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Go Back to the Beginning: Career Development and the Challenges of Transitioning From the Military to Civilian Employment
Get PDFThis chapter examines the transition challenges facing military personnel to
moving to civilian employment, a major issue for nations like the USA that have
large armed forces. For such personnel, they seek to establish a career after a period
of service and often without the credentials required for existing or future job
vacancies. This chapter discusses the challenges of career transition from military
to civilian employment, largely in the context of the US-based literature. The
chapter proceeds to outline the range of obstacles to transition and then considers
remedial measures to support transition ranging from pre transition to post transition
support programs
A randomised controlled trial of a Group psychological intervention to increase locus of control for alcohol consumption among Alcohol‐misusing Short‐term (male) Prisoners (GASP)
Get PDFBackground and aim
Reducing alcohol misuse by male prisoners is an important global issue. Control of drinking behaviour could be a useful target for intervention in this population and locus of control could be a causal factor in this. We aimed to assess the effect of a clinical psychologist‐facilitated group intervention on male prisoners’ locus of control of drinking behaviour.
Design
A two‐arm, single‐site, open, randomised controlled trial.
Setting
A category B, local training prison in South Wales, housing nearly 800 mostly sentenced men.
Participants
Prisoners serving under two years who met inclusion criteria for pre‐imprisonment alcohol misuse, alone or with drug misuse. A total of 119 were allocated to the intervention arm and 119 to the control arm; 104 and 87 respectively completed the post‐randomisation baseline interview and 68 and 60 completed a second interview about 4 weeks later, respectively after intervention or treatment as usual (TAU) alone.
Intervention
Nine clinical psychologist‐facilitated groups in the prison over three weeks. Range of participants per session was 1‐7, with 3‐5 most usual.
Measures
The primary outcome was Locus of Control of Behaviour (LCB); secondary outcomes included mental state generally (Comprehensive Psychiatric Rating Scale/CPRS) and specifically (Beck Depression Inventory/BDI). An integral process evaluation was conducted.
Findings
LCB scores decreased during the study, but without significant intervention effect (‐1.7 (95% CI ‐5.2 to 1.8), p=0.334). Change among completers in the control group was from a mean score of 37.4 (standard deviation [SD] 10.0) to 33.7 (SD 11.7) and in the intervention group from 37.4 (11.6) to 31.9 (11.8). Secondary outcomes, including change in mental state, did not differ between arms, but 686 (64%) sessions were lost, most because of ‘prison issues’.
Conclusions
A clinical psychologist‐facilitated group intervention did not have a statistically significant effect on sense of control of drinking behaviour among men with pre‐imprisonment alcohol misuse serving under two years in a South Wales prison. The study proved coterminous, however, with 40% prison staff cuts which seem likely to have contributed to the high loss of group sessions and possibly overwhelmed any treatment effect. Intervention completion failures, previously cited as harmful, had no effect here, so the trial should be repeated when prison climate improves
New data envelopment analysis models for assessing sustainability Part 2: A static data envelopment analysis approach
Get PDFSustainability implies business resilience over time through robust economic, social and environmental systems. Sustainable business practices lead to the creation of economic value, healthy ecosystems and strong communities. Sustainable business practices are fostered through engagement with stakeholders, effective environmental management systems and good governance, all underpinned by effective measurement and evaluation (Shabanpour, Yousefi, & Farzipoor Saen, 2017).
Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a technique, which helps decision makers to assess the efficiency of decision making units (DMUs) (Ahmady, Azadi, Sadeghi, & Farzipoor Saen, 2013; Charnes, Cooper, & Rhodes, 1978). Recently, new DEA models have been developed to assess sustainability issues. However, DEA research into sustainability is sparse and there is a need for greater focus on this important topic. In this special issue, ground‐breaking research into new DEA models to assess sustainability of DMUs is presented. Such research will assist decision makers to manage organizations with a focus on sustainability.
The special issue also provides an opportunity for practitioners to develop and increase understanding of DEA models in sustainability evaluation. For maximum utility, authors should not only develop new DEA models but also show efficacy of real‐world applications. The responses to the call for new DEA models and applications are presented in the following five accepted articles published in Part 2 of this special edition. In the next section, we summarize the main contributions of these articles
The Kinematic and Kinetic Development of Sprinting and Countermovement Jump Performance in Boys
Get PDFBackground: The aim of the study was to examine the kinematics and kinetics of sprint running and countermovement jump performance between the ages of 8 to 9, and 11 to 12 year old boys in order to understand the developmental plateau in performance. Methods: 18 physically active boys (Age: 10.1±1.6), in an under 9 years old (U9) and an under 12 years old (U12) group performed 15 m sprints and countermovement jumps. A 3D motion analysis system (200 Hz), synchronized with four force platforms (1000Hz), was used to collect kinematic and kinetic data during the first stance phase of the sprint run and the countermovement jump. Results: The U12 group had a significantly greater height (U9: 1.364±0.064 m; U12: 1.548±0.046 mm), larger mass (U9: 30.9±3.5 kg; U12: 43.9±5.0 kg), superior sprint performance over 0-5 m (U9: 1.31±0.007 seconds; U12: 1.23±0.009 seconds) and 0-15 m (U9: 3.20±0.17 seconds; U12: 3.01±0.20 seconds), and increased jump height (U9: 0.17±0.06 m; U12: 0.24±0.10 m) than the under 9 group. During the first stance phase of the sprint the U12 group had a significantly greater vertical (U9: 0.22±0.02 BW/s; U12: 0.25±0.03 BW.s) and horizontal impulse (U9: 0.07±0.02 BW/s; U12: 0.09±0.03 BW.s) during than the U9 group. When performing a countermovement jump the U12 group had a significantly greater mean average eccentric force (U9: 407.3±55.0 N; U12: 542.2±65.1 N) and mean average concentric force (U9: 495.8±41.3 N; U12: 684.0±62.1 N). Joint kinematics for the countermovement jump were significantly different between age groups for the ankle range of motion (U9: 80.6±17.4 º; U12: 64.1±9 º) and knee minimum joint angle (U9: -5.7±3.9 º; U12: 0.0±4.4 º). Conclusion: The study demonstrates for the first time that the development of physically active boys between the ages of 8-9 to 11-12 years increased the ground reaction forces and impulses during sprint running and countermovement jumps, but that sprint running technique had not developed during this period. Furthermore, countermovement jump technique was still emerging at the age of 8-9 years old. Practitioners need to implement on-going fine-grained sprint running and CMJ technique sessions to ensure that the increased force producing capabilities that come with age are appropriately utilized
Does Teaching Your Native Language Abroad Increase L1 Attrition of Speech? The Case of Spaniards in the United Kingdom
Get PDFThe present study examines the perceived L1 accent of two groups of native Spaniards inthe United Kingdom, Spanish teachers, and non-teachers, alongside monolingual controls in Spain.While the bilingual groups were carefully matched on a range of background variables, the teachersused Spanish significantly more at work where they constantly need to co-activate it alongsideEnglish. This allowed us to test the relative effect of reduced L1 use and dual language activation infirst language attrition directly. To obtain global accentedness ratings, monolingual native Spanishlisteners living in Spain participated in an online perception experiment in which they rated shortspeech samples extracted from a picture-based narrative produced by each speaker in terms of theirperceived nativeness, and indicated which features they associated with non-nativeness. The resultsrevealed significantly greater foreign-accent ratings for teachers than non-teachers and monolinguals,but no difference between the latter two. Non-native speech was associated with a range of segmentaland suprasegmental features. These results suggest that language teachers who teach their L1 in anL2-speaking environment may be particularly prone to L1 attrition since they need to co-activateboth their languages in professional settings and are regularly exposed to non-native speech fromL2 learners
Measurement reliability and precision of anthropometric measures for the estimation of whole body density in professional football players
Get PDFIntroduction: It is not uncommon to encounter measurement reliability issues, yet when they are required to develop practical
calibration models to estimate whole body density the reliability of anthropometric measures is imperative.
Materials and Methods: Data was gathered from n=206 male professional footballers ( ±s; age = 24.1±5.4 years, body mass =
78.8±8.4 kg and stretched stature = 180.1±7.0 cm). Reliability of n=28 anthropometric variables (skinfolds, girths, breadths, depths,
widths, residual lung volume, air displacement plethysmography and hydrostatic weighing) was investigated by applying Technical
Error of Measurement (TEM%) and the Limits of Agreement (LoA) method.
Results: TEM% indicated a range of 6.5-1.0% and 3.8-0.6% and the study’s a priori criterion was set at ±3.8% for LoA and were
statistically significant (P < 0.001). The contentious measurements of the iliac crest, supraspinale and anterior thigh skinfold, chest
and hip girth and biiliocristal breadth indicated z scores values for R2 between 0.006-0.022% and exhibited significant bias (P=<
0.05) and possible heteroscedasticity issues with highest r values of 0.611 and R2
(%) coefficients of 37.3%.
Discussion: Test-retest values demonstrated agreement and reliability to be of practical use with this population
Kinematics of assisted and unassisted plyometric training of vertical jumping and rebounding in youth male football players –A six-week training study
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to compare the kinematics of assisted and unassisted plyometric training of vertical jumping and rebounding activities following a six-week training intervention. 13 youth males from a professional football academy completed six weeks of either unassisted (n = 6) or band-assisted (n = 7) plyometric training sessions twice a week during their competitive season. Pre- and post-assessments of counter-movement jump (CMJ) height, 50 cm drop-jump (DJ50) ground contact time (GCT), jump height and reactive strength index (RSI), and submaximal-hopping (SMH) GCT, jump height and RSI were compared. Pre- and post-assessment ankle angle at touch-down (TD), peak flexion (PF) and mid-flight (MF) were also analysed for the submaximal-hop test only. Following training, significant main effects of time were observed for CMJ height, DJ50 GCT and MF ankle angle (p < 0.05) and a significant effect of group was observed for DJ50 RSI (p < 0.05). These results suggest that both unassisted and assisted plyometric training may be useful for enhancing the kinematics and technical performance of plyometric activities in a youth male football population
Improving HEVC Coding Efficiency Using Virtual Long-Term Reference Pictures
Get PDFInter-frame prediction in HEVC uses two types of reference pictures: short-term and long-term. Out of these long-term reference (LTR) pictures enable exploiting correlation among frames with extended temporal distances. In addition, LTR pictures improve the inter-frame prediction where video scenes are repeated such as in TV-series episodes, news broad-casts and movies. In this context, this paper proposes an algorithm to calculate LTR pictures using artificially generated virtual reference frames for static-camera scenes. The experimental results demonstrate an average coding improvement of2.34%in terms of Bjøntegaard Delta Bit Rate(BDBR), when compared with the HEVC reference encoder HM16.8
A Scoping Review on the Accuracy of Fit of Removable Partial Dentures in a Developing Digital Context
Get PDFPurpose: The aim of this paper is to evaluate studies on the quality of fit of alloy removable-partial-dentures (RPDs) produced by computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and rapid prototyping (RP) technology. This paper offers a comprehensive scoping review of various methods of assessing the quality of fit of RPDs in the context of a developing digital approach to manufacturing and assessment.
Methodology/Approach: A search was made using MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct to identify the studies of the accuracy of fit of RPDs.
Findings: Optical and physical examination of dentures “in situ” on the model or in the patient’s oral cavity were the most commonly used methods for the assessment of fit of RPDs. Eighteen of the included studies assessed the internal fit between RPDs and oral tissues or models using either polyvinyl silicone materials as filler, calipers, photographs, and microscopes or a combination of these. Two studies used visual assessment. Most studies reported that the fit of RPDs ranged from satisfactory to excellent. However, many of these assessments seemed somewhat subjective and flawed with regard to assessing indentations of the framework into a model or distortion. Two papers used a new method of computer-based superimposition which included a color map of discrepancies to assess the fit of the machine-produced RPDs offering possibilities to quantify the assessment of fit, perhaps leading to a more objective assessment. Despite the limited number of clinical trials, the available evidence was thought to reinforce the claim that the fit of RPDs fabricated digitally was acceptable.
Conclusion: The recent introduction of color maps to compare the differences between the fitting surface and the model is promising. However, a new method for displaying discrepancies shown by color maps is introduced, which could lead to a more quantitative assessment
Perceptions of the New Role of the Research Champion in Developing a New ITE Partnership: Challenges and Opportunities for Schools and Universities
Get PDFAfter a process of competitive tendering for the provision of initial teacher education in Wales, there is an opportunity to re-examine the relationship between schools and universities. With the growing importance of research for both student and serving teachers, the Cardiff Partnership developed a model where a school-based 'Research Champion' (RC) would be an integral part of the support for capacity building and developing excellence. Although this model has previously been used in different forms at Oxford and Manchester Universities, the role was new to schools in the Cardiff Partnership. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted with a representative sample of RCs in primary and secondary schools and university staff to reflect on the challenges and opportunities in the early stages in developing this unique role in the context of an evolving education context in Wales. This study uses data from these interviews to establish key ideas around the emerging role of the RC, the shift in working relationships between schools and universities and what is needed to bridge the gap between research and practice. Interviews were transcribed and, after open-ended thematic analysis, opportunities and challenges are reported. These themes include: bridging the gap between educational research and classroom practitioners; types of knowledge drawn upon by teachers; changes in role and identity. Suggestions for further research monitoring the ongoing development of the role are suggested