4 research outputs found
Evaluation Of Dexmedetomidine Use In Peripheral Nerve Blocks Through A Digital Tracking Tool
No full textPeripheral nerve blocks are effective anesthetic techniques with analgesic properties that benefit patients intraoperatively and postoperatively. However, these postoperative pain benefits may be limited due to the duration of action of the local anesthetic that is used. Perineural adjuncts are used to potentiate the duration of peripheral nerve blocks. This project was a retrospective data analysis to assess the duration of peripheral nerve blocks and postoperative pain scores in patients who received adductor canal blocks with local anesthetic alone versus local anesthetic with perineural dexmedetomidine as an adjunct. This quality improvement project had a descriptive study design involving a retrospective data review comparing two groups with 24 participants in each group. Patients receiving dexmedetomidine their adductor canal block had a mean block duration of 20.7 hours compared to 10.7 hours for the local anesthetic group (p < .001). Postoperative pain scores were reduced in the group receiving dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to local anesthetic; however, pain scores were not statistically significant. The use of Dexmedetomidine caused no harm to the patients and demonstrated prolonged analgesic duration and overall pain relief, illustrating potential benefits in its utilization
WATER ON THE SUN
No full textAuthor Institution: University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA N2L 3G1; National Optical Astronomy Observatories, PO Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726, USA.; National Optical Astronomy Observatories, PO Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726, USA.High resolution infrared spectra of sunspot umbrae have been recorded with the 1-m Fourier transform spectrometer on Kitt Peak. The spectra contain a very large number of water absorption features originating on the sun. These lines have been assigned to the pure rotation and the vibration-rotation transitions of hot water by comparison with high temperature laboratory emission spectra
Growth strategies and small business owners: a Structurationist investigation of Strategy-as-Practice in small enterprises
No full textThe purpose of this research study is to investigate how the strategising of growth-oriented Small Business Owners (SBOs) influences the strategy in their businesses.
This thesis describes a ‘Strategy-as-Practice’ (S-as-P) investigation of ten Small Business Owners (SBOs) in Northeast England. Each SBO participated in a confidential ‘one-to-one’ strategy workshop with the author. The workshop format required each SBO to create a strategy map during the videoed session. The research design was intended to be minimally intrusive for members of the small businesses community.
The theoretical underpinning in this interpretive study was informed by Structuration Theory (ST). The video data were analysed with CAQDAS software. A template analysis approach was used based upon the symbiotic relationship of agency and structure proposed by ST. Cross-cutting themes were sought across the case companies.
The author found that the methodology attracted participation by growth-oriented SBOs. At the meso-level growth-oriented SBOs can be characterised as “strategically aware”, even if their strategy has remained unchanged for a considerable time. This strategic awareness is a manifestation of strategising praxes within the business. SBOs that are not actively changing strategy tend to articulate aspects of their business model which are visible in the firm, the others find difficulty in expressing their strategy in words. The “one-to-one” strategy workshop format used in this study facilitates the articulation of tacit knowledge and hence aids such discussion.
This research was focused upon SBOs that had a history of organic-growth, and had been relatively unscathed by the 2008 Banking Crisis aftermath. The participation group were all based in the North East of England.
This study contributes to existing S-as-P knowledge by extending the contextual boundary beyond large organisations into the small business domain. The author contrasts, and compares, the S-as-P findings in this study with the extant field that has almost exclusively been devoted to larger scale enterprise. The videoed “one-to-one” strategy workshop design is a methodological contribution that has proven efficacious in both recruiting and studying SBOs with the minimum of intervention disruption for these busy people. The author creates a synthesised model of small business strategising based on findings from this study that may assist future researchers to better engage and understand the strategising of SBOs
An Investigation into the Psychological Determinants of Health Habit Formation
Get PDFForming habits – broadly defined as learned automatic responses to contextual cues – is proposed as a means to health behaviour maintenance. Habits form through context dependent repetition, but additional variables may affect this process. This work aimed to investigate additional predictors of habit formation.
The potential predictors investigated were: placement in a routine; attraction versus health information; perceived reward and its impact; and individual differences.
The study investigated habit formation for dental flossing and taking a vitamin C tablet daily, in a sample of 118 participants from the general public. Eighty participants received an online intervention for vitamin C tablets at the start of the study. All participants received an intervention for flossing after four weeks, randomised to be based on attraction versus health, and to advise flossing before or after brushing. Self-reported behaviour, habit, and motivational variables were measured every four weeks, for sixteen weeks.
Habit strength and behaviour increased for both target behaviours. Neither behaviour nor automaticity were affected by the attraction and health interventions, or placement of flossing before or after toothbrushing. Experiencing the behaviour to be rewarding led to greater automaticity, but was not mediated by behaviour frequency. Reward strengthened the behaviour-automaticity relationship, as predicted by theories of reinforcement. Pleasure and intrinsic motivation also acted in this way, but positive attitudes about the behavioural outcomes did not predict behaviour or automaticity. Rational, rather than experiential, thinking style was associated with weaker habits, and higher prospective memory ability predicted greater initial gains in behaviour, followed by stronger habits.
The results suggest that there are experiential and trait factors which affect the habit formation process and which can reinforce habits, beyond their impact upon repetition. These findings advance habit theory and lead to suggestions for intervention development, such as recommending encouraging intrinsic motivation, and tailoring interventions according to individual dispositions
