3,348 research outputs found
Combining social network analysis and the NATO Approach Space to define agility. Topic 2: networks and networking
No full textThis paper takes the NATO SAS-050 Approach Space, a widely accepted model of command and control, and gives each of its primary axes a quantitative measure using social network analysis. This means that the actual point in the approach space adopted by real-life command and control organizations can be plotted along with the way in which that point varies over time and function. Part 1 of the paper presents the rationale behind this innovation and how it was subject to verification using theoretical data. Part 2 shows how the enhanced approach space was put to use in the context of a large scale military command post exercise. Agility is represented by the number of distinct areas in the approach space that the organization was able to occupy and there was a marked disparity between where the organization thought it should be and where it actually was, furthermore, agility varied across function. The humans in this particular scenario bestowed upon the organization the levels of agility that were observed, thus the findings are properly considered from a socio-technical perspective
Changing climate drives divergent and nonlinear shifts in flowering phenology across elevations
No full textUsing a 33-year-long dataset spanning a 1267-meter semi-arid elevational gradient in the southwestern United States, we test whether flowering phenology diverged among subpopulations within species and among five communities comprising 590 species. Applying circular statistics to test for changes in year-round flowering, we show flowering has become earlier for all communities except at the highest elevations. However, flowering times shifted at different rates across elevations likely due to elevation-specific changes in temperature and precipitation, indicating diverging phenologies of neighboring communities. Subpopulations of individual species also diverged at mid-elevation but converged in phenology at high elevation.
phenology_data: Data on flowering phenology of 590 taxa collected by C. David Bertelsen over 33 years (1984-2016). A total 169,030 observations were recorded during 1,639 surveys. Data were collected along an 8.05-km trail in Finger Rock Canyon ascending from 945-2212 m, to Mt. Kimball in the Santa Catalina Mountains of Arizona, USA. The trail was partitioned into five elevation bands with distinct flowering assemblages (communities) during the growing seasons: 1) 945-1079 m, 2) 1079-1372 m, 3) 1372-1671 m, 4) 1671-1939 m, and 5) 1939-2212 m. Every species seen in anthesis (angiosperms) or releasing pollen (gymnosperms), together referred to as “flowering,” was recorded for each community along each 1.6-km-long trail segment on every survey.
temperature_precipitation_data: Temperature and precipitation data for three locations within Finger Rock Canyon in the Santa Catalina Mountains of Arizona, USA. The 1930-2016 Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) data was downloaded from the PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, (http://www.prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/), created October 25, 2017. The gauge data was collected by C. David Bertelsen
Contributors to the December Issue/Notes
No full textNotes by Warren A. Deahl, W. J. Rafferty, Timothy M. Green, Bernard F. Grainey, and Jerome Gold
Impact of organisation and management factors on infection control in hospitals: a scoping review
No full textThis scoping review sought evidence about organisational and management factors affecting infection control in general hospital settings. A literature search yielded a wide range of studies, systematic reviews and reports, but high quality direct evidence was scant. The majority of studies were observational and the standard of reporting was generally inadequate. Positive leadership at ward level and above appears to be a prerequisite for effective action to control infection, although the benefits of good clinical leadership are diffused by supervision of large numbers of staff. Senior clinical leaders need a highly visible presence and clear role boundaries and responsibilities. Team stability and morale are linked to improved patient outcomes. Organisational mechanisms for supporting training, appraisal and clinical governance are important determinants of effective practice and successful change. Rates of infection have been linked to workload, in terms of nurse staffing, bed occupancy and patient turnover. The organisational characteristics identified in the review should be considered risk factors for infection. They cannot always be eliminated or avoided completely, but appropriate assessment will enable targeted action to protect patients.<br/
Development of a sensitive and specific homologous radioimmunoassay for determination of chicken IgG secretion in vitro
No full textDue to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references.Not availabl
Development and testing of the ‘Culture of Care Barometer’ (CoCB) in healthcare organisations: a mixed methods study
No full textObjective: concerns about care quality have prompted calls to create workplace cultures conducive to high-quality, safe and compassionate care and to provide a supportive environment in which staff can operate effectively. How healthcare organisations assess their culture of care is an important first step in creating such cultures. This article reports on the development and validation of a tool, the Culture of Care Barometer, designed to assess perceptions of a caring culture among healthcare workers preliminary to culture change.Design/setting/participants: an exploratory mixed methods study designed to develop and test the validity of a tool to measure ‘culture of care’ through focus groups and questionnaires. Questionnaire development was facilitated through: a literature review, experts generating items of interest and focus group discussions with healthcare staff across specialities, roles and seniority within three types of public healthcare organisations in the UK. The tool was designed to be multiprofessional and pilot tested with a sample of 467 nurses and healthcare support workers in acute care and then validated with a sample of 1698 staff working across acute, mental health and community services in England. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify dimensions underlying the Barometer.Results: psychometric testing resulted in the development of a 30-item questionnaire linked to four domains with retained items loading to four factors: organisational values (α=0.93, valid n=1568, M=3.7), team support (α=0.93, valid n=1557, M=3.2), relationships with colleagues (α=0.84, valid n=1617, M=4.0) and job constraints (α=0.70, valid n=1616, M=3.3).Conclusions: the study developed a valid and reliable instrument with which to gauge the different attributes of care culture perceived by healthcare staff with potential for organisational benchmarking
Three-dimensional ultrasound fetal lung volumes and infant respiratory outcome: A prospective observational study
No full textObjective: To determine if fetal lung volumes (FLVs), determined by three-dimensional rotational ultrasound and virtual organ computer-aided analysis software (vocal), correlated with neonatal respiratory outcomes in surviving infants who had a high risk [fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)], lower risk [fetuses with anterior wall defects (AWDs)] and no risk (controls) of abnormal antenatal lung growth. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Tertiary fetal medicine and neonatal intensive care units. Population: Sixty fetuses (25 with CDH, 25 with AWDs and ten controls). Methods: FLVs were measured and expressed as the percentage of the observed compared with the expected for gestational age. Main outcome measures: Neonatal respiratory outcome was determined by the duration of supplemental oxygen, mechanical ventilation and dependencies, and assessment of lung volume using a gas dilution technique to measure functional residual capacity (FRC). Results: The infants with CDH had lower FLV results than both the infants with AWDs (P = 0.05) and the controls (P < 0.05). The infants with CDH had longer durations of mechanical ventilation (P < 0.001) and supplementary oxygen (P < 0.001) dependence, compared with infants with AWDs. The infants with CDH had a lower median FRC than both the infants with AWDs (P < 0.001) and the controls (P < 0.001). FLV results correlated significantly with the durations of dependency on ventilation (r = )0.744, P < 0.01) and oxygen (r = )0.788, P < 0.001), and with FRC results (r = 0.429, P = 0.001). Conclusions: These results suggest that FLVs obtained using three-dimensional rotational ultrasound might be useful in predicting neonatal respiratory outcome in surviving infants who had varying risks of abnormal lung growth. Larger and more comprehensive studies are needed to clarify the role that lung volume measurements have in assessing lung function and growth. © 2011 The Authors BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology © 2011 RCOG.SCOPUS: ar.jFLWINinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
Les ménages au cœur de la financiarisation. Sur Risking Together, de D. Bryan et M. Rafferty
No full textInternational audienceIn Risking Together, Bryan and Rafferty think in the manner of behavioural finance, but they think against it and invent Marxist behavioural finance. They show how households' subjectivity is reshaped by finance in their daily life, and how they unwittingly have become a key player in the production process of derivatives. Households are now integrated into finance on the supply side, through the securitization of their debt but also of their payments, and on the demand side through their savings. Households have collectively become net risk absorbers. What about the systemic issues of the financial loop in which households are now inserted? Considering the omnipotence of finance that transfers risks to households, the social institutionalization of default risk is now required.Bryan et M. Rafferty Résumé Dans Risking together, Bryan et Rafferty pensent à la manière de la finance comportementale, mais ils pensent contre elle et inventent la Marxian behavioural finance. Ils montrent en quoi les ménages, amenés à penser à la manière de la finance dans leur vie quotidienne, sont devenus malgré eux un acteur clé du processus de production des produits dérivés. Les ménages sont désormais intégrés à la finance du côté offre, par la titrisation de leur dette mais aussi de leurs paiements, et du côté demande par leur épargne. Il convient alors de préciser les enjeux systémiques de la boucle financière dans laquelle s'insèrent désormais les ménages, devenus collectivement absorbeurs nets de risque. Face à la toute-puissance d'une finance qui transfère les risques aux ménages, s'impose désormais l'institutionnalisation sociale du risque de défaut
Enhancing the success of mergers and acquisitions: A theory-driven approach
No full textWe argue that it is important to consolidate knowledge from the strategy implementation literature and the change management literature so that we can delineate common themes and unique insights offered by these two bodies of work in relation to mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Researchers’ inability to consistently explain M&A outcomes may occur, at least in part, because researchers have tended to operate in fairly strict discipline silos such that the strategy implementation and change management literatures have developed independently and have only marginally informed one another. We develop an integrated framework of the key processes driving M&A outcomes. We also identify a number of feedback effects among strategy implementation decisions, change management decisions, employees’ perceptions of change management processes and practices, employee attitudes, and M&A outcomes over time.No Full Tex
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