53 research outputs found
Free volume in poly(propylene glycol) and its relationships to spin probe reorientation
No full textIn this work we carried out positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) on pure poly(propylene glycol) (PPG 4000) and an electron spin resonance (ESR) study on PPG 4000 doped with the spin probe TEMPO. The spectral and dynamic features of both the microscopic probes such as the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) lifetime, tau(3), the spectral parameter, T(50) (G), and the correlation time of spin probe, T(o), as a function of the temperature were compared. New empirical relationships between the characteristic PALS temperatures (T(b1)(L) and T(b2)(L)) and the characteristic ESR temperatures (T(X1)(L) and T(X2)(L)) have been revealed. In addition, these characteristic PALS and ESR temperatures can be connected with the Schonhals and Stickel (T(B)(SCH), T(B)(ST)) temperatures of the primary alpha relaxation process of PPG 4000 B 13 as obtained by dielectric spectroscopy (DS) studies in the literature. Next, the mean free volume hole sizes of the matrix were related to the spin probe size and to the Arrhenius or the non-Arrhenius motional regimes of TEMPO. Finally, the temperature dependences of the reorientational correlation time have been analysed using the Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman-Hesse (VFTH) equation and its generalized form, i.e., the Bendler-Shlesinger-Fontanella (BSF) one, the latter derived from the defect diffusion model of the dynamics and transport properties. The fitting parameters are then compared with those of the primary alpha relaxation process. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Balancing exploration and exploitation in transferring research into practice : a comparison of five knowledge translation entity archetypes
No full textBackground: Translating knowledge from research into clinical practice has emerged as a practice of increasing importance. This has led to the creation of new organizational entities designed to bridge knowledge between research and practice. Within the UK, the Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) have been introduced to ensure that emphasis is placed in ensuring research is more effectively translated and implemented in clinical practice. Knowledge translation (KT) can be accomplished in various ways and is affected by the structures, activities, and coordination practices of organizations. We draw on concepts in the innovation literature—namely exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity—to examine these structures and activities as well as the ensuing tensions between research and implementation.
Methods: Using a qualitative research approach, the study was based on 106 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the directors, theme leads and managers, key professionals involved in research and implementation in nine CLAHRCs. Data was also collected from intensive focus group workshops.
Results: In this article we develop five archetypes for organizing KT. The results show how the various CLAHRC entities work through partnerships to create explorative research and deliver exploitative implementation. The different archetypes highlight a range of structures that can achieve ambidextrous balance as they organize activity and coordinate practice on a continuum of exploration and exploitation.
Conclusion: This work suggests that KT entities aim to reach their goals through a balance between exploration and exploitation in the support of generating new research and ensuring knowledge implementation. We highlight different organizational archetypes that support various ways to maintain ambidexterity, where both exploration and exploitation are supported in an attempt to narrow the knowledge gaps. The KT entity archetypes offer insights on strategies in structuring collaboration to facilitate an effective balance of exploration and exploitation learning in the KT process
Knowledge translation in healthcare : incorporating theories of learning and knowledge from the management literature
No full textPurpose – The authors draw selectively on theories of learning and knowledge, which currently have received little attention from knowledge translation (KT) researchers, and suggest how they might usefully inform future development of the KT literature. The purpose of this paper is to provide conceptual tools and strategies for the growing number of managers, clinicians and decision makers navigating this arena.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a narrative review to synthesise two streams of literature and examine evolving conceptual landscape concerning knowledge translation over the previous three decades. Conceptual mapping was used iteratively to develop and synthesise the literature. Iterative feedback from relevant research and practice stakeholder groups was used to focus and strengthen the review.
Findings – KT has been conceptualised along three competing frames; one focusing on linear (largely unidirectional) transfer of knowledge; one focusing on KT as a social process; and another that seeks to more fully incorporate contextual issues in understanding research implementation. Three overlapping themes are found in the management literature that inform these debates in the health literature, namely knowledge boundaries, organisational learning and absorptive capacity. Literature on knowledge boundaries problematizes the nature of boundaries and the stickiness of knowledge. Organisational learning conceptualises the need for organisational wide systems to facilitate learning processes; it also draws on a more expansive view of knowledge. Absorptive capacity focuses at the firm level on the role of developing organisational capabilities that enable the identification, assimilation and use of new knowledge to enable innovation.
Research limitations/implications – The paper highlights the need to consider KT processes at multiple levels, including individual, organisational and strategic levels. These are important not only for research but also have practical implications for individuals and organisations involved in KT processes.
Originality/value – This review summarises and integrates two largely separate literature streams on knowledge translation – namely health services research and management scholarship. In addition to outlining and organising the conceptual landscape around knowledge transfer, the paper contributes by highlighting how management literature on knowledge and learning theories might inform health services research on knowledge translation
Importance of Hole Generation on Modeling and Simulation of Schottky and MESFET Structures
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Understanding gender inequality in employment and retirement
No full textThe paper is concerned with the occupation-based inequalities of women and men in economically developed societies. The inequalities in their working lives lead to inequalities in retirement, and particularly the greater poverty endured by women. Occupational gender segregation, the tendency for women and men to work in different occupations, results in gender inequalities. The inequalities are measured by pay and class-status. The extent of the inequality in a country is measured as the vertical dimension of the occupational segregation, which varies appreciably across countries. In employment, men almost always have an advantage on the vertical dimension of pay, while on class-status the advantage lies with women. The gender inequalities in working lives carry over into retirement, though in a somewhat different manner. In retirement there is a wide range of experience from affluence to poverty, with a great many experiencing poverty. Those from lower class-status levels who earned too little to save for pensions, including those who worked part-time, suffer poverty in retirement. The occupational status advantage of women disappears, while their income disadvantage combines with greater life expectancy, with the consequence that women are among the majority of retired people in poverty
The dimensions of occupational gender segregation in industrial countries
No full textIt is well known that women and men tend to work in different occupations, and generally held that this disadvantages women. In order to understand how far this occupational segregation entails gender inequality it is necessary to examine the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the segregation. The horizontal dimension measures difference without inequality while the vertical dimension measures the extent of the occupational inequality. Two measures of vertical inequality are used: pay and social stratification (CAMSIS). Measurements over a number of industrially developed countries show the expected male advantage with regard to pay. However, contrary to popular beliefs, women are consistently advantaged in terms of stratification. Also, it is found that the position of women is more favourable where the overall segregation is higher – the lower the male advantage on pay and the greater the female advantage on stratification
Developing collaborative professionalism : an investigation of status differentiation in academic organizations in knowledge transfer partnerships
No full textIn recent years there has been a significant growth in knowledge transfer partnerships to improve the quality and timeliness of healthcare. These activities require an increasing level of interdependence between academic and healthcare professionals, with important implications for human resource management. To understand these knowledge transfer partnerships, we conducted an in-depth longitudinal study based on 99 interviews and 5 focus-group workshops across academic and healthcare professionals in nine university-based knowledge transfer partnerships in England. We explore how academic professionals of lower and higher status organizations develop a new form of professional work, based on the principles of collaborative professionalism, during their involvement in partnerships with healthcare professionals. We illuminate how the interdependent work between academic professionals and healthcare professionals in the development of a new academic specialization is shaped by the status of their organization
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SCHOTTKY BOUNDARY-CONDITION FOR NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF SCHOTTKY AND MESFET STRUCTURE
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