer, Earl C.

    Effective strategies for developing the affective work competencies of marketing education students include teaching procedures, acquisition of skills and materials for teaching in the affective domain, and implementation considerations. Affective concerns in marketing can be grouped into three broad types of performance categories--self-concept,…

  16. Psychodynamic group psychotherapy: impact of group length and therapist professional characteristics on development of therapeutic alliance.

    PubMed

    Lorentzen, Steinar; Bakali, Jan Vegard; Hersoug, Anne Grete; Hagtvet, Knut A; Ruud, Torleif; Høglend, Per

    2012-09-01

    Little research has been done on therapeutic alliance in group psychotherapy, especially the impact of treatment duration and therapist professional characteristics. Therapeutic alliance was rated by patients on the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Form at three time points (sessions 3, 10 and 17) in a randomized controlled trial of short-term and long-term psychodynamic group psychotherapy. As predictors we selected therapist clinical experience and length of didactic training, which have demonstrated ambiguous results in previous research. Linear latent variable growth curve models (structural equation modeling) were developed for the three Working Alliance Inventory-Short Form subscales bond, task and goal. We found a significant variance in individual growth curves (intercepts and slopes) but no differential development due to group length. Longer therapist formal training had a negative impact on early values of subscale task in both treatments. There was an interaction between length of the therapists' clinical experience and group length on early bond, task and goal: therapists with longer clinical experience were rated lower on initial bond in the long-term group but less so in the short-term group. Longer clinical experience influenced initial task and goal positively in the short-term group but was unimportant for task or significantly negative for goal in the long-term group. There was no mean development of alliance, and group length did not differentially impact the alliance during 6 months. Early ratings of the three Working Alliance Inventory-Short Form subscales partly reflected different preparations of patients in the two group formats, partly therapist characteristics, but more research is needed to see how these aspects impact alliance development and outcome. Therapists should pay attention to all three aspects of the alliance, when they prepare patients for group therapy. In psychodynamic groups, length of therapy does not differentiate the overall level or the development of member-leader alliance. Within psychodynamic groups, each individual appear to have their unique perception of the member-leader alliance. Therapists with longer formal psychotherapy training may be less successful in establishing early agreement with patients on the tasks of psychodynamic group psychotherapy. Patients perceive a somewhat lower degree of early emotional bonding with the more clinically experienced therapists in long-term psychodynamics groups. Therapists with more clinical experience may contribute to a stronger degree of initial agreement with patients on the tasks and goals of short-term group psychotherapy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. The role of women's employment programmes in influencing fertility regulation in rural Bangladesh.

    PubMed

    Mahmud, S

    1994-01-01

    This study compares fertility control among women participating in income-generation programs and among a socioeconomically similar comparison group in Bangladesh. Interviews were conducted among a sample of about 100 currently married women from each of four income-generation programs in Bangladesh: the government's Women's Program of the Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB), the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Program of Bangladesh's Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), the Grameen Bank, and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) Women's Program. There were 417 women in the sample and 389 women in the comparison group. These programs provided credit to women for activities, such as paddy husking and poultry keeping. The BSCIC did not provide any direct or indirect family planning input. The BRDB encouraged women to use modern contraceptives. The Grameen and BRAC educated participants about the benefits of small families. Three groups, with the exception of BRAC, used women's groups. The sample group had almost eight times the average household income of the comparison group. About 20% of the sample group were engaged in nontraditional activities. Almost 20% worked outside the home. 18% were engaged in wage work. Over 40% worked more than 5 hours per day. 75% were members of informal groups. The sample and comparison groups differed in the context of productive work and contraceptive use. Multivariate findings show strong support for the direct and significant effect of employment programs on fertility-regulating behavior of poor respondents. Nongovernmental groups with a women's group approach were more effective in raising income levels and physical mobility. The BSCIC had much lower contraceptive prevalence. Program participants had higher sterilization rates, but actual fertility was also higher.

  18. Interference control in working memory: comparing groups of children with atypical development.

    PubMed

    Palladino, Paola; Ferrari, Marcella

    2013-01-01

    The study aimed to test whether working memory deficits in children at risk of Learning Disabilities (LD) and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be attributed to deficits in interference control, thereby implicating prefrontal systems. Two groups of children known for showing poor working memory (i.e., children with poor comprehension and children with ADHD) were compared to a group of children with specific reading decoding problems (i.e., having severe problems in phonological rather than working memory) and to a control group. All children were tested with a verbal working memory task. Interference control of irrelevant items was examined by a lexical decision task presented immediately after the final recall in about half the trials, selected at random. The interference control measure was therefore directly related to working memory performance. Results confirmed deficient working memory performance in poor comprehenders and children at risk of ADHD + LD. More interestingly, this working memory deficit was associated with greater activation of irrelevant information than in the control group. Poor decoders showed more efficient interference control, in contrast to poor comprehenders and ADHD + LD children. These results indicated that interfering items were still highly accessible to working memory in children who fail the working memory task. In turn, these findings strengthen and clarify the role of interference control, one of the most critical prefrontal functions, in working memory.

  19. Developing primary care in Hong Kong: evidence into practice and the development of reference frameworks.

    PubMed

    Griffiths, Sian M; Lee, Jeff P M

    2012-10-01

    Enhancing primary care is one of the proposals put forward in the Healthcare Reform Consultation Document "Your Health, Your Life" issued in March 2008. In 2009, the Working Group on Primary Care, chaired by the Secretary for Food and Health, recommended the development of age-group and disease-specific primary care conceptual models and reference frameworks. Drawing on international experience and best evidence, the Task Force on Conceptual Model and Preventive Protocols of the Working Group on Primary Care has developed two reference frameworks for the management of two common chronic diseases in Hong Kong, namely diabetes and hypertension, in primary care settings. Adopting a population approach for the prevention and control of diabetes and hypertension across the life course, the reference frameworks aim to provide evidence-based and appropriate recommendations for the provision of continuing and comprehensive care for patients with chronic diseases in the community.

  20. Working through a psychotherapy group's political cultures.

    PubMed

    Ettin, Mark F; Cohen, Bertram D

    2003-10-01

    Macropolitical evolution, starting with authoritarian monarchism, has moved through anarchistic transitions either to the totalitarianism of fascism and communism or to liberal and social democracy. We posit analogous micropolitical development in process-oriented therapy groups: "dependence" and "counterdependence" corresponding to monarchism and anarchism; and "independence" and "interdependence" to liberal and social democracy, respectively. Transition from counterdependence to independence and interdependence may be: (1) facilitated through group members' cooperative experience of rebellion, or (2) blocked by collective identification, the internalization of dystopian or utopian fantasies that coalesce as "group-self" perceptions. We explore how group therapists work clinically with and through these several "political cultures" in the service of group and self transformation.

  1. Reducing absenteeism in hospital cleaning staff: pilot of a theory based intervention.

    PubMed

    Michie, S; Wren, B; Williams, S

    2004-04-01

    To develop, pilot, and evaluate a workplace intervention to reduce sickness absence, based on a demand-control-support model of job strain. Changes in the working arrangements of hospital cleaning staff were introduced with the aim of increasing their control over work and the support received at work. The study design was quasi-experimental, with 221 cleaning staff in the intervention group and 91 catering staff in the control group. The dependent variable was the difference in percentage monthly sickness absence between the 12 months preceding and following the intervention. Differences in sickness absence between staff groups for each month after the intervention were compared with differences between staff groups for the equivalent month one year prior to it. There was a significant reduction in the difference in sickness absence rates between the intervention and control group of 2.3% in the six months after the intervention, compared to the six months before. The difference was not maintained at 12 months. These results suggest that a workplace intervention aimed at increasing control and support at work has a small effect on reducing sickness absence among hospital cleaning staff in the short term. Future research should seek to replicate this effect in larger, experimental studies, analyse postulated mediators of such theory based interventions, and develop interventions that maintain improvement.

  2. Wellness and multiple sclerosis: The National MS Society establishes a Wellness Research Working Group and research priorities

    PubMed Central

    Motl, Robert W; Mowry, Ellen M; Ehde, Dawn M; LaRocca, Nicholas G; Smith, Kathy E; Costello, Kathleen; Shinto, Lynne; Ng, Alexander V; Sullivan, Amy B; Giesser, Barbara; McCully, Kevin K; Fernhall, Bo; Bishop, Malachy; Plow, Matthew; Casaccia, Patrizia; Chiaravalloti, Nancy D

    2017-01-01

    Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have identified “wellness” and associated behaviors as a high priority based on “social media listening” undertaken by the National MS Society (i.e. the Society). Objective: The Society recently convened a group that consisted of researchers with experience in MS and wellness-related research, Society staff members, and an individual with MS for developing recommendations regarding a wellness research agenda. Method: The members of the group engaged in focal reviews and discussions involving the state of science within three approaches for promoting wellness in MS, namely diet, exercise, and emotional wellness. Results: That process informed a group-mediated activity for developing and prioritizing research goals for wellness in MS. This served as a background for articulating the mission and objectives of the Society’s Wellness Research Working Group. Conclusion: The primary mission of the Wellness Research Working Group is the provision of scientific evidence supporting the application of lifestyle, behavioral, and psychosocial approaches for promoting optimal health of mind, body, and spirit (i.e. wellness) in people with MS as well as managing the disease and its consequences. PMID:28080254

  3. The development of European standard (CEN) methods in support of European Directives for plastics materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuff.

    PubMed

    Ashby, R

    1994-01-01

    CEC Directives have been implemented for plastics materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs. These introduce limits upon the overall migration from plastics into food and food simulants. In addition, specific migration limits or composition limits for free monomer in the final article, have been set for some monomers. Agreed test methods are required to allow these Directives to be respected. CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, has created a working group to develop suitable test methods. This is 'Working Group 5, Chemical Methods of Test', of CEN Technical Committee TC 194, Utensils in contact with food. This group has drafted a ten part standard for determining overall migration into aqueous and fatty food simulants by total immersion, by standard cell, by standard pouch and by filling. This draft standard has been approved by CEN TC 194 for circulation for public comment as a provisional standard, i.e. as an ENV. Further parts of this standard are in preparation for determining overall migration at high temperatures, etc. Simultaneously, Working Group 5 is cooperating with the BCR (Community Bureau of Reference) to produce reference materials with certified values of overall migration. CEN TC 194 Working Group 5 is also drafting methods for monomers subject to limitation in Directive 90/128/EEC. Good progress is being made on the monomers of highest priority but it is recognized that developing methods for all the monomers subject to limitation would take many years. Therefore, collaboration with the BCR, the Council of Europe and others is taking place to accelerate method development.

  4. The Organization of Teaching Process for the Development of Key Competencies (Case Study: Future Managers)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khusainova, Guzel R.; Galeeva, Farida T.; Giniyatullina, Diana R.; Tarasova, Natalya M.; Tsareva, Ekaterina E.

    2016-01-01

    This article is focused on the development of the organizational forms of future managers training for the development of their key competencies, namely, creativity and the ability to work in a team. The analysis of works of the researchers in the field of management and pedagogics shows that small groups as an organizational form has great…

  5. A Stigmergy Approach for Open Source Software Developer Community Simulation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cui, Xiaohui; Beaver, Justin M; Potok, Thomas E

    2009-01-01

    The stigmergy collaboration approach provides a hypothesized explanation about how online groups work together. In this research, we presented a stigmergy approach for building an agent based open source software (OSS) developer community collaboration simulation. We used group of actors who collaborate on OSS projects as our frame of reference and investigated how the choices actors make in contribution their work on the projects determinate the global status of the whole OSS projects. In our simulation, the forum posts and project codes served as the digital pheromone and the modified Pierre-Paul Grasse pheromone model is used for computing developer agentmore » behaviors selection probability.« less

  6. Formation of an environmental restoration user group for radiological controls

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Morris, R.L.

    1993-12-31

    An Environmental Restoration User Group for Radiological Controls will be proposed. Article 116 of the Radiological Control Manual encourages contractors to establish informal working associations that promote dialogue among similar facilities. Chem-Nuclear Geotech, Inc., is willing to initially organize and lead a users group to work on common problems, define standard methods, publish a Radiological Work Practices Handbook, and recommend regulatory changes to make environmental restoration programs more cost effective without compromising radiological control. A charter for the users group will be proposed. A questionnaire will be distributed to interested persons to assist in development of focus groups and agendamore » items for the first meeting. The first meeting is planned for May 25-26, 1993, in Grand Junction Colorado. All interested persons are welcome to attend.« less

  7. Developing professional status: an investigation into the working patterns, working relationships and vision for the future of UK clinical dental technicians.

    PubMed

    Leyssen, W; Clark, R K F; Gallagher, J E; Radford, D R

    2013-01-01

    To investigate the working patterns and patient base of registered clinical dental technicians (CDTs); their relationships with dentists and other professionals in the dental team; their willingness to work within the NHS and their expectations for the future as a new professional group. Face-to-face qualitative interviews of registered CDTs, selected because of their geographic representation and mode of working, informed the development of a postal questionnaire survey of all early registrants with the General Dental Council (GDC). The majority of CDTs reported working part-time, often combining clinical practice with their role as a dental technician. They reported both positive and negative working relationships with dentists and dental technicians, demonstrating collaboration and/or competition depending on whether the scope of CDTs was respected and patient care was shared or lost. CDTs role in the NHS was limited because they did not have the status of becoming a recognised provider of dental care. There was a desire to expand their scope of practice in future. CDTs are embracing their new status as an occupational group within dentistry. Core features of becoming a professional group were exhibited including the importance of social and financial status and the need to negotiate their current and future roles in the healthcare system.

  8. Strategic avionics technology planning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cox, Kenneth J.; Brown, Don C.

    1991-01-01

    NASA experience in development and insertion of technology into programs had led to a recognition that a Strategic Plan for Avionics is needed for space. In the fall of 1989 an Avionics Technology Symposium was held in Williamsburg, Virginia. In early 1990, as a followon, a NASA wide Strategic Avionics Technology Working Group was chartered by NASA Headquarters. This paper will describe the objectives of this working group, technology bridging, and approaches to incentivize both the federal and commercial sectors to move toward rapidly developed, simple, and reliable systems with low life cycle cost.

  9. Growing Up Girl: Preparing for Change through Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khattab, Nancy; Jones, Cathy P.

    2007-01-01

    The early years of school provide opportunities for active learning, including developing habits of resiliency and perceptions of self-worth. Girls in particular may be at risk for developing negative self-perceptions. This article presents a pilot group (psychoeducational and counseling) designed to educate members about pre-adolescent…

  10. Working memory functioning in children with learning disabilities: does intelligence make a difference?

    PubMed

    Maehler, C; Schuchardt, K

    2009-01-01

    Children with learning disabilities are identified by their severe learning problems and their deficient school achievement. On the other hand, children with sub-average school achievement and sub-average intellectual development are thought to suffer from a general intellectual delay rather than from specific learning disabilities. The open question is whether these two groups are characterised by differences in their cognitive functioning. The present study explored several functions of working memory. A working memory battery with tasks for the phonological loop, the visual-spatial sketchpad and central executive skills was presented in individual sessions to 27 children with learning disabilities and normal IQ (ICD-10: mixed disorders of scholastic skills), 27 children with learning disabilities and low IQ (intellectual disabilities), and a control group of 27 typically developing children with regular school achievement levels and normal IQ. The results reveal an overall deficit in working memory of the two groups with learning disabilities compared with the control group. However, unexpectedly, there were no differences between the two groups of children with disabilities (normal vs. low IQ). These findings do not support the notion of different cognitive functioning because of differences in intelligence of these two groups. In the ongoing discussion about the role of intelligence (especially as to the postulated discrepancy between intelligence and school achievement in diagnosis and special education), our findings might lead to rethinking the current practice of treating these two groups as fundamentally different.

  11. Group Process as Drama.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLeod, John

    1984-01-01

    Suggests that drama, as well as training or therapy, may be employed as a useful research and practice paradigm in working with small groups. The implications of this view for group development as a whole, and for member and leader participation, are explored. (JAC)

  12. Teaching Groups as Midlevel Sociocultural Contexts for Developing Teaching and Learning: A Case Study and Comparison to Microcultures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heinrich, Eva

    2017-01-01

    Using a case-study approach, the structures, interactions and cultures in four teaching groups at a New Zealand university are explored. The aim of the research is to better understand the potential of teaching groups for assisting academic development. To contextualize this work, the case-study outcomes are compared to research on microcultures.…

  13. Effects of ICT Group Work on Interactions and Social Acceptance of a Primary Pupil with Asperger's Syndrome

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Lynda; Trushell, John; Woods, Pat

    2005-01-01

    The aim of this study was to ascertain whether collaborative group work on a computer, facilitated by an adult, could provide a means for a primary schoolboy with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) -- moderately-highly affected in all areas of the "triad of impairments" -- to develop appropriate task-related interactions with his peers. Data were gathered…

  14. Les Houches 2017: Physics at TeV Colliders New Physics Working Group Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brooijmans, G.; et al.

    We present the activities of the `New Physics' working group for the `Physics at TeV Colliders' workshop (Les Houches, France, 5--23 June, 2017). Our report includes new physics studies connected with the Higgs boson and its properties, direct search strategies, reinterpretation of the LHC results in the building of viable models and new computational tool developments.

  15. Group Supervision: Supporting Practitioners in Their Work with Children and Families in Children's Centres

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soni, Anita

    2013-01-01

    This article discusses how group supervision can be used to support the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of those working with children and families in early years provision in England. It is based on research conducted in 2008 with a cluster of four Children's Centres in the West Midlands in England, UK. The research evaluated group…

  16. Opportunities for Academic Language and Literacy Development for Emergent Bilingual Students during Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molle, Daniella; Lee, Naomi

    2017-01-01

    The present paper argues for a shift in teacher knowledge and beliefs about the role of group work in the teaching and learning of emergent bilingual students. Using case study data from an eighth grade classroom, the authors analyze the role of collaboration in the interaction with grade-level text of emergent bilingual students. The analysis…

  17. The Contribution of Group Work Programmes to Early Intervention and Improving Children's Emotional Well-Being

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parton, Christine; Manby, Martin

    2009-01-01

    Recent government policy has emphasised links between the acquisition of social skills by children and young people and their educational attainment. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature about the contribution of school-based group work programmes to developing children's social skills. National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to…

  18. Status of neotropical migrant landbirds in the Midwest: identifying species of management concern

    Treesearch

    Frank R. Thompson; Stephen J. Lewis; Janet D. Green; David N. Ewert

    1993-01-01

    We ranked species of neotropical migrant landbirds by decreasing management concern for their viability in the Midwest. This was part of a coordinated effort by regional working groups of the Partners In Flight Program, an interagency program for the conservation of neotropical migratory birds (NTMBs). Species were ranked by seven criteria, developed by working group...

  19. A Guide to Enhancing the Cultural Competence of Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Bassin, and Shaw, Inc., Silver Spring, MD.

    In June 1993, the Family and Youth Services Bureau brought together a working group to help local programs for runaway and homeless youth better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population of young people. Strategies developed by this working group are shared in this guide. The introductory chapter provides a framework within which local…

  20. Mediation and Spillover Effects in Group-Randomized Trials with Application to the 4Rs Evaluation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    VanderWeele, Tyler J.; Hong, Guanglei; Jones, Stephanie M.; Brown, Joshua L.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper the authors extend recent work on mediation in a multilevel setting and on causal inference under interference among units to develop a template for the mediation analysis of group randomized educational interventions. The present work will contribute to the literature on interference, in particular on interference in the context of…

  1. From Data-Sharing to Model-Sharing: SCEC and the Development of Earthquake System Science (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jordan, T. H.

    2009-12-01

    Earthquake system science seeks to construct system-level models of earthquake phenomena and use them to predict emergent seismic behavior—an ambitious enterprise that requires high degree of interdisciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration. This presentation will explore model-sharing structures that have been successful in promoting earthquake system science within the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC). These include disciplinary working groups to aggregate data into community models; numerical-simulation working groups to investigate system-specific phenomena (process modeling) and further improve the data models (inverse modeling); and interdisciplinary working groups to synthesize predictive system-level models. SCEC has developed a cyberinfrastructure, called the Community Modeling Environment, that can distribute the community models; manage large suites of numerical simulations; vertically integrate the hardware, software, and wetware needed for system-level modeling; and promote the interactions among working groups needed for model validation and refinement. Various socio-scientific structures contribute to successful model-sharing. Two of the most important are “communities of trust” and collaborations between government and academic scientists on mission-oriented objectives. The latter include improvements of earthquake forecasts and seismic hazard models and the use of earthquake scenarios in promoting public awareness and disaster management.

  2. The First Six Years of Building and Implementing a Return-to-Work Service for Patients with Acquired Brain Injury. The Rapid-Return-to-Work-Cohort-Study.

    PubMed

    Haveraaen, L; Brouwers, E P M; Sveen, U; Skarpaas, L S; Sagvaag, H; Aas, R W

    2017-12-01

    Background and objective Despite large activity worldwide in building and implementing new return-to-work (RTW) services, few studies have focused on how such implementation processes develop. The aim of this study was to examine the development in patient and service characteristics the first six years of implementing a RTW service for persons with acquired brain injury (ABI). Methods The study was designed as a cohort study (n=189). Data were collected by questionnaires, filled out by the service providers. The material was divided into, and analyzed with, two implementation phases. Non-parametrical statistical methods and hierarchical regression analyses were applied on the material. Results The number of patients increased significantly, and the patient group became more homogeneous. Both the duration of the service, and the number of consultations and group session days were significantly reduced. Conclusion The patient group became more homogenous, but also significantly larger during the first six years of building the RTW service. At the same time, the duration of the service decreased. This study therefore questions if there is a lack of consensus on the intensity of work rehabilitation for this group.

  3. [The global harmonization task force : successes and challenges].

    PubMed

    Rotter, R G

    2009-06-01

    With the move towards globalized international commerce and trade, a call for harmonization of medical device regulatory requirements and practices has evolved. The purpose of the Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF) is to encourage convergence of regulatory requirements and practices at a global level through consensus to achieve four principle goals: promote safety, quality and performance/effectiveness of medical devices; encourage technological innovation; foster international trade; and serve as a forum of information exchange - all in the interests of protecting and promoting public health. The GHTF is governed by a Steering Committee, and the principle development of the GHTF regulatory model has been, and continues to be, done through five working groups known as Study Groups and supplemented recently by the creation of several Ad Hoc Working Groups. Since its creation in 1992, the members of the GHTF have worked collaboratively to develop what is now ready to be called a global model for the regulation of medical devices.

  4. Assessing research productivity in an oncology research institute: the role of the documentation center.

    PubMed Central

    Ugolini, D; Bogliolo, A; Parodi, S; Casilli, C; Santi, L

    1997-01-01

    An evaluation method used to assess the quality of research productivity and to provide priorities for budget allocation purposes is presented. This method, developed by a working group of the National Institute for Research on Cancer (IST), Genoa, Italy, is based on the partitioning of categories of the Science Citation Index and Journal Citation Reports (SCI-JCR) into deciles, which normalizes journal impact factors in order to gauge the quality of the productivity. A second parameter related to the number of staff of each institute department co-authoring a given paper has been introduced in order to guide departmental budget allocations. The information scientists of the IST Documentation Center who participated in the working group played a pivotal role in developing the computerized database of publications, providing and analyzing data, supplying and evaluating literature on the topic, and placing international bibliographic databases at the working group's disposal. PMID:9028569

  5. Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) Needs for Light Water Reactor (LWR) Technologies A Report to the Reactor Technology Subcommittee of the Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee (NEAC) Office of Nuclear Energy U.S. Department of Energy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McCarthy, Kathryn A.; Adams, Bradley J.

    The LWR RD&D Working Group developed a detailed list of RD&D suggestions and recommendations, which are provided in Appendix D. The Working Group then undertook a systematic ranking process, described in Appendix E. The results of the ranking process are not meant to be a strict set of priorities, but rather should provide insight into how the items generally ranked within the Working Group. Future discussions and investigation into these items could provide information that would support a change in these priorities or in their emphasis. The results of this prioritization are provided below. Note that in general, many RD&Dmore » ideas are applicable to both new Advanced Light Water Reactor (ALWR) plants and currently operating plants.« less

  6. Directions of Small Group Research for the 1980's.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Becker, Samuel L.

    Speech communicators need to return to applied research, developing theoretical statements about how groups might work better and testing the validity of those statements. Among the tasks that group communication researchers might take up are determining the range of applicability of generalizations concerning different kinds of groups, studying…

  7. Computer-Mediated Collaborative Projects: Processes for Enhancing Group Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dupin-Bryant, Pamela A.

    2008-01-01

    Groups are a fundamental part of the business world. Yet, as companies continue to expand internationally, a major challenge lies in promoting effective communication among employees who work in varying time zones. Global expansion often requires group collaboration through computer systems. Computer-mediated groups lead to different communicative…

  8. Development and quality analysis of the Work Experience Measurement Scale (WEMS).

    PubMed

    Nilsson, Petra; Bringsén, Asa; Andersson, H Ingemar; Ejlertsson, Göran

    2010-01-01

    Instruments related to work are commonly illuminated from an ill-health perspective. The need for a concise and useable instrument in workplace health promotion governed the aim of this paper which is to present the development process and quality assessment of the Work Experience Measurement Scale (WEMS). A survey, using a questionnaire based on established theories regarding work and health, and a focus group study were performed in hospital settings in 2005 and 2006 respectively. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to statistically develop a model, and focus group interviews were made to compare quantitative and qualitative results for convergence and corroboration. The PCA resulted in a six factor model of dimensions containing items regarding management, reorganization, internal work experience, pressure of time, autonomy and supportive working conditions. In the analysis of the focus group study three themes appeared and their underlying content was compared to, and matched, with the dimensions of the PCA. The reliability, shown by weighted kappa values, ranged from 0.36 to 0.71, and adequate Cronbach's Alpha values of the dimensions were all above 0.7. The study validity, indicated by discriminant validity, with correlation values that ranged from 0.10 to 0.39, in relation to the content validity appeared to be good when the theoretical content of the WEMS was compared to the content of similar instruments. The WEMS presents a multidimensional picture of work experience. Its theoretical base and the psychometric properties give support for applicability and offer a possibility to measure trends in the work experience over time in health care settings. One intention of the WEMS is to stimulate the ability of organizations and the employees themselves to take action on improving their work experience. The conciseness of the instrument is intended to increase its usability.

  9. Continuing professional development for volunteers working in palliative care in a tertiary care cancer institute in India: a cross-sectional observational study of educational needs.

    PubMed

    Deodhar, Jayita Kedar; Muckaden, Mary Ann

    2015-01-01

    Training programs for volunteers prior to their working in palliative care are well-established in India. However, few studies report on continuing professional development programs for this group. To conduct a preliminary assessment of educational needs of volunteers working in palliative care for developing a structured formal continuing professional development program for this group. Cross-sectional observational study conducted in the Department of Palliative Medicine of a tertiary care cancer institute in India. Participant volunteers completed a questionnaire, noting previous training, years of experience, and a comprehensive list of topics for inclusion in this program, rated in order of importance according to them. Descriptive statistics for overall data and Chi-square tests for categorical variables for group comparisons were applied using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 18. Fourteen out of 17 volunteers completed the questionnaire, seven having 5-10-years experience in working in palliative care. A need for continuing professional development program was felt by all participants. Communication skills, more for children and elderly specific issues were given highest priority. Spiritual-existential aspects and self-care were rated lower in importance than psychological, physical, and social aspects in palliative care. More experienced volunteers (>5 years of experience) felt the need for self-care as a topic in the program than those with less (<5-years experience) (P < 0.05). Understanding palliative care volunteers' educational needs is essential for developing a structured formal continuing professional development program and should include self-care as a significant component.

  10. Improving Patient Experience and Primary Care Quality for Patients With Complex Chronic Disease Using the Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes Tool: Adopting Qualitative Methods Into a User-Centered Design Approach.

    PubMed

    Steele Gray, Carolyn; Khan, Anum Irfan; Kuluski, Kerry; McKillop, Ian; Sharpe, Sarah; Bierman, Arlene S; Lyons, Renee F; Cott, Cheryl

    2016-02-18

    Many mHealth technologies do not meet the needs of patients with complex chronic disease and disabilities (CCDDs) who are among the highest users of health systems worldwide. Furthermore, many of the development methodologies used in the creation of mHealth and eHealth technologies lack the ability to embrace users with CCDD in the specification process. This paper describes how we adopted and modified development techniques to create the electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes (ePRO) tool, a patient-centered mHealth solution to help improve primary health care for patients experiencing CCDD. This paper describes the design and development approach, specifically the process of incorporating qualitative research methods into user-centered design approaches to create the ePRO tool. Key lessons learned are offered as a guide for other eHealth and mHealth research and technology developers working with complex patient populations and their primary health care providers. Guided by user-centered design principles, interpretive descriptive qualitative research methods were adopted to capture user experiences through interviews and working groups. Consistent with interpretive descriptive methods, an iterative analysis technique was used to generate findings, which were then organized in relation to the tool design and function to help systematically inform modifications to the tool. User feedback captured and analyzed through this method was used to challenge the design and inform the iterative development of the tool. Interviews with primary health care providers (n=7) and content experts (n=6), and four focus groups with patients and carers (n=14) along with a PICK analysis-Possible, Implementable, (to be) Challenged, (to be) Killed-guided development of the first prototype. The initial prototype was presented in three design working groups with patients/carers (n=5), providers (n=6), and experts (n=5). Working group findings were broken down into categories of what works and what does not work to inform modifications to the prototype. This latter phase led to a major shift in the purpose and design of the prototype, validating the importance of using iterative codesign processes. Interpretive descriptive methods allow for an understanding of user experiences of patients with CCDD, their carers, and primary care providers. Qualitative methods help to capture and interpret user needs, and identify contextual barriers and enablers to tool adoption, informing a redesign to better suit the needs of this diverse user group. This study illustrates the value of adopting interpretive descriptive methods into user-centered mHealth tool design and can also serve to inform the design of other eHealth technologies. Our approach is particularly useful in requirements determination when developing for a complex user group and their health care providers.

  11. ED physicians group ousted, sues--power struggle with CEO blamed.

    PubMed

    2007-07-01

    Serious contract problems with administration should never come as a surprise. The ED manager who is part of a physicians group should communicate regularly with key audiences within the hospital, and keep an ear to the ground for potential issues. Have routine meetings with senior administration, and work to gain a seat on the hospital's executive committee. Participate in community activities with hospital leadership, including family activities. Work to develop a professional working relationship with the nurse manager.

  12. [Healthy Aging at Work - Group Intervention in Middle Aged Nurses].

    PubMed

    Maatouk, Imad; Helaß, Madeleine

    2018-05-30

    Demographic change leads to shifting demands in patient care, not only due to older and sicker patients, but also due to ageing and potentially strained nursing staff. High job strain is known to be associated with an intention to leave the job. At the same time prevalence of mental distress is already high. The aim of our work was to develop a small group intervention to prevent mental strain and to enhance healthy ageing at work. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  13. Launcher Systems Development Cost: Behavior, Uncertainty, Influences, Barriers and Strategies for Reduction

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shaw, Eric J.

    2001-01-01

    This paper will report on the activities of the IAA Launcher Systems Economics Working Group in preparations for its Launcher Systems Development Cost Behavior Study. The Study goals include: improve launcher system and other space system parametric cost analysis accuracy; improve launcher system and other space system cost analysis credibility; and provide launcher system and technology development program managers and other decisionmakers with useful information on development cost impacts of their decisions. The Working Group plans to explore at least the following five areas in the Study: define and explain development cost behavior terms and concepts for use in the Study; identify and quantify sources of development cost and cost estimating uncertainty; identify and quantify significant influences on development cost behavior; identify common barriers to development cost understanding and reduction; and recommend practical, realistic strategies to accomplish reductions in launcher system development cost.

  14. Neonatal nurses' perceptions of a work-based learning approach.

    PubMed

    Stanley, Helen; Simmons, Susanne

    2011-09-01

    To examine how senior neonatal nurses perceive their experience of a continuing professional development module on their practice. A qualitative approach was used. Focus group interviews were held with five senior neonatal nurses at band 6 and 7. Discussions were taped and transcribed verbatim and field notes captured non-verbal communication. Four themes emerged: work-based learning as a new way of learning; barriers to learning at work; professional role development; and complexities of evaluating such learning. Work-based learning emerged as an active form of learning that can develop personal and professional skills required in the neonatal workforce.

  15. Present status and future of the sophisticated work station

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ishida, Haruhisa

    The excellency of the work station is explained, by comparing the functions of software and hardware of work station with those of personal computer. As one of the examples utilizing the functions of work station, desk top publishing is explained. By describing the competition between the Group of ATT · Sun Microsystems which intends to have the leadership by integrating Berkeley version which is most popular at this moment and System V version, and the group led by IBM, future of UNIX as OS of work station is predicted. Development of RISC processor, TRON Plan and Sigma Projects by MITI are also mentioned as its background.

  16. Work stress, work motivation and their effects on job satisfaction in community health workers: a cross-sectional survey in China.

    PubMed

    Li, Li; Hu, Hongyan; Zhou, Hao; He, Changzhi; Fan, Lihua; Liu, Xinyan; Zhang, Zhong; Li, Heng; Sun, Tao

    2014-06-05

    It is well documented that both work stress and work motivation are key determinants of job satisfaction. The aim of this study was to examine levels of work stress and motivation and their contribution to job satisfaction among community health workers in Heilongjiang Province, China. Cross-sectional survey. Heilongjiang Province, China. The participants were 930 community health workers from six cities in Heilongjiang Province. Multistage sampling procedures were used to measure socioeconomic and demographic status, work stress, work motivation and job satisfaction. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess key determinants of job satisfaction. There were significant differences in some subscales of work stress and work motivation by some of the socioeconomic characteristics. Levels of overall stress perception and scores on all five work stress subscales were higher in dissatisfied workers relative to satisfied workers. However, levels of overall motivation perception and scores on the career development, responsibility and recognition motivation subscales were higher in satisfied respondents relative to dissatisfied respondents. The main determinants of job satisfaction were occupation; age; title; income; the career development, and wages and benefits subscales of work stress; and the recognition, responsibility and financial subscales of work motivation. The findings indicated considerable room for improvement in job satisfaction among community health workers in Heilongjiang Province in China. Healthcare managers and policymakers should take both work stress and motivation into consideration, as two subscales of work stress and one subscale of work motivation negatively influenced job satisfaction and two subscales of work motivation positively influenced job satisfaction. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  17. Rethinking the core list of journals for libraries that serve schools and colleges of pharmacy.

    PubMed

    Beckett, Robert D; Cole, Sabrina W; Rogers, Hannah K; Bickett, Skye; Seeger, Christina; McDaniel, Jennifer A

    2014-10-01

    The Core List of Journals for Libraries that Serve Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy is a guide for developing and maintaining pharmacy-affiliated library collections. A work group was created to update the list and design a process for updating that will streamline future revisions. Work group members searched the National Library of Medicine catalog for an initial list of journals and then applied inclusion criteria to narrow the list. The work group finalized the fifth edition of the list with 225 diverse publications and produced a sustainable set of criteria for journal inclusion, providing a structured, objective process for future updates.

  18. Rethinking the Core List of Journals for Libraries that Serve Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy

    PubMed Central

    Beckett, Robert D.; Rogers, Hannah K.; Bickett, Skye; Seeger, Christina; McDaniel, Jennifer A.

    2014-01-01

    The Core List of Journals for Libraries that Serve Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy is a guide for developing and maintaining pharmacy-affiliated library collections. A work group was created to update the list and design a process for updating that will streamline future revisions. Work group members searched the National Library of Medicine catalog for an initial list of journals and then applied inclusion criteria to narrow the list. The work group finalized the fifth edition of the list with 225 diverse publications and produced a sustainable set of criteria for journal inclusion, providing a structured, objective process for future updates. PMID:25349548

  19. State-of-the-Art of (Bio)Chemical Sensor Developments in Analytical Spanish Groups

    PubMed Central

    Plata, María Reyes; Contento, Ana María; Ríos, Angel

    2010-01-01

    (Bio)chemical sensors are one of the most exciting fields in analytical chemistry today. The development of these analytical devices simplifies and miniaturizes the whole analytical process. Although the initial expectation of the massive incorporation of sensors in routine analytical work has been truncated to some extent, in many other cases analytical methods based on sensor technology have solved important analytical problems. Many research groups are working in this field world-wide, reporting interesting results so far. Modestly, Spanish researchers have contributed to these recent developments. In this review, we summarize the more representative achievements carried out for these groups. They cover a wide variety of sensors, including optical, electrochemical, piezoelectric or electro-mechanical devices, used for laboratory or field analyses. The capabilities to be used in different applied areas are also critically discussed. PMID:22319260

  20. 77 FR 8284 - Western Digital Technologies, Inc., Hard Drive Development Engineering Group Irvine (Formerly at...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-14

    ...'s facilities in Asia for engineering positions involving production, design, and development work... that appear to relate to production and design work and one position advertised by Western Digital in... performed new product design and their duties extend to sustaining production. AR 152, 212- 218, 228-231...

  1. The Process and the Product: Two English Classes Develop Materials.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nettle, Mary Ellen

    1982-01-01

    English classes conducted for two groups of women, garment factory workers and building cleaners, are compared. The garment workers interviewed each other and produced a slide-tape program. The cleaners produced a song about their work and in the process, developed awareness of the work situation, and a sense of cooperation. (MSE)

  2. Intentional Development: A Model to Guide Lifelong Physical Activity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cherubini, Jeffrey M.

    2009-01-01

    Framed in the context of researching influences on physical activity and actually working with individuals and groups seeking to initiate, increase or maintain physical activity, the purpose of this review is to present the model of Intentional Development as a multi-theoretical approach to guide research and applied work in physical activity.…

  3. Organising the Chemistry of Question-Based Learning: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Jesus, Helena Pedrosa; de Souza, Francisle Neri; Teixeira-Dias, Jose J. C.; Watts, Mike

    2005-01-01

    Designing inquiry-based-learning with and for university students develops problem-solving skills and logical reasoning, as well as reflective thinking. It involves working as a member of a team, questioning, being creative, shaping the skills for continued intellectual development. It is argued that inquiry-based group work is one of the most…

  4. A Tanzanian Perspective of the Technical Aspects of IT Service Management Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kemppainen, Jyri; Tedre, Matti; Sutinen, Erkki

    2012-01-01

    Information technology (IT) professionals face markedly different kinds of challenges in developing countries from the ones in developed countries. Based on the research literature and our fourteen years of fieldwork in Iringa, Tanzania, we have identified eight groups of technical characteristics of IT work that significantly affect the work of…

  5. Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS): Initial Actions to Enhance Data Sharing to Meet Societal Needs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adang, T.

    2006-05-01

    Over 60 nations and 50 participating organizations are working to make the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) a reality. The U.S. contribution to GEOSS is the Integrated Earth Observation System (IEOS), with a vision of enabling a healthy public, economy and planet through an integrated, comprehensive, and sustained Earth observation system. The international Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the U.S. Group on Earth Observations have developed strategic plans for both GEOSS and IEOS, respectively, and are now working the first phases of implementation. Many of these initial actions are data architecture related and are being addressed by architecture and data working groups from both organizations - the GEO Architecture and Data Committee and the USGEO Architecture and Data Management Working Group. NOAA has actively participated in both architecture groups and has taken internal action to better support GEOSS and IEOS implementation by establishing the Global Earth Observation Integrated Data Environment (GEO IDE). GEO IDE provides a "system of systems" framework for effective and efficient integration of NOAA's many quasi-independent systems, which individually address diverse mandates in such areas resource management, weather forecasting, safe navigation, disaster response, and coastal mapping among others. GEO IDE will have a services oriented architecture, allowing NOAA Line Offices to retain a high level of independence in many of their data management decisions, and encouraging innovation in pursuit of their missions. Through GEO IDE, NOAA partners (both internal and external) will participate in a well-ordered, standards-based data and information infrastructure that will allow users to easily locate, acquire, integrate and utilize NOAA data and information. This paper describes the initial progress being made by GEO and USGEO architecture and data working groups, a status report on GEO IDE development within NOAA, and an assessment of how GEO IDE can facilitate greater progress in GEOSS and IEOS development.

  6. Transforming primary care training--patient-centered medical home entrustable professional activities for internal medicine residents.

    PubMed

    Chang, Anna; Bowen, Judith L; Buranosky, Raquel A; Frankel, Richard M; Ghosh, Nivedita; Rosenblum, Michael J; Thompson, Sara; Green, Michael L

    2013-06-01

    The U.S. faces a critical gap between residency training and clinical practice that affects the recruitment and preparation of internal medicine residents for primary care careers. The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) represents a new clinical microsystem that is being widely promoted and implemented to improve access, quality, and sustainability in primary care practice. We address two key questions regarding the training of internal medicine residents for practice in PCMHs. First, what are the educational implications of practice transformations to primary care home models? Second, what must we do differently to prepare internal medicine residents for their futures in PCMHs? The 2011 Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) PCMH Education Summit established seven work groups to address the following topics: resident workplace competencies, teamwork, continuity of care, assessment, faculty development, 'medical home builder' tools, and policy. The output from the competency work group was foundational for the work of other groups. The work group considered several educational frameworks, including developmental milestones, competencies, and entrustable professional activities (EPAs). The competency work group defined 25 internal medicine resident PCMH EPAs. The 2011 National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) PCMH standards served as an organizing framework for EPAs. The list of PCMH EPAs has the potential to begin to transform the education of internal medicine residents for practice and leadership in the PCMH. It will guide curriculum development, learner assessment, and clinical practice redesign for academic health centers.

  7. The nature of working memory for Braille.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Henri; Voss, Patrice; Lepore, Franco; Scherzer, Peter

    2010-05-26

    Blind individuals have been shown on multiple occasions to compensate for their loss of sight by developing exceptional abilities in their remaining senses. While most research has been focused on perceptual abilities per se in the auditory and tactile modalities, recent work has also investigated higher-order processes involving memory and language functions. Here we examined tactile working memory for Braille in two groups of visually challenged individuals (completely blind subjects, CBS; blind with residual vision, BRV). In a first experimental procedure both groups were given a Braille tactile memory span task with and without articulatory suppression, while the BRV and a sighted group performed a visual version of the task. It was shown that the Braille tactile working memory (BrWM) of CBS individuals under articulatory suppression is as efficient as that of sighted individuals' visual working memory in the same condition. Moreover, the results suggest that BrWM may be more robust in the CBS than in the BRV subjects, thus pointing to the potential role of visual experience in shaping tactile working memory. A second experiment designed to assess the nature (spatial vs. verbal) of this working memory was then carried out with two new CBS and BRV groups having to perform the Braille task concurrently with a mental arithmetic task or a mental displacement of blocks task. We show that the disruption of memory was greatest when concurrently carrying out the mental displacement of blocks, indicating that the Braille tactile subsystem of working memory is likely spatial in nature in CBS. The results also point to the multimodal nature of working memory and show how experience can shape the development of its subcomponents.

  8. The Nature of Working Memory for Braille

    PubMed Central

    Cohen, Henri; Voss, Patrice; Lepore, Franco; Scherzer, Peter

    2010-01-01

    Blind individuals have been shown on multiple occasions to compensate for their loss of sight by developing exceptional abilities in their remaining senses. While most research has been focused on perceptual abilities per se in the auditory and tactile modalities, recent work has also investigated higher-order processes involving memory and language functions. Here we examined tactile working memory for Braille in two groups of visually challenged individuals (completely blind subjects, CBS; blind with residual vision, BRV). In a first experimental procedure both groups were given a Braille tactile memory span task with and without articulatory suppression, while the BRV and a sighted group performed a visual version of the task. It was shown that the Braille tactile working memory (BrWM) of CBS individuals under articulatory suppression is as efficient as that of sighted individuals' visual working memory in the same condition. Moreover, the results suggest that BrWM may be more robust in the CBS than in the BRV subjects, thus pointing to the potential role of visual experience in shaping tactile working memory. A second experiment designed to assess the nature (spatial vs. verbal) of this working memory was then carried out with two new CBS and BRV groups having to perform the Braille task concurrently with a mental arithmetic task or a mental displacement of blocks task. We show that the disruption of memory was greatest when concurrently carrying out the mental displacement of blocks, indicating that the Braille tactile subsystem of working memory is likely spatial in nature in CBS. The results also point to the multimodal nature of working memory and show how experience can shape the development of its subcomponents. PMID:20520807

  9. Metadata, Identifiers, and Physical Samples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arctur, D. K.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Hills, D. J.; Jenkyns, R.; Stroker, K. J.; Todd, N. S.; Dassie, E. P.; Bowring, J. F.

    2016-12-01

    Physical samples are integral to much of the research conducted by geoscientists. The samples used in this research are often obtained at significant cost and represent an important investment for future research. However, making information about samples - whether considered data or metadata - available for researchers to enable discovery is difficult: a number of key elements related to samples are difficult to characterize in common ways, such as classification, location, sample type, sampling method, repository information, subsample distribution, and instrumentation, because these differ from one domain to the next. Unifying these elements or developing metadata crosswalks is needed. The iSamples (Internet of Samples) NSF-funded Research Coordination Network (RCN) is investigating ways to develop these types of interoperability and crosswalks. Within the iSamples RCN, one of its working groups, WG1, has focused on the metadata related to physical samples. This includes identifying existing metadata standards and systems, and how they might interoperate with the International Geo Sample Number (IGSN) schema (schema.igsn.org) in order to help inform leading practices for metadata. For example, we are examining lifecycle metadata beyond the IGSN `birth certificate.' As a first step, this working group is developing a list of relevant standards and comparing their various attributes. In addition, the working group is looking toward technical solutions to facilitate developing a linked set of registries to build the web of samples. Finally, the group is also developing a comparison of sample identifiers and locators. This paper will provide an overview and comparison of the standards identified thus far, as well as an update on the technical solutions examined for integration. We will discuss how various sample identifiers might work in complementary fashion with the IGSN to more completely describe samples, facilitate retrieval of contextual information, and access research work on related samples. Finally, we welcome suggestions and community input to move physical sample unique identifiers forward.

  10. Advanced Extravehicular Activity Breakout Group Summary

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kosmo, Joseph J.; Perka, Alan; Walz, Carl; Cobb, Sharon; Hanford, Anthony; Eppler, Dean

    2005-01-01

    This viewgraph document summarizes the workings of the Advanced Extravehicular Activity (AEVA) Breakout group in a Martian environment. The group was tasked with: identifying potential contaminants and pathways for AEVA systems with respect to forward and backward contamination; identifying plausible mitigation alternatives and obstacles for pertinent missions; identifying topics that require further research and technology development and discuss development strategies with uncertain Planetary Protection (PP) requirements; Identifying PP requirements that impose the greatest mission/development costs; Identifying PP requirements/topics that require further definition;

  11. The Fisheries and Marine Renewable Energy Working Group: creating an agenda for improved co-existence.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Campbell, M. S.; De Groot, J.; Ashley, M.; Rodwell, L.

    2014-12-01

    As an emerging industry, Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) is expected to play a major contributory role if the UK is to successfully reach its desired target of renewable energy production by 2020. However, due to the competing objectives and priorities of MRE and other industries, for example fisheries, and in the delivering of conservation measures, the demand for space within our marine landscape is increasing, and interactions are inevitable. In order to promote better understanding of the challenges in resolving interactions between these industries, a Fisheries and Marine Renewable Energy Working Group was set up under the Natural Environment Research Council Marine Renewable Energy Knowledge Exchange Programme (NERC MREKEP). The Working Group carried out an initial scoping survey in order to summarise recent and current research activities and identify key issues and topics in the fields of fisheries and MRE interactions. Mixed stakeholder groups discussed four primary topics: priority issues; barriers to progress; problem mitigation; and thoughts on the consultation process. Points of discussion were categorized into themes to aid analysis and protocol development. These themes were: culture, community and economy; legislation and rights; data and information; and collaboration and communication. Subsequent invited stakeholder and expert panel workshops were held to facilitate knowledge exchange between fisheries and development of MRE in order to identify priority research issues, knowledge gaps and collaboration needs. Four group sessions identified: practical steps to aid interaction between industries; barriers, opportunities and solutions; an agenda for action, timescales and partners; and action points carried forward by each stakeholder group. This Working Group, guided under the MREKEP banner, is the first of its kind in the UK, bringing together individuals from a nationally diverse group of academics, regulators, policy makers and representatives from fisheries, MRE sectors and conservation bodies. Therefore, it has the potential, for the first time, to develop effective guidelines and protocols for both mitigation and assessment of displacement of fishing effort, for the entire life cycle of MRE projects.

  12. Introducing students to patient safety through an online interprofessional course.

    PubMed

    Blue, Amy V; Charles, Laurine; Howell, David; Koutalos, Yiannis; Mitcham, Maralynne; Nappi, Jean; Zoller, James

    2010-01-01

    Interprofessional education (IPE) is increasingly called upon to improve health care systems and patient safety. Our institution is engaged in a campus-wide IPE initiative. As a component of this initiative, a required online interprofessional patient-safety-focused course for a large group (300) of first-year medical, dental, and nursing students was developed and implemented. We describe our efforts with developing the course, including the use of constructivist and adult learning theories and IPE competencies to structure students' learning in a meaningful fashion. The course was conducted online to address obstacles of academic calendars and provide flexibility for faculty participation. Students worked in small groups online with a faculty facilitator. Thematic modules were created with associated objectives, online learning materials, and assignments. Students posted completed assignments online and responded to group members' assignments for purposes of group discussion. Students worked in interprofessional groups on a project requiring them to complete a root cause analysis and develop recommendations based on a fictional sentinel event case. Through project work, students applied concepts learned in the course related to improving patient safety and demonstrated interprofessional collaboration skills. Projects were presented during a final in-class session. Student course evaluation results suggest that learning objectives and content goals were achieved. Faculty course evaluation results indicate that the course was perceived to be a worthwhile learning experience for students. We offer the following recommendations to others interested in developing an in-depth interprofessional learning experience for a large group of learners: 1) consider a hybrid format (inclusion of some face-to-face sessions), 2) address IPE and broader curricular needs, 3) create interactive opportunities for shared learning and working together, 4) provide support to faculty facilitators, and 5) recognize your learners' educational level. The course has expanded to include students from additional programs for the current academic year.

  13. Introducing students to patient safety through an online interprofessional course

    PubMed Central

    Blue, Amy V; Charles, Laurine; Howell, David; Koutalos, Yiannis; Mitcham, Maralynne; Nappi, Jean; Zoller, James

    2010-01-01

    Interprofessional education (IPE) is increasingly called upon to improve health care systems and patient safety. Our institution is engaged in a campus-wide IPE initiative. As a component of this initiative, a required online interprofessional patient-safety-focused course for a large group (300) of first-year medical, dental, and nursing students was developed and implemented. We describe our efforts with developing the course, including the use of constructivist and adult learning theories and IPE competencies to structure students’ learning in a meaningful fashion. The course was conducted online to address obstacles of academic calendars and provide flexibility for faculty participation. Students worked in small groups online with a faculty facilitator. Thematic modules were created with associated objectives, online learning materials, and assignments. Students posted completed assignments online and responded to group members’ assignments for purposes of group discussion. Students worked in interprofessional groups on a project requiring them to complete a root cause analysis and develop recommendations based on a fictional sentinel event case. Through project work, students applied concepts learned in the course related to improving patient safety and demonstrated interprofessional collaboration skills. Projects were presented during a final in-class session. Student course evaluation results suggest that learning objectives and content goals were achieved. Faculty course evaluation results indicate that the course was perceived to be a worthwhile learning experience for students. We offer the following recommendations to others interested in developing an in-depth interprofessional learning experience for a large group of learners: 1) consider a hybrid format (inclusion of some face-to-face sessions), 2) address IPE and broader curricular needs, 3) create interactive opportunities for shared learning and working together, 4) provide support to faculty facilitators, and 5) recognize your learners’ educational level. The course has expanded to include students from additional programs for the current academic year. PMID:23745069

  14. Pediatrics Milestone Project: Next Steps Toward Meaningful Outcomes Assessment

    PubMed Central

    Hicks, Patricia J.; Englander, Robert; Schumacher, Daniel J.; Burke, Ann; Benson, Bradley J.; Guralnick, Susan; Ludwig, Stephen; Carraccio, Carol

    2010-01-01

    In the September 2010 issue of JGME, the Pediatric Milestones Working Group published “The Pediatrics Milestones: Conceptual Framework, Guiding Principles, and Approach to Development”, a document that describes the construction of the first iteration of the Pediatric Milestones. These Milestones were developed by the Working Group as a group of practical behavioral expectations for each of the 52 sub-competencies. In constructing these Milestones, the authors were cognizant of the need to ground the Milestones themselves in evidence, theories or other conceptual frameworks that would provide the basis for the ontogeny of development for each sub-competency. During this next phase of the Milestones development, the process will continue with consultation with content experts and consideration of assessment of Milestones. We have described possible measurement tools, explored threats to validity, establishment of benchmarks, and possible approaches to reporting of performance. The vision of the Pediatrics Milestone Project is to understand the development of a pediatrician from entry into medical school through the twilight of a physician’s career, and the work will require a collaborative effort of the undergraduate and graduate medical education communities, and the accrediting and certifying bodies. PMID:22132281

  15. [Results and recommendations for vocational rehabilitation from the development project RehaFutur].

    PubMed

    Riedel, H-P; Schmidt, C; Reinsberg, B; Klügel, T

    2012-06-01

    The overall project RehaFutur, which has been initiated and funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and which involves all the actors of the vocational rehabilitation system, is aimed at advancing the development of the vocational rehabilitation system, so as to prepare it for the challenges ahead. The project started with a group of scientific experts, who formulated 8 fields of action for further developing the vocational rehab system. On this basis, 4 working groups were set up in the framework of a development project to elaborate concrete recommendations on how to implement the necessary changes in vocational rehabilitation. The topics dealt with by the working groups were "self-determination and self-responsibility", "regulation of the overall process", "occupation and working environment" as well as "research". The process was supervised by a steering group, the results were moreover discussed in workshops. Recommendations have been made for 10 subject areas: "consultation and information", "joint service points", "use of the internet", "quality assurance", "individualisation and greater flexibility", "orientation towards the working environment", "participation of the beneficiaries", "research", "legislation", "cooperation of the actors". The next step of the RehaFutur overall project is implementation of those recommendations. This needs to be done in an interdisciplinary manner and conjointly by the agencies and providers involved, including the beneficiaries as experts. As different framework conditions have to be taken into account, the process is a complex one and needs to be supported by systematic research. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  16. Group Counseling with the Mentally Retarded: A Set of Guidelines for Practice. Working Paper No. 77.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friedland, Myles R.

    Presented are guidelines for developing and conducting a group counseling program with the mentally retarded. Advantages of the group counseling approach (such as peer influence), goals for the group (such as teaching skills), and characteristics of an effective group leader (such as empathetic understanding) are outlined. Factors related to group…

  17. "Without Stones There Is No Arch": A Study of Professional Development of Teacher Educators as a Team

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barak, Judith; Gidron, Ariela; Turniansky, Bobbie

    2010-01-01

    In this work we study the meaning of professional development as a participative process within a community of practice. In this collaborative narrative self-study we look at the development of ourselves as a professional group working together in an intensive program. The study is based on personal career stories, each told by its author, but…

  18. Mental Objects in Working Memory: Development of Basic Capacity or of Cognitive Completion?

    PubMed Central

    Cowan, Nelson

    2018-01-01

    Working memory is the small amount of information that we hold in mind and use to carry out cognitive processes such as language comprehension and production, problem-solving, and decision-making. In order to understand cognitive development, it would be helpful to know whether working memory increases in capacity with development and, if so, how and why. I will focus on two major stumbling blocks toward understanding working memory development, namely that (1) many potentially relevant aspects of the mind change in parallel during development, obscuring the role of any one change; and (2) one cannot use the same test procedure from infancy to adulthood, complicating comparisons across age groups. With regard to the first stumbling block, the parallel development of different aspects of the mind, we discuss research in which attempts were made to hold constant some factors (knowledge, strategies, direction of attention) to investigate whether developmental differences remain. With regard to the second stumbling block, procedural differences in tests at different age groups, I suggest ways in which the results might be reconciled across procedures. I highlight the value of pursuing research that could distinguish between two different key hypotheses that emerge: that there is a developmental increase in the number of working memory slots (or in a basic resource that holds items in working memory), and that there is a developmental increase in the amount of detail that each of these slots can hold. PMID:28215289

  19. Mental Objects in Working Memory: Development of Basic Capacity or of Cognitive Completion?

    PubMed

    Cowan, N

    2017-01-01

    Working memory is the small amount of information that we hold in mind and use to carry out cognitive processes such as language comprehension and production, problem solving, and decision making. In order to understand cognitive development, it would be helpful to know whether working memory increases in capacity with development and, if so, how and why. I will focus on two major stumbling blocks toward understanding working memory development, namely that (1) many potentially relevant aspects of the mind change in parallel during development, obscuring the role of any one change; and (2) one cannot use the same test procedure from infancy to adulthood, complicating comparisons across age groups. With regard to the first stumbling block, the parallel development of different aspects of the mind, we discuss research in which attempts were made to hold constant some factors (knowledge, strategies, direction of attention) to investigate whether developmental differences remain. With regard to the second stumbling block, procedural differences in tests for different age groups, I suggest ways in which the results might be reconciled across procedures. I highlight the value of pursuing research that could distinguish between two different key hypotheses that emerge: that there is a developmental increase in the number of working memory slots (or in a basic resource that holds items in working memory), and that there is a developmental increase in the amount of detail that each of these slots can hold. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Cognitive Factors Contributing to Spelling Performance in Children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

    PubMed Central

    Glass, Leila; Graham, Diana M.; Akshoomoff, Natacha; Mattson, Sarah N.

    2015-01-01

    Objective Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with impaired school functioning. Spelling performance has not been comprehensively evaluated. We examined whether children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure demonstrate deficits in spelling and related abilities, including reading, and tested whether there are unique underlying mechanisms for observed deficits in this population. Method Ninety-six school-age children comprised two groups: children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (AE, n=49) and control children (CON, n=47). Children completed select subtests from the WIAT-II and NEPSY-II. Group differences and relations between spelling and theoretically-related cognitive variables were evaluated using MANOVA and Pearson correlations. Hierarchical regression analyses were utilized to assess contributions of group membership and cognitive variables to spelling performance. The specificity of these deficits and underlying mechanisms was tested by examining the relations between reading ability, group membership, and cognitive variables. Results Groups differed significantly on all variables. Group membership and phonological processing significantly contributed to spelling performance. In addition, a significant group*working memory interaction revealed that working memory independently contributed significantly to spelling only for the AE group. All cognitive variables contributed to reading across groups and a group*working memory interaction revealed that working memory contributed independently to reading only for alcohol-exposed children. Conclusion Alcohol-exposed children demonstrated a unique pattern of spelling deficits. The relation of working memory to spelling and reading was specific to the AE group, suggesting that if prenatal alcohol exposure is known or suspected, working memory ability should be considered in the development and implementation of explicit instruction. PMID:25643217

  1. NASA Supportability Engineering Implementation Utilizing DoD Practices and Processes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, David A.; Smith, John V.

    2010-01-01

    The Ares I design and development program made the determination early in the System Design Review Phase to utilize DoD ILS and LSA approach for supportability engineering as an integral part of the system engineering process. This paper is to provide a review of the overall approach to design Ares-I with an emphasis on a more affordable, supportable, and sustainable launch vehicle. Discussions will include the requirements development, design influence, support concept alternatives, ILS and LSA planning, Logistics support analyses/trades performed, LSA tailoring for NASA Ares Program, support system infrastructure identification, ILS Design Review documentation, Working Group coordination, and overall ILS implementation. At the outset, the Ares I Project initiated the development of the Integrated Logistics Support Plan (ILSP) and a Logistics Support Analysis process to provide a path forward for the management of the Ares-I ILS program and supportability analysis activities. The ILSP provide the initial planning and coordination between the Ares-I Project Elements and Ground Operation Project. The LSA process provided a system engineering approach in the development of the Ares-I supportability requirements; influence the design for supportability and development of alternative support concepts that satisfies the program operability requirements. The LSA planning and analysis results are documented in the Logistics Support Analysis Report. This document was required during the Ares-I System Design Review (SDR) and Preliminary Design Review (PDR) review cycles. To help coordinate the LSA process across the Ares-I project and between programs, the LSA Report is updated and released quarterly. A System Requirement Analysis was performed to determine the supportability requirements and technical performance measurements (TPMs). Two working groups were established to provide support in the management and implement the Ares-I ILS program, the Integrated Logistics Support Working Group (ILSWG) and the Logistics Support Analysis Record Working Group (LSARWG). The Ares I ILSWG is established to assess the requirements and conduct, evaluate analyses and trade studies associated with acquisition logistic and supportability processes and to resolve Ares I integrated logistics and supportability issues. It established a strategic collaborative alliance for coordination of Logistics Support Analysis activates in support of the integrated Ares I vehicle design and development of logistics support infrastructure. A Joint Ares I - Orion LSAR Working Group was established to: 1) Guide the development of Ares-I and Orion LSAR data and serve as a model for future Constellation programs, 2) Develop rules and assumptions that will apply across the Constellation program with regards to the program's LSAR development, and 3) Maintain the Constellation LSAR Style Guide.

  2. Gerontological Competencies among MSW Students: Evaluation of a Gerontology Specialization Program.

    PubMed

    Wilks, Scott E; Cain, Daphne S; Reed-Ashcraft, Kellie B; Geiger, Jen

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of a gerontology specialization program (GSP) within a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)-accredited master of social work (MSW) program. This study utilized a pretest/posttest design with a three-group comparison: group 1-GSP students; group 2-students from the group 1 program but not in GSP; and group 3-students at two external MSW programs with no GSPs. The overall sample comprised 220 advanced year students. A CSWE Gero-Ed Center/Hartford Partnership empirical measure was used to assess overall, gero social work practice competency. Within-group analyses revealed a significant increase in gero competency scores from pretest to posttest among all groups, with GSP students showing the largest increase. Between-group analysis at pretest revealed that the GSP group showed lower gero competency scores than both non-GSP groups. At posttest, these results overturned: GSP students scored significantly higher gero competency scores than both non-GSP groups. These preliminary findings suggest that the GSP offers an impactful, positive role in development of practice skills for the next generation of gero social work practitioners and scholars. A follow-up study with additional years of data will increase longitudinal rigor and confidence in the long-range efficacy of this GSP.

  3. The Effectiveness of a Suggested Program Based on Combining the Direct and the Indirect Strategies on Developing the EFL Al-Azhr Secondary School Students' Strategic Competence Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elshirbini Abdel-fattah Al-Ashrii, Ismail Ibrahim

    2011-01-01

    This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of using a suggested program based on integrating the direct and indirect approaches on developing Strategic Competence skills of EFL secondary school students. The study adopted the experimental design. One group was an experimental group (using the suggested program) and another group worked as the…

  4. Convergent Adaptation in Small Groups: Understanding Professional Development Activities through a Complex Systems Lens

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoon, Susan; Liu, Lei; Goh, Sao-Ee

    2010-01-01

    Understanding the dynamics of individual or group adaptation can provide valuable information for constructing professional development strategies to increase chances of instructional success. This paper reports on an exploratory study that identifies indicators of convergent vs. non-convergent adaptation in two cases of teachers working together…

  5. "More Writing than Welding": Learning in Worker Writer Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodin, Tom

    2005-01-01

    The Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers was set up in 1976 by a number of independent writing and publishing groups to support and develop the writing of working class and other marginalized people. Focusing on the development of individuals within a collective organization over the previous three decades provides important…

  6. A Psychological Service Contribution to Nurture: Glasgow's Nurturing City

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    March, Sam; Kearney, Maura

    2017-01-01

    This article details the work undertaken in Glasgow to develop a range of nurturing approaches across establishments. Glasgow Psychological Service (GPS), in conjunction with Glasgow education colleagues, used the nurture group principles as developed by the Nurture Group Network, and extended and adapted these to give more detail and direction as…

  7. Research Skills Development in Higher Education Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bergamini, Tiziana Priede; Navarro, Cristina Lopez-Cozar

    2014-01-01

    This case study presents the development of a research project in a third-year undergraduate course, Family Business Administration. The research project aimed at promoting research skills in students. The authors formed working groups of no more than six students, and each group had to select an original research topic after conducting a…

  8. GRADE equity guidelines 1: considering health equity in GRADE guideline development: introduction and rationale.

    PubMed

    Welch, Vivian A; Akl, Elie A; Guyatt, Gordon; Pottie, Kevin; Eslava-Schmalbach, Javier; Ansari, Mohammed T; de Beer, Hans; Briel, Matthias; Dans, Tony; Dans, Inday; Hultcrantz, Monica; Jull, Janet; Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Meerpohl, Joerg; Morton, Rachael; Mosdol, Annhild; Petkovic, Jennifer; Schünemann, Holger J; Sharaf, Ravi N; Singh, Jasvinder A; Stanev, Roger; Tonia, Thomy; Tristan, Mario; Vitols, Sigurd; Watine, Joseph; Tugwell, Peter

    2017-10-01

    This article introduces the rationale and methods for explicitly considering health equity in the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology for development of clinical, public health, and health system guidelines. We searched for guideline methodology articles, conceptual articles about health equity, and examples of guidelines that considered health equity explicitly. We held three meetings with GRADE Working Group members and invited comments from the GRADE Working Group listserve. We developed three articles on incorporating equity considerations into the overall approach to guideline development, rating certainty, and assembling the evidence base and evidence to decision and/or recommendation. Clinical and public health guidelines have a role to play in promoting health equity by explicitly considering equity in the process of guideline development. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. The AAS Working Group on Accessibility and Disability (WGAD): Year 1 Highlights

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aarnio, Alicia; Monkiewicz, Jacqueline; Murphy, Nicholas Arnold; Nordhaus, Jason; Tuttle, Sarah E.

    2017-01-01

    The AAS Working Group on Accessibility and Disability (WGAD) was formed in January of 2016 with the express purpose of seeking equity of opportunity and building inclusive practices for disabled astronomers at all career stages. In our first year, the WGAD has been actively developing resources and the online infrastructure for the dissemination of information and engagement with the astronomy community. Our official WGAD website has gone live, and we have used both the access: astronomy google group and blog to discuss specific issues of disability justice and to raise awareness for less-discussed barriers to access. The WGAD has developed relationships and collaboration with AAS inclusion committees (SGMA, CSMA, CSWA) so our work can recognize and address the intersections of identity astronomers occupy. In this presentation, we summarize our year one activities, focusing on our recently developed set of recommendations for journal accessibility to ensure everyone can engage with journal content and navigate the submission process. We will also discuss ongoing and future endeavors: a best practices guide for accessibility to be available via our website, and a site visit program.

  10. VLBI2010: An Overview

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Petrachenko, Bill

    2010-01-01

    The first concrete actions toward a next generation system for geodetic VLBI began in 2003 when the IVS initiated Working Group 3 to investigate requirements for a new system. The working group set out ambitious performance goals and sketched out initial recommendations for the system. Starting in 2006, developments continued under the leadership of the VLBI2010 Committee (V2C) in two main areas: Monte Carlo simulators were developed to evaluate proposed system changes according to their impact on IVS final products, and a proof-of-concept effort sponsored by NASA was initiated to develop next generation systems and verify the concepts behind VLBI2010. In 2009, the V2C produced a progress report that summarized the conclusions of the Monte Carlo work and outlined recommendations for the next generation system in terms of systems, analysis, operations, and network configuration. At the time of writing: two complete VLBI2010 signal paths have been completed and data is being produced; a number of VLBI2010 antenna projects are under way; and a VLBI2010 Project Executive Group (V2PEG) has been initiated to provide strategic leadership.

  11. Strategies for Utilizing Neuroimaging Biomarkers in CNS Drug Discovery and Development: CINP/JSNP Working Group Report.

    PubMed

    Suhara, Tetsuya; Chaki, Shigeyuki; Kimura, Haruhide; Furusawa, Makoto; Matsumoto, Mitsuyuki; Ogura, Hiroo; Negishi, Takaaki; Saijo, Takeaki; Higuchi, Makoto; Omura, Tomohiro; Watanabe, Rira; Miyoshi, Sosuke; Nakatani, Noriaki; Yamamoto, Noboru; Liou, Shyh-Yuh; Takado, Yuhei; Maeda, Jun; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Okubo, Yoshiaki; Yamada, Makiko; Ito, Hiroshi; Walton, Noah M; Yamawaki, Shigeto

    2017-04-01

    Despite large unmet medical needs in the field for several decades, CNS drug discovery and development has been largely unsuccessful. Biomarkers, particularly those utilizing neuroimaging, have played important roles in aiding CNS drug development, including dosing determination of investigational new drugs (INDs). A recent working group was organized jointly by CINP and Japanese Society of Neuropsychopharmacology (JSNP) to discuss the utility of biomarkers as tools to overcome issues of CNS drug development.The consensus statement from the working group aimed at creating more nuanced criteria for employing biomarkers as tools to overcome issues surrounding CNS drug development. To accomplish this, a reverse engineering approach was adopted, in which criteria for the utilization of biomarkers were created in response to current challenges in the processes of drug discovery and development for CNS disorders. Based on this analysis, we propose a new paradigm containing 5 distinct tiers to further clarify the use of biomarkers and establish new strategies for decision-making in the context of CNS drug development. Specifically, we discuss more rational ways to incorporate biomarker data to determine optimal dosing for INDs with novel mechanisms and targets, and propose additional categorization criteria to further the use of biomarkers in patient stratification and clinical efficacy prediction. Finally, we propose validation and development of new neuroimaging biomarkers through public-private partnerships to further facilitate drug discovery and development for CNS disorders. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.

  12. Ischemia and No Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease (INOCA): Developing Evidence-based Therapies and Research Agenda for the Next Decade

    PubMed Central

    Merz, C. Noel Bairey; Pepine, Carl J.; Walsh, Mary Norine; Fleg, Jerome L.

    2017-01-01

    The Cardiovascular Disease in Women Committee of the American College of Cardiology, in conjunction with interested parties (from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology), convened a working group to develop a consensus on the syndrome of myocardial ischemia with no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA). In general, these patients have elevated risk for a cardiovascular event (including acute coronary syndrome, heart failure hospitalization, stroke, and repeated cardiovascular procedures) vs reference subjects, and appear to be at higher risk for development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). A subgroup of these patients also has coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) and evidence of inflammation. This document provides a summary of findings and recommendations toward the development of an integrated approach for identifying and managing patients with INOCA, and outlining knowledge gaps in the area. Working group members critically reviewed available literature and current practices for risk assessment and state-of-the-science techniques in multiple areas, with a focus on next steps needed to develop evidence-based therapies. This report presents highlights of this working group review and a summary of suggested research directions to advance this field in the next decade. PMID:28289007

  13. The effect of cerebral palsy on arithmetic accuracy is mediated by working memory, intelligence, early numeracy, and instruction time.

    PubMed

    Jenks, Kathleen M; de Moor, Jan; van Lieshout, Ernest C D M; Maathuis, Karel G B; Keus, Inge; Gorter, Jan Willem

    2007-01-01

    The development of addition and subtraction accuracy was assessed in first graders with cerebral palsy (CP) in both mainstream (16) and special education (41) and a control group of first graders in mainstream education (16). The control group out-performed the CP groups in addition and subtraction accuracy and this difference could not be fully explained by differences in intelligence. Both CP groups showed evidence of working memory deficits. The three groups exhibited different developmental patterns in the area of early numeracy skills. Children with CP in special education were found to receive less arithmetic instruction and instruction time was positively related to arithmetic accuracy. Structural equation modeling revealed that the effect of CP on arithmetic accuracy is mediated by intelligence, working memory, early numeracy, and instruction time.

  14. Managing data from multiple disciplines, scales, and sites to support synthesis and modeling

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Olson, R. J.; Briggs, J. M.; Porter, J.H.; Mah, Grant R.; Stafford, S.G.

    1999-01-01

    The synthesis and modeling of ecological processes at multiple spatial and temporal scales involves bringing together and sharing data from numerous sources. This article describes a data and information system model that facilitates assembling, managing, and sharing diverse data from multiple disciplines, scales, and sites to support integrated ecological studies. Cross-site scientific-domain working groups coordinate the development of data associated with their particular scientific working group, including decisions about data requirements, data to be compiled, data formats, derived data products, and schedules across the sites. The Web-based data and information system consists of nodes for each working group plus a central node that provides data access, project information, data query, and other functionality. The approach incorporates scientists and computer experts in the working groups and provides incentives for individuals to submit documented data to the data and information system.

  15. Model Attitude and Deformation Measurements at the NASA Glenn Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Woike, Mark R.

    2008-01-01

    The NASA Glenn Research Center is currently participating in an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) sponsored Model Attitude and Deformation Working Group. This working group is chartered to develop a best practices document dealing with the measurement of two primary areas of wind tunnel measurements, 1) model attitude including alpha, beta and roll angle, and 2) model deformation. Model attitude is a principle variable in making aerodynamic and force measurements in a wind tunnel. Model deformation affects measured forces, moments and other measured aerodynamic parameters. The working group comprises of membership from industry, academia, and the Department of Defense (DoD). Each member of the working group gave a presentation on the methods and techniques that they are using to make model attitude and deformation measurements. This presentation covers the NASA Glenn Research Center s approach in making model attitude and deformation measurements.

  16. Farmworker Substance Abuse: An Action Plan for the Year 2000. Proceedings of the National Farmworker Substance Abuse Prevention Conference (San Diego, California, October 18-20, 1991).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Migrant Resource Program, Inc., Austin, TX.

    This proceedings contains commissioned background papers used by conference work groups focusing on nine aspects of farmworker substance abuse, and the action plan developed by the work groups. The keynote address by Felipe G. Castro examines risk factors for substance abuse and addiction among Chicano farmworkers, particularly adolescent and…

  17. Active Engagement with Assessment and Feedback Can Improve Group-Work Outcomes and Boost Student Confidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, G. W.

    2017-01-01

    This study involves evaluation of a novel iterative group-based learning task developed to enable students to actively engage with assessment and feedback in order to improve the quality of their written work. The students were all in the final semester of their final year of study and enrolled on either BSc Zoology or BSc Marine and Freshwater…

  18. Software Technology Transfer and Export Control.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-01-01

    development projects of their own. By analogy, a Soviet team might be able to repeat the learning experience of the ADEPT-50 junior staff...recommendations concerning product form and further study . The posture of this group has been to consider software technology and its transfer as a process...and views of the Software Subgroup of Technical Working Group 7 (Computers) of the Critical Technologies Project . The work reported

  19. Small Group Multitasking in Literature Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baurain, Bradley

    2007-01-01

    Faced with the challenge of teaching American literature to large, multilevel classes in Vietnam, the writer developed a flexible small group framework called "multitasking". "Multitasking" sets up stable task categories which rotate among small groups from lesson to lesson. This framework enabled students to work cooperatively…

  20. Prenatal psychosocial stress exposure is associated with subsequent working memory performance in young women.

    PubMed

    Entringer, Sonja; Buss, Claudia; Kumsta, Robert; Hellhammer, Dirk H; Wadhwa, Pathik D; Wüst, Stefan

    2009-08-01

    The aim of the present study was to examine the association between prenatal psychosocial stress exposure and subsequent prefrontal cortex-dependent working memory performance in human adults. Working memory performance was assessed using an item-recognition task under 10 mg hydrocortisone (cortisol) and placebo conditions in a sample of 32 healthy young women (mean age = 25 +/- 4.34 years) whose mothers experienced a major negative life event during their pregnancy (Prenatal Stress, PS group), and in a comparison group of 27 healthy young women (mean age = 24 +/- 3.4 years). The two groups did not differ in the placebo condition, however, subjects in the PS group showed longer reaction times after hydrocortisone administration compared with subjects in the comparison group (p = .02). These findings provide support for an association between prenatal stress exposure and the potential modulatory effect of cortisol on working memory performance in young adults, which may reflect compromised development of the prefrontal cortex in prenatal life. 2009 APA, all rights reserved

  1. The Role of Group Regulation in Student Groups: A Pedagogical Exploration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harris, Garth; Bristow, Dennis

    2016-01-01

    When tasked with group projects, students often struggle with teamwork and tend to overlook the importance of group self-regulation and its role in effective collaborative work. The pedagogy was implemented in semester long university level new product development courses. The pedagogy illustrates how educators can use student generated weekly…

  2. The Relationship between Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Group Cohesiveness and Workplace Deviance Behavior of Turkish Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Apaydin, Çigdem; Sirin, Hüseyin

    2016-01-01

    This study aims to develop a structural model for organizational citizenship behavior, group cohesiveness and workplace deviance behavior. The study group consists of 639 Turkish teachers working in primary and secondary public schools. In the study, the "Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale" and the "Group Cohesiveness…

  3. Awareness of Cognitive and Social Behaviour in a CSCL Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kirschner, P. A.; Kreijns, K.; Phielix, C.; Fransen, J.

    2015-01-01

    Most distributed and virtual online environments for and pedagogies of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) neglect the social and social-emotional aspects underlying the group dynamics of learning and working in a CSCL group. These group dynamics often determine whether the group will develop into a well-performing team and whether a…

  4. Neuromuscular control of lumbar instability following static work of various loads.

    PubMed

    Le, Brook; Davidson, Bradley; Solomonow, Deborah; Zhou, Bing He; Lu, Yun; Patel, Vikas; Solomonow, Moshe

    2009-01-01

    Neuromuscular control of lumbar stability following exposure to prolonged static work, under low and high loads, was assessed in the in vivo feline model. Six sessions of 10 min work at 20N with 10 min between rest was compared to a group subjected to the same protocol but carrying high loads of 60N. Displacement and tension developed in the spine at the instant the multifidus muscles applied stabilizing contractions, and their amplitudes were obtained from their electromyogram (EMG). Significant (P < 0.001) laxity developed in the various viscoelastic tissues of the lumbar spine that did not recover during and up to 7 h of rest postwork. Simultaneously, there was a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in muscular activity in the 3-4 h immediately postwork under low load but only during the first hour in the high load group. After that period the musculature compensated for the laxity of the viscoelastic tissues by a significant (P < 0.001) increase in activity in the high-load group and a nonsignificant increase in the low group. It was concluded that during 1-3 h immediately poststatic work a significant decrease in the stabilizing function of viscoelastic tissues together with a significant decrease in muscular activity is present, and they render the spine unstable and exposed to high risk of injury. Performance of prolonged static work under low loads, while not harmful during the work, cannot be designated as a "no-risk" condition, as it may result in injury postwork.

  5. Crossing Boundaries between Cultures and Disciplines: Using Geography and Creative Arts to Build Bridges with Community Groups in One School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Ruth; Lane, Sue

    2009-01-01

    In an attempt to develop tolerance and acceptance of other cultural groups, teacher educators from the University of Newcastle worked with members of the local African community and teachers from a local school to develop a Creative Arts and Geography program for young school children (aged 7-9 years). The program developed put together the…

  6. Hypertext: Improved Capability for Shipboard Naval Messages

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-09-01

    message handling system; a complete working model of the system has not been developed . 3 D. ORGANIZATION OF STUDY 1. The "Paperless" Ship Initiative...work in tandem to improve afloat message handling procedures. The objective of the PCMT project is to develop a system that could be installed on...working group has identified a list of requirements to guide the DoD’s progress towards improving its message communication system. These

  7. Center Planning and Development Student Engineer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jenkins, Kenneth T.

    2013-01-01

    This fall I was the Student Trainee (Engineering) Pathways Intern (co-op) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the Center Planning Development (CPD) Directorate. CPD works with commercial companies who are interested using KSCs unique capabilities in spaceflight, spacecraft processing, ground systems and Research Development (RD) projects that fall in line with NASAs mission and goals. CPD is divided into four (4) groups: (1) AD-A, which works on the Master Planning for center, (2) AD-B (where I am), which works on project management and integration, (3) AD-C, which works on partnership development, and (4) AD-T, which works on the RD aspects of partnerships. CPDs main goal is to one day make KSC the worlds largest spaceport and maintain the center as a leader in space exploration. CPD is a very diverse group with employees having a wide knowledge of not only the Space Shuttle, but also that of the Apollo era. Our director of CPD, Scott Colloredo, is on the advisory board for Commercial Space Operations (CSO) and has a degree at ERAU. I worked on a number of different tasks for AD-B, as well as CPD, that includes, but not limited to: reviewing and reissuing engineering drawings from the Apollo and Shuttle eras, to supporting NASA rocket launches (MAVEN), and working on actual agreementsproposals that will be used in the partnership process with multiple partners. Most of the work I have done is sensitive information and cannot be disclosed.

  8. Scientific management of Space Telescope

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Odell, C. R.

    1981-01-01

    A historical summay is given on the science management of the Space Telescope, the inception of which began in 1962, when scientists and engineers first recommended the development of a nearly diffraction limited substantial-size optical telescope. Phase A, the feasibility requirements generation phase, began in 1971 and consisted largely of NASA scientists and a NASA design. Phase B, the preliminary design phase, established a tiered structure of scientists, led by the Large Space Telescope operations and Management Work Group. A Mission Operations Working Group headed six instrument definition teams to develop the essential instrument definitions. Many changes took place during Phase B, before design and development, which began in 1978 and still continues today.

  9. OA26 How inclusive partnership working influences local policy and practice: the case of the end of life partnership.

    PubMed

    Zammit, Rachel

    2015-04-01

    : Ageing, death, dying and loss are universal issues that have a range of health, wellbeing, financial and socio-economic costs for society. The End of Life Partnership (EoLP) is a charitable collaborative in Cheshire, which aims to transform end of life experience and care, by working with a wide range partners from the public, private and third sectors and by engaging individuals, families and communities. Launched in April 2014, the EoLP merged three existing programmes focussing on public health, education and service development and added an additional research focus. There are now four dedicated departments: Public Health and Wellbeing; Research, Evaluation and Technology; Service Development; Education and Practice Development. In October 2014 a Dementia work stream was added. The work of The EoLP is shaped, overseen and monitored by a Strategic Partnership Executive, with representation from key local stakeholders and a board of trustees. The EoLP meets national objectives and delivers on local priorities agreed with stakeholders, including patients and the public. This is strengthened through a dedicated Cheshire Living Well, Dying Well Partnership to enable community voices to be heard. Significant milestones have already been realised as a partnership collaborative. For example, response to the national review of the Liverpool Care Pathway incorporated development of a local care plan with stakeholders, educational strategy to ensure effective roll-out, public consultation and work to measure impact. The EoLP works to influence and shape policy and practice at a local, regional, national and international level. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  10. Optics outreach in Irish context

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McHugh, Emer; Smith, Arlene

    2009-06-01

    The Applied Optics Group, National University of Ireland Galway is a research centre involved in programmes that cover a wide variety of topics in applied optics and imaging science, including smart optics, adaptive optics, optical scattering and propagation, and engineering optics. The Group have also developed significant outreach programmes both in Primary and Post-Primary schools. It is recognised that there is a need for innovation in Science Education in Ireland and we are committed to working extensively with schools. The main aim of these outreach programmes is to increase awareness and interest in science with students and enhance the communication skills of the researchers working in the Group. The education outreach team works closely with the relevant teachers in both Primary and Post-Primary schools to design and develop learning initiatives to match the needs of the target group of students. The learning programmes are usually delivered in the participating schools during normal class time by a team of Applied Optics specialists. We are involved in running these programmes in both Primary and Post-Primary schools where the programmes are tailored to the curriculum and concentrating on optics and light. The students may also visit the Groups research centre where presentations and laboratory tours are arranged.

  11. Nuclear thermal source transfer unit, post-blast soil sample drying system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wiser, Ralph S.; Valencia, Matthew J

    Los Alamos National Laboratory states that its mission is “To solve national security challenges through scientific excellence.” The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) programs exists to engage undergraduate students in STEM work by providing opportunity to work at DOE facilities. As an undergraduate mechanical engineering intern under the SULI program at Los Alamos during the fall semester of 2016, I had the opportunity to contribute to the mission of the Laboratory while developing skills in a STEM discipline. I worked with Technology Applications, an engineering group that supports non-proliferation, counter terrorism, and emergency response missions. This group specializes in toolmore » design, weapons engineering, rapid prototyping, and mission training. I assisted with two major projects during my appointment Los Alamos. The first was a thermal source transportation unit, intended to safely contain a nuclear thermal source during transit. The second was a soil drying unit for use in nuclear postblast field sample collection. These projects have given me invaluable experience working alongside a team of professional engineers. Skills developed include modeling, simulation, group design, product and system design, and product testing.« less

  12. Social and behavioral research in genomic sequencing: approaches from the Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research Consortium Outcomes and Measures Working Group.

    PubMed

    Gray, Stacy W; Martins, Yolanda; Feuerman, Lindsay Z; Bernhardt, Barbara A; Biesecker, Barbara B; Christensen, Kurt D; Joffe, Steven; Rini, Christine; Veenstra, David; McGuire, Amy L

    2014-10-01

    The routine use of genomic sequencing in clinical medicine has the potential to dramatically alter patient care and medical outcomes. To fully understand the psychosocial and behavioral impact of sequencing integration into clinical practice, it is imperative that we identify the factors that influence sequencing-related decision making and patient outcomes. In an effort to develop a collaborative and conceptually grounded approach to studying sequencing adoption, members of the National Human Genome Research Institute's Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research Consortium formed the Outcomes and Measures Working Group. Here we highlight the priority areas of investigation and psychosocial and behavioral outcomes identified by the Working Group. We also review some of the anticipated challenges to measurement in social and behavioral research related to genomic sequencing; opportunities for instrument development; and the importance of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches. This work represents the early, shared efforts of multiple research teams as we strive to understand individuals' experiences with genomic sequencing. The resulting body of knowledge will guide recommendations for the optimal use of sequencing in clinical practice.

  13. Information basis for developing comprehensive waste management system-US-Japan joint nuclear energy action plan waste management working group phase I report.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nutt, M.; Nuclear Engineering Division

    2010-05-25

    The activity of Phase I of the Waste Management Working Group under the United States - Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan started in 2007. The US-Japan JNEAP is a bilateral collaborative framework to support the global implementation of safe, secure, and sustainable, nuclear fuel cycles (referred to in this document as fuel cycles). The Waste Management Working Group was established by strong interest of both parties, which arise from the recognition that development and optimization of waste management and disposal system(s) are central issues of the present and future nuclear fuel cycles. This report summarizes the activity of themore » Waste Management Working Group that focused on consolidation of the existing technical basis between the U.S. and Japan and the joint development of a plan for future collaborative activities. Firstly, the political/regulatory frameworks related to nuclear fuel cycles in both countries were reviewed. The various advanced fuel cycle scenarios that have been considered in both countries were then surveyed and summarized. The working group established the working reference scenario for the future cooperative activity that corresponds to a fuel cycle scenario being considered both in Japan and the U.S. This working scenario involves transitioning from a once-through fuel cycle utilizing light water reactors to a one-pass uranium-plutonium fuel recycle in light water reactors to a combination of light water reactors and fast reactors with plutonium, uranium, and minor actinide recycle, ultimately concluding with multiple recycle passes primarily using fast reactors. Considering the scenario, current and future expected waste streams, treatment and inventory were discussed, and the relevant information was summarized. Second, the waste management/disposal system optimization was discussed. Repository system concepts were reviewed, repository design concepts for the various classifications of nuclear waste were summarized, and the factors to consider in repository design and optimization were then discussed. Japan is considering various alternatives and options for the geologic disposal facility and the framework for future analysis of repository concepts was discussed. Regarding the advanced waste and storage form development, waste form technologies developed in both countries were surveyed and compared. Potential collaboration areas and activities were next identified. Disposal system optimization processes and techniques were reviewed, and factors to consider in future repository design optimization activities were also discussed. Then the potential collaboration areas and activities related to the optimization problem were extracted.« less

  14. Firing Room Remote Application Software Development & Swamp Works Laboratory Robot Software Development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Garcia, Janette

    2016-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is creating a way to send humans beyond low Earth orbit, and later to Mars. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is working to make this possible by developing a Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS) which will allow the launch of Space Launch System (SLS). This paper's focus is on the work performed by the author in her first and second part of the internship as a remote application software developer. During the first part of her internship, the author worked on the SCCS's software application layer by assisting multiple ground subsystems teams including Launch Accessories (LACC) and Environmental Control System (ECS) on the design, development, integration, and testing of remote control software applications. Then, on the second part of the internship, the author worked on the development of robot software at the Swamp Works Laboratory which is a research and technology development group which focuses on inventing new technology to help future In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) missions.

  15. Deaf individuals who work with computers present a high level of visual attention.

    PubMed

    Ribeiro, Paula Vieira; Ribas, Valdenilson Ribeiro; Ribas, Renata de Melo Guerra; de Melo, Teresinha de Jesus Oliveira Guimarães; Marinho, Carlos Antonio de Sá; Silva, Kátia Karina do Monte; de Albuquerque, Elizabete Elias; Ribas, Valéria Ribeiro; de Lima, Renata Mirelly Silva; Santos, Tuthcha Sandrelle Botelho Tavares

    2011-01-01

    Some studies in the literature indicate that deaf individuals seem to develop a higher level of attention and concentration during the process of constructing of different ways of communicating. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of attention in individuals deaf from birth that worked with computers. A total of 161 individuals in the 18-25 age group were assessed. Of these, 40 were congenitally deaf individuals that worked with computers, 42 were deaf individuals that did not work, did not know how to use nor used computers (Control 1), 39 individuals with normal hearing that did not work, did not know how to use computers nor used them (Control 2), and 40 individuals with normal hearing that worked with computers (Control 3). The group of subjects deaf from birth that worked with computers (IDWC) presented a higher level of focused attention, sustained attention, mental manipulation capacity and resistance to interference compared to the control groups. This study highlights the relevance sensory to cognitive processing.

  16. Work Stress Interventions in Hospital Care: Effectiveness of the DISCovery Method

    PubMed Central

    Niks, Irene; Gevers, Josette

    2018-01-01

    Effective interventions to prevent work stress and to improve health, well-being, and performance of employees are of the utmost importance. This quasi-experimental intervention study presents a specific method for diagnosis of psychosocial risk factors at work and subsequent development and implementation of tailored work stress interventions, the so-called DISCovery method. This method aims at improving employee health, well-being, and performance by optimizing the balance between job demands, job resources, and recovery from work. The aim of the study is to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of the DISCovery method in hospital care. Specifically, we used a three-wave longitudinal, quasi-experimental multiple-case study approach with intervention and comparison groups in health care work. Positive changes were found for members of the intervention groups, relative to members of the corresponding comparison groups, with respect to targeted work-related characteristics and targeted health, well-being, and performance outcomes. Overall, results lend support for the effectiveness of the DISCovery method in hospital care. PMID:29438350

  17. Work Stress Interventions in Hospital Care: Effectiveness of the DISCovery Method.

    PubMed

    Niks, Irene; de Jonge, Jan; Gevers, Josette; Houtman, Irene

    2018-02-13

    Effective interventions to prevent work stress and to improve health, well-being, and performance of employees are of the utmost importance. This quasi-experimental intervention study presents a specific method for diagnosis of psychosocial risk factors at work and subsequent development and implementation of tailored work stress interventions, the so-called DISCovery method. This method aims at improving employee health, well-being, and performance by optimizing the balance between job demands, job resources, and recovery from work. The aim of the study is to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of the DISCovery method in hospital care. Specifically, we used a three-wave longitudinal, quasi-experimental multiple-case study approach with intervention and comparison groups in health care work. Positive changes were found for members of the intervention groups, relative to members of the corresponding comparison groups, with respect to targeted work-related characteristics and targeted health, well-being, and performance outcomes. Overall, results lend support for the effectiveness of the DISCovery method in hospital care.

  18. Assessing School Work Culture: A Higher-Order Analysis and Strategy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, William L.; Johnson, Annabel M.; Zimmerman, Kurt J.

    This paper reviews a work culture productivity model and reports the development of a work culture instrument based on the culture productivity model. Higher order principal components analysis was used to assess work culture, and a third-order factor analysis shows how the first-order factors group into higher-order factors. The school work…

  19. Using Working Agreements in Participatory Action Research: Working through Moral Problems with Malaysian Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balakrishnan, Vishalache; Cornforth, Sue

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we propose that taking time before the work begins to develop agreements about how to work together in participatory action research enables researchers to directly address several ethical issues that can be problematic in this type of research: gaining fully informed consent; in-group confidentiality; cultural misconceptions; and…

  20. Best practice guidelines for stroke in Cameroon: An innovative and participatory knowledge translation project.

    PubMed

    Cockburn, Lynn; Fanfon, Timothy N; Bramall, Alexa; Ngole, Eta M; Kuwoh, Pius; Anjonga, Emmanuel; Difang, Brenda M E; Kiani, Shirin; Muso, Petra S; Trivedi, Navjyot; Sama, Julius; Teboh, Sylvian

    2014-01-01

    Although the adherence to stroke guidelines in high-income countries has been shown to be associated with improved patient outcomes, the research, development and implementation of rehabilitation related guidelines in African countries is lacking. The purpose of this article is to describe how a group of front-line practitioners collaborated with academics and students to develop best practice guidelines (BPG) for the management and rehabilitation of stroke in adult patients in Cameroon. A working group was established and adapted internationally recognised processes for the development of best practice guidelines. The group determined the scope of the guidelines, documented current practices, and critically appraised evidence to develop guidelines relevant to the Cameroon context. The primary result of this project is best practice guidelines which provided an overview of the provision of stroke rehabilitation services in the region, and made 83 practice recommendations to improve these services. We also report on the successes and challenges encountered during the process, and the working group's recommendations aimed at encouraging others to consider similar projects. This project demonstrated that there is interest and capacity for improving stroke rehabilitation practices and for stroke guideline development in Africa.

  1. Promoting emotional literacy, equity and interest in science lessons for 11-14 year olds; the 'Improving Science and Emotional Development' project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matthews, Brian

    2004-03-01

    One hundred and sixty-five Year 7 (11-12 years old) pupils in co-educational schools in England participated in a study investigating the effects of mixed gender working on attitudinal and social measures. Eighty-two children working in mixed-gender groups and 83 control children working mainly in single-gender groups were tested on a variety of measures. Attitudes to science, social cohesion, self-reported individual learning, group learning, conflict resolution, and social facilitation, were recorded and analysed. In addition, pre-test and posttest evaluations were carried out and measures were related to test outcomes. The findings from the study indicated a positive effect of working in mixed groups: they were more likely than the control groups to like science lessons and consider taking it up as a subject in the future. Social measures indicated: (1) a better understanding of opposite-gender classmates, (2) a greater enjoyment of the collaborative nature of science, and (3) increased tendencies to offer academic support to peers. It is thus proposed that the integration of emotional learning within science lessons will facilitate boys' and girls' social development as well as increasing the likelihood of them being interested in science. These findings give support for the integration of emotional literacy with learning concepts in the science classroom and for co-educational schools.

  2. Subseabed Disposal Project annual report, FY85 to termination of project: Physical Oceanography and Water Column Geochemistry Studies, October 1984 through May 1986

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kupferman, S.L.

    This report covers the work of the Physical Oceanography and Water Column Geochemistry (POWCG) Studies Group of the Subseabed Disposal Project (SDP) from October 1984 to termination of the project in May 1986. The overview of the work includes an introduction, general descriptions of the activities, and a summary. Detailed discussions are included as appendices. During the period of this report the POWCG Studies Group held a meeting to develop a long-term research plan for the Nares Abyssal Plain, which was recently designated as a study area for the Environmental Study Group of the SDP. The POWCG Studies Group hasmore » also planned and participated in two interdisciplinary oceanographic missions to the Nares which have resulted in the acquisition of data and samples which can be used to begin to understand the workings of the ecosystem at the site, and for developing a preliminary site assessment. The papers in the appendices have been processed for inclusion in the Energy Data Base.« less

  3. Wellness works: community service health promotion groups led by occupational therapy students.

    PubMed

    Scott, A H

    1999-01-01

    In the context of a group process course, occupational therapy students learned health promotion skills through working on personal wellness goals and leading community-based health promotion groups. The groups targeted topics such as smoking cessation, improving diet, reducing stress through yoga, meditation, tai chi chuan, ROM (Range of Motion) Dance, aerobics, and a variety of other activities. After identifying a personal wellness goal and developing it in a Wellness Awareness Learning Contract, each student used a Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) to predict an expected outcome for achieving the goal and to measure his or her progress toward attaining the goal. Students also used the GAS to measure progress in attaining group leadership skills within the community groups, which they outlined in a separate Group Skills Contract. Students kept weekly logs to foster reflective thinking, and the logs were used for interactive dialogue with the instructor. To further evaluate lifestyle change, students compared pretest and posttest scores on a Self-Assessment Scorecard, which surveyed six areas of health and human potential in body, mind, and spirit. Students monitored their own change process on both their personal health lifestyle goals and their group leadership skills while developing a richer appreciation of the dynamics of working for change with clients in community and traditional settings. Differences on the Self-Assessment Scorecard indicated improvement on two of the six scales for physical health and choices. Students experienced firsthand the challenges of developing healthier lifestyles on the basis of their personal goals as well as through fostering group changes. The two GAS learning contracts provided them with concrete evidence of their growth and learning. This experience--embedded in the context of a group process course with a community service learning group practicum--provided most students with a positive initial experience with group leadership as they began to explore roles as agents for lifestyle and health change. Suggestions for expanding health promotion roles in practice in the changing health care environment are also examined.

  4. Working Group 5: Measurements technology and active experiments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Whipple, E.; Barfield, J. N.; Faelthammar, C.-G.; Feynman, J.; Quinn, J. N.; Roberts, W.; Stone, N.; Taylor, W. L.

    1986-01-01

    Technology issues identified by working groups 5 are listed. (1) New instruments are needed to upgrade the ability to measure plasma properties in space. (2) Facilities should be developed for conducting a broad range of plasma experiments in space. (3) The ability to predict plasma weather within magnetospheres should be improved and a capability to modify plasma weather developed. (4) Methods of control of plasma spacecraft and spacecraft plasma interference should be upgraded. (5) The space station laboratory facilities should be designed with attention to problems of flexibility to allow for future growth. These issues are discussed.

  5. Workgroup Report: Developing Environmental Health Indicators for European Children: World Health Organization Working Group

    PubMed Central

    Pond, Kathy; Kim, Rokho; Carroquino, Maria-Jose; Pirard, Philippe; Gore, Fiona; Cucu, Alexandra; Nemer, Leda; MacKay, Morag; Smedje, Greta; Georgellis, Antonis; Dalbokova, Dafina; Krzyzanowski, Michal

    2007-01-01

    A working group coordinated by the World Health Organization developed a set of indicators to protect children’s health from environmental risks and to support current and future European policy needs. On the basis of identified policy needs, the group developed a core set of 29 indicators for implementation plus an extended set of eight additional indicators for future development, focusing on exposure, health effects, and action. As far as possible, the indicators were designed to use existing information and are flexible enough to be developed further to meet the needs of policy makers and changing health priorities. These indicators cover most of the priority topic areas specified in the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) as adopted in the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in 2004, and will be used to monitor the implementation of CEHAPE. This effort can be viewed as an integral part of the Global Initiative on Children’s Environmental Health Indicators, launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. PMID:17805431

  6. Investigating Grit Variables and Their Relations with Practice and Skill Groups in Developing Sport Experts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tedesqui, Rafael A. B.; Young, Bradley W.

    2017-01-01

    Grit, the tendency to work hard toward long-term goals, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure and adversity, has predicted several achievement outcomes. However, minimal work has examined grit within a sport expertise development framework, and specifically its association with deliberate practice (DP) in sport. Participants,…

  7. Community Schools in Developing Countries. International Studies in Education 23.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Houghton, Harold, Ed.; Tregear, Peter, Ed.

    This book is a synthesis of the work and discussions of a Unesco conference that examined the problems concerning the structure and functioning of community schools in developing countries. Participants worked in four groups studying respectively the position of the teacher in relation to the community, the means he should employ to obtain the…

  8. Tuning-AHELO Conceptual Framework of Expected and Desired Learning Outcomes in Economics. OECD Education Working Papers No. 59

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    OECD Publishing (NJ1), 2011

    2011-01-01

    The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Secretariat, at the invitation of the AHELO Group of National Experts, contracted the Tuning Association to undertake initial development work on learning outcomes to be used for valid and reliable assessments of students from diverse institutions and countries. The two disciplines…

  9. A Pilot Classroom-Based Study of Attention and Working Memory Strategies for Primary-Aged Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colmar, Susan; Davis, Nash; Sheldon, Linda

    2016-01-01

    An exploratory applied study, using a set of attention and working memory strategies specifically developed for students and named Memory Mates, was completed with normally developing students attending a primary school. Students in one classroom received the intervention, while the other classroom functioned as a control group. The study was…

  10. The Supervisor in the Project-Organized Group Work Should Participate in Developing the Students' Project Competencies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, Soren

    2004-01-01

    Most work done by engineers today is organized in projects and very often as teamwork. When educating towards employability, it is therefore important that the students develop competencies in areas such as project management, collaboration and teamwork. In companies using human resource management, we find similar expectations to the engineers'…

  11. Small business development: who pays?

    PubMed

    Hellinger, D

    1985-11-01

    This article traces the trends in the aid community towards income generation and small business projects in developing countries since the 1950s. 1 of the great weakness of the development assistance community in the area of income generation remains the lack of analysis of population differentiation in the communities in which they work. A very different approach to the problem of the informal sector and income generation is one that responds directly to the needs of poor communities. Institutions working within poor communities and supporting multi-sectoral development while strengthening local organizations are much better situated to respond to the diverse needs of the community than are single-sector organizations with only 1 skill or service to offer. To assist significant numbers of poor people, particularly women, grouping of some sort is essential. This is not to say that group enterprise development is an easy process. The intensive and costly organizational and management assistance required to prepare a poor group for credit must be weighed along with the potential for creating a basis of long-range change within the community. To work with individual family enterprizes in a community can also have important social and economic effects, although the long-range impact may be more limited. Today, more than ever, the poor face the challenge of creating new survival mechanisms within their communities. Development agencies and assistance programs have the responsibility to help rather than hinder this process.

  12. ASCCP Colposcopy Standards: How Do We Perform Colposcopy? Implications for Establishing Standards.

    PubMed

    Waxman, Alan G; Conageski, Christine; Silver, Michelle I; Tedeschi, Candice; Stier, Elizabeth A; Apgar, Barbara; Huh, Warner K; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Massad, L Stewart; Khan, Michelle J; Mayeaux, Edward J; Einstein, Mark H; Schiffman, Mark H; Guido, Richard S

    2017-10-01

    The American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) Colposcopy Standards recommendations address the role of and approach to colposcopy and biopsy for cervical cancer prevention in the United States. The recommendations were developed by an expert working group appointed by ASCCP's Board of Directors. Working group 3 defined colposcopy procedure guidelines for minimum and comprehensive colposcopy practice and evaluated the use of colposcopy adjuncts. The working group performed a systematic literature review to identify best practices in colposcopy methodology and to evaluate the use of available colposcopy adjuncts. The literature provided little evidence to support specific elements of the procedure. The working group, therefore, implemented a national survey of current and recent ASCCP members to evaluate common elements of the colposcopy examination. The findings of this survey were modified by expert consensus from the ASCCP Colposcopy Standards Committee members to create guidelines for performing colposcopy. The draft recommendations were posted online for public comment and presented at an open session of the International Federation for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy 2017 World Congress for further comment. All comments were considered in the development of final recommendations. Minimum and comprehensive colposcopy practice guidelines were developed. These guidelines represent recommended practice in all parts of the examination including the following: precolposcopy evaluation, performing the procedure, documentation of findings, biopsy practice, and postprocedure follow-up. These guidelines are intended to serve as a guide to standardize colposcopy across the United States.

  13. Work life and mental wellbeing of single and non-single working mothers in Scandinavia.

    PubMed

    Bull, Torill; Mittelmark, Maurice B

    2009-08-01

    This study examined levels and predictors of mental wellbeing in Scandinavian working single and non-single mothers, with a special focus on financial stress, job characteristics and work-family conflict. The European Social Survey Round 2 (2005) provided questionnaire data from 73 single and 432 non-single working mothers in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Respondents answered questions about the outcome variables life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect, and predictor variables financial stress, job characteristics, work-family conflict, and social support. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the relationships between predictor variables and mental wellbeing outcomes. Single working mothers scored significantly lower on life satisfaction and happiness, but not on positive affect, than did non-single mothers. Financial stress was higher in the single mother group. There were no significant differences in levels of enriching or stressful job characteristics, or in levels of social support. While financial stress and work-family conflict were important predictors in both groups, the relationship between financial stress and wellbeing was far stronger in the single mother group. Confidant support was a significant predictor only in the single mother group, and social participation only in the non-single mothers group. This study suggests that the Scandinavian welfare democracies have not yet been successful in relieving the financial pressure experienced by single working mothers. Development of efficient financial support systems should be prioritized. Ways to reduce work-family conflict in both single and non-single mothers in Scandinavia should also be given increased attention.

  14. COMIS -- an international multizone air-flow and contaminant transport model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Feustel, H.E.

    1998-08-01

    A number of interzonal models have been developed to calculate air flows and pollutant transport mechanisms in both single and multizone buildings. A recent development in multizone air-flow modeling, the COMIS model, has a number of capabilities that go beyond previous models, much as COMIS can be used as either a stand-alone air-flow model with input and output features or as an infiltration module for thermal building simulation programs. COMIS was designed during a 12 month workshop at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in 1988-89. In 1990, the Executive Committee of the International Energy Agency`s Energy Conservation in Buildings andmore » Community Systems program created a working group on multizone air-flow modeling, which continued work on COMIS. The group`s objectives were to study physical phenomena causing air flow and pollutant (e.g., moisture) transport in multizone buildings, develop numerical modules to be integrated in the previously designed multizone air flow modeling system, and evaluate the computer code. The working group supported by nine nations, officially finished in late 1997 with the release of IISiBat/COMIS 3.0, which contains the documented simulation program COMIS, the user interface IISiBat, and reports describing the evaluation exercise.« less

  15. Recasting Problems as Potentials in Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Laursen, Erik K.; Oliver, Vernon

    2003-01-01

    Problem-solving groups can become preoccupied with deficit and deviance, while overlooking potential and resources. This article describes methods for using problems as an entree into the development of strengths and solutions. (Contains 1 table.)

  16. Setting priorities for space research: An experiment in methodology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1995-01-01

    In 1989, the Space Studies Board created the Task Group on Priorities in Space Research to determine whether scientists should take a role in recommending priorities for long-term space research initiatives and, if so, to analyze the priority-setting problem in this context and develop a method by which such priorities could be established. After answering the first question in the affirmative in a previous report, the task group set out to accomplish the second task. The basic assumption in developing a priority-setting process is that a reasoned and structured approach for ordering competing initiatives will yield better results than other ways of proceeding. The task group proceeded from the principle that the central criterion for evaluating a research initiative must be its scientific merit -- the value of the initiative to the proposing discipline and to science generally. The group developed a two-stage methodology for priority setting and constructed a procedure and format to support the methodology. The first of two instruments developed was a standard format for structuring proposals for space research initiatives. The second instrument was a formal, semiquantitative appraisal procedure for evaluating competing proposals. This report makes available complete templates for the methodology, including the advocacy statement and evaluation forms, as well as an 11-step schema for a priority-setting process. From the beginning of its work, the task group was mindful that the issue of priority setting increasingly pervades all of federally supported science and that its work would have implications extending beyond space research. Thus, although the present report makes no recommendations for action by NASA or other government agencies, it provides the results of the task group's work for the use of others who may study priority-setting procedures or take up the challenge of implementing them in the future.

  17. Preventing Exertional Death in Military Trainees: Recommendations and Treatment Algorithms From a Multidisciplinary Working Group.

    PubMed

    Webber, Bryant J; Casa, Douglas J; Beutler, Anthony I; Nye, Nathaniel S; Trueblood, Wesley E; O'Connor, Francis G

    2016-04-01

    Despite aggressive prevention programs and strategies, nontraumatic exertional sudden death events in military training continue to prove a difficult challenge for the Department of Defense. In November 2014, the 559th Medical Group at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, hosted a working group on sudden exertional death in military training. Their objectives were three-fold: (1) determine best practices to prevent sudden exertional death of military trainees, (2) determine best practices to establish safe and ethical training environments for military trainees with sickle cell trait, and (3) develop field-ready algorithms for managing military trainees who collapse during exertion. This article summarizes the major findings and recommendations of the working group. Reprint & Copyright © 2016 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

  18. The development of perceptual grouping biases in infancy: a Japanese-English cross-linguistic study.

    PubMed

    Yoshida, Katherine A; Iversen, John R; Patel, Aniruddh D; Mazuka, Reiko; Nito, Hiromi; Gervain, Judit; Werker, Janet F

    2010-05-01

    Perceptual grouping has traditionally been thought to be governed by innate, universal principles. However, recent work has found differences in Japanese and English speakers' non-linguistic perceptual grouping, implicating language in non-linguistic perceptual processes (Iversen, Patel, & Ohgushi, 2008). Two experiments test Japanese- and English-learning infants of 5-6 and 7-8 months of age to explore the development of grouping preferences. At 5-6 months, neither the Japanese nor the English infants revealed any systematic perceptual biases. However, by 7-8 months, the same age as when linguistic phrasal grouping develops, infants developed non-linguistic grouping preferences consistent with their language's structure (and the grouping biases found in adulthood). These results reveal an early difference in non-linguistic perception between infants growing up in different language environments. The possibility that infants' linguistic phrasal grouping is bootstrapped by abstract perceptual principles is discussed. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Does psychosocial competency training for junior physicians working in pediatric medicine improve individual skills and perceived job stress.

    PubMed

    Bernburg, Monika; Baresi, Lisa; Groneberg, David; Mache, Stefanie

    2016-12-01

    Pediatricians' job performance, work engagement, and job satisfaction are essential for both the individual physician and quality of care for their little patients and parents. Therefore, it is important to maintain or possibly augment pediatricians' individual and professional competencies. In this study, we developed and implemented a psychosocial competency training (PCT) teaching different psychosocial competencies and stress coping techniques. We investigated (1) the influence of the PCT on work-related characteristics: stress perception, work engagement, job satisfaction and (2) explored pediatricians' outcomes and satisfaction with PCT. Fifty-four junior physicians working in pediatric hospital departments participated in the training and were randomized in an intervention (n = 26) or a control group (n = 28). In the beginning, at follow-up 1 and 2, both groups answered a self-rated questionnaire on perceived training outcomes and work-related factors. The intervention group showed that their job satisfaction significantly increased while perceived stress scores decreased after taking part in the PCT. No substantial changes were observed with regard to pediatricians' work engagement. Participating physicians evaluated PCT with high scores for training design, content, received outcome, and overall satisfaction with the training. Professional psychosocial competency training could improve junior pediatricians' professional skills, reduce stress perception, increase their job satisfaction, and psychosocial skills. In addition, this study indicates that the PCT is beneficial to be implemented as a group training program for junior pediatricians at work. What is Known: • Junior pediatricians often report experiencing high levels of job strain and little supervisory support. • High levels of job demands make pediatricians vulnerable for mental health problems and decreased work ability. What is New: • Development, implementation, and evaluation of a psychosocial competency training for junior pediatricians working in clinical settings • Psychosocial competency training has the potential to improve pediatricians' psychosocial skills and perceptions of perceived work-related stress and job satisfaction.

  20. Reducing work-related musculoskeletal symptoms through implementation of Kiken Yochi training intervention approach.

    PubMed

    Ya'acob, Noor Afifah; Abidin, Emilia Zainal; Rasdi, Irniza; Rahman, Anita Abd; Ismail, Suriani

    2018-05-01

    Work tasks in pineapple plantations in Malaysia are characterised by non-ergonomic work postures, repetitive tasks, awkward posture and manual handling of work tools that contribute to the reporting of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS). There have been very limited studies performed among pineapple plantation workers focusing on ergonomic intervention programs to specifically reduce MSS. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of work improvement module using a Kiken Yochi participatory approach intervention in reducing MSS among male migrant pineapple farm plantation workers in Pontian, Johor. In this interventional study, a total of 68 male migrant workers from two plantation farms were invited to become a participant in this study. In total, 45 participants that consisted of 27 workers for the intervention group and 18 workers for the control group were recruited. The background of workers and MSS were assessed using questionnaires. Ergonomic and postural risks were evaluated and the work tasks with the highest risk were used as a basis for the development of the Kiken Yochi training module. MSS education and training intervention that provided information on proper lifting techniques and education on body mechanics and ergonomics to reduce MSS were implemented to both groups of workers. Kiken Yochi Training was given to the intervention group only. MSS were reassessed after 2 months of the follow-up period. Data was entered into statistical software and were analysed according to objectives. In terms of the postural risk assessment, almost two-third of the participants (68.5%) had working postures categorized as high risk for MSS. Ergonomic risk assessment identified cultivation, manual weeding and harvesting of pineapples as the work tasks contributing the highest health risks to workers. The most commonly reported MSS between both groups of workers were at the knees, lower back and shoulder area. Upon completion of the delivery of intervention module to both groups of workers, the MSS prevalence reported (after 2 months) were significantly lower for the ankles and feet area within the intervention group. This study suggested that development and implementation of programs using effective participatory approach training methods are able to prevent selected musculoskeletal problems for this occupation. To enhance the effects of such trainings, modifications of work tools in this occupation are desirable.

  1. Status report on the land processes aircraft science management operations working group

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lawless, James G.; Mann, Lisa J.

    1991-01-01

    Since its inception three years ago, the Land Processes Aircraft Science Management Operations Working Group (MOWG) provided recommendations on the optimal use of the Agency's aircraft in support of the Land Processes Science Program. Recommendations covered topics such as aircraft and sensor usage, development of long-range plans, Multisensor Airborne Campaigns (MAC), program balance, aircraft sensor databases, new technology and sensor development, and increased University scientist participation in the program. Impacts of these recommendations improved the efficiency of various procedures including the flight request process, tracking of flight hours, and aircraft usage. The group also created a bibliography focused on publications produced by Land Processes scientists from the use of the aircraft program, surveyed NASA funded PI's on their participation in the aircraft program, and developed a planning template for multi-sensor airborne campaigns. Benefits from these activities are summarized.

  2. Practical Work in the Sixth Form.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newton, Douglas P.

    1979-01-01

    Divides the stated aims of practical work, listed in some of the A-level syllabuses of the GCE examining boards, into four groups and discusses each: didactic aims, the development of skills, the scientific method, and affective aims. (GA)

  3. Multi-Modal Traveler Information System - Corridor User Needs and Data Exchange Elements

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-07-30

    Intended as a resource for the members of the GCM Deployment Committee, : Architecture Communication and Information Work Group, project managers, system : designers, system developers and system integrators, this Working Paper supports : the design,...

  4. The Great Society: An Introduction to Stereotype Threat and Social Perceptions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shackelford, R.; Ali, N. A.; Mendez, B.; Meinke, B. K.

    2015-11-01

    This workshop introduced the concept of stereotype threat, in which an individual's academic performance is affected by awareness of stereotypes. We explored how stereotype threat builds into perceptions and creates contradictions in our society that can impact work with particular groups, with an emphasis on working with Afro-American and urban audiences. Through the “The Great Society” activity, participants worked in groups to develop aesthetics and taboos for fictional societies. We discussed the ways in which each group's values are compatible and conflicting, how they influence our perceptions of self and others, and how similar interactions may be experienced while working with diverse audiences in earth and space science education and outreach efforts. This workshop sought to give participants a conceptual framework for cultivating awareness of their own and their audience's perceptions, which can then be used to work with cultural sensitivity with diverse audiences.

  5. Report of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group: An Integrated Network for Congenital Heart Disease Research

    PubMed Central

    Pasquali, Sara K.; Jacobs, Jeffrey P.; Farber, Gregory K.; Bertoch, David; Blume, Elizabeth D.; Burns, Kristin M.; Campbell, Robert; Chang, Anthony C.; Chung, Wendy K.; Riehle-Colarusso, Tiffany; Curtis, Lesley H.; Forrest, Christopher B.; Gaynor, William J.; Gaies, Michael G.; Go, Alan S.; Henchey, Paul; Martin, Gerard R.; Pearson, Gail; Pemberton, Victoria L.; Schwartz, Steven M.; Vincent, Robert; Kaltman, Jonathan R.

    2016-01-01

    The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened a Working Group in January 2015 to explore issues related to an integrated data network for congenital heart disease (CHD) research. The overall goal was to develop a common vision for how the rapidly increasing volumes of data captured across numerous sources can be managed, integrated, and analyzed to improve care and outcomes. This report summarizes the current landscape of CHD data, data integration methodologies used across other fields, key considerations for data integration models in CHD, and the short- and long-term vision and recommendations made by the Working Group. PMID:27045129

  6. Working with childhood sexual abuse: a survey of mental health professionals.

    PubMed

    Day, Andrew; Thurlow, Katie; Woolliscroft, Jessica

    2003-02-01

    This study aimed to establish the views of a group of mental health professionals from various disciplines working in mental health service in a British hospital about the needs of clients who had experienced childhood sexual abuse. Staff members were asked to complete an anonymous survey which asked questions relating to knowledge of sexual abuse and its effects, and the needs of clients and staff in working with this client group. A total of 54 people responded to the survey, 42 were female, 11 male. Most (72%) reported having over 10 years experience working in mental health, working in both in-patient and out-patient settings. While respondents were reasonably knowledgeable about childhood sexual abuse, they were not very comfortable, competent or supported in their work with this client group. There were no differences in responses according to the age or gender of respondents, but less experienced staff were more likely to feel supported. Those that had received training and/or supervision felt significantly more capable in working with this client group. The study offers some support for the development of specialist training, consultancy and supervision programs for mental health staff in the area of child sexual abuse.

  7. Supervisors' views on employer responsibility in the return to work process. A focus group study.

    PubMed

    Holmgren, Kristina; Dahlin Ivanoff, Synneve; Ivanoff, Synneve Dahlin

    2007-03-01

    Supervisors' attitudes and measures have been pointed out by employees to influence the return to work process. The purpose of this study was to explore supervisors' views on employer responsibility in the return to work process and factors influencing the support of sick-listed employees. The focus group method was used. Six groups were conducted and each group met on one occasion. Twenty-three supervisors experienced in managing sick-listed employees participated. Two different themes emerged; In "The Supervisor is the Key Person" the participants found themselves as being key persons, carrying the main responsibility for the rehabilitation of the sick-listed employees and for creating a good working environment, thus preventing ill health and sick-listing among the employees. In the second theme "Influential Factors in Rehabilitation Work" the participants described the rehabilitation work as a part of a greater whole influenced by society, demands and resources of the workplace and the interplay between all parties involved. The study gives us the supervisors' perspective on the complexity of the return to work rehabilitation. This knowledge could be invaluable and be used to improve the possibilities for developing successful collaboration in occupational rehabilitation.

  8. CEOS Committee on Earth Observations Satellites Consolidated Report, 1992

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1992-01-01

    A concise overview of the committee on Earth Observations Satellites (CEOS) and its Working Groups, covering the history and purpose of the Committee and its accomplishments to date are provided. The report will be updated annually before each Plenary meeting, and as developments in the Working Groups warrant. The committee on Earth Observations Satellites (originally named the International Earth Observations Satellite committee, IEOS) was treated in 1984, in response to a recommendation from the Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations Working Group on Growth, Technology, and Employment's Panel of Experts on Satellite Remote Sensing. This group recognized the multidisciplinary nature of satellite Earth observations, and the value of coordinating across all proposed missions. Thus, CEOS combined the previously existing groups for coordination on Ocean Remote-Sensing Satellites (CORSS) and coordination on Land Remote-Sensing Satellites (CLRSS), and established a broad framework for coordination across all spaceborne Earth observations missions. The first three LEOS Plenary meetings focused on treating and guiding the Working Groups deemed necessary to carry out the objectives of the CEOS members. After the third meeting, it was agreed that a more active orientation was required by the Plenary, and additional issues were brought before the group at the fourth meeting. At the fifth Plenary, international scientific programs and relevant intergovernmental organizations accepted invitations and participated as affiliate members of CEOS. This enabled progress toward integrating satellite data users' requirements into the CEOS process. Data exchange principles for global change research were also adopted. An interim CEOS Plenary meeting was held in April 1992, in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Brief encapsulations of the Plenary sessions immediately follow the Terms of Reference that govern the activities of CEOS as a whole; Terms of Reference for the individual Working Groups are included as Appendix A. A complete listing of CEOS members is offered as Appendix B.

  9. Effectiveness of a Hospital-Based Work Support Intervention for Female Cancer Patients – A Multi-Centre Randomised Controlled Trial

    PubMed Central

    Tamminga, Sietske J.; Verbeek, Jos H. A. M.; Bos, Monique M. E. M.; Fons, Guus; Kitzen, Jos J. E. M.; Plaisier, Peter W.; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.; de Boer, Angela G. E. M.

    2013-01-01

    Objective One key aspect of cancer survivorship is return-to-work. Unfortunately, many cancer survivors face problems upon their return-to-work. For that reason, we developed a hospital-based work support intervention aimed at enhancing return-to-work. We studied effectiveness of the intervention compared to usual care for female cancer patients in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial. Methods Breast and gynaecological cancer patients who were treated with curative intent and had paid work were randomised to the intervention group (n = 65) or control group (n = 68). The intervention involved patient education and support at the hospital and improvement of communication between treating and occupational physicians. In addition, we asked patient's occupational physician to organise a meeting with the patient and the supervisor to make a concrete gradual return-to-work plan. Outcomes at 12 months of follow-up included rate and time until return-to-work (full or partial), quality of life, work ability, work functioning, and lost productivity costs. Time until return-to-work was analyzed with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results Return-to-work rates were 86% and 83% (p = 0.6) for the intervention group and control group when excluding 8 patients who died or with a life expectancy of months at follow-up. Median time from initial sick leave to partial return-to-work was 194 days (range 14–435) versus 192 days (range 82–465) (p = 0.90) with a hazard ratio of 1.03 (95% CI 0.64–1.6). Quality of life and work ability improved statistically over time but did not differ statistically between groups. Work functioning and costs did not differ statistically between groups. Conclusion The intervention was easily implemented into usual psycho-oncological care and showed high return-to-work rates. We failed to show any differences between groups on return-to-work outcomes and quality of life scores. Further research is needed to study which aspects of the intervention are useful and which elements need improvement. Trial Registration Nederlands Trial Register (NTR) 1658 PMID:23717406

  10. AGARD Bulletin Technical Programme 1986.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1985-08-01

    basic research findings are being exploited by the pharmaceutical industry to develop new performance enhancing drugs with limited side effects and to... effects of nutrients on performance will also be considered. SHORT COURSE ( K Subject to final approval by the National Delegates Board at its Fall...coordinated with the AVP. WORKING GROUP The EPP will initiate Working Group-02 on "Near Water Propagation Effects and Modem System Adaptation". This

  11. Validation Methods for Fault-Tolerant avionics and control systems, working group meeting 1

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1979-01-01

    The proceedings of the first working group meeting on validation methods for fault tolerant computer design are presented. The state of the art in fault tolerant computer validation was examined in order to provide a framework for future discussions concerning research issues for the validation of fault tolerant avionics and flight control systems. The development of positions concerning critical aspects of the validation process are given.

  12. Improvement of Working Memory in Preschoolers and Its Impact on Early Literacy Skills: A Study in Deprived Communities of Rural and Urban Areas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rojas-Barahona, Cristian A.; Förster, Carla E.; Moreno-Ríos, Sergio; McClelland, Megan M.

    2015-01-01

    Research Findings: The present study evaluated the impact of a working memory (WM) stimulation program on the development of WM and early literacy skills (ELS) in preschoolers from socioeconomically deprived rural and urban schools in Chile. The sample consisted of 268 children, 144 in the intervention group and 124 in the comparison group. The…

  13. Development and Implementation of an International Counseling Outreach Effort in Bhutan: A Group Stage Conceptualization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guth, Lorraine J.; Lorelle, Sonya; Hinkle, J. Scott; Remley, Theodore P.

    2015-01-01

    This article highlights the development and implementation of an international counseling outreach program in Bhutan using a group stage conceptualization that includes the initial, transition, working, and final stages. The initial stage included a counseling initiative started by one of the queens as well as meetings with key leaders from the…

  14. A Winning Strategy: Using "Glory Road" to Illustrate the Stages of Group Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Porter, Haley; Wimmer, Gaea

    2012-01-01

    Leadership educators work to engage and teach their students in new and innovative ways. The film "Glory Road" was shown in an agricultural leadership class to reiterate a lesson taught on Tuckman and Jensen's (1977) Stages of Group Development. Students wrote a paper to communicate their ability to identify and evaluate the stages of…

  15. Evaluating Students' Perception of Group Work for Mobile Application Development Learning, Productivity, Enjoyment and Confidence in Quality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, Loreen M.; Wimmer, Hayden

    2016-01-01

    Teaching programming and mobile application development concepts can be challenging for instructors; however, teaching an interdisciplinary class with varied skill levels amplifies this challenge. To encompass a broad range of students, many instructors have sought to improve their lessons and methods by experimenting with group/team programming.…

  16. Software Development Group. Software Review Center. Microcomputing Working Paper Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perkey, Nadine; Smith, Shirley C.

    Two papers describe the roles of the Software Development Group (SDG) and the Software Review Center (SRC) at Drexel University. The first paper covers the primary role of the SDG, which is designed to assist Drexel faculty with the technical design and programming of courseware for the Apple Macintosh microcomputer; the relationship of the SDG…

  17. The Development and Application of Distance Learning Courses on the Internet.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fuks, Hugo; Gerosa, Marco Aurelio; Lucena, Carlos Jose Pereira de

    2002-01-01

    Presents the methodology, results, and difficulties encountered in the development and delivery of a course through the Internet at a university in Rio de Janeiro. Provides a model for group work, including group discussions; and shows how a Web-based environment can be used to provide support and to facilitate cooperative learning. (Author/LRW)

  18. Realising their potential? Exploring interprofessional perceptions and potential of the advanced practitioner role: a qualitative analysis

    PubMed Central

    Powell, Tom; Watkins, Dianne; Kelly, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    Objectives To explore perceptions of the current practice and future potential of advanced practitioners (APs) from the perspectives of different professional groups in Wales UK. Design A qualitative study consisting of nine focus group interviews. Methods Initially verbatim transcriptions of each focus group interviews were analysed thematically before themes were merged to represent perceptions for the whole data set. Participants Data were gathered from a total of 67 stakeholders—including APs from a variety of professional groups (eg, nursing, physiotherapy, paramedics) as well as managers, workforce developers, educators and medical staff who have a role developing and supporting APs in practice. Results The results are presented in four themes: (1) demand, policy context and future priorities, (2) role clarity and standardisation, (3) agreement and understanding of the role and (4) interprofessional working. The context within which current and future AP roles were considered was influenced by inexorable demands for healthcare and the requirements to meet health policy priorities. Developing AP roles were hampered currently by a lack of shared understanding and ‘joined-up’ working between different groups such as medical practitioners, managers, commissioners and educators. Conclusions For the AP role to flourish more ‘joined-up’ thinking, support and development opportunities are required between APs, managers, senior clinicians, commissioners and educators. Working together to plan and deliver education, innovation and service delivery is of prime importance to meeting ever increasing complex health needs. This will ensure that future APs are adequately prepared and supported to reach their full potential and help deliver necessary innovations in current models of care delivery. PMID:26656024

  19. Make Change Happen at the Program or Institutional Scale: Converting Community Expertise into Practical Guidance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McDaris, J. R.; Manduca, C. A.; Orr, C. H.

    2016-12-01

    As geoscience and STEM programs address common challenges like increasing the diversity of graduates or implementing active learning pedagogies, it is important to learn from the experiences of others in the community. Individual faculty members embody a wealth of experience on these topics but distilling that experience into practical guidance that has value for a broad audience is not as simple as knowing exactly what one person did. Context is important, not only because activities used in similar contexts are easier to adapt, but also because activities that work across multiple contexts are more robust. The development of any best practices guidance benefits from the engagement of a community. Synthesizing across multiple viewpoints leads to a consensus that builds on the diversity of individual experiences. The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College has had success generating such resources in geoscience and STEM education. Working with different groups of educators, we have helped develop content around making change happen at the program or institutional levels, increasing the diversity of students graduating in geoscience and STEM, fostering interdisciplinary learning, translating the results of education research into practice, and several others. These resources draw out common practices, situate them in the education research base, and highlight examples of their use in the real world but also communicate the different ways individuals or institutions have adapted these practices for their particular situation. These resources were developed through a group synthesis process involving the contribution of individual or group expertise, a face-to-face meeting of teams working on themes drawn from the contributed work, and asynchronous group revision and review following the meeting. The materials developed via this process provide reliable and adaptable guidance firmly rooted in the community's experience. This presentation will showcase these materials and describe the development process in detail. The materials that have been developed are being added to SERC's For Higher Ed portal (serc.carleton.edu/highered/index.html).

  20. Integral habitat transport system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Elliott, Bill; Frazer, Scott; Higgs, Joey; Huff, Jason; Milam, Tigree

    1994-01-01

    In the 1993 Fall quarter, the ME 4182 design class was sponsored to study various scenarios that needed to be studied for Martian travel. The class was sponsored by NASA and there were several different design projects. The design that group three chose was an integral transport system for a Martian habitat. An integral transport system means the design had to be one that was attached to the habitat. There were several criteria that the design had to meet. Group three performed an in depth study of the Martian environment and looked at several different design ideas. The concept group three developed involved the use of kinematic linkages and the use of Martian gravity to move the habitat. The various design concepts, the criteria matrices and all other aspects that helped group three develop their design can be found in their 1993 ME 4182 design report. Now it is Winter quarter 1994 and group three is faced with another problem. The problem is building a working prototype of their Fall design. The limitations this quarter were the parts. The group had to make the prototype work with existing manufactured parts or make the parts themselves in a machine shop. The prototype was scaled down roughly about twelve times smaller than the original design. The following report describes the actions taken by group three to build a working model.

  1. The development of the Project NetWork administrative records database for policy evaluation.

    PubMed

    Rupp, K; Driessen, D; Kornfeld, R; Wood, M

    1999-01-01

    This article describes the development of SSA's administrative records database for the Project NetWork return-to-work experiment targeting persons with disabilities. The article is part of a series of papers on the evaluation of the Project NetWork demonstration. In addition to 8,248 Project NetWork participants randomly assigned to receive case management services and a control group, the simulation identified 138,613 eligible nonparticipants in the demonstration areas. The output data files contain detailed monthly information on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Disability Insurance (DI) benefits, annual earnings, and a set of demographic and diagnostic variables. The data allow for the measurement of net outcomes and the analysis of factors affecting participation. The results suggest that it is feasible to simulate complex eligibility rules using administrative records, and create a clean and edited data file for a comprehensive and credible evaluation. The study shows that it is feasible to use administrative records data for selecting control or comparison groups in future demonstration evaluations.

  2. Clock Technology Development for the Laser Cooling and Atomic Physics (LCAP) Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Klipstein, W. M.; Thompson, R. J.; Seidel, D. J.; Kohel, J.; Maleki, L.

    1998-01-01

    The Time and Frequency Sciences and Technology Group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has developed a laser cooling capability for flight and has been selected by NASA to support the Laser-Cooling and Atomic Physics (LCAP) program. Current work in the group includes design and development for tee two laser-cooled atomic clock experiments which have been selected for flight on the International Space Station.

  3. The Achieving Success Everyday Group Counseling Model: Implications for Professional School Counselors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steen, Sam; Henfield, Malik S.; Booker, Beverly

    2014-01-01

    This article presents the Achieving Success Everyday (ASE) group counseling model, which is designed to help school counselors integrate students' academic and personal-social development into their group work. We first describe this group model in detail and then offer one case example of a middle school counselor using the ASE model to conduct a…

  4. Deprivation, reinforcement and peer support as work motivators: A paradigm for habilitation of older retardates.

    PubMed

    Cleland, C C; Swartz, J D

    1968-04-01

    A chronically institutionalized, high-grade retardate group traditionally characterized as possessing poor habilitation prognosis was re-appraised and good prognostic indices were isolated and described, from this appraisal the principles of deprivation, reinforcement and peer support were invoked to develop an habilitation paradigm for this selected high-risk group. Although specifically tailored to retardates, the model may have generalization potential for other handicapped groups. Through this research and placement approach, it appears possible to more validly assess the circumstances that enhance or undermine retardates' motivation to work.

  5. Development of an interface-focused educational complex intervention.

    PubMed

    Sampson, Rod; MacVicar, Ronald; Wilson, Philip

    2017-09-01

    In many countries, the medical primary-secondary care interface is central to the delivery of quality patient care. There is prevailing interest in developing initiatives to improve interface working for the benefit of health care professionals and their patients. To describe the development of an educational intervention designed to improve working at the primary-secondary care interface in NHS Scotland (United Kingdom) within the context of the Medical Research Council framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions. A primary-secondary care interface focused Practice-based Small Group Learning (PBSGL) module was developed building upon qualitative synthesis and original research. A 'meeting of experts' shaped the module, which was subsequently piloted with a group of interface clinicians. Reflections on the module were sought from clinicians across NHS Scotland to provide contextual information from other areas. The PBSGL approach can be usefully applied to the development of a primary-secondary care interface-focused medical educational intervention.

  6. Feminist Research Methodology Groups: Origins, Forms, Functions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reinharz, Shulamit

    Feminist Research Methodology Groups (FRMGs) have developed as a specific type of women's group in which feminist academics can find supportive audiences for their work while contributing to a feminist redefinition of research methods. An analysis of two FRMGs reveals common characteristics, dynamics, and outcomes. Both were limited to small…

  7. Working with Difference in Online Collaborative Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Regina O.

    2005-01-01

    This qualitative cross-case study explored the experiences that learners describe within online collaborative groups. The study context was a fully online graduate course on adult learning. The findings suggest that the small online groups demonstrated dynamics and process that are characteristic of individual growth and development and group…

  8. Using Motivational Interviewing within the Early Stages of Group Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Tabitha L.

    2013-01-01

    This article presents developmentally appropriate applications of Motivational Interviewing (MI; Miller & Rollnick, 2002) for use in preparing group members for the working stages of group. Practical strategies are offered for using MI to facilitate an atmosphere of trust, recognize member readiness for change, identify and resolve members'…

  9. Leading through Collaboration: Guiding Groups to Productive Solutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glaser, John P.

    2004-01-01

    Any group has the potential for mistrust, suspicion, and rancor, and so effective leadership involves developing attitudes that guide groups to recognize and work through conflict in order to maximize the potential for collaboration. This book offers practical guidance to leaders encountering conflict in their organizations. Based on years of…

  10. The Development of Perceptual Grouping Biases in Infancy: A Japanese-English Cross-Linguistic Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoshida, Katherine A.; Iversen, John R.; Patel, Aniruddh D.; Mazuka, Reiko; Nito, Hiromi; Gervain, Judit; Werker, Janet F.

    2010-01-01

    Perceptual grouping has traditionally been thought to be governed by innate, universal principles. However, recent work has found differences in Japanese and English speakers' non-linguistic perceptual grouping, implicating language in non-linguistic perceptual processes (Iversen, Patel, & Ohgushi, 2008). Two experiments test Japanese- and…

  11. Patients' Experience of Myositis and Further Validation of a Myositis-specific Patient Reported Outcome Measure - Establishing Core Domains and Expanding Patient Input on Clinical Assessment in Myositis. Report from OMERACT 12.

    PubMed

    Regardt, Malin; Basharat, Pari; Christopher-Stine, Lisa; Sarver, Catherine; Björn, Anita; Lundberg, Ingrid E; Wook Song, Yeong; Bingham, Clifton O; Alexanderson, Helene

    2015-12-01

    The Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) myositis working group was established to examine patient-reported outcomes (PRO) as well as to validate patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) in myositis. Qualitative studies using focus group interviews and cognitive debriefing of the myositis-specific Myositis Activities Profile (MAP) were used to explore the experience of adults living with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). Preliminary results underscore the importance of patient input in the development of PROM to ensure content validity. Results from multicenter focus groups indicate the range of symptoms experienced including pain, fatigue, and impaired cognitive function, which are not currently assessed in myositis. Preliminary cognitive debriefing of the MAP indicated that while content was deemed relevant and important, several activities were not included; and that questionnaire construction and wording may benefit from revision. A research agenda was developed to continue work toward optimizing PRO assessment in myositis with 2 work streams. The first would continue to conduct and analyze focus groups until saturation in the thematic analysis was achieved to develop a framework that encompassed the patient-relevant aspects of myositis. The second would continue cognitive debriefing of the MAP to identify potential areas for revision. There was agreement that further work would be needed for inclusion body myositis and juvenile dermatomyositis, and that the inclusion of additional contributors such as caregivers and individuals from the pharmaceutical/regulatory spheres would be desirable. The currently used PROM do not assess symptoms or the effects of disease that are most important to patients; this emphasizes the necessity of patient involvement. Our work provides concrete examples for PRO identification.

  12. US DOE-EM On-Site Disposal Cell Working Group - Fostering Communication On Performance Assessment Challenges

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seitz, Roger R.; Suttora, Linda C.; Phifer, Mark

    On-site disposal cells are in use and being considered at several U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) sites as the final disposition for large amounts of waste associated with cleanup of contaminated areas and facilities. These facilities are typically developed with regulatory oversight from States and/or the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in addition to USDOE. The facilities are developed to meet design standards for disposal of hazardous waste as well as the USDOE performance based standards for disposal of radioactive waste. The involvement of multiple and different regulators for facilities across separate sites has resulted in some differences in expectationsmore » for performance assessments and risk assessments (PA/RA) that are developed for the disposal facilities. The USDOE-EM Office of Site Restoration formed a working group to foster improved communication and sharing of information for personnel associated with these Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) disposal cells and work towards more consistent assumptions, as appropriate, for technical and policy considerations related to performance and risk assessments in support of a Record of Decision and Disposal Authorization Statement. The working group holds teleconferences, as needed, focusing on specific topics of interest. The topics addressed to date include an assessment of the assumptions used for performance assessments and risk assessments (PA/RAs) for on-site disposal cells, requirements and assumptions related to assessment of inadvertent intrusion, DOE Manual 435.1-1 requirements, and approaches for consideration of the long-term performance of liners and covers in the context of PAs. The working group has improved communication among the staff and oversight personnel responsible for onsite disposal cells and has provided a forum to identify and resolve common concerns.« less

  13. HELIOS Third Joint Working Group Meeting

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ousley, Gilbert; Kutzer, Ants

    1970-01-01

    During the past six months since the Second Helios Joint Working Group Meeting held 27-30 April 1970 at Goddard Space Flight Center, the TDS Sub-Group supported the Helios Project Office and the other Sub-Groups in the timely disposition of action items and the dissemination of information pertinent to the development of interface documentation. Of particular importance during this time period was the Project's decision to incorporate a single-channel telemetry system design aboard the spacecraft. The TDS Sub-Group participated actively in the process that led to this decision. Still under active study with TDS participation is the pending Project Office decision regarding the incorporation of a ranging capability within the telecommunications design. The TDS Sub-Group assisted the Mission Analysis and Operations Sub-Group in establishment of a study effort concerning the Near-Earth Sequence of Events from launch to launch plus 8 hours. This study, which will provide valuable data for the spacecraft telecommunications design, will include participation by the Experiment, Launch Vehicle, Spacecraft, as well as the TDS and MA&O Sub-Groups. Also during the past 6-month period, the TDS, in conjunction with the Spacecraft Sub-Group, initiated activity to develop the Helios Spacecraft/TDS Compatibility Test Plans and Procedures. Activity concerning the foregoing interface discussions has been and will continue to be based upon the "TDS Estimated Capabilities Document for the Helios Missions" (613-1), and the "DSN/Flight Project Interface Design Handbook" (810-5). These will continue to be considered TDS controlling documents until specific Helios Project/TDS interface documentation is generated and signed off by the respective parties. In addition to the above, the DSN continued the Helios Trainee Program with seven GfW/DFVLR trainees in residence at JPL. Two trainees will complete their year's residency concurrent with the Third Helios Joint Working Group Meeting, while four new trainees are expected to arrive following the Third Helios Joint Working Group Meeting. These and other activities are reported in detail in the paragraphs that follow.

  14. Leadership: social identity and guiding from within.

    PubMed

    Kerfoot, Karlene M

    2009-01-01

    An important field in leadership research is that of the social identity of the group and what that means for leadership. In health care, there are many different types of social identities that vary by hospital, geography, and profession. Leaders often sabotage their effectiveness when they do not consider the social values of the group. The work of leaders is to help move units and organizations to a higher level of performance. Identifying the social identity of the group is the first step. The most successful have expertise in assessing the social identity of groups and developing a commonality of a shared vision that represents the best work of the group and of the leader.

  15. Leadership: social identity and guiding from within.

    PubMed

    Kerfoot, Karlene M

    2007-01-01

    An important field in leadership research is that of the social identity of the group and what that means for leadership. In health care, there are many different types of social identities that vary by hospital, geography, and profession. Leaders often sabotage their effectiveness when they do not consider the social values of the group. The work of leaders is to help move units and organizations to a higher level of performance. Identifying the social identity of the group is the first step. The most successful have expertise in assessing the social identity of groups and developing a commonality of a shared vision that represents the best work of the group and of the leader.

  16. Improving Patient Experience and Primary Care Quality for Patients With Complex Chronic Disease Using the Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes Tool: Adopting Qualitative Methods Into a User-Centered Design Approach

    PubMed Central

    Khan, Anum Irfan; Kuluski, Kerry; McKillop, Ian; Sharpe, Sarah; Bierman, Arlene S; Lyons, Renee F; Cott, Cheryl

    2016-01-01

    Background Many mHealth technologies do not meet the needs of patients with complex chronic disease and disabilities (CCDDs) who are among the highest users of health systems worldwide. Furthermore, many of the development methodologies used in the creation of mHealth and eHealth technologies lack the ability to embrace users with CCDD in the specification process. This paper describes how we adopted and modified development techniques to create the electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes (ePRO) tool, a patient-centered mHealth solution to help improve primary health care for patients experiencing CCDD. Objective This paper describes the design and development approach, specifically the process of incorporating qualitative research methods into user-centered design approaches to create the ePRO tool. Key lessons learned are offered as a guide for other eHealth and mHealth research and technology developers working with complex patient populations and their primary health care providers. Methods Guided by user-centered design principles, interpretive descriptive qualitative research methods were adopted to capture user experiences through interviews and working groups. Consistent with interpretive descriptive methods, an iterative analysis technique was used to generate findings, which were then organized in relation to the tool design and function to help systematically inform modifications to the tool. User feedback captured and analyzed through this method was used to challenge the design and inform the iterative development of the tool. Results Interviews with primary health care providers (n=7) and content experts (n=6), and four focus groups with patients and carers (n=14) along with a PICK analysis—Possible, Implementable, (to be) Challenged, (to be) Killed—guided development of the first prototype. The initial prototype was presented in three design working groups with patients/carers (n=5), providers (n=6), and experts (n=5). Working group findings were broken down into categories of what works and what does not work to inform modifications to the prototype. This latter phase led to a major shift in the purpose and design of the prototype, validating the importance of using iterative codesign processes. Conclusions Interpretive descriptive methods allow for an understanding of user experiences of patients with CCDD, their carers, and primary care providers. Qualitative methods help to capture and interpret user needs, and identify contextual barriers and enablers to tool adoption, informing a redesign to better suit the needs of this diverse user group. This study illustrates the value of adopting interpretive descriptive methods into user-centered mHealth tool design and can also serve to inform the design of other eHealth technologies. Our approach is particularly useful in requirements determination when developing for a complex user group and their health care providers. PMID:26892952

  17. Working memory and sentence comprehension of Hong Kong Chinese children with specific language impairment.

    PubMed

    Siu, Elaine; Man, David W K

    2006-09-01

    Children with Specific Language Impairment present with delayed language development, but do not have a history of hearing impairment, mental deficiency, or associated social or behavioral problems. Non-word repetition was suggested as an index to reflect the capacity of phonological working memory. There is a paucity of such studies among Hong Kong Chinese children. This preliminary study aimed to examine the relationship between phonological working memory and Specific Language Impairment, through the processes of non-word repetition and sentence comprehension, of children with Specific Language Impairment and pre-school children with normal language development. Both groups of children were screened by a standardized language test. A list of Cantonese (the commonest dialect used in Hong Kong) multisyllabic nonsense utterances and a set of 18 sentences were developed for this study. t-tests and Pearson correlation were used to study the relationship between non-word repetition, working memory and specific language impairment. Twenty-three pre-school children with Specific Language Impairment (mean age = 68.30 months; SD = 6.90) and another 23 pre-school children (mean age = 67.30 months; SD = 6.16) participated in the study. Significant difference performance was found between the Specific Language Impairment group and normal language group in the multisyllabic nonsense utterances repetition task and the sentence comprehension task. Length effect was noted in Specific Language Impairment group children, which is consistent with the findings of other literature. In addition, correlations were also observed between the number of nonsense utterances repeated and the number of elements comprehended. Cantonese multisyllabic nonsense utterances might be worth further developing as a screening tool for the early detection of children with Specific Language Impairment.

  18. Collaborating internationally on physician leadership education: first steps.

    PubMed

    Matlow, Anne; Chan, Ming-Ka; Bohnen, Jordan David; Blumenthal, Daniel Mark; Sánchez-Mendiola, Melchor; de Camps Meschino, Diane; Samson, Lindy Michelle; Busari, Jamiu

    2016-07-04

    Purpose Physicians are often ill-equipped for the leadership activities their work demands. In part, this is due to a gap in traditional medical education. An emergent international network is developing a globally relevant leadership curriculum for postgraduate medical education. The purpose of this article is to share key learnings from this process to date. Design/methodology/approach The Toronto International Summit on Leadership Education for Physicians (TISLEP) was hosted by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Of 64 attendees from eight countries, 34 joined working groups to develop leadership competencies. The CanMEDS Competency Framework, stage of learner development and venue of learning formed the scaffold for the work. Emotional intelligence was selected as the topic to test the feasibility of fruitful international collaboration; results were presented at TISLEP 2015. Findings Dedicated international stakeholders engaged actively and constructively through defined working groups to develop a globally relevant, competency-based curriculum for physician leadership education. Eleven principles are recommended for consideration in physician leadership curriculum development. Defining common language and taxonomy is essential for a harmonized product. The importance of establishing an international network to support implementation, evaluation, sustainability and dissemination of the work was underscored. Originality/value International stakeholders are collaborating successfully on a graduated, competency-based leadership curriculum for postgraduate medical learners. The final product will be available for adaptation to local needs. An international physician leadership education network is being developed to support and expand the work underway.

  19. Support groups for children in alternate care: a largely untapped therapeutic resource.

    PubMed

    Mellor, D; Storer, S

    1995-01-01

    Children in alternate care often have adjustment problems that manifest in various aspects of their lives. Individual therapy is often assumed to be the desired intervention, but resources seldom permit one-to-one therapy for these disturbances. The authors argue that groupwork should be considered as a possible treatment of choice. Not only is it likely to be more economical than individual therapy, it has the inherent advantage of telling children in care that they are not alone, and that other children have similar experiences and feelings. It also allows them to develop their own support network. Such groups appear to have been underutilized in work with children in out-of-home care. This article describes such a group and its outcome. Various techniques were developed to achieve specified aims. The techniques appeared to be successful. Further work on such groups and more specific evaluation is called for.

  20. Visuospatial working memory for locations, colours, and binding in typically developing children and in children with dyslexia and non-verbal learning disability.

    PubMed

    Garcia, Ricardo Basso; Mammarella, Irene C; Tripodi, Doriana; Cornoldi, Cesare

    2014-03-01

    This study examined forward and backward recall of locations and colours and the binding of locations and colours, comparing typically developing children - aged between 8 and 10 years - with two different groups of children of the same age with learning disabilities (dyslexia in one group, non-verbal learning disability [NLD] in the other). Results showed that groups with learning disabilities had different visuospatial working memory problems and that children with NLD had particular difficulties in the backward recall of locations. The differences between the groups disappeared, however, when locations and colours were bound together. It was concluded that specific processes may be involved in children in the binding and backward recall of different types of information, as they are not simply the resultant of combining the single processes needed to recall single features. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

  1. It's a goal!: Basing a community psychiatric nursing service in a local football stadium.

    PubMed

    Pringle, Alan; Sayers, Pete

    2004-09-01

    This paper describes the development of a community mental health project in a local football stadium. Funded for three years by the Laureus Foundation's 'Sport for Good' initiative, the project provides mental health promotion and mental health awareness input targeted initially at young men, a group who are often very difficult to engage in this type work. Using group interventions and utilising football as a metaphor, the project helps young men address issues around depression, self-esteem and inclusion, and addresses the subject of suicide which remains the second biggest cause of death in young men in Britain. The paper describes the development of the project, the structure of the groups and the evaluation of the first two groups to complete the process. The work takes place in the Moss Rose stadium, home of Macclesfield Town, a team in the English Football League.

  2. Countertransference problems in the treatment of a mixed group of war veterans and female partners of war veterans.

    PubMed

    Gregurek, R

    1999-12-01

    Analysis of countertransference problems in the treatment of a heterogeneous group of war veterans. The method used in this work was psychodynamic clinical observation and analysis of countertransference phenomena in group therapy. In the beginning of our work, we faced with a regressive group, which was behaving as it was re-born. The leading subject in the group was aggression and the need for hospitalization to protect them and their environment from their violence. With the development of group processes, a feeling of helplessness and lack of perspective appeared, together with suicidal ideas, which, because of the development of group cohesion and trust, could be openly discussed. With time, the group became a transitional object for its members, an object that gave them a feeling of safety but also a feeling of dependence. The role of the therapist is to support group members in becoming independent. The therapist's function is in controlling, containing, and analyzing of the destructive, regressive part and in encouraging the healthy parts of the patient. With the integration of good therapeutic process, the healthy parts of the patient gain control over his or her regressive parts.

  3. Integration of Work and Learning. Proceedings of the Workshop on Curriculum Innovation (2nd, Bled, Slovenia, September 1997).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    European Training Foundation, Turin (Italy).

    This proceedings consists of 13 papers and 3 working group presentations from a 3-day workshop on issues of work-linked learning relevant for curriculum development. "Welcome" (Slavko Gaber, Peter de Rooij) is followed by two introductory papers: "Integration of Work and Learning: A Challenge for Both Schools and Companies"…

  4. HEP Software Foundation Community White Paper Working Group - Data Analysis and Interpretation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bauerdick, Lothar

    At the heart of experimental high energy physics (HEP) is the development of facilities and instrumentation that provide sensitivity to new phenomena. Our understanding of nature at its most fundamental level is advanced through the analysis and interpretation of data from sophisticated detectors in HEP experiments. The goal of data analysis systems is to realize the maximum possible scientific potential of the data within the constraints of computing and human resources in the least time. To achieve this goal, future analysis systems should empower physicists to access the data with a high level of interactivity, reproducibility and throughput capability. Asmore » part of the HEP Software Foundation Community White Paper process, a working group on Data Analysis and Interpretation was formed to assess the challenges and opportunities in HEP data analysis and develop a roadmap for activities in this area over the next decade. In this report, the key findings and recommendations of the Data Analysis and Interpretation Working Group are presented.« less

  5. Condensed Matter Physics in Colombia is in its forties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Camacho, Angela

    2015-03-01

    Physics in Colombia started to develop in the 70's as a research part of basic sciences with the acquisition, at that time, of large research equipments such as x-rays and EPR. Experimental work was soon supplemented by theoretical investigations, which led to the formation of research groups in condensed matter. In the early 80's existed such groups in five universities. In this report we present, after a short history of the main steps that guided the initial research subjects, the major areas already developed and the minor research groups that are in the stage of consolidation. Currently this type of work is done at least in 20 universities. We also show the actual numbers of researchers, publications, PhD students and laboratories discriminated in gender to complete an overview of Condensed Matter Physics in Colombia. Finally, we present a short review of the main theoretical issues that have been worked in the last decade focusing on low dimensional systems, their structural and optical properties

  6. Towards a coherent global framework for health financing: recommendations and recent developments.

    PubMed

    Ottersen, Trygve; Elovainio, Riku; Evans, David B; McCoy, David; Mcintyre, Di; Meheus, Filip; Moon, Suerie; Ooms, Gorik; Røttingen, John-Arne

    2017-04-01

    The articles in this special issue have demonstrated how unprecedented transitions have come with both challenges and opportunities for health financing. Against the background of these challenges and opportunities, the Working Group on Health Financing at the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security laid out, in 2014, a set of policy responses encapsulated in 20 recommendations for how to make progress towards a coherent global framework for health financing. These recommendations pertain to domestic financing of national health systems, global public goods for health, external financing for national health systems and the cross-cutting issues of accountability and agreement on a new global framework. Since the Working Group concluded its work, multiple events have reinforced the group's recommendations. Among these are the agreement on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa and the release of the Panama Papers. These events also represent new stepping stones towards a new global framework.

  7. Discussion and group work design in O2O teaching of applied optics: questions, strategies and extending

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiaotong; Cen, Zhaofeng; Liu, Xiangdong; Zheng, Zhenrong

    2017-08-01

    Applied optics course in Zhejiang University is a National Excellent Resource Sharing Course in China, and the online to offline teaching strategies have been implemented and shared with dozens of universities and colleges in China. Discussion is an important activity in teaching. In this paper our main consideration is designing the discussion questions and group works so as to develop the students' critical thinking, cooperative and sharing spirits, and communication abilities in the cosmopolitan era. Typical questions that connect different chapters and help the students to understand the relationship between each sub-system in both field of view and aperture are given for discussion. We inspire the students to complete group works such as ray trace programming by cooperation and then make presentations. All of these create a circumstance for sharing thoughts and developing intelligence and knowledge. A poll shows that the students pay more attention to optical design than before and have made progress in conversation and cooperation.

  8. Health of children working in small urban industrial shops.

    PubMed

    Nuwayhid, I A; Usta, J; Makarem, M; Khudr, A; El-Zein, A

    2005-02-01

    To explore associations between work status and multidimensional health indices in a sample of urban Lebanese children. A cross-sectional survey was used to compare 78 male children (aged 10-17 years) working full time in small industrial shops, and a comparison group of 60 non-working male schoolchildren. All children lived and worked or studied in the poor neighbourhoods of three main Lebanese cities. Working children reported frequent abuses. They smoked and dated more than the comparison group. They also reported a higher number of injuries (last 12 months) and recent skin, eye, and ear complaints (last two weeks). Physical examination revealed more changes in their skin and nails, but no differences in height or weight compared to non-working group. A higher blood lead concentration was detected among working children, but no differences in haemoglobin and ferritin. No differences were noted between the two groups of children regarding anxiety, hopelessness, and self-esteem. The drawings of the working children, however, revealed a higher tendency to place themselves outside home and a wider deficit in developmental age when compared to non-working children. Significant differences were found between working and non-working children with respect to physical and social health parameters, but differences were less with regard to mental health. Future research should focus on (1) more sensitive and early predictors of health effects, and (2) long term health effects. The generality of findings to other work settings in the developing world should also be tested.

  9. Group identity and positive deviance in work groups.

    PubMed

    Kim, Moon Joung; Choi, Jin Nam

    2017-12-05

    This study examines why and how identity cognitions, including group identification and individual differentiation, influence the positive deviance of employees. We identify the risk-taking intention of employees as a critical psychological mechanism to overcome stigma-induced identity threat of positive deviance. The analysis of data collected from 293 members comprising 66 work teams reveals that the relationship between individual differentiation and positive deviance is partially mediated by risk-taking intention. The indirect effect of group identification on positive deviance through risk-taking intention is also significant and positive in groups with low conformity pressure, whereas the same indirect effect is neutralized in groups with high conformity pressure. The current analysis offers new insights into the way the group context and the identity cognition of members explain the development of positive deviance and workplace creativity.

  10. The COST Action IC0604 "Telepathology Network in Europe" (EURO-TELEPATH).

    PubMed

    García-Rojo, Marcial; Gonçalves, Luís; Blobel, Bernd

    2012-01-01

    The COST Action IC0604 "Telepathology Network in Europe" (EURO-TELEPATH) is a European COST Action that has been running from 2007 to 2011. COST Actions are funded by the COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) Agency, supported by the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7), of the European Union. EURO-TELEPATH's main objectives were evaluating and validating the common technological framework and communication standards required to access, transmit and manage digital medical records by pathologists and other medical professionals in a networked environment. The project was organized in four working groups. orking Group 1 "Business modeling in pathology" has designed main pathology processes - Frozen Study, Formalin Fixed Specimen Study, Telepathology, Cytology, and Autopsy -using Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). orking Group 2 "Informatics standards in pathology" has been dedicated to promoting the development and application of informatics standards in pathology, collaborating with Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), Health Level Seven (HL7), and other standardization bodies. Working Group 3 "Images: Analysis, Processing, Retrieval and Management" worked on the use of virtual or digital slides that are fostering the use of image processing and analysis in pathology not only for research purposes, but also in daily practice. Working Group 4 "Technology and Automation in Pathology" was focused on studying the adequacy of current existing technical solutions, including, e.g., the quality of images obtained by slide scanners, or the efficiency of image analysis applications. Major outcome of this action are the collaboration with international health informatics standardization bodies to foster the development of standards for digital pathology, offering a new approach for workflow analysis, based in business process modeling. Health terminology standardization research has become a topic of high interest. Future research work should focus on standardization of automatic image analysis and tissue microarrays imaging.

  11. Resurrecting Pragmatism as a Philosophical Frame for Understanding, Researching, and Developing Performance in the Small District Superintendency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ivory, Gary; McClellan, Rhonda; Hyle, Adrienne E.

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the authors propose that pragmatism is a perspective with great promise for understanding and researching the work of small district superintendents and developing the abilities of both pre-service students and in-service practitioners to do that work. They maintain, based on their reading of focus group interviews with small…

  12. Building human capacity through early childhood intervention: the Child Development Research Programme at the Tropical Medicine Research Institute, the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.

    PubMed

    Walker, S P; Chang, S M; Powell, C A; Baker-Henningham, H

    2012-07-01

    Research conducted by the Child Development Research Group in the Tropical Medicine Research Institute has made significant contributions to the understanding of the importance of early nutrition and the home environment for children's development and the impact of psychosocial stimulation for disadvantaged and/or undernourished children. The work has provided critical evidence that has contributed to the increasing attention given to early childhood development in the work and policies of agencies such as the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). This review concerns research which documented the impact of malnutrition on children's development and for the first time demonstrated the benefits and necessity of psychosocial stimulation for improvement in development. Subsequent research was critical in establishing the importance of linear growth retardation (stunting) as a risk factor for poor child development. A twenty-two-year study of stunted children has demonstrated benefits through to adulthood in areas such as educational attainment, mental health and reduced violent behaviour from an early childhood home visiting programme that works through mothers to promote their children's development. The group's research has also demonstrated that it is feasible and effective to integrate the stimulation intervention into primary care services with benefits to children's development and mothers'child rearing knowledge and practices. The group is currently conducting a study to provide information needed for scaling-up of parenting programmes through evaluation of a new approach to improving parenting through health centres and a modified home visit programme.

  13. The effect of quality circles on job satisfaction and quality of work-life of staff in emergency medical services.

    PubMed

    Hosseinabadi, Reza; Karampourian, Arezou; Beiranvand, Shoorangiz; Pournia, Yadollah

    2013-10-01

    Quality circles, as a participatory management technique, offer one alternative for dealing with frustration and discontent of today's workers. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of implementation of quality circles on nurses' quality of work-life and job satisfaction. In this study, two emergency medical services (EMS) of Hamedan province were selected and randomly assigned as the experimental and control groups. After the experimental group was trained and quality circles were established in this group, the levels of quality of work-life and job satisfaction were measured in the two groups. Then, the statistical analyses were performed using t-test. After the intervention, the results showed significant differences between the scores of motivational factors (p=0.001), the total scores of job satisfaction (p=0.003), and the scores of some quality of work life (QWL) conceptual categories including the use and development of capacities (p=0.008), the total space of life (p=0.003), and the total scores of QWL (p=0.031) in the experimental group compared to those in the control group. This study confirms the effectiveness of quality circles in improving quality of work-life and job satisfaction of nurses working in EMS, and offers their application as a management method that can be used by EMS managers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Working memory span in Persian-speaking children with speech sound disorders and normal speech development.

    PubMed

    Afshar, Mohamad Reza; Ghorbani, Ali; Rashedi, Vahid; Jalilevand, Nahid; Kamali, Mohamad

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study was to compare working memory span in Persian-speaking preschool children with speech sound disorder (SSD) and their typically speaking peers. Additionally, the study aimed to examine Non-Word Repetition (NWR), Forward Digit Span (FDS) and Backward Digit Span (BDS) in four groups of children with varying severity levels of SSD. The participants in this study comprised 35 children with SSD and 35 typically developing (TD) children -matched for age and sex-as a control group. The participants were between the age range of 48 and 72 months. Two components of working memory including phonological loop and central executive were compared between two groups. We used two tasks (NWR and FDS) to assess phonological loop component, and one task (BDS) to assess central executive component. Percentage of correct consonants (PCC) was used to calculate the severity of SSD. Significant differences were observed between the two groups in all tasks that assess working memory (p < 0.001). In addition, the comparison of the phonological loop of working memory between the various severity groups indicated significant differences between different severities of both NWR and FDS tasks among the SSD children (p < 0.001). Nevertheless, comparison of the central executive between various severity groups, which was assessed with the BDS task, did not show any significant differences (p > 0.05). The result showed that PCC scores in TD children were associated with NWR (p < 0.001), FDS (p = 0.001), and BDS (p < 0.001). Furthermore, PCC scores in SSD children were associated with NWR and FDS (p < 0.001), but not with BDS (p > 0.05). The working memory skills were weaker in SSD children, in comparison to TD children. In addition, children with varying levels of severity of SSD differed in terms of NWR and FSD, but not BDS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Effect of job maintenance training program for employees with chronic disease - a randomized controlled trial on self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and fatigue.

    PubMed

    Varekamp, Inge; Verbeek, Jos H; de Boer, Angela; van Dijk, Frank J H

    2011-07-01

    Employees with a chronic physical condition may be hampered in job performance due to physical or cognitive limitations, pain, fatigue, psychosocial barriers, or because medical treatment interferes with work. This study investigates the effect of a group-training program aimed at job maintenance. Essential elements of the program are exploration of work-related problems, communication at the workplace, and the development and implementation of solutions. Participants with chronic physical diseases were randomly assigned to the intervention (N=64) or the control group (N=58). Participants were eligible for the study if they had a chronic physical disease, paid employment, experienced work-related problems, and were not on long-term 100% sick leave. Primary outcome measures were self-efficacy in solving work- and disease-related problems (14-70), job dissatisfaction (0-100), fatigue (20-140) and job maintenance measured at 4-, 8-, 12- and 24-month follow-up. We used GLM repeated measures for the analysis. After 24 months, loss to follow-up was 5.7% (7/122). Self-efficacy increased and fatigue decreased significantly more in the experimental than the control group [10 versus 4 points (P=0.000) and 19 versus 8 points (P=0.032), respectively]. Job satisfaction increased more in the experimental group but not significantly [6 versus 0 points (P=0.698)]. Job maintenance was 87% in the experimental and 91% in the control group, which was not a significant difference. Many participants in the control group also undertook actions to solve work-related problems. Empowerment training increases self-efficacy and helps to reduce fatigue complaints, which in the long term could lead to more job maintenance. Better understanding of ways to deal with work-related problems is needed to develop more efficient support for employees with a chronic disease.

  16. Foundations of Social Work Practice: A Graduate Text.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mattaini, Mark A., Ed.; Lowery, Christine T., Ed.; Meyer, Carol H., Ed.

    As social work enters its second century, dynamic developments in practice and theory, the richness offered by multiple cultures and groups, and changing political and economic climates are potent forces driving advances in social work knowledge and practice. In the context of this professional evolution, this textbook wrestles with and builds on…

  17. Longitudinal Mediators of Achievement in Mathematics and Reading in Typical and Atypical Development

    PubMed Central

    Barnes, Marcia A.; Raghubar, Kimberly P.; English, Lianne; Williams, Jeffrey M.; Taylor, Heather; Landry, Susan

    2014-01-01

    Longitudinal studies of neurodevelopmental disorders that are diagnosed at or before birth and which are associated with specific learning difficulties at school-age provide one method for investigating developmental precursors of later-emerging academic disabilities. Spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with particular problems in mathematics, in contrast to well-developed word reading. Children with SBM (n = 30) and typically developing children (n = 35) were used to determine whether cognitive abilities measured at 36 and 60 months of age mediated the effect of group on mathematical and reading achievement outcomes at 8.5 and 9.5 years of age. A series of multiple mediator models showed that: visual-spatial working memory at 36 months and phonological awareness at 60 months partially mediated the effect of group on math calculations; phonological awareness partially mediated the effect of group on small addition and subtraction problems on a test of math fluency; and visual-spatial working memory mediated the effect of group on a test of math problem solving. Groups did not differ on word reading, and phonological awareness was the only mediator for reading fluency and reading comprehension. The findings are discussed with reference to theories of mathematical development and disability and with respect to both common and differing cognitive correlates of math and reading. PMID:24269579

  18. Modified Composite Materials Workshop

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dicus, D. L. (Compiler)

    1978-01-01

    The reduction or elimination of the hazard which results from accidental release of graphite fibers from composite materials was studied at a workshop. At the workshop, groups were organized to consider six topics: epoxy modifications, epoxy replacement, fiber modifications, fiber coatings and new fibers, hybrids, and fiber release testing. Because of the time required to develop a new material and acquire a design data base, most of the workers concluded that a modified composite material would require about four to five years of development and testing before it could be applied to aircraft structures. The hybrid working group considered that some hybrid composites which reduce the risk of accidental fiber release might be put into service over the near term. The fiber release testing working group recommended a coordinated effort to define a suitable laboratory test.

  19. [Team cohesiveness: opinions of a group of primary health care professionals from Salamanca].

    PubMed

    González, F J; de Cabo, A; Morán, M J; Manzano, J M

    1993-04-01

    To assess the view of a group of Primary care professionals on their level of perception of group cohesiveness in their teams' work dynamic. A descriptive and sectional study. Four urban health centres in Salamanca with a recognised teaching activity. Both health professionals and those outside the Health Service, working in Primary Care, who had been members of their teams for more than a year (N = 90). Descriptive statistics and "Chi squared" tests were employed. 72%. A high level of agreement on the need for team work (95.23%). They perceived their group cohesiveness as being very low (84.21% affirmed that they encounter problems of cohesiveness). The main statements concerning this lack of cohesiveness were: "lack of common objectives" (25.5%), "intolerance between workers" (20.13%), "work not shared" (19.46%) and "the taking of decisions individually" (19.44%). The main causes given were: lack of support from Management (23.74%) and too little training for team work (21.58%). There is a high degree of conviction that the team work model is the most efficacious way of developing Primary Care. However in three of the four teams questioned, there were serious problems preventing the teams' reaching an adequate level of group cohesiveness.

  20. Development of an instrument for assessing workstyle in checkout cashier work (BAsIK).

    PubMed

    Kjellberg, Katarina; Palm, Peter; Josephson, Malin

    2012-01-01

    Checkout cashier work consists of handling a large number of items during a work shift, which implies repetitive movements of the shoulders, arms and hands/wrists, and a high work rate. The work is associated with a high prevalence of disorders in the neck and upper extremity. The concept of workstyle explains how ergonomic and psychosocial factors interact in the development of work-related upper extremity disorders. The aim of the project was to develop an instrument for the occupational health services to be used in the efforts to prevent upper extremity disorders in checkout cashier work. The instrument is based on the workstyle concept and is intended to be used as a tool to identify high-risk workstyle and needs for interventions, such as training and education. The instrument, BAsIK, consists of four parts; a questionnaire about workstyle, an observation protocol for work technique, a checklist about the design of the checkout and a questionnaire about work organization. The instrument was developed by selecting workstyle items developed for office work and adapting them to checkout cashier work, discussions with researchers and ergonomists, focus-group interviews with cashiers, observations of video recordings of cashiers, and studies of existing guidelines and checklists.

  1. Helping Students Develop Learning Strategies: Some Theoretical and Practical Considerations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrison, Ian D.

    The collaborative curriculum development process in a postsecondary language education program in Japan is described, looking specifically at the work of five curriculum development teams, or focus groups: needs assessment; curriculum aims, goals, and objectives; cognitive development and learner strategies; materials development; and learner…

  2. Progress Report for the Robotic Intelligence Evaluation. Program Year 1: Developing Test Methodology for Anti-Rollover Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-06-01

    Scientific Research. 5PAM-Crash is a trademark of the ESI Group . 6MATLAB and SIMULINK are registered trademarks of the MathWorks. 14 maneuvers...Laboratory (ARL) to develop methodologies to evaluate robotic behavior algorithms that control the actions of individual robots or groups of robots...methodologies to evaluate robotic behavior algorithms that control the actions of individual robots or groups of robots acting as a team to perform a

  3. Progress report of the IAU Commission 4 Working Group on Ephemeris Access and the comparison of high accuracy planetary ephemerides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hilton, J. L.

    2012-12-01

    In September 2010 IAU Commission 4, Ephemerides, organized a working group to provide a recommendation for a preferred format for solar system ephemerides. The purpose of this recommendation is to provide easy access to a wide range of solar system ephemerides for users. The working group, chaired by Hilton, includes representatives from each of the major planetary ephemeris groups and representatives from the satellite and asteroid ephemeris communities. The working group has tentatively decided to recommend the SPK format developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility for use with its SPICE Toolkit. Certain details, however, must still be resolved before a final recommendation is made by the working group. An update is also provided to ongoing analysis comparing the three high accuracy planetary ephemerides, DE421, EPM2008, and INPOP10a. The principal topics of this update are: replacing the INPOP08 ephemeris with the INPOP10a ephemeris, making the comparisons with respect to DE421 rather than DE405, and comparing the TT - TDB values determined in EPM2008 and INPOP10a with the Fairhead & Bretagnon (1990, A&A, 229, 240) model used in DE421 as T_eph.

  4. eHealth program to empower patients in returning to normal activities and work after gynecological surgery: intervention mapping as a useful method for development.

    PubMed

    Vonk Noordegraaf, Antonie; Huirne, Judith A F; Pittens, Carina A; van Mechelen, Willem; Broerse, Jacqueline E W; Brölmann, Hans A M; Anema, Johannes R

    2012-10-19

    Full recovery after gynecological surgery takes much longer than expected regardless of surgical technique or the level of invasiveness. After discharge, detailed convalescence recommendations are not provided to patients typically, and postoperative care is fragmented, poorly coordinated, and given only on demand. For patients, this contributes to irrational beliefs and avoidance of resumption of activities and can result in a prolonged sick leave. To develop an eHealth intervention that empowers gynecological patients during the perioperative period to obtain timely return to work (RTW) and prevent work disability. The intervention mapping (IM) protocol was used to develop the eHealth intervention. A literature search about behavioral and environmental conditions of prolonged sick leave and delayed RTW in patients was performed. Patients' needs, attitudes, and beliefs regarding postoperative recovery and resumption of work were identified through focus group discussions. Additionally, a literature search was performed to obtain determinants, methods, and strategies for the development of a suitable interactive eHealth intervention to empower patients to return to normal activities after gynecological surgery, including work. Finally, the eHealth intervention was evaluated by focus group participants, medical doctors, and eHealth specialists through questionnaires. Twenty-one patients participated in the focus group discussions. Sufficient, uniform, and tailored information regarding surgical procedures, complications, and resumption of activities and work were considered most essential. Knowing who to contact in case of mental or physical complaints, and counseling and tools for work reintegration were also considered important. Finally, opportunities to exchange experiences with other patients were a major issue. Considering the determinants of the Attitude-Social influence-self-Efficacy (ASE) model, various strategies based on a combination of theory and evidence were used, resulting in an eHealth intervention with different interactive functionalities including tailored convalescence recommendations and a video to communicate the most common pitfalls during the perioperative period to patients and employers. Fifteen patients in the focus groups, 11 physicians, and 3 eHealth specialists suggested points for improvement to optimize the usability of the eHealth intervention and judged it an approachable, appropriate, and attractive eHealth intervention to empower gynecological patients. The IM protocol was a useful method to develop an eHealth intervention based on both theory and evidence. All patients and stakeholders judged the eHealth intervention to be a promising tool to empower gynecological patients during the perioperative period and to help them to return to normal activities and work.

  5. eHealth Program to Empower Patients in Returning to Normal Activities and Work After Gynecological Surgery: Intervention Mapping as a Useful Method for Development

    PubMed Central

    Huirne, Judith A.F; Pittens, Carina A; van Mechelen, Willem; Broerse, Jacqueline E.W; Brölmann, Hans A.M; Anema, Johannes R

    2012-01-01

    Background Full recovery after gynecological surgery takes much longer than expected regardless of surgical technique or the level of invasiveness. After discharge, detailed convalescence recommendations are not provided to patients typically, and postoperative care is fragmented, poorly coordinated, and given only on demand. For patients, this contributes to irrational beliefs and avoidance of resumption of activities and can result in a prolonged sick leave. Objective To develop an eHealth intervention that empowers gynecological patients during the perioperative period to obtain timely return to work (RTW) and prevent work disability. Methods The intervention mapping (IM) protocol was used to develop the eHealth intervention. A literature search about behavioral and environmental conditions of prolonged sick leave and delayed RTW in patients was performed. Patients’ needs, attitudes, and beliefs regarding postoperative recovery and resumption of work were identified through focus group discussions. Additionally, a literature search was performed to obtain determinants, methods, and strategies for the development of a suitable interactive eHealth intervention to empower patients to return to normal activities after gynecological surgery, including work. Finally, the eHealth intervention was evaluated by focus group participants, medical doctors, and eHealth specialists through questionnaires. Results Twenty-one patients participated in the focus group discussions. Sufficient, uniform, and tailored information regarding surgical procedures, complications, and resumption of activities and work were considered most essential. Knowing who to contact in case of mental or physical complaints, and counseling and tools for work reintegration were also considered important. Finally, opportunities to exchange experiences with other patients were a major issue. Considering the determinants of the Attitude–Social influence–self-Efficacy (ASE) model, various strategies based on a combination of theory and evidence were used, resulting in an eHealth intervention with different interactive functionalities including tailored convalescence recommendations and a video to communicate the most common pitfalls during the perioperative period to patients and employers. Fifteen patients in the focus groups, 11 physicians, and 3 eHealth specialists suggested points for improvement to optimize the usability of the eHealth intervention and judged it an approachable, appropriate, and attractive eHealth intervention to empower gynecological patients. Conclusions The IM protocol was a useful method to develop an eHealth intervention based on both theory and evidence. All patients and stakeholders judged the eHealth intervention to be a promising tool to empower gynecological patients during the perioperative period and to help them to return to normal activities and work. PMID:23086834

  6. [Subtainable health promotion via organisational development--a model project for teachers in professional training schools].

    PubMed

    Schumacher, L; Nieskens, B; Bräuer, H; Sieland, B

    2005-02-01

    The goal of this project is the development, implementation and evaluation of a concept designed for sustainable health promotion among occupational and trade school teachers. We assume that for sustainable health promotion -- along with a behavioral prevention program -- a change is necessary in the structure, as well as, the working and communication processes within schools. The realization of early teacher participation and self regulated cooperative groups initiates comprehensive and goal-oriented developmental processes in the project schools. The organizational development process was accomplished in the following way: At the beginning we conducted a diagnosis of school-specific and individual health risks and the resources available to the project schools. The results were reported for both the individual and for the teacher group. This was intended to clarify the potential for improvement and, thus, strengthen the teachers' motivation toward processes of change. Following the diagnosis, the teachers chose areas of stress-related strain and then worked in groups to develop and implement behaviour and working condition-oriented intervention strategies for health promotion. The diagnosis results confirm the necessity of school-specific health promotion: the schools demonstrate very different demand and resource profiles. Furthermore, is has become evident that the central success factor for health promotion in schools is the teachers' willingness for change. The individual and group reports of the diagnosis results seem to have made clear how essential individual and organisational changes are.

  7. Factors affecting the work productivity of Oraon agricultural laborers of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal.

    PubMed

    Roy, Subrata K

    2002-03-01

    In developing countries like India, where the incidence of protein-calorie malnutrition is high and mechanization is at a minimum, human labor provides much of the power for physical activity. This study presents anthropometric measurements, somatotypes, food intakes, energy expenditures, and work outputs of Oraon agricultural laborers of the Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, in an attempt to identify the factors that predict high work productivity. Specifically, this study investigates 1) the relationship between morphological variation (anthropometric measurements and somatotype) and work productivity, 2) the nature and extent of the relationship between nutritional status and work productivity, and 3) the best predictor variables of work output. Classification of groups on the basis of median values of work output show that in the aggregate, the high productive groups are significantly younger than low-productive groups in both sexes. Before age-adjustment, the high productive groups show higher mean values of a few body dimensions, though these differ by sex, and both males and females exhibit a normal range of blood pressure and pulse rate values. Mean values of grip strength and back strength are higher in high-output men and women. Mean values of both food intake and energy expenditure are also higher among men in high-output groups, with only food intake higher in high-output women. However, after eliminating the effects of age, the differences between low-productive groups and high-productive groups in most of the variables are not significant. Productivity predictors in males consist of age, food intake and chest girth (inhalation). Females, on the other hand, show age and grip strength (left) as work output predictors. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  8. Experimental Products Development Team (EPDT) Supporting New AWIPS . Part 2; Capabilities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burks, Jason E.

    2015-01-01

    In 2012, the Experimental Products Development Team (EPDT) was formed within NASA's Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center to create training for development of plug-ins to extend the National Weather Service (NWS) Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) version 2. The broader atmospheric science community had a need for AWIPS II development training being created at SPoRT and EPDT was expanded to include other groups who were looking for training. Since the expansion of the group occurred, EPDT has provided AWIPS II development training to over thirty participants spanning a wide variety of groups such as NWS Systems Engineering Center, NWS Meteorological Development Laboratory, and several NOAA Cooperative Institutes. Participants within EPDT solidify their learning experience through hands-on learning and by participating in a "code-sprint" in which they troubleshoot existing and develop plug-ins. The hands-on learning workshop is instructor lead with participants completing exercises within the AWIPS II Development Environment. During the code sprints EPDT groups work on projects important to the community and have worked on various plug-ins such as an RGB image recipe creation tool, and an mPing (crowd sourced precipitation type reporting system) ingest and display. EPDT has developed a well-defined training regime which prepares participants to fully develop plug-ins for the extendible AWIPS II architecture from ingest to the display of new data. SPoRT has hosted 2 learning workshops and 1 code sprint over the last two years, and continues to build and shape the EPDT group based on feedback from previous workshops. The presentation will provide an overview of EPDT current and future activities, and best practices developed within EPDT.

  9. Standardized reporting of bleeding complications for clinical investigations in acute coronary syndromes: a proposal from the academic bleeding consensus (ABC) multidisciplinary working group.

    PubMed

    Rao, Sunil V; Eikelboom, John; Steg, Ph Gabriel; Lincoff, A Michael; Weintraub, William S; Bassand, Jean-Pierre; Rao, A Koneti; Gibson, C Michael; Petersen, John L; Mehran, Roxana; Manoukian, Steven V; Charnigo, Richard; Lee, Kerry L; Moscucci, Mauro; Harrington, Robert A

    2009-12-01

    Clinical trials of antithrombotic agents for the treatment of ACS routinely assess bleeding as a safety endpoint, but variation in bleeding definitions makes comparison of the relative safety of these agents difficult. The ABC Multidisciplinary Working Group, an informal working group comprising clinical researchers and representatives from the US Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the pharmaceutical industry, sought to develop a consensus approach to measuring the incidence and severity of bleeding complications during clinical trials of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). A meeting of the ABC was convened in April 2008 in Washington, DC, with the goal of developing a consensus approach to measuring the incidence and severity of hemorrhagic complications during clinical trials of ACS. Relevant literature on bleeding was reviewed through a series of short lectures and intensive group discussion. Using existing evidence on bleeding and outcomes as well as clinical judgment, criteria for the assessment of bleeding were developed through expert consensus. This consensus statement divides bleeding-related data elements into three categories: essential, recommended, and optional. The ABC Group recommendations for collection and reporting of bleeding complications provide a framework for consistency in the collection of information on hemorrhagic complications in trials of ACS. Widespread adoption of the statement recommendations will facilitate understanding of the mechanisms of adverse outcomes after bleeding and comparisons of the relative safety of antithrombotic agents, as well as the interpretation of safety results from future studies.

  10. The Case for the Development of a Theoretical Framework for Defence Acquisition

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-04-30

    the preliminary results of a pan-European working party of defence academics based in Sweden, Germany , and the UK. This group sought to surface the...preliminary results of a pan-European working party of defence academics based in Sweden, Germany , and the UK. This group sought to surface the...it involved a series of on-going discussions over a six month period between European academics and practitioners (drawn from France, Germany

  11. Implementation Guidance Document: Properties and Types of Significant Photothermal Retinal Lesion Injuries

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-04-17

    if ii does not display a currently valid OMB control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ORGANIZATION. 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 12...NUMBER Risk of Significant Injury Technical Working Group : Wesley Burgei, Shannon Foley, Matt Pandullo, Melissa Nass-Flores, George L. Fischer, Hugh...14. ABSTRACT The RSI Technical Working Group (TWG) developed a recommendation defining the properties and types of significant photothennal retinal

  12. DMSO Production and Logistics Functional Working Group workshop. Proceedings held in McLean, VA on 16-18 Nov 1992

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1993-04-02

    Issues and other environmental Impact concerns r ation: Manufacturing ateIgoJy: Technology Timaame: Near term Imoact of not MTeetln reaulrement...simulation (M&S needs of the defense M&S community. This community is partitioned into five major areas: Education , Training and Military Operations (ETMO...requirements throughout the community. The five DMSO Functional Work Groups ( Education , Training and Military Operations; Research and Development

  13. International Standardization of the Clinical Dosimetry of Beta Radiation Brachytherapy Sources: Progress of an ISO Standard

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soares, Christopher

    2006-03-01

    In 2004 a new work item proposal (NWIP) was accepted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 85 (TC85 -- Nuclear Energy), Subcommittee 2 (Radiation Protection) for the development of a standard for the clinical dosimetry of beta radiation sources used for brachytherapy. To develop this standard, a new Working Group (WG 22 - Ionizing Radiation Dosimetry and Protocols in Medical Applications) was formed. The standard is based on the work of an ad-hoc working group initiated by the Dosimetry task group of the Deutsches Insitiut für Normung (DIN). Initially the work was geared mainly towards the needs of intravascular brachytherapy, but with the decline of this application, more focus has been placed on the challenges of accurate dosimetry for the concave eye plaques used to treat ocular melanoma. Guidance is given for dosimetry formalisms, reference data to be used, calibrations, measurement methods, modeling, uncertainty determinations, treatment planning and reporting, and clinical quality control. The document is currently undergoing review by the ISO member bodies for acceptance as a Committee Draft (CD) with publication of the final standard expected by 2007. There are opportunities for other ISO standards for medical dosimetry within the framework of WG22.

  14. Keynote Address: ACR-NEMA standards and their implications for teleradiology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horii, Steven C.

    1990-06-01

    The ACR-NEMA Standard was developed initially as an interface standard for the interconnection of two pieces of imaging equipment Essentially the Standard defmes a point-to-point hardware connection with the necessary protocol and data structure so that two differing devices which meet the specification will be able to communicate with each other. The Standard does not defme a particular PACS architecture nor does it specify a database structure. In part these are the reasons why implementers have had difficulty in using the Standard in a full PACS. Recent activity of the Working Groups formed by the Committee overseeing work on the ACR-NEMA Standard has changed some of the " flavor" of the Standard. It was realized that connection of PACS with hospital and radiology information systems (HIS and RIS) is necessary if a PACS is ever to be succesful. The idea of interconnecting heterogeneous computer systems has pushed Standards development beyond the scope of the original work. Teleradiology which inherenfly involves wide-area networking may be a direct beneficiary of the new directions taken by the Standards Working Groups. This paper will give a brief history of the ACR-NEMA effort describe the " parent" Standard and its " offspring" and describe the activity of the current Working Groups with particular emphasis on the potential impacts on teleradiology.

  15. From People's Theatre for Revolution to Popular Theatre for Reconstruction: Diary of a Zimbabwean Workshop. CESO Verhandeling No. 33.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kidd, Ross

    Focusing on the experience of one of seven working groups at a theater-for-development workshop in Zimbabwe, this report details the process followed by many groups, and reveals some of the major learnings, dilemmas, contradictions, strengths, and limiting factors found in a practical village-based theater-for-development process. A brief…

  16. Group Collaboration in Organizations: Architectures, Methodologies and Tools

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-03-01

    collaboration , its definition and characteristics was completed. Next, existing technologies and standards were studied as well as the ...2000). 22 For effective collaboration , the technology must support the dynamic world of work be it individual, group and/or teamwork, as well as... develop it or simply use it as the basis of discussion. If collaborators are all contributing to the development of a

  17. The Impact of Being Part of an Action Learning Set for New Lecturers: A Reflective Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haith, Mark P.; Whittingham, Katrina A.

    2012-01-01

    What is an action learning set (ALS)? An ALS is a regular, action focused peer discussion group, generally facilitated, to address work place issues. Methods of undertaking ALS: methods are flexible within a range of approaches according to the group's developing needs. Benefits of ALS: builds trust, professional development, enables action,…

  18. Writing in Groups as a Tool for Non-Routine Problem Solving in First Year University Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, J. A.; McDonald, C.

    2007-01-01

    Development of mathematical problem solving skills is an age old problem in mathematics. This paper details the design of a component of a first year university mathematics course in which group work and mathematical communication skills, especially writing skills, are used as a tool to develop non-routine problem solving skills. In this design…

  19. Rural Infrastructure and Economic Development Issues: Information Systems, Transportation and Education. Proceedings of a Regional Workshop (Atlanta, Georgia, October 3-4, 1990).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clouser, Rod, Ed.

    The Southern Region Information Exchange Group-53 consists of 20 institutional members seeking a better understanding of the relationship between community infrastructure and economic development. This document contains four papers prepared for the group's working meeting in October 1990. "The Contribution of Four Lane Highway Investments to…

  20. Task and Progress of Iaeg-Sdgs Wggi in Monitoring Sdgs Through a `GEOGRAPHIC Location' Lens

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Geng, W.; Chen, J.; Zhang, H. P.; Xu, K.

    2018-04-01

    In September 2015, the 193 Member States of the United Nations (UN) unanimously adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to transform the world over the next 15 years (ESDN, 2016). To meet the ambitions and demands of the 2030 Agenda, it is necessary for the global indicator framework to adequately and systematically address the issue of alternative data sources and methodologies, including geospatial information and Earth observations in the context of geographic location (UN-GGIM, 2016). For this purpose, the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals Indicator (IAEG-SDGs) created the Working Group on Geospatial Information (IAEG-SDGs: WGGI) to give full play to the role of geospatial data in SDGs measurement and monitoring. The Working Group reviewed global indicators through a `geographic location' lens to pick out those which geospatial information can significantly support the production, and analyzed the methodological and measurements issues. This paper has discussed the progress in monitoring SDGs ever since the establishment of IAEG-SDGs: WGGI, as well as the existing problems, appropriate solutions and plans for the next stage of work.

  1. An Update on the CCSDS Optical Communications Working Group

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Edwards, Bernard L.; Schulz, Klaus-Juergen; Hamkins, Jonathan; Robinson, Bryan; Alliss, Randall; Daddato, Robert; Schmidt, Christopher; Giggebach, Dirk; Braatz, Lena

    2017-01-01

    International space agencies around the world are currently developing optical communication systems for Near Earth and Deep Space applications for both robotic and human rated spacecraft. These applications include both links between spacecraft and links between spacecraft and ground. The Interagency Operation Advisory Group (IOAG) has stated that there is a strong business case for international cross support of spacecraft optical links. It further concluded that in order to enable cross support the links must be standardized. This paper will overview the history and structure of the space communications international standards body, the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), that will develop the standards and provide an update on the proceedings of the Optical Communications Working Group within CCSDS. This paper will also describe the set of optical communications standards being developed and outline some of the issues that must be addressed in the next few years. The paper will address in particular the ongoing work on application scenarios for deep space to ground called High Photon Efficiency, for LEO to ground called Low Complexity, for inter-satellite and near Earth to ground called High Data Rate, as well as associated atmospheric measurement techniques and link operations concepts.

  2. Explaining lexical-semantic deficits in specific language impairment: the role of phonological similarity, phonological working memory, and lexical competition.

    PubMed

    Mainela-Arnold, Elina; Evans, Julia L; Coady, Jeffry A

    2010-12-01

    In this study, the authors investigated potential explanations for sparse lexical-semantic representations in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing peers. The role of auditory perception, phonological working memory, and lexical competition were investigated. Participants included 32 children (ages 8;5-12;3 [years;months]): Sixteen children with SLI and 16 typically developing age- and nonverbal IQ-matched peers (CA). Children's word definitions were investigated. The words to be defined were manipulated for phonological neighborhood density. Nonword repetition and two lexical competition measures were tested as predictors of word definition abilities. Children with SLI gave word definitions with fewer content details than children in the CA group. Compared with the CA group, the definitions of children in the SLI group were not disproportionately impacted by phonological neighborhood density. Lexical competition was a significant unique predictor of children's word definitions, but nonword repetition was not. Individual differences in richness of lexical semantic representations as well as differences between children with SLI and typically developing peers may-at least, in part-be explained by processes of competition. However, difficulty with auditory perception or phonological working memory does not fully explain difficulties in lexical semantics.

  3. Facilities removal working group

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    This working group`s first objective is to identify major economic, technical, and regulatory constraints on operator practices and decisions relevant to offshore facilities removal. Then, the group will try to make recommendations as to regulatory and policy adjustments, additional research, or process improvements and/or technological advances, that may be needed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the removal process. The working group will focus primarily on issues dealing with Gulf of Mexico platform abandonments. In order to make the working group sessions as productive as possible, the Facilities Removal Working Group will focus on three topics that address amore » majority of the concerns and/or constraints relevant to facilities removal. The three areas are: (1) Explosive Severing and its Impact on Marine Life, (2) Pile and Conductor Severing, and (3) Deep Water Abandonments This paper will outline the current state of practice in the offshore industry, identifying current regulations and specific issues encountered when addressing each of the three main topics above. The intent of the paper is to highlight potential issues for panel discussion, not to provide a detailed review of all data relevant to the topic. Before each panel discussion, key speakers will review data and information to facilitate development and discussion of the main issues of each topic. Please refer to the attached agenda for the workshop format, key speakers, presentation topics, and panel participants. The goal of the panel discussions is to identify key issues for each of the three topics above. The working group will also make recommendations on how to proceed on these key issues.« less

  4. Improving the Grade Point Average of Our At-Risk Students: A Collaborative Group Action Research Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saurino, Dan R.; Hinson, Kenneth; Bouma, Amy

    This paper focuses on the use of a group action research approach to help student teachers develop strategies to improve the grade point average of at-risk students. Teaching interventions such as group work and group and individual tutoring were compared to teaching strategies already used in the field. Results indicated an improvement in the…

  5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Group Leadership Instruction for Rehabilitation Counselors-in-Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Nykeisha; Wadsworth, John; Cory, James

    2009-01-01

    Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety syndrome that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event in which harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD is often treated with group therapy. Rehabilitation counselors need to be aware of the group treatments for PTSD because counselors may be leaders of group therapy, may work with consumers…

  6. Design Your Own Budget: A Case Study Based on the 1988 Budget.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Paul

    1992-01-01

    Presents a classroom activity in which students work in groups to develop a national budget. Requires students to consider economic factors such as inflation, unemployment, and taxation. Includes charts and a national budget work sheet. (CFR)

  7. SU-E-E-03: Shared Space Fosters Didactic and Professional Learning Across Professions for Medical and Physics Residents

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dieterich, S; Perks, J; Fragoso, R

    Purpose: Medical Physicists and Radiation Oncologists are two professions who should be working as a team for optimal patient care, yet lack of mutual understanding about each others respective role and work environment creates barriers To improve collaboration and learning, we designed a shared didactic and work space for physics and radiation oncology residents to maximize interaction throughout their professional training. Methods: Physician and Physics residents are required to take the same didactic classes, including journal clubs and respective seminars. The residents also share an office environment among the seven physician and two physic residents. Results: By maximizing didactic overlapmore » and sharing office space, the two resident groups have developed a close professional relationship and supportive work environment. Several joint research projects have been initiated by the residents. Awareness of physics tasks in the clinic has led to a request by the physician residents to change physics didactics, converting the physics short course into a lab-oriented course for the medical residents which is in part taught by the physics residents. The physics seminar is given by both residency groups; increased motivation and interest in learning about physics has led to several medical resident-initiated topic selections which generated lively discussion. The physics long course has changed toward including more discussion among residents to delve deeper into topics and study beyond what passing the boards would require. A supportive work environment has developed, embedding the two physics residents into a larger residents group, allowing them to find mentor and peers more easily. Conclusion: By creating a shared work and didactic environment, physician and physics residents have improved their understanding of respective professional practice. Resident-initiated changes in didactic practice have led to improved learning and joint research. A strong social support system has developed, embedding physics residents into a larger peer group.« less

  8. Statistics, Computation, and Modeling in Cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jewell, Jeff; Guiness, Joe; SAMSI 2016 Working Group in Cosmology

    2017-01-01

    Current and future ground and space based missions are designed to not only detect, but map out with increasing precision, details of the universe in its infancy to the present-day. As a result we are faced with the challenge of analyzing and interpreting observations from a wide variety of instruments to form a coherent view of the universe. Finding solutions to a broad range of challenging inference problems in cosmology is one of the goals of the “Statistics, Computation, and Modeling in Cosmology” workings groups, formed as part of the year long program on ‘Statistical, Mathematical, and Computational Methods for Astronomy’, hosted by the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI), a National Science Foundation funded institute. Two application areas have emerged for focused development in the cosmology working group involving advanced algorithmic implementations of exact Bayesian inference for the Cosmic Microwave Background, and statistical modeling of galaxy formation. The former includes study and development of advanced Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms designed to confront challenging inference problems including inference for spatial Gaussian random fields in the presence of sources of galactic emission (an example of a source separation problem). Extending these methods to future redshift survey data probing the nonlinear regime of large scale structure formation is also included in the working group activities. In addition, the working group is also focused on the study of ‘Galacticus’, a galaxy formation model applied to dark matter-only cosmological N-body simulations operating on time-dependent halo merger trees. The working group is interested in calibrating the Galacticus model to match statistics of galaxy survey observations; specifically stellar mass functions, luminosity functions, and color-color diagrams. The group will use subsampling approaches and fractional factorial designs to statistically and computationally efficiently explore the Galacticus parameter space. The group will also use the Galacticus simulations to study the relationship between the topological and physical structure of the halo merger trees and the properties of the resulting galaxies.

  9. Wind Powering America: The Next Steps in North Carolina

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Banks, Jennifer L.; Scanlin, Dennis; Quinlan, Paul

    2013-06-18

    The goal of this project is to apply the WPA’s proactive outreach strategy to the problem of educating the public about the likely transmission infrastructure developments concomitant to the significant development of wind energy resources in North Carolina. Given the lead time to develop significant new transmission infrastructure (5-10 years), it is critical to begin this outreach work today, so that wind resources can be developed to adequately meet the 20% by 2030 goal in the mid- to long-term (10-20 years). The project team planned to develop a transmission infrastructure outreach campaign for North Carolina by: (1) convening a utilitymore » interest group (UIG) of the North Carolina Wind Working Group (NC WWG) consisting of electric utilities in the state and the Southeast; and (2) expanding outreach to local and state government officials in North Carolina.« less

  10. Report of the In Situ Resources Utilization Workshop

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fairchild, Kyle (Editor); Mendell, Wendell W. (Editor)

    1988-01-01

    The results of a workshop of 50 representatives from the public and private sector which investigated the potential joint development of the key technologies and mechanisms that will enable the permanent habitation of space are presented. The workshop is an initial step to develop a joint public/private assessment of new technology requirements of future space options, to share knowledge on required technologies that may exist in the private sector, and to investigate potential joint technology development opportunities. The majority of the material was produced in 5 working groups: (1) Construction, Assembly, Automation and Robotics; (2) Prospecting, Mining, and Surface Transportation; (3) Biosystems and Life Support; (4) Materials Processing; and (5) Innovative Ventures. In addition to the results of the working groups, preliminary technology development recommendations to assist in near-term development priority decisions are presented. Finally, steps are outlined for potential new future activities and relationships among the public, private, and academic sectors.

  11. The risk/safety assessment of transgenic crops: the transportability of data.

    PubMed

    Kearns, Peter; Dagallier, Bertrand; Suwabe, Kazuyuki

    2014-12-01

    This paper presents the activities and publications of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developments (OECD's) Working Group on Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology and the Task Force for the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds. The main outputs of the work are the Series of "consensus documents" of the respective groups. These documents compile information which is intended to be used by those involved in the business of risk/safety assessment. These documents are one means of ensuring the transportability of data amongst authorities. An increasing trend in both the Working Group and Task Force is to consider crop species which are relevant to tropical regions and therefore to countries that are not necessarily members of the OECD. For example, the Working Group has recently published a consensus document on bananas and plantains while the Task Force has published a document on cassava. This trend towards crops of greater interest in the tropics is likely to continue into the future.

  12. Running wheel training does not change neurogenesis levels or alter working memory tasks in adult rats

    PubMed Central

    Rojas, Manuel J.; Cardenas P., Fernando

    2017-01-01

    Background Exercise can change cellular structure and connectivity (neurogenesis or synaptogenesis), causing alterations in both behavior and working memory. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of exercise on working memory and hippocampal neurogenesis in adult male Wistar rats using a T-maze test. Methods An experimental design with two groups was developed: the experimental group (n = 12) was subject to a forced exercise program for five days, whereas the control group (n = 9) stayed in the home cage. Six to eight weeks after training, the rats’ working memory was evaluated in a T-maze test and four choice days were analyzed, taking into account alternation as a working memory indicator. Hippocampal neurogenesis was evaluated by means of immunohistochemistry of BrdU positive cells. Results No differences between groups were found in the behavioral variables (alternation, preference index, time of response, time of trial or feeding), or in the levels of BrdU positive cells. Discussion Results suggest that although exercise may have effects on brain structure, a construct such as working memory may require more complex changes in networks or connections to demonstrate a change at behavioral level. PMID:28503368

  13. Issues in Feminist Therapy: The Work of a Women's Study Group

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Radov, Carol G.; And Others

    1977-01-01

    Discusses attempts of study groups of women in mental health professions that was instrumental in developing thearetical formulations concerning feminist therapy. From experiences both in the group and with clients, concludes that the profession as a whole must increase its responsiveness to concerns of women and issues of feminist therapy.…

  14. An Exploration of Secondary School Counselors' Experiences Engaging in Group Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Chinwe U.; McMahon, H. George; McLeod, Amy L.; Rice, Robert

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of secondary school counselors who develop and lead groups. The study explored participants' perceptions and their motivations for leading groups. Findings from data analysis revealed four major themes. Unappreciated and Dismissed describes the way participants felt in response to the…

  15. Leadership: social identity and guiding from within.

    PubMed

    Kerfoot, Karlene

    2008-06-01

    The precursor to leadership success is the ability to learn about and utilize the social identity of the group as it has evolved. The most successful have expertise in assessing the social identity of groups and developing a commonality of a shared vision that represents the best work of the group and of the leader.

  16. Leadership: social identity and guiding from within.

    PubMed

    Kerfoot, Karlene M

    2009-01-01

    The precursor to leadership success is the ability to learn about and utilize the social identity of the group as it has evolved. The most successful have expertise in assessing the social identity of groups and developing a commonality of a shared vision that represents the best work of the group and of the leader.

  17. PBL Group Autonomy in a High School Environmental Science Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weiss, D. Mark; Belland, Brian R.

    2018-01-01

    With increasing class sizes, teachers and facilitators alike hope for learning groups where students work together in self-contained and autonomous ways requiring reduced teacher support. Yet many instructors find the idea of developing independent learning in small groups to be elusive particularly in K-12 settings (Ertmer and Simons in…

  18. Playful Talk: Negotiating Opportunities to Learn in Collaborative Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sullivan, Florence R.; Wilson, Nicholas C.

    2015-01-01

    This case study examines the role of playful talk in negotiating the "how" of collaborative group work in a 6th-grade science classroom. Here we develop and test a Vygotsky-derived hypothesis that postulates playful talk as a mechanism for identity exploration and group status negotiation. Our findings indicate that students utilized the…

  19. Raising consciousness about the nuclear threat through music

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ungerleider, J.H.

    1987-01-01

    This dissertation examines the use of music, in particular topical collaborative group song writing, as a tool for raising consciousness about the threat of nuclear war. Consciousness raising is one way to overcome the phenomenon of denial and to increase discussion and social action in response to the nuclear threat. This dissertation measures the impact of a group song writing workshop on developing critical problem-solving in adult groups; it reviews how music is applied in psychological research and clinical work, has been used historically as a tool in social-change movements in America, and is used in the contemporary field ofmore » peace education. The perspectives of several theorists who discuss the potential of music to contribute to social change are presented. It is concluded that consciousness about the nuclear threat - in terms of naming and analyzing - can be raised by working with music's potential for developing affective, expressive, and collaborative capabilities in individuals and groups. Potential applications of the group song writing workshop are in schools, with peace organizations, music groups, and in relation to other social issues.« less

  20. Using Remote Sensing Data and Research Results for Urban Heat Island Mitigation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Estes, Maury; Luvall, Jeffrey

    1999-01-01

    This paper provides information on the characteristics of the urban heat island, research designed to provide the data needed to develop effective urban heat island reduction strategies, and the development of local working groups to develop implementation plans. As background, an overview of research results on the urban heat island phenomenon and the resultant effect on energy usage and air quality will be explored. The use of more reflective roofing materials, paving materials, tree planting, and other initiatives will be explored as a basis for strategies to mitigate urban heat islands and improve the urban environment. Current efforts to use aircraft remote sensing data in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Sacramento, and Salt Lake City and our work with non-profit organizations designated to lead public education and strategic development efforts will be presented. Efforts to organize working groups comprised of key stakeholders, the process followed in communicating research results, and methodology for soliciting feedback and incorporating ideas into local plans, policies and decision-making will be discussed. Challenges in developing and transferring data products and research results to stakeholders will be presented. It is our ultimate goal that such efforts be integrated into plans and/or decision models that encourage sustainable development.

  1. High-Speed Maglev Trains; German Safety Requirements

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1991-12-31

    This document is a translation of technology-specific safety requirements developed : for the German Transrapid Maglev technology. These requirements were developed by a : working group composed of representatives of German Federal Railways (DB), Tes...

  2. UTChem - A Program for Ab Initio Quantum Chemistry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yanai, Takeshi; Nakano, Haruyuki; Nakajima, Takahito

    2003-06-18

    UTChem is a quantum chemistry software developed by Hirao's group at the University of Tokyo. UTChem is a research product of our work to develop new and better theoretical methods in quantum chemistry.

  3. The Powell Volcano Remote Sensing Working Group Overview

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reath, K.; Pritchard, M. E.; Poland, M. P.; Wessels, R. L.; Biggs, J.; Carn, S. A.; Griswold, J. P.; Ogburn, S. E.; Wright, R.; Lundgren, P.; Andrews, B. J.; Wauthier, C.; Lopez, T.; Vaughan, R. G.; Rumpf, M. E.; Webley, P. W.; Loughlin, S.; Meyer, F. J.; Pavolonis, M. J.

    2017-12-01

    Hazards from volcanic eruptions pose risks to the lives and livelihood of local populations, with potential global impacts to businesses, agriculture, and air travel. The 2015 Global Assessment of Risk report notes that 800 million people are estimated to live within 100 km of 1400 subaerial volcanoes identified as having eruption potential. However, only 55% of these volcanoes have any type of ground-based monitoring. The only methods currently available to monitor these unmonitored volcanoes are space-based systems that provide a global view. However, with the explosion of data techniques and sensors currently available, taking full advantage of these resources can be challenging. The USGS Powell Center Volcano Remote Sensing Working Group is working with many partners to optimize satellite resources for global detection of volcanic unrest and assessment of potential eruption hazards. In this presentation we will describe our efforts to: 1) work with space agencies to target acquisitions from the international constellation of satellites to collect the right types of data at volcanoes with forecasting potential; 2) collaborate with the scientific community to develop databases of remotely acquired observations of volcanic thermal, degassing, and deformation signals to facilitate change detection and assess how these changes are (or are not) related to eruption; and 3) improve usage of satellite observations by end users at volcano observatories that report to their respective governments. Currently, the group has developed time series plots for 48 Latin American volcanoes that incorporate variations in thermal, degassing, and deformation readings over time. These are compared against eruption timing and ground-based data provided by the Smithsonian Institute Global Volcanism Program. Distinct patterns in unrest and eruption are observed at different volcanoes, illustrating the difficulty in developing generalizations, but highlighting the power of remote sensing to better understand each volcano's behavior. To share these results with end users, the group is developing a communication tool that would allow researchers to share information relating to specific volcanoes or regions, although it is currently under development as we work to determine the clearest lines of communication.

  4. A randomized controlled trial of a Return-to-Work Coordinator model of care in a general hospital to facilitate return to work of injured workers.

    PubMed

    Tan, Heidi Siew Khoon; Yeo, Doreen Sai Ching; Giam, Joanna Yu Ting; Cheong, Florence Wai Fong; Chan, Kay Fei

    2016-04-07

    Return-to-work (RTW) programmes for injured workers have been prevalent in Western countries with established work injury management policies for decades. In recent years, more Asian countries have started to develop RTW programmes in the absence of work injury management policies. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of RTW programmes in Asia. Return-to-work coordination has been found to be an important facilitator in RTW programmes. This study seeks to determine the effectiveness of a Return-to-work coordinator (RTWC) model of care in facilitating early RTW for injured workers in Singapore. A randomized controlled trial was used. 160 injured workers in a general hospital were randomly allocated to either control (receive usual hospital standard care) or intervention (assigned a RTWC) group. The RTWC closely supported RTW arrangements and proactively liaised with employers and healthcare professionals on RTW solutions for the injured workers. At three months post injury, workers in the intervention group RTW 10 days earlier than the control group, with a higher proportion of workers in the intervention group returning to modified jobs. There were no significant differences in the quality of life measures between the two groups. The addition of a RTWC into the hospital model of care is effective in facilitating early RTW for injured workers. This could be a potential model of care for injured workers in Asian countries where work injury management policies are not yet established.

  5. Deaf individuals who work with computers present a high level of visual attention

    PubMed Central

    Ribeiro, Paula Vieira; Ribas, Valdenilson Ribeiro; Ribas, Renata de Melo Guerra; de Melo, Teresinha de Jesus Oliveira Guimarães; Marinho, Carlos Antonio de Sá; Silva, Kátia Karina do Monte; de Albuquerque, Elizabete Elias; Ribas, Valéria Ribeiro; de Lima, Renata Mirelly Silva; Santos, Tuthcha Sandrelle Botelho Tavares

    2011-01-01

    Some studies in the literature indicate that deaf individuals seem to develop a higher level of attention and concentration during the process of constructing of different ways of communicating. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of attention in individuals deaf from birth that worked with computers. Methods A total of 161 individuals in the 18-25 age group were assessed. Of these, 40 were congenitally deaf individuals that worked with computers, 42 were deaf individuals that did not work, did not know how to use nor used computers (Control 1), 39 individuals with normal hearing that did not work, did not know how to use computers nor used them (Control 2), and 40 individuals with normal hearing that worked with computers (Control 3). Results The group of subjects deaf from birth that worked with computers (IDWC) presented a higher level of focused attention, sustained attention, mental manipulation capacity and resistance to interference compared to the control groups. Conclusion This study highlights the relevance sensory to cognitive processing. PMID:29213734

  6. Assembly work in Indonesia and in Sweden--ergonomics, health and satisfaction.

    PubMed

    Waluyo, L; Ekberg, K; Eklund, J

    1996-02-01

    Work conditions in industrial production vary substantially between different cultures. In the present study the aims were to identify differences between Swedish and Indonesian assembly industry workers regarding work environment factors, health and job satisfaction, and to find associations between work environment factors, and the health measures. Data were collected by a questionnaire from 326 Swedish and 136 Indonesian assembly industry workers, interviews and from company documents. The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms was high in both groups. Stress and psychosomatic symptoms had higher prevalences in the Swedish group, which also rated their work conditions as worse in most respects. Work tasks were physically heavier in Indonesia, but less monotonous and with lower demands on productivity. The Indonesians were more satisfied with their jobs. Physical job demands were associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. Competence development was associated with increased job satisfaction. Conflicts and harassments at work were associated with stress and psychosomatic symptoms. Job pressure, especially deficient planning of the jobs was associated with lower job satisfaction, psychosomatic and stress symptoms in the Swedish group. Implications for job design in the two cultures are presented.

  7. Emerging treatments in neurogastroenterology: a multidisciplinary working group consensus statement on opioid-induced constipation

    PubMed Central

    CAMILLERI, M.; DROSSMAN, D. A.; BECKER, G.; WEBSTER, L. R.; DAVIES, A. N.; MAWE, G. M.

    2015-01-01

    Background Opioids are effective for acute and chronic pain conditions, but their use is associated with often difficult-to-manage constipation and other gastrointestinal (GI) effects due to effects on peripheral μ-opioid receptors in the gut. The mechanism of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) differs from that of functional constipation (FC), and OIC may not respond as well to most first-line treatments for FC. The impact of OIC on quality of life (QoL) induces some patients to decrease or stop their opioid therapy to relieve or avoid constipation. Purpose At a roundtable meeting on OIC, a working group developed a consensus definition for OIC diagnosis across disciplines and reviewed current OIC treatments and the potential of treatments in development. By consensus, OIC is defined as follows: ‘A change when initiating opioid therapy from baseline bowel habits that is characterized by any of the following: reduced bowel movement frequency, development or worsening of straining to pass bowel movements, a sense of incomplete rectal evacuation, or harder stool consistency’. The working group noted the prior validation of a patient response outcome and end point for clinical trials and recommended future efforts to create treatment guidelines and QoL measures specific for OIC. Details from the working group’s discussion and consensus recommendations for patient care and research are presented in this article. PMID:25164154

  8. Mindfulness in Motion (MIM): An Onsite Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI) for Chronically High Stress Work Environments to Increase Resiliency and Work Engagement.

    PubMed

    Klatt, Maryanna; Steinberg, Beth; Duchemin, Anne-Marie

    2015-07-01

    A pragmatic mindfulness intervention to benefit personnel working in chronically high-stress environments, delivered onsite during the workday, is timely and valuable to employee and employer alike. Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) is a Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI) offered as a modified, less time intensive method (compared to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), delivered onsite, during work, and intends to enable busy working adults to experience the benefits of mindfulness. It teaches mindful awareness principles, rehearses mindfulness as a group, emphasizes the use of gentle yoga stretches, and utilizes relaxing music in the background of both the group sessions and individual mindfulness practice. MIM is delivered in a group format, for 1 hr/week/8 weeks. CDs and a DVD are provided to facilitate individual practice. The yoga movement is emphasized in the protocol to facilitate a quieting of the mind. The music is included for participants to associate the relaxed state experienced in the group session with their individual practice. To determine the intervention feasibility/efficacy we conducted a randomized wait-list control group in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). ICUs represent a high-stress work environment where personnel experience chronic exposure to catastrophic situations as they care for seriously injured/ill patients. Despite high levels of work-related stress, few interventions have been developed and delivered onsite for such environments. The intervention is delivered on site in the ICU, during work hours, with participants receiving time release to attend sessions. The intervention is well received with 97% retention rate. Work engagement and resiliency increase significantly in the intervention group, compared to the wait-list control group, while participant respiration rates decrease significantly pre-post in 6/8 of the weekly sessions. Participants value institutional support, relaxing music, and the instructor as pivotal to program success. This provides evidence that MIM is feasible, well accepted, and can be effectively implemented in a chronically high-stress work environment.

  9. Mindfulness in Motion (MIM): An Onsite Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI) for Chronically High Stress Work Environments to Increase Resiliency and Work Engagement

    PubMed Central

    Klatt, Maryanna; Steinberg, Beth; Duchemin, Anne-Marie

    2015-01-01

    A pragmatic mindfulness intervention to benefit personnel working in chronically high-stress environments, delivered onsite during the workday, is timely and valuable to employee and employer alike. Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) is a Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI) offered as a modified, less time intensive method (compared to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), delivered onsite, during work, and intends to enable busy working adults to experience the benefits of mindfulness. It teaches mindful awareness principles, rehearses mindfulness as a group, emphasizes the use of gentle yoga stretches, and utilizes relaxing music in the background of both the group sessions and individual mindfulness practice. MIM is delivered in a group format, for 1 hr/week/8 weeks. CDs and a DVD are provided to facilitate individual practice. The yoga movement is emphasized in the protocol to facilitate a quieting of the mind. The music is included for participants to associate the relaxed state experienced in the group session with their individual practice. To determine the intervention feasibility/efficacy we conducted a randomized wait-list control group in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). ICUs represent a high-stress work environment where personnel experience chronic exposure to catastrophic situations as they care for seriously injured/ill patients. Despite high levels of work-related stress, few interventions have been developed and delivered onsite for such environments. The intervention is delivered on site in the ICU, during work hours, with participants receiving time release to attend sessions. The intervention is well received with 97% retention rate. Work engagement and resiliency increase significantly in the intervention group, compared to the wait-list control group, while participant respiration rates decrease significantly pre-post in 6/8 of the weekly sessions. Participants value institutional support, relaxing music, and the instructor as pivotal to program success. This provides evidence that MIM is feasible, well accepted, and can be effectively implemented in a chronically high-stress work environment. PMID:26168365

  10. Interprofessional Clinical Assignments: A Project in Nursing Education.

    PubMed

    Turner, Stephanie

    2015-01-01

    Education involving interprofessional activities helps to improve learning and the ability to work in an effective collaborative environment. In this project, 16 baccalaureate nursing students were given the opportunity to work with other members of the health care team to develop an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each group of professionals and the communication skills needed to provide quality and safe care to patients and to positively impact their motivation to work with members of other health professions. All the students in the group documented the successful completion of these objectives in their journals.

  11. Applying an Integrative Framework of Executive Function to Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment.

    PubMed

    Kapa, Leah L; Plante, Elena; Doubleday, Kevin

    2017-08-16

    The first goal of this research was to compare verbal and nonverbal executive function abilities between preschoolers with and without specific language impairment (SLI). The second goal was to assess the group differences on 4 executive function components in order to determine if the components may be hierarchically related as suggested within a developmental integrative framework of executive function. This study included 26 4- and 5-year-olds diagnosed with SLI and 26 typically developing age- and sex-matched peers. Participants were tested on verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention, working memory, inhibition, and shifting. The SLI group performed worse compared with typically developing children on both verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention and working memory, the verbal inhibition task, and the nonverbal shifting task. Comparisons of standardized group differences between executive function measures revealed a linear increase with the following order: working memory, inhibition, shifting, and sustained selective attention. The pattern of results suggests that preschoolers with SLI have deficits in executive functioning compared with typical peers, and deficits are not limited to verbal tasks. A significant linear relationship between group differences across executive function components supports the possibility of a hierarchical relationship between executive function skills.

  12. [Influence of the shift work on circadian-rhythms compare survey on health service employees and policemen].

    PubMed

    Santorek-Strumiłło, Edyta; Zawilska, Jolanta B; Misiak, Piotr; Jabłoński, Sławomir; Kordiak, Jacek; Brocki, Marian

    2012-01-01

    It has been estimating that about 20% working persons works in the shift system. It concerns health service employees and policemen among others. The shift work causes permanent conflict "of biological clock" with required working hours. The work in the night hours is less effective, it is held with greater expensive and triggering the increased tiredness.The aim of overtaken by the authors questionnaire survey amongst the population working in shifts, was to determining the influence of the shift work on the length and the quality of the dream and the tiredness and the sleepiness during day in comparison to group working only on the day shift. The survey was conducted in the group of employees of the Health Service (30 persons) and policemen (20 persons) working in shifts. Healthy volunteers working in the system of the daily work constituted the control group (30 persons). The examination consisted of questionnaire forms which were filled in anonymously, the duration of examining one person lasted 4 weeks. Age and sex of the examined and control group were similar. In the examined period of time the number of night shift was averaged 6. During holidays 47 persons had night changes. Average time of dream was approximately 7 hours, for those who was working only at daily shift. On the following day after the night shift examined slept additionally average about 3 hours. Those who didn't work in shifts slept average 7.5 hour/24. Clinically significant sleeplessness was developed: examined group--18 persons, control group--3 persons. Amongst respondents we measured level of sleepiness during night shift using carolain scale of the sleepiness. Increase of sleepiness and decrease of activity appeared between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m. In the process of the examination a measurement of appearing the indications of exaggerated sleepiness and tiredness was also conducted using the ATS scale. The frequency of appearing was two or even three times bigger in the examined group. In examined group most common was reduction of psychophysical activity and difficulty in maintaining opened eyes. We have noted most often reduction of psychophysical activity and the problem with concentrating the eyesight on the object in the examined group. 1. The shift work is connected with a substantial effect to the clinical insomnia. 2. Insufficiency of sleep is a frequent occurrence in those who works in shifts especially having above 6 night shift monthly and also having children below 7 years.

  13. Chest electrical impedance tomography examination, data analysis, terminology, clinical use and recommendations: consensus statement of the TRanslational EIT developmeNt stuDy group.

    PubMed

    Frerichs, Inéz; Amato, Marcelo B P; van Kaam, Anton H; Tingay, David G; Zhao, Zhanqi; Grychtol, Bartłomiej; Bodenstein, Marc; Gagnon, Hervé; Böhm, Stephan H; Teschner, Eckhard; Stenqvist, Ola; Mauri, Tommaso; Torsani, Vinicius; Camporota, Luigi; Schibler, Andreas; Wolf, Gerhard K; Gommers, Diederik; Leonhardt, Steffen; Adler, Andy

    2017-01-01

    Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has undergone 30 years of development. Functional chest examinations with this technology are considered clinically relevant, especially for monitoring regional lung ventilation in mechanically ventilated patients and for regional pulmonary function testing in patients with chronic lung diseases. As EIT becomes an established medical technology, it requires consensus examination, nomenclature, data analysis and interpretation schemes. Such consensus is needed to compare, understand and reproduce study findings from and among different research groups, to enable large clinical trials and, ultimately, routine clinical use. Recommendations of how EIT findings can be applied to generate diagnoses and impact clinical decision-making and therapy planning are required. This consensus paper was prepared by an international working group, collaborating on the clinical promotion of EIT called TRanslational EIT developmeNt stuDy group. It addresses the stated needs by providing (1) a new classification of core processes involved in chest EIT examinations and data analysis, (2) focus on clinical applications with structured reviews and outlooks (separately for adult and neonatal/paediatric patients), (3) a structured framework to categorise and understand the relationships among analysis approaches and their clinical roles, (4) consensus, unified terminology with clinical user-friendly definitions and explanations, (5) a review of all major work in thoracic EIT and (6) recommendations for future development (193 pages of online supplements systematically linked with the chief sections of the main document). We expect this information to be useful for clinicians and researchers working with EIT, as well as for industry producers of this technology. 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/.

  14. Analysis of major risk factors affecting those working in the agrarian sector (based on a sociological survey).

    PubMed

    Krekoten, Olena M; Dereziuk, Anatolii V; Ihnaschuk, Olena V; Holovchanska, Svitlana E

    Issues related to labour potential, its state and problems have consistently been a focus of attention for the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Its respective analysis shows that labour potential problems remain unresolved in many countries of the world. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), adverse working conditions are among major factors of occupational disease development in Europe and the reason for disabilities of economically active population during 2.5% of their lifetime. The aim of the present study is to identify and analyse major risk factors, which have a bearing on people working in agriculture in the course of exercising their occupation, with account of forms of ownership of agricultural enterprises. Carried out was a cross-sectional study involving a sociological survey of 412 respondents - those working in agriculture - who made up the primary group and the control group. The study revealed 21 risk factors, 9 of which were work-related. A modified elementary cybernetic model of studying impact efficiency was developed with the view of carrying out a structural analysis of the sample group and choosing relevant methodological approaches. It has been established that harmful factors related to working environment and one's lifestyle are decisive in the agrarian sector, particularly for workers of privately owned businesses. For one out of three respondents harmful working conditions manifested themselves as industrial noise (31.7±3.4), vibration (29.0±2.1) trunk bending and constrained working posture (36.6±3.4). The vast majority of agricultural workers (91.6±2.5) admitted they could not afford proper rest during their annual leave; male respondents abused alcohol (70.6±3.0) and smoking (41.4±2.0 per 100 workers). The research established the structure of risk factors, which is sequentially represented by the following groups: behavioral (smoking, drinking of alcohol, rest during annual leave, physical culture), working environment and work activities (occupation, work experience, safety measures, working environment, organization and management), socioeconomic (education, financial situation).

  15. Professional Development Initiative. Proposal for Action

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University (NJ1), 2004

    2004-01-01

    With the support of the Education Cabinet, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation launched the Professional Development Initiative in early 2004. The Initiative's Implementation Work Group focused on four key areas to enhance North Carolina's system of professional development for K-12 teachers. Those areas were: (1) Professional Development Online…

  16. The Emperor's New Repository

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chudnov, Daniel

    2008-01-01

    The author does not know the first thing about building digital repositories. Maybe that is a strange thing to say, given that he works in a repository development group now, worked on the original DSpace project years ago, and worked on a few repository research projects in between. Given how long he has been around people and projects aiming to…

  17. Service Learning in an Undergraduate Social Work Research Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Postlethwait, Ariana

    2012-01-01

    The current study examined student experiences (n = 111) in an undergraduate social work (BSW) research seminar in which a service learning (SL) project was the primary focus. Student groups of approximately six or seven worked with local agencies to develop a research plan for the agency. Students found the SL project to be a positive experience.…

  18. Children with Differing Developmental Trajectories of Prelinguistic Communication Skills: Language and Working Memory at Age 5

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Määttä, Sira; Laakso, Marja-Leena; Tolvanen, Asko; Ahonen, Timo; Aro, Tuija

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: In this article, the authors examine the developmental continuity from prelinguistic communication to kindergarten age in language and working memory capacity. Method: Following work outlining 6 groups of children with different trajectories of early communication development (ECD; Määttä, Laakso, Tolvanen, Ahonen, & Aro, 2012), the…

  19. Extending the Teacher Educator Role: Developing Tools for Working with School Mentors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Douglas, Alaster Scott

    2017-01-01

    This article considers the ways in which a group of university-based teacher educators work with school-based mentors (cooperating teachers). Owing to a number of changes in teacher education policy in England, feelings of marginalisation from the teacher educators are presented before exploring how they undertake their work with school mentors.…

  20. Teachers and Educational Psychologists Working Together: What Can We Learn?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doveston, Mary; Keenaghan, Marian

    2010-01-01

    During 2008-2009, the authors worked with a focus group of educational psychologists and teachers to develop resources to enable educational psychologists, tutors working in ITT and CPD and teachers to use an approach we call "Growing Talent for Inclusion" (GTI) in schools and other learning contexts. The aim of our approach is to promote more…

  1. The Importance and Benefits of Supervision in Youth Work Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jenkinson, Hilary

    2009-01-01

    This article explores the concept of supervision and its implementation within a youth work context. The article describes and explores a process of staff development facilitated by the author which involved providing supervision training to a group of youth work practitioners at Cork YMCA in Ireland and continuing to meet them on a monthly basis…

  2. Building Social Capital among Social Work Educators: A Strategy for Curriculum Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sugawara, Carmen G. Luca

    2009-01-01

    This article explores the role of human relations in the process of curriculum change in social work education. Social capital, the theoretical framework that underpins this research, explains how social resources are made available to social work faculty and groups for their own benefit. Using data from 88 surveys completed by social work…

  3. Ergonomic analysis of work activity for the purpose of developing training programs: the contribution of ergonomics to vocational didactics.

    PubMed

    Ouellet, Sylvie

    2012-01-01

    Questions related to job skills and the teaching situations that best promote skill development are investigated by specialists in various fields, notably among them, ergonomists. This paper presents the findings of an ergonomic intervention study whose aim was to develop a meat-deboning training program by taking into account both the training content to be constructed and the working conditions that might facilitate or hinder skill development. One-on-one interviews and group discussions, on-the-job and videotape playback observations, as well as self-confrontation interviews were carried out. Activity analysis revealed major variability in work methods. The reasoning behind the experienced workers' actions and the experiential job knowledge they had developed were brought to light and served to develop the training content. The determining factors in the choice of work methods were identified, allowing adjustments to be made to the working conditions that might hinder skill development. The ergonomic process that implied taking working conditions into account in our study may make a significant contribution to vocational didactics, which is based on the cognitive analysis of work for the purpose of improving the effectiveness of job-skills training.

  4. 'To quarterback behind the scenes, third-party efforts': the tobacco industry and the Tea Party.

    PubMed

    Fallin, Amanda; Grana, Rachel; Glantz, Stanton A

    2014-07-01

    The Tea Party, which gained prominence in the USA in 2009, advocates limited government and low taxes. Tea Party organisations, particularly Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, oppose smoke-free laws and tobacco taxes. We used the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, the Wayback Machine, Google, LexisNexis, the Center for Media and Democracy and the Center for Responsive Politics (opensecrets.org) to examine the tobacco companies' connections to the Tea Party. Starting in the 1980s, tobacco companies worked to create the appearance of broad opposition to tobacco control policies by attempting to create a grassroots smokers' rights movement. Simultaneously, they funded and worked through third-party groups, such as Citizens for a Sound Economy, the predecessor of AFP and FreedomWorks, to accomplish their economic and political agenda. There has been continuity of some key players, strategies and messages from these groups to Tea Party organisations. As of 2012, the Tea Party was beginning to spread internationally. Rather than being a purely grassroots movement that spontaneously developed in 2009, the Tea Party has developed over time, in part through decades of work by the tobacco industry and other corporate interests. It is important for tobacco control advocates in the USA and internationally, to anticipate and counter Tea Party opposition to tobacco control policies and ensure that policymakers, the media and the public understand the longstanding connection between the tobacco industry, the Tea Party and its associated organisations. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  5. Software Engineering Improvement Activities/Plan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2003-01-01

    bd Systems personnel accomplished the technical responsibilities for this reporting period, as planned. A close working relationship was maintained with personnel of the MSFC Avionics Department Software Group (ED14). Work accomplishments included development, evaluation, and enhancement of a software cost model, performing literature search and evaluation of software tools available for code analysis and requirements analysis, and participating in other relevant software engineering activities. Monthly reports were submitted. This support was provided to the Flight Software Group/ED 1 4 in accomplishing the software engineering improvement engineering activities of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Software Engineering Improvement Plan.

  6. Developments in Neuropsychological and Neurophysiological Assessment: An Overview of Progress and Products of the JWGD3 (Joint Working Group on Drug Dependent Degradation) Level I Neuropsychology Task Area Group

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-01-01

    995AB.081 IDA303502 11. TITLE (Indclude Security Classafication) Developments in Neuropsychological and Neurophysiological Assessment: An overview of...progress and products of the JWGD3 Level I Neuropsychology Task Area Group 12. PERSONAL AU1TOR(S) Reeves, D.L.; Taube, S.L. 13a. TYPE OF REPORT I13b...Phone: (301) 588-0058 7 Developments in Neuropsychological and Neurophysiological Assessment An Overview of Progress and Products of the JWGD3 Level I

  7. Considerations Taken in Developing the Frequency Assignment Guidelines for Communications in the Mars Region Provided in SFCG Recommendation 22-1, (SFCG Action Item No. 23/10)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Charles C.; Peng, Ted; Sue, Miles K.

    2004-01-01

    In the 23'd Annual SFCG meeting in San Diego, CA, the SFCG created SFCG Action Item No. 23/10 to provide a readable summary of the work done by the Mars Interim Working Group (MIWG). The SFCG created the MIWG to develop a frequency plan for future Mars missions. The working group has produced a number of documents resulting in a recommendation, SFCG Rec 22-1 [1], titled Frequency Assignment Guidelines for Communications in Mars Region, including a frequency plan for the Mars Region. This document is prepared in response to the SFCG Action Item to provide an overview of the considerations taken when selecting the frequencies and to point out where detailed information of the considerations can be found.

  8. Distance Education and Open Learning in Sub-Saharan Africa: Criteria and Conditions for Quality and Critical Success Factor-- Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning. A Survey of Policy and Practice. Final Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Commonwealth of Learning, 2004

    2004-01-01

    Both of these "Surveys of policy and practice" were conducted on behalf of COL by the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) as part of COL's partnership agreement with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning. The first report identifies…

  9. Industrial Simulation Games for Executive Development: Review of the Literature and Implications for Military Applications

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-12-01

    the effects of two formal training methods in the retail sales arena was reported by Ivancevich and Smith (1981). The methods involved (a) role...now established and that his work has extended the theory. Oligopoly theory also was the focus of the work reported by Lyons (1982). Oligopoly refers...benefit for the group while providing a fair share for each group member. Lyons described a computer-based game designed primarily for management

  10. Going home from hospital -- an appreciative inquiry study.

    PubMed

    Reed, Jan; Pearson, Pauline; Douglas, Barbara; Swinburne, Stella; Wilding, Helen

    2002-01-01

    This paper reports on a project that involved a number of agencies and groups, including older people, working together to examine and develop practice in an area of shared concern -- going home from hospital. The project was stimulated by a 'whole-system event', and was based on appreciative inquiry (AI) methodology, which has roots in both action research and organisational development. In AI, the research is directed towards appreciating what it is about the social world that is positive, and exploring this. The study was planned around three workshops to streamline data collection and analysis. Group members were also required to carry out some activities between workshops. Invitations were sent out to groups and individuals previously identified as involved or interested in the discharge process across one health district (n = 71). Workshop one discussed the planned research schedule, and introduced the basic concepts of AI. This workshop also took participants through the interview process. Each participant was asked to undertake two interviews. Thirty-five individual interviews and one focus group were completed. At workshop two, interview data were analysed by the group using the nominal group technique. Subsequent group discussion produced 'provocative propositions'. At the third workshop, provocative propositions were developed into action plans. This paper gives an overview of the study, and explores some of the issues involved when working with service users and providers as co-researchers.

  11. Working on the Edge: Stresses and Rewards of Work in a Front-line Mental Health Service.

    PubMed

    Bowden, Gillian Elaine; Smith, Joanna Christina Elizabeth; Parker, Pamela Anne; Boxall, Matthew James Christian

    2015-01-01

    This study sought to investigate frontline mental health professionals' perceptions of work stress and the rewards and demands associated with their work. Locally known as 'linkworkers', and from a variety of professional backgrounds, these staff worked mainly in general practice settings. Individual interviews were conducted with nine linkworkers, and the interview transcripts were analysed thematically. The main themes identified were the following: demands, coping, individual resilience, ownership and creativity, boundaries, secure base and service philosophy and ethos. Themes, categories and sub categories were presented and discussed with seven of the linkworkers in two focus groups. Focus group transcripts were analysed, and additional themes of recognizing limitations, disillusionment and the dilemma of setting boundaries were identified. These themes overlapped with those previously identified but were associated with service changes over time. The themes of ownership and creativity and service philosophy and ethos are significant, not only in relation to their impact on individual linkworkers but also in terms of their relevance for establishing and maintaining morale, engagement and a reflective culture within a service. The relevance of this work to accessible and newly developing mental health services is considered. Supporting and listening to staff and allowing time for informal contact are valued by staff and enable the provision of empathic, compassionate services. Without space for reflection, staff groups may be vulnerable to the development and effects of unhelpful organizational defences, which reduce the effectiveness, quality and efficiency of caring services and increase perceived workplace stress. Services which foster staff engagement, ownership and creativity and employ "bottom up" approaches to service development are valued by staff and appear to increase staff morale and capacity to cope adaptively to change. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. A proposed application programming interface for a physical volume repository

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Merritt; Williams, Joel; Wrenn, Richard

    1996-01-01

    The IEEE Storage System Standards Working Group (SSSWG) has developed the Reference Model for Open Storage Systems Interconnection, Mass Storage System Reference Model Version 5. This document, provides the framework for a series of standards for application and user interfaces to open storage systems. More recently, the SSSWG has been developing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for the individual components defined by the model. The API for the Physical Volume Repository is the most fully developed, but work is being done on APIs for the Physical Volume Library and for the Mover also. The SSSWG meets every other month, and meetings are open to all interested parties. The Physical Volume Repository (PVR) is responsible for managing the storage of removable media cartridges and for mounting and dismounting these cartridges onto drives. This document describes a model which defines a Physical Volume Repository, and gives a brief summary of the Application Programming Interface (API) which the IEEE Storage Systems Standards Working Group (SSSWG) is proposing as the standard interface for the PVR.

  13. Are central institutional review boards the solution? The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group's report on optimizing the IRB process.

    PubMed

    Mascette, Alice M; Bernard, Gordon R; Dimichele, Donna; Goldner, Jesse A; Harrington, Robert; Harris, Paul A; Leeds, Hilary S; Pearson, Thomas A; Ramsey, Bonnie; Wagner, Todd H

    2012-12-01

    The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health convened a working group in June 2011 to examine alternative institutional review board (IRB) models. The working group was held in response to proposed changes in the regulations for government-supported research and the proliferation of multicenter clinical trials where multiple individual reviews may be inefficient. Group members included experts in heart, lung, and blood research, research oversight, bioethics, health economics, regulations, and information technology (IT). The group discussed alternative IRB models, ethical concerns, metrics for evaluating IRBs, IT needs, and economic considerations. Participants noted research gaps in IRB best practices and in metrics. The group arrived at recommendations for process changes, such as defining specific IRB performance requirements in funding announcements, requiring funded researchers to use more efficient alternative IRB models, and developing IT systems to facilitate information sharing and collaboration among IRBs. Despite the success of the National Cancer Institute's central IRB (CIRB), the working group, concerned about the creation costs and unknown cost-efficiency of a new CIRB, and about the risk of shifting the burden of dealing with multiple IRBs from sponsors to research institutions, did not recommend the creation of an NHLBI-funded CIRB.

  14. Center Planning and Development Student Engineer at KSC

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jenkins, Kenneth T., Jr.

    2015-01-01

    This summer I was the Student Trainee (Engineering) Pathways Intern (co-op) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the Center Planning & Development (CPD) Directorate. CPD works with commercial companies who are interested in using KSC's unique capabilities for spaceflight, spacecraft processing, ground systems and Research & Development (R&D) projects that fall in line with NASA's Mission and Vision. CPD is divided into three (3) groups: (1) AD-A, which works on the Master Planning for the center, (2) AD-B (where I am), which works on project control, management and integration, and (3) AD-C, which works on partnership development. CPD's main goal is to make KSC the world's preeminent multi-user spaceport and maintain the center as a leader in space exploration. CPD is a very diverse group of employees having a wide knowledge of not only the Space Shuttle, but also Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV). The director of CPD, Scott Colloredo, is on the advisory board for Commercial Space Operations (CSO) and has a degree from ERAU. I worked on a number of different tasks for AD-B, as well as CPD, that includes, but not limited to: reviewing and reissuing engineering documents, weekly notes for CPD and senior management, engineering familiarizations with facilities at KSC, leading a tour for the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Career Services office, and working on actual agreements/proposals that will be used in the partnership process with multiple partners, along with other projects. Most of the work I have done is sensitive information and cannot be disclosed.

  15. Boundary work for sustainable development: Natural resource management at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

    PubMed

    Clark, William C; Tomich, Thomas P; van Noordwijk, Meine; Guston, David; Catacutan, Delia; Dickson, Nancy M; McNie, Elizabeth

    2016-04-26

    Previous research on the determinants of effectiveness in knowledge systems seeking to support sustainable development has highlighted the importance of "boundary work" through which research communities organize their relations with new science, other sources of knowledge, and the worlds of action and policymaking. A growing body of scholarship postulates specific attributes of boundary work that promote used and useful research. These propositions, however, are largely based on the experience of a few industrialized countries. We report here on an effort to evaluate their relevance for efforts to harness science in support of sustainability in the developing world. We carried out a multicountry comparative analysis of natural resource management programs conducted under the auspices of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. We discovered six distinctive kinds of boundary work contributing to the successes of those programs-a greater variety than has been documented in previous studies. We argue that these different kinds of boundary work can be understood as a dual response to the different uses for which the results of specific research programs are intended, and the different sources of knowledge drawn on by those programs. We show that these distinctive kinds of boundary work require distinctive strategies to organize them effectively. Especially important are arrangements regarding participation of stakeholders, accountability in governance, and the use of "boundary objects." We conclude that improving the ability of research programs to produce useful knowledge for sustainable development will require both greater and differentiated support for multiple forms of boundary work.

  16. The effect of deep shoulder infections on patient outcomes after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: a retrospective comparative study.

    PubMed

    Atesok, Kivanc; MacDonald, Peter; Leiter, Jeff; McRae, Sheila; Singh, Mandip; Stranges, Greg; Old, Jason

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of deep shoulder infections after RCR on patient outcomes. A retrospective chart review was conducted involving all patients with deep shoulder infections after arthroscopic RCR (study group). Another group of patients who were matched with the study group by age, gender and rotator cuff tear size, and did not develop deep shoulder infections after arthroscopic RCR were randomly identified (control group). The two groups were compared in terms of time to start physiotherapy, shoulder function, and delay in return to work. There were 10 patients in each group. The mean time to start physiotherapy after surgery was 145.3 (SD=158.8) days for the study group and 40.0 (SD=13.7) days for the control group (p=.051). The average forward elevation of the operated shoulder was 133 (SD=33.4) degrees for the study group, and 172 (SD=12.0) degrees for the control group (p=0.003). The average time to return to work at preoperative level was 5.6 months for the study group and 3 months for the control group. Deep shoulder infections after RCR significantly impedes time to start physiotherapy, shoulder function, and patients' ability to return to work. III b [retrospective comparative (case-control) study].

  17. [Goal analysis and goal operationalisation: a group intervention for the enhancement of work motivation].

    PubMed

    Hanna, Rana; Fiedler, Rolf G; Dietrich, Hilke; Greitemann, Bernhard; Heuft, Gereon

    2010-08-01

    Work motivation, mental well-being and competencies of self-regulation are linked to successful job-related reintegration after rehabilitation. Based on the Diagnostical Instrument to assess Work motivation (Diagnostikinstrument für Arbeitsmotivation DIAMO) and existing training programs, a new group intervention, the goal analysis and goal operationalization, was developed and evaluated. The objective of this intervention, designed for participants of a rehabilitation program was to enhance work motivation and volitional control processes (self-regulation and self-control), to encourage job-related goal orientation and to thereby increase the probability of goal achievement. In a quasi-experimental longitudinal design 207 patients (111 experimental group/96 control group) were tested. The experimental group took part in the job-related training (ZAZO) in addition to the usual rehabilitation. The evaluation was conducted through various scales at t0 (beginning) and t1 (end of the training). Scales for the measurement of work motivation, mental well-being, status of rehabilitation, competencies of self-regulation and the subjective prognosis of the ability to work were used. As direct effects of the training an enhancement of work motivation and of an improved subjective prognosis of the ability to work were expected. Accordingly, a positive influence on the subjective well-being as indirect effects, were anticipated in the long run, the experimental group should also show an enhanced job-related reintegration. Participants of the experimental group showed significantly higher values on particular scales of the Diagnostical Instrument of Work motivation as opposed to the control group (curiosity motive, attitudes to work and contact motive). Most notably, significant interactional effects could be found on the scale for the subjective prognosis of the ability to work, which is a highly reliable instrument and important predictor for prospective job-related reintegration. The training ZAZO led to an enhancement of work motivation and subjective prognosis of the ability to work, both having positive effects on job-related orientation. First evaluation results of the training ZAZO document the positive effect on both work motivation and subjective prognosis of the ability to work. The results of the evaluation present the good acceptance of the participants (93.3% = rather content to very content). The implementation of the group intervention in existing programs of rehabilitation can benefit job-related reintegration and will thereby contribute to lower costs for pension regulatory authorities in the long run. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart - New York.

  18. The Goal of the IAU/IAG Joint Working Group on the Theory of Earth Rotation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ferrandiz, J. M.; Gross, R. S.

    2013-01-01

    In 2012 the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) initiated a process to establish a Joint Working Group (JWG) on theory of Earth rotation with the purpose of promoting the development of improved theories of the Earth rotation which reach the accuracy required to meet the needs of the near future as recommended by, e.g. GGOS, the Global Geodetic Observing System of the IAG. The JWG was approved by both organizations in April 2013 with the chairs being the two authors of this paper. Its structure comprises three Sub Working Groups (SWGs) addressing Precession/Nutation, Polar Motion and UT1, the Numerical Solutions and Validation, respectively. The SWGs should work in parallel for the sake of efficiency, but should keep consistency as an overall goal. This paper offers a view of the objectives and scope of the JWG and reports about its initial activities and plans.

  19. Sewing machines and bank loans, farming and family planning.

    PubMed

    Sai, F A; Nsarkoh, J D

    1980-03-01

    Half of a $10,000 grant was given by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to finance the rural development project activities of Danfa, a village of about 835 people in Ghana. In this community the women are hard working but doubly disadvantaged. Along with a high illiteracy rate, the women are limited by inadequate income due to underemployment, under productivity, unfavorable farming conditions, and a lack of resources. Large families, frequent pregnancies, poor mother and child health, and high infant mortality all make matters worse for both the rural farm wife and her family. The project began with a nucleus of women that soon grew to between 24-30. Members soon formed small groups according to their occupational interests. The women grasped the self-help idea immediately. Once or twice a month there were demonstrations and the group worked together in such activities as making soap and pomade, preparing meals, and sewing. Meetings generally ended with a general group brainstorming and then members gathered in smaller groups to review their activities and plan for the future. During the 1st year of the project the men in the group rarely attended meetings. The group gave priority attention to their community's urgent need for working capital. 15 women farmers who met the criteria determined by the group received loans in the 1st round; only 8 satisfied the criteria in the 2nd round. At the beginning of the small loans scheme, the group decided to seek bigger loans from the bank if members proved credit worthy. This requirement was satisfied, and the group began negotiations for a loan with the Agricultural Development Bank. The group received the total group loan. The Ghana Home Science Association considers the project to be successful in several respects. Team spirit has developed the group, and the women play important and respected roles. Family planning problems are regularly presented for discussion, but it is difficult to correlate these ideas with practice. The ability of members to discuss these problems comfortably is an indication of their acceptance of family planning as an important topic in their lives.

  20. Social Maturation: Work Group Proceedings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Resnick, Michael D.; And Others

    1985-01-01

    Each of the seven factors that affect adolescent social development is presented together with a description of potentially important research, service, and policy initiatives within each topic area. The factors are self-esteem, peer group, parenting, family, services, enforced dependency, and positive sexual socialization. (CT)

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