226 research outputs found
Assessing the Utility of Fixsen et al.'s Model: A Test of Concept Study
No full textBackground: Improving the effect of evidence based programs (EBP) has great public health relevance. Improving implementation strategies is a good way to enhance the effect of EBP's. This paper is a test of concept study that assesses the utility of Fixsen et al.'s implementation model to research implementation. Fixsen et al.'s model consists of seven implementation drivers proposed to be relevant and important to the successful implementation of an EBP. An organization deemed to have successfully implemented an EBP was used to examine the relevance of Fixsen et al.'s implementation model.Results: All seven implementation drivers, as proposed by Fixsen et al., were identified within the organization that has successfully implemented an EBP.Discussion: It was determined by this test of concept study that Fixsen et al.'s model was useful and relevant to the research of implementation.Conclusion: Fixsen et al.'s model of implementation provided a logical and strategic framework on which to approach implementation research. There is still much work to be done to assess the validity and utility of this model. Likewise, there is still much research to be done in implementation science in order to more clearly determine what components and strategies are important to successful implementation and what are not
Specifying and reporting complex behaviour change interventions: the need for a scientific method
No full textComplex behaviour change interventions are not well described; when they are described, the terminology used is inconsistent. This constrains scientific replication, and limits the subsequent introduction of successful interventions. Implementation Science is introducing a policy of initially encouraging and subsequently requiring the scientific reporting of complex behaviour change interventions
Free vascular fibular transfer in congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia: results of the EPOS multicenter study. European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (EPOS)
No full textThis paper presents a review of the literature, describes the principal author's (B.R.) personal experience and provides the results of the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (EPOS) multicenter study. The objective is to evaluate the present status and future role of free vascular fibular transfer in treating congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia. Variables such as the selection of cases, age at operation, technical surgical details and postoperative results will be considered. The data on the EPOS study were incomplete at the time of writing, but the considerable amount of information already amassed is a valuable contribution to this updated report
Foreground Bias from Parametric Models of Far-IR Dust Emission
No full textWe use simple toy models of far-IR dust emission to estimate the accuracy to which the polarization of the cosmic microwave background can be recovered using multi-frequency fits, if the parametric form chosen for the fitted dust model differs from the actual dust emission. Commonly used approximations to the far-IR dust spectrum yield CMB residuals comparable to or larger than the sensitivities expected for the next generation of CMB missions, despite fitting the combined CMB plus foreground emission to precision 0.1 percent or better. The Rayleigh-Jeans approximation to the dust spectrum biases the fitted dust spectral index by (Delta)(Beta)(sub d) = 0.2 and the inflationary B-mode amplitude by (Delta)(r) = 0.03. Fitting the dust to a modified blackbody at a single temperature biases the best-fit CMB by (Delta)(r) greater than 0.003 if the true dust spectrum contains multiple temperature components. A 13-parameter model fitting two temperature components reduces this bias by an order of magnitude if the true dust spectrum is in fact a simple superposition of emission at different temperatures, but fails at the level (Delta)(r) = 0.006 for dust whose spectral index varies with frequency. Restricting the observing frequencies to a narrow region near the foreground minimum reduces these biases for some dust spectra but can increase the bias for others. Data at THz frequencies surrounding the peak of the dust emission can mitigate these biases while providing a direct determination of the dust temperature profile
Congenital convex pes valgus
No full text Congenital convex pes valgus (congenital vertical talus) is a rare condition. We reviewed ten feet in seven patients who had had surgical correction. All had been operated on by the senior author (JF) and the same surgical technique was used throughout, incorporating transfer of the tibialis anterior to the neck of the talus. The mean age at surgery was 31 months and the mean follow-up was nine years (6 to 14). All patients completed a questionnaire and had clinical, radiological and photographic evaluation performed by an independent examiner. None had required further surgery. All but one were satisfied with the result, and had no functional limitations. They all wore normal shoes. The mean ankle dorsiflexion was 17° and plantar flexion 21°. The mean arc of subtalar motion was 27°. All radiological parameters measured were within the normal range, although irregularity of the talonavicular joint was common. No avascular necrosis of the body of the talus was seen. We conclude that the medium-term results of this procedure are very satisfactory. </jats:p
The effect of firm strategy and corporate performance on software market growth in emerging regions
No full textThe purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of firm strategies and corporate performance on enterprise software market growth in emerging regions. The emerging regions of Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America, currently represent smaller overall markets for software vendors, but exhibit high growth rates and potential for greater opportunity as infrastructures improve, technology adoption accelerates, and firms refine their emerging market strategies. The research analyzes a data set of 102 publicly traded software firms which conduct business in at least one emerging region outside their home country headquarters location, and compares aspects of firm product strategy, go-to-market strategy, delivery models, research and development location investments, and corporate profitability ratios to aggregate emerging market growth rates. Findings indicate that decisions on product strategies (software only versus hardware and software), channel strategies (single vs. multichannel), and delivery models (multiple delivery models vs. SaaS/Cloud computing or on-premise only) are directionally associated with firm growth rates as predicted. Results also suggest that firm size and position within the industry life cycle and technology maturity curve are factors which may firm impact growth rates, and offer opportunities for further research.(Author abstract)Mertz, S.A. (2013). The effect of firm strategy and corporate performance on software market growth in emerging regions. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)International BusinessSchool of Busines
Fragile minds, porous selves: Shining a light on autoethnography of mental illness
No full textThis article sheds light on autoethnographic accounts of mental illness, to address author and reader concerns and questions and to consider what practitioners can learn from these narrative accounts. Drawing from my own and others’ trajectories, I discuss the drawbacks and dangers of exposing a ‘flawed’ identity, the stigma of serious mental illness, intertextuality issues, the tangled nature of revelation and redemption, framing the ‘Other’ in mental illness autoethnography and depictions of ‘life in the asylum.’ I explain how in telling my own ‘psychiatric’ tale, I looked to the symbolic concept of ‘communitas’ as a means of examining inter-relational processes and collective experience in a psychiatric facility. I argue that, while the act of writing about one’s illness experience can be rightly perceived as a way of reclaiming personal ‘power’ and facilitating healing, attempts to ‘evidence’ recovery can run counter to the writer’s reality of life with or beyond mental illness as personally and socially messy. In answer to the question, ‘at what point does a ‘life in the asylum’ narrative become autoethnographic?' I argue for the potential of autoethnography to contribute to broader sociological, ethnographic and medical debates and thus impact on policy. Speaking up about mental health through autoethnography can help to promote awareness of the unpredictability and socially constructed nature of mental illness and can inform strategies toward reducing public stigma, tackle the cyclical impact of labels, highlight the need to change social and medical attitudes, and revisualize treatment and support
A Commentary on Personal Thoughts on Early Childhood Special Education Research
No full text Strain provides his perspective on four issues facing science and practice in early childhood and special education. He points to the need for (a) long-term functional research, (b) greater emphasis on the use of evidence-based programs in practice, (c) moving special education research back to the Office of Special Education Programs, and (d) research that focuses on individuals and “honor[s] the idiosyncratic needs of an ever more diverse population of families and learners.” Comments are provided regarding each of these perspectives. </jats:p
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