16 research outputs found
Peripatetic electronic teachers in higher education
No full textThis paper explores the idea of information and communications technology providing a medium enabling higher education teachers to act as freelance agents. The notion of a ‘Peripatetic Electronic Teacher’ (PET) is introduced to encapsulate this idea. PETs would exist as multiple telepresences (pedagogical, professional, managerial and commercial) in PET‐worlds; global networked environments which support advanced multimedia features. The central defining rationale of a pedagogical presence is described in detail and some implications for the adoption of the PET‐world paradigm are discussed. The ideas described in this paper were developed by the author during a recently completed Short‐Term British Telecom Research Fellowship, based at the BT Adastral Park
Single- and Multi-carrier Quadrature Amplitude Modulation: Principles and Applications for Personal Communications, WATM and Broadcasting: 2nd
No full textSingle- and Multi-carrier Quadrature Amplitude Modulation Principles and Applications for Personal Communications, WLANs and Broadcasting L. Hanzo Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK W. Webb Motorola, Arlington Heights, USA formerly at Multiple Access Communications Ltd, Southampton, UK T. Keller Ubinetics, Cambridge Technology Centre, Melbourn, UK formerly at Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK Motivated by the rapid evolution of wireless communication systems, this expanded second edition provides an overview of most major single- and multi-carrier Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) techniques commencing with simple QAM schemes for the uninitiated through to complex, rapidly-evolving areas, such as arrangements for wide-band mobile channels. Targeted at the more advanced reader, the multi-carrier modulation based second half of the book presents a research-orientated outlook using a variety of novel QAM-based arrangements. * Features six new chapters dealing with the complexities of multi-carrier modulation which has found applications ranging from Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) to Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) * Provides a rudimentary introduction for readers requiring a background in the field of modulation and radio wave propagation * Discusses classic QAM transmission issues relevant to Gaussian channels * Examines QAM-based transmissions over mobile radio channels * Incorporates QAM-related orthogonal techniques, considers the spectral efficiency of QAM in cellular frequency re-use structures and presents a QAM-based speech communications system design study * Introduces Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) over both Gaussian and wideband fading channels By providing an all-encompassing self-contained treatment of single- and multi- carrier QAM based communications, a wide range of readers including senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, practising engineers and researchers alike will all find the coverage of this book attractive
Maisemanäkökulman edistäminen energiapuun korjuukohteilla
No full textOhjemateriaalia siitä, miten maisema tulisi huomioida energiapuun korjuukohteilla, on hyvin vähän saatavissa. Energiapuuta korjataan koko ajan enenevässä määrin ja myös näkyviltä paikoilta, joten ohjeistukselle on selvä tarve. Opinnäytetyön tavoite on edistää maiseman huomioimista energiapuun korjuukohteilla ja saada huomiota sille, että energiapuun korjuu ja maisemanhoito voivat hyödyttää toisiaan. Työ on rajattu harvennuskohteille taimikoissa ja nuorissa kasvatusmetsissä sekä maisemaraivauskohteille. Aineistona on käytetty lähdekirjallisuutta ja alan asiantuntijoiden tietoja energiapuun korjuusta ja maisemanhoidosta. Menetelminä on käytetty maastokäyntejä, neuvotteluja ja yleisötilaisuuksia.
Opinnäytetyön tuloksena on tehty ohjekorttisarja, joka opastaa miten maisema huomioidaan energiapuun korjuukohteilla. Lisäksi on tehty maisemaraivaussuunnitelma pilottikohteelle Limingan kunnassa olevan Liminganlahden luontokeskuksen ympäristöön. Nämä työt on laadittu yhteistyössä ProAgria Oulun/ Maa- ja kotitalousnaisten maisemanhoidon neuvonnan kanssa Ohjekorteista on hyötyä energiapuun korjuun ohjeistuksessa, neuvonnassa ja maanomistajien omatoimisessa maisemanhoidossa. Liminganlahden luontokeskuksen raivaussuunnitelma toimii esimerkkinä monipuolisen maisema- ja luontokohteen suunnitelmasta. Se tuo toteutuessaan avaramman ja viihtyisämmän maiseman, edistää luonnon monimuotoisuutta ja matkailua.
Opinnäytetyö on tehty Suomen metsäkeskus, Julkiset palvelut, Pohjois-Pohjanmaan alueen hallinnoimalle Bioenergian edelläkävijät –hankkeelle. Hankkeessa oli bioenergiaan ja maisemanhoitoon liittyvä osio, jonka tavoitteena oli edistää maisemanhoidollisten raivausten yhdistämistä energiapuun korjuuseen. Tämän osion hankkeelle suorittivat palvelusopimuksella Pro-Agria Oulu ja Maa- ja kotitalousnaiset. Hanketta rahoitti maaseuturahasto ja tuen hankkeelle myönsi Pohjois-Pohjanmaan Elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus. Opinnäytetyön laatija osallistui hankkeessa usean maisemaselvityksen laatimiseen, joista on poimittu materiaalia myös opinnäytetyöhön.There is very little instruction material available on how landscape should be respected at fuelwood harvesting sites. Fuelwood is being harvested in ever increasing amounts also from visually exposed places, so there is an obvious need for instructions. The aim of the thesis is to contribute respecting the landscape at fuelwood harvesting sites and to obtain attention to the fact that fuelwood harvesting and landscaping can be beneficial to each other. The study has been delimited to thinning sites in seedling stands and young growing forests and to landscape clearing sites. Source books and specialist expertise on fuelwood harvesting and landscape managing have been used as material. Field excursions, consultations and public events have been used as methods.
As an outcome of the thesis has been made an instruction card set, which shows how landscape will be respected at fuelwood harvesting spots. Furthermore, a landscape clearing plan has been made for the pilot site at the surroundings of the Liminganlahti nature center, in the municipality of Liminka. These have been compiled in cooperation with the ProAgria Oulu/the landscape management advisory services of the Rural Women's Advisory Organisation. Instruction cards are beneficial for tutoring fuelwood harvesting, for advisory services and self-sustained landscape managing by land owners. The clearing plan for the Liminganlahti nature center is an example of a plan for a versatile landscape and nature location. When actualized, it will result in a more spacious and cosier landscape and promote nature diversity and tourism.
The thesis has been made for the "Bioenergian edelläkävijät" (The Pioneers of Bioenergy) project which is administered by The Finnish Forestry Centre, Public Service Unit, Northern Ostrobothnia Area. The project included one bioenergy and landscape management related item, the objective of which was to promote combining landscape management related clearing with fuelwood harvesting. This item was performed for the project in accordance with a service contract by Pro-Agria Oulu and The Rural Women's Advisory Organisation. The project was financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the funding to the project was granted by The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of North Ostrobothnia. The author of this thesis participated in compiling several comprehensive landscape reports in the project, from which material was also excerpted to the thesis.Liitteenä 1 olevat ohjekortit ovat esillä ProAgria Oulun Maa- ja kotitalousnaisten maiseman- ja luonnonhoito sivustolla (http://www.proagriaoulu.fi/fi/maiseman-_ja_luonnonhoito/) ja Suomen metsäkeskuksen Bioenergian edelläkävijät -hankkeen Internet-sivuilla (http://www.metsakeskus.fi/materiaalit5)
Hotel Corporate Social Responsibility: Guest Satisfaction, and Repeat Purchase Intention in China's Domestic Hotel Market
No full textThe fast development of China’s economy in the past two decades has created a series of CSR related problems, for instance, customer and employee rights, environmental pollution, natural resource shortage, and community relations. The effects of these issues on Chinese society have, to a degree, become a focus of a public debate aided by the emergence of the mobile Internet. Consequently corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies are being adopted by a growing number of Chinese companies, including those in the hotel sector. By adopting a composite methodology of qualitative and quantitative approaches, this thesis aims to obtain an understanding of hotel CSR policies in China from the guest’s perspective by identifying their assessments of a hotel’s CSR performance and the impacts that may follow for repeat purchasing intentions of hotel accommodation.
Based on a literature review, this thesis first proposed a four dimensional CSR scale, which covers customer, environment, employee and community, and then attempted to measure how customers perceive hotel CSR policies and the relevant consequences for their future patronage of a hotel. Additionally this thesis also introduced for the first time as far as the author is aware, the concept that a guest’s familiarity with CSR is a possible determinant of future repeat patronage. Subsequently a research model was proposed to reveal the influence of hotel CSR policies determining guests’ choice of hotel. A total of 817 valid questionnaires were collected, and the dataset was analyzed by SPSS 19.0 using reliability and validity analysis, exploratory factor analysis, cluster and discriminant analysis, ANOVA, multi-approach regression analysis and structural equation modeling. The followings results were obtained.
First, social demographic factors, that is gender, age, education background, occupation, income and marital status do not play significant roles in affecting customers’ purchase intention under the influence of CSR.
Second, five distinct types of customers were found to have different attitudes towards hotel CSR policies, which could positively affect their satisfaction level and future purchase intention. This result showed the diversity of customers in terms of CSR, and laid a theoretical foundation for hotel marketers to offer customers customized CSR policies in order to retain guests.
Third, two community related variables, namely hotels’ effort to provide local people with job opportunities and their respecting local culture and customs were found to be significant for guests’ purchase intention. Hotel managerial expertise was also found to have significance. The findings of other research that Chinese hoteliers’ efforts to create environmental friendly hotels is not a compelling reason for guests to book with a particular hotel, is also supported by this research.
Fourth, hotels’ efforts to market their CSR practices or policies could potentially exert direct impact over customers’ future purchase intention by making guests aware of the importance of CSR polices if basic guest needs are being met.
Last but not least, based on the results obtained from this research, suggestions for hotel management on how to enhance customers’ repeat consumption from a CSR standpoint were given, and future possible directions of similar research were also provided
A study of the consultant-client relationship: examining aspects of legitimation
No full textThis thesis provides an in-depth study of the consultant client relationship. It focuses on the phenomenon of legitimation which has been neglected in the prior literature. Legitimation is critical because it is responsible for signifying how and why knowledge claims come to be accepted or rejected between the client-consultant parties. The consultants' perceived value by the client is an outcome that is dependent on the economic and socio-political processes by which judgements are made. How legitimation takes place helps provides a new locus of understanding about the communication of business advice between consultants and clients. Such exploration helps generate novel insights for how value is created. Through the conduct of in-depth interviews with both consultants and clients, we managed to obtain comprehensive empirical data that helps challenge already held assumptions. Drawing on 64 interviews, with clients and consultants, and through the use of prior theoretical frameworks that are mainly drawn from the work by Suchman (1995) and Habermas (1984a, 1984b), we identify four modes of legitimation. Such modes are characterised in terms of their cognitive, pragmatic, moral and discursive nuances. We argue that each of the legitimatory categories indicate a separate set of conditions that need to be justified and which are driven by a distinct ideological character. Legitimation becomes a process in which implicit and explicit ideological values are mutually managed between the involved organisational actors. Our discussion helps open up a new field of understanding for the consultant client relationship that is relevant for both academics and practitioners
Determinants of recovery from post-COVID-19 dyspnoea: analysis of UK prospective cohorts of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and community-based controls
No full textBackground
The risk factors for recovery from COVID-19 dyspnoea are poorly understood. We investigated determinants of recovery from dyspnoea in adults with COVID-19 and compared these to determinants of recovery from non-COVID-19 dyspnoea.
Methods
We used data from two prospective cohort studies: PHOSP-COVID (patients hospitalised between March 2020 and April 2021 with COVID-19) and COVIDENCE UK (community cohort studied over the same time period). PHOSP-COVID data were collected during hospitalisation and at 5-month and 1-year follow-up visits. COVIDENCE UK data were obtained through baseline and monthly online questionnaires. Dyspnoea was measured in both cohorts with the Medical Research Council Dyspnoea Scale. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify determinants associated with a reduction in dyspnoea between 5-month and 1-year follow-up.
Findings
We included 990 PHOSP-COVID and 3309 COVIDENCE UK participants. We observed higher odds of improvement between 5-month and 1-year follow-up among PHOSP-COVID participants who were younger (odds ratio 1.02 per year, 95% CI 1.01–1.03), male (1.54, 1.16–2.04), neither obese nor severely obese (1.82, 1.06–3.13 and 4.19, 2.14–8.19, respectively), had no pre-existing anxiety or depression (1.56, 1.09–2.22) or cardiovascular disease (1.33, 1.00–1.79), and shorter hospital admission (1.01 per day, 1.00–1.02). Similar associations were found in those recovering from non-COVID-19 dyspnoea, excluding age (and length of hospital admission).
Interpretation
Factors associated with dyspnoea recovery at 1-year post-discharge among patients hospitalised with COVID-19 were similar to those among community controls without COVID-19.
Funding
PHOSP-COVID is supported by a grant from the MRC-UK Research and Innovation and the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) rapid response panel to tackle COVID-19. The views expressed in the publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Health Service (NHS), the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
COVIDENCE UK is supported by the UK Research and Innovation, the National Institute for Health Research, and Barts Charity. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funders
Second asymptomatic carotid surgery trial (ACST-2): a randomised comparison of carotid artery stenting versus carotid endarterectomy
No full textBackground: Among asymptomatic patients with severe carotid artery stenosis but no recent stroke or transient cerebral ischaemia, either carotid artery stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) can restore patency and reduce long-term stroke risks. However, from recent national registry data, each option causes about 1% procedural risk of disabling stroke or death. Comparison of their long-term protective effects requires large-scale randomised evidence.
Methods: ACST-2 is an international multicentre randomised trial of CAS versus CEA among asymptomatic patients with severe stenosis thought to require intervention, interpreted with all other relevant trials. Patients were eligible if they had severe unilateral or bilateral carotid artery stenosis and both doctor and patient agreed that a carotid procedure should be undertaken, but they were substantially uncertain which one to choose. Patients were randomly allocated to CAS or CEA and followed up at 1 month and then annually, for a mean 5 years. Procedural events were those within 30 days of the intervention. Intention-to-treat analyses are provided. Analyses including procedural hazards use tabular methods. Analyses and meta-analyses of non-procedural strokes use Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN21144362.
Findings: Between Jan 15, 2008, and Dec 31, 2020, 3625 patients in 130 centres were randomly allocated, 1811 to CAS and 1814 to CEA, with good compliance, good medical therapy and a mean 5 years of follow-up. Overall, 1% had disabling stroke or death procedurally (15 allocated to CAS and 18 to CEA) and 2% had non-disabling procedural stroke (48 allocated to CAS and 29 to CEA). Kaplan-Meier estimates of 5-year non-procedural stroke were 2·5% in each group for fatal or disabling stroke, and 5·3% with CAS versus 4·5% with CEA for any stroke (rate ratio [RR] 1·16, 95% CI 0·86-1·57; p=0·33). Combining RRs for any non-procedural stroke in all CAS versus CEA trials, the RR was similar in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (overall RR 1·11, 95% CI 0·91-1·32; p=0·21).
Interpretation: Serious complications are similarly uncommon after competent CAS and CEA, and the long-term effects of these two carotid artery procedures on fatal or disabling stroke are comparable
Prophylactic biological mesh reinforcement versus standard closure of stoma site (ROCSS): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial
No full textBackground: Closure of an abdominal stoma, a common elective operation, is associated with frequent complications; one of the commonest and impactful is incisional hernia formation. We aimed to investigate whether biological mesh (collagen tissue matrix) can safely reduce the incidence of incisional hernias at the stoma closure site. Methods: In this randomised controlled trial (ROCSS) done in 37 hospitals across three European countries (35 UK, one Denmark, one Netherlands), patients aged 18 years or older undergoing elective ileostomy or colostomy closure were randomly assigned using a computer-based algorithm in a 1:1 ratio to either biological mesh reinforcement or closure with sutures alone (control). Training in the novel technique was standardised across hospitals. Patients and outcome assessors were masked to treatment allocation. The primary outcome measure was occurrence of clinically detectable hernia 2 years after randomisation (intention to treat). A sample size of 790 patients was required to identify a 40% reduction (25% to 15%), with 90% power (15% drop-out rate). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02238964. Findings: Between Nov 28, 2012, and Nov 11, 2015, of 1286 screened patients, 790 were randomly assigned. 394 (50%) patients were randomly assigned to mesh closure and 396 (50%) to standard closure. In the mesh group, 373 (95%) of 394 patients successfully received mesh and in the control group, three patients received mesh. The clinically detectable hernia rate, the primary outcome, at 2 years was 12% (39 of 323) in the mesh group and 20% (64 of 327) in the control group (adjusted relative risk [RR] 0·62, 95% CI 0·43–0·90; p=0·012). In 455 patients for whom 1 year postoperative CT scans were available, there was a lower radiologically defined hernia rate in mesh versus control groups (20 [9%] of 229 vs 47 [21%] of 226, adjusted RR 0·42, 95% CI 0·26–0·69; p<0·001). There was also a reduction in symptomatic hernia (16%, 52 of 329 vs 19%, 64 of 331; adjusted relative risk 0·83, 0·60–1·16; p=0·29) and surgical reintervention (12%, 42 of 344 vs 16%, 54 of 346: adjusted relative risk 0·78, 0·54–1·13; p=0·19) at 2 years, but this result did not reach statistical significance. No significant differences were seen in wound infection rate, seroma rate, quality of life, pain scores, or serious adverse events. Interpretation: Reinforcement of the abdominal wall with a biological mesh at the time of stoma closure reduced clinically detectable incisional hernia within 24 months of surgery and with an acceptable safety profile. The results of this study support the use of biological mesh in stoma closure site reinforcement to reduce the early formation of incisional hernias. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Research for Patient Benefit and Allergan
The role of conflict & negotiation in the complexity of projects
No full textProjects are pervasive and disparate spanning a plethora of domains. Most projects are unified by certain characteristics regardless of the sector or industry to which they belong i.e. time & budget limitedness, a concern for quality, and a goal orientation. Although, projects have been around for a longtime, the phenomenon of conflict in projects gained interest around the 1960s with the introduction of the matrix form of organization. However, out of all the research papers on project centric conflict between 1960 to 1980 time period, only one is empirically grounded and that too focused on IT projects. Surprisingly, the findings put forward during this time period are to date considered valid and propagated by most project literature as universally true. Several other studies have contributed peripheral contributions to the project conflict literature, however, no study has focused on building an understanding of why and how conflicts arise on projects, how they are managed, and affects they create within projects.Recent concerns pertaining to project failures, despite the existence of well-defined problems and toolsets, gave birth to an ESRC funded research network named `Rethinking Project Management'. Whose members in examining the ontological groundings of project management identified several areas of interest for future research in project management; one of which is complexity. The present study therefore focuses on integrating the concerns of conflict & negotiation within the context of project complexity.Every research has its philosophical bearings. This study is ontologically objectivist and epistemologically subjectivist (consequently the axiology is subjectivist as well). This study accepts a Critical Realist view of the world and perceive the conceivable knowledge about this world to be subjective in nature. As the study is concerned about understanding the processes through which conflict & negotiation reify and interplay within a project the objective is not to find generalizations but rather to seek out patterns of occurrences and to build explanations. The methodology followed in the study is mixed, borrowing from both positivistic and constructivist ideologies. The survey methodology is used to, in loose terms, cast a net and capture the status quo. Results of the survey supplement the literature review driven a priori assumptions and seek out context embedded variables that the literature has not touched upon. Findings from the survey contribute to the succeeding case study methodology, which inquired into their detail through the use of interviews.Data for the study was collected between March through August 2010. During the first phase of the study 86 questionnaires were filled from 73 different projects. The survey data was analyzed using aggregate statistical techniques and a thesaurus based automated coding software named Leximancer. Results of the survey indicate that all projects surveyed had experienced some form of conflict and used at least one type of negotiation technique. A large number of projects faced conflicts related to land access, political pressures, time, interdepartmental relationships, and availability of resources. Project behavior when experiencing conflict exhibits a theme of delay, slowness, and work stoppages; there are also negative effects on group cohesion and productivity. The respondents described projects experiencing conflict as challenging, time consuming, delayed, and difficult. The data also revealed several useful patterns within projects experiencing conflicts. Additionally, baseline data for project complexity was captured using Shenhar and Dvir's Diamond Approach from all the projects surveyed. Findings, from the survey contributed to the study by providing preliminary answers to each of the research questions asked. Data gathered as a result of the survey contributed significantly to the design and orientation of the case study interviews.The second phase of the data collection involved implementation of the case study methodology. Personnel at various levels of nine projects, one government consultant, and a tribal elder were interviewed, for a total of thirty interviews. Additionally, six meetings on one of the projects, and two movie filming sequences were observed. Published and non-published reports on all the projects were examined. Interviews were captured using causal-maps (a cognitive mapping technique) and short notes. The causal-maps were captured using Banxia Decision Explorer and later refined using Cmap (an open-source mapping software). Each project's complexity measurements were taken and compared against the complexity baseline developed as a result of the survey.Results from the case study reveals certain patterns of behavior on the projects, specifically in the interactions taking place between a project and its principle organization, peers, and subordinates. Additionally, I find that quality plays the most active role in project conflict & negotiation and contributes significantly to project complexity because of its interconnection to other concepts and the recursive nature of the connections it spawns. Some factors that were reported by the survey as contributing significantly to project complexity and project conflict & negotiation were disqualified and a foundation laid for further inquiry into the role played by conflict & negotiation in project complexity.In concluding the study the data is first discussed through the lens of Jurgen Habermas' (1984) Theory of Communicative Action (TCA) and is followed by a general discussion on the data. The study concludes with a discussion on the possible future work that could result from this work
Symptom-based stratification of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome: multi-dimensional characterisation of international observational cohorts and reanalyses of randomised clinical trials
No full textBackground
Heterogeneity is a major obstacle to developing effective treatments for patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome. We aimed to develop a robust method for stratification, exploiting heterogeneity in patient-reported symptoms, and to relate these differences to pathobiology and therapeutic response.
Methods
We did hierarchical cluster analysis using five common symptoms associated with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pain, fatigue, dryness, anxiety, and depression), followed by multinomial logistic regression to identify subgroups in the UK Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Registry (UKPSSR). We assessed clinical and biological differences between these subgroups, including transcriptional differences in peripheral blood. Patients from two independent validation cohorts in Norway and France were used to confirm patient stratification. Data from two phase 3 clinical trials were similarly stratified to assess the differences between subgroups in treatment response to hydroxychloroquine and rituximab.
Findings
In the UKPSSR cohort (n=608), we identified four subgroups: Low symptom burden (LSB), high symptom burden (HSB), dryness dominant with fatigue (DDF), and pain dominant with fatigue (PDF). Significant differences in peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, anti-SSA and anti-SSB antibody positivity, as well as serum IgG, κ-free light chain, β2-microglobulin, and CXCL13 concentrations were observed between these subgroups, along with differentially expressed transcriptomic modules in peripheral blood. Similar findings were observed in the independent validation cohorts (n=396). Reanalysis of trial data stratifying patients into these subgroups suggested a treatment effect with hydroxychloroquine in the HSB subgroup and with rituximab in the DDF subgroup compared with placebo.
Interpretation
Stratification on the basis of patient-reported symptoms of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome revealed distinct pathobiological endotypes with distinct responses to immunomodulatory treatments. Our data have important implications for clinical management, trial design, and therapeutic development. Similar stratification approaches might be useful for patients with other chronic immune-mediated diseases
